Thursday Roundup

 SPORTS

SOUNDERS END 22 YEARS OF US CLUB FRUSTRATION BY BEATING PUMAS FOR CONCACAF CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CROWN

At Lumen Field, Seattle, Washington:

Raul Ruidiaz scored twice (45', 80') and Nicolas Lodeiro once (88') while Stefan Frei posted a shutout on Wednesday night as the Seattle Sounders, before a tournament-record 68,741 fans, blanked visiting Pumas 3-0 in the second game of the CONCACAF Champions League Final and won the series 5-2 on aggregate, becoming the first American club to win North America's premier club tournament since 2000, when the Los Angeles Galaxy won the old CONCACAF Champions Cup tournament.

The Sounders will play in the next FIFA Club World Cup, becoming the first American club to do so.

UEFA Champions League:  Dramatic Comback For Blancos Sends Real Madrid To Final Encounter With Liverpool

At Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid:

Rodrygo scored twice in the waning moments of regulation (90', 90'+1) of game two to enable Real Madrid to deadlock their series with visiting Manchester City at 5-5 after 180 minutes, then Karim Benzema converted a penalty kick in the 95th minute and Los Blancos knocked out the Citizens 6-5 on aggregate to advance to the May 28 final at Saint-Denis, France against Liverpool.

The two clubs have won 19 European club titles (Real Madrid 13, Liverpool 6) between them.

Dodgers Smother Visiting Giants To Complete Sweep Of Two-Game Series At Home

At Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles:

Home runs from Mookie Betts and Max Muncey and a two-run triple by Freddie Freeman powered the Los Angeles Dodgers (16-7) to a 9-1 Wednesday home victory over the San Francisco Giants (14-10).

NBA Playoffs: Heat, Suns Stretch Respective Series Leads To 2-0

The NBA Playoffs continued on Wednesday with two games.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

At Miami:

Bam Adebayo scored 23 points (while grabbing nine rebounds) while Jimmy Butler added 22 (to go with his 12 assists) as the Miami Heat held off the visiting Philadelphia 76ers 119-103 in game two of their conference semifinal series, in which the Heat now lead two games to none.

Victor Olapido came off the bench to contribute 19 points to the Miami coffers while Tyler Herro added 18 (also off the bench).

Tyrese Maxey topped the Sixers with 34 points while Tobias Harris added 21 and James Harded 20 (to go with his nine assists).

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

At Phoenix, Arizona:

Devin Booker scored 30 points while Chris Paul added 28 as the Phoenix Suns stretched their conference semifinal series advantage over the Dallas Mavericks to two games to none after their 129-109 home victory in game two.

Luka Doncic topped the Mavs with 35 points.

Stanley Cup Playoffs:  Canes Stretch Series Advantage Over Bruins To 2-0; Lighning, Wild, Oilers Square Respective Series At 1-1

The Stanley Cup Playoffs' opening round continued on Wednesday with four games.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

At Raleigh, North Carolina:

Sebastian Aho and Nino Niederreiter each scored twice as the Carolina Hurricanes overpowered the visiting Boston Bruins 5-2 in game two of their conference quarterfinal series, which the Hurricanes now lead two games to none.

At Toronto:

A one-goal, three-assist performance from Victor Hedman lifted the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 5-3 road victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in game two of their opening-round series, now squared at one game apiece.

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

At Saint Paul, Minnesota:

Kirill Kaprizov produced a hat trick while Eriksson Ek scored twice as the Minnesota Wild dominated the visiting St. Louis Blues 6-2 in game two of their series, now level at a game apice.

At Edmonton, Alberta:

Evander Kane scored twice and assisted once while Mike Smith stopped all 30 shots as the Edmonton Oilers crowned the visiting Los Angeles Kings 6-0 in game two and deadlocked their opening-round series at a game apiece.

THOUGHTS

Sleepy Joe's "Ministry of Truth"

And I thought Woodrow Wilson and George Creel were dead.