📰🏟️ NBA-Reshaping Injuries, CWS Jell-O Shots, & MLB All-Star Voting
Enjoyable sports news for intelligent fans…
Good morning. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Indiana Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the Finals on Sunday night to secure the franchise’s first NBA championship since 1979, when they played in Seattle and went by the SuperSonics. It caps off a season in which OKC posted a league-best 68 wins and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was named league MVP for the first time (he was also named Finals MVP).
It also marks the first pro sports title for the state of Oklahoma. Which, after the victory, immediately changed the lyrics of its state song to: “Okkkkklahoma—where the wins come sweepin’ down the plain.”
–Peter & Kyle
On the clock: This newsletter takes ~3.47 minutes to read (923 words).
🗺️ AROUND THE HORN
Three big things
🤔 What happens when a badger meets a hurricane? The University of Wisconsin sued the University of Miami on Friday for allegedly poaching one of its players under contract, in a first-of-its-kind legal attempt to enforce the terms of a financial deal between a football player and his school. The player in question? Freshman defensive back Xavier Lucas. According to the complaint filed Friday, Wisconsin claims that a Miami staff member and a prominent alumnus met with Lucas and his family at a relative's home in Florida and offered him money to transfer shortly after Lucas signed a two-year contract with the Badgers in December. The lawsuit states that Miami committed tortious interference by knowingly compelling a player to break the terms of his deal with Wisconsin—setting up an interesting test of whether schools can use NIL deals to keep athletes from transferring, even though they aren’t technically employees, according to experts. Schools can start paying players directly via NIL deals on July 1.
⚾ The Big Dumper keeps dumping balls into seats. On Saturday, Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, a large-derrière-carrying breakup artist known affectionately as the “Big Dumper,” became the first switch-hitter to hit 30 home runs before the MLB All-Star break. Raleigh, who hit #31 a day later, is now the ninth player in history to hit 30 homers in his team's first 75 games, adding his name to a list of other puny contact hitters that includes Barry Bonds, Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Sammy Sosa, and Mark McGwire.
🏆 LSU wins the College World Series and Rocco's Jell-O Shot Challenge. The Tigers swept Coastal Carolina in the best-of-three CWS final to secure the program’s second national championship in three years, and 8th overall. LSU also captured its second Rocco’s Jell-O Shot Challenge title in three years, with Tigers fans living up to their school’s reputation and ordering 52,390 jiggly, alcohol-filled tongue exercisers over the course of the 2025 College World Series, outpacing the #2 Chanticleers by a measly 43,273 drinks (what is Rocco’s Jell-O Shot Challenge?).
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📸 Snapped
Pics from the weekend
🏀 Playoff injuries are poised to reshape the NBA landscape. Tyrese Haliburton’s injury in Game 7 of the NBA Finals—after scoring nine points in the first seven minutes—was reportedly confirmed as a torn Achilles tendon yesterday, likely sidelining the Pacers superstar for the 2025-26 season. Haliburton’s situation mirrors that of Celtics G Jayson Tatum and Bucks G Damian Lillard, who both also tore their Achilles earlier in the playoffs—meaning three of the Eastern Conference’s top teams won’t have their key playmakers for 2025-26. And it wasn’t just the playoffs: this past NBA season set an all-time record for most Achilles tears (8) by a wide margin.
🐐 Tom Brady’s trophy case just got a little more crowded. At last weekend's Fanatics Fest in New York City, the 7x Super Bowl-winning quarterback won the inaugural Fanatics Games—a skills competition pitting athletes and celebrities against fans across eight sports—and finally got revenge on Eli Manning, who placed fifth. Brady took home $1M for his top finish among the 100 competitors, while a fan—39-year-old Pennsylvania teacher Matt Dennish (☝️, center)—finished third and earned $250k. Overall, Fanatics Fest 2025 set a new attendance record with 125,000 fans, who rubbed shoulders with dozens of top athletes, and saw Kevin Durant find out about his trade while onstage Sunday.
🏌️ Have driver, will Travel(ers) to Ryder. Keegan Bradley, 39, was an unorthodox selection to be US Ryder Cup captain last year, as the position typically goes to a player who’s past their prime and doesn’t compete personally. But after Bradley delivered a thrilling win Sunday at the Travelers Championship, he now ranks #7 in the world—making him a top option for America’s 12-player Ryder Cup squad in September. Bradley has indicated he’s open to becoming the US’ first playing captain since Arnold Palmer in 1962.
📰 NEWS
What else is happening
- An 18th-century law is fueling a slew of legal motions targeting sports prediction markets.
- New York Jets owner Woody Johnson purchased a 43% stake in the English Premier League's Crystal Palace for $254M.
- Jon Jones, considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time, retired at age 37.
- Travis Hunter, the 2025 NFL Draft's #2-overall pick, signed his four-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The two-way player will receive his ~$30.6M signing bonus all paid up-front, an uncommon occurrence.
- Kevin Durant was traded from the Phoenix Suns to the Houston Rockets for Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the #10 pick in the 2025 draft, and five second-round picks.
- Speaking of the NBA Draft…2025’s picking begins tomorrow. Check out ESPN’s latest mock draft.
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👀 MUST SEE TV
Top plays
🧑🦲 Thunder’s Alex Caruso nabs steal after ball bounces off head
🏀 Haliburton’s steal, no-look pass leads to Siakam slam
⚽ Messi free kick propels Inter Miami to victory
🏟️ Rafael Devers’ first HR as a SF Giant comes against Red Sox
+Bonus: Brewers P Joe Ryan fakes stop sign from third-base coach
🔢 BY THE NUMBERS
Fast 5
🎓 D1 college baseball players this past season were 42% more likely to hit balls at 115 mph or harder than MLB players, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
🏀 Thunder G Shai Gilgeous-Alexander became the fourth NBA player to win league MVP, Finals MVP, and a scoring title in the same season; he joins Michael Jordan, Shaq, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
🎾 Carlos Alcaraz extended his career-best winning streak to 18 matches after taking home the Queen's Club Championship on Sunday.
🏆 The SEC is now the first conference to produce six consecutive NCAA baseball national champions.
⚾ Brewers rookie Jacob Misiorowski became the first MLB starter in 125 years to record 11 hitless innings to begin his career.
🌐 WEB GEMS
Interesting things to click
📺 Relive: The highest-rated Super Bowl commercials in Ad Meter history.
⚾ Explore: How MLB starters, relievers, and their arsenal of pitches stack up over the past three seasons.
🎮 Time to hit the film room: EA Sports just released a College Football 26 gameplay deep dive trailer. The game will be available starting July 10.
🏟️ If size matters to you: Here are all the MLB stadiums ranked by seating capacity.
💎 Not a diam-ond a dozen: These are the elite jewelers creating athletes’ flashy statement pieces.
🤔 TRIVIA
Hey now, you’re (almost) an All-Star
Yankees OF Aaron Judge and Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani are the leading MLB All-Star vote-getters thus far (~2.7M and ~2.5M, respectively), according to the league’s second All-Star voting update released yesterday.
Our question to you: Since MLB All-Star voting returned to the fans in 1970, which player has received the most All-Star votes in a single season?
Hint: 3B with a huge leg kick; played post-2000
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🤔 ANSWER
Toronto Blue Jays 3B Josh Donaldson received 14,090,188 votes in 2015 (MLB’s first year of online-only balloting), topping the previous record of 11,073,744 set in 2012 by Texas Rangers OF Josh Hamilton.
