This season, LSU gymnastics made the NCAA Tournament for the 33rd time. But on Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas, the Tigers finally captured their elusive first national championship.

Despite a solid performance on the uneven parallel bars, the momentum left the Tigers and went to the Utah Utes, who took the lead heading into the fourth and final rotation, with the top three separated by less than two tenths.

It wasn’t easy on the balance beam, however. As difficult as it already is ending on beam, it was made even more so when Savannah Schoenherr fell. But even that wasn’t enough to slow down the Tigers. Aleah Finnegan finished the meet with a 9.95, giving LSU the title with a score of 198.225. Cal finished second with a 197.85, with Utah third with a 197.8 and Florida fourth with a 197.4375.

Utes mistakes help lead to Tigers’ title

Utah led after three and definitely had the momentum. The Utes were also finishing on the vault, widely considered to be the best event on which to end.

But then, each of the first two gymnasts fell, forcing a 9.675 to count. LSU jumped at the opportunity from the balance beam. The Tigers scored five 9.9s and set a program record on the beam in the process.

Rebound from floor mistake

KJ Johnson’s 9.2875 on the floor exercise could have spelled disaster for LSU. As just the third routine — a routine that followed back-to-back 9.9s — that needed to be the drop.

As it turned out, it was. Aleah Finnegan, Bryant, and Kiya Johnson all responded with 9.925s or better to drop KJ Johnson’s score and establish a lead through the first rotation.

Slow start on vault

After LSU’s first three vaults — KJ Johnson, Finnegan, and Amari Drayton — all ended up in the 9.8s, the other three teams were quick to capitalize.

Schoenherr tried to stem the tide with her 9.875, but despite posting the best score to this point, she still couldn’t break the 9.9 barrier. It took two consecutive 9.9s from Kiya Johnson and Bryant to right the ship, but not before the remaining teams — especially Utah — closed the gap.

The Los Angeles Chargers head coach kept a promise he made to his national champion Michigan team by getting a tattoo in honor of winning the College Football Playoff.

Videos of Harbaugh getting the tattoo on his right shoulder circulated on social media, and the finished product ended up being the skinny ‘M’ Michigan logo along 15-0, the record the Wolverines had en route to their first national championship since 1997.

After beating Washington in the national championship game, Harbaugh said at some point during the season he told his team if it went 15-0 and won the title, he would get a tattoo to commemorate the achievement. It was a startling promise considering Harbaugh doesn’t have any tattoos.

Even though he left the college ranks and will enter his first season back in the NFL with the Chargers, Harbaugh will have a lasting reminder of what he and Michigan did in the 2023-24 season.

Kevin Durant’s 31 points weren’t enough as the Phoenix Suns were routed 120-95 by Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in their Western Conference first-round playoff series opener on Saturday.

In Minnesota’s first win over Phoenix this season, Edwards put on a show. He scored a game-high 33 points (14-for-24, 4-for-8 from deep), grabbed nine rebounds, six assists and two steals.

Edwards’ final steal was at 3:40 left to play, which led to his open-court dunk to extend Minnesota’s lead to 18. Suns coach Frank Vogel conceded the loss after that play, and took out his starters after being down most of the game, including a 27-point deficit in the fourth.

Devin Booker had 18 points and Bradley Beal 15 for the Suns, and Phoenix’s top role player performances were from Royce O’Neale (14 points) and their big Jusuf Nurkic (nine points, four rebounds, three blocks, two steals).

Grayson Allen (4 points, 5 rebounds) left the game in the third quarter after spraining his ankle.

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert produced 14 points and a game-high 16 rebounds, and the team’s sixth man Naz Reid (12 points) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker had 18 points off the bench.

The Suns and Timberwolves play Game 2 on Tuesday,

CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers and Orlando Magic wanted to throw the first punch in their first-round NBA playoff series.

Well, the Cavs succeeded, landing a body blow Saturday afternoon with a 97-83 victory over the Magic in Game 1 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Tipoff for Game 2 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference series between the fourth-seeded Cavs (48-34 in the regular season) and fifth-seeded Magic (47-35) is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday in Cleveland.

The Cavs will look to further seize control with memories of last year’s 4-1 first-round series loss to the New York Knicks hanging over coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Co.

Cavs All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell didn’t let the left knee bone bruise he suffered in February noticeably slow him. He led all scorers with 30 points in Game 1. Center Jarrett Allen and forward Evan Mobley had 16 points apiece.

All-Star forward Paolo Banchero paced the Magic with 24 points. Forward Franz Wagner added 18.

The Cavs finished 36-of-81 shooting (44.4%) from the field (8 of 30 on 3-pointers). The Magic went 28-of-86 shooting (32.6%) from the floor (8 of 37 on 3s).

Cavs overcome poor 3-point shooting with defense and rebounding

The Cavs started the game 5 of 5 on 3-pointers but missed 18 in a row until point guard Darius Garland nailed one to end the drought and give them a 76-58 lead with 11:41 remaining in the fourth quarter. Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 4:44 left in the fourth quarter served as a dagger, boosting the Cavs to an 88-74 advantage.

Defense and rebounding were the keys to the Cavs weathering their woes on offense.

The Cavs outrebounded the Magic 54-40. Allen grabbed a game-high 18 rebounds. Mobley tallied 11.

Cavs vs Magic tightened after Cleveland had built 12-point halftime lead

The Cavs led the Magic 53-41 at halftime, with Mobley’s 16 first-half points leading the way, but Cleveland struggled mightily to start the second half.

The Cavs scored just two points in the first half of the third quarter. Meanwhile, Garland received treatment on his bothersome back in the early stages of the second half. He returned and finished with 14 points.

The Cavs twice had their lead reduced to four points in the third quarter. But Mitchell helped them regroup with seven third-quarter points, and they gained a 73-58 advantage entering the fourth quarter.

More importantly for the Cavs, they held on for a wire-to-wire win.

Jake DeBrusk logged a three-point game to lead the Boston Bruins to a 5-1 win over the visiting Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday.

DeBrusk factored into all three of Boston’s second-period goals, scoring twice in 2:32 after assisting Brandon Carlo.

Toronto forward William Nylander (undisclosed) missed the game after playing all 82 games this season.

John Beecher, who was making his playoff debut, and Trent Frederic also scored, while Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy each had two assists for Boston, which won all four meetings between the teams in theregular season.

Jeremy Swayman finished with 35 saves, stopping all 24 shots he faced over the first two periods.

David Kampf scored the lone goal and Ilya Samsonov made 19 saves on 23 shots for Toronto.

Toronto had a 36-24 shot advantage but went scoreless in three power plays while Boston went 2-for-5.

Shortly after Swayman made his second of two key early stops on a Nicholas Robertson point-blank rebound, Beecher buried Jesper Boqvist’s two-on-one pass to the left circle at 2:26 of the first period.

Boston could have extended its lead if Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha hadn’t hit posts within a 2:05 span in the first period.

The Bruins began their second-period scoring onslaught at 5:47 as Carlo buried a drive from the top of the right circle off DeBrusk’s feed.

DeBrusk scored on the last two of Boston’s three power plays in the middle frame to increase the lead to 4-0, including a snapshot from the right circle at 15:02.

The third goal on Boston’s nine second-period shots occurred when DeBrusk redirected Brad Marchand’s centering pass off Samsonov and over the goal line.

The Maple Leafs ended the shutout in the third. At 1:39, Kampf glided down the slot and buried Connor Dewar’s slick backhand feed.

Frederic’s empty-net goal with 2:08 left sealed the win.

Sometimes, as we’ve learned, Sean Payton can be rather direct in getting his point across.

Intended or not, now may not be that time.

Payton is a coach in a tight spot without a quarterback, or at least without a proven one as Jarrett Stidham (cool name, four NFL starts) assuming the QB1 spot on the Denver Broncos depth chart after Russell Wilson was kicked to the curb.

How Payton, holding the 12th overall pick at the moment, plays his hand is one of the most intriguing subplots of the NFL draft.

Is it a given that the Broncos will take a quarterback in the 12th slot?

NFL DRAFT HUB: Latest NFL Draft mock drafts, news, live picks, grades and analysis.

“Do we have to draft a quarterback? You would say, ‘Man, it sure looks like we have to draft a quarterback,’ “ Payton said during a pre-draft news conference on Thursday. “And yet, it has to be the right fit and the right one. If we had the tip sheets as to who everyone else was taking, it would be easier to answer that question. That’s the puzzle here.”

Sure, it’s that time of year. But that was hardly a classic smokescreen. The truth is wrapped with what-ifs and fluid contingencies that can flip a mock draft in a hurry. The quarterback that Payton may envision coming out of the draft with – he knows, we don’t, whether that prospect is Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy – might not be available at No. 12.

Not with the Minnesota Vikings, picking 11th, also in the hunt for a quarterback. And right behind Denver, with the 13th pick, are the Las Vegas Raiders. They, too, need to solidify the position.

In other words, given the manner in which NFL teams are prone to fall all over themselves in pursuit of franchise quarterbacks, it’s a good bet that today’s draft order will be shaken up on or before the first round on Thursday night.

If the top three-rated quarterbacks – USC’s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels and North Carolina’s Drake Maye – are drafted accordingly with the top three picks, the scramble for McCarthy could intensify. And without much draft capital (remember the picks dealt in the trade for Wilson and compensation for Payton), the Broncos could be hard-pressed to get into that mix. Or so it seems.

George Paton, the Broncos GM who traded away two first-round picks as part of the blockbuster deal to land Wilson in 2022, didn’t dismiss the notion of bargaining with future first-round picks.

“If it’s a player that you think can change the landscape of your organization moving forward, like quarterback, then you do whatever it takes to get him,” Paton said.

Of course, that was the thinking with Wilson – the year before Payton arrived in 2023 – and now the Broncos are paying the now-Steelers quarterback $85 million over the next two years.

“If there’s a consensus in the building, a love in the building, you’re aggressive and you try to get him. It doesn’t mean you’re going to get him, but you try. So, we’re open to everything. We’re wide open.”

Let the gamesmanship roll on.

Then again, what if Payton sees Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. or Oregon’s Bo Nix as a quarterback whom he can win with? Going even deeper, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler could be in the mix.

After all, Paton said there are seven or eight quarterbacks in this draft class whom the Broncos think can play in the NFL. The GM didn’t declare they all project as All-Pro players, but sometimes (hello, Tom Brady) you never know how these things will turn out.

History is flooded with examples of lesser-rated quarterbacks in the draft turning out as gems. Or highly-rated prospects proving to be iffy, or downright busts.

In 2018, Lamar Jackson was the fifth quarterback drafted (32nd overall) and now he’s a two-time NFL MVP. In 2021, five quarterbacks were selected within the top 15 picks and just three years later only Trevor Lawrence, taken No. 1 overall, is positioned as the intended cornerstone.

And Payton can tell you all about the 2017 draft, when, as New Orleans Saints coach, he and GM Mickey Loomis were in the process of trying to trade up to the 10th slot to draft Patrick Mahomes, only to be beaten to the punch by Andy Reid and the Kansas City Chiefs, executing their own plan to move up for the quarterback who has blossomed into the NFL’s best. And hey, the record still shows that the Chicago Bears used the second pick in the draft that year on Mitchell Trubisky.

No, you can’t use AI to draft a quarterback. That’s why Payton could still come away with a promising quarterback if he doesn’t land him in the first round. After all, he’s the expert, seeing and sensing things in the evaluations that could make a huge difference.

That he has a crying need to bolster his QB room is not a smokescreen. And this has been a recurring theme long before Payton came to town. In the eight years since Peyton Manning retired, the Broncos have started a dozen different quarterbacks, including first-round flop Paxton Lynch and second-round fizzles Brock Osweiler and Drew Lock.

It was interesting to hear Payton share a nugget from the evaluation process and how he gains insight into the ability of the quarterbacks to learn and retain. Of course, no coach and GM does it exactly the same, which would also be a factor in the range of hits and misses with draft picks. Yet it’s a critical part of the evaluation, given the complexities that come with the position, and especially at the highest level.

“It’s funny, when we bring some of these guys in or we go to the schools to visit, we always finish with, ‘Hey, if we take you, draw up your best play. The play has to come with you; you just love this play,’ “ Payton said. “They’ll draw it up and I’ll say, ‘Well, how do you call it?’

“I’m always fascinated to hear their terminology because a lot of times, they’re signaling plays in. That’s the one thing by just watching film that is hard to predict.”

Yet probably not as hard as it is to predict what some teams will do to find a quarterback in the draft.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins skated away with victories in the opening games of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs on Saturday.

Sunday, the final two Eastern Conference series get underway and two Western Conference openers are on the schedule.

The slate starts in the afternoon with the Tampa Bay Lightning visiting the Florida Panthers, a meeting of two teams that have been in the last four Stanley Cup Finals. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers host the Washington Capitals, the Colorado Avalanche visit the Winnipeg Jets and the night ends with the Nashville Predators visiting the Vancouver Canucks.

Here’s what to know about Sunday’s NHL playoff games:

When are Sunday’s NHL playoff games?

All times p.m. ET

Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers, 12:30

Washington Capitals at New York Rangers, 3

Colorado Avalanche at Winnipeg Jets, 7

Nashville Predators at Vancouver Canucks, 10

How to watch Sunday’s NHL playoff games

The first, second and fourth games are on ESPN, while the Avalanche-Jets game will be on ESPN2.

Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Florida Panthers: What to know

The Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final last season while the Lightning won back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021 and lost in the 2022 Final. Florida won the season series 2-1, including a 9-2 victory in which 14 misconduct penalties were handed out. Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov led the NHL with 144 points while Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky was one of the league’s top goalies. Tampa Bay’s Anthony Duclair played for the Panthers last season.

Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers: What to know

Presidents’ Trophy winners don’t succeed often but the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994 and got to the conference final in 2015. Rangers coach Peter Laviolette was with the Capitals from 2020-23. He was replaced by Spencer Carbery. The teams split the season series 2-2. Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren excelled, going 2-1 with a 1.35 goals-against average and .955 save percentage. His brother, Ryan, plays for the Rangers.

Colorado Avalanche vs. Winnipeg Jets: What to know

Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon is one of the favorites for the Hart Trophy and Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck is expected to win the Vezina Trophy. The season series went heavily to the Jets, who won all three games and outscored the Avalanche 17-4. That includes a 7-0 win on April 13. Colorado won’t have injured forward Jonathan Drouin for the series.

Nashville Predators vs. Vancouver Canucks: What to know

The Canucks swept the season series 3-0 and made Predators goalie Juuse Saros (4.81, .833) look ordinary. But that’s before the Predators had an 18-game point streak in February and March. Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes and Nashville’s Roman Josi are expected to be finalists for the Norris Trophy.

It’s Talladega time, which means wild pack racing, crazy crashes and high-speed drama at NASCAR’s largest track.

The unpredictability at Talladega Superspeedway offers a chance for any driver to take the checkered flag. The Alabama track was the site of Bubba Wallace’s first career Cup Series victory in 2021, while Ross Chastain earned his second career Cup victory there in 2022.

But Talladega has also been particularly good to defending series champion Ryan Blaney. Three of his 10 career Cup Series wins have come at the superspeedway, and he enters Sunday’s race as the most recent winner.

No driver, though, has had more success at Talladega than Brad Keselowski, whose six wins lead all active drivers. Keselowski is coming off a second-place finish at Texas last weekend, and the massive Alabama oval might be the perfect track for the 2012 series champion to snap a long winless streak that dates to 2021 – coincidentally at Talladega!

Who will take the checkered flag on Sunday? Here is all the information you need to get ready for the GEICO 500:

What time does the Cup race at Talladega start?

The GEICO 500 starts at 3 p.m. ET (2 p.m. local) at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama.

What TV channel is the Cup race at Talladega on?

Fox is broadcasting the GEICO 500 and has a pre-race show beginning at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. local).

Will there be a live stream of the Cup race at Talladega?

The GEICO 500 can be live streamed on the FoxSports website and on the FoxSports app.

How many laps is the Cup race at Talladega?

The GEICO 500 is 188 laps around the 2.66-mile track for a total of 500.08 miles. The race will feature three segments (laps per stage) — Stage 1: 60 laps; Stage 2: 60 laps; Stage 3: 68 laps.

Who won the most recent races at Talladega?

Ryan Blaney led eight laps during the playoff race on Oct. 1, 2023 and took his final lead on the penultimate lap, passing Kevin Harvick before edging William Byron by just 0.012 seconds.

And one year ago, Kyle Busch prevailed in double overtime on April 23, 2023, taking the lead from Bubba Wallace following a restart and winning under caution after a multi-car crash in Turn 2 during the white flag lap. Blaney finished second, while Wallace, who was involved in the crash, finished 28th.

What is the lineup for the GEICO 500 at Talladega?

(Car number in parentheses)

1. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford

2. (2) Austin Cindric, Ford

3. (38) Todd Gilliland, Ford

4. (8) Kyle Busch, Chevrolet

5. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet

6. (19) Martin Truex Jr., Toyota

7. (22) Joey Logano, Ford

8. (17) Chris Buescher, Ford

9. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet

10. (20) Christopher Bell, Toyota

11. (41) Ryan Preece, Ford

12. (48) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet

13. (24) William Byron, Chevrolet

14. (23) Bubba Wallace, Toyota

15. (54) Ty Gibbs, Toyota

16. (21) Harrison Burton, Ford

17. (16) Shane Van Gisbergen, Chevrolet

18. (45) Tyler Reddick, Toyota

19. (31) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet

20. (42) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota

21. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford

22. (6) Brad Keselowski, Ford

23. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota

24. (62) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet

25. (99) Daniel Suarez, Chevrolet

26. (14) Chase Briscoe, Ford

27. (51) Justin Haley, Ford

28. (43) Erik Jones, Toyota

29. (4) Josh Berry, Ford

30. (71) Zane Smith, Chevrolet

31. (7) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet

32. (1) Ross Chastain, Chevrolet

33. (47) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Chevrolet

34. (15) Cody Ware, Ford

35. (77) Carson Hocevar, Chevrolet

36. (10) Noah Gragson, Ford

37. (78) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet

38. (5) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet

The remaining four Game 1s in the first round of the NBA playoffs will be played Sunday, with both conferences’ No. 1 seeds in action. The Boston Celtics finished 14 games ahead of everyone else in the East, while the Oklahoma City Thunder earned the top seed in the West on the regular season’s final day.

The Celtics will face a short-handed Miami Heat squad, who dispatched the Chicago Bulls in the play-in tournament final, and the Thunder, who are making their first postseason appearance since the 2019-20 season, will face the New Orleans Pelicans without Zion Williamson.

Here’s what you need to know about Sunday’s NBA playoff games.

Who is playing in Sunday’s NBA playoff games?

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics, 1 p.m. ET
Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers, 3:30 p.m. ET
Indiana Pacers at Milwaukee Bucks, 7 p.m. ET
New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder, 9:30 p.m. ET

How to watch Sunday’s NBA playoff games

Miami-Boston and Dallas-Los Angeles will air on ABC and can be streamed on the ESPN app. Indiana-Milwaukee and New Orleans-Oklahoma City will be shown on TNT. Streaming also available via Fubo.

Miami Heat at Boston Celtics: What to know

The Celtics ran through the Eastern Conference to the league’s best record and will face a Heat team that will be without the services of Jimmy Butler because of a knee injury. Conventional wisdom says Boston should make quick work of the No. 8 and be plenty rested whenever they start the next round.

Dallas Mavericks at Los Angeles Clippers: What to know

Which stars show up will determine the winner here: Will it be Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic for the Mavericks or Paul George, James Harden, and a once again gimpy Kawhi Leonard for the Clippers. It might be now or never for the Clippers as the aforementioned high-prized trio have yet to make a serious dent in the postseason in their time together.

Indiana Pacers at Milwaukee Bucks: What to know

The Bucks, like the Clippers, find themselves at a crossroads. A first-round exit again could mean wholesale changes in the offseason. The Pacers won the regular-season series 4-1, and all the meetings came before the trade deadline and the deal that sent Pascal Siakam to Indiana. Giannis Antetokounmpo’s calf injury is the big storyline here, and it will be up to Damian Lillard and the rest of the Bucks to slow down the high-flying Pacers.

New Orleans Pelicans at Oklahoma City Thunder: What to know

With most of the playoff series, player’s health will determine the winner here. Pelicans forward Zion Williamson is out with a hamstring injury, and Oklahoma City comes in fully healthy with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander again playing at an all-NBA level. The Thunder are virtual unknowns as far as playoff experience, but they are a terrible rebounding team. If the Pelicans can control the boards and get chance opportunities, Game 1 will be ripe for the taking.

Predictions for Sunday’s playoff games

Scooby Axson: Boston over Miami, LA over Dallas, Indiana over Milwaukee, Oklahoma City over New Orleans

NBA playoff bracket

Western Conference

No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 8 New Orleans Pelicans
No. 4 Los Angeles Clippers vs. No. 5 Dallas Mavericks
No. 3 Minnesota Timberwolves vs. No. 6 Phoenix Suns
No. 2 Denver Nuggets vs. No. 7 Los Angeles Lakers

Eastern Conference

No. 1 Boston Celtics vs. No. 8 Miami Heat
No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers vs. No. 5 Orlando Magic
No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs. No. 6 Indiana Pacers
No. 2 New York Knicks vs. No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers