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🚨 Headlines
🏈 Jefferson gets paid: The Vikings signed three-time Pro Bowl WR Justin Jefferson to a four-year, $140M extension that makes him the highest-paid non-QB in the NFL ($35M annually).
⚾️ Another betting scandal: Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano is facing a potential lifetime ban from MLB for allegedly betting on multiple games involving the Pirates last season when he was on their injured list.
🥎 Longhorns advance: Texas beat Stanford, 1-0, on Monday (highlights) to advance to the Women’s College World Series final where they’ll play the winner of Oklahoma-Florida.
🏈 HOF ballot: Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, Aaron Donald and Manti Te’o are up for election to the College Football Hall of Fame for the first time and headline the ballot for the 2025 class.
⛳️ Young phenom: Back in April, high school freshman Miles Russell became the youngest player to make the cut in a Korn Ferry Tour event. Now, the 15-year-old will make his PGA Tour debut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic later this month.
🏆 Miami eyes “City Grand Slam”
With the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, Miami is four wins away from becoming the 10th city/metro area to win a championship* in all four major sports leagues, Jeff writes.
Where it stands: Miami has three NBA championships via the Heat (2006, 2012, 2013), two Super Bowls via the Dolphins (1973, 1974) and two World Series via the Marlins (1997, 2003). All it’s missing is a Stanley Cup.
City Grand Slams:
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New York: 35 World Series (1905, 1921-23, 1927-28, 1932-33, 1936-39, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1949-56, 1958, 1961-62, 1969, 1977-78, 1986, 1996, 1998-2000, 2009), 11 Stanley Cups (1928, 1933, 1940, 1980-83, 1994-95, 2000, 2003), 8 Super Bowls/NFL championships (1934, 1938, 1956, 1969, 1987, 1991, 2008, 2012), 2 NBA championships (1970, 1973)
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Boston: 17 NBA championships (1957, 1959-66, 1968-69, 1974, 1976, 1981, 1984, 1986, 2008), 10 World Series (1903, 1912, 1914-16, 1918, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2018), 6 Super Bowls (2002, 2004-05, 2015, 2017, 2019), 6 Stanley Cups (1929, 1939, 1941, 1970, 1972, 2011)
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Chicago: 8 Super Bowls/NFL championships (1933, 1940-41, 1943, 1946-47, 1963, 1986), 6 NBA championships (1991-93, 1996-98), 6 Stanley Cups (1934, 1938, 1961, 2010, 2013, 2015), 6 World Series (1906-08, 1917, 2005, 2016)
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Los Angeles: 12 NBA championships (1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987-88, 2000-02, 2009-10, 2020), 7 World Series (1959, 1963, 1965, 1981, 1988, 2002, 2020), 3 Super Bowls/NFL championships (1951, 1984, 2022), 3 Stanley Cups (2007, 2012, 2014)
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Detroit: 11 Stanley Cups (1936-37, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1954-55, 1997-98, 2002, 2008), 4 World Series (1935, 1945, 1968, 1984), 4 NFL championships (1935, 1952-53, 1957), 3 NBA championships (1989-90, 2004)
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Philadelphia: 7 World Series (1910-11, 1913, 1929-30, 1980, 2008), 4 Super Bowls/NFL championships (1948-49, 1960, 2018), 4 NBA championships (1947, 1956, 1967, 1983), 2 Stanley Cups (1974-75)
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St. Louis: 11 World Series (1926, 1931, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1946, 1964, 1967, 1982, 2006, 2011), 1 Stanley Cup (2019), 1 Super Bowl (2000), 1 NBA championship (1958)
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Washington, DC: 5 Super Bowls/NFL championships (1937, 1942, 1983, 1988, 1992), 2 World Series (1924, 2019), 1 Stanley Cup (2018), 1 NBA championship (1978)
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Dallas-Fort Worth: 5 Super Bowls (1972, 1978, 1993, 1994, 1995), 1 NBA championship (2011), 1 Stanley Cup (1999), 1 World Series (2023)
*Championships include World Series (since 1903), Stanley Cups (since 1893), NBA Finals (since 1947), Super Bowls (since 1967) and NFL Championships (1933-70).
🎾 Stat of the day: 370 Grand Slam wins
Novak Djokovic rallied to beat Francisco Cerundolo in five sets on Monday, passing Roger Federer for most Grand Slam matches won with 370.
The “Big 3” in majors:
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Djokovic: 370-49 (.883)
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Federer: 369-60 (.860)
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Nadal: 314-44 (.877)
The GOAT: Djokovic also passed Federer for most Grand Slam quarterfinals reached. He now has the most major titles (24), finals (36), semifinals (48), quarterfinals (59) and wins (370) in men’s tennis history.
⚾️ College Baseball’s Sweet 16
After an action-packed weekend of regionals, 16 college baseball teams have advanced on the Road to Omaha.
The field: The super regionals round features five ACC teams (first time ever), five SEC teams, both Oregon and Oregon State (first time ever), and a Cinderella in Evansville, which became the ninth No. 4 seed in the 64-team era (since 1999) to win a regional.
Matchups: Each team will participate in a best-of-three series hosted by the higher seed beginning either Friday or Saturday. One game will be played each day until a winner is decided, and those eight teams will advance to the College World Series.
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No. 1 Tennessee vs. Evansville
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No. 2 Kentucky vs. No. 7 Oregon State
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No. 3 Texas A&M vs. Oregon
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No. 4 UNC vs. West Virginia
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No. 6 Clemson vs. Florida
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No. 8 FSU vs. UConn
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No. 9 Georgia vs. No. 15 NC State
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No. 13 Virginia vs. Kansas State
🏏 Cricket in America: Let the games begin
The ninth T20 Cricket World Cup is underway, pitting a record 20 nations against each other in a fast-paced version of the world’s second-most popular sport, Jeff writes.
Cricket in America: The U.S. is a first-time co-host alongside two-time champion and 2010 host West Indies. The 55-game tournament began on Saturday and will conclude in Barbados on June 29.
Venues: Three in the U.S. (Long Island, New York; Lauderhill, Florida; Dallas) and six in the West Indies (Antigua & Barbuda; Barbados; Guyana; St. Vincent & the Grenadines; Saint Lucia; Trinidad & Tobago).
The field: Four groups will play a round-robin, with the top two countries per group advancing to the next round.
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Group A: USA (world No. 18), India (1), Pakistan (6), Ireland (11), Canada (23)
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Group B: Namibia (13), Australia (2), England (3), Scotland (14), Oman (19)
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Group C: West Indies (4), New Zealand (5), Afghanistan (10), Uganda (22), Papua New Guinea (20)
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Group D: South Africa (7), Sri Lanka (8), Bangladesh (9), Nepal (17), Netherlands (15)
The world will be tuning in… The scale of cricket viewership can’t be overstated. 1.28 billion people tuned into the 2022 T20 World Cup, and last year’s ODI World Cup (a different format) garnered 1 trillion viewing minutes.
But will Americans be watching? Major League Cricket launched last year and the sport’s popularity is growing stateside. But with the World Cup airing exclusively on niche streaming service Willow TV ($10 per month), domestic viewership will likely be limited.
📆 June 4, 1974: 10-cent beer night
50 years ago today, the Indians held 10-cent beer night, which devolved into a violent, on-field brawl* between players and drunken fans and ended with the umpires declaring a forfeit in favor of the visiting Rangers, Jeff writes.
So much beer: The crowd of 25,134 consumed 65,000 beers that night — three times as many as an average crowd today drinks. “They were uncontrolled beasts,” said umpire Nestor Chylak. “I’ve never seen anything like it except in a zoo.”
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⚾️ 1889: Boston Beaneaters pitcher John Clarkson threw MLB’s first immaculate inning (three strikeouts, nine pitches). There have been just 111 more since then, making the feat roughly three times rarer than a no-hitter (323).
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⛳️ 1927: The U.S. beat Great Britain in the first Ryder Cup, 9½ – 2½, at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts.
*How bad did it get? Cleveland manager Ken Aspromonte feared for the Rangers’ lives after fans — armed with knives, chains and clubs — stormed the field, so he ordered his players to grab bats and defend them, attacking their own fans in the process.
📺 Watchlist: Winner-take-all
Florida and Oklahoma meet today (2pm ET, ESPN) in a winner-take-all game for a spot in the Women’s College World Series Final, where red-hot Texas awaits, Jeff writes.
Head-to-head: Florida snapped Oklahoma’s 20-game NCAA tournament winning streak on Monday to force today’s game. The Gators have won two titles (2014-15), while the Sooners have won seven (2000, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2021-23) and are going for a historic four-peat.
More to watch:
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🎾 Tennis: French Open (Live now, Tennis)
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⚾️ MLB: Twins at Yankees* (7pm, TBS)
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⚽️ Friendly: USWNT vs. South Korea (8pm, truTV/Max)
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🏀 WNBA: Mercury at Storm (10pm, CBSSN)
*Rookie stud: Yankees RHP Luis Gil takes the mound tonight after being named AL Pitcher of the Month and Rookie of the Month (6-0, 38.2 IP, 44K, 0.70 ERA).
🥇 Super Bowl trivia
Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson has signed with the Bills and will attempt to make the team as a defensive tackle.
Question: Who’s the only athlete to win an Olympic gold medal and a Super Bowl?
Answer at the bottom.
🏈 The Qwan’tez Stiggers story
14,155 NFL players have been drafted since 1970. 99.965% played college football. Count Jets rookie CB Qwan’tez Stiggers among the 0.035%.
From Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein: Stiggers’ unique journey from Fan Controlled Football (7-on-7 arena league) to the CFL (Toronto Argonauts) to fifth-round draft pick.
Trivia answer: Bob Hayes (won two gold medals at the 1964 Olympics and won Super Bowl VI with the Cowboys in 1972)
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