US Sports News

The Most Interesting Year in SEC History Is on the Horizon

Last week’s news in college football was big, but vague. The House v. NCAA settlement is significant and expensive—and also lacking in the details that are necessary to understanding its full ramifications. Nobody knows yet how it’s going to work.

That renders moot most of the big-picture questions lobbed at Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey at the league’s spring meetings in Destin, Fla. The settlement isn’t fully settled. And with an unsettled settlement, concrete information and tangible answers are in short supply.

But there is some good news amid the non-news: It allows us to talk about actual athletic competition. And 2024–25 is merely shaping up to be the most interesting year in SEC history. Seriously.

Just walking through the host hotel here for these meetings, the sights are jarring and intriguing: the football coach in Alabama Crimson Tide gear isn’t Nick Saban; the Red River rivalry coaches have relocated to the Gulf of Mexico shores; John Calipari is wearing a pullover with a hog on it; Mark Pope replaced him in Lexington; and Dawn Staley is the most accomplished coach of any kind on the premises. There is a lot going on here.

Start with the newbies. The league has expanded, contracted and realigned several times in its 91-year existence, but never like this. The additions of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners have been anticipated for nearly three years, and the arrival is at hand.

Here come programs capable of winning SEC titles immediately in many sports. Including football.

The previous two rounds of expansion ushered in the Arkansas Razorbacks, South Carolina Gamecocks, Missouri Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies. They’ve all had their moments of glory, yet none has won the football league championship. They have cumulatively played in the title game six times (Arkansas three times, Mizzou twice and South Carolina once).

The Longhorns swagger in with preseason top-five credentials. They made the College Football Playoff last season, have a Heisman Trophy–candidate quarterback in the starting lineup (Quinn Ewers) and an even more ballyhooed QB backing him up (Arch Manning). They play a schedule that will demand our attention all season—from visiting the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines for the first time Sept. 7 to hosting the potential No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs on Oct. 19 to resuming old rivalries at Arkansas on Nov. 16 and A&M on Nov. 30, this will be a fascinating season. (Sensitive Texas types might want to prepare themselves for just a few Horns Down signs to be flashed in Fayetteville and College Station.)

Longhorns quarterbacks Arch Manning, left, and Quinn Ewers throw passes while warming up ahead of the spring game on April 20, 2024. / Sara Diggins/American-Statesman / USA

The Sooners have more to prove than the Horns, but that could happen if they continue their upward trajectory in Year 3 under Brent Venables. Oklahoma went from a 6–7 bust in 2022 to 10–3 in ’23, including a triumph over Texas. The Sooners are counting on freshman quarterback Jackson Arnold and a rebuilt offensive line, but this could be the program’s best defense in many years. Oklahoma has first-time regular-season matchups with the LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers, Mississippi Rebels and South Carolina, and resumes old hostilities with Missouri (96 prior meetings).

“We’re not going to surprise anybody,” Venables said. “We’re fortunate and thankful to be a part of it. The challenge of it is incredibly exciting. We’re competing against the best of the best.”

That said: losing the Bedlam Series with Oklahoma State remains a travesty.

As for Alabama’s new reality: The Tide might start the season ranked behind the likes of Ole Miss and Missouri and might also be ranked higher in men’s basketball than football. That might be alarming to Bama fans, but it probably says more about the elevated state of the hoops program, coming off its first Final Four, than the future of the football program.

Kalen DeBoer is an accomplished coach whose 104–12 record—including a 25–3 mark with the Washington Huskies—strongly suggests he’s good enough to win at Alabama. The problem is replacing the greatest coach to ever walk a college sideline. There is no next Saban.

“I’ve got to be who I am and be true to that,” DeBoer said Tuesday. And that should be good enough to keep Bama in the sport’s upper echelon.

The Alabama coach actually hanging out in hallways and conversing was a sight to behold. Saban is famously intolerant of small talk and rarely slowed down when moving from one obligation to the next in Destin. Regardless, if Saban is as good on ESPN’s College GameDay broadcasts as he was analyzing the NFL draft, he will still be adding a lot to the sport.

Alabama football coach Kalen DeBoer watches his quarterbacks go through drills during practice in March. / Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA

The new dean of football coaches in the SEC is Kirby Smart, entering Year 9 at Georgia. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said Smart pretty well took up that mantle in meetings Tuesday, and he will at least start the season as the league leader on the field as well.

Think of it this way: The only two games Georgia has lost in the past three seasons were to Saban, and he’s not around anymore. None of the SEC coaches who defeated Smart from 2017–23 are still coaching in the league: nemesis Saban did it five times; Ed Orgeron twice; Dan Mullen, Will Muschamp and Gus Malzahn once each.

But man, the Georgia schedule is a doozy. After opening against the Clemson Tigers in Atlanta, Georgia visits Alabama on Sept. 28, Texas on Oct. 19 and Ole Miss on Nov. 9. The good news for the Bulldogs, and others in the league: In a 12-team playoff, one or even two losses will not be fatal. If the 12-teamer were in effect in recent years, Georgia would have had three more appearances and maybe more national titles.

(In other Georgia news, Smart’s backup quarterback, Jaden Rashada, is suing Florida Gators coach Billy Napier. That will further spike the Cocktail Party game between those two old rivals. Smart pretty much adopted a “My name’s Bennett and I ain’t in it” stance on that topic Tuesday.)

The only sight stranger than DeBoer in Alabama gear was Calipari in Arkansas swag. This is believed to be the first time a national championship men’s basketball coach has moved directly from one conference program to another, a bombshell April development that signaled Cal wasn’t up for the fight of restoring trust (and titles) at Kentucky.

His stump speech at Arkansas sounds numbingly familiar to Big Blue Nation, which steadily grew tired of hearing it as the success stopped accompanying the rhetoric. Cal swiped three of his former players at Kentucky (D.J. Wagner, Adou Thiero and Zvonimir Ivisic) along with three signees (Boogie Fland, Karter Knox and Billy Richmond). But in the current climate of constant player movement, that can’t really be held against him.

As it stands, Arkansas will have a more talented team than Kentucky this season. But Calipari usually has more talent than everyone else in the league and still hasn’t won an SEC tournament title since 2018 or regular-season title since ’20.

Kentucky men’s basketball head coach Mark Pope wants to rekindle good feelings of the Wildcats’ heyday. / Sam Upshaw Jr./Courier Journal / USA

His UK successor, Pope, won over hearts and minds by playing to the base: The former standout on the 1996 national championship team rekindled the good feeling of that era, while also declaring, “We’re going to find guys that fit here, the way we play and understand what a gift it is to play at the University of Kentucky.” Yes, that could be perceived as a divergence from the Calipari Era of selling the program as a way station to the NBA.

But the fact remains Pope was not the first choice for the job at his alma mater and only got the call after Scott Drew got well down the road with Kentucky and then decided to stay with the Baylor Bears. Pope has never won an NCAA tournament game; Calipari won 32 of them at Kentucky. The new guy has some work to do beyond winning the news conference.

Calipari wasn’t the only Kentucky coach who tried to leave Lexington for somewhere else in the SEC. Mark Stoops was on his way to College Station to replace Jimbo Fisher before A&M power brokers squashed the move, which led to Mike Elko’s arrival as coach of the Aggies.

He gets the honor of leading A&M into its 119th game against Texas but first since 2011. By the time that game is played at Kyle Field on Nov. 30, the most interesting football season in SEC history will be in its climactic final act. Buckle up for a wild fall on the field; the currently vague future of college sports will sort itself out along the way.

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Wizards Promote Interim Coach Brian Keefe to Head Role

The Washington Wizards announced on Wednesday that Brian Keefe, who acted as interim coach since January, will officially be the team's new head coach.

Keefe took over after coach Wes Unseld Jr. was fired in January. Keefe led the Wizards to an 8–31 record after that.

“We are excited for Brian to become our next head coach. Brian is a proven motivator and connector of people,” Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said in a press release. “As a leader in the organization, he will continue to positively grow and invest into the development of our players. His wealth of experience will help move our team forward as we build for long-term sustained success.”

Official: Brian Keefe has been named the 26th Head Coach in franchise history.
📰 Read more: https://t.co/3WA0VWUSCz pic.twitter.com/D0lv8w5lck
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) May 29, 2024

Keefe previously worked as an assistant coach for the Oklahoma City Thunder (2007–15 and 2019–20), the New York Knicks (2015–16), the Los Angeles Lakers (2016–19) and the Brooklyn Nets (2021–23) before coming to the Wizards. This past season was Keefe's first with the Wizards.

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Rose Zhang Is Adjusting to Life as a Pro, But Stardom Is Fast Approaching

On Tuesday at the U.S. Women’s Open at the Lancaster Country Club, Lexi Thompson announced that she was retiring from the LPGA Tour at the end of the season from full-time competition. In her 18th consecutive start in the championship, the 29-year-old Thompson is exiting just as Rose Zhang settles into her first full year as a professional. Thompson turned pro at 15 years old and won her first LPGA event just a year later, so she never amassed much of a resume in amateur golf. But Zhang racked up amateur trophies, including a U.S. Women’s Amateur, an NCAA individual title at Stanford and the Augusta National Women’s Amateur while spending a record 141 weeks as the top-ranked female amateur in the world.

Last June in her first event as professional, the Mizuho Americas Open, Zhang beat Jennifer Kupcho in a playoff to become the first woman to win her pro debut since 1951. Earlier this month, Zhang added a second win at the Cognizant Founders Cup. The women’s game is hurting for American superstars beyond Nelly Korda, who has won six of her last seven tournaments, and is the overwhelming favorite this week to earn her third major championship.

Yet the 21-year-old Zhang is as talented as anyone to challenge Korda for years to come for the top of the women’s game. But let’s give her some time to get used to professional golf before we label her as the next No. 1 player in the world and a future Hall of Famer. The teenage success of Thompson, Michelle Wie and Lydia Ko and so many other young women has led us to forget the speed at which things come at young players when they are suddenly thrust into the limelight. Zhang was a few years older than these women when she turned pro, but she’s still very inexperienced in the business of professional sports. Coming off of last year’s success, where she had a victory and four other top 10s in 14 starts, the Irvine, Calif., native has momentum, but she will also likely endure the growing pains that come with life at the highest levels of professional sports. Becoming a great tour player is as much about assembling everything from the right equipment to the right caddie to right accountant to the right agent, as it is about playing tournament golf.

In 2022, Zhang signed with Callaway while still at Stanford. For young players, solidifying a formal relationship with a club and ball manufacturer has long been the most fundamental step toward life in professional golf. In 1996 when another former Stanford legend turned pro, Nike became an inseparable part of the lore that grew around his game. On TV commercials and playing Callaway’s ball and clubs, Zhang is linking herself with a giant in the golf industry. She’s also linking herself to Tiger Woods by signing with his agency, Excel Sports Management, where the 15-time major champion’s long-time agent, Mark Steinberg, is a partner.

But having confidence with your equipment and an agent that you can trust is just the on-ramp to success in tour golf. "Keep the main thing the main thing" is a popular mantra across sports—a focus on the on-field performance—but that’s easier said than done for most professional athletes.

“There's a lot that I want to accomplish,” Zhang told Sports Illustrated. “But in order to do so I realized how important it is to manage my time, my team, and my presence in being able to play. So it's more so focusing on just one thing at a time and allowing myself to be able to compete in the best way that I can.”

The LPGA Tour and women’s golf need Zhang to succeed as it attempts to grow its brand in a golf world currently fractured by the ongoing saga of the PGA Tour vs. LIV Golf. The pressure that Thompson must have felt—pulling her away from the game that she loved at the tender age of 29—is something that Zhang may contend with as she ascends.

“There's a lot more coming at you,” Zhang says. And there's a lot more noise surrounding you. So at least for me, it's important for me to realize how I want to prioritize taking care of my body and health.”

During the offseason, she took on the role of a CEO, assembling those pieces of her team to form her own enterprise. She’s got a couple of years left to finish her degree at Stanford, and she’s similar to the graduates coming out of the school to start lucrative careers as entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley. There are a lot of people not just counting on her to succeed, but looking for her to lead and make decisions that she’s never had to make in her life.

“For me the hardest thing has been building my team,” Zhang says. “When you’re coming out of college you have a profession and an obligation to make golf your career. I am essentially my own boss. Putting the right people around me to help me build myself to the best potential is very crucial.”

Zhang’s team includes a caddie, a swing coach, trainers, sports performance specialists and a CPA to help her pay her taxes. To varying degrees, most current players have some semblance of this organization. The most fickle and unstable of these roles are the caddie and the swing coach: jobs that often last at the mercy of a player’s performance in tournaments, preferences and quirks. After working with George Pinnell for nearly decade, Zhang recently began seeing Todd Anderson, who has worked with several PGA Tour players, including Billy Horschel and Brandt Snedeker. Pinnell would always be her mentor, she said, but she needed an instructor who could meet her at events and help with the transition to the LPGA Tour.

No matter how many times Zhang heard other players discuss the challenges of being a professional athlete, she had to experience it for herself to fully appreciate the intricacies of the process. “These are things that I was able to understand early on, but I was never able to experiment on the whole process until I was actually in the thick of it,” she says. “This entire process takes a lot more brain work, but once I build myself around a great team and great people, that's when I can really focus on what I have to do. I've received a lot of great advice from people and I've taken this into my own stride but it's still all a very big learning process.”

For Zhang, a major part of that learning process is seeing where her game stacks up against other top players. Nelly Korda has emerged as perhaps the most dominant player in the women’s game, perhaps since Annika Sorenstam won 11 times in 2002. To win this week in the U.S. Women’s Open or any week for the foreseeable future, Zhang will have to beat Korda, who is still just 25 years old.

“I think there's a lot of expectation in terms of how I should perform, but in my opinion. that’s all noise,” Zhang says. I definitely feel like I am capable of being at the top. But to get to that level it requires everything from a good team to a good practice and good preparation routine. And managing everything involved with the mental and physical side of golf. So I think I'm getting there.”

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Bryce Harper Viciously Destroys Bat in Dugout After Striking Out vs. Giants

Bryce Harper endured a difficult first at-bat of Wednesday's game against the San Francisco Giants, striking out swinging to Kyle Harrison in six pitches.

It certainly wasn't the result Harper was looking for as he aimed to provide an early spark for the Philadelphia Phillies in the first inning, and he was irate upon returning to the dugout.

When Harper got back to the Phillies' dugout, the 31-year-old unleashed his fury on his bat, smashing it to bits by repeatedly slamming it against the bench. Shrapnel from Harper's bat could be seen flying around the dugout as he vented his frustrations on the very same bat he'd just failed to produce a hit with.

Bryce Harper was not happy after his first-inning strikeout 😬 pic.twitter.com/1Q0zVEp55f
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) May 29, 2024

Things didn't get better from there, either.

Harper struck out again in his second at-bat of the game. And when he came up for a third time, tensions flared between the two teams.

Harrison threw two pitches up and in on Harper, one of which clunked off the knob of his bat, prompting some rage from Philadelphia's dugout. Benches cleared as the two teams barked at one another before things eventually settled down.

The benches clear in San Francisco after two straight pitches are thrown near Bryce Harper. pic.twitter.com/rdBkdwPx8D
— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) May 29, 2024

Harper then returned to the batter's box and grounded out to shortstop for the final out of the fourth inning.

It was a frustrating start to Wednesday's game for Harper, though his teammates helped pick up the slack offensively.

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Looking Back at Every Sweep in NBA Finals History

Among the four major North American sports leagues, the NBA has traditionally stood out in the popular imagination as being the league of the dynasties. The Boston Celtics of the 1960s begat the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s begat the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s, and so on and so forth.

For this reason, it may surprise you to learn that in the NBA Finals' entire history—from its quaint 1947 origins to the present day—professional basketball's final series has seen just nine sweeps.

Here is a look back at the nine perfect performances in the event's annals. Note before we begin that there were four best-of-five finals sweeps in the history of the National Basketball League, the NBA's immediate predecessor.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Celtics 118, Lakers 115
Game 2	Celtics 128, Lakers 108
Game 3	Celtics 123, Lakers 110
Game 4	Celtics 118, Lakers 113

The very first Finals between Boston and the Lakers, and the only one that took place while the Lakers were located in Minneapolis. The first of the Celtics' run of eight straight championships, the longest streak in the history of the four major North American sports. Boston center Bill Russell averaged 29.5 rebounds per game, which will play.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Bucks 98, Bullets 88
Game 2	Bucks 102, Bullets 83
Game 3	Bucks 107, Bullets 99
Game 4	Bucks 118, Bullets 106

The Milwaukee Bucks' first title, and their only title until 2021. The first of six rings for Bucks center Lew Alcindor, the future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The most recent of two series, along with the 1956 Finals, played under a 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 format in which the two teams alternated home games.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Warriors 101, Bullets 95
Game 2	Warriors 92, Bullets 91
Game 3	Warriors 109, Bullets 101
Game 4	Warriors 96, Bullets 95

Both the Golden State Warriors (Al Attles) and Washington Bullets (K.C. Jones) had Black head coaches, which hadn't happened before in any league. The Bullets actually took three of four from Golden State in the regular season, anticipating a highly competitive matchup. A 14-5 run late in Game 4 gave the Warriors their last title until 2015.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	76ers 113, Lakers 107
Game 2	76ers 103, Lakers 93
Game 3	76ers 111, Lakers 94
Game 4	76ers 115, Lakers 108

A fitting conclusion to Hall of Fame center Moses Malone's third and final MVP season. Polished off a 12-1 playoff run after Malone predicted the Philadelphia 76ers would need only four games to win each series. The last major Philadelphia championship until the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 2008.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Pistons 109, Lakers 97
Game 2	Pistons 108, Lakers 105
Game 3	Pistons 114, Lakers 110
Game 4	Pistons 105, Lakers 97

The Detroit Pistons' first title after a grueling seven-game loss to the Lakers the season prior. Featured a superb performance from Pistons guard Joe Dumars, who averaged 27.3 points per game. The curtain call on Abdul-Jabbar's spectacular 20-year career.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Rockets 120, Magic 118 (OT)
Game 2	Rockets 117, Magic 106
Game 3	Rockets 106, Magic 103
Game 4	Rockets 113, Magic 101

Notorious for the Orlando Magic's complete meltdown in Game 1, during which guard Nick Anderson missed four crucial free throws to open the door for Houston Rockets guard Kenny Smith's game-tying three. The Rockets, seeded sixth, became the lowest-seeded team to win the title. Houston's title followed a seven-game championship win over the New York Knicks in 1994.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Lakers 99, Nets 94
Game 2	Lakers 106, Nets 83
Game 3	Lakers 106, Nets 103
Game 4	Lakers 113, Nets 107

The Lakers' third consecutive championship, and center Shaquille O'Neal's third consecutive Finals MVP award. Los Angeles overcame a superb individual series from New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd, who had averaged a triple-double in the Eastern Conference finals. The last Finals aired on NBC to date.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Spurs 95, Cavaliers 76
Game 2	Spurs 103, Cavaliers 92
Game 3	Spurs 75, Cavaliers 72
Game 4	Spurs 83, Cavaliers 82

Noted for its astoundingly low scores, Game 3 was the lowest-scoring Finals game since 1955. The first Finals for Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, and for every Cavalier apart from veteran guard Eric Snow. Despite several close games, only in Game 4 did Cleveland lead in the second half.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114 (OT)
Game 2	Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3	Warriors 110, Cavaliers 102
Game 4	Warriors 108, Cavaliers 85

The sweep everyone remembers. Began with a bizarre overtime game in which Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith appeared to forget the score at the end of regulation and James scored 51 points in defeat. The average margin of victory, 15, is the largest in any NBA Finals.

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

U.S. Women’s Open First Round Leader Odds and Prediction

The U.S. Women's Open is set to begin Thursday at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania.

As expected, Nelly Korda is a massive favorite to win her second Major of the year after having won five of her last six starts. If you want my best bets to win this weekend, you can find my full betting preview here.

In this article, we're going to focus on the opening round. If you don't have the patience to wait for all four rounds to see if your bet is going to win, consider betting on the "First Round Leader" market. It gives us something to cheer for on Thursday so can make the opening round more exciting.

Let's take a look at the first round leader odds and then I'll break down my best bet.

The top 10 odds listed below are via BetMGM Sportsbook

Minjee Lee +3500

When targeting a golfer to lead after the first round, we want someone who can rack up birdies in a hurry who maybe we don't trust to do it all four rounds. Minjee Lee fits that description perfectly. She leads the LPGA in strokes gained approach (+1.69) but her short game is bound to let her down at some point during the tournament, which keeps her from the winner's circle.

Lee has also had her best stuff in the opening round this season. She's seventh on the LPGA in total strokes gained in Round 1.

Finally, she has historically excelled at the U.S. Open. She won this event in 2022 and finished T13 at the U.S. Open last season.

I'll back her to be the first round leader at 35-1.

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.

You can check out all of Iain's bets here!

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Can a Canadian Win the Canadian Open for the Second Straight Year?

There was a 60-year gap between Canadian champions at the Canadian Open. But not only did Nick Taylor end that drought in 2023, but he did it in electric fashion, sinking a 72-foot putt in a playoff against Tommy Fleetwood.

Now that the pressure is off Canadians to break the winless streak, will we see a run of fellow Canadians win the event? Can one of them grab the win this week?

There are 26 Canadians in the field to give it a shot. Let's take a look at each of their odds of winning this week's tournament at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

Odds listed below are via DraftKings Sportsbook

Since this is Canada's national open, the majority of Canadian golfers in the field are amateurs with no real shot to win. The golfers with a legitimate chance are: Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor, and Ben Silverman.

Conners is set as the betting favorite among Canadians at +2000, which means he has an implied probability of 4.76% of winning the event. He has just two wins on Tour, but he has been statistically the best Canadian golfer on Tour for a number of years.

He's been known as one of the best ball strikers in the world, but his short game often lets him down, losing strokes on and around the greens weekly. Just a few weeks ago at the PGA Championship, he gained +1.94 strokes on the field with his approach game, but losing strokes on and around the greens cost him and he finished just T26 on the week.

Conners has finished solo sixth and T20 at the Candian Open the last two years.

Nick Taylor, the 2023 Canadian Open winner, is the definition of a hot and cold golfer. He has won twice in the past 12 months but has just two other top 10 finishes in that stretch. You never know when he's going to show up with his best stuff, but when he does he has a great chance to win like he did at the WM Phoenix Open in February.

His last start resulted in a missed cut at the PGA Championship and before last year's win, he hadn't finished in the top 25 at a Canadian Open in his career.

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.

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

ESPN’s ‘Get Up’ Made Up Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown Friction Based on a Smile

The Boston Celtics finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA at 64-18. Then they rolled through the Eastern Conference playoffs, losing just two games in three rounds on their way to their second NBA Finals in three seasons. You would think things were going pretty well in Boston, but if you tuned into Get Up this morning, you might think the team was about to unravel.

During Day 2 of the conversation about Jaylen Brown being named MVP of the Eastern Conference finals, they showed a clip of Brown receiving his trophy and highlighted Jayson Tatum smiling while he clapped for his longtime teammate. This was apparently Tatum being "shocked" and not excited like his teamamtes.

This might be the dumbest ESPN segment in the Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown era. And thats saying a lot.
“When Jaylen Brown wins the award the rest of the team just goes crazy, they were so genuinely excited for him. And you did not seem to think it was mirrored in Jayson Tatum” pic.twitter.com/3LGv7lBs1w
— GEORGE (@ItsGeorgeyy) May 29, 2024

"I think a lot of people were surprised," said Greenberg. "There was a lot of chatter online yesterday to whatever degree this is important and relevant about Jayson Tatum's reaction. When Jaylen Brown wins that award in the moment that it happens, the rest of the team just goes crazy. And you were talking about it in our meeting earlier this morning. They're all so genuinely... Look at them. They are just so genuinely excited for him and you did not seem to think that it was mirrored in Jayson Tatum."

Greenberg then turned to Udonis Haslem, who twice says he thought Tatum was "shocked." Again, the video clearly shows Tatum doing exactly what every other teammate is doing in the same video. He's touching Brown in congratulations. He's smiling. He's clapping. He has the same look on his face that everyone else does. In order to imagine this being some kind negative reaction you would have to be someone with a vested interest in the Celtics failing. Conveniently, Get Up had one of those people on set today in Udonis Haslem.

What is ESPN thinking having Haslem, who played two decades for the Heat and is currently employed by the team, commenting on Miami's most bitter rival? They're putting him on national television to sow doubt in the public's mind about how their stars feel about each other using a video of them celebrating a trip to the Finals. The fact that this came in the same episode that Haslem was worried about possibly tampering during a segment about LeBron James makes it an even more dubious decision.

While we probably shouldn't be surprised that Haslem would try to say this, it's downright amazing that Greenberg would not just humor him but set him up for it. There is literally nothing in this video that would suggest anything but joy, yet ESPN has Tatum lit up like he's being identified in CCTV footage at a burglary trial.. All he's doing is smiling!

The Ringer's Bill Simmons was among the many people to call Greenberg and ESPN out for this ridiculous editorial choice.

“Great segment Greeny. That might get us a million views online. Let’s try to keep the Tatum vs Brown storyline going heading into the Finals, Dave Roberts just texted me, he loves it!” pic.twitter.com/1ft9hPBtKE
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) May 29, 2024

The worst part about all this is that there is still a week until the NBA Finals start. If this is what ESPN's flagship morning show has turned to the morning after an actual Western Conference finals game we can't be far from wondering whether Tatum or Brown will demand a trade first this offseason. Sure, they've played together for seven straight years, had a ton of success and both signed max contracts at every opportunity, but maybe they want more!

Maybe Pat Riley or Alonzo Mourning can join the show to discuss trade destinations next week.

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

SI:AM | This Is the Caitlin Clark Everyone Expected to See

Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I don’t think the Timberwolves are going to complete the comeback, but I’m glad they’re at least shortening the break before the NBA Finals.

In today’s SI:AM:

⛹️‍♀️Caitlin Clark goes off
🐺 T-Wolves survive
⚾ MLB recognizes Negro League stats

Over the course of her first seven WNBA games, Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark looked like, well, a rookie. She had a handful of solid offensive performances (three games with at least 20 points) but also her fair share of struggles (like a 2-for-8 shooting night in a loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Saturday).

But in Tuesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks, Clark had her first true superstar game as a pro, scoring 30 points (on 7-of-16 shooting) with five rebounds, six assists, three steals and three blocks. She’s the first rookie since Rhynne Howard in 2022 to have a 30-point game and the first since Sabrina Ionescu in ’20 to have 30 points, five assists and five rebounds in a game. Not impressed yet? Clark is the first rookie in WNBA history and just the fourth WNBA player ever to have at least 30 points, five assists, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals in a game.

That’s the kind of performance fans expected from Clark when she turned pro, and it was only a matter of time before it became a reality. Every rookie needs some time to adjust to the higher level of play in the pros, and the transition is especially hard for WNBA players who had barely a month between the end of their college season and the start of their rookie year.

But it wasn’t all positive news for Clark. For one thing, she also notched seven turnovers. Losing the ball has been the biggest problem for Clark in her brief pro career. She currently leads the WNBA in turnovers per game with 5.3, well ahead of the next closest player, Skyler Diggins-Smith with 4.3. Turnovers are nothing new for Clark. She led the NCAA in that category three times in her college career and ranks third on the all-time list. But if the biggest problem with her game is that she coughs the ball up a little more often than you’d like, that’s something the Fever can certainly live with.

More disappointingly, the Fever lost the game, 88–82, to drop to 1–7 on the season. That’s the second worst record in the league. Only the winless Washington Mystics (0–6) have been worse.

“I think I just played with an aggressive mindset,” Clark told reporters. “I think that was the biggest thing—to play downhill the best I could. We did some good things and then we just kind of shot ourselves in the foot.”

The Fever’s best stretch came immediately after halftime, when they started the third quarter on an 11–0 run to take a 43–37 lead. But the Sparks closed the quarter with an 11–0 run of their own to go up 59–55. The Los Angeles lead swelled to as many as 14 in the fourth quarter as the Fever failed to turn the tide.

“You don't give yourself a chance … You can't do something right for two and a half quarters and then just stop doing it,” Indiana coach Christie Sides said. “We were going under some of the screens that were supposed to be going over. We were gambling and getting out of position.

“Instead of us stepping over and stopping them (and) having our teammates’ back, we're reaching. That’s just a lack of discipline.”

The Fever clearly still have a lot to figure out, but the more games like Tuesday’s that Clark has, the easier the wins will come.

Karl-Anthony Towns celebrates during Timberwolves’ Game 4 win vs. Mavericks.

Towns stepped up to keep Minnesota alive vs. Dallas on Tuesday. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

… things I saw last night:

5. A great defensive play by San Francisco Giants third baseman Matt Chapman.
4. Luke Raley’s home run robbery.
3. Sam Reinhart’s overtime game-winner for the Florida Panthers to tie their series against the New York Rangers.
2. Anthony Edwards’s fantastic basket in the lane late in the fourth quarter.
1. Derrick Jones Jr.’s acrobatic alley-oop (made possible by a fantastic pass from Luka Dončić).

29 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

When Was the Last Time the Dallas Stars Won the Stanley Cup? Full List of Championship Years

The Dallas Stars have been a postseason mainstay over the last six years, reaching the NHL playoffs in five of those seasons. During that span, however, they've been unsuccessful in winning the Stanley Cup, despite making an appearance in the Final in 2020.

They're hopeful of changing those fortunes this season. Currently embroiled in a Western Conference Final tilt against the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas is looking to make it back to the Stanley Cup Final and win what would be just the second title in franchise history, dating back to their time as the Minnesota North Stars.

Let's take a look back at the Stars' championship season, as well as their appearances in the Stanley Cup Final throughout history.

GAME	RESULT
Game 1	Sabres 3, Stars 2 (OT)
Game 2	Stars 4, Sabres 2
Game 3	Stars 2, Sabres 1
Game 4	Sabres 2, Stars 1
Game 5	Stars 2, Sabres 0
Game 6	Stars 2, Sabres 0 (3OT)

The lone championship in Stars history came 25 years ago during the 1998–99 season, when they defeated the Buffalo Sabres in the Stanley Cup Final. They won the series in six games, which featured a legendary triple overtime thriller in the closeout Game 6 that saw Hall of Fame right winger Brett Hull seal the deal with the game-winning goal after nearly two full hours of game time.

It's one of the most iconic moments in franchise history. That Dallas team was loaded, with five players who would eventually reach the Hall of Fame, including Hull, Mike Modano, Joe Nieuwendyk, Sergei Zubov and Guy Carbonneau.

Although they've only won one Stanley Cup, the Stars have made five total trips to the Finals. The first came back in 1981, back when the team was still playing out of Minnesota. Then the North Stars, the team was defeated by the New York Islanders in a five-game series.

They returned to the Stanley Cup Final a decade later, despite finishing fourth in their division with a 27–39–14 record. The team made a stunning postseason run before being bested in six games at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Their next trip to the Stanley Cup Final was in 1999, when they won against the Sabres. The team made another Stanley Cup Final run in 2000, but were defeated in a six-game set against the New Jersey Devils.

Dallas's last and most recent run to the championship came in 2020, when they were defeated in six games by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Much of that team, including the likes of Tyler Seguin, Joe Pavelski, Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen, among many others, remain on the roster in 2024, eager to finish the job they fell just short of four years ago.