Breaking down Reid Detmers' historic no-hitter in Anaheim, plus NBA's top seeds bounce back

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Happy Wednesday, everyone.

Let's get right to it.

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Good morning to everyone but especially to...

REID DETMERS...

Nice to meet you, Reid Detmers, and welcome to the history books! The Angels' 22-year-old rookie, making just his 11th career MLB start, threw a no-hitter last night against the Rays in Los Angeles' 12-0 win.

Detmers is the youngest Angel ever to throw a no-no, and the youngest in MLB since Aníbal Sánchez in 2006.
It's the 12th no-hitter in Angels history and first since Taylor Cole and Felix Peña combined for one in 2019. It's the Angels' first individual no-hitter since Jered Weaver in 2012.
Detmers struck out just two batters, tied for the fewest in a no-hitter in the last 50 years.
It's the second no-hitter of the season; the Mets had a combined no-no April 29.

Detmers was the Angels' first-round pick (10th overall) in 2020 and the team's top prospect at the start of the season, but had a 6.33 career ERA entering last night's game. He had also never pitched more than six innings in a game. That's what makes baseball so great, though: Magical performances can come from anywhere, at any time.

... AND ALSO A GOOD MORNING TO THE MIAMI HEAT AND THE PHOENIX SUNS

On Sunday night, everything came up 76ers. Joel Embiid was back in full force, James Harden had turned back the clock, the supporting cast was filling its role perfectly and Philadelphia had won two straight.

The Heat quieted all of that in emphatic fashion last night with a dominant 120-85 win.

Jimmy Butler scored 23 points and Max Strus had a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double.
Miami won the points in the paint battle, 56-36.
Philadelphia's big three of Embiid, Harden and Tyrese Maxey combined for just 40 points on 14-for-35 shooting.
The Heat did this all without Kyle Lowry (hamstring).

What was most shocking -- and what the box score doesn't show -- was the completely different energy levels on display. Philadelphia was sloppy and sluggish and showed little fight when it fell behind. Mind you, this was Game 5 of a series tied 2-2. The winner of this game, historically, wins the series 82 percent of the time. Philadelphia treated it like a regular-season game with nothing on the line. But credit the Heat: They were terrific on both ends and they're now one win from the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Western Conference No. 1 seed was plenty impressive, too: The Suns throttled the Mavericks, 110-80, to also take a 3-2 series lead.

Phoenix outscored Dallas 61-34 in the second half.
Devin Booker had 28 points, and Deandre Ayton had 20.
The Mavericks shot 38 percent, their worst this postseason.

Quite simply, the Suns looked like themselves again, notes our NBA expert Jasmyn Wimbish.

Wimbish: "It was the exact type of performance the Suns needed after two lackluster showings on the road. They rotated to the open man better on defense and limited Luka Doncic's ability to drive to the rim and kick it out to the perimeter. Without those kick-outs to guys like Dorian Finney-Smith, Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber it forced the Mavericks to beat the Suns with just Doncic, and similar to the first two games of this series that plan didn't work."

Honorable mentions

Tom Brady is getting an absurd amount of money as a broadcaster once his NFL career ends.
Aaron Judge hit his first career walk-off home run.
Justin Verlander dominated the Twins.
The Cowboys and Commanders have the league's easiest schedule. You can see the full rankings here.
Andy Reid had high praise for a former QB.
Christmas came early: Broncos-Rams is December 25.
Congrats on an amazing career, Patrick Marleau.

And not such a good morning for...

GOLFERS TRYING TO PLAY IN THE LIV GOLF LEAGUE...

PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is putting his foot down. Golfers seeking waivers for the June's LIV Golf league event in London have been denied. It's a surprising turn of events, writes our golf expert Kyle Porter.

Porter: "The belief was that the PGA Tour, which must grant permission to its members to play in events outside the PGA Tour itself, would approve the waivers for the first of eight LIV Golf events this year before denying them at a later date when the league moved to North American turf."

Several recognizable names, including Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood, were planning to play in the event. It's unclear what they -- or LIV Golf -- will do next. Here are more details:

Many big-name golfers were granted waivers earlier this year to play in the Saudi International, an event on the Asian Tour.
The PGA Tour allows players three waiver requests per year.
If players ignore the denied waiver, they could be suspended or banned from the PGA Tour.

LIV Golf, of course, is none too happy, and this won't be the last we hear about this decision.

... AND ALSO NOT SUCH A GOOD MORNING FOR JA MORANT AND THE MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

We have more news on Ja Morant's injury, and it's not good. The Grizzlies superstar is doubtful to return this postseason due to a bone bruise in his right knee. Morant suffered the injury in Game 3 against the Warriors and did not play in Game 4 -- both Memphis losses.

Down 3-1 in the series, the Grizzlies could very well see their season end tonight. That it could end without Morant is a bummer.

Not so honorable mentions

Carlos Correa is on the IL.
Paul DeJong was demoted to Triple-A.
In stories too wild to be made up: Marcelo lost his job with French soccer team Lyon for... farting and laughing in the locker room.

Results of four crucial Game 5s in the NHL; Canadiens win draft lottery 🏒

Last night, we had four Game 5s in the NHL playoffs with all four series knotted at two games apiece. Just how important were these games? The winner of Game 5 in a series tied 2-2 goes on to win the series 79 percent of the time, which means the following teams are in good shape:

The Hurricanes beat the Bruins 5-1 behind two goals from Seth Jarvis and 34 saves from Antti Raanta.
The Maple Leafs beat the Lightning 4-3 with Auston Matthews scoring the game-winner in the third period.
The Blues beat the Wild 5-2 thanks to a Vladimir Tarasenko hat-trick.
The Kings beat the Oilers 5-4 off Adrian Kempe's winner in overtime.

It was also an important night off the ice with the NHL draft lottery. The Canadiens -- who had the top odds for the first pick -- did indeed get the first selection. It's the sixth time Montreal, which will host the draft in July, has gotten the top pick.

Here's the top five:

1. Canadiens
2. Devils
3. Coyotes
4. Kraken
5. Flyers

You can see full results of the draft lottery here.

Rest in peace, Bob Lanier

Basketball Hall-of-Famer Bob Lanier died yesterday at the age of 73. Selected first overall in the 1970 NBA Draft by the Pistons, Lanier spent most of his career in Detroit before finishing with the Bucks.

Lanier was an eight-time All-Star selection.
He averaged 20.1 points and 10.1 rebounds for his career.
He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1992.

Lanier spent much of his post-playing life helping grow the game globally. NBA commissioner Adam Silver called Lanier "a close friend who I will miss dearly, as will so many of his colleagues across the NBA who were inspired by his generosity."

Which NFL veterans were helped or hurt most from the NFL Draft? 🏈

The NFL Draft is a big deal for the incoming rookies, sure, but it's also a big deal for NFL veterans. So, which veterans should be encouraged by how their teams drafted? Which might not be so happy?

Our Jeff Kerr took a look at both sides, and I wholeheartedly agree with his first selection for players who benefitted most:

Kerr: "The Ravens did an excellent job this draft of landing Lamar Jackson offensive skill players who fit the type of offense that won Jackson the league MVP award in 2019. In addition to All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews, the Ravens selected tight ends Charlie Kolar and Isaiah Likely in the fourth round... In Jackson's MVP season he had three tight ends who each finished with over 300 yards receiving and combined for 14 touchdowns. ... The Ravens also had a strong offensive line, which Baltimore addressed with the first-round selection of center Tyler Linderbaum and the fourth-round pick of tackle Daniel Faalele."

Jackson was one of three quarterbacks on the "benefitted" side, but it wasn't good news for every signal-caller. Three quarterbacks were on the list of veterans who were "hurt" by their team's draft. You can check out the entire list here.