Here Are All the Athletes Who Went to the Met Gala
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Here Are All the Athletes Who Went to the Met Gala

Fashion's biggest night had some of the sports world's biggest stars in attendance on Monday night at the Met Gala.

Sports standouts ranging from the NFL to tennis to Formula 1 walked the carpet in their custom outfits all interpreting the theme "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" in different ways.

Tennis legends Serena and Venus Williams returned to the Met Gala. At last year's Met, Serena famously announced her second pregnancy with husband Alexis Ohanian during a carpet interview.

Take a look at all the athletes that went to the 2024 Met Gala.

Serena Williams

The 23-time Grand Slam champion wore a custom gold Balenciaga dress that many deemed a "going for gold" theme to commemorate her legendary tennis career.

Venus Williams

The five-time Wimbledon champion also wore a shining dress, but with hers more on the silver side. Her custom Marc Jacobs dress was reflective like a disco ball, but with a sheer first layer.

Lewis Hamilton

The Formula 1 driver, who's known for his fashion sense, wore a significant outfit on the carpet. His custom Burberry suit was made in honor of one of Britain's first Black gardners, John Ystumllyn. An excerpt from Alex Wharton's 'The Gardener' poem was embroidered into the inside of his suit jacket.

Angel Reese

The Chicago Sky rookie became the first WNBA rookie to walk the Met Gala carpet on Monday, and it was fitting that she flew from practice that morning to make it to the New York City event at night. It was also Reese's 22nd birthday as she walked in her 16Arlington by Marco Capaldo seafoam colored dress.

Ben Simmons

The Brooklyn Nets guard wowed fans with his Thom Browne suit. The black sparkly suit with a plaid design at the top wasn't complete without the briefcase with a giant clock on it. This piece fit more into the "Garden of Time" theme.

Nelly Korda

LPGA star Korda, who won five consecutive tournaments already this year, took a break ahead of this month's U.S. Women's Open to attend the Met Gala in an Oscar de la Renta gown. Her dress included red flowers with green leaves.

Stefon Diggs

The new Houston Texans running back attended his second consecutive Met Gala, this time wearing a custom dark blue H&M sparkly suit.

Odell Beckham Jr.

The new Miami Dolphins receiver wore an embroidered suit jacket with flowers and birds on it from Bode. His pants continued some of the design from the jacket as well.

Dwyane Wade

The retired NBA star walked the carpet with his wife, actress Gabrielle Union. Wade wore a lilac colored Versace suit completed with a plain white T-shirt and black shoes, while Union gave off mermaid vibes with her Michael Kors dress.

Angel Reese, Formula 1, Golf, Lewis Hamilton, NBA, Nelly Korda, NFL, Odell Beckham Jr., Stefon Diggs, Tennis, WNBA
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Lands NASCAR TV Gigs With Two New Outlets in 2025
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Lands NASCAR TV Gigs With Two New Outlets in 2025

One of NASCAR's most recognizable personalities will have two new television homes in 2025.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will provide commentary for 20 races split evenly between Amazon and TNT next season, the two outlets announced Tuesday morning.

“It is such an exciting time to welcome TNT Sports back to NASCAR,” Earnhardt said in a statement. “I remember watching the races on TNT back in the day, and it’s so nostalgic to see them return to the sport and be a part of their team.”

TNT previously aired NASCAR races from 2001-14, during Earnhardt's career. Amazon, on the other hand, is a newcomer to stock car racing.

“I’m honored to be a part of Prime Video’s entrance into NASCAR,” Earnhardt said in an Amazon statement. “It is an exciting opportunity to have the chance to give our NASCAR fanbase yet another way to watch the sport. It will be exciting to see the innovation that Prime Video is going to bring to our sport and the fans.”

Earnhardt previously worked as a commentator for NBC from 2017-23.

Dale Earnhardt Jr, Media, NASCAR
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Fans Loved Angel Reese's Met Gala Look
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Fans Loved Angel Reese’s Met Gala Look

It's been quite a stretch for Angel Reese. She helped take LSU to the Elite Eight in her final collegiate season, and was picked seventh in the 2024 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky. To top it all off, Reese attended Monday night's Met Gala in a stunning outfit, and everybody was in awe.

The fact that Reese managed to attend at all is pretty remarkable, given she practiced in Chicago earlier that day. The Sky's season debut is on May 15. Practicing and then flying out to New York City and undergo what must've been hours of prep for the red carpet walk isn't easy and certainly is not usually something rookies can do. But Reese is not just any rookie.

Even scattered amongst the biggest stars of all, Reese shined on Monday night in a 16 Arlington dress.

Everyone loved it.

As if there was any remaining doubt that Reese is going to push the limits of what's possible whenever she can, the rookie forward was back in Chicago on Tuesday morning to prepare for the Sky's next preseason matchup against the New York Liberty. She probably wishes the game was at Barclays Center, but this makes for a better story.

A whirlwind of a 24 hours for Reese after a whirlwind of a month.

Angel Reese, Chicago Sky, WNBA
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Cavaliers-Celtics Odds Paint Grim Picture for Cleveland in NBA playoffs
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Cavaliers-Celtics Odds Paint Grim Picture for Cleveland in NBA playoffs

If the Cleveland Cavaliers were looking for bulletin board material heading into their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Celtics, all they’d have to do is look at the odds. 

Recent NBA betting scandals notwithstanding, it's clear oddsmakers don't think the Cavs stand any chance against Boston. In fact, sportsbooks are giving the Cavs a better chance of getting swept than upsetting the top-ranked Celtics, and it’s really not even close. 

The Celtics are -3000 to win the series at FanDuel Sportsbook and -1200 to win at DraftKings. That means those sportsbooks are giving the Celtics an implied probability to win the series of 96.8% and 92.3% respectively. 

Even more telling, the Celtics are +140 at FanDuel and +170 at DraftKings to win the series 4-0. Those are the shortest odds of any correct series score. The Celtics winning 4-1 has the second shortest odds at +170 and +190, respectively. 

For context, even after winning Game 1, the Knicks are only -440 at FanDuel to win their Eastern Conference semifinal series. 

This is not exactly surprising.

The Celtics have been the betting favorites to win the NBA championship most of the season and remain so today. They are +100 to win the title at FanDuel and +115 at DraftKings. 

The Cavs are +10000 and +8000 at those books, respectively, the longest odds of any playoff team.

All of this paints a grim picture for the Cavs, even more so when you consider the Celtics are expected to be without their third-leading scorer from the regular season, Kristaps Porzingis, who is dealing with a calf injury and is not expected to play the entirety of the series. 

The Cavs are at full strength but struggled to beat a young Orlando Magic team in the first round of the playoffs. The series went seven games and the Magic had the Cavs on the ropes in the first half of Game 7 before Donovan Mitchell took over and willed Cleveland into the second round. 

Led by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, the Celtics easily dispatched the Miami Heat in five games in the first round, though the Heat were without Jimmy Butler.

It’s clear oddsmakers believe in the duo of Tatum and Brown, not only against the Cavs, but against anyone in the league. The Cavs could look at that as an insult and use it as motivation. It won’t matter to oddsmakers though. It seems their belief is near certainty, at least in this round.

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.

Betting Odds, Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA, NBA Playoffs
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Amazon Prime Expected to Be Major Player in NBA’s Broadcast Future
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Amazon Prime Expected to Be Major Player in NBA’s Broadcast Future

1. Although Amazon is expected to land the NBA’s “C” package in the upcoming television rights deals that will begin with the 2025-26 season, that designation is in title only because Prime’s haul of games will be significant.

According to a new report from Puck’s John Ourand (last week’s SI Media Podcast guest), Amazon Prime is likely to land a Saturday night window for the regular season. More importantly, though, the streaming service is also expected to gain the rights to first- and second-round playoff games as well as one conference finals series every other year.

It’s expected that Amazon will split the conference finals with either NBC or Warner Brothers Discovery (TNT), while ESPN/ABC will get a conference finals every year in its new deal with the NBA.

Ourand’s report also stated that a decision hasn’t been made yet about whether NBC or WBD will get the NBA’s “B” package.

One thing that seems to be very odd, though, is, according to Ourand, Amazon is expected to pay  $1.8 billion per year for the next 11 years ($19.8 billion total).

Meanwhile, NBC has reportedly offered the NBA $2.5 billion per year for the package that doesn’t include an NBA Finals and only has a conference finals every other year. That’s how much NBC wants to stick games on Peacock.

So just to sum up: If NBC got the “B” package and you’re a big-time NBA fan, you will need to pay for some sort of cable package so you get ESPN, you’ll have to pay for Peacock, you’ll have to pay for Amazon Prime and you’ll have to pay for your local games on whatever RSN they will air on.

With all sports splitting their rights deals into multiple parts, that means two things: The leagues make more money and the fans have to spend more money to watch games.

And it’s only going to get worse.

2. This was one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in the NBA.

To make that call in that spot is mind-boggling. Part of being a sports fan is that you complain about the refs. It’s basically a requirement.

But when NBA players and fans are constantly referencing the total joke that is the NBA’s “Last 2-Minute Report,” you have a problem on your hands.

3. In yesterday’s Traina Thoughts, I ranked Nikki Glaser as the No. 1 roaster at the The Roast of Tom Brady. Glaser appeared on The Howard Stern Show Monday and revealed some of the NSFW jokes that she had, but didn’t use on the Netflix special.

4. What a performance from Green Light’s Chris Long. With rap battles being all the rage these days, Long wanted to go in the opposite direction, and instead put together a tune for his good friend, The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo. Even though Long wanted to do “positive rhymes,” he threw in a verse about Russillo’s 2017 arrest for trespassing.

Timeline hit like Kermit Washington
He’s rude
He passed out, sloppy drunk
There was no forced entry
Cops were stunned
Game plan Tony Bennett
Not to run
Feet set, he took the charge
It was no fun

5. Keith Hernandez played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1974 to part of the 1983 season. He’s in the Cardinals Hall of Fame. And he guest starred on the greatest sitcom of all time.

Yet, on Monday, he couldn’t get into St. Louis’s Busch Stadium.

6. The latest episode of SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with Puck senior correspondent John Ourand about all the latest sports media news. Ourand breaks down the latest reports regarding the NBA’s upcoming television deals and where things stand between the league and ESPN, TNT, NBC and Amazon. Ourand also shares thoughts on how the new TV deals would impact the future of the Inside the NBA crew of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O’Neal.

Ourand discusses the changes at CBS’s NFL Today with Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms out and Matt Ryan in, whether the NFL draft would ever move to a Wednesday-Thursday-Friday schedule instead of Thursday-Friday-Saturday, the status of the Marchand & Ourand Podcast and more.

Following Ourand, Sal Licata from WFAN and SNY joins me for the weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week’s topics include an NFL draft shocker, a blow to an MLB superstar, Dave & Buster's allowing gambling, Jerry Seinfeld turning 70 and much more.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Absolutely disgraceful job by me not acknowledging the anniversary of the "Pine Barrens" episode in yesterday’s Traina Thoughts. Every single year, on May 6, that episode of The Sopranos needs to be celebrated. So we’re doing it today because better late than never.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast hosted by Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter,Instagram and TikTok. 

Amazon Prime, ESPN, NBA, sports media, TNT
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‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestants Had Comically Hard Time With Travis and Jason Kelce Answer
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

‘Wheel of Fortune’ Contestants Had Comically Hard Time With Travis and Jason Kelce Answer

Maybe the whole world doesn't know who Travis and Jason Kelce are even with their increasing fame over the past year.

This was proven during an episode of Celebrity Wheel of Fortune this week as the NFL brothers were one of the clues in the game show. The celebrities on the episode—actress Krysten Ritter, fashion designer Christian Siriano and actress Sarah Levy—all struggled to figure out what seemed to be an obvious clue to anyone who's been following pop culture news since last fall.

Ritter specifically kept repeating that she didn't know who these people were. Luckily for her, she guessed all the right letters and got the answer right.

Levy was the only contestant who appeared to know who the Kelce brothers were, solely because the Kansas City Chiefs tight end is dating international pop star Taylor Swift. It started to click a bit more for Siriano, but Ritter still seemed clueless.

Check out the hilariously awkward clip below.

Jason Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs, Travis Kelce
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ESPN NBA Analyst Roasts Nuggets' Jamal Murray for Tossing Heat Pack at Official
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

ESPN NBA Analyst Roasts Nuggets’ Jamal Murray for Tossing Heat Pack at Official

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray's frustrations boiled over from the bench in Monday night's Game 2 blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves when he threw a heat pack in the direction of official Marc Davis after a call.

Murray, who is facing widespread criticism in the aftermath of the incident, is also not immune to a fair share of jokes at his expense after a frustrating night all around for the Nuggets.

Here's the clip of Murray hurling the heat pack at Davis.

Count ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler among those who was not surprised Murray's heat pack toss missed its intended target.

"He was 3-for-18," Legler said. "I'm not shocked he missed Davis with that heat pack."

It remains to be seen at the time of this writing if Murray will be facing any sort of discipline by the NBA for his actions.

Game 3 between the Nuggets and Timberwolves is set for Friday night in Minnesota.

Jamal Murray, Nuggets, Timberwolves
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Stephen Jones Says Dallas Cowboys Are Hanging Around the Rim — That Thing From Basketball
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Stephen Jones Says Dallas Cowboys Are Hanging Around the Rim — That Thing From Basketball

The Dallas Cowboys finally got some attention from the national media on Tuesday when vice president Stephen Jones dropped in for a chat with SiriusXM's Adam Schein, where he was asked if current quarterback Dak Prescott could lead the franchise to a Super Bowl. It's a question that's been asked in so many previous A-blocks but is rarely posed to a primary decision-maker.

Jones's answer made a lot of sense. For a bit. In short he does think Prescott can get the job done. But it stopped making the most sense when he landed on a basketball-based metaphor to describe the situation.

“Absolutely,” Stephen Jones said. “I mean, I totally think Dak can lead us to a championship. He does everything the right way. He’s certainly the leader of this football team. He keeps everybody motivated in the offseason. He’s got everybody working out and doing all the things that it takes to put in the work to give yourself every opportunity to win a championship. It just so happens that sometimes that old oblong football doesn’t bounce your way. And we’ve had some tough breaks and tough games there in the postseason. But, you know, we’ve won 12 games three years in a row. I think that’s right at the top in terms of what teams have done over a three-year period. And, you know, we’re hanging around the rim. We’ve just gotta go up there and grab it, to use a basketball term, and dunk it in. We’re hanging around the rim. We just gotta get the job done.”

People are too harsh on others, even Cowboys management. Sure, Jones's little diversion won't be putting on any pressure on Colin Cowherd in the good-at-comparing-things contest, but he's thinking outside of the gridiron. If he were to say Dallas was "in the red zone" or "at the 1-yard line" that would be football but it would also be a specific number for people to criticize. Heck, he may be a genius for making the presentation more art than science.

Of course, reasonable minds can disagree if Dallas is even hanging around the rim, once they decide what it means. The franchise hasn't had any significant postseason success in a long time and last year's home debacle against the Green Bay Packers is the type of thing that suggests they're actually standing around the three-point arc.

Dallas Cowboys, Stephen, Stephen Jones
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Mics Captured Donovan Mitchell's Inspirational Message to Struggling Teammate During Cavaliers' Game 7 Win
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Mics Captured Donovan Mitchell’s Inspirational Message to Struggling Teammate During Cavaliers’ Game 7 Win

For Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland, Games 6 and 7 of the Cavaliers' first-round series against the Orlando Magic were 96 minutes from hell.

Despite a strong offensive performance in Friday's Game 6, a late eight-second violation by Garland helped seal Cleveland's fate in a 103-96 defeat. In Game 7 on Sunday, he struggled mightily, making just three of his 13 field goal attempts.

However, Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell refused to quit on his backcourt mate as Cleveland iced its eventual 106-94 win. Behind-the-scenes video from the game showed one Cavaliers All-Star encouraging another.

"I believe in you. Believe in yourself," Mitchell told Garland in video posted on social media by Cleveland. "Believe in yourself. I believe in you, we believe in you."

Garland believed just enough to knock down a three-pointer, a two-pointer and three free throws as the Cavaliers outscored the Magic in the fourth quarter 30-26.

With the win, Cleveland advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, where it will meet the Boston Celtics.

Cleveland Cavaliers, Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, NBA, Orlando Magic
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Mets' Brett Baty Hilariously Fell Over an Umpire While Trying to Make a Throw
7 May 24 Jimm Sallivan

Mets’ Brett Baty Hilariously Fell Over an Umpire While Trying to Make a Throw

The New York Mets beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-3, on Monday. The Mets were able to overcome a close call that was upheld on replay and disagreed with on the broadcast as they stopped a three game losing streak. The Mets seemed to be at odds with the umpire crew throughout the game. Just look what happened in the bottom of the first inning when leadoff hitter Jose Fermin bounced one down the line to third baseman Brett Baty.

Baty fielded the ball cleanly and was considering one of those cool jump throws that Derek Jeter used to do all the time, but instead straight ran into third base umpire Doug Eddings. Rather than throw the ball, Baty ate it as he fell on top of a backpedaling Eddings and Fermin ended up safe at first.

There are just some things in life that are satisfying. People falling down without getting hurt is definitely one of them. It's so awkward and funny. Keith Hernandez described it as Edding, "doing the moonwalk," while Gary Cohen compared his moves to the Cha-Cha Slide. Whatever ill-advised wedding dance move you want to reference, it's hard to contain the giggles.

Once everyone finished laughing the game continued with Baty going 0-for-4 at the plate with two strikeouts. Knocking over an umpire was unquestionably the highlight of his day.

Brett Baty, Doug Eddings, Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez, New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Umpires
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