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[Posted Sunday PM, prior to Coca-Cola 600.]
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.
NASCAR Quiz: With the death of Kyle Busch, who is ninth all-time in Cup Series wins with 63, name the eight in front of him. Answer below.
Indy 500
I watched the whole race…and number one, I couldn’t believe how the rain held off enough so that the delays were minimal…but after rookie Caio Collett, who had a great run, had an accident with 8 laps to go, it resulted in a one-lap shootout and 34-year-old Swede Felix Rosenqvist edged out 24-year-old David Malukas literally by a nose…closest finish in Indy history. Just spectacular stuff with more lead changes than ever before.
I’ve been to Indy once, back in the early 1980s, and it is special. I have so much admiration for these guys. We had some accidents today that back in the 1980s/90s, let alone 1960s, might have killed or certainly seriously injured the drivers, but after the death of Dale Earnhardt, racing all around has made some life-saving changes.
Boy, there are some amazing young drivers in Indy Car Racing. I’ll have to catch a few this summer.
NBA Playoffs
–Going back to last Tuesday, for the record, what a Game 1 we had at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks down 93-71 to the Cavaliers with 7:40 to play, many fans exiting the Garden, and for good reason.
Yours truly got up from his chair and started doing dishes. I returned with the Knicks down 13 and thought, ‘Huh.’
And before you could say Jalen Brunson, the Knicks, who had been 4-of-24 from 3 in the game, hit 6 of their next 7, while playing sterling defense, with Brunson taking advantage of the fact that James Harden is old and slow, particularly late in games, and suddenly we were knotted up at 101-101, heading into overtime.
The Knicks then completed the unthinkable, the greatest postseason comeback in team history, and one of the greatest ever, 115-104, having gone on a 30-8 run the last 7:40, and 44-11 over the final 12 1/2, including OT.
Brunson had 38, with 15 in the fourth quarter.
Oh, New York was lucky. Sam Merrill’s attempt at a game-winner in regulation was seemingly down but popped out, announcer Mike Breen having to stifle a “BANG.”
Entering Tuesday night, teams holding a 22-point lead at any point in the fourth quarter of a postseason game were 594-1. The Cavaliers made it 594-2, with all kinds of questions for coach Kenny Atkinson, who only called one time out, despite having multiple time outs at his disposal, the final 7:40.
And stars Donovan Mitchell and Harden combined to go 2-of-13 in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Knicks then comfortably won Game 2 at MSG Thursday night, 109-93, their ninth straight win of the playoffs, as Josh Hart starred, 26 points, a playoff career high, hitting five 3s, while Jalen Brunson had 19 points, his shooting off on the evening, but also a playoff career high of 14 assists. A resurgent Mikal Bridges continued his great play this postseason as well, chipping in 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field.
Just another super total team effort.
Game 3 was then Saturday in Cleveland. Could the Cavs play inspired ball before the home fans?
Not really. The Knicks were up 60-54 at the half, 91-82 after three, and won comfortably 121-108, as Brunson had 30, OG Anunoby 21 and Mikal Bridges again coming up big in this now 10-game winning streak, had 22 on 11-of-15 shooting.
The last eight games, Bridges is 67-of-97 from the field, 69%!
Karl-Anthony Towns, fully embracing his new role as distributor, had 13 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists and three steals, as well as a team-best +23.
And once again, Landry Shamet came off the bench and hit 4-of-5 from 3, 14 points, including three straight daggers down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
The Knicks can wrap things up Monday night in Cleveland and ensure a long break before the Finals.
–In the Western Conference final, after the scintillating Game 1 double-overtime thriller, won by the Spurs, the Thunder came back for Game 2 in OKC, 122-113.
Victor Wembanyama had a solid 21 points, 17 rebounds, six assists and four blocks, and Stephon Castle had 25 points, but Castle also had nine of the Spurs’ 21 turnovers…the Thunder with nine overall.
And Oklahoma City got a terrific contribution off the bench, outscoring the San Antonio reserves 57-25.
Friday, the Thunder prevailed in Game 3 in San Antonio 123-108 to take a 2-1 series lead, the bench this time outscoring the Spurs’ bench 76-23…reserves Jared McCain with 24, Jaylin Williams 18 and Alex Caruso 15, Williams and Caruso combining to go 8-of-11 from 3.
And this is without OKC’s second-best play, Jaylen Williams, who is out with a hamstring issue.
Game 4 Sunday night in San Antonio.
—Dallas’ Cooper Flagg headlined the All-Rookie first team, accompanied by Charlotte’s (and former Duke teammate) Kon Knueppel, Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe (all three unanimous first-team selections), San Antonio’s Dylan Harper and Memphis’ Cedric Coward.
Flagg edged Knueppel for Rookie of the Year honors.
–Dallas parted ways with coach Jason Kidd, ending the franchise icon’s five-year run.
The Mavs made a surprising run to the Western Conference finals his first year, and then two years later, the Mavericks, riding the play of Luka Doncic, reached the NBA Finals, where they lost a six-game series to the Celtics.
But the situation in Dallas deteriorated quickly after the Mavericks stunningly traded Doncic to the Lakers in February 2025, eight months after the team’s finals run, and it’s been downhill since then.
Minority owner Mark Cuban alleged that Kidd influenced the trade more than he said publicly, the blame for the disaster placed mostly on the shoulders of former GM Nico Harrison.
MLB
–The Yankees through Friday had lost three in a row, 10 of 14, and are just 30-22, after Friday’s 4-2 loss to the red-hot Rays (34-15) at the Stadium, wasting Gerrit Cole’s spectacular return, six shutout innings, two hits.
The Yankees simply aren’t scoring, losing their last three 2-1, 2-0, and 4-2. Even Cam Schlittler was a victim in a 2-1 loss to the Blue Jays on Wednesday.
The chief culprit of the bad offense is none other than Aaron Judge, who after Friday had one RBI in his last 14 games, zero in his last eleven. The superstar who batted .322 and .331 in winning back-to-back MVPs his last two seasons is at .245.
New York was rained out Saturday.
And then today, whaddya know…the Yanks won 2-0 on a 2-run walk-off homer by none other than Aaron Judge. A huge pick me up.
–The Mets opened a 3-game series in Miami Friday, 22-28, having split four in Washington, but Friday they were held to 3 hits by Eury Perez, who entered the game with a 5.33 ERA, and the Marlins’ bullpen, falling 2-1.
And they were held to three hits again on Saturday, falling 4-1, Liam Hicks with two home runs and he now has 44 RBIs, second in the majors.
And then today, Sunday, it was 0-0 heading to the bottom of the ninth, and Mets closer Devin Williams, who has been so good recently, gave up a walk-off grand slam to Heriberto Hernandez, 4-0.
For the Metsies, two runs in three games (11 hits total), now 22-31. I think now you can officially say the season is over. I know more than a few Mets fans who feel no need to tune in daily, and I may be joining them.
–The Dodgers are playing in Milwaukee this weekend and the Brewers, 30-18, took the opener, 5-1, L.A. 31-20.
But the Dodgers rebounded Saturday, 11-3, Teoscar Hernandez with six RBIs.
And L.A. won again today, 5-1, Andy Pages with his 11th home run, now 45 RBIs. The Dodgers are in deep trouble (relative to their expectations) without his performance thus far.
Going back to last Wednesday, Shohei Ohtani pitched five innings, no runs, and homered in a 4-0 win over the Padres, his record on the mound 4-2, 0.73 ERA.
–In Philadelphia Friday night, the Guardians’ Gavin Williams and the Phillies’ Cristopher Sanchez each threw eight innings of scoreless ball, but Cleveland’s Kyle Manzardo hit a pinch-hit homer in the top of the ninth off closer Jhoan Duran for a 1-0 win.
However, Sanchez’ scoreless innings streak is at 37 2/3, his ERA down to 1.62, and he’s within striking distance of setting the franchise record at 41 innings held by Grover Alexander all the way back in 1911. Remarkable.
Saturday, Phillie ace Zack Wheeler went six innings, no runs, two hits, as the Phils shut out the Guardians 3-0…Wheeler, whose season started late, 4-0, 1.67.
Sunday, Cleveland (32-23) took it, 3-1, Parker Messick 5 2/3 scoreless innings and he’s 6-1, 2.24. Boy, selecting pitchers for the All-Star team this year is going to be tougher than ever. [Philadelphia is 26-27.]
—Paul Skenes had his second straight poor start, five innings, 9 hits, 4 runs, as the Pirates lost to the Blue Jays up in Toronto, 5-2 on Saturday, Skenes suddenly a rather pedestrian 6-4, 3.00.
Livvy Dunne was seen in the stands mouthing the F-word after her boyfriend gave up a home run to George Springer to lead off the game.
–The Cubs, holders of two 10-game winning streaks this season, lost their seventh straight, falling to the Astros Saturday, 3-0 at Wrigley, Chicago now 29-23.
And they lost Sunday, 8-5, as Houston’s Christian Walker hit his third homer in two games…he now has 14 on the year, the guy I wanted the Mets to sign on a 3-year deal two years ago to replace Pete Alonso, who then in 2025 re-upped on his essentially one-year deal to stay a Met, before heading to Baltimore. Alonso, heading into tonight’s game, has 10 home runs, 32 RBIs and a .745 OPS.
–In our irregular series, Wake Forest update…Tuesday, former Demon Deacon Chase Burns hurled six innings, one run, 9 strikeouts, to improve to 6-1, 1.83, in a 4-1 Reds win over the Phillies.
Burns is slated to face the Mets Monday at Citi Field against Nolan McLean. That could be fun, though McLean has been off his game recently. [Oops, owing to a Reds rainout, Burns is now looking like Tues.]
And in terms of former Deacs, we have budding superstar Nick Kurtz, who after a very slow start this season, is on fire, and Friday, in a 7-3 loss to the Padres in San Diego, he extended his on-base streak to 45 games with an RBI double and two walks.
Unlike Aaron Judge, Kurtz, in his last 11 games through Friday, has 17 RBIs, as his average is up to .281, .932 OPS.
In Friday loss to the Padres, another former Wake Forest player, Gavin Sheets, had a big 2-run hit for San Diego, and he’s got 23 ribbies on the season.
Saturday, Kurtz went 2-for-4, but the A’s fell again to San Diego, 2-0.
Kurtz’ 46-game on-base streak is now seventh-best in MLB history for any player age 23 or younger. Ted Williams is No. 1 at 69 in 1941.
Williams also holds the MLB record for the longest on-base streak, regardless of age, with an 84-game stretch in 1949.
Sunday, Kurtz singled in the third, now 47 games. [He came up in the fourth, bases-loaded, two outs, and struck out…he’s not Superman, yet.]
–If you’re thinking, gee, it seems like pitching is really dominating this season, you’re right. As the Mets announcers pointed out Saturday, the major-league batting average is .240, which would be the lowest for a season since the ‘year of the pitcher,’ 1968, when the MLB average was .237.
The six prior years the batting averages were .245, .243, .248, .243, .244 and .245.
2019 it was .252.
Golf Balls
They held a regular PGA Tour event this weekend, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas.
And Brooks Koepka made some noise with a first-round 63, -8, one shot behind Taylor Moore, who fired a 62.
But Friday, Si Woo Kim shot a 60 to go with this first-round 64, and so after 36 holes….
Si Woo -18
Sungjae Im -13
Kensei Hirata -13
Scottie Scheffler -13
Wyndham Clark -13
Jordan Spieth was at -12 along with Tony Finau.
Koepka had a disappointing 2-under second round and was -10.
Spieth doesn’t have a top-10 finish since the 2025 Memorial Tournament.
After three rounds….
Si Woo -21
Scheffler -19
Clark -19
Koepka -15
Spieth -10
19-year-old Blades Brown had a 65 Saturday and was T12 at -14. If he finishes solo 21st or better, he earns a Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour, having done well enough in his six starts on tour, with two top-10 finishes, while missing only one cut, and he gained a bunch of points by finishing solo third in the Puerto Rico Open.
The biggest reward is that those competing on an STM can accept unlimited sponsor exemptions through the rest of the tour calendar year, including the fall portion of the schedule.
The list of players who have reached the tour via the STM route and later excelled includes Akshay Bhatia, Min Woo Lee, and Nicolai Hojgaard.
But Brown hadn’t spoken to the press the first three days, so no one knows what he’s thinking.
Sunday, though, he was happy to speak to CBS after a final round 67 that had him T14, and he’s on the verge of becoming a fixture. Brown was then seen signing multiple autographs, doing all the right things…and we will be seeing his name a lot. All good. The more stars the better.
Wyndham Clark, however, bagged the fourth win of his career, first since Pebble in 2024, as the 2023 U.S. Open winner shot a sizzling 60!!! Goodness gracious.
Si Woo was second, Scheffler third.
Koepka was T14. Spieth T19.
—Sunday’s final round of the PGA Championship last week averaged 5.76 million viewers on CBS, up 24% from last year, and the most-watched final round of the tournament since Phil Mickelson won five years ago (6.59M).
Aaron Rai’s win, which peaked with 8.02 million viewers and averaged 7.83 million over the final four, also tied 2022 as the highest rated final round since Mickelson’s win.
But the PGA Championship was lucky in that they didn’t have any NBA competition on Sunday.
ESPN’s four days of coverage were up 49% from last year in the lead-in window…very strong.
The third and final rounds of the Masters this year also hit multi-year highs, and CBS this season is averaging its largest golf audience since 2015.
Coincidentally, we also had the Preakness Stakes last Saturday and NBC averaged 5.5 million viewers for that, with a peak of 7.1 million, even without the possibility of a Triple Crown story with Derby winner Golden Tempo not entered. I’m shocked. Ratings were up 22% from last year despite this fact.
I didn’t see before that the Derby was the most watched on record with an average of 19.6 million viewers, the audience peaking at 24.4 million, according to Nielsen. That’s huge.
Yes, the power of ‘live’ sports is why media rights generally keep going up, though we’ll see what happens with Golf’s upcoming new deals and if that trend continues.
NASCAR
The Racing World was stunned Thursday to learn of the shocking death of 41-year-old NASCAR legend, Kyle Busch, who died suddenly after being hospitalized Wednesday.
Busch collapsed while at a Chevrolet racing simulator in Concord, North Carolina, and was transported to a hospital in Charlotte, where he died about seven hours later.
Busch was a 2-time NASCAR Cup Series Champion (2015, 2019).
He ranked 9th all -time on the Cup Series win list with 63.
He holds the record for most career combined wins in NASCAR’s top three series with 234. In addition to the 63 Cup Series wins, he had 102 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and 69 in the Craftsman Truck Series, including at Dover just last May 15, where he commented when asked about the emotions of winning a NASCAR race, “Because you never know if this will be the last one.”
Busch, the younger brother of NASCAR Hall of Famer Kurt Busch, is survived by his wife, Samantha, and children, Brexton and Lennix.
The 11-year-old Brexton is already racing and Richard Chilldress Racing said it will suspend use of Kyle Busch’s number 8 and wait to give it to Brexton.
But the sad news came 11 days after Kyle radioed into his crew near the end of a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen, asking for a doctor to give him a “shot” after he finished the race. According to the TV broadcast, and Busch himself, he had been struggling with a sinus cold that was exacerbated by the intense g-forces and elevation changes at the New York road course.
Busch finished in eighth place that day.
And then he competed at Dover, winning the Truck Series race.
“Absolutely cannot comprehend this news,” NASCAR driver and former teammate Denny Hamlin posted on social media. “We just need to think of his family during this time. We love you KB.”
Hamlin added, “We’ve lost our Kobe Bryant.”
Veteran NASCAR drive Brad Keselowski on X: “Absolute shock. Very hard to process.”
Busch’s talent level was off the charts, and while he hit a slump in the Cup Series since his last win in 2023, he still ‘had it,’ witness Dover.
He was also a polarizing figure…fans either loved or loved to hate him. He was highly entertaining and played up to his bad boy, villain image, adopting the name “Rebel,” which he put on his car. In his prime, many believe he single-handedly made NASCAR worth watching in an era with uncontroversial, albeit highly likeable figures like Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Dale Jr., and then Chase Elliott.
NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell spoke at length Friday about Busch.
“This sport is a badass sport,” O’Donnell said. “Kyle Busch is an American badass.”
O’Donnell spoke about Busch’s rebellious nature and even his feuds with the organization.
“We certainly had our battles,” O’Donnell said. “But I would give a lot of money to have a few more battles.”
The Busch family released a statement Saturday that unveiled the medical evaluation of Kyle.
“The medical evaluation provided to the Busch Family concluded that severe pneumonia progressed into sepsis, resulting in rapid and overwhelming associated complications,” the statement read. “The Family asks for continued understanding and privacy during this difficult time.”
Premier League
The race for the title ended last Tuesday, as Manchester City managed only a 1-1 draw at Bournemouth, thus moving Arsenal four points clear before the final round of games, Sunday.
It’s the Gunner’s first Premier League title since 2003-04. Tuesday also marked the penultimate game in charge for City’s Pep Guardiola, who over his 10-year career had quite a run.
Six PL titles (2017-19, 2020-24), five EFL titles, three FA Cup titles (the latest last week), and a UEFA Champions League title.
Italian Enzo Maresca is taking over at City.
If Bournemouth finishes sixth, they could still make the Champions League if Aston Villa wins the Europa League on Wednesday AND ended the season in fifth position.
Meanwhile, last Tuesday, Tottenham fell to Chelsea 2-1, meaning the Spurs remained two points clear of West Ham to avoid relegation heading into Sunday’s finales.
And Tottenham survives…1-0 over Everton, while West Ham whipped Leeds 3-0, but it was all for naught.
Tottenham last played in the second tier in the 1977-78 season and would have been the biggest team to be relegated from England’s top flight in a generation.
West Ham is relegated for the first time in 14 seasons, along with Burnley and Wolverhampton.
Final Table
1 Arsenal 85 points
2 Man City 78…City falling to AV today
3 Man U 71
4 Aston Villa 65
5 Liverpool 60
6 Bournemouth 57
7 Sunderland 54
8 Brighton 53
17 Tottenham 41
18 West Ham 39
19 Burnley 22
20 Wolves 20
Bournemouth and Sunderland will play in the Europa League, the first European League competition for Sunderland in 53 years!
—Hull City was promoted to the Premier League after a 1-0 win in the Championship playoff final against Middlesbrough on Saturday at Wembley Stadium.
Oli McBurnie scored the only goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time to send his side into the top flight, alongside Coventry City and Ipswich Town.
The playoff final was played amid the Spygate furor that has rocked English football since the playoff semifinals. Southampton, who beat Middlesbrough in the semifinals, were expelled from the final by the EFL because they illegally spied on their opponents.
Hull, who only discovered their eventual final opponents days ago, eventually overcame Boro.
Stuff
–In the Eastern Conference finals in the NHL, Carolina took Game 2 in their series with Montreal, 3-2 in overtime on a Nikolaj Ehlers game-winner, tying the series at 1-1, Ehlers’ second goal of the game.
Game 3 in Montreal Monday.
–To go back to something I didn’t get into in my Add-on, for the record, Aaron Rodgers told reporters this coming season is definitely his last, answering the question without hesitation.
“Yes,” he said. “This is it.”
—Carlos Alcaraz, already unable to defend his French Open title this week, announced he is skipping Wimbledon as well as he continues to recover from a nagging injury to his right wrist.
The 23-year-old Spaniard has been sidelined since withdrawing from the Barcelona Open last month.
It sucks not having the 7-time Grand Slam champion in the majors.
—A record 274 climbers scaled Mount Everest on Wednesday, a hiking official said, the highest number ever to reach the world’s tallest peak on the same day from the Nepali side.
Expedition operators say there were no climbers on the Tibetan side of Everest this year as Chinese authorities had not issued any permits.
The previous highest number of ascents from the Nepali side was 223, set on May 22, 2019.
I saw a photo of the line, Wednesday, and it was insane.
Nepal had issued 494 permits to climb Everest this year, each costing $15,000. Mountaineering experts often criticize Nepal for allowing large numbers of climbers on the mountain, which sometimes leads to risky traffic jams or long queues in the so-called “death zone” area below the summit, where the level of natural oxygen is dangerously below what is required for human survival.
—We had another fatal shark attack in Australia, this was in the northeastern state of Queensland, police confirmed.
Emergency services were called to a boat ramp on the Cassowary Coast, between the cities of Cairns and Townsville, just before noon local time on Sunday, following reports of a 39-year-old being attacked while swimming out at a nearby shoal.
The man was retrieved from the water but died from his injuries. He was bit on the lower legs and could not be revived.
It was just May 16 that we had the fatal shark attack on the other side of Australia, near Perth.
I’ve been to Cairns (where you get a spectacular ‘bat’ show at sunset), a launching point for trips out to the Great Barrier Reef, which I did, only I didn’t go diving, I sat at a bar on a little island and hammered beers with some new friends.
–As we approach Fourth of July and the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest, Joey Chestnut pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery and will be on probation during the event after he got into a bar fight at 2:00 a.m.
Joey, Joey, Joey…you know what they say. Nothing good happens after midnight, or 9:00 PM for elderly folks like yours truly these days.
We’re assuming Joey will participate on the Fourth.
Top 3 songs for the week 5/26/73: #1 “Frankenstein” (The Edgar Winter Group) #2 “My Love” (Paul McCartney & Wings) #3 “Daniel” (Elton John)…and…#4 “Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Ole Oak Tree” (Dawn featuring Tony Orlando…for you younger folk, Tony Orlando was incredibly popular from 1970-75 with a number of #1 hits, like this one…) #5 “You Are The Sunshine Of My Life” (Stevie Wonder…great tune, #1 the week prior…) #6 “Pillow Talk” (Sylvia…aie…aiee…aiee…) #7 “Little Willy” (The Sweet) #8 “Drift Away” (Dobie Gray) #9 “Wildflower” (Skylark) #10 “Hocus Pocus” (Focus…interesting week, with some social commentary, representing the times…but it’s a ‘B’…)
NASCAR Quiz Answer: Top ten in Cup Series wins….
Richard Petty 200
David Pearson 105
Jeff Gordon 93
Bobby Allison 85
Darrell Waltrip 84
Jimmie Johnson 83
Cale Yarborough 83
Dale Earnhardt 76
Kyle Busch 63
Denny Hamlin 61
Kevin Harvick 60
The modern era (1972-present) would have….
Gordon 93
Waltrip 84
Johnson 83
Earnhardt 76
Yarborough 69
Busch 63
Hamlin 61
Petty 60
Allison 55
Pearson 45
Growing up and just learning the sport, I always confused Cale Yarborough and LeeRoy Yarbrough, who had 14 wins.
Very brief Add-on up top by noon, Tues.
Have a good Memorial Day.
