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🚨 Headlines
🏀 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.
🏀 Mavs win lottery in stunning result
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.
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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.
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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?
🏀🏒 Down 3-1. Time to panic?
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:
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.
⚾️ The Rocky Mountain horror show
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.
📸 In photo: New York state of mind
The Knicks are one win away from their first conference finals appearance in 25 years. Can you tell?
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.
“Knicks in five,” says actor and superfan Timothée Chalamet, who was sitting courtside next to girlfriend Kylie Jenner and numerous other celebrities.
📺 Watchlist: Survive or advance
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:
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🏀 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.
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🏒 NHL: Jets (1-2) at Stars (8pm, ESPN) … Mikko Rantanen has either scored or assisted on 15 of Dallas’ last 17 goals.
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⚾️ MLB: Red Sox at Tigers (6:40pm, TBS) … First-place* Detroit (27-15) has the second-best record in baseball.
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🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (1pm, Tennis) … Men’s Round of 16, Women’s quarterfinals.
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🏒 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.
⚾️ MLB trivia
Aaron Judge, who leads the majors in average (.414), home runs (14) and RBI (40), could become the sixth batter to win the Triple Crown in MLB’s integration era (since 1947).
Question: Can you name the other five?
Hint: Red Sox (2x), Yankees, Orioles, Tigers
Answer at the bottom.
🍿 New “F1” trailer
There’s a new trailer out for Brad Pitt’s “F1,” which releases in theaters on June 27 and, frankly, looks awesome.
How about another new trailer? “Stick,” Apple’s comedy series about a golfer (Owen Wilson) attempting a comeback, premieres on June 4.
Trivia answer: Ted Williams (1947), Mickey Mantle (1956), Frank Robinson (1966), Carl Yastrzemski (1967), Miguel Cabrera (2012)
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