A Sports Filled Weekend It Was

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their fifth Stanley Cup and second in a row by defeating the Predators 2-0 in Nashville on Sunday night. Patric Hornqvist scored with 1:35 left and the Penguins later added an empty-net goal to win the series in six games.

Oddly, the Penguins have never won the Stanley Cup on home ice. Sidney Crosby earned the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs for the second straight year, making him one of only three players to accomplish that. It’s also the third Stanley Cup championship of his career.

The Penguins are the NHL’s first back-to-back champions since the Detroit Red Wings of 1997-98.

TENNIS: Rafael Nadal won a record 20th French Open men’s singles title on Sunday at Roland Garros, defeating Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1. No other man or woman has won 10 championships at the same major in the Open era, which began in 1968. … Saturday’s women’s winner was Jelena Ostapenko, who, two days after her 20th birthday, got her first victory. She defeated Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to become the French Open’s first unseeded winner in 84 years and the first woman in 48 years whose first win came in a Grand Slam event.

HORSE RACING: Three Triple Crown racers, three winners. Tapwrit’s surge down the stretch at the Belmont Stakes secured a two-length victory over favorite Irish War Cry on Saturday at Belmont Park. Neither Always Dreaming (Kentucky Derby winner) nor Cloud Computing (Preakness Stakes winner) was entered.

AUTO RACING: NASCAR: Ryan Blaney held off Kevin Harvick down the stretch and won his first career NASCAR Cup race Sunday at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa. Blaney, a third generation driver, won for the first time in 68 career starts … Lewis Hamilton won the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal on Sunday for the sixth time and the third year in a row.

GOLF: Daniel Berger shot a 4-under 66 to erase a three-shot deficit and win the St. Jude Classic for a second straight year.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Larry Weisman’s blog will return on Monday, June 26.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman