Josh Hart apparently had no trouble turning Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordyn Woods' star-packed wedding reception into another Knicks celebration.
Jose Alvarado, who attended the couple's Aug. 15 wedding in Malibu, was asked by TMZ Sports which guest was the best dancer that night. He did not hesitate before answering: "Josh Hart."
Alvarado also described what it was like sharing the room with a guest list that mixed NBA stars with some of Hollywood's biggest names. "Definitely different to be in that room, but it was dope," he said, adding that it was "cool to see all those people show up" for someone he called "our brother."
Hart had plenty of competition for attention. The Malibu celebration included Knicks teammates and NBA stars alongside Kylie Jenner, Timothée Chalamet, Justin and Hailey Bieber, Michael B. Jordan, Ben Stiller, Gayle King and other high-profile guests.
TMZ Sports caught up with Alvarado at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday as he returned from the wedding festivities. Asked about the atmosphere inside a celebration attended by actors, musicians, celebrities and basketball stars, Alvarado acknowledged that the room was unusual even by NBA standards.

#alvarado #hart

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Bobby Witt Jr. drove in the winning run with a two-out single in the ninth after pinch-hitter Tyler Tolbert hit a tying two-run single, giving the Kansas City Royals a 4-3 victory over the Athletics on Tuesday night.
Trailing 3-1, the Royals loaded the bases with one out in the ninth on a catcher's interference call, a single and a walk. Tolbert batted for Kyle Isbel and grounded a single into left off Hogan Harris (3-2) to tie it. Elvis Alvarado replaced Harris and got Isaac Collins to line out before Witt blooped a single into left for the Royals' sixth walk-off win of the season.
The Athletics took an early lead as Zack Gelof drew a first-inning walk, and Jonah Heim drew another to load the bases. Then, Tommy White knocked in the game's first run with a single to left. A second runner nearly scored, but was thrown out at the plate.
Athletics left-hander Brady Basso exited the game after just one out in the third inning. He gave up two hits and recorded one strikeout in his short, 32-pitch outing.
Jack Perkins inherited one baserunner when he took over, but caught Carter Jensen stealing second. The Royals flew out to end the inning. Perkins also worked around a leadoff walk in the fourth. Perkins held Kansas City to one hit and struck out four in 3 2/3 innings.

#athletics

New York Knicks center and forward Karl-Anthony Towns' wedding to Jordyn Woods, a model and influencer, continues to make headlines as OG Anunoby's departure from the couple's wedding with a Fanatics goodie bag has sparked interest.
Towns and Woods tied the knot on Saturday, August 15, after being together for almost six years.
Their wedding has become one of the most talked-about pop culture events, with a guest list featuring high-profile names like Timothee Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, Ben Stiller, Hailey and Justin Bieber, Michael B. Jordan and Teyana Taylor, among others. The list also featured several Knicks stars, including Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and Jose Alvarado.
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Now, in a recent turn of events, a picture of Towns' Knicks teammate Ogugua "OG" Anunoby Jr., aka OG Anunoby, is gaining traction on X, where the 29-year-old forward is seen wearing a black suit with white sneakers and a white shirt while leaving the Towns-Woods wedding with a white Fanatics goodie bag.

#knicks #Events

New York Knicks forward Karl-Anthony Towns got married to his long-term girlfriend, Jordyn Woods, and a video of the bride walking down the aisle has surfaced on social media as the couple tied the knot after six years of dating.
The wedding became a star-studded affair, with some of the biggest global names, including Justin Bieber and Timothee Chalamet, in attendance. The wedding was also a perfect nod to Towns' memorable summer, which saw him lift his maiden NBA ******* le with the Knicks. His teammates, including Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Jose Alvarado and Miles McBride, were among those who graced the wedding.
Photo by Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Jared Jewelers
A video of Woods walking down the aisle was shared by TMZ on their X account (formerly Twitter), with the outlet writing: "Jordyn Woods, Karl-Anthony Towns Marry at Star-Studded Malibu Wedding."

#woods #star #studded

Karl-Anthony Towns has added a wedding band to his ring collection.
The New York Knicks star and Jordyn Woods reportedly got married over the weekend in Malibu, California.
On Sunday, Aug. 16, the New York Post shared photos and details of the wedding. The outdoor ceremony was held under a flowered arch overlooking the ocean. Woods wore a strapless ball gown with a neck scarf and Towns opted for a black suit and bow tie. All of the guests wore black attire.
The publication reported that Towns' Knicks teammates Josh Hart, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, Jose Alvarado and Miles McBride attended the wedding along with New York superfans Ben Stiller and Timothée Chalamet. The "Marty Supreme" actor's girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, is a good friend of Woods and was also a guest. Other members of Woods' close circle shared in the joyous occasion, including Suni Lee and Hailey and Justin Bieber.

#karl

Big Bad Wolff bites Sporting Jax: Tyler Wolff scored a hat trick and host Sacramento Republic FC punished another sloppy defensive performance from Sporting Club Jacksonville, romping to a 5-0 shutout in USL Championship men's soccer on Aug. 1 at Heart Health Park.
Miscues spoil Sporting Jax night: Wolff, the son of two-time World Cup forward Josh Wolff, scored his first goal in the seventh minute after a Sporting Jax turnover at the edge of the penalty area. He scored his second on a 40th-minute breakaway and his third in the 69th minute following another giveaway in defense.
Second-generation hat trick: It's not the Wolff family's first hat trick against Jacksonville. On July 11, 1998, Josh Wolff scored all three visiting goals for U.S. Pro-40 Select, a short-lived experimental team made up of young players from across Major League Soccer squads, in a 3-2 win over the A-League's Jacksonville Cyclones at Mandarin High School.
Big night for Rodriguez: Midfielder Memo Rodriguez supplied three ******* ists for Sacramento (7-4-5), including corner kick deliveries leading to headed goals from Jared Timmer and Lee Desmond before halftime.
Quick free kicks: Sacramento outshot Sporting Jax (1-13-5) 19-1 and controlled 66 percent of possession. … Former United States men's national team defender Ventura Alvarado made his first start for Sporting Jax, playing the first 60 minutes, and Brazilian midfielder Jean Mota appeared for the last 13 minutes in his club debut. … With Ryan Edwards out, goalkeeper Jake McGuire served as Sporting Jax captain. … Alvarado, Harvey Neville, Emil Jaaskelainen and Jordan Rossiter all received yellow cards for Sporting Jax.

#sporting #rodriguez

San Diego FC's Saturday night road trip to Allianz Field ended in a drawing point after a cagey 1-1 clash against Minnesota United FC.
Leaving Minnesota with a point. pic.twitter.com/9bxFXwcpmm
SDFC were on the road Saturday night for their eighteenth matchday of the 2026 MLS Regular Season, facing off against Western Conference side Minnesota United in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The Chrome & Azul got back into the win column last time out, earning a slim 1-0 victory at Snapdragon Stadium against visiting FC Dallas last Saturday off the back of an outside-the-box strike from midfielder Alejandro Alvarado.
This meeting between SDFC and Minnesota marked their second encounter of the 2026 season, with Minnesota claiming the first game, a 2-1 victory at Snapdragon Stadium back on April 11.

#stadium

Chivas at times dominated but were only able to get a 1-1 tie against Puebla. Chivas was the better side from the start but their scoring troubles continued as they were only able to get a single goal against a Puebla side that looked to defend and counter from the start, giving away most possession. Both teams are going to the Leagues Cup before returning to Liga MX. Puebla will travel to Pachuca in their return while Chivas plays against Santos in Torreon.
The 1st half started with Chivas coming out with their best 11 including Brian Gutierrez from the start. Armando Gonzalez got into the area but his right footed shot would go wide. Roberto Alvarado got off a great left footed shot that was blocked by Puebla's goalkeeper, Ricardo Gutierrez. He would leave the ball there for Gonzalez go get a close range header but Gutierrez made a fantastic save to stop him from a sure goal. Gonzalez got into the area and his left footed shot was blocked by Gutierrez but it bounced off Juan Pablo Vargas and looked like it was going to be an own goal but it hit the post. Chivas was completely dominating the match but the score remained scoreless. Against the run of play, Emiliano Gomez got into the area and get past a defender before getting off a left footed shot that Chivas' goalkeeper Raul Rangel blocked but left there for Eduardo Mustre to get off a left footed shot in the net to score and give Puebla the surprising 1-0 lead. It was the first real chance for the home side and it was a bad mistake from Rangel to give up the lead. From outside the area, Ruben Gonzalez got off a right footed shot that went wide. Facundo Almada made a run into the area but his right footed shot went wide. Daniel Aguirre made a good move in the area and got off a left footed shot that went just wide. A cross into the area was headed by Bryan Alonso Gonzalez but it was cleared by Puebla's defense. Alonso Gonzalez got off a left footed shot inside the area that Gutierrez saved. The halftime whistle blew and although Chivas had played better, it was Puebla who had the lead at the break.
The 2nd half started with neither team making a substitution as it started to rain heavily in Puebla. Kevin Velasco got off a left footed shot from outside the area that Rangel saved. Alvarado would get the ball in the area and get off a right footed shot that hit the post. Chivas subbed out Fernando Gonzalez and Jordan Carrillo for Omar Govea and Efrain Alvarez. Alvarado got off a right footed shot from outside the area that Gutierrez made a great save on it. Off the ensuing corner kick, Chivas surprised by taking it quickly and Roberto Alvarado got off a great left footed shot inside the area that went past Gutierrez to score and tie the match at 1-1. A cross from Alvarado almost would turn into a shot that almost went in. Govea got off a right footed shot that would go well wide. Puebla subbed out Carlos Baltazar and Eduardo Mustre for Mathias Tomas and Luifer Hernandez. Chivas subbed out Arman

The Yankees got some of the worst news possible when MRI scans revealed that Cody Bellinger had suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain in Saturday's win over the Phillies and will likely miss 4-to-6 weeks. As it happens, it is from that very same game, an inning prior to the injury, that we find our nominee for At-bat of the Week, Jasson Domínguez crushing a solo home run off José Alvarado.
We join Domínguez leading off the seventh on Saturday night in Philadelphia. The Yankees are clinging to a 2-1 lead courtesy of an Austin Wells solo bomb and Bellinger RBI single. However, the Phillies have their flame throwing lefty Alvarado in the game and the dangerous top of their order due up in the bottom half of the frame, so the Yankees would love to tack on another insurance run.
There is no mystery to how Alvarado is going to attack you, the lefty throwing the fastball 97.3 percent of the time. The one wrinkle he introduces is the type of fastball he's going to throw, using the sinker about two-thirds of the time and the cutter about one-third of the time. He goes with his primary offering to start things off here.
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Domínguez takes this 96 mph sinker for a called strike one. You might wonder how he could take a pitch right down the middle. The camera angle doesn't quite do this pitch justice, but this sinker starts about a half-foot in off the plate before its 16 inches of arm-side run carries it back into the zone. It's therefore easy to see how a hitter might give up early on a pitch initially aimed toward him.

#yankees #solo

USL CHAMPIONSHIP MEN'S SOCCER
Who: Sporting Club Jacksonville vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds.
When: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 15.
Where: Hodges Stadium, University of North Florida.
The skinny: The Sporting Jax men, still seeking their first league victory at 0-11-4 entering the USL Championship's second half, play their first game since adding international-level reinforcements. ... Sporting Jax last week signed central defender Ventura Alvarado, who has 13 appearances for the United States national team and has spent most of his professional career in the Mexican Liga MX, as well as central defender Danny Wilson, who has represented Scotland's national team and has played for clubs including Liverpool and Glasgow Rangers. ... Although no transaction was announced, forward Adonijah Reid is no longer listed on the Sporting Jax roster. ... Leading Pittsburgh's front line is forward Albert Dikwa of Cameroon, the USL Championship's most valuable player in 2023. ... The Riverhounds stand sixth in the Eastern Conference with 20 points.

The 41-52 Athletics took on the 47-45 Chicago White Sox at Rate Field in Chicago today. While the A's are struggling, the Southsiders are amid the most dramatic turn-around from last season.
Jacob Lopez took the mound as today's opener, going up against 26-year-old righty Sean Burke for the White Sox. Lopez took on the first five Pale Hose batters before turning the game over to Aaron Civale. Civale cruised up until the bottom of the fifth when things began to unravel. Chase Meidroth doubled on a sharp line drive to left field. Andrew Benintendi doubled, driving in Meidroth. Civale walked Kyle Teel. Tristan Peters singled, driving in Benintendi. Sam Antonacci singled to right fielder, scoring Kyle Teel. Elvis Alvarado relieved Civale with no outs in the fifth. Miguel Vargas hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder Henry Bolte, scoring Tristan Peters. That gave the White Sox a 4-0 lead. In the meantime, Sean Burke had given up just two hits leading up to the seventh inning. But Tyler Soderstrum got the A's on the board with a solo rocket to right field. That was number 14 for Soderstrom.
Justin Sterner got rocked in the bottom of the seventh. Kyle Teel walked and Tristan Peters homered, scoring Teel. Sam Antonacci walked, and Munetaka Murakami doubled, driving in Antonacci. Miguel Vargas hit a ground rule double, scoring Murakami. Mason Barnett replaced Sterner with a score of 8-1 and no outs in the inning. Andrew Benintendi doubled, scoring three more Sox. Tristan Peters tripled, completing the cycle for him tonight. The last White Sox batter to hit for the cycle was José Abreu, who hit for the cycle on September 9, 2017, against the San Francisco Giants. That brought the score to 12-1.
Carlos Cortes came in to pitch the eighth. He struck out Murakami, but Miguel Vargas homered to left field. Chase Meidroth singled, driving in Montgomery to mercifully end the scoring for the White Sox. The final was 14-1 and continued the A's slide at seven games in a row.

José Alvarado's 2026 season had already been messy. There were positives to hope for as the season goes on, there was generally some brutal BABIP and situational luck that helped inflate his ERA. Even with that, there is only so much you can argue for someone who entered tonight's game with an ERA over six.
Then tonight's bottom of the sixth inning happened. It took him 35 pitches because he had to face seven hitters. Three of them ended with walks to first base and with two outs, Noelvi Marte caught an inside cutter right off the left field chalk that put tonight's game completely out of reach.
It seemed like a sure thing to pick up Alvarado's nine-million-dollar club option after 2025, even with his PEDs suspension that derailed a promising season. It was not going to be easy to find left handers at a similar rate, especially since they moved on from Matt Strahm later in the winter.
Through 32.0 innings, Alvarado now carries a 7.04 ERA and no matter what happens over the next month, finding a left handed reliever has become a major need at the upcoming trade deadline.
Tanner Banks made his first appearance with the Phillies since being recalled, following Alan Rangel in a one-run game in the fourth. Edwin Arroyo immediately greeted Banks with a triple past Gabriel Rincones jr (that should've been a single).

Cal State Bakersfield announced another head coach hiring on Tuesday, but this was done simply by removing the interim tag off Ray Alvarado as women’s basketball coach.
Alvarado was hired as the CSUB **** ociate head coach in summer 2025 and was suddenly named interim head coach when the university put former head coach Ari Wideman on administrative leave in March. Alvarado coached the Roadrunners’ last two Big West Conference games of the 2025-26 season. Wideman officially resigned in April and Alvarado was handling the coaching duties, recruiting and summer basketball camp stuff until Tuesday’s announcement was made by CSUB Acting Director of Athletics Sarah Tuohy.
The move seemed natural given Alvarado being a Central Valley native, vast area coaching experience and his program-building skills. Following a national search, Alvarado is now the official head coach.
“Ray brings exactly what we were looking for at the helm of our women's basketball program," Tuohy said in a statement to announce Alvarado’s new status. "His extensive coaching career, including his experience at the junior college level, has given him a deep understanding of how to develop players and win — and his record speaks for itself. What excites me just as much is his connection to the Central Valley. That connection is core to what it means to be a Roadrunner, and Ray is going to recruit this backyard with a passion and credibility that will be transformative for our program.”
Before arriving in Bakersfield, Alvarado was the head coach at Hawaii Pacific University, leading the Sharks’ women’s basketball program after a very successful 13-year run as head coach for Visalia’s College of the Sequoias (COS). At COS, Alvarado guided the Giants to a CCCAA State Championship Final Four appearance in 2022 and multiple Elite Eight berths while earning five Central Valley Conference Coach of the Year honors.

July 1 (UPI) -- Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez each scored against Ecuador, giving the Mexicans their first World Cup knockout stage victory in 40 years.
Quinones and Jimenez each found the net in the first half of the Round of 32 matchup, which was delayed due to lightning Tuesday in Mexico City.
With the 2-0 win, the No. 9 Mexicans advanced to the Round of 16, where they will meet No. 4 England or the No. 41 DR Congo.
The Mexicans outshot No. 24 Ecuador 15-7 in their first knockout stage win since 1986. The Ecuadorians held a 57% to 43% advantage in possession and edged the hosts 410-316 in passes.
Forward Roberto Alvarado triggered the game's first goal by sending a chip over the Ecuadorian defense, finding Quinones down the left flank. Quinones tapped the ball ahead, dribbled into the box and touched right. He finished the play by ripping a shot into the near-post netting, beating goalie Hernan Galindez in the 22nd minute.

NEW YORK — The Toronto Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard (again). The Charlotte Hornets got off of LaMelo Ball (and Miles Bridges). Giannis Antetokounmpo is (finally) on South Beach. And the Boston Celtics are in a bad spot with their franchise co-star.
(So are the Detroit Pistons.)
As the Knicks attempt to reconstruct their roster around the championship core of Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, Landry Shamet, Miles McBride and Jose Alvarado, the Eastern Conference power structure drastically shifted in the days leading into the June 30 kickoff to the 2026 NBA free agency period.
The biggest development out East? The stars are flocking, in what appears to be droves: The Toronto Raptors are almost immediately ******* le contenders after moving Brandon Ingram, Gradey ******* and draft picks to the Los Angeles Clippers for Leonard, who led the franchise to a ******* le in his lone 2018-19 season. Antetokoumpo’s arrival in Miami, too, creates a one-two punch with Heat All-Star Bam Adebayo. And suddenly, the Cleveland Cavaliers have entered the LeBron James sweepstakes. James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a shoo-in first-ballot Hall of Famer, could write the final chapter of his storied career where it ultimately started — and help supercharge a Cavs team fresh off of an Eastern Conference finals appearance, and a four-game sweep at the hands of the Knicks.
Plus you can’t forget about those pesky Indiana Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton will be healthy, and the Pacers will be right back in the mix after Haliburton’s torn Achilles cost them Game 7 of the 2025 NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Mexico host Ecuador in the sixth Round of 32 tie at the 2026 World Cup. The co-hosts won all their group stage games, while Ecuador did the unthinkable to make the knockout stages with a sensational victory over Germany.
This is only the second knockout fixture for Ecuador as they lost the first to England in Stuttgart two decades ago. Mexico were knocked out in the Round of 16 stage for seven consecutive tournaments before their group stage exit four years ago.
Piero Hincapié, who has completed his permanent transfer from Bayer Leverkusen to **** nal, continues to play left-back for Ecuador. Hamburg-born John Yeboah and Eintracht Frankfurt center-back Willian Pacho, who has won the Champions League in both of his first two seasons at PSG, also have previous Bundesliga connections.
Mexico XI: Rangel; Sanchez, Montes ©, Vasquez, Gallardo; Lira, Romo, Mora; Alvarado, Jimenez, Quinones
Ecuador XI: Galindez; Franco, Ordóñez, Pacho, Hincapié; Yeboah, Vite, Caicedo ©, Angulo; Plata, Valencia

Tim Legler has a pretty good explanation for why ESPN’s NBA Finals broadcast didn’t give De’Aaron Fox’s crucial late-game decision the scrutiny it deserved at the time: the pandemonium that followed.
Legler was a guest on the Awful Announcing Podcast last week and addressed the criticism that the ESPN/ABC broadcast crew of Mike Breen, Richard Jefferson, and Legler barely examined Fox’s decision to go for a breakaway layup rather than hold the ball and force a foul in the closing seconds of Game 4 of the Knicks-Spurs series. The layup was blocked by OG Anunoby, helping set the stage for New York’s stunning comeback victory, and the debate over whether Fox should have taken the foul instead immediately consumed the collective sports media, with First Take, Get Up, and social media all piling on the next morning.
Legler acknowledged the play deserved more attention and said he wished the broadcast had gotten a comment in. But he was also clear about what made that difficult. The moment Fox’s layup was blocked, the Knicks were already racing the other direction, and the broadcast had to immediately reckon with whether the Spurs could take a game-winning shot.
“You got a chance potentially to be calling a game-winning shot right there going the other direction,” Legler told host Brandon Contes. “So it’s like a lot was going on in that moment.”
Then came a bizarre sequence in which Jose Alvarado was fouled at half court with both feet in the front court and the ball in the back court, which had viewers convinced it was a backcourt violation.

NEW YORK (AP) — Landry Shamet is returning to the New York Knicks with a four-year deal worth $24 million, a person with knowledge of the details said Monday.
Shamet was a key contributor to the Knicks with his outside shooting and defense, and the NBA champions have an agreement to keep him long term, the person told The **** ociated Press on condition of anonymity since there was no announcement of the new contract.
Shamet signed late last offseason and became a trusted member of coach Mike Brown's rotation. He made the tying 3-pointer when the Knicks rallied from a 22-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Cleveland in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, going on to hit 11 of 12 from behind the arc in that series.
The guard shot 47.5% on 3s in the postseason.
He is the second key reserve the Knicks have committed to keep following a multiyear deal for Jose Alvarado. Backup center Mitchell Robinson will also be a free agent.

It's peak NBA rumor season.
Now that the NBA draft has passed, it's on to that dead-period before free agency officially begins. As teams negotiate potential deals and make calls about available players, there's naturally been a bunch of rumors going around.
Free agency begins on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET, and any trades or deals can officially be consummated on July 6, when the league's moratorium ends.
The Miami Heat ****** erted themselves with a blockbuster move for Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to join Bam Adebayo in South Beach. The Minnesota Timberwolves sent out Naz Reid but added LaMelo Ball, pairing him with Anthony Edwards. The move comes after they were able to acquire Ayo Dosunmu in a trade with the Chicago Bulls.
The NBA champion New York Knicks expressed desire to avoid the second apron, but re-signed the hometown veteran guard Jose Alvarado, while the Oklahoma City Thunder extended big man Isaiah Hartenstein to a three-year, $75 million contract.

In Sam Raimi’s 2009 horror flick Drag Me To ****** , a woman makes a mistake at work and is eventually condemned to eternal ****** ation for it. This is highly relatable for the Nationals’ bullpen arms, wh0 made a mistake at work and were sentenced to ****** for it. Well, surrendering a pinch-hit go-ahead homer to a team down to their final strike isn’t quite ****** , but it’s close enough; I’m fairly certain Dante mentioned it somewhere in his Inferno, somewhere between the guy who’s eternally having his head bitten and the guys who are eternally trees.
But before the drama of a last-ditch comeback repeated, a less appealing narrative recurred: Aaron Nola’s struggles with the long ball continued, as Luis García Jr. took a sinker that hung up in the middle of the zone to center for a 1-0 Washington lead in the first. An inning later, Jorbit Vivas took a curveball that did the same and did the same. 2-0, Nationals. Meanwhile, the Phillies struggled through three against opener Carson Palmquist, putting only one baserunner aboard in the form of Brandon Marsh, who promptly got picked off.
Marsh was also the Phillies’ second baserunner, singling up the middle to lead off the fourth. Afterwards, Palmquist’s opening job was over, and Miles Mikolas took his turn. He quickly found trouble. Alec Bohm reached safely on a grounder when Nasim Nuñez booted it, and Bryson Stott hit a fly ball that found its way over James Wood’s head in right for a double. The Phillies had their first run of the night. They had their second on a sacrifice fly from J.T. Realmuto, and their third on a single from Gabriel Rincones Jr. Nola kept the good vibes going with a three up, three down fourth. Only a potential injury to Bohm, who came up limping while running the bases on the fourth, still needled the Phillies, and given that he remained in the game, this turned out not to be a big issue. The Nationals seemed like they might have a big issue though: the pitching of Mikolas, who gave up singles to Trea Turner and Marsh in the fifth. He fought his way through it without further damage, but the tilt of the game still seemed to favor the Phillies.
Kyle Backhus took over in the sixth, with Nola’s final line standing at 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K. Backhus faced the minimum of three, getting two out and allowing a baserunner, and was pulled for Jonathan Bowlan as Don Mattingly played the matchup game, pitting righty against righty. It did not go as planned. The first pitch to Curtis Mead went flying into deep left, towards the foul pole, remaining fair and ending the Phillies’ lead.
José Alvarado took the seventh. He got the first two batters out, but faced trouble with José Tena, who hit a shallow fly to left that Marsh dove for and missed. The result was a triple. CJ Abrams was up next; the duel between him and Alvarado saw a quartet of fouled off 3-2 pitches , and finally a walk. But Alvarado got the next batter out to keep the deficit at one.

Knicks' Jose Alvarado reveals why he wants Taylor Swift at more games originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Jose Alvarado wants Taylor Swift courtside next season.
Swift attended Game 4 of the NBA Finals when the New York Knicks defeated the San Antonio Spurs in an epic 106-107 win. Alvarado spoke to Us Weekly on Thursday, June 18, and shared that having Swift make an appearance at the game was “amazing.”
“That’s a surreal superstar, and I was happy she was cheering us on,” the Knicks point guard said. “And [she] seemed like she was having a good time, and we won, so even better.”
Alvarado told the outlet that, “She got to come more often.”

Mexico defeated South Korea by a 1-0 score to become the first team to qualify to the knockout stages of the World Cup. The win also won Mexico the Group, which means for the first times since 2002, Mexico won their Group in a World Cup. Better yet for the first time since 1986, Mexico will play the third match knowing they have the ticket to the next stage and for the first time in history they will play it knowing they won the Group. It was an historic win in a match that Mexico was better even when it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing victory. Mexico will close out their group stage on Wednesday against Czechia.
The 1st half started with Mexico making only three changes from their opener. Luis Romo and Jorge Sanchez would start instead of Alvaro Fidalgo and Israel Reyes. Meanwhile Edson Alvarez took the spot of suspended Cesar Montes. From outside the area, Roberto Alvarado got off a left footed shot that was easily saved by Kim Seung-gyu, South Korea’s goalkeeper. From outside the area, Brian Gutierrez got off a weak right footed shot that was easily saved by Seung-gyu. A longball into the area found Son Heung-min, who lobbed the shot over Mexico’s goalkeeper, Raul Rangel. Before it went into the line, Alvarez made a wonderful bicycle kick save and although the play would be ruled as offside (and wouldn’t have counted had it gone in), it was a great play from Alvarez. A great cross into the area from Alvarado would find Julian Quiñones, who got off a good header but Seung-gyu made a wonderful save on it. While Mexico had been the better team, it was a very even match with few chances from both sides. A good cross into the area was just missed by Raul Jimenez when he tried to head it. Seol Young-woo got the ball in the area but his left footed shot went wide. South Korea started to gain more possession although Mexico did well to contain them and have them not be able to create chances. A cross into the area was just missed by Lee Jae-sung. The halftime whistle blew as the crowd booed, mad that although Mexico started as the better team, they gradually gave the ****** le up and South Korea finished as the better side.
The 2nd half started with neither team making a substitution. Off a great counter, Gutierrez made a thru pass that found Jesus Gallardo, whose left footed shot went wide. A cross into the area was badly cleared by South Korea and Seung-gyu tried to get to the ball but crashed into defender Lee Gi-hyuk, leaving the ball into the path of Luis Romo, who get off a shot past him and into the net to score and give Mexico the 1-0 lead. It was a great start for Mexico in the 2nd half and a great moment from Romo, who went to Qatar 2022 but didn’t play a minute but right now was making history as one of Mexico’s World Cup goal scorers. South Korea subbed out Son Heung-Min and Lee Jae-Sung for Oh Hyeon-gyu and Hwang Hee-chan. Mexico had once again the better team although the match evened out after their good start to the half. Mexi

Jose Alvarado: I always made my way. So, it was always like, "Yo, every time I got to come here, I got to prove to myself." And that's what my life is about, and that's fine with me, though. Q. So, even after being an NBA champion, now you still got that chip on your shoulder? Alvarado: ******* yeah, I got it. First of all, I got to go get paid. Q. Hopefully you'll get the big contract, which you should. Alvarado: Yeah, hopefully, God willing. I want to be in this for a long time. I love this life, I love the NBA life. It feeds my family and it puts me in rooms where I can never be at. I'm here with y'all, you know what I'm saying? So, I got to work.
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Jose Alvarado on free agency: I got to go get paid

New Yorkers will line the streets of lower Manhattan Thursday morning to watch the New York Knicks parade down Broadway to celebrate the team's first NBA championship since 1973.
Knicks point guard Jose Alvarado joined "Good Morning America" ahead of the parade and said getting to celebrate with fans in his hometown is extra meaningful to him.
"Knicks, we won, and that's amazing. But I'm from here, and it's like, it's just home, different," Alvarado said. "I've been a Knicks fan since I was born, right? My parents [have] been Knicks fans. Just seeing this progress, that everything happened, can't really be put in words. It's just special to me. It's real special."
The ticker-tape parade is scheduled to kick off near a downtown park at 10 a.m. ET and work its way north up Broadway, coming to an end at City Hall.
All of the viewing pens were full before 8 a.m. ET, according to a statement from the New York Police Department. "No one else will be allowed in the viewing area. As a reminder, if you leave the viewing pens, you will not be allowed reentry."

South Africa coach Hugo Broos has used Lionel Messi’s World Cup controversy to question the severity of Themba Zwane’s suspension.
Zwane was sent off in South Africa’s 2-0 defeat to Mexico on June 11 after catching Roberto Alvarado in the face in the 84th minute. FIFA later handed him a three-match ban for violent conduct, leaving Bafana Bafana without a key midfielder for a crucial stretch.
The frustration is not just about losing Zwane. Broos believes the punishment looks even harsher when compared with a Messi challenge that went without a card.
Sport Africa shared Broos’ frustration after he compared Zwane’s suspension with Messi avoiding punishment against Algeria.
Broos first raised the issue before South Africa’s match against Czechia, saying, “I think that the red card is too severe.”

Lakers named landing spot for $29 million ex-Pacers playoff hero originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Adding a wiry, battle-tested second-unit wing contributor would make perfect sense for the Los Angeles Lakers, as it would allow them to turn to their bench for instant offense more frequently.
An ex-Indiana Pacers playoff hero is ready to hit free agency after finishing the 2025-26 season with the Los Angeles Clippers, and Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus is under the impression that the Lakers could soon get involved.
“Others, like Kelly Oubre Jr., Mitchell Robinson, Marcus Smart, Nikola Vučević, Keon Ellis, Sandro Mamukelashvili, John Collins, Jose Alvarado, and many more, face contract decisions,” Pincus wrote last Saturday.
“The Boston Celtics may be the most likely to move on from Vučević, while the surging New York Knicks would love to bring back Robinson and Alvarado as important pieces on a championship roster. Restricted free agency is also difficult to judge, as the flight risk depends entirely on the teams holding the right of first refusal.”

Now that the New York Knicks have won their first NBA championship in 53 years, many are wondering if a trip to the White House is in order.
It’s typical for an American sports team to visit the White House after winning a ******* le, but that has become more hit and miss in recent years.
When asked if he was down to make a trip to the White House, Knicks guard Jose Alvarado said he is if that’s what his team wants to do.
“If there’s a chance, I’m going wherever my teammate goes,” Alvarado said to TMZ Sports.
MORE: Mitchell Robinson will attend Knicks’ parade but won’t be on a float

San Antonio Spurs head coach Mitch Johnson laid it plain in his closing press conference: “We weren’t ready to win an NBA championship.”
The New York Knicks certainly were. They took every first quarter, first-half punch the Spurs threw and responded. Jalen Brunson got the buckets he needed; Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby filled gaps on both ends of the floor. Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges were timely; Jose Alvarado and Landry Shamet consistently tilted the energy, one drive, 3-pointer, screen, defensive stop at a time. Mitchell Robinson created extra chances, as he always does.
More bites at the (Big) apple, if you will.
There was a resolve with this group; an unrelenting belief that they could overcome anything thrown their way. There was a tactical comfort from Knicks head coach Mike Brown that screamed, “We may not have the answers right now, but we have a bunch of ******* ons available to find them.”
That’s the spot, the level of know-how, that the Spurs are trying to get to.

Jose Alvarado didn’t take long to take the Knicks’ NBA championship celebration back to the streets of New York.
Less than 24 hours after a Game 5 win over Spurs in San Antonio to clinch the ***** le, the Knicks guard was back in New York, celebrating his heritage in one of the city’s annual Puerto Rican Day parades.
He did so alongside New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who’s been basking in the Knicks’ win alongside the rest of New York. Both fronted a float as it cruised through the streets of Alvarado’s native Brooklyn. Alvarado did so while sporting his newly earned Knicks championship hat.
When handed a microphone, Alvarado summed up his state of mind the day after the Knicks won the franchise’s first NBA ***** le since 1973.
“I’m blessed,” Alvarado said. “And a little drunk.”