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🚨 Headlines
🏀 Lakers target Hurley: The Lakers are targeting UConn’s Dan Hurley to be the team’s next head coach. Hurley, who has led the Huskies to back-to-back NCAA titles, is reportedly traveling to L.A. today to meet with the team.
⚾️ 14th straight loss: The Red Sox walloped the White Sox, 14-2, to hand them their franchise-record 14th straight loss. Chicago is now 15-48 and on pace for the second-worst winning percentage (.238) since 1900, trailing only the 1916 Philadelphia A’s (.235).
🏈 New-look bowl schedule: On Wednesday, the CFP released the schedule for the first 12-team playoff. On Thursday, we got the schedule for nearly every other bowl game.
🏀 Bloomberg joins bid: Former NYC mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg has joined Marc Lore and Alex Rodriguez in their years-long attempt to buy full control of the Timberwolves and Lynx. The group currently owns 40% and hopes to buy out current majority owner Glen Taylor.
🏈 Chiefs emergency: The Chiefs canceled team practice on Thursday after defensive BJ Thompson had a seizure and went into cardiac arrest. He was transported to the hospital and is in stable condition.
🏆 Oklahoma completes the four-peat
Oklahoma has done it again, beating Texas, 8-4, on Thursday to sweep the Longhorns and clinch the first four-peat in Women’s College World Series history, Jeff writes.
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The clinching victory was a full team effort from the Sooners, who used a WCWS-record five different pitchers to get through Texas’ fearsome lineup.
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One of those pitchers was grad student Kelly Maxwell, who was named the tournament’s MOP after going 5-0 with a complete game victory in Game 1 and a four-out save in Game 2.
Sooners dynasty: Oklahoma went a mind-boggling 235-15 (!!!) during their unprecedented four-peat. They’ve won six of the last eight championships and eight overall, second only to UCLA’s 13. Credit legendary coach Patty Gasso, who’s been at the helm for all eight titles.
The other side: It was heartbreak for the Longhorns, who won 55 games this season and entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed as they sought their first title. But they could never seem to get past the Sooners, who handed them four of their 10 losses, including the Big 12 championship game and WCWS sweep.
What’s next: Oklahoma and Texas will see each other plenty moving forward — though it will be in a new conference. Both programs move to the SEC next season.
🌎 The world in photos
Boston — The Celtics cruised to a 107-89 victory in Game 1 of the NBA Finals behind Kristaps Porziņģis, who had 20 points in 20 minutes in his return from injury. Boston has now won eight straight games and will look to go up 2-0 on Sunday.
Dallas — Team USA, participating in its first T20 World Cup, stunned powerhouse Pakistan in one of the biggest upsets in cricket history. One of the heroes of the game, Saurabh Netravalkar, is a software engineer at Oracle.
Paris — World No. 1 Iga Świątek beat Coco Gauff, 6-2, 6-4, to advance to her third straight French Open final, where she’ll face No. 12 Jasmine Paolini. Świątek is now 11-1 against Gauff, who will become world No. 2 next week.
Saratoga Springs, New York — Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan gets a bath during a morning workout prior to Saturday’s Belmont Stakes, which will be held at Saratoga Race Course amid construction at Belmont Park.
⚾️ How did 29 MLB teams pass on Gunnar Henderson?
From Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz:
Gunnar Henderson, for about an hour, thought he was going to college.
It was June 3, 2019, the first day of that year’s MLB Draft, and Henderson — now a 22-year-old supernova shortstop for the Orioles — was then a baby-faced teenager sweating through the biggest day of his young life.
Unlike the class’ truly elite prospects, who were either on-site at the draft in New Jersey or had elaborate camera setups at home, Henderson’s draft party was a low-key affair. He took in the proceedings at the house of a coach, surrounded by about 20 family and friends.
Ahead of the draft, the high school infielder from Selma, Alabama, was a known commodity, highly touted and highly scouted. A string of strong performances in front of MLB scouts on the showcase circuit the summer before had solidified him as one of the more promising prep hitters in the class.
Most major publications pegged Henderson somewhere toward the back half of the first round, between picks No. 14 and 37. But that’s not how it went. As the picks flicked by, Henderson’s phone stayed silent.
With each name called, it became increasingly unlikely that a club would draft the sweet-swinging 17-year-old high enough to meet his bonus demands, reportedly around $2 million. That’s when reality started to dawn on Henderson.
“As it got to the later half and the Astros — they were kind of hot on me — once they picked, I just kinda, like, told everybody: I’m gonna go to Auburn,” Henderson recounted to Yahoo Sports on a recent spring day at Camden Yards. Then, out of nowhere, the Orioles called.
Five years later… Very few players in MLB history have ever been this good this young; Henderson is primed to become only the 23rd player age 23 or younger to be worth at least 8.0 bWAR in a single season in the Integration Era. Most of his company — Manny Machado, Bryce Young, Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez — were top-10 picks. Even Mike Trout, who famously fell to pick No. 25, was still a first-rounder. Henderson, who won’t turn 23 until June 29, went 42nd.
Read the full story.
⚽️ TST: $1 million on the line
The Soccer Tournament began Wednesday in Cary, North Carolina, where 56 teams are on a quest for a $1 million prize, Jeff writes.
Year 2 growth: The second edition of TST, brought to you by the same people behind The Basketball Tournament, sees an increase from 32 men’s teams to 48 and the addition of an eight-team women’s bracket. The men and women are playing for equal $1 million prizes.
How it works: The 7-on-7 tournament, which is co-owned by Chris Paul, will stream games live on TST’s website, with select matches airing on ESPN+, ESPNU and ESPNews.
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The group stage is underway, followed by knockouts over the weekend and a championship doubleheader on Monday.
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Games are more fast-paced than 11-on-11, with smaller fields and goals, rolling subs, no offsides and two 20-minute halves.
Unique twist: TST games utilize a target score ending — similar to TBT’s “Elam Ending” — meaning every match ends with a goal.
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The target score is determined by adding one to the leading team’s score after regulation. So if it’s 2-1 at the end of the second half, the target is three goals.
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The leading team would then need just one more goal to win, while the trailing team would need two. The clock is turned off until the target score is reached.
Who’s playing? Some notable names are competing, including former pros Sergio Agüero (Argentina), Mario Balotelli (Italy) and DaMarcus Beasley (USA), former USWNT stars Heather O’Reilly (231 appearances) and Ali Krieger (108), and former NFL stars J.J. Watt and Chad Johnson.
📆 June 7, 2009: Fed wins French Open
15 years ago today, Roger Federer beat Robin Söderling in straight sets for his only French Open title to complete his career Grand Slam*, Jeff writes.
The Nadal effect: This was the only major Federer won fewer than five times (8 Wimbledons, 6 Australian Opens, 5 U.S. Opens). He reached the final at Roland Garros on four other occasions but lost each time to the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal.
*One of eight: The other seven men with a career Grand Slam (i.e. at least one win at each of the four majors) are Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Don Budge and Fred Perry.
📺 Watchlist: Stanley Cup Final
The Stanley Cup Final begins Saturday in Sunrise, Florida (8pm ET, ABC), where the Panthers are seeking their first title and the Oilers are seeking their sixth, Jeff writes.
31-year wait: Canada hasn’t won it all since 1993, which is the same year the Panthers were founded. Will Edmonton bring the Cup to Canada, or will Florida finally break through?
More to watch:
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🏀 NBA Finals: Mavericks (0-1) at Celtics (Sun. 8pm, ABC)
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🎾 French Open: No. 2 Sinner vs. No. 3 Alcaraz (Fri. 8:30am, Tennis); No. 4 Zverev vs. No. 7 Ruud (Fri. 11:30am, NBC); No. 1 Świątek vs No. 12 Paolini (Sat. 9am NBC) … Men’s final is on Sunday (9am, NBC).
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🐎 Belmont Stakes: The 156th “Test of the Champion” (Sat. 6:41pm, Fox/FS1)
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⚾️ NCAA Baseball: Super Regionals (Fri-Sun, ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU) … Eight best-of-three series to determine CWS field.
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⚾️ MLB: Dodgers at Yankees (Fri. 7pm, Apple; Sun. 7pm, ESPN); Phillies vs. Mets* (Sat. 1pm, Fox; Sun. 10am, ESPN)
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⛳️ PGA: Memorial (Fri-Sun, Golf/CBS/ESPN+)
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⛳️ LIV: Houston (Fri-Sun, CW)
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⚽️ Friendly: USMNT vs. Colombia (Sat. 5:30pm, TNT) … In Landover, Maryland.
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⚽️ MLS: Four games (Sat. 7:30-8:30pm, Apple)
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⚽️ NWSL: San Diego Wave vs. Orlando Pride (Fri. 10pm, Prime); Gotham FC vs. Angel City (Sat. 12:30pm, CBS)
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⚽️ TST: Group and knockout stage (Fri-Sun, ESPN+/TST website)
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🏀 WNBA: Fever at Mystics (Fri. 7:30pm, ION); Storm at Aces (Fri. 10pm, ION); Liberty at Sun (Sat. 1pm, ABC)
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🏈 UFL: Michigan at Birmingham (Sat. 3pm, ABC); San Antonio at St. Louis (Sun. 7pm, Fox) … Winners meet in next Sunday’s championship.
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🏏 T20 Cricket World Cup: India vs. Pakistan (Sun. 10:30am, WillowTV)
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🏁 F1: Canadian GP (Sun. 2pm, ABC)
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🏁 NASCAR: Sonoma Raceway (Sun. 3:30pm, Fox)
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👟 NCAA Track & Field: Men’s and Women’s Championships (Fri. 9pm, ESPN2; Sat. 5:30pm, ESPN)
*London Series: The NL East rivals are playing a two-game set at London Stadium, which was transformed from a soccer pitch, in the fourth edition of MLB’s London Series.
🏒 Stanley Cup trivia
Only five teams have won more Stanley Cups than the Oilers’ five. Can you name them?
Hint: Two Canadian, three American.
Answer at the bottom.
🐶 Stanley Pup
The Stanley Pup, a friendly competition featuring adorable adoptable dogs, will air tonight (8pm ET, NHL/ESPN+) ahead of tomorrow’s Stanley Cup Final.
Details: All 32 NHL teams will be represented by a four-legged friend — like Connor McDoodle (Oilers) and Alex Ofetchkin (Capitals) — and many of them are available for adoption in their respective city.
Trivia answer: Canadiens (23), Maple Leafs (13), Red Wings (11), Bruins (6), Blackhawks (6)
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Source Agencies
