Ball girl #050: Forget Lions and Tigers and Bears, OH MY

And let's be real....I'm so much more afraid of an AVALANCHE than lightning. Just saying Tampa....yea I get that it made sense with the whole "Florida" thing but you had more formidable natural phenomenons to choose from.....  

Want the scoop on sports but don’t feel like translating ‘bro’ language? You’ve come to the right place.

Can I have your number?

-190: the money line on the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup. Did we lose you like Doug in the Hangover? We gotcha, hun. All money line bets use the base metric of $100. So the “minus” actually means that Colorado are the favorite; in this scenario, you’d have to bet $190 dollars on the Avs winning in order to make $100. Why’s that? Sports books don’t want you putting a ton of money on the guy most likely to win.

+155: the money line on the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Stanley Cup. Don’t worry...the Hangover had a sequel and so does this explanation. This means that Tampa is the underdog. If you were to bet $100 on them winning and they do, you’d pocket $155.

Want to know more about sports betting and why the experts think the Avs will rise and the Lightning will fall? Subscribe to this newsletter produced by Overtime: Even The Odds. Read up, maybe make some money, and become the “it” girl in every room.

NBA

Boston Celtics (2) vs. Golden State Warriors (3): Is there rain in the forecast? Because Celtics need a rainbow with a pot of gold at the end of it.

• Because in Game 5 of the NBA Championships, Golden State made it SHINE. Ironically, Steph Curry (GSW's best player) didn’t score a single three pointer the entire game. That’s the first time this has happened in his post season career ever. So how did Golden State secure the win? Andrew. ~Wait for it~ Wiggins. He had 26 points and 13 rebounds, but most of those came in the 4th quarter when it mattered most. Meanwhile, the Celtics had 18 turnovers. So yea...Golden State played well but Boston also did themselves dirty.

GSW have a chance to end it all Thursday Night but Celtics' MVP Jayson Tatum is prettttty confident he’ll be back in San Fran one more time for a Game 7…

NHL

Stanley Cup final series starts TONIGHT

If you read our last newsletter, you’ll get this reference: time to decide if you’re team Edward or team Jacob. Let’s break down the teams in the Stanley Cup final. First team to four wins gets to hoist the cup in victory.

Tampa Bay Lightning (aka, Edward): they have history on their side, and are on their quest to be a sports DYNASTY by being the first team to win 3 cups in a row since the Islanders in the 80s. Here’s why they have a shot at it:

• Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy is absolutely slaying the house for the Lightning. He’s known for coming in clutch, especially during series-deciding games.

• Adaptable: the Lightning are like the empath of the NHL — they’re really good at catching the vibe mid-series and then making changes based on how the other team is playing.

• Key Players: Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos lead the Lightning in scoring. Also Brayden Point, talented center, has been out due to injury but is expected to rejoin the squad this series.

Colorado Avalanche (aka, Jacob): they have been slowly building up momentum the past couple years and now is their time to finally wreak havoc — much like (yes, I'm gonna do it) an avalanche. Here’s why:

• Style of play: This team is known for their brute physicality and offensive energy across the ice.

• Hunger: Just a few years ago, in 2016/17, the Avs had one of the worst hockey seasons ever recorded (I’m not being dramatic). Since then, they’ve slowly acquired talent and built up a winning team. They’ve been knocking at the door the last couple years and are not about to take this chance lightly.

• Key Players: Cale Makar is the best defenseman in the league and leads the Avs in points. Nazem Kadri is a wild card and can make s*** happen. Finally, Nathan MacKinnon is the Avs premier forward (read: he scores hella goals).

— its like the triwizard cup but not —

MLB

We must protect Joey Votto at all costs

• Before the Cincinnati Reds vs. Arizona Diamondbacks game on Monday, a young fan was holding up a sign, asking the Reds’ Joey Votto to do a TikTok with her.

• Naturally, Votto organized an entire routine with the girl… and we are SO here for it. Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase must be SHAKING now that Joey Votto has the best Griddy in Cincinnati.

• Votto is never too “big” to interact with fans or sign autographs. How can you not love this guy?

Atlanta is staying hot

• After a 10-4 win against the Washington Nationals, the Atlanta braves extended their winning streak to 13 games in a row!

• In last night’s W, the Braves hit 5 bombs. The Braves have hit back-to-back homers in their last 3 games… but this time, Hotlanta did it twice: Travis D’Arnaud and Marcell Ozuna in the 3rd and Orlando Arcia and Michael Harris II in the 6th.

Golf

Guess what! There’s a US Open that’s not for tennis!

• The U.S Open kicks off this Thursday at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts (you know you’ve made it big if you are called THE country club) and will run through Sunday.

• The Course: TLDR it’s hard AF…it has ridiculously small greens. For my non golfers out there? There’s less friendly area for the ball to land :) .

• The Purse: $2.25 million to be split among the winners. But come in first? You’ll automatically qualify for the U.S Open for the next 10 years….anndddd be invited to play in the other three major tournaments and the Players Championship for the next five years. So yea this is kinda a BFD

• The DRAMA: there are several golfers who played at the breakaway LIV tournament last weekend. The PGA has since BANNED these golfers from its events but it has no power of who can and can’t compete in the US Open. AKA, we have 11 PGA defectors taking the field.

Check out the beautiful (and brutal) course:

Must Watches This Week

Wednesday, June 15:

• 8:00pm ET: Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, NHL: Game 1 of the Stanley cup final y'all!!!!

Thursday, June 16:

• 6:45am ET: first tee off for the U.S Open, Golf.

• 9:00pm ET: Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors, NBA: Golden State can bring the title home or Boston can keep the dream alive.

Time Out for the Tea

Steph Curry says, KEEP MY WIFE'S NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH (But without the physical altercation)

• Cisco Brewery in Nantucket, a Bostonian Vacationer’s STAPLE, recently had this sign outside of their door. The pic went viral. Well, so did Curry’s t shirt that he wore to the Game 5 post game interview.

Faux Klay Thompson successfully sneaks into Chase Center

• Dawson Gurley looks a concerning amount like Klay Thompson….like more than Emma Mackey Looks like Margot Robbie. In fact, he’s such a convincing doppelgänger that he literally WALKED PAST 5 layers of security at the Chase Center, took the court, and started shooting around! Security thought they were just letting in King Klay. Gurley pulled off the ultimate prank but at a high cost- he’s now permanently banned from the Chase Center. Oof.

Gurley is on the left…IDK do you see it????