Wemby's Huge Night + NFL's Top Free Agents and Mattingly Has Phillies Surging
After the Spurs' win in Game 1, prediction markets have the Western Conference Finals even
In Today’s Issue: Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Taylor Decker, Cameron Jordan, Travis Hunter, Ashton Jeanty, Don Mattingly, Rob Thomson, Preson Mattingly, Dave Dombrowski, Xabi Alonso, Liam Rosenior, Dylan Cease, Will Warren, Jalen Brunson, and Mitch Johnson.
WHAT TO READ
Ahead of last night’s instant classic Spurs upset over the Thunder, John Hollinger of the The Athletic made the (even more timely now) case that Victor Wembanyama might be in the process of passing two-time reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the league’s best player. As Hollinger wrote, “From Feb. 1 to the end of the season, the Spurs went 28-2 when Wembanyama played and posted a plus-23.4 net rating, the best mark in the league by a wide margin.” After Wembanyama exploded for 41 points, 24 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 3 assists and willed his team to a double-overtime win in Oklahoma City last night, the superstar replied “Yeah, for sure,” when asked if his performance had anything to do with losing out to SGA. Kalshi now has the series at 50/50. (John Hollinger, The Athletic)
There are still a surprising number of quality free agents available to NFL teams as the first OTA Offseason Workouts begin. Three wide receivers make Fansided’s top-five list, along with offensive tackle Taylor Decker and EDGE Cameron Jordan. (Austen Bundy, Fansided)
While most of the attention is on NFL rookies this time of year, it’s the second-year players that will generally have a bigger impact when the season begins. ESPN answers the eight biggest questions facing the league’s sophomores, including Travis Hunter’s offense/defense split and whether the new-look, likely healthier Raiders will lead to a breakout season for running back Ashton Jeanty. (Ben Solak, ESPN)
Manager Don Mattingly has revitalized the Phillies, as the club hasn’t lost a series since he took over on April 28th. Philadelphia was 9-19 under 5th-year manager Rob Thomson when the team unexpectedly fired the two-time reigning NL East champion and replaced him with their bench coach, who, along with 12 years of managerial experience, is the father of the franchise’s general manager, Preston. Both report to president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. (Matt Gelb, The Athletic)
Real Madrid fired Xabi Alonso as the club’s manager just 34 games into his tenure in January, and it appears Chelsea managements thinks that was a mistake. The Premier League club hired the former Real Madrid star and Bayer Leverkusen manager effective July 1st to lead a squad that will miss out on both Champions League and Europa League action next season (Chelsea could end up in the third tier Conference League, depending on how their final two games play out). Chelsea sacked Liam Rosenior in April, making Alonso its ninth manager (including interims) since April 2023. ESPN looks at what has gone wrong for the club and its new manager, and how the hire could work out for both sides. (Mark Ogden and Alex Kirkland, ESPN)
WHAT TO WATCH
3:15pm — Tottenham vs. Chelsea on Peacock: The Spurs have been one of the biggest stories in the Premier League this season, but not in a good way. Tottenham needs one point in its last two matches to avoid relegation, so an upset draw or win today would make the season finale next week less stressful. (CHE -115, DRAW +270, TOT +300)
7:05pm — Blue Jays vs. Yankees on TBS: Toronto ace Dylan Cease, one of the few bright spots for the sub-.500 reigning AL champs to start the season, faces Will Warren, who is 5-1 with 59 strikeouts in 47.1 innings for slumping-again New York. (TOR +113, NYY -136)
8pm — Cavaliers vs. Knicks on ESPN: This is the matchup many pundits expected for the Eastern Conference Finals when the season started, but when the playoffs began it didn’t look as likely anymore. The Knicks have won seven straight (guard Jalen Brunson led the team in scoring in four of those, including 33+ in three) and haven’t played since finishing off a sweep of the 76ers nine days ago. (NY -7.5, Total: 217.5)
WHAT TO TRACK
The Avalanche (41%) and Hurricanes (38%) are the favorites on Kalshi to win the Stanley Cup, with their conference finals opponents, Golden Knights (13%) and Canadiens (11%), respectively, trailing pretty far behind as the series are set to begin.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“That young man, he has a rare desire to step into every moment that’s in front of him, and he has showed in his three years in a lot of different situations with a lot of different circumstances that he’s going to attack those moments.”
— Spurs coach Mitch Johnson on Victor Wembanyama, who scored 41 points and added 24 rebounds in a career-high 48+ minutes as San Antonio upset Oklahoma City in double overtime in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
See you tomorrow,
Abe