Tag: morning win

Tom Brady’s roast made him seem like a real person for once, not just a football robot

Who knew Tom Brady could take a joke?

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Goooood morning, folks. Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you.

Did anyone get a chance to check out Tom Brady’s roast? Who knew that he could actually be legitimately funny?

Sure, we’ve heard him pop the occasional joke in the locker room before. But that’s a completely different thing than standing up and delivering jokes about himself and others in front of an audience of thousands. That roast was actually good.

READ MORE: The best of the Tom Brady roast

For once, Tom Brady seemed like an actual person. We know the book on him. He spent so many years in the NFL playing under Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots. The team was quite literally not allowed to be fun. Personality was something that was frowned upon with very few exceptions.

So, for most of us who didn’t live in New England, Brady has usually been nothing but a boogeyman. He was hump you either don’t want your team to come across or hope that it can get over. This roast made the boogeyman seem pretty human for once!

It was funny! Brady was in his bag. His best joke may have been this dig at Kanye West at the expense of Kim Kardashian. There was also this hilarious Deflategate confession that I am absolutely taking as a confession.

Plus, he took some pretty bad ones on the chin. There were lots of Gisele Bünchden jokes (probably too many for my taste). This Crypto joke really hit home for me. That’s good stuff, man. That’s really good stuff.

Whatever, though. This isn’t really about the jokes as much as it’s about as human as I’ve ever seen Brady be. Let me be clear, I am not a fan of this man. At all. But for one night, he was cool. And that’s something I’d never thought I’d say.

Good on you, Brady. Good on you. Still don’t like you tho.

The champs are out

Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

There will be a new Stanley Cup champion this year, folks. The Las Vegas Golden Knights are officially eliminated from the NHL playoffs.

That’s not really that shocking considering that the Dallas Stars were the better team coming into the series. But after the Golden Knights grabbed a 2-0 series lead on Dallas? It definitely felt like the cards were in Vegas’ favor (yes, that’s a pun).

The rest of the NHL is probably thrilled. Everyone hated the way Vegas went about getting Mark Stone back from long-term injured reserve. They’d snagged big targets at the trade deadline because they were able to temporarily remove his salary from their books while he was on LTIR.

Our Mary Clarke wrote about that here:

“Why is that significant? Because the Golden Knights were able to put Stone on Long-Term Injured Reserve, meaning they could clear his $9.5 million cap hit off the books so they could go after big trade targets at the March 8 deadline, with Vegas netting Tomas Hertl, Anthony Mantha, and Noah Hanifin when all was said and done.”

That definitely didn’t feel right. Maybe it wasn’t. But none of it matters now. Vegas is out. And with that, I leave you this tweet from the Stanley Cup trophy.

That’s the good stuff.

Let’s never do that again, NBA.

Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Is it just me or is a 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time tipoff for a Game 7 kind of wild? The Cavaliers and Magic should feel disrespected.

I mean, look. One in the afternoon isn’t necessarily the worst time on a Sunday. But wouldn’t, say, 3 p.m. be better? Especially for a nationally televised game with one of its teams playing on ABC for the first time since 2012. That’s ridiculous.

Not only did this series have to fight through the attention being hogged online by Kendrick Lamar and Drake, but it also had to fight through afternoon pancake naps on a non-NFL Sunday.

That didn’t feel right. At all. The game was good and exciting. Donovan Mitchell went off to save the Cavaliers’ season. But it just felt…weird to be watching such a crucial game at such a weird time.

Can we not do that again, NBA? Thanks.

Quick hits: Nikola Jokic’s biggest test yet … Ranking the 8 NBA playoff teams left … and more

— Here’s Robert Zeglinski with Nikola Jokic’s take on what is the biggest test of his reign yet.

— Prince Grimes ranks the eight playoff teams left and the Celtics are not No. 1

— Tom Brady didn’t seem happy about this joke at his roast. Sheesh. Here’s Charles Curtis with more.

— Could J.J. Watt come back to the Texans? It’s possible. Here’s Robert again with more.

— The Kentucky Derby set a record for money wagered this year. Here’s Ben Fawkes with more.

— Anthony Edwards completely shifted the odds on the Wolves-Nuggets series with one game. Prince has more on that.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you. Tap in again tomorrow! See you then. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Neither Patrick Beverley nor his podcast are good enough for him to act like this much of a jerk to anyone

Be better, Patrick Beverley.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Gooood morning, Winners! Happy Friday! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us today.

We all know what sore losing looks like, right? There’s always that one person in your life who just never handles it well. I’m talking about the type of person who turns the PlayStation off instead of taking that L in NBA 2K. The person who flips the Monopoly board over instead of going to jail.

But there’s sore losing, and then there’s Patrick Beverley.

Beverley decided to go beyond being just a sore loser after the Bucks got bounced out of the playoffs. He decided to spend what will undoubtedly be his final moments as a Milwaukee Buck by punching down.

Somehow, the moment he was caught firing the ball back at a fan wasn’t his worst of the night. Shortly after that, in the Bucks locker room, he decided he wasn’t going to talk to an ESPN producer who was just quite literally doing her job. And, in good faith, she expected him to do his because that’s what adults do.

Instead, Beverley acted like a petulant child. He asked her if she subscribed to his podcast. She said no, she doesn’t. He told her she couldn’t talk to him if she wasn’t a subscriber and then he shoved her mic out of the scrum.

Look, man. If you don’t want to talk to the media? Cool. I’m not the type to hem and haw over players skipping out on their availability. Good journalists get the job done anyway, as I’m sure the producer there did.

But to single someone out like this? To attempt to embarrass her simply for not subscribing to a silly podcast? That’s rude. It’s completely out of line. There’s no other way to put it.

And, to be quite frank, who does Patrick Beverley think he is? First of all, that little podcast ain’t even good enough for him to demand someone be subscribed before talking to him. If this is a strategy to drive up subscriptions? Whew, buddy. That reeks of desperation. You might as well beg.

Second, is Patrick Beverley even good enough at his job to pull this off? Look. I’m not trying to disrespect an NBA player. Beverley is good enough to be in that league, which is an accomplishment on its own.

But his peers don’t even take him seriously. I’m actually unsure if his teammates do. Russell Westbrook told us years ago that his game wasn’t that serious. That’s been his rep for years now. I don’t mean to be harsh, but this is the dude demanding that you actively subscribe to a podcast before speaking with him. The math is not math-ing on this one. Sorry.

Sore losing is one thing. This is another. It’s just Patrick Beverley being a complete jerk to someone who doesn’t deserve it. I hope he realizes that and apologizes.

Considering the fact that this isn’t the first time he’s done this to people in Milwaukee, though, I won’t hold my breath.

We deserved one more game

Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a 2-seed vs. 7-seed matchup as good as the Pacers-Knicks series was. It was basically nip-and-tuck all the way through. It’s remarkable how close this series was.

I mean that literally. According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the final scoring margin of this six-game series was just a single point, folks. One. That’s it. That’s all.

 

The Sixers were better than a No. 7 seed. With Embiid healthy, they were clearly one of the best three teams in the East. This was more like a No. 2 vs. No. 3 seed matchup than anything. It’s a shame we got this series so early in the playoffs.

I’m grateful for it, though. We’ll never forget this one. I just wish we could’ve gotten one more game. Speaking of one more game …

Toronto survives

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

The Maple Leafs just barely eked out a 2-1 win over the Bruins to force a decisive Game 7.

I know how stressful this must be for both Bruins fans and Leafs fans. But, I’m sorry, this is incredibly entertaining for the rest of us. The stakes are so high with this one!

Both of these teams are fighting demons right now.

  • The Bruins are coming off an embarrassing playoff loss last year where the team blew a 3-1 lead to the Panthers last year.
  • Meanwhile, Toronto is playing a Game 7 in Boston for the fourth time in 11 years. They’ve lost the previous three.

Something has to give here, obviously. I’m sure the Bruins would love nothing more than to advance here and see the Panthers again to avenge last year’s embarrassment. But the pressure will be on.

Photo Friday: We got a poster!

(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)

Joel Embiid, meet OG Anunoby. OG Anunoby, meet the rim. What a dunk.

Quick hits: The most fascinating NFL prospects … Another terrible ump job … and more

— Here’s Cory Woodroof with the 10 most fascinating picks of the NFL Draft

— Andrew Joseph has more on an umpire incorrectly allowing Pete Crow-Armstrong to stay on base with his helmet

— Jayson Werth has a horse in the Kentucky Derby? That’s interesting. Charles Curtis has more.

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea with his latest beer of the week column.

— Bettors don’t seem to believe in Jayden Daniels at all. Here’s Ben Fawkes with more.

— And here’s Christian again with the best (most ridiculous) Kentucky Derby horse names to ever win.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. Let’s chat again on Monday. Until then! Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Tyrese Maxey has officially arrived into stardom and I’m sorry I ever doubted he would

They don’t call him Tyrese Mini.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Goooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you for rocking with us today. We appreciate you for giving us a bit of your time today.

One thing about me is that I’ll always admit when I’m wrong.

I love coming here and telling everyone when I’m right. I don’t do it often, but it is one of my favorite things to do. I just did it with the Suns on Monday.

READ MORE: The Bradley Beal trade was a terrible idea and now the Suns are paying for it.

If I’m going to do that, then it’s only right that I do the same when I’m wrong about something. Especially when I’m so terribly wrong about something like I was about Tyrese Maxey.

Let me be clear: It’s not that I didn’t think Maxey would never be a good player. I knew he was good. I’ve known since that game the 76ers had, like, two players available and the rookie Maxey still found a way to keep Philly in the game against the Nuggets. Whether he was good wasn’t the question.

Was he great? That’s always been the question. And I’ve always believed the answer was no.

Until last night, anyway.

It’s not even that Maxey dropped 46 points to save the 76ers season when nobody had it in them. The dude is an All-Star. That’s what All-Stars do. I’m not surprised by that.

What did shock me, though, was Maxey scoring 7 points on two shots in the final 25 seconds of the game to tie the game and send it into overtime. That was insane. That was legendary. That was the moment I knew.

As if drawing a 4-point play in the clutch wasn’t shocking enough, the dude followed it up by draining a logo 3-pointer with the season on the line to send the game into overtime.

I want you to bask in this for a second. You’ve probably already seen it, but watch it again. Listen to it. Take it in.

The audacity to pull that off in Madison Square Garden when you’re down by three points with your playoff lives on the line. It simply does not compute. It literally broke Jon Stewart.

Tyrese Maxey is here, man. This dude has arrived. He’s a star with a bigger playoff moment than some of the best players in the world that we know, and he’s only 23 years old.

The spotlight is yours, Tyrese. I see that now. I’m sorry I ever doubted it.

Not again, Mike Trout

Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The first chapter of the Mike Trout career post-mortem (whenever that comes along) should be that he was the best baseball player of his generation. I don’t care that the playoff success isn’t there. That’s never been on Trout. He’s always been incredible.

If the first chapter is about his greatness, the second will probably be about his injuries. Trout just hasn’t been able to stay healthy, man.

The Angels’ star player will miss significant time again this season after tearing his meniscus. He’ll have surgery on it and be out indefinitely.

This is so unfortunate. Injuries keep taking away from Trout’s greatness. He’s only played in 237 of 486 possible games since 2021, according to CBS Sports. That’s not a great ratio.

Hopefully, Trout will be back and healthy soon enough.

Playing with food

Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Pacers missed a big opportunity on Tuesday night and may end up paying dearly for it.

Indiana lost 112-95 to an extremely shorthanded Milwaukee Bucks team. Both Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokoumpo missed the game with their various injuries.

This was not supposed to happen. It’s actually never happened before. Milwaukee is the first team in NBA history to win a playoff game without both of its two top scorers.

Now, by extending the series, Milwaukee has given their best players a chance to come back potentially. Doc Rivers said they’re both “very close” to making a return, according to ESPN.

Tough luck, Indy. We’ll see how things develop from here.

Quick hits: Lakers head coaching candidates … BEEF … and more

— Here are five head coaching candidates that could replace Darvin Ham on the Lakers bench from Blake Schuster

— Kendrick Lamar cooked Drake. This beef is getting fun.

— Here’s Robert Zeglinski on how the Kristaps Porzingis injury might change the Celtics’ playoff trajectory.

— Caitlin Clark is one of People’s 2024 Beauties of the Year. Here’s Meg Hall with more.

— Here are some NFL Power Rankings after the draft from Robert and Christian D’Andrea. The Lions are looking so impressive.

— And here’s an early 2025 NFL Draft big board from Christian.

That’s all, folks! Thanks so much for reading. Appreciate you taking the time! Let’s do it all again tomorrow. See you soon. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Jamal Murray hit another impossible shot and this one might just break LeBron James’ Lakers permanently

Jamal Murray did it again, folks. Wow.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Gooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate you taking the time.

“Jamal Murray hit a shot.” Do you remember that? That’s what Anthony Davis said after Murray, who I should more aptly call the Lakers’ boogeyman at this point, hit a game-winning jumper over his outstretched arms in Game 3.

I don’t know what it was about that shot, man. It just felt like it had a lot of weight to it, you know?

Maybe it was because it put the final exclamation point on that epic 20-point comeback the Nuggets somehow pulled off to take that 3-0 lead. Or maybe it was the years of torment the Lakers inflicted upon the Nuggets franchise over the last, well, forever. That 2009 Western Conference Finals will never go away for Nuggets fans. And stop me if you’ve heard this before, but did you know Kobe Byrant never lost a playoff series to the Nuggets? I’m almost certain you heard that before.

Anyway, I digress. That was last week. When Murray hit that shot, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime deal. That’s one of those shots that, in 30 years, we’ll look back on as one of the most impressive displays of shotmaking in the clutch we’ve ever seen. No way he can do that again, right?

Wrong. Jamal Murray hit a shot. Again.

With 6.2 seconds left on the clock, Murray gets downhill in the pick-and-roll with Nikola Jokic. Again, it’s him and Anthony Davis face-to-face. Austin Reaves is trailing the play, but he gets back in it. By the time he does, though? It’s too late. Murray has risen. He pulls up and shoots a floater over Reaves’ outstretched arm. That’s game. That’s the series. It’s over.

That shot bounced the Lakers out of the playoffs. That shot is about to send the Lakers spiraling. It’s going to break this team up. News has already surfaced about Darvin Ham reportedly being on the hot seat. It has LeBron James answering questions about his future again.

There’s that weight again.

This is the good stuff. This is why we love playoff basketball. It’s the pinnacle of basketball — the top of the mountain, so to speak. The best athletes compete against one another to see who might come out on top.

Despite never being an All-Star or selected for an All-NBA team, Murray somehow finds himself staring down at some of the best names in the game when the lights are at their brightest. It’s uncanny, honestly, but it’s perfect.

I don’t know when we’ll see these teams play against one another in the playoffs again. Maybe it’s next year. It could also never happen again — which, let’s be honest, Lakers fans would probably be thrilled.

But I know this: If we do see this again, Murray will show up to play, and he’ll do it with ice in his veins.

Wanna feel old? You know you do.

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

Hey, guys. I don’t want to alarm you or anything, but for the first time in 20 years, we won’t see LeBron James, Kevin Durant, or Steph Curry in the second round of the playoffs.

Yup. That’s right. You’re that old. We haven’t lived like this since 2004. Here’s what else happened back then:

Your knees creaking yet? I think I’ve aged myself enough here.

What were you doing back in 2004? Let us know here with this survey. I’ll share some of the best (read: FUNNIEST) answers in a newsletter later this week.

Elimination night in the NHL

Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a lot at stake on the ice tonight, folks. We’ve got four elimination games coming up in the NHL. A handful of teams are going to be playing for their playoff lives.

  • The Canucks lead the Predators 3-1 and have a chance to close out the series at home. The Preds are a solid road team but are 6-15 overall in elimination games. If Vancouver wins it’d be the first time the Canucks made it to the second round since 2020.
  • The Hurricanes lead the Islanders 3-1 in their series with Carolina getting a chance to close things out at home in Game 5. Most of this series has felt extremely competitive, but the Hurricanes are just the better team. As expected.
  • The Avalanche lead the Jets 3-1 but Colorado will have to close out Winnepeg on the road. The Jets’ defense has struggled all series. Connor Hellebuyck hasn’t quite looked like himself in the net this series, but his line in front of him hasn’t been great either. They’ll have to figure it out if they want a shot tonight.
  • The Bruins have a 3-1 lead over the Maple Leafs. This series has had a bit of a damper put on it because of health. Auston Matthews (69 goals) has been battling an illness for the Leafs. It’s unclear if he’ll play in Game 5, which would be a devastating blow for Toronto’s comeback attempt.

Here’s how you can catch all the action on the ice tonight. Should be some exciting stuff.

Quick hits: Can Michael Penix work in Atlanta? …  … and more

— Here’s Cory Woodroof on why the Falcons taking Michael Penix Jr. may have actually been a good idea

— Patrick Mahomes is thrilled to see Travis Kelce sticking around for a few more years in Kansas City. Andrew Joseph has more.

— Bradley Beal’s reaction to being swept by the Timberwolves is incredible.

— Diana Taurasi is calling us soft. That’s SUCH a Diana Taurasi thing. Love her.

— Cory Woodroof has the best free agents available after the NFL Draft for you here.

— Nike is changing the MLB uniforms again — this time for the better. Here’s more on that.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading TMW today. We appreciate you. We’ll be right back at it again tomorrow. Until then, folks! Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

The Suns are toast because of the Bradley Beal trade and there’s nothing anyone can do about it

That Bradley Beal trade doesn’t look so great anymore

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Gooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for rocking with us today. We appreciate it.

This morning, I thought, “Do I want to be the petty Wizards fan that runs around all day screaming ‘I told you so!’ to all the fans who told me the Bradley Beal trade was a raw deal for my team?”

After much thought and careful consideration, I’ve decided the answer is an unequivocal yes. Yes, I do.

I told y’all, man. I did. While everyone was online calling me a hater, there I was looking at that roster and asking myself how on Earth Phoenix expected to stop anyone. People called me a madman. They said I was a hater, y’all. Here I sit at my desk this morning completely vindicated.

The Suns are the first team eliminated from the playoffs. The Timberwolves tossed Phoenix out of the playoffs like Uncle Phil used to toss Jazzy Jeff out of his crib back in the day. The series was a clean sweep, much to the chagrin of Beal himself, who told us he refused to be swept and then gave us one of the worst playoff performances of his career. Hilarious.

The most delicious part of all this? I don’t know what the Suns are supposed to do to improve. Honestly, there’s not much to be done. This team is a chaotic mess.

Its foundation is a trio of players with redundant skill sets. On top of that, nobody seems to like the head coach anymore with The Athletic’s Shams Charania reporting that Frank Vogel’s influence in that locker room faded as the season went on.

And don’t forget, Phoenix owes the player it completely mortgaged its future for another $161 million over the next three years and can’t just trade him away because—you guessed it—he somehow finessed the Wizards to get a no-trade clause in his contract. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

To summarize, the Suns have three massive salaries on the books with no draft equity and very few exceptions available to sign other players and improve. Any big move this team makes will have to come through trade. And, well, quite frankly, it doesn’t have much to trade.

Suns fans, I don’t know where things go from here. But I know this: The ride doesn’t seem like it’ll be a very fun one. Even sitting here as a lowly Wizards fan, I do not envy you.

Thanks for everything, Candace Parker

Candace Parker #3 of the Chicago Sky celebrates after defeating the Phoenix Mercury 80-74 in Game Four of the WNBA Finals to win the championship at Wintrust Arena on October 17, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois
(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)

We’re truly losing one of the greats, folks. After spending one last year with the Aces, Candace Parker officially announced her retirement on Sunday.

READ MORE: Twitter reacts to Candace Parker’s retirement announcement

The announcement itself hit like a punch to the gut. Parker wrote an eloquent goodbye note on Instagram. Did I make it beyond the first paragraph? Barely. Read this, man. Tell me you don’t get the feels.

“I’m retiring. I promised I’d never cheat the game & that I’d leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it’s time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it.”

So many folks had so much love to give — Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones, Angel Reese, and so many more — rightfully so. She loved the game so much. It’s only right that she gets it back.

What a career it’s been. Parker has racked up so many superlatives.

The game won’t be the same without her. But it’s so much better because it had her in it.

Thanks for everything, Candace. Basketball will miss you dearly.

The end for Ovechkin?

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Speaking of sweeps, the Rangers booted the Capitals out of the NHL playoffs on Sunday night, too. That wasn’t surprising. This New York team is good. 

What was shocking, though, was that Alex Ovechkin was held pointless in the series. It’s the first time in his 19-year career that’s happened. He only had five shots on goal.

Seeing players we grew up watching hit that final wall of their career is always rough. They’ve seemed superhuman for so long. That moment when they begin to look like everyone else is so painful.

That’s what’s happening with Ovie here. He says he’s still got a few more playoff series in him. Maybe he does.

But if they’re going to look like this? I hate to say it, but it’s time.

Quick hits: Winners and losers of the NFL Draft … The Nuggets’ title defense in doubt? … and more

— Here’s Robert Zeglinski on the eight winners and losers from the NFL draft over the weekend. Shoutout to my Eagles.

— And here he is again on Jamal Murray’s calf strain, putting the Nuggets’ title defense in doubt. That’s a big injury, man.

— Knicks fans have a new mortal enemy: Joel Embiid. Trae Young is probably thrilled. Andrew Joseph has more.

— Here’s Meghan Hall on Karl-Anthony Towns stamping Anthony Edwards as a superstar.

— Bryan Kalbrosky has more on the Timberwolves rallying around Chris Finch after he tore his patellar tendon during the Suns series.

— Here’s Prince Grimes on Candace Parker completing her mission.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for rocking with me this morning. Come right back tomorrow for more. Talk soon! Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

The Bears should stop wasting all of our time and just pick Caleb Williams already

Let’s get this over with, Bears. Stop playing games.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Goooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thank you so much for reading today. I appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.

The NFL draft is finally here. Many of you have been waiting for this day for a long, long time. I hope your team does the exact thing you want it to do. It probably won’t, but hey! There’s still hope.

Me personally? I’m only rooting for a timely process. That starts with the Chicago Bears, who hold the first overall pick.

Given that, I have a request for GM Ryan Poles and company: Pick Caleb Williams already, you cowards. Get it over with.

Obviously, the draft hasn’t started just yet. It won’t until 8 p.m. ET tonight (SIGH). But let’s be real — we all know who the Bears are picking here. It’s Williams. It’s always been Williams. We’ve known since, basically, September. Once Chicago traded Justin Fields, it was a wrap.

RELATED: Caleb Williams liked a video of Bears fans chanting his name

Yet, for whatever reason, Poles was out here trying to be cute with his pre-draft press conference. “We know what we’re going to do, but everyone is going to have to wait until Thursday to go there,” he told reporters.

Hey, Ryan. Buddy. I’ve got a newsflash for you: WE KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DOING, TOO.

Most of us have probably known what you and your team were doing for longer than you have. While y’all were hemming and hawing over where to trade Justin Fields, we wondered why you were still playing these silly games.

This is the worst-kept secret in the NFL. Just announce that you’re drafting Williams already. There’s no need to take more than two minutes to do this. If it takes the entire 10 minutes allotted for the pick, I will riot.

We’ve all got things to do and I need to hurry up and get to my team’s pick. Let’s get a move on, Chicago.

DON’T MISS A BEAT: Follow USA Today’s NFL Draft live tracker to stay updated on the latest news, mock drafts, expert picks and real-time pick analysis during tonight’s action!

Dive Deeper on the NFL Draft

Good reads from the staff at For The Win ahead of tonight’s action:

— Here’s Christian D’Andrea with our latest NFL mock draft ahead of all the action tonight.

— Five bold predictions for the NFL Draft from Cory Woodroof

— The 13 prospects attending the NFL Draft in the green room from Charles Curtis

— Prince Grimes has a top-10 NFL mock draft based on consensus betting odds for you.

— Six NFL prospects sliding down draft boards that could be steals from Christian D’Andrea

— The pressure a potential 6-quarterback first round puts on bettors from Ben Fawkes

The spotlight is yours, Detroit

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

For the last decade, the NFL draft has moved from location to location every year. Detroit is in the spotlight this year and, well, the city’s got a lot riding on this one, writes Ken Belson of the New York Times.

The city declared bankruptcy a decade ago, as the real estate market crash led to thousands of homes being abandoned and the automotive industry, which drove the city’s economy, was still on the road to recovery after its collapse.

Since then, Detroit has been on the up-and-up. There are still problems, of course, but it’s recovering. Belson writes the draft may perhaps be a springboard to hasten that recovery a bit more:

“Detroit hosted the Super Bowl in 2006, as a reward to the Lions for moving into a new stadium. But city officials expect that being the site of this year’s draft, which begins on Thursday, will provide an economic jolt, though how much of one is unclear. They also hope the three days of exposure on television showcases the city to fans who might not otherwise visit. Detroit, they say, is not the Detroit of a decade ago, when the city was bankrupt, tens of thousands of homes had been abandoned and the automobile industry was pulling out of a long slump. Since then, new hotels, businesses and residents have flooded downtown; unemployment has fallen; and the city’s debt has returned to investment grade.”

Of course, there are doubts about how much of a boost the draft — and other events like it — would provide for the city’s economy.

Ultimately, money generated will probably be spent just to host this event. Belson writes that road closures and increased security eat up that cash.

But this is Detroit’s moment to show the world how far it’s come since hitting rock bottom. In the end, that’s a good thing.

READ MORE: The NFL Draft is like the Super Bowl for Detroit

Meet the man who makes the fastest NFL players faster

Each one of the athletes you see picked today in the NFL Draft is one of the best athletes in the world. But they all won’t make it.

In the NFL, you win on the margins. Each second and every inch matters. Running a sub-4.3 40-yard dash could be the difference between being drafted in the second round or the fifth round. Most of these guys cut it that close.

That’s where Tony Villani comes in.

Villani is the founder of XPE Sports — a training facility where some of the best names in the game have come to get better over the last 22 years. Travis Kelce, Tariq Woolen, Anquan Boldin, Mark Ingram and so many more have come through those doors.

Through his speed training program, he helps the fastest players in the NFL become even faster. We got to fly down to Florida and chop it up with him to see how it all works.

He makes his strategy sound simple. “When people run a [40-yard dash] at 25 miles an hour, they get to 15 miles an hour at the first 5 yards,” Villani told For The Win. “They spend the next 35 yards getting the next 10. Training that explosive force into your form and doing it inside and tracking it…It’s so easy. We call it ‘get fast, fast.’ It’s not hard.”

WATCH: Watch Villani’s work with his latest crop of NFL hopefuls here

Quick hits: We need more from Nike after Caitlin Clark … Mookie Betts is the best … and more

— Meghan Hall wrote this awesome piece on Nike’s sneaker deal with Caitlin Clark and how it needs to lead to more from the brand on women’s hoops.

— Mookie Betts continues to be the best of us. Andrew Joseph has more here.

— Here’s Charles Curtis on how Kool-Aid McKinstry got his dope nickname.

— Here’s Charles again with the order of the first-round of the NFL draft. You know, for organizational purposes.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading. Hope you enjoyed today’s newsletter! TMW will be out tomorrow, but there will still be plenty of great content on the site for you to tap into. Happy NFL Draft day! Talk soon.

Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Reggie Bush getting back the Heisman Trophy he never deserved to lose feels so good

It’s about time, man.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Goooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you.

I’m not going to lie to y’all. I had something completely different written here about the Phoenix Suns. It was done. I was finished. Ready to publish.

Then news broke that Reggie Bush was finally getting his Heisman trophy back and I deleted everything. This is the day’s news. This is such a big deal, folks.

Before I tell you why, let me give you the skinny. The Heisman Trust has reportedly decided to formally reinstate Bush’s trophy and give it back to him he forfeited it to the committee in 2010, according to ESPN, citing the “enormous changes in the college football landscape” as the reason why.

Let me translate that for you: The players are getting paid over the table now through NIL collectives by the same boosters who allegedly paid players like Bush under the table back in the day. So, because of that, Reggie can have his trophy back.

The catharsis is flowing right now. After all these years of lobbying and public complaints, the Heisman Trust has finally listened to the reason. Bush should never have lost this trophy in the first place.

Look, I get it. USC broke the rules. An investigation into USC found that the school allegedly showered his family with improper gifts and benefits during his time at the school from 2003 to 2005.

Sure, they’re stupid rules, but they’re still the rules. Someone had to pay for that. In a way, I guess USC did. The school was stripped of 14 wins that Bush played in, including its 2004 BCS title. But it’s always felt like Bush himself was more severely punished.

Not only did he lose his Heisman Trophy, but his stats were also vacated. He was banned from USC for 10 years after 2010. They quite literally erased Bush from the annals of college football after he made everyone fall in love with it.

Do you understand how infuriating that is? Bush is one of the greatest college football players ever — he might be the most exciting. Every time he played, it was must-see TV. Just watch a highlight. You’ll get it if you don’t already.

What makes it doubly infuriating is that this never actually had to happen. The NCAA doesn’t govern the Heisman Trust. Those two organizations are independent of each other. Bush losing the trophy was the trust kowtowing to the NCAA’s whim and saying, “If Bush’s numbers don’t exist, then neither does his trophy.” Both things have always been extremely unfair.

All the work he did, the numbers he put up, the exciting moments he gave us. We were just supposed to act like it never existed all because the NCAA was upset about a little cash flow. That’s silly. It never made sense.

Thankfully, this egregious mistake has been corrected. Good for you, Reggie. It’s about time.

READ MORE: Fans are so thrilled Reggie Bush is getting his Heisman back

A G5 Playoff?

All the talk about the expansion of the college football playoff usually centers around the Power Five (Power Four now?) conferences — specifically with the SEC and Big Ten holding most of the power.

The middling conferences are always usually left out of the conversation despite having some pretty good teams with lots of depth and talent.

It seems like those conferences are finally looking to do something about that by creating their own playoff, according to reporting from The Athletic.

“Multiple administrators from within the G5 conferences — the American, Sun Belt, Mountain West, MAC and Conference USA — told The Athletic that former college and NFL coach Derek Dooley has been the salesman on behalf of private equity firms, making contact with schools. The administrators, who were granted anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, made clear that nothing is imminent and they haven’t been presented with any numbers yet. But conversations are more real than they’ve ever been. Dooley did not respond to a request for comment. CBS Sports first reported on the talks.”

Nothing concrete seems to be laid out just yet. But if these schools can pull this off, it would be an incredible power move. They’d be baking their own pie instead of just taking morsels the SEC, Big Ten and other big players are leaving behind.

This means creating their own structure and bowl games to go along with it. It certainly wouldn’t be easy to pull off, but it’s totally plausible.

I’d love to see this happen.

Anthony Edwards is a visionary

Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

“They got KD, but we got Jaden McDaniels.” This clip of Anthony Edwards from All-Star Weekend 2023 is easily one of the funniest clips ever.

But now, it’s kind of reality? Jaden McDaniels, y’all! He cooked Durant and the Suns in Game 2, which made the clip perfect. Charles Curtis has more:

“In an interview during All-Star week last year, the Minnesota Timberwolves star remarked, “They got KD, but we got Jaden McDaniels.”

KD would of course be Kevin Durant, and before you think that’s just Ant hyping up his T-Wolves teammate, maybe Edwards knew that in Game 2 of the Wolves’ playoff series against the Phoenix Suns, McDaniels would explode for 25 points, outplaying Durant (6-of-15 for 18 points).”

This is why you always show confidence in your teammates, man. Shoutout to Ant Edwards. The dude knows what he’s talking about.

Quick hits: The biggest NFL draft questions … Does Jerry Jones know how this works? … and more

— Here’s Cory Woodroof with 32 questions for all 32 teams as we enter into the NFL draft

— Jerry Jones got roasted because he doesn’t really seem to know how the draft works. Meghan Hall has more.

— Zach Edey to the Wizards? Nice. Very nice. Charles Curtis has more.

— Here’s Prince Grimes with prop betting guide to the NFL Draft.

— Here’s everything we know about the drama between a fan and Nikola Jokic’s brother. This isn’t a great look.

— Let’s hope Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze play together because the vibes are definitely there. Meg has more here.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. Let’s do this again tomorrow. Until then! Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

LeBron James and the Lakers complaining about officiating after blowing another lead is pathetic

This is the only thing the Lakers have left against the Nuggets.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Gooood morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for tapping in with us today. We appreciate you.

There’s nothing worse in sports than a sore loser. That’s what LeBron James and the Lakers look like today.

The Nuggets evaporated another double-digit lead behind a 20-20-10 triple-double from Nikola Jokic.  Then Jamal Murray sealed the game with an impossible stepback fadeaway over Anthony Davis.

It was absurd, sure. But here’s the thing: The absurdity of it all feels regular. At this point, I guess it is. The Nuggets have beaten this team 10 straight times. They’re just better in every way than the Lakers. It’s very clear.

That’s probably why, instead of just tipping their cap to Denver after a tough win, the Lakers are opting to complain about *checks notes* officiating? Sure. Yup. Ok.

Specifically, James and the Lakers were complaining about an overturned call on Michael Porter Jr. And, to be fair, that foul probably shouldn’t have been overturned! Porter Jr. clips Russell’s face after the ball is released.

But here’s the thing: At that point, the Lakers were nursing a 10-point lead heading into the final quarter. The Lakers still had every opportunity to win this game. No, scratch that. LA should’ve won this game.

But they didn’t. And now, here we are, with two of the team’s biggest stars complaining about officiating instead of just taking the L on the chin.

LeBron James went out of the way to call out officials at the end of his press conference, asking reporters, “What the [expletive] do we have a replay center for?” D’Angelo Russell ran to Twitter to tell everyone he was fouled as if there was something we could do about it.

Look, y’all. This isn’t a 76ers situation where officials missed a few calls at the end of Game 2 that led directly to Philly’s loss. That’s a team with plenty of room to complain.

RELATED: Mike Breen’s call at the end of the 76ers game is fantastic btw

Instead, we’re talking about a play that had no bearing on the game’s final moments. It didn’t matter. There was an entire quarter between that overturned call and the game’s final buzzer. The Lakers still had a lead and lost it.

That’s probably why we’re talking about this — the Lakers just realized there’s nothing they can do here. The reality is the Nuggets are just better. Denver has beaten LA 10 consecutive times in every way possible.

Instead of whining about fouls, maybe the Lakers should think about a way to defend Nikola Jokic a bit better. Because they don’t seem to have much of anything for that guy right now.

And Scott Foster ain’t coming to the rescue.

The saddest QB room ever?

Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

I’ve seen some pretty bad quarterback rooms in my day — especially living here in D.C. and seeing the Commanders up close.

But, man. The Broncos quarterback club might be the saddest one we’ve ever seen when opening weekend rolls around. Christian D’Andrea has more here: 

“The most likely situation is either Denver stands pat at No. 12 and adds a passer there, or trades back to address other needs (there are several) and slides to a place where it’s a little more logical to take a non-top-four QB. Either way, the best rookie for which the Broncos can hope is probably either Bo Nix or Michael Penix Jr..

Which means their training camp quarterback room would look like this:

  • Jarrett Stidham (incumbent starter, somehow)
  • Zach Wilson
  • Ben Dinucci
  • Bo Nix/Michael Penix Jr./Rookie QB X
  • the smoking crater Russell Wilson’s $35.4 million in dead salary cap space left behind

Gross! There are other iffy situations across the league. The New England Patriots currently have Bailey Zappe, Jacoby Brissett and Nathan Rourke under contract. The Washington Commanders have Marcus Mariota, Jake Fromm and Jeff Driskel. The Vikings are desperate enough for competence that they staked a $10 million bet on Sam by-god Darnold.

But each of those teams has the draft assets to at least instill some legitimate hope for 2024 and beyond. The Broncos are in worse shape.”

Jarrett Stidham, the incumbent starter? YUCK. Also, who in the world is Ben DiNucci? Definitely sounds like a created player.

Nobody deserves that. Sorry, Broncos fans.

We need reverse ejections in baseball

Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports

That’s what should’ve happened to umpire Hunter Wendelstedt during yesterday’s Yankees game. He ejected Aaron Boone for something he didn’t even do.

Here’s Andrew Joseph on that:

“In the first inning of the Yankees’ game against the A’s, Aaron Boone was evidently upset over a lead-off hit by pitch call. And ironically said something to Wendelstedt just as the ump missed a call in the Yankees’ favor.

Wendelstedt warned Boone to stop chirping and threatened him with an ejection. Boone seemed to take the message and stood at the edge of the dugout steps quietly. Yet, Wendelstedt mistook a fan’s heckling for Boone and ejected the Yankees manager anyway. The scene was absolutely wild.”

Wendelstedt literally admits that he doesn’t care what actually happened and that Boone was being ejected regardless.

That’s malpractice. Major League Baseball needs to step in here.

Quick hits: Anthony Davis is mad, too … Six NFL prospects who may not live up to the hype … and more

— WHEW boy the Lakers are upset. Anthony Davis didn’t have too much to say after Murray’s game-winner. Here’s Charles with more.

— Here’s Christian with more on six NFL draft prospects who may not live up to the hype this fall.

— The Nuggets live moneyline ticket is good money right now. Prince Grimes has more.

— Mark Stone’s goal last night has hockey fans kind of salty. Mary Clarke has more on why here.

— Cory Woodroof has five games that defined Matt Ryan’s Falcons career here.

— Cavs-Magic was somehow blacked out and fans were absolutely livid. Tyler Nettuno has more here.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. Appreciate you. Have a fantastic Tuesday. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

The NBA’s next TV deal potentially including a major streaming service for its biggest games can go so wrong

The streaming wars are taking over sports, and that could include the NBA.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good Morning, Winners! Happy Earth Day! I hope you’re well on this glorious Monday morning. Welcome back to the Morning Win.

There’s been a ton of NBA playoff action this weekend. Could you imagine having to go to, say, Amazon Prime to check it out? If the NBA has its way, that could potentially be in the cards moving forward.

ESPN and TNT’s exclusive negotiating window for the NBA’s television rights reportedly closes at midnight. If that does happen, a deal between the three sides can still be done. But it also opens the window for other partners to swoop in and woo the biggest basketball league in the world.

That’s what the NBA wants, according to the latest from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.

While the league seems interested in continuing its relationship with TNT and ESPN, it does not seem very interested in granting its two longtime broadcast partners the exclusive rights they had previously.

Particularly, Marchand says, the NBA is ready to get in bed with a streamer of some sort. While negotiations with TNT and ESPN are expected to continue, the league will also reportedly entertain overtures from Amazon, NBC, Netflix and more. The NBA is ready for a slice of that streaming pie, baby.

On one hand, you can’t blame the NBA here. Its contemporaries have all seemed to have varying levels of success playing the streaming game.

The NFL’s exclusive Thursday night window for Amazon has been a hit, with viewership reportedly increasing by 24 percent to almost 12 million viewers on average. The NFL also has the Peacock Playoff games that I thought we all hated. Yet, somehow, the NFL reportedly had 24 million viewers for those games on average.

When you view the NBA’s negotiating tactics here from that lens, it’s easy to see why the league is reportedly interested in streaming big games like conference title showdowns or even the NBA Finals on a streaming service. That’s a valuable platform.

But I think that could be a mistake — especially if those big games were exclusively paywalled like the NFL did with its games.

The NFL makes it look easy, man. It’s king in the sports world. No matter when the games are, where they are or how they’re broadcast, people will watch them. It’s a true “if you build it, they will come” situation.

The NBA doesn’t have that or anything close to that. This is a league that’s building gimmicky tournaments in the middle of its season to not only sell something new to streamers but also keep people interested and invigorated.

Sure, the stakes of, say, the NBA Finals would intrinsically build that interest. I’d buy a Peacock subscription for that in a heartbeat. So would a bunch of other nerds like me.

But what about the casuals who don’t already have one? Would they be as interested? The answer is probably not. It’s just not the same draw. Nobody but the NFL has that.

Streaming the NBA would be fine. In fact, I’d even call it a good thing. Cable isn’t dead, but there’s no question that it’s fading. Streaming options are required for big sports leagues in this day and age.

But access is important. Going streaming exclusive would be a huge mistake. Let’s hope the NBA doesn’t make it.

Golf legends are building at the same time

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

We had a special weekend in the golf world, folks.

First, Nelly Korda won a record-tying fifth straight tournament on the LPGA tour after winning the Chevron championship over the weekend. She finished two strokes under Maja Stark to win her second career major.

With that win, Korda joins Nancy Lopez (1978) and Annika Sorenstam (2005) as the only players to win five consecutive LPGA events. That’s surreal. If you’d asked Korda if she’d be in this moment back in 2022 while recovering from a blood clot that required surgery, she’d probably have said no.

On the other side in the PGA, Scottie Scheffler is building out quite the resume himself.

Scheffler won the RBC Heritage tournament on Monday after a rain delay. His lead was so demonstrative that a bogey on the final hole of the tournament didn’t even matter — he still finished 3-under 68 and held a three-shot victory over the competition.

Scheffler has won four of his last five starts and has taken home a purse of a bit over $16 million in the last 42 days.

I won’t call him Tiger-esque. I refuse to call him Tiger-esque … but it does feel pretty close, doesn’t it?

Golf is in a great place, folks.

Playoff hockey is the most stressful thing ever

Case in point: This goal from the Jets on Sunday night. I still have no idea how this went in. Our Mary Clarke doesn’t, either:

“In the midst of a wild back-and-forth Game 1, Adam Lowry extended the Jets’ lead to 5-3 in the third period after an absolutely bonkers sequence. Lowry’s shot hit both posts and then somehow managed to streak across the goal line just barely as it was spinning wildly in the air.

Originally this sequence was called no-goal on the ice, before replays caught the puck spinning right over the line before pivoting back out again.”

Look at how close this is, y’all. Come on.

I’m sorry, Avalanche homies. That’s a tough one. Especially in a tight game like that one? There were 13 total goals scored last night. Every single one made a difference — maybe none more than that one right there that was just mere inches away from not being a goal at all.

Like I said. Playoff hockey. It’s the most stressful thing in sports.

Quick hits: The underdogs rise up … NFL draft dads … and more

— The underdogs ruled the weekend in the NBA playoffs. Our Prince Grimes has more on that for you.

— There are a ton of NFL draft dads this year that will make you feel old as dirt. Here’s Charles Curtis with more.

— Christian D’Andrea has seven slept-on NFL prospects you should definitely keep an eye on.

— Joe Mazzulla being excited about Jayson Tatum’s hard fall here is so weird...but I like it. Robert Zeglinski has more.

— Damian Lillard didn’t go to Coachella this year and he’s so happy about it. Here’s Bryan Kalbrosky with more.

— There’s no way the White Sox should be this bad. This is wild. Andrew Joseph has more.

That’s a wrap, folks. Thanks so much for rocking with me today. Appreciate you. Have a fantastic Monday. Let’s do this again tomorrow. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️

Nike needs to finally give A’ja Wilson a signature shoe or let someone else do it instead

This needs to happen. Now.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for reading today. We appreciate you.

Mind if I get a little deep in my sneaker bag this morning?

News of Caitlin Clark’s new signature shoe deal with Nike hit the streets late on Wednesday night. Clark reportedly signed a multi-year, ten-figure signature shoe deal with the Swoosh, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.

That’s well deserved. Seeing a rookie get a signature shoe deal is extremely rare, but this was largely expected for Clark. Her popularity is obvious — her Indiana Fever jersey sold out within an hour after she was drafted. Nike is banking on that same fever (pun very much intended) carrying over into the sneaker world.

But, yo. I’m sorry. Where on Earth is A’ja Wilson’s signature shoe?

Look, I don’t mean to railroad this Caitlin Clark news. I’m genuinely happy for her and glad Nike is capitalizing on her popularity.

But A’ja Wilson has been in line for a sneaker for a long time now and it just hasn’t happened yet. It’s getting pretty ridiculous.

The Aces’ superstar has been in the WNBA since 2018. She’s become a two-time WNBA champion, a two-time MVP, a Defensive Player of the Year winner and a five-time All-Star.

Even before that, her stardom bubbled at South Carolina. She actually won a championship there, too. She was also named as a Naismith Award winner and the 2017-18 National Player of the Year.

Off the court, she’s popping. She’s one of the W’s brightest personalities and easily one of the most likable characters in the league. She just made TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list. She’s also now a New York Times best-selling author. She’s done every single GTA side mission at this point.

She’s even proven herself as one of Nike’s most valuable faces. Wilson was the headliner for the brand’s Cosmic Unity sneaker line and she got her own LeBron 21 Player Exclusive model that people reacted well to.

What else must this woman do to get a signature shoe on her feet? No one can say she isn’t marketable or good enough. So what’s the hold-up, then?

That’s what makes the announcement of a Clark signature shoe deal so frustrating. You see just how easily that deal reportedly got done before Clark even played a minute of WNBA basketball. What does it take to make this happen for A’ja?

We genuinely don’t know the answer to that question because Nike hasn’t said much about the situation. As of 9:00 a.m. E.T. this morning, I’ve contacted the brand for comment but have not gotten a response.

Instead of speculating, let’s focus on the facts. When you do that, this doesn’t look great for Nike.

Nike is expanding into women’s basketball again. That’s a good thing  — especially as the brand searches for a new face with LeBron James’ retirement looming over everything. It could easily be a WNBA player who takes over that mantle — especially with how quickly the league is growing.

But here’s the problem: The most prominent female faces of Nike basketball are set to be two white women in a league that is 70 percent Black. There go those racial disparities in the WNBA again.

I’m not saying that Nike is doing this on purpose or that there’s some sort of malicious intent here. I’m just saying that Wilson needs a signature shoe, like, yesterday.

And, whatever it takes to make that happen? I hope it happens. Even if that means the shoe doesn’t come from Nike at all.

So long, Coyotes

Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

This entire Arizona Coyotes saga has been so strange. A move for this team has always felt like it’s been in play, but never actually serious. Until now.

The team is reportedly moving to Salt Lake City and it just all feels so sudden. One day, the move was proposed. The next, the NHL’s Executive Committee approved the deal. Yesterday, the team played its final game in Mullett Arena.

This has all been so strange. Charles Curtis captured the most emotional moments from the game here:

“With the Arizona Coyotes franchise packing up and heading to Utah in Salt Lake City, the NHL team that’s had a long history of struggles in the area, there was one last game in Tempe on Wednesday night. The awesome part is the Coyotes won it, but it was a night filled with poignant moments for fans, players and staffers.”

My heart goes out to you, Coyotes fans. It’s never easy to see a team move. But to have it ripped away like this? That’s tough. Hopefully, hockey will return to Arizona someday soon.

The Jontay Porter fallout

Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports

Jontay Porter’s lifetime ban from the NBA is well-deserved. Not only did the dude bet on his own team, but he also influenced his prop bets in a way that violated the game and the intrinsic trust built between the league and its viewership.

That just can’t happen. He couldn’t be allowed to return after that. Our Prince Grimes has more on the situation here with five key takeaways from it all. Adam Silver is a man of his word:

“The first thing to understand here is Porter is done in the NBA. While the official release doesn’t put a time frame on the ban, it’s safe to assume it’s permanent. Commissioner Adam Silver told reporters last week Porter could face a lifetime ban if the accusations against him were confirmed. This is confirmation.”

It’s good the NBA caught this happening. At the very least, this proves its system is working. That’s the good part.

The bad part is that this happened in the first place and that it got as far as it did. Porter placed 13 NBA bets via someone else’s account before getting caught here. This went on for a while.

Hopefully, Porter is a good enough example for this to never happen again.

Quick hits: Speaking of Caitlin Clark jerseys … Another amazing Mike Breen call … and more

— Caitlin Clark’s jersey is going to be on hold for a while, man. Bryan Kalbrosky has more here.

— Mike Breen and free chicken are an amazing combination. Here’s Cory Woodroof with more.

— Meghan Hall has more on Tom Brady’s glowing A’ja Wilson tribute in Time Magazine.

— Zion Williamson’s latest injury is so heartbreaking. Prince has more here.

— Charles Barkley and Shaq roasting Kendrick Perkins is the best. Robert Zeglinksi has more.

— Here’s Meg with the eight best moments from Caitlin Clark’s introductory press conference.

Thanks so much for reading TMW today, folks! We appreciate you. Have a fantastic rest of your day. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️