Victor Wembanyama carries Spurs to 115-111 win that cuts Knicks' NBA Finals lead to 2-1
NEW YORK (AP) — Victor Wembanyama had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists in his first NBA Finals win, carrying the San Antonio Spurs to a 115-111 victory that cut the New York Knicks’ lead to 2-1. The Spurs handed the Knicks their first loss in 46 days and potentially salvaged their season on Monday night in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd that included President Donald Trump. The Knicks had their 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in NBA postseason history, snapped and missed a chance to move to the brink of their first championship since 1973.
Donald Trump booed by the crowd during the anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals
NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump was booed loudly by fans inside Madison Square Garden when he was shown on video screens during the national anthem prior to Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Trump was shown for about 10 seconds giving a military salute. The boos ended when the U.S. flag followed him on the screens, and fans cheered when New York Knicks players were shown. Trump is watching from Knicks owner James Dolan's suite. His presence Monday led to enhanced security measures, the cancelation of a watch party outside the arena and a no-bag policy for ticket-holders.
Knicks fever sweeps New York for Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Spurs
NEW YORK (AP) — Spike Lee wore a Pope Leo Knicks jersey. Fans stood in lines down the block to get into bars. Some with tickets waited hours to get into Madison Square Garden for Game 3 of the NBA Finals. In Brooklyn, a funeral home advertised a watch party to gather fans to watch the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. With the Knicks up 2-0 in the best-of-seven series and on a 13-game winning streak during this playoff, run, the first finals game in New York since 1999 was a hot ticket, with the get-in price over $5,000.
Judge clears QB Brendan Sorsby to play for Texas Tech despite NCAA ban for gambling
Brendan Sorsby has been granted a temporary injunction against the NCAA. The ruling could clear the way for him to play for Texas Tech this fall, even after the transfer quarterback was declared ineligible for wagering on college sports. Some of those bets were made on his own team while at Indiana. The ruling prevents the NCAA from being able to block Sorsby’s eligibility for what will be his final college season. The NCAA late Monday filed its notice of an accelerated appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh District of Texas in Amarillo.
Somali referee won't officiate in World Cup after being denied entry into the United States
Somali referee Omar Artan won’t officiate in the World Cup after being denied entry into the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Monday that a Somali national who was planning to referee in the World Cup had been denied entry after arriving to Miami International Airport from Istanbul on Saturday. While the CBP statement didn’t mention the person by name, Artan is the only World Cup referee from Somalia. FIFA confirmed later Monday that Artan wouldn’t be able to train and officiate at the World Cup. In a statement released on his behalf by FIFA, Artan said he's “in a positive mood.”
US team settles into World Cup training base with optimism and gratitude for fan support
IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. national team already knew it was in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience this month as the home team in a World Cup. But when the 26 players took the field at Orange County’s Great Park to the cheers of several thousand fans who had turned out just to watch a mere practice, they were given another reminder of just how special this opportunity will be if they seize it. The Americans projected cool and excitement as they settled into their training base for at least the next three weeks in Southern California.
Peter Laviolette will be the LA Kings' next head coach, AP source says
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Peter Laviolette will be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Kings, a person with knowledge of the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Kings hadn’t yet announced the results of their search for a permanent replacement for interim coach D.J. Smith, who replaced Jim Hiller in March. The 61-year-old Laviolette will take over his seventh NHL team when he joins the Kings, who have made the playoffs in five consecutive seasons. But they've also endured five straight first-round exits under three head coaches.
Iran's World Cup players wear pins for victims of deadly strike on school as they arrive in Mexico
TIJUANA, Mexico (AP) — Iran’s World Cup team arrived in Mexico wearing lapel pins highlighting the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school at the start of the war in the Mideast. The players wore gold-colored pins with the number “168” on their jackets when getting off their plane Sunday in Tijuana, Mexico. It referred to the people killed, most of them children, when a Feb. 28 strike, likely launched by the U.S., hit the school in southern Iran. Iran’s embassy in Hungary on Monday noted the pins in a social media post. The strike on the school was previously memorialized by the Iran team before a warmup game in March in Antalya, Turkey.
Caitlin Clark answers critics with some 'noise' of her own: a last-second 3-pointer for the win
WASHINGTON (AP) — Caitlin Clark’s 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining gave the Indiana Fever a 78-76 victory over the Washington Mystics. And it gave the 24-year-old star a signature moment following a rocky stretch at the start of her third season. Indiana was just 5-5 entering the game. Clark was filling up the stat sheet but had not been shooting the ball well. As always, she’s been under a microscope, having to answer for a feisty sideline exchange with White and receiving criticism by national columnists for her occasional histrionics on the court. On Monday night, she made up for some late missed free throws with perhaps the biggest shot of her WNBA career.
Hurricanes experience a playoff baby boom, Golden Knights could join in amid wild Stanley Cup Final
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Carolina Hurricanes are experiencing a playoff baby boom in their push to the Stanley Cup Final, and the Vegas Golden Knights could join them. Hurricanes defensemen K'Andre Miller, Sean Walker and Jalen Chatfield have welcomed new children during the playoffs going back to early May. That has made for a memorable ride between the life-changing event at home and reaching the Cup final. The Golden Knights have multiple players with new arrivals scheduled for this month, too. That raises the potential for arrivals amid a series that could run through a Game 7 on June 17.
