Thursday Roundup

 SPORTS

UEFA Champions League:  Reds Blank Yellow Sub In Semifinal Series Opener

At Anfield, Liverpool, England:

In Wednesday's opening contest of UEFA Champions League semifinal series, Pervis Jose Estupinan (OG-53') and Sadio Mane (55') each scored once in a two-minute span of the second half as Liverpool blanked visiting Villarreal 2-0.

CONCACAF Champions League Final:  Sounders Erase Two-Goal Deficit To Gain Series-Opening Road Draw With Pumas

At Olympic University Stadium, Mexico City:

Nicolas Lodeiro converted two penalty kicks (77', 90'+9) on Wednesday as the Seattle Sounders came back from a two-goal deficit to gain a 2-2 road draw in the opening contest of the CONCACAF Champions League Final.

Juan Dinenno also scored twice (PK-38', 48') for the hosts.

A's Handcup Giants, End San Fran's Winning Streak

At Oracle Park, San Francisco:

Chad Pinder's leadoff home run on Wednesday, along with Paul Blackburn and five relievers combining to pitch a three-hit shutout, provided the Oakland Athletics (10-9) to handcuff the San Francisco Giants (13-6) 1-0 on the road to snap the Giants' five-game winning streak.

NBA Playoffs:  Bucks, Warriors Advance To Conference Semis

The NBA Playoffs continued with two games on Wednesday.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

At Milwaukee:

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds as the Milwaukee Bucks held off the visiting Chicago Bulls 116-100 in game five and closed out their conference quarterfinal series four games to one.

Pat Connaughton came off the bench to add 20 points to the Bucks' coffers.

Patrick Williams led the Bulls with 23 points while Nikola Vucevic added 19 to go with his 16 rebounds.

The Bucks will take on the Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference semifinal series which is set to open in Beantown on Sunday.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

At San Francisco:

Stephen Curry scored 30 points as the Golden State Warriors held off the Denver Nuggets 102-98 to close out their series four games to one.

Nikola Jokic led a gallant efforts for the Nuggets by scoring 30 points, grabbing 19 points, and dishing out eight assists.

Red Bulls Knocked Off On Road

At Graz, Austria:

Jakob Jantscher scored the game winner in the 72nd minute on Wednesday as second-place Sturm Graz upended visiting, league-leading FC Red Bull Salzburg 2-1 in Championship Round play from the Austrian Bundesliga.

Europa League Semifinals:  Leipzig, Frankfurt Take Series Openers

Two games were contested on Thursday as the semifinal round of the Europa League commenced.

At Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany:

Angelino scored the only goal of the match in the 85th minute as RB Leipzig held off visiting Rangers 1-0 in their series opener.

At London Stadium, London:

Daichi Kamada scored the game winner at 54 minutes as Eintracht Frankfurt knock off homestanding West End United 2-1 in game one.

Europa Conference League Semifinals: Feyenoord Top Marseille; Foxes Gain Home Draw With Roma

The semifinal round of the inaugural Europa Conference League opened its' semifinal round with two games on Thursday.

At King Power Stadium, Leicester, England:

Gianluca Mancini's own goal in the 67th minute enabled Leicester City to gain a series-opening 1-1 home draw with AS Roma.

Lorenzo Pellegrini scored for the Wolves from The Eternal City in the 15th minute.

At De Kuip Stadium, Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Cyriel Dessers scored twice (18', 46') as Feyenoord Rotterdam outgunned visiting Marseille 3-2 in their series opener.

THOUGHTS

This is a bad idea:

Joseph Goebels would be very proud.