SI:CYMI | Gritty Gets His Flowers

The Flyers are headed to the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Someone (Gritty) is always watching. | NHL / Screensho

Good morning! Sports Illustrated’s Stephen Douglas here with a bunch of links after a particularly Wednesday-ish middle of the week. Luckily, we have a full weekend of sports approaching, including the Kentucky Derby and the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2. Bill Simmons called the original the most rewatchable movie of the last 25 years and he’s probably not wrong. When that KT Tunstall song starts playing, you know you’re not getting up for the next two hours.

Sorry, what were we talking about? Oh, yeah, sports. Lots of links below. 

Send this to your friend who refuses to let eight dollars of Jarlsberg go to waste.

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The Headlines …

DAILY FOOTBALL CONTENT: Art Rooney II explained why the Steelers placed a rare tag on Aaron Rodgers while they wait for his latest decision. … Here are the ten best remaining free agents. Rodgers did not make the list. … The Cleveland Browns QB battle took a bleak turn this week as Deshaun Watson came out of minicamp as the favorite to be the starter. … Fernando Mendoza says he can be an a-hole when he’s playing football. … Howie Roseman and the Eagles were just trying to move up to get their man during that viral moment from the NFL draft. The Steelers just happened to get leapfrogged in the process. … Travis Kelce has beef with Meryl Streep. … The 2023 NFL draft fifth-year option tracker will give you an idea of how well that first round pick worked out. … The Rams really wanted Ty Simpson and were afraid the Cardinals would take him. … The Ravens coach Jesse Minter described Diego Pavia as a “force multiplier.”  … But what are Pavia’s chances of actually making the roster? Sports Illustrated’s Mike Kadlick broke down what he’s up against.

LIZ LEMON COURTSIDE: Tina Fey sat courtside next to a man-spreading Timothée Chalamet at Madison Square Garden for Game 5 of the Knicks-Hawks series. No, this is not a 30 Rock episode. … Victor Wembanyama was pleased with his first postseason series victory. … Angel Reese is fitting right in with her new team. … LeBron James has plans for retirement and they don’t involve broadcasting. … He also revealed that he doesn’t compare himself to Michael Jordan. I’m not sure if anyone has even considered doing that in the first place. ... The Celtics are dealing with the disappearance of one of their best players during their series against the Sixers. … Joel Embiid is just happy to be on the court. … 

UNSAFE AT HOME: Dalton Rushing is not making friends. … And he’s not getting the attention he deserves from umpires. … You’ve gotta see this Josh Naylor bat flip. … Juan Soto had some fun with Nationals catcher Drew Millas during a Mets win on Tuesday. … Another strange ABS-related situation took place in the Mariners-Twins game the other night. You never know what will happen when you turn on a game. 

Feed Refresher ...

FREE PIZZA: The Rockies beat the Reds 13-2 last night, but let’s go back to Tuesday’s game when the Reds beat the Rockies, 7-2. Neither game was ever really in doubt with the winning team jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of each game. That’s not to say there was no drama. The Reds entered the ninth inning on Tuesday with their pitchers having combined for 10 strikeouts. If they got to 11 all the fans won free pizza. To the surprise of no one, they got that strikeout thanks to an ABS challenge. If there was anyone on the fence about the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, this should win them over. If you’re against ABS, you’re against free pizza.

GRITTY WIN: The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 in overtime last night to win their first-round series in six games. Cam York scored the game-winner, but as usual the real star of the game was Gritty, who can turn any boring moment into one of the funniest things you’ll ever see by just standing still. The fact that the city of Philadelphia was home to the greatest mascot of all-time and then thought, we can get weirder than the Phillie Phanatic and then they did it? Gritty probably isn’t talked about enough.

What We’re Watching Tonight …

NBA: 

New York Knicks @ Atlanta Hawks—7 p.m. ET; ESPN

The Knicks have made it out of the first round in each of the previous three seasons. The Hawks have not won a first round series since the Trae Young Hawks beat the Knicks in the ‘21 playoffs. 

Boston Celtics @ Philadelphia 76ers—8 p.m. ET; NBCSN / Peacock

Joel Embiid played well in Game 5. Now the Sixers have a chance to even the series at home and then who knows what could happen. Whoever wins the series, Jayson Tatum has played 40-plus minutes in two of the last three games, so it seems pretty imperative for Boston to win tonight and get him some rest. 

Denver Nuggets @ Minnesota Timberwolves—9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN

The Timberwolves are a bit shorthanded, but they only need to win one game out of two. Who will step up for Minnesota as they try to beat one of the league’s greatest, most petty players? 

NHL: 

Dallas Stars @ Minnesota Wild—7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, HBO Max
Edmonton Oilers @ Anaheim Ducks—10 p.m. ET; TNT, truTV, HBO Max

The Ducks and Stars are both trying to force a Game 7. 

And that’s all the news you’ll ever need to know until tomorrow’s newsletter.

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