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! Thanks so much for rocking with TMW today. We appreciate you giving us a bit of your time.
Now that the Dallas Mavericks have officially trounced the Minnesota Timberwolves and are on the way to the NBA Finals to play Boston, can I just say that this is the absolute perfect matchup that I had no idea we needed?
Look, to be fair to me and everyone else who wasn’t picking the Mavs to make it to the Finals, this didn’t seem possible in February before the trade deadline. On Feb. 3, the Mavs were 26-23 and looked like a team that might finish the season around .500.
Dallas mortgaged its future for the perfect pieces to surround its stars, and it’s worked. Now, we’re here. And I’ve got to say, this is an NBA Finals with some incredible theater.
There are so many storylines. The scriptwriters couldn’t have done us any better.
- Beyond anything else, it’s Luka Doncic vs. Jayson Tatum. One of these two stars is getting their first championship. The conversation around both will shift dramatically, no matter what the results are here.
- Then you’ve got Kyrie Irving’s return to Boston. Obviously, he’s got a ton of beef with that organization. Remember when he saged the arena and stomped the logo? Yeah. Good times.
- You’ve also got Kristaps Porzingis’ (potential) return to Dallas if he’s healthy. From a basketball perspective, he seemed like a hand-in-glove fit with Luka Doncic, but their personalities didn’t mesh.
- Somebody should send my Wizards a ring after these Finals. Both Porzingis and Daniel Gafford were teammates in D.C. this time last year. Now, they’re major contributors to Finals teams. You’ve got to love it. (Yes, I’m crying on the inside).
There’s so much worth watching for here in these Finals. June 6 can’t get here soon enough.
Another L for the NCAA
It’s been an absolute nightmare of a week for the NCAA. Slowly, but surely, moving to the point where it’ll have to figure out how to pay its players.
Now, it’ll have to drop its rules on transfers completely as part of an agreement ending a lawsuit with the Department of Justice, according to reporting from CNN.
As things stand, the NCAA must remove any restrictions on players who’ve transferred multiple times. They’ll be eligible to play immediately instead of having to sit out a year after transferring. In addition, players who were forced to sit out a year after transferring will receive an extra year of eligibility to play from the NCAA.
The ruling still needs to be approved by a judge, so it isn’t quite set in stone just yet. But it’s hard to imagine it’s shut down after coming this far. The Justice Department called the NCAA’s transfer rule “anticompetitive” because it limited the student-athlete’s flexibility.
The NCAA’s relevance as the regulatory body of college sports is diminishing, and it’s the organization’s own fault. We wouldn’t be here if it’d been flexible on its nonsensical rules. Now, everything the organization does is being examined with a fine-tooth legal comb. As it turns out — and you’ll be shocked to hear this — none of it ever made sense!
There’s still plenty more change to come with college sports. Buckle in, folks.
Caitlin Clark gets spicy
There’s the Caitlin Clark I’ve been waiting for. This is how I know she’s been getting comfortable. She hit a deep 3-pointer on Victoria Vivians and then had some words for her.
Here’s Cory Woodroof with details:
“Indiana Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark showed her competitive edge on Thursday night at home while getting a technical foul for getting into a scuffle with Seattle Storm guard Victoria Vivians.
After Clark hit a fantastic logo 3-pointer for Indiana, Clark and Vivians got into each other’s faces, made brief contact and exchanged some heated words with each other.”
This is some pretty incredible theater, man.
Caitlin Clark and Victoria Vivians exchange some words…
🎥 @SportsonPrime pic.twitter.com/yDlEmiBjp3 pic.twitter.com/iLghuNAM4e
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) May 30, 2024
This feels like it could be a true arrival moment for Clark. It’s not a big outburst of points or some incredible run. Nope. It’s her finally being comfortable enough to bring that fiery personality out. That’s exactly what I want to see.
Just, uh, one more thing: Can we stop with the complaining to and about the officials? Less of that, Caitlin. More of this. This is good.
Photo Friday: Stanley C. Panther and the rats
Fans throwing rats on the ice in Florida will never cease to be hilarious to me. Here’s the story behind that from The Hockey Writers back in 2012:
“The story of the rats goes back to Oct. 8, 1995. Prior to a game against the Calgary Flames, a rat appeared in the Panthers’ locker room in the old Miami Arena. Former Panthers’ captain Scott Mellanby jumped up, grabbed a stick, and smacked the pesky rodent against a wall. Later that night, Mellanby scored two goals, leading then Panthers’ goalie John Vanbiesbrouck to quip, ‘He scored a rat trick.'”
Fans have been throwing rats on the ice ever since. Hilarious.
Quick hits: The Bears are on Hard Knocks … The Chiefs might bench Butker … and more
— Caleb Williams is so good he’s got the Chicago Bears on Hard Knocks this summer. Here’s Robert Zeglinski with more.
— You’re probably going to see less of Harrison Butker for the Chiefs next season but it’s not for the reason you’re thinking.
— Luka Doncic cursing Snoop Dogg out is the best thing you’ll see all day. Here’s Cory with more.
— Meg Hall has the best WNBA outfits from the week. These ladies sure are fly.
— Bronny James to…the Warriors?!? Here’s Charles Curtis with more.
— Here’s Christian D’Andrea on how Justin Herbert is accelerating the Chargers’ rebuild.
That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. Appreciate your time! Have a fantastic weekend. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️