🏒 Y! Sports AM: Colorado comeback

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🏒 AVS WIN THRILLER, CLINCH SERIES

Brett Kulak (L) celebrates with Josh Manson after scoring the series-clinching goal. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

The Avalanche mounted an epic comeback on Wednesday night in Denver, clinching a series victory over the Wild to return to the conference finals for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Avalanche 4, Wild 3 (OT): Minnesota took a 3-0 lead in the first period, which history says should have been enough to extend the series: The Wild were 21-0 all-time in the playoffs after leading by 3+ goals and the Avs were 2-50 in such situations.

• But the top-seeded Avalanche would not be denied on this night, scoring once in the second period and twice in the final four minutes of the third.
• Nathan MacKinnon's game-tying beauty (his sixth straight game with a goal!) sent things to overtime, and Brett Kulak sent the Avalanche faithful home happy four minutes into the extra period.
• Incredibly, this marked the first time since 2008 that Colorado clinched a playoff series at home, with each of their previous nine postseason clinchers coming on the road.

Looking ahead: The Avs are only halfway to another championship, but they've been utterly dominant thus far, going 8-1 with a +14 goal differential through the first two rounds. If they go all the way, they'll be the first Presidents' Trophy winner (best regular-season record) to hoist the Cup since the Blackhawks in 2013.

⚾️ STAT DU JOUR

This stat is blowing my mind… as most Ohtani stats do!

His latest feat: Ohtani tossed seven shutout innings in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Giants, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 0.82, which is half a run better than the next closest pitcher (1.35). Lol.

🌍 THE WORLD IN PHOTOS

(Cleveland Cavaliers)

🇺🇸 Detroit, Michigan — The Cavaliers rallied to beat the Pistons, 117-113 (OT), in a back-and-forth affair to notch their first road victory of the postseason and take a 3-2 lead as the series heads back to Cleveland tomorrow.

Standout performers: Cade Cunningham (39-7-9) led the way for the top-seeded Pistons, but it wasn't enough against James Harden (30-8-6), Donovan Mitchell (21 pts), Evan Mobley (19-8-8) and Max Strus (20 pts, 6-8 3PT).

(Michael Chisholm/Getty Images)

🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada — Marina Mabrey scored 26 points to help the Toronto Tempo beat the Seattle Storm, 86-73, for their maiden WNBA victory.

More WNBA: Caitlin Clark (24 pts, 9 ast) and the Fever picked up their first win of the season; the Sky beat the Valkyries to remain undefeated (2-0); the Aces blew out the winless Sun to improve to 2-1.

(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

🇮🇹 Rome, Italy — The Italian Open quarterfinal between Luciano Darderi and Rafael Jódar was interrupted in ‌bizarre circumstances on Wednesday when smoke from nearby fireworks surrounded the court and made it impossible to see.

Who set off the fireworks? Inter Milan fans were celebrating at the neighboring Stadio Olimpico after their beloved club beat Lazio, 2-0, to win the Coppa Italia and secure the domestic double.

⛳️ SCOTTIE VS. RORY: GOLF'S DREAM MATCHUP

(Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports)

Scottie Scheffler vs. Rory McIlroy is the major showdown the entire golf world wants to see — and has yet to experience. Could this week's PGA Championship finally deliver the goods?

Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports:

They've won four of the last five majors between them. They're without question the two best players in golf, both on trajectories to join the game's historical greats. Yet somehow, they've never squared off on a major Sunday.

Scottie Scheffler vs. Rory McIlroy. Head to head. You want it. I want it. The entire golf world wants it. So why hasn't it happened yet? And could it happen this week at Aronimink?

McIlroy and Scheffler have done battle head-to-head before — in the Ryder Cup singles match at Bethpage last year, where Scheffler won 1-up, and at the 2025 Optum Golf Channel Games, where Scheffler won by a single inch. Yes, really.

"He's a guy I always see in the gym, the practice facility," Scheffler said of McIlroy recently. "If we're playing the same tournament, we see each other a lot because we're all doing the same things in order to get ready."

Yet somehow, they both never seem to be ready at the same time. In the 17 majors held since the start of 2022 they've both finished in the top 10 in the same tournament just seven times.

Aronimink, site of this week's PGA Championship, sets up well for both players to have a strong week — McIlroy because it's a bombers' paradise, Scheffler because … well, every course sets up well for him.

The two rank first and third on the PGA Tour in scoring average, first and second in birdie average, first and fourth in overall strokes gained, with Scheffler leading all. The numbers point to a Scheffler-McIlroy showdown, and so do the vibes.

Tee times: McIlroy tees off at 8:40am ET today, while Scheffler goes off at 2:05pm. With any luck, they'll be teeing off a whole lot closer to each other on Sunday.

⚽️ A NEW ERA FOR COLLEGE SOCCER

The Washington Huskies celebrate winning the 2025 national championship. (Anthony Sorbellini/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Division I men's soccer will shift from being a fall-only sport to splitting its schedule between the fall and spring beginning in 2027-28, the NCAA announced Wednesday.

• Old format: The Division I men's soccer season has been played during a 10-13 week fall window, with the College Cup taking place in December.
• New format: Teams will be allowed to play 18 matches from August-November and up to 10 matches from February until the NCAA Tournament (dates TBD).

Why the change? The goal is to bring the college game more in line with the professional calendar, while also spreading matches out more evenly so the schedule is less compressed.

• Unlike other college sports, which tend to play at roughly the same cadence as their professional counterparts, D-I soccer programs play matches every three or four days, compared to every seven in most top-tier pro leagues.
• The men's oversight committee believes the fall-spring schedule will give athletes a more balanced academic and athletic experience, with more recovery time between matches and fewer midweek games conflicting with class.

What they're saying: "This is a new era for college soccer," head coach Jamie Clark of the 2025 national champion Washington Huskies told AP. "Hopefully, through the new calendar we can build some positive momentum and create more excitement for our sport."

As a reminder: MLS is also overhauling its calendar starting in 2027, adopting a new summer-to-spring schedule to align with top leagues around the world.

📺 WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, MAY 14

(Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images)

⛳️ PGA Championship

The 108th PGA Championship tees off this morning (7am ET, ESPN+; 12pm, ESPN) at Aronimink Golf Club, 20 miles west of Philadelphia. The 156-player field features no amateurs, as this is the only major held exclusively for professional golfers.

Featured groups: Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg, Rickie Fowler (8:18am); Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton (8:29am); Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm (8:40am); Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley, Justin Thomas (1:54pm); Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose (2:05pm).

🏒 NHL Playoffs

The Sabres (tied 2-2) host the Canadiens in tonight's first game (7pm, TNT), then the Golden Knights (up 3-2) visit the Ducks in the nightcap (9:30pm, TNT).

Is this the year? The Sabres were in a 2-1 hole to start this series — a deficit they have never successfully overcome. If they win two of the next three, they'll snap an NHL-worst 0-14 drought in such situations.

More to watch:

• 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (7am, Tennis) … Jannik Sinner headlines the men's quarterfinals and Coco Gauff headlines the women's semifinals.
• ⚾️ MLB: Giants at Dodgers (10:10pm, MLB) … The Dodgers (25-18) have lost four of five to fall out of first place.
• 🏀 WNBA: Lynx at Wings (8pm, Prime); Liberty at Fire (10pm, Prime) … New York and Portland meet again two days after the Fire took them down for their first-ever victory.
• ⛳️ LPGA: Queen City Championship (3pm, Golf) … Nelly Korda headlines the field in Cincinnati.

Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. Get tickets now!

🏈 NFL TRIVIA

(Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

Dolphins running back De'Von Achane agreed to a four-year, $68 million extension with the team on Wednesday.

Achane is one of just three NFL players with at least 3,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards since his 2023 debut.

Question: Can you name the other two?

Hint: Both play in the NFC.

Answer at the bottom.

⚽️ NEW GAME: SOCCER PICK 'EM

We've partnered up with FOX One, the official English streaming platform for the 2026 World Cup, to launch a Soccer Pick 'Em game just in time for the tournament.

How to play: Make picks each round, earn points for correct answers and climb the leaderboard. You can play solo against the field, create a private group with friends to compete for bragging rights, or join a public group to play with other fans.

• For the tournament's group stage, fans pick the winners of each group and the top goal scorer across all groups.
• For each subsequent knockout round, fans pick the winners of each match. As the tournament progresses, the picks become more valuable.

Make your picks now.

P.S. We're also launching a soccer-themed version of Daily Draw, the popular free-to-play game on the Yahoo Sports app. That game will run every day of the tournament, giving fans another fun way to predict outcomes tied to the biggest matches.

Trivia answer: Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson

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