Ahead of West final, Stars finally fit

The Stars began these NHL playoffs without standout defenseman Miro Heiskanen and top goal scorer Jason Robertson, and still made it to their third consecutive Western Conference final. Both returned in the second round, with Heiskanen coming back in the middle of the six-game series against the top-seedded Jets after missing 3 1/2 months with a left knee injury. Now, coach Pete DeBoer gets to prepare for a West final rematch against the defending conference champion Oilers with something he hasn’t really had in a long time. “Well, first time since January we’ve had any kind of version of our full lineup,” DeBoer, above, said Monday. “You never want to go into a fight with one arm tied behind your back. Really, the first two rounds, that’s what we had, and to our group’s credit, they found a way to grind through those series. But it’s nice not to have to be in that type of situation.” The Stars host the West opener Wednesday night, a week after the Oilers wrapped up their second-round series in Game 5 with a 1-0 overtime road win against the Golden Knights.

Clark-Reese big ratings hit for WNBA

It was a busy opening weekend for the WNBA with record breaking performances and ratings as the league’s stars shined. The game between Caitlin Clark’s Fever and Angel Reese’s Sky drew an average of 2.7 million viewers, which made it the most watched WNBA game on ESPN platforms. Clark, above, posted a triple-double while Reese had 12 points and 17 rebounds in the blowout loss for the Sky. The pair also had a moment on the court when Clark had a hard foul on Reese while she was going for a layup that ended up being a flagrant 1 when it was upgraded by the officials. Both players after the game said that it was just a basketball play. A day after the game, the league said it was looking into racial comments made towards Reese by fans. The Fever said it would do what it could to help the league. The two teams will meet again on June 7 in Chicago. It wasn’t just the Fever-Sky game that drew strong numbers. The opener Saturday between the Aces and defending league champion Liberty had an average of 1.3 million viewers.

Cabrera claims 1st senior major title

Angel Cabrera rolled in a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th hole Monday morning to complete an 8-under 64, and it proved to be a winner in the rain-delayed Tradition that gave the Argentine his first senior major. Cabrera had to wait to see if 54-hole leader Jerry Kelly could force a playoff. Kelly fell two behind with a bogey on the 17th, and could only manage a birdie at the last for a 68. Storms interrupted the final round, and when the leaders finally began it was too late for them to finish. Kelly had completed 14 holes and Cabrera was though 15 holes when they returned to Greystone on Monday morning in Birmingham, Alabama. Cabrera finished at 20-under 268 and won for the second time on the PGA Tour Champions in the last two months. The 55-year-old won in Florida, his first title since being released after two years in an Argentine prison for gender violence. Cabrera is a two-time major champion — the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2007 and the Masters in 2009. He joins Miguel Angel Jimenez as the only multiple winners this year on the PGA Tour Champions. —AP