The Sports Report: Clayton Kershaw speaks about recent controversy

Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.

From Jack Harris: Clayton Kershaw said he disagreed with the Dodgers’ decision to honor the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence during the team’s upcoming Pride Night game, and that he approached the organization about expediting his announcement of the club’s relaunching of Christian Faith and Family Day as a response.

In an interview with The Los Angeles Times at Dodger Stadium on Monday, Kershaw said that while there were tentative plans for the club to bring the Christian event back this year — it was an annual staple on the Dodgers’ promotional schedule before the COVID-19 pandemic — his announcement of its relaunch last Friday was prompted by the team’s planned recognition of the Sisters group.

“I think we were always going to do Christian Faith Day this year, but I think the timing of our announcement was sped up,” Kershaw said. “Picking a date and doing those different things was part of it as well. Yes, it was in response to the highlighting of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence [by the Dodgers].”

The Dodgers decision to honor the Los Angeles chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — a charity, protest and satirical performance organization that uses humor, drag and religious imagery to call attention to sexual intolerance — has been a point of controversy for the last few weeks.

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Recap: Dodgers get strong outing by Bobby Miller and defeat the Nationals, 6-1

Shaikin: Former Dodgers prospect Josiah Gray finds a ‘good place’ with Nationals

ANGELS

From Sarah Valenzuela: Around this time last year, Ben Joyce clocked the fastest pitch in college baseball history. On Sunday, as he fielded questions in front of a score of reporters and some cameras in the hallway outside the Angels’ clubhouse, Joyce was a major league player.

“It means everything to me,” Joyce said ahead of the Angels’ 2-0 loss to the Miami Marlins. “It’s what I’ve been working for since I was 3 years old playing baseball, trying to dream of making it to the big leagues and then finally hearing that call.”

The Angels sent for Joyce — who has been at their double-A affiliate, the Rocket City Trash Pandas, since he signed with the Angels last summer — on Friday night, amid uncertainty of the health of veteran Matt Moore.

Moore was put on the injured list with a Grade 2 oblique strain Sunday morning. Joyce’s locker was prepped and ready by the time he arrived at the clubhouse for the matinee game.

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Angels start fast and Ben Joyce makes impressive debut in win over White Sox

NBA PLAYOFFS

Results, schedule
All times Pacific
Conference finals

Western Conference

No. 1 Denver vs. No. 7 Lakers
Game 1: at Denver 132, Lakers 126
Game 2: at Denver 108, Lakers 103
Game 3: Denver 119, at Lakers 108
Game 4: Denver 113, at Lakers 111

Eastern Conference

No. 2 Boston vs. No. 8 Miami
Game 1: Miami 123, at Boston 116
Game 2: Miami 111, at Boston 105
Game 3: at Miami 128, Boston 102
Game 4: Boston 116, at Miami 99
Game 5: at Boston 110, Miami 97
Game 6: Boston 104, at Miami 103
Game 7: Miami 103, at Boston 84

NBA Finals

No. 1 Denver vs. No. 8 Miami

Thursday at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Sunday at Denver, 5 p.m., ABC
Wed., June 7 at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ABC
Friday, June 9 at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Monday, June 12 at Denver, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Thursday, June 15 at Miami, 5:30 p.m., ABC
*Sunday, June 18 at Denver, 5 p.m., ABC

*-if necessary

NHL PLAYOFFS

Results, schedule
All times Pacific
Conference finals

Western Conference

Vegas (P1) vs. Dallas Stars (C2)
Game 1: at Vegas 4, Dallas 3 (OT)
Game 2: at Vegas 3, Dallas 2 (OT)
Game 3: Vegas 4, at Dallas 0
Game 4: at Dallas 3, Vegas 2 (OT)
Game 5: Dallas 4, at Vegas 2
Game 6: Vegas 6, at Dallas 0

Eastern Conference

Carolina (M1) vs. Florida (WC2)
Game 1: Florida 4, at Carolina 3 (4 OT)
Game 2: Florida 2, at Carolina 1 (OT)
Game 3: at Florida 1, Carolina 0
Game 4: at Florida 4, Carolina 3

Stanley Cup Finals

Vegas (P1) vs. Florida (WC2)
Saturday at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT
Monday at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT
Thursday, June 8 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
Saturday, June 10 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
*Tuesday, June 13 at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT
*Friday, June 16 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT
*Monday, June 19 at Vegas, 5 p.m., TNT

*-if necessary

HORSE RACING

From John Cherwa: As horse racing wades through its most notable five-week period of the year, there is one name that, as usual, dominates the conversation, that of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert.

Even though Monday’s $400,000 Hollywood Gold Cup at Santa Anita wasn’t part of horse racing’s 3-year-old Triple Crown series, the spotlight shined on Baffert as his 5-year-old gelding Defunded won his second Grade 1 race of his career in the last big race of the marathon Santa Anita winter-spring season, which ends June 18.

The sport has been under extra scrutiny during this Triple Crown season after the spike in horse deaths at Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby. Horses died racing at Churchill Downs Friday and Saturday, raising the death count to 12 in a month. It surpassed any 30-day period during the fatality crisis at Santa Anita in 2019 that led to the track shutting down for a little more than three weeks to try and determine the cause.

The Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA) has convened an emergency veterinary summit Tuesday in Kentucky and also dispatched longtime Southern California track superintendent Dennis Moore to examine the Churchill Downs track Wednesday.

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SOCCER

From Kevin Baxter: When Julie Ertz walked off the field after collecting her bronze medal for the U.S. at the Tokyo Olympics, it was as if she stepped into the witness protection program: She immediately disappeared.

Traded by her club team four months later to Angel City FC, she failed to show up to the team’s first training camp. When the national team flew to Mexico for World Cup and Olympic qualifying last summer, she was not on the plane. In fact, very few people knew where she was.

The defensive backbone of two world championship teams, Ertz had vanished from public view. And she stayed that way for nearly two years.

“I just stepped away from social media,” she said a couple of weeks after joining Angel City four games into the NWSL season, “to enjoy being with my family.”

Also to enjoy starting a family. Last summer Ertz and her husband, NFL tight end Zach Ertz, welcomed their first child, Madden, and that led to a whole other set of questions about her soccer career: After giving birth at 30, could she come back?

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THIS DATE IN SPORTS

1903 — Flocarline becomes the first filly to win the Preakness Stakes.

1908 — Jockey Joe Notter misjudges the finish of the Belmont Stakes and eases up on his mount, Colin, whose career record to that point was 13-for-13. Notter recovers from his mistake and holds off Fair Play, who came within a head of defeating Colin. When he retired, Colin’s record stood at 15 wins in as many starts.

1911 — Ray Harroun wins the first Indianapolis 500 in 6 hours, 42 minutes and 8 seconds with an average speed of 74.59 mph.

1912 — Joe Dawson wins the second Indianapolis 500 in 6:21:06. Ralph Mulford is told he has to complete the race for 10th place money. It takes him 8 hours and 53 minutes as he makes several stops for fried chicken. The finishing rule is changed the next year.

1951 — Lee Wallard wins the Indianapolis 500, becoming the first driver to break the 4-hour mark with a time of 3:57:38.05.

1951 — Ezzard Charles beats Joey Maxim in 15 for heavyweight boxing title.

1952 — At 22, Troy Ruttman becomes the youngest driver to win the Indianapolis 500.

1955 — Bob Sweikert, an Indianapolis native, wins the Indianapolis 500. Bill Vukovich, seeking his third consecutive victory, is killed in a four-car crash on the 56th lap.

1985 — The Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup for the second straight year with an 8-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 5.

1986 — Barry Bonds makes his MLB debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

1987 — Mike Tyson beats Pinklon Thomas by TKO in Round 6 in Las Vegas to retain WBC/WBA heavyweight boxing titles.

1993 — Emerson Fittipaldi wins his second Indianapolis 500, by 2.8 seconds. Fittipaldi takes the lead on lap 185 and holds on, outfoxing Formula One champion Nigel Mansell and runner-up Arie Luyendyk.

2004 — In Cooper City, Fla., Canada easily beats the United States in a three-day cricket match, the first competition on American soil sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.

2005 — Johns Hopkins wins its first NCAA lacrosse title in 18 years, beating Duke 9-8 to complete an undefeated season.

2009 — Travis Tucker hits an RBI single with one out in the top of the 25th inning to give Texas a 3-2 victory over Boston College in the longest baseball game in NCAA history.

2010 — Dario Franchitti gets a huge break from a spectacular crash on the last lap to climb back on top of the open-wheel world to win the Indianapolis 500. Franchitti’s second Brickyard victory in four years helps his boss, Chip Ganassi, become the first owner to win Indy and NASCAR’s Daytona 500 in the same year.

2011 — Jim Tressel, who guided Ohio State to its first national title in 34 years, resigns amid NCAA violations from a tattoo-parlor scandal that sullied the image of one of the country’s top football programs.

2012 — Roger Federer breaks Jimmy Connors’ Open era record of 233 Grand Slam match wins by beating Adrian Ungur of Romania 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3 in the second round of the French Open. Federer, who owns a record 16 major championships, is 234-35 at tennis’ top four tournaments. Connors was 233-49. The Open era began in 1968.

—Compiled by the Associated Press