Raanta helps Canes go up 2-0
Brendan Smith scored a short-handed goal late in the second period and Antti Raanta finished with 21 saves to help the Hurricanes beat the Rangers 2-0 on Friday night in Raleigh, North Carolina, taking a 2-0 lead in their secondround playoff series.
Smith’s goal off a feed from Sebastian Aho marked his first postseason goal in nine years, and it was the difference in a tightly defended game by both teams with little space to operate and even fewer traffic-free looks at the net.
Aho added a clinching empty-net score to finish it off with 1.8 seconds left as Raanta, the former Blackhawks goalie, held up.
† Rick Bowness will not return as coach of the Stars after nearly three seasons in which he led them to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final and the playoffs again this year.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL notre dame gives acc revenue boost
The Atlantic Coast Conference reported a record total of $578.3 million in revenue for the 2020-21 fiscal year with the addition of Notre Dame as a full football member for one season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The league’s tax filing showed a 16.4% increase in revenue from $496.7 million in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the Pac-12 Conference suffered a 36% decrease in revenue for the 2020-21 fiscal year due in large part to pandemic-related cancellations in football and basketball. The conference had total revenues of $344 million and distributions to member schools of $238 million.
† Following a trend, the Mountain West Conference will eliminate its two-division format in football for the 2023 season. The two teams with the highest winning percentage will compete in the league championship game.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
DePaul adds point guard from portal
South Florida point guard Caleb Murphy will transfer to DePaul. He led the Bulls with 11.4 points per game and shot 41.1% last season, and is eligible to play next season. Murphy received interest from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston and Memphis. † Indiana’s top player, Trayce Jackson-Davis, withdrew from the NBA Draft and will return to school. He still has two years of eligibility remaining.
MISCELLANEOUS
Susan goes to Interstatedaydream
Interstatedaydream skipped the Kentucky Oaks two weeks ago, and that paid dividends at the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. With jockey Florent Geroux aboard, the wellrested filly was able to hold off race favorite Adare Manor down the stretch and win the $250,000 Grade 2 race by 1¼ lengths.
† The women’s and men’s tennis tours will not award ranking points for Wimbledon because of the All England Club’s ban on players from Russia and Belarus over the invasion of Ukraine, an unprecedented move that stands as a significant rebuke.
† Trevor Story hit a grand slam over the Green Monster a night after hitting three over Fenway Park’s fabled left-field wall, leading the Red Sox to a 7-3 victory over the Mariners. ✶