Happy Monday morning, all. Hope you had a great weekend.
Let's get right to it.
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Good morning to everyone but especially to...
Getty ImagesTHE TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING...
As it turns out, not only does lightning strike the same place twice... it can strike thrice, too. The Tampa Bay Lightning are heading to their third straight Stanley Cup Final after beating the Rangers 2-1 in Saturday night's Game 6. The Lightning will face the Colorado Avalanche with the chance to pull off the rare three-peat.
Steven Stamkos scored both goals for the hosts, and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 21 shots.This playoffs, Tampa Bay has rallied from a 3-2 series deficit against the Maple Leafs and a 2-0 series deficit against the Rangers -- sandwiched around a sweep of the Panthers.The Lightning are seeking to become the first team to win three straight titles since the Islanders won four straight from 1980-83.The Lightning front office -- and its star-studded roster -- deserves enormous credit for yet another run to the Final, writes hockey expert Austin Nivison.
Nivison: "While Tampa Bay gets some criticism for the way it circumvents the NHL's salary cap, you have to tip your cap to general manager Julien BriseBois and this group of core players. The Lightning have had to make some tough financial decisions every year, but BriseBois has been able to find replacements while keeping his key veterans like Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman. Those players also deserve a lot of credit for staying hungry every season and not giving in to an ounce of complacency."The road to a third straight Cup won't be easy: The Avalanche won both head-to-head matchups this season and are averaging a league-high 4.64 goals in the playoffs. But the Lightning certainly will own the experience advantage, and they've shown this playoffs that they won't be rattled by a slow start. It should be an awesome series starting Wednesday night.
... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO RORY McILROY AND CHARL SCHWARTZEL
Rory McIlroy had plenty of strong words regarding LIV Golf leading into this weekend's RBC Canadian Open. Then he let his play do the talking... until finally getting in one more jab at the Saudi Arabia-backed league.
As for the golf itself, McIlroy couldn't have picked a much better time -- both for himself and for the PGA Tour -- to play some of his best golf. It was an ideal way to go into this week's US Open at Brookline for McIlroy. For his league, it delivered some much-needed star power in the winner's circle, notes golf expert Kyle Porter.
As for LIV Golf action, Charl Schwartzel won the league's debut event in London, earning a cool $4 million in the process. His team, Stingers GC, also won the team event, meaning Schwartzel and teammates Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen and Hennie du Plessis split an additional $3 million.
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As we've mentioned before, that sort of money is the tour's most attractive quality for players. And even with top names like Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson not much of a factor in this event, it was a solid start for the league, notes golf reporter Patrick McDonald.
McDonald: "Golf shots were shown in abundance, changes were made in between rounds and the short, five-hour viewing window was comparable to most other major sports. It is clear they were monitoring social media channels and listening to viewers' criticism, as the inclusion of a leaderboard and the dismissal of various alert sounds were evidence enough. Additional modifications will inevitably unfold and the strength of future competition should help move the product forward."
