Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

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? Good morning! Welcome back.

 

? Must-see highlight: Argentinian defender Santiago Montiel scored the goal of the year on Sunday, connecting on a perfectly-timed bicycle kick from well outside the box.

 

In today's edition: A pope from the South Side, Cavs on the brink, the magic of mustard packets, Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, NHL Quarter-Century Team, and more.

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Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.

 

 

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⚾️ Black gets the boot: The Rockies fired manager Bud Black on Sunday amid an atrocious 7-33 start to the season (and one day after an embarrassing 21-0 loss at home). Third base coach Warren Schaeffer will take over on an interim basis. ‌ ⚽️ Barça sweep Madrid: Barcelona beat Real Madrid, 4-3, in Sunday's thrilling El Clásico to complete the season sweep (4-0) over their bitter rivals and take a seven-point lead atop La Liga, all but locking up their 28th league title. ‌ ? Carr retires: Saints QB Derek Carr is retiring at age 34 due to a shoulder injury that requires surgery. Rookie Tyler Shough is now the frontrunner to start Week 1, though second-year QB Spencer Rattler could challenge him for the job. ‌ ? The field is set: The 64-team bracket for the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament was revealed on Sunday. The biggest winner? The SEC, which will send a record 14 teams to the tournament, including seven of the top eight national seeds. ‌ ⚾️ Mother's Day to remember: Mary Jung threw out the first pitch at Comerica Park on Sunday before watching her two sons, Josh (Rangers) and Jace (Tigers), play against each other. To make the day even better, Josh hit a two-run homer for mom.     ? CHASING THE CUP NHL PLAYOFFS: WHERE IT STANDS (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) The Maple Leafs, Capitals, Jets and Golden Knights entered the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the higher-seeded teams. None of them currently lead their respective series. ‌ East   Maple Leafs 2, Panthers 2: Toronto won both games at home, then Florida returned the favor, setting up a pivotal Game 5 this week in Canada. Hurricanes 2, Capitals 1: Carolina has scored seven goals in this series, and they've come from seven different players. How's that for scoring depth? West   Stars 2, Jets 1: Dallas cruised to a 5-2 victory on Sunday behind playoff points leader Mikko Rantanen, who recorded his fifth 3-point outing in his past six games. Oilers 2, Golden Knights 1: Reilly Smith scored the game-winner with 0.4 seconds left* to lift Vegas to victory in Saturday's must-win Game 3. *Smith's buzzer-beater (with some help from Leon Draisaitl's stick) was the third-latest regulation game-winning goal in NHL postseason history, behind only Nazem Kadri's game-winner in 2010 (0.1 seconds left) and Jussi Jokinen's in 2009 (0.2 seconds left).     ? THROUGH THE LENS NBA PLAYOFFS: IN PHOTOS (Dylan Buell/Getty Images) Indianapolis — The Pacers tied the NBA playoff record for largest halftime lead (41 points) en route to a 129-109 victory and a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Cavaliers. More bad news for Cleveland: Donovan Mitchell exited with an ankle injury. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) San Francisco — Anthony Edwards came alive in the second half, Julius Randle posted his first career playoff triple-double and the Timberwolves beat the Warriors, 102-97, on Saturday to seize a 2-1 series advantage. (Pamela Smith/AP Photo) New York — The Celtics built a 20-point lead over the Knicks on Saturday for the third game in a row. The difference this time? They didn't blow it, cruising to a 115-93 win to quiet the Madison Square Garden crowd and avoid falling in a 3-0 hole. (Bart Young/NBAE via Getty Images) Denver — MVP favorite Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was all smiles on Sunday after the Thunder beat the Nuggets, 92-87, to even the series at two games apiece. Game 5 is tomorrow night in Oklahoma City, where the Thunder are 39-7 (.848) this season.     ? PING PONG BALLS WATCHLIST: NBA DRAFT LOTTERY (Giphy) The NBA draft lottery is tonight in Chicago (7pm, ET, ESPN), where the 14 teams who didn't make the playoffs will learn where they'll be selecting* in next month's draft. ‌ Capture the Flagg: The Jazz, Wizards and Hornets have the best shot (14%) at landing the No. 1 pick and winning the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, followed by the Pelicans (12.5%), 76ers (10.5%), Nets (9%) and Raptors (7.5%). ‌ More to watch:   ? NBA: Celtics (1-2) at Knicks (7:30pm, ESPN); Timberwolves (2-1) at Warriors (10pm, ESPN) ? NHL: Capitals (1-2) at Hurricanes (7pm, TNT); Golden Knights (1-2) at Oilers (9:30pm, TNT) ? Tennis: Italian Open (1pm, Tennis) … Men's Round of 32, Women's Round of 16. *How it works: Only the first four picks are determined via lottery. The remaining 10 lottery teams will draft in reverse order of this year's standings, followed by the 16 playoff teams.

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? Good morning! From the 11th-best odds to the No. 1 pick. Nico Harrison strikes again!

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In today's edition: Mavs win draft lottery, Tatum suffers lower leg injury, five teams are down 3-1, the Rockies are terrible, Knicks fans are in heaven, and more.

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Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.

 

 

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? Down goes Tatum: Jayson Tatum was carried off the floor after suffering a non-contact injury to his lower leg that left him writhing in pain late in Boston's loss to the Knicks. He's getting an MRI later today. ‌ ? NFL opener: The defending champion Eagles will host the Cowboys on September 4 in the first game of the 2025 season. The league's full schedule will be released tomorrow night. ‌ ?️ MJ on NBC: Michael Jordan will join NBC's NBA coverage next season as a contributor. The "Roundball Rock" theme song that accompanied his heyday is also coming back as the network goes all-in on '90s nostalgia. ‌ ⚽️ Coaching carousel: Xabi Alonso will leave Bayer Leverkusen at the end of the season to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Real Madrid, while Ancelotti will become the new head coach of the Brazilian national team.   ? 32 years in prison: Chiefs superfan Xaviar Babudar (aka. "Chiefsaholic") was already serving a 17.5-year federal sentence for robbing banks in seven states. He'll now serve 14.5 additional years for another bank heist.     ? 2025 NBA DRAFT MAVS WIN LOTTERY IN STUNNING RESULT (Yahoo Sports) The NBA draft lottery has always been fertile ground for conspiracy theories. This year's stunning result just sparked another. ‌ What are the chances? The Mavericks won the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes on Tuesday in unbelievable fashion, overcoming astronomical odds (1.8% chance) and vaulting 10 spots (biggest leap ever) to land the No. 1 pick in next month's draft. ‌ The backdrop: This comes three months after Dallas shipped Luka Dončić to the Lakers in an earth-shattering blockbuster that was almost universally panned and resulted in GM Nico Harrison receiving death threats. ‌ The Mavericks went 13-20 the rest of the way, missed the playoffs a year after making the Finals, and found themselves in the lottery, which they miraculously won over teams with 20 fewer wins. Harrison and the rest of the front office deserve no credit for this; their goal was to build a contender, but bad luck (star player injuries) landed them in the lottery and good luck landed them the top pick. Bottom line: The context of the Dončić trade is now forever changed — all thanks to ping pong balls. What once looked like franchise malpractice now feels more like accidental genius. Or maybe it's all a giant conspiracy! ‌ The big question: The Mavericks shortened their championship window significantly when they acquired Anthony Davis in the Dončić trade, so you now have to wonder if the organization is still on that path. Will they rebuild around Flagg, or trade him to win now?     ? ? ON THE BRINK DOWN 3-1. TIME TO PANIC? (Giphy) Five teams across the NBA and NHL playoffs find themselves in 3-1 holes, with the Celtics, Warriors, Capitals and Golden Knights all losing on Monday to join the Cavaliers on the brink. ‌ Scoreboard: Knicks 121, Celtics 113 Timberwolves 117, Warriors 110 Hurricanes 5, Capitals 2 Oilers 3, Golden Knights 0 Is it time to panic? Yeah, probably. Though it's a far more precarious position for the three NBA teams than it is for the two NHL teams. ‌ By the numbers: 32 of the 351 NHL teams (9.1%) that have fallen behind 3-1 in a best-of-seven series have rallied to win, while just 13 of 290 NBA teams (4.5%) can say the same.     ⚾️ WORST TEAM EVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN HORROR SHOW (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) The Rockies lost again on Monday to fall to a truly astounding 7-34 on the season. ‌ The big picture: How is Colorado possibly this bad? And is there any hope of them improving? Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz answers those questions in his latest feature story, which includes this fascinating insight into owner Dick Monfort's approach to spending: ‌ While the Rockies have often maintained a respectable payroll, Monfort has consistently balked at making financial investments in the organization's infrastructure. That has been most impactful in terms of technology, where the Rockies lag far behind the 29 other clubs.   In fact, sources indicated to Yahoo that Monfort — who chaired the owners committee during the 2022 CBA negotiations — is hoping the next CBA contains a salary cap, which he believes would give his fallen franchise a better chance.   Importantly, Monfort is reportedly seeking a cap that extends beyond MLB payroll to cover all organizational spending, including coaching, technology and scouting.     ? KNICKSTAPE IN PHOTOS: NEW YORK STATE OF MIND (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images) The Knicks are one win away from their first conference finals appearance in 25 years. Can you tell? (Angelina Katsanis/Getty Images) The team hosted a free block party on Monday, with thousands of New Yorkers gathering outside MSG to watch Game 4 on massive screens and participate in fan contests, photo ops and other activities. (Elsa/Getty Images) "Knicks in five," says actor and superfan Timothée Chalamet, who was sitting courtside next to girlfriend Kylie Jenner and numerous other celebrities.     ? GAME 5 WATCHLIST: SURVIVE OR ADVANCE Indiana has three games to close out Cleveland. (Joe MurphyNBAE via Getty Images) The top-seeded Cavaliers face elimination tonight against the Pacers (7pm ET, TNT), who are a win away from reaching their second straight Eastern Conference Finals. ‌ Injury report: Donovan Mitchell is considered a game-time decision after aggravating an ankle injury on Sunday. He's been Cleveland's best player in this series, averaging 34 points. ‌ More to watch:   ? NBA: Nuggets (2-2) at Thunder (9:30pm, TNT) … OKC will try to become the first team in this series to win two straight games. ? NHL: Jets (1-2) at Stars (8pm, ESPN) … Mikko Rantanen has either scored or assisted on 15 of Dallas' last 17 goals. ⚾️ MLB: Red Sox at Tigers (6:40pm, TBS) … First-place* Detroit (27-15) has the second-best record in baseball. ? Tennis: Italian Open (1pm, Tennis) … Men's Round of 16, Women's quarterfinals. ? PWHL: Montreal (1-1) at Ottawa (7pm, YouTube) … Semifinals, Game 3. *Division leaders: The Yankees (24-17), Tigers (27-15), Mariners (22-18), Mets (27-15), Cubs (24-18), and Dodgers (27-14) are your division leaders six weeks into the season. And shoutout to the Padres (25-15), who trail only the Dodgers, Tigers and Mets for the best record in baseball.

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? 1 for the road: Pete Rose reinstated

Pete Rose playing for the Cincinnati Reds in 1978. Photo: J. Walter Green/AP Major League Baseball has removed Pete Rose, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and other deceased players from the league's permanently ineligible list — making them eligible for election into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Axios' Russell Contreras writes. Why it matters: Rose and Jackson were legendary players during their time, but had been shunned for their role in gambling on the sport — something the league now embraces. ⚾ The intrigue: President Trump met with MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in the Oval Office earlier this year and has said he plans to pardon Rose posthumously. Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence. Keep reading.

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? Good morning! The Cavaliers went 0-5 at home against the Pacers this season. They went 36-5 at home against everyone else.

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In today's edition: Cavs eliminated, Rose reinstated, Belichick saga, Mets broadcasts are movies, the rise of Italian tennis, and more.

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Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.

 

 

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?? Playoff scoreboard: The Pacers eliminated the top-seeded Cavaliers; the Thunder came back to beat the Nuggets and take a 3–2 lead; the Stars beat the top-seeded Jets to go up 3-1. ‌ ? Celtics fears realized: Jayson Tatum did indeed rupture his Achilles and has already undergone surgery. It's a devastating blow for Boston's future and a star in his prime. ‌ ⚾️ Rose reinstated: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has reinstated Pete Rose, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and all other deceased players who were banned from the sport, opening the door for Hall of Fame induction. ‌ ? Blazers for sale: The estate of the late Trail Blazers owner Paul Allen has announced its intent to sell the team, with all proceeds going toward philanthropic endeavors. ‌ ? Cutting the cord: ESPN is launching a standalone streaming service called "ESPN" this fall. For $29.99 per month, you can get all their channels without signing up for cable.     ? CHAPEL BILL WILL BELICHICK MAKE IT TO WEEK 1? Belichick and Hudson at this February's NFL Honors awards show. (Michael Owens/Getty Images) The Bill Belichick-Jordon Hudson saga isn't slowing down, with some questioning whether the future Hall of Famer will still be North Carolina's head coach by Week 1, Jeff writes. ‌ Timeline: The relationship between Belichick, 73, and Hudson, 24, began a couple years ago, and his Tar Heels tenure began in December. But the drama only spilled into public view recently, as Hudson's role in the Hall of Fame coach's life shifted from curiosity to distraction. ‌ Feb. 13: Journalist Pablo Torre reported that Hudson had become Belichick's de facto agent — and that she tried to force her way into two commercial spots. Mar. 13: A leaked email showed Belichick asking UNC staff to copy Hudson — listed as COO of "Belichick Productions" — on all correspondence. Apr. 15: Hudson allegedly advised UNC on how to announce Steve Belichick's hiring as their new defensive coordinator in a way that would avoid nepotism claims. Apr. 27: The saga took a bizarre turn when Hudson interrupted a CBS interview promoting Belichick's new book to stop a question about their relationship. Apr. 30: HBO pulled out of a planned "Hard Knocks" series focused on the Tar Heels, reportedly due to Hudson's insistence on being involved in production. May 9: Torre reported that Hudson had been banned from team facilities, which UNC denied. Concerning the general situation, Torre said, "Belichick's family is extraordinarily concerned." May 13: In an appearance on SportsCenter, Belichick said his personal relationship with Hudson is "really off to the side" and "doesn't have anything to do with UNC football." Coming up: UNC is hiring former Bears PR chief Brandon Faber to help manage what has become a certified fiasco, and Belichick is scheduled to sit down with Michael Strahan on "Good Morning America" this Friday. ‌ Looking ahead: On June 1, the payment necessary for Belichick to exit the 10-year, $50 million contract he signed with UNC plummets from $10 million to $1 million. Initially, that reduction was viewed as an easy path for him to return to the NFL. Now, it looks more like Belichick's exit ramp from an untenable situation — and one the school may welcome him taking. ‌ The last word, via Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: ‌ North Carolina didn't hire Belichick for drama; the school hired him for wins. If he can deliver the latter, Tar Heel nation will grit its teeth and put up with the former. But thats still an unknown "if," and there's a whole lot of time between now and that first potential win.     ⚾️ LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION WHEN A FILM BUFF GETS INTO SPORTS BROADCASTING This shot from over the weekend looked like something out of a Brian De Palma movie. (SNY) If you watch a Mets broadcast on SNY, you'll notice it borrows techniques and flourishes more commonly found in film. That's no mistake — it's John DeMarsico, Jeff writes. Juan Soto and Paul Skenes facing off in Monday's game at Citi Field. (SNY) Film buff turned sports director: Before DeMarsico joined the Mets' regional sports network in 2009, he was a film major at NC State. As the Mets' game director since 2020, he's been given creative license to draw from that expertise and make broadcasts feel almost cinematic. This week, as his work went viral, he shared a supercut sampling some of the films he's referenced. Jacob deGrom stares down a batter back in his Mets days as if he were a character in "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." (John DeMarsico/X) What they're saying: "Baseball is inherently cinematic, more so than other sports," DeMarsico told the New York Times in a 2022 feature. "In football and basketball, there's so much speed. In baseball, there is no clock. The geography of the field is very structured. You're able to set the scene, and establish the confrontations between batter and pitcher like a duel in a western." Even the establishing shots are gorgeous. (SNY) Behind the scenes: Lest you think directing a sports broadcast is a simple job, SNY shared a behind-the-scenes look at DeMarsico and his crew during a Francisco Lindor walk-off home run last month. Impressive doesn't even begin to describe what they're doing on a nightly basis.     ? BOOM IN THE BOOT ITALY'S RISE AS A TENNIS POWERHOUSE Jannik Sinner at the Italian Open. (Dan Istitene/Getty Images) As Italy hosts its lone Masters 1000 event this week in Rome, it's worth exploring how the nation that long played second fiddle to the likes of France, Australia and the U.S. has built itself into a tennis powerhouse, Jeff writes.   The formula: There's a general consensus that player development can be boiled down to the three C's — coaching, competition and courts — and Italy has completely overhauled its system in that respect with great success. ‌ Coaching: Italy's tennis federation used to identify and train a small group of youngsters away from the comforts of home, but they've since decentralized that approach. Rather than uprooting players' lives, the federation provides resources for private coaches nationwide to allow players to train where they live. The result? A much broader development pipeline. Competition: Higher-level events are difficult to qualify for and expensive to travel to, so Italy has made it a point to hold as many second-tier tournaments as possible in order to maximize competitive reps for its players. No country is hosting more ATP Challenger (19) or WTA 125 events (8) this year. Courts: Terra battuta (red clay) is the national surface of Italian tennis, but most of the pro season is played on hard courts. To properly train for the modern game, Italy has increased its number of hard courts four-fold since 2010. Has it worked? Well, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner has won each of the last three hard-court Grand Slams. The results: Sinner is one of seven Italian men ranked in the top 50 (only the U.S. has more), and No. 5 Jasmine Paolini leads the charge on the women's side. Together, they helped Italy sweep the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup last year, a rare feat in the sport. ‌ What to watch: Three Italians remain in contention as the Italian Open nears its conclusion, with Paolini in the semifinals and Sinner and No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti both in the quarterfinals.     ? CLASS OF 2025 NBA MOCK DRAFT 1.0 (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) Now that the order is set, Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor took his first stab at projecting how next month's NBA draft will play out. ‌ Top 10:   Mavericks: Cooper Flagg, F (Duke) Spurs: Dylan Harper, G (Rutgers) 76ers: Ace Bailey, F (Rutgers) Hornets: VJ Edgecombe, G (Baylor) Jazz: Kon Knueppel, G/F (Duke) Wizards: Tre Johnson, G (Texas) Pelicans: Jeremiah Fears, G (Oklahoma) Nets: Derik Queen, C (Maryland) Raptors: Khaman Maluach, C (Duke) Rockets: Kasparas Jakučionis, G (Illinois) Full mock draft: Picks 11-59 ‌ Sidebar: While we're on the topic of the draft… In 2019, the NBA flattened the lottery odds to discourage tanking. Safe to say it's worked… maybe too well? The team with the worst record hasn't won the lottery since, and this is the third straight year that the league's worst team fell to the fifth pick, with the 2025 Jazz joining the 2023 and 2024 Pistons.     ? 3-1 HOLES WATCHLIST: THREE SEASONS ON THE BRINK Can Minnesota make it to their second straight Western Conference Finals? (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) The Celtics, Warriors and Golden Knights face elimination tonight as Boston hosts New York (7pm ET, TNT), Golden State visits Minnesota (9:30pm, TNT) and Vegas hosts Edmonton (9:30pm, ESPN). ‌ Injury report: The Celtics and Warriors will be without their best players. Jayson Tatum (Achilles) is out for the year and Steph Curry (hamstring) remains sidelined. ‌ More to watch:   ? NHL: Panthers (2-2) at Maple Leafs (7pm, ESPN) … History says* tonight's winner will likely advance. ? Tennis: Italian Open (7am, Tennis) … Men's and women's quarterfinals. ? Hockey Worlds: USA vs. Norway (10:20am, NHL) … Group stage. ? PWHL: Toronto (1-2) at Minnesota (7pm, YouTube) … Semifinals, Game 4. ⚽️ Coppa Italia: AC Milan vs. Bologna (3pm, CBSSN) … Championship. *By the numbers: In a seven-game NHL series that's tied 2-2, the Game 5 winner has gone on to win the series 79.3% of the time.     ⚾️ 1-30 MLB POWER RANKINGS (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) We're roughly a quarter of the way through the 2025 MLB season. How are you feeling about your team? Probably better than I'm feeling about my Orioles!

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? Good morning! The Celtics kept their season alive, and this series is heading back to the Garden.

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In today's edition: Warriors and Golden Knights sent packing, nothing but bangers, NBA injuries, NFL schedule grid, the most famous athlete you've never heard of, and more.

 

 

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?? Wolves, Oilers advance: The Timberwolves knocked out the Warriors and the Oilers eliminated the Golden Knights as both teams are returning to the conference finals for the second straight year.   ? Henry gets paid: The Ravens signed Derrick Henry to a two-year, $30 million extension, making him the highest-paid running back ever over the age of 30. ‌ ⚾️ 10 in a row: The Twins swept a doubleheader against the Orioles to extend their winning streak to 10 games, the longest by any team this season. ‌ ⚽️ Still winless: The LA Galaxy squandered a two-goal lead against Philadelphia en route to their 10th loss, continuing the worst start by a defending champion in MLS history (0-10-3).     ⛳️ THE FOURTH MAJOR THE PGA CHAMPIONSHIP IS ON A HEATER (Warren Little/Getty Images) The PGA Championship is the odd man out among golf's four majors. But take a closer look and you'll see that it's given us nothing but bangers this decade. ‌From Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: Yes,the three best major tournaments of the first half of the decade are Rory McIlroy's Masters win this year, Bryson DeChambeau's U.S. Open win at Pinehurst last year and Cam Smith's victory at the Open Championship in 2022.   But those three tournaments have delivered some less-than-compelling finishes, too — victories by four shots (Jon Rahm, 2023 Masters; Scottie Scheffler, 2024 Masters), five (Dustin Johnson, 2020 Masters) and six strokes (DeChambeau, 2020 U.S. Open; Brian Harman, 2023 Open), for instance.   Meanwhile, at the PGA Championship: The five tournaments this decade have been decided by no more than two strokes, and they include a historic win by Lefty, a seven-shot Sunday comeback and the inaugural major title for two current top-five players. ‌ 2020 (Harding Park): This was the first major after the COVID lockdown, so someone could've won by 50 and we'd still be grateful. But the entire field came to play and Collin Morikawa, in his first PGA Championship, won thanks to a magnificent eagle on the 16th. 2021 (Kiawah Island): If Phil Mickelson hadn't followed up this victory by detonating pro golf, we would have remembered it as a modern-day Jack-Nicklaus-in-1986. Still, winning at age 50 makes him the oldest major champion ever. 2022 (Southern Hills): Justin Thomas shot a final-round 67 to erase a seven-stroke lead and beat Will Zalatoris in a playoff, matching the largest comeback in tournament history in one of the most tense major finishes of the 2020s. 2023 (Oak Hill): Brooks Koepka's fifth major made him just the sixth golfer to win at least three PGA Championships, rebounding from what looked like a career-destroying knee injury to become the first active LIV Golf player to win a major. 2024 (Valhalla): Xander Schauffele's 72nd-hole birdie gave him a one-stroke win over Bryson DeChambeau and his first major title. Oh yeah, and Scottie Scheffler was arrested hours before shooting a 66. Coming up: The 107th edition tees off today at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, where Scheffler and McIlroy — who's won four times here — are co-favorites (-500 at BetMGM).     ? POSTSEASON DIVISION CHAMPS ARE STRUGGLING Toronto is on the brink following Wednesday's 6-1 loss to Florida. (Nathan Denette/AP Photo) The current state of division champions in the NBA and NHL playoffs…   Cavaliers: ❌ ‌ Lakers: ❌ ‌ Rockets: ❌ ‌ Magic: ❌ ‌ Golden Knights: ❌ ‌ Celtics: Down 3-2 ‌ Maple Leafs: Down 3-2 ‌ Jets: Down 3-1 ‌ Capitals: Down 3-1 ‌ Thunder: Up 3-2!!!     ? GRIT 'N GRIND ARE INJURIES THE COST OF THE MODERN NBA? (Elsa/Getty Images) Jayson Tatum's ruptured Achilles, untimely and unexpected as it was, may be nothing more than a symptom of a game that pushes players to their physical limits like never before. ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh:   In Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals, Klay Thompson went up for a dunk and came back down never the same.   Thompson's left knee buckled during an awkward landing under the rim against the Raptors. In the blink of an eye, the course of Thompson's career and the Warriors had forever changed. Thompson's ACL was torn, and so was his place as the Warriors' constant.   Thompson had been the Warriors' flame-throwing metronome, a five-time All-Star with a gritty resiliency that few could match. He had never suffered a major injury or anything serious enough to knock him out for anything beyond a handful of games. And then, the big injury. And another, when his Achilles ruptured during his rehab.   That was on my mind when Jayson Tatum crumbled to the ground on Monday night in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. How sudden and unexpected it was. How unfamiliar it was. This wasn’t an injury-prone star, far from it. From a health standpoint, Tatum was the Celtics' version of Klay Thompson, always there in time of need.   Another ominous line that connects the two stars: Thompson was the last player who played as many games as Tatum did through his first eight seasons in the league. At the end of his eighth season, Thompson broke down. Like Tatum, Thompson was his team's iron man. Until, in a flash, he wasn't.   This is the new NBA. Whether you're injury-prone or an iron man, a game that is geometrically expanding and seemingly becoming more physical is taking its toll on the brightest stars. No matter how clean a player's track record, the growing churn of the NBA grind seems to spare no one. (Lev Akabas/Sportico) Bottom line: Stars in the pace-and-space era are getting injured in the postseason more than ever. Is today's game itself to blame?     ? 2025 SEASON NFL SCHEDULE GRID (NFL) The NFL schedule has been released, so here's all 272 games in one graphic. ‌ Quick links: Strength of schedule by team 10 must-watch grudge matches Week 1 betting lines Most standalone games: The Chiefs, Cowboys and Commanders (8) lead the way, followed by the Lions, Vikings and Eagles (7), and the Dolphins, Packers and Falcons (6). ‌ Plus: NFL players prepare for the Super Bowl. NFL social-media teams prepare for schedule release day. Who had the best videos?     ? BIGGER THAN LEBRON THE MOST FAMOUS ATHLETE YOU'VE (PROBABLY) NEVER HEARD OF (Alex Davidson/ICC via Getty Images) Indian cricketer Virat Kohli is retiring from Test cricket, ending a 14-year career that saw him become a national hero — and one of the world's most famous athletes. ‌ How famous? While most Americans may not be familiar with Kohli due to cricket's limited appeal in the states, the legendary batsman is a global celebrity on a scale that makes even the biggest U.S. sports stars seem niche. ‌ Consider this: LeBron James has 159 million followers on Instagram, making him the most-followed American athlete on the platform. Kohli has 272 million followers — 113 million more than James and the third-most of any athlete on the planet. ‌ Most-followed athletes (IG):   ⚽️ Cristiano Ronaldo (653M) ⚽️ Lionel Messi (505M) ? Kohli (272M) ⚽️ Neymar (229M) ? James (159M) What's next: While Kohli is retiring from Test cricket (five-day format), the 36-year-old will continue to play for India in One-Day International (ODI) matches.     ? NHL PLAYOFFS WATCHLIST: WILL THE JETS EXTEND THE CURSE? It's win or go home for the Jets. (Sam Hodde/Getty Images) The Jets host the Stars tonight (9:30pm ET, TNT) with their season on the brink, trailing 3-1 after dropping Games 3 and 4 in Dallas. ‌ Presidents' Trophy curse: The Jets are in danger of becoming the 12th consecutive Presidents' Trophy winner (best record) to fail to win the Stanley Cup. In fact, just eight of the first 38 winners have won the title, most recently the Blackhawks in 2013. ‌ More to watch:   ? NBA: Thunder (3-2) at Nuggets (8:30pm, ESPN) … Can Denver force Game 7 and send this series back to OKC? ? NHL: Hurricanes (3-1) at Capitals (7pm, TNT) … Carolina looks to advance to the conference finals for the second time in three years. ⛳️ PGA Championship: Round 1 (7am, ESPN+; 12pm, ESPN/ESPN2) … 156 golfers tee it up at Quail Hollow, including a superstar grouping of Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. ? Tennis: Italian Open (7am, Tennis) … Women's semifinals and men's quarterfinals. ⚾️ MLB: Astros at Rangers (8:05pm, MLB) … Hunter Brown (6-1, 1.48 ERA) vs. Jacob deGrom (3-1, 2.72). ? Women's Lacrosse: NCAA Quarterfinals* (12pm, ESPNU) *Eight teams left: No. 1 UNC vs. Princeton, No. 2 BC vs. No. 7 Yale, No. 3 Northwestern vs. Penn, No. 4 Florida vs. Duke.

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? Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it.

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In today's edition: The Triple Crown needs a reset, Nuggets and Jets stay alive, Canes eliminate Caps, the WNBA is back, Judge vs. Bonds, and more.

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Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.

 

 

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⛳️ 18 holes down, 54 to go: Jhonattan Vegas (-7) sits atop a PGA Championship leaderboard devoid of stars. For just the second time in tournament history, a round ended without a single top-10 ranked player in the top 10. ‌ ? $8.5 billion: The 49ers are selling a 6% stake in the team at an $8.5 billion valuation, the most any sports franchise has ever been valued at in a transaction. ‌ ?? Barça clinches title: With a 2-0 win over Espanyol, Barcelona clinched their 28th La Liga title, second only to Real Madrid's 36. No other team has more than 11 (Atlético). ‌ ? NFL at LA28? NFL team owners will discuss a resolution next week that would allow NFL players to participate in the flag football competition debuting at the 2028 Olympics. ‌ ⚽️ Human rights complaint: A group of international lawyers filed a formal complaint against FIFA regarding 2034 World Cup host Saudi Arabia, where "widespread human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated."     ? THE SPORT OF KINGS THE TRIPLE CROWN NEEDS A RESET Sovereignty won't get the chance to compete for the Triple Crown this year. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) There have been 13 Triple Crown winners in the history of horse racing. Unless the sport introduces a new calendar, we may never see another one. ‌ The new normal: The Kentucky Derby winner competed in the Preakness Stakes every year from 1997 to 2018, when Justify won the most recent Triple Crown. But four of the last seven Derby winners have now opted against going to Baltimore, with Sovereignty becoming the latest to skip. ‌ The problem: Horses are no longer bred to run three races in five weeks, which is the requirement to compete in the Derby (May 3), Preakness (May 17) and Belmont Stakes (June 7). ‌ The initial two-week turnaround is particularly tight, which explains why Sovereignty's Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, forfeited a shot at history this weekend despite the 3-year-old thoroughbred being healthy and an early 8-5 favorite to win the 150th Preakness. In fact, only two of the 19 horses that competed in this year's Run for the Roses are in tomorrow's field at Pimlico Race Course, which is right in line with recent years. Heck, the 2023 race only attracted a single horse from Churchill Downs. Consider this: The last 19 Triple Crown races have been won by 19 different horses, and only two of them ran all three legs the year they won: War of Will in 2019 (when he won the Preakness) and Mystik Dan in 2024 (when he won the Derby). Seize the Grey after winning the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes last year. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images) The solution is obvious: Space out the schedule. Keep the Derby on the first Saturday in May, move the Preakness to the first Saturday in June and move the Belmont to the first Saturday in July (or better yet: have it on the Fourth of July, which lacks a major sporting event). ‌ This would lead to better fields, more Triple Crown contenders and higher viewership across the board, while also improving the long-term health of horses by taking the pressure off trainers and owners to run them back too soon. Prominent thoroughbred owner Mike Repole proposed a similarly spaced out schedule last week — though he suggested making the Belmont the second leg (possibly moving it up a week from its current date) and holding the Preakness four weeks later. What's the argument against this? Purists will say that altering the horse racing calendar disrespects the history of a sport steeped in tradition and cheapens the accomplishment of winning the Triple Crown, which is supposed to be extremely difficult. ‌ To which I'd respond: What's the the point of preserving tradition if that tradition becomes irrelevant? That's the risk horse racing runs by doing nothing and continuing down a path where horses don't even get the chance to win the Crown. The sport is dying for some juice. There are three days a year when it commands America's attention. It simply must figure out how to ensure that the horses people know — and the narratives that draw them in — are present. ‌ The last word, via SI's Pat Forde: ‌ We have come a long way since the first Triple Crown was won in 1919. Sir Barton didn't just win all three legs in a span of 32 days — he won a fourth in between the Preakness and Belmont as well. Today we're lucky to get a horse that will run twice in 32 days, much less four times — even if it wins the Kentucky Derby. The breed has changed. The Triple Crown needs to change with it.     ? PLAYOFFS THROUGH THE LENS (Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images) Washington, D.C. — The Hurricanes eliminated the top-seeded Capitals, breaking a tie late in the third period of an eventual 3-1 win. They'll face either the Maple Leafs or Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) Denver — Nikola Jokić (29-14-8), Jamal Murray (25-8-7) and Christian Braun (23-11-5) led the Nuggets to a 119-107 win over the Thunder, forcing a Game 7 on Sunday in OKC. As if a series between the two MVP favorites could have ended any other way. (Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images) Winnipeg — The Jets shut out the Stars, 4-0, to keep their season alive and send the series back to Dallas for Game 6.     ? SEASON 29 BY THE NUMBERS: THE WNBA IS BACK (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) As the 29th WNBA season tips off tonight, here are some facts and figures to get you back up to speed after a long offseason. ‌ +225 ‌ The defending champion Liberty are the favorites to run it back (+225 via BetMGM), followed by the Aces (+275), Fever (+300) and last year's runner-up Lynx (+400). The rest: Mercury (+1400), Storm (+3500), Dream (+5000), Sparks (+5000), Sky (+6600), Wings (+6600), Sun (+12500), Mystics (+15000), Valkyries (+20000). ‌ Year 2 ‌ Reigning ROY Caitlin Clark led the Fever to their first postseason berth since 2016 last year. Now she enters her sophomore season as the MVP favorite (+195), and many expect her retooled Fever squad to contend for a title. ‌ 13 teams ‌ The Golden State Valkyries are the WNBA's first expansion franchise since the Dream in 2008. They'll share the Chase Center with the Warriors, and will be coached by former Aces and Clippers assistant Natalie Nakase. ‌ 8 new coaches ‌ Speaking of Nakase, she's one of eight new coaches this season, joining Karl Smesko (Dream), Tyler Marsh (Sky), Rachid Meziane (Sun), Stephanie White (Fever), Sydney Johnson (Mystics), Chris Koclanes (Wings) and Lynne Roberts (Sparks). ‌ Best-of-7 ‌ For the first time ever, the WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven series after playing as a best-of-five for the past 20 years. The first round is also changing, remaining a best-of-three but with a 1-1-1 format to ensure both teams host at least one game. ‌ $2.2 billion ‌ That's the value of the WNBA's 11-year media rights deal that kicks in next season, worth five times as much annually as the current deal. Why is that important right now? Because if the league and union don't agree on a new CBA that reflects this new economic landscape before next spring, there could be a work stoppage — a storyline that will be ever-present this summer.     ⚾️ TAKE YOUR BASE JUDGE VS. BONDS: WHERE ARE ALL THE FREE PASSES? (Jake Mintz/Yahoo Sports) Aaron Judge is hitting like Barry Bonds, so where are all the intentional walks? ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Jake Mintz: ‌ In 2004, at the peak of his powers, Barry Bonds was intentionally walked a record 120 times. The three seasons prior, he averaged 55 intentional walks per year. ‌ Compare that to Judge, who over his 162-game run of brilliance has been intentionally walked just 24 times. (Jake Mintz/Yahoo Sports) The disparity is even more glaring in high-leverage, late-game scenarios. ‌ Over his past 162 games, Judge has had 47 plate appearances as the tying or go-ahead run in the seventh inning or later. He has been intentionally walked just eight times, or 17% of those instances. ‌ Bonds, during his 2004 reign of terror, came up in 64 such scenarios. He was purposefully handed a free pass 25 times, good for an outrageous 43.8% clip. ‌ Why the stark difference? Conversations with players, coaches and insiders revealed myriad reasons, the biggest of which has nothing at all to do with either player.     ? WIN OR GO HOME WATCHLIST: THE TWO BEST WORDS IN SPORTS (Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images) Game. Seven. The Thunder will host the Nuggets on Sunday (3:30pm ET, ABC) in a battle of title contenders and MVP favorites. ‌ "It's do or die. It's what you live for. It's what you worked your whole life for."   — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ‌Plus: Tonight's game isn't exactly a dud, as the Knicks (3-2) host the Celtics (8pm, ESPN) with a chance to clinch their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years. ‌More to watch:   ? NHL: Maple Leafs (2-3) at Panthers (Fri. 8pm, TNT); Jets (2-3) at Stars (Sat. 8pm, ABC) … Panthers-Leafs Game 7 on Sunday, if needed. ⛳️ Golf: PGA Championship (Fri-Sun, ESPN) … Will Day 2 bring more turtles? ? Horse Racing: The 150th Preakness Stakes (Sat. 7pm, NBC) ? Tennis: Italian Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis) … Champions will be crowned. ? WNBA: Aces at Liberty (Sat. 1pm, ABC); Sky at Fever (Sat. 3pm, ABC) … Opening weekend. ⚾️ MLB: Astros at Rangers (Fri. 8pm, Apple; Sun. 1pm, Roku); Mariners at Padres (Fri. 9:40pm, Apple); Mets at Yankees (Sun. 7pm, ESPN) … The Subway Series headlines MLB's "Rivalry Weekend." ? Racing: F1 at Imola (Sun. 9am, ESPN2); NASCAR All-Star Race (Sun. 8pm, FS1) ⚽️ FA Cup: Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace (Sat. 11:30am, ESPN+) … Championship at Wembley Stadium. ? Men's Lacrosse: NCAA Quarterfinals (Sat-Sun, ESPNU) … No. 1 Cornell vs. Richmond, No. 2 Maryland vs. Georgetown, No. 3 Princeton vs. No. 6 Syracuse, No. 5 Penn State vs. Notre Dame. Plus… 15 MLS games (Sat-Sun, Apple); 7 NWSL games (Fri-Sat, Prime/ION); UFL Week 8 (Fri-Sun, Fox/ABC); Hockey Worlds (Fri-Sun, NHL); PWHL Semifinals (Fri-Sun, YouTube); Giro d'Italia (Fri-Sun, Max).     ⚾️ STAT DU JOUR THE DEATH OF THE .300 HITTER (Giphy) It's no secret that the .300 batting average, once the gold standard of offensive excellence, is quietly vanishing from Major League Baseball. But this still blew my mind… ‌ Only three active MLB hitters with at least 3,000 plate appearances boast a .300+ career average: Freddie Freeman (.301), Jose Altuve (.305) and Luis Arráez (.321), who recently crossed the 3,000 plate appearance threshold.

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? 1 for the road

Caitlin Clark during a preseason game last Friday. Photo: Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos via Getty Images The WNBA is back in action — and a chance to see Caitlin Clark remains the hottest ticket, by far, in the increasingly popular league. The WNBA All-Star game is the most in-demand event of the season, Axios' Analis Bailey reports, based on the average price fans are willing to pay for a ticket through Vivid Seats. ?️ The rest of the top 5 are all Indiana Fever road games — including a game against the Washington Mystics with an average ticket price of $461. A ticket to the corresponding NBA matchup — Indiana vs. Washington — costs just $36 on average, per Vivid Seats. ? What we're watching: The WNBA season tips off this weekend. The defending champion New York Liberty will host the Las Vegas Aces at 1 p.m. tomorrow. The Fever host the Chicago Sky at 3 p.m. Both games are on ABC. Go deeper ... Full schedule.

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? Stat du jour: 10 NFL channels

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

During the 2025 NFL season, football fans will be able to find games on 10 different channels and streaming services: CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox, NFL Network, ESPN, Netflix, YouTube, Prime and Peacock. (The Athletic) ? State of play: YouTube will exclusively stream one early-season game — Chargers vs. Chiefs, Sept. 5 — that's being played in São Paulo, Brazil, for free. Netflix is the home of a Christmas double-header — and it's reportedly interested in more broadcasts it could "eventize." Peacock will stream a Dec. 27 game billed as a "Peacock Holiday Exclusive." Go deeper: NFL's record seven international games feature back-to-back games for Minnesota Vikings in Dublin and London.

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? Good morning! Welcome back, friends.

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Public Service Announcement: Today is an extremely light sports day; so light, in fact, that we didn't even include our Watchlist section. I encourage you to use this opportunity to get a good night's sleep. You're gonna need it over the coming weeks, with high-stakes playoff games night after night. Rest up.

 

In today's edition: The NBA's parity era continues, Toronto chokes again, Scottie wins third major, softball stunner, MLB Rivalry Weekend, Baker's Dozen, and more.

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Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.

 

 

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? Softball stunner: Two losses to Liberty over the weekend saw Texas A&M become the first No. 1 national seed to be eliminated in regionals since seeding began in 2005. ‌ ? Giannis weighs future: Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks will meet this week to discuss the future of the team. The two-time MVP is reportedly open to a trade as Milwaukee stares down a potential rebuild. ‌ ⚾️ 80-game PED ban: Phillies closer José Alvarado has been suspended 80 games and will not be allowed to pitch in the playoffs after testing positive for exogenous testosterone. ‌ ? Purdy gets paid: 49ers QB Brock Purdy will earn $53 million annually after agreeing to a five-year, $265 million extension. That's slightly more than the $934,000 he averaged over his first three seasons. ‌ ? What a weekend: Maryland, Syracuse, Cornell and Penn State are headed to the Men's Lacrosse Final Four after an electric quarterfinal round that featured four amazing games and drew record crowds.     ? NBA FINAL FOUR THE PARITY ERA CONTINUES (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) The NBA's Final Four is set after the Thunder destroyed the Nuggets on Sunday in a laugher of a finale to a hard-fought series. ‌ The contenders: The Knicks are back in the conference finals for the first time since 2000. They're the only remaining team that has won a championship, and their most recent title came 52 years ago. ‌ Titles:   Knicks: 2 (1970, 1973) Thunder: 0* Timberwolves: 0 Pacers: 0 Revolving door: For the first time in NBA history, there will be seven different champions in seven years. That became official this weekend when Boston and Denver bowed out. ‌ 2019: Raptors 2020: Lakers 2021: Bucks 2022: Warriors 2023: Nuggets 2024: Celtics 2025: ??? For context: This level of parity would have been unfathomable throughout much of the NBA's top-heavy history. In the 70 years prior to 2019, the same seven franchises won 77% of the championships, notes Sportradar's Todd Whitehead, who is a must-follow if you enjoy data-driven hoops analysis. ‌ Looking ahead: The Knicks-Pacers rivalry runs deep and Reggie Miller will be on the call for TNT … Shai Gilgeous-Alexander vs. Anthony Edwards is a dream matchup. ‌ *Shared history: The Seattle SuperSonics won the 1979 championship, which is technically part of the Thunder's record books because it's the same franchise. But let's be real: no self-respecting OKC fan claims that trophy.     ? NHL FINAL FOUR WHO WILL HOIST THE CUP? (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) For the first time since 2004, three Canadian teams made the second round of the NHL playoffs. And nine days ago, spirits were high across "The Great White North." ‌ Toronto was up 2-0 on Florida Edmonton was up 2-0 on Vegas Winnipeg was tied 1-1 with Dallas Could this be the year that Canada finally breaks the curse and wins its first Stanley Cup since 1993? Long-suffering fans dared to dream of a Final Four with three, even two, teams from north of the border…   Nine days later: The Oilers are the only Canadian team still standing. ‌ The Jets were ousted in six games by the Stars, becoming the latest Presidents' Trophy winner (best record) to fall short of expectations. The Maple Leafs suffered an embarrassing 6-1 loss to the Panthers on Sunday in Toronto, as they came up in short in Game 7 for the seventh straight time.* Looking ahead: The Oilers are the favorites to win the title and break the curse (+240 at BetMGM), followed by the Panthers (+250), Stars (+275) and Hurricanes (+300). If Florida and Edmonton advance, we'll get our first Stanley Cup Final rematch since Pittsburgh and Detroit in 2008-09. ‌ *Choke artists: The Maple Leafs and Avalanche are the only franchises in NBA/MLB/NHL history to lose seven consecutive Game 7s. Both teams extended their streaks this month.     ⛳️ PGA CHAMPIONSHIP SCOTTIE WINS THIRD MAJOR, JOINS ELITE COMPANY Scheffler with the Wanamaker Trophy. (David Cannon/Getty Images) Scottie Scheffler pulled away late on Sunday at the PGA Championship to win his third career major — and his first outside the friendly confines of Augusta National. ‌ Elite company: Scheffler, 28, joins Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only golfers since World War II to win 15 PGA Tour titles and three majors before age 29. Decent group! The thrill of victory. (George Walker IV/AP Photo) The scene on 18: "F*** yeah!" Scheffler bellowed after tapping in to win. "That's what I'm talking about!" roared the world's top-ranked player as he spiked his white Nike hat onto the pristine green and tore the roofs off the surrounding luxury boxes at Quail Hollow. ‌From Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: This is something new from Scheffler, who spent most of his first two years as a Tour champion going about his business with all the verve and flair of ChatGPT. There were moments … but for the most part, Scheffler showed up, won, gave a little fist pump or two, took the trophy and went on home.   So why the 72nd-hole spike? Maybe it was the rollercoaster of starting with a three-stroke lead, losing every bit of that lead at the turn, and then rebounding with three birdies over the back nine to seize control.   Maybe it was the release of winning a major outside of Augusta, Georgia, and stomping out one of the few remaining "Yeah, but…" narratives around his career. Hell, maybe it was revenge for the chaos that the Louisville police caused him a year ago at this time.   "Just a lot of happiness," Scheffler said when asked about the hat-spike. "Thankful as well. It was a long week. I felt like this was as hard as I battled for a tournament in my career." (He did laugh when he said "I definitely have a few jokes that I want to say that I'm probably going to keep to myself" about Louisville.) (Nike) Guilty as charged: Nike released a new ad on Sunday that hilariously references last year's arrest. "The verdict is in," reads the caption. "World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the PGA Champion." Well played.     ? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Indianapolis — Caitlin Clark posted a triple-double in the Fever's season-opening win over the Sky, which featured a heated moment between her and Angel Reese, who was the target of "alleged hateful fan comments." (Rob Carr/Getty Images) Baltimore — Race favorite Journalism surged to victory at the 150th Preakness Stakes, coming from multiple lengths behind in the last half-mile to win by a nose. (Ed Sykes/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images) London — Crystal Palace beat Manchester City, 1-0, in the FA Cup final to win the club's first major trophy and pull off one of the most stunning results in the history of the world's oldest soccer tournament. (Dan Istitene/Getty Images) Rome — Jasmine Paolini beat Coco Gauff in straight sets to become the first Italian to win the Italian Open in 40 years. Jannik Sinner nearly made it a clean sweep for Italy but fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the men's final.     ⚾️ HEAD-TO-HEAD RANKING MLB'S "RIVALRY WEEKEND" MATCHUPS Cody Bellinger had a monster weekend (2 HR, 7 RBI) as the Yankees won the season's first Subway Series. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images) MLB's inaugural "Rivalry Weekend" featured nine intrastate battles, five regional clashes and one matchup between teams with a shared history. Naturally, we had to rank them: Which rivalries have the most juice? ‌ Mets vs. Yankees Cardinals vs. Royals Cubs vs. White Sox Athletics vs. Giants* Rangers vs. Astros Nationals vs. Orioles Mariners vs. Padres Guardians vs. Reds Dodgers vs. Angels Twins vs. Brewers Phillies vs. Pirates Tigers vs. Blue Jays Diamondbacks vs. Rockies Rays vs. Marlins Braves vs. Red Sox** *Fall Classic foes: The Athletics and Giants have met four times in the World Series, more than all the other rivalries combined. The Giants won once (1905), while the A's won three times (1911, 1913, 1989).   **Fake rivals: No rivalry above is more forced than Braves-Red Sox, who are only matched up because the Braves played in Boston from 1871-1952 as the Red Stockings, Red Caps, Beaneaters, Doves, Rustlers, Bees and Braves.

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? Good morning! It was a good night for sluggers: Shohei Ohtani hit his MLB-leading 17th home run and Kyle Schwarber became the 11th active player with 300 career dingers.

‌In today's edition: The key to the NFL's global growth, the AL Central has leveled up, Red Bull through 400 races, Chelsea's unbeaten season, photo of the year, and more.

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Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.

 

 

? ICYMI headlineS ? Y! Sports exclusive: The Power 4 conferences have drafted a contract that would bind schools to new enforcement rules and require them to waive the right to sue over decisions. Schools not signing could risk conference eviction. Go deeper. ‌ ? Eagles extend Sirianni: The reigning champs have agreed to a multi-year extension with head coach Nick Sirianni, whose .706 winning percentage (48-20) is the third-best in the Super Bowl era (min. 50 games). ‌ ⚾️ Check swing challenge: MLB is launching a pilot program today in Single-A that will allow teams to challenge check swing calls using the same Hawk-Eye tracking technology that enables robo umps to call balls and strikes. ‌ ? Nuggets back Adelman: Nikola Jokić, Aaron Gordon and others are campaigning for David Adelman to be their next head coach after he nearly led Denver to the conference finals on the interim tag. ‌ ? Warner gets paid: The 49ers signed four-time All-Pro Fred Warner to a three-year, $63 million extension that makes him the NFL's highest-paid inside linebacker. ‌ See what else is trending on Yahoo Sports.

? LA 2028 FLAG FOOTBALL: THE KEY TO THE NFL'S GLOBAL GROWTH? (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) NFL owners will meet in Minneapolis this week to discuss numerous topics. Among them: A resolution that would allow players to participate in flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. ‌ What's on the table: The resolution would allow no more than one player from each NFL team to participate in the Games, while also permitting each club's designated International Player to play for his country, clearing the way for representation beyond Team USA. ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson:   Nearly eight years ago, sitting on a couch in a hotel room in California, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had the concept of Olympic flag football on the tip of his tongue and just couldn't find it.   In an expansive 1-on-1 interview with Yahoo Sports in the summer of 2017, Jones was discussing the growth of the NFL as a globally consumed sport when the subject of untapped markets was broached. Specifically, how to get traction in places where the NFL was nothing more than an oddity.   It was a question that, back in 2017, was being focused through China — largely because the English Premier League and the NBA had cultivated that country's hundreds of millions of potential fans in a way that the NFL could only dream of achieving. Justin Jefferson in action during the 2025 Pro Bowl's flag football game. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images) Selling the sport, not the league: At first, Jones didn't have an answer on China. But later in the interview, he speculated that the key to success there might be spurning the NFL-down strategy (aka. "selling the league") in favor of a grassroots approach designed to introduce football organically (aka. "selling football"). In other words: Playing NFL games abroad is great, but what if you simply passed out a bunch of footballs and encouraged people to toss them around? ‌ "[The answer] might be giving people a reason to pick up a football for the first time and just go outside to play with it," Jones said. "Which really isn't simple at all."   What he was getting at was a singular idea that has long created the wall between true global interest in the NFL versus the aggressively targeted international traction that currently exists: Getting people interested in the game itself — or some version of it — rather than getting people interested specifically in the NFL.   Enter flag football and the grand stage of LA 2028. It's arguably the best answer the NFL has ever had to motivate the entire world to pick up a football and play with it — especially if some of the people picking up a football for their country also happen to be NFL players.   Keep reading.

⚾️ WORST TO FIRST THE AL CENTRAL HAS LEVELED UP (James Pawelczyk/Yahoo Sports) The AL Central, which spent much of the past decade as a punchline, is now arguably the best division in baseball, Jeff writes.   Consolidated power: Four of the AL's six best teams hail from the Central, which joins the perennially strong NL West as the only divisions with four teams above .500. ‌ Tigers (31-17): Success was expected after Detroit ended its nine-year playoff drought in 2024. But best team in baseball in 2025? Who saw that coming? It helps that reigning Cy Young Tarik Skubal is dealing again (2.67 ERA, 0.93 WHIP) and $140 million man Javier Báez has emerged from a years-long slump (.811 OPS). Royals (27-22): Perennial MVP candidate Bobby Witt Jr. and breakout pitcher Kris Bubic (5-2, 1.47 ERA) have KC trending toward back-to-back playoff berths for the first time since winning the 2015 title. Twins (26-21): This story would have looked a lot different a couple weeks ago when Minnesota was sitting at 13-20. Then they rattled off 13 straight wins (MLB's longest streak in two years) and completely altered the trajectory of their season. Guardians (25-21): Cleveland has long been the AL Central's constant, with just two sub-.500 seasons since 2012. The bad news? Their run differential this year (-20) suggests regression is coming. The good news? José Ramírez is heating up. White Sox (14-34): At least they're not the worst team in the league this year. From worst to first: The AL Central's top dog status is particularly noteworthy given how bad this division was in the not-so-distant past. Their .436 winning percentage in 2018 was the worst in the divisional era (since 1969), and they nearly matched it just two years ago (.442) when they had one winning team. ‌ Four playoff teams? If these teams keep it up, the AL Central could become the first division to send four teams to the playoffs. The Tigers, Royals, Twins and Guardians would all make the field if the season ended today.

?️ FORMULA ONE 400 RACES: RED BULL'S HISTORIC RUN (James Pawelczyk/Yahoo Sports) No Formula One team has had more success through their first 400 races than Red Bull, which won its 124th grand prix on Sunday in Italy, Jeff writes.   Leader of the pack: Red Bull's 124 wins through 400 grands prix are 19 more than any other team in F1 history, putting them well ahead of Williams (105), McLaren (104), Ferrari (91) and Lotus (79). Renault (35), Tyrrell (23) and Sauber (1) are the only other constructors who've raced in at least 400 grands prix. ‌ Man meets machine: Red Bull's dominance can be partly attributed to its engineering prowess and innovative design, but fast cars alone don't guarantee results. ‌ The real key to their success has been pairing those machines with the right tactics and drivers — namely four-time defending champion Max Verstappen. The 27-year-old is a rare talent behind the wheel, as he reminded us on Sunday when he outmaneuvered the field en route to his 65th career victory (third-most ever). Zoom out: Red Bull's historic success through 400 races already has them climbing the all-time leaderboard. They recently overtook Williams for fourth-most wins ever and are six away from passing Mercedes (129) for third. Ferrari (248) and McLaren (194) hold a sizable lead at the top, but it may be only a matter of time before Red Bull catches them, too.

? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS Chelsea teammates celebrate after beating Manchester United in Sunday's FA Cup Final. (Justin Setterfield/The FA via Getty Images) ⚽️ 0 losses ‌ Chelsea beat Manchester United, 3-0, in Sunday's Women’s FA Cup Final to finish the season unbeaten in all 30 domestic matches they played. Among the 74,000 fans on hand to witness their latest triumph? The club's newest minority owner, Serena Williams. ‌ ⚾️ 118th immaculate inning ‌ Marlins pitcher Cal Quantrill tossed the first immaculate inning of the season and the 118th in MLB history on Sunday against the Rays, striking out the side on nine pitches. ‌ ?️ $15,300 ‌ How much would you pay to call a half-inning of a Cubs game on the official broadcast? The team auctioned off that experience for charity and it just closed. The winning bid: $15,300. ‌ ? 1 million Facebook followers ‌ The Fever are the first WNBA team to reach 1 million followers on a social media platform. ‌ ? 0.1% stake ‌ Charles Woodson is joining fellow "Michigan Man" Tom Brady in the world of NFL ownership, paying $5 million for a 0.1% stake in the Browns. Brady owns a much larger share of the Raiders (5%) and has played an active role in football operations. It's unclear how involved Woodson will be in Cleveland.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, MAY 20 (Yahoo Sports) We're experimenting with a new Watchlist format that (1) highlights more key matchups while (2) listing fewer overall games. We also added a link to a daily TV guide so you can browse the full slate. Feedback? Email me.   ? Timberwolves at Thunder (8:30pm ET, ESPN) | West Finals, Game 1   "New York is the glamour market, but this is the irresistible series," writes Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill. SGA vs. Anthony Edwards should be peak NBA cinema. ‌ ? Panthers at Hurricanes (8pm, TNT) | East Finals, Game 1   The Canes have lost 12 straight conference finals games in sweeps against the Penguins (2009), Bruins (2019) and Panthers (2023), who they get another crack at two years later. ‌ ? "Untold: The Fall of Favre" (Netflix)   The latest entry in the "Untold" series delves into Brett Favre's controversial career, the dark side of sports stardom and the scandals that marred his legacy. Now streaming. ‌ ? Minnesota at Ottawa (7pm, YouTube) | PWHL Finals, Game 1 Who will hoist the Walter Cup? The defending champion Minnesota Frost visit the Ottawa Charge to begin the best-of-five series. ‌ Plus:   ⚾️ MLB: Mets at Red Sox (6:45pm, TBS) ? WNBA: Dream at Fever (7pm, NBA) ⚽️ EPL: Man City vs. Bournemouth (3pm, USA)

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? Good morning! Happy Hump Day. ‌ In today's edition: The NHL's Sun Belt boom, Thunder and Panthers take Game 1, the EPL's crowded Champions League race, NBA mock draft 2.0, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. ‌ Let's sports…

? ICYMI headlineS ⛳️ TGL expansion: Detroit was awarded TGL's first-ever expansion team, with the Motor City Golf Club set to join Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy's league in 2027. ‌ ? All-Rookie team: Spurs ROY Stephon Castle headlined the NBA's All-Rookie first team, joined by Zaccharie Risacher (Hawks), Alex Sarr (Wizards), Jaylen Wells (Grizzlies) and Zach Edey (Grizzlies). ‌ ? Clark makes history: Caitlin Clark (27-11) had her 10th career game with 20 points and 10 assists, matching Courtney Vandersloot for the most in WNBA history. Vandersloot has played 430 games; Clark has played 42. ‌ ⚾️ Friend charged in PNC Park fall: A 21-year-old friend of the 20-year-old man who fell from the outfield stands in Pittsburgh last month has been charged with providing him alcohol at the game. ‌ ♟️ Carlsen vs. The World: Magnus Carlsen, the world's top-ranked chess player, faced 143,000 people in an online game that began in early April. 46 days later, it ended in a draw.

? FINAL FOUR THE NHL'S SUN BELT BOOM (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The NHL's Final Four includes three teams from the Sun Belt, which despite the name has thrived in the cold-weather sport for over a decade now, Jeff writes.   By the numbers: Four of the last five Stanley Cup champions hail from the Sun Belt, with the Lightning (2x) joined by the Panthers and Golden Knights. And this year, the Panthers, Hurricanes and Stars have a chance to make it five of the last six. ‌ This is the third straight year, and 10th in the last 11, that at least two Sun Belt teams made the conference finals. The high-water mark came in 2023, when all four semifinalists were southern teams. Add it all up, and you've got 57% of conference finalists since 2015 (25 of 44) coming from a group that comprises less than one-third of the league. Growing the game: The NHL added its first Sun Belt teams in 1967 when the Original Six era ended. But the league didn't really start venturing south until 1991, kickstarting a period of robust expansion that includes nine teams (*) currently playing in the Sun Belt. ‌ 1967: Los Angeles Kings* and California Seals (folded in 1978) 1972: Atlanta Flames (moved to Calgary in 1980) 1991: San Jose Sharks* 1992: Tampa Bay Lightning* 1993: Florida Panthers,* Anaheim Ducks* and Dallas Stars* (moved from Minnesota) 1996: Phoenix Coyotes (moved from Winnipeg, now in Utah) 1997: Carolina Hurricanes* (moved from Hartford) 1998: Nashville Predators* 1999: Atlanta Thrashers (moved to Winnipeg in 2011) 2017: Vegas Golden Knights* The rise of the South: The success of Sun Belt hockey has coincided with a Stanley Cup drought in the birthplace of the sport. Aside from the Kings, Sharks and Lightning, none of the current Sun Belt teams existed in their current form the last time Canada won the Cup (June 1993).

? CONFERENCE FINALS PLAYOFFS: THUNDER, PANTHERS TAKE GAME 1 (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) Oklahoma City — The Thunder cruised past the Timberwolves, 114-88, in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals behind 31 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. ‌ Historic start: OKC has a +176 point differential through seven home playoff games. That's the highest over any seven-game home span in NBA postseason history. (Jaylynn Nash/Getty Images) Raleigh, N.C. — Traveling directly from Toronto after their Game 7 win on Sunday, the Panthers looked plenty fresh as they skated to an impressive 5-2 victory over the Hurricanes. ‌ The drought continues: Carolina has now lost 13 straight games in the Eastern Conference Finals. Their last win came in 2006 when star Sebastian Aho was eight years old.

? LEAGUE MEETINGS TUSH PUSH FACES BAN (AGAIN) (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Here we go again. For the second time in two months, the tush push is in danger. ‌From Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein: The Eagles' signature QB sneak play survived debate over its future during April league meetings. But club and league officials did not feel comfortable enough with the play's future to protect it for the long haul.   Rather than vote down the ban, officials tabled a vote until this week's league meetings in Minneapolis. Expect that vote to take place today.   The Packers amended their proposed ban on Monday to include the elimination of pushing, pulling or lifting of a ball carrier to his feet, and any assistance of a runner "except by individually blocking opponents for him."   The proposal needs 24 of 32 votes to pass and would functionally eliminate the tush push in a broader scope.   By the numbers: The tush push accounted for just 0.28% of plays last season. It's mostly used by the Eagles and Bills, who ran the play more times over the past three years than the other 30 teams combined.

⚽️ DECISION DAY FIVE TEAMS FOR THREE SPOTS Bernardo Silva celebrates after scoring City's second goal on Tuesday. (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images) Manchester City's 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Tuesday brought them one step closer to qualifying for the Champions League — a crowded race that will be decided during Sunday's Premier League finale, Jeff writes.   Five teams, three spots: Liverpool* (83 points) and Arsenal (71) have already clinched, but five teams separated by just three points are still in contention for the final three spots. ‌ Manchester City (68): The 2023 Champions League winners are in the driver's seat. They visit Fulham on Sunday, whom they've beaten in 17 straight games. Newcastle United (66): The Magpies host Everton with a chance to reach the Champions League for the second straight year, something they haven't done in two decades. Chelsea (66): The Blues visit fellow contender Nottingham Forest in the biggest game of the weekend. Aston Villa (66): The Lions visit Old Trafford, where Manchester United will try to play spoiler in Villa's attempt to reach the Champions League for the first time since 1983. Nottingham Forest (65): Forest's drought is even longer than Aston Villa's, seeking their first appearance since 1981. What's at stake: The Champions League is the pinnacle of European soccer, and qualifying is a prestigious honor clubs don't take lightly. It's also a highly lucrative endeavor, with this year's tournament featuring a $3.4 billion prize pool that includes roughly $20 million just for showing up and millions more in broadcast rights and gate revenue. ‌ *A chance for history: Liverpool's Mo Salah has 46 goal contributions this season (28 goals, 18 assists), one shy of matching the Premier League record jointly held by Alan Shearer (1994-95) and Andrew Cole (1993-94). And while they had 42 games, Salah has just 38.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, MAY 21 (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) ? Pacers at Knicks (8pm ET, TNT) | East Finals, Game 1   The Knicks' previous three trips to the conference finals came against their bitter rival Pacers (1994, 1999, 2000). This is also a rematch of last year's East semifinals (Pacers in 7), and literally the culmination of a WWE storyline. Get all the popcorn ready. ‌ ? Oilers at Stars (8pm, ESPN) | West Finals, Game 1   Speaking of rematches, Edmonton and Dallas also met in this round last year, with the Oilers eliminating the Stars in six games. Can red-hot Mikko Rantanen (NHL-leading 19 points this postseason) help them flip the script? ‌ ⚽️ Manchester United vs. Tottenham (3pm, CBSSN) | Europa League Final   Two teams who vastly underwhelmed in the Premier League (16th and 17th place with a game left) still have something big to play for, with today's winner qualifying for the Champions League. ‌ Plus:   ⚾️ MLB: Rangers at Yankees (7:05pm, Prime) … Jacob deGrom (4-1, 2.29 ERA) takes the bump for Texas. ? WNBA: Three games (8-10pm, League Pass) … Final day of free WNBA League Pass preview. ⚽️ U.S. Open Cup: Philadelphia Union vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds (7:30pm, Paramount+) … Pittsburgh is the only non-MLS team that made it to the Round of 16.

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? Good morning! A word of advice to any team with a big lead against the Pacers: Don't take your foot off the gas. ‌ In today's edition: The Pacers and Stars stage comebacks to win Game 1, Djokovic vs. Father Time, NCAA softball Super Regionals, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. ‌ Let's sports…

? ICYMI headlineS ? SGA wins MVP: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat out Nikola Jokić to win his first MVP, earning 71 first-place votes to Jokić's 29. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished a distant third. ‌ ? Irsay dies at 65: Longtime Colts owner Jim Irsay "passed away peacefully in his sleep" on Wednesday afternoon, according to the team. ‌ ⚽️ Spurs win Europa League: Tottenham beat Manchester United, 1-0, in the Europa League final to claim their first trophy since winning the 2008 EFL Cup. ‌ ? Tush push survives: The Eagles' beloved "tush push" survived at least another year, as the latest proposal to ban the play fell two votes short of passing. ‌ ? Bills, NFC East on "Hard Knocks": The Bills will be featured on HBO's "Hard Knocks" this summer, while the in-season edition will follow the NFC East.

? NBA PLAYOFFS THE COMEBACK KINGS STRIKE AGAIN (Al Bello/Getty Images) The Pacers did it again, staging yet another unbelievable comeback to beat the Knicks, 138-135 (OT), in Game 1 of the East Finals. ‌ ICYMI…   The Knicks led by as many as 17 points in the fourth quarter and by 14 points with 2:45 remaining. The Pacers scored 23 points in the final 3:14 of regulation, the most any team has scored in such a stretch in playoff history. Aaron Nesmith became the first player in NBA history to make six 3s in the fourth quarter of a playoff game. All six came in the final five minutes. Tyrese Haliburton hit what appeared to be the game-winner at the buzzer (then gave the Reggie Miller "choke" sign), but his foot was on the line and the game went to OT. Stat of the day: Since 1996, teams that have trailed by 7+ points in the final 50 seconds of the fourth quarter or OT in the playoffs are 4-1,702. This year's Pacers have three of those wins. (Screengrab) What's next: The Knicks will look to even the series tomorrow night in Game 2.

? NHL PLAYOFFS SPEAKING OF COMEBACKS... (Sam Hodde/Getty Images) The Stars staged one of their own, erasing a 3-1 deficit to beat the Oilers, 6-3, in Game 1 of the West Finals. ‌ Late flurry wins it: A trio of power-play goals in the third period made the Stars the first team in NHL history to earn multiple wins in regulation of the same postseason after being down two goals in the final period.

? FRENCH OPEN CAN DJOKOVIC DEFY THE AGING CURVE? Djokovic during Wednesday's win at the Geneva Open. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) Novak Djokovic, who turns 38 today ahead of next week's French Open, is running out of time to win Grand Slam No. 25. In fact, if history is any indication, he's already too late, Jeff writes.   Father Time: For decades, even the greats didn't win majors long after turning 30. Rod Laver's last one came at 31. Same with Pete Sampras and Billie Jean King. Arthur Ashe, Andre Agassi and Chris Evert were 32. Heck, Steffi Graf and Björn Borg never won a slam in their 30s. Then, the four greatest players ever came along and changed that — but even they have a limit. ‌ The rule of 36: Serena Williams won 10 Grand Slams in her 30s, including her 23rd and final major at age 35. The Big Three one-upped her. ‌ Roger Federer's 20th and final slam came at age 36 at the 2018 Australian Open. So did Rafael Nadal's, winning his 22nd slam at Roland Garros (where else?) in 2022. That leaves Djokovic, who's won an astonishing 12 majors since turning 30 and can still add to that tally. But if he doesn't, the 2023 US Open will remain his 24th and final slam… which he won at age 36. The lone exception: Ken Rosewall won the 1972 Australian Open at age 37, making him the oldest major champion of the Open Era (since 1968). But the draws were much less competitive back then, and even he admitted that "it's not good for tennis generally for me to still be winning." ‌ Djoker's uphill battle: If anyone's going to defy the aging curve, it's Djokovic, who is famously obsessive about keeping his body fit. But for the first time in a long time, he looks beatable. ‌ He's 13-7 so far this season including multiple three-match losing streaks. He also failed to win a major last year for the first time since 2017 (though he did win Olympic gold). As the No. 6 seed in Paris, the French Open will be no picnic, with No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz both likely in his way. It's also the major where he's had the least success. Looking ahead: If Djokovic flames out at Roland Garros, his last best shot at winning No. 25 is probably the upcoming Wimbledon, where he’s won seven times and reached six straight finals on a surface whose shorter points are much more forgiving on older legs.

? NCAA SOFTBALL SUPER REGIONALS PREVIEW: OKLAHOMA IS HITTING ITS STRIDE Sophomore outfielder Kasidi Pickering went 5-7 with 9 RBIs during regionals. (Rawlings Softball) The NCAA softball Super Regionals begin today with a familiar team at the top, as four-time defending champion Oklahoma is the highest seed left in the 16-team field, Jeff writes.   Dynasty in Norman: The Sooners (48-7) went a mind-blowing 235-15 over the last four seasons en route to a record four consecutive championships. ‌ They entered this year's regionals as the No. 2 seed, but after top-seeded Texas A&M was eliminated in stunning fashion, they're the best team left. The Sooners were flat-out dominant in the regionals, winning all three games by mercy rule with a combined score of 31-3. Super Regional matchups: The 16 remaining teams will play best-of-three series this weekend hosted by the higher seed, with the winners advancing to next week's Women's College World Series. ‌ No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 15 Alabama No. 3 Florida vs. Georgia No. 4 Arkansas* vs. Ole Miss No. 5 Florida State vs. No. 12 Texas Tech No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11. Clemson No. 7 Tennessee vs. Nebraska No. 8 South Carolina vs. No. 9 UCLA No. 16 Oregon vs. Liberty SEC dominance: Oklahoma is one of nine SEC teams who made the Super Regionals, tied for the most ever by a single conference. ‌ *Player to watch: Arkansas senior first baseman Bri Ellis was named Softball America's Player of the Year after leading the nation in on-base (.646) and slugging percentage (1.142) while batting .457 with a program-record 26 HR and 72 RBI. Watch this video for a good laugh.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, MAY 22 (William Purnell/Getty Images) ? Timberwolves (0-1) at Thunder (8:30pm ET, ESPN) | West Finals, Game 2   A word of advice for Minnesota: Beware the third quarter. No team had a better third-quarter net rating this season than the Thunder (+14), which won that period 32-18 in Game 1. ‌ ? Panthers (1-0) at Hurricanes (8pm, TNT) | East Finals, Game 2   Florida has been a menace away from home in these playoffs, scoring 38 goals through their first eight road games. That's tied with the 2022 Avalanche for the most through eight postseason road games in NHL history. ‌ ⛳️ Charles Schwab Challenge (8am, ESPN+; 4pm, Golf)   Scottie Scheffler goes for three straight victories after winning the Byron Nelson and PGA Championship by a combined 13 strokes. He leads a field of 135 golfers teeing it up at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. ‌ ? Minnesota Frost (0-1) at Ottawa Charge (7pm, YouTube) | PWHL Finals, Game 2   The defending champs are on the ropes after losing Game 1 of the best-of-five series in overtime. ‌ Plus:   ? WNBA: Fever at Dream (7:30pm, Prime) … Caitlin Clark has at least 20 points, 10 assists, 2 steals and 4 made threes in each of her first two games. ? NCAA Softball: No. 12 Texas Tech at No. 5 Florida State (7pm, ESPN2); No. 11 Clemson at No. 6 Texas (9pm, ESPN2) … Super Regionals.

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? Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. ‌ Programming note: We'll be off on Memorial Day. Enjoy the long weekend! See you back here on Tuesday. ‌ In today's edition: Previewing the weekend slate, the NBA's new guard(s), "Around The Horn" signs off, Rockies fall to 8-42, Monaco in photos, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. ‌ Let's sports…

? ICYMI headlineS ?? Conference Finals: SGA (38 points) and the Thunder beat the Timberwolves, 118-103, to take a 2-0 lead. The Panthers destroyed the Hurricanes, 5-0, to go up 2-0 and continue their road dominance. ‌ ? CFP's new model: The College Football Playoff is moving to a straight seeding model. Teams ranked 1-12 will now be seeded that way rather than giving the highest-ranked conference champs the top four spots. ‌ ? All-Defense: DPOY Evan Mobley (Cavaliers) headlines the NBA's All-Defensive First Team alongside Dyson Daniels (Hawks), Draymond Green (Warriors), Amen Thompson (Rockets) and Lu Dort (Thunder). ‌ ? Major upset at Worlds: Denmark stunned Canada to reach the semifinals at the Ice Hockey World Championships for the first time. Denmark has only two NHL players on its roster, while Canada had only two players who don't play at the NHL level. ‌ ? Commission on pause: The White House has decided to wait before making an official foray into college sports, pausing plans for a presidential commission co-led by Nick Saban.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers have the momentum entering Game 2 at MSG. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) Memorial Day Weekend is one of the best sports weekends of the year due to its variety. We've got the NBA and NHL playoffs, three marquee motorsports races, Premier League "Decision Day," the start of the French Open, the Men's and Women's Lacrosse Final Fours, Softball Super Regionals, Ice Hockey Worlds, and so much more. Let's preview the days ahead, shall we? ‌ Friday: New York City is the center of the sports world tonight, with the Knicks hosting the Pacers in Game 2 at The Garden and the Mets hosting the Dodgers in battle of baseball's biggest spenders. ‌ ? NBA Playoffs: Pacers at Knicks (8pm ET, TNT) … After another epic comeback, it must be asked: how does Indiana keep doing this? ⚾️ MLB: Dodgers at Mets (7pm, Apple) … This entire series will air on national TV, with Saturday's game on Fox and Sunday's on ESPN. Plus: Oilers at Stars, Game 2 (8pm, ESPN); No. 1 UNC at No. 4 Florida (3pm, ESPNU) and No. 2 BC vs. No. 3 Northwestern (5:30pm, ESPNU) in the Women's Lacrosse Final Four; Giro d'Italia, Stage 13 (6:45am, Max). Will Barcelona be crowned champions of Europe yet again? (NurPhoto via Getty Images) Saturday: It's a great day to be a women's sports fan. Barcelona and Arsenal face off in the Champions League Final, the Fever host the reigning champs, and the PWHL Finals shift to Minnesota. ‌ ⚽️ UWCL Final: Arsenal vs. Barcelona (12pm, YouTube) … Barça arrives in Lisbon seeking its fourth title in five years. ? WNBA: Liberty at Fever (1pm, CBS) … Caitlin Clark and company kick off a monumental sports weekend in Indianapolis. ? PWHL Finals: Ottawa at Minnesota (5pm, YouTube) … The battle for the Walter Cup is now a best-of-three after Minnesota knotted things up on Thursday. Plus: Thunder at Timberwolves, Game 3 (8:30pm, ABC); Panthers at Hurricanes, Game 3 (8pm, TNT); USA vs. Sweden, Ice Hockey Worlds Semifinal (8:20am, NHL); No. 1 Cornell vs. Penn State (12pm, ESPN2) and No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 6 Syracuse (2:30pm, ESPN2) in the Men's Lacrosse Final Four; Michigan at Birmingham, UFL Week 9 (3pm, ABC); Giro d'Italia, Stage 14 (6:45am, Max). The Indy 500 will welcome an estimated 350,000 fans on race day. (James Gilbert/Getty Images) Sunday: Welcome to motorsports heaven. The day begins with the 82nd Monaco Grand Prix, followed by the 109th Indianapolis 500 and the 66th Coca-Cola 600. Gentlemen, start your engines. ‌ F1: Monaco GP (9am, ABC) IndyCar: Indy 500 (12:45pm, Fox) NASCAR: Coca-Cola 600 (6pm, Prime) Plus: Premier League "Decision Day" (11am, NBC/USA/Peacock); Knicks at Pacers, Game 3 (8pm, TNT); Stars at Oilers, Game 3 (3pm, ABC); Women's Lacrosse Championship (12pm, ESPNU); French Open, First Round (5am, TNT); Ice Hockey Worlds, Final (2:20pm, NHL); Softball Super Regionals, Finale (TBD); Charles Schwab Challenge, Final Round (3pm, CBS); Giro d'Italia, Stage 15 (5:25am, Max). Will Cornell's CJ Kirst conclude his historic college career with a championship? (Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) Monday: Lacrosse's Final Four weekend at Gillette Stadium concludes with the Men's Division I National Championship (1pm, ESPN). ‌ Plus: Thunder at Timberwolves, Game 4 (8:30pm, ESPN); Hurricanes at Panthers, Game 4 (8pm, TNT); PWHL Finals, Game 4 (5pm, YouTube); French Open, First Round (5am, TNT).

? CONFERENCE FINALS THE NBA'S NEW GUARD(S) (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) What do the four NBA conference finalists all have in common? Their best player is a guard. In a league where guards have historically played second fiddle, that's unprecedented. ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Ben Rohrbach: ‌ The NBA was dominated by big men through the 1960s and for most of the 1970s — until the arrival of Magic Johnson, and even he was 6-foot-9. The league has been run in more recent decades by similarly big and ball-dominant forwards, from Larry Bird and Julius Erving to LeBron James and Kevin Durant. ‌ By our count, only 22 of the NBA's 77 championship teams have been led by guards, and 18 of those titles have been won by six of the all-timers at the guard positions: Stephen Curry, Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson; Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan. ‌ You could make a case that this list covers the three greatest players in league history at both the point and shooting guard positions. Which means, if you are not among the very best guards ever, it is awfully difficult to lead your team to a championship.

? STATS DU JOUR BY THE NUMBERS Tony Reali jokes on the set before the taping of "Around the Horn" earlier this month. (Bryan Anselm/Washington Post via Getty Images) ? 23 years ‌ After 23 years and nearly 5,000 episodes, ESPN's "Around the Horn" will sign off for the final time tonight after being canceled by the network. Truly the end of an era. ‌ ⚾️ 8-42 ‌ The Rockies lost again on Thursday to fall to 8-42. It's the worst 50-game start in MLB history, breaking the mark previously held by the 2023 Athletics, who went 10-40. Colorado has won back-to-back games just once all season and has yet to win a single series. ‌ ? $450 million ‌ The owners of the New York Liberty sold a limited stake at a $450 million valuation, Sportico reports. It's the richest valuation ever for a women's sports team and more than 30 times what Joe Tsai and Clara Wu Tsai paid for the team in 2019.

? FORMULA 1 IN PHOTOS: MONACO GRAND PRIX Spectators watch as Charles Leclerc competes en route to his victory in last year's race. (Claudia Greco/Pool/AFP via Getty Images) Formula One heads to Monte Carlo on Sunday for the iconic Monaco Grand Prix, one of the most picturesque events in sports. Drivers at the start of the 1955 Monaco GP. (Yves Debraine/Klemantaski Collection/Getty Images) First held in 1929, Monaco was one of seven races on the inaugural F1 calendar in 1950. It covers 161.7 miles (78 laps) along the narrow, winding streets of the city, making it the only race that doesn't adhere to F1's minimum distance (190 miles). Senna during the 1992 Monaco GP. (Pascal Rondeau/Getty Images) No driver had more success in Monaco than Brazil's Ayrton Senna, who won the race a record six times, including five straight from 1989-93. Months later, he tragically died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Port Hercules will be filled with mega-yachts for this weekend's race, as always. (Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images) Monaco is a playground for celebrities and the uber-rich, especially when F1 comes to town. A record 466 yachts visited Port Hercules during last year's race, and there could be even more this weekend.   ? 2 RACES, 1 DAY LARSON GIVES "THE DOUBLE" ANOTHER GO Kyle Larson during Indy 500 qualifying. (Jeremy Hogan/LightRocket via Getty Images) The Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 are both on Sunday. For the second straight year, Kyle Larson will attempt to compete in both. ‌ The Memorial Day Double: To pull this off, the NASCAR Cup Series leader must race in Indianapolis (12:45pm ET), then fly to Charlotte for his second race (6pm), driving a total of 1,100 miles in a single day. ‌ Larson's 2024 attempt was foiled by bad weather. He finished 18th in the rain-delayed Indy 500 before arriving in Charlotte after the rain-shortened race had already started. He could have bad luck again this year, with a storm forming near Indianapolis on Sunday. The weather in Charlotte looks more promising. Rare feat: Larson is the fifth driver to attempt "Double Duty," joining John Andretti, Robby Gordon, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch. So far, only Stewart has succeeded in completing all 1,100 miles.

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?️ 1 for the road: Indy 500 day!

Fireworks go off behind the Pagoda as the public gates open early this morning ahead of the Indy 500. Photo: Michael Conroy/AP Five drivers to watch at today's Indy 500, from Axios Indianapolis' Arika Herron: Robert Shwartzman: The rookie driver racing for Israel shocked the sporting world when he took pole last weekend — earning the best starting position. Only 10 rookies have won the 500 in its 108 runnings, but the pole winner has taken victory about 20% of the time. Pato O'Ward: A fan and betting favorite, O'Ward was just two turns from glory last year. Alex Palou: The Spanish driver is starting sixth, but he's won four of the first five races of the season. Conor Daly: The only Hoosier in the field of 33, starting his 12th Indy 500. Josef Newgarden: The back-to-back defending champ is trying to make history as the first driver to win three Indy 500s in a row. Drivers practice for the Indy 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday. Photo: Michael Conroy/AP ? Pre-race coverage kicks off at 10 a.m. ET on Fox.

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? Good morning! Welcome back. ‌ Stat du jour: There have been more 20-point comebacks this NBA postseason (6) than the last four postseasons combined (5). ‌ In today's edition: The NBA's first Gen Z champion, Nadal immortalized in Paris, USA wins worlds, Ohtani takes the mound, the best sports photo ever turns 60, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.

? ICYMI headlineS ?? Conference Finals: SGA (40 points) and the Thunder beat the Timberwolves, 128-126, to go up 3-1; the Hurricanes blanked the Panthers, 3-0, to avoid elimination and end a 15-game conference finals losing streak. ‌ ? Last eight standing: No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Florida, No. 6 Texas, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 9 UCLA, No. 12 Texas Tech, No. 16 Oregon and Ole Miss are headed to the Women's College World Series. ‌ ? Racing roundup: Alex Palou won the Indy 500 for his fifth win in the season's first six races; Lando Norris (McLaren) won the Monaco GP; Ross Chastain won the Coca-Cola 600 despite starting in last. ‌ ⚾️ Selection Sunday: A record 13 SEC teams made the NCAA Baseball Tournament, with Vanderbilt earning the No. 1 overall seed in the 64-team field. ‌ ? Lax champs: Cornell won its fourth men's title (and first since 1977); UNC won its fourth women's title; the Buffalo Bandits completed the three-peat in the NLL (indoor).

? NBA PLAYOFFS STEP ASIDE, MILLENNIALS: GEN Z IS TAKING OVER The NBA playoffs used to be the domain of older, savvy vets deep into their thirties, but the league has gotten younger, and the best teams seem to be aging in that direction more rapidly. Is contending for a title increasingly becoming a young man's game? ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh:   When LeBron James made his NBA debut in 2003, Anthony Edwards was merely a toddler, taking his first steps on Earth. When Kobe Bryant threw the iconic 'oop to Shaquille O'Neal in the 2000 Western Conference finals, Tyrese Haliburton was just a few months old.   Jalen Brunson is young enough to ask his father, Rick, what it was like to play against Cleveland LeBron. Oh, and when Michael Jordan hit the clinching shot over Utah in the 1998 NBA Finals? Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wasn't even born. Feeling old yet? Millennials certainly do.   By the numbers: With the Thunder leading the way, the average age of the four conference finalists stands at 26.5 years old. That's the lowest on record and guarantees that the NBA will crown its first Gen Z champion this year. ‌ This continues a surprising trend that has seen the NBA get younger and younger in its final stages of the season. A Gen Z champion was only a matter of time, but if late 1990s roster trends held firm, we'd be about 2-3 years away from reaching that point. With these four teams, we're way ahead of schedule.   While it's true the league, in general, has gotten younger across the decades, the final four used to be far older than the also-rans. Nowadays, the age gap is narrowing to the point where, especially this season, there doesn't seem to be much of one at all.

? THROUGH THE LENS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images) ??????? Liverpool, England — Nearly 50 Liverpool fans were injured Monday after a 53-year-old British man drove a car into a crowd during the club's Premier League championship parade, according to police. (Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images) ?? Paris — Rafael Nadal was honored Sunday at Roland Garros, where the "King of Clay" won a record 14 French Opens and will now forever have his footprint immortalized on center court. (Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) ?? St. Paul, Minnesota — The Minnesota Frost have repeated as PWHL champions, clinching their second straight Walter Cup on Monday with an overtime winner against the Ottawa Charge. (David Ramos/Getty Images) ?? Lisbon — The only English club to win the Women's Champions League is now the only one to do so twice, as Arsenal beat defending champion Barcelona, 1-0, on Saturday for their first title since 2007.

? BACK ON TOP U.S. WINS FIRST WORLD TITLE SINCE 1933 Team USA holds up Johnny Gaudreau's jersey while celebrating their championship. (Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images) 92 years later, the Americans are once again world hockey champions, Jeff writes.   Victory in Stockholm: The U.S. beat Switzerland, 1-0 (OT), on Sunday thanks to a golden goal from Sabres center Tage Thompson, giving USA Hockey its first on-ice trophy in this tournament since 1933. ‌ What they're saying: "We knew there was something special in this room, but the biggest thing was having Johnny Gaudreau in our room, too," Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman said of the late NHL star who is the Americans' all-time points leader at worlds. "This gold goes to him and the legacy that he's paved for all USA hockey players." ‌ A long time coming: The 1933 title came back when only amateurs were allowed to compete. The Massachusetts Rangers (representing the U.S.) beat the Toronto National Sea Fleas (representing Canada) in the tournament's seventh edition, and first not won by Canada. ‌ The Americans tasted success in the ensuing decades, including Olympic gold in 1960 (technically a world title) and 1980, plus World Cup gold in 1996. But they mostly struggled at standalone world championships. Canada (28 golds), Russia/Soviet Union (27), Czechia (13) and Sweden (11) have won 79 of the 88 worlds; this was the first year the U.S. reached the title game in the tournament's modern era (since 1992). Between the lines: Team USA showed off its depth in Stockholm, boasting a young but talented roster that shared just two players with the team that took home silver in the 4 Nations Face-Off (Swayman and Blue Jackets' defenseman Zach Werenski). ‌ Looking ahead: Next year's Winter Olympics will feature NHL players for the first time since 2014. And unlike worlds, the 2026 Games are during an NHL break, meaning all top players will be available. Can the Americans run it back in a true best-on-best tournament? We'll find out in eight months.

⚾️ SHO TIME OHTANI THROWS LIVE BP, INCHES CLOSER TO RETURN (Elsa/Getty Images) Shohei Ohtani faced live batters this weekend for the first time since 2023 as he works his way back from reconstructive elbow surgery.   At 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Shohei Ohtani climbed a big league hill for the first time in 614 days. Officially, it was just a live batting practice session, a low-stakes environment for a recovering pitcher to ease back into competition. But because it was Ohtani, the session morphed into a can't-miss event.   As the three-time MVP readied to throw, a gaggle of his teammates assembled together behind a protective net set up near home plate. Dozens more Dodger players, coaches and team employees watched from the dirt track in foul territory down the third-base line.   Across the diamond, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and a handful of his players followed along from the home dugout. Media members, television cameras and photographers dotted the otherwise empty stands, jostling for the best possible view of the show. Only with Ohtani does the mundane feel so momentous.   Scouting report: Ohtani threw 22 pitches across five at-bats and called upon his entire arsenal: fastball, sinker, cutter, sweeper, splitter. The velocity clocked in at 94-95 mph, although it reached as high as 97, according to pitching coach Mark Prior. "The stuff is there," Prior ensured. ‌ Meanwhile, on offense… Hours after his live BP session, Ohtani swapped his glove for a bat and cranked the second pitch of the evening 411 feet for his 18th home run. The next day, he cranked the first pitch of the night 378 feet for his MLB-leading 19th.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, MAY 27 KAT scored 20 of his 24 points on Sunday in the fourth quarter. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) ? Knicks at Pacers, Game 4 (8pm ET, TNT) ‌ New York gave Indiana a taste of its own medicine on Sunday with a 20-point comeback win behind a fourth-quarter explosion from Karl-Anthony Towns. Can the Knicks tie up the series tonight before heading back home? ‌ ? Stars at Oilers, Game 4 (8pm, ESPN) ‌ Edmonton has been on a roll since dropping Game 1, winning Games 2 and 3 by a combined score of 9-1, including Sunday's 6-1 thrashing. ‌ ? French Open, First Round (5am, TNT) ‌ No. 2 Coco Gauff (7:10am), No. 3 Jessica Pegula (7:50am) and No. 6 Novak Djokovic (8:20am) headline the final day of the first round at Roland Garros. ‌ Plus:   ⚾️ MLB: Braves at Phillies (6:45pm, TBS) … Ronald Acuña Jr. has homered twice in three games since returning from a torn ACL. ⛳️ NCAA Men's Golf: Team Match Play (Golf) … Quarterfinals (1pm) followed by semifinals (6pm).   ? BEHIND THE LENS THE BEST SPORTS PHOTO EVER TAKEN TURNS 60 (Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) When Muhammad Ali knocked down Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965, photographer Neil Leifer captured what many consider to be the greatest sports photo ever taken. ‌ What he's saying: "What happened that night was I got very lucky, and I didn't miss," Leifer, now 82, told the New York Times on the 60th anniversary of his iconic shot, taken 1 minute and 44 seconds into the infamous title bout held in a tiny youth-center hockey rink. ‌ Fight: "Ali vs. Liston II" Location: Lewiston, Maine Equipment: Rolleiflex camera Behind the lens: Two distinct features of this photo are the (1) clean frame and (2) hazy background. Here's Leifer on both: ‌ Clean frame: "There was no commercialism. The mat was plain off-white canvas. There was nothing on the trunks. Nothing on the gloves. The background would be different today, with all sorts of crap: commercials for light beer, a hotel." Hazy background: "In those days, the crowd was going to be 90% men, and a lot of them were smoking cigarettes or cigars. The strobe lights filter through the smoke and you get a little bit of a blue haze, as opposed to a jet black, and it made the picture look a little more dramatic."

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? Good morning! Happy Hump Day to you and yours. ‌ In today's edition: MLB projected wins (now vs. preseason), chasing cheese down a hill, from draft night to the NBA's Final Four, #FIFAGate 10 years later, photo finish, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. ‌ Let's sports…

? ICYMI headlineS ?? New York, Dallas on the brink: Tyrese Haliburton (triple-double) and the Pacers beat the Knicks, 130-121, and the Oilers cruised to a 4-1 win over the Stars as Indiana and Edmonton took commanding 3-1 leads in the conference finals. ‌ ? Cover athletes: Sophomore wideouts Ryan Williams (Alabama) and Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) are featured on the cover of "EA Sports College Football 26," which releases on July 10. ‌ ⚽️ Soccer moves: 17-year-old wunderkind Lamine Yamal has signed a six-year extension with Barcelona; Cristiano Ronaldo appears set to leave Al Nassr. "This chapter is over," he wrote. "The story? Still being written. Grateful to all." ‌ ⛳️ No more starting strokes: The PGA Tour is eliminating starting strokes from the FedEx Cup Championship starting this fall, meaning all 30 golfers will start from the same score rather than the leader starting at 10-under down to 30th place starting at even par. ‌ ?? Still banned: The IOC confirmed that Russia will be banned from the 2026 Winter Olympics, though individual Russian athletes may still compete under a neutral flag.

⚾️ ONE-THIRD MARK MLB PROJECTED WINS: NOW VS. PRESEASON (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) One-third of the way through the MLB season, how have all 30 teams fared compared to their preseason projections? ‌ Overperformers: The first-place Tigers are projected to win nine more games now (92) than they were before the season began (83), the largest positive differential in the majors, per FanGraphs.* ‌ The Yankees (+8), Phillies (+6), Giants (+6) and Cubs (+6), all either division leaders or contenders, round out the top five. Nine other teams are in the black, led by the Mets (+5), Guardians (+5) and Cardinals (+5). Underperformers: The 9-46 Rockies are trending an MLB-worst 12 wins below their preseason projection as they threaten to break the record for most losses in a season. ‌ The surprisingly punchless Orioles (-10) and perennially sub-.500 Pirates (-8) are the only other teams more than five games worse than their projection. 13 other teams are in the red, "led" by the Red Sox (-5), Rangers (-5) and Braves (-5), though it should be said that Atlanta is still projected to win 88 games and make the playoffs. *Current win projections based on team records before play began on Tuesday, May 27. Preseason projections are from March 17, the day before the Tokyo Series began. All projected win totals are rounded to the nearest whole number.

? CHEESE ROLLING MEANWHILE, IN ENGLAND... The start of the second men's race. See that white disc in the bottom right? That's the cheese. (Cameron Smith/Getty Images) One of Britain's zaniest traditions took place on Monday in Gloucestershire, England, where dozens of fearless competitors participated in the annual Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling, Jeff writes. The women's downhill race. Looks fun! (Cameron Smith/Getty Images) The event features multiple races in which people chase a seven-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down a steep, 200-yard hill. Injuries are so common (not hard to see why) that the officially sanctioned event stopped in 2008 before local volunteers picked it back up in 2010. Cooper’s Hill in all its glory. (Anthony Upton/AP Photo) The race's origins are unclear, but it has results dating back to 1948 and written records from 1826. Consensus is that it began long before then, though, with some believing it was about claiming grazing rights and others believing it was a fertility ritual. A man and his cheese. Yes, the cheese is the winner's prize. (Anthony Upton/AP Photo) Germany's Tom Kopke, a popular YouTuber, won the first men's race (of seven total races) for the second consecutive year. "All the people at the top said they were going to steal my title, but this is mine," he said. "I risked my life for this. It's my cheese. Back-to-back." ‌ ? Watch: Highlights (YouTube)

? CONFERENCE FINALS NBA FINAL FOUR: WHERE WERE THE STARTERS DRAFTED? (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) The NBA's Final Four is proof that talent can come from anywhere in the draft, Jeff writes. ‌ By the numbers: The average draft pick of the 20 starters in the conference finals is 19th, with nearly as many players selected in the second round or undrafted (four) as in the top 10 (six). ‌ Team by team:   Timberwolves: Anthony Edwards (No. 1 in 2020), Mike Conley (No. 4 in 2007), Julius Randle (No. 7 in 2014), Rudy Gobert (No. 27 in 2013), Jaden McDaniels (No. 28 in 2020) Thunder: Chet Holmgren (No. 2 in 2022), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (No. 11 in 2018), Jalen Williams (No. 12 in 2022), Isaiah Hartenstein (No. 43 in 2017), Lu Dort (undrafted in 2019) Knicks: Karl-Anthony Towns (No. 1 in 2015), Mikal Bridges (No. 10 in 2018), OG Anunoby (No. 23 in 2017), Josh Hart (No. 30 in 2017), Jalen Brunson (No. 33 in 2018) Pacers: Myles Turner (No. 11 in 2015), Tyrese Haliburton (No. 12 in 2020), Aaron Nesmith (No. 14 in 2020), Pascal Siakam (No. 27 in 2016), Andrew Nembhard (No. 31 in 2022) By the numbers: The top-seeded Thunder, who've spent years stockpiling draft capital, ironically have the lowest average pick among their starters, at 26th (counting Dort as pick No. 61). The Knicks and Pacers are tied at 19th, and the Timberwolves have the highest, at 13th. ‌ Roster construction: New York didn't draft any of its starters, acquiring four via trade and one via free agency. Indiana, Oklahoma City and Minnesota each drafted two of their starters, with a majority of the rest coming via trade.

⚽️ DEEP DIVE THE FIFA SCANDAL, 10 YEARS LATER (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) 10 years after the U.S. rocked global soccer with its corruption takedown, some wonder if soccer's governing body every really cleaned itself up. ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell:   The "war room" inside the FBI field office at 26 Federal Plaza in New York filled on the evening of May 26, 2015, with nervous excitement. Attorneys and investigators waded through security, then up to the 23rd floor, to oversee a transatlantic takedown that would shake international soccer.   Plainclothes police would pound on hotel doors in Zurich, and arrest prominent FIFA officials; and before long, an unprecedented U.S. probe of "rampant, systemic, deep-rooted" bribery plaguing the beautiful game would burst into public view.   So, after months of painstaking work, dozens of sleep-deprived prosecutors and special agents gathered for their seminal moment. And as they waited, with a 161-page indictment under seal, some pondered the magnitude of what they were about to unleash.   "This," one remembers thinking, "is gonna change the history of global soccer." But what, they wondered, would the full impact ultimately be? 10 years later, some are disappointed or bothered by the complicated answer.   "FIFA," the non-profit FairSquare wrote in a recent report, "didn't fix the structural flaws that ultimately led the U.S. authorities to intervene in the first place."   Their case quickly erupted into the biggest corruption scandal in modern sports history. It eventually led to 31 guilty pleas and multiple trial convictions. It recovered hundreds of millions of dollars. It triggered a reckoning at FIFA, the global soccer governing body at the center of the storm, and led to a raft of promised reforms.   But a decade later — according to interviews and conversations with dozens of current and former soccer officials, governance experts and attorneys, including some who investigated or prosecuted the U.S. Department of Justice case — some of those promises seem empty. Reforms have been rolled back. "It's all window dressing," says Joseph Weiler, a former member of FIFA's governance committee.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, MAY 28 (Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) ? Timberwolves at Thunder, Game 5 (8:30pm ET, ESPN) ‌ OKC is a win away from reaching the NBA Finals for the first time since 2012 behind the youthful Big Three of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren. They're averaging a combined 71 points per game in this series, including 95 in Monday's Game 4 victory. ‌ ? Panthers at Hurricanes, Game 5 (8pm, TNT) ‌ Florida is one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year, which would continue a remarkable run from the Sunshine State after the Lightning made the previous three Finals (2020-22). ‌ ? French Open, Second Round (5am, TNT/truTV/Max) ‌ No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (7:25am), No. 5 Iga Świątek (9:05am) and No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (10:20am) headline the start of the second round. ‌ Plus:   ⚽️ MLS: 13 games (7:30-10:30pm, Apple) … Columbus vs. Nashville (8pm) is on FS1. ? WNBA: Fever at Mystics (7:30pm, NBA) … Caitlin Clark (quad) is out multiple weeks. ? Cycling: Giro d'Italia (6:50am, Max) … Stage 17 of 21. ⛳️ NCAA Men's Golf: Championship (6pm, Golf) … Oklahoma State vs. Virginia.

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? Good morning! It's a great day to have a great day. ‌ In today's edition: Thunder and Panthers advance to Finals, MLB's arms race, Cowboys win another golf title, everything schools, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.   Let's sports…

? WEST CHAMPS THUNDER STORM THEIR WAY TO NBA FINALS (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) The Thunder finished the dismantling of the Western Conference on Wednesday by blowing out the Timberwolves, 124-94, to secure a spot in the NBA Finals. ‌From Yahoo Sports' Vincent Goodwill:     40 minutes of hell was supposed to be a college basketball mantra, and long gone — but the Thunder have remixed it.   Sometimes it's five minutes, maybe 10. Just a stretch in which they turn the opponents into stumbling, bumbling, inept strangers. They can barely get a shot up, let alone an entry pass.   With the franchise smelling opportunity, a chance at clinching a berth in the NBA Finals, dribbling became an obstacle course. And that five- or 10-minute stretch lasted for an entire half.   Postgame reading: SGA's dad steals the show, hams it up Timberwolves offseason outlook Looking ahead: The Thunder are overwhelming favorites (-625 at BetMGM) to beat either the Pacers or Knicks. A $10 bet on OKC to win the Finals would net a measly $1.60 in profit if they were to win the title.

? EAST CHAMPS PANTHERS REACH THIRD STRAIGHT FINAL Captain Aleksander Barkov during the trophy presentation. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) The defending champion Panthers beat the Hurricanes, 5-3, on Wednesday to clinch their third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final. ‌ Rare feat: Florida is the ninth franchise to make the Cup Final in three consecutive years, joining Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Edmonton, New York (Islanders), Philadelphia, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. ‌ What they're saying: "I remember a few years ago it felt like such an accomplishment," said forward Matthew Tkachuk after he and his teammates bypassed a postgame celebration. "This year, it's all business." ‌ Are we headed for a rematch? Since the NHL expanded beyond the "Original Six" in 1967, the same two teams have met in back-to-back Cup Finals on four occasions. The Oilers (up 3-1) are one win away from making it five. ‌ 1968: Canadiens over Blues 1969: Canadiens over Blues 1977: Canadiens over Bruins 1978: Canadiens over Bruins 1983: Islanders over Oilers 1984: Oilers over Islanders 2008: Red Wings over Penguins 2009: Penguins over Red Wings 2024: Panthers over Oilers 2025: Panthers vs. ??? Go deeper: Why the Panthers didn't touch the Prince of Wales Trophy

⚾️ SO MANY PITCHERS MLB'S ARMS RACE (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) MLB teams used to routinely make it through the season using only 20 or so pitchers. Now, they're lucky if they make it to June before crossing that threshold, Jeff writes.   By the numbers: In 2010, 635 pitchers made an MLB appearance. This year, that number is already 638 and we're only a third of the way through the season. ‌ The league has been trending this way for years, first eclipsing 700 in 2015, 800 in 2019 and reaching a high-water mark of 909* in 2021 when players were still missing time due to COVID. MLB implemented a three-batter minimum rule in 2020, which has moderately decreased the number of pitchers used per game but has had a negligible impact on the season-long total. What's driving this? The sport has changed. Pitchers used to pride themselves on going deep into games, but the type of pitcher that teams value today — flamethrowers with high strikeout rates — can't eat as many innings. More arms are required to make the math add up. ‌ Consider this: In 2005, 50 pitchers threw at least 200 innings. In 2019, just 15 guys crossed that threshold. Last year? Four. This "death of the innings eater" isn't just about endurance, either. Analytics-minded managers tend to pull their starters before their third or fourth time through the order, turning instead to a long string of relievers. Between the lines: Health also plays a major (and related) role, because while increasing velocity leads to more strikeouts, it has also fueled a worrying rise in pitcher injuries. The more arms on the IL, the more are needed to fill those spots. ‌ What they're saying: "If you miss more bats, you get more outs. If you get more outs, you accumulate more wins. If you accumulate more wins, you get paid more," Cubs GM Carter Hawkins told The Athletic ($). "So the incentive structure is geared towards that, but it's more taxing on pitchers and therefore (you need) more rest for pitchers at different times." ‌ Bottom line: MLB's "stuff over stamina" era has yielded a new status quo: It's no longer about how many innings your starter can give you, but how many quality arms are waiting in the wings. ‌ *These numbers include position players pitching, which tends to average about 60 per season in recent years.

? SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS (Joe Scarnici/Getty Images) Carlsbad, California — Oklahoma State beat Virginia to win its 12th men's golf national title, tying Princeton for third most. Only Houston (16) and Yale (21) have more. (Dario Belingheri/Getty Images) Bormio, Italy — Isaac Del Toro, the first Mexican cyclist to lead the Giro d'Italia, won Stage 17 to add precious seconds to his advantage. He leads by 41 seconds with four stages left. (John MacDougall/AFP via Getty Images) Wrocław, Poland — Chelsea beat Real Betis, 4-1, in the Conference League final to complete the full set of European trophies (Champions League, Europa League). (Julian Finney/Getty Images) Paris — Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka rolled at the French Open, where the second round concludes today.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, MAY 29 (Al Bello/Getty Images) ? Pacers at Knicks, Game 5 (8pm ET, TNT) ‌ If the Knicks are going to keep their season alive, they'll need to snap Indiana's strange but true streak: the Pacers have only lost Game 3's this postseason (0-3), going 11-0 in all other games. ‌ ? Oilers at Stars, Game 5 (8pm, ESPN) ‌ The good news for the Stars, as they face elimination, is that they're 7-2 at home in these playoffs. The bad news is that the Oilers have won three straight games by a score of 13-2. ‌ ⛳️ U.S. Women's Open (8:30am, Peacock; 12pm, USA) ‌ The season's second major tees off at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, the 16th course to host both the men's and women's U.S. Open. Defending champion Yuka Saso, 23, became the youngest two-time U.S. Open winner last year, but has missed her last three cuts. ‌ ? Women's College World Series (12pm, ESPN/ESPN2) ‌ The double-elimination bracket begins today in Oklahoma City, with No. 3 Florida vs. No. 6 Texas (12pm, ESPN), No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Tennessee (2:30pm, ESPN), No. 12 Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss (7pm, ESPN2) and No. 9 UCLA vs. No. 16 Oregon (9:30pm, ESPN2). ‌ Plus:   ? French Open: Second Round (5am, TNT/truTV/Max) … No. 1 Jannik Sinner, No. 6 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Coco Gauff headline today's action. ⛳️ PGA: Memorial Tournament (8am, ESPN+; 2pm, Golf) … A stacked field tees off at Muirfield Village for a $20 million purse. ⚾️ MLB: Nationals at Mariners (9:40pm, FS1) … Washington's MacKenzie Gore leads MLB with 13.4 strikeouts-per-nine innings. ? Cycling: Giro d'Italia (7:50am, Max) … Stage 18 of 21.

? GOLDEN LEG GUESSING GAME (Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images) The Raiders just made AJ Cole the NFL's highest-paid punter, signing the three-time Pro Bowler to a historic four-year extension.   Take a guess: How much will Cole earn per year? ‌ $1.65 million $3.95 million $5.25 million $8.05 million Answer at the bottom.

? POSTSEASON EVERYTHING SCHOOLS (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) It's been a year to remember for these six athletic departments.

Trivia answer: $3.95 million (four-year, $15.8 million contract)

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? NFL's London games hit ticketing snags

U.S. and U.K. flags are displayed on the field before the New England Patriots faced the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium last October. Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images Ticketmaster had to pause sales today for the NFL's upcoming games in London. The NFL cited "exceptionally high demand" for tickets, and implied that the demand was coming heavily from resellers and bots. Sales were paused to "ensure genuine fans are able to purchase tickets," the league said on X. Fans trying to purchase tickets said they were placed into a queue with 250,000 people ahead of them. ?? The NFL's three-game London trek — Minnesota vs. Cleveland, Denver vs. N.Y. Jets, and the Rams vs. the Jaguars — kicks off in October. Games are also scheduled for Brazil, Berlin, Dublin and Madrid.

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? Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it.   In today's edition: Stanley Cup Final rematch, March Madness expansion, new-look Champions League final, Dodgers host Yankees, Sale reaches milestone, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. ‌ Let's sports…

? ICYMI headlineS ? March Madness expansion? The long-discussed idea of expanding March Madness could soon become a reality, with NCAA president Charlie Baker saying he'd like to increase the size of the field in the men's tournament as early as next spring. ‌ ? More upsets in Paris: No. 9 Alex de Minaur and No. 19 Jakub Menšík both lost on Thursday, continuing an upset-filled start to the French Open. Eight of the top 20 men's seeds failed to reach the third round. ‌ ? MLB's softball investment: MLB is investing at least $10 million in Athletes Unlimited's new softball league (debuting next week), marking its largest financial commitment ever directed towards softball. ‌ ? Spelling bee champ: A year after finishing as runner-up, 13-year-old Faizan Zaki won the 100th anniversary edition of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. His winning word? Éclaircissement. ‌ ? SEC increases fines: The SEC is increasing its fine for teams who storm the field or court after a game to $500,000, up from an escalating fine that began at $100,000 for first-time violations.

?? CONFERENCE FINALS OILERS ADVANCE, KNICKS SURVIVE (Steph Chambers/Getty Images) Dallas — The Oilers beat the Stars, 6-3, to win the West Finals in five games and set up a rematch with the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. Game 1 is Wednesday in Edmonton. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images) Superstition: After not touching the Clarence S. Campbell trophy last year and subsequently losing the Finals, captain Connor McDavid grabbed it right away this year — opening the hope that Edmonton's luck might change. (Jesse D. GarrabrantNBAE via Getty Images) New York — The Knicks beat the Pacers, 111-94, to force Game 6 behind Jalen Brunson (32 points) and Karl-Anthony Towns (24), who became the third duo in NBA history* to each score 20+ points in the first five games of the conference finals. Knicks fans Timothée Chalamet and Spike Lee high five during Game 6. (Al Bello/Getty Images) Go deeper: 'Do or die' mentality fuels Knicks as New York lives to fight another day (Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports) ‌ *The other two: Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal (2002 Lakers), Jerry West and Elgin Baylor (1966 Lakers). Not a bad list!

⚽️ STREAK SNAPPED A NEW-LOOK CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) For the first time in 21 years, the Champions League Final will not feature a team from England, Spain or Germany, with Paris Saint-Germain (France) and Inter Milan (Italy) set to face off tomorrow for the title of best in Europe, Jeff writes.   Flashback: The last such occurrence came in 2004 when Porto (Portugal) beat Monaco (France). In the 20 years since, 33 of the 40 semifinalists have come from England (15), Spain (12) and Germany (6), and the few who came from Italy (6) and France (1) never faced each other. ‌ Zoom out: It wasn't always like this. In fact, England, Spain and Germany were shut out in nine of the 17 finals preceding that 20-year run. But the landscape has changed, and just two teams outside of Europe's "Big Five" leagues have even reached the semifinals in the last two decades. ‌ That's a result of a sport whose skyrocketing revenues have shrunk the competition through a cycle of the rich getting richer, as evidenced by the small group of clubs that consistently dominates both domestically and across Europe. 80 of the 104* "Big Five" league titles since 2005 have been won by just nine teams: Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid, PSG, Juventus, Inter Milan, Man City, Man United and Chelsea. That same group has combined for 29 of the 42 Champions League final berths in that time. So, back to this year's matchup: PSG and Inter may have snapped that 20-year streak, but they're hardly surprising finalists, both having finished as runner-up in the past five years and proving themselves as perennial contenders. ‌ *Why not 105? Juventus technically won Serie A in 2005, but had their title stripped due to the infamous Calciopoli scandal, and no champion was awarded in their place.

⚾️ CLASH OF THE TITANS HOLLYWOOD HOSTS WORLD SERIES REMATCH (Taylar Sievert/Yahoo Sports) The Yankees and Dodgers square off this weekend in Los Angeles in a rematch of last year's World Series — and perhaps a preview of this year's, too, Jeff writes. ‌ Title favorites: The defending champion Dodgers have the best odds to win the World Series (+240 at BetMGM), and the Yankees aren't too far behind (+550). The Tigers (+900), Mets (+900), Phillies (+950), Cubs (+1500) and Mariners (+1800) are the only other teams with better than 20-1 odds. ‌ MVP favorites: Reigning MVPs Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani are mashing. If the season ended today, they would both be virtual locks to win the award yet again, which would be three in four years for Judge and four in five years for Ohtani. ‌ Judge leads the AL in every part of the triple-slash (.391/.488/.739), runs (51), hits (81), total bases (153) and WAR (4.2). He's also second in HR (18), RBI (47) and walks (38). Ohtani leads the NL in HR (20), runs (59), slugging (.648) and total bases (140), is second in WAR (2.8) and OPS (1.042), and is top 10 in BA (.292) and steals (11). Looking ahead: There's still a lot of baseball left, but if the Yankees and Dodgers do both make it back to the Fall Classic it will be just the 10th World Series rematch ever in back-to-back years, and the first since these same two teams did it nearly 50 years ago (1977-78).

? TV GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) ? Knicks at Pacers, Game 6 (Sat. 8pm ET, TNT) ‌ Can New York force a Game 7? Or will Indiana finish the job and reach its first NBA Finals since 2000? ‌ ⚽️ Champions League Final (Sat. 3pm, CBS) ‌ PSG and Inter Milan take the field in Munich for the ultimate prize in European soccer. Milan is chasing its fourth title, while PSG is chasing its first — as well as the rare treble after already capturing its league and domestic cup. ‌ ? French Open (Fri-Sun, TNT/truTV/Max) ‌ Third- and fourth-round action at Roland Garros includes two all-American matchups: No. 15 Frances Tiafoe vs. No. 23 Sebastian Korda (Fri. 9:40am) and No. 7 Madison Keys vs. No. 31 Sofia Kenin (Sat. TBD). ‌ ⛳️ U.S. Women's Open (Fri-Sun, USA/Peacock) ‌ Six golfers are tied for the lead at 4-under, and another 52 are within four shots entering the second round at Erin Hills. ‌ ? Women's College World Series (Fri-Sun, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU) ‌Six more games in the double-elimination portion of tournament. The two finalists (from eight teams) will be decided on Monday. ‌ ⚽️ Champions Cup Final (Sun. 9pm, FS1) ‌ Vancouver faces Cruz Azul in Mexico City, where the Whitecaps are vying to join D.C. United (1998), LA Galaxy (2000) and the Seattle Sounders (2022) as the only MLS clubs to win the competition. ‌ Plus:   ⛳️ PGA: Memorial Tournament (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/CBS) … Ben Griffin (-7) holds a two-stroke lead entering Round 2 at Muirfield Village. ? PLL: Week 1 in Albany (Fri-Sat, ESPN+/ABC) … The headliner: A title game rematch between the defending champion Archers and Whipsnakes (Sat. 1pm, ABC). ? Cycling: Giro d'Italia (Fri-Sun, Max) … Mexico's Isaac del Toro leads Ecuador's Richard Carapaz (41 seconds back) and England's Simon Yates (51 seconds) with three stages left. ⚾️ MLB: Yankees at Dodgers (Fri. 10:10pm, Apple; Sat. 7:15pm, Fox; Sun. 7pm, ESPN2) ⚾️ NCAA Baseball: Regionals (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/ESPNU) … The 64-team tournament begins with 16 schools (including eight from the SEC) hosting regionals. ? Motorsports: F1 in Spain (Sun. 9am, ESPN); IndyCar in Detroit (Sun. 12:30pm, Fox); NASCAR in Nashville (Sun. 7pm, Prime) ⚽️ Friendly: USWNT vs. China (Sat. 5:30pm, TBS) … Friendly in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Americans hold a 38-9-13 advantage in the all-time series ? WNBA: Commissioner's Cup (Sun. 3pm, League Pass) … The in-season tournament tips off with four games. ? UFL: Week 10 (Fri-Sun, Fox/ESPN/ABC) … Regular-season finale. ? Grand Slam Track: Philadelphia (Sat-Sun, Peacock/CW) … The third of four stops in the inaugural season.       ? THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH Viktor Hovland walks out of the woods on the 18th hole after an errant drive during Round 1 of the Memorial Tournament. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) Dublin, Ohio — Been there, man.

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Lance McCullers gets 24-hour security after online death threats, some aimed at 5-year-old daughter

HOUSTON (AP) — Soon after Lance McCullers Jr.’s family received online death threats following a tough start by the Houston Astros’ pitcher, his 5-year-old daughter, Ava, overheard wife Kara talking on the phone about it.

https://apnews.com/article/mlb-online-abuse-mccullers-hendriks-1336837ce64fd1aab57600a0fc267ba0?

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? Good morning! Welcome back. ‌ Stat of the day: Since May 4, Scottie Scheffler has the same number of wins (3) as the Colorado Rockies.   In today's edition: The battle of the non-taxpayers, Americans in Paris, golden age of baseball, PSG finally conquer Europe, 59-0, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. ‌ Let's sports…

? ICYMI headlineS ⛳️ Scottie wins (again): Scottie Scheffler didn't win until his ninth event this year. After running away with the Memorial, he's now won three of his last four events and pocketed nearly $10 million in the past month. ‌ ⚾️ Down goes No. 1 (again): Two weeks after Texas A&M became the first No. 1 overall seed ever eliminated in softball regionals, Vanderbilt became the first No. 1 overall seed ever eliminated in baseball regionals. ‌ ⚽️ Celebration turns ugly: The excitement following PSG's Champions League victory was marred as celebrations across France devolved into chaos, leaving two fans dead, nearly 200 more injured and 300 arrested. ‌ ? Zion faces lawsuit: Zion Williamson has been accused of rape and abuse in a civil lawsuit filed by a woman claiming to be his former girlfriend. The Pelicans forward has denied the allegations. ‌ ? McLaren can't lose: Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris went 1-2 at the Spanish Grand Prix, giving McLaren seven wins (and 16 podiums) through nine F1 races this season.

? MONEYBALL NBA FINALS: NO TAXPAYERS (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) Oklahoma City and Indiana will meet in the 2025 NBA Finals, which will be the first in the luxury tax era (2003-present) to feature two teams that weren't taxpayers. ‌ Last two standing: 11 teams exceeded the tax threshold of $170.8 million this season, and eight of those taxpayers made the playoffs (Timberwolves, Celtics, Knicks, Lakers, Nuggets, Bucks, Warriors, Heat). But the last two teams standing are the Thunder, who ranked 25th in payroll ($165.6 million), and the Pacers, who ranked 18th ($168.2 million). ‌ Contract breakdown: OKC and Indiana share fairly similar balance sheets, with mega deals for their point guards and veteran big men. The rest of their rosters are filled out with reasonably-paid veterans and rookie contracts. The 2024-25 salaries for both starting fives: ‌ Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ($35.9M), Isaiah Hartenstein ($30M), Luguentz Dort ($16.5M), Chet Holmgren ($10.9M), Jalen Williams ($4.8M) Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton ($42.2M), Pascal Siakam ($42.2M), Myles Turner ($19.9M), Aaron Nesmith ($11M), Andrew Nembhard ($2M) Exclusive club: This year's champion will join the 2006 Heat, 2014 Spurs, 2015 Warriors, 2017 Warriors and 2020 Lakers as the only non-taxpayers to win a title while the luxury tax was in effect, per Spotrac's Keith Smith.   Notes:   TNT signs off: The "NBA on TNT" era came to a close on Saturday after a 36-year run. But don't worry: "Inside the NBA" will continue under the ESPN banner, and Kevin Harlan will call games for Amazon. Team Canada: Four Canadians will compete in the Finals (Gilgeous-Alexander, Dort, Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin), tying the national record set last year. Déjà vu for NYC: The Knicks have now lost to a lower seed in five straight playoff trips, with three of those losses coming against the Pacers. What's next for New York? Finals preview: What to know about this unexpected matchup (Ben Rohrbach/Yahoo Sports)

? SNAPSHOTS THE WORLD IN PHOTOS (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images) ?? Erin, Wisconsin — Sweden's Maja Stark fended off world No. 1 Nelly Korda to win the U.S. Women's Open by two strokes for her first major title and a record-tying $2.4 million prize. Not bad for someone who'd earned less than $131,000 on tour so far this season. Tiafoe celebrates his fourth-round victory. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images) ?? Paris — No. 15 Frances Tiafoe and No. 12 Tommy Paul became the first American men to reach the French Open quarterfinals since Andre Agassi in 2003. As many as three American women could join them. Pope Leo XIV greets Yates and other cyclists before their ride through Vatican City. (Francesco Sforza via Vatican Pool/Getty Images) ?? Vatican City — Simon Yates won the Giro d'Italia after erasing an 81-second deficit on the final mountain stage. The 2018 Vuelta a España champion joins Chris Froome as the only Brits to win multiple Grand Tours.

⚾️ AMERICA'S PASTIME BOSWELL: BASEBALL IS PRETTY GREAT RIGHT NOW (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) Are we living through a golden age of baseball? In his latest column, longtime Washington Post scribe Thomas Boswell makes the case that MLB's on-field product is as good as it has ever been. ‌ Here's Boz:   This year I've watched plenty of MLB games and enjoyed them — a lot. I find baseball just as well-paced, dramatic and aesthetically pleasing as the sport I first fell for long ago. This has surprised, pleased and confused me.   I'm one of those who, for years, has complained about two problems. First, games were too slow. Second, I agreed that the analytics era focus on "three true outcomes" — homers, walks and strikeouts, none of which involve defensive plays — subtracted athletic action. So why was I enjoying the game so much?   The answer: Thanks to the pitch clock, games aren't too slow anymore. And aside from the steady rise in strikeouts, the "three true outcomes" aren't all bad trends. In fact, statistics suggest today's brand of baseball is remarkably similar to the brand that was played during MLB's boom years from 1975-1994, a 20-year stretch that saw the league's popularity skyrocket and showed "what the sport looks like when it's healthy," writes Boswell. ‌ 1975-94: The average team scored 700 runs per 162 games, with 121 steals, 529 walks and an OPS of .713. The average game time was 2:43. 2024-25: The average team scores 709 runs per 162 games, with 122 steals, 506 walks and an OPS of .711. The average game time is 2:39. The last word: "If we could love only perfect things, our days would be bleak. Baseball, as we find it today, is an opportunity to appreciate an imperfect thing and allow it to make us feel happy," writes Boswell. "MLB has warts. But I've never been happier to have an exciting crisp version of the old game for summer company." ‌ Full column: Is baseball actually troubled, or is it as good as it has ever been? (paywall)

⚽️ CHAMPIONS LEAGUE PSG FINALLY CONQUER EUROPE (Maja Hitij/UEFA via Getty Images) PSG stormed past Inter Milan, 5-0, on Saturday night in Munich to win the club's first Champions League title after years of falling disappointingly short. ‌ From Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell:   For a little over a decade, PSG was a controversial project and a collection of names. It was Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Beckham, then Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi. It was a club transformed by money and defined by unflinching ambition.   It was many things, but never the one thing it desperately wanted to be — until Saturday, when PSG, in its very first year without a megastar, became the European champion. PSG manager Luis Enrique is hoisted into the air by his players. (Lars Baron/Getty Images) Behind the scenes: To be clear, this was not some low-budget rebuild or underdog story. PSG spent $800 million over the last two years, more than any other club. The difference: Instead of splurging on all-world players, they invested in talented but not-yet-heralded youngsters who, sans ego, would heed the demands of manager Luis Enrique. ‌ Enrique took charge in the summer of 2023 and set out to build a team-first culture at a club where stars had been "treated like gods," he explained. He wasn't afraid to lecture Mbappé (as seen here), and ultimately, wasn't afraid to lose him. "I would like him to stay. He's the cornerstone of the team," Enrique said last year around the time Mbappé exited for Real Madrid. "But the moment he leaves, the team becomes the cornerstone. I think we can be even better next season." Completing the treble: PSG are the ninth club to win domestic league, domestic cup and European Cup titles in the same season, joining Celtic (1966-67), Ajax (1971-72), PSV Eindhoven (1987-88), Manchester United (1998-99), Barcelona (2008-09; 2014-15), Inter Milan (2009-10), Bayern Munich (2012-13; 2019-20) and Manchester City (2022-23).

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, JUNE 2 The Red Raiders are in the WCWS semifinals for the first time. (Texas Tech Athletics) ? Women's College World Series, Semifinals | ESPN ‌ No. 6 Texas advances to the Final with a win over No. 7 Tennessee (12pm ET), while a loss would trigger a winner-take-all game at 2:30pm. No. 12 Texas Tech advances with a win over No. 2 Oklahoma (7pm); a winner-take-all game would be at 9:30pm if needed. ‌ ⚾️ NCAA Baseball Championship, Regionals | ESPN+ ‌ 10 teams have already advanced to the Super Regionals. The final six spots will be determined in tonight's elimination games. If you can only watch one, make it No. 14 Tennessee vs. Wake Forest in Knoxville (6pm, ESPN2), as the defending champion Vols look to keep their hopes of a repeat alive. ‌ ? French Open, Fourth Round | TNT, truTV, Max ‌ No. 6 Novak Djokovic (7:55am), No. 7 Madison Keys vs. fellow American Hailey Baptiste (8:30am) and No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 17 Andrey Rublev (2:15pm) headline the action.   ⚾️ 59-0 THE PERFECT SEASON (August Frank/Lewiston Tribune via AP) LSU Shreveport became the first college baseball team ever to finish a season undefeated, capping their 59-0 campaign on Friday with the school's first NAIA national championship in any sport. ‌ By the numbers: The Pilots played only four one-run games and won eight games by 15+ runs. They led the nation in ERA (2.38) and fielding percentage (.982), ranked second in runs per game (11.3) and third in batting average (.361). Three players hit better than .400 and ace Isaac Rohde finished 16-0. ‌ For comparison's sake: The NCAA's best single-season winning percentages are .914 by Arizona State (64-6 in 1972) in D-I, .939 by Savannah State (46-3 in 2000) in D-II and .978 by Trinity College (45-1 in 2008) in D-III.

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? Good morning! ‌ In today's edition: MLB awards watch, "Golf's Longest Day," the NBA Finals are courtesy of Paul George, hometown hero wins stunner in Paris, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. ‌ Let's sports…

? ICYMI headlineS   ? Softball's All-Texas showdown: Texas Tech walked off four-time defending champion Oklahoma and Texas shut out Tennessee to set up an all-Texas final in the Women's College World Series. ‌ ? 100 wins in Paris: Novak Djokovic advanced to the French Open quarterfinals and joined Rafael Nadal (112 wins) as the only men to reach the century mark at Roland Garros. ‌ ⚾️ Super Regionals set: 16 teams are left in the NCAA Baseball Championship. Next up: eight best-of-three Super Regionals hosted by the higher seed beginning on Friday. ‌ ? Cover athlete: Saquon Barkley's reverse hurdle will grace the cover of "Madden 26," which comes out on August 14. ‌ ⚾️ No. 51 forever (twice): When Ichiro Suzuki joined Seattle in 2001, he asked former Mariner Randy Johnson if he could wear his No. 51 jersey. Now, the team is retiring the number for both players, honoring Ichiro this summer and Johnson next year.

⚾️ BEST OF THE BEST MLB AWARDS WATCH (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge's home run-filled showdown over the weekend further strengthened their MVP cases. But what about MLB's other two major awards races? Here are the early leaders in each, according to Yahoo Sports' Jordan Shusterman. ‌ American League ‌ MVP   Judge (RF, Yankees): The two-time MVP has leveled up again. His career-low strikeout rate has him flirting with a .400 average two months into the season, and he's on pace to become just the 10th player in AL/NL history with an OPS over 1.200. Bobby Witt Jr. (SS, Royals): Though last year's runner-up has taken a step back at the plate, he still ranks third in the AL in extra-base hits (31), fifth in wins above replacement (2.7) and second in steals (20). Cal Raleigh (C, Mariners): "Big Dumper" (yes, that's his nickname), whose 23 homers are tied for the major league lead, became the first catcher in MLB history with 20 HR before June and may very well be headed towards the greatest season ever by a catcher. Cy Young   Tarik Skubal (LHP, Tigers): The reigning AL Cy Young ranks seventh in ERA (2.26), first in WHIP (0.79) and has 99 strikeouts to just 7 walks. Keep this up and he could become the AL's first back-to-back winner since Pedro Martínez in 1999-2000. Garrett Crochet (LHP, Red Sox): His first season as a starter last year was excellent; his second has been sublime, leading the AL in strikeouts (101) and innings (82) while ranking sixth in ERA (1.98) and third in WAR (2.7). Max Fried (LHP, Yankees): In Fried's first 12 starts after signing an eight-year, $218 million contract, he's 7-1 with a 1.92 ERA (fifth in the AL) and 0.97 WHIP (seventh). Think New York is pleased with its investment? ROY   Jacob Wilson (SS, Athletics): The No. 6 pick in 2023 has followed last year's disappointing debut with a supernova start to his true rookie campaign, batting .355 (second to Judge in the AL) with nearly as many walks (13) as strikeouts (15). Shane Smith (RHP, White Sox): One of the lone bright spots for the South Siders, the No. 1 pick in last year's Rule 5 draft sports a sterling 2.68 ERA, tops among qualified rookie starters. Carlos Narváez (C, Red Sox): The Venezuelan already looks like one of the league's best catchers. He leads all AL backstops in defensive runs saved and his .847 OPS ranks second. National League ‌ MVP   Ohtani (DH, Dodgers*): The three-time MVP is on pace for 63 HR, which may be enough on its own to win him his fourth. If he's even close to his old self when he returns to the mound, this race could be over by August. Freddie Freeman (1B, Dodgers*): Don't let his teammate's antics distract you from what the 2020 MVP is doing. He leads the NL in batting average (.368) and OPS (1.056). Pete Crow-Armstrong (CF, Cubs): The sophomore sensation's breakout has been a sight to behold. The speedster leads the NL in WAR (3.6), is already closing in on a 20-20 season (15 HR, 19 SB) and is perhaps the best outfielder in baseball. Cy Young   Yoshinobu Yamamoto (RHP, Dodgers*): The $325 million man has given L.A.'s injury-ravaged rotation some much-needed stability. Despite Sunday's poor outing, he still has the NL's third-best ERA (2.39) and WHIP (1.00). Paul Skenes (RHP, Pirates): The margins here are razor thin, and Skenes could easily vault Yamamoto with a strong start tonight. He's tied for the NL lead in WHIP (0.92) and is second in ERA (2.15). Zack Wheeler (RHP, Phillies): Will the two-time runner-up finally win? At 35, his career-high strikeout rate and career-low walk rate are powering a superb 0.92 WHIP (tied with Skenes) and 2.96 ERA. ROY   Drake Baldwin (C, Braves): The 2022 third-rounder has yet to supplant Sean Murphy as Atlanta's starting backstop, but it may only be a matter of time. His .868 OPS ranks 18th among all NL hitters with at least 100 plate appearances. Ben Casparius (RHP, Dodgers*): The 2021 fifth-rounder is 4-0 with a 2.72 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 19 appearances, emerging as a dependable long reliever for an injury-depleted roster that's short on arms. Chad Patrick (RHP, Brewers): The unheralded 2021 fourth-rounder leads NL rookies in innings (62.2) and sits just outside the top 10 among all NL starters with a 2.97 ERA. *Chasing history: 56 MLB teams have claimed two major awards in a single season, but no club has ever swept all three. Could the 2025 Dodgers become the first?

⛳️ ROAD TO OAKMONT 47 QUALIFY ON "GOLF'S LONGEST DAY" Max Homa carries his bag during final qualifying in Columbus, Ohio. (U.S. Open) Max Homa is a six-time PGA Tour winner with $43 million in career earnings. On Monday, he carried his own bag for a 36-hole marathon. That's the beauty of U.S. Open qualifying. ‌ How it works: A little over half of the 156 golfers competing next week at Oakmont qualified via the methods you'd expect like winning on Tour or being highly ranked. But 65 spots were reserved for those who emerged from a series of 36-hole qualifiers. ‌ Local qualifying (18 holes) began in April, where over 10,000 golfers competed across 110 sites. Anyone with a 0.4 handicap or better was allowed to sign up. Final qualifying (36 holes) kicked off in May with three events in Texas, England and Japan before concluding this week. Golf's Longest Day: After 18 golfers qualified in May, another 47 earned their spots on Monday at 10 sites across North America. ‌ Duke University (Durham, NC) Kinsale (Columbus, OH) Canoe Brook (Summit, NJ) Emerald Dunes (West Palm Beach, FL) Piedmont (Atlanta) Springfield (Springfield, OH) Valencia (Valencia, CA) Wine Valley (Walla Walla, WA) Woodmont (Rockville, MD) Lambton (Toronto) Headlines from the day: Former world No. 13 Cameron Young beat Homa and Rickie Fowler in a stacked playoff in Columbus … High schooler Mason Howell shot 63-63 (18-under) to qualify in Atlanta … Qualifier Matthew Vogt is a dentist and grew up caddying at Oakmont.

? TRADING PLACES THE NBA FINALS, COURTESY OF PAUL GEORGE (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) As it turns out, all you needed to do to reach the 2025 NBA Finals was trade Paul George. Remarkably, both of this year's finalists were built from assets they received in exchange for dealing George, writes Yahoo Sports' Ben Rohrbach.   Indiana: The Pacers selected George with the 10th pick in the 2010 draft. To avoid losing him for nothing in free agency, they traded him to the Thunder in 2017 for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, who they ultimately turned into Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard and Johnny Furphy. That's roughly a third of their entire roster, half their rotation and both of their leaders. ‌ Oklahoma City: George played two seasons with the Thunder (both first-round exits) before they shipped him to the Clippers in 2019 for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and a handful of first-round picks, one of which became Jalen Williams (No. 12 in 2022). That's the league MVP and their No. 2 scorer… and more picks are coming this year and next.

? HOMETOWN HERO BOISSON STUNS PEGULA IN PARIS (Andy Cheung/Getty Images) The only French player still in contention at Roland Garros is the last one you'd expect. ‌ Historic upset: 22-year-old wild card Loïs Boisson stunned No. 3 Jessica Pegula on Monday in front of an adoring home crowd to clinch a spot in the final eight. ‌ The Dijon native is the lowest-ranked woman (No. 361) to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since Kaia Kanepi (No. 418) at the 2017 U.S. Open. But while Kanepi was a former top-20 player, Boisson has never even cracked the top 150. Before this week, Boisson had pocketed $148,009 in career winnings. By reaching the quarters in Paris, she's already guaranteed $500,284. If she wins again tomorrow, that goes up to $784,269. Comeback story: Boisson earned a wild-card entry in 2024 but tore her ACL in a tuneup match and missed nine months. A year later, she's made the most of her second chance and will have the whole stadium behind her tomorrow when she takes on No. 6 Mirra Andreeva for a spot in the semis. ‌ Speaking of upsets… No. 62 Alexander Bublik took down No. 5 Jack Draper to reach his first major quarterfinal in his 26th appearance.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, JUNE 3 Tommy Paul will have his work cut out for him today against the defending champion. (Tim Clayton/Getty Images) ? French Open, Quarterfinals (TNT/Max) ‌ The last two American men standing are in action today, starting with No. 15 Frances Tiafoe vs. No. 8 Lorenzo Musetti (8:40am) before No. 12 Tommy Paul takes on No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (2:15pm). The last American man to reach the semifinals in Paris? Andre Agassi in 1999. ‌ ⚾️ MLB Doubleheader (7pm ET, TBS) ‌ The Yankees host the Guardians (7:05pm) and the Dodgers host the Mets (10:10pm) in a rare TBS doubleheader. ‌ More to watch:   ? WNBA: Wings at Storm (9:30pm, ESPN) … Paige Bueckers (concussion) will miss her second straight game. ⚽️ Soccer: USWNT vs. Jamaica (8pm, TNT) … Friendly in St. Louis. ? 45 STRAIGHT THE STREAK CONTINUES Jágr and Barkov celebrate a goal in 2017. (Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) A teammate of Jaromír Jágr has made the Stanley Cup Final in each of the last 45 seasons. ‌ 1980-2025: The streak began in 1980, when Jágr's future teammate Bryan Trottier won the Cup with the Islanders. This year (and for the third straight postseason), it's Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, who played with Jágr in Florida from 2015-17.

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? Good afternoon! Welcome to Yahoo Sports AM… in the PM. In lieu of our regular newsletter, we've put together a reader survey we'd love for you to fill out. We're always looking to improve, and your feedback helps us do that. Thank you!

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: Wednesday, june 4 (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) ? Stanley Cup Final, Game 1 | 8pm ET, TNT   The rematch begins tonight. The Oilers host the Panthers in Edmonton as they look to erase last year's heartbreaking Game 7 defeat — and Canada's 32-year title drought. ‌ ? French Open, Quarterfinals | 2:15pm, TNT/Max ‌ No. 6 Novak Djokovic faces No. 3 Alexander Zverev with a trip to the semifinals on the line. The winner gets world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. ‌ ? WCWS Final, Game 1 | 8pm, ESPN ‌ A first-time champion will be crowned as soon as tomorrow, with No. 6 Texas (runner-up in 2022 and 2024) and No. 12 Texas Tech (WCWS debut) meeting in the best-of-three series in Oklahoma City. ‌ That's it for today. Reminder to fill out the survey! Thank you, love you. We'll be back to your regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.

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? Good morning! Thanks to everyone who filled out our reader survey yesterday. For anyone who hasn't, please do. Appreciate you all so much. ‌ In today's edition: The new NBA blueprint, Oilers win Game 1 thriller, Texas beats Tech on failed intentional walk, MLB power rankings, French Open semifinals, and more. ‌ Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy.   Let's sports…

? ICYMI headlineS ? Texas wins Game 1: Texas rallied for a 2-1 victory over Texas Tech in Game 1 of the best-of-three Women's College World Series Final, notching the game-winning hit on a failed intentional walk when the pitch flew a little too close to the strike zone. ‌ ? USA vs. The World: Next season's NBA All-Star Game will indeed feature a "USA vs. The World" format, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed. And it will air on NBC, which will be in the midst of broadcasting another global sporting event: the 2026 Winter Olympics. ‌ ⚾️ Rockies sweep Marlins: A day after the Rockies clinched their first series win of the season, they got their first three-game sweep since May of last year. Their record is now a sterling 12-50. Don't let Colorado get hot! ‌ ⚽️ Ronaldo nets game winner: Portugal is headed to the UEFA Nations League final thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo's game-winning goal in the 68th minute to give his side their first win over Germany since 2000. ‌ ? Suns hire new coach: The Suns have found their new head coach, hiring former Cavaliers assistant Jordan Ott after interviewing more than 15 potential candidates.

? LAST TWO STANDING THE NEW NBA BLUEPRINT: NO WEAK LINKS (Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports) Most team sports can be categorized as either "strong link" or "weak link" sports. ‌ In strong link sports, the team with the best player usually wins. In weak link sports, the team without the worst player usually wins. Basketball is widely considered a strong link sport due to the outsized impact one player can have. And for decades, that's how I would have described the NBA. But now? After watching this year's playoffs, I'm convinced the NBA has entered its weak link era. Having the best player in a series has never mattered less. Not having the worst player has never mattered more. ‌From Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor:   The deeper we go into the NBA playoffs, the more one truth gets hammered home: If you've got a guy on the floor who can't shoot or defend, he's getting exposed and you're probably getting sent home.   But the 3-and-D archetype with the guy who just stands in the corner isn't quite enough anymore. All players on the floor must ideally be able to dribble and make quick decisions.   That's why the Celtics won the title last year. Sure, they had stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. But they also surrounded them with well-rounded pieces. Even with bench units, there was no obvious weak link.   The same blueprint is playing out this season with the Thunder and Pacers facing off in the NBA Finals.   No weak links:   Thunder: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the hub, but OKC's success hinges on the fact that nobody else gums up the system. There's no ball-stopper, no spacer who can't dribble, no defender the Thunder can't trust to ferociously execute a game plan. Even OKC's bigs fit the mold: shooting, facilitating, handling the ball. Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton is Indiana's engine, but the pieces around him are all skilled enough to play with tempo, precision and relentless energy. Consider their historic comebacks: The Pacers never turned to clear-out, hero-ball isolations; in the moments when most teams tighten up, they just keep running their offense. Bottom line: For years, the NBA's top teams assembled "Big Threes," often at the expense of sensible roster-building and depth. OKC and Indiana are the new blueprint: deep and versatile rotations, with systems built on interchangeable skill sets. Everyone is a threat. ‌ Shoutout: Former Knicks analytics coordinator Owen Phillips wrote about the NBA's weak link era at the start of the playoffs and heavily influenced my view. If you like the NBA and data, I highly recommend signing up for his newsletter, The F5.

? CUP FINAL IN PHOTOS: OILERS TAKE GAME 1 Oilers fans pregame. (Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) The Stanley Cup Final rematch got off to a thrilling start on Wednesday in Edmonton, where the Oilers scored the final three goals in a 4-3 (OT) victory. Marchand high fives his teammates. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Brad Marchand gave the Panthers their first lead at 2-1 midway through the first period. His goal was Florida's 50th road goal of the 2025 postseason, a new NHL record. Draisaitl celebrates his game-winner. (Codie McLachlan/Getty Images) Leon Draisaitl, who didn't score in last year's Cup Final, scored the first and last goal of the night. The German forward netted the game-winner in the final minute of overtime off a feed from Connor McDavid. The Stanley Cup on the ice before the start of the game. (Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images) Looking ahead: Teams that win Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win the title 76.5% of the time. The Panthers will try to reverse that trend, starting with Game 2 on Friday night.

⚾️ 1-30 MLB POWER RANKINGS (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) For the first time this season, the Dodgers do not sit atop our MLB power rankings, with the Tigers taking over the top spot. ‌ Top 5:   Tigers (41-22): Detroit is MLB's most complete club, as evidenced by the fact that they are the only team ranked in the top five for both ERA and runs scored. Mets (39-23): The staff is unbelievable (league-best 2.86 ERA), Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso are mashing and Juan Soto is heating up (1.395 OPS over his last six games). Dodgers (37-25): Pitching injuries may prevent them from reaching their full potential, but L.A.'s high-powered offense gives them a chance every night. Yankees (37-23): No Juan Soto, no Gerrit Cole, no problem. It helps that Aaron Judge is doing an awfully good impression of Barry Bonds in the batter's box. Cubs (38-23): The offense remains electric, and their vastly improved bullpen has made them much more formidable in their quest for their first full-season division title since 2017.

? TV GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, JUNE 5 (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) ? NBA Finals, Game 1 | 8:30pm ET on ABC ‌ The NBA's grand finale begins tonight in OKC, where the Thunder are massive favorites (-700 at BetMGM) over the Pacers (+500). Only the 2004 Pistons (+500 vs. the Lakers) have ever won the Finals as that big of an underdog. ‌ ? WCWS, Game 2 | 8pm, ESPN ‌ Will Texas clinch their first national championship, or will Texas Tech force a decisive Game 3? ‌ ? French Open, Semifinals | TNT ‌ No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka takes on three-time defending champion Iga Świątek (9am) in the first women's semifinal, followed by No. 2 Coco Gauff vs. hometown hero Loïs Boisson (10:10am) in the second. ‌ More to watch:   ? WNBA: Liberty at Mystics (7:30pm, Prime); Valkyries at Mercury (10pm, Prime) … Commissioner's Cup. ⛳️ PGA Tour: Canadian Open (6:45am, ESPN+/3pm, Golf) … Rory McIlroy headlines the field in Toronto. ⚽️ UEFA Nations League: Spain vs. France (3pm, FS1) … Winner takes on Portugal in Sunday's final.     ? GOOD READ LET THE BODY KEEP THE SCORE (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) Cub Swanson spent nearly two decades as a pro fighter, and he has the scars to prove it, writes Yahoo Sports' Ben Fowlkes. ‌ The world sees the highlights. But this is what 20 years in the fight game really looks like — tendons torn, bones broken, and a body that never stops paying the price.   "I woke up in the middle of the night and I felt like I was going to throw up," said Swanson. "And they had told me, 'If you throw up, well, your jaw is wired, so you might die.' There's nowhere for it to go. You could suffocate, so you've got to cut the wires off."

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? Hoops history

Photo: Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) Either the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Indiana Pacers will soon take home the first NBA championship in their franchise's history. The NBA Finals tip off tonight at 8:30 p.m. ET, on ABC. ⚡️ The Thunder are the odds-on favorite to win it all. They had the best record in the NBA this season (68-14), they have this year's MVP (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and they're one of the deepest teams in the league. They're also the youngest, with an average age of just over 24 years.