🏆 Y! Sports AM: Spurs bounce back
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🚨 HEADLINES
⚾️ Sin City slugfest: The Athletics began a six-game homestand in Las Vegas on Monday as a preview for their 2028 relocation, and the opener against the Brewers turned into the wildest game of the season. Milwaukee won, 15-14, in a 12-inning affair that featured 11 home runs, 34 hits and five lead changes.
🇺🇸 Warm welcome: The USMNT arrived at their training camp in Irvine, California, on Monday, where 5,500 supporters — who won a lottery to attend the workout — welcomed them to Great Park. The 194-acre sports complex will be their home base for the duration of the World Cup.
🥎 Record viewership: Game 2 of the Women's College World Series, which saw Texas beat Texas Tech for its second straight national title, averaged 2.5 million viewers on ESPN, making it the most-watched college softball game ever.
🏒 Kings hire Laviolette: The Kings are hiring Peter Laviolette as their next head coach after he spent the last year out of the league following his firing from the Rangers. Laviolette, 61, has won 846 games as an NHL head coach (seventh-most) and one Stanley Cup (2006, Hurricanes).
🎾 Fed returns to Ashe: Roger Federer will play in an exhibition at this year's U.S. Open, taking the court alongside Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi and John McEnroe at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Aug. 25. Four days later, he'll be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
See what else is trending on Yahoo Sports.
🏆 SPURS BOUNCE BACK IN THE GARDEN
(Al Bello/Getty Images)The Spurs bounced back in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, beating the Knicks 115-111 to snap New York's 13-game winning streak and cut their series lead to 2-1 in front of a rabid Madison Square Garden crowd.
Star of the night: Victor Wembanyama finished with 32 points (11-18 FG, 2-4 3PT), 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks and 2 steals while getting the best of Karl-Anthony Towns (11 points), who had outplayed him through the first two games.
From the opening tip, it was clear the 22-year-old intended to take on an entire city, to attempt to overthrow Gotham like the Joker.
His force both with the ball in his hands and his command of the square footage around him without it hit the Knicks like a gut punch.
And in the fourth quarter, his 10 points screamed louder than any fan could, gradually reducing the amount of electricity in MSG until he was ready to rip the circuit breaker out of the wall.
Shoutouts: Stephon Castle (23 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast) was a force all night, providing a consistent source of downhill aggression. Jalen Brunson paced New York with 32 points, but OG Anunoby (28 pts, 9-13 FG) had the best game of any Knick.
(Al Bello/Getty Images)Brown not happy with refs: Knicks head coach Mike Brown spent the bulk of his postgame press conference talking about the gap in free throws (32-22 Spurs), particularly in the second half (24-8 Spurs).
"I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free-throw attempts in the second half to another team's eight," said Brown, who clearly hoped his words would have an impact on the officiating in Game 4. "The story is going to be there … because I said it."
Yes, but: While the Knicks taking 10 fewer free throws overall and making seven fewer — in a game they lost by four — is a story, it's not the story. Not really, anyway. "That ain't cost us the game," said Towns. "We were definitely fouling a lot," added Brunson.
No, the story is that, in the franchise's first NBA Finals home game in 27 years, the other shoe finally dropped.
For the first time in 47 days, Brown's club ended the night on the short side of the scoreboard. The second-longest winning streak in NBA playoff history is over. The Knicks have lost; they are no longer invincible.
🏈 A DARK DAY FOR COLLEGE SPORTS
Sorsby after a game last fall as Cincinnati's QB. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)A Lubbock County court has granted Texas Tech QB Brendan Sorsby a temporary injunction against the NCAA, clearing the path for him to play football this fall despite betting on his own team's games. And just like that, college sports may have finally jumped the shark.
Catch up quick: Sorsby — a rising fifth-year senior who joined the Red Raiders this offseason as a highly sought-after transfer — was deemed ineligible by the NCAA this spring after it was discovered that he wagered over $90,000 during the last four years at Indiana and Cincinnati, including at least 40 bets on the Hoosiers while he was a member of the team.
- Sorsby admitted to the transgression and completed an inpatient stay at a treatment facility for a gambling addiction. He also sued the NCAA for banning him, with his lawyers arguing his addiction is a mental health issue that should be supported, not punished.
- Monday's decision was a victory in that lawsuit, with his entire penalty boiling down to a two-game suspension. As it stands, the star transfer is cleared to start for Texas Tech in Week 3 against Houston.
Let me repeat that: A college football player who admitted to betting on his own games — perhaps the single most cardinal sin in all of sports, and one usually met with a lifetime ban — will be allowed to play this fall, and will miss just two games against non-conference opponents.
What they're saying: The NCAA said it is "deeply concerned" about the ramifications of the court's decision, and has already filed an appeal, with NCAA president Charlie Baker adding that "there is no better example of why targeted intervention from Congress is necessary." Sorsby's attorney, meanwhile, told Yahoo Sports that "this is a just result."
If Sorsby has a right to maintain his ability to play after betting on his own team, then sports pretty much cease to exist as a legitimate enterprise. It is hard in 2026 to get anyone to root for the NCAA, which will appeal this ruling out of self-preservation and principle. But somehow, [Texas District Court Judge Ken Curry] has pulled off the impossible.
What to watch: Big 12 athletic directors have already had "serious" talks about not playing Texas Tech, and Georgia and Nebraska have instructed their coaches not to schedule them in any sports. We've officially reached the point of no return," Georgia AD Josh Brooks told Yahoo Sports.
⚽️ AMERICAN OUTLAWS: ONE NATION, ONE TEAM
(Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports)America is co-hosting this year's World Cup, but the American Outlaws are the ones who will be bringing the party to every stadium, festival, bar and brewery they can, from sea to shining sea.
Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports:
Elvis Presley lives, and right now he's talking to Wonder Woman and a bald eagle in a gravel parking lot in North Carolina. All around Elvis, hundreds of American soccer fans of all ages, demographics and blood alcohol levels are snacking on hot dogs.
Over near one fence, a drum circle is warming up, rat-a-tat-tats filling the sunny afternoon air. Red, white and blue is everywhere, from innumerable Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie jerseys, to dyed beards and wigs, to a T-shirt that simply reads, "WTF IS A KILOMETER?" Welcome to the land of the American Outlaws.
(Jay Busbee/Yahoo Sports)Much like the Avengers, the American Outlaws began with an idea — an idea for a place that American soccer fans, and would-be soccer-fans, could gather and enjoy their love of the beautiful game. A place where they could say the word "soccer" and not be exiled.
That idea, born in a basement in Lincoln, Nebraska, now literally spans the entire country, with more than 30,000 Outlaws and 200 chapters dedicated to spreading the word and the love about American soccer.
Wherever the USMNT plays this summer, the Outlaws will be there. They'll drum, and chant, and cheer, and celebrate the very best parts of what it means to be American. And they'll be open to everyone, including you. All you have to do to join is start clapping to the beat.
💯 BIG NUMBERS
Texas celebrates after reaching its record-extending 39th College World Series. (Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)⚾️ 23 schools
College baseball has experienced a historic level of parity recently, with 23 different schools filling the 24 spots at the College World Series across the past three seasons. North Carolina, the No. 5 seed in this year's tournament, is the only program that has reached the final eight more than once since 2024.
Omaha-bound: No. 7 Alabama and Oklahoma punched the last two tickets to Omaha on Monday. They'll be joined in the eight-team field by No. 3 Georgia, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Texas, No. 16 West Virginia, Troy and Ole Miss.
🎾 $1.6 million
Maja Chwalińska's historic run from French Open qualifier to women's runner-up earned her a cool $1.6 million — nearly twice her career earnings entering the tournament ($867k). The 24-year-old Pole also climbed all the way from 114th in the world to a career-high No. 21 following two weeks at Roland Garros that changed her life.
Consider this: Chwalińska couldn't even pay for her hotel in Paris, which she humbly never expected to need for so long. Polish sports drink company Oshee, which sponsors fellow countrywoman and world No. 3 Iga Świątek, ultimately stepped in and footed the bill.
Hamlin waves a No. 18 flag in honor of Kyle Busch. (Brett Farmer/Getty Images)🏁 63 wins
Denny Hamlin won at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday for his second consecutive NASCAR Cup Series victory and 63rd of his career, matching the late Kyle Busch for the ninth-most in history.
Top 10: Richard Petty (200 wins), David Pearson (105), Jeff Gordon (93), Bobby Allison (85), Darrell Waltrip (84), Jimmie Johnson (83), Cale Yarborough (83), Dale Earnhardt (76), Busch (63), Hamlin (63).
⛳️ 43 spots
"Golf's Longest Day" came and went on Monday, when 43 golfers qualified for next week's U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. They'll join the 19 players who got through the first three final qualifiers two weeks earlier, as well as the remaining 94 golfers who will comprise the 156-player field.
Notable names: Among those who qualified on Monday were eight-time PGA Tour winner Billy Horschel, six-time winner Chris Kirk and 17-year-old Miles Russell, who got the job done with Charlie Woods on his bag. Tiger's son, also 17, is Russell's friend and future teammate, as both rising seniors have committed to play at Florida State.
📺 WATCHLIST: TUESDAY, JUNE 9
(Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)🏒 Stanley Cup Final, Game 4
Huge game tonight in Sin City (8pm ET, ABC), where the Golden Knights will look to take a 3-1 lead and the Hurricanes will try to even the series before it heads back to Raleigh.
Another thriller in store? Two of the first three games have gone to overtime, and all three have been decided by a single goal, making this the first Stanley Cup Final since 2016 — and the fifth in the last 45 years — to have each of the first three games decided by that margin.
🎾 Queen's Club Championships
Serena Williams returns to the court today in London (12:30pm, Tennis) for her first professional tennis match since the 2022 U.S. Open. She's playing doubles alongside Canadian teenager (and world No. 9) Victoria Mboko against Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez, the third-seeded pairing at the season's first grass-court tournament.
What she's saying: "It's really about my kids getting to see me play," the 23-time Grand Slam champion said on Sunday when discussing her return. Williams has not definitively said whether she'll play singles again, but she has already committed to next week's Berlin Open, and there's still a chance she could compete at Wimbledon next month.
More to watch:
- ⚾️ MLB: Yankees at Guardians (6:40pm, TBS/Prime) … New York (39-26) visits Cleveland (37-31) in a battle of AL contenders.
- 🏀 WNBA: Dream at Sky (7pm, ESPN) … Atlanta's Angel Reese, averaging 13.3 points and a league-high 11.7 rebounds, faces her former team for the first time.
- 🇺🇸 Friendly: Brazil vs. USWNT (8:30pm, TNT) … The Americans will look to rebound after falling 2-1 to the Brazilians on Saturday.
Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city. Get tickets now!
⚽️ WORLD CUP TRIVIA
The World Cup logo formed by performers during the Opening Ceremony in Chicago. (Todd Rosenberg/Allsport/Getty Images)The first World Cup on U.S. soil since 1994 kicks off in two days.
Question: Who won that tournament?
Hint: It was not their first victory.
Answer at the bottom.
⚽️ MAKE YOUR PICKS
The world's biggest soccer tournament kicks off in two days! Pick your group stage winners now in 2026 Soccer Pick 'Em from Yahoo Sports and FOX One.
How to play: Make picks each round, earn points for correct predictions and climb the leaderboard. You can play solo against the field, create a private group with friends to compete for bragging rights, or join a public group to play with other fans.
Beat the expert: Think you can pick better than Alexi Lalas? Go head-to-head with the former USMNT player by joining his group (with a previous entry or a new one), and see how your predictions stack up.
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Trivia answer: Brazil (over Italy in the Final)
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