Sports, Entertainment, & Culture

[phkrause]

👋 Good morning! Today is my 35th birthday, which means I'm actually turning 36. Even closer to 40 than I realized! Great! Have you ever thought about that? The age you turn on your birthday is the age you just completed — not the age you're starting. It makes all the sense in the world but still breaks my brain a little bit. In today's edition: A deep dive into boxing lore, Avs stay hot, 24-team playoff gains steam, even Ohtani has limits, Tap the Map, dream job for soccer fans, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...

🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚽️ Gunners advance to final: Arsenal are heading to the Champions League final for the first time since 2006 after beating Atlético Madrid, 1-0, on Tuesday (2-1 on aggregate) thanks to Bukayo Saka's 44th-minute goal. 🏒 Leafs win lottery: The Maple Leafs will pick first in the 2026 NHL Draft after winning Tuesday's lottery, jumping from the fifth-best odds to their first No. 1 pick since 2016. The Sharks, Canucks, Blackhawks and Rangers round out the top five. 🏀 Record viewership: The 76ers' series-clinching victory over the Celtics averaged 11 million viewers, making it the most-watched first-round Game 7 in NBA history. Games across the entire first round averaged four million viewers, making it the most-watched opening round in 33 years. 🏈 Mahomes ahead of schedule: Patrick Mahomes is "way ahead of schedule" after tearing his ACL in December, per the Chiefs. The two-time MVP is "in a good position" to participate in OTAs later this month and could potentially return by Week 1. 🏀 WNBA great retires: Eight-time WNBA All-Star Tina Charles announced her retirement after 14 seasons. The former No. 1 overall pick leaves as the league's all-time leader in rebounds (4,262) and second-leading scorer (8,396 points).

🥊 INSIDE THE RING WAS ALI'S MOST FAMOUS PHOTO A LIE? (Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports) Sonny Liston was a champion, enforcer and enigma — a Hall of Fame heavyweight who became relegated by history as the fallen giant beneath a glowering Muhammad Ali. Yet more than 40 years later, the questions surrounding Liston and his fateful night against "The Greatest" refuse to die. Ben Fowlkes, Uncrowned: Over 60 years later and you still keep running into that photograph. You see it in dorm rooms and strip mall gyms. It's on the wall in bars, restaurants and waiting rooms. It's a great moment in sports photography, the way Ali is captured at the exact peak of his dominance. The fact that it was, in all likelihood, an ugly and ignominious day for boxing has been smoothed down to almost nothing by the sands of time. If you start to ask questions — even just a few basic ones — about the iconic scene from the heavyweight title rematch between Ali and Liston on May 25, 1965, that's when the picture comes into better focus. The iconic photo. (Bettmann Archive/Getty Images) Q: Where did this fight take place? A: In a small civic center in Lewiston, Maine. Q: Wait, didn't their first fight take place at a much larger arena in Miami Beach? A: Yes it did. And organizers had originally targeted Las Vegas for the rematch, but there were enough suspicions about the legitimacy of the fight that Art Laurie, then the chairman of the Nevada commission, later told [author Nick] Tosches that he'd been warned away from it by U.S. Senators who told him "not to have anything to do with that fight, because our industry here was gaming, and that fight was going to stink out the place." Q: At what point of the fight was that picture snapped? A: Slightly past midway of the first round. Q: How many other heavyweight title fights did Ali win via first-round knockout? A: Zero. He had only one other first-round knockout win in his entire pro career, and it came in his fourth professional fight, against Jim Robinson, a man who finished his career 8-25, with 16 losses by way of knockout. Q: How many other fights did Liston lose via first-round knockout? A: Zero. Liston was knocked out only one other time, in his second-to-last fight against Leotis Martin, just one year before his death. Prior to that, he'd withstood punishment from the hardest hitters in the division, such as Cleveland Williams, who finished his career with 62 knockout wins but went 0-2 against Liston. A portrait of Liston. (Robert Riger/Getty Images) The post-fight recap in The New York Times described Liston collapsing "slowly, like a falling building, piece by piece, rolling onto his back, then flat on his stomach, his face pressed against the canvas." Multiple ringside observers reported that fans in the small civic center almost immediately began chanting "Fix!" The blow that supposedly felled Liston was dubbed "the phantom punch." While Ali stood over his foe, yelling and gesturing in that moment immortalized on film, what some at ringside later reported hearing was Ali berating Liston, demanding he get up, telling him no one would believe this. The video footage from the fight shows Ali even interrupting the referee's count as he continued yelling at Liston, seemingly in no hurry to see the fight ended. Later, Ali would do his best to explain and justify the strangeness of that finish. It was just that his hands were so fast, he said. As fast as the human eye can blink, that's how fast he could punch. "The minute I hit Sonny Liston, all of those people blinked at that moment. That's why they didn't see the punch," Ali said later, playing the moment for laughs. One got the impression, hearing the comedic faux-sincerity in his voice, that he was doing the best with the material he had. According to Foneda Cox, one of Liston's longtime friends and sparring partners, Liston always knew this day was coming. He knew what kind of people were backing him. He was indebted to them in a million little ways. "He told me, he said, 'Foneda, I'm gonna tell you. I've got to lose one, and when I do, I'm gonna tell you." Cox never got any such advanced warning. He later said it was the only thing that he still held against Liston.

🏈 EXPANDED PLAYOFF SOURCES: 24-TEAM CFP GAINING STEAM (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) College football coaches are swinging their support behind a remade postseason that would include a 24-team playoff and the elimination of league title games, sources tell Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger. What we're hearing: The most-discussed 24-team model is an all at-large field determined through the CFP rankings, with an automatic spot for the Group of Six leagues. The format adds one playoff round and 12 additional games. The top eight ranked teams would receive a first-round bye, while seeds No. 9-24 play in the first round on campus. Conference championship games would be eliminated and the playoff, presumably, would start immediately after the regular season, opening a path for the national title game to return to the second week of January. One potential hurdle? The Army-Navy game, traditionally played in a standalone window on the second Saturday in December, would conflict with the first or second round of a 24-team playoff. However, officials from both academies are at least exploring moving the game — potentially to Thanksgiving week.

⚾️ SHO-TIME EVEN THE LIMITLESS HAVE LIMITS Ohtani during his start on Tuesday in Houston. (Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) The Shohei Ohtani experience is changing before our eyes. Pitching, not hitting: The Dodgers' two-way superstar started on the mound against the Astros on Tuesday. But for the third time in his last four pitching starts, he did not hit as the team tries to manage his workload. "Just kind of seeing how things are going, I think it's best for everyone," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Tuesday while explaining the decision. "Definitely not [based on] results. It's a little bit more body language and just watching the player." "It doesn't make sense for him to go wire-to-wire [as both a] pitcher and hitter, playing every day and pitching every week. That's hard," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said last weekend. By the numbers: Ohtani took the loss on Tuesday despite another stellar outing on the mound, where he is having a Cy Young-caliber season (2-2, 0.97 ERA, 0.81 WHIP). Things aren't going as smoothly at the plate (.240 BA, 6 HR), which makes the decision to occasionally sit him a tad bit easier. Jake Mintz, Yahoo Sports: During Ohtani's six seasons in Anaheim, he was the master of his fate, the captain of his soul. He dictated his schedule to the club, who ceded to Ohtani's preferences more often than not. But things are playing out differently in DodgerTown, where the two-time defending champs are focused on the long game. Ensuring Ohtani is at full strength for October is priority No. 1. Given the club's threepeat-or-bust mentality, it's a rational course of action, even if it means the game's most unique player will be incrementally less unique. Still, it's unusual to think about Ohtani as restricted, in any way, shape or form. He has always been, except for the occasional torn elbow ligament, completely limitless. That's what makes this recent, seemingly minuscule development feel notable. Whatever the real reason — age, underperformance, Dodger-Think, a combination — Ohtani is being restrained. It's a reminder, too, that he can't do this forever. Time always wins. As such, concessions will need to be made. In fact, they're already being made. Bottom line: Ohtani remains the most remarkable character in the sport. That he is seriously in contention for the Cy Young a season after clobbering 55 home runs is astonishing. Nobody else in baseball is in his hemisphere of superstardom. And yet, even the limitless have limits.

📸 SNAPSHOTS IN PHOTOS: PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) Oklahoma City — LeBron James (game-high 27 pts) and the Lakers kept it close for a while, but Chet Holmgren (24 pts, 12 reb) and the Thunder poured it on late for a 108-90 victory in Game 1. Courtside chess: Inside the Lakers' defensive plans to slow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — and give themselves a puncher's chance (Kelly Iko, Yahoo Sports) (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) Detroit — The Pistons capitalized against the sloppy Cavaliers (19 turnovers) to win the series opener, 111-101, and snap a 12-game postseason losing streak against Cleveland dating back to 2007. Coughing it up: James Harden tallied more turnovers (7) than made field goals (6), marking the third time he's done that this postseason and the 29th time he's done it in his playoff career. Brock Nelson and Valeri Nichushkin celebrate as Colorado's Game 2 victory winds down. (Tyler Schank/Clarkson Creative/Getty Images) Denver — The Avalanche beat the Wild, 5-2, to take a 2-0 series lead behind a goal and two assists from Nathan MacKinnon, who became just the sixth player in the past 40 years to register three consecutive three-point games in the playoffs. Total domination: The best team from the regular season doesn't appear to be slowing down in the playoffs, as Colorado is now 6-0 with an aggregate score of 27-13 in the postseason, including 14 goals scored in the last two games alone.

📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 Can PSG hang on to reach their second straight final? (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images) ⚽️ Champions League, Semifinal   Bayern Munich (down 5-4) host PSG in the second leg (3pm ET, CBS) for a spot in the final. The winner will take on Arsenal for the European crown.   Scoring explosion: The first leg was the highest scoring Champions League semifinal match since 1960. Will we see another slugfest today?   🏀 NBA Playoffs   The Knicks (up 1-0) host the 76ers (7pm, ESPN) and the Spurs (down 1-0) host the Timberwolves (9:30pm, ESPN) in tonight's Game 2 action.   Historic heater: New York is the first team in NBA playoff history to win three straight games by at least 25 points.   🏒 NHL Playoffs   The Sabres host the Canadiens in Game 1 (7pm, TNT) before the Golden Knights (up 1-0) host the Ducks (9:30pm, TNT) in the nightcap.   Even matchup: Atlantic Division foes Buffalo and Montreal played each other to a dead heat this season, splitting their series, 2-2, with a combined score of 13-13.   More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Rangers at Yankees (7:05pm, Prime) … Will Warren (4-0, 2.39 ERA) is one of three Yankees starters with a sub-2.50 ERA. The rest of the AL has four total. ⚽️ CONCACAF Champions Cup: Toluca (down 2-1) vs. LAFC (9:30pm, FS1) … Winner faces Tigres UANL in the final. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.

🌍 GEOGRAPHY TAP THE MAP GeoSports is a new daily game that combines sports history with geography. Tap where it happened! The closer you are, the more points you get. Today's questions: Wrigley Field, the second-oldest ballpark in the majors, has called this city home since 1916. Kobe Bryant went straight from Lower Merion High to the NBA in 1996 in this metro area. LeBron James was living in this city when he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated as a high school junior. In 1986, Maradona scored the "Hand of God" and the "Goal of the Century" in the same match in this city. Manu Ginobili, picked 57th in 1999 and a four-time NBA champ, grew up in this Argentine city.   GeoSports was created by Frank Michael Smith, a popular sports personality and avid Yahoo Sports AM reader. What do you think of the game? Should we create more games like it? Email me with any and all feedback.

⚽️ 2026 WORLD CUP DREAM JOB (Giphy) Fox Sports, in partnership with Indeed, is launching a nationwide search to fill the position of "Chief World Cup Watcher." Details: The role will be tasked with watching all 104 World Cup matches this summer on the Fox One streaming platform. The new employee will earn $50,000 in salary from June 6 through July 26, which works out to $1,000 per day.

[phkrause]

👋 Good morning! GeoSports was a big hit yesterday, and we're cooking up new ideas to make it even better. In today's edition: Knicks win see-saw affair, PSG advances to title game, Golden Tempo out of Preakness, the battle for Wrigley's rooftops, WNBA primer, RIP Ted Turner, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...

🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Third straight walk-off: The Cubs beat the Reds on a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 10th to win their third straight game via walk-off against Cincinnati. All in all, they've won eight straight to improve to 25-12, just behind the Braves (26-12) for the best record in baseball. 👟 Historic run: Ultramarathoner Rachel Entrekin won the Cocodona 250, running a course record 56:09:48 to become the first woman to win the grueling 253.3-mile race through central Arizona outright. Tragically, another participant died earlier in the race following a "serious medical emergency." ⚽️ Last two standing: PSG are heading back to the Champions League final after completing a 6-5 aggregate victory over Bayern Munich following Wednesday's 1-1 draw in the second leg. The defending champions will take on Arsenal on May 30 in Budapest, Hungary. ⚾️ Astros lose Correa: Houston's season went from bad to worse, as the slumping Astros (15-23) lost Carlos Correa for the season to a freak ankle injury suffered during batting practice. His is just the latest injury for a team whose season may already be a lost cause. 🏈 Wilson weighing options: Russell Wilson, 37, is debating between signing with the Jets or making the jump to TV. "I still know I can play ball at a high level, but also I think the opportunity to do TV [analysis] is great, so we'll see what happens."

📸 SNAPSHOTS IN PHOTOS: PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP (Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) New York — Following four straight blowouts, the Knicks proved they can win a slugfest, too, beating the 76ers, 108-102, to take a 2-0 series lead. See-saw affair: New York and Philly traded blows all night, with their 25 lead changes marking the most in a playoff game since 2015 (Spurs vs. Clippers, Game 7, Round 1). (Eric Gay/AP Photo) San Antonio — The Spurs followed up their Game 1 loss with a shellacking in Game 2, routing the Timberwolves, 133-95, to even the series behind a double-double from Victor Wembanyama (19 points, 15 rebounds) and a game-high 21 points from Stephon Castle. Historic beatdown: The Timberwolves' 38-point defeat was by far their worst playoff loss in franchise history, surpassing the previous record of 30. It didn't help that they missed 15 free throws (16-31) or had more turnovers (22) than assists (19). (Ben Ludeman/NHLI via Getty Images) Buffalo — The Sabres took down the Canadiens for a series-opening 4-2 victory as they were finally able to turn their power play problem into a nightmare for the Habs. Flipped the script: Buffalo scored more goals in three power play opportunities on Wednesday (2) than they did in their previous 44 power play opportunities (1). (David Becker/NHLI via Getty Images) Las Vegas — The Ducks beat the Golden Knights, 3-1, to send the series back to Anaheim tied at one game apiece. So close: Vegas' lone goal came with 5.6 seconds left in the game, continuing an odd drought for the Ducks, who haven't recorded a shutout victory since the 2024-25 season-opener — 571 days ago.

⚾️ NIMBY THE BATTLE FOR WRIGLEY'S ROOFTOPS Fans watch a game at Wrigley Field via the adjacent rooftops. (David Banks/Getty Images) The free ride may soon be coming to an end for the Wrigley View Rooftop, the last remaining independent business selling tickets to Cubs games. Motion denied: The latest development in the 2024 suit brought by the Cubs against Wrigley View came on Friday, when a U.S. District Judge denied a motion on the pleadings by the defendant, pushing the case one step closer to a potential trial. The backdrop: Wrigley Field is a unique ballpark not just for its ivy or history, but because the roofs of many neighboring buildings have a great view of the field — an idiosyncrasy that businesses have long availed themselves of for profit. In 2004, following a dispute similar to the current one, the Cubs struck a 20-year licensing agreement with those surrounding businesses to share a portion of their revenue. And in the ensuing two decades, the team bought many of those properties, adding 11 rooftops' worth of seating to the 41,649 seats already inside Wrigley Field. But in 2024, when those deals expired, Wrigley View kept right on selling tickets, leading the Cubs to sue for misappropriating the team's property rights and unjust enrichment. Understanding both sides: The Cubs argue that Wrigley View should not be allowed to profit off a product they had no hand in producing. The team has invested billions over the years to own and operate an MLB franchise and stadium; so the team, not the business, should have the sole right to recoup that investment by selling tickets. Wrigley View, meanwhile, argues that because the Cubs don't own their building, they have no legal say regarding how its 200-person capacity rooftop is used. Furthermore, while the Cubs may have a property right to the experience of live Cubs games, Wrigley View says the team failed to protect that right by putting its stadium in such a location that allows outside viewers to look in. What's next: The team already scored a win last year when the judge denied a motion that the case be sent to arbitration, so from here it will either end in a settlement or a trial. If it does go to trial, precedent is on the Cubs' side thanks to a 1938 ruling in favor of the Pittsburgh Pirates over a local radio station, which "affirmed the holding that sports teams have a property right in profits from their live games."

💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Michael Reaves/Getty Images) 🐎 5th horse in 8 years   There will yet again be no Triple Crown winner this year after Golden Tempo trainer Cherie DeVaux announced Wednesday that her Kentucky Derby-winning horse will not race in next week's Preakness Stakes. This marks the fifth time in the last eight years that the Derby winner skipped the Preakness, a worrying trend caused by the sport's compressed calendar.   Is change coming? The Derby winner competed in the Preakness every year from 1997 to 2018, when Justify won the most recent Triple Crown. But just three have done so since (Authentic in 2020, Mage in 2023, Mystik Dan in 2024), as many trainers believe the two-week gap is not sufficient for recovery. One possible solution? Moving the Preakness date back, which could happen soon as part of the ongoing negotiations for the race's television rights.   🏀 33 states   The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association narrowly approved a measure on Monday to add a 35-second shot clock to high school basketball games starting in the 2027-28 season, becoming the 33rd state (including Washington, D.C.) to adopt a shot clock.   The backdrop: Adoption has steadily increased since 2021, when the National Federation of State High School Associations began allowing state-level adoption. In a vacuum, most agree that shot clocks are needed, but plenty of states continue holding out due to the cost of installation and operation. Indiana, for example, overwhelmingly voted against the measure this week.   ⚾️ 1,000 strikeouts   Dodgers righty Tyler Glasnow struck out his 1,000th career batter on Wednesday, becoming the fastest starting pitcher in MLB history to reach the milestone (793 innings pitched). Unfortunately, the oft-injured hurler left the game two batters later with lower back pain.   All-time leaderboard: Glasnow, the 576th pitcher in MLB history to reach 1,000 strikeouts, broke the record set just last year by Freddy Peralta (804.2 IP). The next four fastest? Robbie Ray (810 IP), Yu Darvish (812 IP), Blake Snell (820.2 IP) and Dylan Cease (830.1 IP).

🏀 GO DEEPER GOOD READS: WNBA TIP-OFF (Hayden Hodge/Yahoo Sports) The 30th anniversary season of the WNBA tips off tomorrow. Here's what you missed this offseason, plus predictions for the year ahead, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Cassandra Negley. Offseason recap: More money, a healthy Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese in Atlanta and the contenders reload There has never been an offseason as full of colossal milestones as the time between the anointing of the 2025 WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces on Oct. 10 and the first tip-off of the 2026 season on Friday. (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) Preseason awards: Analyzing the top candidates for MVP, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Woman and more The best teams and clear-cut frontrunners for individual awards will show themselves as the season churns along. Everything right now is healthy assumptions based on previous performances and future projections. But we have to start somewhere. (Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports) 5 bold predictions: A comeback MVP, Sparks in the Finals, expansion team success and more The season begins with storylines aplenty to monitor. But what might we be writing about this time next year? Here's a look at some predictions, leaning more bold and daring as the action gets underway.

📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, MAY 7 (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs   Both No. 1 seeds look to take 2-0 leads at home tonight, as the Pistons host the Cavaliers (7pm ET, Prime) and the Thunder host the Lakers (9:30pm, Prime).   Historic underdogs: Just as they were in Game 1, the Lakers are 15.5-point underdogs tonight, marking the longest odds of any game in LeBron James' career (regular season or playoffs). OKC still covered on Tuesday with an 18-point victory.   🏒 NHL Playoffs   The Hurricanes, up 2-0 on the Flyers, will look to continue their undefeated run through the playoffs as they travel to Philadelphia for Game 3 (8pm, TNT).   Fun fact: This is the first time the Hurricanes and Flyers have met in the postseason despite both being members of the Eastern Conference (formerly known as the Prince of Wales Conference) since the conferences were realigned in 1981.   More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Rays at Red Sox (7pm, ESPN); Cardinals at Padres (10pm, ESPN) … St. Louis is a surprising 21-15 despite having MLB's youngest roster and being in the midst of a rebuild. ⛳️ PGA: Truist Championship (7:30am, ESPN+; 2pm, Golf) … Rory McIlroy headlines the field at North Carolina's Quail Hollow, back as the host after taking last year off to host the PGA Championship. ⛳️ LPGA: Mizuho Americas Open (11am, Golf) … Tournament host Michelle Wie West will tee it up for the first time since 2023. 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (7:30am, Tennis) … First round action for the men, second round for the women. 🏒 PWHL: Montreal (tied 1-1) at Minnesota (7pm, Prime) … The best-of-five semifinal is all tied up as it heads to St. Paul. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.

⚾ JUNIOR CIRCUIT MLB TRIVIA (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Question: There are currently only two AL teams above .500. Can you name them without looking at the standings? Hint: Same division. Answer at the bottom.

💔 LARGER THAN LIFE REST IN PEACE, TED TURNER Turner and then-wife Jane Fonda at a Braves game in 1991. (Focus on Sport via Getty Images) Ted Turner, who died Wednesday, was an outrageous owner and savvy businessman who reshaped the sports world.

Trivia answer: Yankees (25-12) and Rays (24-12)

[phkrause]

🏀 1 hoop thing: We're gonna need a bigger bracket

The new bracket, shared by the NCAA. The men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments are expanding to 76 teams, the NCAA announced yesterday. 🏀 How it works: There'll be 12 opening-round games to whittle the field down to the traditional 64-team bracket. 🧮 By the numbers: The men's tournament began with 8 teams in 1939, expanded to 16 in 1951, jumped to 32 in 1975, was up to 64 by 1985 and went to 68 in 2011.

[phkrause]

🎉 Yahoo! It's Friday! You made it. In today's edition: March Madness expansion, the Thunder, Pistons and Hurricanes win again, MLB awards watch, WNBA tip-off, "Backyard Legends," and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...

🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Fly the W: The Cubs just keep winning, completing a four-game sweep of the Reds for their ninth straight victory and 15th straight at home — their longest win streak at Wrigley since 1935. At 26-12, they're tied for the best record in MLB and have surged to the top of the baseball world. 🏈 Rodgers nears decision: Aaron Rodgers is expected to meet with the Steelers today, and the future Hall of Famer is reportedly likely to play for Pittsburgh again this fall for his 22nd NFL season. Still on the agenda, though, are some complicated contract negotiations. 🏒 Norris Trophy finalists: Cale Makar (Avalanche), Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres) and Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets) were named finalists for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL's top defenseman. Makar, a two-time winner, joins Bobby Orr as the only players named a finalist in six of their first seven seasons. ⚾️ MLB viewership way up: Nationally-televised MLB broadcasts are averaging 2.28 million viewers this season, a 44% increase over last year and the best mark since 2017. Attendance is also up 3% over last year, trending towards the league's fourth straight annual increase. ⚽️ USMNT hopeful injured: Johnny Cardoso sprained his ankle during Thursday's training session with Atlético Madrid, significantly decreasing the midfielder's chances of making the World Cup roster. Mauricio Pochettino will announce his 26-man squad on May 26.

🏀 76 TEAMS MARCH MADNESS EXPANSION IS HERE. BUT WHY? (Patrick Smith/Getty Images) What has long been inevitable is now official: March Madness is expanding, with the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments both increasing from 68 to 76 teams. It is, to put it bluntly, a decision that almost no one — outside of those who made it — actually wants. Details: The dual expansion, approved on Thursday via unanimous vote by both the men's and women's committees, will begin next season. The schedule of the tournament proper won't change; only the volume of games before the Round of 64 tips off. The "First Four," the eight-team play-in that began in 2011, will be replaced with a 24-team "Opening Round" played on Tuesday and Wednesday after Selection Sunday. Those 24 teams will comprise 12 at-large selections (11 and 12 seeds) and 12 automatic qualifiers (15 and 16 seeds), with the winners of those games advancing to the traditional 64-team bracket. Between the lines: This expansion is highly unlikely to improve upon the universally-beloved March Madness, which will now feature a watered-down bubble and an unnecessarily cumbersome bracket — changes that represent just the latest example of college leaders abandoning the fans. Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports: Every single person who signed off on the decision Thursday to expand the NCAA basketball tournament to 76 teams understands they are doing something fans didn't ask for and that nobody in a position of power can justify. It is the Seinfeld of expansions — a decision about nothing, that gains nothing for college basketball, that exists mostly because the current leadership class led by SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti are bound and determined to wreck everything in college sports that used to make sense. Faced with a choice between adding eight more teams to the tournament or starting a game of chicken between the velociraptors at the top of the food chain and the 200-plus schools that would be cut out completely if the Big Ten and SEC someday walk away, the NCAA has once again jumped into the cage and made itself the meal. As we've come to expect in a college sports world led by Sankey and Petitti, there are endless solutions for problems that don't exist. The stuff that really matters always seems to be someone else's job. Thank goodness college sports has such self-serving leadership. Without it, we'd be forced to endure another horror like 17-16 Auburn missing March Madness this year. We can all rest easy knowing that will never happen again. Under the new format, 17-16 Auburn would have flown right into the NCAA tournament. (Matthew Maxey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) In all seriousness, while the decision itself is a bad one because it will give us a watered-down bubble and lesser tournament than the one we previously enjoyed, my guess is that most casual fans — the ones who make the NCAA tournament one of America's most popular events — won't really notice. In the real world, it is already asking a lot of regular people with jobs to devote all day Thursday and Friday of the tournament's first week to watching basketball. They're not going to do it on Tuesday and Wednesday to watch a bunch of power conference teams with sub. 500 conference records play each other. The previous First Four format, with two games on Tuesday and Wednesday night, was strictly a niche product. Making it an all-day affair seems unlikely to change that equation. The bigger issue here is what it says about the decision-making process in college sports against the backdrop of significant, existential issues. If you want to take something like the NCAA tournament that did not need an intervention and turn it into an unwieldy mess that mostly caters to their agenda, Sankey and Petitti seem to be highly effective. With an unmatched combination of leverage and shamelessness, they can snap their fingers and turn NCAA president Charlie Baker into their errand boy. But when it comes to fixing a real problem — like the rise of $20 million college basketball rosters while only a handful of programs even bring in $20 million in revenue — they are suddenly helpless and out of answers, reduced to groveling at the feet of politicians to rescue their industry from its own lack of courage and discipline.

📸 SNAPSHOTS IN PHOTOS: PLAYOFFS ROUNDUP (Joshua Gateley/Getty Images) Oklahoma City — The Thunder pulled away from the Lakers late in what had actually been a close game for much of the night, winning 125-107 to take a 2-0 series lead as they head to Los Angeles. Lopsided rivalry: The Thunder have beaten the Lakers by at least 15 points five times this season (including playoffs), which is the most such wins against L.A. in a single season since the 1976 merger. Credit OKC's smothering defense, led by 7-footers Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. (Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) Detroit — Cade Cunningham (25 points, 10 assists) and the Pistons held off Donovan Mitchell (31 points) and the Cavaliers in a 107-97 victory to take a 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Cleveland. Harden's struggles continue: James Harden finished with 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting with four turnovers, including one that essentially sealed the loss. In this series, he's shooting 32.1% from the field and 9.1% from deep with more turnovers (11) than either assists (10) or made field goals (nine), and he's committed 47 turnovers in nine games this postseason. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) Philadelphia — The Hurricanes are a freight train, beating the Flyers, 4-1, to take a 3-0 series lead and move within one victory of their second straight sweep to open these playoffs. One win from history: Carolina is just the fifth team to start the postseason 7-0 since the current format began in 1987, and can become the first to go 8-0. And if the Avalanche win tomorrow, it will mark the first time two teams started 7-0 in the same year.

⚾️ BEST OF THE BEST MLB AWARDS WATCH (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports) We're almost one-quarter of the way through the MLB season, which feels like a good time to begin considering which players lead the way in the three major awards races.   MVP   American League: There's a clear trio of top contenders led by a pair of Bombers in the Bronx, according to Yahoo Sports' Jordan Shusterman. Aaron Judge (RF, Yankees): .270/.401/.642, 15 HR, 29 RBI, 34 R, 2.4 WAR Ben Rice (1B, Yankees): .343/.455/.759, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 30 R, 1.8 WAR Yordan Alvarez (DH/LF, Astros): .319/.423/.638, 12 HR, 27 RBI, 26 R, 1.6 WAR In the hunt: Mike Trout (CF, Angels), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS, Royals), Shea Langeliers (C, Athletics), Yandy Díaz (DH, Rays), Junior Caminero (3B, Rays), Jonathan Aranda (1B, Rays), Kevin McGonigle (SS, Tigers), Munetaka Murakami (1B, White Sox)   National League: The top is a little more crowded in the senior circuit, headlined by a four-time winner and the hottest player on the league's best team. Shohei Ohtani (DH/SP, Dodgers): .831 OPS, 6 HR, 25 R; 2-2, 0.97 ERA; 2.4 WAR Matt Olson (1B, Braves): .301/.388/.671, 13 HR, 33 RBI, 35 R, 2.6 WAR Elly De La Cruz (SS, Reds): .265/.337/.510, 10 HR, 28 RBI, 27 R, 1.6 WAR Nico Hoerner (2B, Cubs): .289/.366/.443, 4 HR, 28 RBI, 20 R, 2.0 WAR Brice Turang (2B, Brewers): .305/.439/.517, 5 HR, 22 RBI, 29 R, 2.1 WAR In the hunt: Corbin Carroll (RF, Diamondbacks), CJ Abrams (SS, Nationals), Jordan Walker (RF, Cardinals), Mickey Moniak (OF, Rockies) (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) Cy Young   American League: Just as he had for the AL MVP, Jordan's trio of AL Cy Young contenders is headlined by a pair of Yankees. Max Fried (SP, Yankees): 4-1, 2.39 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 43:15 K:BB, 1.8 WAR Cam Schlittler (SP, Yankees): 5-1, 1.52 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 53:9 K:BB, 1.9 WAR Dylan Cease (SP, Blue Jays): 2-1, 3.05 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 56:18 K:BB, 0.9 WAR In the hunt: José Soriano (SP, Angels), Drew Rasmussen (SP, Rays), Davis Martin (SP, White Sox), Emerson Hancock (SP, Mariners)   National League: Here's yet another award where a pair of teammates are making a lot of noise early in the year. Ohtani (DH/SP, Dodgers): 2-2, 0.97 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 42:9 K:BB, 2.4 WAR Yoshinobu Yamamoto (SP, Dodgers): 3-2, 3.09 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 40:10 K:BB, 0.6 WAR Paul Skenes (SP, Pirates): 5-2, 2.36 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 46:7 K:BB, 1.5 WAR Cristopher Sánchez (SP, Phillies): 3-2, 2.42 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 60:14 K:BB, 2.0 WAR In the hunt: Jacob Misiorowski (SP, Brewers), Shota Imanaga (SP, Cubs), Nolan McLean (SP, Mets), Mason Miller (RP, Padres) (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports) Rookie of the Year   American League: The junior circuit is loaded with youngsters who've come roaring out of the gates, but with all due respect to the duos in Cleveland and Toronto, there's a pair of infielders in Detroit and Chicago who are on another level right now. Kevin McGonigle (SS, Tigers): .299/.392/.453, 2 HR, 11 2B, 16 RBI, 25 R, 2.2 WAR Munetaka Murakami (1B, White Sox): .237/.369/.565, 14 HR, 28 RBI, 26 R, 1.2 WAR In the hunt: Chase DeLauter (RF, Guardians), Parker Messick (SP, Guardians), Trey Yesavage (SP, Blue Jays), Kazuma Okamoto (3B, Blue Jays)   National League: A hurler in Queens is lapping the field in this particular race, but it's worth remembering that at this time last season, eventual ROYs Nick Kurtz and Drake Baldwin had barely scratched the surface of their prodigious production. Nolan McLean (SP, Mets): 1-2, 2.97 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 51:11 K:BB, 0.6 WAR JJ Wetherholt (2B, Cardinals): .236/.355/.421, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 28 R, 1.8 WAR In the hunt: Moisés Ballesteros (DH, Cubs), Sal Stewart (1B, Reds), Konnor Griffin (SS, Pirates)

📺 VIEWING GUIDE WEEKEND WATCHLIST (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) 🏀 WNBA Tip-Off   The 30th WNBA season begins tonight, with all 15 teams taking the floor across this weekend's 11-game slate. The headliner is undoubtedly Saturday's matchup between the Wings and Fever in Indianapolis (1pm ET, ABC), which features the last four No. 1 overall picks in Indiana's Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston and Dallas' Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd.   The rest: The defending champion Aces play tomorrow at home against the Mercury (3:30pm, ABC) and Sunday on the road against the Sparks (6pm, USA). Plus, the expansion Toronto Tempo (vs. the Mystics tonight at 7:30pm on League Pass) and Portland Fire (vs. the Sky tomorrow at 9pm on NBA TV) play their inaugural games in front of their home crowds.   Season preview: 30 stats to celebrate 30 seasons (Nekias Duncan, Yahoo Sports)   🏀 NBA Playoffs   The second round continues this weekend in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Cleveland and Los Angeles. The Knicks, hitting the road up 2-0, are the only team with a chance to advance to the Conference Finals by Sunday night. Friday: Knicks (up 2-0) at 76ers (7pm, Prime); Spurs (tied 1-1) at Timberwolves (9:30pm, Prime) Saturday: Pistons (up 2-0) at Cavaliers (3pm, NBC); Thunder (up 2-0) at Lakers (8:30pm, ABC) Sunday: Knicks at 76ers, Game 4 (3:30pm, ABC); Spurs at Timberwolves, Game 4 (7:30pm, NBC) Good read: Everyone else from the 2003 NBA Draft grew old. LeBron James somehow hasn't (Jeff Eisenberg, Yahoo Sports)   🏒 NHL Playoffs   The second round continues in Buffalo, Anaheim, Philadelphia, St. Paul and Montreal. The Hurricanes, up 3-0 on the Flyers, are the only team with a chance to advance to the Conference Finals this weekend. Friday: Canadiens (down 1-0) at Sabres (7pm, TNT); Golden Knights (tied 1-1) at Ducks (9:30pm, TNT) Saturday: Hurricanes (up 3-0) at Flyers (6pm, TNT); Avalanche (up 2-0) at Wild (9pm, TNT) Sunday: Sabres at Canadiens, Game 3 (7pm, ESPN); Golden Knights at Ducks, Game 4 (9:30pm, ESPN) Can Minnesota bounce back? The Avs' 14 goals against the Wild are the most in the first two games of a playoff series since 1988, when the Flames scored 15 against the Kings.   More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Twins at Guardians (Fri. 7:15pm, Apple); Cardinals at Padres (Fri. 9:45pm, Apple); Astros at Reds (Sat. 4pm, FS1); Tigers at Royals (Sun. 7:20pm, Peacock) 🚴 Cycling: Giro d'Italia (Fri-Sun, HBO Max) … The year's first Grand Tour, the 109th edition of La Corsa Rosa, begins with its first three stages (of 21) in Bulgaria. 🥍 PLL: Week 1 (Fri-Sat, ESPN+/ESPN2) … The Premier Lacrosse League's eighth season kicks off with four games in Salt Lake City. ⚽️ MLS: San Jose vs. Vancouver (Sat. 10:30pm, Apple) … The top two teams in the West square off in San Jose. ⚽️ EPL: Manchester City vs. Brentford (Sat. 12:30pm, NBC); West Ham vs. Arsenal (Sun. 11:30am, USA) … City trail the Gunners by five points with a game in hand. ⚽️ LaLiga: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid (Sun. 3pm, ESPN) … Barcelona will clinch their second straight league title with a win or draw in the 264th El Clásico. ⛳️ Golf: Truist Championship (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/Golf/CBS); Mizuho Americas Open (Fri-Sun, Golf/Paramount+) … The action resumes in North Carolina and New Jersey. 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis) … Men's and women's action in the Masters 1000 event continues in Rome. 🏁 Motorsports: IndyCar at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Sat. 4:30pm, Fox); NASCAR at Watkins Glen International (Sun. 3pm, FS1) 🏒 PWHL Playoffs: Boston (tied 1-1) at Ottawa (Fri. 7pm, YouTube); Montréal (up 2-1) at Minnesota (Fri. 8:30pm, Prime); Boston at Ottawa Game 4 (Sun. 3pm, YouTube) … Best-of-five semifinals. 👊 UFC 328: Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland (Sat. 9pm, Paramount+) … The middleweight title bout headlines the card in Newark, NJ. 🏈 UFL: Week 7 (Fri-Sun, Fox/FS1/ESPN) … The first-place DC Defenders (5-1) host the Louisville Kings seeking a sixth straight win (Sat. 1:30pm, Fox) 🏈 IFL: Week 9 (Fri-Sun, Yahoo Sports Network) … The regular season is nearly halfway over. Got plans this weekend? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.

⚽️ 60 GOALS SOCCER TRIVIA Kane during Bayern Munich's semifinal loss to PSG on Wednesday. (Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Harry Kane scored his 60th goal of the season for club and country this week, becoming just the fourth player in Europe's top five leagues ever to reach that milestone. Question: Can you name the other three? Hint: Argentina, Portugal, Uruguay. Answer at the bottom.

🎬 SHORT FILM "BACKYARD LEGENDS" (Adidas) Adidas released a brilliant new World Cup campaign on Thursday — a five-minute film titled "Backyard Legends" that stars Timothée Chalamet, Lionel Messi, Bad Bunny, Trinity Rodman and more. The nostalgia is strong: The short film is a must-watch, particularly for anyone who fondly remembers those similar Nike spots from two-plus decades ago. I can't be the only one who watched the Scorpion cage tournament, Brazil at the airport and "au revoir" on repeat, right?

Trivia answer: Lionel Messi (three times), Cristiano Ronaldo (three times), Luis Suárez

[phkrause]

👋 Good morning! Welcome back. Weekend standout: Brewers ace Jacob Misiorowski threw the seven fastest pitches ever recorded by a starting pitcher on Friday during a dominant start against the Yankees. He topped out at 103.6 mph, and 41 of his 95 pitches were 100+ mph. In today's edition: Knicks and Hurricanes complete sweeps, Wizards win lottery (plus NBA mock draft), Barça win La Liga, another setback for Pulisic, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...

🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏀 Wiz win lottery: The Wizards won the NBA Draft Lottery on Sunday, securing the No. 1 overall pick in next month's draft. Joining them in the top five: Jazz, Grizzlies, Bulls and Clippers (via Pacers). ⚽️ Barça on top: Barcelona secured its second straight La Liga title (and 29th overall) with Sunday's 2-0 victory over rival Real Madrid, marking the first time the club has clinched the league title in El Clásico. 🏀 Kerr inks new deal: Steve Kerr has agreed to a two-year contract with the Warriors amid speculation about a potential split. The new deal will reportedly keep Kerr, who was earning $17.5 million annually, as the highest-paid coach in the NBA. 🥎 Bracket reveal: The SEC got six of the top eight seeds in the NCAA Softball Championship when the 64-team field was revealed on Sunday, including Alabama at No. 1 and defending national champion Texas at No. 2. Regionals begin on Friday. ⛳️ Save that scorecard: Kristoffer Reitan posted a 2-under 69 on Sunday at Quail Hallow to win the Truist Championship by two strokes and earn his first PGA Tour title, which came with a $3.6 million prize.

🏀 NBA PLAYOFFS KNICKS KEEP IT ROLLING, SWEEP SIXERS (Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images) The Knicks torched the 76ers, 144-114, on Sunday to complete the series sweep and advance to the NBA's Final Four, all while barely breaking a sweat. Bully ball: New York has been utterly dominant this postseason, winning eight games by a combined 196 points — and losing two games by a combined two points. Round 1: Knicks 113, Hawks 102 (+11) Hawks 107, Knicks 106 (-1) Hawks 109, Knicks 108 (-1) Knicks 114, Hawks 98 (+16) Knicks 126, Hawks 97 (+29) Knicks 140, Hawks 89 (+51) Round 2: Knicks 137, 76ers 98 (+39) Knicks 108, 76ers 102 (+6) Knicks 108, 76ers 94 (+14) Knicks 144, 76ers 114 (+30) Wild stat: In terms of point differential, the Knicks now have the best 3-game span in NBA playoff history, the two best 4-game spans, the three best 5-game spans, the two best 6-game spans, the best 7-game span, the best 8-game span, the best 9-game span, and the best 10-game span, as noted by Rodger Sherman. Meanwhile, in Minnesota… Anthony Edwards (36 points) and the Timberwolves rallied to beat the Spurs, 114-109, on Sunday following Victor Wembanyama's first career ejection. The series is now tied 2-2 as it heads back to San Antonio.

🏒 NHL PLAYOFFS THE CANES CAN'T LOSE (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) The Stanley Cup Playoffs are about parity. Close games. Tight series. Overtimes. Upsets. Nobody told the top-seeded Hurricanes, who didn't drop a single game en route to the Eastern Conference Final. Round 1: Swept the Senators (4-0) while allowing five total goals Round 2: Swept the Flyers (4-0) while allowing five total goals Still perfect: The Hurricanes are the fifth team in NHL history to go 8-0 to start the postseason (1985 Oilers, 1969 Blues, 1960 Canadiens, 1952 Red Wings), and the first to sweep their opening two series since all four rounds became best-of-seven in 1987. The Canes, who are in the East Final for the third time in four years, are looking for their first Stanley Cup since 2006. They're the 24th team in league history to win eight or more consecutive games during a playoff run. 18 of those teams won the Cup that year. What's next: Carolina will have a lengthy wait (up to 11 days!) before playing the winner of the Buffalo vs. Montreal series. The Canadiens currently lead 2-1 after dominant wins on Friday and Sunday.

🏀 CLASS OF 2026 NBA MOCK DRAFT 5.0 (Hassan Ahmad/Yahoo Sports) Here's how the 2026 NBA Draft could play out now that we know the order, according to Yahoo Sports' Kevin O’Connor. Top 10: Wizards: AJ Dybantsa (BYU) Jazz: Darryn Peterson (Kansas) Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer (Duke) Bulls: Caleb Williams (UNC) Clippers: Keaton Wagler (Illinois) Nets: Kingston Flemings (Houston) Kings: Darius Acuff (Arkansas) Hawks: Aday Mara (Michigan) Mavericks: Mikel Brown (Louisville) Bucks: Nate Ament (Tennessee)   Be sure to check out our 2026 NBA Draft Guide, which features full scouting reports for our top 60 prospects, player comparisons, and multiple big boards.

⚽️ USMNT ANOTHER SETBACK FOR CAPTAIN AMERICA Pulisic ahead of an AC Milan match last month. (DeFodi Images via Getty Images) Steven Goff, Yahoo Sports: Christian Pulisic is on the cover of Time magazine. He is in a Fox Sports promo and in commercials for deodorant, a sports drink and soccer shoes, among other things. He is undeniably the face of both the U.S. men's national team and, with the World Cup on home soil, the sport as a whole in this country. One place you will not have found him in recent months, however, is in the scoring column. And on Sunday, amid the worst drought of his marvelous career, Pulisic was not even in his No. 11 AC Milan uniform. Slated to start in a 3-2 home loss to Atalanta, the 27-year-old attacker was ruled out with a gluteal muscle strain. It's unclear whether he will return for the last two Serie A matches before World Cup training camp opens May 27 in the Atlanta area. The injury is the latest downer in a campaign that began in style late last summer but turned sour in 2026. Now the question is whether he will regain his health and form before the biggest few weeks of his life. USMNT watch: How the rest of the roster contenders fared over the weekend

📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: MONDAY, MAY 11 (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images) 🏀 NBA Playoffs   The Lakers (down 3-0) host the Thunder tonight (10:30pm ET, Prime) in what could be LeBron James' final game in a Lakers uniform — and perhaps even his final game in the NBA should he decide to retire this summer following his 23rd season.   But first: The Cavaliers (down 2-1) host the Pistons (8pm, NBC) as they look to even the series following Saturday's 116-109 victory.   🏒 NHL Playoffs   The Wild (down 2-1) host the Avalanche (8pm, ESPN) in the evening's only NHL action. Will Minnesota draw even with the top-seeded Avs? Or will Colorado bounce back from its first loss of the postseason?   More to watch: 🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (5am, Tennis) … Jannik Sinner, Frances Tiafoe and Coco Gauff headline the action in Rome. ⚾️ MLB: Giants at Dodgers (10:10pm, MLB) … NL West rivals clash in one of just six games scheduled for today. ⚽️ EPL: Tottenham vs. Leeds (3pm, USA) … Spurs are one spot above the relegation line with three matches left. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.

🏀 THE DISTRICT NBA TRIVIA (Yahoo Sports) Barring a trade, the Wizards will make the No. 1 overall selection in the NBA Draft for the third time this century. Question: Who did they select the other two times (2010, 2001)? Hint: J and K. Answer at the bottom.

📸 THROUGH THE LENS PHOTO FINISH (BravesVision) Ouch. Eli White saved the Braves from a bases-loaded jam on Sunday with a ridiculous catch at the wall — and paid the price for it.

Trivia answer: John Wall out of Kentucky (2010) and Kwame Brown out of Glynn Academy in Georgia (2001)