Mickey Togs

The Atlanta Braves came back against the New York Mets for the third time in the series, completing a dramatic sweep against the NL East rival as the Braves walked it off, 13-10, in ten innings. 

As Atlanta improves to 38-24, the Mets drop their sixth straight game and continue their free-fall in the NL East standings.

An Ozzie Albies three-run home run sealed the deal after an Orlando Arcia homer in the bottom of the ninth was enough to force extra innings.

The rivalry continues to get more and more one-sided. After seeing several fans and media members react poorly to the first two games of the series, it will be interesting to see the fallout from the completed sweep. 

On the Mets broadcast, the postgame show brought up phrases that you never want to hear as a fan like “there’s a lot of season left,’ or “if things don’t turn up, changes need to be made.” 

To make matters worse for the Mets, this is the first time in their history that they have lost 3 consecutive games games when they held a 3-run lead. They’ve been playing baseball since 1962.

The Vegas Golden Knights struck first by following the script that has been so successful for them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, coming from behind to win with discipline, offense and a dash of the unexpected from Adin Hill.

Zach Whitecloud and Mark Stone scored less than seven minutes apart in the third period, Hill made 33 saves that included a highlight-reel stick save with the game tied early in the second period, and the Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 5-2 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

The Golden Knights improved to 8-3 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs. They have nine come-from-behind wins.

“We don’t change anything,” said Stone, the Vegas captain. “We stick to the program. We stick to what makes us successful. We don’t get rattled.”

Anthony Volpe, Greg Allen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa took care of the heavy lifting early. Aaron Judge provided the final punch. 

Judge homered for the third time in two games, Volpe and Allen also went deep and the New York Yankees stretched their winning streak to four with a 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

The Yankees moved a season-high 11 games over .500, and have posted 20 runs and 30 hits in the first two games of the series against one of the American League’s top pitching staffs. 

“Everybody’s chipping in right now and everybody’s passing the baton, and good things are happening when you’re not afraid to pass it to the next guy,” Kiner-Falefa said. 

Judge hit a towering fly ball on the first pitch of the seventh inning from reliever Darren McCaughan that carried just enough to clear the fence in left-center field, even if it would not have been a homer at Yankee Stadium.

While Judge hitting another homer will get the headlines, it was Volpe’s long ball that broke open the game. With two outs in the third inning, Seattle starter Logan Gilbert caught too much of the plate with a 1-2 slider and Volpe drove the pitch 413 feet for a three-run shot and a 6-0 lead. It was Volpe’s eighth homer of the season and snapped a 2-for-22 slide for the rookie.

Max Scherzer became the latest starter to silence the Phillies in a 4-2, sweep-clinching victory at Citi Field on a gorgeous afternoon for the 38,302 on hand and for the Mets.

The Mets (30-27) outplayed Philadelphia (25-31) in the three-game set, won their eighth straight home game and await the Blue Jays, who  visit Queens on Friday.

In a series in which the Mets dominated, their bats were barely needed. Kodai Senga, Carlos Carrasco and Scherzer combined to pitch 20 innings in which they gave up two earned runs.

The Mets improved to 16-0 in games their starter goes at least six innings, a testament to both strong bullpen work and the sky-high upside of a rotation with two future Hall of Famers, one of whom starred Thursday.

“He’s been Max,” manager Buck Showalter said of Scherzer, who confirmed as much.

A couple of weeks ago, Mets manager Buck Showalter asked a few veterans to step into a meeting. The team had just called up Mark Vientos, a big-swinging righty without a true position, and there surely would be fewer at-bats to go around.

The group did not include any complainers. Mark Canha told his manager he just wanted to win.

A couple of weeks later, Canha — whose playing time has dipped, if not dived, amid a slow start and a crowded clubhouse — ensured a Mets victory.

The previously struggling outfielder blasted his first home run since May 3 and drove in all of the Mets’ runs in a 4-1 win over the Phillies at Citi Field.

The Mets (29-27) assured themselves of winning the series over their division rival before the finale Thursday and have bounced back after a  2-4 road trip.

They only needed two hits Tuesday — a home run from Francisco Lindor and an RBI single from Eduardo Escobar — to win the series opener, and they only needed one lively bat a night later.

It’s a big year for AEW President Tony Khan as he looks to keep some of his biggest stars under contract, especially after the departure of Cody Rhodes last year, who has proven that a talent from AEW can jump ship to WWE and have a fair shot of success. 

Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks are now in this spot where they will have to decide whether to stay with AEW, a company they helped launch, or jump to the rival promotion. 

All three deals are slated to expire later this year. AEW wants to sign them to new deals before becoming free agents.

The Elite recently lost the AEW Trios Championships to the House Of Black. They’re slated to take on the Jericho Appreciation Society and House of Black on Dynamite with the titles on the line. 

Former NBA All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony announced his retirement from basketball. 

“Now the time has come for me to say goodbye to the court where I made my name, to the game that gave me purpose and pride,” Anthony said.

“With this bittersweet goodbye to the NBA, I am excited about what the future holds for me.” 

Anthony, 39, a former national champion at Syracuse, was selected No. 3 overall by the Denver Nuggets in the 2003 NBA Draft and spent his first eight seasons with the franchise before being traded to the New York Knicks midway through the 2010-11 season, where he played for seven seasons. The Brooklyn native had later stints with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Houston Rockets, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Lakers.

Anthony retires ninth on the NBA all-time scoring list with 28,289 career points during his career. The former Syracuse standout was a 10-time All-Star, a scoring champion in 2013 and a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team.

The Miami Heat are marching on to the NBA Finals, where they will face the Denver Nuggets, after a 103-84 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game  7 of the Eastern Conference finals. 

With the win, Miami avoids the dubious distinction of being the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 lead in a playoff series. Teams that go up 3-0 are now 151-0 all-time. It wasn’t easy. It didn’t look good after the way Game 6 was ripped from their hands with a miraculous Derrick White buzzer-beating tip-in. But Miami got it done. 

“I think a lot of people can relate to this team,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Sometimes you have to suffer for the things you really want.”

Credit the Celtics for fighting back to force a Game 7. They are just the fourth of those 151 teams to even do that much after going down 3-0, but they couldn’t get over the hump as Jayson Tatum rolled his ankle early and clearly wasn’t right the whole night, Jaylen Brown (eight turnovers, 8-of-23 shooting) was awful, and Boston’s 3-point shooting (21%), yet again, was atrocious. 

The Florida Panthers had the opportunity to make history Wednesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. They did not squander it.

The Panthers, a team which made the playoffs by a single point, are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for only the second time in franchise history after beating the Hurricanes 4-3 at FLA Live Arena in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Matthew Tkachuk — the hero of this postseason not named ‘Bobrovsky’ — scored with 4.9 seconds left for the game-winner.

It was his second goal of the night and third game-winning goal of this four-game sweep.

Florida, which has not been to the Cup Final since the 1996 campaign, will play either the Vegas Golden Knights or Dallas Stars.

Baskin-Robbins offers its own unique twist on an iconic brunch duo with the introduction of new Chick’n & Waffles Ice Cream.

Making its debut as the Flavor of the Month, new Chick’n & Waffles Ice Cream features buttermilk waffle flavored ice cream with crispy chick’n and waffle flavored bites drizzled in a bourbon maple syrup flavored swirl.

Inspired by classic Chicken and Waffles, this unique ice cream has been crafted to mimic the taste of fried chicken, without actually containing any real chicken.