As Knicks coach Mike Brown and his players spoke to the media Sunday ahead of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, rapper Fat Joe sat in the back of the room at Madison Square Garden.
He teased Brown about his shoes.
He shouted “wooo” after Jalen Brunson said talent evaluators missed “everything” by allowing him to slip to the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft, where he was selected 33rd by the Mavericks.
It wasn’t long before the cameras were pointing at Fat Joe, who shared his thoughts on the Knicks, who have a 2-0 lead over the Spurs and are just two wins away from winning their first title since 1973.
He praised the Knicks for playing team basketball and exciting a city that hasn’t been to the Finals in 27 years.
He also paid his respects to Knicks owner James Dolan.
“Shoutout to Mr. Dolan, greatest team owner in the game,” Fat Joe said. “Very misunderstood. They villainize Mr. Dolan like almost like a Bruce Wayne, like a Batman movie and this is Gotham City. This man, all these watch parties, this man takes care of us.”
Fat Joe went on to reveal how Dolan had his back.
Fat Joe is pictured at the Garden on June 7. Charles Wenzelberg
“The other day I was in Cleveland and I bought courtside [tickets] — this is a real story, guys — and they took it away when they knew it was Fat Joe, the Knick fan,” he said. “Mr. Dolan was so pissed, he said, ‘Man, if we go Game 5, I’m putting the owner up in the deck.’ … I said, ‘Man, this guy, he’s for us.’”
The Knicks went on to sweep their Eastern Conference finals series against the Cavaliers, apparently sparing Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert that indignity.
Fat Joe went on to call New York “the place to be right now.”
“I’ve been hanging out with Timothée Chalamet,” he said. “This guy has been hitting every block party all over New York City, just grabbing the mic, killing it.”
Fat Joe acknowledged that he wasn’t sure the team was going to be this successful this season, especially after it fired coach Tom Thibodeau last June.
James Dolan is pictured during Game 2 between the Knicks and the Spurs on June 5. Jason Szenes for the NY Post
“I was a little nervous with coach,” he said. “I ain’t going to lie. I love Thibs, so when [Brown] came I said, ‘What did we do?’ The man [proved to me] that he’s an incredible, incredible coach.”
The Knicks have won 13 playoff games in a row, the second-longest postseason streak in NBA history behind the 2017 Warriors, who won 15 in a row.
Suffice it to say, Fat Joe is a believer now.
“Right now, if you analyze the numbers, we might be looking at the greatest team ever,” he said.
May 26, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Tigers designated hitter Jahmai Jones (18) hits an RBI single in the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
Well, we had some good times in 2025. Lefty masher Jahmai Jones seized that role from Andy Ibáñez, hero of the 2024 AL Wild Card series win over the Houston Astros, last year and he ran with it. This year it just isn’t happening, and while it’s easy to give up on a bench bat too quickly when the sample size of plate appearances is still too small, we’re now into June, the Tigers are a desperate team, and Jones shows zero signs of getting hot. Game after game, Jones is entering to pinch-hit for Colt Keith, or Kerry Carpenter, or Zach McKinstry, failing to get it done, and then costing them another bench move as Jones can’t really be trusted to play much in the outfield. There has to be a better way.
One of the failures of Scott Harris’attempts to build a complete roster is the presence of limited players that continue to undercut their supposed philosophy of having a very flexible, versatile bench. They already rely on too many jack of all trades, master of none, types in the first place. Not only is Jones not getting it done against left-handed pitching this year, he can’t really do anything else other than pinch-run effectively. Having a player in such an extremely limited and specific role isn’t ideal even when he’s hitting well, but you can deal with it. When he isn’t hitting, the Tigers are playing with a 12-man position player roster.
In 2025, Jones hit seven homers and posted a 159 wRC+ in 150 plate appearances, mostly against left-handed hitters. This year he has two homers and a grisly 35 wRC+ in 86 plate appearances and it has to stop now.
Obviously 86 plate appearances is a small enough sample that it’s hard to make too much of it under normal circumstances. With the Tigers desperate for help, there just isn’t time to wait around for Jones to figure it out. They’ve been very patient with him already, but with a stacked injury list it didn’t really matter because they already had no way to replace all their vacant roster spots. Now that they’re getting healthy, that last roster spot becomes the real point of dispute.
For my money, the smart move here is to call up Trei Cruz. A switch-hitter with typically balanced splits, who is arguably the their best center fielder right now, Cruz would open up a lot more options on the Tigers roster. He’s also a decent shortstop who could make Zack Short a moot point as well. Cruz is unlikely to hit any more than Zach McKinstry does and he generally does his best work hitting left-handed against right-handed pitchers, so don’t expect too much from his bat. However, his defensive versatility, pesky, disciplined at-bats, and speed on the bases would be an asset and actually give the Tigers more of the flexible bench they want, while opening up other options on the roster at the same time.
Adding Cruz, who is already on the 40-man roster to the mix, would allow them to sit Wenceel Pérez and Matt Vierling more against right-handed starters, with Riley Greene and Kerry Carpenter in the corners. Pérez is a significantly better hitter against left-handed pitching, and he could then fill Jones’ role, with the added benefit of being marginally more functional defensively. Cruz’s presence would also give AJ Hinch a second option at the shortstop position, allowing them to DFA Zack Short and bring up one of Hao-Yu Lee or Max Anderson to play some third base, while otherwise riding the bench waiting for lefty relievers to pinch-hit against.
The biggest flaw in the plan is that Cruz has only been back with the Toledo Mud Hens for seven games. He’s not exactly tearing it up even by Triple-A standards, but while you’d like to catch him on a hot stretch, this isn’t really about his bat so much as how he frees up the rest of the roster and injects some flexibility back into the mix. Letting them use Pérez, Vierling, and perhaps one of their young, right-handed hitting infielders to hit left-handers, is only one of the benefits.
The Tigers could also choose to replace Jones by adding right-handed hitting Triple-A outfielders like Ben Malgeri or Corey Julks to the 40-man roster in Jones’ place. Julks has major league experience as a replacement level corner outfielder, and he’s hit 11 homers and stolen 8 bases for the Hens across 211 plate appearances this season. Julks doesn hold a 1.076 OPS against left-handed pitching this year, though we’re only talking about 52 appearances. He didn’t hit at all in the major leagues against either left or right-handed pitching, however. He’s also 30 years old and it’s highly unlikely that he’s figured it out at this point.
Malgeri is a little more interesting as the 26-year-old homegrown outfielder is a good enough outfielder to play center field in a pinch. He has six homers and seven steals for the Mud Hens this year, with an OPS against left-handed pitching of 1.148 in 67 plate appearances. I wouldn’t get too excited, however, as Malgeri didn’t hit lefties at the Double-A level last year, and overall has the track record of a career minor leaguer.
If the Tigers can’t quite quit on Jones just yet, and want to give Cruz some time to get his bat going, another option is to simply DFA Zack Short and use Zach McKinstry to spell McGonigle at shortstop as needed. That would at least open up the option of calling Lee back up, or adding Max Anderson to the 40-man roster and bringing him up instead. Anderson’s lack of plate discipline is going to remain his undoing, as he swings at everything, but he does have the hands to make a good amount of contact anyway, and plenty of power against left-handed pitching.
Lee is the better prospect of the two in my book, as he’s a little more disciplined and a better defender due to an edge in his range over Anderson. On the other hand, Anderson is pretty steady, and doesn’t make as many mistakes. Pick your poison.
The final option is for Scott Harris to go trade for a part-time, right-handed hitting outfielder who is more versatile than Jones. At this point, any player like that who can at least hit for some average and be more useful defensively would be an upgrade. That’s probably not in the cards this time of the year, especially with Harris running the show.
Jahmai Jones was a force off the bench in 2025, but it just isn’t happening this year. The lack of production isn’t just hurting the Tigers in his plate appearances, it’s costing them at-bats from good left-handed hitters late in games as well, with no gains to offset that issue. As long as he’s on the bench, manager AJ Hinch has to try and get him going somehow, but they can’t keep doing this any longer without a big sign from Jones that he’s about to turn things around. Even if the Tigers do DFA Jones, there won’t be that much interest in a lefty mashing DH who isn’t hitting at all. He may end up accepting an assignment to Triple-A Toledo to try and get back on track.
I feel like a broken record, but the Tigers can’t keep holding non-prospect level players they aren’t even willing to use in a limited role on their 40-man roster. If Jace Jung can’t help you right now, and he cannot, when is that supposed to happen exactly? The same is true with Trei Cruz and first baseman Eduardo Valencia. The latter is unfortunately a pretty balanced splits type overall, and so not really a good fit to replace Jones, and he’s even less valuable defensively and on the basepaths. Cruz is the one who checks the boxes as a near average center fielder who can also play shortstop, switch-hit, steal bases, and generally be a pest to opposing pitchers. If the Tigers don’t trust him to handle center field and shortstop to an acceptable degree, there’s no reason he should have been on the 40-man roster to begin with.
The Tigers might prefer to give Cruz some more games to get back to full speed against Triple-A pitching before joining his father and grandfather as major league players, but it’s hard to think of a move that could open up more options for them and create the flexible, versatile sort of bench that Harris always says that he wants. The Tigers have been very patient with Jahmai Jones, but they really need to try to freshen up their bench. Trei Cruz won’t provide a lot of offense, but his defensive ability would at least give them options to get more out of their bench spots.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were a great surprise this season. After many expected them to be among the worst teams in the NHL, the Penguins instead finished second in the Metropolitan Division standings and made the playoffs.
Sidney Crosby was one of the biggest reasons for the Penguins' major turnaround this season. This is because the 38-year-old center was once again dominant for the Penguins, posting 29 goals, 45 assists, and 74 points in 68 games. With this, Crosby averaged more than a point per game for the 21st season in a row.
Due to how wonderfully Crosby played this season, he has earned himself a nice shout-out.
The Hockey News had Crosby at the No. 12 spot for their top 100 players of the 2025-26 season rankings. Given how well Crosby played yet again this season, it is easy to understand why he has been named as one of the NHL's best players for this campaign.
Crosby just continues to thrive as his career carries on, and he is showing zero signs of slowing down. It is going to be fascinating to see what kind of season he will put together for the Pens in 2026-27 from here.
Jun 5, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) looks to move the ball past San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) during the fourth quarter during game two of the 2026 NBA Finals at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images
As the Spurs head into Game 3, they have some positives to build on defensively. In Games 1 and 2, they utilized a similar defensive stratagem on Jalen Brunson that worked in the Western Conference Finals against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. So far, they have limited the Knicks star point guard from taking over. In San Antonio, the Spurs stayed within striking distance but came up short.
During the regular season, Brunson averaged 26 points on 46.7% shooting. During this postseason he has stayed consistent. In the last two games, he’s averaged 25 points on 33.9% shooting. Against the Spurs, Brunson has to work harder to get his points. And with all that extra ball-handling comes an increase in turnovers, from two-and-a-half in the regular season to four per game in the Finals.
What is working for the Spurs? Simply put, Stephon Castle has been brilliant. In the first two games, Castle covered Brunson for 9:24, by far the most time by any member of the Silver & Black. During that time, Brunson has scored 8 points on shooting 2 of 10, or 20%.
After Game 1, Castle stated, “I thought we did well. We kept him off the line, for the most part. He made some tough shots late. I feel like a lot of his buckets were loud because they were back-to-back. The shots he did get to go were consecutive, so it hurt a little bit more. But looking at the box score, looking back on it, I think we did a pretty good job on him.”
The only player limiting Brunson to a lower shooting percentage is De’Aaron Fox. On his watch spanning 4:25, Brunson did not score, going 0 for 6 with two turnovers.
After Game 2, Fox echoed Castle’s sentiment from Game 1, “I think we’ve had a good defense majority of the year. We’re just trying to make it difficult on him. I think we’ve done a good job both games. He’s made big shots at the end of games. He’s a hell of a player. Even when you make it difficult on good players, they’re talented so they’re going to end up making shots. He’s done that, especially at the end of the games. I don’t know if I would say just change much of what we’re doing. He’s made timely shots.”
Dylan Harper, guarded Brunson for 5:49 and held him to 2 points on 1 of 3. After Game 2, Harper said of Brunson, “He’s a great player. I feel like he kind of likes moments like that. He steps up in those big moments. I think for us we have to keep doubling down on our game plan, kind of just seeing what works and just keep going to that.”
Victor Wembanyama also boasts some good defense on the Knicks guard. The Defensive Player of the Year has held Brunson to just just 25%, 3 of 12 shooting, in the first two games. Most of Victor’s 2:53 covering him has come after switching onto him while defending the pick and roll. In those situations, Brunson is 1 of 7.
Where Brunson has found success, and where the Spurs will need to make a more concerted effort, is when Julian Champagnie, Devin Vassell, and Carter Bryant end up on him. Champagnie has allowed Brunson 22 points on 9 of 13 shooting, or 69.2%, in 4:54. Meanwhile, Vassell has allowed 5 0f 9, or 55.6%, over 2:59, yielding 10 points. Carter Bryant, who’s only been on Brunson for 2:05, has allowed 6 points on 3 of 5 shooting.
Vassell spoke on Sunday about covering him when he’s made those clutch shots, stating, “Yeah, it feels like those are the moments that he lives for, especially in the fourth quarter, clutch. I feel like we’re doing a really good job on him, making him shoot some tough shots all throughout the game. Even those clutch shots are very tough shots that he’s been hitting.”
The Spurs lost by ten in Game 1 and by a single point in Game 2. In Game 1, Brunson scored 30 points. 12-31 38.7% going 4 of 4 from the charity stripe, By comparison, the Spurs did better in Game 2, limiting him to 20 points, 7-25, 28%, 4 of 5 free throws.
Overall, there have been stretches where Brunson struggles to get the ball through the hoop. After hitting the opening shot of Game 1, he didn’t score again until the halfway point of the second quarter. In fact, he scored 3 in the first, 8 in the second, and 6 in the third. It wasn’t until his 13-point fourth quarter eruption that the Knicks separated from the Spurs for the win. It’s key to why Brunson came in fifth for Clutch Player of the Year this season, and exactly where the Spurs must lock in if they hope to take Game 3 in New York.
The Mets dropped a tough one on Saturday night, falling to the Padres on a Freddy Fermin homer in the late innings, despite receiving an encouraging outing from Nolan McLean.
Austin Warren allowed a go-ahead blast in a rare hiccup thus far this season, then Mark Vientos' struggles continued as he went down easily on three pitches to end the game with the tying-run on-base.
Instead of sitting and sulking in the finale on Sunday, though, the Mets were able to come back and put together a complete effort from top-to-bottom to secure the series victory.
“It was a really good team win,” Carlos Mendoza said.
The offense was terrific after being held in check on Saturday, putting men on-base in all nine innings as they broke through for seven runs on 13 hits and four walks.
Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette stayed hot, but it was Carson Benge who led the way with a solo homer and RBI triple as part of his first-career 5-for-5 day.
“It was really cool to see,” Carlos Mendoza said. “Rockets pretty much everywhere, using the middle of the field, staying short and on top of the ball -- he set the tone for us.”
Benge is the third youngest player Met to go 5-for-5, and their first rookie since Pete Alonso (2019).
And he wasn’t the only youngster to shine, as A.J. Ewing showcased his outstanding range once again with a running grab in left-center to rob the Padres of extra-bases in the bottom of the eighth.
Ewing also drove in a run, and extended his hitting streak to five games with a ninth-inning single.
“I’m loving him out there,” Benge said.
“I feel like something cool or special is going to happen every day,” Sean Manaea added.
Manaea was terrific as well serving as the bulk reliever, holding the struggling Padres offense to just two runs across four innings of work to lower his ERA to 3.28 over his last four appearances.
Brooks Raley, A.J. Minter, Luke Weaver, and Devin Williams put the finishing touches on the victory.
After starting the road trip with a pair of tough losses in Seattle, the Mets were able to rebound nicely to finish it off 3-3, and winners in seven of their last 10.
They now head home for a big six-game stretch with the Cardinals and Braves.
“We just have to continue to win series,” Mendoza said. “Bouncing back after a tough one last night, they showed up today and set the tone early -- that’s what you want to see -- now enjoy the day and be ready for our homestand.”
The Buffalo Sabres finally took a major step forward this season. This is because they not made the playoffs for the first time since 2011 but also had the best record in the Atlantic Division and made it to the second round of the post-season.
Rasmus Dahlin was a major reason for the Sabres' success this season. The 26-year-old defenseman had a monster season, scoring 19 goals and setting new career highs with 55 assists and 74 points in 77 games. He was also named a finalist for the Norris Trophy, but Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski ended up taking it home.
Still, it was a spectacular 2025-26 season for Dahlin. Due to this, he has now received some major praise.
Dahlin was given the No. 15 spot in The Hockey News' top 100 NHL player rankings for the 2025-26 season. When looking at how dominant he was this season for the Sabres, it is not difficult to understand why he has been ranked as one of the best players in the NHL this season.
Dahlin jumped up pretty significantly from last year rankings, too, as The Hockey News had him at the No. 33 spot for the 2024-25 season.
Overall, it was undoubtedly a great year for Dahlin. It is going to be fascinating to see what he does as an encore for the Sabres during the 2026-27 season from here.
It was on this day in 1997 that the collective euphoria of the first Stanley Cup victory in 42 years washed over the city of Detroit in a sea of confetti and champagne.
Boosted by goals from Nicklas Lidstrom and Darren McCarty, the Detroit Red Wings swept the Philadelphia Flyers four games to none, capturing the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1955.
Goaltender Mike Vernon, who had won the Stanley Cup earlier in his career with the Calgary Flames, caught a leaping Steve Yzerman in his arms as the final horn sounded at Joe Louis Arena, sparking a celebration that everyone in attendance would remember for the rest of their lives.
Vernon would be named the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, while Yzerman soon received the Stanley Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
As Yzerman lifted the Cup into the air for the first time, the collective weight of over four decades of frustration melted away.
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Victorian trio Todd Murphy, Ollie Peake and Matt Short have been added to Australia’s squad for the ODI series against Bangladesh starting Tuesday as Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head were ruled out of the three-match series.
Adam Proteau recently ranked the top 10 pending restricted free agents in the NHL for the 2026 NHL Off-Season. Philadelphia Flyers star forward Trevor Zegras made the cut, as he was given the No. 7 spot by Proteau.
When looking at the season Zegras just put together for the Flyers, it is certainly fair that he has been named one of the top pending RFAs by The Hockey News. The 25-year-old not only bounced back during his first season as a Flyer but together the best campaign of his career so far. In 81 games this season with the Flyers, he set career highs with 26 goals and 67 points.
With how well Zegras played this season for the Flyers, there is no question that he has set himself up for a nice raise for his next contract. Given how perfectly he has fit into the Flyers' system, he is a player that Philadelphia should be looking to lock up on a long-term deal as well.
It is going to be interesting to see what kind of contract Zegras gets from the Flyers. Getting him re-signed is easily one of the Flyers' most important tasks of the off-season.
Nelly Korda won the US Women’s Open on Sunday for her second consecutive major victory, holding off Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez by one shot when her final putt curled perilously around the cup and dropped in.
Korda’s first US Open win is the fourth major victory of her career, and she claimed it with a steady two-under 69 in the final round – but only after her second putt on the 18th green – from a little over 2ft – caught the edge and toured half the circumference of the hole before falling.
It takes 12 players, multiple coaches, a medical staff, front office and much more to win a championship, but to the general public, most of the credit falls on the big stars. For the Knicks, now two wins away from their first chip in over half a century, that’s Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, but their roster of unsung heroes runs much longer.
One player who can’t be ignored is Landry Shamet -- now on his second consecutive veteran's minimum deal, Shamet's been a major part of their run to the championship, despite the bumps and bruises on the way.
Last year, he suffered a shoulder injury in preseason and agreed to rehab in the G-League before rejoining the team midseason. While he returned to action, he fell out of the rotation when the playoffs rolled around, until the Knicks desperately turned to him facing elimination in the Conference Finals.
He provided a nice spark, but New York had limited roster spots going into 2025-26, and he had to compete for another minimum deal. Shamet made the cut, but this year began to look like Déjà vu.
Shamet suffered another shoulder injury early this season, sidelining him for a third of it. He’d come back again, but wasn’t a major rotation piece early in the postseason.
Things turned around in New York’s second round, when Shamet popped for 15 and 12 points in Games 3 and 4 on the road in Philadelphia. His performance helped close out the Sixers, as he shot 6-of-9 from three in the two contests.
But the real magic came in Game 1 of the Conference Finals. With Josh Hart struggling down 22 and just seven minutes to play, head coach Mike Brown subbed in Shamet with the starters for spacing, and the Knicks rolled.
Shamet hit some of the biggest threes of the season: one to cut the lead to 17, another that bounced in with under a minute to play that tied the game, and finally the clincher in overtime. He finished with just these nine points, but they were crucial to one of the greatest comebacks in NBA Playoffs history.
He followed up with another pair of big road games, scoring 14 in Game 3 and 16 in Game 4, contributing to another dominant sweep. He finished the Conference Finals shooting a stellar 11-of-12 from downtown.
New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) reacts in the first quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers during game three of the eastern conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Rocket Arena / David Richard - Imagn Images
If these performances weren’t enough to cement his legacy in this playoff run, his early start to the Finals might put #44 in the rafters. Shamet’s been a big boost off the bench in a series Brunson’s struggled and the Knicks haven’t played to their best offensively as a team.
Shamet scored 13 in Game 1 on 3-of-6 shooting from three, and another 13 on 3-of-7 three-point attempts in Game 2, as the Knicks won two tough road games to take control of the championship round.
Throughout his appearances, he’s defended hard and attacked the mid-range and paint to keep defenses honest.
It’s no exaggeration that the Knicks wouldn’t be in this spot without Shamet’s contributions. Miles McBride is averaging under seven points this postseason and Jordan Clarkson slowly fell out of the rotation as the competition stiffened.
With limited offensive help from the pine, Shamet’s been a major lift, providing double-digit scoring in single-digit victories. All on a prove-it contract that’s likely to now be aggressively outbid in the summer.
The Knicks are still two wins away from their ultimate goal, and Shamet will need to continue his pace to secure them. If that happens, he goes from heartwarming story to local legend, and no matter where he ends up, New York fans will be eternally, deservingly grateful.
Francisco Alvarez was back behind the plate as he continued his minor league rehab assignment on Sunday afternoon with Triple-A Syracuse.
The 24-year-old backstop enjoyed himself a much-needed strong day with the bat after going hitless in each of his last two appearances with the team.
Alvarez was retired his first two times up, but then drew walk before being stranded in scoring position.
He then ripped a third-pitch fastball right back up the middle in the top of the eighth, and came in to score a few batters later on a Matt Rudick homer.
Before that, Syracuse regained the lead on a Ryan Clifford RBI sacrifice bunt.
Alvarez finished 1-for-3 with a walk, and caught a runner too far off first on a back-pick.
The Mets don’t have an exact day for his return, but as long as things continue progressing as planned, he could be back in the lineup at some point during the upcoming six-game homestand.
On the mound for Syracuse, prospect Zach Thornton delivered a bounceback performance, allowing just two walks and walk hits while striking out five over five scoreless innings.
Tobias Myers followed that by only giving up an unearned run while striking out one over two innings of work in his second appearance following his demotion from the Mets.
Dylan Ross was called upon to get the final out after Syracuse ran into trouble in the ninth, and he allowed an RBI double and two walks before striking out George Lombard Jr. to end the game.
Ross took home his first save, but he’s now issued 16 walks over 18 outings this season.
