Ex-NBA player Desmond Mason was arrested in Oklahoma City on a felony warrant out of Texas late last week.
Police in Oklahoma City arrested Mason on Thursday on a felony warrant for theft of property that stemmed from an incident that started back in spring 2025, according to multiple reports.
Former Thunder player Desmond Mason arrested on theft warrant Oklahoma County Jail
Oklahoma City police arrested Mason in a downtown section of OKC known as Bricktown and he was taken to the Oklahoma County Detention Center, but before he was booked, he was transported to a local hospital to treat a medical issue, News9 in Oklahoma City reported.
Mason was booked and listed as a flight risk.
Desmond Mason of the Seattle Sonics drives to the basket in the Sprite Rising Stars Slam Dunk Contest during the 52nd NBA All-Star Weekend at the Phillips Arena on Feb. 8, 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia. NBAE via Getty Images
A couple from Collin County, Texas, filed a police report in January with the Melissa Police Department after they claimed they hired Mason in March 2025 to frame a piece of sports memorabilia, paying the 10-year NBA vet $9,822.86 to do so.
The memorabilia and authentication documents were valued at roughly $40,000.
Mason allegedly sent the couple proof he completed the job in April of that year and was going to deliver the finished product, but then cut off communication with them.
By January of this year, Mason was said to have begun re-engaging with the couple, trying to explain the delay.
The warrant for Mason’s arrest was issued in February.
Desmond Mason is pictured during a December 2008 game. NBAE via Getty Images
This is not the first time Mason has ended up in jail, having been thrown behind bars for contempt of court stemming from his divorce proceedings with his ex-wife Andrea Mason.
Mason spent 10 years in the NBA after he was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in 2000 and became the first player in franchise history to win the NBA dunk contest during the 2000-01 season.
He was traded to the Bucks in 2003, where he played until 2005, and was traded again to the New Orleans Hornets.
Mason returned to the Bucks for a second stint ahead of the 2007-08 season and then played the 2008-09 season with the Thunder.
He appeared in just five games for the Kings in 2009 before he was waived in early November of the 2009-10 season.
The stars came out to Crypto.com Arena on Monday night to watch the Lakers fight to keep their season alive against the Thunder in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals.
Entering the game, OKC led the series 3-0 and a Lakers loss would not only end their season, it might also be the final time we see LeBron James in a Lakers’ uniform or any other uniform for that matter.
Those takes alone were enough to bring out Hollywood royalty for one last game.
Leonardo DiCaprio arrived quietly, dressed nearly identical to how he did in Game 3. He took his seat next to his “One Battle After Another” co-star Sean Penn and friend and fellow actor Kevin Connolly.
(L-R) Actors Kevin Connolly, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn attend Game Four between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers in the Second Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena on May 11, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images) Getty Images
A few seats away sat Eddie Murphy, dressed in all black with his shades on.
— Michael J. Duarte (@michaeljduarte) May 12, 2026
Bu the celebrity row didn’t stop there.
Jessica Alba smiled and waved to nearby fans. Gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn, Tinashe, Andy Garcia, Usher, and rapper 21 Moneybagg Yo all enjoyed the courtside view as well.
Getty ImagesGetty ImagesNBAE via Getty ImagesGetty ImagesNBAE via Getty ImagesNBAE via Getty ImagesNBAE via Getty ImagesNBAE via Getty ImagesNBAE via Getty ImagesGetty ImagesGetty ImagesGetty ImagesGetty ImagesGetty Images
The sons of famous actors Jack Nicholson and Denzel Washington were also in attendance, with Ray Nicholson and John David Washington sitting in their famous fathers’ courtside seats.
And because no major Lakers playoff game is complete without basketball royalty as well, Dwyane Wade, Robert Horry, and Phoenix Suns guard Dillon Brooks, a villain among fans, were also in attendance.
Here’s the rest of the list of stars spotted at the game: Jeffrey Katzenberg, Adam Corolla, Jay Mohr, Dyan Cannon, Lukas Haas, James Goldstein, Lou Adler, Corey Gamble, and more.
In most cities, playoff basketball is just a game.
In Los Angeles, it’s theater.
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But before Ryan Weathers made a case for keeping his rotation spot once Cole returns, potentially by the end of this month, Aaron Boone watched his ace’s latest rehab start Monday morning and came away impressed.
Cole built up to 77 pitches across five innings with Double-A Somerset on Sunday night while striking out eight.
“Really good,” Boone said before a 3-2 loss to the Orioles at Camden Yards. “Ripped his last heater 99 [mph] for another punch. I thought [Sunday] — working on things every time prior, and not that he wasn’t [Sunday], but I think it was a little more of a competitive Gerrit trying to get outs. I thought he threw the ball really well. Stuff was really good. Another good step for him.”
Gerrit Cole is pictured after the Yankees’ May 2 game. Imagn Images
Across five rehab starts so far, Cole has shown strong command — which is often the last thing to come back for pitchers returning from Tommy John — walking only two batters while striking out 22.
“I think that’s in a pretty good place,” Boone said. “I think he probably stuff-wise ramped it up maybe even another notch [Sunday]. Hopefully now as he continues to build his pitch count, he can continue to do that through his next couple.”
Once Cole finishes off his comeback from Tommy John surgery, the Yankees could have a tough decision on their hands for how to open a rotation spot, with both Weathers and Will Warren pitching well.
Weathers took his latest shot Monday, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh inning before giving up two runs in 6 1/3 innings while lowering his ERA to 3.00.
“Just felt like I was competing in the strike zone really well, still had a few walks [three] which I wish I could take back,” Weathers said.
Two weeks after an MRI revealed his low-grade right calf strain, Giancarlo Stanton returned for imaging Monday to see how much healing has occurred and whether he might be cleared to start running.
The veteran DH has been limited to hitting since suffering the injury April 24 against the Astros, not able to do much in the way of jogging or running outside. But pending the results of Monday’s MRI, Stanton could begin taking the next steps in his road back to the active roster.
“Hopefully start ramping up running this week, based on that,” Boone said. “But we’ll see.”
In the meantime, Spencer Jones started a fourth straight game Monday — the second time at DH — since being called up to replace the injured Jasson Domínguez (AC joint sprain), who essentially replaced Stanton.
Jones went 0-for-2 with a strikeout before being pinch hit for by Paul Goldschmidt against a lefty reliever in the seventh inning.
Ben Rice had gone 0-for-13 over the weekend in Milwaukee, his first three games back from missing four games with a left hand contusion. But he snapped back into rhythm Monday, going 2-for-4, including his 13th home run of the year. … Nine of the Yankees’ 16 losses this season have been decided by one run.
One of the most inconvenient truths across all of sports is that the vast majority of franchises need to experience a period of darkness in order to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Rebuilding - for better or for worse - is part of the fabric of sports. High draft selections and clever asset management go a long way in determining which teams are going to be able to sustain long-term success and which teams will continue to fall short, stuck in a perpetual state of mediocrity until they are forced to start from scratch all over again.
Given the low-cap nature of the league in comparison to other major professional sports - at least, historically - this is especially true in the National Hockey League. Teams like the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes, and Edmonton Oilers have all found a certain degree of success with their full, longer-term teardowns, while teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Buffalo Sabres (that is, until this season and after two decades of losing) have or had endured long, long stretches of losing with little to gain and a whole lot of lost talent over that time.
The truth is that rebuilding is a tricky, risky business no matter how you slice it, but more shots at the draft lottery invite more opportunities to find the young talent necessary to sustain winning.
But, occasionally - and, quite frankly, rarely - a franchise comes along that turns all of that on its head. And here enters Kyle Dubas's Pittsburgh Penguins.
When Dubas took over the Penguins as president of hockey operations in the summer of 2023 - and, later, as general manager - Pittsburgh had just missed the playoffs for the first time in 17 years. After 16 consecutive postseason berths, four Stanley Cup Final appearances, and three Stanley Cups, nobody in the NHL had known sustained success quite like the Penguins, and nobody was more unfamiliar with losing than the Penguins.
So, when Dubas initially came into the fold, the plan was to give Pittsburgh's "big three" of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang one last shot at the dance, especially since the Penguins believed they were still a contender. He made the largest-volume trade in franchise history to land three-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks. He made a savvy move to snag forward Reilly Smith from the Vegas Golden Knights, too.
Well, plans shifted a bit once the Penguins appeared to be fading even more despite the big offseason moves, and Dubas made the difficult decision that same season to send pending unrestricted free agent winger Jake Guentzel - Crosby's longtime partner in crime - to the Hurricanes for a package of prospects and picks. It was the first of many moves that set the inevitable, long-time-coming rebuild into motion, and the Penguins would go on to miss the playoffs for three consecutive seasons.
Nov 22, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas arrives at the arena before the Penguins host the Seattle Kraken at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
It all began when Dubas made the difficult decision to mutually part ways with longtime head coach Mike Sullivan - who was hired by the New York Rangers in pretty short order afterward - and move on to an almost entirely new coaching staff. The man for the job was Dan Muse, who had a very development-focused approach. After his hire, one of Muse's sticking points was that he would take that approach to every single player, whether a 15-year veteran, an organizational newcomer, or a rookie.
And, as it turns out, he and the rest of the staff ended up with a good mix of all those things.
In addition to already having talented, mostly reliable veterans in Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Karlsson, Bryan Rust, and Rickard Rakell on the roster, Dubas sought out a bit of everything last summer. In the draft, he made some savvy moves to end up with three first-round picks, the first of which was center Ben Kindel at 11th overall and followed by Bill Zonnon at 22 and Will Horcoff at 24. He also acquired defenseman Connor Clifton and a second-round pick on a draft day trade involving defenseman Conor Timmins.
In the trade market, he snagged Arturs Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks for a fourth-round pick and forward prospect Chase Stillman, and he also acquired defenseman Matt Dumba - a salary dump - and a second-round pick from the Dallas Stars in exchange for blueliner Vladislav Kolyachonok.
Then, there was free agency. Winger Anthony Mantha came in on a one-year, $2.5 million deal. Justin Brazeau signed for two years, $3 million. Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon - formerly a fringe bottom-pairing blueliner for the Boston Bruins - signed for two years, $2 million.
Dubas put together all of these pieces during the offseason, and on the surface, the moves appeared to set the stage for the Penguins to be able to flip some value at the 2026 trade deadline, just as they had in the previous two campaigns. He took fliers on guys who, perhaps, had more to give than the role they were playing with their team or who needed another chance - like Mantha, who was coming off ACL surgery.
But, whether it was intentional or not, nearly every one of those moves - Dumba aside - panned out.
Mantha scored more than 30 goals for the first time in his NHL career. Clifton became a reliable, physical defenseman in a bottom-pairing role. Silovs played well enough during some crucial stretches of the season to help the Penguins win hockey games. Brazeau had a blazing start that helped the Penguins go 8-2-2 in the month of October. Kindel made the team as an 18-year-old out of training camp, and he was so advanced that the team kept him around. Parker Wotherspoon emerged as a shutdown, top-pairing defenseman alongside Karlsson, giving the Penguins a more formidable defensive unit.
He later flipped Kulak for yet another second-round pick and younger defenseman Sam Girard from the Avalanche - who found his game down the stretch for the Penguins - and acquired forward Elmer Soderblom from the Red Wings at the trade deadline, who scored six goals with the Penguins in the final month-plus.
Somehow, some way, Dubas managed to make the Penguins a playoff contender in 2025-26 while getting younger, accruing even more assets, and spending a minimum in terms of both the cap and assets to land legitimate talent. Which, well, almost never happens.
And, yes, while the NHL, AHL, and ECHL teams within the organization are all competitive and have or had playoff runs - Pittsburgh was eliminated in the first round by the Phildelphia Flyers, while the other two are still going strong - the Penguins' farm system just keeps collecting more and more talent. And their prospect pool might not yet be the cream of the NHL's crop, but it's making pretty drastic improvements.
Where the Penguins are now... short- and long-term
Again, it would be one thing if Dubas was selling out on his assets and the farm system in order to make the NHL squad a formidable playoff team.
But that hasn't been the case at all.
In the aftermath of the Guentzel trade, the Penguins' best prospects in the system - at the time - were defenseman Owen Pickering, forward Ville Koivunen (acquired in the trade), forward Sam Poulin, and goaltender Joel Blomqvist. Forward Brayden Yager - drafted in the first round during Dubas's first summer - was also in the system at the time but was later dealt in the summer of 2024 to the Winnipeg Jets for 2022 14th overall pick Rutger McGroarty. And they drafted defenseman Harrison Brunicke with that second-round pick from the Guentzel trade.
In just two years time, there is - all of a sudden - a fair amount of promise in their system.
Instead of Koivunen and Poulin headlining the forward prospect pool, Kindel has already graduated to the NHL and played a full season as an 18-year-old, and they have the likes of Zonnon, Horcoff, Koivunen, McGroarty, Avery Hayes, Tanner Howe, and Mikhail Ilyin, most of whom will be primed to make the jump to the NHL sooner than later. There is also a deeper pool with upside names such as Ryan Miller, Kale Dach, Zam Plante, and Aidan McDonough, which gives them organizational depth.
As far as the goaltending, most of the netminders in their system were part of the organization before Dubas came to Pittsburgh. Sergei Murashov, 22, was a 2022 pick (118th overall) who has separated himself and emerged as the system's top goaltending prospect, posting a 1.99 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in this year's Calder Cup Playoffs. Blomqvist, 24, is still a solid piece, too, and tandemed with Murashov at the AHL level this season with a .9`13 save percentage in the regular season (to Murashov's .919).
Even deeper, the undrafted Taylor Gauthier is dominating the ECHL and has for three consecutive seasons, as the 25-year-old had a .929 save percentage during the regular season and had a whopping .963 save percentage with three shutouts in seven Kelly Cup Playoff games with the Wheeling Nailers heading into Monday's action. Then, there's Gabriel D'Aigle, drafted in the third round (84th overall) by Dubas in 2025, who still managed to put up a .908 save percentage for the lowly Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL despite getting peppered on a nightly basis and facing more shots than all but three netminders in the QMJHL last season - only one of whom had a better save percentage.
Taylor Gauthier of the @WheelingNailers opened the @ECHL playoffs with three shutouts in five games.
"Simplifying my mindset of having fun and working hard, it can get you a long way. I think I'm proof of that this year."
Defense is where the system needs the most work. Brunicke is, far and away, the best defensive prospect the Penguins have, and while the 20-year-old is promising, he has to prove his elite skating, puck skills, transition game, and defensive improvements can translate at the NHL level. Behind him is Owen Pickering (the most NHL-ready otherwise), Finn Harding, Peyton Kettles, and Quinn Beauchesne, all of whom need more seasoning.
But, at the end of the day, there is far more talent in the system than there was two years ago. Dubas has done an outstanding job as far as asset management and building out a pool of players who have plenty of upside as NHL regulars.
These are the types of peripheral players that teams need to sustain Stanley Cup contention. Depth wins championships, and it's not hard to envision around half of these players making some degree of impact.
However, the fact remains that the Penguins' current core is still 35-plus. At some point, that has to change in order to build a long-term future of success. But, contrary to some narratives out there, that may arrive sooner than you think.
But, if you've been paying attention, things have probably already started to play out.
For one, the Penguins have been rebuilding since the Guentzel trade in 2024. And, yes, rebuilding - not retooling. As mentioned earlier, it was pretty clear that the initial plan for this season was, likely, to flip rental/short-term overperforming players for more assets and use those assets - as well as an early draft selection in 2026 - to begin setting things into motion this summer.
Well, that part of the plan didn't exactly happen, but that doesn't mean it has set Dubas and the Penguins back from their short- or long-term goals. Yes, the Penguins still need that high-end core talent to add to what is already part of a potential future core in Kindel, Murashov, Brunicke, and possibly Chinakhov.
And, while they'll eventually need to draft high, they don't necessarily need to do that. At least, not yet.
Was looking at how every team in the second round acquired its players. Obviously still waiting to see if it is Tampa Bay or Montreal, but of the seven teams already through.
Recently, Adam Gretz of Pensburgh posted a spreadsheet detailing each second-round team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and how they acquired their talent. For five of the teams, at least one top-five pick (of their own) was in the fold. Only two of those teams - Colorado and the Anaheim Ducks - had three players drafted in the top-five, with all of Colorado's being a core of players aged 27-plus in Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon (30), and Gabriel Landeskog (33). The other three teams in Montreal, Carolina, and Buffalo had two or less.
Beyond that? There were only 18 other homegrown first-round picks out of 175 players, for a grand total of 29 homegrown first-rounders. There were a nice handful of other picks, too, plenty of which Dubas and the Penguins have had.
But the vast majority of players on these teams were acquired via the trade market.
In fact, according to Gretz's numbers, 83 players were acquired via trade, which accounts for 47.4 percent of all players in the second round. In addition, 33 players were either signed in free agency, claimed on waivers, or signed undrafted, so that means outside sourcing accounted for 66.3 percent of players in the 2026 playoffs.
So, for the Penguins, Dubas can and absolutely will build from the draft. First-rounders in Kindel, Zonnon, and Horcoff are a good starting point, and he will need more of those. But teams like the Vegas Golden Knights (to an extent) and Minnesota Wild are proof that drafting top-five isn't entirely necessary for building a sustainable window of contention, as the Wild have only missed the playoffs twice since 2015 and Vegas has only missed once in their nine-year history.
But the lesson here is that teams cannot solely rely on the draft and do, in fact, have to leverage some of their higher-value assets to land the pieces that will help them sustainably contend. After all, many of these trades involve former first-rounders from other organizations, too.
And the more draft capital and prospect talent a team has to leverage, the better-positioned they are to be able to land that talent.
With 15 picks in the first three rounds of the next three drafts - including 10 in the first two rounds - Dubas and the Penguins are in a great spot. Acquiring gamebreaking talent will require leveraging at least a first-round pick, but because of the peripheral talent that the team has already built out - and their selection in the 20s in 2026 - they're in a position to do that.
On the surface, it may seem like the Penguins, lacking any true blue-chip prospects at this juncture (Kindel would have been one, and Zonnon/Horcoff could be), wouldn't have what's necessary to acquire players like Dallas Stars superstar forward Jason Robertson, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews, or a true first-line center in St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas. A team like the Stars is win-now mode, and the other two teams are likely on a downward trajectory but still holding onto hopes of playoff contention with their respective cores.
Even good players either with star potential or in need of a change of scenery, such as Stars' defenseman Thomas Harley, Los Angeles Kings' defenseman Brandt Clarke, Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright, or Vancouver Canucks star Elias Pettersson, would cost a lot, especially with the rising cap and contract values.
However, that's where all those picks, all of that $42.7 million in cap space, and all that peripheral talent come into play. And Dubas is in an enviable position to be able to build out a package that could make teams bite.
Sure, a first-round pick plus a veteran like Rickard Rakell alone isn't going to land a star player. However, if Dubas would add on a few second- and third-round picks, a higher-end, near-NHL-ready prospect or two like McGroarty and Horcoff (depending on the coveted player), some salary retention, plus Rakell and that first? Well, then a player like Robertson, Harley, or Pettersson seems more attainable. And his draft capital and wide pool of prospects with upside allows him to keep adding on if necessary, as the Penguins have enough of both to be able to expend some of their valuable capital.
It's tricky business, but acquiring a sure star player who can be around for the short- and the long-term - and who will, overwhelmingly likely, be a better player than any singular player out of the capital they leverage, including that 22nd overall pick - is a key aspect of building for the future.
If they can acquire that game-changing player as early as this summer, they may just be able to contend sustainably - even if there might be two windows with a small gap in between.
Of course, Penguins' defensemen could certainly benefit from improving their gap control.
But the gap we're discussing here is a different kind.
Obviously, Dubas has kept his cards, generally, pretty close to the vest in terms of divulging the mechanics and timeline behind his short- and long-term plans. In fact, he has stressed on multiple occasions that he does not want to put a timeline on the Penguins' rebuild and instead wants to, simply, do what's best in order to get the team back to sustainable Stanley Cup contention as urgently as possible.
"The way that we're going will continue to be clear to everybody, which is: We're trying to return the team to being a contender as soon as possible. How are we going to do that? We have to add younger NHL players, we have to add prospects, and we have to add future capital and draft picks to the mix. "So, my view of it is that we should be able to accomplish that and still be able to maintain our spot in the playoff race and push for it. I know that isn't met with the most open understanding at times, and I understand why. People want it to be binary. They want it to be, 'Are you in contention now, or are you rebuilding now?' And the in-between is where it tends to get a little bit ambiguous. I think we kind of like it that way as well because it keeps our cards closer to our chest."
- - Kyle Dubas on the 'GM Show with Josh Getzoff' on Jan. 22, 2025
And the key? Minimizing the gap between as much as possible.
Yes, the Penguins will, likely, still have to draft in or near the lottery zone in order to contend sustainably in the future. But that doesn't necessarily need to happen until after Crosby decides to call it a career, especially with the earlier-than-anticipated emergence of Kindel as an option at top-six center as soon as next season.
And when you add in those other potential "core" pieces - Murashov and Brunicke should compete for a full-time roster spot next season, and Chinakhov, an RFA, will likely return - populating the NHL roster already, it stands to reason that, with a few key additions, the Penguins can be Stanley Cup contenders for a few years in the short-term.
"I just think there are a number of teams in the league that... you know, there are two paths to go down: You can go into the mass teardown rebuild and hope you get lucky with the lottery and hope that all this happens. But you can hope in one hand and s--- in the other and see which one fills up first."
- - Kyle Dubas in his 2024-25 season-ending press conference on Apr. 21, 2025
In addition, the Penguins can - and should - get younger while doing so. Going for some bigger names means phasing out some older veterans along the way, including players like Rakell and, possibly, Malkin and Karlsson, the former having yet to re-sign for next season and the latter entering the final year of his contract. But phasing out a few doesn't mean they need to phase out all, especially since their draft cupboard is already in a good place - and it doesn't mean they'd be committing to any kind of "tank" in the near-term, as the aim in dealing those players would likely be to receive younger talent in return.
But once Crosby retires? Yes, it's realistic to assume that the Penguins might struggle for a few years, especially if a player like Karlsson is out, too. But the purpose of building all of this peripheral talent - the Zonnons, the Horcoffs, the Howes, the Hayeses, the Ilyins, the Hardings, etc. - plus having part of a "core" in place with Kindel Murashov, Brunicke, and Chinakhov would be to help minimize the gap between windows, whether that's using that talent for the team or leveraging some of it in the trade market.
And if a player such as Chinakhov or Brunicke doesn't want to stick around for those few down years? They can, hopefully, flip them for valuable draft capital and assets, which would also help build toward that longer-term, post-Crosby window of contention.
It's worth emphasizng that none of this is a given, and there is inherent risk in every rebuild ever attempted. Long, tear-it-to-the-studs rebuilds risk fostering a culture of perpetual losing, while shortcut retools and rebuilds risk being unsustainable in the long-term.
It appears that Dubas and the Penguins find themselves in a sort of sweet spot in between. If executed correctly, Pittsburgh won't find themselves on the outside looking in for too long at all - and they will be primed to carry on their legacy as a franchise that accepts nothing less than a championship-oriented culture.
Not only that, they would also become the gold standard for a different yet scouting-focused, streamlined approach to rebuilding in the modern-day NHL.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MAY 5: Ryan Rolison #33 of the Chicago Cubs reacts in a game against the Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field on May 5, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Matt Dirksen/Chicago Cubs/Getty Images) | Getty Images
It’s another week here at BCB After Dark: the hippest hangout for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and sit with us for a while. We’re always open for a friendly face. There’s no cover charge. The dress code is casual. We still have a few tables available. There’s a two-drink minimum, but it’s bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last week I asked you if you would like the Cubs to trade for an injured Tarik Skubal on the hope that he would be healthy and his old dominant self by the playoffs. That idea seemed too risky for you, as 88 percent of you would rather the Cubs look elsewhere for starting pitching help. Presumably someone who was healthy at the time the deal was made.
Here’s the part where we listen to jazz and talk movies. You’re free to skip ahead if you want.
Tonight we’re featuring one of those fun Postmodern Jukebox videos. Postmodern Jukebox is the creation of pianist Scott Bradlee and here he’s joined by Gunhild Carling on vocals and trumpet and Aaron McLendon on drums.
This is ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” performed as a 1920s hot jazz number.
Dillinger was the surprise hit film of 1945 from Poverty Row studio Monogram Pictures. Directed by German exile Max Nosseck and starring a then-unknown Lawrence Tierney, Dillinger is a throwback to the gangster films of a decade earlier. The film received a Oscar-nomination for Best Screenplay for screenwriter Philip Yordan, but the script is nowhere near the best part of the film. Instead, Tierney’s cold and psychopathic portrayal of John Dillinger is what makes the film.
Monogram Pictures was one of the many, and arguably the most-successful, of the many small independent movie studios outside of the major or “Big Five” studios during the Golden Age of Hollywood. These studios specialized in churning out cheap films, often with lurid subject matter, that could turn a small profit even if they weren’t big hits. Dillinger broke out of that B-movie ghetto and became a huge hit in 1945, which led to more films from Monogram and producers the King Brothers that dealt with sensationalist themes. Its success also led to the Hays Code banning films made about real-life criminals for fear that they glamourized them.
The King Brothers never had any money to pay actors, but in this case, they wanted an unknown face, believing that the public wouldn’t accept a well-known actor as the infamous John Dillinger. They landed on Lawrence Tierney, who had only a few small credits to his name when he got the part. Tierney had spent more time in the Los Angeles County jail for fighting and being drunk and disorderly than he’d spent on-screen. But it was an inspired choice. I’m not sure what Tierney does on screen is acting so much as it is inhabiting the screen with a glowering presence. His Dillinger is a cold-blooded killer who shows no emotion when he decides to shoot one of his fellow outlaws or carve up a waiter who disrespected him years earlier with a broken beer mug. Ironically, it’s the lack of on-screen emotion that makes Tierney’s Dillinger so scary.
Tierney would go on to have a long career playing violent tough guys in crime pictures. Most of you probably remember him from his later work, which includes Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino was unsurprisingly a fan) and guest appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
The plot of Dillinger very loosely follows the career of the title gangster. He does crimes, gets arrested, breaks out, does more crimes again. He has a girlfriend Helen Rogers (Anne Jeffreys) who will become the infamous “woman in red” who betrays him. There’s a gang, and Dillinger’s relationship with the older Specs (Edmund Lowe) is a major theme of the film. Specs goes from a cellmate to a mentor to someone whom Dillinger battles for control of the gang once they get out. The always great Elisha Cook Jr. also plays one of the members of Dillinger’s gang.
Because Dillinger is about crime and came out in the heart of the noir period, some people claim that the film qualifies as a noir. But while there are some noir elements, it’s really a throwback to the gangster films of the 1930s. A man goes down a wicked path of crime and ends up paying the ultimate price is the story of The Public Enemy, Scarface, and Little Caesar. It’s a stretch to call Jeffrey’s Helen a femme fatale, even if she ends up betraying him. He pulls her into a life of crime rather than the other way around, for example. Most of the noir elements are just the way the film was shot with some of the trademark shadows and Dutch angles, but those were popular in a lot of films of the forties.
Another way that Dillinger reflects the gangster film tradition is that, in a cost-cutting move, they just re-use action scenes earlier crime pictures of the era, in particular director Fritz Lang’s 1937 film You Only Live Once. So there’s literally a different gangster film inside of this one.
Dillinger is a great example of how a low-budget film can turn a lack of money into an asset. The 70-minute runtime means that the plot has to be simple, tight and fast-moving. (That also meant that theaters could get in more showings of the film every night, bringing in even more money.) The lack of money for a big-name actor made them turn to Tierney, who is biggest reason to watch the film. Even the crime scenes that were reused from Lang were undoubtedly better than anything Nosseck could have shot.
Dillinger isn’t a great film. It’s Oscar-nomination aside, the script is more good rather than great. (Although looking at the other nominees, it’s a surprise it didn’t win.) But it’s certainly worth 70 minutes of your time just to see Tierney’s terrifying performance as John Dillinger.
Here’s the trailer for Dillinger.
Dillinger is on HBO Max, Watch TCM and there are free copies floating all over the internet as well. I believe it’s in the public domain.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the music and movies.
Last year, the Cubs built a pretty good bullpen out of castoffs. Two big pieces were Brad Keller, whom the Cubs signed on a minor league deal, and Drew Pomeranz, whom the Cubs acquired from the Mariners after he opted out of his minor league deal with the Mariners.
Both of those players went and signed free agent contracts elsewhere. This year, the potential “scrap heap to scrap iron” reliever just might be southpaw Ryan Rolison. Rolison was a first-round pick of the Rockies out of Ole Miss in 2018, which has got to be a good news/bad news thing for a college pitcher. The good news is that you’re a first-round pick. The bad news is that they’re expecting you to pitch for the Rockies.
Rolison was a top-five prospect for Colorado, as you might expect from a first-round pick. Scouts weren’t enamored with his pure stuff which graded out as more average, but he got good grades for plus command and “pitchability,” or the ability to mix up his stuff to keep hitters off balance.
But Rolison battled injuries during his time with the Rockies, which included two shoulder surgeries and a broken finger. He finally made it to the majors last year, but by that time he’d been moved to the bullpen full-time. He also didn’t pitch well in Colorado, putting up a 7.02 ERA in 42.1 innings. Even for the Rockies, that’s bad.
This winter, Rolison got stuck in waiver wire purgatory. The Rockies designated him for assignment in November and they ended up trading him to the Braves for cash. The Braves tried to sneak him through waivers in December, but the White Sox claimed him. Then, just two days before Christmas, the White Sox designated him for assignment with the Cubs claiming him in early January.
Rolison made his Cubs debut on April 14 as the Cubs bullpen was decimated with injuries. But he only pitched one inning until April 24 when he pitched three scoreless innings in that dramatic comeback win over the Dodgers.
Since then, Rolison has gotten his name called more often from manager Craig Counsell. Not only did he get the win in that Dodgers game, he improved his record to 3-0 with wins in back-to-back games against the Reds. Rolison has an ERA of 4.00 even, most of which was earned in a game against the Diamondbacks where he gave up a three-run home run to Geraldo Perdomo. Not good, but he’s not the first one to mess up against Perdomo and he won’t be the last.
But can Rolison keep it up? This article by Matthew Trueblood argues that he (probably) can. For one, Rolison has added about 1.3 miles per hour on to his fastball this year and it features a bit more vertical rise. But the more interesting point that Trueblood makes is that Rolison is uniquely qualified to take advantage of the new strike zone this year. As others have noted, the strike zone as called by ABS is slightly smaller than what had been called in previous years. In particular, there is less room at the top of the zone. Trueblood argues Rolison’s command and movement allows him to work the top of the zone better than a lot of pitchers out there.
Now maybe that’s true and maybe it isn’t. You can read the article and make up your mind for yourself. But tonight I’m asking you if you think that Rolison is going to be a critical member of the Cubs bullpen this year. I’m essentially asking a “circle of trust” question and whether or not you think he will be in or close enough to the circle of trust to stay in the Cubs bullpen all year.
I’m giving you three options to pick from. The first is that you think Rolison will pitch well enough to stay in the majors all season—or at least only make one short trip back to Iowa. The second option is that he doesn’t earn a permanent spot in the ‘pen, but that he rides the “Des Moines shuttle” between the majors and Triple-A most of the year. Rolison has an option left, so as long as the Cubs leave him on the 40-man, he can go back and forth betwen the majors and the minors.
The final option is that you don’t think Rolison will continue to pitch well and that eventually he’ll be designated for assignment. I put “injured” in with this choice as well. I don’t know how you could possibly predict that Rolison will suffer an injury that will cost him much or all of the season, but I have to admit that’s a real possibility with every pitcher. So I put it in with the DFA option because I didn’t want to put any of you on the record thinking that a Cub is going to get hurt.
Thank you for stopping in tonight. It’s always good to see you. We hope you’ve enjoyed being here as much as we’ve enjoyed hosting you. Travel home safely. Don’t forget any personal items. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow evening for more BCB After Dark.
LOS ANGELES - 1979: Singer Donna Summer poses for a portrait in 1979 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry Langdon/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Record: 20-20. Pace: 81-81. Change on 2025: -1.
It’s amazing to think that, not long ago, the D-backs’ rotation was going through one of the most wretched sequences in team history. On May 1st, here’s what Arizona’s starting pitchers had done over the previous two turns through the rotation: AZ rotation: 39 IP, 67 H, 48 ER, 24 BB, 33 SO, 11.08 ERA It was enough to compel manager Torey to have a meeting – unusually, with the entire group – when the team was in Chicago. “I let them know what was on my mind,” Lovullo said – adding ominously, “It was a one-way conversation.”
Well, whatever he said, I hope it’s available in a format suitable for framing. Because it’s as if the talent switch was flicked in their brains, to the ON position. Tonight was just the latest example, Michael Soroka tossing 6.1 scoreless innings as the D-backs battled their way to the second 1-0 win of the season (the first being on April 1 against Detroit). That’s now seven starts in a row where the starter has gone six-plus innings, and in all but one of those, they have also allowed one or zero runs. The total numbers across this period: AZ rotation: 47.2 IP, 27 H, 8 ER, 15 BB, 40 SO, 1.51 ERA
I guess it’s kinda galling that the team is only 4-3 in that time, because the offense has been as limp and flaccid as… [looks over shoulder at SB Nation’s Standards and Practices department] a limp, flaccid thing. But on the other hand, we’re at the quarter-mark on the season, and the team has already picked up four wins where they scored two runs or fewer. They only had five such victories in all of 2025, and just two in 2024. For what it’s worth, the Diamondbacks are also 12-1 when scoring more than five runs. We know what a problem that was last season: Arizona was only 4-3 when scoring 11+ runs in 2025.
What this all means, I don’t really know. It certainly makes for exciting baseball, when every swing of the bat could result in a lead change. It also makes for quick games, which the recapper welcomes. This one lasted only 2:21, and it would have been less except for Texas making every single one of their pitching changes in the middle of an inning. And there were a few, despite the score. Planned starter Nathan Eovaldi was scratched, and so the Rangers had to go with a bullpen game. Probably less an issue for them than most teams, considering they came in with an MLB-best 2.80 ERA, close to half a run better than anyone else.
The late change in plans didn’t seem to bother Arizona. Three batters in, they took a 1-0 lead, Geraldo Perdomo following up Corbin Carroll’s double, with one of his own. Little did we know that it would be the last time either side would cross home plate. Indeed, scoring opportunities in general would be few and far between. The best probably came to the D-backs in the eighth. With one out, Ketel Marte doubled, Carroll walked, and Perdomo singled to left, loading the bases. But Jose Fernandez went down swinging (he’s now 3-for-26 since April 26th, with nine strikeouts) and Ildemaro Vargas (5-for-36 since briefly brushing .400) grounded out.
Meanwhile, the Rangers only had three at-bats with a runner in scoring position. All of them came in the bottom of the opening frame. Marte booted what should have been an double-play, after the first two Rangers singled off Soroka. He still got the hitter at first, so it won’t go down as an error. But it meant Texas had men on second and third with one out, rather than just third with two outs. Fortunately, Soroka got out of the jam, helped by a key strikeout of Josh Jung, and was never trouble thereafter. Arizona was helped by some key plays on defense: Gabriel Moreno nailed a SB attempt, Ryan Waldschmidt had a fine catch in center (above), and Taylor Clarke picked a runner off first.
Soroka seemed to get better as he went on. He retired 11 batters in a row before allowing a lead-off single in the sixth, and was remarkably efficient with it. After needing 23 pitches in the first, thanks in part to Marte, his pitch counts for the next four innings were 13, 12, 6 and 8. Soroka did need 24 pitches for the sixth, and that might be why he was pulled with one out in the seventh. He was at 89 pitches, which is about his average. It’s worth noting that while he did go over 100 against the White Sox, his next time out was far and away his worst start of the year. So this might have been Lovullo playing the long game, ensuring Michael isn’t overtaxed.
The bullpen did it’s duty, with Brandyn Garcia finishing the seventh, Clarke working the eighth, and Paul Sewald notching his ninth save. He’s our first closer since Brad Boxberger in 2018 to reach that number of saves in the first 40 games. That did involve him facing Corey Seager with two outs. Of course, we all remember Game 1 of the 2023 World Series, where Seager hit a game-tying 2-run homer off Sewald, Texas winning in extra innings. Tonight though, Sewald hit Seager instead, on the ankle. While that brought the winning run to the plate, a harmless fly-ball ended the game, and the D-backs were back to .500 again.
You’ll have noticed the offense is notable by its absence from this recap. That’s because the offense were, again, notable by their absence. They could muster only six hits and two walks. Nolan Arenado doubled and singled, as did Perdomo, while Carroll drew both walks in addition to his double. But in the end, they did just enough to secure victory.
Click here for details, at Fangraphs.com I Feel Love: Michael Soroka, +44% He Works Hard for The Money: Sewald, +19%; Clarke, +14%; Perdomo, +11%
Macarthur Park: Ildemaro Vargas, -14%
A bright and energetic Gameday Thread, passing 300 comments without difficulty. If we were still playing the Mets, I’d continue the musical theme and nominate Dan’s version of Money For Nothing. But that joke’s time has passed and it’s too big to screen-cap. 🙂 So, instead, I’ll give it to the very Dan-adjacent TheRealRamona:
Same two teams tomorrow, and we will see whether a) the offense wakes up, and b) the rotation can keep up its miraculous resurrection. Zac Gallen starts, with first pitch in Texas at 5:05 pm. See you then! I’m off to watch 20 Million Miles to Earth.
The Minnesota Wild welcomed the Colorado Avalanche to Grand Casino Arena in Saint Paul, MN, for game four of the second round.
A good news, bad news sort of situation emerged at puck drop, as surprisingly both Sam Malinski and Artturi Lehkonen would not play.
We also saw the insertion of Jack Ahcan, Josh Manson, and Joel Kiviranta.
This Stanley Cup playoff series was stuck at 2-1 in favor of the Avalanche heading into the night, and a tightly contested showdown would, in the end, result in Parker Kelly’s first career playoff goal and the Avalanche leaving St. Paul with a victory.
Nathan MacKinnon was bloodied from an arrant clearing attempt but showed his toughness and returned to put home the empty netter that put this one out of reach.
“That’s exactly what we were looking for… we were looking for a response,” Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog said postgame.
Let’s review all of the action from game four!
The Game
It didn’t take long for the blood between these two rivals to boil over as Josh Manson took a check from Michael McCarron, who dragged Manson down to the ice.
In the fall and ensuing scuffle, it appeared Josh Manson hit McCarron in the head with the butt of the stick, inciting a review.
#GoAvsGo D Josh Manson is issued a double minor for butt ending #mnwild F Michael McCarron.
NHL Rule 58.5 indicates a double minor is issued for an attempt to butt end, and an actual butt end should be a 5-minute major and a game misconduct. pic.twitter.com/0rq2MsHqqW
The review set up a potential five-minute game misconduct for Josh Manson, but after the review, Manson was assessed a double minor.
The Wild would make the most of the second half of that double-minor as Brock Faber’s point shot was redirected by Danila Yurov, who was parked near the crease.
The Wild would secure the always impactful first tally of the game and take the 1-0 lead at 9:46, and that’s how the first period would end.
The second frame started with a bit of jostling from both sides, and inevitably, the Avalanche would earn a couple of power-play chances of their own.
Nazem Kadri would tie the game at 1-1 six minutes into the period, and on the latter of the power plays I previously mentioned.
Kadri did well to find some open space as the puck left the wall and fired the puck on net. The shot gave Jesper Wallstedt some trouble, and he left the rebound for Kadri to give it another go.
He made no mistake, and we’d end the middle frame in a tie hockey game.
Just before the second period let out, Nathan MacKinnon wore a clearing attempt from Devon Toews that hit him square in the chops. MacKinnon was bloodied and went right to the tunnel.
The Wild would answer quickly and ironically as Nico Sturm hit the same celly we saw from Ross Colton after Quinn Hughes found him alone at a dangerous angle.
We would once again be tied this time at 2-2 with 11:45 left in the game.
Speaking of timely goals, Parker Kelly would score the biggest and first playoff goal of his life to put the Avalanche ahead 3-2 eleven minutes into the final frame.
Parker was alone high in the slot and ripped home a one-timed bomb that beat Wallstedt high and over the shoulders—no luck involved.
Nathan MacKinnon, still dripping blood from his nose, would tally the empty netter on a patient play from Martin Necas and put this one out of reach with just over 30 seconds left.
Brock Nelson lofted an insurance empty netter, and the Avs would win with a final score of 5-2.
Takeaways
Many fans and pundits called into question MacKenzie Blackwood getting the nod in game four, but he only allowed two tallies, with just one of those coming at 5-on-5.
What many viewed as ‘a panic move’ from Bednar played out more like the display of another strong option between the pipes.
What many labeled 'a panic move' from Jared Bednar pays off tonight as his decision to start MacKenzie Blackwood displayed another strength of Colorado's. They have two starters. #GoAvsGo
It goes without saying that being hit in the face with a puck hurts really badly, and for Nathan MacKinnon to come out, no bubble, and do what he did tonight is truly remarkable. A testament to that championship resolve I pointed to yesterday.
Colorado got the depth goals they have been pining for with Nicolas Roy assisting Ross Colton and Parker Kelly’s game-winner. A sprinkling of top-six production from Kadri, Nelson, Necas, and MacKinnon, and the Avalanche can produce throughout the lineup; they are a tough team to beat.
Josh Manson is fortunate the refs couldn’t substantiate actual contact from the buttend of his stick, or he’d have gotten a game, and this one likely would have gone down a lot differently. Marcus Foligno pulled him aside as the final horn sounded and had passionate words.
We also got a little spice during ESPN’s intermission report from McCarron.
Wow, Wild forward Michael McCarron calls Josh Manson "a dirty player" during his intermission interview with PK Subban on @ESPN, after Manson hit him with the butt-end of his stick in the first period.
“I mean, you played against Josh. He’s a dirty player. He’s always been. Umm,… pic.twitter.com/byZqc0q0ig
— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) May 12, 2026
Jared Bednar gave no update on Sam Malinski or Artturi Lehkonen in the post-game presser.
Kudos to Jack Ahcan, who wasn’t all that bad in his first NHL playoff game. Pretty cool accomplishment for the young man.
"I think it's just the belief in this room. Confidence in this room. Determination. I mean those three things, and you add in… the skill that we have, the depth that we have, and it's a powerful combination. Guys knew what was at stake tonight."…
May 11, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Seattle Mariners pitcher Andres Munoz (75) celebrates after getting the final out during the ninth inning against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Three runs of offense and five innings from a starter aren’t the typical blueprint for a Mariners win, but the bullpen – missing two of its leverage arms – made those three runs hold up in a 3-1 victory in the series opener with the Astros.
This game got off to a frustrating start: the Mariners hit the ball hard in the first four batters but foul or into gloves – so of course the first hit to fall for the Mariners was an 87 mph exit velo parachute shot by Randy Arozarena with one out in the second. Astros starter Peter Lambert struggled with the zone after that, walking Luke Raley on five pitches and falling behind J.P. Crawford 3-1 before he lined out to Cam Smith in right field, but Dominic Canzone made sure the Mariners would get something out of the traffic, smoking a line drive (104.7 mph off the bat) that Astros left fielder Zach Cole couldn’t handle cleanly, allowing Arozarena to hustle home. Cole Young then ambushed a first-pitch fastball up but in the middle of the zone for his own hard-hit RBI single (103.6 mph EV) to give the Mariners a 2-0 advantage and also treat us to some vintage Luke Raley Running. Look at him chug home like he’s driving a chariot made out of scrap metal harvested from the shores of Lake Erie and tell me this does not spark joy:
Carrying forward the good vibes into the third, Julio eventually got his rightful homer. Crawford Boxes? He don’t need no stinkin’ Crawford Boxes. This was estimated at 414 feet but it feels like that pesky wall just got in the way of a ball that could have traveled deep into the heart of Texas.
But the offense would shut down after that, leading to a game that was closer than it probably needed to be, especially because George Kirby was good-not-great tonight. Last week I wrote about how Kirby has traded some of his strikeout stuff to become a groundball king in 2026, so today of course he decided to revert to 2025 Kirby, racking up seven strikeouts in his first four innings but also pushing his pitch count to 81 through those four innings. Kirby had to work around traffic in each of his first four innings as the Astros made him work, scattering base hits and walks but keeping the Astros from stacking a sustained threat. The biggest culprit for Kirby: a lack of first pitch strikes. Over those first four innings, he threw just seven of 17 first-pitch strikes, compared to 16 of 26 in his start against Atlanta.
Because he loves to be oppositional, right after I typed that paragraph Kirby immediately went back to throwing first-pitch strikes, throwing five of six in the fifth inning to bring his number up to a respectable ratio for the day. Because baseball loves to be oppositional even more, of course that was the inning where Kirby got stung by some bad batted-ball luck and porous infield defense to give up his first run of the day. It started, as most annoying Astros things do, with José Altuve ambushing a first pitch, this time parachuting a sweeper (77 EV) into center. Yordan Álvarez then punched a sinker that was in and off the plate for a single, because Yordan, and Paredes followed that with an RBI single on a sweeper that a rangy defensive shortstop gets to, but J.P. Crawford does not. Kirby was able to close things up from there without further damage on the scoreboard, but did take more damage to his pitch count, necessitating Dan Wilson to call on his bullpen about an inning before is ideal.
The Mariners hitters – who did not score after the Julio homer in the third, allowing Jose Espada to ride a wave of cromulence with Lambert and save his deeply crummy bullpen – didn’t do their part to give the Mariners’ beat-down bullpen any extra help. To their credit, Nick Davila delivered a scoreless bottom of the sixth and a flurry of puns on his name, as did Cooper Criswell, forced into a leverage spot facing the top of the Astros lineup in the seventh. Criswell did get some help from a strong diving play by Brendan Donovan (!) at third, who wolfed up a ball hit weakly in front of him to rob Altuve of yet another annoying infield single against the Mariners, but Criswell also somehow struck out Yordan swinging on a slider that looked like it landed right in the middle of the plate. So much talk this spring training about how tall Cooper Criswell is and not enough about how he is, apparently, a powerful wizard.
Speaking of powerful wizardry, you can’t spell “Boo, A Wizard!” without “Barzardo,” who bounced back nicely after a tough outing in Chicago to hang a Bazero in the bottom of the eighth, working around a leadoff walk but then obliterating his next three hitters, who looked very baffled by what Bazardo was sending to the plate. The element of surprise! Sometimes it works out.
Because of course the Mariners hitters failed to do anything in the ninth – except pinch-hitter Rob Refsnyder, who got a single off Astros lefty Bryan King to break up the long, long string of consecutive Mariners batters sent back to the bench – that meantAndrés Muñoz would be handed the same slender lead Davila, Criswell, and Bazardo all had to work with. Muñoz – subject of this excellent breakdown by Ryan Blake which you should read if you were otherwise engaged on Sunday – has hovered just this side of the dreaded “embattled” label this season, but he was nails tonight, disposing of the Astros despite yet another pesky Altuve single, ending on this strikeout of Álvarez on the changeup of all pitche,s in an at-bat wheretwo pitches before he hit a season-high 101.3 mph. It was a fantastic exclamation point on a night when the bullpen carried the day.
Not the typical route to a Mariners victory. But a necessary one, after the disappointment this weekend in Chicago, and an encouraging one, especially for the lesser-heralded bullpen arms. Tomorrow it will be Bryan Woo’s turn, and hopefully the Mariners hitters can provide him, and the hard-working bullpen, a little more offensive cushion.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MAY 11: Donovan Mitchell #45 and Dennis Schroder #8 of the Cleveland Cavaliers talk during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons in Game Four of the Second Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Rocket Arena on May 11, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Cleveland Cavaliers tied the series, beating the Detroit Pistons in Game 4.
All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player.
Mitchell only scored 4 points in the first half. His first bucket came midway through the second quarter. He’d immediately break out of that shell to start the third quarter, scoring 8 points and forcing a Detroit timeout only 90 seconds into the second half.
The run didn’t stop there. The Cavs broke out into a Cavalanche-worthy 23-0 run, and Mitchell’s shot-making led the way. He poured it on until the Pistons finally rolled over, scoring an NBA record 39 points in the second half for one of his best performances to date. Maybe even his best.
Grade: A+++
James Harden
24 points, 11 assists, 4 steals, 2 turnovers
Harden put the Cavs in front early with his scoring, nailing a pair of triples and netting 11 of Cleveland’s first 14 points.
He’d continue to elevate the offense, recording a double-double with 18 points and 10 assists by the four-minute mark of the third quarter. The Beard was in full control tonight.
Mobley isn’t an elite offensive hub, but he’s better than he gets credit for. He’s done a fine job of converting his opportunities in this series, scoring at an efficient rate when handling in the pick-and-roll and creating for others.
“Donovan’s gonna get all the flowers tonight, but Evan deserves just as many,” said Kenny Atkinson. “It seemed like he was swatting everything, maybe the best I’ve seen him defensively, and that’s saying something,”
Evan Mobley is the first EC player since Michael Jordan with
On the other side of the floor, he’s played a role in shutting down Jalen Duren and crushing the Pistons in the paint. Eight stocks speak for themselves. Mobley was everywhere, and Detroit had no solution.
Grade: A+
Jarrett Allen
9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks
Rocket Arena was chanting ‘Jarrett Allen’ during the 23-0 Cavalanche. That happened just moments before Allen crushed a two-handed dunk. I’m not sure if life gets any better than that.
Good vibes aside, Allen has handled all of the physicality thrown at him this series. He’s battled with Duren and come out victorious more often than not. If he continues to meet the moment, this will be a narrative-reversing postseason for Allen (if it isn’t already).
Grade: A-
Dean Wade
0 points, 5 rebounds
Wade, to some chagrin, stayed in the starting lineup tonight. And for the first time in this series, that lineup won its opening minutes. This was mainly because of Harden, but it was an important stretch that has defined the first few games of this matchup. Wade is valuable when the Cavaliers’ offense is able to withstand him being on the floor.
“I thought Wade took his defense to another level,” said Kenny Atkinson after the game.
Grade: B-
Max Strus
5 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Strus has forced some of the most impactful turnovers I can recall in this series. His Game 3 heroics speak for themselves, but tonight, he forced an eight-second violation on Cade Cunningham at a pivotal junction of the night. His intensity has helped the Cavs form an identity that’s worthy of standing the tests of a difficult playoff series.
Grade: B+
Jaylon Tyson
1 point, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Tyson only played 8 minutes as this just wasn’t his night. He’s struggled to find his range as a three-point shooter in the playoffs and will need to rediscover his touch before earning any more minutes.
Grade: D
Dennis Schroder
7 points, 2 rebounds
Schroder finished as a minus-15. But this is why we always say plus/minus can be wonky. Schroder felt much more impactful, at least to me. His bursts to the rim remain helpful, and he shot 3-4 from the floor.
Grade: C+
Sam Merrill
6 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound
Merrill nailed his first two three-point attempts and had Rocket Arena going crazy. He went 0-6 from the floor the rest of the way.
Still, Merrill’s off-ball activity opens gaps for the Cavs offense to attack. He’s a positive for this reason.
May 11, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Colorado Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson (42) and Minnesota Wild center Yakov Trenin (13) compete for the puck during the second period in game four of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Ross Colton and Parker Kelly each scored in the third period for Colorado, an opportune time for their first goals of the postseason as the high-scoring Avalanche snapped back from a mid-series lull and beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 in Game 4 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead in the second round of the NHL playoffs.
Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves in his first start this postseason after relieving Scott Wedgewood during a 5-1 loss in Game 3 on Saturday, and the Avalanche moved within one win of taking the first spot in the Western Conference finals. Game 5 will be in Denver on Wednesday.
Nazem Kadri scored on a power play in the second period, and Nathan MacKinnon — who had a brief absence to fix a bloody nose from a puck to the face — and Brock Nelson added empty-net goals in the final minute.
Nico Sturm tied the game at 2 for Minnesota with his first goal of the postseason about two minutes after Colton put the Avalanche up by 1. The Wild were outshot 20-5 over roughly the first half of the game by an energized Colorado offense.
After leading the NHL in goals during the regular season while posting the league’s best record, the Avalanche scored 14 times over the first two games before Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt stonewalled them in Game 3.
Colton and Kelly became the 15th and 16th players to score for the Avalanche in just eight postseason games this spring.
Rookie Danila Yurov scored his first career postseason goal on a deflection midway through the first period for the Wild during a four-minute power play prompted by a double minor penalty on defenseman Josh Manson.
Game 3 was the Colorado Avalanche's worst game of the playoffs so far. Too many mistakes on the defensive end of the puck, too many turnovers in the offensive zone, and it was one not to forget but to build off of. It all starts with a goaltending change with MacKenzie Blackwood coming in for Scott Wedgewood.
They also get thrown a curveball as Sam Malinski and Arturri Lehkonen are last-minute scratches. Though Josh Manson does return to the lineup, Jack Achan makes his playoff debut. All in all, the changes, video, and practice worked, as the Avalanche secured a 5-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild to go up 3-1 in the series, playing arguably their best game of the series.
Period 1:
The attitudes start early as Ross Colton and Danila Yurov get into a little scrum after the whistle, and both are called for roughing minors, resulting in two minutes of 4-on-4. Zach Bogosian is hit hard into the boards, skates off in a bit of pain, and heads down the tunnel, but quickly returns to the bench after evaluation.
Michael McCarron checks Josh Manson hard across the boards, and Manson brings him down with him, then both scuffle on the ground before Manson seems to buttend him in the head with his knob right in the ear.
After a lengthy review by the referees, they assessed it as a four-minute double minor, which caused some confusion about why it wasn't a five-minute penalty. Per the official rule book from the NHL;
It's a four-minute penalty if: "Double-minor Penalty - A double-minor penalty will be imposed on a player who attempts to butt-end an opponent."
The Avalanche manage to almost kill it off, but Yurov tips Brock Faber's shot and it redirects past MacKenzie Blackwood and in to make it 1-0. Despite the power play goal, the Avalanche held the Wild to just four shots on goal, two on 5-on-5 and the other two from the power play.
Period 2:
The Avalanche continue their strong start into the second period, which sees them get a power play as Bogosian is called for interference, but fail to convert on the man advantage. Wallstedt continues to be the best player for the Wild, stopping everything the Avalanche sends his way, including some close shots from Valeri Nuchushkin.
The Avalanche gets another power play when Yakov Trenin is called for closing his hand over the puck. This time, they convert, and it doesn't take long as Martin Necas finds Nazem Kadri’s initial shot and feeds him again to tie the game up 1-1.
Coming to a close of the second period, Parker Kelly is called for cross-checking, but the Avalanche does a good job killing the penalty. A scary moment with less than two minutes to go as Nathan MacKinnon gets hit in the face with the puck and blood spews everywhere. The culprit seems to be Devon Toews as he shot it out of the blue paint.
Period 3:
As the third period starts, MacKinnon is on the bench, all patched up and ready to go. Manson makes a bad turnover behind the net that leads to the Wild getting a flurry of shots on net, but Jack Achan, making his playoff debut, makes some massive blocks to stop Matt Boldy's best opportunity of the night.
Nic Roy does a great job corralling a loose puck rebound and finds Ross Colton on the doorstep with a beautiful pass to help the Avalanche take a 2-1 lead. That's Colton's last goal since March 24th against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a hefty goalless drought broken.
Not too long after, Quinn Hughes does a good job fending off Roy to feed Nico Sturm to tie the game back up, 2-2.
Two minutes later, it's Parker Kelly, who, from a feed from Jack Drury, helps the Avalanche retake the lead with a wrist shot that beats Wallstedt and over his glove. Key play from Drury, who forechecks hard to stop the puck from being cleared and lets the play set up.
Wallstedt is pulled at the 1:40 mark, and both Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson score on the empty net to make it 5-2 and help secure the win to move the Avalanche to a 3-1 lead over the Wild.
Next Game
The Avalanche can look to close out the series on Wednesday, May 13, when they return home to Ball Arena.
He was patched up during the second intermission and was back on the ice for the start of the third period of Game 4 in Minnesota.
Colorado's Parker Kelly broke a 2-2 tie during the third period, then MacKinnon scored the first of two Avalanche empty net goals to put the game away.
MacKinnon into the empty net and this one should be OVAAAAAA 🚨
Then the seven-time All-Star completely took over in the second half with an explosive scoring display to propel the Cavaliers to a 112-103 victory, tying the series 2-2.
Mitchel scored 39 points in the second half to tie the all-time NBA playoff record for most points in a half. The Golden State Warriors’ Eric "Sleepy" Floyd set the record on May 10, 1987, against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mitchell could not find the basket in the first half, shooting just 1-for-8 and tallying just four points as the Pistons took a 56-52 lead into the locker room. But the guard nicknamed “Spida” emerged as an entirely different player after the break.
SPIDA SCORED 39 OF HIS 43 POINTS IN THE 2ND HALF 🤯
IT'S THE MOST POINTS IN ANY HALF IN A POSTSEASON GAME IN THE PLAY-BY-PLAY ERA!
Mitchell went from couldn’t make to couldn’t miss in the third quarter. He scored 21 points in the period, making 8-of-9 field goals, draining two of three 3-pointers and knocking down all three of his free throw attempts.
His scoring tear continued in the fourth with 18 points, shooting 4-of-9 from the field (1-for-4 on 3-pointers) and hitting 9 of 10 free throws.
Mitchell said he apologized to his team at halftime for his low output and his decision-making.
“I set the tone in Game 3 (a 116-109 Cleveland win), came downhill in transition, and I don’t think I did that one time in the first half. So, I came in and told the guys, ‘That’s on me.’ So, I tried to make a statement in the second half.”
Cleveland began the third period on a 23-0 run, largely spurred by Mitchell, but he credited the game plan and the team for the second-half surge.
“Just continue to play together and continue to move the ball, so that’s where it starts. I was also able to get into the paint. We did a great job of getting everybody involved in the second half.”
CLEVELAND, OH - MAY 09: Rhys Hoskins #8 of the Cleveland Guardians jogs to first after being intentionally walked in the tenth inning during the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on Saturday, May 9, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Leigh Bacho/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
The Guardians had a blowout win tonight, 7-2, over a very bad baseball team in the Los Angeles Angels.
Brayan Rocchio finally got the team a hit with runners in scoring position in the second:
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 11, 2026
Daniel Schneemann got a bloop to fall for two RBI’s in the 3rd. Funny after all those hard hits I saw caught last series, including a screamer from Schnee:
— Cleveland Guardians (@CleGuardians) May 11, 2026
The top five hitters in the Guardians’ lineup went 0-14… but they did take a combined six walks (2 from Steven Kwan, one from Chase DeLauter and THREE from Rhys Hoskins). Jose Ramirez hit a couple balls hard, but went 0 for 5 with a strikeout. It’ll sure be nice when he finally turns it around. But, if the bottom of the lineup goes 7 for 17 with four walks, we will see this team win a lot of baseball games while we wait.
Joey Cantillo was very good, going six scoreless, allowing five hits, one walk and striking out four. Matt Festa was shaky but threw a soreless inning, Colin Holderman and Peyton Pallette both gave up runs, but, hey, it didn’t matter so it doesn’t count.
Let’s see if the Guardians can clinch a series victory in the toughest matchup (on paper) of the series, with Slade Cecconi facing off against Walbert Urena.
There were a lot of things to note in this game: A red-hot Donovan Mitchell dropping 39 in the second half, James Harden spraying the ball all over the floor and racking up 11 assists, the way the Cavaliers attacked the Pistons' defense, getting them in rotation (and the way Detroit kept helping off good 3-point shooters for some reason), the Pistons turnovers, and much more.
But this game was decided in the 6:03 stretch at the start of the third quarter, when the Cavaliers went on a 24-0 run to take control.
After scoring just 4 points in the first half, Donovan Mitchell drops a quick 8 points in the first 2 minutes of the 3rd quarter!
Mitchell scored 21 in the third quarter on 8-of-9 shooting, and behind that, the Cavaliers went from down 4 at the half to up 18, and the game was never seriously in doubt again.
Cleveland went on to win 112-103, tying up their series with Detroit 2-2.
A critical Game 5 is in Detroit on Wednesday — Cleveland is 6-0 at home these playoffs and 0-5 on the road.
It was a tale of two halves for Mitchell, who had just four points on 1-of-8 shooting in the first half. It was Harden, with 15 points and six assists — 11 of those points coming early in the first – that kept the Cavaliers in striking distance.
Then Mitchell put on his cape and came out like Superman in the second half, scoring 39 — tying an NBA record for points in a half in the play-by-play era. With a free throw with 27.6 left, Mitchell got to 39, tying him with Eric "Sleepy" Floyd for the honor.
Mitchell finished with 43 points, Harden had 24 points to go with his 11 dimes, and Evan Mobley added 17 for the Cavs.
It was a rough day for the Pistons starters. Cade Cunningham had 19 points on 16 shot attempts with four turnovers, Jalen Duren scored just eight points, and Tobias Harris scored 16 but needed 17 shots to get there.
It was a strong night off the bench from Caris LeVert with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, and 15 from Paul Reed on 7-of-9 from the floor, that kept them close.
It looked like it might be the Cavs night from the start. Cleveland forced five early turnovers and that became 11 points going the other way, leading to the Cavaliers being up by as much as 11 early — not coincidentally Harden had 11 early points. But the Pistons righted themselves and quickly walked that down, especially thanks to a fast start from LeVert off the bench, and after a quarter it was Detroit by 3, 24-21.
The second quarter was back-and-forth, with Cleveland doing a much better job of attacking mismatches (including being willing to go at Duran on the perimeter) and getting the Pistons in rotation. Despite that, it was the Pistons by four at the half.
Then Mitchell took over, the Cavaliers went on their run, and changed the feel of this series. It's now a best-of-three.
