Barely 12 hours had passed when Chet Holmgren had to face the music once again. With a face filled with shell-shock, the All-NBA talent's summer will be haunted by his four-point goose egg in a Game 7 loss that ended their ambitions to be back-to-back champions.
The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the San Antonio Spurs in an epic seven-game series. The 2026 Western Conference Finals were for the Larry O'Brien in most folks' eyes. Remains to be seen if they're right, but no denying both 60-plus-win machines showed why they were in a tier of their own all year.
When you face a team of that high quality with those types of stakes on the line, it really exposes your weaknesses to the forefront for the entire NBA-sphere to see. In OKC's case, injuries finally caught up. Being without Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell for most of the series was a death blow they couldn't overcome.
The Thunder have been superb at overcoming injuries all season. To the point they went an NBA-best 64-18 in the regular season and swept their first two playoff opponents. But against the Spurs, you needed all hands on deck. Instead, being without two of your three best scorers and ball-handlers absolutely damaged their ******* le odds.
Another takeaway from the series? Holmgren has a Spurs problem.

LIV Golf is preparing for its post-Saudi era with a host of potential changes, increasing its players’ stakes in the league, introducing a new individual tournament element, and pushing hard for investment across every phase of the tour, on and off the course.
Originally funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, LIV Golf will lose access to that funding at the end of its current season. Rather than fold up the tents and shutter the league, LIV officials are attempting to move forward with “LIV 2.0” by tweaking the league’s format in order to appeal to both potential investors and players who might be considering backing out of the league.
Most notably, from the player perspective, LIV will be returning most commercial rights to its players, a source with knowledge of LIV’s operations told Yahoo Sports. What this means in practice is that players could be able to market and monetize their own image in a way that few professional leagues of any sport permit. This, obviously, is an attempt to keep Bryson DeChambeau, LIV’s most valuable **** et and professional golf’s most social media-focused player, in the LIV fold.
“One door closes, another opens,” DeChambeau said prior to LIV’s recent Korea event. “I think that's the way a lot of us are looking at it. I think we all have optimism that there is a business plan that makes sense for team golf.”
LIV has promised to increase player ownership and equity in the league, which, again, is an attempt to keep players with wayward eyes from straying too far from the LIV stable. Ownership, in either the league itself or its individual teams, would obviously give them more incentive both to stay and to promote the league going forward.

CHICAGO (AP) — Nick Kurtz singled in automatic runner Alika Williams in the 10th inning, and the Athletics rallied for a second straight win, 5-4 over the sliding Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night.
Kurtz extended his hitting streak to five games with his hit in the 10th off Ethan Roberts (0-1), Chicago's sixth reliever.
The Cubs (32-30) squandered a two-run lead in the eighth inning and lost their third straight and for the 18th time in 23 games.
Pinch-hitter Colby Thomas hit a 426-foot solo homer over the left-field bleachers in the eighth, and Tyler Soderstrom drove in his second run of the game with his second single as the Athletics tied it 4-all, with both runs coming off reliever Caleb Thielbar.
Chicago's Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki homered, and Ian Happ had two doubles, including the 1,000th hit of his career.

The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their final voluntary organized team activity (OTA) running from June 2-4, and with the media at Halas Hall today, we got some updates.
Both defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and linebacker T.J. Edwards were at practice today, although neither participated in the team portion. Odeyingbo tore his Achilles in November and Edwards broke his ankle in January. Their participation is a positive sign towards them being ready for the season.
Not at practice were nickel Kyler Gordon, defensive back Cam Lewis, or defensive end Montez Sweat.
Regarding Gordon, head coach Ben Johnson said, “We know he’s a good player when he’s out there, but trust level is a huge thing for this team, for this coaching staff, for the locker room. You can only develop that trust by being available.”
This coaching regime was in place when Gordon’s contract was extended a year ago, so you know they value what he can bring to the table. He just needs to get himself healthy and on the field.

Chicago Bears quarterback Caleb Williams has been announced as EA Sports' cover athlete for the Madden NFL 27 video game.
Bears fans woke up to the news Wednesday that their quarterback is the next cover athlete. It's an honor reserved for some of the NFL's very best players.
On the standard cover, Williams is depicted in a body position similar to his pivotal, scrambling, fourth-and-8 jump pass to Rome Odunze in a stirring comeback victory over Green Bay in a wild card playoff game on Jan. 10.
With his arm ***** ed to throw and his feet spread, Williams appears to soar above a silhouette of the Chicago skyline that is set against a blue backdrop.
The deluxe edition features a tight shot of Williams with arms crossed over his white game jersey, a dark, night-like background and snow falling around him.

Real Madrid appear to be moving swiftly in the transfer market lately, having accelerated their pursuit of key defensive targets.
It was reported yesterday that Ibrahima Konate is all set to join the ranks at Santiago Bernabeu, having reached a preliminary agreement with Los Blancos over a free transfer.
It has also been reported that Denzel Dumfries is close to joining Real Madrid, with the Dutchman emerging as the club’s number one target in the left-back position.
Dumfries move appears imminent. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)
According to El Chiringuito, Dumfries has already agreed personal terms with Real Madrid and is set to sign a three-year contract.

June 2 (UPI) -- Lenova Center quivered with intensity as fans watched the visiting Vegas Golden Knights climb back from a 2-0 deficit to stun the Carolina Hurricanes in a frantic 2026 Stanley Cup Final opener Tuesday in Raleigh, N.C.
Czech forward Tomas Hertl scored what proved to be the game-winner with 3:24 remaining in the 5-4 triumph. Brayden McNabb ******* isted three Golden Knights goals. Fellow Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore logged a goal and two ******* ists.
"We didn't have the greatest start, but that's kinda been our story all season," Hertl said on the ABC broadcast. "We never give up. It doesn't matter if we are up or down. We just keeping playing."
Tuesday marked the first time in history that a Stanley Cup Final game featured goals within the first 30 seconds in each of the first two periods. The Hurricanes outshot the Golden Knights 27-23, but were outhit 35-26.
The Golden Knights extended a seven-game winning streak, while handing the Hurricanes just their second loss this postseason.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Hours after a report surfaced that he was discussing a succession plan with members of the Board of Governors executive committee, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman reiterated that he is not expecting to retire any time soon from the job he has held for more than three decades.
Bettman on his 74th birthday acknowledged the league has a plan in place like any major organization but is not in any rush to enact it.
"I am 74, and I do acknowledge the fact that I can’t do this forever," Bettman said Tuesday during his annual state of the NHL news conference prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. "There’s nothing happening imminently, and reports of my demise or retirement are greatly exaggerated.”
Bettman has been commissioner since 1993, when he took that **** le instead of president as part of a modernization effort. It was not clear what the succession plan, which he said has been a topic of conversation for at least a couple of years, would entail.
Hockey has labor peace at its highest level through 2030 after the league and the Players' **** ociation negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement last summer. Union executive director Marty Walsh said the relationship between the sides is strong but is not worrying about Bettman's future.

Oh No He Didn't: Wemby: "I agree to be patient but just to some extent. I think being inpatient can be a virtue at times because all those greats they have been inpatient and if you're inpatient 10 times, maybe 9 times you're just gonna be inpatient. But maybe that one time is gonna make you do something that you were not supposed to do, make you play over your level, make you overachieve and I think that's a difference maker between good and great"
x.com
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: But maybe that one time is gonna make you do something …

The Philadelphia Eagles' trade sending A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots was just one of two blockbuster deals on Monday, June 1. However, the trades involving Brown and former Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett, who is heading to the Los Angeles Rams, feature two players whose tenures end in very different fashions.
Specifically, Brown's relationship with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was a talking point throughout much of the past two NFL seasons, and the 28-year-old wide receiver addressed that topic during an honest conversation less than one day after the trade news broke.
Speaking with Maria Taylor on 7PM in Brooklyn, Brown was asked directly about Hurts and their relationship at the end of his tenure with the Eagles.
"Not as close as we once were," Brown said of his relationship with Hurts. "...There's no bad blood, there's actually still a lot of love. I love him to death, I want to see him accomplish all the things he want to accomplish. I didn't truly understand why our friendship became the center of everybody's attention when it came to football."
"People just got so fixated on the relationship and wanting to talk about the history... but that wasn't what this was. I have nothing but love for him...," Brown continued. "Nothing happened. People just grow apart, nothing happened between me and him, or our families, or our wives, anything. Life happens, you just look up sometimes and you find yourself drifting away."

A.J. Brown is shipping up to New England, and here at home in Philadelphia, the reaction is mixed.
The news broke late Monday afternoon that the Eagles traded the star wide receiver to the New England Patriots for a first-round draft pick in 2028 and a 2027 fifth-round pick.
It's a trade that's been anticipated for months, but some fans still weren't convinced it would happen.
READ MORE | A.J. Brown shares message with Eagles fans after being traded to Patriots
Malik Mack, of West Philadelphia, told Action News, "I really wasn't expecting it. He didn't really get a chance! They weren't throwing him the ball."

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been invited to testify before Congress as the league faces increasing federal scrutiny about its broadcast deals and its recent practice of airing games on paywalled streaming services.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to the commissioner on Monday requesting his appearance at a hearing on June 10 examining the league's TV deals and their compliance with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961.
The 65-year-old law grants professional sports leagues limited antitrust immunity, allowing them to pool their media rights and negotiate as a single entity while protecting them from antitrust lawsuits.
The law applies only to broadcast networks. Courts have ruled in the past that it does not apply to other media, including cable, satellite and streaming. There has been bipartisan sentiment in favor of updating the law, and president Donald Trump has been among the critics of the NFL's embrace of streaming.
According to Jordan's letter, the hearing next week will “examine the extent to which the antitrust exemption created by the SBA has been used by the professional sports leagues to harm consumers and whether potential legislative remedies may be needed to address that harm.”

Indiana Fever guard Lexie Hull is offering some insight into the team's locker room after a viral exchange between Caitlin Clark and head coach Stephanie White has garnered headlines.
Following the Fever's 100-84 loss to the Portland Fire on May 30, footage of White and Clark getting into a verbal disagreement during a team huddle circulated across social media. In the video, White eventually removed Clark from the bench and asked Raven Johnson to sit in her place. Kelsey Mitchell and Makayla Timpson attempted to calm Clark, who shook her head while standing behind her coach.
During an appearance on Yahoo Sports Daily on Monday, Hull acknowledged frustrations boiled over in the moment, but clarified that "it's not something that we're worried about at all."
"That's part of the game. There's frustrations that rise and decisions have to be made and ultimately this wasn't something that carried on," Hull said. "This is in the moment, something that happened and not something that is talked about now in our locker room or talked about even later on in the game. That's just something that happened and unfortunately, Caitlin's got a camera on her 24/7 and so you see every little thing."
OPINION: Are Caitlin Clark, Fever losing composure? Frustration hits boiling point

Patriots Reportedly Meeting To Discuss This Aspect Of A.J. Brown Trade originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Patriots could be mere hours away from acquiring A.J. Brown.
All indications are that New England will trade for the star receiver after 4 p.m. ET on Monday, when the Philadelphia Eagles would be able to spread out Brown's dead-cap charges. However, numerous reports indicate top Patriots decision-makers remain split on whether Brown is worth giving up a future first-round pick.
NFL insider Josina Anderson provided an update in an X post on Monday morning. Here's the full text:
"OVERNIGHT UPDATE: As of late yesterday, I was told reluctance remains among some* segments of the #Patriots higher-ranks for giving up any form of a first-round pick for #Eagles WR AJ Brown, but* that the plan remains to huddle-up this morning on 11th-hour trade-term stances—including whether they’re collectively* okay with giving up a 2028 first-rounder as comfortable middle ground, per league sources.

AHMEDABAD: In the end, it had to be him.

Virat Kohli fittingly applied the finishing touches as Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) sealed a second straight IPL ***** le, chasing down 156 to beat Gujarat ***** ans by five wickets in a one-sided final at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday night.

'King' Kohli smashed Arshad Khan over long-on for six to finish things off with two overs to spare, capping a dominant performance.
— timesofindia (timesofindia)
Unbeaten on 75 off 42 ***** (9x4, 3x6), Kohli produced a sparkling knock under pressure, bringing up a 25-ball half-century, the fastest of his IPL career, to ensure RCB's bowlers' earlier brilliance did not go in vain. As chants of his name echoed across a packed stadium of over 90,000, the modern great delivered yet another defining performance on the biggest stage.
RCB thus became only the third team after Chennai Super Kings (2010-11) and Mumbai Indians (2019-20) to win back-to-back IPL ***** les, a remarkable turnaround for a franchise long haunted by near-misses.
— TOIBengaluru (TOIBengaluru)