DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MAY 17: Evan Mobley #4 of the Cleveland Cavaliers leaves the court at the end of the first half against the Detroit Pistons in Game Seven of the Second Round of the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena on May 17, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. 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. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images
We don’t yet know how the Cleveland Cavaliers will choose to handle this summer. What we do know, however, is that they’ll have plenty of options.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Oklahoma City Thunder won’t be interested in Giannis Antetokounmpo in a possible trade. They might, however, be open to trading for Evan Mobley.
“There has long been chatter about the Thunder having interest in Cleveland big man Evan Mobley, but Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman insisted in an end-of-season press conference that Mobley wasn’t going anywhere,” Amick wrote.
Trading with Oklahoma City is risky. They seem to win nearly all of the trades they make since the awful James Harden trade 14 years ago. If they have an interest in a player, there’s usually a good reason why.
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At the same time, Mobley could be more valuable to a Western Conference team than he is to the Cavs. Theoretically, he’s as good a matchup as any for San Antonio Spurs superstar Victor Wembanyama. That San Antonio core is going to be standing in the Thunder’s way for the next several years. Finding a better way to contain Wemby should be a top priority for them.
The Thunder do have a bevy of assets that could interest the Cavs. They own plenty of first-round picks over the next six seasons, including several from the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and the Spurs. That is in addition to players like Jaylen Williams and Chet Holmgren, who could be interesting return packages for Cleveland.
Altman said last week that the plan is to build around this core. Things change quickly in the NBA. Especially if teams get into a bidding war and you receive an offer you can’t refuse.
As of now, it seems like the Cavs are committed to this core. But again, that’s what we thought just before the last trade deadline as well.
Coach Jim Montgomery could be welcoming in his assistant coaching hire of the off-season, as Vinny Prospal has recently been linked to the St. Louis Blues.
“Vinny Prospal, really good NHL player,” Friedman said. “There’s talk out there he could be joining Jim Montgomery on the bench in St. Louis. They have some openings, and I think he’s a contender for one of those jobs.”
Since retiring in 2013, Prospal has worked several jobs in the NHL, most recently serving as an assistant coach with the Rochester Amerks, the Buffalo Sabres’ AHL affiliate. With the Amerks, Prospal was in charge of the power play and has found plenty of success with it. In 2025-26, the Amerks ranked third in the AHL on power play.
Prior to working as an assistant coach in the AHL, Prospal was the head coach of HC Motor České Budějovice in Czechia. Prospal helped the franchise achieve promotion to the top professional league after just his second season with the club.
Dating back even further, Prospal worked as an assistant coach for Czechia at several international events, including the 2018 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He also worked as a pro scout for the New York Rangers during the 2013-14 season.
The Blues’ power play ranked 26th in the NHL and has been a non-factor for several seasons now. With skilled players like Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway, Jimmy Snuggerud, Jordan Kyrou, Dalibor Dvorsky, and several others, there is no reason for the power play to struggle as much as it has.
Bringing Prospal on board would help the Blues address a vital issue and, hopefully, improve their offense. With the Amerks, Prospal worked with several young players who have recently graduated to the NHL and played critical roles with the Sabres in the regular season and playoffs.
The Blues want to be younger and sharper across their players, management, and coaching staff. Hiring the 51-year-old Prospal would do so.
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DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 31: Kyle Karros #12 of the Colorado Rockies scores a run in the second inning as Daniel Susac #6 of the San Francisco Giants is late with the tag at Coors Field on May 31, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Friends, you’ve been so engaged that we had to put together another overflow thread!
Unfortunately, the Rockies are currently losing to the Giants 12-5 in a game that started over 2.5 hours ago after a ghastly seven-run fifth.
CLEVELAND, OHIO - MAY 31: Ranger Suarez #55 of the Boston Red Sox throws a pitch during the first inning against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on May 31, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Getty Images) | Getty Images
If you’ve seen a band with two bassists live, you’d understand why it’d be an odd sight to see three catchers in the starting lineup (Wong as DH, Gasper as 1B, and Narvaez actually doing the catching for Ranger Suarez.) But, at first, there appeared to be no LOW END (music pun!) for the offense against the Guardians, as Jarren Duran cranked a ball into the stands by the time I turned my television on and Mickey Gasper had also gotten on base with a single into the outfield.
It didn’t take too long, though, for Suarez to fall into some early trouble in the second and fourth innings, but he whiffed two to end the fourth before any damage can be done, upping his total to seven through four innings. Unfortunately, in the bottom of the fifth, Masataka Yoshida lost a ball in the sun that dropped in and scored Cleveland’s third run, and exactly one (1) pitch later Chase Delauter smacked Jose Ramirez in. Gone was the confidence of Suarez, evidently, along with the Red Sox’s short-lived lead, an issue that has plague them all season, but Suarez was still able to finish that inning – and his afternoon – strong with his tenth strikeout.
In the late going, namely, the 7th, the Guardians fell victim to a common Red Sox trope: letting failed ABS challenges come back to bite them. With the bases loaded, Tim Herrin threw a third strike to Wilyer Abreu that was a called ball four to walk a run in and tie the game. The Masataka Yoshida redemption arc then concluded with maybe his biggest hit of the year to score one, and IKF and Caleb Durbin each added insult to injury following the pitching change to Codi Heuer, and the lead was 9-4. A couple more innings of stagnant action, and the Red Sox brought Aroldis Chapman in to get his first work in since May 20 in a non-save situation to slam the door.
The Red Sox win the series but there’s still some work to do, as the next three series are all against divisional opponents.
Four Studs
Jarren Duran: The Guardians’ Tanner Bibee hasn’t gotten a win in his 13 appearances yet, and, thanks in part to Duran getting to him by firing that lead-off shot within 30 seconds of the first pitch, that continues here. After struggling in April, he finished May off with 9 home runs and an .871 OPS.
Ranger Suarez: It wasn’t the most beautiful outing he’ll ever have, as he gave up three runs and looked very shaken after that Yoshida bobble, but he finished extremely strong and avoided melting down like he did in his last start. 10 strikeouts now have him tied with Connelly Early for the lead on the team (57.)
Caleb Durbin: Any time you get your first career triple along with two RBIs, you can get a stud nod. He’s still got some work to do, but he’s really starting to turn a corner in the last week.
Connor Wong: With this double, his career OPS against Cleveland continues to drift well over 1.300.
Three Duds
The Guardians’ ABS challenging skills: The Red Sox have been an enemy of the ABS challenging system since its’ implementation, as they’re the worst in the league. But, today, it helped them. Wilyer Abreu taking that walk in the 7th had consequences, as that was indeed a strike but the Guardians had incorrectly challenged two calls prior and were left to deal with that call. That resulted in five more runs as the Red Sox broke it open.
That’s it. Everyone who started had hits. Even Greg Weissert didn’t allow a run today. Nothing could bring the vibes down after Red Sox nation initially biting their nails for six and a half innings.
Play of the Game
Here’s that Yoshida hit.
And for measure, here’s Marcelo Mayer running a foul ball down and giving a great effort to give Jovani Moran a much-needed second out of a pivotal 6th inning. Moran would go on and get the relief decision win.
And thus concludes my first Major League Game Recap since September of 2023, and the month of May.
The Spurs are so much more than just Victor Wembanyama.
He gets the vast majority of the attention, given his stature as a burgeoning face of the league and must-watch skill set as a 7-foot-4 unicorn.
At his best, he impacts the game more than any other star with his scoring, defending and rebounding prowess.
But the Spurs wouldn’t be here — as the Knicks’ opponent in the Finals — without Wembanyama’s stellar supporting cast.
“Obviously, Wemby’s going to get a lot of attention in terms of game plan and media,” Josh Hart said after practice Sunday. “But you can’t sleep on guys like De’Aaron [Fox], [Stephon] Castle, [Dylan] Harper, [Julian] Champagnie, because if you do that, it’s going to be a long series. We’ve got to give those guys the respect they deserve and come out focused.”
Much of that supporting cast revolves around the Spurs backcourt.
It is one of the more dynamic backcourt units in the league.
San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle (5) and guard Dylan Harper (2) react in the fourth quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder during game seven of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Paycom Center. Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images
And they’re almost all young — Castle is 21, Harper is 20, Devin Vassell is 25 and Champagnie is 24.
The 28-year-old Fox is the elder statesman of the group.
“They’re relentless,” Miles McBride said Sunday. “I feel like they just have this … they’re young. They have that mentality of, ‘Just go out there and scrap and make it a tough game.’ So, I love that, and we’ll be ready ourselves.”
The Knicks perimeter and point-of-attack defense has been terrific this postseason.
Mikal Bridges and Hart, in particular, have repeatedly stifled opposing ball handlers — whether it was Nickeil Alexander-Walker and (eventually) CJ McCollum in the first round, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in the second round or James Harden and Donovan Mitchell in the conference finals.
Fox, Castle, Harper, Champagnie and even Vassell are all capable of erupting for big scoring nights.
Excluding the games Wembanyama missed with a concussion and the game from which he was ejected early, the Spurs had someone other than him lead them in scoring eight times this postseason.
It was Castle five times, Fox twice and Harper once.
How the Knicks try to defend Wembanyama is of utmost importance.
De’Aaron Fox #4 of the San Antonio Spurs dribbles the ball during the game against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 30, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. NBAE via Getty Images
But how they fare against the Spurs backcourt will be a major factor in the series.
And the ability of that backcourt to break down defenses and get into the paint only makes Wembanyama more dangerous by forcing his defender to help off him.
The backcourt’s 3-point ability also plays a pivotal role in making defenses pay for doubling Wembanyama or packing the paint to limit his interior presence.
Castle and Harper are also terrific perimeter defenders.
They will be two of the Spurs’ top options to guard Jalen Brunson.
“They’re young, athletic, physical, can do a little bit of everything,” Hart said. “Can shoot the ball, finish at the rim at a high level.”
The Spurs have a few important veterans, in addition to Fox, to complement all their youth.
Harrison Barnes is an NBA champion.
Keldon Johnson, the Sixth Man of the Year, is playing his seventh season in the league.
Luke Kornet is in Year 9 and on his sixth team.
“Having the mix that they have with Wemby is a nice recipe,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said Sunday. “… If Fox is in, their backcourt — Fox is a veteran, seasoned player that has been in the playoffs before, been in a Game 7 now a couple of times, and been an All-Star, Clutch Player of the Year, a talented guy. … [Barnes] has been around a long time too, and he’s been on the big stage a few times.
“So they have a nice mix of veteran players and guys that are starting to get in their prime around Wemby. And I think when you have that, you have different messages that you can get from different guys all the time.”
Yes, Wembanyama is the phenom around whom this Finals revolves. But the Spurs have given him a perfect supporting cast — one that makes him even harder to stop.
AT ST. LOUIS: Last season, the Cubs lost the last of three games at St. Louis after having lost the first and won the second, just as they have the last two nights. They won the rubber game in 2022, after winning, then losing. They lost, won and won in 2021. This is the Cubs’ sixth three-game series at St. Louis since then. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
SUNDAY IS NOT FUNDAY ON THE ROAD: The Cubs have lost on every Sunday they have played on the road this season. They won the opener of a doubleheader at Cleveland on April 5, then lost the second game, followed by losses at Los Angeles vs. the Dodgers on April 26, at Texas on May 10 and on the South Side vs. the White Sox on May 17, making their record 1-4. They are 3-2 on Sunday at home. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
WINNING WHEN NOT SCORING FIRST: Last night’s win was the Cubs’ 12th of the season in which their opponent scored first. They have lost 21 such games. Their previous win had been on April 6, when they walked off the Reds for the third straight game, 7-6 in 10 innings. That had been their fourth such win in a row. They are just 4-10 when they have given up the game’s first run on the road. The previous win had been April 24, at Los Angeles, when they beat the Dodgers, 6-4, for the final win of their first 10-game streak. (Courtesy BCB’s JohnW53)
HAPP-ENSTANCE: Ian Happ is on a five-game hitting streak in which he is batting .417/.417/.917 (10-for-24) with three doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI.
Jordan Wicks’ first 2026 start was awful. Not going to dwell on it. Turn the page.
I will say that Wicks threw three solid innings in that first start after a horrid first inning, before falling apart again in the fifth. So… maybe there’s something there to build on.
His last appearance vs. the Cardinals was three shutout innings at Wrigley Field in the last game of the 2025 regular season. A throwaway game, to be sure, but… channel that today, Jordan.
Matthew Liberatore was part of an important trade six years ago when he came to the Cardinals from the Rays in the deal that sent Randy Arozarena to Tampa Bay. He was the first-round pick of the Rays in 2018 out of high school in Arizona and already a Top 100 prospect at age 20 at the time of the deal, and stayed on those lists for several years.
His MLB numbers have been lukewarm, given that prospect profile. He has a 4.65 career ERA in 131 games (64 starts) and it’s right around that level this year (4.76 in 11 starts). His last start against the Cubs was July 5, 2025 in St. Louis, and he allowed two runs in five innings, which is better than a lot of his outings this year.
Current Cubs are a small sample size .273 (15-for-55) against him with two home runs (Michael Busch, Ian Happ).
Today’s game is on NBC (full national broadcast, no blackouts). It’s also streaming on Peacock. NBC announcers: Jason Benetti, Jim Deshaies and Albert Pujols.
Please visit our SB Nation Cardinals site Viva el Birdos. If you do go there to interact with Cardinals fans, please be respectful, abide by their individual site rules and serve as a good representation of Cub fans in general and BCB in particular.
The 2026 game discussion procedure has been changed, so please take note.
You’ll find the game preview, like this one, posted separately on the front page two hours before game time (90 minutes for some early day games following night games).
At the same time, a StoryStream containing the preview will also post on the front page, titled “Cubs vs. (Team) (Day of week/date) game threads.” It will contain every post related to that particular game.
The Live! (formerly “First Pitch”) thread will still post at five minutes to game time. It will also post to the front page. That will be the only live game discussion thread. After the game, the recap and Heroes and Goats will also live on the front page as separate posts.
You will also be able to find the preview, Live! thread, recap and Heroes and Goats in this section link. The StoryStream for each game can also be found in that section.
May 31, 2026; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers left fielder Alejandro Osuna (19) dives to home plate to score a run against the Kansas City Royals during the first inning at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images | Jim Cowsert-Imagn Images
The Texas Rangers scored six runs while the Kansas City Royals scored three runs.
The Royals appear to have been just what the doctor ordered for a Rangers squad that had been having trouble making good on an alleged manageable portion of their schedule.
After dropping a four-game set three to one to the Houston Astros in the first leg of this final stint at home in May, the Rangers required a sweep of KC to come away with a winning homestand. That didn’t seem particularly likely considering the Rangers had gone just 4-9 against teams below them in the standings in their four most recent series, including two series losses to Houston bookending a disappointing series loss to Anaheim last weekend.
The prospect of a sweep seemed even less likely when you consider that the Rangers had won at least three games in a row just once this season and that came all the way back in early April when they swept the Seattle Mariners.
Nevertheless, the Royals were just the team for the job having dropped 15 of 25 games this month coming into the series while challenging the Detroit Tigers for the cellar in not only the American League Central but the American League overall.
After nearly blowing their chance at a sweep yesterday before a three-run ambush in the ninth inning produced their second walk-off win of the year, the Rangers opened up today’s finale on a mission by scoring four first inning runs.
Maybe Jack Leiter is the good luck charm for the first inning. In his last outing, a day after Texas was no-hit in the first game of this homestand, Leiter received eight runs of support in the first frame.
While that was halved today, it was no less welcome as the Rangers sent eight batters to plate and in between a Josh Jung double that started the rally with one out, and the Nicky Lopez strikeout to end it, every Ranger reached (or at least probably should have) with Ezequiel Duran tripling in two runs following a Jake Burger walk, Alejandro Osuna singling in a third run, and Kyle Higashioka doubling in Osuna to make it 4-0.
All of those runs came with two out because No. 3 hitter Brandon Nimmo was bafflingly called out by foul tip despite replay showing the ball barely clipping the fringe of his batting mitt. The replay center in New York chose to be kind to KC but the ball don’t lie.
With ample wiggle room to work with, Leiter turned to swing-and-miss stuff to collect ten strikeouts in his 5.2 innings of shutout ball. Leiter allowed just three hits and a couple of walks as he kept KC off the board. He potentially could have stayed in to collect a quality start but at 101 pitches, he was lifted after his second walk of the game in the top of the sixth.
Meanwhile, the Rangers had added to their lead in the fourth when Jung singled in a couple of runs with the bases loaded. Up 6-0, and with Leiter out, the bullpen ended up making things closer than it appeared by allowing a run in the seventh and two more in the eighth, but the Rangers had a fairly easy go of it today and get to leave the month of May on a positive note with that winning homestand.
Player of the Game: Leiter is certainly worthy after following up a couple of rough starts with a scoreless outing, but Jung was again a catalyst for the outburst from the lineup today, as he so often has been when Texas actually scores runs.
Today Jung went 2-for-4 with a walk, double, run scored, and two RBIs while hitting second in the lineup. The nice day at the plate elevated Jung to an impressive .316/.372/.495 slash line on the year while he also contributed his team-leading 23rd extra base hit with the first inning double.
Up Next: The Rangers open June on the road in St. Louis as they take on the Cardinals with RHP Jacob deGrom looking to move past a dinger-prone May opposite RHP Michael McGreevy for the NL squad.
The Monday evening first pitch from Busch Stadium is scheduled for 6:45 pm CDT and will be carried on the Rangers Sports Network.
Facing a Marlins team that replaced them at the bottom of the division, the Mets won their fourth straight game — matching a season high — with a 10-1 rout.
The offense, dormant for an ugly stretch on the road, scored 25 runs in the series against Miami.
That production, they hope, follows them to the West Coast, where the Mets open a six-game trip Monday in Seattle, with three against the Mariners followed by three in San Diego.
“For us to get where we want to get, we need to play well here and on the road — especially with the position we’re in,” Carlos Mendoza said. “It’s an important road trip here.”
Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) tosses his bat after he hits a grand slam in the sixth inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Queens, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
And that’s because the Mets at least woke up following a lost weekend in Miami just a week ago, when they were limited to two runs in a three-game sweep that went the other way.
“We’re showing signs of who we are as a team,” Mendoza said of a lineup that was sparked by good at-bats up and down the order, with the biggest blow a Juan Soto sixth-inning grand slam.
Even after this series, it’s hard to know just what this team is because just as they start to tease that they might right themselves, they fall off a cliff.
Mets second baseman Marcus Semien (10) celebrates with first baseman Mark Vientos (27) after they score on his two-run home run in the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field, Sunday, May 31, 2026. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
The Mets are just 11-18 away from Queens and have lost seven of their last nine on the road and it likely won’t be as easy in Seattle as it was against these Marlins.
On Sunday, they took advantage of Miami, loser of five in a row, being forced into a bullpen game when scheduled starter Janson Junk was scratched and put on the injured list with right shin inflammation.
Nolan McLean, coming off the two worst starts of his young career, gave up just one run in five innings, but he walked a career-high five batters — and hit another — in his 94-pitch outing.
It didn’t take the Mets long to pounce, as Carson Benge hit a home run to center to open the bottom of the first.
The 418-foot shot was the rookie’s first leadoff homer and came against lefty John King, who was used as an opener.
It was also Benge’s first homer against a left-handed pitcher. He’s put up impressive numbers so far versus lefties, with a .757 OPS entering Sunday’s game.
Marcus Semien greeted Miami’s next pitcher, Anthony Bender, with a two-run shot in the second.
The Mets added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth. They loaded the bases with two outs and Luis Torrens singled through the right side to drive in Ewing and Brett Baty for a 5-1 lead.
Soto’s grand slam in the sixth put the game away. It was the only hit in the inning, as the Mets walked four times and Torrens was hit by a pitch.
“I feel everybody knows what to do,” Soto said of the offensive turnaround. “We have a plan we executed through the whole series. The whole lineup came ready to attack and we attacked as a team.”
Mets pitcher Nolan McLean (26) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field, Sunday, May 31, 2026, in Queens, NY. Corey Sipkin for the NY POST
Soto has stayed hot, with nine homers in his last 15 games. That’s the most in the majors during that stretch.
And with a bullpen game set for Monday in Seattle, David Peterson’s ability to throw four scoreless innings to finish the game sets the pen up well.
Of course, the Mets thought the end of their previous homestand would alter the course of their season, when they took two of three from the Yankees in the Subway Series.
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That didn’t happen.
“The way we set ourselves up this year, we need as many wins as we can [get],” McLean said. “There’s definitely some good momentum.”
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren attempted two shots in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. He absorbed plenty of shots from critics afterward.
And the Oklahoma City Thunder spent Day 1 of the offseason making clear that they support him.
If the ballyhooed matchup in the West finals was Holmgren vs. San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama, then it was a one-sided one. Wembanyama had the superior numbers in the series and the Spurs wound up prevailing, while Holmgren was barely a factor offensively with the Thunder season on the line Saturday night.
"Every minute Chet Holmgren’s been on the team, we’ve been the 1 seed in the Western Conference," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said Sunday, when the team gathered for end-of-season meetings. “And it wasn’t the case before Chet was healthy.”
Holmgren had likely his best season, with career-highs of 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He made All-NBA for the first time, All-Defensive for the first time as well, got his first All-Star nod, plus was second in the Defensive Player of the Year balloting.
He finished second in that voting behind Wembanyama — just like he did for Rookie of the Year in 2024, and just like the Thunder did in these West finals.
“We need Chet. We need Chet Holmgren,” Thunder guard and back-to-back reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “Before Chet was here, we weren’t who we are today. We didn’t have the success we had today. When he’s the best version of himself, we’re the best version of ourselves and it’s no secret.”
It's easy to envision the West finals matchup — Thunder vs. Spurs — becoming a rivalry for years to come. Both teams have young, obviously highly talented corps, and now they have the ingredient that all rivalries truly need, that being a playoff matchup, to help provide fuel.
“I definitely think that they’re different in terms of I don’t think there’s another team that has their play style, their personnel,” Holmgren said. “They're unique in that way. You can’t just kind of play like a base normal, ‘this is what we kind of do on an average Tuesday night’ type of thing.”
And while the outside world might have looked at Holmgren as one of the reasons why Game 7 didn't go Oklahoma City's way, the rest of the Thunder disagreed.
Gilgeous-Alexander, for example, pointed to himself — and that was after he had a brilliant 35-point effort in the deciding game against San Antonio. He even went as far as to describe a second straight MVP season as “a failure.”
“I failed at my goal,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I didn’t achieve what I wanted to achieve, but through my experiences, I learned the most about myself and I make the greatest amount of increases I have in my career when I fail at my goal and don’t get what I want. And I look at this no different. I didn’t get where I wanted to go this season. There’s a reason for that. Now I have to look at that reason and try to make sure it never happens again.”
CORAL GABLES, FL - APRIL 11: Wake Forest pitcher Troy Dressler (19) pitches in the sixth inning as the Miami Hurricanes faced the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on April 11, 2026, at Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park in Coral Gables, Florida. (Photo by Samuel Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The season has officially come to an end for the Deacs. Wake Forest was eliminated on Sunday afternoon after falling to the hosting West Virginia Mountaineers by a score of 10-5. They finish the season with a 39-21 record.
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 31, 2026
This one was mostly just a combination of all the issues the Deacs had during the regular season: costly errors, wild pitches, and an inability to generate offense on anything other than home runs. Things started to go south in the 2nd inning, where a wild pitch from starting pitcher Troy Dressler brough in the first run of the game, and then an error from RF Luke Costello allowed 2 more runs in the inning to give the Mountaineers a 3-0 lead.
Wake tied things up a couple of innings later on a 2-run homer by Matt Conte.
— Wake Forest Baseball (@WakeBaseball) May 31, 2026
It was basically all WVU from there. The Mountaineers scored 7 unanswered run—6 in the 6th inning—to put this one out of reach. The Deacs got a couple of runs on an Andrew Costello home run in the 6th inning and a wild pitch that brough in Dalton Wentz in the 8th, but they ultimately just couldn’t generate enough offense to catch up. The Deacs finished the game with just 5 hits—3 outside of the 2 homeruns—to West Virginia’s 13. Wake also finished with 4 wild pitches, 4 walks, and allowed a run on a failed pick off attempt at 2nd base that sent the ball sailing into center field.
BROOKLYN, NY - OCTOBER 20: The Brooklyn Nets honor The National Anthem during a preseason game against the New York Knicks on October 20, 2016 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 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 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
How do title contending NBA teams build their rosters? This year’s NBA Finals is, as they say, a study in contrasts. The San Antonio Spurs are largely organic, with most of their key players selected in the NBA draft by the Spurs, or are the sort of players that any team can acquire to play for them at low cost. The New York Knicks are almost the complete opposite of that. The Spurs had a tough series against the Occupied North Texas Thunder, who might have fit into this picture, but fortunately for my tenuous sanity, I don’t have to talk about them, or how they were built.
Let’s look at Houston’s neighbor to the south, San Antonio, first. In the sort of odds defying miracle the NBA seems to specialize in recently (cf Dallas Mavericks), the most obvious likely generational player since LeBron James, Victor Wembanyama wanted to go to San Antonio, and in a made for the NBA miracle, lo, he did indeed go to the Spurs. Whatever we might think about it, the Spurs, after drifting along for years doing nothing much, have again drafted a generational center. (Provided his health holds up, he’s very young yet, and Yao Ming, for example, hardly missed a game early on.)
So there’s one part of a common formula, draft a superstar. The Rockets, by contrast, don’t seem to have drafted that era defining, or even plain vanilla, superstar. Maybe a younger Rocket is less precocious than Wemby? Certain Rockets players have an early career profile that fits within the trajectory of well known superstars, but also within the more common trajectories of Hall of Very Good players. Time will tell. The Spurs might have drafted another star in Dylan Harper, as the balls have been very kind to them in the right seasons.
What the Spurs had pre Wemby was a very good supporting cast tasked with doing too much as the primary players of those San Antionio teams. If Devin Vassell is your fourth best player, you have a very good fourth player indeed. If he’s your lead guard, it’s a problem. Keldon Johnson always seemed like a very limited player to me, with approximately two things he could do on offense, but as a sixth man, well, he’s Sixth Man of The Year. (But in a crucial game seven, Krash Johnson made a layup with his left hand, so anything is possible I suppose.)
The Spurs also have the much lauded Stephon Castle, in the Amen or Tari Eason role. He’s great in that role, and provides a kind of defensive forcefulness none of the others Spurs provide, including Wemby. Castle, as his stats without Wemby clearly show, is a player who, at this point in his career, would struggle greatly as a primary offensive hub, but he doesn’t have to do that.
The Spurs traded not that much to the Kings to bring Cypress Lakes own De’Aaron Fox to San Antionio, as the Spurs evidently realized this team was ready to compete immediately with Wembanyama taking center stage. He’s been injured a lot, and erratic, but despite being “too small” by the terms of certain NBA thought processes, does what smaller players typically do, which is move differently, and faster, and typically react more quickly and effectively than much larger ones. This doesn’t always make up for not being as tall, but teams that lack that sort of play have real weaknesses in certain respects (in my opinion, long rebounds is one of those weaknesses, as that sort of rebound strikes me as a reaction driven rebound). Fox provides solid distribution and attacks in the half court, something other Spurs struggle to do. He can also get his own shot, which on a team of mostly outside shooters, is crucial.
Finally there’s the MVP of Game 7 of the WC Finals, Julian Champagnie. Julian was undrafted in 2022, and was signed as a two-way player by the 76ers, who sent him to the GLeague. In February of 2023 he was waived by the 76ers, and was signed by the Spurs. He’s mostly been a bench shooter, with a somewhat erratic profile, 38% from three last season, 32% this season. He’s an active and good defender at 6’6”, and basically got the Spurs over the line into the Finals with a 6-10 shooting night from three point range. He’s a player any team could have signed off waivers in 2023, but San Antonio signed him.
As an amusing highlight of this Finals, the Spurs erstwhile player of the future, PG, and general annoyance, Jeremy Sochan is merely a deep bench player. For the Knicks. Not every picks works out, even on a team that’s had a goodly number of picks work out.
So there’s the Spurs, built largely through through glorious draft fortune, with a couple of canny acquisitions in the mix. They’re in the NBA Finals. That means that unless your team, the Rockets, say, has that sort of draft success, it’s doomed, right?
Meet the New York Knickerbockers.
Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Minnesota Timberwolves.
That’s who drafted the Knicks most likely starting lineup. Jalen Brunson came from Dallas, Josh Hart initially from Utah, Mikal Bridges was a 76er to start his career, OG Anunoby won a title with the Raptors, and Karl-Anthony Towns was of course, a Timberwolf. The Knicks either signed, or traded for, an entire NBA Finals starting lineup. The Knicks may be short on “assets”, obviously the key marker of success in the NBA, but somehow reaching the Finals might make their humiliatingly asset-light existence sting a bit less. Especially in New York, a great basketball town utterly starved of recent success.
Of players we’re likely to see much of on the court for the Knicks exactly one, one, was a Knick draft pick: Mitchell Robinson. Every other player we’re likely to see play for the Knicks entered the NBA with another franchise. I’m not sure we’ve ever seen a Finals team that featured zero starters (maybe Robinson will start some games, I don’t know) that were drafted by that team.
What does this mean for the Rockets? To me it signals that there’s more than one way to reach the promised land, and if one way isn’t working, change the approach. So while this piece isn’t directly Rockets related, I think it’s encouraging in some respects. At the start of this season many thought your could write the NBA title winner, the OKC Thunder (good riddance) in ink before a game was played. There is no “One True Way”, and who would have thought the Knicks, after living on the seafloor of the NBA like a flounder for decades, would be a powerhouse built entirely through trades and signings, something the Knick weren’t particularly known for being good at, to say the least.
Maybe San Antionio and their great good fortune, and shrewd pickups, are inevitable, but if this season shows us anything, it’s that inevitability is hardly inevitable.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MAY 30: Luke Kornet #7 of the San Antonio Spurs blocks the shot of Isaiah Hartenstein #55 of the Oklahoma City Thunder during the game during Game Seven of the NBA Western Conference Finals on May 30, 2026 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. 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 Zach Beeker/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
This was a moment that nobody expected. At the start of the season, the San Antonio Spurs were seen as a borderline playoff team, possibly a play-in squad. Now, just seven months later, the Spurs are Western Conference champions. In the last game of a hard-fought series with the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, the Spurs went into enemy territory and convincingly took Game Seven 111-103.
The WCF victory was an emotional experience for this young Spurs squad, led by the 22-year-old phenom, Victor Wembanyama, and early-20s stars like Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper. In a short period of time, this team has come so close to the pinnacle of the league. They’ll need four more wins to get there. San Antonio is a -200 favorite to win the NBA Finals on FanDuel.
The Spurs outdueled the Thunder with defense. Wembanyama kept them out of the paint with his paint defense. San Antonio’s perimeter defenders were able to keep OKC’s supporting players at bay, while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander went off for 35 points. On the other end, the Spurs knocked down big shot after big shot to fend off the Thunder on their way to victory.
Spoiler alert: every Spur got a good player grade in Game Seven! We’ll dive into why below. As a quick reminder, player grades are based on each player’s on-court performance, going beyond just the stat sheet. A “B” grade represents the average performance for an individual. If a player logs fewer than 5 minutes or plays only in garbage time, their grade will be incomplete.
It wasn’t Wembanyama’s most dominant performance of the series, but it was just enough to propel his team to victory. He led the Spurs in scoring once again, with some big shots from deep. Wembanyama hit spot-up jumpers and a huge step-back three late in the game to pad the Spurs’ lead.
The most impressive aspect of Wembanyama’s performance is what he didn’t do. With about 7 minutes left in the game, Wembanyama picked up his fifth foul. That’s a lot of time to play an aggressive team while being on the brink of fouling out. Wembanyama finished the game not only fending off the Thunder at the basket, but also played under control in the final minutes to make sure he remained in the game until the final buzzer. It showed a huge amount of maturity on Wembanyama’s part to finish out the game as he did.
Fox struggled with an ankle injury for most of the WCF. It affected his speed to the basket, the strength of his jumper, and his overall scoring prowess. He looked much healthier in Game Seven. Fox hit some big three-pointers off the dribble and got the mid-range game working on his way to 15 points. When the Thunder tried to switch him onto SGA, he held his own as well as San Antonio’s other defenders. It was a gutsy performance from the veteran guard. Now he will have three full days to rest and heal before facing the New York Knicks in the Finals.
Every time the Thunder would make a run, it felt like the Spurs had a response. Castle was behind a lot of them. He followed up the best defensive play of the game (more to come on that) with a mid-range jumper that gave the Spurs the cushion they needed to win. It wasn’t his best defensive game, and he once again struggled with turnovers, especially late in the game. However, Castle gave the Spurs a lot of the energy and force that they needed, especially when the score got close.
Whatever Champagnie asks for in extension talks this offseason, he deserves. The Spurs wing was fantastic in the WCF and played a huge role in them closing the series out in Game Seven. Any time the ball found an open Champagnie, it felt like it was going in. He was 6 of 10 from three, hitting big shot after big shot. He played a strong defensive game while making some big rebounds down the stretch. His shooting altered this series in a major way. San Antonio will need him to stay hot in the Finals.
Ironically, Vassell struggled a bit in Game Seven despite being one of the Spurs’ most consistent performers in the series. The moment most people will remember from him in this game was the dunk as the clock wound down, and the catharsis that came along with it. His jumper was off for the majority of the game after hitting a mid-range jumper and a three-pointer early in the game. The Spurs will need his jump shot and defensive effort against the Knicks.
Harper looks like he is completely back to full health. His late explosion for a missed dunk over the top of the Thunder late in the game was a sign that his youthful legs are feeling good, and was probably the only silly mistake he made in the game. His shot-making was fantastic in Game Seven. He hit a pair of three-pointers and some tough mid-range jumpers. Harper seems to be getting better as the playoffs go on. This has been a truly special run for a 20-year-old guard.
Johnson showed up when the Spurs needed him in the fourth quarter. He hit two big threes and had a clutch offensive rebound and put-back. It was the type of energetic performance the team needed from a role player late in the game to come away with the victory. It was a great moment for Johnson, after he had struggled to contribute for most of the playoffs.
Kornet made the biggest play of the game, and that’s why he gets a perfect grade. After Isaiah Hartenstein swiped the ball away from the Spurs, Kornet chased him down like LeBron James in the 2016 NBA Finals, met him at the rim, and blocked the dunk. I’m not kidding when I say it is probably the most impactful block in the NBA Playoffs since LeBron’s chasedown.
Grade: A+
Harrison Barnes
3 minutes, 0-for-1 shooting, 0-for-1 threes, -5
Mitch Johnson went with a shortened rotation in a must-win game. Barnes played just three minutes and failed to register a statistic.
Last weekend, the Mets were swept by the Marlins in Miami, scoring a grand total of two runs in three games.
One week later, against the same Miami team, the Mets swept the Marlins and scored 25 runs in three games, capped off by Sunday’s 10-1 win at Citi Field.
While the Mets’ bats have been inconsistent for much of the season, manager Carlos Mendoza believes what the Mets did in this series can be sustainable.
“I think if we keep controlling the strike zone and stay aggressive with pitches in the strike zone [it can be sustainable],” Mendoza said. “We had a tough series against the same team last weekend, when basically we didn’t do anything offensively. For us to make the adjustment quickly and put up that type of performance the whole weekend, it was just good to see our ability to make adjustments and respond.
“Good to see it. Finally, you started to see some of the guys in the lineup every day playing with some confidence.”
In Sunday’s win, the big blow came, as it so often does, from Juan Soto, who demolished a grand slam as part of a five-run sixth inning.
Soto’s third career grand slam was the Mets’ first of the season, and Soto said after the game that the entire lineup came into the series with a plan to attack.
“I feel like everybody knows what to do. We have a plan and we executed throughout the whole series,” said Soto. “I think the whole lineup came ready to attack with a plan. We all did the same thing and we attacked as a team.”
After dropping the first two games of this six-game homestand, the Mets have built some momentum by winning four straight. Now, they must keep that momentum as they head out west for six games against the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres.
"For us to get to where we want to get, we’ve got to play well here and play well on the road, especially in the position that we’re in," Mendoza said. "But the mentality is continue to take it one day at a time. Important road trip here, celebrate today. We got out of the gate on this past homestand 0-2, and for us, winning the last four was huge. But now we’ve got to go, and we’re playing two good teams, but we’re starting to see some signs of who we are as a team as well."
A pair of former Florida Panthers, defenseman Mike Reilly and goaltender Brandon Bussi, will have the opportunity to win the Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Following the Hurricanes’ five-game series win over the Montreal Canadiens, they’ll move on to the Stanley Cup final against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2005-06 and went to the finals in 2001-02. This will be the third time that they have made the final.
The Hurricanes have been dominant in the post-season, losing just one game en route to the finals.
Reilly and Bussi haven’t been the most prominent figures on the Hurricanes roster, but it takes an entire roster to get to the finals. Reilly has featured in just two games this post-season, but has notched two assists.
During the regular season, Reilly recorded one goal and nine points in 42 games.
As for Bussi, he hasn’t appeared in any playoff games, but he was vital to the Hurricanes’ success in the regular season. The Hurricanes dealt with several injuries to goaltenders during the regular season, and Bussi stepped up for the Canes.
He played 39 games during the regular season, winning 31 of those contests and posting an .895 save percentage. Although Frederik Andersen has held down the fort for the Hurricanes in the playoffs, Bussi has been ready as the backup goaltender.
Bussi and Reilly’s history with the Panthers wasn’t too extensive. Bussi was signed to a two-way deal in the off-season, but was claimed off waivers by the Hurricanes during pre-season.
Reilly played just two games with the Panthers in the 2023-24 season and was placed on waivers by the Panthers. He was then claimed by the New York Islanders, ending his tenure with the Panthers.
The 2025-26 NHL Stanley Cup finals begin on Tuesday with the Hurricanes hosting the Golden Knights.
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May 31, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets left fielder Juan Soto (22) reacts after hitting a grand slam home run against the Miami Marlins during the sixth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images | John Jones-Imagn Images
The Mets kept the good train rolling on Sunday afternoon, as they finished off the series sweep of the Miami Marlins by a score of 10-1. The Mets, now winners of four straight ball games, sit at 26-33, six games out of a Wild Card spot.
The Mets offense was the star of the show today, as they put ten runs on Miami, who had to pivot to a bullpen game due to expected starter Janson Junk’s surprise trip to the injured list this morning. They treated opener John King rudely, as Carson Benge greeted him with his first career lead off home run. The offense did a great job of keeping up the pressure, as they scored runs in four different innings. Marcus Semien hit a two run home run, as part of a game that saw the veteran reach base four times, to make it 3-0 in the second. They added two more in the fourth, when Luis Torrens hit a clean little opposite field single with the bases loaded, making it 5-1 at the time.
The big inning for the Mets came in the sixth inning, when they faced off against right hander Josh White, who was making his Major League debut and was treated very rudely. White looked good through the first two batters, striking out A.J. Ewing and getting Brett Baty to fly out. It fell apart for White from there, as he walked Semien, hit Torrens with a pitch, and walked Benge to load the bases for Bo Bichette. Bichette also worked a walk, pushing the lead to 6-1, and getting Juan Soto to the dish. Soto, who is on another planet right now, hit his ninth home run over his last 15 games, taking a cement mixer slider 109 ft. to the bullpen. The grand slam is the first for the Mets this season, and gave the Mets a 10-1 lead.
Nolan McLean got the ball to start and had a very strange game. He only surrendered two hits and one run, but he walked five and only struck out two (and he hit a batter!). He only had two 1-2-3 innings, as one would imagine with the five walks and a hit batsman, but he was able to consistently wriggle out of jams of his own creation. He also got some pretty timely defensive plays that helped prevent bigger innings on top of that, namely from Brett Baty and A.J. Ewing.
After the grand slam, the game was all but over. The Mets got two on with two out singles by Semien and Torrens in the seventh but did not cash them in, and went quietly in the eighth against utility man Javier Sanoja. David Peterson, who was recently swapped with Sean Manaea as the bulk reliever out of the pen, got his first save of the season. The lefty was excellent over the final four innings, surrendering just a hit and a walk, striking out three. The Mets, who need to just stack wins and see what happens, will look to do so on the West Coast (again), as they fly to Seattle for a three-game series starting tomorrow night.
Big Mets winner: Marcus Semien, +19% WPA Big Mets loser: Honestly? Nobody. The lowest was -2% WPA for A.J. Ewing. Mets pitchers: 17% WPA Mets hitters: 33% WPA Teh aw3s0mest play: Marcus Semien’s two run home run in the second inning, +10.4% WPA Teh sux0rest play: Jakob Marsee’s walk in the fourth inning, -6.2% WPA
