Klay Thompson’s poetic Play-In arc. Plus, new hockey newsletter!

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The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.

Good morning! No time to waste today. Let’s get moving:

While You Were Sleeping: A vintage Klay game

First, some overnight news: The Kings and general manager Monte McNair agreed to part ways less than an hour after Sacramento’s 120-106 Play-In loss to the Mavericks at home, a disappointing end to a disastrous season.

But on the other side, there was something oddly cathartic about watching Klay Thompson, exactly a year after going a brutal 0-for-10 in his Warriors finale — another Play-In game in Sacramento — find his groove early in the fateful contest. Some neat symmetry to balance out the harsh vibes of this Mavericks season, perhaps.

• The 35-year-old put up 16 points and four 3s in the second quarter, where he and Anthony Davis (27 points on the night) combined to give Dallas all the separation it needed. “It did feel good to exorcise those demons in here,” Klay said after the game.

KLAY THOMPSON IS CATCHING FIRE ‼️

That’s 4 triples in a 3-minute span 👀 https://t.co/cweKm2LbEY pic.twitter.com/35VQwWxuM4

— NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2025

So whether Dallas fans actually like it or not, the Mavericks’ season lives to see another day: They’ll play the Grizzlies for the 8-seed in the West tomorrow night, and the Heat will play the Hawks for the final spot in the East. We’re so close to true playoff basketball.

The NHL’s playoff picture is also set after the Canadiens’ win last night. More on that next:

Patrick Smith / Getty Images

Finally: Welcome back, playoff hockey

I have waxed many times in these digital pages about how the NHL postseason is like a white-knuckle ride, on ice, in the best way. Hockey itself is a tense game, as each pass and deflection can lead to prosperity or disaster in an instant. Add season-ending stakes and you get a most stressful, yet entertaining, experience.

Today is the last day of the regular season, so to fully prepare for the playoffs, I pestered both James Mirtle and Sean McIndoe — primary authors of our new hockey newsletter Red Light, which debuts tomorrow — for insights.

Hello, James. In one sentence, pick your Stanley Cup winner and why. 

💬 Colorado. They have a tough path in the West, but since they picked up Mackenzie Blackwood in December, the Avs have the third-best record in the league.

Same question to you, Sean. 

💬 The Winnipeg Jets, who will go full #ElbowsUp for a nation in need and finally bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada (on the strength of their American goalie, but let’s not let pesky details get in the way of a good narrative).

James, the Maple Leafs continue to fascinate me. They have the second-best chance to win the Stanley Cup, per our odds, but as you’ve detailed, this situation feels far from triumphant. Do they enter the postseason with the most pressure of any team?

💬 I think that’s very fair — especially given they’ll be the favorites and are facing a huge rival in Ottawa. The Senators have been one of the league’s better teams over the last 50-odd games, so this will be no cakewalk. If Toronto loses in the first round yet again, there will be major changes — to the roster and in the front office.

I feel like you’ll have a good answer for this, Sean: What’s the funniest possible outcome of these playoffs?

💬 Don’t sleep on a Kings/Capitals final. Not only are these two good teams that absolutely nobody is picking to do much of anything despite what the standings page would suggest, but they made a major trade in the offseason that was largely dismissed at the time as a dual salary dump by two teams going nowhere, but now looks like the win-win deal of the summer. Wait, does an outcome count as “funny” if all it does is prove that experts like me are dumb? (Checks notes.) Yes. Yes, it absolutely does.

I am now more excited for puck drop Saturday. Make sure you’re subscribed to Red Light before then. Sign up here. (Free!)

News to Know

Iamaleava picks Bruins

Former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is expected to transfer to UCLA, a source said yesterday, after splitting with the Vols last week over an NIL contract dispute. It’s an … interesting fit, as Antonio Morales and Sam Khan Jr. note, as Iamaleava’s camp had reportedly raised concerns about Tennessee’s offense — but UCLA’s was a total disaster last year. Hm.

More news

• Trailblazing former MLB executive Kim Ng will serve as commissioner of the upstart Athletes Unlimited Softball League, which opens its regular season in June. More here.
• Four MLS teams — Inter Miami, the Chicago Fire, NYCFC and D.C. United — have expressed interest in signing Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne, Paul Tenorio and Pablo Maurer report.
• Former Rams star Aaron Donald was granted a temporary restraining order against a woman he claims has harassed and stalked him and his family since 2020.
• The Pelicans hired Hall of Famer Joe Dumars as their executive vice president of basketball operations after firing David Griffin earlier this week.

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Serious Matters: Could this gambling investigation shake the sports world?

When news of Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban from the NBA broke last year, it elicited our now-customary response to betting malfeasance: Yikes — and how could he be so brazen?

A little more info trickled out about the depths of the crime ring Porter — a relative unknown — was involved in, then things sort of went dormant on this front. At least that felt like the case until yesterday, when our Mike Vorkunov dropped new details about the FBI investigation into the former Raptors forward and how it’s led to “what may become one of the most far-reaching scandals to hit sports in decades.” The biggest revelation:

The Porter case is also linked to investigations into match-fixing across college sports, sources said, and five schools are being investigated by the federal government for their possible ties to the scheme.

Ominous. Two other takeaways from the piece, which you should parse in full today:

No. 1: Gambling is as accessible as ever, but it appears relatively simple to commit a legitimate crime while partaking.
No. 2: Part of that is because impropriety has never been so easy to identify, given the monitoring of all those completely legal access points.

There are plenty of other recent examples of professional athletes — and even an umpire — getting dinged (or worse). It seems likely this investigation will further chip away at the sports world’s credibility; whether it actually forces a reckoning is a separate conversation.

What to Watch

📺 Golf: RBC Heritage | 7:15 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET on ESPN+/Golf Channel

Can’t get enough golf after an incredible Masters weekend? The PGA Tour heads to Hilton Head Island for one of its no-cut Signature events. Plenty of top golfers will be there.

📺 NCAA women’s gymnastics semifinals | 4:30 p.m. ET and 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2

Oklahoma, Florida, Alabama and Missouri will kick off the action in the first semifinal before LSU, Michigan State, Utah and UCLA take the floor for the evening session. Olympians Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey highlight the star power in Fort Worth. A must-watch event if you’ve never tuned in.

Get tickets to games like these here.

Pulse Picks

Ahead of the Hockey Canada trial next week, Dan Robson and Katie Strang tell the harrowing story of another allegation of group sexual assault involving junior hockey players decades ago that rocked a city and upended a life.

The Athletic’s MLB staff again polled 40 of the top decision-makers from across the sport, asking each to rank the top five front offices in baseball. Here are the results.

Jon Krawczynski has a fun piece today on a young Timberwolves coach tasked with making some of the team’s biggest calls as keeper of the replay review system.

The newest women’s soccer league kicked off in Canada last night. Talia Barrington has the inside story of the Northern Super League and why it doesn’t use the words “women” or “Canada” in its name.

Why is American hockey player Laila Edwards, one of the top young forwards in the world, playing defense at women’s worlds? Hailey Salvian broke it down.

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Dane Brugler’s full seven-round mock draft.

Most-read on the website yesterday: Our live blog covering Arsenal’s Champions League triumph over Real Madrid.

Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Top photo: Sergio Estrada / Imagn Images)

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