ST. LOUIS -- Down 3-2 in the Stanley Cup Final against the St. Louis Blues, the Boston Bruins are making lineup changes to shake things up.

Boston will revert back to a traditional lineup of six defensemen and 12 forwards in Game 6 on Sunday night in St. Louis, with rookie forward Karson Kuhlman drawing in for the first time since April 30. Defenseman Steven Kampfer will be bumped from the lineup in Game 6.

"It's just a decision we made to be a little different," coach Bruce Cassidy said.

Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, who has been out since Game 2 with a concussion, is still not cleared, according to Cassidy.

Kuhlman, a 23-year-old rookie out of Minnesota-Duluth, has played in six playoff games this spring, registering two assists. However, he has been a healthy scratch since Game 4 of the second-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Cassidy said he likes Kuhlman's motor.

Kuhlman will play on a line with David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, a spot where David Backes has typically played. Backes, a longtime former Blues player, is not expected to play in the pivotal game.

Kuhlman said he's "just excited about" the chance to play in a Stanley Cup Final.

"I think [Cassidy] and I are on the same page," Kuhlman said. "We know what I can do to help this team."

Cassidy said the challenge for Kuhlman -- as it has been with all Bruins forwards -- "is getting inside" St. Louis' big defensive corps.

With captain Zdeno Chara playing in Game 5 with a reported broken jaw, the Bruins opted to dress seven defensemen in a precautionary move. Cassidy said his staff was not sure how much Chara would be able to play, and how playing would affect his breathing.

Chara, however, played 16:42 minutes in the game, although he appeared uncomfortable at times. Nonetheless, the seven-defenseman rotation is not ideal as it doesn't allow for blueliners to find a true rhythm in a game and can overwork forwards that need to double-shift.

The move to insert Kuhman is likely to help get Krejci going as the two have played together at other times this season. Krejci has been held without a point in five games this series.

The Bruins also need more from their talented top line. David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron have yet to score a five-on-five goal in this series. Though the top line has been red-hot for stretches during these playoffs, the Bruins have relied heavily on their depth to get them this far. Twenty different Boston players have scored this postseason.

"Your best players need to be your best players, but if they defend well and we have a good defensive game, you know, we're in it, I feel someone will step up," Cassidy said Saturday. "Probably them, because they usually do. But same token, we don't want to put so much pressure on them they get outside their overall game, their defensive game, because they're a good line all around and we don't want them to lose that."

The Bruins are hoping to force a Game 7 on home ice. It would mark the first time the Stanley Cup Final went to seven games since 2011 -- when the Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks for their most recent championship.

"We're obviously going to come out with the will and desire to compete, and they are, too," defenseman Torey Krug said. "There's pressure on both sides. If [they] don't win tonight then they have to come into a Game 7 in our building and that's pressure for them, I'm sure. For us, our season could end but we're coming into it with the right mentality that we're going to force a Game 7 and ultimately, it comes down to will and who wants it more."

England's Nikita Parris and Ellen White scored first-half goals as the Lionesses defeated neighbours Scotland 2-1 on Sunday to make a strong start to their women's World Cup campaign.

Phil Neville's team emerged as early leaders of a difficult Group D after a fine attacking display against the debutants at Stade de Nice, with 2015 World Cup runners-up Japan playing their first game, against Argentina, on Monday.

England went 1-0 ahead in the 14th minute when striker Parris fired her penalty past goalkeeper Lee Alexander after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review had confirmed that forward Fran Kirby's cross inside the box had hit defender Nicola Docherty's arm.

They continued to trouble the Scottish defence and doubled their lead through Birmingham City forward White, who collected the ball at the edge of the penalty area and beat Alexander with a curled effort from her left foot in the 40th minute.

Scotland pulled back a goal in the second half as former Manchester City forward Claire Emslie took advantage of a rare defensive error by England skipper Steph Houghton to slot the ball past goalkeeper Karen Bardsley with 11 minutes to go.

"I think at 2-0 in this heat we thought it was going to be easy in the second half. It's a lesson that every game in this World Cup is going to be difficult," Neville said.

"I was pleased with the result. The first game is always the most difficult but we set certain standards and the players know we need to keep meeting them... If we don't, we get second-half performances like we just got. We've got to be relentless now."

The only worry for England on the day was a shoulder injury suffered by experienced defender Millie Bright who had to be substituted shortly after she landed awkwardly following a challenge on Erin Cuthbert.

England meet Argentina in their next match at Le Havre on Friday while Shelley Kerr's Scotland take on world number seven Japan on the same day in Rennes.

"We know we need to win one game, it does not have to be the first game, even if it would have been nice," Kerr said.

"At a competition like the World Cup you need to scrutinise (yourselves) to the max; there were a lot of positives for us in the second half though."

England 233 for 7 (Beaumont 61) beat West Indies 87 for 6 (Campbelle 29, Cross 2-4, Shrubsole 2-12) by 121 runs (DLS method)

Anya Shrubsole shone with the bat and ball to help England to another comprehensive victory - and an unassailable 2-0 series lead - in a rain-affected second ODI against West Indies at Worcester.

Player of the Match Shrubsole smashed two sixes and two four on her way to 32 off just 16 deliveries, lifting England to a highly respectable 41-over total after they lost a cluster of wickets following the first of two rain delays. She then claimed two wickets to put West Indies under immense pressure as they initially chased 244 off 41 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, which was later reduced to 209 off 28 following the second rain interruption.

The gulf between the two sides was shown to be huge during the first match in Leicester, which England won by 208 runs. West Indies put in a greatly improved performance with the ball and in the field in Worcester but at no point during their innings did their batsmen look like threatening the target. Not helped by losing early wickets, they simply did not score anywhere near the run rate required.

Shrubsole - who was disappointed to go wicket-less in Leicester, where she conceded 27 runs off six overs - and Kate Cross were the architects of West Indies' batting demise. Shrubsole finished with 2 for 12 and Cross 2 for 4 to decimate the tourists' chase before it even began.

"It's nice to come out here, whack a few at the end and then get a couple of wickets, hopefully to get my summer kick-started," Shrubsole told Sky Sports. "My batting is something I've worked really hard on . I've probably frustrated many people, many coaches, over the years, not taking it seriously. But it's something I really want to be able to contribute to the team, coming in down the order and having a bit of a swing, it's always fun."

Laura Marsh, playing her 100th ODI, chimed in after the second rain delay with a clever ball that turned back in and bowled Chedean Nation through the gate. At that point West Indies were 42 for 5 and staring at another heavy defeat. Shemaine Campbelle showed flashes of the big hitting West Indies needed, but they were mere glimpses and when she fell on the last ball she was her side's top scorer with just 29 runs off 49 balls.

England opener Tammy Beaumont had built on the fine touch she showed for limited reward in reaching 32 at Leicester, this time reaching 61 off 83 balls.

But a 90-minute rain delay when England were 73 for 1 after 16 overs seemed to upset England's rhythm. Beaumont reached her half-century shortly after the re-start, but she soon became the second wicket to fall in as many balls from Afy Fletcher.

Legspinner Fletcher had Sarah Taylor out lofting a ball on the off-side, where Stacy-Ann King took a juggled catch at the second grab. She then had Beaumont adjudged out lbw with a ball that rapped the batsman on the front pad and looked well in line in real time, while replays suggested there was a chance the ball could have been going a fraction down the leg side.

Fletcher claimed her third wicket three overs later, when she bowled Heather Knight with a ball that was bang on target. When Dani Wyatt sent a thick outside edge to Hayley Matthews at point, England were 153 for 5.

Shrubsole was not the only one to show off England's batting depth. Katherine Brunt and Sophie Ecclestone joined in, Brunt contributing 23 off as many balls and Ecclestone 11 off six, including one six.

It had been a better start for West Indies who bowled to a plan and were much sharper in the field, where captain Stafanie Taylor had described their efforts in last Thursday as "atrocious". Their tactic of bowling wide outside off-stump to an off-side field resulted in some wickets - including the early dismisal of Amy Jones for just 18 - and stemmed the flow of runs initially. But it perhaps didn't yield the number of wickets they would have hoped for, or as quickly.

"Very pleased to see how the bowlers actually bowled today," Taylor told Sky Sports. "For us to come out and bowl the way we did a the English was really good. I'm always impressed with Afy [Fletcher], she's special. We love every minute when we give her the ball, she's always delivering, she's that kind of player."

The sides head to Chelmsford for the third and final match of the series on Thursday before three T20I matches starting the following week.

We live in momentous times. Times which make us question things we thought as indubitable. So the Moon, we're told, is part of Mars; Dwayne Leverock, we now know, has the build of a heavyweight champion; and members of the Rolling Stones could be forgiven for reading about Tory leadership candidates and murmuring "those lads should take it easy".

But, most surprisingly of all, England have the fastest bowling attack at the World Cup. That's England, whose typical answer to the heavy artillery aimed at them on Ashes tours is to pick several fast-medium seamers; the equivalent of tutting a little when confronted by muggers in the street. And then handing over your wallet.

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This is the 12th World Cup but surely the first in which England have had the two fastest bowlers. In the last few days, four England seamers - Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes - have registered 90mph/145kph and two (Archer and Wood) have hit 95mph/153kph. And while there was much to encourage England in Cardiff, perhaps the most eye-catching moment came from one of those fast bowlers.

When Archer bowled Soumya Sarkar, so much pace did the ball have on it that, having clipped the top of the stumps, it carried over the boundary before bouncing again. It wasn't the longest boundary - perhaps 55-60 metres - but it was an unusual and compelling sight that underlined the impression: England have a gem in Archer.

The man himself admitted he had not seen such an incident before. "It's probably the first," he said. "I've seen it go for six off a helmet before. But this is the first time I've seen it go off the stumps."

That reference to a batsman's helmet - a not especially subtle reminder of his pace and hostility - is fast becoming typical. This is, after all, the man who was tweeting way back in 2013 that batsmen would require two helmets when playing against him. So even while he insists that bowling well is more important to him than bowling fast, he makes the point about how fast he's bowling; note the way he says "just 90" mph.

"It's nice to see [high speeds]," he said, "but I'm much more concerned about bowling well. If I bowl at just 90 and I'm bowling well, I'd be much happier than bowling fast and going for six or seven an over."

Equally, when asked if he felt batsmen didn't like facing him, he made the point that he posed physical danger, or at least discomfort, as much as cricketing challenge. "I think you saw someone got hit twice on Saturday," he said. "If I get hit once I don't want to be there anymore really. Imagine getting hit twice…" The (largely) unspoken implication? He's quick. And we'd better not forget it.

His reaction to a question suggesting Wood's pace might be pushing him on was intriguing. "I'm a little bit quicker than him," he said, politely but firmly. And when it was pointed out that Wood actually bowled the quickest delivery against Bangladesh, he simply denied it. "No, he didn't," Archer said, dismissing the idea as if it was preposterous. Eventually he conceded: "It's good competition to have someone at the other end. It pushes you to do a bit better."

It does appear to be working that way. At present, Wood and Archer are trading records like schoolboys might exchange boasts. Moments after Archer set a new mark for the quickest ball of the tournament (95.09mph/153kph), Wood set another one (95.69/154kph). And moments after Archer set a record for the quickest average pace (90.68mph) in an opening spell for England in ODI cricket, since such records began in 2006, Wood set one for the fastest average speed for a bowler in the tournament (86.79mph, versus Archer's 86.75mph). All figures, provided by CricViz, exclude slower balls.

"Only Woody's speed came up [on the scoreboard]," Archer complained with tongue only partially in cheek. "So it was a bit… well, a bit biased really."

Archer has one significant advantage over Wood. For while Wood appears to be permanently on the edge of injury, Archer looks able to generate a similar pace without forcing his body to the brink. He makes the desperately tough task of fast bowling appear relatively easy.

"I feel niggles here and there," he said. "But nothing to stop me from playing. I'll just keep going."

He is certainly not going to want to miss England's next match. While he insisted "it's just another game", the fact it is against West Indies - and we surely don't need to go into Archer's backstory again here - does add piquancy. And his knowledge of the opposition could provide some useful insight for England.

"The West Indies game will only serve to increase interest in Archer. His life has changed radically over the last few weeks and you suspect we're just at the start"

"It's just another game of cricket; same as the last game," he said. "I know them pretty good. I played with a few of the guys at Under-19 level, so it will be good to actually play against them this time.

"I'll be able to share some knowledge, but I do that whenever we play. I played against and with some of the Bangladeshi guys in the BPL and I guess I'll share some knowledge when we play India and Australia. It's not just the West Indies: I've got a pretty good knowledge of most of the prominent batters.

"Some of my family are over right now, too, so they will go to that game. They will just want me to do well."

The game will only serve to increase interest in Archer. So will the Ashes that follow. His life has changed radically over the last few weeks and, you suspect, we're just at the start. One week you can nip to Tesco in your pyjamas, the next you're sharing a sofa with Pauline Quirke on breakfast TV and the papers want to know whose shirts you wear. And despite one underwhelming game against Pakistan - Archer conceded 79 in his 10 overs and was fined for dissent - he seems to be taking it all in his stride. He knows there will be some poor days among the good but he trusts the latter will significantly outnumber the former.

"I never doubted myself," he said. "If you're doubting yourself I don't think you're ready. You probably shouldn't be here if you're doubting yourself.

"I didn't really notice the step up [to international cricket]. I've been playing competitive cricket for the last few years against the same guys, really, so it doesn't really change anything. The only thing that changes is your uniform.

"I don't think I did anything different [on Saturday] than at Trent Bridge. I wasn't cross, I was a bit emotional. Every game I play I'm very emotional. I take my cricket very seriously.

"The wickets change, the batters change, conditions change. You know that sometimes you won't have a good day and the good balls might go for boundaries. You just keep a level head and keep bouncing back."

That attitude, that pace, that hostility: it all bodes well for England.

Hampshire 93 for 2 (Weatherley 47*) trail Nottinghamshire 162 (Abbott 6-37) by 69 runs

Kyle Abbott believes that he made the decision a few months too early to leave South Africa for Hampshire in 2017. Equally, he is entitled to think that his move has at least given him a better chance of honours this summer.

Whether Abbott would have made any difference to a World Cup campaign that can be politely described as faltering is a matter for speculation, and useless speculation at that. What is beyond doubt is his importance to Hampshire as they continue to push for a first Championship title since 1973.

Conditions could not have been more helpful at Welbeck Cricket Club on its well-dressed debut as a first-class venue. The pitch offered good bounce, the sky went through shades of grey rather than blue and a heavy morning shower kept the grass fresh. With his pace, height and power, Abbott merely needed to add accuracy to be a potent force.

Figures of 6 for 37 confirm that he did. He proved incisive at both ends of another paltry Nottinghamshire display and while the loss of four wickets for six runs in 17 balls brought the effort to an abrupt conclusion, culpability rests with the specialist batsmen. Again, they succumbed too easily in first innings: 97 all out against Warwickshire last week, 162 here.

Hampshire have already beaten Notts this season at another ground hosting for the first time, at Newport on the Isle of Wight. The Welbeck club have staged one-day fixtures, but this is a step up. We are deep in former mining territory, surrounded by places such as Shirebrook, Ollerton and Annesley that became synonymous with their collieries. Welbeck's own pit ceased production in 2010.

But the address sites the ground in the little-known village of Sookholme, which may have quietly become the smallest place for a Championship match. It is hard to know. The response to a Google search for "Sookholme population" meets the response: "Do you mean Stockholm population". A man in the press tent claiming local knowledge described it as "a hamlet, but not a very big one".

It was claimed in 2007 that Cresselly had become the smallest county host when Glamorgan played Surrey in a one-day match. The Tenby Observer described it as the biggest-ever sporting event in Pembrokeshire. Cresselly had 13 houses and a resident said that the game had brought the community together, as though those homes were split between the Bloods and the Crips.

Sookholme certainly appears a civilised place. In the early days of foundation, Australian settlements were said to boast a church, a pub and a brothel. Brief research shows that Sookholme has a church, a tropical fish shop and a cricket ground. The latter is all thanks to the philanthropy of an old-school local boy made good.

John Fretwell began his working life as a barber charging 30 pence for a trim. He went on to buy and sell, wheel and deal and ended up a multi-millionaire wholesaler. Cricket was his passion - he was president of Welbeck Colliery CC and a former player - so a decision to put something back into the community was always likely to involve the sport. He bought 19 acres of farmland - probably a fair bit of Sookholme - and development began.

Pride was visible on the face of Fretwell as he shook hands, watched play and told his inspiring story to BBC radio. Short, bespectacled and balding, he bore a striking facial resemblance to the dotage appearance of the county's most famous miner-cricketer, Harold Larwood. Now there's a man you wouldn't have wanted to face in the gloom.

Problems for Notts began in the first over when Ben Slater edged on. Chris Nash fell to Abbott and Joe Clarke drove loosely to second slip, a bad option early in his innings when Abbott's spell was coming to an end. Ben Duckett batted nicely before rain brought an early lunch, only to nudge behind soon after the resumption.

That gave the improving James Fuller a deserved wicket. He found steepling bounce from a length, and things grew worse when Samit Patel undid a sound start by wafting at Abbott. Patel might have been unsettled after a blow in the proverbial groin region in the same over, but the choice of shot was not a good way to win sympathy from the dressing room.

Steven Mullaney showed the way forward by leaving sensibly, adding 51 with James Pattinson. The seventh-wicket pair looked to keep out the bowlers and wait for what they thought they could hit, which Mullaney did spectacularly in hooking Fuller for six. Some of his shots through midwicket reminded of Tim Robinson, one of his predecessors as county captain.

But the loss of Pattinson sparked a collapse. Abbot simply proved too good with a crosswind pushing balls back in to the right-handers. Mullaney did not even have time to attack in the final overs before he edged Fuller behind, and while Luke Fletcher removed Oliver Soames in the third over of the reply, a second breakthrough was almost two hours away.

Bowlers struck the pads regularly and Pattinson seemed particularly confident of at least one appeal. When Jake Ball, at his local club, joined the attack he saw Nash drop Joe Weatherley in successive overs at second slip. The first opportunity was tough, but the second should have been taken. Bowler and fielder both knew it.

Ajinkya Rahane played particularly well in conditions that must have seemed alien, until edging Ball to second slip where Mullaney took a good catch. Ball screamed in released frustration as much as joy, but Weatherley avoided further mishap. Given fair weather, Hampshire have a good opportunity to catch up Somerset, the only side above them. But the forecast is grim.

India 352 for 5 (Dhawan 117, Kohli 82, Rohit 57, Hardik 48, Cummins 1-55) beat Australia 316 (Smith 69, Warner 56, Carey 55*, Bhuvneshwar 3-50) by 36 runs
As it happened

There was a masterclass in batting at The Oval. Shikhar Dhawan overcame a weakness to score 117. Steven Smith showed none as he made 69. Hardik Pandya was pure unfettered power. David Warner fought demons. And Virat Kohli, as always, was method over madness.

That the Oval pitch offered nothing to the bowlers dulled the contest a little bit, but India showed immense awareness with the way they paced their innings and for that alone they deserved victory.

There was no inkling at the start of the day that Australia would concede 352 - a new low for them in the World Cup.

Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins understood that there wasn't any help for them and so were quick to pull their lengths back and keep a tight line around the off stump, and occasionally resorted to cross-seamers, bouncers and yorkers to surprise the batsmen.

For the first seven overs, Dhawan and Rohit Sharma sauntered along at 3.14 per over. Then came Nathan Coulter-Nile. And three boundaries in six balls. India's victory is owed entirely to their batsmen recognising moments like these. They were like the muscle car revving up in front of the stop light.

Dhawan, especially. He had a big bulls-eye on him. A weakness against left-arm pace. And he'd have to deal with one of the best exponents of it in recent times. He'd been lbw to Trent Boult and Mustafizur Rahman in the warm-up games because of his front foot going too far across, but here a simple change - batting on leg stump, and even occasionally outside - helped him stay beside the ball and survive Starc's menace.

There were other obstacles in his way. Namely Cummins. The right-arm quick hurt Dhawan's left thumb with a bouncer and the batsman kept yanking his bottom hand off his bat every time he was forced to drive. The physio's magic spray helped but to play through pain for nearly three hours - he didn't come out to field in the second innings - was a monumental effort. And it came with a fitting reward. A sixth century in ICC tournaments. Of all batsmen from anywhere, only Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar have more.

India did a great many good things in this game. They identified Australia's fifth bowler (Marcus Stoinis) and their lead spinner (Adam Zampa) as weaknesses and carted them for 112 runs in 13 overs. A lot of that was Hardik's doing. The score read 220 for 2 when he walked out in the 37th over and the fifth ball he faced went to the boundary. Later, he hit a straight drive so hard that the bowler Coulter-Nile just ducked. It came back to him in the air and cricketers are supposed to catch those but human beings tend not to want their heads knocked off by a piece of leather.

ESPNcriinfo's Forecaster had India reaching 332 at the halfway stage of their innings. Hardik's 48 off 27 balls straight up lol-ed at data analytics.

Amid all this, Kohli scored 82 off 77 balls, his 50th ODI fifty. It was actually a bit of a scratchy innings. His most eye-catching moment was actually when he went up to the Indian fans in the crowd and told them off for calling Smith a "cheater".

The former Australia captain wasn't around when they won the ODI series in India three months ago and kickstarted a 10-match winning streak, and he was in the mood to make up for lost time. His footwork, especially against spin, was both instinctive and precise. And even when he found himself in a tangle, like when Chahal surprised him with a dipping yorker or Hardik with an lbw-written-all-over-it low full toss - his hands somehow placed the bat at exactly the place it needed to be.

Smith made 69, looking in perfect control. Warner, though, looked every bit a batsman still getting used to the rigours of international cricket again. He could have been bowled by Bumrah's first ball if the zing bails had worked, and went on to play as many as 48 dots. The man's capable of scoring Test centuries in that time but here he just couldn't line up India's bowlers.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the one responsible for that. His control - bowling back of a length but never giving the left-hander room to cut or pull - meant Australia couldn't get the kind of rapid start that might have made this more of a contest. And when it was threatening to be one as Smith and Glenn Maxwell put on a rip-roaring partnership, he came back to pick up two wickets in two balls in the 40th over to essentially kill the game. Alex Carey whacked the fastest fifty by an Australian in World Cup cricket, but even that couldn't make up for the early damage.

There was debate before the World Cup about Bhuvneshwar's place in the XI because he doesn't always bowl upwards of 140 kph and because the white ball doesn't swing very much. But his value as a death bowler should not be underestimated. Not only does he have the variations necessary - yorkers, bouncers, slower balls - he knows exactly when to use what. To go at five an over and pick up three wickets in a game that yielded 668 runs was sublime work.

Miami added a big recruit, both figuratively and literally, to its 2020 class on Sunday when ESPN 300 offensive tackle Jalen Rivers announced his commitment.

Rivers, the No. 32-ranked recruit overall, had a top five of Miami, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Florida State prior to his commitment.

COMMITED‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/s5Hazv7Uc7

— Jalen Rivers (@JalenRivers01) June 9, 2019

Rivers is a 6-foot-5, 330-pound offensive lineman from Oakleaf High School in Orange Park, Florida, and he is the first ESPN 300 offensive lineman to commit to Miami in this class.

The Hurricanes beat out the other in-state schools for Rivers, who is the No. 2 recruit in the state. Adding him to this class gives Miami two of the top five in-state recruits (running back Don Chaney Jr. is the other).

Both Chaney and Rivers are ranked among the top 40 overall, so landing those two recruits, and keeping them away from Florida and Florida State, was a big win for Manny Diaz and his staff.

Of the seven ESPN 300 commitments now in Miami's 2020 class, four -- Rivers, Chaney (No. 40), quarterback Tyler Van Dyke (No. 102) and wide receiver Bryan Robinson (No. 130) -- are in the top 150.

PARIS -- For a few, fleeting moments Sunday, Rafael Nadal found his French Open supremacy seemingly threatened by Dominic Thiem, a younger, talented opponent challenging him in the final for the second consecutive year.

A poor game from Nadal allowed Thiem to break him and even things at a set apiece. That development brought fans to their feet in Court Philippe Chatrier, roaring and clapping and, above all, wondering: Was this, now, a real contest? Could Thiem push Nadal more? Could he make this surge last? Would Nadal falter?

That the questions arose at all was significant. The answers arrived swiftly. Nadal reasserted himself, as he usually does at Roland Garros, by grabbing 16 of the next 17 points and 12 of the remaining 14 games, pulling away to beat Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 for his record-extending 12th championship at the French Open.

"He stepped on me," Thiem said. "The numbers are crazy. He won it 12 times."

No one in tennis ever has won any major tournament that frequently. Then again, no one ever has been as suited for success on any of the sport's surfaces as this 33-year-old Spaniard is on red clay: Nadal is 93-2 for his career at Roland Garros, winning four in a row from 2005-08, five in a row from 2010-14, and now three in a row.

"I can't explain my emotions," said the No. 2-seeded Nadal, who dropped to his back after the final point, getting that rust-colored dirt all over his neon yellow shirt, then wiped away tears during the trophy ceremony.

Looking at the bigger picture, he is now up to 18 Grand Slam trophies, moving within two of Roger Federer's men's record of 20.

Thiem, a 25-year-old Austrian who was seeded No. 4 and upset No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, was eyeing his first major title in this rematch of the 2018 final in Paris. But again, he couldn't solve Nadal.

"First thing that I want to say is congrats to Dominic. I feel sorry, because he deserves it here, too," Nadal said. "He has an unbelievable intensity."

So, of course, does Nadal. This had been, by his lofty standards, a rough season, from the most lopsided Grand Slam final loss of his career -- against Djokovic at the Australian Open -- to entering May without a title for the first year since 2004.

He started to right himself by taking the Italian Open title on clay last month.

"It was very important for him to win in Rome. It was like he realized that he was getting back on the good level, on the right path," said Nadal's coach, 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya, "and gaining a lot of confidence."

Soon enough, Nadal found himself in a familiar position in Paris: playing in the final, and winning it.

This one began on a cloudy afternoon, with the temperature in the low 60s (mid-teens Celsius) and only a slight breeze. In the initial game -- interrupted briefly by a baby wailing in the stands, drawing a laugh from other spectators and prompting Nadal to back away from the baseline between serves -- three of the five points lasted at least 11 strokes.

And, thereby, a pattern was established: By the end of the 3-hour, 1-minute match, a total of 46 points went 10 strokes or more. Each man claimed half.

Both would station themselves along the baseline and sprint, scramble, slide, stretch to somehow reach just about every ball, not merely putting a racket on it but conjuring a booming reply. It was an impressive display of athleticism, skill and will, with Thiem managing to give just as good as he got, particularly with his ferocious backhand.

From the get-go, it was such a physical grind that Nadal was soaked with sweat and changed neon yellow shirts after seven games and 45 minutes, eliciting catcalls from the stands.

Early on, there were no signs of fatigue for Thiem, even though he was competing for a fourth straight day, because of rain that jumbled the schedule. Nadal, meanwhile, entered Sunday having played just once in the previous four days.

Not only that, but while Nadal dismissed Federer with relative ease in a straight-set semifinal that concluded Friday, Thiem was forced to work overtime, eliminating Djokovic in a five-setter that wrapped up less than 24 hours before the final began.

Thiem showed he can play defense. Showed he can flip to offense in a blink. Showed power off both sides. Showed precision, too, making only three of the match's first 12 unforced errors.

Indeed, it was Thiem who nosed ahead first, closing a 12-stroke exchange by ripping a forehand to earn the first break point of the final, then converting it with an overhead to cap a 20-stroke point for a 3-2 edge. He turned with a clenched right hand to face his guest box, where all of his supporters were yelling and shaking fists, too, including his girlfriend, French tennis player Kristina Mladenovic, who won the women's doubles championship earlier in the day.

Nadal immediately responded. He grabbed the next four games with elan, using a drop shot to help break for a 5-3 lead, then a serve-and-volley to help hold for the set.

That must have been demoralizing for Thiem. But at the ensuing changeover, he didn't whack a ball toward the stands, as Federer memorably did during his semifinal loss. He didn't spike a racket or kick a ball. He casually sat in his gray sideline seat, bounced his legs and chewed on an energy bar, furtively glancing to his left at Nadal.

Thiem bounced back, if only briefly. Talk about a stunning shift: Nadal won 25 of 26 points on his serve before -- with spectators trading between-point chants of nicknames, "Ra-fa!" and "Do-mi!" -- he got broken to cede the second set. That was the only set he'd managed to steal from Nadal in four career meetings at Roland Garros.

Maybe this was going to be a long one.

But Thiem, put simply, wilted a bit. He made three unforced errors in the next set's opening game to get broken at love, creating an opening that Nadal barged through. By now, Nadal was creating magic at the net, and he won the point on 23 of 27 times he went forward. One drop volley was spun so marvelously that it landed on Thiem's side, then bounced back toward the net. All Thiem could do was watch -- and offer an appreciative thumbs-up.

"Almost everybody will tell you that he's one of the best volleyers of our game," Thiem said. "Because the last time he missed a volley was, maybe, seven years ago, I guess."

Soon enough, it was over. The King of Clay, as Nadal is known, still reigns.

ST. LOUIS -- In a letter published by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Sunday, St. Louis Blues owner Tom Stillman thanked his fans after "the elation of breaking through and bringing St. Louis its first-ever Stanley Cup."

One problem: The Blues haven't actually won the Stanley Cup yet. The letter, as well as a few congratulatory advertisements, appeared in the digital edition of the newspaper hours before the team was scheduled to play Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins, leading the series 3-2.

The ad pages were visible in the subscribers-only E-edition of the paper and were removed. But not before more than a few readers noted them, and they hit social media.

"Winning the Stanley Cup was a dream come true for so many of you. All of us will remember where we were, what we did and how we felt when the Blues brought the Cup home," wrote Stillman.

Later in the letter, the Blues literally did what no hockey fan wants their team to do before winning: They planned the parade.

"We are so very proud of our players, our organization and our fans. And now, together, we can finally say 'We won the Cup for St. Louis,'" Stillman wrote. "We look forward to celebrating with you as we parade the Cup down Market Street."

Also published was an ad from Enterprise, the title sponsor of the team's arena, congratulating the Blues on "winning the Stanley Cup" and publishing a "2019 Stanley Cup champions" logo with the Blues' symbol on it.

Beth O'Malley, online content coordinator for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said that "in preparation for the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final, some of our readers got a sneak peek at what our advertisers are hoping to say to the Blues, the fans and St. Louis. We apologize for the sneak peek and hope to share their messages with everyone very soon!"

While some Blues fans may appreciate the "sneak peek," one wonders how many are wary of this premature victory lap being a potential jinx.