The Thunder are one win away from an NBA championship

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🚨 Headlines

⚾️ Historic no-no: Arkansas’ Gage Wood threw the third no-hitter in Men’s College World Series history, tossing a 19-strikeout, 119-pitch gem to eliminate tournament darling Murray State.

⚾️ Ohtani’s return: Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound was encouraging if a little shaky, allowing one run on two hits in an inning of work while flashing triple digits on his fastball. He also went 2-4 with a double, a walk and 2 RBIs, naturally.

🏒 First six: USA Hockey named its first six players who will represent the U.S. at next year’s Winter Olympics: Matthew (Panthers) and Brady Tkachuk (Senators), Auston Matthews (Maple Leafs), Jack Eichel (Golden Knights), Quinn Hughes (Canucks) and Charlie McAvoy (Bruins).

🎾 Gold medal defense: Novak Djokovic says he plans to defend his singles title at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. He’ll be 41 years old when the Games begin.

🌭 Chestnut’s back: Joey Chestnut, who was banned from last year’s Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest after being endorsed by a rival brand, is returning to this year’s July 4th event, where he’ll seek a record-extending 17th victory.

🏆 Thunder move one win from title

This time, Indiana’s rally fell short.

ICYMI: The Pacers cut an 18-point first-half deficit to two points in the fourth quarter of Game 5, but the Thunder did not relent, holding on for a 120-109 victory at home and 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals. One more win and they’re champs.

Player of the game: Jalen Williams exploded for 40 points (14/25 FG) in the best game of his young career. The 24-year-old is the fifth-youngest player to score 40 in an NBA Finals game:

Magic Johnson, age 20 (1980)
Rick Barry (3x), age 23 (1967)
Russell Westbrook, age 23 (2012)
Jerry West, age 23 (1962)

SGA stands alone: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points, 10 assists) recorded his 12th game this postseason with 30+ points and 5+ assists, moving him past Michael Jordan and LeBron James for the most such games during a single playoff run.

The other side: A banged up Tyrese Haliburton (4 points) didn’t hit a single field goal for the Pacers, who lost back-to-back games for the first time since March 10. The Eastern Conference champions now trail in a series for the first time this postseason.

Looking ahead: History favors the Thunder as they chase their first title in OKC. Teams that take a 3-2 lead in the NBA Finals have gone on to win the championship 82% of the time (40 out of 49).

⚾️ MLB All-Star: Voting update

The first MLB All-Star ballot update was released on Monday ahead of next month’s Midsummer Classic in Atlanta. Phase 1 of fan voting continues through June 26.

American League

Catcher: Cal Raleigh, SEA (runners-up: Alejandro Kirk, TOR; Dillon Dingler, DET)
First base: Paul Goldschmidt, NYY (Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR; Jonathan Aranda, TB)
Second base: Gleyber Torres, DET (Jackson Holliday, BAL; Jose Altuve, HOU)
Third base: José Ramírez (Alex Bregman, BOS; Addison Barger, TOR)
Shortstop: Jacob Wilson, ATH (Bobby Witt Jr., KC; Jeremy Peña, HOU)
Outfield: Aaron Judge, NYY; Riley Greene, DET; Mike Trout, LAA (Steven Kwan, CLE; Javier Báez, DET; Cody Bellinger, NYY)
Designated hitter: Ryan O’Hearn, BAL (Ben Rice, NYY; Mike Tauchman, CWS)

League change: The leading vote-getter at DH was Rafael Devers (796,382 votes), who now plays for the Giants in the NL. That’s why O’Hearn (353,029 votes) is in position to make his first All-Star team.

National League

Catcher: Will Smith, LAD (Carson Kelly, CHC; Francisco Alvarez, NYM)
First base: Freddie Freeman, LAD (Pete Alonso, NYM; Michael Busch, CHC)
Second base: Ketel Marte, ARI (Tommy Edman, LAD; Nico Hoerner, CHC)
Third base: Manny Machado, SD (Max Muncy, LAD; Eugenio Suárez, ARI)
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, NYM (Mookie Betts, LAD; Trea Turner, PHI)
Outfield: Pete Crow-Armstrong, CHC; Kyle Tucker, CHC; Teoscar Hernández, LAD (Juan Soto, NYM; Corbin Carroll, ARI; Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL)
Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, LAD (Devers, SF; Seiya Suzuki, CHC)

Looking ahead: When Phase 1 ends on June 26, the top two vote-getters at each position (and top six outfielders) advance to Phase 2. The only caveat is that each league’s overall vote leader after Phase 1 (Judge and Ohtani, as of today) earns an automatic starting spot.

Vote for your guys!

🥇 The Mondo method: One centimeter at a time

Mondo's latest record came in his mother's native Sweden, which he represents internationally. (Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images) — Mondo’s latest record came in his mother’s native Sweden, which he represents internationally. (Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images)

Mondo Duplantis broke the pole vault world record for the 12th time on Sunday in Stockholm. And for the 12th time, he bested the previous mark by a single centimeter — all part of a lucrative strategy to maximize his earnings.

It pays to be great: Every time Duplantis breaks a world record, he earns upwards of $100,000 from World Athletics, meet organizers and sponsors.

So rather than jump as high as he can, he raises the bar by exactly one centimeter each time he attempts a new record in order to maximize his potential payouts.
“I think I would be lying if I didn’t say that was a part of it,” Duplantis told Time last year of the financial considerations that go into his record-breaking strategy.

World record progression: In 2014, France’s Renaud Lavillenie broke the 20-year-old world record with a height of 6.16 meters. Six years later, Duplantis eclipsed that with a jump of 6.17 meters, and he’s incrementally added .11 meters (over four inches) to his mark since then.

6.17 meters (Feb. 8, 2020)
6.18 meters (Feb. 15, 2020)
6.19 meters (March 7, 2022)
6.20 meters (March 20, 2022)
6.21 meters (July 24, 2022)
6.22 meters (Feb. 25, 2023)
6.23 meters (Sept. 17, 2023)
6.24 meters (April 20, 2024)
6.25 meters (Aug. 5, 2024)
6.26 meters (Aug. 25, 2024)
6.27 meters (Feb. 28, 2025)
6.28 meters (June 15, 2025)

Flashback: Duplantis isn’t the first pole vaulter to employ the one-centimeter strategy. Ukraine’s Sergey Bubka broke the outdoor* world record 17 times and the indoor world record 18 times between 1984-94, often by just a single centimeter, as he too earned bonuses each time.

*Outdoor vs. indoor: World Athletics used to distinguish between outdoor and indoor world records, but since 2000 they’ve been treated as the same record. Six of Duplantis’ 12 world records have come at indoor meets.

📆 In photos: June 17, 1994

June 17, 1994, was a day that won’t soon be forgotten, with four major sporting events set against the backdrop of the most infamous “sports” story in American history — the day the Juice got loose.

Los Angeles — O.J. Simpson led police on an hour-long, low-speed car chase in a white Ford Bronco (driven by friend Al Cowlings) after learning he was being charged with the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

Chicago — Earlier in the day, the first World Cup ever held on American soil kicked off at Chicago’s Soldier Field. The second U.S.-hosted World Cup is 359 days away.

Spike Lee has been courtside for the Knicks for a very long time. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

New York — Coverage of Game 5 of the NBA Finals between the Knicks and Rockets was interrupted by live updates of the car chase. New York won that game to take a 3-2 lead, but Houston won Games 6 and 7 to capture their first title.

(Keith Torrie/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images)

New York — Just a few miles south of Madison Square Garden, the Rangers had paraded down the Canyon of Heroes to celebrate winning their fourth (and most recent) Stanley Cup.

Oakmont, Pennsylvania — A 64-year-old Arnold Palmer, who grew up in nearby Latrobe, gave a tearful goodbye during the final U.S. Open round of his career. He failed to make the cut at Oakmont, where Ernie Els won his first major in a three-man playoff.

🍿 Watch: 30 for 30: June 17, 1994 (Netflix)

📺 Watchlist: Tuesday, June 17

Panthers fans cheer during Game 3 at Amerant Bank Arena. (Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)

A year ago, the Oilers beat the Panthers in Game 6 to force a Game 7. Will history repeat itself tonight? Or will Florida (3-2 series lead) hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup on their home ice for the second straight year?

⚾️ College World Series | ESPN

Two more elimination games today in Omaha: No. 8 Oregon State vs. Louisville (2pm) and No. 3 Arkansas vs. the loser of No. 6 LSU vs. No. 15 UCLA (7pm), which was suspended due to thunderstorms on Monday and will resume today (11am).

More to watch:

⚾️ MLB: Padres at Dodgers (10pm, TBS)
⚽️ Gold Cup: Canada vs. Honduras (10:30pm, FS1) … Group B action at BC Place in Vancouver.
⚽️ Club World Cup: Borussia Dortmund vs. Fluminense (12pm, TNT) … Group F action at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
🏀 WNBA: Commissioner’s Cup (7-10pm, NBA) … Today’s slate will determine the finalists for the in-season tournament.

Today’s full slate →

⚽️ Stadium trivia

Chelsea’s win over LAFC in the Club World Cup was overshadowed by empty seats inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Question: What city is Mercedes-Benz Stadium in?

Answer at the bottom.

⚾️ Paul Skenes returns to Omaha

Paul Skenes spotted in Omaha. (LSU Athletics)

Serendipitous MLB scheduling allowed NL Cy Young favorite Paul Skenes to return to Omaha on Monday for a brief visit to the arena that changed his life.

From Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz:

In the far corner of the bar, on a Monday afternoon, towered Paul Skenes. He drank only water, yet all around him swirled an intoxicated mayhem, a frenzied hurricane of purple and gold.

This was the Men’s College World Series in full, drunken bloom: Jell-O shots by the trayful, sticky floors, ball games on big screens, a sea of golf shirts. LSU chants erupted sporadically across the crowd. One particularly well-prepared fan led a cheer with a trumpet.

At Rocco’s, the unofficial hub of Omaha’s pregame, midgame and postgame debauchery, the party had already reached a rolling boil. Behind a cordoned-off VIP area, two imposing bodyguards in all black stood watch, keeping the throngs of eager LSU fans from swarming Skenes and his sizable entourage.

His über-famous girlfriend, gymnast-turned-social-media-icon Livvy Dunne, posed for photos. Todd Graves, founder of the Raisin’ Cane’s chicken empire and a prominent LSU booster, held court. Various acolytes sipped brews. Former players mingled. Hangers-on loitered.

Above and apart from it all lingered Skenes. All 6-foot-7 of him. He did not wear purple or yellow or anything that signified his status as LSU royalty. Instead, the 23-year-old was dressed in a charcoal button-down and khakis. It was as if he were trying to blend in, despite knowing full well that he cannot.

He is, after all, the most recognizable college baseball player of the 21st century. Two years ago, this was his kingdom. Now, he’s just visiting.

Keep reading.

Trivia answer: Atlanta

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