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🚨 Headlines
⛳️ 18 holes down, 54 to go: Jhonattan Vegas (-7) sits atop a PGA Championship leaderboard devoid of stars. For just the second time in tournament history, a round ended without a single top-10 ranked player in the top 10.
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🏈 $8.5 billion: The 49ers are selling a 6% stake in the team at an $8.5 billion valuation, the most any sports franchise has ever been valued at in a transaction.
🇪🇸 Barça clinches title: With a 2-0 win over Espanyol, Barcelona clinched their 28th La Liga title, second only to Real Madrid’s 36. No other team has more than 11 (Atlético).
🏈 NFL at LA28? NFL team owners will discuss a resolution next week that would allow NFL players to participate in the flag football competition debuting at the 2028 Olympics.
⚽️ Human rights complaint: A group of international lawyers filed a formal complaint against FIFA regarding 2034 World Cup host Saudi Arabia, where “widespread human rights abuses continue to be perpetrated.”
🐎 The Triple Crown needs a reset
Sovereignty won’t get the chance to compete for the Triple Crown this year. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
There have been 13 Triple Crown winners in the history of horse racing. Unless the sport introduces a new calendar, we may never see another one.
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The new normal: The Kentucky Derby winner competed in the Preakness Stakes every year from 1997 to 2018, when Justify won the most recent Triple Crown. But four of the last seven Derby winners have now opted against going to Baltimore, with Sovereignty becoming the latest to skip.
The problem: Horses are no longer bred to run three races in five weeks, which is the requirement to compete in the Derby (May 3), Preakness (May 17) and Belmont Stakes (June 7).
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The initial two-week turnaround is particularly tight, which explains why Sovereignty’s Hall of Fame trainer, Bill Mott, forfeited a shot at history this weekend despite the 3-year-old thoroughbred being healthy and an early 8-5 favorite to win the 150th Preakness.
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In fact, only two of the 19 horses that competed in this year’s Run for the Roses are in tomorrow’s field at Pimlico Race Course, which is right in line with recent years. Heck, the 2023 race only attracted a single horse from Churchill Downs.
Consider this: The last 19 Triple Crown races have been won by 19 different horses, and only two of them ran all three legs the year they won: War of Will in 2019 (when he won the Preakness) and Mystik Dan in 2024 (when he won the Derby).
Seize the Grey after winning the 149th running of the Preakness Stakes last year. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
The solution is obvious: Space out the schedule. Keep the Derby on the first Saturday in May, move the Preakness to the first Saturday in June and move the Belmont to the first Saturday in July (or better yet: have it on the Fourth of July, which lacks a major sporting event).
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This would lead to better fields, more Triple Crown contenders and higher viewership across the board, while also improving the long-term health of horses by taking the pressure off trainers and owners to run them back too soon.
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Prominent thoroughbred owner Mike Repole proposed a similarly spaced out schedule last week — though he suggested making the Belmont the second leg (possibly moving it up a week from its current date) and holding the Preakness four weeks later.
What’s the argument against this? Purists will say that altering the horse racing calendar disrespects the history of a sport steeped in tradition and cheapens the accomplishment of winning the Triple Crown, which is supposed to be extremely difficult.
To which I’d respond: What’s the the point of preserving tradition if that tradition becomes irrelevant? That’s the risk horse racing runs by doing nothing and continuing down a path where horses don’t even get the chance to win the Crown. The sport is dying for some juice. There are three days a year when it commands America’s attention. It simply must figure out how to ensure that the horses people know — and the narratives that draw them in — are present.
The last word, via SI’s Pat Forde:
We have come a long way since the first Triple Crown was won in 1919. Sir Barton didn’t just win all three legs in a span of 32 days — he won a fourth in between the Preakness and Belmont as well. Today we’re lucky to get a horse that will run twice in 32 days, much less four times — even if it wins the Kentucky Derby. The breed has changed. The Triple Crown needs to change with it.
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Preakness preview: Odds, pole positions
📸 Through the lens
(Josh Lavallee/NHLI via Getty Images)
Washington, D.C. — The Hurricanes eliminated the top-seeded Capitals, breaking a tie late in the third period of an eventual 3-1 win. They’ll face either the Maple Leafs or Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.
(Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Denver — Nikola Jokić (29-14-8), Jamal Murray (25-8-7) and Christian Braun (23-11-5) led the Nuggets to a 119-107 win over the Thunder, forcing a Game 7 on Sunday in OKC. As if a series between the two MVP favorites could have ended any other way.
(Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
Winnipeg — The Jets shut out the Stars, 4-0, to keep their season alive and send the series back to Dallas for Game 6.
🏀 By the numbers: The WNBA is back
(Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)
As the 29th WNBA season tips off tonight, here are some facts and figures to get you back up to speed after a long offseason.
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+225
The defending champion Liberty are the favorites to run it back (+225 via BetMGM), followed by the Aces (+275), Fever (+300) and last year’s runner-up Lynx (+400). The rest: Mercury (+1400), Storm (+3500), Dream (+5000), Sparks (+5000), Sky (+6600), Wings (+6600), Sun (+12500), Mystics (+15000), Valkyries (+20000).
Year 2
Reigning ROY Caitlin Clark led the Fever to their first postseason berth since 2016 last year. Now she enters her sophomore season as the MVP favorite (+195), and many expect her retooled Fever squad to contend for a title.
13 teams
The Golden State Valkyries are the WNBA’s first expansion franchise since the Dream in 2008. They’ll share the Chase Center with the Warriors, and will be coached by former Aces and Clippers assistant Natalie Nakase.
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8 new coaches
Speaking of Nakase, she’s one of eight new coaches this season, joining Karl Smesko (Dream), Tyler Marsh (Sky), Rachid Meziane (Sun), Stephanie White (Fever), Sydney Johnson (Mystics), Chris Koclanes (Wings) and Lynne Roberts (Sparks).
Best-of-7
For the first time ever, the WNBA Finals will be a best-of-seven series after playing as a best-of-five for the past 20 years. The first round is also changing, remaining a best-of-three but with a 1-1-1 format to ensure both teams host at least one game.
$2.2 billion
That’s the value of the WNBA’s 11-year media rights deal that kicks in next season, worth five times as much annually as the current deal. Why is that important right now? Because if the league and union don’t agree on a new CBA that reflects this new economic landscape before next spring, there could be a work stoppage — a storyline that will be ever-present this summer.
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Go deeper: Preseason power rankings | Awards and playoff predictions
⚾️ Judge vs. Bonds: Where are all the free passes?
(Jake Mintz/Yahoo Sports)
Aaron Judge is hitting like Barry Bonds, so where are all the intentional walks?
From Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz:
In 2004, at the peak of his powers, Barry Bonds was intentionally walked a record 120 times. The three seasons prior, he averaged 55 intentional walks per year.
Compare that to Judge, who over his 162-game run of brilliance has been intentionally walked just 24 times.
(Jake Mintz/Yahoo Sports)
The disparity is even more glaring in high-leverage, late-game scenarios.
Over his past 162 games, Judge has had 47 plate appearances as the tying or go-ahead run in the seventh inning or later. He has been intentionally walked just eight times, or 17% of those instances.
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Bonds, during his 2004 reign of terror, came up in 64 such scenarios. He was purposefully handed a free pass 25 times, good for an outrageous 43.8% clip.
Why the stark difference? Conversations with players, coaches and insiders revealed myriad reasons, the biggest of which has nothing at all to do with either player.
📺 Watchlist: The best two words in sports
(Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
Game. Seven. The Thunder will host the Nuggets on Sunday (3:30pm ET, ABC) in a battle of title contenders and MVP favorites.
“It’s do or die. It’s what you live for. It’s what you worked your whole life for.”
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Plus: Tonight’s game isn’t exactly a dud, as the Knicks (3-2) host the Celtics (8pm, ESPN) with a chance to clinch their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years.
More to watch:
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🏒 NHL: Maple Leafs (2-3) at Panthers (Fri. 8pm, TNT); Jets (2-3) at Stars (Sat. 8pm, ABC) … Panthers-Leafs Game 7 on Sunday, if needed.
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🐎 Horse Racing: The 150th Preakness Stakes (Sat. 7pm, NBC)
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🎾 Tennis: Italian Open (Fri-Sun, Tennis) … Champions will be crowned.
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🏀 WNBA: Aces at Liberty (Sat. 1pm, ABC); Sky at Fever (Sat. 3pm, ABC) … Opening weekend.
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⚾️ MLB: Astros at Rangers (Fri. 8pm, Apple; Sun. 1pm, Roku); Mariners at Padres (Fri. 9:40pm, Apple); Mets at Yankees (Sun. 7pm, ESPN) … The Subway Series headlines MLB’s “Rivalry Weekend.”
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🏁 Racing: F1 at Imola (Sun. 9am, ESPN2); NASCAR All-Star Race (Sun. 8pm, FS1)
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⚽️ FA Cup: Manchester City vs. Crystal Palace (Sat. 11:30am, ESPN+) … Championship at Wembley Stadium.
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🥍 Men’s Lacrosse: NCAA Quarterfinals (Sat-Sun, ESPNU) … No. 1 Cornell vs. Richmond, No. 2 Maryland vs. Georgetown, No. 3 Princeton vs. No. 6 Syracuse, No. 5 Penn State vs. Notre Dame.
Plus… 15 MLS games (Sat-Sun, Apple); 7 NWSL games (Fri-Sat, Prime/ION); UFL Week 8 (Fri-Sun, Fox/ABC); Hockey Worlds (Fri-Sun, NHL); PWHL Semifinals (Fri-Sun, YouTube); Giro d’Italia (Fri-Sun, Max).
🏆 WNBA trivia
(Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Question: Which three WNBA teams are tied for the most championships, with four?
Hint: One is defunct.
Answer at the bottom.
⚾️ The death of the .300 hitter
(Giphy)
It’s no secret that the .300 batting average, once the gold standard of offensive excellence, is quietly vanishing from Major League Baseball. But this still blew my mind…
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Only three active MLB hitters with at least 3,000 plate appearances boast a .300+ career average: Freddie Freeman (.301), Jose Altuve (.305) and Luis Arráez (.321), who recently crossed the 3,000 plate appearance threshold.
Trivia answer: Houston Comets (1997-2000), Minnesota Lynx (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017), Seattle Storm (2004, 2010, 2018, 2020)
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