Hot Button: DeChambeau, Fowler, Reed jump to LIV ... Lightning even series with convincing win ... Watson had sessions with 66 massage therapists: NYT

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THREE MORE NAME GOLFERS
JOIN LIV PLAYER ROSTER

Wednesday, June 8: Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed are resigning from the PGA Tour and joining the LIV Invitational Series on multi-year deals. Rickie Fowler is also expected to join the fledgling Saudi-backed tour.

DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open winner, has been injured for much of the 2022 PGA Tour calendar, while Fowler has struggled to get back to form, missing multiple cuts in the pandemic-abbreviated 2020 schedule and in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Reed, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour and 2018 Masters champion, is a controversial tour member, from alleged rules violations to attitude towards colleagues.

All are expected to play in the second LIV event at the end of June in Portland, Oregon.

My take: Some big names, for sure, who will draw interest, but one look at the field for this week's inaugural LIV event is less than inspiring, containing a bunch of aging European veterans, unknown Asian players — at least to U.S. fans — and a few top names covered in this feature over the last few days. That's it. Hardly world-class competition. This makes sense for Fowler, who's had a hard time making a check over the last two years and is now guaranteed a payout at each event, regardless of finish. DeChambeau and Reed? Few on tour will miss them, though DeChambeau is a big fan draw. That said, the PGA Tour would be wise to figure out a way to improve its own house to prevent others from leaving or they'll end up with a Korn Ferry-level group. — Bob

BOLTS HOLD SERVE,
TIE SERIES AT TWO

Wednesday, June 8: The Lightning played a solid all-around game to beat the Rangers, 4-1, Tuesday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa, tying the Eastern Conference Finals at two games apiece.

After Pat Maroon got the scoring started for Tampa Bay in the first period, Nikita Kucherov scored the eventual game-winner at 13:07 of the second on a breakaway, beating Igor Shesterkin five-hole:

Steven Stamkos built a 3-0 lead with a power-play tally in the third. Artemi Panarin gave the Rangers a flicker of hope with just over three minutes remaining, scoring his own power-play goal — the teams alternated power-play opportunities in the third period, each with three two-minute minors. Ondrej Palat put it out of reach, scoring  an empty-netter with nine seconds remaining.

FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS

The Rangers lost more than game. They lost center Filip Chytil to an upper body injury in the second period after a hit from Viktor Hedman. Chytil now joins center Ryan Strome on the Rangers' injury list. Both are listed as day-to-day with upper body injuries. Gerard Gallant said postgame that Chytil "should be fine."

Game 5 is Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers have won a franchise-record eight straight home games.

My take: Andrei Vasilevskiy played to his usual standard for the first time in the series and the Bolts clamped down after giving up several Rangers chances through two periods. Now they'll have to figure out how to beat New York at the Garden, where the Rangers have a habit of winning despite being outplayed. — Bob

NUMBER OF WATSON MASSAGE
THERAPISTS STAGGERS

Tuesday, June 7: The New York Times reports Deshaun Watson had at least 66 different female massage therapists in the Houston area over a 17-month period form 2019 to 2021, of which only four were arranged through the Texans.

To date, 24 of the women have come forward to file sexual misconduct and sexual assault lawsuits. According to the Times, an unidentified therapist who is not part of the lawsuits said Watson " ... was persistent in his requests for sexual acts during their massage, including 'begging' her to put her mouth on his penis." 

The report also says Watson made some of the therapists sign non-disclosure agreements that were provided by the Texans, though the scope of the non-disclosure was not specified — it's not uncommon, for example, for a team to have a third-party sign an NDA to not disclose any injury information.

The 24th allegation was made official Monday. Rusty Hardin, Watson's attorney, said the legal team could not respond to that specific allegation because they have yet to investigate it, and offered only that Watson maintains he's innocent of all allegations.

My take: I need a shower just writing these anymore. The Browns should be ashamed. There's a disturbing pattern in these encounters with these therapists. The National Football League should put Watson on the restricted list immediately and re-open its investigation. A reminder: The NFL has banned Calvin Ridley for one year for betting an alleged $1,500 on games while he was away from the team for mental health reasons in November. Josh Gordon has missed three full seasons and parts of others for smoking pot. If they can't see this is worse than those, they're beyond redemption. — Bob

ANGELS FIRE MADDON DUE
TO LONG LOSING STREAK

Tuesday, June 7: The Angels fired manager Joe Maddon Tuesday, in response to an ongoing 12-game losing streak, the longest single-season streak in franchise history. Phil Nevin has been named interim manager for he remainder of the season.

Maddon, 68, was in his third season with Anaheim. The team got off to a strong start this season, going 27-17 before the closing streak, which has included epic, late-game collapses. He finished his Angels tenure with a 157-172 record, never having a winning season.

Nevin, who was a third-base coach for the Yankees the last three seasons, will manage at the major-league level for the first time. He takes over an underperforming roster which is costing ownership $190.8 million. The team is currently in second place in the American League West, 8.5 games behind the Astros, but only one-half game out of the sixth and final playoff spot.

My take: Maddon's lost his touch since leaving Chicago. Obviously, this isn't all on him — he lost Mike Trout for most of last season — but as we've seen already with Joe Girardi, a manager on a high-payroll team is on a short leash. — Bob

JOHNSON HIGHEST-PROFILE 
GOLFER TO BOLT PGA TOUR

Tuesday, June 7: Former world No. 1 golfer Dustin Johnson has resigned from the PGA Tour to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series tour, scheduled to begin this weekend outside of London at Centurion Golf Club. International star Sergio Garcia has also resigned from the PGA Tour, joining Kevin Na, Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Charl Schwartzel. 

Johnson, a two-time major winner at The Masters and the U.S.Open at Oakmont Country Club, said his intention was to play LIV exclusively for now, not knowing was the consequences might be. Without PGA Tour membership, golfers' participation in major tournaments might be affected. The Masters and the PGA Championship are aligned with the PGA Tour, while The Open Championship and the U.S. Open are USGA events, a separate organization which has not yet commented on LIV and any potential sections, if any.

The first LIV event this weekend conflicts with the Canadian Open, a PGA Tour event, and tour members need permission to opt out and play a different tour event. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan publicly stated that the organization would not be granting permission to any players to play LIV events, promising sanction for those who played them without permission, leaving players to decided whether to stay or resign to avoid consequences.

Johnson, who lost his Royal Bank of Canada sponsorship after saying he would skip the Canadian Open, is reported to have been offered up to $125 million to join LIV, according to Greg Norman, who is CEO of LIV Golf Investments. Norman also said Tiger Woods was offered a "mind-blowingly enormous" nine-digit sum to join LIV exclusively and a known offer $100 million to Jack Nicklaus — each declined.  

LIV Invitational tour events have no cuts — so guaranteed payouts for all invitees — three-day tournaments instead of the traditional four-day events not on the PGA Tour, larger purses — the week's winner will pocket $4 million. The Canadian open winner, by contrast, will make $1.556 million.

My take: This can't end well. Either the $2-billion backed LIV gets some recognition or there will be a second tour. LIV, though, will have less quality. Right now it's Johnson and a bunch of guys in their 40s. I doubt the PGA backs down. Restricting access to majors might be the trick for those players interested in legacy over dollars. — Bob

OT WINNER SENDS AVS
TO STANLEY CUP FINALS

Tuesday, June 7: Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen scored off a rebound at 1:19 of overtime to defeat the Oilers, 6-5, and win the Western Conference Finals, sending Colorado to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2001. It was reviewed for a high stick by Cale Makar, but determined to have been shoulder height:

Edmonton scored three times in the second period to take a 3-1 lead into the third period. Colorado defenseman Devon Toews scored in the first minute to get within one goal but Zach Hyman answered with his second of the game to restore the Oilers' two-goal lead. The Avalanche then scored three times in a 5:49 span to take a 5-4 lead. Edmonton pushed for the equalizer and Zack Kassian got it at 16:38, forcing the extra period after the teams combined for six goals.

Makar had a goal and four assists while a hobbled Leon Draisaitl led Edmonton with a four-point night, all assists.

FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Colorado now awaits the Eastern Conference winner. The Rangers lead the Lightning two games to one, with Game 4 scheduled Tuesday night in Tampa.

My take: It was an entertaining series despite the sweep. Good thing Darcy Kuemper seems ready to get back in net as Pavel Francouz was exposed in Game 4. Fortunately for the Avs, Mike Smith was even worse at the other end. It was a decent run for Edmonton, but they better invest in a Cup-level goaltender next season or it will be a bunch of the same moving forward. This Avs team has it all. Needing to open up in the third, they were able to come back and take a lead. They can beat you any which way. — Bob

CASSIDY SHOWN DOOR IN 
BOSTON DESPITE SUCCESS

Monday, June 6: The Bruins fired head coach Bruce Cassidy Monday after six successful seasons at the helm, including an Eastern Conference Championship in 2019. General manager Don Sweeney did not offer much in a press release: “After taking some time to fully digest everything, I felt that the direction of our team for both this season and beyond would benefit from a new voice.” Team president Cam Neely said after this year's playoff exit that he thought Cassidy was "a fantastic coach" and acknowledged that he agreed with Cassidy that some changes would need to be made, though it do not seem to indicate Cassidy was among them.

Cassidy led Boston to a .672 points percentage in his tenure, going 245-108-46 in 399 games. The Bruins made the playoffs in each of his six seasons, never finishing worse than fourth in the conference, after taking over for Claude Julien for the last 27 games of the 2016 season. Boston was 51-26-5 (107 points) this season, good for fourth in the East, but lost in the first round to the Hurricanes in seven games.

My take: That's a very good hockey coach. Couldn't grab the brass ring, but he was without Tuukka Rask for most of the last two seasons, and he always gave them their best chance in the playoffs. So, who's the new coach in Boston? Barry Trotz would seem a good fit. — Bob

DONALD GETS RECORD DEAL
OVER FINAL THREE YEARS

Monday, June 6: Aaron Donald set another record Monday, this time off the field. The seven-time, first-team All-Pro got a reworked deal from the Rams, increasing the value of the last three years of his current deal to $95 million, making Donald the highest-paid non-quarterback in the history of the National Football League and passing T.J. Watt as the highest-paid defensive player. The first two years of the deal, totaling $65 million, is fully guaranteed.

Donald publicly said he was considering retirement following the Rams' Super Bowl win in February, but decided to come back. Recently, he asked for a restructured contract.

My take: Well deserved. Every Pittsburgh-area person knows that his man is done off the hardest, if not the hardest, working players in the game. A true force of nature who brings it every day. Congrats to him ... and Pitt football, which I'm sure will be a beneficiary of Donald's windfall. — Bob

WALTON EXPECTED TO BE
NEW OWNER OF BRONCOS

Monday, June 6: Rob Walton, a Walmart heir, is expected to become the new owner of the Broncos, according to a report by Forbes. Walton's winning bid for the team is expected to be $4.5 billion. 

The bidding process is not over. Four bidders were expected to make offers by Monday's 3 p.m. deadline but the Broncos trust, which is overseeing the sale, has little choice, mandated to take the highest bid regardless of other factors.

An announcement on the new owner or ownership group is expected by the end of June. The National Football League's owners would then need to approve the sale, which is considered a rubber-stamp procedure at this point.

My take: Four. Point. Five. Billion. Wow. That's obscene, if one thinks about it. For all the NFL gets wrong, it knows how to grow a business. — Bob

KANE SUSPENDED, WILL
MISS ELIMINATION GAME

Monday, June 6: [Ed. note: Parts of this report appeared in an earlier post] 

Oilers forward Evander Kane has been suspended for Monday's critical Game 4 for his boarding of Avalanche center Nazem Kadri during the opening minutes of Saturday's Game 3:

Tha Oilers trail three games to none. Kane has been a top scorer for Edmonton in these playoffs, scoring 13 goals and four assists in 15 games, and will now miss the Oilers' elimination game.

The Avalanche announced Sunday that center Nazem Kadri will miss the rest of the Western Conference Finals "if not longer," according to head coach Jared Bednar due to an "upper body injury" suffered on the hit. Saturday, Bednar called the hit "the most dangerous play in hockey," and captain Gabriel Landeskog said, "You're taught from a young age that you don't do that. Especially in that distance from the boards."

Kane called the result "unfortunate," during a postgame interview but downplayed the incident, saying, "I was just trying get a bump on him. That's all I did. Unfortunately, he went into the boards awkwardly and hurt his hands."

My take: I'm shocked, to be honest. So boarding and high-sticking bad, intent to injure with direct hits to the head good, if you''re keeping score at home. If Kadri hadn't been injured, this would have been fine, which proves how gross the NHL's DOPS is. Kane's "bump" now puts the Oilers in a bind. His speed and hands were a major asset to Edmonton down the stretch and through these playoffs. Now they will have to beat an already superior Avalanche team without him. Looking more and more like a sweep. — Bob