The Avalanche’s aspirations of returning to the Stanley Cup were dashed late Friday night when they lost 2-1 in double overtime against the Dallas Stars.

Former Avalanche player Matt Duchene scored the game-winning goal, allowing the Dallas Stars to advance to the Western Conference final.

Duchene, who began his professional career in Denver, grabbed a loose puck in front of the net and blasted it over a sprawled-out Alexandar Georgiev. Duchene raced down the ice and sank to his knees in celebration.

Dallas Stars will play either Edmonton Oilers or the Vancouver Cunucks next. The Dallas Stars are making their second straight trip to the conference finals, having fallen to eventual Stanley Cup champion Vegas last season. The Stars won their sole Stanley Cup championship in 1999.

This was a series in which the road team won five of six games, with the Stars winning all three in Denver. The Avalanche were the best home team throughout the regular season, while the Stars had the best away record.

After winning the Stanley Cup two years earlier, the Avalanche finished the season 50-25-7.

Dallas Stars Avalanche Highlights

NEW YORK — The NFL has distanced itself from Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, stating that “his views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”

Butker spoke at the commencement ceremony at Benedictine College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution in Kansas, last week and claimed most of the graduating ladies were likely more enthused about getting married and having children.

NFL Distances Itself From Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker’s Comments During Commencement Speech

Butker also said that some Catholic officials were “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.”

“Harrison Butker gave a speech in his personal capacity,” said Jonathan Beane, NFL senior vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, in a statement issued on Thursday. “His opinions do not represent the NFL as an organization. The NFL remains unwavering in its commitment to inclusion, which only strengthens our league.”

The three-time Super Bowl champion gave his about 20-minute speech Saturday at the school in Atchison, Kansas, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) north of Kansas City. He earned a standing ovation from graduates and other attendees.

Butker, who has made his conservative Catholic convictions known, also criticized Pride Month, which is especially crucial for the LGBTQ+ rights movement, as well as President Joe Biden’s abortion stance.

“I think it is you, the women, who have had the most diabolical lies told to you,” Butker concluded.

NFL Distances Itself From Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker’s Comments During Commencement Speech

“Some of you may go on to have excellent jobs in the world, but I believe the bulk of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into the world. I can guarantee you that my lovely wife Isabelle would be the first to state that her life truly began when she began to live her vocation as a wife and mother,” he said.

Butker, 28, claimed his wife accepted “one of the most important titles of all.” Homemaker.”

Butker also chastised The Associated Press for emphasizing a move toward conservativism in some sectors of the church.

Butker also made an oblique allusion to Pride Month, referring to a “deadly sin sort of pride that has a month dedicated to it.” Butker also criticized Biden’s views, such as his rejection of the Supreme Court’s reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling and support for abortion rights, which are significant campaign topics in the 2024 presidential race.

NFL Distances Itself From Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker’s Comments During Commencement Speech

The 2017 seventh-round pick from Georgia Tech has emerged as one of the NFL’s greatest kickers, breaking the Chiefs franchise record with a 62-yard field goal in 2022. Butker helped them win their first Super Bowl in 50 years in 2020, added a second Lombardi Trophy in 2023, and kicked the game-winning field goal in overtime against San Francisco in February.

SOURCE – (AP)

NEW YORK — Caitlin Clark set a ticket sales record for the New York Liberty in her debut game in the Big Apple on Saturday.

The Liberty earned more than $2 million in ticket income for the game, setting a WNBA record, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss the team’s earnings.

Clark Helps Liberty Become 1st WNBA Team To Have $2M In 1-Game Ticket Revenue

“That’s incredible,” Liberty star Breanna Stewart said when she learned about the record ticket sales. “I believe that the noise and attention that Caitlin has brought from Iowa to the WNBA is a collective win for everyone. When I initially joined in the league, teams were not earning money. It’s been a long time coming. I’m glad to be here, but not satisfied.”

The game had sold out, and tickets were in high demand on the secondary market. Clark’s first three games with the Indiana Fever have been quite well attended. The Connecticut Sun sold out their home opener for the first time in twenty years. Over 17,000 people attended the Fever’s home opener versus New York on Thursday night.

Clark had one of the best games of her brief professional career on Saturday, scoring 22 points, 15 of which came in the first half, but the Fever fell 91-80.

Clark Helps Liberty Become 1st WNBA Team To Have $2M In 1-Game Ticket Revenue

She got going early against the Liberty, scoring 10 points in the first quarter, more than she did two days earlier in Indianapolis when she only had nine. She was more secure attacking on offense, hitting several of her trademark deep 3-pointers.

The league’s top overall pick was no stranger to performing on the greatest platforms, having introduced many new fans to the sport during her time at Iowa. She helped the Hawkeyes reach the NCAA championship game the previous two seasons and has regularly played in front of sellout crowds, such as the one in New York on Saturday.

Clark Helps Liberty Become 1st WNBA Team To Have $2M In 1-Game Ticket Revenue

Clark had averaged 14.5 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds throughout her first two games.

She spent 10 minutes before the game signing autographs for scores of fans who had waited patiently for the rookie.

SOURCE – (AP)