It’s the two most feared words in the NBA today.
Jimmy. Butler.
The Heat took a 1–0 lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 123–116 home-court-advantage-stealing win in TD Garden on Wednesday. They did it with Bam Adebayo’s force. Kyle Lowry’s shooting. Erik Spoelstra’s coaching brilliance.
And, most importantly, Butler.
It was 35 points, seven assists and five rebounds for Butler on Wednesday. He was 12-of-25 from the floor. He was 2-of-4 from three. He went to the free throw line 10 times and made nine of them.
Author: Michael
A FanDuel TV host is in some hot water for a tweet that said cheating and death were part of horse racing.
According to Awful Announcing, the network formerly known as TVG — which airs primarily horse racing under its current FanDuel TV branding — has pulled host Ken Rudolph from the air because of a tweet he posted Monday night.
In it, he seemed to defend the sport, which has come under fire after a string of deaths leading up to this month’s Kentucky Derby, saying that cheating and death are simply part of horse racing.
Aaron Judge has been in the spotlight this week after cameras caught the Yankees’ star outfielder appearing to look into the dugout just a few pitches before blasting a 462-foot home run against the Blue Jays.
While Judge and the Yankees have denied any wrongdoing, and Toronto pitcher Jay Jackson admitted he was tipping pitches during the game, that hasn’t stopped an already-heated rivalry from ramping up another notch this week.
Todd Korol/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Tracking the hot dog consumption of Blue Jays fans is the only MLB stat I care about.
Baseball is a sport steeped in rich traditional and statistical intricacy. However, there’s only one stat I’m paying attention to now for the rest of the MLB season.
Blue Jays fans coming out hot early in Loonie Dog sked, again establishing a new single-game record, a few hundredths short of the DPF high. pic.twitter.com/gsyzaJP9AP
— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) May 17, 2023
The Jays might be 6.
1. Earlier this week, Pat McAfee announced he is headed to ESPN this fall as a part of a new deal that will see his daily show air on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN’s YouTube channel.
This wasn’t a shock since McAfee teased the move weeks by tweeting a photo of himself with Disney CEO Bob Iger. What has been a shock, at least to me, is the reaction to McAfee joining the World Wide Leader.
This is an ugly thicc mess that does nothing to show off North America.
FIFA unveiled its logo for the 2026 World Cup and … yeah.
#WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/H1SyqypUYY
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) May 18, 2023
This sucks beyond all comprehension. The 2026 World Cup is going to be an incredible event, with the United States, Canada, and Mexico sharing the hosting duties. There’s so much tradition, so much color, so much that could be done representing North America.
Rafael Nadal announced Thursday that 2024 would likely be his final year in professional tennis.
The news of his imminent retirement came at the same press conference where the tennis legend announced he had withdrawn from this year’s French Open due to an ongoing hip injury. He has no date for his return to court.
“I hope to give myself the opportunity to enjoy next year, that’s probably going to be my last year in the professional tour,“ Nadal said. “That’s my idea, even [though] I can’t say that 100%.
Welcome to The Weekly Takedown, Sports Illustrated’s in-depth look at MMA. Every week, this column offers insight and information on the most noteworthy stories in the fight world.
Score the first round 10–8 in Dana White’s favor.
But Francis Ngannou is far from being finished in this fight.
A sleepy week in May turned into a potpourri of announcements. The excitement began Tuesday morning, when the PFL sent out a press release at the crack of dawn announcing that Ngannou had signed with the promotion as part of its new Super Fight pay-per-view division.
Today at his eponymous academy on the Spanish island of Mallorca, Rafael Nadal made official what the tennis world has suspected for weeks. He will not be playing in the French Open, the major he has won 14 times, the site of his personal clay canvas where he compiled a risible record of 112–3.
At January’s Australian Open, he suffered an injury to his upper hip. He has not played since, missing the entire clay court lead-up for the first time in his career.
Rafael Nadal announced Thursday that he is pulling out of the French Open because of a lingering hip injury and that he expects 2024 to be the final season of his career.