Organizers of the 2024 Paris Games intend to seize on the Olympic spotlight to push a message that LGBTQ rights need to progress outside France. The French capital set out plans for a Pride House that will celebrate LGBTQ people during the Olympics and Paralympics. Organizers pledged that Olympians and campaigners will be given "plenty of opportunities" to speak for LGBTQ rights.
The NBA's oldest coach. The NBA's newest superstar. In an instant, the fortunes of the San Antonio Spurs changed in a big way. Victor Wembanyama is on his way to the NBA, and the coaching wins leader in Gregg Popovich will be waiting for him. The right combination of ping-pong balls gave the Spurs victory in the draft lottery on Tuesday night, meaning they'll have the No. 1 pick on June 22. That means they've won the Wembanyama sweepstakes, and that four years of losing in a way that had never before happened under Popovich has actually paid off.
Katie Taylor had Olympic dreams long before she became one of the faces of women's professional boxing. The Irish fighter won a gold medal at the 2012 London Games and now has a hugely successful pro career. She's worried that future generations won't get the same chance because of a long-running dispute between Olympic officials and the International Boxing Association.
Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon has denied that former Aces player Dearica Hamby was bullied on her team for being pregnant, saying any ill feelings between the two came from Hamby being traded. Hammon, one of the league's marquee figures, said at a news conference Wednesday that she did nothing to warrant discipline from the WNBA, which suspended her for two games without pay after a monthslong investigation into Hamby's allegations. Hammon said she once asked Hamby about her pregnancy, but didn't get into the specifics of what she said.
The player, a 7-year-old catcher, appears startled as he spins around in confusion inside the dust devil.
Nikola Jokic's powerful display at both ends of the court propelled the Denver Nuggets past the Los Angeles Lakers 132-126 in the opener of the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets led by as many as 21 points before the Lakers made a late push before falling short of winning an opener on the road for the third time in these playoffs. Anthony Davis scored 40 points for the Lakers.
The Philadelphia 76ers fired coach Doc Rivers following a third straight exit in the second round of the playoffs. It was the second time in that span that he lost a series lead and a Game 7. Rivers led the 76ers to their second straight 50-win season behind NBA MVP Joel Embiid but again failed to lead them to the Eastern Conference Finals or beyond. The 76ers held a 3-2 semifinal series lead against Boston before dropping Game 6 at home and were crushed in Game 7 on the road. Rivers fell to 6-10 in Game 7s. He had two years left on his contract. He won the 2008 NBA title as coach of the Boston Celtics.
Victor Wembanyama is now set to begin his NBA career with the San Antonio Spurs, after they won the NBA draft lottery and the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday night. The Spurs were one of three teams with the best odds — 14% — to land the No. 1 pick, which they'll almost certainly use on Wembanyama. The 7-foot-3 French 19-year-old is one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history and will be expected to make an immediate impact on the league.
The WNBA has suspended Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon for two games for violating league and team respect in the workplace policies. The violation announced Tuesday was related to comments made by Hammon to Dearica Hamby in connection with the player's recent pregnancy. Hamby's allegations were that she was bullied and manipulated for being pregnant. The league also rescinded the Aces' first-round pick in the 2025 draft for violating league rules regarding impermissible player benefits.
Pat McAfee's show is moving to ESPN as part of a new multiyear deal. McAfee first joined ESPN as a college football analyst for its Thursday night games in 2019. He returned to the network last year and became part of the "College GameDay" crew as well as hosting some alternate presentations of ESPN games, including the CFP National Championship. That will continue, but it is McAfee's show that has created the most buzz. ESPN also announced a documentary series on Serena Williams and four major matchups for the upcoming college football season.
After decades of supporting poor, young baseball players as they began their professional careers, minor league host families have officially been phased out. As part of their first collective bargaining agreement with Major League Baseball this spring, minor league players negotiated an end to the practice. Players are now guaranteed furnished housing, something they are celebrating as a more professional arrangement.
Roope Hintz and teenager Wyatt Johnston scored goals and the Dallas Stars advanced to the Western Conference final with a 2-1 win over the Seattle Kraken in Game 7. Dallas moves on to play first-year coach Pete DeBoer’s former team, the Vegas Golden Knights. Game 1 of the West final is Friday night in Las Vegas. DeBoer improved to 7-0 in Game 7s. The 19-year-old Johnston made it 2-0 with 7:12 left, when he gathered a puck that ricocheted off the back board to the left of the Seattle net and scored. Jake Oettinger had 22 saves, and the only Seattle score came with 17.6 seconds left.
Matt Ryan has joined CBS as an analyst, though he’s not giving up on landing with another team as a quarterback. The four-time Pro Bowler and the 2016 NFL MVP joins CBS to serve as a studio and game analyst across multiple platforms for the upcoming season. He also wrote on his Twitter account that "this is not a retirement post.” The 37-year-old Ryan is coming off a disappointing season with the Indianapolis Colts, who acquired him in a trade last year after he spent 14 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Now, he's ready to give broadcasting a try.
Actor Michael Douglas is a huge basketball fan. And he's become a big fan of Victor Wembanyama. Douglas and every other basketball follower in the world is about to find out where Wembanyama's NBA journey will begin. The NBA draft lottery is Tuesday night in Chicago. The team that wins the lottery gets the right to choose No. 1 overall in next month's draft. And they'll use that pick on Wembanyama, the 7-foot-3 French phenom.
The pitch clock has sped up baseball as hoped, and it might be leading to more exciting endings, too. A quarter of the way through Major League Baseball’s first season with the pitch timer, relief pitchers seem to be bearing the most stress from it, with save conversions dropping to 61.4% from 67.8% at a similar point last season. The save percentage is near the bottom range of the past decade, which averaged 65.1%, MLB said Monday.
