SPORTS WRAP
BY WILLIAM HATHAWAY, JR.
Congratulations are in order for the Florida Panthers, who won their first Stanley Cup after a thrilling series with the Edmonton Oilers. After losing a 3-0 series lead, the Panthers managed to avoid an embarrassing choke for the ages, winning Game 7 at home 2-1 and becoming the 2024 NHL World Champions.
Despite losing the series, Oilers superstar Connor McDavid was named series MVP. With Edmonton’s loss, Canada is still in a drought when it comes to one of their most prestigious sports, as the country hasn’t had a native team hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup since the 1992 Montreal Canadiens.
Locally, the New York Red Bulls are going strong. The Bulls took on Toronto FC, and grabbed an early 1-0 lead at home in the 30th minute when defender Noah Eile got possession and played a ball into forward Elias Manoel’s feet. NY added a second goal midfielder Wiki Carmona won the ball at midfield and sent a low cross to Dennis Nealis for the goal. Late in the game, after an interception at midfield, Cameron Harper tacked on the third score of the game to make the final 3-0. So far, the Red Bulls are 9-4-7 with several shutouts this year.
In other sports, the New York Liberty played a short two game home series with the Los Angeles Sparks, with NY taking both games 93-80 and 98-88 respectively. In the second game, Liberty was powered by star Breanna Stewart, who had a game high of 33 points, 3 rebounds and 6 blocks and teammates Sabrina Ionescu, who had 24 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists, and Kayla Thornton’s 20 points on 6-7 from 3-point range. Leading LA was Dearica Hamby with 20 points 6 rebounds 6 assists while Kia Nurse had 12 points.
