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Good morning! Make a hard decision today. Coming up: 

• 😮‍💨 15 goals
• 😵‍💫 Three Game 7s
• 💔 Time to trade a star?

While You Were Sleeping: A scoring deluge > Game 7s

Normally, we would lead this newsletter with the three Game 7s that happened across both the NBA and NHL yesterday. But we cannot ignore the the goalfest that happened in Colorado last night: 

• The Avalanche, the Stanley Cup favorite, allowed six goals to the visiting Minnesota Wild in their opening game of the second round last night. Troubling, right? Funny. Colorado scored nine. Avalanche 9, Wild 6. Somehow, 15 combined goals is only tied for fifth in playoff history. Read our full report here. 

About those Game 7s:

Nic Antaya / Getty Images

• Let’s stick with hockey, where the Canadiens pulled off a road upset in Game 7 over the Lightning. Difficult for any team, but especially this one. The youngest team in the playoffs has come of age.
  
  
• In the NBA, the Pistons completed a comeback from 3-1 down that is equal parts impressive and worrisome. It’s impressive when any team comes back from down 3-1, but worrisome that the No. 1 seed in the East was down 3-1 in the first place. I have no idea what to make of this team.
  
  
• Up next for Detroit is Cleveland, which won its own Game 7 yesterday against the Raptors in what turned into a comfortable win. Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points in the win, which was fortunate after Mirin Fader wrote an exquisite piece on Mitchell yesterday morning. Read that feature here. 

Round 1 is done for both the NHL and NBA. The matchups only get better. Quick news break:

News to Know

Volpe sent down
The Yankees optioned former starting shortstop Anthony Volpe to Triple A yesterday, completing a shocking fall for the former wunderkind player. For years, Volpe, just 25, has been considered a possible franchise cornerstone, but his play hasn’t matched that hope. His replacement, José Caballero, has been a bright spot for a Yankees team that has the best record in the American League. Read our full breakdown.

Toronto’s curious choice
The Maple Leafs hired John Chayka — the former Coyotes general manager who quit amid controversy — as their new GM, and Mats Sundin — the franchise legend — as a senior executive adviser, the team announced yesterday, formalizing the hierarchy of its new front office. It comes at a most critical time for one of the NHL’s most prestigious franchises and, as Jonas Siegel writes, the club isn’t operating like a serious hockey team.

Trump course takeover challenged
The DC Preservation League filed an emergency stay request yesterday afternoon to stop the Trump administration’s takeover of the East Potomac Golf Course, a famous public track in Washington, D.C. It’s the latest barb in an ongoing battle between the Trump regime and the National Links Trust, which holds a 50-year lease to renovate the course. Catch up on the saga here.

More news:

• Yesterday’s biggest winner? F1 sensation Kimi Antonelli, who won his third straight race at the Miami Grand Prix. He’s only 19 and is already setting records.
  
• The Lakers are saying very nice things about the defending champion Thunder ahead of their second-round matchup. Probably smart.
  
• Conversely, 76ers star Joel Embiid pleaded with Philadelphia fans to not sell their home tickets to visiting Knicks fans during their series. Embiid even offered his own money.
  
• Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby has retained a prominent labor lawyer in case he needs to sue for his eligibility. Messy.
  
• Nelly Korda continued her domination of the LPGA this year with a win at the Riviera Maya Open yesterday. Similarly, Cameron Young is officially on a PGA hot streak himself after winning the Cadillac Championship yesterday.
  
• The PWHL won’t have a traditional expansion draft as it adds new teams this offseason, opting instead for a more complex signing-window system.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Conundrums: About Mike Trout

Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Getty Images

Last week, we briefly mentioned the resurgence of Mike Trout as something to monitor. The situation has become more pressing. 

First, the reality: 

• The Angels are 13-22, good for worst in the AL West, which isn’t great at the moment anyway. They have a -15 run differential and are 2-8 in their last 10 games. We’re just into May, but this season feels like a wash already.
  
  
• Sam Blum explored all this in an explosive column this morning, which lays bare the optimism sold by Angels general manager Perry Minasian. It’s not based in reality. 

And yet, as we discussed, franchise cornerstone Mike Trout looks like a star again. Don’t take my word for it, listen to Keith Law: 

• Trout is on pace to have his best season by WAR since at least 2022, and probably 2019. Think about everything that has happened in sports (and the world) since 2019. Trout, 34, has been mostly dormant as a star in that time. No longer.
  
  
• So, as Keith wrote this morning, the Angels must do what they’ve resisted thus far with Trout and failed to do with Shohei Ohtani: trade the star away. Read the full diagnosis here. 

It’ll be wild to see Trout in a different uniform if that comes to pass. I still doubt the Angels actually do it, but Keith’s logic is sound. 

Almost done:

Watch Guide

📺 EPL: Manchester City at Everton
3 p.m. ET on USA Network and Universo
City needs every point possible to keep up with Arsenal atop the Premier League table with less than a month left in the season, particularly with the Gunners looking so good of late. 

📺 NHL: Second round
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Game 2 of Flyers-Hurricanes kicks us off tonight at 7 p.m., with Game 1 of Ducks-Golden Knights following at 9:30 p.m. If you must pick one, choose the nightcap in light of Carolina’s wipeout win Saturday in Game 1 of that series. 

📺 NBA: Conference semifinals
8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
We have 76ers-Knicks (8 p.m.) and Timberwolves-Spurs (9:30 p.m.) tonight, and it’s hard to pick which matchup is more exciting. At the moment, Philadelphia fascinates me most, a Play-In team that has enough talent to make a run to the finals. Just watch them both, though. 

📺 MLB: Brewers at Cardinals
7:45 p.m. ET on FS1
If soccer or playoff hoops/hockey aren’t your thing, tune in for an early-season banger between these two in the tightly contested NL Central. I’m curious if St. Louis is actually this good.

Get tickets to games like these here.

Pulse Picks

Patrick Iversen / The Athletic

At the Miami Grand Prix, Patrick Iversen did some extremely important journalism: trying a $100 hot dog called the “Golden Glizzy.” His review is worth the list price. 

We’ll have a full WNBA preview this week — new newsletter launching tomorrow, too! — but before then, Candace Buckner has a request: Can we elevate the conversation around the league?

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is famously one of college football’s most outspoken winners. Before that, he endured a lot of losing. 

We are in a (relatively) quiet time for the NFL. Thus our writers examined the post-draft outlook for all 32 teams. See how your team fared. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The Kentucky Derby finish. 

Most-read on the website yesterday: Jayson Stark’s story on Mason Miller, who may be the most unhittable pitcher to ever live.

📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, check out our other newsletters and connect with me on Instagram for more.