Mystik Dan, the horse who won the Kentucky Derby by a nose in the race’s closest finish in more than a half-century, is still scheduled to compete in the Preakness next weekend, keeping the possibility of another Triple Crown success alive.

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Kentucky Derby Winner Mystik Dan Is Heading To The Preakness After All

Trainer Kenny McPeek announced the decision Saturday after consulting with owners and assessing the benefits and drawbacks of running his horse again on such a short, two-week turnaround. He was initially concerned about the timing since Mystik Dan performed poorly under similar conditions in November.

But he liked what he saw in training and decided to take a chance.

“All systems are go,” McPeek said Saturday. “The horse is doing fantastic.”

The possibility that Mystik Dan, who finished just ahead of Sierra Leone and Forever Young in the 1 1/4-mile race at Churchill Downs last weekend thanks to a perfect rail-skimming ride by jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., will not compete in the Preakness next Saturday has raised questions about the race’s status. The Derby winner has not run twice in the preceding four years, due to various situations.

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Kentucky Derby Winner Mystik Dan Is Heading To The Preakness After All

McPeek, who won the pandemic-delayed 2020 Preakness with filly Swiss Skydiver, who defeated Derby champion Authentic, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to travel to Baltimore.

No one has won the Derby and the Preakness since the previous Triple Crown winner, Justify, in 2018 for Hall of Famer Bob Baffert. Mystik Dan’s decision would result in a first: a Triple Crown on the line at Saratoga Race Course, where the Belmont will be staged for the next two years while the race’s longtime home on Long Island is demolished and rebuilt as part of a mammoth $455 million rebuilding project.

But Mystik Dan might not be the Preakness favorite. That title is likely to go to Muth, one of two horses brought by Baffert, who was once again barred from entering horses in the Derby due to a Churchill Downs ban imposed when Medina Spirit failed a drug test after coming first in the event in 2021.

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Kentucky Derby Winner Mystik Dan Is Heading To The Preakness After All

The only other Derby winner scheduled to compete in the Preakness is 17th-place finisher Just Steel, trained by 88-year-old Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas.

SOURCE – (AP)

Raleigh, North Carolina – The New York Rangers have carried the form that earned them the NHL’s best regular-season record into the tournament. And that puts them within one win of being the first team to reach the conference finals.

The Rangers face the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 4 on Saturday night, with the President’s Trophy winner on the verge of sweeping past the third-place team in the NHL rankings. They’re also the first club in 16 years to open a postseason 7-0, thanks to a 3-2 overtime triumph at Carolina on Thursday.

“You don’t really think about it,” Rangers forward Jack Roslovic explained. “You’re simply rolling; you’re playing great hockey. Everyone is clicking at the appropriate time, the goalies are performing admirably, the systems appear to be functioning properly, and the matches appear to be effective. So you keep trying to do the same things.”

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Rangers Aim For Sweep Of Hurricanes In 2nd Round Of NHL Playoffs

New York opened the playoffs by sweeping Washington in Round One. According to Sportradar, another sweep would make them the first club to open the playoffs with eight straight wins since the Edmonton Oilers won nine straight in 1985 on their way to winning the Stanley Cup.

Pittsburgh last went 7-0 in 2008 before losing to Detroit in the Cup final. New York also achieved it in 1994, on their way to their most recent Cup victory. Now they’ll try to finish off the Hurricanes on their home ice in front of a noisy crowd.

“We know what we’re getting into; we have to be prepared, and we have to play our game within that framework,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said.

Carolina is facing a harsh and familiar reality, especially after acquiring forward Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, indicating that the organization saw this season as its best chance to go all-in as a multi-year Cup contender under Rod Brind’Amour.

Carolina’s last eight postseason losses have all been by one goal, with five coming in overtime, dating back to last year’s sweep by Florida in the Eastern Conference Final.

Brind’Amour has expressed satisfaction with the team’s 5-on-5 performance. But the Rangers are winning the series on special teams, and Carolina’s power play, which ranked second in the regular season, has failed at the worst possible time. Carolina has gone 0 for 5 with the man advantage in all three games, and New York’s game-changing shorthanded goal from Chris Kreider in Game 3 added to their frustrations.

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Rangers Aim For Sweep Of Hurricanes In 2nd Round Of NHL Playoffs

With Carolina allowing four power-play goals in Games 1 and 2, the Rangers have outscored the Hurricanes 5-0 on special teams in a series determined by a combined margin of three goals.

“Everyone knows what’s going on and what situation we’re in,” forward Seth Jarvis said. Like I said before, being negative and down is not going to help anyone.”

Valeri Nichushkin has continued to score goals for the Avalanche this postseason, even when his stick is not on the ball. He can shatter a 32-year-old NHL record when their second-round Western Conference series moves to Colorado for Game 3.

Nichushkin has scored in all seven games this season, the most recent on a puck that ricocheted off his right thigh in Game 2 at Dallas, tying Pat LaFontaine’s record for the longest goal streak to begin a postseason (for Buffalo in 1992). This also tied the Avs franchise record for longest postseason streak with Claude Lemieux and Joe Sakic.

While 2013 Stars first-round pick Nichushkin is on a scoring run, some of Dallas’ current players may be discovering their offensive game.

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Rangers Aim For Sweep Of Hurricanes In 2nd Round Of NHL Playoffs

Top-line center Roope Hintz had only one point in the Stars’ first eight playoff games, an empty-net goal. But he got a goal and three assists in their 5-3 victory Thursday night, tying the series at one game apiece.

Tyler Seguin, a six-time All-Star forward, scored his first goal in the playoffs on a short-handed shot that proved to be the game-winner in Game 2. Esa Lindell scored his first on a late empty-netter with an assist from Hintz, who also assisted on both defenseman Miro Heiskanen’s two power-play goals.

“They want to win. “They want to make a difference, and they’re used to doing so,” said coach Pete DeBoer. “So it’s critical that those guys started to score, and we got scoring from the right guys.”

SOURCE – (AP)

INDIANAPOLIS — On Thursday night, Caitlin Clark entered her new venue, which was covered in No. 22 jerseys and shirts from floor to ceiling.

Being a first-time WNBA champion, she left.

A belated but raucous audience cheered when Clark hit her first basket, a layup with 7:00 remaining in the first quarter, and during her formal presentation to Fever supporters. When she eventually made a deep 3-pointer from the edge of the Fieldhouse logo late in the third quarter, the applause intensified and increased when she finished a three-point play a few minutes later.

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A Boisterous Audience Thunderously Applauds Caitlin Clark As Fever Wins 83–80 To Make Her Home Debut.

Yes, even though it wasn’t quite the expected start, Clark managed to pull off the city’s most anticipated rookie debut since Peyton Manning played for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts in 1998.

In 31 minutes, Clark scored 12 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 6 turnovers, and 2 of 9 three-pointers in an 83-80 preseason victory over the Atlanta Dream.

“I thought they were loud and into it, and it was a lot of fun.” After her home debut, Clark remarked, “It was entertaining to watch.” There are 13,000 spectators for this Thursday night preseason game. That, in my opinion, merely illustrates what this season will be like for us. It will be beneficial to us.

After last week’s preseason opener loss at Dallas, the Fever rallied from an early double-digit hole on Thursday with the crowd’s support, which undoubtedly had an impact.

One of the girls held a banner that said, “Welcome to Indy Caitlin! — Caitlin M.”

Officially, 13,028 people attended, almost three times more than Indiana’s average of a little over 4,000 people per game for their 20 home regular-season games in 2023. Following that, Clark ran into a close friend and erstwhile college teammate, Gabbie Marshall, and the two clicked a picture.

Even for the postponed contest, most people came to witness Clark.

The NBA announced that the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks would play Game 3 of their best-of-seven series at that time. Hence, Indiana’s original Friday schedule was shifted.

After playing college ball just a month ago, Clark—the WNBA’s overall No. 1 draft pick—has quickly adapted to the pro game. Furthermore, there wasn’t as much fanfare and fanciness surrounding this game as one might have thought.

With music playing and the stands beginning to fill, Clark completed her pregame warm-ups quietly and intently. But as the game began, it was all business for Clark & Co.

I don’t think I was all that effective, Clark remarked. Above all, I performed excellently, finding my teammates and passing the ball. Granted, I would have preferred to make a few more threes, but sometimes that’s how things work out.

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A Boisterous Audience Thunderously Applauds Caitlin Clark As Fever Wins 83–80 To Make Her Home Debut.

Not all of the blame could be placed on Clark.

Naturally, opponents plot their moves to slow down the most-scoring player in NCAA Division I history. Atlanta’s strategy was to physically attack Clark to remove her from her location and use hard closeouts and numerous defenders to force the ball out of her hands.

As a result, Clark had trouble early on as the Fever trailed, and her teammates had trouble turning her precise passes into baskets. However, they also got a sneak peek at what this season might hold.

With a game-high 21 points, Nalyssa Smith stated, “She pushes the pace for us, she gets the ball where it needs to be, if you run the floor you’ve got to look up because the ball is coming.” “She’s looking to pass the ball, she can spread the floor, and everybody can score.”

Clark was a huge hit and a welcomed change for a team looking for a revival throughout it all. She’s brought women’s basketball more attention and interest than most of her predecessors, which has given her a platform that few others have, and she’s making the most of it.

Because of her presence and those of the other players in what is arguably the most anticipated rookie class in WNBA history, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert said earlier this week that she plans to spend $50 million on charter aircraft over the next two seasons.

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A Boisterous Audience Thunderously Applauds Caitlin Clark As Fever Wins 83–80 To Make Her Home Debut.

Some opponents have shifted their games to bigger facilities to accommodate ticket sales due to the intrigue around Clark, and a team that has yet to make the playoffs since 2016 will now have 36 of its 40 regular-season games broadcast nationally.

For Clark, performing in front of a packed house has become second nature. This might be the beginning of something greater than her coaches and teammates could have ever dreamed, particularly for a player who represents a generation like Clark, who has enthusiastically embraced her new hometown.

“This is the best part of it, in my opinion,” Clark remarked. “You have to compete every night, and if one of those nights is bad for us, you can always come back and answer a few days later. Everyone is thrilled, and I believe this bunch will be prepared for the regular season.

SOURCE – (AP)