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Good morning! A reminder to not diss Kendrick Lamar today.
While You Were Sleeping: Another all-SEC CWS final
Yesterday, Texas A&M and Tennesseeadvancedto the menâs College World Series finals, adding to the SECâs recent dominance of baseball.
Quickly:
- Both the Volunteers (the No. 1 overall seed) and the Aggies (No. 3) cruised via respective blowouts of Florida State and Florida. Remember that No. 1 seeds havenât won a ring in this tourney since Miami in 1999.
- This marks the third time in four years weâll see an all-SECfinal.(The only exception in that run: the soon-to-be-SEC Oklahoma, which has also wonfour straight softball titles.)
Keep up with our MCWS live blog for more. Game 1 is Saturday.
Money In, Money Out: Pistons headline an expensive NBA day
The NBA season ended three days ago, and the entire league seems to have moved on already. Sorry to the Celtics. Things move quickly here.Two big updates from yesterday:
1. The Pistonsfired coach Monty Williams, which is unsurprising on the surface, given the teamâs 14-68 season. But itâs jarring that the 2022 Coach of the Year is already gone one season after signing a six-year, $78.5 million deal. (He has about $65 million remaining on that contract.Thatâs Jimbo Fisher territory.) Jim Trotter says this is asembarrassing for the franchiseas it is for the coach.
- There is new management in Detroit, but this decision apparently came from owner Tom Gores, who relentlessly pursued Williams last offseason, even after Williams said he wasnât interested.
- Now we have a New Orleans-Detroit pipeline brewing.One: Pistons front-office boss Trajan Langdon came from the Pelicans andcould hire Pels assistant James Borregoto replace Williams. Two: According tothe Times-Picayunein New Orleans, the Pelicans are interested in bringing back former head coach Williams as a lead assistant. Funny.
2. Elsewhere, in happier news, the Pacerssigned trade-deadline acquisition Pascal Siakamto a four-year, $189.5 million max contract, keeping him in navy and gold for likely the length of that deal, as there are no team or player options. The 30-year-old was great during their run to the Eastern Conference finals.
News to Know
Younger Woods competing for title
Charlie Woods, the 15-year-old son of Tiger Woods,will play in the U.S. Junior Amateur championshipafter shooting a 1-under 71 at a qualifying event in Florida. Heâs following in the footsteps of his father, who won the U.S. Junior Amateur three times, his first coming at 15 years old, too. Very fun.
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Germanyâs Euros tear
Germany is already through to the round of 16 at the Euros after a 2-0 win over Hungary yesterday, giving the host country enough momentum to maybe win the whole thing, as Sam Lee wrote. Another interesting tidbit from yesterday: Switzerlandâs Xherdan Shaqiri became the first MLS player to ever score a goal at Euros.
More news
- The Los Angeles Sparks confirmed that Cameron Brink tore her ACL in Tuesdayâs game. A huge bummer.
- TonightâsCopa Americaopener betweenArgentinaandCanadain Atlantais a 70,000-seat sellout.
- Kevin Durant says there were âbetter candidatesâ than Caitlin Clark for the U.S. Olympic roster.
- American swimming star Caeleb Dressel officially qualified for the Olympics last night, but he wonât get to defend his 100-meter freestyle gold from Tokyo.
- Boxer Ryan Garcia, whoâs had a bizarre few months, officially announced his retirement at just 25 years old.
Hilarities: Bow to Grimace
Icon pic.twitter.com/2zXgCBcSVI
â New York Mets (@Mets) June 13, 2024
Before June 12, the Mets were 28-37. Fans were watching another disappointing season unfurl in Queens, where the payroll was high and expectations were already low. Then Grimace took the mound:
- Yes, the McDonaldâs mascot. The large purple blob with eyes like those of both a friend and a serial killer.
- Since Grimace threw out a ceremonial first pitch on June 12, the Mets have lost just once. After the oblong life form took the hill, New York went on a seven-game, Grimace-fueled surge before finally falling to the Rangers last night.
- It has become an instant meme.The Metsâ official Twitter accountis in on it, and fans have largely converted to the online Church of Grimace. I donât know if a fast-food mascot has ever had more power.
- But this run is allegedly not because of the burger creature,according to the Grimace skeptic, Will Sammon.Turns out the Metsâ lineup of ferocious hitters started hitting ferociously. New York is averaging more than seven runs per game during this streak, including three games of double-digit runs.
I choose to believe itâs Grimace, though.And what a year itâs been for the grape guy, who inspireda bizarre TikTok trend last summer.
The Mets are just one game back inthe NL Wild Card race. Go Grimace.
Watch This Game
Euros: Spain vs. Italy
3 p.m. ET on FOX
Two soccer giants, including the reigning Euros-champion Italians, facing off in group play. Easy call. The Daily Briefing podcasthas been a huge help for meduring the tournament.
MLB: Giants âatâ Cardinals
7:15 p.m. ET on FOX
This is the game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala., initially intended to honor the Birmingham Black Barons, who played in the Negro Leagues. The game feels all the more impactful now after Willie Mays â MLB legend and former Baron â died Tuesday. This is a must-watch.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
Superstar athletes are at their most relatable when their roads are nearly finished. Paul Tenorio and Felipe Cardenas wrote an outstanding story today onLionel Messi, a man running out of time, logging his final footballing days in the United States.Make time for this today.
Randy Mueller has a good breakdown of how the Jetsâ all-in approach could really cost them.
Kobe Bryantâs nephew is already an elite high school athlete, but heâs not a basketball player.
Keith Law has a new MLB mock draft out. You should start knowing the name Charlie Condon.
Earlier this week, Matt Gelb wrote a tremendous story on the Philliesâ Kyle Schwarber, who owns the month of June and a reputation for being one of the leagueâs best teammates. I want to be friends with him now.
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On a different draft: Corey Pronman and Scott Wheeler discuss 10 questions about the upcoming NHL Draft, including the one everyoneâs wondering: Whoâs going No. 2?
The Athletic is ranking the top 100 basketball players of all time â which surely wonât cause any heated discussions â in a new book. But the book is more than that, as David Aldridge wrote in an excellent excerpt today, which is a great read. Iâm excited for the book.
Take a few minutes and listen to the audio production of Grant Brisbeeâs story on Willie Mays yesterday. Really stuck with me.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Maysâ obituary. Apt.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The retro kickoff tactic thatâs proving popular at Euros. Super interesting.
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(Photo: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
Chris Branch is a staff writer for The Athletic's daily newsletter. Before joining The Athletic, he covered the Phillies for The News-Journal and worked as a content strategist for various industries. He graduated from LSU, where he worked for The Daily Reveille. Follow Chris on Twitter @cbranch89
