Members phkrause Posted May 8 Author Members Posted May 8 👋 Good morning! Today is my 35th birthday, which means I'm actually turning 36. Even closer to 40 than I realized! Great! Have you ever thought about that? The age you turn on your birthday is the age you just completed — not the age you're starting. It makes all the sense in the world but still breaks my brain a little bit. In today's edition: A deep dive into boxing lore, Avs stay hot, 24-team playoff gains steam, even Ohtani has limits, Tap the Map, dream job for soccer fans, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚽️ Gunners advance to final: Arsenal are heading to the Champions League final for the first time since 2006 after beating Atlético Madrid, 1-0, on Tuesday (2-1 on aggregate) thanks to Bukayo Saka's 44th-minute goal. 🏒 Leafs win lottery: The Maple Leafs will pick first in the 2026 NHL Draft after winning Tuesday's lottery, jumping from the fifth-best odds to their first No. 1 pick since 2016. The Sharks, Canucks, Blackhawks and Rangers round out the top five. 🏀 Record viewership: The 76ers' series-clinching victory over the Celtics averaged 11 million viewers, making it the most-watched first-round Game 7 in NBA history. Games across the entire first round averaged four million viewers, making it the most-watched opening round in 33 years. 🏈 Mahomes ahead of schedule: Patrick Mahomes is "way ahead of schedule" after tearing his ACL in December, per the Chiefs. The two-time MVP is "in a good position" to participate in OTAs later this month and could potentially return by Week 1. 🏀 WNBA great retires: Eight-time WNBA All-Star Tina Charles announced her retirement after 14 seasons. The former No. 1 overall pick leaves as the league's all-time leader in rebounds (4,262) and second-leading scorer (8,396 points). 🥊 INSIDE THE RING WAS ALI'S MOST FAMOUS PHOTO A LIE? (Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports) Sonny Liston was a champion, enforcer and enigma — a Hall of Fame heavyweight who became relegated by history as the fallen giant beneath a glowering Muhammad Ali. Yet more than 40 years later, the questions surrounding Liston and his fateful night against "The Greatest" refuse to die. Ben Fowlkes, Uncrowned: Over 60 years later and you still keep running into that photograph. You see it in dorm rooms and strip mall gyms. It's on the wall in bars, restaurants and waiting rooms. It's a great moment in sports photography, the way Ali is captured at the exact peak of his dominance. The fact that it was, in all likelihood, an ugly and ignominious day for boxing has been smoothed down to almost nothing by the sands of time. If you start to ask questions — even just a few basic ones — about the iconic scene from the heavyweight title rematch between Ali and Liston on May 25, 1965, that's when the picture comes into better focus. The iconic photo. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) Q: Where did this fight take place? A: In a small civic center in Lewiston, Maine. Q: Wait, didn't their first fight take place at a much larger arena in Miami Beach? A: Yes it did. And organizers had originally targeted Las Vegas for the rematch, but there were enough suspicions about the legitimacy of the fight that Art Laurie, then the chairman of the Nevada commission, later told [author Nick] Tosches that he'd been warned away from it by U.S. Senators who told him "not to have anything to do with that fight, because our industry here was gaming, and that fight was going to stink out the place." Q: At what point of the fight was that picture snapped? A: Slightly past midway of the first round. Q: How many other heavyweight title fights did Ali win via first-round knockout? A: Zero. He had only one other first-round knockout win in his entire pro career, and it came in his fourth professional fight, against Jim Robinson, a man who finished his career 8-25, with 16 losses by way of knockout. Q: How many other fights did Liston lose via first-round knockout? A: Zero. Liston was knocked out only one other time, in his second-to-last fight against Leotis Martin, just one year before his death. Prior to that, he'd withstood punishment from the hardest hitters in the division, such as Cleveland Williams, who finished his career with 62 knockout wins but went 0-2 against Liston. A portrait of Liston. (Robert Riger/Getty Images) The post-fight recap in The New York Times described Liston collapsing "slowly, like a falling building, piece by piece, rolling onto his back, then flat on his stomach, his face pressed against the canvas." Multiple ringside observers reported that fans in the small civic center almost immediately began chanting "Fix!" The blow that supposedly felled Liston was dubbed "the phantom punch." While Ali stood over his foe, yelling and gesturing in that moment immortalized on film, what some at ringside later reported hearing was Ali berating Liston, demanding he get up, telling him no one would believe this. The video footage from the fight shows Ali even interrupting the referee's count as he continued yelling at Liston, seemingly in no hurry to see the fight ended. Later, Ali would do his best to explain and justify the strangeness of that finish. It was just that his hands were so fast, he said. As fast as the human eye can blink, that's how fast he could punch. "The minute I hit Sonny Liston, all of those people blinked at that moment. That's why they didn't see the punch," Ali said later, playing the moment for laughs. One got the impression, hearing the comedic faux-sincerity in his voice, that he was doing the best with the material he had. According to Foneda Cox, one of Liston's longtime friends and sparring partners, Liston always knew this day was coming. He knew what kind of people were backing him. He was indebted to them in a million little ways. "He told me, he said, 'Foneda, I'm gonna tell you. I've got to lose one, and when I do, I'm gonna tell you." Cox never got any such advanced warning. He later said it was the only thing that he still held against Liston. 🏈 EXPANDED PLAYOFF SOURCES: 24-TEAM CFP GAINING STEAM (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) College football coaches are swinging their support behind a remade postseason that would include a 24-team playoff and the elimination of league title games, sources tell Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. What we're hearing: The most-discussed 24-team model is an all at-large field determined through the CFP rankings, with an automatic spot for the Group of Six leagues. The format adds one playoff round and 12 additional games. The top eight ranked teams would receive a first-round bye, while seeds No. 9-24 play in the first round on campus. Conference championship games would be eliminated and the playoff, presumably, would start immediately after the regular season, opening a path for the national title game to return to the second week of January. One potential hurdle? The Army-Navy game, traditionally played in a standalone window on the second Saturday in December, would conflict with the first or second round of a 24-team playoff. However, officials from both academies are at least exploring moving the game — potentially to Thanksgiving week. ⚾️ SHO-TIME EVEN THE LIMITLESS HAVE LIMITS Ohtani during his start on Tuesday in Houston. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) The Shohei Ohtani experience is changing before our eyes. Pitching, not hitting: The Dodgers' two-way superstar started on the mound against the Astros on Tuesday. But for the third time in his last four pitching starts, he did not hit as the team tries to manage his workload. "Just kind of seeing how things are going, I think it's best for everyone," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday while explaining the decision. "Definitely not [based on] results. It's a little bit more body language and just watching the player." "It doesn't make sense for him to go wire-to-wire [as both a] pitcher and hitter, playing every day and pitching every week. That's hard," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said last weekend. By the numbers: Ohtani took the loss on Tuesday despite another stellar outing on the mound, where he is having a Cy Young-caliber season (2-2, 0.97 ERA, 0.81 WHIP). Things aren't going as smoothly at the plate (.240 BA, 6 HR), which makes the decision to occasionally sit him a tad bit easier. Jake Mintz, Yahoo Sports: During Ohtani's six seasons in Anaheim, he was the master of his fate, the captain of his soul. He dictated his schedule to the club, who ceded to Ohtani's preferences more often than not. But things are playing out differently in DodgerTown, where the two-time defending champs are focused on the long game. Ensuring Ohtani is at full strength for October is priority No. 1. Given the club's threepeat-or-bust mentality, it's a rational course of action, even if it means the game's most unique player will be incrementally less unique. Still, it's unusual to think about Ohtani as restricted, in any way, shape or form. He has always been, except for the occasional torn elbow ligament, completely limitless. That's what makes this recent, seemingly minuscule development feel notable. Whatever the real reason — age, underperformance, Dodger-Think, a combination — Ohtani is being restrained. It's a reminder, too, that he can't do this forever. Time always wins. As such, concessions will need to be made. In fact, they're already being made. Bottom line: Ohtani remains the most remarkable character in the sport. That he is seriously in contention for the Cy Young a season after clobbering 55 home runs is astonishing. Nobody else in baseball is in his hemisphere of superstardom. And yet, even the limitless have limits. 📸 SNAPSHOTS IN PHOTOS: PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) Oklahoma City — LeBron James (game-high 27 pts) and the Lakers kept it close for a while, but Chet Holmgren (24 pts, 12 reb) and the Thunder poured it on late for a 108-90 victory in Game 1. Courtside chess: Inside the Lakers' defensive plans to slow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — and give themselves a puncher's chance (Kelly Iko, Yahoo Sports) (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Detroit — The Pistons capitalized against the sloppy Cavaliers (19 turnovers) to win the series opener, 111-101, and snap a 12-game postseason losing streak against Cleveland dating back to 2007. Coughing it up: James Harden tallied more turnovers (7) than made field goals (6), marking the third time he's done that this postseason and the 29th time he's done it in his playoff career. Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin celebrate as Colorado's Game 2 victory winds down. (Tyler Schank/Clarkson Creative/Getty Images) Denver — The Avalanche beat the Wild, 5-2, to take a 2-0 series lead behind a goal and two assists from Nathan MacKinnon, who became just the sixth player in the past 40 years to register three consecutive three-point games in the playoffs. Total domination: The best team from the regular season doesn't appear to be slowing down in the playoffs, as Colorado is now 6-0 with an aggregate score of 27-13 in the postseason, including 14 goals scored in the last two games alone. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 Can PSG hang on to reach their second straight final? (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images) ⚽️ Champions League, Semifinal Bayern Munich (down 5-4) host PSG in the second leg (3pm ET, CBS) for a spot in the final. The winner will take on Arsenal for the European crown. Scoring explosion: The first leg was the highest scoring Champions League semifinal match since 1960. Will we see another slugfest today? 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Knicks (up 1-0) host the 76ers (7pm, ESPN) and the Spurs (down 1-0) host the Timberwolves (9:30pm, ESPN) in tonight's Game 2 action. Historic heater: New York is the first team in NBA playoff history to win three straight games by at least 25 points. 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Sabres host the Canadiens in Game 1 (7pm, TNT) before the Golden Knights (up 1-0) host the Ducks (9:30pm, TNT) in the nightcap. Even matchup: Atlantic Division foes Buffalo and Montreal played each other to a dead heat this season, splitting their series, 2-2, with a combined score of 13-13. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Rangers at Yankees (7:05pm, Prime) … Will Warren (4-0, 2.39 ERA) is one of three Yankees starters with a sub-2.50 ERA. The rest of the AL has four total. ⚽️ CONCACAF Champions Cup: Toluca (down 2-1) vs. LAFC (9:30pm, FS1) … Winner faces Tigres UANL in the final. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🌍 GEOGRAPHY TAP THE MAP GeoSports is a new daily game that combines sports history with geography. Tap where it happened! The closer you are, the more points you get. Today's questions: Wrigley Field, the second-oldest ballpark in the majors, has called this city home since 1916. Kobe Bryant went straight from Lower Merion High to the NBA in 1996 in this metro area. LeBron James was living in this city when he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school junior. In 1986, Maradona scored the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" in the same match in this city. Manu Ginobili, picked 57th in 1999 and a four-time NBA champ, grew up in this Argentine city. GeoSports was created by Frank Michael Smith, a popular sports personality and avid Yahoo Sports AM reader. What do you think of the game? Should we create more games like it? Email me with any and all feedback. ⚽️ 2026 WORLD CUP DREAM JOB (Giphy) Fox Sports, in partnership with Indeed, is launching a nationwide search to fill the position of "Chief World Cup Watcher." Details: The role will be tasked with watching all 104 World Cup matches this summer on the Fox One streaming platform. The new employee will earn $50,000 in salary from June 6 through July 26, which works out to $1,000 per day. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 10 Author Members Posted May 10 👋 Good morning! GeoSports was a big hit yesterday, and we're cooking up new ideas to make it even better. In today's edition: Knicks win see-saw affair, PSG advances to title game, Golden Tempo out of Preakness, the battle for Wrigley's rooftops, WNBA primer, RIP Ted Turner, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Third straight walk-off: The Cubs beat the Reds on a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 10th to win their third straight game via walk-off against Cincinnati. All in all, they've won eight straight to improve to 25-12, just behind the Braves (26-12) for the best record in baseball. 👟 Historic run: Ultramarathoner Rachel Entrekin won the Cocodona 250, running a course record 56:09:48 to become the first woman to win the grueling 253.3-mile race through central Arizona outright. Tragically, another participant died earlier in the race following a "serious medical emergency." ⚽️ Last two standing: PSG are heading back to the Champions League final after completing a 6-5 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich following Wednesday's 1-1 draw in the second leg. The defending champions will take on Arsenal on May 30 in Budapest, Hungary. ⚾️ Astros lose Correa: Houston's season went from bad to worse, as the slumping Astros (15-23) lost Carlos Correa for the season to a freak ankle injury suffered during batting practice. His is just the latest injury for a team whose season may already be a lost cause. 🏈 Wilson weighing options: Russell Wilson, 37, is debating between signing with the Jets or making the jump to TV. "I still know I can play ball at a high level, but also I think the opportunity to do TV [analysis] is great, so we'll see what happens." 📸 SNAPSHOTS IN PHOTOS: PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) New York — Following four straight blowouts, the Knicks proved they can win a slugfest, too, beating the 76ers, 108-102, to take a 2-0 series lead. See-saw affair: New York and Philly traded blows all night, with their 25 lead changes marking the most in a playoff game since 2015 (Spurs vs. Clippers, Game 7, Round 1). (Eric Gay/AP Photo) San Antonio — The Spurs followed up their Game 1 loss with a shellacking in Game 2, routing the Timberwolves, 133-95, to even the series behind a double-double from Victor Wembanyama (19 points, 15 rebounds) and a game-high 21 points from Stephon Castle. Historic beatdown: The Timberwolves' 38-point defeat was by far their worst playoff loss in franchise history, surpassing the previous record of 30. It didn't help that they missed 15 free throws (16-31) or had more turnovers (22) than assists (19). (Ben Ludeman/NHLI via Getty Images) Buffalo — The Sabres took down the Canadiens for a series-opening 4-2 victory as they were finally able to turn their power play problem into a nightmare for the Habs. Flipped the script: Buffalo scored more goals in three power play opportunities on Wednesday (2) than they did in their previous 44 power play opportunities (1). (David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) Las Vegas — The Ducks beat the Golden Knights, 3-1, to send the series back to Anaheim tied at one game apiece. So close: Vegas' lone goal came with 5.6 seconds left in the game, continuing an odd drought for the Ducks, who haven't recorded a shutout victory since the 2024-25 season-opener — 571 days ago. ⚾️ NIMBY THE BATTLE FOR WRIGLEY'S ROOFTOPS Fans watch a game at Wrigley Field via the adjacent rooftops. (David Banks/Getty Images) The free ride may soon be coming to an end for the Wrigley View Rooftop, the last remaining independent business selling tickets to Cubs games. Motion denied: The latest development in the 2024 suit brought by the Cubs against Wrigley View came on Friday, when a U.S. District Judge denied a motion on the pleadings by the defendant, pushing the case one step closer to a potential trial. The backdrop: Wrigley Field is a unique ballpark not just for its ivy or history, but because the roofs of many neighboring buildings have a great view of the field — an idiosyncrasy that businesses have long availed themselves of for profit. In 2004, following a dispute similar to the current one, the Cubs struck a 20-year licensing agreement with those surrounding businesses to share a portion of their revenue. And in the ensuing two decades, the team bought many of those properties, adding 11 rooftops' worth of seating to the 41,649 seats already inside Wrigley Field. But in 2024, when those deals expired, Wrigley View kept right on selling tickets, leading the Cubs to sue for misappropriating the team's property rights and unjust enrichment. Understanding both sides: The Cubs argue that Wrigley View should not be allowed to profit off a product they had no hand in producing. The team has invested billions over the years to own and operate an MLB franchise and stadium; so the team, not the business, should have the sole right to recoup that investment by selling tickets. Wrigley View, meanwhile, argues that because the Cubs don't own their building, they have no legal say regarding how its 200-person capacity rooftop is used. Furthermore, while the Cubs may have a property right to the experience of live Cubs games, Wrigley View says the team failed to protect that right by putting its stadium in such a location that allows outside viewers to look in. What's next: The team already scored a win last year when the judge denied a motion that the case be sent to arbitration, so from here it will either end in a settlement or a trial. If it does go to trial, precedent is on the Cubs' side thanks to a 1938 ruling in favor of the Pittsburgh Pirates over a local radio station, which "affirmed the holding that sports teams have a property right in profits from their live games." 💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) 🐎 5th horse in 8 years There will yet again be no Triple Crown winner this year after Golden Tempo trainer Cherie DeVaux announced Wednesday that her Kentucky Derby-winning horse will not race in next week's Preakness Stakes. This marks the fifth time in the last eight years that the Derby winner skipped the Preakness, a worrying trend caused by the sport's compressed calendar. Is change coming? The Derby winner competed in the Preakness every year from 1997 to 2018, when Justify won the most recent Triple Crown. But just three have done so since (Authentic in 2020, Mage in 2023, Mystik Dan in 2024), as many trainers believe the two-week gap is not sufficient for recovery. One possible solution? Moving the Preakness date back, which could happen soon as part of the ongoing negotiations for the race's television rights. 🏀 33 states The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association narrowly approved a measure on Monday to add a 35-second shot clock to high school basketball games starting in the 2027-28 season, becoming the 33rd state (including Washington, D.C.) to adopt a shot clock. The backdrop: Adoption has steadily increased since 2021, when the National Federation of State High School Associations began allowing state-level adoption. In a vacuum, most agree that shot clocks are needed, but plenty of states continue holding out due to the cost of installation and operation. Indiana, for example, overwhelmingly voted against the measure this week. ⚾️ 1,000 strikeouts Dodgers righty Tyler Glasnow struck out his 1,000th career batter on Wednesday, becoming the fastest starting pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone (793 innings pitched). Unfortunately, the oft-injured hurler left the game two batters later with lower back pain. All-time leaderboard: Glasnow, the 576th pitcher in MLB history to reach 1,000 strikeouts, broke the record set just last year by Freddy Peralta (804.2 IP). The next four fastest? Robbie Ray (810 IP), Yu Darvish (812 IP), Blake Snell (820.2 IP) and Dylan Cease (830.1 IP). 🏀 GO DEEPER GOOD READS: WNBA TIP-OFF (Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports) The 30th anniversary season of the WNBA tips off tomorrow. Here's what you missed this offseason, plus predictions for the year ahead, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Cassandra Negley. Offseason recap: More money, a healthy Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese in Atlanta and the contenders reload There has never been an offseason as full of colossal milestones as the time between the anointing of the 2025 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces on Oct. 10 and the first tip-off of the 2026 season on Friday. (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) Preseason awards: Analyzing the top candidates for MVP, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Woman and more The best teams and clear-cut frontrunners for individual awards will show themselves as the season churns along. Everything right now is healthy assumptions based on previous performances and future projections. But we have to start somewhere. (Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports) 5 bold predictions: A comeback MVP, Sparks in the Finals, expansion team success and more The season begins with storylines aplenty to monitor. But what might we be writing about this time next year? Here's a look at some predictions, leaning more bold and daring as the action gets underway. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, MAY 7 (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs Both No. 1 seeds look to take 2-0 leads at home tonight, as the Pistons host the Cavaliers (7pm ET, Prime) and the Thunder host the Lakers (9:30pm, Prime). Historic underdogs: Just as they were in Game 1, the Lakers are 15.5-point underdogs tonight, marking the longest odds of any game in LeBron James' career (regular season or playoffs). OKC still covered on Tuesday with an 18-point victory. 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Hurricanes, up 2-0 on the Flyers, will look to continue their undefeated run through the playoffs as they travel to Philadelphia for Game 3 (8pm, TNT). Fun fact: This is the first time the Hurricanes and Flyers have met in the postseason despite both being members of the Eastern Conference (formerly known as the Prince of Wales Conference) since the conferences were realigned in 1981. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Rays at Red Sox (7pm, ESPN); Cardinals at Padres (10pm, ESPN) … St. Louis is a surprising 21-15 despite having MLB's youngest roster and being in the midst of a rebuild. ⛳️ PGA: Truist Championship (7:30am, ESPN+; 2pm, Golf) … Rory McIlroy headlines the field at North Carolina's Quail Hollow, back as the host after taking last year off to host the PGA Championship. ⛳️ LPGA: Mizuho Americas Open (11am, Golf) … Tournament host Michelle Wie West will tee it up for the first time since 2023. 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (7:30am, Tennis) … First round action for the men, second round for the women. 🏒 PWHL: Montreal (tied 1-1) at Minnesota (7pm, Prime) … The best-of-five semifinal is all tied up as it heads to St. Paul. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. ⚾ JUNIOR CIRCUIT MLB TRIVIA (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Question: There are currently only two AL teams above .500. Can you name them without looking at the standings? Hint: Same division. Answer at the bottom. 💔 LARGER THAN LIFE REST IN PEACE, TED TURNER Turner and then-wife Jane Fonda at a Braves game in 1991. (Focus on Sport via Getty Images) Ted Turner, who died Wednesday, was an outrageous owner and savvy businessman who reshaped the sports world. Trivia answer: Yankees (25-12) and Rays (24-12) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 11 Author Members Posted May 11 🏀 1 hoop thing: We're gonna need a bigger bracket The new bracket, shared by the NCAA. The men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments are expanding to 76 teams, the NCAA announced yesterday. 🏀 How it works: There'll be 12 opening-round games to whittle the field down to the traditional 64-team bracket. 🧮 By the numbers: The men's tournament began with 8 teams in 1939, expanded to 16 in 1951, jumped to 32 in 1975, was up to 64 by 1985 and went to 68 in 2011. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 11 Author Members Posted May 11 🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: March Madness expansion, the Thunder, Pistons and Hurricanes win again, MLB awards watch, WNBA tip-off, "Backyard Legends," and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Fly the W: The Cubs just keep winning, completing a four-game sweep of the Reds for their ninth straight victory and 15th straight at home — their longest win streak at Wrigley since 1935. At 26-12, they're tied for the best record in MLB and have surged to the top of the baseball world. 🏈 Rodgers nears decision: Aaron Rodgers is expected to meet with the Steelers today, and the future Hall of Famer is reportedly likely to play for Pittsburgh again this fall for his 22nd NFL season. Still on the agenda, though, are some complicated contract negotiations. 🏒 Norris Trophy finalists: Cale Makar (Avalanche), Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres) and Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets) were named finalists for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top defenseman. Makar, a two-time winner, joins Bobby Orr as the only players named a finalist in six of their first seven seasons. ⚾️ MLB viewership way up: Nationally-televised MLB broadcasts are averaging 2.28 million viewers this season, a 44% increase over last year and the best mark since 2017. Attendance is also up 3% over last year, trending towards the league's fourth straight annual increase. ⚽️ USMNT hopeful injured: Johnny Cardoso sprained his ankle during Thursday's training session with Atlético Madrid, significantly decreasing the midfielder's chances of making the World Cup roster. Mauricio Pochettino will announce his 26-man squad on May 26. 🏀 76 TEAMS MARCH MADNESS EXPANSION IS HERE. BUT WHY? (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) What has long been inevitable is now official: March Madness is expanding, with the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments both increasing from 68 to 76 teams. It is, to put it bluntly, a decision that almost no one — outside of those who made it — actually wants. Details: The dual expansion, approved on Thursday via unanimous vote by both the men's and women's committees, will begin next season. The schedule of the tournament proper won't change; only the volume of games before the Round of 64 tips off. The "First Four," the eight-team play-in that began in 2011, will be replaced with a 24-team "Opening Round" played on Tuesday and Wednesday after Selection Sunday. Those 24 teams will comprise 12 at-large selections (11 and 12 seeds) and 12 automatic qualifiers (15 and 16 seeds), with the winners of those games advancing to the traditional 64-team bracket. Between the lines: This expansion is highly unlikely to improve upon the universally-beloved March Madness, which will now feature a watered-down bubble and an unnecessarily cumbersome bracket — changes that represent just the latest example of college leaders abandoning the fans. Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports: Every single person who signed off on the decision Thursday to expand the NCAA basketball tournament to 76 teams understands they are doing something fans didn't ask for and that nobody in a position of power can justify. It is the Seinfeld of expansions — a decision about nothing, that gains nothing for college basketball, that exists mostly because the current leadership class led by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are bound and determined to wreck everything in college sports that used to make sense. Faced with a choice between adding eight more teams to the tournament or starting a game of chicken between the velociraptors at the top of the food chain and the 200-plus schools that would be cut out completely if the Big Ten and SEC someday walk away, the NCAA has once again jumped into the cage and made itself the meal. As we've come to expect in a college sports world led by Sankey and Petitti, there are endless solutions for problems that don't exist. The stuff that really matters always seems to be someone else's job. Thank goodness college sports has such self-serving leadership. Without it, we'd be forced to endure another horror like 17-16 Auburn missing March Madness this year. We can all rest easy knowing that will never happen again. Under the new format, 17-16 Auburn would have flown right into the NCAA tournament. (Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) In all seriousness, while the decision itself is a bad one because it will give us a watered-down bubble and lesser tournament than the one we previously enjoyed, my guess is that most casual fans — the ones who make the NCAA tournament one of America's most popular events — won't really notice. In the real world, it is already asking a lot of regular people with jobs to devote all day Thursday and Friday of the tournament's first week to watching basketball. They're not going to do it on Tuesday and Wednesday to watch a bunch of power conference teams with sub. 500 conference records play each other. The previous First Four format, with two games on Tuesday and Wednesday night, was strictly a niche product. Making it an all-day affair seems unlikely to change that equation. The bigger issue here is what it says about the decision-making process in college sports against the backdrop of significant, existential issues. If you want to take something like the NCAA tournament that did not need an intervention and turn it into an unwieldy mess that mostly caters to their agenda, Sankey and Petitti seem to be highly effective. With an unmatched combination of leverage and shamelessness, they can snap their fingers and turn NCAA president Charlie Baker into their errand boy. But when it comes to fixing a real problem — like the rise of $20 million college basketball rosters while only a handful of programs even bring in $20 million in revenue — they are suddenly helpless and out of answers, reduced to groveling at the feet of politicians to rescue their industry from its own lack of courage and discipline. 📸 SNAPSHOTS IN PHOTOS: PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) Oklahoma City — The Thunder pulled away from the Lakers late in what had actually been a close game for much of the night, winning 125-107 to take a 2-0 series lead as they head to Los Angeles. Lopsided rivalry: The Thunder have beaten the Lakers by at least 15 points five times this season (including playoffs), which is the most such wins against L.A. in a single season since the 1976 merger. Credit OKC's smothering defense, led by 7-footers Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. (Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) Detroit — Cade Cunningham (25 points, 10 assists) and the Pistons held off Donovan Mitchell (31 points) and the Cavaliers in a 107-97 victory to take a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Cleveland. Harden's struggles continue: James Harden finished with 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting with four turnovers, including one that essentially sealed the loss. In this series, he's shooting 32.1% from the field and 9.1% from deep with more turnovers (11) than either assists (10) or made field goals (nine), and he's committed 47 turnovers in nine games this postseason. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Philadelphia — The Hurricanes are a freight train, beating the Flyers, 4-1, to take a 3-0 series lead and move within one victory of their second straight sweep to open these playoffs. One win from history: Carolina is just the fifth team to start the postseason 7-0 since the current format began in 1987, and can become the first to go 8-0. And if the Avalanche win tomorrow, it will mark the first time two teams started 7-0 in the same year. ⚾️ BEST OF THE BEST MLB AWARDS WATCH (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) We're almost one-quarter of the way through the MLB season, which feels like a good time to begin considering which players lead the way in the three major awards races. MVP American League: There's a clear trio of top contenders led by a pair of Bombers in the Bronx, according to Yahoo Sports' Jordan Shusterman. Aaron Judge (RF, Yankees): .270/.401/.642, 15 HR, 29 RBI, 34 R, 2.4 WAR Ben Rice (1B, Yankees): .343/.455/.759, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 30 R, 1.8 WAR Yordan Alvarez (DH/LF, Astros): .319/.423/.638, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 26 R, 1.6 WAR In the hunt: Mike Trout (CF, Angels), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS, Royals), Shea Langeliers (C, Athletics), Yandy Díaz (DH, Rays), Junior Caminero (3B, Rays), Jonathan Aranda (1B, Rays), Kevin McGonigle (SS, Tigers), Munetaka Murakami (1B, White Sox) National League: The top is a little more crowded in the senior circuit, headlined by a four-time winner and the hottest player on the league's best team. Shohei Ohtani (DH/SP, Dodgers): .831 OPS, 6 HR, 25 R; 2-2, 0.97 ERA; 2.4 WAR Matt Olson (1B, Braves): .301/.388/.671, 13 HR, 33 RBI, 35 R, 2.6 WAR Elly De La Cruz (SS, Reds): .265/.337/.510, 10 HR, 28 RBI, 27 R, 1.6 WAR Nico Hoerner (2B, Cubs): .289/.366/.443, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 20 R, 2.0 WAR Brice Turang (2B, Brewers): .305/.439/.517, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 29 R, 2.1 WAR In the hunt: Corbin Carroll (RF, Diamondbacks), CJ Abrams (SS, Nationals), Jordan Walker (RF, Cardinals), Mickey Moniak (OF, Rockies) (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) Cy Young American League: Just as he had for the AL MVP, Jordan's trio of AL Cy Young contenders is headlined by a pair of Yankees. Max Fried (SP, Yankees): 4-1, 2.39 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 43:15 K:BB, 1.8 WAR Cam Schlittler (SP, Yankees): 5-1, 1.52 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 53:9 K:BB, 1.9 WAR Dylan Cease (SP, Blue Jays): 2-1, 3.05 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 56:18 K:BB, 0.9 WAR In the hunt: José Soriano (SP, Angels), Drew Rasmussen (SP, Rays), Davis Martin (SP, White Sox), Emerson Hancock (SP, Mariners) National League: Here's yet another award where a pair of teammates are making a lot of noise early in the year. Ohtani (DH/SP, Dodgers): 2-2, 0.97 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 42:9 K:BB, 2.4 WAR Yoshinobu Yamamoto (SP, Dodgers): 3-2, 3.09 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 40:10 K:BB, 0.6 WAR Paul Skenes (SP, Pirates): 5-2, 2.36 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 46:7 K:BB, 1.5 WAR Cristopher Sánchez (SP, Phillies): 3-2, 2.42 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 60:14 K:BB, 2.0 WAR In the hunt: Jacob Misiorowski (SP, Brewers), Shota Imanaga (SP, Cubs), Nolan McLean (SP, Mets), Mason Miller (RP, Padres) (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) Rookie of the Year American League: The junior circuit is loaded with youngsters who've come roaring out of the gates, but with all due respect to the duos in Cleveland and Toronto, there's a pair of infielders in Detroit and Chicago who are on another level right now. Kevin McGonigle (SS, Tigers): .299/.392/.453, 2 HR, 11 2B, 16 RBI, 25 R, 2.2 WAR Munetaka Murakami (1B, White Sox): .237/.369/.565, 14 HR, 28 RBI, 26 R, 1.2 WAR In the hunt: Chase DeLauter (RF, Guardians), Parker Messick (SP, Guardians), Trey Yesavage (SP, Blue Jays), Kazuma Okamoto (3B, Blue Jays) National League: A hurler in Queens is lapping the field in this particular race, but it's worth remembering that at this time last season, eventual ROYs Nick Kurtz and Drake Baldwin had barely scratched the surface of their prodigious production. Nolan McLean (SP, Mets): 1-2, 2.97 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 51:11 K:BB, 0.6 WAR JJ Wetherholt (2B, Cardinals): .236/.355/.421, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 28 R, 1.8 WAR In the hunt: Moisés Ballesteros (DH, Cubs), Sal Stewart (1B, Reds), Konnor Griffin (SS, Pirates) 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 WNBA Tip-Off The 30th WNBA season begins tonight, with all 15 teams taking the floor across this weekend's 11-game slate. The headliner is undoubtedly Saturday's matchup between the Wings and Fever in Indianapolis (1pm ET, ABC), which features the last four No. 1 overall picks in Indiana's Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston and Dallas' Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd. The rest: The defending champion Aces play tomorrow at home against the Mercury (3:30pm, ABC) and Sunday on the road against the Sparks (6pm, USA). Plus, the expansion Toronto Tempo (vs. the Mystics tonight at 7:30pm on League Pass) and Portland Fire (vs. the Sky tomorrow at 9pm on NBA TV) play their inaugural games in front of their home crowds. Season preview: 30 stats to celebrate 30 seasons (Nekias Duncan, Yahoo Sports) 🏀 NBA Playoffs The second round continues this weekend in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Los Angeles. The Knicks, hitting the road up 2-0, are the only team with a chance to advance to the Conference Finals by Sunday night. Friday: Knicks (up 2-0) at 76ers (7pm, Prime); Spurs (tied 1-1) at Timberwolves (9:30pm, Prime) Saturday: Pistons (up 2-0) at Cavaliers (3pm, NBC); Thunder (up 2-0) at Lakers (8:30pm, ABC) Sunday: Knicks at 76ers, Game 4 (3:30pm, ABC); Spurs at Timberwolves, Game 4 (7:30pm, NBC) Good read: Everyone else from the 2003 NBA Draft grew old. LeBron James somehow hasn't (Jeff Eisenberg, Yahoo Sports) 🏒 NHL Playoffs The second round continues in Buffalo, Anaheim, Philadelphia, St. Paul and Montreal. The Hurricanes, up 3-0 on the Flyers, are the only team with a chance to advance to the Conference Finals this weekend. Friday: Canadiens (down 1-0) at Sabres (7pm, TNT); Golden Knights (tied 1-1) at Ducks (9:30pm, TNT) Saturday: Hurricanes (up 3-0) at Flyers (6pm, TNT); Avalanche (up 2-0) at Wild (9pm, TNT) Sunday: Sabres at Canadiens, Game 3 (7pm, ESPN); Golden Knights at Ducks, Game 4 (9:30pm, ESPN) Can Minnesota bounce back? The Avs' 14 goals against the Wild are the most in the first two games of a playoff series since 1988, when the Flames scored 15 against the Kings. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Twins at Guardians (Fri. 7:15pm, Apple); Cardinals at Padres (Fri. 9:45pm, Apple); Astros at Reds (Sat. 4pm, FS1); Tigers at Royals (Sun. 7:20pm, Peacock) 🚴 Cycling: Giro d'Italia (Fri-Sun, HBO Max) … The year's first Grand Tour, the 109th edition of La Corsa Rosa, begins with its first three stages (of 21) in Bulgaria. 🥍 PLL: Week 1 (Fri-Sat, ESPN+/ESPN2) … The Premier Lacrosse League's eighth season kicks off with four games in Salt Lake City. ⚽️ MLS: San Jose vs. Vancouver (Sat. 10:30pm, Apple) … The top two teams in the West square off in San Jose. ⚽️ EPL: Manchester City vs. Brentford (Sat. 12:30pm, NBC); West Ham vs. Arsenal (Sun. 11:30am, USA) … City trail the Gunners by five points with a game in hand. ⚽️ LaLiga: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (Sun. 3pm, ESPN) … Barcelona will clinch their second straight league title with a win or draw in the 264th El Clásico. ⛳️ Golf: Truist Championship (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/CBS); Mizuho Americas Open (Fri-Sun, Golf/Paramount+) … The action resumes in North Carolina and New Jersey. 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis) … Men's and women's action in the Masters 1000 event continues in Rome. 🏁 Motorsports: IndyCar at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Sat. 4:30pm, Fox); NASCAR at Watkins Glen International (Sun. 3pm, FS1) 🏒 PWHL Playoffs: Boston (tied 1-1) at Ottawa (Fri. 7pm, YouTube); Montréal (up 2-1) at Minnesota (Fri. 8:30pm, Prime); Boston at Ottawa Game 4 (Sun. 3pm, YouTube) … Best-of-five semifinals. 👊 UFC 328: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland (Sat. 9pm, Paramount+) … The middleweight title bout headlines the card in Newark, NJ. 🏈 UFL: Week 7 (Fri-Sun, Fox/FS1/ESPN) … The first-place DC Defenders (5-1) host the Louisville Kings seeking a sixth straight win (Sat. 1:30pm, Fox) 🏈 IFL: Week 9 (Fri-Sun, Yahoo Sports Network) … The regular season is nearly halfway over. Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. ⚽️ 60 GOALS SOCCER TRIVIA Kane during Bayern Munich's semifinal loss to PSG on Wednesday. (Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Harry Kane scored his 60th goal of the season for club and country this week, becoming just the fourth player in Europe's top five leagues ever to reach that milestone. Question: Can you name the other three? Hint: Argentina, Portugal, Uruguay. Answer at the bottom. 🎬 SHORT FILM "BACKYARD LEGENDS" (Adidas) Adidas released a brilliant new World Cup campaign on Thursday — a five-minute film titled "Backyard Legends" that stars Timothée Chalamet, Lionel Messi, Bad Bunny, Trinity Rodman and more. The nostalgia is strong: The short film is a must-watch, particularly for anyone who fondly remembers those similar Nike spots from two-plus decades ago. I can't be the only one who watched the Scorpion cage tournament, Brazil at the airport and "au revoir" on repeat, right? Trivia answer: Lionel Messi (three times), Cristiano Ronaldo (three times), Luis Suárez Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 13 Author Members Posted May 13 👋 Good morning! Welcome back. Weekend standout: Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski threw the seven fastest pitches ever recorded by a starting pitcher on Friday during a dominant start against the Yankees. He topped out at 103.6 mph, and 41 of his 95 pitches were 100+ mph. In today's edition: Knicks and Hurricanes complete sweeps, Wizards win lottery (plus NBA mock draft), Barça win La Liga, another setback for Pulisic, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀 Wiz win lottery: The Wizards won the NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, securing the No. 1 overall pick in next month's draft. Joining them in the top five: Jazz, Grizzlies, Bulls and Clippers (via Pacers). ⚽️ Barça on top: Barcelona secured its second straight La Liga title (and 29th overall) with Sunday's 2-0 victory over rival Real Madrid, marking the first time the club has clinched the league title in El Clásico. 🏀 Kerr inks new deal: Steve Kerr has agreed to a two-year contract with the Warriors amid speculation about a potential split. The new deal will reportedly keep Kerr, who was earning $17.5 million annually, as the highest-paid coach in the NBA. 🥎 Bracket reveal: The SEC got six of the top eight seeds in the NCAA Softball Championship when the 64-team field was revealed on Sunday, including Alabama at No. 1 and defending national champion Texas at No. 2. Regionals begin on Friday. ⛳️ Save that scorecard: Kristoffer Reitan posted a 2-under 69 on Sunday at Quail Hallow to win the Truist Championship by two strokes and earn his first PGA Tour title, which came with a $3.6 million prize. 🏀 NBA PLAYOFFS KNICKS KEEP IT ROLLING, SWEEP SIXERS (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) The Knicks torched the 76ers, 144-114, on Sunday to complete the series sweep and advance to the NBA's Final Four, all while barely breaking a sweat. Bully ball: New York has been utterly dominant this postseason, winning eight games by a combined 196 points — and losing two games by a combined two points. Round 1: Knicks 113, Hawks 102 (+11) Hawks 107, Knicks 106 (-1) Hawks 109, Knicks 108 (-1) Knicks 114, Hawks 98 (+16) Knicks 126, Hawks 97 (+29) Knicks 140, Hawks 89 (+51) Round 2: Knicks 137, 76ers 98 (+39) Knicks 108, 76ers 102 (+6) Knicks 108, 76ers 94 (+14) Knicks 144, 76ers 114 (+30) Wild stat: In terms of point differential, the Knicks now have the best 3-game span in NBA playoff history, the two best 4-game spans, the three best 5-game spans, the two best 6-game spans, the best 7-game span, the best 8-game span, the best 9-game span, and the best 10-game span, as noted by Rodger Sherman. Meanwhile, in Minnesota… Anthony Edwards (36 points) and the Timberwolves rallied to beat the Spurs, 114-109, on Sunday following Victor Wembanyama's first career ejection. The series is now tied 2-2 as it heads back to San Antonio. 🏒 NHL PLAYOFFS THE CANES CAN'T LOSE (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) The Stanley Cup Playoffs are about parity. Close games. Tight series. Overtimes. Upsets. Nobody told the top-seeded Hurricanes, who didn't drop a single game en route to the Eastern Conference Final. Round 1: Swept the Senators (4-0) while allowing five total goals Round 2: Swept the Flyers (4-0) while allowing five total goals Still perfect: The Hurricanes are the fifth team in NHL history to go 8-0 to start the postseason (1985 Oilers, 1969 Blues, 1960 Canadiens, 1952 Red Wings), and the first to sweep their opening two series since all four rounds became best-of-seven in 1987. The Canes, who are in the East Final for the third time in four years, are looking for their first Stanley Cup since 2006. They're the 24th team in league history to win eight or more consecutive games during a playoff run. 18 of those teams won the Cup that year. What's next: Carolina will have a lengthy wait (up to 11 days!) before playing the winner of the Buffalo vs. Montreal series. The Canadiens currently lead 2-1 after dominant wins on Friday and Sunday. 🏀 CLASS OF 2026 NBA MOCK DRAFT 5.0 (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) Here's how the 2026 NBA Draft could play out now that we know the order, according to Yahoo Sports' Kevin O’Connor. Top 10: Wizards: AJ Dybantsa (BYU) Jazz: Darryn Peterson (Kansas) Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer (Duke) Bulls: Caleb Williams (UNC) Clippers: Keaton Wagler (Illinois) Nets: Kingston Flemings (Houston) Kings: Darius Acuff (Arkansas) Hawks: Aday Mara (Michigan) Mavericks: Mikel Brown (Louisville) Bucks: Nate Ament (Tennessee) Be sure to check out our 2026 NBA Draft Guide, which features full scouting reports for our top 60 prospects, player comparisons, and multiple big boards. ⚽️ USMNT ANOTHER SETBACK FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA Pulisic ahead of an AC Milan match last month. (DeFodi Images via Getty Images) Steven Goff, Yahoo Sports: Christian Pulisic is on the cover of Time magazine. He is in a Fox Sports promo and in commercials for deodorant, a sports drink and soccer shoes, among other things. He is undeniably the face of both the U.S. men's national team and, with the World Cup on home soil, the sport as a whole in this country. One place you will not have found him in recent months, however, is in the scoring column. And on Sunday, amid the worst drought of his marvelous career, Pulisic was not even in his No. 11 AC Milan uniform. Slated to start in a 3-2 home loss to Atalanta, the 27-year-old attacker was ruled out with a gluteal muscle strain. It's unclear whether he will return for the last two Serie A matches before World Cup training camp opens May 27 in the Atlanta area. The injury is the latest downer in a campaign that began in style late last summer but turned sour in 2026. Now the question is whether he will regain his health and form before the biggest few weeks of his life. USMNT watch: How the rest of the roster contenders fared over the weekend 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, MAY 11 (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Lakers (down 3-0) host the Thunder tonight (10:30pm ET, Prime) in what could be LeBron James' final game in a Lakers uniform — and perhaps even his final game in the NBA should he decide to retire this summer following his 23rd season. But first: The Cavaliers (down 2-1) host the Pistons (8pm, NBC) as they look to even the series following Saturday's 116-109 victory. 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Wild (down 2-1) host the Avalanche (8pm, ESPN) in the evening's only NHL action. Will Minnesota draw even with the top-seeded Avs? Or will Colorado bounce back from its first loss of the postseason? More to watch: 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (5am, Tennis) … Jannik Sinner, Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff headline the action in Rome. ⚾️ MLB: Giants at Dodgers (10:10pm, MLB) … NL West rivals clash in one of just six games scheduled for today. ⚽️ EPL: Tottenham vs. Leeds (3pm, USA) … Spurs are one spot above the relegation line with three matches left. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🏀 THE DISTRICT NBA TRIVIA (Yahoo Sports) Barring a trade, the Wizards will make the No. 1 overall selection in the NBA Draft for the third time this century. Question: Who did they select the other two times (2010, 2001)? Hint: J and K. Answer at the bottom. 📸 THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH (BravesVision) Ouch. Eli White saved the Braves from a bases-loaded jam on Sunday with a ridiculous catch at the wall — and paid the price for it. Trivia answer: John Wall out of Kentucky (2010) and Kwame Brown out of Glynn Academy in Georgia (2001) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 13 Author Members Posted May 13 👋 Good morning! Happy Taco Tuesday. Tap the map: GeoSports is a new daily game that combines sports with geography. We wrote today's questions, which are all connected to current events. Tap where it happened! The closer you are, the more points you get. Play today's round. In today's edition: LeBron's uncertain future, Sinner stays hot, Mitchell goes nuclear, PGA Championship week, Big Dumper is in the dumps, GeoSports, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀 Bucks open for business: With the order now determined for next month's NBA Draft, the Bucks are listening to trade offers for Giannis Antetekounmpo. The asking price is believed to be a young star-caliber player and several draft picks. 🎾 Sinner stays hot: Jannik Sinner's scorching-hot form continued with Monday's stress-free victory over Alexei Popyrin, marking his 30th straight Masters 1000 win. That matches Novak Djokovic for the second-longest such streak ever. ⚽️ Brutal blow for Cardoso: USMNT and Atlético Madrid midfielder Johnny Cardoso will undergo surgery after spraining his ankle last week, all but guaranteeing that the 24-year-old will miss this summer's World Cup, which kicks off in 30 days. 🏈 Boswell inks extension: The Steelers are giving Chris Boswell a four-year, $28 million extension, which matches Brandon Aubrey's pact with the Cowboys as the richest ever for a kicker. The 11-year vet has converted 87.7% of his career field goals attempts, the sixth-best mark in NFL history. 🐎 Preakness draw: Iron Honor (9-2) opened as a slight favorite to win Saturday's Preakness Stakes, which features a full field of 14 horses but will be without Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo. 🏀 PLAYOFF EXIT LEBRON'S UNCERTAIN FUTURE (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) The Thunder beat the Lakers, 115-110, on Monday to complete the series sweep and win their ninth straight playoff game dating back to their championship last season. For Oklahoma City, the wait begins. Will they be playing Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs in the West Finals? Or will it be Anthony Edwards and the Wolves? For Los Angeles, the wait also begins. Will LeBron James, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent, be on the roster next season? Will he be in the NBA at all? What he's saying: "What my future holds, I don't know," said James, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds on the night. "Obviously, we're still fresh from losing. I got a lot of time, I'll sit back and recalibrate with my family. Talk with them. And when the time comes, you guys will know." Kelly Iko, Yahoo Sports: Nothing suggested that this would be the last time that James took an NBA floor. He spoke at length about the "process" of basketball and shuddered at the mention of him falling out of love with the game. His Game 4 performance didn't resemble a player that suddenly wants to call it quits. The real question, the one that will dominate airwaves, water cooler talk and group chats within the basketball world for the next few weeks, is whether or not James' next steps will be with the Lakers. Los Angeles' brass will be tasked with presenting a plan for James to still remain a viable contender. Is such a plan more advantageous than a homecoming to Cleveland, landing in New York or finally syncing up with Steph Curry? Should the Lakers be so willing to pony up millions of dollars for James, who will be 42 by year's end, as opposed to fully committing to a heliocentric system tailored to Luke Dončić's skill set? 🏀🏒 ROUND 2 MORE PLAYOFFS: CAVS, AVS WIN What a performance from Spida. (Jason Miller/Getty Images) Cleveland, Ohio — The Cavaliers beat the Pistons, 112-103, to even the series thanks to a 23-0 second-half run that completely flipped the game. The star of the night was Donovan Mitchell, who dropped 43 points despite going into halftime with just four. Into the record books: Mitchell's 39 second-half points are tied for the most in a half in NBA playoff history (Sleepy Floyd, 1987). Mitchell also had his fifth career playoff quarter with 20+ points, tied with Stephen Curry and Jamal Murray for the most ever. (David Berding/Getty Images) St. Paul, Minnesota — The Avalanche beat the Wild, 5-2, to take a 3-1 series lead and inch closer to reaching their first conference final since 2022. This game was tied 1-1 entering the final period. Sharing the puck: Five Avs lit the lamp on Monday, giving Colorado 15 different goal-scorers in the series. That ties the NHL record for the most through four games of a playoff series, and is one shy of matching the record for the most in an entire series. 💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Indrawan Kumala/NurPhoto via Getty Images) ⚽️ 100 goal contributions Lionel Messi had a goal and two assists in Miami's win over Toronto on Saturday, giving him 100 goal contributions (59 goals, 41 assists) in 64 regular-season matches since joining the Herons in 2023. That shatters the record for the fastest in MLS history to the century mark, with no other player getting there in fewer than 95 games. All-time leaderboard: Messi (64 games), Sebastian Giovinco (95), Robbie Keane (96) Carlos Vela (98), Josef Martínez (105), Denis Bouanga (108). ⛳️ 14 straight majors Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite to win this week's PGA Championship (+400 at BetMGM), marking the 14th consecutive major in which he's opened as the favorite or co-favorite. How he's fared: In those 13 previous majors, Scheffler has posted more victories (three) than finishes outside the top 10 (two). This week at Aronimink, he'll look to join Tiger Woods (2006-07) and Brooks Koepka (2018-19) as the only back-to-back PGA Championship winners this century. Brind'Amour celebrates after leading the Hurricanes to their second straight sweep. (Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) 🏒 97.9% of wins Rod Brind'Amour is the most important person in the history of the Carolina Hurricanes, and there is no close second. Consider this: Since moving from Hartford in 1997, the Canes have won 96 playoff games, and Brind'Amour was either a player or coach in 94 of those wins (97.9%). The Brind'Amour effect: The former first-round pick spent the second half of his 20-year playing career in Carolina (2000-10) and was on the ice for 39 of those postseason wins. The Canes hired him as head coach in 2018 and they've proceeded to reach the playoffs every year since, posting 55 wins and counting. 🥎 38 home runs UCLA slugger Megan Grant blasted a record-setting 38th home run on Saturday, breaking a 31-year-old mark for the most ever in a single season. Arizona's Laura Espinoza previously held the NCAA Division I record, hitting 37 homers in 1995. What's next: Grant, who already won a national championship this year as a reserve on UCLA's basketball team, will try to lead her team to yet another title. The Bruins earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament, meaning they'll host one of the 16 regionals when play begins on Friday. ⚾️ 0-FOR-36 BIG DUMPER'S EPIC SLUMP (Steph Chambers/Getty Images) Cal Raleigh enjoyed a historic season last year, mashing 60 home runs and finishing second for the AL MVP. So far this season, that magic is nowhere to be found. By the numbers: Raleigh remains stuck in the worst slump of his career, going 0-4 on Monday to fall to a stunning 0 for his last 36. The Mariners catcher, whose last hit came on April 27, is now batting a putrid .157, which ranks second-worst among 177 qualified MLB hitters. Baseball is hard. The good news for Seattle? Raleigh has still been an excellent defensive backstop, catching one of the best pitching staffs in the AL (3.71 ERA) for a Mariners squad that, while just 20-22, is only two games out of first place. Plus, fellow star Julio Rodríguez, who normally takes a while to get going, is off to the hottest start of his career. 📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS Maikel Garcia of the Royals signals for an ABS challenge. (Mikayla Schlosser/MLB Photos via Getty Images) ⚾️ Jake Mintz: Will MLB's ABS challenge signal evolve? Here's why the head tap gesture can cause confusion Amid the overwhelming success of the ABS challenge system's first season, a minor flaw has emerged. Umpires, it appears, are not always sure whether a player actually intended to challenge. And players, forced to make a complex decision within a two-second window, are not always clear in signaling for one. Spieth smiles during Monday's practice round at Aronimink Golf Club. (Maddie Meyer/PGA of America via Getty Images) ⛳️ Jay Busbee: Jordan Spieth on still chasing the career grand slam: 'This tournament's always highlighted' He knows the questions are coming. They always do when the season's second major rolls around, the major that's bedeviled him for a decade, the major that stands between him and immortality. That's the burden of being Jordan Spieth, being reminded every year of just how close you once were to being a legend — and just how much work remains for you to close the deal. Miles McBride and Mikal Bridges celebrate during Game 4 on Sunday. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) 🏀 Dan Devine: 'It's a chemistry thing': Behind the Knicks' staggering playoff stretch that has New York dreaming big The Knicks are back on the precipice — four wins away from the Finals, eight wins away from the title — and they've arrived playing the best basketball this franchise has seen in more than half a century. "I think the longer we've played together as a team, the more we've grown," Jalen Brunson said Sunday. "It's a chemistry thing. It's a feel thing. Things get better over time." 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, MAY 12 (Ronald Cortes/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Spurs host the Timberwolves in Game 5 tonight (8pm ET, NBC) as their matchup, tied 2-2, has become a best-of-three series. Back-to-back? Minnesota faces a tall task if it wants to take a 3-2 lead, considering San Antonio hasn't lost back-to-back games since early January. That's a span of 51 games without dropping two straight. 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Canadiens (up 2-1) host the Sabres in Game 4 (7pm, ESPN). Then it's off to Las Vegas for Game 5 between the Golden Knights and Ducks (9:30pm, ESPN), who are tied at two games apiece. Sin City stars: Vegas' Mitch Marner leads all players with 16 playoff points (6 goals, 10 assists), and teammate Jack Eichel is fourth with 13 (1 goal, 12 assists). More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Cubs at Braves (7:15pm, TBS) … Atlanta (28-13) and Chicago (27-14) have the two best records in the NL. 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (5am, Tennis) … Men's Round of 16 and women's quarterfinals. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🌍 GEOSPORTS TAP THE MAP GeoSports is a new daily game that combines sports with geography. We wrote today's questions, which are all connected to current events. Tap where it happened! The closer you are, the more points you get. Today's round: The Braves, owners of MLB's best record (28-13), played in this Midwest city before moving to Atlanta in 1966. The Canadiens (up 2-1) host the Sabres tonight in this French-speaking city. Scottie Scheffler, who will look to defend his title at this week's PGA Championship, went to college at this university. The World Cup kicks off in 30 days at this storied stadium in the capital city of one of the three host countries. Curt Cignetti, who visited the White House with Indiana on Monday, coached at this school before joining the Hoosiers. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 15 Author Members Posted May 15 👋 Good morning! Let's have ourselves a Wednesday. Now streaming: "U.S. Against the World: Four Years with the Men's National Soccer Team" premiered last night (HBO Max) with the first episode in a five-part series that takes an unprecedented look at the USMNT in the lead-up to this summer's World Cup. Definitely worth your time. In today's edition: MLB power rankings, a sad day in the NBA, Aronimink in photos, Ole Miss catching strays, LeBron's four Hall of Fame careers, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀🏒 Playoffs recap: Victor Wembanyama (27 points, 17 rebounds, 5 assists) and the Spurs crushed the Timberwolves, 126-97, to take a 3-2 series lead; the Golden Knights beat the Ducks, 3-2 (OT), to take a 3-2 lead; the Sabres beat the Canadiens, 3-2, to even the series at two games apiece. 💔 A sad day in the NBA: Jason Collins, the first active openly gay player in NBA history, died Tuesday at age 47 after a battle with brain cancer. Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, a first-round pick out of Gonzaga in 2019, also passed away at age 29. ⚾️ CBA talks begin: MLB and the MLBPA met Tuesday for their first official talks on a new collective bargaining agreement. The current deal, signed after a 99-day lockout in 2022, will expire on Dec. 1. Unless a new deal is in place by then, the league is expected to again lock out the players. 🏀 Morey out in Philly: The 76ers have parted ways with Daryl Morey, ending his six-year tenure as president of basketball operations. The Sixers are retaining head coach Nick Nurse, while former Warriors GM Bob Myers will act as interim GM and lead the search for Morey's replacement. ⚽️ "Ted Lasso" star signs pro deal: Cristo Fernández, who plays Dani Rojas on Apple TV's "Ted Lasso," has signed a contract with USL side El Paso Locomotive FC. The 35-year-old grew up playing before a knee injury derailed his career and pushed him toward acting. ⚾️ RISERS AND FALLERS MLB POWER RANKINGS (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) We're about one-quarter of the way through the MLB season, which presents an opportunity to view teams through the lens of expectation vs. reality. Now vs. then: Here's where each team landed in our latest power rankings, compared to their spot in our preseason rankings in March. No team has risen quite like the Rays and Cardinals (up 17 spots), and no team has fallen quite like the Mets (down 22 spots). Top 10: Braves (+12) Dodgers (-1) Cubs (+7) Yankees (-1) Brewers (+4) Rays (+17) Padres (+8) Cardinals (+17) Pirates (+7) Phillies (-6) (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) 11-20: Mariners (+9); Reds (+9); Athletics (+9); Guardians (+5); Diamondbacks (+2); Rangers (+4); Blue Jays (-11); Royals (-6); Tigers (-8); Orioles (-12) 21-30: Red Sox (-14); White Sox (+7); Marlins (+1); Nationals (+3); Twins (+1); Astros (-12); Mets (-22); Giants (-10); Rockies (+1); Angels (-2) ⛳️ PGA CHAMPIONSHIP IN PHOTOS: ARONIMINK GOLF CLUB The Wanamaker Trophy in front of the Aronimink clubhouse. (Scott Taetsch/PGA of America) The 108th PGA Championship tees off tomorrow at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia, where 156 golfers will compete for the Wanamaker Trophy in the season's second major. It's been a while: This is the first men's major in the Philadelphia area since the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club, and just the second PGA Championship ever held at Aronimink. The first was held in 1962, and won by Gary Player. The 7th hole. (Dave Evenson/PGA of America) Origin story: Aronimink, originally founded as the Belmont Golf Club in 1896, bounced around various locations for three decades before landing in Newtown Square in 1928, when legendary architect Donald Ross was brought in to work his Scotland links-inspired magic on the track. Notable quotable: "I intended to make this my masterpiece," Ross said in a 1948 quote you're likely to hear often during this week's coverage. "But not until today did I realize I built it better than I knew." The 12th and 13th holes. (Scott Taetsch/PGA of America) Timely restoration: It's no mistake that Aronimink is hosting this year's tournament, on the 250th anniversary of America's founding in Philadelphia. To prepare for the milestone, the club enlisted famed architect Gil Hanse in 2018 to restore the course based on Ross' original vision. What changed? Hanse's restoration focused on subdividing the bunkers (there are now nearly 200), removing trees and re-contouring and significantly expanding the greens, which now average 8,200 square feet. That's roughly 25% larger than the average PGA Tour greens. The 5th green. (Scott Taetsch/PGA of America) The greens are the key: "You want to know the secret to Aronimink Golf Club? Look no further than the greens," writes Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee. "Turtlebacked, sloping, with vicious swales and card-killing breaks, the greens will test the best." The last word: Players understand this week's tournament will be won or lost on those devilish dance floors, and that everything else is fair game. "Strategy off the tee is pretty nonexistent," Rory McIlroy said candidly on Tuesday. "It's, basically, bash driver down there and then figure it out from there." 🎓 SHOTS FIRED OLE MISS CATCHING STRAYS (Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) In a Vanity Fair piece published on Monday, Lane Kiffin indicated that a stronger sense of "campus diversity" factored into him leaving Ole Miss for LSU. When he was coaching there, Kiffin says, top recruits would tell him, 'Hey, coach, we really like you. But my grandparents aren't letting me move to Oxford, Mississippi.' "That doesn't come up when you say Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Parents were sitting here this weekend saying the campus' diversity feels so great: 'It feels like there's no segregation. And we want that for our kid because that's the real world.'" The very next day, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian took a shot at Ole Miss' academic standards in an interview with USA Today. "At Texas, we will only take 50% of a player's academic credit hours. You may be a semester from graduating, but you're going all the way back to 50% if you play here and want a degree. But at Ole Miss, they can take you. All you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree." The fallout: Kiffin has since apologized for his comments, but it's safe to say that the Rebels fan base that already hated him hates him even more now. A perfect time for ABC to announce that this year's LSU-Ole Miss game (Sept. 19) will be in primetime! Watch: The problem with Kiffin's comments (Yahoo Sports) 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, MAY 13 The series returns to Detroit tonight. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Pistons host the Cavaliers in a critical Game 5 (8pm ET, ESPN), with their series tied at two games apiece after both teams held serve at home. Cleveland's extreme splits: The Cavs are 6-0 at home in these playoffs, and 0-5 on the road. Can they flip the script tonight and take a 3-2 lead? Or will the trend continue? 🏒 NHL Playoffs The top-seeded Avalanche (up 3-1) will look to close out the Wild at home (8pm, TNT) and book their spot in the West Final. Conn Smythe watch: Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon is the betting favorite (+250 at BetMGM) to win the Conn Smythe Trophy (postseason MVP), and teammate Cale Makar has the third-best odds (+900). More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Yankees at Orioles (6:35pm, Prime) … New York (27-16) has lost four of five to fall out of first place. 🏀 WNBA: Aces at Sun (8pm, USA); Fever at Sparks (10:30pm, USA) … Connecticut, Indiana and Los Angeles are all seeking their first win. 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (7am, Tennis) … Men's and women's quarterfinal action in Rome. ⚽️ Premier League: Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace (3pm, USA) … A win would put City two points behind first-place Arsenal with two matches left. ⚽️ MLS: New England vs. Nashville (7:30pm, Apple) … The top two teams in the East face off in Foxborough. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. ⛳️ PGA CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF TRIVIA (Carl Recine/Getty Images) Six active golfers have won multiple PGA Championships, but with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh not in this week's field, just three are teeing it up. Question: Can you name all three? Hint: Two Americans, one European. Answer at the bottom. 👑 THE KING CHARTED: LEBRON'S 4 HOF CAREERS (Tom Haberstroh/Yahoo Sports) If Monday was LeBron James' final game as a Laker, he'll walk away knowing he had a Hall of Fame career based solely on his eight seasons in purple and gold. But wait, there's more: If we can establish that James had a Hall of Fame worthy career as a Laker, it means something even bigger. It means he has stacked four separate Hall of Fame careers on top of each other, demarcated by the three offseasons in which he switched teams. Trivia answer: Brooks Koepka (2018, 2019, 2023); Rory McIlroy (2012, 2014); Justin Thomas (2017, 2022) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 16 Author Members Posted May 16 👋 Good morning! Happy NFL Schedule Release Day. New game: We've partnered up with FOX One to launch Soccer Pick 'Em just in time for this summer's World Cup. In today's edition: Avs and Cavs win in overtime, Ohtani lowers ERA to 0.82, NFL international slate, Scottie vs. Rory, a new era for college soccer, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏒 Unanimous ROY: Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer won the Calder Trophy in a landslide, becoming the NHL's first unanimous Rookie of the Year since Teemu Selanne in 1993. The 18-year-old scored 23 goals to tie the record for most by a rookie defenseman and finished with 59 points. 🏈 Football overseas: The NFL announced its full international slate for the upcoming season, which will feature a record nine games in seven countries: Australia (Week 1), Brazil (Week 3), England (Weeks 4-6), France (Week 7), Spain (Week 9), Germany (Week 10) and Mexico (Week 11). 🏒 Leafs fire Berube: The Maple Leafs fired head coach Craig Berube after just two seasons, parting ways after the club's last-place finish (32-36-14) led to the end of its nine-year postseason streak. ⚽️ PSG on top again: PSG clinched its fifth straight Ligue 1 title (and 12th in the past 14 seasons) with a win over second-place Lens on Wednesday. The French side will now turn its attention to winning a second straight Champions League title later this month. 🏀 Championship rematch: Michigan and UConn will square off in the first week of the 2026-27 college basketball season, seven months after the Wolverines beat the Huskies in the national championship. The game will take place at Boston's TD Garden. 🏒 CHASING THE CUP AVS WIN THRILLER, CLINCH SERIES Brett Kulak (L) celebrates with Josh Manson after scoring the series-clinching goal. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) The Avalanche mounted an epic comeback on Wednesday night in Denver, clinching a series victory over the Wild to return to the conference finals for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Avalanche 4, Wild 3 (OT): Minnesota took a 3-0 lead in the first period, which history says should have been enough to extend the series: The Wild were 21-0 all-time in the playoffs after leading by 3+ goals and the Avs were 2-50 in such situations. But the top-seeded Avalanche would not be denied on this night, scoring once in the second period and twice in the final four minutes of the third. Nathan MacKinnon's game-tying beauty (his sixth straight game with a goal!) sent things to overtime, and Brett Kulak sent the Avalanche faithful home happy four minutes into the extra period. Incredibly, this marked the first time since 2008 that Colorado clinched a playoff series at home, with each of their previous nine postseason clinchers coming on the road. Looking ahead: The Avs are only halfway to another championship, but they've been utterly dominant thus far, going 8-1 with a +14 goal differential through the first two rounds. If they go all the way, they'll be the first Presidents' Trophy winner (best regular-season record) to hoist the Cup since the Blackhawks in 2013. ⚾️ SHO-TIME STAT DU JOUR This stat is blowing my mind… as most Ohtani stats do! His latest feat: Ohtani tossed seven shutout innings in Wednesday's 4-0 win over the Giants, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 0.82, which is half a run better than the next closest pitcher (1.35). Lol. 🌍 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Cleveland Cavaliers) 🇺🇸 Detroit, Michigan — The Cavaliers rallied to beat the Pistons, 117-113 (OT), in a back-and-forth affair to notch their first road victory of the postseason and take a 3-2 lead as the series heads back to Cleveland tomorrow. Standout performers: Cade Cunningham (39-7-9) led the way for the top-seeded Pistons, but it wasn't enough against James Harden (30-8-6), Donovan Mitchell (21 pts), Evan Mobley (19-8-8) and Max Strus (20 pts, 6-8 3PT). (Michael Chisholm/Getty Images) 🇨🇦 Toronto, Canada — Marina Mabrey scored 26 points to help the Toronto Tempo beat the Seattle Storm, 86-73, for their maiden WNBA victory. More WNBA: Caitlin Clark (24 pts, 9 ast) and the Fever picked up their first win of the season; the Sky beat the Valkyries to remain undefeated (2-0); the Aces blew out the winless Sun to improve to 2-1. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) 🇮🇹 Rome, Italy — The Italian Open quarterfinal between Luciano Darderi and Rafael Jódar was interrupted in bizarre circumstances on Wednesday when smoke from nearby fireworks surrounded the court and made it impossible to see. Who set off the fireworks? Inter Milan fans were celebrating at the neighboring Stadio Olimpico after their beloved club beat Lazio, 2-0, to win the Coppa Italia and secure the domestic double. ⛳️ PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SCOTTIE VS. RORY: GOLF'S DREAM MATCHUP (Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports) Scottie Scheffler vs. Rory McIlroy is the major showdown the entire golf world wants to see — and has yet to experience. Could this week's PGA Championship finally deliver the goods? Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports: They've won four of the last five majors between them. They're without question the two best players in golf, both on trajectories to join the game's historical greats. Yet somehow, they've never squared off on a major Sunday. Scottie Scheffler vs. Rory McIlroy. Head to head. You want it. I want it. The entire golf world wants it. So why hasn't it happened yet? And could it happen this week at Aronimink? McIlroy and Scheffler have done battle head-to-head before — in the Ryder Cup singles match at Bethpage last year, where Scheffler won 1-up, and at the 2025 Optum Golf Channel Games, where Scheffler won by a single inch. Yes, really. "He's a guy I always see in the gym, the practice facility," Scheffler said of McIlroy recently. "If we're playing the same tournament, we see each other a lot because we're all doing the same things in order to get ready." Yet somehow, they both never seem to be ready at the same time. In the 17 majors held since the start of 2022 they've both finished in the top 10 in the same tournament just seven times. Aronimink, site of this week's PGA Championship, sets up well for both players to have a strong week — McIlroy because it's a bombers' paradise, Scheffler because … well, every course sets up well for him. The two rank first and third on the PGA Tour in scoring average, first and second in birdie average, first and fourth in overall strokes gained, with Scheffler leading all. The numbers point to a Scheffler-McIlroy showdown, and so do the vibes. Tee times: McIlroy tees off at 8:40am ET today, while Scheffler goes off at 2:05pm. With any luck, they'll be teeing off a whole lot closer to each other on Sunday. ⚽️ FALL AND SPRING A NEW ERA FOR COLLEGE SOCCER The Washington Huskies celebrate winning the 2025 national championship. (Anthony Sorbellini/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) Division I men's soccer will shift from being a fall-only sport to splitting its schedule between the fall and spring beginning in 2027-28, the NCAA announced Wednesday. Old format: The Division I men's soccer season has been played during a 10-13 week fall window, with the College Cup taking place in December. New format: Teams will be allowed to play 18 matches from August-November and up to 10 matches from February until the NCAA Tournament (dates TBD). Why the change? The goal is to bring the college game more in line with the professional calendar, while also spreading matches out more evenly so the schedule is less compressed. Unlike other college sports, which tend to play at roughly the same cadence as their professional counterparts, D-I soccer programs play matches every three or four days, compared to every seven in most top-tier pro leagues. The men's oversight committee believes the fall-spring schedule will give athletes a more balanced academic and athletic experience, with more recovery time between matches and fewer midweek games conflicting with class. What they're saying: "This is a new era for college soccer," head coach Jamie Clark of the 2025 national champion Washington Huskies told AP. "Hopefully, through the new calendar we can build some positive momentum and create more excitement for our sport." As a reminder: MLS is also overhauling its calendar starting in 2027, adopting a new summer-to-spring schedule to align with top leagues around the world. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, MAY 14 (Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images) ⛳️ PGA Championship The 108th PGA Championship tees off this morning (7am ET, ESPN+; 12pm, ESPN) at Aronimink Golf Club, 20 miles west of Philadelphia. The 156-player field features no amateurs, as this is the only major held exclusively for professional golfers. Featured groups: Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg, Rickie Fowler (8:18am); Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Tyrrell Hatton (8:29am); Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm (8:40am); Cameron Young, Keegan Bradley, Justin Thomas (1:54pm); Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose (2:05pm). 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Sabres (tied 2-2) host the Canadiens in tonight's first game (7pm, TNT), then the Golden Knights (up 3-2) visit the Ducks in the nightcap (9:30pm, TNT). Is this the year? The Sabres were in a 2-1 hole to start this series — a deficit they have never successfully overcome. If they win two of the next three, they'll snap an NHL-worst 0-14 drought in such situations. More to watch: 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (7am, Tennis) … Jannik Sinner headlines the men's quarterfinals and Coco Gauff headlines the women's semifinals. ⚾️ MLB: Giants at Dodgers (10:10pm, MLB) … The Dodgers (25-18) have lost four of five to fall out of first place. 🏀 WNBA: Lynx at Wings (8pm, Prime); Liberty at Fire (10pm, Prime) … New York and Portland meet again two days after the Fire took them down for their first-ever victory. ⛳️ LPGA: Queen City Championship (3pm, Golf) … Nelly Korda headlines the field in Cincinnati. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🏈 DUAL THREATS NFL TRIVIA (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) Dolphins running back De'Von Achane agreed to a four-year, $68 million extension with the team on Wednesday. Achane is one of just three NFL players with at least 3,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards since his 2023 debut. Question: Can you name the other two? Hint: Both play in the NFC. Answer at the bottom. ⚽️ WORLD CUP NEW GAME: SOCCER PICK 'EM We've partnered up with FOX One, the official English streaming platform for the 2026 World Cup, to launch a Soccer Pick 'Em game just in time for the tournament. How to play: Make picks each round, earn points for correct answers and climb the leaderboard. You can play solo against the field, create a private group with friends to compete for bragging rights, or join a public group to play with other fans. For the tournament's group stage, fans pick the winners of each group and the top goal scorer across all groups. For each subsequent knockout round, fans pick the winners of each match. As the tournament progresses, the picks become more valuable. P.S. We're also launching a soccer-themed version of Daily Draw, the popular free-to-play game on the Yahoo Sports app. That game will run every day of the tournament, giving fans another fun way to predict outcomes tied to the biggest matches. Trivia answer: Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 17 Author Members Posted May 17 🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: Round 1 recap, Golden Knights advance, NFL schedule release, Rousey vs. Carano, Good Reads, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏈 The schedule is here: The NFL's annual Schedule Release Day brought each team's full 17-game schedule, which includes loaded slates on Thanksgiving and Christmas among a host of other must-watch matchups. Here are our winners and losers from the day. ⚽️ World Cup halftime show: Madonna, Shakira and BTS will co-headline the first-ever Super Bowl-style halftime show at the World Cup Final, which will take place on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. 🏒 Oilers fire Knoblauch: The Oilers are parting ways with head coach Kris Knoblauch despite having signed him to an extension last fall after he led Edmonton to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals in his first two seasons. Tough business. ⚾️ Schwarbs stays hot: Kyle Schwarber hit his MLB-leading 18th home run on Thursday to lift the Phillies past the Red Sox. He has seven homers in his last seven games and is now on pace for 66 after leading the NL with 56 last season. ⛳️ PGA CHAMPIONSHIP ARONIMINK BITES BACK Tough day for Rory. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images) Golf's best thought Aronimink would be easy. Boy, were they wrong. Just 32 of 156 players were under par after Round 1 of the PGA Championship, and many walked away from the scoring tent looking a bit dazed. Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports: Aronimink Golf Club heard your jabs, your insults, your disrespect. The course is going to play soft! The pros are going to annihilate this place! Strategy off the tee is pretty much nonexistent! That last line was Rory McIlroy, and, well, look what Aronimink did to him on Thursday: a ragged +4 round, one he deemed "Sh*t." Aronimink 1, two-time defending Masters champion 0. McIlroy certainly wasn't the only player Aronimink knocked around. The first round of the PGA Championship ended in unseasonable chill, gusty winds and a more jammed-up leaderboard than most majors ever see. The names ran from the highly familiar (defending champion Scottie Scheffler) to the debut performers (21-year-old Aldrich Potgieter). In all, seven players held a share of the Day 1 lead at -3: Scheffler, Potgieter, Stephan Jaeger, Min Woo Lee, Ryo Hisatsune, Martin Kaymer and Alex Smalley. Another eight players stood just one stroke behind, and in all, nearly 50 players were within three strokes of the lead. So what happened to the deepest field in golf? Aronimink's tricky greens were every bit as wicked as advertised, but Thursday also included the added card-killing variables of wind, nasty rough and diabolical pin placement. Add all that together, and you have a recipe for a bruising first round at a tournament that's often happy to keep its players happy with low scores. Looking ahead: This morning is expected to be chilly, winds will be swirling all weekend, and there's no more rain in the forecast to slow down the greens. Whatever else this weekend will be at the PGA Championship, it won't be anything close to easy. 🏒 CHASING THE CUP NHL: KNIGHTS ADVANCE, HABS WIN Mitch Marner celebrates his goal with teammates. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) Anaheim, California — Mitch Marner opened the scoring with an unreal move and the Golden Knights cruised to a 5-1 victory over the Ducks to win the series in six games. Next up: The Golden Knights and Avalanche will meet in the Western Conference Finals in a matchup between the two most recent West teams to hoist the Stanley Cup. Cole Caulfield celebrates with Nick Suzuki after scoring a goal. (Joe Hrycych/Getty Images) Buffalo, New York — The Canadiens roared back to beat the Sabres, 6-3, in Game 5 and push Buffalo to the brink of elimination. Team of destiny? This was Montreal's 30th comeback win of the season, one shy of the franchise record. The only times they've had more comebacks (1975-76 and 1992-93), they won the Stanley Cup. 💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS Skenes struck out 10 across eight scoreless innings on Tuesday. (Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) ⚾️ 1.98 ERA Paul Skenes is inevitable. After allowing five earned runs in 0.2 innings on Opening Day, he's allowed just six more in eight starts, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 1.98. He has 40 strikeouts since his last walk. His WHIP is an MLB-best 0.64. It's absurd. It's also (potentially) historic: The craziest part about Skenes' 1.98 ERA is that it's the worst mark of his career behind his rookie (1.96 ERA) and sophomore (1.97 ERA) campaigns. If he maintains this pace, he'll be the first pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920) to post a sub-2.00 ERA in three straight seasons (min. 20 starts). 🏀 33% of games Whatever happened to home NBA teams wearing white? 10 years ago, it was an almost ubiquitous practice, with home teams donning white in 83 of 86 playoff games (97%), notes Yahoo Sports' Kevin O’Connor. So far this postseason? They've done so in just 22 of 66 games (33%). Why the change? When Nike took over the NBA's on-court uniform business in 2017, the company created a four-uniform system that leaned much more heavily into alternate, colorful jerseys. And now, in part because they sell better, teams often choose to wear those jerseys at home. Scott plays a shot during Thursday's opening round. (Carl Recine/Getty Images) ⛳️ 99th straight start Adam Scott made his 99th consecutive major start on Thursday at the PGA Championship. Only one golfer has ever had a longer such streak (Jack Nicklaus, 146), and the next-longest active streak is barely halfway to Scott's mark (Jordan Spieth, 52). How's he performed? Scott — who shot a 2-over 72 on Thursday — has one victory (2013 Masters) and 19 other top-10 finishes during the streak, which began with the 2001 Open Championship. The Australian is currently ranked No. 46 in the world and has made the cut in all 10 starts this season. 📈 58% participation Youth sports participation has fully rebounded from the post-COVID decline, climbing to 58% in 2024 for its highest rate in nearly a decade, according to the Aspen Institute. The rate had dropped to 48.5% in 2021 before steadily climbing in 2022 (53.8%) and 2023 (55.4%). 5% more to go: The federal government's Healthy People 2030 program has set a goal for 63% of children to participate in organized sports by 2030. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST Can Harden and the Cavs finish the job at home tonight? (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Final Four could be set as soon as tonight, with the Cavaliers (up 3-2) hosting the Pistons (7pm ET, Prime) and the Timberwolves (down 3-2) hosting the Spurs (9:30pm, Prime). If necessary, both Game 7s would be on Sunday. 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Sabres (down 3-2) visit the Canadiens on Saturday (8pm, ABC) with their backs against the wall. If they win, Game 7 will be on Monday night in Buffalo. ⛳️ PGA Championship The action continues at Aronimink, with ESPN covering today's full broadcast (12-8pm), plus each of the next two mornings (10am-1pm). CBS takes over on Saturday and Sunday (1-7pm), with featured groups and holes streaming all weekend on ESPN+. 🐎 Preakness Stakes The 151st running of the Preakness Stakes is on Saturday (6:50pm, NBC) at Maryland's Laurel Park, stepping in as the temporary host for the second leg of the Triple Crown while nearby Pimlico Race Course undergoes renovations. ⚾️ Rivalry Weekend MLB's second annual Rivalry Weekend is upon us, with 15 traditional or geographically-driven rivalry series scheduled across the league. More to watch: 👊 MMA: Rousey vs. Carano (Sat. 9pm, Netflix) … The Intuit Dome hosts the first MMA card ever streamed on Netflix. 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis) … Jannik Sinner headlines today's men's semifinals; Coco Gauff headlines tomorrow's women's final. 🥍 NCAA Lacrosse: Men's Quarterfinals (Sat-Sun, ESPNU) … No. 1 Princeton, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 UNC and No. 6 Syracuse headline the field. 🥎 NCAA Softball: Regionals (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/ESPN2/ESPNU) … The 64-team field will be whittled down to 16 by Sunday night. ⚽️ FA Cup Final: Chelsea vs. Man City (Sat. 10am, ESPN2) … Chelsea seek its ninth title while City seeks its eighth. 🏀 WNBA: Mystics at Fever (Fri. 7:30pm, ION); Aces at Dream (Sun. 1:30pm, NBC); Storm at Fever (Sun. 6pm, NBCSN) ⛳️ LPGA: Queen City Championship (Fri-Sun, Golf) … Nelly Korda (-1) is three shots off the lead after Round 1. 🏒 PWHL: Ottawa (down 1-0) at Montréal (Sat. 2pm, ION) … Game 2 in the best-of-five Walter Cup Finals. 🏁 NASCAR: All-Star Race (Sun. 1pm, FS1) … At Dover International Speedway. Plus: MLS Week 13 (Sat-Sun, Apple/FS1); NWSL Week 8 (Prime, ION, ESPN2); UFL Week 8 (Fri-Sun, FOX/ABC); Ice Hockey Worlds (Fri-Sun, NHL); PLL Week 2 (Fri-Sat, ESPN+); and more. Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🏀 GREATNESS WNBA TRIVIA Leslie celebrates a win in 1999. (Robert Mora/NBAE via Getty Images) Los Angeles sparks legend Lisa Leslie will be immortalized later this year with a statue outside of Crypto.com Arena. Question: Who is the only other WNBA player to be honored with a statue? Hint: Seattle Storm. Answer at the bottom. 📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) 🏈 Charles Robinson: The NFL just told us what it thinks of rebuilds In the clearest expression of disapproval that the NFL annually sends to rebuilding franchises, five teams — the Jets, Raiders, Dolphins, Titans and Cardinals — are not scheduled to see a single minute of prime-time football this season. (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 Tom Haberstroh: Wemby vs. Wilt: Who's the real NBA block leader? Victor Wembanyama set the official NBA playoff record with 12 blocks last week. There's just one problem. A new Basketball Reference project has unveiled hidden data that shows Wilt Chamberlain blocked way more. In multiple playoff games. (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) ⚾️ Jordan Shusterman: Mike Trout is back, even if the Angels aren't With his 35th birthday approaching in August, Trout's story is far from finished. While his team continues to struggle, his pursuit of individual greatness perseveres nevertheless. (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) 👊 Petesy Carroll: Can Ronda reignite the Rousey effect? Much like her first stint with the UFC, this second coming feels as much about protest as it is about performance. The first time around, it was about forcing the door open for women; now, it's about achieving new standards for MMA athletes. Trivia answer: Sue Bird Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 20 Author Members Posted May 20 👋 Good morning! Welcome back. In today's edition: Aaron Rai wins first major, the NBA's Final Four, Rodgers returns, Sinner matches Djokovic, Sabres force Game 7, Rousey wins, newspaper nostalgia, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀 SGA wins MVP: Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won his second consecutive MVP award, beating out Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama to become the 14th back-to-back winner in NBA history. 🏈 Rodgers returns: Aaron Rodgers will indeed return to the Steelers for his 22nd NFL season, signing a one-year deal worth up to $25 million. He's also reuniting with Mike McCarthy, who coached Rodgers for 13 years in Green Bay and replaced Mike Tomlin this offseason in Pittsburgh. ⚽️ City secures the Cup: Manchester City beat Chelsea, 1-0, to win the FA Cup, giving manager Pep Guardiola a staggering 20 trophies in 10 years with the club. The Blues made news off the pitch, hiring former Real Madrid boss Xabi Alonso as their manager. 🥍 Lax Final Fours: The NCAA men's lacrosse Final Four comprises three ACC teams (No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 6 Syracuse, Duke) and top-seeded Princeton. The women's Final Four is all chalk: No. 1 Northwestern, No. 2 UNC, No. 3 Maryland and No. 4 Johns Hopkins. 🏁 Indy 500 qualifying: Álex Palou won pole position for Sunday's 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500, making him the first defending champion since 2010 to claim the No. 1 starting spot in the 33-driver field. ⛳️ PGA CHAMPIONSHIP NICE GUYS FINISH FIRST (Andrew Redington/Getty Images) Aaron Rai emerged from a crowded leaderboard on Sunday to win the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club. An unlikely champion: It was a breakthrough victory for Rai who, prior to hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy, was probably best known for wearing two gloves and using iron covers. Entering the week, his best major finish was T19 and his lone PGA Tour win was at the Wyndham Championship two years ago. How does he plan to celebrate? "I do love Chipotle on the road," said Rai, fresh off winning $3.7 million. "Probably later tonight, we'll go to Chipotle." A golfer and a gentleman: Rai tapped in on the 18th green to put the final touch on a brilliant 5-under day (which included this clutch 68-foot putt) and a magnificent 9-under tournament. But it's what he did right before his putt that says the most about him, notes Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee. Playing partner Ludvig Åberg was away, and rolled in a long birdie putt of his own to close out what, in other circumstances, would have been a strong 5-under tournament. Rai looked over at Åberg and called out, "Good shot." "He's so polite. He's got a putt to win his first major and he still said, 'Good shot' to me," Åberg told Yahoo Sports after the round. "He's still taking time to look me in the eye and say 'Well done.' … If there's one guy I'd love to lose to, it's probably him." It's a common sentiment, up and down the leaderboard: Aaron Rai is just the best dude. "You won't find one person on property who's not happy for him," said Rory McIlroy, who finished five strokes back of Rai. "I haven't spent a lot of time with him," Jon Rahm, who finished tied for second, conceded. "But I have heard consistently there's very few people that are nicer and kinder human beings than Aaron Rai." "Rarely do you feel like people work way harder than you," said Xander Schauffele (T7, -4 for the tournament). "That's what it's about to be a major champion. You put the work in when nobody's looking." P.S. I can confirm this. Four years ago, I had the pleasure of playing in the Wells Fargo Pro-Am alongside Aaron, and he was legitimately one of the nicest people ever. Awesome guy. Awesome golfer. 🏀 CONFERENCE FINALS THE NBA'S FINAL FOUR: WHO YA GOT? (Yahoo Sports) The NBA's Final Four is set after the Cavaliers eliminated the top-seeded Pistons on Sunday with a 125-97 shellacking in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Another one bites the dust: The East's No. 1 seed has now missed the NBA Finals in nine of the past 10 seasons. 2026: Pistons ❌ 2025: Cavaliers ❌ 2024: Celtics 🏆 2023: Bucks ❌ 2022: Heat ❌ 2021: 76ers ❌ 2020: Bucks ❌ 2019: Bucks ❌ 2018: Raptors ❌ 2017: Celtics ❌ Looking ahead: Can the East produce a true competitor against the juggernaut Thunder (-160 to win the title) or Spurs (+300)? The Knicks (+550) have been on a heater and the Cavs (+2500) are no slouch, but there appears to be a significant gap between the two conferences. 🌍 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images) 🇮🇹 Rome, Italy — Jannik Sinner's hot streak reached historic new heights on Sunday when he defeated Casper Ruud in the Italian Open final to join Novak Djokovic as the only players to win all nine Masters 1000 titles. Djokovic was 31 when he achieved the feat. Sinner is just 24. Man on fire: Until last fall, Sinner had won only four of the nine Masters 1000 events. Since then he's won all six he's entered (Paris, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome), a streak of 34 consecutive victories in which he's lost just three sets. Next up: Roland Garros, where he'll be seeking the career Grand Slam. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) 🇺🇸 Laurel, Maryland — Napoleon Solo won the 151st Preakness Stakes on Saturday at Laurel Park, surging into the lead around the final corner to claim the $1.2 million grand prize. Looking ahead: In an ideal world, the Preakness will make its triumphant return to Baltimore next year at a sparkling, rebuilt Pimlico. But in reality, there is deep concern and uncertainty about the race's future. (Daniel Ballarin/AFP via Getty Images) 🇪🇸 Barcelona, Spain — Álex Márquez was involved in a terrifying crash during Sunday's MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix, suffering fractures to both his collarbone and neck after losing control of his bike when it clipped the bike in front of his. Health update: Márquez underwent successful surgery on his collarbone while "further tests will be conducted" on his fractured vertebra. But he was well enough to post on X from the hospital that "everything [was] under control." (Gaizka Iroz/AFP via Getty Images) 🇫🇷 Bordeaux, France — England beat France on Sunday to win their eighth straight Women's Six Nations title and fifth straight Grand Slam. Red Roses on fire: England have won 38 consecutive matches dating back nearly four years — and 68 of their last 69 dating back to 2019. 💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Texas Tech Athletics) 🥎 1-640 Teams this century were 0-640 when trailing by 8+ runs at any point in an NCAA softball tournament game. Now they're 1-640 after Texas Tech pulled off one of the most stunning comebacks you will ever see, erasing an 8-0 deficit against Ole Miss with one out left before winning, 10-9, in extras. Sweet 16: The Red Raiders proceeded to win their Regional on Sunday, joining 15 other teams in the Super Regional: Alabama, LSU, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, UCLA, UCF, Florida, Arkansas, Duke, Tennessee, Georgia, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas and Arizona State. 🏒 11 days off The Hurricanes are in the midst of an 11-day layoff between their second-round sweep of the Flyers and the start of their third-round series against either the Sabres or Canadiens, making them just the fourth team in NHL history with at least 10 days between playoff games. Consider this: Carolina will have played just eight games in 36 days between their regular-season finale (April 14) and the Eastern Conference Finals opener (May 21). Their opponent will have played either 13 (Buffalo) or 14 games (Montreal) in the same time, and will enter the series after just two days off. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images for Netflix) 👊 17 seconds Nearly a decade after her unceremonious exit from the UFC, Ronda Rousey finally penned her storybook ending, submitting Gina Carano in just 17 seconds with her signature armbar. What she's saying: "There's no way I could've ended it better than this," an elated Rousey said inside Inglewood's Intuit Dome. "I want to have some more babies and I've got to get cooking." ⚾️ 20 HR Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber is the eighth player in MLB history to hit 20 home runs in his team's first 45 games, joining Albert Pujols (2006), Barry Bonds (2001), Luis Gonzalez (2001), Mark McGwire (1998, 2000), Ken Griffey Jr. (1994, 1997), Mickey Mantle (1956) and Cy Williams (1923). The chase is on: Schwarber, who has nine long balls in his last 10 games, is on pace to hit 70 this season. Can he join Bonds (2001) and McGwire (1998) as the only players to eclipse that milestone? 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, MAY 18 (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) 🏒 NHL Playoffs It's win or go home tonight in Buffalo (7:30pm ET, ESPN), where the Sabres host the Canadiens in Game 7 for a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. ICYMI: Buffalo trailed 3-1 in Saturday's Game 6 before storming back with seven unanswered goals for an 8-3 victory. 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Thunder host the Spurs tonight (8:30pm, NBC) in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, which marks the first series between 62-win teams since the Bulls and Jazz met in the 1998 NBA Finals. Head-to-head: While San Antonio (62-20) finished just behind OKC (64-18) in the standings, the Spurs beat the defending champs four out of five times during the regular season. More to watch: 🏒 PWHL: Montréal (up 2-0) at Ottawa (6pm, ION/YouTube) … The Victoire are one win away from their first title. ⚾️ MLB: Guardians at Tigers (6:40pm, FS1) … First-place Cleveland visits fourth-place Detroit. ⚽️ Premier League: Arsenal vs. Burnley (3pm, USA) … The Gunners are closing in on the title with two matches left. 🏀 WNBA: Mystics at Wings (8pm, NBCSN) … Washington's Sonia Citron (24.3 ppg) ranks fourth in scoring. 🏒 Ice Hockey Worlds: USA vs. Finland (10:20am, NHL) … Group stage continues in Switzerland. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🏀 BACK-TO-BACK NBA TRIVIA (Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images) Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the seventh NBA player this century to win MVP in back-to-back seasons. Question: Who are the other six? Hint: Four are still active. Answer at the bottom. ⚾️ BOX SCORES NEWSPAPER NOSTALGIA I posted this on a whim… and then some guy built it the very next day. Enjoy. Trivia answer: Tim Duncan (2002-03); Steve Nash (2005-06); LeBron James (2009-10, 2012-13); Stephen Curry (2015-16); Giannis Antetokounmpo (2019-20); Nikola Jokić (2021-22) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 21 Author Members Posted May 21 👋 Good morning! An instant classic on the hardwood, and an overtime Game 7 on the ice. What a night. In today's edition: Wemby gone wild, the NHL's Final Four is set, Pep stepping down, Ticker Talk, football inches closer, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚽️ Pep stepping down: Manchester City's Pep Guardiola will step down as manager when the season ends this weekend, leaving behind an unmatched legacy of 20 trophies in 10 seasons at the helm. ⚾️ From no-no to walk-off: Athletics starter J.T. Ginn pitched eight no-hit innings against the Angels before allowing a single to open the ninth. Unfortunately for Ginn, the A's only led 1-0 at the time, and the next batter hit a walk-off homer. Brutal! ⚽️ Mourinho's return: José Mourinho is returning to manage Real Madrid 13 years after his first stint there. In the ensuing decade-plus, he's led clubs all across Europe, including Chelsea, Manchester United, and most recently Benfica. ⛳️ 100 for Scott: Adam Scott has officially qualified for next month's U.S. Open at Shinnecock, which will be his 100th consecutive major start. He'll join Jack Nicklaus as the only golfers to reach that milestone, with the Golden Bear starting 146 straight from 1962 to 1998. 🏀 Coaching carousel: The Pelicans are hiring Jamahl Mosley as their next head coach just two weeks after Mosley was fired by the Magic following a five-year tenure in Orlando. 🏀 INSTANT CLASSIC SPURS 122, THUNDER 115 (2OT) (San Antonio Spurs) Well, that was fun. The Western Conference Finals opened with an instant classic on Monday as the Spurs outlasted the Thunder, 122-115 (2OT), in the first double overtime playoff game since 2021. Wemby gone wild: Victor Wembanyama was simply incredible, playing a career-high 49 minutes and putting up 41 points and 24 rebounds to become the youngest player with a 40-20 game in NBA playoff history. This shot from way downtown to tie the game in OT was ridiculous. Kelly Iko, Yahoo Sports: The final five minutes of Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals — or the 14th round of Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, or the fifth installment of Godzilla vs. King Kong — had nothing to do with physical skill. By the second overtime, both the Spurs and Thunder had demonstrated not only a will to win by any means necessary, clawing and dragging and diving on the floor, but why they belonged on basketball's biggest stage. No amount of scheming or tactical adjustments could offset the collective fatigue of body, mind and spirit. So as Victor Wembanyama and nine other human beings strolled onto the floor for the third tipoff of the evening, basketball became secondary. Effort, mental fortitude and tenacity bubbled to the surface. Oklahoma City spent six months leading the pack, frolicking in their fame while San Antonio toiled away in second place. But as Monday night demonstrated, objects in the rearview mirror are often closer than they appear. What they're saying: "It got to the point at the end of the fourth quarter where it felt like it was a war of wills," said Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson. "We needed every second from everybody that played — that was a heck of a game to be a part of." Dive in: 12 numbers that defined the Spurs' historic win (Yahoo Sports) 🏒 CONFERENCE FINALS NHL FINAL FOUR: WHO YA GOT? (Yahoo Sports) The NHL's Final Four is set after the Canadiens beat the Sabres, 3-2 (OT), on Monday night in Buffalo. Mr. Game 7: The overtime game-winner came courtesy of Alex Newhook, who also played the hero in Game 7 against the Lightning two weeks ago. He's the 14th player in NHL history with two career game-winning goals in Game 7, and just the second with two in a single postseason (Boston's Nathan Horton, 2011). Familiar feeling: This was Montreal's 17th Game 7 victory, breaking a tie with the Bruins for the most all-time. Buffalo, meanwhile, falls to 1-7 in Game 7s. Perhaps they should have slept at home? Looking ahead: Canada still has a chance to snap the nation's 33-year Stanley Cup drought, dating back to the Habs' 24th and most recent title back in 1993. They have the longest odds in the field though (+650), so there's still plenty of work to do. 🌍 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS Kai Havertz celebrates after scoring the lone goal in Arsenal's win. (Stuart MacFarlane/Getty Images) 🏴 London, England — Arsenal beat Bournemouth, 1-0, on Monday to move to the precipice of clinching their first Premier League title in 22 years. Where it stands: If Arsenal (82 points) win their final game this Sunday against middling Crystal Palace, or if Manchester City (77 points) fail to win both of their remaining games (at Bournemouth today, vs. Aston Villa on Sunday), the Gunners will be crowned champions. A young Ottawa fan holds up a sign supporting Charge goalie Gwyneth Philips. (Troy Parla/Getty Images) 🇨🇦 Ottawa, Ontario — The Ottawa Charge kept their season alive with a 2-1 comeback win over the Montréal Victoire on Monday, forcing Game 4 in the PWHL's Walter Cup Finals thanks to a game-winning goal with under a minute left. Historic crowd: 16,894 fans came out to watch the game at the Canadian Tire Centre (home of the Senators), shattering the record for the largest crowd in PWHL playoff history. The peloton passes through the hilltop village of Itri on Friday. (Dario Belingheri/Getty Images) 🇮🇹 Itri, Italy — The 109th Giro d'Italia is nearly halfway complete, with today's 10th stage representing the lone time trial in the 21-stage race. Leaderboard: Portugal's Afonso Eulálio leads all riders in the race for the Maglia Rosa (pink jersey), but Jonas Vingegaard is hot on his tail (2:24 behind) after winning two of the last three stages. The Dane is a Giro d'Italia victory away from becoming the eighth rider to win all three Grand Tours. 📈 JOCK STOCKS TICKER TALK: KNICKS, RANGERS SPLIT (Data: Yahoo Finance) As the Knicks attempt to reach their first NBA Finals since 1999, their stock has never been higher… literally. An impending shift in ownership structure might soon make that rise more apparent. Driving the news: Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSGS), the publicly traded owner of the Knicks and Rangers, announced Monday that it is making progress on its proposed spin-off of the two businesses into separate public entities by completing a procedural filing with the SEC. Bulls supporting Knicks: MSG Sports initially announced its plans to explore the spin-off on Feb. 18. From the market close on Feb. 17 through the end of trading on Monday, MSGS stock is up almost 20%, significantly outperforming the S&P 500. Even after that surge, the company's enterprise value stands at approximately $9.5 billion, well below the combined estimated value of the underlying teams. In October, Sportico valued the Knicks at $9.85 billion and the Rangers at $3.65 billion, amounting to $13.5 billion in aggregate. The Dolan discount: The proposed spin-off would make an investment in either team a pure play, ideally reducing the valuation gap — sometimes dubbed the "Dolan discount" — between the public market valuation and the estimated team valuation in a control sale. The transaction could also unlock sales of minority stakes, which would help to anchor prices. Update your LinkedIn: Until now, you could own a piece of two of the most storied franchises in sports, but even if you wanted only one of them, you had to own both. Soon, you might be able to own one without the other. The question is whether your investment will keep pace with the staggering ascent of team valuations. This story was written by Dylan Dittrich, author of our upcoming Sports Business newsletter. Want in for the launch? Email dylan.dittrich@yahooinc.com with the subject line "I'm in." 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, MAY 19 The Knicks won the regular-season series over the Cavs, 2-1. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Eastern Conference Finals tip off today in New York (8pm ET, ESPN), where the Knicks host the Cavaliers in Game 1 at Madison Square Garden. Game notes: The Knicks, back in the East Finals for the second straight year, are riding a seven-game winning streak with a +185 scoring differential. The Cavs are back in the East Finals for the first time since 2018, and the first time without LeBron James since 1992. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Blue Jays at Yankees (7pm, TBS) … Toronto's Dylan Cease leads the AL in strikeouts (75) and ranks fifth in ERA (2.41). ⚽️ Premier League: Bournemouth vs. Manchester City (2:30pm, USA) … City (77 points) must win to keep pace with Arsenal (82) entering the final weekend. ⚽️ U.S. Open Cup: Orlando vs. Atlanta (7:30pm, Paramount+); St. Louis vs. Houston (8pm, CBSSN) … Quarterfinals. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 💔 HEARTBREAK PLAYOFF TRIVIA Pain. (Joe Hrycych/Getty Images) Both the Bills and Sabres suffered overtime losses to end their 2025-26 seasons. Question: Who did the Bills lose to in this year's NFL playoffs? Answer at the bottom. 🏈 OFFSEASON FOOTBALL INCHES CLOSER (Giphy) NFL rookies and veterans meet on the field for the first time this week as organized team activities (OTAs) get underway. What matters and what doesn't? Trivia answer: Broncos 33, Bills 30 (OT) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 21 Author Members Posted May 21 👋 Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: A comeback for the ages, Any Given Wednesday, Arsenal clinches title, Kidd out in Dallas, Spygate 2.0, inside-the-park grand slam, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀 Kidd out in Dallas: Jason Kidd and the Mavericks have mutually agreed to part ways after five seasons. The Hall of Famer compiled a 205-205 record in Dallas, where he still had four years and more than $40 million left on his contract after signing an extension last summer. ⚽️ Spygate 2.0: Southampton have been kicked out of Saturday's EFL Championship playoff final after the league found them guilty of spying on multiple opponents this season. Though the club is appealing, Middlesbrough are set to take their place in the match against Hull City, with the winner earning promotion to the Premier League. 🎾 No Alcaraz at Wimbledon: Carlos Alcaraz is withdrawing from Wimbledon due to the same wrist injury that's keeping him out of the French Open. This will be the first time since 2020 that he's missed multiple Grand Slams in the same year. 🏈 NFL headlines: The Titans' New Nissan Stadium, set to open in 2027, will host Super Bowl LXIV in 2030; owners agreed to increase the international slate to as many as 10 games per season (up from eight) as part of a relentless march towards an 18-game season. 🏒 Canucks clean house: The Canucks fired first-year head coach Adam Foote and his three assistant coaches after Vancouver finished in dead last at 25-49-8, tied for their third-worst season by points percentage (.354) in franchise history. 🏀 BING BONG KNICKS STUN CAVS WITH FURIOUS RALLY A night to remember at The Garden. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images) With less than eight minutes left in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers were up 93-71. Victory seemed assured. The Knicks had other plans. Flipping the script: A furious comeback in the fourth quarter led to an emphatic beatdown in overtime, with New York notching a 115-104 win in front of their home crowd to take a 1-0 series lead. By the numbers: The Knicks outscored the Cavs 44-11 in just under 13 minutes of game time, shooting 15-for-20 from the field and scoring 1.69 points per possession. As for Cleveland, they shot 4-for-18 from the floor and 2-for-11 from 3-point range. Jalen Brunson had 17 points (8-10 FG) during New York's 44-11 run, cooking James Harden on possession after possession en route to a 38-point night. In that same span, Harden and Donovan Mitchell combined for three points on 1-for-10 shooting with zero assists and two turnovers. Speaking of Harden: For the 48th time in his playoff career, he had as many or more turnovers (6) as made field goals (5). With 188 career appearances, that's more than a quarter (25.5%) of his games. Not great! Are you not entertained? The NBA's Final Four has gotten off to quite the start. This is the first time ever that Game 1 of both conference finals went to overtime, and both Victor Wembanyama's 41-point, 24-rebound performance and New York's 22-point comeback are about as rare as it gets. Entering Tuesday, NBA teams in the last 30 seasons were 594-1 when leading by 22+ points in the fourth quarter of a playoff game, per AP. The only other win was by the Clippers, who rallied from 24 down to beat the Grizzlies in 2012, in Game 1 of a first-round series. New year, new Knicks: Last season, the Knicks couldn't close the door, and it went a long way toward costing them a shot at the NBA Finals. But this isn't last year, writes Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine: 364 days after the Pacers left Madison Square Garden shell-shocked with a blinding barrage of late-game buckets, the Knicks experienced an exorcism. A historically hellacious comeback, a turnaround for the ages, a redemption in real time. And maybe, in the midst of a postseason run that had felt like a fever dream for the past few weeks and seemed poised to turn into a recurring nightmare for most of Tuesday, a renewed reason to believe. 🏈 ANY GIVEN WEDNESDAY HAPPY HUMP DAY, NFL (Data: Pro Football Reference, NFL) On this particular Wednesday, the NFL calendar is clear. But in just a few short months, we'll be gearing up for a primetime game on the strangest of weekdays, previously a football desert occupied only by "MACtion." The new normal: In its pursuit of weekly conquest, the NFL is advancing on all fronts, continuing the migration of games into standalone broadcast windows for the 2026-27 season. In addition to planting its flag on two separate Wednesday nights, the league is also adding to its array of late-season Saturday games. Why the shift? Exclusive slots command more concentrated attention from larger national audiences than their regionally aired counterparts, increasing the NFL's commercial appeal. Over the last two decades, that appeal has lured the league out of Sundays and Mondays and into other days of the week. 20 years ago, nearly 96% of all games took place in the familiar Sunday afternoon, Sunday night, and Monday night time slots. Next season, that figure falls to 85%. Sunday afternoons have gradually lost games over the last 20 years, resulting in large cumulative change. In the 2006-07 season, Sunday afternoon games accounted for 83% of the total slate. Next season? Just 72%. Of note: For all the handwringing about the dilution of Sundays, this year's Sunday slate lost only one game relative to last season, as revealed last week. That said, the day of the week we all associate with the NFL has clearly gotten lonelier, especially as more top matchups relocate to primetime. Where's the tipping point? The NFL's popularity is inarguable and — thus far — immovable. But the expansion of standalone windows throughout the week begs two questions: Is it asking too much of fans to expect them to tune in almost every night? Is the NFL risking its ownership of Sundays by spreading the wealth? Bottom line: Networks and streamers alike covet exclusive windows, and the audience's demand for them remains evident, even as fans lament a softer Sunday slate. As a result, Scott Hanson may have to reckon with an uncomfortable truth in the years ahead: He will have time to take a bathroom break during seven hours of RedZone football. This story was written by Dylan Dittrich, author of our upcoming Sports Business newsletter. Want in for the launch? Email dylan.dittrich@yahooinc.com with the subject line "I'm in." ⚽️ BACK ON TOP GLORY FOR THE GUNNERS Hordes of Arsenal fans gather outside Emirates Stadium on Tuesday to celebrate the title. (Julian Finney/Getty Images) At long last, Arsenal are back on top, clinching their first Premier League title since 2004 on Tuesday when Manchester City could manage only a draw against Bournemouth. Bridesmaids no more: The Gunners, who won three league titles in a seven-year span from 1998 to 2004, spent the next two decades compiling an agonizing collection of near-misses. Most notably, they finished as runner-up five times, including in each of the last three years. This season looked destined to be their breakthrough after getting off to a hot start, but their once-sizable lead began shrinking down the stretch, culminating in a loss last month to City that saw them briefly fall out of first place. But rather than fold under pressure as they had so many times in the past, they answered the bell with gusto, rattling off four straight shutout wins as City dropped points twice to fumble away their shot at another title. And the good news kept coming: Less than an hour after City's match ended, Arsenal's archrival Tottenham lost to Chelsea, sending them one step closer to an unthinkable relegation. Not a bad way for Arsenal to spend their day off! Looking ahead: With the Premier League title wrapped up, the Gunners can focus solely on winning their first Champions League title. The final against PSG is 10 days away. 💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) 🏒 0.5 on the Richter scale Think Habs fans like their hockey? Celebrations from goals scored by the Canadiens in Games 6 and 7 against the Sabres were so intense they registered seismic activity in Montreal that measured approximately 0.5 on the Richter scale. In other words, they caused a (very minor) earthquake. As a reminder: Game 7 was in Buffalo! Despite the away game, thousands of fans packed inside the Bell Centre on Monday night and erupted when Alex Newhook's OT game-winner sent them through to the Eastern Conference Finals. 🏀 8 in a row Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's latest MVP marked the eighth straight season that an international player took home the NBA's top award. Before this run of eight in a row, just four of the previous 63 MVPs were non-Americans (Hakeem Olajuwon in 1994, Steve Nash in 2005-06 and Dirk Nowitzki in 2007). But wait, there's more: It's not just the winners who have been foreign-born. International players have finished first and second in six straight years, and they've finished first, second and third in five straight years. The last American to finish in the top two of MVP voting? LeBron James in 2020, three weeks before he led the Lakers to the championship in the Bubble. I promise you that's Nick Kurtz under there. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) ⚾️ 30 HR, 100 RBI, 100 BB Athletics 1B Nick Kurtz, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year, is just the third left-handed hitter in MLB history with at least 30 home runs, 100 RBI and 100 walks in their first 162 career games. The other two? Ted Williams and Juan Soto. And Kurtz is the only one to top 40 homers in that span. On-base machine: Last year, it was Kurtz's power (36 HR in 117 games) that stood out. This year, it's his ability to get on base. His .431 OBP ranks second among all hitters, and he's currently riding an MLB-best 42-game on-base streak. ⚽️ 56 titles Celtic leapfrogged Hearts with their dramatic victory in Saturday's season finale to clinch their 56th Scottish Premiership title, breaking a tie with Rangers for the most in league history. Here's the crazy part: No other club has more than four! Hearts heartbreak: Hearts came agonizingly close to winning their first title since 1960, sitting atop the table for 226 consecutive days entering Saturday. Instead, the duopoly continued as no team other than Celtic or Rangers has won the league since 1985. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs How will the Thunder respond after losing for the first time in these playoffs? We'll find out tonight in Oklahoma City (8:30pm, NBC), where the Spurs will try to take a 2-0 lead after winning the most entertaining game of the season on Monday night. OKC's Kryptonite: The Thunder are 1-5 (.167) against the Spurs this season, and 71-14 (.835) against everybody else. 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Avalanche host the Golden Knights tonight (8pm, ESPN) in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals as the NHL's Final Four gets underway. All they do is win: Since debuting as an expansion franchise in 2018, Vegas leads all NHL teams with 70 playoff wins. Colorado ranks third with 60. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Blue Jays at Yankees (7pm, Prime) … Trey Yesavage (1-1, 1.40 ERA) vs. Cam Schlittler (6-1, 1.35 ERA). 🏀 WNBA: Fire at Fever (7pm, USA); Wings at Sky (9pm, USA) … Caitlin Clark has had at least 20 points and 5 assists in all four games, tied for the longest season-opening streak in WNBA history. ⚽️ Europa League Final: Freiburg vs. Aston Villa (3pm, CBSSN) … Villa seek their first major trophy since 1996; Freiburg seek their first major trophy ever. ⚽️ U.S. Open Cup: Crew vs. NYC FC (7:30pm, Paramount+); Rapids vs. Earthquakes (10pm, CBSSN) … Quarterfinals. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🌍 GEOSPORTS TAP THE MAP GeoSports is a new daily game that combines sports with geography. Tap where it happened! The closer you are, the more points you get. 📸 THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH (Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images) Nationals star James Wood hit MLB's first inside-the-park grand slam since 2022 in Tuesday's 9-6 comeback win over the Mets, mashing the ball off the top of the fence in left center and motoring around the bases in 15.15 seconds. Rare feat: This was just the 26th inside-the-park grand slam in the Divisional Era (since 1969), and just the fourth this century. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 24 Author Members Posted May 24 👋 Good morning! The Enhanced Games (aka. The Steroid Olympics) kick off today in Vegas. If you're interested in that sort of thing. In today's edition: OKC bounces back, Vegas wins opener, Rodgers' last dance, SEC/Big Ten breakaway, players protest in Paris, WNBA undrafted rookies shine, "Tarps Off," and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏈 Rodgers' last dance: In his first public comments since re-signing with the Steelers, Aaron Rodgers said that the upcoming season will be his last in the NFL — an announcement that allows the future Hall of Famer to have the farewell tour his career deserves. ⚾️ Sho-Time is back: After being taken out of the lineup as a precautionary measure in each of his previous three pitching starts, Shohei Ohtani returned to being a true two-way player on Wednesday. The results? He homered on the first pitch of the game and then proceeded to lower his ERA to 0.73 with five scoreless innings in a 4-0 win over the Padres. Of course. 🏒 Montréal win PWHL title: The Montréal Victoire shutout the Ottawa Charge, 4-0, to clinch their first Walter Cup title, giving the PWHL just its second champion after the Minnesota Frost had won the title in each of the league's first two seasons. 🏀 All-Rookie Team: Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg headlined the All-Rookie First Team, joined by Hornets guard Kon Kneuppel, 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe, Spurs guard Dylan Harper and Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward. ⚽️ Villa win Europa League: Aston Villa dominated Freiburg, 3-0, to win the Europa League, capturing their first trophy since the 1996 League Cup and giving manager Unai Emery his record fifth title in the competition. 🏀🏒 FINAL FOUR OKC RESPONDS, VEGAS WINS OPENER (Alex Slitz/Getty Images) Oklahoma City — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (30 points, 9 assists) and the Thunder bounced back to beat the Spurs, 122-113, and even the series on a night that was marred by injuries to Jalen Williams and Dylan Harper. ICYMI: San Antonio's Stephon Castle threw down the dunk of the playoffs. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) Denver — The Golden Knights took down the mighty Avalanche in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, winning 4-2 to hand Colorado its second loss of the postseason. Worth the wait: Dylan Coghlan opened the scoring with his first goal since 2021, ending a drought that had lasted over 1,600 days. 🎓 SEC/BIG TEN BREAKING AWAY? GOOD LUCK Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti (L) and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. (George Walker IV/AP Photo) Conversations about an SEC/Big Ten breakaway from the NCAA are more real than they've ever been. But given how badly those two leagues have mismanaged self-governance in the NIL era, it's time for the rest of college athletics to call their bluff. Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports: As the financial disparity between the haves and have-nots in college athletics grew precipitously over the last 20 years, the SEC and Big Ten threatening to break away from the NCAA has developed into a strain of Stockholm syndrome. Though nearly every problem in college sports can be traced directly to the largesse of those two leagues and the lack of fiscal restraint that came along with mountains of television money, they largely succeeded in convincing the rest of the NCAA that smaller schools cannot live without their captors. No matter how many restrictions were taken off the books to accommodate the Big Ten and SEC, no matter how much rule-making autonomy the power conferences were granted, the next crisis always demanded more — or else. As detailed by colleague Ross Dellenger, the SEC and Big Ten are running this play all over again as schools in those leagues have decided that they can't work within the confines of the de facto salary cap they created through the House v. NCAA settlement. For the first time, the topic is getting discussed on more than a theoretical level. We should expect administrators in the Big Ten and SEC over the next several months to start putting real thought into what a breakaway would actually look like. Don't be surprised, however, if the reaction across college sports is different than in the past. Instead of the masses prostrating themselves in front of the Big Ten and SEC to keep their dysfunctional family together under one NCAA umbrella, you're going to hear a lot more people shrugging their shoulders this time and saying, "Good luck." "I said it three years ago — let them break away," Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard told reporters Monday at a booster event in Des Moines. "I'd turn it around and say we should break away from them. Let 'em go. But they have to go in all their sports and see how fun it is to play baseball and softball and track when it's just the [34] of you. That's what I think we should do." Though Pollard is way ahead of his colleagues in terms of saying it so publicly and directly, there has been a noticeable vibe shift in the last six months. 🎾 SERVE AND VOLLEY PLAYERS PROTEST IN PARIS (Alain Jocard/AFP via Getty Images) In the ongoing war over prize money at the Grand Slams, French Open participants are prepared to deliver a stinging volley at Roland Garros to emphasize their discontent. What we're hearing: Players will walk out of their pre-tournament press conferences tomorrow after 15 minutes while shunning additional interviews with media partners, The Guardian reports. The plans are described as a "work-to-rule strategy," meaning the players aren't violating any contractual provisions through their choice of protest. State of play: The French Open prize pool, at $72.3 million, is up almost 10% this season and nearly 80% over the last five years. That growth represents significant progress and outperforms the other Slams over the same period, but the French prize pool has been and remains smaller than its peers. The players' gripes reside between the lines: They contend that last year's pool increased only 5.4% in a year that saw Roland Garros increase revenue by 14%, reducing their share to 14.3%. They expect their share to remain below 15% this year as well. That 15% level is the inspiration for the players' choice to walk out after 15 minutes. The target: Players receive 22% of revenues at joint ATP and WTA Masters 1000-level events. They're seeking the same commitment from the Grand Slams. "It's all about respect," said Jannik Sinner earlier this month. "We give much more than we are getting from them." The grass is greener: Tennis revenue shares pale in comparison to what athletes enjoy in other sports, where strong players' unions collectively bargain to achieve stronger outcomes: 🏈 NFL: Minimum of 48% 🏀 NBA: 49-51% 🏒 NHL: 50% Serve, returned: The nuclear option — a full boycott of competition — was mooted by Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff in recent weeks. These protests allow the players to fire the latest shot in an ongoing rally with the Slams while leaving the nuclear button unpressed for the moment. This story was written by Dylan Dittrich, author of our upcoming Sports Business newsletter. Want in for the launch? Email dylan.dittrich@yahooinc.com with the subject line "I'm in." 🏀 ROOKIES UNDRAFTED TO UNDENIABLE (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) No undrafted or international WNBA player has ever won Rookie of the Year. But if early returns are any indication, two players look poised to take a run at ending that drought. Instant impact: Liberty guard Pauline Astier and Mercury guard Jovana Nogić are burning the nets in their first taste of WNBA action, outperforming virtually every other rookie through the season's first few weeks. Astier, a 24-year-old from France who won the EuroLeague title last year with USK Praha, leads all rookies in scoring (16.8 ppg) to go along with 4.0 assists and 3.8 rebounds. She's filling in for an injured Sabrina Ionescu (ankle), who could make her season debut as soon as tonight, but either way she's proved herself worthy of a rotation spot. Nogić, a 28-year-old Serbian, has played across Europe since graduating from Providence in 2019. She's averaging 15.4 points per game on the strength of a lethal three-point shot (51.7% on nearly six attempts per game), and dropped 27 points in a win over the Sky last week, the most ever in a game by an undrafted rookie. Who's their competition? With the caveat that the season has only just begun, Lynx guard and No. 2 pick Olivia Miles (15.5 pts, 4.3 reb, 5.8 ast) is the only rookie you could reasonably say is playing better than Astier and Nogić. Chicago's Gabriela Jaquez (12.5 pts, 5.8 reb) and Seattle's Flau'jae Johnson (12.3 pts, 5.0 reb) have also played well, and though top pick Azzi Fudd has struggled so far (7.7 ppg), there's plenty of time for her and others to find a groove. Looking ahead: International talent has transformed the NBA (see: eight straight foreign-born MVPs). Could Astier and Nogić's early success signal that a similar trend may be on its way in the W? That would be a huge boon for a league with a growing number of roster spots to fill, as it will have expanded from 12 to 18 teams between 2024 and 2030. See them in action: Astier and Nogić both take the court tonight on Prime, with the Liberty hosting the Valkyries (8pm ET) and the Mercury hosting the Sparks (10pm). 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, MAY 21 (Sarah Stier/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Eastern Conference Finals continue tonight at Madison Square Garden (8pm ET, ESPN), where the Knicks will try to take a 2-0 lead and the Cavaliers will try to flush their epic collapse from Game 1. Hunting Harden: New York aggressively targeted James Harden on Tuesday night, getting him to switch into nine isolations during the fourth quarter and overtime, and scoring an eye-popping 1.9 points per direct action in those instances. How will Cleveland adjust in Game 2? 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Eastern Conference Finals get underway tonight in Raleigh (8pm, TNT), where the top-seeded Hurricanes host the resilient Canadiens in Game 1. Hope for the Habs: Though Carolina has been a juggernaut in these playoffs (8-0, +14 scoring differential), history gives the edge to Montreal. Since 2000, teams coming off a Game 7 victory are 7-1 in series against teams coming off a sweep. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Blue Jays at Yankees (7pm, MLB) … Strange but true: The Yankees (30-20) have just one single win this season against a team currently over .500 (the 25-24 Athletics). ⛳️ PGA: The CJ Cup (7:45am, ESPN+; 3pm, Golf) … Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is favored for his 46th consecutive start. 🥎 NCAA Softball: Georgia at Tennessee (7pm, ESPN2); Oklahoma State at Nebraska (9pm, ESPN2) … Best-of-three Super Regionals begin. 🏀 WNBA: Valkyries at Liberty (8pm, Prime); Sparks at Mercury (10pm, Prime) … Sparks guard Kelsey Plum leads the league in scoring (26.8 ppg). Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. ⚾ STANDINGS MLB TRIVIA (Alex Zadorozny/MLB Photos via Getty Images) The Rays completed their sixth sweep of the season on Wednesday, improving to an MLB-best 33-15 and increasing their lead atop the AL East to four games. Question: Can you name the other five division leaders without looking at the standings? Hint: Two are in the same state. Answer at the bottom. ⚾️ SHIRTS AND SKINS TARPS OFF (St. Louis Cardinals) The Cardinals have fully embraced the "Tarps Off" movement, dedicating the upper right-field bleachers to fans who bring high energy to the game and, crucially (though not mandatorily), remove their shirts while doing so. Tarps Off? The movement started during college football games last season, when one fan would make their way to an empty section, take off their shirt, wave it around and start cheering wildly. Others would inevitably join in, creating a section filled with rowdy, shirtless fans. The trend made its way to baseball this spring, and in addition to St. Louis has found a home at games in Detroit, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Seattle and Anaheim. Trivia answer: Guardians (29-22), Athletics (25-24), Braves (34-16), Brewers (29-18), Dodgers (31-19) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 25 Author Members Posted May 25 🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. Programming note: We'll be off on Monday. Enjoy the long weekend! See you back here on Tuesday. In today's edition: Sinner seeks career Grand Slam, RIP Kyle Busch, Stafford signs extension, Knicks cruise, Hurricanes finally lose, Weekend Watchlist, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. For the web version, click here. Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 💔 RIP, Rowdy: Kyle Busch, the winningest driver across NASCAR's three top series, died Thursday after being hospitalized with a severe illness. The two-time Cup Series champion was 41 years old. 🏈 Stafford extended: The Rams signed QB Matthew Stafford to a one-year, $55 million extension, keeping the 38-year-old reigning MVP in Los Angeles through 2027. This despite having just drafted Alabama QB Ty Simpson with the 13th pick in last month's draft. ⚽️ Injury to watch: Crystal Palace center back Chris Richards, an invaluable figure on a USMNT squad with backline questions, has two torn ligaments in his ankle. Will he be ready for next month's World Cup? 🏀 JVG to Portland? Jeff Van Gundy is reportedly a finalist for the Trail Blazers' head coaching gig alongside current interim coach Tiago Splitter and Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori. Van Gundy, a Clippers assistant for the last two seasons, was last a head coach in 2007 (Rockets). ⚽️ Ronaldo wins Saudi title: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace on Thursday to lead Al-Nassr to their first Saudi Pro League title since he joined the club in 2022. The 41-year-old, preparing to play in his sixth World Cup for Portugal, is now just 27 goals shy of 1,000 for his career. See what else is trending on Yahoo Sports. 🏆 MAJOR CHAMPIONS A GOLDEN AGE FOR CAREER GRAND SLAMS Will Jannik Sinner add another trophy to his collection this month in Paris? (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Career Grand Slams are exceedingly rare across men's tennis and men's golf, yet there's a decent chance we'll see four completed in the span of just 14 months. Exclusive club: Entering last year's Masters, just 10 men had completed the career Grand Slam, winning all four major championships in their respective sports. ⛳️ Golf: Jack Nicklaus (3x), Tiger Woods (3x), Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player 🎾 Tennis: Novak Djokovic (3x), Rafael Nadal (2x), Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Rod Laver Of note: The tennis record dates to the start of the Open era in 1968, while golf's time period stretches back to 1934. The newest entrants: Rory McIlroy joined the club last April when he finally broke through at Augusta National, and Carlos Alcaraz followed suit this February when he won his first Australian Open. On the brink: Jannik Sinner is only missing the French Open, and he's a bigger favorite to win the tournament (which begins this weekend) than Nadal was in any of his 14 title-winning years. Scottie Scheffler is only missing the U.S. Open, and he'll be the favorite to win at Shinnecock next month. 📸 SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS (Sarah Stier/Getty Images) New York, New York — The Knicks ran away with Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, beating the Cavaliers, 109-93, behind Josh Hart's playoff career-high 26 points and Jalen Brunson's playoff career-high 14 assists. New York leads 2-0 as the series shifts to Cleveland. A new era: The Knicks have won nine straight playoff games, which is more than their *total* number of postseason victories in the 21 seasons before Brunson arrived in New York. (Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) Raleigh, North Carolina — The Hurricanes, coming off an interminable 11-day layoff, got trounced by the battle-tested Canadiens in Game 1, losing 6-2 for their first defeat of the playoffs. Score one for "rust" in the age-old rest vs. rust debate. Wild stat: The Hurricanes allowed more goals on Thursday (six) than they allowed in each of their first two series (five). They'll look to regroup for Game 2 tomorrow. If Brooks keeps rolling it like this, he'll be tough to beat. (LM Otero/AP Photo) McKinney, Texas — Brooks Koepka (-8) ended the opening round of the CJ Cup one shot behind leader Taylor Moore, but the five-time major champion is looking dangerous after firing his lowest round on the PGA Tour since 2020. Equipment change: Koepka debuted a new putter in hopes of fixing the one part of his game that has failed him this year. The move worked wonders: he ranked fourth in putting on Thursday and his bogey-free round featured just 25 putts. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST Can Álex Palou go back-to-back at the Brickyard? (James Gilbert/Getty Images) 🏁 Indianapolis 500 The Greatest Spectacle in Racing takes place on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (12:45pm ET, Fox), where 33 drivers will compete in the 110th running of the Indianapolis 500. Among them are defending champion Álex Palou, four-time champion Helio Castroneves, and Katherine Legge, who is looking to make some history. Rare feat: Legge is also scheduled to race in NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 later in the day, making her the sixth driver (and first woman) to attempt "The Double." After competing in the three-hour long Indy 500, she'll take an 80-minute flight to Charlotte for the Cup Series race (6pm, Prime). 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Spurs (tied 1-1) host the Thunder tonight (8:30pm, NBC), the Cavaliers (down 2-0) host the Knicks tomorrow night (8pm, ABC) and the Spurs host the Thunder again on Sunday (8pm, NBC). Scoring guards: 13 guards in NBA history have scored 30 points in a playoff game at least 27 times, and four of them are still alive in this year's postseason: James Harden (50 times), Donovan Mitchell (36), Jalen Brunson (28) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (27). 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Avalanche (down 1-0) host the Golden Knights tonight (8pm, ESPN), the Hurricanes (down 1-0) host the Canadiens tomorrow night (7pm, TNT) and the Golden Knights host the Avalanche again on Sunday (8pm, ESPN). Sin City stars: Vegas' Mitch Marner (19 points) and Jack Eichel (16) lead all players in points this postseason, while Pavel Dorofeyev (10 goals) and Brett Howden (9) lead all players in goals. ⚽️ Premier League Finale All 20 teams kick off at 11am on Sunday for the final match of the season. While the top of the table is already confirmed with Arsenal clinching the title, there's still drama at the bottom. Spurs on the edge: As long as Tottenham (38 points) beat or draw Everton at home (11am, NBC), they'll remain in the Premier League. But if they lose, and West Ham (36) beat Leeds (11am, USA), then Spurs will be relegated for the first time since 1977. 🥍 NCAA Lacrosse Championships Both Final Fours are this weekend, with the women playing today in Evanston, Illinois, and the men playing tomorrow in Charlottesville, Virginia. Women: No. 2 UNC vs. No. 3 Maryland (Fri. 3pm, ESPNU); No. 1 Northwestern vs. No. 4 Johns Hopkins (Fri. 5:30pm, ESPNU) … Winners meet on Sunday (12pm, ESPN). Men: No. 1 Princeton vs. Duke (Sat. 12pm, ESPN2); No. 2 Notre Dame vs. No. 6 Syracuse (Sat. 2:30pm, ESPN2) … Winners meet on Monday (1pm, ESPN). More to watch: 🎾 French Open: First Round (Sun. 5am, TNT/Tennis) … Play begins at Roland Garros, where 256 men and women are in the field. ⚽️ Women's Champions League Final: Barcelona vs. Lyon (Sat. 12pm, CBSSN) … Two European giants meet in the final for the fourth time in eight years. ⚾️ MLB: Astros at Cubs (Fri. 2:20pm, Apple); Tigers at Orioles (Fri. 7pm, Apple); Mariners at Royals (Sat. 4pm, FS1); Pirates at Blue Jays (Sun. 12:15pm, Peacock) 🥎 NCAA Softball: Super Regionals (Fri-Sun, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/ABC) … The winners of these eight best-of-three series will advance to the Women's College World Series. 🏀 WNBA: Valkyries at Fever (Fri. 7:30pm, ION); Lynx at Sky (Sat. 1pm, CBS); Sparks at Aces (Sat. 8pm, CBS); Wings at Liberty (Sun. 3:30pm, NBC) ⛳️ PGA: The CJ Cup (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/CBS) … Play continues at TPC Craig Ranch outside Dallas. 🏎️ F1: Canadian Grand Prix (Sun. 4pm, Apple) … Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli seeks his fourth straight victory in the fifth race of the season. ⚽️ Championship Playoff Final: Hull City vs. Middlesbrough (Sat. 10:30am, Paramount+) … The winner of "The Richest Game in Sports" earns promotion to the Premier League. Plus: MLS Week 15 (Sat-Sun, Apple/Fox); NWSL Week 9 (Fri-Sun, CBS/Prime/ION); UFL Week 9 (Fri-Sun, ABC/Fox/ESPN); Ice Hockey Worlds (Fri-Sun, NHL); Giro d'Italia Stages 13-15 (Fri-Sun, HBO Max); and more. Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. Get tickets now! 📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 Cassandra Negley: The WNBA's wealth moment: How players are spending — and saving — their higher salaries Proper financial literacy has never been more significant in the WNBA, where the highest-paid players are earning seven figures for the first time and some salaries have increased upwards of 800% with the new CBA. But no matter how much they're making, "The basics are still the basics," said former player turned financial adviser Nakia Sanford Lawson. "You need to not spend more than you make, and you need to be thinking about what happens when the ball stops bouncing." (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) 💉 Jeff Eisenberg: Welcome to the Enhanced Games, where doping is encouraged The 42 swimming, track and weightlifting athletes who will compete in the inaugural Enhanced Games were invited to push the limits of human potential by taking an array of performance-enhancing substances banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Doctors recommended individualized combinations, selecting substances from five categories, including testosterone, anabolic steroids, growth factors, metabolic modulators and stimulants like Adderall. (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) 🏀⚾️ Yaron Weitzman: What will the Lakers look like with top Dodgers execs helping lead the way? In 2014, Dodgers owner Mark Walter tapped Andrew Friedman and Farhan Zaidi to run a state-of-the-art, data-driven front office that would ultimately transform the club into a juggernaut. A little more than a decade later — after becoming the Lakers' majority owner last fall — Walter appears to be attempting to duplicate that blueprint in a different sport. And once again he's empowered Friedman and Zaidi to spearhead that transformation. 🎾 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS TRIVIA (STF/AFP via Getty Images) Rafael Nadal has (by far) the most French Open titles, winning 14 times at Roland Garros during his unparalleled career. Question: Who has the most among women, with seven? Hint: American. Answer at the bottom. 🏎️ START YOUR ENGINES YAHOO SPORTS x APPLE TV (Apple) This weekend's Formula 1 Lenovo Canadian Grand Prix 2026 continues our season-long partnership with Apple TV for F1 coverage. Tune in: Today's practice (12:30pm ET) and tomorrow's qualifying (4pm) will both air for free on Yahoo Sports, while Sunday's race will stream on Apple TV, the new U.S. home of Formula 1. Trivia answer: Chris Evert Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 27 Author Members Posted May 27 🍿 1 film thing: Big "Star Wars" opening The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal, right) and Grogu in "Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu." Photo: Lucasfilm/Disney via AP "The Mandalorian and Grogu" — the first "Star Wars" movie in nearly seven years — collected a strong $82 million in its opening weekend and an estimated $102 million through Memorial Day. While it's significant for any movie to debut above $100 million, "The Mandalorian and Grogu" is the worst start for a "Star Wars" since Disney bought the franchise in 2012, Variety notes. The movie had a more modest budget than other recent "Star Wars" films. Go deeper. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 29 Author Members Posted May 29 🏀 1 for the road: Knicks finally in finals "Kings of New York." Cover: Mark Ulriksen for The New Yorker The New York Knicks are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999 after sweeping the Cleveland Cavaliers with a 130–93 blowout. The Knicks have been pro sports' glamorous underperformers for a generation. The New York Times notes their last Finals trip came before Google took off, before the first iPhone, before the first "Fast and the Furious" film, and it ended in a loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Now the Knicks are four wins from their first title since 1973. The Knickerbockers have won 11 straight playoff games, sweeping the 76ers and the Cavs, and the city is treating them like champions already. 🎨 The New Yorker's latest cover (above) features Jalen Brunson towering over franchise legends like Patrick Ewing, Walt Frazier and Charles Oakley. Brunson earned the conference finals MVP. His dad, Rick, was a reserve guard on the '99 team. Today's New York Post front & back covers. The Knicks will face either defending champs Oklahoma City Thunder or the San Antonio Spurs when Finals begin June 3. Takeaways. Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 29 Author Members Posted May 29 👋 Good morning! Two nights ago, the Astros no-hit the Rangers. Last night, the Rangers scored eight runs on the Astros... in the first inning. Baseball! Signs of the apocalypse: Obstacle racing is replacing equestrian in the Modern Pentathlon at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and we've now learned that some of the obstacles will mirror those from the "Ninja Warrior" TV series. Have we lost the plot? In today's edition: USMNT World Cup roster revealed, Golden Knights sweep Avalanche, Thunder thump Spurs as Wemby goes missing, Cubs lose 10th straight, Why We Love Sports, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀 Thunder thump Spurs: The reigning champs beat the Spurs, 127-114, on Tuesday night to regain control of the series and move within a win of the NBA Finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (32 pts) and Jared McCain (20 pts) led the way for OKC, while Victor Wembanyama was a non-factor for most of the night (20 pts, 4-15 FG, 6 reb) and declined to speak to media. 🎾 French Open headlines: Three top-10 seeds (No. 5 Jessica Pegula, No. 6 Daniil Medvedev and No. 9 Alexander Bublik) suffered first-round upsets. Plus: French teenager Moïse Kouamé, 17, became the youngest man to win a match at Roland Garros since 1991. 🏈 No more cupcakes: Starting in 2027, SEC football teams will schedule conference games on the penultimate weekend of the regular season instead of FCS and low-major opponents, as they've done for years. "The end of cupcake weekend," said commissioner Greg Sankey. 🏀 NBA coaching news: Boston's Joe Mazzulla was named Coach of the Year, beating out Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff; The Cavaliers are expected to retain Kenny Atkinson (last season's COY) amid rumors that Cleveland was eyeing Jason Kidd. 🏒 The final eight: The U.S. won its group stage finale at the Ice Hockey World Championship to set up a quarterfinal match against Canada. Joining them in the quarterfinals: Switzerland, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Czechia and Sweden. ⚽️ THE STARS AND STRIPES POCH'S PICKS: WORLD CUP ROSTER REVEALED (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images) For 19 months, eight training camps and 24 matches, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino evaluated more than 60 candidates for spots on the 26-man World Cup roster. On Tuesday, amid a fan-charged party on a Manhattan pier, he officially revealed his picks. "The squad is stocked with Euro-seasoned players, moored by 13 incumbents from the 2022 World Cup and enhanced by 13 first-timers. It features a mix of players well-known to the general public (Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams) and those requiring introductions (Matt Freese, Folarin Balogun, Sebastian Berhalter)." — Steven Goff, Yahoo Sports Top-flight talent: For the first time in the modern era, every player on the USMNT World Cup squad plays on a club in the top flight in their respective country (based on the upcoming season), per ESPN. That includes 13 players from Europe's "Big Five" (Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1) and eight players from MLS (the fewest since 2010). (Yahoo Sports) Who got snubbed? The absence of midfielders Tanner Tessmann and Diego Luna created some stir — though both players have battled injuries this spring. Fellow midfielder Aidan Morris was another notable omission in favor of Alex Zendejas, who made the cut despite missing the past three camps. Here's Steven on what those choices tell us… Luna was among Pochettino's most-used players in 2025, but with almost all attackers available for selection this summer, he slipped on the depth chart. Without Tessmann and Morris, as well as the injured Johnny Cardoso, Pochettino lacks depth behind Adams in defensive midfield. Those decisions suggest he might start one defensive midfielder instead of two — as he's done much of his tenure. What's next: The Americans open camp today at the new national training center outside Atlanta before playing tune-up matches against Senegal this Sunday (Charlotte) and Germany next Saturday (Chicago). Then they'll travel to their base camp in Irvine, California, ahead of their Group D debut vs. Paraguay on June 12 (Los Angeles). More rosters: Every World Cup squad announced so far 🏒 VIVA LAS VEGAS KNIGHTS BREAK OUT THE BROOMS, SWEEP AVS (Candice Ward/Getty Images) The Golden Knights beat the Avalanche, 2-1, on Tuesday night in Las Vegas to sweep the Western Conference's top-seeded team and clinch their third trip to the Stanley Cup Final… in just nine seasons of existence. Pretty remarkable. A stunning sweep: This was not supposed to happen. The Golden Knights had fewer wins during the regular season (39) than six non-playoff teams and fired their head coach on the eve of the postseason. The Avalanche won 55 games behind the likely league MVP (Nathan MacKinnon), finished with more points (121) than all but eight teams in NHL history, and entered the playoffs as title favorites. "We checked our ass off tonight. That's how you win this time of year," said Vegas head coach John Tortorella, who has gone 19-4-1 since taking the reins on March 29 and is now four wins away from his second championship (2004 with Tampa Bay). Colorado, which cruised past Los Angeles and Minnesota before running into the Vegas buzzsaw, is the first team since the playoffs expanded in 1980 to lose one game or fewer in the first two rounds only to get swept one round later. The curse continues: The Avalanche are the 13th consecutive Presidents' Trophy winner (best regular-season record) to fail to win the Stanley Cup. In fact, just eight of the 40 winners have gone on to win the championship, most recently the Blackhawks in 2013 (shortened season) and the Red Wings in 2008. Hands off! The Knights won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as Western Conference champs. And just like the last time they won it, they didn't touch the trophy due to superstition. ❤️ HIGHS AND LOWS WHY WE LOVE SPORTS Steve (age 5) and his dad in front of their house. "I think we were going to a family wedding." (Steve Sillato) Today's submission comes from Steve Sillato, a native of Rochester, New York, who now resides outside Columbus, Ohio. Take it away, Steve… Carl Sillato, my dad, taught me about sports from a young age. My earliest memory was of him rolling a ball to me. I must have been 3 or 4. He taught me how to play baseball, which he played semi-professionally around upstate New York in the 1930s. He never said much about it, but his friends and brothers told me stories about his power and strong arm. Dad was drafted in February 1941 and left the Army in 1946. Never talked about his time overseas, only about his training. He took me to minor league ballgames and we watched the Game of the Week on TV. He never reacted much to the highs or lows of a game. I once asked him why. He told me that sport was just for fun; a way to get a break from the realities of life. Steve (age 12) in his first full Little League uniform. "The Yankees were my favorite team (and my dad's), so I was thrilled to be on the Yanks." (Steve Sillato) June 29, 1990. I was sitting with my dad in the solarium at Roswell Park Cancer Hospital in Buffalo, where he was set to get treatment for stage 4 Lymphoma. We were watching the Oakland-Toronto game. Dave Stewart was pitching a no hitter. Dad was smiling the whole time. I still remember him turning to me when Stewart recorded the final out and beaming: "That was fun!" We then talked about ballgames we'd enjoyed together and he told me about attending the 1934 World Series in Detroit, a story I'd never heard before. I walked him back to his room, gave him a hug and looked into those brilliant blue eyes he had and said goodbye. Steve and Carl at Steve’s wedding in December 1974. (Steve Sillato) I spent the next seven hours on the drive home thinking about how lucky I was to have that man as a father. I never saw him again. He threw a blood clot that stopped his heart on July 5th. I lost my oldest and best friend. I still watch sports — often with my son, Brad, who's a baseball lover just like his grandfather. But I never get too high or low. Because it's just for fun, right? Three generations of Sillatos: Carl, Steve and Brad. (Steve Sillato) ✍️ Submit your story: Do you have a fondest sports memory? Or perhaps, like Steve, a loved one you'd like to honor with a story? If you'd like to share, send your submission to kendall.baker@yahooinc.com with the subject line "Why We Love Sports." 💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS A Knicks fan celebrates after sweeping the Cavs. The vibes in New York are immaculate. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images) 🏀 $4,583 That is the lowest get-in price for Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden (via Gametime), as New Yorkers prepare to shell out exorbitant sums for the Knicks' first Finals appearance since 1999. For reference, the lowest get-in price the day before this year's Super Bowl was $3,464. Bing Bong! Funny money: Remember, $4,583 is just the get-in price. The highest sales for each Knicks home game as of Tuesday morning were $12,022 (Game 3), $8,820 (Game 4) and $13,956 (Game 6). Oh yeah, you can also sit courtside at Game 4 for a measly $103,034. ⚾️ 10th straight loss The Cubs are in free fall. The once-mighty North Siders have lost 10 straight games and plummeted to last place (29-26) in a crowded NL Central after getting whooped, 12-1, by the Pirates on Tuesday. Since starting an MLB-best 27-12, they've gone an abysmal 2-14. A tale of three streaks: The same team that is currently riding a 10-game losing streak authored two separate 10-game winning streaks earlier this season, joining the 2017 Dodgers as the only teams in the expansion era (since 1961) to do that. Sophia Wilson with her daughter, Gigi, before a friendly in January. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images) ⚽️ 28 mothers There are a record 28 mothers on active NWSL rosters this season amid a "growing recognition that pregnancy does not signal the end or the pause of a playing career, but rather an active chapter within it," write The Athletic's Melanie Anzidei and Megan Feringa. What they're saying: "Getting back to playing at a high level is not just a straight path. It's not going to happen with the snap of my fingers," said USWNT and Thorns star Sophia Wilson, who has four goals in 12 games this season after giving birth last September. "A lot of work went into it behind the scenes that a lot of people didn't see, and a lot of work is still going into it." 🎓 $1.47 billion The latest tax returns are now available for each of the NCAA's four power conferences. The Big Ten generated by far the most revenue in fiscal year 2025 ($1.47 billion), followed by the SEC ($1.11 billion), ACC ($826.5 million) and Big 12 ($610.9 million). Member distribution: That windfall meant Big Ten schools each received a maximum distribution of $76 million, SEC schools received $70.3 million, ACC schools received $42.8 million and Big 12 schools received $37.9 million. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 (Arianne Bergeron/NHLI via Getty Images) 🏒 NHL Playoffs The Canadiens (down 2-1) host the Hurricanes tonight (8pm ET, TNT) in a critical Game 4 as they look to even the series and avoid yet another loss at home (2-5 in these playoffs). What are the odds? Carolina is 5-0 in overtime this postseason, with all five wins coming by the final score of 3-2. As you might expect, they are the first team in NHL history to win five straight OT playoff games by the same score. More to watch: 🎾 Tennis: French Open (5am, HBO Max/TNT/truTV/Tennis) … Novak Djokovic (8:20am) and Mirra Andreeva (9:30am) headline today's second-round action. ⚾️ MLB: Rays at Orioles (6:35pm, FS1); Yankees at Royals (7:40pm, Prime) … Gerrit Cole makes his second start after missing all of 2025 (Tommy John). 🏀 WNBA: Mercury at Liberty (7pm, USA); Dream at Lynx (9pm, USA) … The Lynx (4-2) are in a four-way tie for second place, just 0.5 games behind the first-place Dream (4-1). 🚴 Cycling: Giro d'Italia (6:10am, HBO Max) … Jonas Vingegaard won again on Tuesday to extend his lead entering Stage 17. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🏆 STANLEY CUP NHL TRIVIA Vegas players pose with the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl. (David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) The Golden Knights will be making their third Stanley Cup Final appearance this century, tied with the Panthers, Oilers, Blackhawks, Bruins and Red Wings for the fourth-most of any team. Question: Can you name the only three teams with more Stanley Cup Final appearances this century? Hint: All Eastern Conference. Answer at the bottom. 📸 THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) Tigers outfielder Riley Greene stands on deck in the rain during a recent game against the Orioles at Camden Yards. I'm pretty mad at rain right now after it put a damper on my Memorial Day Weekend plans. But credit where credit is due: Rain looks cool as hell in photos. Trivia answer: Lightning (5x), Penguins (4x), Devils (4x) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted May 31 Author Members Posted May 31 👋 Good morning! Happy Thursday, everyone. In today's edition: Magical months for Miz and Sanchie, Hurricanes take 3-1 lead over Habs, CBA negotiations begin in MLB (and could come soon to college sports), PWHL salaries released, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Negotiations begin: The MLBPA has submitted its first CBA proposal to the league. Highlights include an increased minimum salary ($780k → $1.5M annually) and a "Competitive Integrity Tax" to penalize clubs that fail to meet a minimum payroll benchmark. MLB owners are expected to respond with their first proposal today. 🏀 Trump at MSG? President Donald Trump said he was invited to attend the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden by Knicks owner James Dolan, and "I think I'll be going to one of the games." If he does, he'll become the first sitting U.S. president to attend an NBA Finals game. 🏈 Jacobs arrested: Packers RB Josh Jacobs was arrested in Wisconsin on Tuesday on several domestic violence charges. He was released from jail on Wednesday pending further investigation, and denies all allegations. ⚾️ Travis, the owner: Travis Kelce is set to become a minority owner of the Guardians, buying a stake in the MLB team he's rooted for since childhood. "There was nothing like Cleveland baseball in the '90s," the Cleveland native told ESPN. "That's just a core memory for me." 🏈 Request denied: The NCAA has denied Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby's request for reinstatement after he completed inpatient treatment for a gambling addiction. The school is appealing on behalf of the rising fifth-year senior, who was ruled ineligible after the NCAA learned he'd placed bets on Indiana while he was a member of the team in 2022. ⚾️ UNHITTABLE MAY BELONGED TO MIZ AND SANCHIE (Jayden Mack/Getty Images) Brewers fireballer Jacob Misiorowski and Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez both just put up some of the best Mays in MLB history. Let's break it down. The Miz: Misiorowski has pitched to a 0.29 ERA in five starts this month, allowing one run and 11 hits in 31.1 innings while striking out 49 batters and walking just six. And he did it all while throwing the ball harder than any starting pitcher ever has before. May 1: 5.1 IP, 8 K, 2 BB, 0 H, 0 R (W) … He was pulled from his no-hitter with a cramp after throwing a 98.9 mph heater — his second-slowest of the night. May 8: 6 IP, 11 K, 2 BB, 2 H, 0 R (W) … He threw the fastest pitch by a starter (103.6 mph) since tracking began in 2008… plus the next six fastest. Wild. May 13: 7 IP, 10 K, 0 BB, 4 H, 0 R (ND) … His 93rd and final pitch was a 103.2 mph fastball, and earlier he threw the fifth-fastest pitch ever by a starter. May 19: 6 IP, 8 K, 1 B, 3 H, 0 R (W) … He had some trouble slipping on the mound at Wrigley Field, so his fastball topped out at a pedestrian 101.5 mph. May 25: 7 IP, 12 K, 1 BB, 2 H, 1 R (W) … He threw 57 pitches clocked at 100+ mph, the most ever by a pitcher in a single game. By the numbers: Add in his first six starts of the year and Misiorowski is 5-2 with a 1.83 ERA (fourth-best in MLB) and 0.83 WHIP (second-best) for the first-place Brewers. He leads baseball with 100 strikeouts, and his 40.3% strikeout rate would be the best ever in a single season (min. 100 IP). (Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images) Meanwhile, in Philadelphia: Sánchez capped off his own epic May on Wednesday by extending his scoreless innings streak to 44.2, breaking a 115-year-old Phillies record set by Hall of Famer Grover Cleveland Alexander. He hasn't allowed a run since the first inning of his final April start. May 5: 8 IP, 10 K, 1 BB, 3 H, 0 R (W) May 10: 7 IP, 7 K, 0 BB, 6 H, 0 R (W) May 16: 9 IP, 13 K, 0 BB, 6 H, 0 R (W) May 22: 8 IP, 6 K, 2 BB, 4 H, 0 R (ND) May 27: 7 IP, 9 K, 0 BB, 6 H, 0 R (W) Rare feat: Sánchez is just the second pitcher since 1913 to go an entire calendar month without allowing a run (min. 30 IP), joining Orel Hershiser in 1988. The lefty's ERA (1.47 ERA) and WAR (3.7) both lead the majors, and he's helped the second-place Phillies turn their season around. Let the games begin: Misiorowski and Sánchez are joined by a host of other hurlers in a loaded NL Cy Young race. L.A's Shohei Ohtani has a microscopic (but not yet qualified) 0.82 ERA, Pittsburgh's Paul Skenes has MLB's best WHIP (0.82), and Atlanta's Chris Sale (1.89 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) and Cincinnati's Chase Burns (1.96 ERA, 0.96 WHIP) have been nearly unhittable. 🌍 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) 🇨🇦 Montreal, Canada — The Hurricanes blanked the Canadiens, 4-0, on Wednesday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals and hand the Habs their sixth home loss of these playoffs (compared to just two wins). Carolina goes for the series win tomorrow in Raleigh. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take: The Canadiens have been a living embodiment of this adage, losing three straight games while getting out-shot 108-43 (!!). Those 43 shots on net are the fewest in a three-game span of a playoff series in NHL history. (Harry How/Getty Images) 🇺🇸 Los Angeles, California — Shohei Ohtani hit a leadoff homer in his second straight pitching start — and then proceeded to throw six no-hit innings in the Dodgers' 4-1 win over the Rockies. His ERA is 0.82. His OPS is .886. Is that good? More MLB: Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez hit two homers for the second straight game to reach 20 on the season; White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami became the first rookie in MLB history to reach 20 HR before June; the Cubs beat the Pirates to snap their 10-game losing streak. (Alex Grimm/Getty Images) 🇩🇪 Leipzig, Germany — Crystal Palace defeated Rayo Vallecano, 1-0, in Wednesday's UEFA Conference League final, giving the English side their first European trophy in the club's 120-year history… just 12 months after they won their first major trophy, period (FA Cup). USMNT watch: On the sidelines for Palace was Chris Richards, the USMNT's defensive anchor who's currently nursing an ankle injury. He's scheduled to travel to Atlanta today and undergo evaluations before joining the World Cup squad ahead of Sunday's friendly against Senegal. (Robert Prange/Getty Images) 🇫🇷 Paris, France — Unseeded Yuliia Starodubtseva, ranked 55th in the world, stunned second-seeded Elena Rybakina on Wednesday at Roland Garros, knocking this year's Australian Open champion out of the French Open in just the second round. Meanwhile, on the men's side: No. 3 Novak Djokovic and No. 28 João Fonseca both took care of business, setting up a tantalizing third-round matchup and the first-ever meeting between the all-time great and the 19-year-old prodigy. 🎓 PAY TO PLAY COULD COLLECTIVE BARGAINING COME TO COLLEGE SPORTS? (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) In the SEC, collective bargaining has gone from long-shot discussions to full-blown presentations. More preliminary talks are expected this week in Destin, Florida, where college football's most-watched conference is holding its spring business meetings. Ross Dellenger, Yahoo Sports: Last week, near the steps of the U.S. Capitol, a scene unfolded that encapsulates the troublesome predicament in which college athletics finds itself. Flanked by the leader of a players association, the president of the NAACP and members of the Congressional Black Caucus, a college football player spoke into a microphone to deliver a message. "It's important that people hear what athletes have to say," said Jackson Pruitt, a Temple offensive lineman. "It's important that we push for player representation and some kind of player union that gets us what we deserve." Not far away, while participating in a panel held by Democratic Congresswoman Lori Trahan, a group of women's basketball players unleashed a fury of comments directed at college leaders. One of them, some might contend, said the quiet part out loud. "I think it's time to come to the truth: We are employees," said Oluchi Okananwa, a Maryland women's hoops player from Boston and the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year last season. College sports executives may claim that these players were used as tools for partisan lawmakers at a divisive time in American politics. But their message — schools should deem athletes employees and bargain with them — is beginning to gain traction at the highest levels of the industry, including within the SEC and its powerful group of university presidents, chancellors and athletic directors. "I never thought I'd say it, but I'm there on employment," one of those SEC presidents told Yahoo Sports recently. "Let's collectively bargain." Developing story: Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) have struck a deal to introduce a bipartisan bill — named the Protect College Sports Act — to regulate college athletics. Next comes a months-long process of gaining enough support for passage in a divided U.S. Congress at a divisive time in America. 🏒 DATA DUMP HOW MUCH DO PWHL PLAYERS MAKE? Ottawa's Emily Clark was the PWHL's highest-paid player last season. (Troy Parla/Getty Images) In a bid to promote greater transparency, the PWHL Players' Association has released salaries to the public for the first time following the conclusion of the upstart women's hockey league's third season. What the numbers tell us: The average salary for the 2025-26 season was roughly $58k, according to the database, with salaries ranging from $37k to $126k. Only 10 players earned six figures, while roughly two-thirds made under $60K. Highest-paid players: Emily Clark (Ottawa): $126k Sarah Fillier (New York): $125k Brianne Jenner (Ottawa): $122k Abby Roque (Montreal): $117k Marie-Philip Poulin (Montreal): $110k 6-10: Toronto's Renata Fast ($106k), Seattle's Hilary Knight ($106k), Ottawa's Gabrielle Hughes ($105k), Boston's Megan Keller ($105k) and Minnesota's Kendall Coyne Schofield ($101k). Why this matters: "The PWHLPA's decision to fully disclose salaries is a significant step for salary transparency in women's pro sports," notes The Athletic's Hailey Salvian. "The WNBA does not publicly disclose individual player salaries, though they are typically available from insiders … In the NWSL, some salaries become public … but comprehensive contract details have historically been more difficult to find." 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, MAY 28 (Christian Petersen/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs The Spurs (down 3-2) host the Thunder with their season on the line (8:30pm ET, NBC), as OKC looks to close things out and return to the Finals while San Antonio hopes to force Game 7. Man on fire: Thunder guard Alex Caruso is shooting 47.7% from behind the arc this postseason (31-for-65), which is 18.4% higher than his regular-season hit rate (29.3%). That's on pace to be the biggest jump in 3-point percentage from the regular season to the playoffs in NBA history (min. 50 attempts in each). 🥎 Women's College World Series The double-elimination tournament begins today in Oklahoma City, where eight teams will battle it out for a spot in the best-of-three championship series. Today's schedule: No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Mississippi State (12pm, ESPN); No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 Tennessee (2:30pm, ESPN); No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 2 UCLA (7pm, ESPN2); No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 2 Arkansas (9:30pm, ESPN2). More to watch: 🎾 Tennis: French Open (5am, HBO Max/TNT/truTV/Tennis) … Coco Gauff (7:50am), Aryna Sabalenka (8:50am) and Ben Shelton (9am) headline the final day of the second round. 🏀 WNBA: Aces at Wings (8pm, Prime); Fever at Valkyries (10pm, Prime) … Vegas' A'ja Wilson (24.8 ppg), Indiana's Caitlin Clark (23.8 ppg) and Kelsey Mitchell (22.3 ppg) and Dallas' Paige Bueckers (19.3 ppg) are all top 10 in scoring. ⛳️ PGA: Charles Schwab Challenge (8am, ESPN+; 4pm, Golf) … Ben Griffin looks to defend his title at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. 🚲 Cycling: Giro d'Italia (7:15am, HBO Max/truTV) … Stage 18 takes riders 106 miles from Fai della Paganella to Pieve di Soligo in northeastern Italy. 🏒 Ice Hockey Worlds: USA vs. Canada (10:20am, NHL); Czechia vs. Finland (10:20am); Sweden vs. Switzerland (2:20pm, NHL); Norway vs. Latvia (2:20pm) … Quarterfinals. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. ⚽️ CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SOCCER TRIVIA (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) When Arsenal take the field against PSG on Saturday, they'll be looking to become the seventh English club to win the Champions League (or the European Cup, as it was previously known). Question: Can you name the other six? Hint: All in the Premier League this season. Answer at the bottom. ⚾️ RUN MERCHANTS THE NATS ARE FUN (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) The Nationals might not end up in the playoffs this fall, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a brand of baseball more entertaining than the kind being exhibited so far in the nation's capital. Runs galore: The surprisingly pesky Nats are hovering just above .500 (29-28) thanks to an offense that has scored the most runs in baseball (306). So how is it that they're only just barely a winning baseball team? Because they've also allowed the most runs in baseball (310). Their lineup has the third-best OPS in the NL (.743) behind young stars James Wood and CJ Abrams, who've combined for 27 HR and 84 RBI. But their pitching staff has the third-worst ERA in the NL (4.64), and they've committed 51 errors, by far the most in the majors (the Rays have the next-most, with 39). Bottom line: Washington has been stuck in an interminable rebuild, finishing in last place all but one year since winning the 2019 World Series. But early returns this season are promising — and if nothing else, give a win-starved fan base something fun to watch most nights. Trivia answer: Liverpool (6x), Manchester United (3x), Chelsea (2x), Nottingham Forest (2x), Manchester City, Aston Villa Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted June 1 Author Members Posted June 1 🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. What are the odds? A couple accidentally showed up to a Diamondbacks-Giants game earlier this month with tickets to the following night's game. So they bought two more tickets and ended up catching Willy Adames' home run ball. Then they came back the next night with their original tickets… and caught another Adames home run ball! In today's edition: Spurs force Game 7, Sinner stunned in Paris, MLB owners propose salary cap, the NBA's new draft lottery, Weekend Watchlist, City Guesser (new game!), concessions gone wild, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ MLB's CBA proposal: MLB owners submitted a CBA counterproposal to the players' union on Thursday that features a salary floor of $171.2 million and, more importantly, a salary cap of $245.3 million. It's the first salary cap proposed by MLB owners since 1994, an action that ultimately led to a seven-month strike and the cancellation of the 1994 World Series. 🎾 Serena returning soon? Serena Williams has requested wild cards to grass tournaments ahead of next month's Wimbledon, per multiple reports. Don't be surprised if the 44-year-old officially announces her comeback in the coming days following months of speculation. ⚽️ Poch's uncertain future: USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino's $6 million contract expires later this summer, and he has reportedly engaged in conversations with AC Milan about their managerial vacancy. 🏒 Canada 4, USA 0: Canada eliminated defending champion USA at the Ice Hockey World Championship, taking a small measure of revenge after the Americans beat them for men's and women's Olympic gold. Joining Canada in the semis: Switzerland, Norway and Finland. 🥍 A first for lacrosse: Notre Dame's Shawn Lyght became the first defenseman ever to win the Tewaaraton Award (lacrosse's Heisman). Northwestern attacker Madison Taylor won the women's award, adding another trophy just days after leading the Wildcats to a national title. 🏀 DO OR DIE WEMBY, SPURS FORCE GAME 7 (Christian Petersen/Getty Images) The most anticipated series of the NBA postseason is headed to a winner-take-all Game 7 after the Spurs blew past the Thunder, 118-91, on Thursday night in San Antonio to tie the Western Conference Finals at three games apiece. Wemby meets the moment… "Victor Wembanyama finished with a game-high 28 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks in 28 minutes, subbing out with nine minutes to go and nodding his head in approval of a task carried out to completion. A season defined by his continued ascension within the ranks of his peers while discovering himself on a deeper level isn't quite ready to end." — Kelly Iko, Yahoo Sports SGA's struggles continue: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander finished with just 15 points on 18 shots. Over the last four games, the league MVP has missed 44 of his 69 shot attempts, with San Antonio's individual defenders affecting him in a variety of ways, all while limiting his trips to the free-throw line. (Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports) Series rewind: Game 1 was an instant classic, but Games 2-6 have been decided by an average of 17 points. Will we get the thrilling finale we deserve? This will be the fifth Game 7 of these playoffs, tied for the most in a single postseason in NBA history. Game 1: Spurs 122, Thunder 115 (2OT) Game 2: Thunder 122, Spurs 113 Game 3: Thunder 123, Spurs 108 Game 4: Spurs 103, Thunder 82 Game 5: Thunder 127, Spurs 114 Game 6: Spurs 118, Thunder 91 Game 7: Tomorrow (8pm ET, NBC) Meanwhile, in New York… The Knicks are playing the waiting game, again. The Eastern Conference champs will be the first team in NBA history to face three teams coming off a Game 7 in the same postseason (76ers, Cavaliers, Thunder/Spurs). On the heels of back-to-back sweeps, they will also have the biggest rest advantage (+12 days) by any team ever across the Conference Finals and NBA Finals, per stats guru Doug Clawson. 🎾 FRENCH OPEN SINNER STUNNED IN PARIS (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) Jannik Sinner's first attempt at completing the Career Grand Slam ended in stunning fashion on Thursday at Roland Garros, where the world's No. 1 player lost in five sets to unseeded Juan Manuel Cerúndolo. Match recap: The previously unbeatable Italian looked like he'd make quick work of his second-round opponent, winning the first two sets, 6-3, 6-2, and going up 5-1 in the third. Then, disaster struck. Sinner lost 15 straight points as he began cramping in the 90-degree heat before being granted a medical timeout — a controversial decision that TNT analyst Jim Courier called "absolute baloney" because timeouts are not supposed to be allowed for cramping. But in the end it didn't matter, as Sinner went on to lose that set, 7-5, before getting walloped by the young Argentine in the final two sets, 6-1, 6-1. A historic defeat: Cerúndolo's victory was one of the biggest upsets we've ever seen, not only by the eye test but also the odds. Sinner was a -25,000 pre-match favorite, and at one point his live odds increased to -50,000, giving him a 99.8% implied probability of winning. Beyond that, Sinner entered Thursday's contest on a 30-match winning streak, had reached at least the quarterfinals in nine consecutive Grand Slams and began the French Open as the second-biggest favorite ever at a men's major. By the time it all came crashing down, he had become the first world No. 1 to lose in the first two rounds at Roland Garros since 2000 (Andre Agassi). Looking ahead: With Carlos Alcaraz (wrist) sitting at home, Sinner was expected to cakewalk to the Career Grand Slam. Instead, someone other than the "Big Two" will win a major for the first time since 2023, and just two possibilities remain: Either Novak Djokovic wins his record-breaking 25th Grand Slam, or a first-time major champion will be crowned. More from Paris: Local teen Moïse Kouamé, 17, became the youngest man to reach the third round of a major since Rafael Nadal in 2003; No. 5 Ben Shelton, the highest-ranked American man, was upset by unseeded Raphael Collignon, leaving just five top-10 men's seeds at Roland Garros — the fewest through two rounds since 2004. 🏀 ANTI-TANKING THE NBA'S NEW-LOOK LOTTERY (Sportico/Yahoo Sports) NBA owners have voted in favor of a new draft lottery process designed to prevent tanking. Details: The "3-2-1" format, which will debut in 2027, increases the number of teams in the lottery (from 14 to 16) while providing fewer chances for the three worst teams to obtain the No. 1 overall pick. The bottom three teams will get two lottery balls for the No. 1 pick, and are guaranteed to pick in the top 12. The seven remaining teams that fail to make the playoffs or play-in will get three lottery balls. The four teams that secure the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds in the play-in will get two lottery balls. The two teams that lose in the 7-8 play-in games will get one lottery ball. Plus: Teams cannot win the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years, and will not be allowed to win a top-5 pick in three consecutive years. The new system is only set to run through 2029, at which point the Board of Governors will decide whether to continue or try something new. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST (Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports) ⚽️ Champions League Final Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal meet on Saturday (12pm ET, CBS) in Budapest, where the Gunners will be seeking their first title and PSG will be trying to join Real Madrid (2016-18) as the only back-to-back champions in the modern era (since 1992). Strength vs. strength: PSG have scored the most goals of any team (44) in this year's tournament, while Arsenal have surrendered the fewest (6). Game on. 🏀 NBA Western Conference Finals The NBA's two best teams have been trending toward this inevitability all season: Game 7. Saturday in OKC (8pm, NBC). For a spot in the NBA Finals. Bring it on. What's at stake: The Thunder are trying to become the first team since the Warriors (2018-19) to reach back-to-back NBA Finals. The Spurs are trying to get back to the Finals for the first time since winning their fifth championship in 2014. 🏒 NHL Eastern Conference Finals The Hurricanes (up 3-1) host the Canadiens tonight (8pm, TNT) with a chance to advance to their first Stanley Cup Final since winning their lone title 20 years ago. Game 6, if necessary, is on Sunday. Carolina's brick wall: 13-year-veteran Frederik Andersen has turned back the clock this postseason, leading all goalies with 1.44 goals allowed per game. At 11-1, he has his first double-digit playoff win total since 2015 — the longest gap between 10-win playoff campaigns in NHL history. 🥎 Women's College World Series The eight-team championship continues this weekend in Oklahoma City, where No. 1 Alabama, No. 4 Nebraska, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 11 Texas Tech are sitting pretty after winning their openers on Thursday. Win or go home: No. 2 Texas (reigning champs) must beat Mississippi State tonight (7pm, ESPN) to survive the loser's bracket and avoid elimination. Then its No. 5 Arkansas vs. No. 8 UCLA in the nightcap (9:30pm, ESPN) to keep their seasons alive. ⚾️ NCAA Baseball Tournament The 64-team tournament gets underway this weekend (Fri-Sun, ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPN+) with double-elimination regionals hosted by the top 16 seeds: UCLA, Georgia Tech, Georgia, Auburn, UNC, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Southern Miss, FSU, Oregon, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Mississippi State, Kansas and West Virginia. Storylines to watch: Can preseason No. 1 UCLA go the distance? Is Georgia Tech actually the favorite? Will the SEC continue its championship streak? More to watch: ⚽️ Friendly: USMNT vs. Senegal (Sun. 3:30pm, TBS) … The Americans (No. 16 in the world) take on the Lions of Teranga (No. 14) in Charlotte in a World Cup tune-up match. 🎾 Tennis: French Open (Fri-Sun, TNT/HBO Max/Tennis) … Play continues at Roland Garros, headlined by No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 28 João Fonseca today (9:30am) and No. 16 Naomi Osaka vs. No. 17 Iva Jovic tomorrow. ⚾️ MLB: Twins at Pirates (Fri. 6:40pm, Apple); Phillies at Dodgers (Fri. 10pm, Apple); Blue Jays at Orioles (Sun. 12pm, Peacock); Cubs at Cardinals (Sun. 7:20pm, NBC) ⚽️ NWSL: Thorns vs. Royals (Sat. 4pm, ION) … The league's top two teams square off in Portland as the month-long break in play looms. 🏀 WNBA: Mercury at Liberty (Fri. 7:30pm, ION); Fever at Fire (Sat. 8pm, CBS); Aces at Valkyries (Sun. 3:30pm, NBC) … The Portland Fire (5-3) are off to a strong start in their inaugural season. 🚴 Cycling: Giro d'Italia (Fri-Sun, HBO Max) … Race leader Jonas Vingegaard is three days away from becoming the eighth man to win all three Grand Tours. 🏒 Ice Hockey Worlds: Switzerland vs. Norway (Sat. 9:20am, NHL); Canada vs. Finland (Sat. 2pm, NHL) … Winners meet in Sunday's gold medal game (2:20pm, NHL). Plus: ⛳️ Charles Schwab Challenge (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/CBS) | 🏈 UFL regular-season finale (Fri-Sun, Fox/ESPN/ABC) | 🥍 PLL: Baltimore (Fri-Sat, ABC/ESPN+) | 🏎️ IndyCar: Detroit (Sun. 12:30pm, Fox) | 🏁 NASCAR: Nashville (Sun. 7pm, Prime) | and more. Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 📚 GO DEEPER GOOD READS (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 Dan Devine: Mike Brown understood the assignment in New York, and he's aced it It's the high point (thus far, at least) in what's been a remarkable return to head coaching for Brown, who hadn't made the championship round from the first seat on the bench since 2007 — the longest gap for any coach in NBA history. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) ⚾️ Jake Mintz: What a 29-2 score says about the state of low-level minor-league baseball — and why MLB fans should care The complex leagues are a vital part of professional baseball's talent pipeline, yet experts agree that the quality of play has reached an all-time low. To understand what's gone wrong and why it matters, it's important to understand how the minor leagues are structured. (Amber Matsumoto/Yahoo Sports) 🎓 Ross Dellenger: Could the SEC actually govern itself? With college sports in dire straits, more options are on the table The SEC's presidents and chancellors did not take action on any items this week during their annual spring administrative meetings. There was no vote on a future governance model, no decision on the long-discussed split from the NCAA or a creation of their own rules and enforcement. However, there are signs here that something drastic is afoot. 🌍 BIRD'S EYE VIEW CITY GUESSER (Google Earth) Question: What city is this? Bonus points: Name the two professional sports stadiums in view. Answer at the bottom. 🌭 FOOD FRENZY CONCESSIONS GONE WILD The Schwarbomb Sundae is a helmet filled with ice cream and a deep fried Uncrustable. (Courtesy of Aramark) In the social media era, all 30 MLB teams are not just competing for wins on the field, but also for who can come up with the most viral, over-the-top culinary creations. Dive in: From 'Lobstah Poutine' to the 'Schwarbomb Sundae', the MLB concession battle is heating up Trivia answer: City: Baltimore, Maryland | Bonus points: Oriole Park at Camden Yards (Orioles) and M&T Bank Stadium (Ravens) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Wednesday at 12:59 AM Author Members Posted Wednesday at 12:59 AM 👋 Good morning! Welcome back. Stat of the day: The Thunder finished 4-8 vs. the Spurs this season, and 71-14 vs. the rest of the NBA. In other words, San Antonio was responsible for 36.4% of OKC's losses (8 of 22). In today's edition: The NBA's revolving door, Canes cruise into Cup Final, May-hem in college baseball, Pulisic lifts U.S. to victory, PSG repeat as champs, French Open chaos, Baker's Dozen, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ May-hem on the diamond: The opening weekend of the NCAA Baseball Tournament was wildly entertaining. Among the headlines: No. 1 overall seed UCLA was eliminated after Saint Mary's stunned them twice, Milwaukee (238th in RPI) took down Auburn (3rd) and UCF (36th) to reach their first regional final, and Little Rock advanced to the Supers for the first time ever. ⚽️ Slot sacked: Arne Slot is out as Liverpool's manager after the club's disappointing follow-up season to last year's title-winning campaign. Andoni Iraola, who departed Bournemouth last month, is reportedly the favorite to succeed him. 🏒 Lemieux's brain to be studied: The family of NHL great Claude Lemieux, who died last week in an apparent suicide, are donating his brain to the Boston University CTE research center in order to continue studying the effects of repetitive head trauma in athletes. 🏀 The decal is back: For the first time since 2009, both NBA Finals courts will feature a giant painted decal of the Larry O'Brien Trophy at center court behind the home team's logo. The classic "Finals" script will also be painted on each end. 🏈 UFL Final Four: The UFL season concluded on Sunday, with the Orlando Storm (8-2) finishing atop the standings and earning the No. 1 seed. Joining them in the playoffs are the St. Louis Battlehawks (6-4), Louisville Kings (6-4) and DC Defenders (5-5). 🏀 LAST TWO STANDING NO DYNASTIES: THE NBA'S REVOLVING DOOR (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) With Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs eliminating the defending champion Thunder in a thrilling Game 7 on Saturday night, it's now official: The NBA will crown a different champion for the eighth straight season, extending the longest streak in league history. But wait, there's more: This is also the fourth straight season with a completely new set of finalists, which is another first in the history of the NBA. 2026: Knicks vs. Spurs 2025: Thunder over Pacers 2024: Celtics over Mavericks 2023: Nuggets over Heat In other words: It's not just that more than one-quarter of NBA teams (8 of 30) have won a title in the last eight years; it's that more than one-quarter of NBA teams (8 of 30) have reached the Finals in the last four. Zoom out a little further and nearly half the league's teams (14 of 30) have made a Finals appearance since 2018: East: Knicks, Pacers, Celtics, Heat, Bucks, Raptors, Cavaliers West: Spurs, Thunder, Mavericks, Nuggets, Warriors, Suns, Lakers Last two standing: Knicks vs. Spurs is a dream Finals matchup for Adam Silver and the NBA, pitting the league's biggest media market against its biggest rising star. Ticket prices are already insane, and Wemby's European origins should result in record-breaking global viewership for a league that has become increasingly international. NBA Finals schedule: San Antonio hosts Game 1 (Wednesday) and Game 2 (Friday) before the series shifts to New York for Game 3 (next Monday) and Game 4 (next Wednesday). If needed, Game 5 is in San Antonio (Saturday, June 13), Game 6 is in New York (Tuesday, June 16) and Game 7 is in San Antonio (Friday, June 19). All games will air on ABC at 8:30pm ET. 🏆 STANLEY CUP CANES CRUISE INTO FINAL (Yahoo Sports) After years of knocking on the door, the Hurricanes finally smashed through it, eliminating the Canadiens on Friday to reach the Stanley Cup Final and escape the purgatory they'd been stuck in for nearly a decade. (Canada, on the other hand, remains in hockey hell.) Getting over the hump: For seven straight seasons (2018-2025), the Canes were good enough to win a playoff series but not great enough to reach the championship round — the longest such streak in North American major sports history. They've authored a much different story in 2026, replacing years of playoff anguish with a postseason stroll. The Hurricanes (12-1 this postseason) are the first team to enter the Cup Final with one or fewer losses since the NHL moved to four best-of-7 series in 1987. If they sweep Vegas, they'll top the 1988 Oilers (16-2) for the best playoff record of this era. Of course, few expect Carolina to win four straight games against the Golden Knights, who have been dominant in their own right over the past month. They'll enter the Cup Final on a six-game winning streak, having dispatched the top-seeded Avalanche with ease. Who ya got? The Hurricanes are favorites (-155) to hoist the Cup, but the Golden Knights (+130) have plenty of believers — and plenty of experience on the NHL's biggest stage. 11 players on Vegas' current roster were also on their 2023 title-winning team. Stanley Cup Final schedule: Carolina hosts Game 1 (tomorrow) and Game 2 (Thursday) before the series shifts to Vegas for Game 3 (Saturday) and Game 4 (next Tuesday). If needed, Game 5 is in Raleigh (Thursday, June 11), Game 6 is in Vegas (Sunday, June 14) and Game 7 is in Raleigh (Wednesday, June 17). All games will air on ABC at 8pm ET. 🇺🇸 CAPTAIN AMERICA PULISIC ENDS DROUGHT IN USMNT VICTORY (Omar Vega/USSF/Getty Images) The USMNT beat Senegal, 3-2, on Sunday in their penultimate World Cup tuneup behind goals from Sergiño Dest, Folarin Balogun and Christian Pulisic, who ended a months-long scoring drought and reminded his doubters that he's still Captain America. Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports: Pulisic sank to his knees in the north corner of Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium, bellowing a scream that was part exultation, part exorcism. He'd just scored his first goal of the calendar year, shortly after a pinpoint assist, and he let out five months' worth of frustration all at once. Prior to Sunday afternoon, Pulisic's last goal in any match came on Dec. 28 in an AC Milan victory over Hellas Verona. His last goal for the United States was all the way back on Nov. 19, 2024 against Jamaica in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Nations League. He could score for neither club nor country, as the poetic line goes. 19 AC Milan games, plus eight USMNT games, all without a goal, are the kinds of combined dry stretches that provoke irritation, then frustration, then desperation … at least in the stands, if not on the pitch. "I've played well in recent months," Pulisic insisted after the match, "but all people seem to care about is goals, so hopefully now people can stop talking about it." With all due respect to Pulisic, who's clearly more than a little tired of fielding drought-related questions, the talk is understandable; the World Cup is a results-oriented business, and "goals" trump "playing well" every time. The face of the U.S. team could only spin a half-year scoring drought so many ways. And fortunately, he no longer needs to. Stat to know: Under Mauricio Pochettino, the USMNT has won two of four matches against top-15 teams, beating Senegal and Uruguay while losing to Belgium and Portugal. Before that, the Americans were winless in 15 straight games vs. top-15 teams excluding Mexico. 🌍 SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Michael Regan/UEFA via Getty Images) 🇭🇺 Budapest, Hungary — Paris Saint-Germain have conquered European soccer once again, defeating Arsenal in a shootout on Saturday to win their second straight Champions League title and join Real Madrid (2016-18) as the only repeat champions since 1990. Arsenal's unwanted history: The Gunners have played the most games in European Cup/Champions League history without lifting the trophy (226). Djokovic cools himself off during Friday's loss. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) 🇫🇷 Paris, France — Not a single French Open champion has made it to the second week at Roland Garros after Novak Djokovic, Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff all suffered upset losses over the weekend. For the first time since 2016, a new men's and women's champion will be crowned in the same year. So, who's left? No. 2 Alexander Zverev and No. 4 Félix Auger-Aliassime are the only top-10 seeds remaining on the men's side; on the women's side, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, No. 16 Naomi Osaka and No. 19 Madison Keys represent the only former Grand Slam champions left in Paris. Finland swarms Konsta Helenius after his championship-winning goal. (Sebastien Bozon/AFP via Getty Images) 🇨🇭 Zurich, Switzerland — Finland beat Switzerland, 1-0 (OT), on a golden goal from Sabres forward Konsta Helenius on Sunday to win their fifth Ice Hockey World Championship. Swiss defenseman Roman Josi, the Predators' captain, was named tournament MVP despite the loss. Bronze medal stunner: In the first game of the day, Norway upset Canada, 3-2 (OT), to win their first-ever medal at Worlds. For Canada, this marks the third straight year they failed to medal in a tournament they've historically dominated (28 golds, 16 silvers, 9 bronze). (Dario Belingheri/Getty Images) 🇮🇹 Rome, Italy — Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard completed a dominant victory in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday, beating the field by 5 minutes, 22 seconds to become the eighth man in history to win all three Grand Tours. The other seven: France's Jacques Anquetil (completed in 1963), Italy's Felice Gimondi (1968), Belgium's Eddy Merckx (1973), France's Bernard Hinault (1980), Spain's Alberto Contador (2008), Italy's Vincenzo Nibali (2014), Great Britain's Chris Froome (2018). 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, JUNE 1 The top-seeded Crimson Tide are one win away from the WCWS Championship Series. (Alabama Athletics) 🥎 Women's College World Series The finalists will be determined today in Oklahoma City, where No. 2 Texas faces No. 7 Tennessee in one semifinal (12pm ET, ESPN) and No. 1 Alabama faces No. 11 Texas Tech in the other (7pm, ESPN). Where it stands: Tennessee and Alabama are undefeated, so they only need one win to advance. If the Vols lose, they'll play the Longhorns again (2:30pm, ESPN) for a spot in the championship. If the Tide lose, they'll play the Red Raiders again (9:30pm, ESPN) for the other spot. ⚾️ NCAA Baseball Tournament The Regionals conclude tonight with six winner-take-all games across the country: No. 10 Florida State vs. Saint John's (12pm, ESPNU); No. 2 Georgia Tech vs. Oklahoma (3pm, ESPNU); No. 16 West Virginia vs. Kentucky (6pm, ESPN2); No. 4 Auburn vs. Milwaukee (6pm, ESPNU); No. 8 Florida vs. Troy (6pm, SEC); No. 12 Texas A&M vs. USC (9pm, ESPN2). Who's already in? The winners of those games will join No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Alabama, No. 11 Oregon, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 15 Kansas, Cal Poly, Little Rock and Ole Miss in the 16-team Super Regionals. More to watch: 🎾 French Open: Fourth round (5am, TNT/HBO Max) … No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 16 Naomi Osaka (2:15pm, TNT) headlines today's slate in Paris. ⚾️ MLB: Giants at Brewers (7:40pm, FS1) … Kyle Harrison (6-1, 1.57 ERA) takes the mound for Milwaukee. Meet the youngster having a breakout season. 🏀 WNBA: Storm at Wings (8pm, USA); Lynx at Mercury (10pm, NBCSN) … ROY favorite Olivia Miles (15.4 pts, 5.1 reb, 5.9 ast) has Minnesota in first place. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🏀 FLASHBACK NBA TRIVIA (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images) The Spurs and Knicks will meet in the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999, when San Antonio beat New York in five games to win their first title. Question: Who was named MVP of that series? Answer at the bottom. 🍿 BAKER'S DOZEN TOP PLAYS OF THE WEEKEND 🏒 Konsta Helenius scores the golden goal to lift Finland to glory! The Finnish commentators can't believe it! 🏀 "Blocked by Kornet!" Wemby's backup with a memorable Game 7 swat. 🎾 The best shot so far at the French Open: Matteo Arnaldi's ridiculous tweener. ⚽️ Wanna see a filthy futsal goal? Check this out. ⚾️ Jose Siri robs a grand slam against his former team… and saves the buffet. ⚽️ Portland Hearts of Pine keeper Hunter Morse with an absurd save. ⚾️ Banana Ball alert! Incredible catch while falling into the dugout. 🏀 Wemby posterizes Chet. Looks like he's playing on a mini hoop, especially in slo-mo. ⛳️ A.J. Ewart with a hole-in-one. Still waiting for this to happen for me. ⚾️ Royals catcher Carter Jensen dives for the catch. A+ reaction time. 🥏 Ultimate frisbee alert! John Marsh goes full extension for the grab. ⚾️ Red Sox minor leaguer with a major league-worthy play. 🥎 Tennessee's Sophia Knight makes a perfect throw to get the runner out at home. Watch all 13. Trivia answer: Tim Duncan Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Thursday at 12:54 AM Author Members Posted Thursday at 12:54 AM 👋 Good morning! It's a great month to be a sports fan. In today's edition: June's jam-packed slate, NFL blockbusters, Serena's return, softball's title game rematch, Americans ousted in Paris, mud rugby and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🥎 Running it back: Texas and Texas Tech will meet in the Women's College World Series Final for the second straight year after the defending champion Longhorns swept Tennessee in Monday's semifinals and the Red Raiders swept top-seeded Alabama. The best-of-three championship series begins tomorrow. 🎾 Return of the GOAT: Serena Williams' long-rumored return to professional tennis is now official. The 23-time major champion, who turns 45 in September, will compete in doubles at this month's HSBC Championships in a potential tuneup for Wimbledon. 🏈 Blockbuster Monday: The Browns are sending two-time DPOY Myles Garrett to the Rams for DE Jared Verse and three draft picks (including a 2027 first-rounder), and the Eagles are trading star WR A.J. Brown to the Patriots for two draft picks (including a 2028 first-rounder). 🏈 More NFL headlines: Russell Wilson is finalizing a deal to become a CBS Sports analyst, Odell Beckham Jr. is reuniting with the Giants and the Vikings hired former Seahawks assistant GM Nolan Teasley as their new GM. 👟 Steph's new shoe deal: Stephen Curry is a sneaker free agent no more after signing a landmark 10-year contract with Chinese company Li-Ning. The deal will also include athleisure, a full golf line and the ability for Curry to sign other athletes under his brand in the future. 📆 SUMMER OF SPORTS CLEAR YOUR CALENDAR (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) The Stanley Cup Final begins tonight in North Carolina, kicking off a month of non-stop action in the midst of a jam-packed year in sports. June at a glance: This month's marquee event, of course, is the FIFA World Cup in North America, but there are also two "Big Four" champions to be crowned, two tennis Grand Slams, two College World Series, two draft nights, and more. 🏒 Stanley Cup Final (June 2): The Hurricanes are seeking their first championship since 2006, while the Golden Knights are seeking their second in the last four years (2023). 🏀 NBA Finals (June 3): The Knicks bring a 53-year title drought into their matchup with the Spurs, who beat them in the 1999 Finals for their first of five championships. 🥎 WCWS Finals (June 3): Texas and Texas Tech begin their best-of-three championship series in Oklahoma City. 🎾 French Open, Finals (June 6-7): The women close things out on Saturday and the men follow on Sunday, with first-time champions set to be crowned in both tournaments. ⚽️ FIFA World Cup (June 11-July 19): The expanded 48-nation tournament kicks off next Thursday with the first of 104 matches. For reference, there were 64 matches in 2022. ⛳️ U.S. Open (June 18-21): Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, hosts the third major of the year, where Scottie Scheffler will go for the Career Grand Slam. ⚾️ CWS Finals (June 20): The eight-team College World Series begins in Omaha on June 12, followed by the best-of-three championship series eight days later. 🏀 NBA Draft (June 23-24): The Wizards are on the clock with the No. 1 pick, which is widely expected to be BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa. Here's our full draft guide. 🏒 NHL Draft (June 26-27): The Maple Leafs have the first overall pick for the third time in franchise history, and all signs point to them selecting Penn State winger Gavin McKenna. 🎾 Wimbledon (June 29-July 12): The 139th Wimbledon Championships kick off at the All England Club, where Jannik Sinner and Iga Świątek will look to defend their titles. 🏀 Commissioner's Cup (June 30): The WNBA's sixth annual in-season tournament, which began on Monday, concludes with a title game featuring a $500,000 prize pool. But wait, there's more: Other notable events this month include the U.S. Women's Open (June 4-7), Belmont Stakes (June 6), Monaco Grand Prix (June 7), the 24 Hours of Le Mans (June 13-14) and the UFC Freedom 250 at the White House (June 14). ⚾️ BRACKET BUSTERS COLLEGE BASEBALL: LAST 16 STANDING (NCAA) The madness may have faded from March in recent years, but it's alive and well in June thanks to an upset-filled NCAA Baseball Tournament. Survive and advance: For the first time since the current format was adopted in 1999, two regional 4-seeds (St. John's and Little Rock) advanced to the Super Regionals and all eight teams from the previous year's College World Series (Arizona, Arkansas, Coastal Carolina, Louisville, LSU, Murray State, Oregon State, UCLA) were ousted in the opening round. Where it stands: The Super Regionals begin this weekend, with the higher seeds hosting best-of-three series. Cal Poly* at No. 16 West Virginia Little Rock* at Troy* USC at No. 5 UNC Ole Miss at No. 4 Auburn Oklahoma at No. 15 Kansas* St. John’s at No. 7 Alabama No. 11 Oregon at No. 6 Texas No. 14 Mississippi State at No. 3 Georgia *First Super Regionals appearance Notably absent: No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 2 seed Georgia Tech were sent home early after entering the tournament with a combined 99-15 record. 🎶 Worth a watch: 5,000 people broke out into "Country Roads" after West Virginia advanced in Morgantown. 💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Dan Istitene/Getty Images) 🎾 0 Americans No. 19 Frances Tiafoe lost a grueling five-set, five-hour marathon on Monday to unseeded Matteo Arnaldi, meaning no Americans reached the French Open quarterfinals in either the men's or women's draw. That's now 89 straight Grand Slams since the last time an American man came out on top (Andy Roddick, 2003 U.S. Open). Forza Italia: Arnaldi, who has spent a tournament-record 17 hours, 54 minutes on the court en route to the quarters, is joined by No. 10 Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini, marking the first trio of Italian men ever to reach the last eight in the same Grand Slam. And to think, they did it without top-ranked Jannik Sinner or injured world No. 11 Lorenzo Musetti. ⚽️ 38 years old Tim Ream, 38, is set to become the oldest USMNT World Cup player ever, surpassing 37-year-old Fernando Clavijo in 1994. The Charlotte FC defender was also named team captain last week, a position he has held in 27 of his 81 caps since debuting with the senior squad in 2010. A man among boys: Ream is seven years older than anyone else on the roster, whose average age is 26 years, 332 days. That's about a year older than the 2022 squad (25 years, 216 days), but younger than all but three other American World Cup teams: 1990 (24 years, 25 days), 1930 (26 years, 226 days) and 1994 (26 years, 285 days). Trout has 14 HRs, an .898 OPS and leads the AL with 45 runs and 57 walks. (Duane Burleson/Getty Images) ⚾️ 90 WAR Mike Trout just became the 47th player in MLB history to reach 90 career wins above replacement (per Baseball Reference) as his resurgent season continues. He's just the sixth to reach the milestone this century after Greg Maddux (2002), Randy Johnson (2004), Alex Rodriguez (2007), Albert Pujols (2012) and Adrian Beltré (2017). Wild stat: The future Hall of Famer reached a new "decade" of WAR in six consecutive seasons during his prime. After posting a career-high 10.5 in his rookie year (2012), he reached 20 WAR in 2014, 30 in 2015, 40 in 2016, 50 in 2017, 60 in 2018 and 70 in 2019. It took three more years to reach 80, and four more to reach 90. 🎰 $1.7 million A bettor at DraftKings Sportsbook won $1.71 million on a $2,500 four-leg futures parlay after the Spurs beat the Thunder to win the Western Conference. The first three legs of the massive wager (+68,528 odds) that had already hit: U.S. men's hockey to win Olympic gold, Michigan to win the men's college basketball title and the Knicks to win the Eastern Conference. No guts, no glory: The bettor had a cashout offer of $502,583 from DraftKings before Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals (series tied 2-2) but declined. More cashout offers followed, including one for $612,212 before Game 7, but he held strong the whole way and ended up cashing one of the biggest tickets of the year. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, JUNE 2 (Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images) 🏒 Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 The battle for Lord Stanley's Cup begins tonight in Raleigh (8pm ET, ABC), where the Hurricanes host the Golden Knights on the NHL's grandest stage. Historic differential: Carolina (53-22-7) finished 14 wins ahead of Vegas (39-26-17) during the regular season. That's the largest win differential between Cup Final opponents since 2002, when Detroit finished 16 wins ahead of… Carolina! The Red Wings went on to win that series in five games. 🎾 French Open, Quarterfinals The men's and women's final eight is currently underway in Paris, where No. 8 Mirra Andreeva already booked her spot in the semifinals and the all-Ukrainian affair of No. 7 Elina Svitolina vs. No. 15 Marta Kostyuk has entered a decisive third set. Tune in now on TNT or HBO Max. Coming up: No. 2 Alexander Zverev and No. 27 Rafael Jódar take the court after the conclusion of Svitolina-Kostyuk, followed by No. 28 João Fonseca vs. No. 26 Jakub Menšík in the night session (2:15pm). More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Padres at Phillies (6:40pm, TBS) … San Diego (32-26) visits Philadelphia (30-29) at Citizens Bank Park, where the reigning NL East champs are 14-16 this season. ⛳️ NCAA Men's Golf: Team Match Play (1pm, Golf) … Oklahoma State's Preston Stout won the individual title on Monday, and his Cowboys will play on in today's quarterfinals. The top four will advance to the semifinals (6pm, Golf) ahead of tomorrow's championship. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🏒 NAME GAME NHL TRIVIA Hurricanes fans attend the Eastern Conference Finals. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) The Carolina Hurricanes are one of seven NHL teams not named after a city. Who are the other six? Note: We're counting "Vegas" as a city name. Answer at the bottom. 📸 THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH (Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images) 🇯🇵 Fujimi, Japan — Tambo rugby (from the Japanese word tambo, meaning rice field) is a fast-growing, non-contact sport played in Japan's flooded, muddy rice fields before the planting season. Trivia answer: Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Tampa Bay Lightning, Utah Mammoth Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Thursday at 07:12 PM Author Members Posted Thursday at 07:12 PM 👋 Good morning! The NBA Finals tip-off tonight in San Antonio. Our experts made their predictions, and so did "Air Corgi," the viral pup who's been on a hot streak lately. Stat of the day: This is the 46th consecutive season (!!!) in which a former teammate of Jaromír Jágr has appeared in the Stanley Cup Final. This year, it's Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson and Hurricanes winger Mark Jankowski, both of whom played with Jágr in Calgary in 2017-18. In today's edition: Vegas claws back to win Game 1, Aaron Donald comeback rumors, NBA Finals pregame reading, the unstoppable Sarah Langs, Adell pulls a Canseco, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🎾 French Open update: No. 2 Alexander Zverev (Germany) and No. 26 Jakub Menšík (Czech Republic) advanced to the men's semifinals at Roland Garros, while No. 8 Mirra Andreeva (Russia), No. 15 Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) and qualifier Maja Chwalińska (Poland) punched tickets to the women's final four. The rest of the semifinalists will be determined today. 🏒 New NHL All-Star format: After back-to-back years with no All-Star Game due to the 4 Nations Face-Off and Winter Olympics, the NHL is sticking with the international theme for 2027. Five teams (USA, Canada, Finland, Sweden, World) will compete in a 3-on-3 tournament, with the winners taking home $2 million. ⚽️ Historic viewership: Saturday's Champions League final between PSG and Arsenal averaged 3.1 million viewers on CBS and peaked at 3.9 million during the shootout, making it the most-watched club soccer match in U.S. English-language television history. 🐎 Belmont odds: Renegade (2-1) is the morning-line favorite for this weekend's Belmont Stakes, followed by Chief Wallabee (3-1) and Kentucky Derby winner Golden Tempo (9-2), who's back in the nine-horse field after skipping the Preakness. 🏒 Werenski wins Norris: Columbus' Zach Werenski beat out Colorado's Cale Makar and Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin to win the Norris Trophy, becoming the sixth American to be honored as the NHL's best defenseman. 🏆 STANLEY CUP FINAL COMEBACK KIDS: VEGAS TAKES GAME 1 Golden Knights center Tomáš Hertl celebrates a goal. (Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) Well, that was fun. The Golden Knights beat the Hurricanes, 5-4, in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, rallying from an early 2-0 deficit to steal home-ice advantage, win their seventh straight game and hand the Canes just their second loss of the postseason. Historic comeback: Entering Tuesday, road teams were 0-55 when trailing by multiple goals at any point in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. They are now 1-55 thanks to a flurry of goals from five different Vegas skaters: Shea Theodore (1st period) Ivan Barbashev (2nd) William Karlsson (2nd) Brett Howden (3rd) Tomáš Hertl (3rd) What they're saying: "I've said it all through the playoffs: it's a find-a-way league, and we found a way tonight," said Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella, who improved to 20-4-1 since taking the reigns on March 29 after Bruce Cassidy was abruptly fired. 12 of those 20 wins have been comebacks. A sellout crowd of 18,738 packed the Lenovo Center for the Hurricanes' first Stanley Cup Final game in 20 years. The other side: Canes winger Nikolaj Ehlers scored twice in the opening period, with his first goal coming just 25 seconds into the game (third-fastest in Cup Final history). Jordan Staal and Shayne Gostisbehere also found the back of the net for Carolina, with Staal breaking his older brother Eric's record for the longest gap between Cup Final goals (16 years, 358 days). A tale of two seasons: The NHL regular season and postseason are part of one continuous campaign, but they often feel like two distinct chapters in the same book. Look no further than these Golden Knights, whose second chapter bears little resemblance to the first. Chapter 1: Vegas was good, not great, from October through April, as they mostly failed to live up to expectations. They finished the regular season with fewer wins (39) than six teams that didn't even make the playoffs, and the vibes were bad enough that they fired their head coach with eight games left. Chapter 2: Maybe it's the coaching change. Maybe it's the postseason adrenaline. Whatever it is, the Knights have found a new gear over the past month and change. No player embodies this reinvention more than Howden, who has a playoff-leading 11 goals (in 17 games) after scoring 12 all regular season (in 58 games). What's next: The Canes will look to even the series tomorrow night in Raleigh. If they don't, it could spell trouble. Since moving to a best-of-seven format in 1939, only five of 54 teams have overcome a 2-0 deficit to win the Cup: the 2011 Bruins, 2009 Penguins, 1971 Canadiens, 1966 Canadiens and 1942 Maple Leafs. 🏈 WRECKING CREW COULD GARRETT'S ARRIVAL LURE DONALD OUT OF RETIREMENT? (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports) There are rumblings that three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald is considering coming out of retirement to join forces with two-time Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett now that he's on the Rams. What they're saying: Donald, who retired in 2014 after spending his entire 10-season career with the Rams, said the Garrett trade "for sure" got him thinking, and Sean McVay told reporters on Tuesday that he's spoken with his former captain about a potential reunion. "Aaron's a guy that I stay really close in touch with, and I know the respect that he has for Myles, talked to him about the opportunity to be able to bring him on board. If Aaron decides he wants to dust them off at the age of 35, I bet you he could still do it at a pretty high clip." To be clear: The chances of this actually happening don't seem high, and Erica Donald tweeting, "Y'all are hilarious," suggests her husband's just having fun with the speculation. That being said, the future Hall of Famer is clearly still in ridiculous shape, and the idea of him lining up next to Garrett on a bonafide Super Bowl contender is so ridiculously delicious that a small part of me thinks the football gods are already drawing up the script. ⚾️ STRIKE OUT ALS THE UNSTOPPABLE SARAH LANGS (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Sarah Langs spent Lou Gehrig Day (Tuesday) the same way she spends most days: immersed in baseball. The MLB researcher extraordinaire, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2021, is both a spokesperson for the disease and better at the job than she's ever been. Jake Mintz, Yahoo Sports: Over the past few years, nobody on Earth has watched more Major League Baseball than Sarah Langs. She disputes this notion, humbly insisting that somebody, somewhere, has her beat. But as the sport's preeminent baseball researcher knows well: You can't argue against facts. Langs estimates that she has seen about 99% of all live MLB action so far this regular season. Occasionally, she’ll get a late start after burning the midnight oil and not see the very beginning of a noon ET first pitch. She is human, after all. But far more often than not, Langs is working. Watching, thinking, searching, hypothesizing, producing, contributing. Her actual job title — Senior Manager, Research and Content at MLB.com — undersells the scope of her influence. Langs is an indispensable resource for baseball media, providing a seemingly never-ending stream of stats to be incorporated into stories, videos and tweets. Her Slack is a sight to behold. One second, Langs is contacting the Elias Sports Bureau about something that hasn't happened since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. The next, she's crafting another one-of-a-kind nugget about Shohei Ohtani. Sarah and her family pose for a photo prior to a game at Citi Field last season. (Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images) That Langs singlehandedly produces so much compelling, informative content is all the more remarkable considering the difficult circumstances of her day-to-day life. In 2021, Sarah was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. The neurodegenerative condition affects motor neurons, nerve cells in the brain and spine that handle muscle control, movement and breathing. ALS is progressive, meaning the symptoms get worse over time. There is no known cure. This reality has, in many ways, completely reoriented Langs' world. She was once a committed long-distance runner who finished multiple half-marathons. Now she gets around via wheelchair. It can be difficult to communicate verbally, travel is cumbersome, handshakes are tricky. Yet ALS has not chipped away at her intellect or spirit or enthusiasm, nor has it limited the ferocity and consistency with which she approaches her work. That, to the people who have worked alongside her, is both remarkable and entirely predictable. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3 (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 NBA Finals, Game 1 The battle for the Larry O'Brien Trophy begins tonight in San Antonio, where the Spurs host the Knicks in Game 1 of the NBA Finals (8:30pm ET, ABC). Tale of the tape: The Spurs (-205) are favored to beat the Knicks (+170), just as they did when they met in the 1999 Finals. But it's New York who enters on the heels of a historic 11-game winning streak (+262 point differential!), and it's New York who won the season series, 2-1, including a win over San Antonio for the NBA Cup title. 🎾 French Open, Quarterfinals One of the most chaotic Grand Slams in recent memory is nearing its conclusion, with just three quarterfinal matches remaining to round out the men's and women's final fours. Tune in now: No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 25 Diana Shnaider are in the first set on TNT/HBO Max. Coming up: No. 4 Félix Auger-Aliassime and No. 10 Flavio Cobolli take the court after the conclusion of the women's match, followed by Matteo Berrettini vs. Matteo Arnaldi in an all-Italian night session (2:15pm). 🥎 WCWS Finals, Game 1 Defending champion Texas faces in-state rival Texas Tech tonight (8pm, ESPN) in Game 1 of their best-of-three championship series in Oklahoma City. Running it back: This the first Finals rematch in back-to-back seasons since the current WCWS format began in 2005. The Longhorns won their first title last year. Will the Red Raiders win their first a year later? More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Guardians at Yankees (7pm, Prime) … Gerrit Cole has pitched 12.2 scoreless innings since returning from Tommy John surgery. 🏀 WNBA: Tempo at Liberty (7:30pm, USA); Mercury at Storm (10pm, USA) … Toronto (5-4) is off to a strong start in Year 1, currently sitting in second place in the East. ⛳️ NCAA Men's Golf: Team National Championship (6pm, Golf) … Auburn vs. UCLA for the title. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🏀 GO DEEPER NBA FINALS: PREGAME READING (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) Dan Devine: Who has the edge in a matchup for the ages? After an 82-game marathon, followed by three grueling rounds of postseason competition, we now approach the finish line of the NBA season. Here are the keys to the series, the matchups to watch and a prediction for who takes the crown. (Dillon Minshall/Yahoo Sports) Kelly Iko: Can Victor Wembanyama continue his ascension on the NBA's biggest stage? The postseason has been a social experiment on the individuality of Wembanyama, the collective growth of the Spurs' young core and the juxtaposition of experienced opposition around them. The Finals calls for the 22-year-old to take an even greater leap than the ones that have accompanied his ascension. (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) Tom Haberstroh: Is Jalen Brunson the greatest Knick ever? Here's the definitive Top 10 Jalen Brunson has already solidified himself as a Knicks legend, but where does he rank among the franchise's all-time greats? To get to the bottom of this, I created a six-pronged metric to see where he currently sits and how he'd stack up if he leads New York to the promised land. 🏆 TROPHY CASE NBA TRIVIA Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili after winning the 2014 NBA title. (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) The Spurs have won five NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2014), the fifth-most of any franchise. Question: Which four teams have won more championships? Bonus points: How many have they each won? Answer at the bottom. ⚾️ BLOOPER DOINK! (Giphy) Angels right fielder Jo Adell made history in April when he robbed three home runs in a single game. On Tuesday night, he gave one back when a fly ball bounced off his head and over the wall, gifting Colorado's TJ Rumfield a solo homer. Flashback: The moment was, of course, reminiscent of one of baseball's most famous bloopers. José Canseco suffered the same fate back in 1993. Trivia answer: Celtics (18), Lakers (17), Warriors (7), Bulls (6) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Friday at 08:20 PM Author Members Posted Friday at 08:20 PM 👋 Good morning! We are officially one week away from the start of the World Cup. Stat of the day: Shohei Ohtani pitched six shutout innings in Wednesday's 7-0 win over the Diamondbacks, lowering his ERA to an MLB-best 0.74 while also recording more hits (3) than he allowed (2). In today's edition: New York wins Game 1, death of the cheap seats, Zverev's best shot, MLB power rankings, make your World Cup group stage picks, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🎾 The madness continues: The most chaotic Grand Slam in recent memory delivered yet again as No. 25 Diana Shnaider stunned No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, snapping her streak of six straight major semifinals. On the men's side, No. 10 Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi also advanced, joining No. 2 Alexander Zverev and No. 26 Jakub Menšík in the final four. 🥎 Texas 7, Texas Tech 3: The Longhorns rode a five-run first inning to a series-opening victory, putting them one win away from a second consecutive Women's College World Series title. Teagan Kavan, last year's tournament MOP, pitched a complete-game three-hitter. ⚾️ Sánchez sets record: Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez extended his scoreless innings streak to 50.2 before finally allowing a run, giving him the longest streak ever for a left-handed pitcher and the fifth-longest among all pitchers since the mound moved to its current distance in 1893. 🏀 NBA Europe is almost here: NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed on Wednesday that a 16-team league is on track to launch in Europe next year, with 12 permanent franchises and four rotating spots filled by existing clubs across the continent via promotion/relegation. 🏈 Cover athletes revealed: Bears QB Caleb Williams will grace the cover of Madden 27 (August release); Oregon QB Dante Moore, Miami WR Malachi Toney and Ole Miss RB Kewan Lacy will grace the cover of College Football 27 (July release). 🏆 NBA FINALS KNICKS STAY HOT, WIN GAME 1 (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) The Knicks are not here for the coronation of Victor Wembanyama. Beasts of the East: New York overcame early offensive struggles and a 14-point third-quarter deficit on Wednesday to beat the Spurs, 105-95, in Game 1 of the NBA Finals to claim home-court advantage. Going streaking: Blowout? Tight game? Late deficit? Whatever the situation, these Knicks are proving tough to beat, writes Yahoo Sports' Dan Devine: Game 1 marked their 12th straight win in these playoffs, which is tied for the second-longest winning streak in a single postseason with the 1999 Spurs and 2017 Warriors — both of whom won the NBA title. It was their seventh straight road playoff win by double digits — the longest streak in NBA history. The two teams whose record the Knicks broke, the 2013 Heat and 2017 Warriors, both won the NBA title. It was also New York's seventh straight double-digit win, and their 11th of these playoffs, one off the all-time record of 12. That record is held by four teams: the 2013 Heat, the 2014 Spurs, the 2016 Cavaliers and the 2017 Warriors — all of whom, say it with me, won the NBA title. The Knicks are now three wins away from us being able to say that about them, too. Wemby looked gassed: The Spurs superstar finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but shot just 6-for-21 from the field, committed a playoff-high six turnovers and appeared to wear down in the second half. "Yeah, I mean, I was bad tonight," he said. "It's not more complicated than that." What's next: Game 2 is tomorrow night in San Antonio, where the Spurs will be hoping to regain some momentum before traveling to a raucous Madison Square Garden. 🎟️ TICKET SALES DEATH OF THE CHEAP SEATS (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) American sports fans have long been rankled by high ticket prices. May and June, however, have delivered the convergence of several high-profile cases of sticker shock — from U.S. Open presales, to NBA Finals tickets, to the persistent discourse around the cost to attend a World Cup match. Yes, but: As teams and leagues take their cues from the lucrative ticket prices lining secondary markets, pulling those profits away from brokers and into their own coffers, they risk alienating would-be fans for the long term. Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports: Think back to the way you became a sports fan. If you're like most, you connected with your favorite sport by attending a game — sitting in the bleachers with a parent or grandparent, watching baseball or football with an older sibling. Sure, maybe you were more focused on the popcorn or the T-shirt cannon than the game, but at least you were in the building. And the atmosphere, the vibe, the energy … it all brought you back, again and again. Now, though? When the cost of attending a game for a family of four is deep into the multiple hundreds of dollars, to start, some families might just decide that the money they might have spent on a trip to the stadium is better spent elsewhere. The short-term drive for massive premium revenue risks alienating, or never even engaging, a generation that, right now, is too young to even go to games on their own, much less afford a ticket. For those kids who may, or may not, be future sports fans — what, exactly, is the endgame for leagues and teams who aren't connecting with them in the stadium? What to watch: The upcoming World Cup is among the most extreme examples of opportunistic practices in ticket prices, but American fans aren't yet as accommodating of the strategy as hoped. Over the last 60 days, the average group stage get-in price is down 16% per TicketData, though prices have stabilized over the last two weeks as the game of chicken continues. That price — by the way — is $592. 🎾 FRENCH OPEN CAN ZVEREV FINALLY BREAK THROUGH? (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images) Alexander Zverev beat teen sensation Rafael Jódar in straight sets on Tuesday to reach his fifth French Open semifinal. Now comes the hard part: finishing the job. Always a bridesmaid: Zverev holds the Open Era record for most Grand Slam semifinal appearances without winning a title (11) — an unfortunate distinction that is partly due to the timing of his career, but also indicative of a player who, for whatever reason, struggles in the later rounds of majors. On the one hand, he's part of the lost generation of men's tennis players born in the 1990s — a group that has won just two Grand Slams thanks to being sandwiched between the "Big Three" (born in the 1980s) and the "Big Two" (born in the 2000s). To wit, five of the first 10 times he has reached at least the semifinals in a major, he was ousted by Carlos Alcaraz (twice), Jannik Sinner, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic. Yes, but: Zverev's other five losses came against his own cohort, losing twice to Dominic Thiem and once each to Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev. And it's not as if he can't perform in big matches: the German has won 24 ATP titles, including seven at the Masters 1000 level, two ATP Finals (2018, 2021) and Olympic gold (2020). If not now, when? Zverev is still relatively young at age 29, but he may never have a better chance to end his Grand Slam drought than this week in Paris, where he is by far the most accomplished men's player still in contention. Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports: Finally, the opportunity of a lifetime is at hand. It should be easy. It will probably be torture. And it may well be his last, best chance to rewrite the narrative of a career that many fans have taken great pleasure in watching stall out every time one of the biggest trophies is in his grasp. In many ways, it will be Zverev vs. himself — a contest that will either break him free of past demons or ensnare him in another mental pretzel, with stakes that will likely define the rest of his career. Coming up: Zverev will take the court on Friday against 20-year-old Jakub Menšík, who he already beat earlier this year and who will be playing in his maiden major semifinal. Awaiting him in the final, should he reach it, will be either No. 10 Flavio Cobolli or unseeded Matteo Arnaldi, against whom he holds a cumulative 6-1 record. ⚾️ 1-30 MLB POWER RANKINGS (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) The Dodgers sit atop our latest power rankings, in which we examine whether each team should feel better, worse, or about the same regarding their season-long outlook as they did on Opening Day. (Bruno Rouby/Yahoo Sports) Dive in: How's your team doing? 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, JUNE 4 (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) 🏒 Stanley Cup Final, Game 2 The Hurricanes host the Golden Knights tonight in a critical Game 2 (8pm ET, ABC), needing a win to avoid going down 0-2 before the series heads to Sin City. Streak on the line: The Canes haven't lost back-to-back games since Jan. 13 — a span of 49 contests. They'll be hoping to keep that trend going this evening. 🥎 WCWS Final, Game 2 Will Texas clinch its second straight championship? Or will Texas Tech force a decisive Game 3? We'll find out tonight (8pm, ESPN) in Oklahoma City. Unhittable: Longhorns ace Teagan Kavan has pitched a complete game in four consecutive starts over the past week while allowing just 13 hits and four runs. And in the one game she didn't start in that span, she recorded a save with her team's season on the line. ⛳️ U.S. Women's Open The second LPGA major of the year tees off today (10am, Peacock; 2pm, USA) at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, where world No. 1 Nelly Korda will go for her fourth win — and second major title — of the season. What they're saying: "Without there being a Masters for women's golf, [the U.S. Women's Open] really is the crown jewel of the sport," says NBC's Mike Tirico. "It's appropriate that it's contested at a place like Riviera that for so many generations has come to define a great championship test." 🎾 French Open, Women's Semifinals No. 8 Mirra Andreeva faces No. 15 Marta Kostyuk (9am, TNT/HBO Max) in the first semifinal of the day, followed by No. 25 Diana Shnaider vs. unseeded Maja Chwalińska in the second. An unlikely run: Chwalińska, ranked 114th in the world, only got into the main draw after winning three qualifiers, and had never previously advanced beyond the second round of a Grand Slam. More to watch: ⛳️ PGA: The Memorial Tournament (7:45am, ESPN+; 2pm, Golf) … Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy headline the 72-player field at Ohio's Muirfield Village Golf Club. 🏀 WNBA: Dream at Fever (7pm, Prime); Valkyries at Lynx (9pm, Prime) … The Lynx (7-2) and Dream (6-2) are in first and second, the Valkyries (6-3) are in a three-way tie for third and the Fever (4-4) are just outside the top eight. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🎾 SLAM WINNERS TENNIS TRIVIA This weekend in Paris, someone will join a very exclusive club. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Just two men outside of the "Big Three" (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic) and "Big Two" (Alcaraz, Sinner) have won a Grand Slam singles title since 2017. Question: Can you name them? Hint: Austrian, Russian. Answer at the bottom. ⚽️ WHO YA GOT? WORLD CUP: MAKE YOUR PICKS The world's biggest soccer tournament kicks off a week from today! Pick your group stage winners now in 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em from Yahoo Sports and FOX One. How to play: Make picks each round, earn points for correct predictions and climb the leaderboard. You can play solo against the field, create a private group with friends to compete for bragging rights, or join a public group to play with other fans. Trivia answer: Dominic Thiem (2020 U.S. Open) and Daniil Medvedev (2021 U.S. Open) Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted Sunday at 02:03 AM Author Members Posted Sunday at 02:03 AM 🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: Carolina's comeback, Longhorns repeat as softball champs, quarters come to soccer, Judge lands on IL, NBA mock draft, Ohtani breaking baseball (again), and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports... 🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🥎 Longhorns go back-to-back: Texas beat Texas Tech, 4-1, on Thursday to complete the sweep and win its second straight softball national championship. It's the same result as last year, with the mighty Longhorns once again besting the Red Raiders' multimillion dollar roster full of superstar transfers. ⚾️ Judge lands on IL: In a brutal blow for the Yankees, Aaron Judge will be out for the foreseeable future after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his rib. The three-time MVP will be re-examined in 4-6 weeks, and "is expected to return at some point this season." 🎾 Last two standing: The women's French Open final is appropriately historic for this rollercoaster of a Grand Slam, with 19-year-old Mirra Andreeva — the first person born after 2004 to reach a major final — set to face 114th-ranked Maja Chwalińska, the second qualifier ever to reach a major final (Emma Raducanu, 2021 U.S. Open). 🏀 Trump at MSG: President Trump confirmed that he will attend at least one of next week's games at Madison Square Garden, which will make him the first sitting U.S. president to attend the NBA Finals. 🏀 Miles sets record: Lynx guard Olivia Miles set a WNBA rookie record with eight 3-pointers made in Thursday's win over the Valkyries. The ROY frontrunner put up a 28-4-7 line to lead first-place Minnesota (8-2) to its sixth straight win. 🏆 STANLEY CUP FINAL CANES STORM BACK TO EVEN SERIES (Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) In Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, the Golden Knights stormed back to win. On Thursday, it was Carolina's turn to stage a series-shifting comeback. ICYMI: The Canes trailed 2-0 in the third period before scoring three goals in five minutes to revitalize the home crowd. A tip from Vegas' Mark Stone in the final seconds sent the game to overtime, where Seth Jarvis found the back of the net to play the hero and even the series. Final score: Hurricanes 4, Golden Knights 3 (OT). Controversial call: The Canes' third goal in regulation came on a power play in the final five minutes, after a challenge from Vegas head coach John Tortorella led to a delay of game penalty. The challenge was on a controversial no-goal call, with referees ruling that goaltender interference was enough to erase a Golden Knights goal. Historic start: The Hurricanes are the first team since the 1944 Canadiens to win a Cup Final game after trailing by multiple goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation. This is also the first Stanley Cup Final in history to be tied 1-1 with both teams having a multi-goal comeback win. Are you not entertained?! Tune back in on Saturday night for Game 3 in Las Vegas. Judging by how this series has gone so far, we should be in for another thriller. ⚽️ PRESS PAUSE STARTS AND STOPS: GAME BREAKS COME TO SOCCER (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP via Getty Images) If you watched soccer last weekend, you likely witnessed the growing familiarity of a previously foreign concept: hydration breaks. The new normal: A sport once known for its 45-minute halves, uninterrupted by commercial interests or talking heads, has buckled with increasing regularity to mid-half stoppages. Though first implemented as a weather-dependent protocol to spare players from extreme heat, the breaks have extended their reach further into a game typically resistant to change. Just last weekend: The Champions League Final featured cooling breaks in both halves, despite temperatures in Budapest sitting in the mid-70s at kickoff. Mauricio Pochettino used a first-half cooling break to create one of the year's great sports memes, gathering USMNT players around his MacBook for tactical instruction. Starts and stops: Regardless of weather conditions, every match in the upcoming World Cup will feature hydration breaks in each half, spanning exactly three minutes from whistle to whistle. Get ready to learn quarters, world! Poch’s laptop moment evokes the NBA's whiteboard, much to purists' chagrin. (Screenshot: TNT Sports) Cooling or commercials? FIFA will reportedly allow broadcasters to show commercials during the World Cup breaks, with some caveats, per The Athletic. For example: Ads can't start within 20 seconds of the referee's whistle, and they must end more than 30 seconds before the game restarts. As of two weeks ago, conversations between Fox and FIFA about the inclusion of advertisements were still ongoing. Between the lines: The break-creep also changes the tactical complexion of a match, giving teams an opportunity to huddle up and talk X's and O's. Managers once relied on an unreliable game of telephone to install new instructions mid-half. Now, they can adjust with great specificity as players congregate for water. Perhaps the most uncomfortable aspect of the breaks is the clock, which will continue running despite the firm three-minute period of inaction. The officials will add those minutes to the stoppage time at the end of each half. Bottom line: Just as NFL RedZone is no longer seven hours of commercial-free football, futbol is no longer enjoyed 45 minutes of uninterrupted action at a time. Inevitably, the gradual normalization of breaks will create opportunity for incremental advertising over time, further commercializing a sport whose fans are loath to witness the transition. This story was written by Dylan Dittrich, author of our upcoming Sports Business newsletter, which launches soon. Want in? Email dylan.dittrich@yahooinc.com with the subject line "I'm in." 🏀 CLASS OF 2026 NBA MOCK DRAFT 7.0 (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) With the NBA Finals upon us and the draft less than three weeks away (June 23-24), here's our latest two-round mock, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor. Top 10: Wizards: AJ Dybantsa (BYU) Jazz: Darryn Peterson (Kansas) Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer (Duke) Bulls: Caleb Wilson (North Carolina) Clippers: Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville) Nets: Nate Ament (Tennessee) Kings: Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas) Hawks: Keaton Wagler (Illinois) Mavericks: Brayden Burries (Arizona) Bucks: Kingston Flemings (Houston) Be sure to check out our 2026 NBA Draft Guide, which features full scouting reports for our top 60 prospects, player comparisons, and multiple big boards. ⚾️ SHO-TIME OHTANI'S BREAKING BASEBALL (AGAIN) (Christian Petersen/Getty Images) Shohei Ohtani has already amassed 5.2 wins above replacement this season, which is more than all but 30 players had last year. As a reminder: There are still four months left in the season!!! As a hitter, he's shaken off a cold start (by his standards) to get back to his usual offensive prowess, batting .301/.420/.521 with 10 HR, 14 2B, 33 RBI and 41 R. His .420 OBP leads the NL and his .941 OPS ranks third. As a pitcher, he's 6-2 with a 0.74 ERA, which is the third-lowest through 10 starts of a season in MLB history. He's just two innings shy of qualifying for the ERA leaderboard, which he would otherwise top by nearly three-quarters of a run (Cristopher Sánchez, 1.46). Chasing the Babe: In 1923, Babe Ruth amassed a career-high 14.1 WAR, marking the only time in MLB history that someone eclipsed 13 WAR (per Baseball Reference). Ohtani's current pace? 13.6. Game on. 📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Finals, Game 2 The New York Buzzsaws — er, Knicks — go for their 13th consecutive win tonight in San Antonio (8:30pm ET, ABC), where the Spurs will try to salvage a split at home before the series heads to the Big Apple. Flashback: This is the first time the Knicks have led in the NBA Finals since going up 3-2 on the Rockets on June 17, 1994 — the day of O.J. Simpson's infamous white Bronco chase. 🏒 Stanley Cup Final, Game 3 The Hurricanes and Golden Knights are tied at one game apiece as the series heads to Las Vegas tomorrow night (8pm, ABC). Road warriors: Carolina has yet to lose on the road in these playoffs (6-0), and a victory tomorrow would make them just the fifth team in NHL history to win their first seven away games in a single postseason. 🎾 French Open The action concludes this weekend at Roland Garros, starting with No. 2 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 26 Jakub Menšík in today's first men's semifinal (8:30am, TNT/HBO Max) and No. 10 Flavio Cobolli vs. Matteo Arnaldi in the second (1pm). Tomorrow, it's No. 8 Mirra Andreeva vs. Maja Chwalińska in the women’s final (9am), followed by the men's final on Sunday (9am). First-time champs: No matter who wins, this year's French Open will be just the second Grand Slam in the last 20 years to crown a first-time major champion in both the men's and women's draws, the other being the 2021 U.S. Open (Daniil Medvedev and Emma Raducanu). ⛳️ U.S. Women's Open The LPGA's second major of the year continues at famed Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles (Fri-Sun, Peacock/USA/NBC), where 156 players are competing for a women's golf record $12.5 million purse. Leaderboard: American Jennifer Kupcho (-5) holds a one-stroke lead after the opening round. World No. 1 Nelly Korda and No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul both struggled, each shooting a two-over 73. ⚾️ NCAA Baseball Super Regionals The Sweet 16 gets underway today, as eight best-of-three series hosted by the higher seed will determine who advances to the College World Series. Four of the series start today, while the other four start tomorrow. Underdogs everywhere: How chaotic were the Regionals? Just two of the Supers are between seeded teams, with No. 3 Georgia hosting No. 14 Mississippi State (Sat. 11am, ESPN) and No. 6 Texas hosting No. 11 Oregon (Sat. 8pm, ESPN). The other six series: Cal Poly at No. 16 West Virginia, Little Rock at Troy, USC at No. 5 UNC, Ole Miss at No. 4 Auburn, Oklahoma at No. 15 Kansas and St. John's at No. 7 Alabama. More to watch: 🇺🇸 Friendlies: USMNT vs. Germany (Sat. 2:30pm, TBS); Brazil vs. USWNT (Sat. 5:30pm, TBS) … The men play their final World Cup tuneup in Chicago, while the women head to São Paulo for a two-game series. 🐎 Horse Racing: Belmont Stakes (Sat. 7:04pm, Fox) … The 158th Test of the Champion closes out the 2026 Triple Crown season. 🏎️ Formula 1: Monaco Grand Prix (Sun. 9am, Apple) … Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli goes for his fifth straight victory at the most prestigious event on the F1 calendar. 🏈 UFL Playoffs: DC Defenders at Orlando Storm (Sun. 3pm, ABC); Louisville Kings at St. Louis Battlehawks (Sun. 6pm, Fox) … Winners meet in next week's championship. ⛳️ PGA: The Memorial (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/CBS) … Four players are tied for the lead (-5) at Muirfield. ⚾️ MLB: Guardians at Rangers (Fri. 8pm, Apple); Royals at Twins (Fri. 8pm, Apple); Nationals at Diamondbacks (Sun. 3:15pm, Peacock); Giants at Cubs (Sun. 8:30pm, NBC) 🏀 WNBA: Wings at Sparks (Fri. 10pm, ION); Storm at Lynx (Sat. 1pm, ABC); Valkyries at Aces (Sat. 3pm, ABC); Fever at Liberty (Sat. 8pm, CBS) Plus: 🥍 PLL Week 4 in Charlotte (Fri-Sat, ESPN+); 🏁 NASCAR in Michigan (Sun. 3pm, Prime); IndyCar in St. Louis (Sun. 9pm, Fox); ⛳️ LIV Golf Andalucia (Fri-Sun, FS1); 🏈 IFL Week 13 (Sat-Sun, Yahoo Sports TV) Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. 🐎 31 LENGTHS HORSE RACING TRIVIA (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) With the 158th Belmont Stakes set for tomorrow, let's take a moment to flashback to the greatest race ever run. Question: What year did Secretariat complete his Triple Crown with a 31-length victory at the Belmont? A) 1981 1978 C) 1973 D) 1969 Answer at the bottom. 🏎️ START YOUR ENGINES YAHOO SPORTS x APPLE TV (Apple) This weekend's Formula 1 Louis Vuitton Monaco Grand Prix 2026 continues our season-long partnership with Apple TV for F1 coverage. Tune in: Today's practice sessions (7:30am/11am ET) and tomorrow's qualifying (10am) will both air for free on Yahoo Sports, while Sunday's race will stream on Apple TV, the new U.S. home of Formula 1. Trivia answer: C) 1973 Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
Members phkrause Posted 1 hour ago Author Members Posted 1 hour ago 🏀 Chart du jour Via Age of Disruption The cheapest ticket to see the New York Knicks vs. the San Antonio Spurs at Madison Square Garden this week is $3,745 — 107 times as expensive as the Knicks' previous trip to the NBA Finals in 1999, Bruce Mehlman, author of Age of Disruption on Substack, notes in his excellent (and free) Six-Chart Sunday post. The Knicks announced yesterday that with President Trump attending Game 3 at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, fans will go through TSA-style screening, and are advised to arrive two hours before tip-off. Years of pent-up emotions came flooding out of Alexander Zverev when he finally won the French Open PARIS (AP) — It all came rushing back to Alexander Zverev when he was lying on his back on the French Open’s center court, his hands covering his face, and sobbing on Sunday as he realized that he had — finally — become a Grand Slam champion. https://apnews.com/article/zverev-cobolli-french-open-roland-garros-afbf92e0f000b2eddef08643ef68e139? Quote phkrause When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan. Proverbs 29;2
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