Flagg pulling an ELI? 'Playoff Jimmy' a MYTH? + Game 7 preview!
KOC is joined by Tom Haberstroh on this INSANE edition of The Kevin O'Connor Show. The guys both think it's well within the realm of possibilities that COOPER FLAGG could pull an Eli Manning, and demand his way to the Boston Celtics. Kevin has sources that told him Flagg met with the Celtics at the Draft Combine in Chicago! Plus KOC absolutely destroys "Playoff Jimmy" Butler, and explains why Golden State is in trouble for years to come. And of course, the guys preview Sunday's Game 7 between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder, plus Tom and Kevin on why the Boston Celtics are still VERY MUCH ALIVE vs the New York Knicks.
Nikola Jokic (15) of the Denver Nuggets during the first quarter against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on Sunday, May 11, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
(Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
(0:53) Nuggets force Game 7 vs. Thunder
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(14:26) Wolves advance to Western Conference Finals
(20:05) Is 'Playoff Jimmy' a myth?
(28:34) What's next for the Warriors?
(36:46) Celtics vs. Knicks Game 6 preview
(42:15) Boston interviews Cooper Flagg at NBA Draft Combine
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Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Alcaraz tops Sinner in a French Open final for the ages
Yahoo Sports AM is our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it every weekday morning. 🚨 Headlines 🏀 All knotted up: The Thunder dominated the Pacers, 123-107, on Sunday to draw even in the NBA Finals and improve to 30-2 against Eastern Conference teams this season. Advertisement 🎓 Revenue sharing is here: The NCAA's landmark antitrust settlement was finally granted approval on Friday, ushering in a new era of college sports where schools will make direct payments to athletes. We'll go deeper on this in the coming days. 🥎 Texas breaks through: The Longhorns were in the WCWS finals for the third time in four years. After losing to Oklahoma in their first two trips, they broke through against Texas Tech to win the school's first softball national championship and 64th NCAA crown. 🏀 Behind the scenes at MSG: Complaints from key Knicks players in exit interviews led to Tom Thibodeau being fired, sources told Yahoo Sports. The decision was spearheaded by owner James Dolan, whom sources said was never a huge Thibodeau fan. 🏒 Dallas fires DeBoer: The Stars are parting ways with head coach Pete DeBoer, who has led his team to the Western Conference Finals in six of the past seven seasons… and been fired three times. 🎾 Best match ever? Alcaraz wins five-set epic Carlos Alcaraz remains perfect (5-0) in major finals. () Normally, I wouldn't advise sitting on the couch for six straight hours with your eyes glued to the TV screen. But on Sunday, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner engaged in a tennis match for the ages, watching six straight hours of TNT was one of the best decisions you could have made. Advertisement Instant classic: Alcaraz rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat Sinner, 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2), and defend his title at Roland Garros in the second-longest Grand Slam final in the Open Era (5 hours, 29 minutes). Points won: Sinner 193, Alcaraz 192 Games won: Alcaraz 30, Sinner 29 Marathon man stays perfect: Alcaraz's 5-0 record in major finals is the best mark to begin a career since Roger Federer won his first seven. "Carlitos," known for his endurance, is now 13-1 in five-setters, while Sinner falls to 0-7 in matches that last more than four hours. Alcaraz won this match, nearly two hours later. (TNT Sports) The second coming: Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal (his childhood idol) were the exact same age when they won their fifth major: 22 years, 1 month, 3 days old. Nadal won No. 5 against Federer in "the greatest match ever played." 17 years later, his protege won No. 5 in another all-time final that rivaled his own. "When I was struggling, I tried to think of Rafa and all of the comebacks he made," said Alcaraz on Sunday. (TNT Sports) Summed up in a GIF: This was Alcaraz and Sinner's first meeting in a major final. I have a feeling it won't be their last. When that inevitable rematch does occur, can we please make sure Andre Agassi* is in the crowd? He could not believe what he was seeing on Sunday, and his reactions were priceless. Advertisement 🎥 Watch: Match highlights (YouTube) *Speaking of Agassi: The eight-time major champion is a fantastic analyst. I thought TNT aced its first year of French Open coverage, and he was a big reason why. I could listen to him explain the nuances of Alcaraz's revamped backhand all day long. 🌎 The world in photos () 🇺🇸 Saratoga Springs, New York — Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty surged ahead of Preakness winner Journalism to win the 157th Belmont Stakes by multiple lengths, earning his owners $1.2 million of the $2 million purse. Déjà vu: Sovereignty (1st), Journalism (2nd) and Baeza (3rd) finished in the same order at Saratoga as they did at Churchill Downs. We'll never know if they would have done the same at Pimlico, where Journalism took first while the other two skipped the race. () 🇨🇦 Edmonton, Canada — Brad Marchand's double-overtime winner lifted the Panthers past the Oilers, 5-4 (2OT), on Friday to even up the Stanley Cup Final at one game apiece. Advertisement Postseason legend: Since entering the NHL in 2010, Marchand ranks first among all players in playoff goals (63) and playoff game-winners (15). He's also second in playoff points (155) and third in playoff penalty minutes (205). () 🇩🇪 Munich, Germany — Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears on Sunday after Portugal beat Spain on penalties to win their second Nations League title. Ronaldo's 138th international goal (26 more than anyone else) took the final to a shootout, where Rúben Neves converted the winning kick. Tragic death: A spectator died after falling from the second tier of the main stand during extra time. The match continued as the fan received medical treatment but could not be revived. () 🇮🇹 Venice, Italy — Hundreds of rowboats took to Venice's iconic canals and surrounding lagoon on Sunday for the 49th Vogalonga, an annual regatta to celebrate Venetian rowing culture and protest the use of powerboats in the island city. Advertisement Tourist hot spot: Venice welcomes around 30 million visitors per year, which dwarfs the local population of ~60,000. A fascinating watch if you're interested: Why Nobody Lives in Venice ⛳️ 3 years in, LIV's future is cloudier than ever LIV signage at this weekend's tournament in Virginia. () We're in the midst of two pretty significant anniversaries for LIV Golf. If you weren't aware of that, well, that's one of the many challenges that the breakaway tour continues to face, month after month, year after year. From Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: Three years ago on June 9, 2022, LIV Golf's first-ever event teed off at the Centurion Club in London. Two years ago on June 6, 2023, LIV and the PGA Tour announced a stunning "framework agreement" that brought an end to the legal hostilities between the two tours and, in theory, laid the groundwork for future reconciliation and unification. Advertisement Now, in 2025, the dream of a LIV-PGA Tour unification seems about as likely as Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open next week… and no, Tiger Woods is not playing in the U.S. Open next week. Whatever LIV Golf is now, "threat" is not it. And for all the PGA Tour's many missteps, misfires and mistakes, there's a very clear leader in the match-play duel between the two. It's worth remembering that for several months in 2022, LIV appeared to pose an existential threat to the PGA Tour. Yes, that first tournament was more spectacle than competition, but it did feature some of the biggest names in the sport — Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Sergio García — and some astounding paychecks. Soon afterward, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka and Bryson Dechambeau would join LIV, giving the breakaway tour a shot of juice and attitude the PGA Tour, at the time, simply couldn't match. The problem for LIV, though, was that attitude and gobs of cash were pretty much all the series had to offer. That's the fundamental problem for LIV Golf — it's a series that still hasn't found a way to connect with most fans on a deep level. And two years out from the "framework agreement," the PGA Tour doesn't seem particularly inclined to do anything but wait out LIV until its Saudi financial backers either capitulate or pull the plug entirely. Advertisement Keep reading. 📊 By the numbers () 🎾 10th American Coco Gauff beat top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka on Saturday to win her first French Open title and her second Grand Slam (2023 U.S. Open). 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() 🏒 Stanley Cup Final, Game 3 | 8pm ET, TNT Aaron Ekblad (Panthers), Sam Reinhart (Sabres), Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) and Sam Bennett (Flames) were the first four picks in the 2014 NHL Draft. 11 years later, Ekblad, Reinhart and Bennett are teammates in Florida and facing Draisaitl in the Cup Final for the second straight year. ⚾️ NCAA Baseball, Super Regionals | 7pm, ESPN The eighth and final spot in the Men's College World Series is on the line today in Durham, where Duke hosts Murray State. The winner will join No. 3 Arkansas, No. 6 LSU, No. 8 Oregon State, No. 13 Coastal Carolina, No. 15 UCLA, Louisville and Arizona in Omaha. ⚽️ TST, Finals | ESPNU The Soccer Tournament concludes tonight with $1 million championship games for the women (7pm) and the men (8:30). Team to watch: Carli Lloyd-led US Women are seeking back-to-back titles in the 7-on-7 event. Advertisement Today's full slate → 🏆 NCAA trivia For the first time ever, the Longhorns are softball national champions. (Tyler McFarland/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) Only two Division I schools have won national championships in the "big three" women's sports: basketball, volleyball and softball. Question: Texas just became the second school to do it. Who was the first? Hint: Recently switched conferences. Answer at the bottom. 🍿 Baker's Dozen: Weekend highlights (Yahoo Sports) Watch all 13. Trivia answer: UCLA We hope you enjoyed this edition of Yahoo Sports AM, our daily newsletter that keeps you up to date on all things sports. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.


USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
Boston Celtics jersey history No. 20 - Ray Allen (2007-12)
Boston Celtics jersey history No. 20 - Ray Allen (2007-12) The Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- the league that would become today's NBA), worn by well over 500 players in the course of Celtics history. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Celtics Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. With 25 of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Celtics to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover. And for today's article, we will continue with the 27th of 31 people to wear the No. 20 jersey, Hall of Fame Boston guard alum Ray Allen. After ending his college career at UConn, Allen was picked up with the fifth overall selection of the 1996 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Merced, California native would play parts of the first seven seasons of his pro career with the Milwaukee Bucks in a draft night trade. He would also play for the Seattle SuperSonics before they dealt him to Boston in 2007. His stay with the team would span five seasons, ending when he signed with the Miami Heat. During his time suiting up for the Celtics, Allen wore only jersey No. 20 and put up 16.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game, winning a title in 2008. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.


USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Report: Nets may have interest in Jeremiah Fears in 2025 NBA Draft
Report: Nets may have interest in Jeremiah Fears in 2025 NBA Draft The Brooklyn Nets head into the 2025 NBA Draft with the eighth overall pick after a disappointing result following the Lottery in which they started at the sixth spot. Despite the fact that Brooklyn fell from No. 6 to No. 8, they are still looking for ways to get what they want in this Draft and that include them going after a talented, young guard with an interesting profile. "I've heard there's some teams that really like him and there are some teams that feel like they would probably have to move up to get him," NBA Draft expert Rafael Barlowe said of Oklahoma guard Jeremiah Fears during his appearance on Yahoo! Sports' "The Kevin O'Connor Show" that was published on Saturday. O'Conner mentioned that Barlowe wrote that Fears could be moving into the top-5 of the class, meaning that teams may have to trade up for him. "Brooklyn is a team that I've heard that that probably has some interest there," Barlowe continued. "I've also heard from scouts from other teams that say that their scouting staff believes that he could be a a better long-term prospect than Dylan Harper as far as just being like an exciting league guard and they talked about him being being younger and just what he did at Oklahoma was more impressive than what Dylan Harper did at at Rutgers." While Barlowe mentioned that the Nets are one of the teams that could have interest in Fears, it remains to be seen what that means in practice given that Brooklyn has the eighth overall pick. There have been reports throughout the offseason that suggest that Brooklyn could attempt to move up in the Draft, but if they are going to trade up to be in range of Fears, they would probably have to find their way into the top-5 based on Barlowe's intel. Brian Lewis of the New York Post recently said that it appears that the Dallas Mavericks (first overall pick), San Antonio Spurs (second), and Charlotte Hornets (fourth) are keeping their picks, but that the Philadelphia 76ers (third) and Utah Jazz (fifth) could be open for business for their picks. If the Nets are interested in Fears enough to trade for him, they will have to pull something off with the 76ers or the Jazz.