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🏀 Five things to know Wednesday
- The Knicks staged a historic comeback to steal Game 1 from the Cavaliers. They trailed by 22 points — until they didn’t. Not only did that margin make it the largest comeback in Knicks playoff history, but it was also the second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in the NBA’s play-by-play era. It took three periods for them to find themselves, but once they did, New York unleashed a 3-point barrage to stun Cleveland with a blistering 44-11 run over the final 7:52 of regulation plus overtime. The run was largely fueled by Jalen Brunson running by and around James Harden. Game 1 offered some eerie parallels to last year’s Eastern Conference Finals opener, saw the Knicks expel the demons of their 2025 loss to the Pacers and raised the question: Is this a team of destiny?
- The Mavericks fired Jason Kidd. The refresh of the Mavericks’ braintrust is effectively complete with new team president Masai Ujiri announcing Kidd’s ousting. The coaching change ends an era in which Kidd guided Dallas to a pair of conference finals and the 2024 NBA Finals, and it comes as he reportedly had four years and more than $40 million remaining on his contract. The Mavericks are one of four teams in search of a new coach and should be an attractive job, thanks to the presence of Cooper Flagg.
- Arsenal are Premier League champions for the first time in 22 years. The drought is over. Making good on preseason expectations, the Gunners stood atop the table for much of the campaign and clinched the title by way of Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Tuesday. The breakthrough is cathartic after Arsenal came up just short with second-place finishes each of the last three years, and it ought to be rewarding for Mikel Arteta, who oversaw the club’s rebuild from the lows of 2019 to the glory of 2026. Meanwhile, this might be the end of an era for Manchester City.
- Rashee Rice faces a jail sentence amid his recovery from knee surgery. The Chiefs receiver will serve 30 days of jail time after he tested positive for THC and thus violated his probation, which stems from his involvement in a 2024 high-speed car wreck. Rice will be released from custody on June 16, making him unavailable for Kansas City’s OTAs and mandatory minicamp. As it turns out, he would not have participated in workouts anyway, as he reportedly has two months of recovery ahead of him after he underwent surgery last week to remove loose bodies from his right knee.
- Carlos Alcaraz will miss Wimbledon due to wrist injury. The ailment will cost one of tennis’ biggest stars a shot at winning each of the next two grand slams. The reigning back-to-back French Open champion announced last month that he would not be able to defend his Roland-Garros title, and on Tuesday he shared that his absence will continue into the summer and force him to withdraw from Wimbledon. Alcaraz won the 2023 and 2024 titles at Wimbledon before falling to Jannik Sinner in last year’s final.
🏒 Do not miss this: NHL conference finals picks
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Only four teams remain in search of the Stanley Cup. The puck drops on the conference finals tonight when the Avalanche host the Golden Knights, and the Eastern Conference will take the stage Thursday when the Hurricanes welcome the Canadiens to town. Our hockey experts, Austin Nivison and Alexander Baumgartner, are in lockstep with their picks for both series.
In the East, Baumgartner named the Avalanche his favorite to win the Stanley Cup before the playoffs started, and he is not backing off now. Both writers foresee Colorado ending the series in six games.
I won’t give away their picks for the Western Conference series, but I will note that Nivison declared the Hurricanes a big winner from the first two rounds. They have yet to lose a single game this postseason, and when they return to the ice on Thursday, they will be coming off a whopping 11 days of rest.
- Nivison: “There’s always a debate about rest versus rust in the playoffs, but frankly, that’s a little silly. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are one of the most grueling tournaments in sports, so any chance a team gets to get healthy and refreshed, it needs to take it.”
🔠 Pete Prisco regrades the 2023 NFL Draft
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Everyone can be quick to jump to conclusions after the NFL Draft, but in reality, it always takes a little while before the dust settles and it becomes clear whether a team aced their picks or threw away precious capital. That’s why our Pete Prisco waited until now to take another look at his team grades for the 2023 draft.
You’ll have to check out the article to find your team’s updated grade, but I’ll explain the process using the Seahawks as an example.
Three years ago, Prisco was not too keen on them selecting Zach Charbonnet because they already had Kenneth Walker III on their roster. But now, the Seahawks are reigning Super Bowl champions, Walker is off to the Chiefs and Charbonnet will reprise his role as a short-yardage monster when he returns from injury. That warrants an upgrade on the report card.
- Seahawks’ 2023 grade: B+
- New grade: A+
In some cases, Prisco was spot on in assessing how well or how poorly a team drafted. In others, he was admittedly off. Take the Panthers, Browns and Cowboys, for example, as three teams whose classes look much worse now than they did in 2023.
🏈 Post-spring SEC power rankings
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Yesterday, we shared our power rankings for the 18 Big Ten football teams following spring camp. Today, we unveil the pecking order in the SEC.
The teams at the top of this league carry the burden of snapping the conference’s national championship drought, which suddenly spans three years. Brad Crawford is a major proponent of Texas and its chances of doing so. He is all in on the Longhorns breaking through for their first SEC title and contending for their first College Football Playoff crown.
- Crawford: “If you were building an all-time Longhorns team during Steve Sarkisian‘s tenure, several 2026 starters would headline the roster — that’s how talented this group is on the Forty Acres. From Heisman Trophy frontrunner Arch Manning to national defensive player of the year candidate Colin Simmons and a loaded transfer haul headlined by Cam Coleman, Texas is loaded.”
In what might be the final year of the 12-team CFP, the SEC will again fight to send a handful of teams into the field. Crawford set the playoff hopeful cut line at Oklahoma, and here’s a look at the couple of squads teetering on the bottom of that tier.
5. Texas A&M
6. Alabama
7. Oklahoma
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
⚾ Reds at Phillies, 1:05 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ UEFA Europa League final: SC Freiburg vs. Aston Villa, 3 p.m. on Paramount+
⚾ White Sox at Mariners, 4:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Guardians at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on Peacock
🏀 Fire at Fever, 7 p.m. on USA Network
⚾ Blue Jays at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Red Sox at Royals, 7:40 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Brewers at Cubs, 7:40 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
🏒 Golden Knights at Avalanche, Game 1, 8 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Wave at Dash, 8 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
🏀 Spurs at Thunder, Game 2, 8:30 p.m. on NBC
🏀 Wings at Sky, 9 p.m. on USA Network
⚾ Athletics at Angels, 9:38 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ Bay at Thorns, 10 p.m. on Victory+
