Thunder’s Record-Tying Run + NFL Schedule News and NBA Combine Questions
And the odds that LeBron James will announce his retirement before next season
In Today’s Issue: Jared Goff, Josh Allen, Aaron Rodgers, Adam Schefter, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, Ajay Mitchell, LeBron James, AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Caleb Wilson, Flory Bidunga, Parker Kelly, Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Mackenzie Blackwood, and Scott Wedgewood
WHAT TO READ
The Bills will open their brand-new Highmark Stadium on national television, hosting the Lions in a Week 2 Thursday Night Football matchup on Amazon Prime. The full 2026 schedule is set for release Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. Buffalo’s new stadium, which has been under construction for about two years, replaces the facility the team has called home since 1973. The Bills and Lions last met in December 2024, a 48-42 shootout where Jared Goff and Josh Allen combined for 856 yards and seven touchdowns.
Aaron Rodgers spent part of last week in Pittsburgh but still hasn’t signed with the Steelers, and the offseason limbo is now stretching toward the start of OTAs on May 18. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said on The Pat McAfee Show that Rodgers didn’t go to the Steelers’ facility during rookie minicamp, but “nobody in the organization knew about” an earlier report of a planned visit. Schefter and other insiders still expect Rodgers to re-sign, as Pittsburgh placed a rare unrestricted free-agent tender on the quarterback that bars him from negotiating with another team until July 22. His representatives are reportedly pushing for closer to $20 million after he earned about $13 million last season.
The Thunder are through to the Western Conference Finals after sweeping the Lakers and improving to 8-0 in the playoffs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander delivered his best performance of the series with 35 points and eight assists last night, and Chet Holmgren made a tiebreaking dunk with 32.8 seconds left as OKC pulled out a 115-110 win at Crypto.com Arena. Ajay Mitchell added a playoff career-high 28 points in what might have been LeBron James’ final game with the Lakers (he finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds). The Thunder tied the 1950 Minneapolis Lakers for the longest winning streak by a defending champion to open the playoffs at 8-0. (By Brad Botkin)
The 2026 NBA Draft Combine is underway in Chicago with more than 70 prospects participating and major stay-or-go decisions looming for a wave of college players, who have until May 27 to pull out of the draft. CBS Sports breaks down the biggest questions, with top prospects AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson and Caleb Wilson headlining the event at Wintrust Arena. The NIL era has completely changed the calculus, with college teams now able to offer contracts that are potentially bigger than a rookie contract. Former Kansas forward Flory Bidunga signed a deal reportedly worth around $5 million to transfer to Louisville rather than turn pro. Under the current CBA, prospects can be ruled ineligible to be drafted if they skip certain mandatory portions of the combine without an explanation. (By Isaac Trotter)
The Avalanche are one win away from the Western Conference Finals after fourth-liner Parker Kelly scored the go-ahead goal in a 5-2 Game 4 victory over the Wild. Kelly’s one-timer from the high slot with 8:28 left in the third period broke a 2-2 tie and ultimately gave Colorado a 3-1 series lead, with Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson adding empty-net goals to seal it. It was Kelly’s first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal. Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves in his first start of the postseason after relieving Scott Wedgewood in Game 3, and the Avalanche head back to Denver for Game 5 tomorrow.
WHAT TO WATCH
7pm: Sabres vs. Canadiens on ESPN — Montreal has won two straight by a combined 11-3 score after dropping Game 1 in Buffalo and is favored to take a commanding 3-1 series lead at home tonight. (BUF +120, MTL -142)
8pm: Timberwolves vs. Spurs on NBC — Victor Wembanyama played just 12 minutes before being ejected, but the Spurs still only lost by five in Minnesota in Game 4. The series is now tied at two and back in San Antonio. (SAS -10.5, Total: 218.5)
9:30pm: Ducks vs. Golden Knights on ESPN — Both teams won once and lost once at home, and now the series returns to Las Vegas for a crucial Game 5. (ANA +130, VGK -155)
WHAT TO TRACK
The Lakers were swept by the Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, but prediction markets don’t think it was LeBron James’s last game in the NBA. Kalshi has the odds at 78% that James won’t announce his retirement before next season — a nearly 30-point swing from last June when the odds were about 50/50.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“You never know when your opportunity is going to come. You’ve just got to stay ready. It’s one shot. It’s one play you’ve got to bear down on that’s probably going to come your way.”
— Parker Kelly after scoring his first career Stanley Cup Playoff goal, the game-winner to give his Avalanche a 3-1 series lead over the Wild.