Tennis' new grand rivalry is here, plus the Thunder's unwavering mettle
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Good morning! LSU's going to the Men's College World Series. Please clap.
There is a terrifying bluntness to this Oklahoma City team. Amid their last three NBA playoff series, they have endured brutal losses. Collapses against the Nuggets and the Pacers. A 42-point loss to the Timberwolves.
And yet, no further bleeding or fallout for the quiet, unflinching juggernauts — particularly in last night's 123-107 win over the Pacers:
We should workshop that for Game 3, which is Wednesday. Let's move to a different surface:
The headline itself is not shocking: Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in five sets yesterday to win the French Open. Alcaraz has now won two straight French Opens. Impressive, but kinda ho-hum, right?
The notion betrays the incredible reality that was watching this match, as implied by the final score: 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2). Two things I want to highlight from a bonkers day in Paris:
The rivalry is 'stratospheric' now, as Charlie Eccleshare wrote from Roland Garros. Tennis is in a great spot. Let's hope these two play at Wimbledon.
Kershaw gets mad
Dodgers legend Clayton Kershaw was miffed in St. Louis yesterday when the Cardinals showed a video of Matt Adams' 2014 playoff homer off Kershaw before the teams' series finale began. After the game — a 7-3 win in which Kershaw pitched five innings of one-run ball — Kershaw called the ploy 'bush league,' which rings a little hollow to me. The Cardinals trash-talked, Kershaw responded with greatness. That's just fun. See more from Kershaw.
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Chubb signs
Former Browns running back Nick Chubb is expected to sign with the Texans today, league sources told The Athletic, which is one of the most intriguing moves of this offseason. Chubb has been a game-changer when healthy, though he's suffered season-ending injuries the last two years. Plus, our report notes that Chubb had more lucrative offers elsewhere and chose a contender in Houston. More on his fit here.
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As I expected, a majority of you are wary about Aaron Rodgers' stay in Pittsburgh, for obvious reasons: A franchise that prides itself on stability and excellence has invited maybe the most unpredictable (and talented) force into its locker room as the starting quarterback. What could go wrong?
There are only two outcomes I see here:
Things are tense and minicamp hasn't even started. Good vibes!
Thank you, as always, for voting.
📺 NHL: Oilers at Panthers
8 p.m. on TNT/Max
Game 3 of what has been an elite Stanley Cup Final thus far. Pulse odds are -500 for another overtime game.
📺 College baseball: Murray State at Duke
7 p.m. ET on ESPN+
The last men's College World Series spot is decided here. Murray State is on an upset tear, after winning the Ole Miss regional and scoring 19 runs yesterday to force a Game 3 in this super regional. Fun baseball.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Talk to any sportswriter and they'll have tales of scrapping entire stories after an unexpected comeback in a late game. The Pacers' playoff run, filled with these exact moments, inspired writers from across The Athletic to share their best 'DELETE DELETE DELETE' stories. Read them here.
Extremely useful: Mike Jones has NFL minicamp storylines as teams report this week. We'll be circling back on this in the coming days.
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Scott Wheeler returns with a new 2025 NHL mock draft after the combine wrapped. See the picks.
I loved this story from Will Sammon on how Pete Alonso took his game planning to a new level this offseason. It wasn't that long ago that most thought the Mets would let him walk.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on Aryna Sabalenka's controversial comments after losing the French Open final. Sabalenka backtracked yesterday.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The Sinner-Alcaraz live blog went wild.
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