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Defector

Ray Ratto

MONTREAL, CANADA - MAY 27: Joe Veleno #90, Jakub Dobes #75, and Mike Matheson #8 of the Montreal Canadiens look on from the bench during the third period in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes at Bell Centre on May 27, 2026 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The Canadiens Have A Weird Fetish For Not Shooting The Puck And They’re Making It Everybody’s Problem

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 26: Mitch Marner #93 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after defeating the Colorado Avalanche 2-1in Game Four of the Western Conference Final of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena on May 26, 2026 at T-Mobile Arena on May 26, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images)

Vegas Is Built For Springtime

Head coach Mike Brown of the New York Knicks reacts against the Atlanta Hawks during the first quarter of game four of the Eastern Conference first round playoffs.

Mike Brown Is Turning Skeptics Into Believers

What If The Canadiens Are Just This Good?

Junior Caminero #13, Richie Palacios #1 and Jonathan Aranda #8 of the Tampa Bay Rays celebrate after defeating the Baltimore Orioles 16-6 at Tropicana Field on May 18, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida.

The Tampa Bay Rays Are Still Flourishing, And Still Invisible

BUFFALO, NEW YORK - MAY 18: Alex Newhook #15 of the Montréal Canadiens celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Buffalo Sabres during overtime in Game Seven of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at KeyBank Center on May 18, 2026 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Joe Hrycych/Getty Images)

The Canadiens Must Be Blessed

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - CIRCA 1990: The Rocky statue stands atop the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1990. The statue of fictional character Rocky Balboa, as portrayed by actor Sylvester Stallone, was created for and used in the Rocky III movie. It was later located outside the Spectrum at the South Philadelphia Sports Complex. In 1990, it was temporarily moved to the top of the museum steps, which feature prominently in the original Rocky film, for the filming of Rocky V. In 2006, the statue was moved to a grassy area at street level on museum grounds. (Photo by James Drake/Getty Images)

Philadelphia Continues To Innovate In The Field Of Losing

Stephen Curry (30) speaks with coach Steve Kerr during the first half of Game 6 of the NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors in Oakland, California, on Thursday, June 13, 2019.

Steve Kerr Hasn’t Had Enough Just Yet

Daulton Varsho #5 of the Toronto Blue Jays collides into Victor Caratini #37 of the Minnesota Twins at home plate during the second inning at Target Field on May 1, 2026.

The American League Is Putting The Mid In Middling

Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche smiles during warmups ahead of Round Two Game Two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Minnesota Wild.

The Colorado Avalanche Don’t Need Luck

John Chayka speaks to media at a press conference he was announced as General Manager and Mats Sundin is introduced as Senior Executive Advisor of Hockey Operations of the Toronto Maple Leafs .

Everyone Is Already Mad At The New GM Of The Toronto Maple Leafs

Jakub Dobes #75, Alexandre Carrier #45 and Kaiden Guhle #21 of the Montréal Canadiens celebrate after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 3, 2026.

The Canadiens Butted Their Way Into An Upset

Manager Tony Vitello #23 of the San Francisco Giants relieves Landen Roupp #65 in the fifth inning of a game against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 2, 2026.

The San Francisco Giants Have Never Cast A Smaller Shadow

Logan Stankoven #22 of the Carolina Hurricanes shoots the puck for a goal against goalie Dan Vladar #80 of the Philadelphia Flyers in Game One of the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Hurricanes Aim To Keep It Boring

Tyrese Maxey #0 of the Philadelphia 76ers reacts during the first half of a game against the Boston Celtics in Game Six of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs.

The Sixers And Flyers Claim Home Court Over Bruce Springsteen

Jose Alvarado #5 of the New York Knicks celebrates a three point basket against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half of a game in Game Six of the First Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs on April 30, 2026.

Sheesh!

TAMPA, FL - APRIL 29: Montréal Canadiens right wing Ivan Demidov (93) checks Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Emil Lilleberg (78) into the boards in the third period during game five of the first round playoff series between the Montreal Canadians and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, April 29. 2026 at Benchmark Intl Arena in Tampa, FL (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

These Canadiens Will Not Be Pushed Around

Jose Soriano of the Los Angeles Angels warms up in the outfield prior to the game between the Los Angeles Angels and the Chicago White Sox on April 28, 2026.

The Angels Might Just Have A Dude In Jose Soriano

Morez Johnson Jr. of the Michigan Wolverines dunks the ball during the National Semifinal game of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Arizona Wildcats at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 04, 2026.

College Basketball

Who Actually Wants A Bigger NCAA Tournament?

Manager Carlos Mendoza of the New York Mets removes Kodai Senga #34 from the game during the fourth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 17, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.

It’s Almost Time For MLB’s Underachievers To Rearrange Some Deck Chairs

ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 26: Connor Murphy #5 , Trent Frederic #10, Darnell Nurse #25 and Tristan Jarry #35 of the Edmonton Oilers fill the goal after a shot by Ryan Poehling #25 of the Anaheim Ducks trickled over the line for a goal during the overtime period of Game Four of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center on April 26, 2026 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

The Oilers, As Usual, Have Bigger Problems

Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees reacts after hitting a two-run home run during the game against the Kansas City Royals at Yankee Stadium on April 19, 2026 in New York.

The Yankees Want To Dress Like All The Other Baseball Teams

A little girl sits on the lap of the easter bunny and looks skeptical

Minor Dilemmas

Is It Wrong To Use The Fear Of A Vengeful Easter Bunny To Get My Kid To Eat?

Head coach Billy Donovan of the Chicago Bulls calls a timeout during the second half against the Houston Rockets at the United Center on March 23, 2026.

Billy Donovan Hops Onto The NBA’s Slow-Moving Coaching Carousel

EDMONTON, CANADA - APRIL 20: Kasperi Kapanen #42 of the Edmonton Oilers scores a first-period goal against Lukas Dostal #1 of the Anaheim Ducks during Game One of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place on April 20, 2026, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)