Welcome to Monday’s Morning Mashup. For the latest news, start at our WEEI.com home page or click here for the top stories from our news wire.

MONDAY’S BROADCAST HIGHLIGHTS:
MLB: Red Sox at White Sox, 8:10 p.m. (NESN; WEEI-FM)
MLB: Yankees at Orioles, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
NHL playoffs: Blackhawks at Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. (NBCSN)

AROUND THE WEB:

LeBron James is ready for another physical series against the Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals. (AP)

♦ The Heat and Pacers open the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday, and there’s plenty to talk about before then. Pacers coach Frank Vogel got the ball rolling when on Saturday he referred to the defending NBA champion Heat as “just the next team that’s in our way.”

LeBron James didn’t care for that designation — at least the interpretation of Vogel’s comment that was presented to him by the media.

“We’re a great team,” James said Sunday. “We’re very confident. We’ll be ready for them. If we’re just another team, you don’t prepare, you really don’t prepare for just another team. We’re not just another team. You have to prepare for us.”

Added Chris Bosh: “It’s always good to get some motivation from the other side.”

James also predicted a continuation from last year’s Heat-Pacers series, which featured aggressive, physical play.

“They’ll try to put me on the floor, maybe,” James said. “They’ll be physical with me, maybe. … The word is you’ve got to beat up the Heat to beat them. And every team has tried to do that.”

♦ Geno Smith might have thought he would fit right in with the brash Jets when he predicted a playoff berth for the team in his first interview after being drafted last month. However, he said Sunday that he learned a lesson after the New York Post put him on the front page with a headline reading “Broadway Geno” — a reference to the legendary Joe Namath.

“I’ve already gotten in trouble for saying some things about playoffs and things, which I don’t regret,” Smith said in an interview on SiriusXM Radio. “I don’t think I’ll go as far as being bold as Joe was.”

Smith also has come under fire for his alleged immature behavior, including his reported arrogance during pre-draft interviews with teams and his firing of his agents after his draft slide.

“I don’t think I’m a bad guy,” Smith said. “I don’t think I’m some of the things they try to make me out to be. It’s a part of the media. The one thing that I understand is you can’t take it personally. Those guys have jobs and the key to their jobs is to sell papers and to keep the fans looking. So they’re going to spin things and try to make an interesting story out of something that may not be so interesting.”

♦ Sweden completed its run to the title at the world hockey championships Sunday, beating Switzerland, 5-1, in Stockholm behind two goals and an assist from Canucks star Henrik Sedin. With the win, Sweden became the first home team to win the championship in the tournament’s 27-year history.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. You can’t put it into words,” said Henrik Tallinder, who plays for the Devils. “As soon as we got our legs and got that first goal, I thought we controlled the game pretty well.”

The United States beat Finland, 3-2 in a shootout, for third place and its first medal in nine years.

ON THIS DAY TRIVIA (answer below): Which Red Sox player had a streak of homering on May 20 for five straight years, starting with a three-home run game in a 10-3 victory over the Royals in 2001?

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We didn’t play our best. They had a lot of opportunities that if they would’ve converted on, then it would be a completely different story right now. I think especially in the second period, they took it to us, but we were able to bounce back. It’s definitely a very even series.” – Bruins forward Brad Marchand, after Sunday’s 5-2 victory over the Rangers gave the B’s a 2-0 series lead

STAT OF THE DAY: 3 – Hours Sunday’s Red Sox-Twins game Sunday was delayed by rain in the seventh inning, the longest rain delay in Target Field’s four-year history

‘NET RESULTS (mobile users, check the website to see the videos): Oregon State center fielder Max Gordon makes an impressive leaping catch in Friday’s game vs. Oregon.

In the Virginia high school lacrosse playoffs, goalie Sam Beazell of St. Stephen’s and St. Agnes School makes a save and then quickly fires the ball the length of the field into the opposing goal.

We saw this a couple of times last year: A soccer goalie makes a save on a penalty kick and begins to celebrate, but as he does, the ball rolls over the line for a goal. This time the goal decided the South Carolina Class AAAA state championship for Irmo over Lexington.

TRIVIA ANSWER: Jason Varitek

SOOTHING SOUNDS: Joe Cocker was born on this day in 1944.