Posted Sunday PM before end of NASCAR and other stuff…the column is a little disjointed because of all the late developments in the sports world.
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.
ABA / New York Nets Quiz: The 1975-76 Nets won the last ABA championship over the Denver Nuggets. How many in the 8-man Nets playoff rotation can you name? Who was the coach? Answers below. [Yes, this is a totally ridiculous quiz, and you must be very old to have a shot at it. But it’s the 50th anniversary, by gosh.]
NBA Playoffs
—New York Knicks fans were worried, big time. For the second straight game, superstar Jalen Brunson came up short in crunch time, the Knicks falling to the Hawks in Atlanta Thursday night, 109-108, as for a second straight game, the Hawks’ CJ McCollum performed his best Brunson (Mr. Clutch) imitation in crunch time, drilling the go-ahead bucket with 12.7 seconds left.
Brunson in the final 20 seconds air-balled a three and then committed a game-ending turnover when the Knicks still had a solid shot at pulling out the critical Game 3.
So, trailing 2-1 in the series, it was on to Saturday’s must-win contest. The Knicks have just not been playing well (Mikal Bridges a total ‘zero’)…the offense not jelling, Brunson’s defense a real issue…which version of the team will show up in Game 4?
The good one…Knicks won it rather handily, 114-98, as OG Anunoby (22 points, 10 rebounds) and Karl-Anthony Towns (triple-double, 20-10-10) led the offense, Josh Hart (10 points, 9 rebounds) brought the energy, and Miles McBride hit some key threes.
Just a total team effort. Series even at 2-2. Game 5 Tuesday night at the Garden.
–In the Spurs-Trail Blazers series, Victor Wembanyama suffered a concussion in Game 2 Tuesday, Portland evening things up at 1-1 heading to Friday’s Game 3 at home.
But San Antonio, Wemby out, return date not known, took the contest 120-108 to retake the series lead.
The teams then played Sunday afternoon for Game 4…
–The Lakers have been the surprise of the first round, taking a 3-0 series lead over the Rockets, winning Friday’s Game 3 112-108 in overtime, as LeBron, playing inspired ball, had 29 points, 13 rebounds and six assists (but eight turnovers).
L.A.’s magic is coming despite still not having Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, their two top scorers. LeBron is psyched. This is fun for him.
Game 4 Sunday night.
—Boston won Game 3 of its series against the Sixers in Philadelphia Friday, 108-100, to take a 2-1 lead.
The Sixers had shocked the Celtics in Game 2 in Beantown, 111-97, as VJ Edgecombe had a spectacular 30-point, 10-rebound performance, the first rookie since Tim Duncan with a 30-10 since 1998. He was also the youngest player to put up those numbers in NBA postseason history.
Game 4 Sunday night in Philly.
—Orlando has a shocking 2-1 series lead over Detroit after a 113-105 home win in Game 3, Saturday. Paulo Banchero had 25 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists for the Magic, who held Pistons star Cade Cunningham to 8 of 23 shooting, while he committed a whopping nine turnovers.
–Defending champ Oklahoma City is up 3-0 over Phoenix following Saturday’s 121-109 win even as the Thunder deal with the absence of key piece Jalen Williams (hamstring).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander did his usual MVP thing, 42 points on 15 of 18 shooting from the field.
–And in the tense Minnesota-Denver series, the T’Wolves took a somewhat surprising 3-1 series lead Saturday, 112-96 in Minneapolis.
This was despite Minnesota losing starter Donte DiVincenzo to an Achilles tendon injury in the first minutes, and superstar Anthony Edwards late in the first half to what appears to be a serious knee injury.
Somehow, the Timberwolves hung together and rode Ayo Dosonmu’s 43 points off the bench to victory; Dosonmu 13 of 17, 5 of 5 from three, and 12 of 12 from the line. A staggering performance, especially given the moment.
—Sunday, the Raptors, surprisingly, evened up the series against the Cavaliers in Toronto at 2-2, winning 93-89, a terrific fourth-quarter comeback…Scottie Barnes with six clutch free throws down the stretch.
—Billy Donovan stepped down as head coach of the Bulls after six seasons. Chicago was just 31-51 this season, and 226-252 over his tenure, the Bulls making the playoffs just one season.
He was said to be in line for the North Carolina job, but then the Tar Heels hired another NBA option in former Nuggets coach Mike Malone.
MLB
—The Mets’ losing streak ended at 12 on Wednesday, New York pulling out a 3-2 win over the Twins. I slept better that night.
But just as Juan Soto returned after missing 15 games, we lost Francisco Lindor to a calf injury.
The Mets won Thursday, 10-8 over the Twinkies, Bo Bichette with a clutch 3-run double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, though earlier in the day we learned Lindor could be out until late June. Ugh.
And Friday we were back to losing, falling 4-3 to the Rockies at Citi Field.
After a rainout Saturday, they played two today.
And the Mets, in pathetic fashion, lost 3-1, held to four hits and wasting an OK outing from ace Nolan McLean (five innings, one earned).
Should the Metsies lose the nightcap, manager Carlos Mendoza will be fired…says moi.
–Across town, the Yankees have been on a roll, winners of seven straight after sweeping the Red Sox at Fenway during the week, 4-0, 4-1, and 4-2, and then traveling to Houston, where they blasted the Astros, 12-4, to move to 17-9.
But New York lost slugger Giancarlo Stanton to a lower leg injury and with Stanton, these things can result in lengthy absences.
The Yanks made it eight straight, Saturday, 8-3.
But they lost Sunday, 7-4, Christian Walker with a homer and four RBIs for the ‘Stros…Aaron Judge with No. 10, but he’s been slumping again.
—There is a new ‘loser’ in baseball…the Phillies, losers of 10 straight after falling to the Braves (19-8) Friday night in Atlanta, 5-3. Thursday, Philadelphia released starter Taijuan Walker after he pitched to a 9.13 ERA in five appearances.
Walker signed a four-year, $72 million contract before the 2023 season and was 24-25, 5.12, for the Phils.
But Saturday, Zack Wheeler was back on the mound after a lengthy absence going back to last season from shoulder surgery, and the Phillies won it 8-5…Wheeler going five innings, 2 earned.
–The Dodgers, after their 15-4 start, lost 5 of 7, including Friday night, falling 6-4 to the Cubs.
Kyle Tucker, he of the ginormous contract, is batting .237, .685 OPS.
Shohei Ohtani hasn’t had a great start at the plate, either, also batting .237, but on the mound he’s been spotless.
Ohtani has a 0.38 ERA in his first four starts (2-0) as he said at the beginning of the season he wanted a Cy Young Award.
But he’ll have competition.
The Pirates’ Paul Skenes no-hit the Brewers for 6 2/3 on Friday night, Pittsburgh winning the game 6-0.
Skenes, after his disastrous Opening Day start against the Mets, has given up 3 earned runs in 28 1/3 innings for the month of April and is now 4-1, 2.48.
[The Dodgers won Saturday, 12-4…Max Muncy with his ninth homer (but just 11 RBIs).]
–White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami tied an MLB rookie record by homering in five straight games this week.
After getting shut out in the sixth game, Murakami hit home run No. 11 Friday night in a 5-4 win over the Nationals.
I remember when Chicago signed the guy this offseason and many were saying he was a 15-20 homer player. Ah, not quite, it would seem.
–And then there’s Boston. The Red Sox, after blitzing the Orioles in Baltimore Saturday afternoon, 17-1, fired manager Alex Cora and five members of his coaching staff in a stunning overhaul.
The Red Sox were off to a poor 10-17 start and owner John Henry had seen enough.
“Alex Cora led this organization to one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history in 2018, and for that, and the many years that followed, he will always have our deepest gratitude,” Henry said in a statement. “He has had a lasting impact on this team and on this city. He has led on and off the field in so many important ways. These decisions are never easy, but this one is especially difficult given what Alex has meant to the Red Sox since the day he arrived.”
Cora, 50, was in the second year of a three-year, $21.75 million contract extension he signed in July 2024 that made him one of the highest-paid managers in baseball. The deal expires after the 2027 season.
After winning the World Series in 2018, the Red Sox failed to reach the postseason in 2019 before Cora resigned as fallout for his involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017. Commissioner Rob Manfred later suspended Cora for the 2020 season, and the Red Sox rehired him upon his reinstatement.
Boston reached the ALCS in 2021, and lost in the AL Wild Card Series last season to the Yankees.
Cora is not going to be unemployed for long, as the Astros, Phillies and Mets are all struggling mightily, with all three managers clearly on the hot seat.
Mets owner Cohen needs to act tonight….
–For the record, Angels’ legend Garret Anderson’s wife had said her husband had died of a heart attack, age 53. It turns out it was the result of pancreatitis, the Orange County Sheriff Coroner’s Office confirmed.
NFL Draft
–The Draft can be exciting, but you never know how the guys will pan out. But Jets fans are excited. With the second overall pick we took the most NFL-ready pass rusher, David Bailey out of Texas Tech, and then with the 16th pick, selected Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq, who was said to be the best pure athlete in the draft. An exciting weapon.
And then we traded up for Indiana receiver Omar Cooper Jr. at No. 30. And we added a quarterback, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik in the fourth round. No reason why he can’t become a solid No. 2, this year behind Geno Smith, and then in 2027 behind the ‘franchise quarterback’ we’ll select with our first-round picks in that draft…this coming college football season showcasing a far better class than this year’s.
The Giants had the fifth pick and took the other edge rusher, Arvell Reese, one of four Ohio State Buckeyes to go in the first 11 picks…the others WR Carnell Tate (No. 4 by Tenn.), LB Sonny Styles (7 by Washington), and safety Caleb Downs (11 by Dallas).
Downs is an absolute steal at 11. Everyone had him going top five, or seven, max.
But with Reese and Bailey, New York area fans will get to see who made the better selection over the next two years. Bailey is older, more experienced, but Reese probably has more raw ability. Here’s hoping they both become stars.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love went No. 3 to Arizona…a football desert. Good luck.
The Rams made a quizzical selection, going with Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson at No 13 when he was expected to be a second-round pick.
So he’ll sit behind Matthew Stafford for two years while L.A. tries to maximize its Super Bowl window. Seems like an amazing waste of a first-round selection.
Pittsburgh, the city, shown bright, with a record 320,000 said to be in attendance. [That is the last freakin’ thing I’d want to do with my time…stand in a huge throng for hours.] But Pittsburgh the franchise had a mediocre draft, according to the experts, taking Penn State QB Drew Allar in the third round as they await Aaron Rodgers’ decision on whether he will come back…this whole process just so stupid; Rodgers being a supreme jerk and a-hole.
—Wake Forest CB Karon Prunty went to the Patriots in the 5th round; running back Demond Claiborne to the Vikings in the 6th round. Claiborne will be in the league three years from now, at worst as a fourth back and kick returner.
—The Athletic released their rankings of draft classes today and the Raiders were No. 1, Jets No. 2 and Giants No. 3.
J-E-T-S…JETS JETS JETS!!!
–A friend in Boston asked me a week ago if I was going to write anything about the situation involving Coach Mike Vrabel. I said, ‘No…stories like that don’t interest me in the least.’
But then Vrabel announced he was going to miss Day 3 of the NFL Draft as he begins to seek counseling. Vrabel said he had “difficult conversations” with his family and members of the Patriots organization in the aftermath of photos of him and Dianna Russini, The Athletic’s former NFL insider and New York Times reporter.
In a statement, Vrabel said, “I have always wanted to lead by example, and I believe this is what I have to do to be the best husband, father and coach that I possibly can be.”
Well, you’re a dirtball, Coach (as he heads into the December file for year-end award consideration).
He’s also a laughingstock, as the latest photo drop by the New York Post captured the two canoodling at a bar in New York way back in 2020.
In a brief press conference before the Draft, Vrabel said, “My previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to.”
Oh, puh-leeze.
—Mike Tomlin is going to be part of NBC’s Sunday night pregame show, “Football Night in America.”
Tomlin has been eyed by sports TV executives for more than a decade because of his success as a Super Bowl-winning coach, his knowledge of the game and his unique phraseology. He’ll be terrific.
College Basketball
The portal closed this week, though players can still sign as long as they entered before the new two-week deadline.
Duke picked up Wisconsin guard John Blackwell, a real coup. The guy is perfect for Durham and will be an instant fan favorite.
Braylon Mullins decided to return to UConn, huge for the Huskies, when he could have gone somewhere in the NBA draft, probably late first round.
But they lost guard Solo Ball to wrist surgery that will force him to miss the entire 2026-27 season, the school announced. Ball will take a medical redshirt.
Earlier, however, UConn scooped up Duke freshman Nikolas Khamenia, a 6’8” guard who no doubt will take a big step up his sophomore season. Duke fans are pissed.
Wake Forest’s Juke Harris apparently has narrowed his choice down to Michigan, North Carolia or Tennessee, while the Deacs don’t look to have done a good job, at least on paper, in pivoting away from Harris and the others who fled Winston-Salem.
If Juke signs with the Tar Heels, that would really, really suck. He can’t possibly do that.
Golf Balls
–In the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the only team event on tour over the course of the season, brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick (a Wake Forest lad) were one shot off the lead heading to Saturday, behind Alex Smalley and Hayden Springer.
Brooks Koepka and Shane Lowry, a seemingly unlikely duo, missed the cut by one.
The thing is Lowry’s normal partner, Rory McIlroy, was still taking time off from his Masters win, Koepka desperately needs to play and get some high finishes so he can get back into the elite category and the Signature events, and Lowry is good friends with Koepka’s caddie.
Too bad it didn’t work out.
Well, the Fitzpatrick brothers took a 4-shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round. How cool is that? Can they close the deal?
Wow, it wasn’t easy, as they struggled mightily on the back nine, but on the par-5 18th, Matt hits a beauty on the third from the bunker, Alex just has to sweep it in…Victory…Alex suddenly with a PGA Tour exemption!
And Matt goes back-to-back after last week at The Heritage.
—Jim Furyk is going to captain the 2027 U.S. Ryder Cup team, returning to a role he had in 2018 in France, where the U.S. lost to Europe. Luke Donald is running it back as Europe’s captain for a third time.
—The PGA Tour eliminated 4 percent of its total workforce in widespread layoffs, new CEO Brian Rolapp explained in a memo to staff.
The Tour also announced that there will no longer be a Hawaiian Swing to start the schedule, as logistical costs (among other issues) prevented the former Tournament of Champions and Sony Open from being financially viable.
The first event on the PGA Tour’s 2027 schedule is going to be the AmEx, slated to begin in late January. The tour will release its full schedule in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau made it clear this week he is fully behind LIV, even as his contract expires end of the season. Whatever, Bison.
Premier League
Going back to last Monday, West Ham, seeing to avoid relegation, drew with Crystal Palace, 0-0, to gain a point in its battle with Tottenham for the final spot.
Wednesday, in a biggie, Manchester City only defeated lowly Burnley by 1-0, which didn’t help it in the goal differential department against Arsenal for the Premier League title as much as it should have.
Saturday, West Ham beat Everton 2-1, while Tottenham finally got a win, 1-0 at last-place Wolverhampton.
And at the top, Arsenal edged Newcastle 1-0.
Aston Villa lost to Fulham 1-0, and Liverpool beat CP 3-1.
Table…Played (33/34 of 38) – Points
1 Arsenal…34 – 73…38 goal differential
2 Man City…33 – 70…37
3 Man U…33 – 58
4 Liverpool…34 – 58
5 Aston Villa…34 – 58
6 Brighton…34 – 50
17 West Ham…34 – 36
18 Tottenham…34 – 34
NASCAR
The sport made a big move…Steve O’Donnell is taking over as chief executive officer from majority owner Jim France, who will remain NASCAR’s chairman, but O’Donnell thus becomes the first person outside the France family to hold the CEO title.
O’Donnell has been with NASCAR 30 years, guiding the marketing and later competition departments. He was named president in 2025.
And the first thing he said was he wants to bring some fun back to NASCAR, which he calls a “badass American sport.”
He wants to return the series to its roots, admitting they need to “make some moves.”
“We lost that in recent years,” O’Donnell said, referring to the vibe.
So, I made a point of watching the beginning of Talladega today…and the first 20 laps…and when they went to the pits for Jamie Little’s first report, she dutifully used the term “badass.”
Good for NASCAR. As Paulie on “The Sopranos” would have said, [blank’n -A].
But we had the ‘big one’….Bubba Wallace in the lead at the time, he probably caused it…a ton of cars taken out of the action…but no one hurt.
Actually, still a lot of cars in it but I will be posting before the end.
Stuff
—Sabastian Sawe of Kenya did something Sunday no one else in the world has ever done, break the unfathomable 2-hour barrier in an official marathon…the London Marathon…in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds.
“What comes today is not for me alone,” Sawe said of his extraordinary feat, “but for all of us today in London.”
Remarkably, the second-place finisher, Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia, also dipped under 2 hours by crossing the line in 1:59:41 in his first-ever marathon, while Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda broke the previous world-record time – set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023 – by seven seconds, finishing in 2:00:28.
*Eliud Kipchoge – the Kenyan long-distance great – broke 2 hours in Vienna in 2019, but it was a specially tailored race called the 1:59 Challenge that was arranged by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe in favorable conditions, on a 6-mile circuit, and using rotating pacemakers.
That meant it wasn’t classed as an official race setting, so Kipchoge’s time of 1:59:40 didn’t go in the record book.
–I wasn’t going to care about the Stanley Cup Playoffs, unless a Canadian team was in the finals, but heck, there’s the Buffalo Sabres…ending their long playoff drought, and today they whipped the Bruins like a rented mule in TD Garden, 6-1, for a 3-1 series lead. Goodness gracious. Sabres’ quiz coming up next Sunday….maybe.
—A woman died this month after being bitten by a rattlesnake three times as she was taking a walk on rural property in the Mendocino County community of Redwood Valley, CA, officials say.
The 78-year-old Northern California woman becomes the third person to die in California during an erratic snake season. On average, five people die nationwide from venomous snakebites annually, according to federal health officials.
An unseasonable weather pattern that included heavy rain and sweltering heat served as a signal for rattlesnakes to slither out of their underground winter burrows in search of food and mates. The warmer temperatures also spurred the state’s residents to head outdoors. The people hit the trails, and the snakes did their thing.
Top 3 songs for the week 4/26/69: #1 “Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In” (The 5th Dimension) #2 “You’ve Made Me So Very Happy” (Blood, Sweat & Tears) #3 “It’s Your Thing” (The Isley Brothers)…and…#4 “Hair” (The Cowsills) #5 “Only The Strong Survive” (Jerry Butler) #6 “Twenty-Five Miles” (Edwin Starr) #7 “Galveston” (Glen Campbell) #8 “Time Is Tight” (Booker T. & The M.G.’s) #9 “Dizzy” (Tommy Roe) #10 “Sweet Cherry Wine” (Tommy James and The Shondells…A week….)
ABA / New York Nets Quiz Answer: The key players for the Nets in 1975/76: Julius Erving (29.3 ppg, 11.0 reb), Brian Taylor (16.7 ppg), John Williamson (16.2 ppg), Rich Jones (13.2 ppg), Al Skinner (10.4 ppg), Tim Bassett, Kim Hughes and Jim Eakins…Hughes and Eakins the centers….Swen Nater played earlier in the season. Billy Melchionni was a little-used reserve.
And the coach was Kevin Loughery.
I watched a lot of this team, and I cannot place Rich Jones. Killed that brain cell at Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood, I guess.
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.
