Happy Wednesday, everybody.
Let’s get proper to it.
Good morning to everybody however particularly to…
AUSTON MATTHEWS
Auston Matthews has won his first MVP award. It most likely will not be his final. The 24-year-old Maple Leafs celebrity gained the Hart Trophy, given to the league’s most precious player, by a large margin over second-place finisher Connor McDavid. Matthews additionally gained the Ted Lindsay Award, given to the league’s most outstanding player.
- Matthews is simply the third Maple Leaf — and the first in 67 years — to win the Hart Trophy, becoming a member of Ted Kennedy (1954-55) and Babe Pratt (1943-44).
- Matthews led the league with 60 objectives and 0.82 objectives per sport this season.
- Matthews was additionally named to the 2021-22 First All-Star Team together with goalie Igor Shesterkin, defensemen Roman Josi and Cale Makar, proper winger Mitchell Marner and left winger Johnny Gaudreau.
Here had been the other award winners from final evening:
- Norris Trophy (prime defenseman): Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
- Calder Trophy (prime rookie): Moritz Seider (Detroit Red Wings)
- Vezina Trophy (prime goalie): Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers)
Honorable mentions
And not such an excellent morning for…
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have already been boosted by one retirement and un-retirement this offseason (thanks, Tom Brady). Now, they will be hoping for a similar from one among his favorite targets. Rob Gronkowski called it a career yesterday, writing on Instagram, “[I’m] walking away from football again with my head held high knowing I gave it everything I had, good or bad, every time I stepped out on the field.”
This is not Gronkowski’s first retirement. He left the sport in 2019, missed all the regular season, after which reunited with Brady for 2020 and 2021 in Tampa. Gronkowski’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, even admitted he wouldn’t be surprised if Gronkowski returned if Brady called.
If Gronkowski is certainly executed, although, he leaves as one of many biggest tight ends of all time:
- 2010s All-Decade Team, five-time Pro Bowler, four-time first-team All-Pro, four-time Super Bowl champion, 2014 Comeback Player of the Year
- Third all-time amongst tight ends with 92 regular-season receiving touchdowns, solely behind Antonio Gates and Tony Gonzalez
- Second all-time with 15 playoff receiving touchdowns, solely behind Jerry Rice
It’s laborious to overstate Gronkowski’s impression. He was a terrific receiver, superb blocker and a relentless supply of pleasure each on and off the sphere. You can check out his best moments from both here. As for the on-field impression, this can be a large loss for the Buccaneers. They have 5 tight ends on their roster. Only one, Cameron Brate, has caught an NFL go. Three are rookies.
Also, Brady threw six touchdowns and zero interceptions whereas concentrating on Gronkowski final season, his best ratio of any goal. Here’s how he reacted to the information.
SportsLine knowledge professional Stephen Oh says that with Gronkowski retiring, the Buccaneers’ likelihood to win the NFC dropped from 22.1% to twenty.6%, and their likelihood to win the Super Bowl fell from 11.8% to 11.2%.
Brooks Koepka becoming a member of LIV Golf, Collin Morikawa staying with PGA Tour 🏌
As you learn briefly at the highest of yesterday morning’s e-newsletter, LIV Golf has reeled in its newest star: Brooks Koepka is joining the Saudi Arabia-backed league forward of its occasion in Portland subsequent week. Let’s go a bit deeper on this matter at this time:
- Koepka is a four-time main winner: 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open, 2018 and 2019 PGA Championship. He’s additionally a former world No. 1.
- At nineteenth within the newest Official World Golf Rankings, Koepka is the second-highest ranked golfer in LIV Golf, behind Dustin Johnson (fifteenth).
- Like Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Bryson DeChambeau, Koepka reportedly acquired hundreds of thousands of {dollars} to make the swap.
- Abraham Ancer can also be becoming a member of LIV Golf.
Koepka spent a lot of final week at the U.S. Open being annoyed with the amount of LIV Golf-related questions he received. However, it is easy to see why LIV’s deep pockets and laidback schedule fit Koepka properly. He hasn’t performed in a non-major occasion for the reason that finish of March, and four of his eight PGA Tour wins are majors (which he’ll nonetheless have the ability to play in); he does not appear to care as deeply or put together as a lot for the opposite occasions.
In a giant win for the PGA Tour, nevertheless, Collin Morikawa denied rumors he’s leaving for LIV Golf. The No. 4 player on the planet and two-time main winner tweeted he’s “here to stay on the PGA Tour.”
Deshaun Watson settles 20 of 24 civil lawsuits in opposition to him
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson reached confidential settlements in 20 of the 24 civil lawsuits alleging sexual misconduct in opposition to him.
Still, Watson is not out of the woods both legally or relating to a possible suspension from the NFL.
- There are nonetheless four circumstances in opposition to Watson, together with that of Ashley Solis, the unique accuser. Tony Buzbee, who represents all 24 accusers, referred to as Solis “one of the heroes of this story.”
- Watson might additionally face self-discipline from the NFL no matter how the remaining four circumstances prove. The NFL can tremendous or droop players for violations of the non-public conduct coverage.
- NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy launched an announcement saying, “Today’s development has no impact on the collectively bargained disciplinary process.”
Watson, 26, didn’t play final season and was traded from the Texans to the Browns in March, shortly after a grand jury determined to not file felony prices in opposition to him stemming from allegations of sexual misconduct. Cleveland instantly gave him a completely assured five-year, $230-million contract.
Rest in peace, Caleb Swanigan 🏀
Caleb Swanigan, the previous Purdue basketball star who performed elements of three seasons within the NBA, died on Monday night, Purdue introduced yesterday. He was 25.
- Swanigan overcame an especially tough childhood by which he moved between Utah and Indiana many occasions, stayed in homeless shelters and struggled with weight points. Former Purdue star Roosevelt Barnes coached Swanigan in grassroots basketball, took him in and grew to become his guardian, serving to him develop right into a McDonald’s All-American and one of many nation’s prime recruits.
- Swanigan was a power for Purdue, racking up Big Ten Player of the Year and several other All-America honors as a sophomore in 2016-17 earlier than coming into the NBA Draft.
- The Trail Blazers chosen him within the first spherical of the 2017 NBA Draft, and he additionally spent time within the G League and with the Kings. His final NBA season was 2019-20.
Swanigan struggled with weight points in his post-playing days, and he died of pure causes, in response to the Allen County coroner’s workplace. He was considered an excellent teammate who did a number of work with youth off the court, and his openness about his upbringing was really inspiring
Plenty of former teammates and NBA players — together with Jaylen Brown and Jusuf Nurkic — have expressed their condolences.
What we’re watching Wednesday 📺
🏀 Liberty at Sun, 7 p.m. on ESPN2
🏒 Stanley Cup Final Game 4: Avalanche at Lightning, 8 p.m. on ABC
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Rob Gronkowski retires… again, plus Auston Matthews cleans up at NHL Awards