The NBA and NHL playoffs are nearing the end of their first-round series, and 76ers-Knicks has been among the most entertaining so far.
The Knicks lead the series 3-1, but all games have been decided by fewer than 12 points, including two by fewer than six points. 76ers big man Joel Embiid scored 50 points in Game 3, and then Knicks guard Jalen Brunson nearly matched him with a Knicks playoff-record 47 points in Game 4.
In the NHL, the Rangers made quick work of the Capitals with a four-game sweep ending Sunday night. Three of the four games were decided by two or more goals.
In the first round of the NBA playoffs, road favorites have done well against the spread over the last several years. Since 2010, road favorites are 86-60-3 (58.7%). On Saturday, two of three road favorites (Celtics and Thunder) covered the spread, while the Nuggets did not.
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry teamed up to win the Zurich Classic in New Orleans, the only official team event on the PGA Tour. At 25-under, the pair beat Chad Ramey and Martin Trainer on the first playoff hole. Going into the tournament at BetMGM sportsbook, McIlroy/Lowry pulled in the third-most bets to win outright (8.8%) and the third-most money (10.6%).
The Heat, who closed as 14.5-point underdogs, upset the Celtics in Game 2 of their first-round series Wednesday night. It matched the third-largest NBA playoff upset since 1991.
The Canucks stunned the Predators on the road in Sunday’s Game 5, scoring two late third-period goals and then winning in overtime for a 3-1 series lead. Bettors heavily favored Nashville, as they pulled in 86% of the money on moneyline bets.
Following last week’s NFL draft, several new NFL odds markets have been established ahead of the regular season.
No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams is the favorite to win AP Offensive Rookie of the Year at +200. Marvin Harrison Jr. is next at +600, followed by Jayden Daniels at +750. Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is fourth at +850.
When it comes to the AP Defensive Player of the Year, Dallas Turner is the favorite at +400, followed by Laiatu Latu at +750. Jared Verse has the third-best odds at +800, with Quinyon Mitchell after him at +900.
Nobody's Super Bowl odds moved during the draft. Kansas City remains the favorite with +550 odds to win a third straight Super Bowl. The 49ers are the next closest at +600, followed by the Ravens at +900.
This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM Sportsbook.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, and teammate Shane Lowry, of Ireland, right hold up their trophy after winning the PGA Zurich Classic golf tournament at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La., Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière (13) shakes hands with Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) following Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)
BANSKA BYSTRICA, Slovakia (AP) — Slovak politicians have called for calm in the Central European country after Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot multiple times by a would-be assassin on Wednesday, a rare instance of political violence that came as a shock despite deep political polarization.
Fico was in serious but stable condition Thursday, a hospital official said, after the populist leader was hit multiple times in an attempt on his life that shook the small country and reverberated across the continent weeks before European elections.
A suspect was in custody, and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok said Wednesday that an initial investigation found “a clear political motivation” behind the attack on Fico while he was attending a government meeting in a former coal mining town.
The minister did not specify what the motivation was. Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond, and his return to power last year on a pro-Russian, anti-American message led to even greater worries among fellow European Union members that he would abandon his country's pro-Western course.
The attempt on Fico’s life Wednesday came at a time of high polarization in Slovakia, as thousands of demonstrators have repeatedly rallied in the capital and around the country to protest his policies. It also comes just ahead of June elections for the European Parliament.
Outgoing President Zuzana Caputova, a political rival of Fico, said Thursday that the heads of the country’s political parties would meet in an effort to bring calm and “refuse violence.”
“We want to call on everyone to to be responsible,” Caputova said at a news conference in the capital Bratislava.
Caputova was speaking alongside Peter Pellegrini, a Fico ally who is Slovakia's president-elect. Their joint message was a gesture toward reducing the inflamed political tensions that have gripped the country in recent months and an appeal to Slovaks not to give in to political divisions.
“This assassination attempt deserves a joint and unequivocal condemnation,” Pellegrini said. “I call on all parties in Slovakia to interrupt or at least significantly reduce their campaign for the European Parliament election, because the campaign is naturally linked to confrontation, and confrontation is the last thing Slovakia needs at the moment.”
Fico's government, elected last September, has halted arms deliveries to Ukraine, and has plans to amend the penal code to eliminate a special anti-graft prosecutor and to take control of public media. His critics worry that he will lead Slovakia — a nation of 5.4 million that belongs to NATO — down a more autocratic path.
Zuzana Eliasova, a resident of the capital Bratislava, said the attack on Fico was a “shock” to the nation and an attack on democracy at a time when political tensions were already running high.
“I believe that a lot of people or even the whole society will look into their conscience, because the polarization here has been huge among all different parts of society," she said.
Doctors performed a five-hour operation on Fico, who was initially reported to be in life-threatening condition, according to director of the F.D. Roosevelt Hospital in Banska Bystrica, Miriam Lapunikova. He is being treated in an intensive care unit.
Five shots were fired outside a cultural center in the town of Handlova, nearly 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital, government officials said.
Slovakia's Security Council was set to meet in the capital of Bratislava on Thursday to discuss the situation, a government office said, adding that a government meeting would follow.
Fico returned to power in Slovakia last year, having previously served twice as prime minister. He and his Smer party have most often been described as left-populist, though he has also been compared to politicians on the right like the nationalist prime minister of neighboring Hungary, Viktor Orbán.
Fico’s comeback caused concern among his critics that he and his party — which had long been tainted by scandal — would lead Slovakia away from the Western mainstream. He promised a tough stance against migration and non-governmental organizations and campaigned against LGBTQ+ rights.
Despite the controversy surrounding Fico's leadership, condemnation of the attack came from both his allies and adversaries. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin sent a message to President Caputova, expressing his support and wishing the prime minister a fast and full recovery.
“This atrocious crime cannot be justified,” Putin said in the message released by the Kremlin. “I know Robert Fico as a courageous and strong-willed person. I truly hope these personal qualities will help him overcome this harsh situation.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also denounced the violence against a neighboring country’s head of government.
“Every effort should be made to ensure that violence does not become the norm in any country, form or sphere,” he said.
Josek and Jenne reported from Bratislava, Slovakia. Associated Press journalists Jan Gebert in Banska Bystrica, Slovakia, and Karel Janicek in Prague contributed.
Police cars are parked outside the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.(AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
A police line is placed outside the entrance of the F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital, where Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, is treated in Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.(AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
Slovakia's prime minister was attacked by an armed assailant and hospitalized Wednesday. (AP Graphic)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Police arrest a man after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Rescue workers take Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
FILE - Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico arrives to a round table meeting at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024. Media reports say on Wednesday, May 15, 2024 that Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was injured in a shooting and taken to hospital. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert, File)
Rescue workers wheel Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, who was shot and injured, to a hospital in the town of Banska Bystrica, central Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Jan Kroslak/TASR via AP)
Police arrest a man after Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot and injured following the cabinet's away-from-home session in the town of Handlova, Slovakia, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile. (Radovan Stoklasa/TASR via AP)
