Major League Baseball star Lars Nootbaar thought it was just a normal interview — until a familiar face appeared on the screen.
The St. Louis Cardinals outfielder was in mid-discussion with ESPN’s Eduardo Perez before Sunday Night Baseball at Fenway Park when the conversation turned to one of the most important people in his life.
“She’s my everything. She’s my best friend,” Lars said of his mother.
Seconds later, Lars realized she was watching the interview live and had been brought into the conversation as a surprise guest.
Watch the video below to see Lars' reaction when he realizes his mom is live with them!
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Jun 2, 2026; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) celebrates win against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
It may be time to accept that the NL East division title is likely out of the picture for the Phillies. There are still over 100 games left to play in the regular season, but the Phillies’ early swoon and the Braves’ hot start has likely given Atlanta a big enough lead that it’s become unlikely for them to be caught unless something major changes.
But hope for the postseason is not lost, as the Phillies are right in the thick of the wild card race. Again, there’s still a lot of games to be played, but as we begin to enter the summer, it’s time to at least keep one eye on the standings.
At the start of play yesterday, the Phillies were one game out of a wild card spot. They have successfully gotten themselves firmly back into the picture after their horrific start. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they are one of eight teams currently separated by three games in the standings. The others outside of the Phillies are the Padres, Pirates, Diamondbacks, Cardinals, Cubs, Reds, and Nationals.
Not all of those teams will stay this close in the race. Washington has been a surprise thanks to a very good offense, but they seem a good bet to come back to earth at some point due to their poor pitching. The Cardinals and Pirates are other teams playing well above expectations at the moment. The Cubs have been in freefall lately while the Padres have held the top spot despite having pitiful offensive numbers, especially with runners in scoring position.
The Phillies have already secured a tiebreaker with the Padres thanks to their win Tuesday night. They are in position for one over the Pirates thanks to their sweep in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. On the other hand, the Phillies have lost the tiebreaker badly to the Cubs as they played Chicago in the midst of their poor April and are 1-6 against the Cubs. As for the rest, it could go either way as the Phillies still have at least one more series to play and are either 2-1 or 1-2.
So, who do you think will be the Phillies biggest competition for a wild card spot?
But you come here for a recap of Cubs games, and by gum you are going to get one, and it’s not gonna be pretty.
This game didn’t start out pretty, either. Colin Rea got four ground balls in the first inning. That’s good! Unfortunately, there was also a walk sandwiched in there, and the A’s beat two double-play relays, scoring a run on one of them for a 1-0 lead. Then Rea gave up a one-out double and two-out single in the second and the Cubs trailed 2-0. It might have been worse if not for this nice sliding grab by Seiya Suzuki [VIDEO].
Much more on Happ’s 1,000th career hit from BCB’s JohnW53:
Ian Happ’s fourth-inning double made him the 37th player with 1,000 hits in games as a Cub. Those 37 are just 1.6 percent of all 2,295 who have played for the Cubs.
The last with a 1,000th hit had been Anthony Rizzo, with the second of his two doubles at home against the Mets on Aug. 27, 2018. Rizzo finished with 1,311 as a Cub, to rank 20th, between Bill Nicholson (1,323) and Tom Burns (1,299).
The total hit count for the 38 range from Cap Anson (3,012), Ernie Banks (2,583) and Billy Williams (2,510), to Andy Pafko (1,048), Derrek Lee (1,046) and Hack Wilson (1,017). Starlin Castro fell just nine hits, with 991.
Happ is the 1,415th MLB player to reach 1,000 hits in a career — 6.0 percent of all 23,658 big leaguers. Four of them made exactly 1,000: Orator Shafer, 1874-90; Birdie Tebbetts, 1936-52; Dee Fondy, 1951-58; and James Carroll, 2002-13. Scott Brosius made 1,001 in 1991-2001 and Jim Hickman made 1,002 in 1962-74. Shafer, Fondy and Hickman are among 273 players with at least 1,000 hits who spent time with the Cubs — 19.3 percent of all 1,414, about one of every five.
And some postgame comments from Happ about what that all means:
"That's what makes it so special, just being with this team for as long as I have, wearing this uniform … The fans have given me so much here, that's the most special part. Every day they're here, they're supportive."
So this was a discussion among our group in the bleachers, and maybe with you too. Would you have sent Busch to try for an inside-the-park home run on that hit? He was slowing down at third, obviously due to a stop sign third-base coach Quintin Berry put up. But if running full speed? It would have taken a perfect throw to get him at the plate. Would have been close, to be sure, but… would you have done it?
Busch wound up stranded. That fifth run would have made a difference, obviously.
Rea settled down after those first two innings and allowed only two further baserunners, one of whom he picked off. He was removed with one out in the top of the sixth after just 69 pitches. Seemed a bit odd after he’d thrown 98 and 92 in his two previous starts and had an extra day of rest due to Monday’s off day. Hoby Milner finished the sixth without incident.
Jacob Webb threw a scoreless seventh so the Cubs went to the eighth with a 4-2 lead and relievers set up the way Craig Counsell drew it up — Caleb Thielbar for the eighth and Daniel Palencia for the ninth.
Unfortunately, Thielbar had a bad inning. He served up a 426-foot homer to pinch-hitter Colby Thomas leading off the inning, then a single and double tied the game 4-4. Phil Maton came in and I had visions of this 4-4 game suddenly becoming a 6-4 or 7-4 deficit. Maton did allow a hit but got out of the inning with the game still tied.
In the bottom of the inning, Alex Bregman led off with a walk but Suzuki hit into a double play. That turned out to be important, because Happ then doubled again, which would have given the Cubs the lead. It was the Cubs’ seventh extra-base hit of the game. More on that from John:
The Cubs’ seven extra-base hits (four doubles, one triple, two homers) among their nine total hits were their most in a game this season.
They had six (three doubles, three homers) among 18 hits in a 10-inning, 8-7 win at home over the Phillies on April 23, then six (four doubles, triple, homer) among 12 hits in an 8-4 win at home over the Diamondbacks on May 3.
Palencia threw a 1-2-3 ninth but the Cubs also went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning. On to extras, then.
The A’s scored a run when placed runner Alika Williams scored on a single by Nick Kurtz off Ethan Roberts. Ryan Rolison had to come into the game to face Tyler Soderstrom with two out and a runner on first. He got the out, after a review [VIDEO].
Counsell sent Kevin Alcántara to be the placed runner in the bottom of the inning, running for Miguel Amaya, who’d made the last out in the ninth. Alcántara moved to third on a fly to center, then almost got himself picked off third. Didn’t matter when PCA struck out and Bregman flied to right to end the game.
Ugly, ugly facts:
The Cubs’ run since their peak this year is now 5-18
They dropped to 4-3 in extra innings
They dropped to 9-7 in one-run games
The Cubs also dropped to fourth place in the NL Central, still 6.5 games behind the Brewers, who got two-hit by the Giants Wednesday. Everyone in the division lost Wednesday except the Cardinals, who defeated the Rangers. (And if you think this Cubs game was bad, the Pirates led the Astros 8-3 going to the bottom of the seventh and lost 11-9.)
Still lots of time left. One hundred games, to be exact.
But it would be nice to start winning. Like, right now.
The Cubs, now on an eight-game Wrigley losing streak (following that 15-game home win streak), will attempt to salvage the final game of this series against the A’s Thursday evening at Wrigley Field. Shōta Imanaga will start for the Cubs and J.T. Ginn will go for the A’s. Game time is again 7:05 p.m. CT and TV coverage will be via Marquee Sports Network.
ATLANTA, GA - APRIL 10: Spencer Schwellenbach (l) of the Atlanta Braves, Chris Sale #51, Grant Holmes #66, and AJ Smith-Shawver (r) watch from the dugout during the Thursday evening MLB game between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies on April 10, 2025 at Truist Park in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by David J. Griffin/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
No scoring here, because trying to gauge this sort of thing when a rehab setback is nearly expected with pitchers will only end in metaphorical tears.
The Braves have gotten a mild flurry of injury updates on the progress of young arms like Spencer Schwellenbach, Hurston Waldrep, and AJ Smith-Shawver in their respective rehabs and returns from injury.
Schwellenbach was already a standout starter when he went down: his career line is 77/82/78 (wow) (ERA-/FIP-/xFIP-) in 38 starts spanning 234 1/3 innings. However, he went down with a fractured elbow (what) in the middle of last season, and then experienced inflammation in the offseason. In the early days of Spring Training camp, he underwent surgery to remove bone spurs in the offending (offended?) elbow. He’s been throwing, but there’s no real timeline for him, and at this point, it seems like he might come back to make a few outings down the stretch (if it’s even worth it), if at all. But, he’s the guy with demonstrated big league success (and then some)… though to what extent he’ll be able to replicate that after a very long injury-related layoff remains to be seen.
Hurston Waldrep was one of the few fun stories the Braves experienced last year. He had a 68/79/89 line last year across ten big league appearances. Spring Training-related ramp up revealed some elbow soreness, and he also underwent bone spurs cleanup surgery. Waldrep is further along than Schwellenbach, and began a rehab assignment in the minors earlier this week. With no setbacks, he could be back sooner rather than later… though what that means for the Braves’ bulk guy-stuffed roster is uncertain.
AJ Smith-Shawver was a nearly-forgotten name amid all the other drama that befell the Braves last season. He underwent Tommy John Surgery after that whole sordid mess where it took Spencer Strider noticing something was up from the dugout. Smith-Shawver will be starting a rehab assignment soon, so he’s in between Waldrep and Schwellenbach timeline-wise. Given that he was very raw and inconsistent in limited MLB exposure (just 74 innings, 88/115/115), it’s hard to know what to expect from Smith-Shawver. There are a lot of feel-related things that take a while to come back for many post-rehab pitchers, but he didn’t have much feel to begin with, so… who knows.
The Braves have a few other injured pitchers on their roster, but they’re really wild card picks at best. I’m not sure Joe Jimenez is coming back; messaging from the team has been morose to non-existent regarding his status. Joey Wentz is out with an ACL injury suffered in Spring Training, so that’s that. There’s also Danny Young — the Braves could probably use a good left-handed reliever, and Young has dominated lefties en route to an overall 101/80/80 line. Like Smith-Shawver, he had Tommy John Surgery last year, with his coming about a month before Smith-Shawver’s. That said, we haven’t really heard anything about Young’s progress, but he’s an easier plug-and-play onto this roster at the moment.
Karl-Anthony Towns was sublime with 18 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Josh Hart did a little bit of everything. OG Anunoby (17 points) made big shots early in the fourth quarter, and Landry Shamet kept the defense honest with 13 points off the bench.
The victory continued a dominant stretch for the Knicks, who now have 12 consecutive playoff wins, tied for the second-longest postseason streak in NBA history.
As New York looks to keep the good times rolling, let’s look at three keys to Game 2...
Fourth quarter phenom
The Brunson storybook continues to be written. Now, the All-Star point guard can add an NBA Finals moment as another chapter in that book. Almost everything went wrong for Brunson in the first three quarters. He was 7-for-22 from the field with four turnovers.
And he had injuries to his right knee and left ankle that disrupted him in the first half. It would've made sense if Brunson simply lived to fight another day, but he didn’t.
Brunson turned it all around in the fourth quarter. He had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the final frame, helping New York take control and win the game. Specifically, he knocked down a corner three-pointer and a tough, contested midrange jumper to put the game away in the final two minutes.
Brunson’s overall stat line of 30 points on 31 shots looks inefficient, but he shook off a rough start and closed out the game for the Knicks in a tough environment. Brunson has done it before, but it was extra special on the NBA Finals stage.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots the ball past San Antonio Spurs forward Julian Champagnie (30) in the second half during game one of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center / Geoff Burke - Imagn Images
Despite the win, the Knicks need a more efficient Brunson in Game 2. Finding a way to create easier looks for him will be a priority.
Slowing the Spurs
Important to New York’s turnaround in the second half was controlling the pace. In the first half, San Antonio had a 14-2 advantage in fastbreak points. The second half was a different story, as the Knicks outscored San Antonio 10-1 in that category.
A key to the change was cutting back on turnovers. The Knicks had seven miscues in the first half, but followed that up with just one in the second.
San Antonio is a dynamic team in transition, with the club having electric guards capable of getting downhill like Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De’Aaron Fox. Then there's star center Victor Wembanyama, who runs the floor well and is a great finisher.
The Spurs also have dangerous corner three-point shooters in Julian Champagnie and Devin Vassell. Specifically, Champagnie burned the Knicks in the first half, with 15 points on five treys, with a couple of his looks coming in transition. He was limited to just one point the rest of the way.
The Knicks will need to limit the turnovers to keep the Spurs offense in check going forward.
Stuffing the stat sheet
Hart scored just three points on Wednesday night, but he was all over the floor, accumulating 15 rebounds, six assists, and four steals along the way. Hampered by foul trouble in the first half, Hart was limited to just under 27 minutes of action. He was a game-high plus-22 on the floor.
Hart’s ability to grab rebounds and push the ball immediately was helpful for the Knicks, and they were able to get into their offense earlier in the second half.
Much is made of Hart’s outside shooting. He shot just 1-for-5 from the field, including misses on all three of his three-point attempts. Like other Knicks opponents, the Spurs will often dare Hart to shoot from outside. There will be some times where Hart’s iffy outside shooting will hurt, but games like Wednesday’s are a reminder of how he can leave his fingerprints all over a game without scoring.
In a video making the rounds on social media, two Spurs fans went eye-to-eye with a Knicks fan wearing his blue Knicks cap, a Knicks No. 8 jersey and a platinum chain, which was ripped off his neck.
A Knicks fan had his chain ripped off by a Spurs fan. X, @_angel218_
The Knicks fan then aggressively came over to one of the Spurs fans, who immediately began throwing punches as a brawl broke out.
Two police officers wearing five-gallon cowboy hats ran over to apprehend the Knicks fan, despite the instigator appearing to be on the home team’s side.
It is unclear if the Knicks fan ever retrieved his necklace.
A television segment was being held right in front of the scuffle, which continued with fans surrounding the blocked-off area.
Knicks fans have traveled well throughout this magical playoff run — from Atlanta to Philadelphia to Cleveland and now San Antonio.
Their playoff opponents have attempted to slow the travel plans by geo-fencing ticket sales and requiring zip codes on credit cards to be non-New York-based.
The Spurs fans attempts to punch the Knicks supporter. @_angel218_/X
It has all been to no avail.
The Knicks have won 12 straight overall and seven straight on the road — their only loss away from MSG coming in a 109-108 loss to the Hawks on the April 23.
Spurs fan who ripped off a Knicks fans chain throws a punch. X, @_angel218_
Knicks fans are going to be tough to deal with again in Game 2 on Friday night as they look to put a stranglehold on the series.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JUNE 3: Robert Ahlstrom #54 delivers a pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals in the seventh inning of his MLB debut at Busch Stadium on June 3, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Cardinals 5, Rangers 3
I regret to inform you that the Rangers’ winning streak has come to an end.
A five game winning streak is nice, of course. But sweeping in St. Louis, coming back home for the weekend series, where I will be in attendance on Saturday and Sunday, on a six game run?
Oh, and getting back to .500, as well.
That would have been cool.
Remember when the Rangers were above .500?
But we have to deal with the reality that we have, not the reality we want.
And the reality that we have right now is a Rangers team that has won 5 of 6, but that is just at 30-32 because they lost 6 of 7 before that.
MacKenzie Gore did not pitch particularly well. He needed 31 pitches to get through a first inning that featured three walks and a single. Fortunately, only one run scored, and the bases were left loaded, and if you’re a glass-half-full type you might point out that his control problems went away after the first inning, since he didn’t issue another walk the rest of the game.
Gore did, however, allow 8 more hits before getting pulled with two outs in the fifth, at 100 pitches.
Gore’s 100th pitch was a curveball that Thomas Saggese crushed for an RBI triple that made it a 4-1 game. He was then lifted for Luis Curvelo.
Gore is generating a certain Adam Eaton vibe with me right now. Eaton, like Gore, was a well regarded high school first round pick by the San Diego Padres. Eaton, like Gore, was seen as having really good stuff and top of the rotation potential, but wasn’t pitching up to that potential early in his career. Eaton, like Gore, was acquired by the Texas Rangers both to shore up the team’s rotation and because the team thought he was ready to break out, and that they could unlock his potential.
Eaton was a rental, of course, here for just a season before becoming a free agent. And a bad season it was…Eaton put up a 5.12 ERA and 5.32 FIP in 65 innings over 13 games, then signed a three year, $24.5 million free agent deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.
That contract was considered an overpay at the time, but the Phillies felt that he had untapped potential they could unlock. Instead, he put up a 6.10 ERA over 49 starts and two relief appearances in two seasons, was released after two seasons, split the 2009 season between Baltimore and Colorado, put up an 8.08 ERA in 49 innings between the clubs, and was out of baseball after that.
I’d forgotten about how bad Eaton was after he left Texas.
Gore has been better for the Rangers than Adam Eaton was, and the package the Rangers gave up for him does not appear as onerous.
It is ironic, though, that Chris Young, the guy who made the MacKenzie Gore trade for the Rangers, was sent to San Diego as part of that Eaton trade.
Young was, in fact, the guy we were most upset about losing at the time. Adrian Gonzalez seemed like someone who might turn into a decent major league first baseman at some point, not a future star.
Gore is currently rocking a 4.23 ERA, a 3.98 xERA, and a 3.61 FIP in 66 innings over 13 starts as a Ranger. I think the team was hoping for a bit better performance than that.
The B-team relievers handled the final 3.1 innings. Luis Curvelo allowed a homer. Robbie Ahlstrom pitched well in his major league debut, striking out two of the four batters he faced
Cal Quantrill pitched on back-to-back nights? He’s a real reliever now.
Not a great performance by the offense, which managed just one run off of Cardinals starter Andrew Pallante.
They did get to reliever JoJo Romero for the second game in a row, at least. Romero, a lefty, came into the game with two outs in the sixth with two on and two out, triggering a cavalcade of pinch hitters by the Rangers. Cody Freeman hit for Alejandro Osuna in the sixth, striking out to end the inning. Justin Foscue hit for Evan Carter to lead off the seventh, and doubled. After a Kyle Higashioka walk, Michael Helman pinch hit for Nicky Lopez, which left only Danny Jansen remaining on the bench.
Michael Helman pinch hitting for Nicky Lopez is not a sentence I ever wanted to have to write. At least, as it pertains to the Rangers.
Joc Pederson thus had to face Romero in the lefty-on-lefty matchup because, well, only Danny Jansen was left on the bench, and even Skip Schumaker, who has been very aggressive in going to his bench early, didn’t want to leave himself with no position players remaining in the top of the seventh.
Pederson responded by roping a two run triple, because as our friend Tepid says, baseball exists to eff with you.
The Rangers were not able to get him home, though, nor were they able to get the tying run on base. Once again, the early pinch hitting decisions left the Rangers with the righthanded parts of their platoon going up against righthanded relievers in the eighth and ninth, though Freeman did single off of Ryne Stanek in the eighth.
Cody Freeman has a 1500 OPS on the season! How can you send him down with numbers like that!
Hopefully the imminent return of Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford provides a boost to the lineup. That would be helpful.
MacKenzie Gore touched 97.8 mph with his fastball, averaging 96.2 mph. Luis Curvelo touched 95.4 mph with his fastball. Robby Ahlstrom maxed out at 97.6 mph with his sinker. Cal Quantrill topped out at 95.1 mph with his sinker. Cal Quantrill, who picked up a win in relief the night before on one pitch, used seven pitches to get the final two outs.
Joc Pederson had a 103.4 mph fly out and a 103.3 mph triple. Justin Foscue had a 100.6 mph double.
Back home for three against Cleveland before hitting the road again. .500 is attainable…I just know it!
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama is “not worried in the slightest” after Wednesday’s Game 1 home loss.
The Knicks beat the Spurs 105-95 on Wednesday night to grab a 1-0 series lead, and Wembanyama finished with 26 points, 12 of which came from the free throw line.
“We’ve been down in a series before,” Wembanyama said. “Never in the Finals, obviously.
“But I’m not kicking myself about anything, really. I’m not worried in the slightest.”
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) looks down as New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) looks towards his bench during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. AP Photo/Eric Gay
The Spurs led the Knicks by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but with Jalen Brunson leading the comeback with a game-high 30 points, that lead slowly evaporated.
Wembanyama shot just 28 percent from the field during the game and 22 percent from behind the arc.
When the Spurs needed him most, the 7-foot-4 Frenchman scored just 11 points in the second half.
Brunson alone had 13 in the fourth quarter.
“I was bad tonight,” Wembanyama said. “It’s not more complicated than that. … I think we let that one go.”
Wembanyama has been on fire this postseason, averaging 23.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 3.5 blocks.
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) celebrates a basket against the New York Knicks during the second half of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. AP Photo/Eric Gay
The Spurs are undefeated in the playoffs when the forward tallied at least 30 points. In fact, it’s been two months since Wembanyama lost and put up 30 or more points.
“It’s almost not like I have anything to figure out. It’s almost like I have to play normal, not even good [in Game 2],” Wembanyama said. “It’s just [about] doing the right things enough.
“When we play bad, when I play bad, is when we shoot ourselves in the foot. This is why I’m not worried. We’re going to be so much better. I’m going to be so much better.”
Wembanyama said he felt the Spurs had momentum in the game until the very end, and ultimately believed San Antonio let the game slip.
The Spurs led by one point with 2:16 left, but surrendered an 11-0 run to end the game.
In the final two minutes, Wembanyama turned the ball over once and then missed a 3-pointer on the next possession. The Knicks turned the next possession into points on both occasions.
“It was quick,” Wembanyama said. “I think we let that one go.”
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 26: Trendon Watford #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers shoots a free throw during the game against the Boston Celtics during Round One Game Four of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 26, 2026 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
It was an up-and-down season for the Philadelphia 76ers in general, but especially so for Trendon Watford.
The 25-year-old forward appeared in 53 games for the Sixers this season, starting in seven and averaging 16.3 minutes a night. Opportunity was far from consistent for Watford, though, as he worked in and out of the rotation at different points of the campaign. When the team was dealing with a plethora of injuries, Watford was able to step in. At other times, he battled injuries or simply became a redundancy in the rotation as the squad got healthier and his weaknesses became more palpable.
All of those factors will come into play as the Sixers face a decision with Watford for 2026-27: pick up the team option for the second year of his two-year, vet minimum contract, or let him go. The deadline for the Sixers to pick up that option is June 29.
So, what will the Sixers do?
Let’s talk about the positives first. Watford’s best outing of the season came way back on Nov. 8, 2025, when he posted an impressive triple-double of 20 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in a 130-120 Sixers win over the Raptors. He shot 8-for-10 from the floor (1-for-2 from long range) on top of a good defensive effort in what was his first ever start as a Sixer.
Trendon Watford. What a game in his first Sixers start.
Watford notched his first career triple-double with 20 PTS (8-10 FG), 17 REB, 10 AST. Add fantastic defensive effort on top of that, too.
That performance possibly set expectations astronomically too high for Watford, who never posted quite those numbers again. He reached the 20-point mark just one more time the entire season, off the bench on March 21 against the Utah Jazz. Sure, it was against the Jazz, but still, 7-of-10 FG, nine rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes ain’t bad!
The problem is, that wasn’t exactly what the Sixers always got from him.
The thing with Watford is that he’s not a horrible player with the ball in his hands. For a forward — a 6-foot-8, 237 pound one, at that — he has some decent ball-handling and playmaking skills more usually attributed to a guard. The problem with that is that there are a number of players — Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, just to name a few — that the Sixers would rather have with the ball in their hands. That leaves Watford to playing off the ball… which is definitely not his strong suit. He does not shoot the long ball often or particularly well, he isn’t as active as a rebounder as you’d want for a guy his size, nor is he a great defensively by any means.
Consistency is the key if you’re going to be a rotation player, and Watford simply did not get or exude a lot of that as a Sixer. For every night he came up big for Philly, he’d have a few where he couldn’t make much impact at all. For every stint the team was shorthanded and needed him in large role, there were other times there was simply no room for Watford — especially toward the end of the regular season as the team was as “full-strength” as a Sixers team gets. A lot of his best moments came in garbage time of games all but decided already. Even for a Sixers team that basically had zero depth and was playing guys for 45 minutes a night, Watford simply wasn’t good enough to move the needle really at all.
Is he decent with the ball? At times. Does he seem like a great guy that his teammates love? For sure! Does he bring a level of high energy that the Sixers aren’t always famous for? Absolutely! But the bottom line problem with Watford for this Sixers team is that they would need him to be much better off the ball and at scoring some serious points, and he simply doesn’t score consistently enough to make up for those other major weaknesses on the floor.
For these reasons, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised to see Philadelphia decline to pick up Watford’s team option to return for the Sixers in 2026-27. Even at the vet minimum price tag, he simply may not bring enough to the table to make it worth the Sixers’ while.
Jun 3, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots the ball against the New York Knicks in the second half during game one of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
The road to the Larry O’Brien Trophy was never meant to be easy. Against the New York Knicks, the San Antonio Spurs flashed some of that playoff magic in their loss to the Knicks. Victor Wembanyama notched a double-double with a team-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. Julian Champagnie also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Speaking of rebounds, the boys will hope to tie up the series in their next outing despite some flashes of good basketball against their Eastern Conference counterparts.
If you ever wondered what it looks like if Michael Jordan was a seven-footer taking a jump shot from the top of the elbow, I give you exhibit A:
Victor Wembanyama blocked a shot, took a moment to preen, and then rolled back into frame to drain a three. It’s flashy work, but someone has to do it.
Devin Vassell lasered this pass to De’Aaron Fox for the wide open look. When the good guys were able to counter the Knicks’ hot start, the Spurs looked somewhat sharp on the offensive end, despite the many missed threes. The team averaged 28 assists per game this season so they will look to improve upon Wednesday’s 16 assist effort in the Game 1 loss.
Julian Champagnie was on a heater tonight. Not only did the Spurs forward go a scorching 5 – 10 from downtown on Wednesday night, but coming down with 10 boards for the double-double was a nice touch as well.
Harper just continued to impress. Any adjustments the Spurs make in Game 2 will probably involve a touch more minutes for Harper, even though he logged a decent-sized 27:31 minutes off the bench.
It’s really crazy just watching Dylan Harper’s moves around the rim and instantly be reminded of the magic Manu Ginóbili would pull off. These two players have a knack for getting the best out of every angle and crevice between outstretched arms and the basket to finagle that basketball in. Maybe it’s because they’re left-handed. Maybe it’s (you sang that jingle in your head as you read it, didn’t you?).
Devin Vassell continues to do yeoman’s work on the court on the offensive and defensive end, but nothing was yeoman-like about this emphatic dunk. The bounce pass from Fox was also simple, quick, but pretty (in Michael Scott’s voice,“ TWSS”).
Good things happen when Wembanyama takes it to the hoop . . . is exactly what Mitch Johnson should have tattooed on the underside of his arms so that when he’s waving in plays while coaching on the floor the team can permanently see the best plan of action inked in a sleeve on his arm.
The NBA Finals are back in San Antonio, where they belong. It’s a long series, folks. Buckle in because it’s only going to get crazier. We love the corgi. But now they just have to go out there and do this without the corgi. It’ll be hard, but nothing in life worth having comes easy. I took that quote from Dr. Bob Kelso in Scrubs. If you’re a fan of the show, the reboot is actually good. Same heart, new laughs. What has two thumbs and says Go Spurs Go? Bob Kelso Son Q. Trinh, nice to meet you.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL - JUNE 3: Dillon Dingler #13 of the Detroit Tigers celebrates his three-run home run against the Tampa Bay Rays during the fourth inning of a baseball game at Tropicana Field on June 3, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Yankees took a disappointing loss on Wednesday, with Gerrit Cole allowing a trio of homers to the Guardians in the 5-4 defeat in the Bronx. Although the Bombers had their moments on offense, including bringing the deficit to one in the ninth, it was not enough to match Cleveland.
Despite the loss, there was plenty of other baseball going on around the American League with implications, including some good developments for the Yanks, as the Rays continue to struggle over the last few days. Let’s take a look at the Junior Circuit’s action on Wednesday.
Detroit Tigers (25-38) 7, Tampa Bay Rays (36-23) 2
Both offenses came out blazing in Wednesday’s duel between the Tigers and Rays, a welcome sight for the latter, who were coming off of a shutout. Despite this, Tampa Bay was still unable to do enough to get by, as they suffer a sweep at home at the hands of the Tigers.
RBI singles from Dillon Dingler and Yandy Díaz had both squads on the board in the first. An inning later, both clubs matched each other with solo homers, one from Jake Rogers and one from Cedric Mullins, which tied the game at two. It was not the desired start for either Nick Martinez or Troy Melton on the mound.
From that point forward, the Tigers took control of this game. Spencer Torkelson gave them the lead with a sacrifice fly in the third, but the big blow came an inning later. After Matt Vierling and Gleyber Torres reached on a pair of singles, Dillon Dingler broke the game open with his 14th home run of the season, a three-run blast to put Detroit up by a score of 6-2.
From there, the Tigers remained in the driver’s seat the rest of the way. They needed just two different pitchers to get through the game on Wednesday, with Melton leading the way. The young righty was excellent for much of his eight innings of work, during which he struck out five and allowed just two runs.
After a lengthy effort from their starter, Detroit needed just one inning from the ‘pen, which they gave to Drew Anderson. The righty worked a seamless final inning, as the Tigers secured the sweep over Tampa Bay. The Yankees have been unable to take much advantage of it, having dropped two in a raw to the Guardians.
Atlanta Braves (42-20) 7, Toronto Blue Jays (29-33) 3:
The Braves answered the age-old question of “what’s better than a three-run homer?” on Wednesday, as a pair of ‘em pushed Atlanta past the Blue Jays. The first came in the third inning when Mauricio Dubón jumped on a 2-0 pitch and turned their deficit into a lead. Later on, in the seventh with a pair of runners on, Ozzie Albies got in on the fun when he belted one of his own off the facing of the second deck in left field. With plenty of run support, Braves starter Grant Holmes turned in a solid start, working six innings of two-run ball in the win.
New York Mets (27-35) 7, Seattle Mariners (33-30) 1:
Although a J.P. Crawford solo homer in the first inning had the M’s right in the middle of this game, that swing was just about the end of the offense in this one for Seattle. The Mets had a big rally in the fourth inning with hits from Bo Bichette and Jared Young and a well-executed double steal that saw them plate four runs in the frame. While the bats continued to do their job for the Mets, Freddy Peralta turned in a very solid start, allowing just one run across six innings of work, striking out half a dozen batters. With the loss, Seattle’s eight-game winning streak comes to an end.
Jun 3, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; New York Mets relief pitcher Joey Gerber (56) and catcher Luis Torrens (13) celebrate after defeating the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-Imagn Images | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images
Meet the Mets
Bo Bichette and the offense finally showed up in the Mets’ series finale against the Mariners. Bichette went 4-for-4 with three RBIs, and Carson Benge stole home as part of a double steal in the team’s victory. Freddy Peralta held the Mariners to just one run in six innings, and the Mets were able to leave Seattle with a win.
