* The Tokyo Olympics begin July 23. Organizers have set a limit of 50 percent capacity—up to a maximum of 10,000, all of whom must be residents of Japan.
* It’s Tampa Bay vs. Montreal for all the Stanley Cup glory. Only this final has a twist to it. The Lightning finished the regular season at 36-17-3 for a total of 75 points. The 3 stands for overtime losses, so the Bolts were 36-20 overall. Montreal was 24-21-11 and 59 points. Overall, the Canadiens were 24-32, which means a team with an overall losing record made the 2021 Stanley Cup finals. But they went on an impressive, post-season roll and hadn’t been playing like underdogs. Go, Bolts.
* “I got a word for it. … Kevin Love is on the team because of tokenism.”–That was ESPN analyst Jalen Rose on the selection of Love, who is white, for the U.S. Olympic basketball team.
* The Los Angeles Angels’ amazing pitcher-slugger Shohei Ohtani hit a 453-foot home run in his first at bat against the Rays. In his next at bat, he dragged a bunt single. He’s that unique.
* “We don’t want to turn baseball into Jerry Springer.”—Rays pitcher Rich Hill, on MLB allowing onfield inspections of pitchers.