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Michael Beasley had raunchy message for Lance Stephenson after 1-on-1 game for $100,000

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NBA journeyman Michael Beasley won the right to talk trash after his publicized 1-on-1 game against his former teammate, Lance Stephenson. Beasley did not waste his opportunity.

On Friday, Beasley and Stephenson faced off in the main card of the TNC 02 basketball event in Miami, Fla. Beasley thoroughly bested Stephenson 31-21 to take home the event’s $100,000 cash prize.

The former No. 2 overall pick got off to a quick 4-0 start and never looked back. The scoring display Beasley put on even had guest announcer Kyrie Irving swearing he “would never” want to play Beasley 1-on-1.

Friday’s contest got contentious as Stephenson feuded with referees and spectators alike. But the former Indiana Pacers star showed love to Beasley after the game. Stephenson tagged Beasley in an Instagram story with the caption, “Great game bro.”

Beasley’s response started off wholesome. But the Kansas State alum could not resist getting a vulgar dig in at Stephenson.

“I love you to the moon and back… Now grab a cigarette and a towel… We made a sex tape Kim K would envy,” replied Beasley.

Stephenson is no slouch as an opponent. The man known as “Born Ready” was an integral part of the Pacers’ deep postseason runs in 2013 and 2014. Lance was considered by many to have had more talent than he was able to realize in the NBA.

However, few players had more unrealized potential than Beasley. The Miami Heat selected him to be Dwyane Wade’s co-star back in 2008 after his stellar freshman season at Kansas State. He averaged 26.2 points and 12.4 rebounds as a member of the Wildcats.

Beasley could just never put it together in the pro ranks. He played for seven different teams across 11 NBA seasons. The 6’9″ offensive savant averaged just 12.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, never averaging over 20 points per game in any season.

Beasley played his final campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018-19, when he became teammates with Stephenson.

Fans all said the same thing about Tyrese Haliburton’s exchange with Scott Van Pelt after Game 1

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A simple exchange between Tyrese Haliburton and late-night ESPN host Scott Van Pelt has gone viral on social media.

The Indiana Pacers star appeared on SportCenter with Van Pelt after leading his team to a thrilling 111-110 comeback win in Game 1 of the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. After the Pacers trailed for the first 47 minutes and 59 seconds of the contest, Haliburton hit the game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left to silence the crowd at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.

Towards the end of his interview with Haliburton, Van Pelt talked about being “late to the party” on the Pacers. The admission led to an awesome exchange between the two sports personalities.

Van Pelt: “The other night, on the show, I put my hand up and I said, ‘Look, I was late to the party on [the Pacers].’”

Haliburton: “You’re a real one for that. I heard that. A lot of your counterparts won’t admit that now.”

Van Pelt: “Okay, now I’m going to give myself a little wiggle room and say you guys were under .500 at Christmas, am I right?”

Haliburton: “Oh, we were rough. We were rough.”

Van Pelt: “Were you bad at the start?”

Haliburton: “Okay, yeah. We were.”

Van Pelt: “Okay, all I said was I was a little late to the party.

Haliburton: “For sure. We were late to the party, too.”

Van Pelt: “I’ll be a real one right now. Every single note I had on this card, getting ready for this show, was about Oklahoma City winning this game, and I’m sitting here with you. It’s an amazing show that you’re putting on, and the belief is amazing to watch as well.”

The back-and-forth resonated well with fans. Many called the exchange authentic and genuine, in line with the character of both Haliburton and Van Pelt.

Both men also got a ton of praise for keeping things light and real.

Haliburton tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists in Game 1. The Pacers star’s late-game heroics won him a slew of new fans. His exchange with Van Pelt likely added a few more.

Cowboys Super Bowl winner Tom Rafferty dies at 70

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Longtime Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Tom Rafferty has died.

Rafferty’s daughter, Rachel Powers, confirmed to The Dallas Morning News’ Kevin Sherrington that the 1977 Super Bowl winner has been hospitalized since May. He was 70.

The Cowboys lifer famously bridged the careers of legendary franchise quarterbacks Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman. Rafferty began his career as a reserve guard during the 1976 season. He became the team’s full-time starting right guard in his second season and started in all three games during Dallas’ 1977 Super Bowl run.

Rafferty remained at right guard until 1980 before transitioning to center in 1981. He held the starting center role down until his final season in 1989, which was also Aikman’s first season at the helm.

The Cowboys released a statement Friday to commemorate Rafferty’s life and career.

“[Tom Rafferty] was a shining example of being a great, trusted teammate and champion, always approaching the game and his role by doing the right thing.”

Rafferty also cleared the way for Tony Dorsett’s iconic 99-yard touchdown run in 1983 — the first such rushing TD in NFL history. Big No. 64 created a huge opening that gave Dorsett the runway to accelerate past the Minnesota Vikings defense.

Rafferty played in over 200 regular season games for the Cowboys and was a part of nine different postseason runs.

Taylor Lewan embarrasses himself with bad ceremonial first pitch

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Taylor Lewan embarrassed himself on Thursday, and he knows he has a lot to overcome.

Lewan and Will Compton, who co-host the popular “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, threw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to the St. Louis Cardinals-Kansas City Royals game. Lewan, who was a three-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman with the Tennessee Titans, went first. Lewan showed a nice pitching motion, but the ball slipped out of the southpaw’s hand and went way to the left. His pitch was so off that it went wide of the batter’s box.

As if that weren’t bad enough, Compton stepped in right after and showed up his co-host. Compton, who also played in the NFL, went to a stretch and gave a great leg kick before delivering a strike low in the zone.

Lewan had warned people about his bad throw, saying that the haters were going to have fun with it.

“Currently at the @Cardinals game, and there’s something I need to get ahead of. A video will be surfacing of me throwing a pitch from the mound. Let’s just say… the haters are going to have an absolute field day. It is a beautiful stadium tho (sic).”

Lewan is looking for another shot at throwing a first pitch.

“This is the worst day of my athletic career and that includes the Chandler Jones game. I need redemption,” Lewan wrote on X.

Lewan was referring to a 2021 game between the Titans and Arizona Cardinals during which Chandler Jones had five sacks, including two where he beat Lewan 1-on-1. Yes, Lewan needs redemption. And seeking redemption after a bad first pitch seems to be a theme around here.

Report: Knicks eyeing new NBA head coach who is currently employed

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The New York Knicks are going for moonshots right now as they look to fill their head coaching vacancy.

The Knicks are interested in potentially luring away Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch, Ian Begley of SportsNet New York reported on Friday. Begley notes however that the Knicks would be required to send back compensation to the Timberwolves if they hire away Finch (as would be the case with the hiring of any NBA head coach who is currently under contract).

The 55-year-old Finch just completed his fifth season as head coach of Minnesota. He holds an overall record of 209-160 (.566) with four total playoff berths. Finch also notably served as a head coach during the NBA All-Star Game in 2024 thanks to his success with the Timberwolves.

Ultimately, it might be very difficult for the Knicks to lure Finch away from the Timberwolves. Finch has now made the conference finals with Minnesota in back-to-back years and also has an ascendant 23-year-old superstar in Anthony Edwards leading the charge.

But the Knicks are a high-profile job in a marquee city. They also notably have Karl-Anthony Towns on their roster (Towns, of course, made multiple All-Star appearances under Finch’s leadership in Minnesota).

Finch is not the only big (and currently employed) name whom the Knicks, who just fired their head coach Tom Thibodeau, are after. A report broke earlier this week that the Knicks are interested in two other current Western Conference head coaches (with one of those names in particular looking to be progressing towards a potential interview with the Knicks).

Mike Breen responds to criticism of his call of Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winner

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Tyrese Haliburton stunningly did not receive a “BANG!” from Mike Breen on his epic game-winner in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Now Breen is defending himself against the criticism of his call.

The Indiana Pacers star Haliburton was once again the hero in Thursday’s Game 1 against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, O.K. After Indiana trailed by as many as 15 in the fourth quarter, Haliburton’s breathtaking shot with 0.3 seconds left gave the Pacers one of the unlikeliest wins in Finals history.

Breen, who was calling the game for ESPN, declined to give Haliburton a “BANG!” for his game-winner though and instead settled for an “IT’S GOOD!” Countless viewers noted what a big snub that seemed like from Breen.

Speaking in an interview Friday with SI’s Jimmy Traina, Breen explained himself. Essentially, Breen said that he reserves the “BANG!” for three-pointers only.

“We were so happy with such a fun game and a great comeback,” said Breen. “And now there’s obviously juice to the series, and I liked the Haliburton call, and then I find out later that I’m getting destroyed because I didn’t say ‘BANG!’”

“I think in all these years I only said bang for a two-pointer once,” Breen added. “It was a Kobe Bryant game-winner in the playoffs when he hit a shot against Phoenix, and it was the only time. That’s the only time. I save it for threes. In hindsight, because of the magnitude of the shot, it certainly would’ve worked and made people happy. But I don’t premeditate the call, and it was such an unbelievable shot. If he was beyond the 3-point mark, I probably would’ve said ‘BANG!’”

“BANG!” is the 64-year-old Breen’s signature call. But he does indeed reserve it almost exclusively for three-pointers. The most famous example of that so far this postseason was New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson’s series-winning three-pointer in the first round against the Detroit Pistons (which actually earned an even rarer double “BANG!” from Breen).

It is possible too that Breen is especially under the microscope these days given the unpopular state of the ESPN NBA team. After his longtime partners Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson were let go by ESPN two summers ago, Breen has struggled to find chemistry with his new partners Doris Burke and Richard Jefferson. Now there are some rumors that ESPN could potentially shake up that crew in the booth after this season.

Softball ace NiJaree Canady signs $1.2 million deal with Texas Tech

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Who says it doesn’t pay to play softball?

Texas Tech ace NiJaree Canady is making over $1 million this season. The star pitcher has also signed a deal for next season with the Red Raiders that will pay her $1.2 million.

Canady had begun her career at Stanford before transferring to Texas Tech for the 2025 season. The Red Raiders enticed her with a 7-figure NIL offer. There were questions about whether she would put herself on the free agent market again and see how much she could earn in 2026, but those questions have been put to rest. Canady’s manager told reporters on Friday that she has signed on for a second year with Texas Tech.

A softball player earning $1 million in NIL money may sound excessive, but Canaday has delivered.

The junior pitcher has gone 34-6 with a 0.97 ERA and 317 strikeouts in 239 innings. She also hits and has batted .280 with 6 doubles and 11 home runs.

Canady has pitched Texas Tech not only to their first ever Women’s College World Series, but she took the Red Raiders to the finals. They enter Friday tied 1-1 in their best-of-3 series with Texas, a win away from the national championship.

In her two seasons at Stanford, Canady was brilliant. She went 41-10 with a 0.67 ERA and 555 strikeouts in 365.2 innings. She was named the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year last year as well.

Diamondbacks announce brutal news about Corbin Burnes

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The Arizona Diamondbacks announced some brutal news about Corbin Burnes on Friday.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo shared that Burnes will be undergoing Tommy John surgery. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache.

Burnes had exited his start on Sunday against the Nationals after experiencing pain in his elbow during the fifth inning. Burnes was furious over the situation, which seemed to suggest he knew the injury was serious. Even though initial reports suggested that Burnes might have avoided a serious injury, the pitcher knew otherwise and was proven correct.

Unfortunately for both Burnes and the Diamondbacks, he’ll be out for extended time, as Tommy John surgeries typically takes between 12-18 months. Burnes might not return until the end of next season on the early side.

This is a brutal way for Burnes to begin his Diamondbacks tenure. He signed a 6-year, $210 million contract with the team over the offseason, and now one third of the length of the contract seems like it will be marred.

The 30-year-old ace had gone 3-2 with a 2.66 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 64.1 innings this season. He was likely to make his fifth straight All-Star team. This injury will also end Burnes’ streak of five straight seasons where he had finished in at least the top 8 for Cy Young Award voting. He won the award in 2021 thanks to an excellent season he had with the Brewers where he went 11-5 with a 2.43 ERA.

All of Tyrese Haliburton’s clutch shots this season compiled into one video

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Tyrese Haliburton has developed a reputation for being a clutch player thanks to all the huge shots he’s hit this postseason. It turns out that has been part of a trend he’s established all season long.

Haliburton has attempted 15 shots during the 2024-2025 NBA season (both regular and postseason) to tie a game or take the lead in the last two minutes of a contest. He has made 13 of his 15 such shot attempts, which is pretty ridiculous. In this video, you can see all 15 shot attempts.

When you see just how many clutch shots Haliburton has made this season all compiled together like that, it tells the story of the Pacers. Not only does Haliburton come through at the end of games, but Indiana has proven all season long that the game is never over as long as there is still time left on the clock.

Haliburton averaged 18.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game during the regular season. He is averaging 18.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game during the postseason this year.

Ryan Clark offers harsh take on Steelers signing Aaron Rodgers

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The Pittsburgh Steelers have finally landed Aaron Rodgers after pursuing the star quarterback for months, and Ryan Clark believes his former team has made a massive mistake.

Rodgers agreed to a one-year deal with the Steelers on Thursday. Clark discussed the news during an appearance on “SportsCenter,” and he said fans in Pittsburgh should view it as a “worst-case scenario” for the franchise.

While Clark believes Rodgers will be an upgrade over Russell Wilson, he does not think the 41-year-old is capable of leading the Steelers on a deep postseason run.

“This is the worst-case scenario for Pittsburgh Steelers fans. It continues to keep you mired in mediocrity,” Clark said. “Will this team be better? Have they gotten better in the quarterback room? Absolutely. Will they contend for that championship that Pittsburgh Steelers people and fans and organization think is the standard? No, they won’t. … They’ll be fighting for a wild card spot. They’ll probably be home week one of the playoffs and again be looking for a franchise quarterback.

“If you told me you were gonna pair one of this era’s greatest coaches with one of this era’s greatest quarterbacks, I’d expect greatness. That is not what we’ll get.”

Clark was extremely critical of Rodgers when the New York Jets struggled last season. Rodgers eventually responded by taking shots at Clark and claiming Clark has a personal vendetta against him. An old video that surfaced suggested Rodgers might be right about that.

The Jets went 5-12 last season with Rodgers as their starting quarterback, so Clark’s take is not all that unreasonable. The Steelers went 10-7 and reached the playoffs with Russell Wilson. Tomlin and the Steelers obviously feel that Rodgers can do better, but Clark disagrees.

Novak Djokovic wins amazing 26-shot rally against Jannik Sinner

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Novak Djokovic had a real tough time against Jannik Sinner in their semifinal match at the French Open on Friday. Nothing showed just how tough things were more than the 26-shot rally Nole won against Sinner in the second set.

Djokovic was up 1-0 in the second set and returning a second serve from Sinner. Djokovic hit a forehand deep, and then the two began to trade groundstrokes before Djokovic drew Sinner in to the net with a drop shot. Sinner chased it down, and Djokovic ran his opponent around some more before finally putting away the point with a backhand volley he had to stretch for.

That was one heck of a point. It reflected how good Sinner is that he made Djokovic work that hard just to win a single point. Sinner proceeded to win the next two points to hold serve and make it 1-1 in the second set.

Sinner took the first set of the match 6-4 as he had his eyes set on reaching his first ever French Open final. Djokovic was hoping to make the French Open final for the 8th time in his career.

The Aaron Rodgers-Mike Tomlin memes are out of control

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Aaron Rodgers has agreed to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which means he will be coached by Mike Tomlin for the upcoming season. Both Rodgers and Tomlin are strong personalities, so it’s no surprise the memes surrounding the impending partnership between the men have been out of control.

For starters, Tomlin has coached in the NFL for 18 seasons and has never had a losing season. There is a risk that Rodgers could be the one to break the streak.

Then you had people making jokes about Tomlin joining Rodgers on his spiritual journey.

And then there were some who joked that Tomlin, Rodgers and even offensive coordinator Arthur Smith would have some tough times ahead.

The Steelers have had consecutive 10-7 seasons. That was just enough to make the wild-card game both years but lose those games. Steelers fans are tired of the early playoff exits. Pittsburgh is hoping that Aaron Rodgers will be able to give their offense the boost they’ve been missing. Fans have their doubts.

Adam Sandler gives Derrick Henry a new incentive to rush for 2,000 yards

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Derrick Henry came up just short of 2,000 rushing yards with the Baltimore Ravens last year in his first season with the team, and his favorite actor has now given him some added incentive to hit the mark in 2025.

Henry spoke during a Wednesday appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show” about how he is a huge Adam Sandler fan. Patrick, who is close with Sandler and has had roles in many of Sander’s movies, told Henry that he will get the All-Pro running back a cameo appearance in a Sandler movie if Henry rushes for 2,000 yards this upcoming season.

Henry seemed genuinely excited and told Patrick to “say no more.”

Patrick also promised to have Sandler send Henry a video, and D.P. followed through.

On Friday, Sandler sent Henry a video message in which the actor and producer promised to put Henry in one of his movies and take the running back to dinner if Henry rushes for 2,000 yards this year.

“2,000 yards-plus gets you, this year, not only in the movie, but we have a nice dinner together and talk about Dan Patrick’s facial hair and how hard it is for him to grow it. I love ya. Keep it up,” Sandler told Henry.

Henry cashed in on some huge incentives while racking up 1,921 yards last season. He showed in 2020 that he is capable of hitting the 2,000-yard mark, as he rushed for 2,027 yards that year with the Tennessee Titans.

With Henry on the wrong side of 30, some wonder if the Ravens will want to cut his workload back a bit from the 325 carries he had last season. But if Henry is near the 2,000-yard mark again late in the year, he will probably be thinking about that Adam Sandler movie.

New information surfaces about Anthony Richardson’s latest injury

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Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson will not participate in minicamp next week due to an issue with his throwing shoulder, and some new information about the injury has surfaced.

Colts head coach Shane Steichen announced on Thursday that Richardson aggravated the AC joint in his right shoulder and has experienced soreness. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Richardson recently underwent scans.

Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who performed surgery on Richardson’s shoulder in 2023, examined the injury and found no structural concerns, according to Fowler.

“It’s the AC joint that he suffered an injury on in 2023. I’m told there’s some inflammation from that,” Fowler said Friday. “Richardson went really hard this offseason and in OTAs. He was throwing a lot, sometimes hundreds of footballs a day. He felt some soreness and some inflammation.

“He reported it to Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who did the surgery two years ago. They looked at the scans. I’m told, structurally, this is okay. It’s just an inflammation and rest, soreness type of issue. He fully expects to be ready to go for training camp, but it is an issue, make no mistake.”

Richardson first injured his shoulder midway through his rookie season in 2023. The former No. 4 overall pick suffered a sprained AC joint while being tackled on a designed run play, which eventually led to him having surgery.

Richardson was banged up again last season and drew criticism for the admission he made after subbing himself out of one game.

Daniel Jones signed with the Colts as a free agent this offseason and is competing with Richardson for the Week 1 starting job. That competition is still expected to take place during training camp, but Richardson needs to get healthy first.

Fans all had the same reaction to Richardson’s latest injury, and you can understand why. The Colts were high enough on Richardson to draft him fourth overall two years ago, but his career has gotten off to a nightmare start.

Report: Knicks looking to interview Hall of Famer for head coach job

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The New York Knicks are hoping to interview a Hall of Fame player for their head coach vacancy, but they would first need permission from another NBA team.

The Knicks are expected to formally request permission to interview Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd, according to NBA reporter Marc Stein.

Stein wrote on Friday that the Knicks have interest in Kidd, though it is unclear how the Mavericks will react to the inquiry.

ESPN’s Tim McMahon, who covers the Mavericks, said on “The Hoop Collective” podcast earlier this week that there is a possibility of Kidd leaving Dallas to take the same job with the Knicks. McMahon cited Kidd’s strong relationship with Jalen Brunson, whom Kidd coached in Dallas, and other people in New York.

While McMahon said it would be going “way too far” to say Kidd wants out of Dallas, the reporter claimed the Mavericks have made some recent decisions that Kidd was not pleased about.

Kidd is close with veteran NBA trainer Casey Smith, who was controversially phased out by the Mavericks a while back. Smith has since taken a job with the Knicks.

Kidd just completed his fourth season as the head coach in Dallas. He led the team to the NBA Finals a year ago, but things changed dramatically for the Mavericks after Luka Doncic was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in a stunning move. Kidd suggested publicly that he had no say in the deal.

The 52-year-old Kidd spent a brief period as a player with the Knicks during his Hall of Fame career in 2012-13.

The Knicks are expected to cast a wide net in their search for a new coach after they made the stunning decision to fire Tom Thibodeau, who just led the team on an improbable Eastern Conference Finals run. Kidd is not the only coach under contract with another team who appears to be on New York’s list of candidates.

Steelers release their first Aaron Rodgers hype video

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Aaron Rodgers has finally agreed to a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the team wasted very little time hyping up their new starting quarterback.

Rodgers has informed the Steelers that he will fly to Pittsburgh and sign with them before the start of mandatory minicamp, which is on Tuesday. The agreement ends nearly two months of speculation about Rodgers retiring or hoping for an offer from another team.

On Friday morning, the Steelers released a hype video that shows highlights from when Rodgers was with the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets. The clip also features audio of Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin praising Rodgers for the four-time NFL MVP’s ability to pick a defense apart.

The video is captioned “coming soon to the Black & Gold.”

It is unclear if Rodgers has actually signed his contract yet. Even if not, the deal must be as close to official as it gets.

Tomlin has long been a big fan of Rodgers, which was likely a factor in why the Steelers pursued the 41-year-old so aggressively. Some of the interactions Rodgers and Tomlin have had over the years show the level of respect that exists between the two former Super Bowl champions.

The New York Jets went 5-12 last year in Rodgers’ only full season as the team’s starter. Rodgers, who missed almost all of 2023 with a torn Achilles, finished with 3,897 passing yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His play got a bit stronger as the year went on, and the Steelers are hoping he can build off of that.

Pittsburgh reached the playoffs last season with Russell Wilson as their starting quarterback. Tomlin and company believe Rodgers will represent a significant upgrade over Wilson, so they expect at least another playoff appearance with Rodgers now in the mix.

Insane graphic shows how improbable Pacers’ playoff comebacks have been

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The Indiana Pacers have achieved the seemingly impossible on numerous occasions during the NBA playoffs, and one graphic that surfaced after their latest win helps put the historic run into perspective.

The Pacers came from behind yet again to beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals on Thursday night at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Indiana trailed by 15 points in the fourth quarter and 9 with under 3 minutes remaining in the game.

The win marked the fifth time this postseason that the Pacers have won a game after trailing by at least 15 points. What has been particularly incredible is their ability to flip the script late in the fourth quarter.

Just have a look at this graphic:

The Pacers trailed by 7 points with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter in Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round and Game 2 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round. They won both of those games. They then beat the New York Knicks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals despite being down 9 points with 52.5 seconds left.

On Thursday night, Indiana trailed by 9 with 2:36 left and eventually won the game on another heroic shot from Tyrese Haliburton (video here).

Prior to the Pacers’ win in Game 1, teams since 1971 were 0-182 when trailing by 9 or more points with under 3 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals game.

For whatever reason, the Pacers simply do not get rattled when trailing by significant margins late in games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is hoping Indiana’s latest comeback will serve as a warning to the Thunder.

Metta World Peace keeps trying to get the Knicks job

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An infamous former NBA All-Star believes he is the ideal candidate to be named the next head coach of the New York Knicks, and it appears he is not going to let up until the job is filled.

Almost immediately after the Knicks made the stunning decision on Tuesday to fire head coach Tom Thibodeau, Metta World Peace — currently known as Metta Sandiford-Artest and formerly known as Ron Artest — began campaigning for an opportunity to coach his former team.

Artest has changed his name to “Coach Metta” on social media. The Queens, N.Y., native believes his ties to The Big Apple and years of experience would make him “the perfect choice” to be named the new head coach of the Knicks.

“Metta is the perfect choice for head coach of the @nyknicks . Since 1999 this was suppose (sic) to happen. I’ve never ran from the city. When all the top players left NYC because it was hard , I went to @StJohnsBBall. I wanted to be drafted by the Knicks, I seemed to be the only one un-afraid of the city. I’m built to challenge the city. I’m the number one guy for the job. And I have 360 degree experience,” Artest wrote in one post on X.

Artest has since had several other posts touting his resume and loyalty to New York City. He called Thibodeau “absolutely incredible” and said the Knicks are now positioned to win an NBA title, which Artest believes he can help deliver.

That is only a sampling of all the campaigning Artest has done since Tuesday. Most people doubt that the Knicks will view him as a serious candidate, however.

Artest last played in the NBA in 2017. As he said, he played in college at St. John’s 1997-1999. He also played for the Knicks for a brief period in 2013-2014.

Artest also has some coaching experience, as he was a player development coach for the South Bay Lakers in the NBA G League from 2017-2018. This is not the first time he has expressed interest in becoming the head coach of the Knicks. One notable NBA coach actually thinks Artest would do well in a coaching role in the NBA.

Though he was an NBA All-Star in 2004 and an outstanding defender, Artest is also known for having a temper and a quirky personality, to put it lightly. All of that will work against him in his pursuit of an NBA head coach job.

Tyrese Haliburton’s girlfriend Jade Jones shares 2-word message after latest comeback

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Tyrese Haliburton helped the Indiana Pacers pull off another postseason comeback on Thursday night, and his girlfriend Jade Jones enjoyed the latest heroics.

Haliburton hit a game-winning shot just before the buzzer (again) to help the Pacers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 111-110 at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla. Indiana erased another huge deficit late in the fourth quarter before Haliburton buried a shot just inside the three-point line with 0.3 seconds remaining. You can see the video here.

Jones, who has been dating Haliburton for many years, shared a two-word message on her Instagram story following the Pacers’ big win.

“3 more!!!!” Jones wrote.

The Pacers won for the fifth time this postseason after trailing by at least 15 points. They also became the first team since 1971 to win an NBA Finals game after trailing by 9 or more points with 3 minutes remaining.

Haliburton and Jones have been dating since they were both in college at Iowa State. Jones has been very vocal with her support of Haliburton and the Pacers during their current playoff run.

There has been plenty for Jones to celebrate in recent weeks, as Haliburton and the Pacers just keep pulling off miraculous comebacks. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had a sobering comment about that following Game 1.

The Pacers still have a lot of work to do, but they managed to steal home-court advantage away from the Thunder. They are now three wins away from capturing an NBA title, which most people did not see coming.

Logan Paul wants a WWE match between Donald Trump and Elon Musk

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United States President Donald Trump and Elon Musk have gone from the best of friends to heated rivals seemingly in the blink of an eye, and Logan Paul wants the two billionaires to take their feud to the squared circle.

Trump and Musk have been sparring on social media after Musk recently left his advisory positions with the White House. Musk has been critical of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which aims to implement many of the policies that Trump ran on.

Things have quickly gotten very, very personal between Trump and Musk. The former has said the latter “just went CRAZY” after Trump removed tax cuts for electrical vehicles from the bill. Musk has since responded with numerous social media posts making allegations against Trump.

On Thursday night, Paul shared a photoshopped WWE promo for a hypothetical match between Trump and Musk at “Summer Slam” in August. Paul told the WWE to “make it happen.”

Who says no? Probably Trump and Musk, for starters.

There is almost no limit to the amount of money that could be made on a WWE match between Trump and Musk, but it is unlikely that the feud will go any further than social media.

Trump was endorsed by arguably the most famous wrestler of all time, so he has someone to train him if he decides he wants to settle his beef with Elon in the ring.

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