SI

Tuesday’s Hot Clicks: Over 13,000 Fans Packed a Football Stadium to Watch the Raptors

The flag football league went on as scheduled. 

Dan Gartland

@HiltzAndrew/Twitter

Raptors fever has swept across all of Canada

Need more evidence that the entire country of Canada is getting behind the Raptors? Look no further than Regina, Saskatchewan.

After a Game 4 watch party attracted more than 2,500 people to a downtown plaza, city officials decided to open up the football stadium and show the game on the big screen there. The scene was absolutely incredible.

According to the company that runs the stadium, more than 13,000 people showed up to the stadium to watch the game. (UPDATE: The official figure was 13,838.) The Regina metro area has a population of over 236,000 people, which means about 5% of the area’s residents were in the house to cheer on the Raps.

The real winners of the night, though, were the players in the local co-ed flag football league, whose games went on as scheduled on the field.

You have to feel for KD

Kevin Durant’s return was supposed to inject some added intrigue into the NBA Finals, but it only lasted 12 minutes. KD hobbled back to the locker room after re-injuring his lower leg in nearly the same way he originally hurt himself.

Unfortunately, the injury itself was not the same. You didn’t have to be a doctor to tell from this close-up view that something bad had happened.

Warriors GM Bob Myers got choked up while announcing to the media that Durant had injured his Achilles tendon.

Credit to KD, though, for keeping his spirits high after a devastating injury.

Weak sauce

Pirates starter Joe Musgrove was ejected after throwing a first-inning pitch that hit Josh Donaldson (in the shirt).

The benches cleared, predictably, and home plate umpire Brian Gorman tossed Musgrove, Donaldson and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle.

Jameson Taillon, Musgrove’s teammate, rightfully called out Gorman for screwing the Pirates’ pitchers with his quick trigger finger.

The best of SI

Rohan Nadkarni’s column on the handling of Durant’s injury from Sunday is prescient in retrospect. ... The USWNT begins its World Cup title defense today against Thailand. ... This U.S. Open is a return to the site of his dominant 2000 Open for Tiger Woods.

Around the sports world

Dabo Swinney says he has to be “like Osama Bin Dabo” to recruit in Alabama these days. ... Former Auburn head coach Terry Bowden is joining the Clemson staff as an unpaid intern. ... Four UNC pitchers combined to allow 13 runs in the first inning of an elimination game against Auburn. ... This Kawhi Leonard “Board Man” game is simple, hilarious and addictive. ... The Red Sox moved up their game on Wednesday because of the Stanley Cup Game 7.

Chills.

Bad night for this guy

Drake didn’t cover his Warriors tattoos

drake-game-5-outfit.jpg
Ron Turenne/Getty Images

How has no one done this before?

OBJ in the stands

The Phillies and D-Backs set a record with 13 combined homers

What did the racket do to you, bud?

Moment of prayer for David Ortiz at Fenway

First look at the new Madden gameplay

Content is unavailable

Oh fun, another football league that will fail

I’m shocked this isn’t in America

Lighten up, Kruky

Not sports

Scientists discovered a plant that eats baby salamanders. ... A missing $450 million painting believed to be the work of Leonardo Da Vinci is reportedly being stashed on the Saudi crown prince’s yacht. ... Some guy claims to have seen Avengers: Endgame 103 times. That’s over 300 hours in the movie theater since April 26.

Even the Amish can do donuts

They’re making an Avengers video game

A good song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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