Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards' season is over, with the Timberwolves bowing out Thursday in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals against the Dallas Mavericks by a score of 124-103.
However, Edwards's story is still in its opening chapters. At the age of 22 this season, Edwards was named an All-Star for the second straight year, made second team All-NBA, and garnered down-ballot MVP votes—all while taking Minnesota to its first conference finals in two decades.
Friday morning, Edwards assured fans in an Adidas ad that he'd be back. The promo depicts Edwards being read "receipts" from celebrities such as longtime NBA forward Carmelo Anthony and rapper Cam'ron.
In a stark departure from his usual form, Chicago Cubs rookie pitcher Shota Imanaga allowed seven earned runs to the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday and struck out only one across 4 ⅓ innings. It was the first time the lefty allowed more than three runs in a start this season and his ERA "ballooned" to 1.96 as a result.
That could be good for bettors.
Entering Wednesday's game, Imanaga was the odds-on favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year award at -125, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Thursday morning, his odds were +105.
Imanaga has been the heavy favorite for the award for some time now, and this move to plus money could be a chance to grab some value on the rookie.
More importantly, this uncharacteristic start highlights the volatility of backing pitchers for the award.
Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes has the next-best odds for the award at +210 at DraftKings. Olivia Dunne's boyfriend has been lighting up the gun with a fastball that averages 99.3 mph and a max velocity of 102 MPH. He has a 2.25 ERA and a 21-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 16 innings pitched in three starts.
While the velocity is impressive, there is risk to backing Skenes. Not only could his pitching style potentially be more conducive to injury, like a player he's compared to, former Cy Young award winner Stephen Strasberg whose rookie season was cut short for Tommy John surgery, Skenes plays for a team that is not expected to win many games. Skenes could be a generational talent, but I will wait to pull this ticket until there's better value.
Los Angeles Dodgers rookie Yoshinobu Yamamoto has the next-best odds at +650, followed by another Pittsburgh starter, Jared Jones, at +1300.
Milwaukee Brewers third-baseman Joey Ortiz has the shortest odds among hitters at +1500, well ahead of teammate Jackson Chourio (+5000), who entered the season as a favorite.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
New York Yankees outfielder Juan Soto took it upon himself to answer Los Angeles Angels pitcher Patrick Sandoval's question for home plate umpire Edwin Moscoso during the top of the fourth inning of New York's 8–3 win on Thursday at Angel Stadium.
With the count at 2-and-1, Sandoval fired a four-seam fastball knee-high that landed at the bottom of the strike zone, a pitch that Moscoso ruled a ball. Sandoval inquired about the pitch, asking the umpire if it was low.
Only, the Angels hurler didn't get a reply from Moscoso, but from Soto, who proceeded to nod his head repeatedly, indicating he thought the offering was low.
Here's the amusing exchange.
Patrick Sandoval asked if the pitch was low and Juan Soto continuously nodded yes pic.twitter.com/QA1awnN6R6
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 31, 2024
Soto, who seemingly benefited from the generous call by Moscoso, went on to draw a walk before Yankees slugger Aaron Judge drove him in during the next at-bat on a two-run home run.
Soto, 25, has posted a .312/.415/.584 slash line with 15 home runs, 49 RBI and 41 runs scored in 58 games played for the Yankees this season.
Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Alek Manoah will seek a second opinion on his injured right elbow, TSN’s Scott Mitchell reports.
“I’m told the expectation at this point is that he’s likely going to miss an extended period of time,” Mitchell added.
Manoah left in the second inning of Wednesday’s start against the Chicago White Sox after he reacted painfully to throwing a pitch. He said after the game that he first experienced discomfort in the elbow after his previous start against the Detroit Tigers.
“Felt it after my start in Detroit and tried to do everything I can with the training staff through the week,” Manoah said after the game in Chicago. “Threw a bullpen a couple days ago, kind of felt fine. I felt like I was able to go out there and compete and give the team a chance, and just wasn’t able to.”
Alek Manoah will undergo an MRI today.
He felt discomfort in his elbow after his start in Detroit. Then he "felt really pinchy" after last night's game.
The injury derails what had been a promising bounce-back season for the former All-Star. After finishing third in Cy Young voting in 2022, Manoah had a terrible ’23 season in which his ERA jumped to 5.87 and even saw Toronto go as far as to send him to rookie ball to try to get back on track. He started this season on the injured list with a shoulder issue before making his season debut on May 5.
After a rough first start of the season, Manoah showed flashes of his former self in his next two outings, going seven innings in each game without allowing an earned run. Overall, he has a 3.70 ERA in five starts with 26 strikeouts and eight walks.
The Call of Duty franchise has seen a brand new game launch every single year for over two decades, and this has always meant a new disc or a new application digital download on your Console or PC. However, Black Ops 6 is labeled as “DLC”, but it’s made by a different studio to Modern Warfare 3, and is a completely different game. So it can't be… right?
Following the listing of Black Ops 6 on Steam, many fans are confused as to why it is labeled as a DLC. With some saying “4 years just to be a dlc. Treyarch's fall off needs to be studied.” and many fans quoting the classic “$70 for a DLC is wild.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is officially confirmed to be a "DLC" for the Call of Duty HQ app.
No. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is not a DLC. It is a brand new title developed by Treyarch. However, many Call of Duty fans are simply misunderstanding what a “DLC” truly is, and how the Call of Duty HQ works.
In 2023 ahead of the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the Call of Duty HQ was released. The Call of Duty HQ was created to make it “easier to select which game and modes you wish to play.” This means that the Call of Duty HQ features every Call of Duty from Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and onwards.
Due to this, Call of Duty HQ is the “launcher” for every other Call of Duty game. As a result, every Call of Duty since will no longer be a standalone application, and instead will be “DLC” for the Call of Duty HQ application.
The definition of DLC: “additional content created for an already released video game” may be misleading, so it's understandable why many fans are confused. However, rest assured that Black Ops 6 is not a DLC for Modern Warfare III, and is not the same game. Instead, it’s just an easier way for players to find all Call of Duty titles and Warzone in the same application, making it easier to switch between games.
Palacios's walk-off single gave the Rays a 6-5 victory over the Oakland Athletics Thursday—and gave Palacios, at last, the first walk-off of his three-year career.
"I was doing an interview the other day, and my brother has a walk-off and my uncle has a walk-off. And I said in the interview, ‘Better get a walkoff before this becomes a family thing.’ I didn’t know it was going to come (Thursday), but it is exciting that it did," Palacios told reporters postgame via Kristie Ackert of The Tampa Bay Times.
Palacios is slashing .262/.360/.369 for Tampa Bay this season with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 48 games.
Impending free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein's play this season for the New York Knicks could earn him a lucrative contract when he hits free agency this summer.
While the Knicks certainly have an interest in retaining Hartenstein, there will be plenty of other suitors as well.
Among those who are expected to have an interest in Hartenstein? The Oklahoma City Thunder, according to a report from Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
As Fischer points out, the Thunder have been a team linked to Hartenstein if he leaves New York, especially considering the rebounding issues that the franchise endured in the loss to the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference semifinals. Hartenstein is not a perfect fit offensively, as he is not a prototypical drive-and-kick offensive center like Chet Holmgren has become. However, as Fischer notes, Hartenstein's strengths offensively in the pick-and-roll could be appealing to the Thunder if the franchise is seeking to unlock another dimension to its offense.
As for the Knicks, the issue is that the franchise can only offer Hartenstein a four-year, $72.5 million contract due to his early Bird rights. If a team like the Thunder, or maybe even the Magic (who had an interest in Hartenstein before he landed in New York) want to offer Hartenstein a contract, they can blow the Knicks' offer out of the water. Any rival team looking to sign the free agent center can offer up to $151.6 million over four years.
The NBA Finals have yet to begin, but across the league, the rumor mill is heating up. Hartenstein's return to New York seems far from certain entering the summer.
Last week, as thousands of green-clad fans spilled out of TD Garden and onto nearby Causeway St. still buzzing—and for many, still buzzed—from Boston’s Game 2 win over Indiana, an unmistakable chant filled the warm spring air.
We want Kyrie …
We want Kyrie …
It will be Dallas vs. Boston in the NBA Finals. It’s also Boston vs. Kyrie. Five years after Kyrie Irving’s abrupt exit, public (basketball) enemy No. 1 is back in town. They have met in the playoffs before, with Irving’s Nets wiping the floor with a battered Boston team in 2021 and the Celtics sweeping Brooklyn in ‘22.
A trip to the second round was at stake in those series.
Said Irving, “Boston is in the way between our goal.”
In Boston, the disdain for Irving runs deep. He’s Ulf Samuelsson in high tops. Roger Goodell in gym shorts. The most disliked NBA player since Bill Laimbeer. What Reggie Miller is to New York, Irving is to Boston. The only difference is Miller never wore a Knicks uniform. On eBay, you can still buy Irving jerseys in Celtics green.
Time heals most wounds. Not these. These have barely scabbed over. Irving has not exactly attempted to ease the tension. In 2021, before Irving returned to Boston for a first-round playoff series with Brooklyn, he said he hoped not to hear any “subtle racism.” After beating the Celtics in Game 4, Irving walked to center court and stomped on the logo.
There will inevitably be attempts to rewrite history in the days ahead. Irving didn’t hate Boston. He just wanted to go home to New York. He didn’t have bad relationships with his teammates. That’s media stuff, reporters chasing clicks. He didn’t bail out on his team late in the 2018-19 season. Those Celtics just didn’t have enough.
Nonsense. He wasn’t on the same page as Brad Stevens. He didn’t have much of a relationship with Jaylen Brown. Quit is probably too strong of a word but talk to enough people around that 2018-19 team and it’s clear there’s a belief that late in the season, Irving checked out. In the fall of ’18, Irving grabbed a mic and told a giddy Garden crowd he intended to re-sign there. By the spring, he was gone.
On Sunday, Irving talked about how he better understands leadership. In Boston, he struggled with it. Irving was the only member of the Celtics core with a championship, a status he was known to wield like a cudgel. He knew what it took to win—and he had the ring to prove it. During one locker room discussion, sources told SI, it was pointed out that Al Horford won two championships at Florida. Not the same, Irving said. A Boston assistant was part of a championship staff in Europe. Not the same, he replied. Aron Baynes, a reserve center on the Celtics 2018-19 team who won a title with San Antonio, wasn’t in the room for the exchange. At least one ex-teammate wonders what Irving would have said if he was.
Things never fully clicked for Irving (11) in Boston. / Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
In Dallas, things are different. Throughout the organization, respect for Irving runs deep. He has been an extension of Jason Kidd on the floor. He has been a calming influence off of it. He has figured out how to succeed opposite Luka Dončić, creating an all-time great duo in the process. When Irving returned from a leg injury in January, team officials marveled at the effort Irving was putting in on the defensive end of the floor.
Asked about the skepticism of Irving’s fit in Dallas, Kidd said, “It’s alright to be wrong.”
Some of it is Irving, at 32, facing reality. He has played on three teams in the last six seasons. Four in the last eight. Cleveland, Boston, Brooklyn—Vesuvius left less wreckage. When Irving hit free agency last summer, Dallas was the only team offering real money to sign him.
Some of it is Dallas. The warm Texas climate and its right leaning politics. “He still will have his opinions of what he thinks,” said Kidd. “And here with the Mavs, we support that.” In Kidd, Irving has found a peer. Irving grew up watching Kidd in New Jersey. When Irving was in high school, they connected at a Nike event. “He was pretty good,” said Kidd. Inside the Dallas locker room, the bond between Irving and Kidd is ironclad.
“Just being able to talk the truth or speak the truth to one another,” said Kidd. “I compliment him for trusting me. I'm only here to tell him the truth and to try to help him achieve his goals.”
Kidd knows what it’s like to be a villain in Boston, his Nets years filled with fierce Celtics battles. Kidd was fueled by the hate. At times, Irving has seemed rattled by it. Irving has faced the Celtics 10 times since the 2021 playoffs. He has lost each one. He has had several dustups with fans, admitting in ‘22 that the crass attacks were “about so much you can take as a competitor.” It was bad then. It will be worse now.
“I’m at a place in my life where I don’t consider those past moments,” Irving told ESPN. “I was able to unpack them in a healthy way [and] move forward as a person. I had a rough time there when I was in Boston, dealing with a death in my family and a lot of off-court stuff that I wasn’t ready to handle. Now that I’m in a great place to be able to vocalize how I’m feeling, I’m ready to go back into Boston and have fun with my teammates.”
Fun? That’s up to Irving. Dallas needs a poised Irving. A composed one. This will be a difficult series. The Celtics are 2–0 against the Mavericks this season. They beat them by nine before the trades that brought P.J. Washington and Daniel Gafford to Dallas. They beat them by 28 after. They have elite defenders, dynamic wing scorers and will likely have a healthy Kristaps Porziņģis when the series begins next week.
“They have a lot of talented players,” said Kidd. “They've been [to the Finals] before. They have the experience, they're well coached. This is another great test.”
They need Irving. Dončić will get his points. The All-NBA guard is enjoying one of the finest stretches of his career. But he will need help. He will need Irving to be the shot maker he was in the conference finals, where he averaged 27 points—including 36 in Game 5—on 49% shooting. The three-point shooter (42.3%) he has been in the playoffs. The All-Star-level sidekick he has been all season.
Irving is coming to Boston, and make no mistake: a hyped up Boston crowd will be waiting. The boos will be loud, the rhetoric nasty. It will be the most intense environment Irving has played in and this time, everything is at stake. A championship is within reach for Kyrie Irving. It’s the Celtics, it’s Boston standing in front of it.
The Season 4 update for Call of Duty: Warzone has just dropped, and it brought a brand new section to the game titled Warzone Rewards. The Warzone Rewards include a ton of free cosmetic items to unlock such as weapon camos and emblems.
Here’s everything you need to know about Warzone Rewards in Season 4.
Warzone Rewards is a new feature in Call of Duty: Warzone which provides players with a challenge to complete, offering a free cosmetic item in return.
There are five different categories in Warzone Rewards:
The challenges in each Warzone Rewards category differ a lot, so here they all are:
Economics
These challenges must be completed in order, and completing all of them will unlock the Gilded Genetics Camo along with other items.
Gilded Genetics Camo / Call of Duty
Contracts
Completing all of the Contracts challenges will reward you with the Purified Helix Camo.
Purified Helix Camo / Call of Duty
Social
Completing the Social challenges will unlock the Veiled Strands Camo.
Veiled Strands Camo / Call of Duty
Mode
Completing all of the Mode challenges will unlock the Royal Helix Camo.
Royal Helix Camo / Call of Duty
Champion’s Quest
That’s everything you need to know about Warzone Rewards in Call of Duty: Warzone Season 4. If you’re looking for the best loadout to complete them, check out our brand new Kar98k meta loadout.
The stage is officially set for the 2024 NBA Finals, as the Dallas Mavericks managed to close out the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals.
The Mavs' 124–103 win lifts the team to its first championship appearance since 2011, and there was never really a doubt for most of the contest after a dominant start from Luka Dončić, who scored 20 points in the first quarter.
As has been the case all playoffs long, Dallas put the ball into the hands of its tandem of star guards, Dončić and Kyrie Irving, and let them go to work. The two combined for 72 points in Thursday's series-clinching win and were tied for the game-high in scoring with 36 points apiece.
The Mavericks' other starters and role players lived up to their end of the billing, too, providing quality work on the glass and making life difficult for the Timberwolves offensively. Daniel Gafford's plus-minus of +27 was the highest in the game, and he and Dereck Lively II didn't miss a single field goal attempt between them (6-for-6) while combining for 17 rebounds.
In 17 games during the playoffs, Dončić is averaging 28.7 points per game as he’s helped guide the Mavs, who entered the postseason as the No. 5 seed in the West, through the conference gauntlet. He's now set for the first NBA Finals appearance of his career, where a showdown against the Boston Celtics awaits.
Game 1 is set for next Thursday, June 6 at 8:30 p.m. EST from the TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
