Mickey Togs

For the first time in history, the Florida Panthers are Stanley Cup champions.

Florida won a 2-1 Game 7 thriller on Monday night over the Edmonton Oilers to secure a 4-3 series victory in the Stanley Cup Final. The win staved off a historic collapse after the Oilers rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to tie the series at 3-3.

After allowing 18 goals in consecutive losses in Games 4-6, Florida’s defense returned to form Monday night anchored by a stellar performance from goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, who turned back 23 of 24 Edmonton shots, including a late Oilers flurry that threatened to tie the game.

Edmonton’s Connor McDavid secured the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the entire Stanley Cup playoffs despite his team’s loss. He’s the sixth player in NHL history to win the award from a losing team.

The Yankees pitching depth took a hit as right-handers Ian Hamilton and Cody Poteet went on the Injured List.

Hamilton won’t throw for 3-4 weeks after suffering a lat strain in his last appearance. And Poteet went down with a right triceps strain and will be shut down for 1-2 weeks.

To take the spots on the roster, the Yankees recalled lefty Clayton Andrews from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and signed left-hander Anthony Misiewicz to a major league contract and selected him to the active roster.

They still need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Misiewicz.

Hamilton has been a key piece to the bullpen each of the last two years and Poteet filled in well in the rotation after Clarke Schmidt hit the IL.

Baseball legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays died on Tuesday at the age of 93. The San Francisco Giants announced his death.

“It is with great sadness that we announce that San Francisco Giants Legend and Hall of Famer Willie Mays passed away peacefully this afternoon at the age of 93.” 

Mays is regarded as one of the greatest players in Major League Baseball history and had an illustrious career spanning 23 seasons. He started his career with the New York Giants and stayed with the team when they moved to San Francisco. He finished his career by returning to New York to play for the Mets.

Mays, also known as the “Say Hey Kid,” was a two-time National League MVP, a 24-time All-Star, and a 12-time Gold Glove winner.

Mays is remembered not only for his power at the plate, which resulted in 660 home runs, the sixth most in MLB history, but also for his sensational defensive skills as a center fielder. One of his most iconic defensive plays was an over-the-shoulder catch he made in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series.