📰🏟️ Peak streaks

Good afternoon. The top-five sports stories of the day are at your fingertips. Just keep scrolling.

• But first: A highlight of Angels OF Jo Adell doing his best José Canseco impression and allowing a HR to bounce off his head and over the wall.

—Kyle

1) Knicks take early Finals lead over Spurs

New York erased a 14-point second-half deficit and scored the last 11 points of the game to beat San Antonio 105-95 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals last night.

• Knicks G Jalen Brunson scored 30 PTS, while Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 PTS and 12 REB.
• Spurs C Victor Wembanyama had 26 PTS, 12 REB, and 3 BLK, but shot just 6-21 from the field (12-13 FT).
• With the win, New York extends its playoff winning streak to a franchise-record 12 games, tied for the second-longest in NBA history.
• Game 2 is tomorrow night in San Antonio (7:30 pm CT).

Could Knicks be greatest playoff team ever?

2) Phillies SP sets scoreless streak record for lefties

Christopher Sánchez, the ace left-hander for Philadelphia’s pitching staff, finally gave up a run last night after 50 ⅔ scoreless innings in a row (covering 190 batters and 663 pitches).

• It’s the longest streak by a LHP dating back to 1893—when the mound was moved to its current distance of 60 ft, 6 in—and the fifth-longest streak overall.
• Sánchez ended up pitching 7 innings of 1-run ball in the Phillies’ victory, improving to 7-2 with an MLB-leading 1.46 ERA.

Inside Sánchez’s insane streak

3) Former MLB outfielder, 26, to play football at SMU

Former Angels, Orioles, and Brewers OF Jordyn Adams will play college football this fall at SMU, per The Athletic and On3.

• Adams was a top-100 football recruit who signed a letter of intent to play at North Carolina, before the Angels selected him in the 1st round of the 2018 MLB Draft.
• He appeared in 38 MLB games, but spent the majority of his career in the minors before being released by the Brewers late last month.
• Adams follows in the footsteps of former Marlins OF Monte Harrison, 30, who’s played at Arkansas since 2024 after 9 seasons in pro baseball.

From getting hits to taking hits

4) NBA Europe “on track” to launch next year

At his annual press conference before the Finals, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said a prospective league in Europe is set to launch in the 2027-28 season.

• The league will consist of 12 permanent teams across the continent, with an additional 4 slots that “any club in Europe” could qualify for, per Silver.
• The NBA has received bids multiple worth $500M–$1B, with Silver saying the league’s goal is to review the bids and award franchises by this fall. 

NBA is Euro-stepping across the pond

5) Upset-laden French Open continues

#25 Diana Shnaider upset #1 Aryna Sabalenka yesterday to advance to the French Open women’s semis, with her match against unranked Maja Chwalińska playing out at the time of this send. 

• On the other side of the bracket, #8 Mirra Andreeva, 19, breezed through a straight-set victory over #15 Marta Kostyuk this morning to make the final at Roland-Garros.
• On the men's side, #10 Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Arnaldi advanced to a head-to-head matchup in the semifinals, joining #2 Alexander Zverev and #26 Jakub Menšík in the final four.
• None of the remaining players—men or women— have ever won a Grand Slam.

Latest updates from the men and women

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