📰🏟️ Zoinks, Skub!
Good afternoon. Welcome back to another week full of top sports stories. Let’s rock and roll.
—Kyle
1) Ant’s return sparks T-Wolves' upset win
Timberwolves star Anthony “Ant-Man” Edwards returned to action last night nearly a week ahead of schedule, after suffering a deep bone bruise and hyperextended knee two weeks ago.
- He scored 18 pts in 25 mins off the bench, helping spark a 104-102 upset over the Spurs in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semis.
- It came despite an NBA-playoff-record 12 blocks from Spurs C Victor Wembanyama, who became the 3rd player in postseason history to earn a triple-double with blocks (11 pts, 15 rebs).
- In the East, the Knicks smoked the 76ers 137-98 in Game 1, becoming the first NBA team ever to win 3 straight playoff games by 25+ points.
2) Tigers star P Tarik Skubal requires elbow surgery
Skubal, the reigning back-to-back AL Cy Young, will have arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies from his left elbow, likely sidelining him for 2-3 months.
- Skubal, 29, is entering free-agency this offseason and had been projected for a record-setting contract, though this injury may complicate that outlook.
- The current milestone for a FA pitcher is the Dodgers’ 12-yr, $325M deal with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, with prior projections of a Skubal deal at ~$400 million.
How Skubal’s injury affects the future
3) Tennis stars suggest boycott over Slam prize shares
World #1s Aryna Sabalenka (women’s) and Jannik Sinner (men’s) were among the top tennis players who issued a statement expressing “deep disappointment” over the French Open prize money.
- Sabalenka also said she believes players should organize a boycott if they don't start receiving a bigger share of revenue at Grand Slams.
- French Open organizers increased this year’s overall prize money by ~10% for an overall pot of $72.1M.
- But players note that their share of overall tournament revenue has declined from 15.5% in 2024 to a projected 14.9% in 2026, lower than the 22% that players have requested.
Tennis stars at their break(ing) point
4) Pablo Torre earns Pulitzer for Kawhi reporting
The podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out won the Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting last night for its investigation into the LA Clippers’ alleged evasion of the NBA’s salary cap to pay star Kawhi Leonard.
- Last year, Torre reported that Clippers owner Steve Ballmer paid Leonard millions of dollars more than allowed, thanks to a no-show endorsement deal with an environmental company Ballmer invested in.
- Ballmer and Leonard have both denied any wrongdoing, while the NBA’s investigation into the Clippers still has yet to be resolved eight months later.
5) NCAA volleyball powerhouses to stage $1M tournament
Four premier women’s college volleyball programs will soon compete in a new nationally televised event with a $1M prize purse—the largest ever in women’s college sports.
- Florida, Nebraska, Penn State, and SMU will face off on August 27 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas in the first-of-its-kind primetime event, named “Spikes Under the Lights.”
- Two semifinal matches and a championship will be played in a best-of-3-set format, with results not counting towards regular-season records.
- All 4 schools will split $800K equally, with the remaining $200K going to the winners. The schools will distribute the funds to players as NIL payments.
More on volleyball’s big pay bump
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