NBA FINALS SCHEDULE
GAME 1: MAVERICKS VS. CELTICS, THURSDAY, JUNE 6 (8:30 ET)
GAME 2: MAVERICKS VS. CELTICS, SUNDAY, JUNE 9 (8 ET)
GAME 3: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12 (8:30 ET)
GAME 4: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS, FRIDAY, JUNE 14 (8:30 ET)
GAME 5: MAVERICKS VS. CELTICS, MONDAY, JUNE 17 (8:30 ET)*
GAME 6: CELTICS VS. MAVERICKS, THURSDAY, JUNE 20 (8:30 ET)*
GAME 7: MAVERICKS VS. CELTICS, SUNDAY, JUNE 23 (8 ET)*
* = IF NECESSARY
WNBA SCORES
CONNECTICUT 69 ATLANTA 50
PHOENIX 87 LOS ANGELES 68
NEW YORK 104 INDIANA 68
MINNESOTA 87 DALLAS 76
NHL PLAYOFFS
WESTERN CONFERENCE
EDMONTON 2 DALLAS 1 (EDMONTON WINS SERIES 4-2)
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
MINNESOTA 4 HOUSTON 3
TAMPA BAY 4 BALTIMORE 3
ATLANTA 3 OAKLAND 1
DETROIT 8 BOSTON 4 (10)
TORONTO 5 PITTSBURGH 4
TEXAS 6 MIAMI 0
WASHINGTON 5 CLEVELAND 2
ARIZONA 5 NY METS 4
MILWAUKEE 6 CHICAGO WHITE SOX 3
KANSAS CITY 4 SAN DIEGO 3
CINCINNATI 5 CHICAGO CUBS 2
NY YANKEES 7 SAN FRANCISCO 5
SEATTLE 5 LA ANGELS 1
LA DODGERS 4 COLORADO 0
ST. LOUIS 5 PHILADELPHIA 4 (10)
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES
OMAHA 8 INDIANAPOLIS 5
SOUTH BEND 5 QUAD CITIES 2
FORT WAYNE 5 WISCONSIN 4
COLLEGE BASEBALL-NCAA TOURNAMENT
LSU 13 WOFFORD 6
COASTAL CAROLINA 6 HIGH POINT 5
INDIANA STATE 13 ILLINOIS 2
GEORGIA TECH 3 NORTH CAROLINA WILMINGTON 1
CENTRAL FLORIDA 5 STETSON 2
JAMES MADISON 2 SOUTH CAROLINA 0
SOUTHERN MISS 15 INDIANA 3
EAST CAROLINA 10 VCU 7
MISSISSIPPI STATE 13 ST. JOHN’S 5
FLORIDA 17 NEBRASKA 10
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE 6 ARKANSAS 3
GRAND CANYON 12 DALLAS BAPTIST 10
UC IRVINE 17 TULANE 7
UC SANTA BARBARA 4 SAN DIEGO 2
LOUISIANA 10 TEXAS 2
OKLAHOMA 4 DUKE 3
VIRGINIA 9 MISSISSIPPI STATE 2
EAST CAROLINA 19 EVANSVILLE 6
FLORIDA STATE 12 CENTRAL FLORIDA 4
GEORGIA 8 GEORGIA TECH 6 (10)
LSU 8 NORTH CAROLINA 4
CLEMSON 12 COASTAL CAROLINA 5
TENNESSEE 12 SOUTHERN MISS 3
NC STATE 5 JAMES MADISON 3
KANSAS STATE 7 SE. MISSOURI STATE 2
KENTUCKY 5 INDIANA STATE 0
TEXAS A&M 9 LOUISIANA 4
FLORIDA 5 OKLAHOMA STATE 2
OKLAHOMA 6 CONNECTICUT 4
WEST VIRGINIA 10 GRAND CANYON 6
OREGON 3 UC SANTA BARBARA 0
COLLEGE SOFTBALL WORLD SERIES
FLORIDA 6 ALABAMA 4
STANFORD 3 UCLA 1
MLS
CHARLOTTE 3 ATLANTA 2
UFL
RENEGADES 32 DEFENDERS 31
SHOW BOATS 19 ROUGHNECKS 12
TOP NATIONAL SPORTS HEADLINES
NHL PLAYOFFS
OILERS OUST STARS TO SET UP CUP FINAL VS. PANTHERS
The Edmonton Oilers knocked off the Dallas Stars 2-1 in Sunday’s Game 6 to win the Western Conference Final.
The Oilers advance to face the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final. It’s Edmonton’s first trip to the Cup Final since 2006.
Connor McDavid scored a highlight-reel goal to open the scoring before assisting on Zach Hyman’s tally later in the first period. Stuart Skinner made 34 saves.
“It feels like a dream, honestly,” McDavid told Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas. “It was a crazy one tonight. Not our best effort, but we hung in there. Found a way to get a win. (Skinner) was great, everybody played great.”
Edmonton recorded 10 shots on goal, the fewest in a conference final-clinching win ever. The Boston Bruins held the previous record, with 17 against the Washington Capitals in 1990.
The Oilers’ minus-25 shot differential in Game 6 is also the lowest by a team that won to advance to the Cup Final. The previous mark was minus-23 by the Nashville Predators in 2017 against the Anaheim Ducks.
The Panthers haven’t won the Stanley Cup in their franchise history, while Edmonton looks to win its first since 1990 and snap Canada’s 30-year drought.
“It feels good to maybe unite the country a little bit and have something to bring people together,” McDavid said. “That’s what sports is all about, is bringing people together. Hopefully, we’re doing that for Canadians across the country.”
Zach Hyman joked that one Canadian city won’t want to see the Oilers win.
“I don’t know if Toronto is cheering for us,” Hyman said. “Hockey means so much to Canada and to Canadians, and it’s been a long time since a Canadian team has won the Cup. It would mean a lot to Canadians, whether they’re Oilers fans or not, I’m sure.”
Edmonton kept its hands off the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl, matching what the Florida Panthers did Saturday with the Prince of Wales Trophy.
Corey Perry becomes the first player to make the Final with five different franchises. He won in 2006 with the Anaheim Ducks and lost in the Final with the Dallas Stars (2020), Montreal Canadiens (2021), and Tampa Bay Lightning (2022).
The Stanley Cup Final begins Saturday in Florida at 8 p.m. ET.
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
MLB ROUNDUP: JUAN SOTO’S 2 HRS HELP YANKEES SWEEP GIANTS
Juan Soto drilled a go-ahead home run in a four-run ninth inning and the New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the host San Francisco Giants with a 7-5 victory Sunday afternoon.
Aaron Judge, after homering three times in his first two Northern California homecoming games, had two singles and two walks in five plate appearances, capping a 6-for-10 series with five runs and six RBIs. Soto’s other homer was a first-inning shot off San Francisco’s Blake Snell.
Anthony Volpe finished with two hits for the Yankees, who completed a 7-2 Western swing.
Seeking his first win as a Giant, Snell had to leave the game one out from qualifying for a potential win when he experienced left groin tightness in the top of the fifth. The Giants led 3-1 when Snell left, but Alex Verdugo hit reliever Erik Miller’s fifth pitch for a two-run double to tie the score.
Braves 3, Athletics 1
Sean Murphy’s bloop double produced the go-ahead run in the seventh inning and helped Atlanta beat visiting Oakland to win the rubber game of their three-game series. Murphy, who spent four seasons with the A’s before being acquired by the Braves in 2023, lofted a perfectly placed double near the right field line to drive home Adam Duvall, whose one-out walk began the rally against Austin Adams (0-1).
Atlanta’s starting pitcher Charlie Morton bounced back from a poor start on Monday when he allowed eight runs against Washington. The veteran right-hander pitched six scoreless innings on one hit, five walks and six strikeouts. It was his third scoreless start of the season.
Oakland’s Luis Medina made his first appearance of the season. The right-hander sprained the MCL in his right knee during spring training and missed the first 60 games. He pitched 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run (unearned) on two hits, two walks and six strikeouts.
Rays 4, Orioles 3
Jose Siri’s two-run double in the eighth inning allowed Tampa Bay to overcome what had been a three-run deficit in a victory against host Baltimore.
Jose Caballero homered and Amed Rosario had three hits for the Rays, who were in danger of enduring a three-game series sweep. They won for the fourth time in their past 13 games.
Gunnar Henderson, who homered, and Adley Rutschman both had three hits for the Orioles, who lost for just the second time in their past 10 games.
Twins 4, Astros 3
Jose Miranda clubbed a game-tying home run in the sixth inning before producing a go-ahead, run-scoring double in the top of the eighth as visiting Minnesota topped Houston to claim the rubber match of this three-game weekend series.
Miranda finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs to help Minnesota improve to 9-3 in its past 12 games. His sixth home run, a solo shot to left-center field, knotted the score at 3-3. Miranda delivered again with one out in the eighth, stroking an RBI double against Astros reliever Ryan Pressly (0-3).
Victor Caratini belted a solo shot and Alex Bregman ripped a two-run homer for Houston, which has lost five of its past seven. Starter Hunter Brown allowed three runs on five hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over six solid innings.
Tigers 8, Red Sox 4 (10 innings)
Wenceel Perez had three hits and scored twice while Javier Baez drove in two key insurance runs for Detroit, which rattled off a four-run 10th inning to finish a come-from-behind win over host Boston.
Baez hit a two-run single that highlighted the go-ahead inning against Red Sox reliever Cam Booser (0-2), helping Detroit salvage a four-game series split. Andrew Chafin (1-1) recorded the last four outs to earn the win.
After Detroit climbed out of a 3-0 deficit with four straight runs between the fifth and seventh innings, Boston’s Rafael Devers hit a game-tying solo shot off Alex Faedo in the eighth, clearing the Green Monster in left-center field.
Blue Jays 5, Pirates 4
Daniel Vogelbach hit a go-ahead two-run double in the fifth inning and Toronto defeated visiting Pittsburgh.
Davis Schneider added an RBI double for Toronto in the rubber match of the three-game series. Former Blue Jay Rowdy Tellez had three hits, a walk and four RBIs for the Pirates, who completed a 2-3 road trip.
Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (6-6) allowed three runs, eight hits and one walk with seven strikeouts in five innings. Pittsburgh right-hander Quinn Priester (0-5), recalled from Triple-A for the start, gave up four runs and eight hits with three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.
Rangers 6, Marlins 0
Andrew Heaney struck out seven across six scoreless innings to lead Texas to victory over host Miami in the rubber match of a three-game series.
Heaney (2-6) yielded just four hits and didn’t issue a walk as Texas blanked Miami for the second time in as many days. Jacob Latz worked around a pair of singles in the seventh and David Robertson struck out Dane Myers before inducing a double play to end the eighth. Grant Anderson then fanned two in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Adolis Garcia went 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs for the Rangers, who won for the fifth time in their past six games. Teammate Josh Smith also finished with two hits. All seven of the Marlins’ hits were singles.
Nationals 5, Guardians 2
Jake Irvin allowed two runs and struck out six over six solid innings, while Joey Meneses and Lane Thomas each had two RBIs, as Washington cooled off host Cleveland.
ldemaro Vargas added two hits with an RBI for the Nationals, who avoided a series sweep by halting the Guardians’ nine-game home winning streak. Irvin (3-5) yielded five hits and one walk.
Cleveland starter Carlos Carrasco (2-5), who returned from a brief stint on the injured list with neck spasms, allowed five runs and seven hits in four innings. Daniel Schneemann lined the first pitch he saw in his major league career into the right-field corner for a two-run double, but the AL Central-leading Guardians mustered nothing more in losing for just the fourth time in 19 games.
Diamondbacks 5, Mets 4
Ketel Marte hit two homers Sunday afternoon, including the go-ahead two-run shot in the ninth inning, as Arizona beat host New York to salvage a split of the four-game series.
Marte led off the game by homering against Jose Quintana, who then gave up a one-out homer in the first to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and an RBI groundout to Kevin Newman in the second before the Mets scored four times in the third against Brandon Pfaadt. Gabriel Moreno led off the ninth with a pinch-hit double before Marte homered beyond the wall in left-center field.
Pete Alonso opened the scoring for the Mets in the third with a run-scoring single immediately before Brandon Nimmo and J.D. Martinez laced the game-tying and go-ahead RBI triples in back-to-back fashion.
Brewers 6, White Sox 3
Rookie Jackson Chourio belted a three-run homer and Milwaukee completed a three-game sweep over visiting Chicago, extending Chicago’s season-high losing streak to 11 games.
The White Sox have lost 11 straight for the first time since 1956. Chicago has lost 15 of its past 16 games and 17 of 20.
The Brewers, winners of five straight, erased a 2-0 deficit with four runs after two outs in the second, capped by Chourio’s three-run homer. Joey Ortiz singled with two outs and Jake Bauers followed with an RBI double to right. Gary Sanchez was hit by a pitch. Chourio, who entered the game hitting .207, then jumped on the first pitch for his sixth homer, and first since May 15.
Reds 5, Cubs 2
Jake Fraley went 3-for-3 and Nick Lodolo was solid through six innings to help Cincinnati take the series against host Chicago.
Lodolo (5-2) gave up two runs on seven hits and struck out three in six innings. Alexis Diaz tossed a hitless ninth for his 12th save. Cubs starter Ben Brown (1-2) pitched five innings, allowing five runs on six hits and fanning six.
The Reds jumped out to a big lead in the second. Jonathan India drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to put Cincinnati ahead 1-0. TJ Friedl later cleared the bases with a three-run shot to right-center field, pushing it to 4-0.
Dodgers 4, Rockies 0
Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman hit first-inning home runs to help Los Angeles beat visiting Colorado.
Gavin Stone went five scoreless innings as the Dodgers won for the fifth time in their past six games and won a home series for the fourth time in their past five tries. Stone (6-2) gave up four hits with two walks and six strikeouts one start after he went seven scoreless against the New York Mets.
Austin Gomber gave up three runs in just three innings for the Rockies after skipping his last start with a sore elbow. Colorado had five hits and dropped two of three at Los Angeles after winning consecutive home series against the Philadelphia Phillies and Cleveland Guardians.
Mariners 5, Angels 1
Luis Castillo pitched seven scoreless innings as Seattle defeated visiting Los Angeles to sweep the three-game series between the American League West rivals.
Luke Raley homered and was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Mitch Garver added a three-run double for the division-leading Mariners, who have won seven of their past eight games. Castillo (5-6) allowed just two hits and struck out six with three bases on balls.
The last-place Angels, who have lost eight of nine, avoided a second consecutive shutout by scoring an unearned run in the ninth. Starter Griffin Canning (2-5) nearly matched Castillo. The righty gave up one run on four hits in 6 2/3 innings, with one walk and four strikeouts.
NFL NEWS
COMMANDERS CUT K BRANDON MCMANUS IN WAKE OF LAWSUIT
The Washington Commanders released kicker Brandon McManus on Sunday night, several days after the veteran player was accused of sexual assault in a lawsuit.
McManus and his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, are being sued by two women identified as Jane Doe I and Jane Doe II. The lawsuit was filed May 24 in Duval County, where Jacksonville is located, and it was made public on Monday.
They allege McManus of rubbing and grinding against them during a team flight to London last fall. Jane Doe I said McManus tried to kiss her and Jane Doe II said McManus “smirked and walked away” after she confronted him about grinding against her.
The women said the Jaguars did not provide a safe environment for staff on the flight.
The Commanders, who signed McManus to a one-year, $3.6 million deal in March, said in a statement Monday that they “take allegations of this nature very seriously and are looking into the matter.”
McManus’ attorney, Brett R. Gallaway, released a statement to news outlets Sunday night that thanked Washington for giving McManus an opportunity with the team.
“However, we reiterate that the allegations against Brandon are and remain absolutely false and importantly, are contradicted by indisputable evidence and the accusers’ own prior inconsistent statements and omissions,” the statement continued. “While we are disappointed with the team’s decision to release Brandon before he had the opportunity to defend against these fabricated claims, we will aggressively defend and clear Brandon’s name and reputation through the legal process. We intend to defeat these claims, fully exonerate him and look forward to seeing him back on the field where he belongs.”
The women are being represented by attorney Tony Buzbee, who also worked for many of Deshaun Watson’s sexual misconduct accusers. Buzbee said on Instagram that his team attempted, “without success,” to settle the matter with McManus out of court before resorting to the lawsuit.
McManus, 32, spent the first nine years of his 10-year NFL career with the Denver Broncos and signed with the Jaguars in May 2023.
GOLF NEWS
ERNIE ELS SHOOTS 65, WINS PRINCIPAL CHARITY CLASSIC BY TWO STROKES
Tied for the lead entering the final round, Ernie Els of South Africa shot a 7-under 65 on Sunday to win by two strokes at the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines, Iowa.
Els, 54, finished at 21-under 195 at Wakonda Club to seal his first Champions Tour win this season in his fourth appearance at the event.
Els sank a pair of birdies on the front nine, then heated up on the back with three more. He also picked up an eagle on the par-5 13th to give him some breathing room.
“It’s very special,” said Els, who entered the Principal Charity Classic 16th in the Schwab Cup Standings through eight events. “I haven’t won for a while. I’ve had quite a few chances, but it gets tougher when you don’t get it over the line.”
Feeling the push from second-place finisher and defending champion Stephen Ames (66 on Sunday) of Canada and others, Els stressed the importance of his timely success on 13.
“I was lucky enough to make birdie on 11,” he said. “I didn’t hit a very good approach, I hit a good putt. And then 12, but 13 was big. To make eagle late on the back nine, that was key. It got me into a two-shot lead.”
Els, who will take home $300,000, has three top-10 finishes this season.
After the front nine, Els, Ames, Bernhard Langer of Germany and Rod Pampling of Australia were tied for the lead. Pampling and Els had shared the lead after Saturday’s second round.
Ames, who had four birdies and a bogey on the front nine, birdied Nos. 10 and 11 before adding a birdie on No. 15. But with Els’ success on the back nine, Ames couldn’t catch up and finished at 19-under 197.
“We changed a couple things in my routine and kind of triggered everything off for me, started feeling the putts a lot better,” said Ames, who felt his swing was off at the event and had his first putting lesson this week. “I hit some really good putts coming down the end and all week, so I was very happy with that result.”
Pampling (69), David Duval (67) and Langer (68) finished in a three-way tie for third at 17 under.
Vijay Singh of Fiji (68) and Heath Slocum (67) tied for sixth at 16 under.
ROBERT MACINTYRE NARROWLY WINS CANADIAN OPEN FOR FIRST PGA TOUR TITLE
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre won his first PGA Tour event by shooting 2-under par 68 for a one-stroke victory in the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.
MacIntyre, a left-hander who earned his PGA Tour card via the DP World Tour Race to Dubai rankings, finished at 16-under 264.
Ben Griffin, who was in the final pairing with MacIntyre and also vying for his first title on the tour, had a late rally with three straight birdies, but was unable to sink a putt from the fringe on the last hole. His 65 left him 15 under.
When MacIntyre made the turn, he held a four-stroke lead with six golfers sharing second place. But this tournament had been far from decided, not to mention MacIntyre’s apparent irritation because of noise stemming from a drone from CBS equipment.
Griffin, who was among a group in second place entering the round, had a strange day, with a birdie on the par-4 third hole after his tee shot settled on the seventh fairway. He recovered then, but he had all pars until birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17. The putt on the 16th green was from nearly 40 feet.
Third-place finisher Victor Perez of France shot a bogey-free 64, capped by a birdie putt on the final hole.
When Perez finished, MacIntyre had four holes left and only a one-stroke edge. He immediately birdied No. 15 to go up two, with Griffin joining Perez at 14 under.
South Korea’s Tom Kim and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy made charges with 64s to share fourth place at 13 under and Canada’s Corey Conners (65) was sixth at 12 under.
MacIntyre’s lead grew to five shots after a birdie on No. 11. But by the time he bogeyed the next two holes, Kim and McIlroy had wrapped up their rounds to sit just two shots back.
While Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes moved into contention by late Saturday, it was Conners who made a strong push in the final round in an effort for a Canadian to win the event for the second straight year. Nick Taylor won the event last year, but didn’t make the cut this weekend.
Conners had four straight birdies from Nos. 11-14, moved closer with a birdie on No. 17 before closing with a bogey. Hughes (70) finished in a tie for seventh at 10 under.
Kim opened the final round with three consecutive birdies and moved to 6 under for the day through 12 holes.
Griffin and Maverick McNealy (65), who tied for seventh, were the only U.S. golfers to finish inside the top 10.
YUKA SASO RALLIES TO WIN SECOND U.S. WOMEN’S OPEN
Yuka Saso of Japan shot a 2-under 68 in her final round to capture her second U.S. Women’s Open championship on Sunday at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club.
Saso, who also won in 2021 for her first major title, was one of just two players to finish the week under par. She started the day three off the pace but used four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine to separate from the pack and finish the week at 4-under 276.
The three 54-hole co-leaders were Minjee Lee of Australia, Andrea Lee and Wichanee Meechai of Thailand at 5 under par. All three dropped down the leaderboard as they battled the difficult scoring conditions.
Saso swept in a 20-foot birdie putt at the second hole before her biggest hiccup, a four-putt double bogey at the par-3 sixth. She trailed Minjee Lee by two when she reached the par-3 12th and made the first of two consecutive birdies.
After another birdie at No. 15 gave her a two-shot cushion, Saso drove the green at the 232-yard par-4 16th and two-putted for birdie. She saved bogey from 3 1/2 feet at No. 17 before hitting a chip onto the 18th green that finished less than 2 feet away to set up a clinching par.
Hinako Shibuno shot a 72 Sunday to make it a 1-2 finish for Japan, finishing the week 1 under. Andrea Lee bogeyed her final two holes to shoot 75 and fell to third at even par.
Ally Ewing joined Andrea Lee in third place as she tied the round of the day with a bogey-free 66. Thailand’s Arpichaya Yubol posted 69 to take fifth at 1 over.
Meechai, who shot in the 60s for three straight days, posted a 77 to drop to 2 over and a tie for sixth with Ayaka Furue of Japan (68) and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand (68). Minjee Lee (78) was tied for ninth at 3 over.
AUTO RACING
AUSTIN CINDRIC WINS AT GATEWAY AFTER RYAN BLANEY’S TANK HITS EMPTY
Austin Cindric took advantage of a Team Penske teammate’s misfortune to break an 85-race winless streak and claim the Enjoy Illinois 300 Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill.
As reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney came down the frontstretch toward the white flag with a healthy lead over Cindric, his No. 12 Ford slowed dramatically.
“I’m out of gas!” shrieked Blaney, who is winless in 2024 and eventually finished 24th.
Cindric roared by Blaney as they headed into Turn 1 for the final time and went on to notch his second career win in 94 starts. He beat Denny Hamlin by 3.844 seconds to become the ninth different winner this season.
Rounding out the top-five finishers were Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick and Joey Logano.
After scoring his third pole of the season, Michael McDowell came home 25th in his Ford.
In the drivers’ third visit to the track across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, McDowell led much of the 45-lap first stage until Bell passed him in the closing circuits.
Coming off his win last Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600, Bell’s No. 20 Toyota again took the checkers in the segment for his third straight stage win including the Charlotte race and Gateway, beating the Fords of McDowell and Blaney.
On Lap 70, Bell passed defending race winner Kyle Busch, who had stayed out, and held the point in the 95-lap second stage, and Toyota teammate Martin Truex Jr. eased into second before pitting just before Lap 100.
After the green-flag pit stops jostled the field, six Fords paved the way, led by Penske’s Cindric and Blaney.
As seventh-place Busch and eighth-place Kyle Larson ran side-by-side and wrecked into the Turn 1 wall, Bell drove off to yet another stage win on Lap 140 with Cindric nearly a second behind him.
Busch, whose last win was at Gateway a year ago, went to the garage and recorded his first DNF of 2024.
Inside the last 100 laps, the Team Penske drivers and Bell headed the field as the two camps were on different pit strategies.
Bell relinquished the lead with 46 laps remaining, and Keselowski took the point with a nine-second lead over Chase Elliott and Larson after a pit cycle.
SCOTT DIXON WINS IN DETROIT, TAKES LEAD IN SERIES STANDINGS
Scott Dixon of New Zealand moved into the IndyCar Series championship lead by winning the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.
Dixon’s No. 9 PNC Bank Honda edged out Marcus Ericsson of Sweden by 0.8567 seconds for his second win of the season.
Dixon jumped Chip Ganassi Racing teammate Alex Palou of Spain for an 18-point lead in the season standings. A six-time series champion, most recently in 2020, Dixon is gunning for his seventh, which would tie the record held by A.J. Foyt.
“For sure,” Dixon said of that target. “I think it always is. Until you’re out of it, you’re going to keep chasing it. It’s a team effort.”
Dixon preserved enough fuel to stave off Ericsson down the stretch. Ericsson cut Dixon’s lead by more than half during the final lap, according to IndyCar.
“The team called it perfectly,” Dixon said. “We were on the right strategy. We won, man. How cool is that?”
“After the month of May we had, it was really, really tough mentally,” Ericsson said. “I’m new in this team. I want to show myself as a top driver, as they hired me as. It was really important. We had so much pace. One more lap, and we might have been able to get that win. But great day.”
Marcus Armstrong of New Zealand finished third, and Kyle Kirkwood and Alexander Rossi rounded out the top five. Palou placed 16th.
Josef Newgarden, who won the Indianapolis 500 for the second year running last week, placed 26th of 27 drivers.
GYMNASTICS
SIMONE BILES PICKS UP 9TH ALL-AROUND TITLE AT U.S. GYMNASTICS CHAMPIONSHIPS
Simone Biles punched her ticket to the U.S. Olympic Trials by securing her ninth all-around championship on Sunday at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas.
Biles recorded a two-day overall score of 119.750, beating runner-up Skye Blakely by nearly six points. Blakely posted a 113.850. Kayla DiCello came in third with a 110.800.
With the victory, the 27-year-old Biles now has nine all-around championships, a national record.
“It was just getting out there and getting comfortable and confident in my gymnastics and hopefully going to Olympic trials and making that next step towards Paris,” Biles told NBC. “I couldn’t be more proud of how I’m doing this time of the year, just getting that confidence.”
Not only did Biles finish with the highest total score, but she also posted the best two-day scores for all four events.
Sunisa Lee (110.650) and Jordan Chiles (110.400) rounded out the top five.
The U.S. Olympic Trials will be held from June 27-30 in Minneapolis. Biles picked up a silver medal and a bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Games — which were held in 2021 due to COVID-19 — after collecting four golds during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
TOP INDIANA SPORTS RELEASES
INDIANA FEVER
FEVER DROP COMMISSIONER’S CUP GAME AT LIBERTY
BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The Indiana Fever (2-9) dropped its third meeting to the New York Liberty this season, 104-68, at Barclays Center on Sunday night. Indiana is now 1-1 in Commissioner’s Cup play this regular season.
For the Fever, guard Kelsey Mitchell notched a season-high 21 points in 30 minutes of playing time. Fever forward NaLyssa Smith followed with 17 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one steal. This is the third game in a row Smith has scored 17 or more points and posted eight or more rebounds. Fever guard Erica Wheeler came off the bench and totaled seven points, four rebounds and two assists for Indiana, and she is now two points away from 2,500 career points. Fever guard Kristy Wallace notched six points, two rebounds, one assist and one steal.
The Fever and Liberty both scored 24 points in the second quarter, yet Indiana was down 55-37 at the half. The Fever quickly went on an 8-2 run to open up the second half to bring the score up to 57-45. New York responded with a 17-2 run and upped its lead on the way to the win.
Five New York Liberty (7-2) players scored in double figures on Sunday, beginning with guard Betnijah Laney-Hamilton’s 20-point performance. Laney-Hamilton also recorded five assists, two rebounds and two steals. Liberty forward Jonquel Jones notched a double-double with 18 points and a season-high 13 rebounds, as well as four assists and two steals. Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu posted 16 points, six rebounds and six assists, and forward Breanna Stewart ended with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists to cement New York’s win. Forward Kennedy Burke came off the bench and added 10 points for New York, along with three blocks and three steals.
UP NEXT
The Fever play at the Washington Mystics on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Friday’s game will be broadcast on ION.
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
GORSKI HOMERS AGAIN BUT STORM CHASERS TOP INDIANS IN SUNDAY FINALE, 8-5
INDIANAPOLIS – Matt Gorski launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but a three-run first inning and early 6-0 advantage led the Omaha Storm Chasers past the Indianapolis Indians 8-5 in Sunday’s matinee at Victory Field.
The Storm Chasers (39-16) opened the scoring right away, logging three runs courtesy of a sacrifice fly, wild pitch thrown by Drake Fellows (L, 0-1) which led to a Jason Delay throwing error that scored Devin Mann from second base, and Nick Pratto RBI single that plated CJ Alexander.
Between the third and fourth inning, Omaha combined for three runs thanks to an RBI double by Logan Porter and a fielding error by Jack Suwinski in the following at-bat. In the fourth inning, Alexander padded the lead with an RBI single.
Gorski, Indianapolis’ May Player of the Month, continued his hot stretch while leading the Indians’ (24-31) comeback efforts with a two-run blast in the fifth. Liover Peguero then roped an RBI single in the sixth to bring the Indians within three, but Omaha responded in the next two frames on a Porter solo home run and John Rave run-scoring groundout.
Peguero notched his second hit of the contest with a two-run double in the eighth to cap Indy’s scoring.
Walter Pennington (W, 3-2) tossed 1.2 innings while punching out a pair in relief. Starter Anthony Veneziano struck out two and faced the minimum in 4.0 perfect innings.
The Indians are off on Monday and begin a six-game series with the Columbus Clippers, Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM. Neither team has announced its probable starting pitchers for the series.
INDIANA BASEBALL
SEASON COMES TO CLOSE IN NCAA REGIONAL
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – After an incredible run of form on the mound over the final month of the season to get into the NCAA Regional, the Indiana Baseball team (33-26-1) ran out of steam on Sunday (June 2) afternoon. The Hoosiers fell to second-seeded Southern Miss 15-3 to close out the 2024 season.
The pitching staff, already stretched thin due to injury and high pitch counts on Saturday, struggled to throw strikes on Sunday. The Hoosiers needed to use five different pitchers after getting just three outs from starter Brayden Risedorph. IU’s season featured four different pitchers out for the season and saw its staff run out of gas down the stretch.
Sophomore outfielder Devin Taylor and freshman second baseman Jasen Oliver each hit milestone home runs in the defeat. Taylor smashed a solo home run over the scoreboard, his 20th of the season. He becomes the fifth Hoosier in program history with a 20-home run campaign and the first during the BBCOR era (since 2011).
Oliver’s two-run blast in the ninth inning was the 10th of his season, becoming the fourth freshman in the last three seasons (Carter Mathison – 19, Taylor – 16 and Tyler Cerny – 10) with a 10+ home run debut season. Four different Hoosiers had 10+ home run seasons in 2024 including Taylor (20), Oliver (10), Mathison (13) and sophomore shortstop Tyler Cerny (10).
The season has come to a close for IU and with that, the careers of some fantastic players. Seniors Ty Bothwell and Morgan Colopy will go down as some of the toughest players to ever wear the IU uniform. Likely draft picks in juniors Mathison, Brock Tibbitts and Nick Mitchell all made an impeccable impact on the program.
Scoring Recap
Top First
Southern Miss did some serious damage in the first inning as starter Brayden Risedorph struggled to get through the opening frame. Ozzie Pratt doubled to right field to score Dalton McIntyre. Slade Wilks and a single up the middle to bring home Pratt. Braden Luke and Gabe Broadus each drove in runs with a pair of hits as the Golden Eagles hung five in the first inning.
Southern Miss 5, Indiana 0
Top Third
After IU loaded the bases, the Golden Eagles took advantage to blow it open. Pratt hit a chopper off the pitcher’s glove for an infield single to score Lawson Odum. Wilks walked with the bases loaded. Davis Gillespie doubled off the wall in left field as another pair of runs came around to score. Matthew Russo and Luke each singled to keep the pressure on in the third.
Southern Miss 11, Indiana 0
Top Fourth
The Golden Eagles added more runs in the fourth. Pratt singled to center field to bring home Broadus. Dalton McIntyre scored on a fielder’s choice before Russo doubled down the line to add another pair of runs to the damage.
Southern Miss 15, Indiana 0
Bottom Fifth
Devin Taylor hit a solo home run, his 20th of the season.
Southern Miss 15, Indiana 1
Bottom Ninth
Jasen Oliver hit a two-run home run.
Southern Miss 15, Indiana 3
Top Hoosier Performers
#5Taylor, Devin
1-3, 1 HR, 1 R, 1 RBI
#8 Cerny, Tyler
2-3, 1 R, 1 2B
#19 Keyster, Brandon
5.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 K
Notes to Know
• Tyler Cerny recorded his 24th double of the season with a ninth-inning base hit on Sunday afternoon. His 24 doubles on the season are tied for second in a single campaign in program history. The Big Ten leader in two-baggers is the first since Dustin DeMuth (2013) with 24 doubles in a season.
• Brock Tibbitts and Nick Mitchell will both likely end their collegiate careers short of the 200-hit club. The likely MLB draft picks in July both finished with 199 hits through three years of baseball. For Tibbitts, he finished just outside of 200-career hits for the Hoosiers. Had he not missed a month of the season through injury, he would’ve reached that mark and then some.
• Devin Taylor crushed a solo home run in the seventh inning, his 20th of the season. The sophomore is just the fifth player in program history with 20+ long balls in a single season. He is the first since Alex Dickerson (24 – 2010) to do so and the first to reach the threshold since the NCAA went to the BBCOR bats in 2011.
• The double from Cerny on Sunday further established the single-season team doubles record set last night. The Hoosiers finished the campaign with 140, led by a combined 46 from Cerny and Josh Pyne. Nine different players had at least eight doubles this year.
• IU blasted 83 home runs on the season including 10+ from four different players. The 83 home runs are third in a single season in program history behind only the 2019 (95) and 2010 (85) teams. 50 of those long balls came from either freshmen or sophomores.
INDIANA STATE BASEBALL
SYCAMORES’ 2024 SEASON COMES TO AN END IN LEXINGTON REGIONAL FINAL GAME
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Indiana State’s season came to an end on Sunday night as the Sycamores fell to No. 2 national seed and Lexington Regional host Kentucky in the Regional Final, 5-0.
The Sycamores’ (44-15) season comes to an end as Indiana State wraps up 2024 following Sunday’s loss. Kentucky (43-14) advances to the NCAA Super Regional Round and is projected to host the winner of Oregon State/UC Irvine next weekend in Lexington, Ky.
Indiana State advanced to the regional final on Sunday night following their 13-2 afternoon win over Illinois as the Sycamores eliminated the Fighting Illini in a rematch of the opening game of the tournament for the two teams. Kentucky topped both Western Michigan and Illinois to clear the winner’s bracket in the regional before topping the Sycamores to advance to the next round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kentucky took the lead in the top of the first inning as the Wildcats took advantage of an errant pickoff throw to advance Emilien Pitre into scoring position. Devin Burkes put UK on the board with a sacrifice fly to right field with Pitre sliding in ahead of the throw to take the 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats added to the lead in both the second and third innings as Ryan Nicholson homered against ISU starter Cole Gilley (3-1), while Nolan McCarthy was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to stretch the lead to 3-0.
ISU threatened in the middle frames against UK starter Mason Moore (9-0) as the Sycamores put two in scoring position in the third, and additional runners in both the fourth and fifth innings. However, the UK defense kept Indiana State off the board highlighted by the play of UK shortstop Grant Smith laying out and catching a fly ball in shallow left field to keep it a 3-0 ballgame.
Pitre added to the Kentucky lead in the seventh inning driving a two-run home run over the left field wall scoring Smith to make it a 5-0 margin.
The Sycamores’ final threat at the plate came in the bottom of the eighth inning as Parker Stinson led off the inning with a single and Mike Sears drew a walk putting two on with one out. UK reliever Cameron O’Brien kept ISU off the board with a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam before setting the Sycamores down in order in the ninth to close out the contest.
Randal Diaz had two of Indiana State’s five hits in the contest to continue his 32-game hitting streak in the season finale. Sears added his 20th double of the season, while Stinson and Riley Iffrig also added hits in the loss.
Gilley went the first 1.2 innings allowing two hits and two runs (one earned) while walking two and striking out one. Jacob Pruitt worked 4.2 innings in relief allowing six hits and three runs while striking out a pair. Simon Gregersen struck out three over the final 2.2 innings of hitless relief.
Eight different players connected on hits for Kentucky highlighted by Nicholson and Pitre’s home runs.
Moore went 6.0 innings allowing four hits and three walks while striking out six to claim the win. Jackson Nove went 0.2 innings before O’Brien went the final 2.1 frames striking out five to secure the regional win.
Indiana State’s Randal Diaz, Dominic Listi, and Brennyn Cutts were all recognized on the Lexington Regional All-Tournament team as voted on by the media members.
How They Scored
Kentucky took the early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning as Emilien Pitre advanced to third on an Indiana State error before scoring on Devin Burkes’ sacrifice fly.
Ryan Nicholson added to the UK lead in the top of the second with a solo home run to right field to put the Wildcats ahead 2-0.
UK added to the lead in the third as Nolan McCarthy was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded scoring Nick Lopez to make it a 3-0 ballgame.
Pitre provided the final 5-0 scoring margin in the top of the seventh inning with a two-run home run into the UK bullpen beyond the left field wall.
News & Notes
Randal Diaz extended his hitting streak to 32 consecutive games and his on-base streak to 38 contests to close out the 2024 season.
Diaz’s 32-game hitting streak is the longest in the Mitch Hannahs coaching era at Indiana State.
Mike Sears’ 20 doubles tied J.C. Baker (1999) and Robby Ort (2012) for the sixth-most in a single season in Indiana State baseball history.
Sears finished the 2024 season with 45 extra-base hits among his 57 hits in the 2024 season. The mark included setting ISU’s single-season home run record with 24 home runs, while adding 20 doubles and a triple.
Randal Diaz’s 91 hits marked him the first Indiana State player to eclipse the 90-hit threshold since Clint Barmes recorded 93 hits over 248 at-bats in the 2000 season.
Sears finished the season winning the team’s overall RBI title with 77 RBIs to top Luis Hernandez (76).
Indiana State’s pitching staff combined to post 592 strikeouts over the course of the 2024 season, surpassing the previous school record of 538 set back in 1985.
The Indiana State 2024 senior class combined to post 148 wins over the last four years, including an 89-30 mark over the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
The Senior Class participated in three NCAA Regionals (2021, 2023, 2024) and advanced to the program’s first NCAA Super Regional (2023) in program history.
Also included in the 2024 Senior Class’ legacy is winning back-to-back MVC Regular Season titles for the first time in program history, as well as winning the 2023 MVC Tournament Championship.
Indiana State was shutout for the first time since April 23, 2022, a span of 139 consecutive games in which the Sycamores had scored at least one run. The streak snapped the previous best mark set from May 1, 1982, to May 27, 1984, a stretch of 122 consecutive games.
EVANSVILLE BASEBALL
BASEBALL ACES TO FACE EAST CAROLINA MONDAY IN REGIONAL FINAL
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The #16 national seed and host East Carolina baseball team scored in all but one inning on Sunday night, as the Pirates exploded for a 19-6 victory over the University of Evansville Purple Aces to force the “if necessary” Regional Final in the Greenville (N.C.) Regional Tournament at Clark-LeClair Stadium in Greenville, North Carolina.
“I know that tonight’s game didn’t go how we wanted it to go, but if you would have told us on Wednesday that we would be playing for a regional title on Monday night, we would have taken it,” said UE head coach Wes Carroll. “Tomorrow is a different day, and I know that our team will bounce back and show the same fight and determination that they have all season long when faced with adversity.”
The teams traded three home runs through the first four innings of play on Sunday night, except for the fact that ECU’s home runs came with men on base, while UE’s were just solo shots, as the Pirates jumped to an early 7-3 lead through four innings.
Graduate outfielder Mark Shallenberger answered a two-run ECU home run in the first inning with a solo shot of his own to right field for his 16th home run of the year. Then, after UE answered another two-run home run in the second inning with an RBI single by junior second baseman Cal McGinnis, senior designated hitter Kip Fougerousse answered a third ECU home run in the third inning with a solo home run to right field for his team-leading 20th home run of the year. Fougerousse is now one home run shy of Eric Roberts’ single-season home run record, set last year, and he has homered in seven of the last eight games overall.
After ECU added its seventh run of the game in the fourth inning, junior outfielder Harrison Taubert belted a solo home run to left field to cut the ECU lead to 7-4. The Pirates added two runs in the sixth and a single run in the seventh to grab a 10-4 lead, before UE staged one last rally attempt in the seventh inning.
The Purple Aces loaded the bases on a single by senior shortstop Simon Scherry and back-to-back hit-by-pitches, including Shallenberger’s school-record 26th hit-by-pitch of the season. Scherry would score on a ground ball by graduate first baseman Chase Hug, and McGinnis would deliver a sacrifice fly later in the frame, but UE could get no closer than 10-6 in the inning. ECU would explode in the final two innings to provide the final margin of victory.
Graduate third baseman Brent Widder went 2-for-3 with two doubles, as the only Purple Ace with a multi-hit game. Shallenberger, Fougerousse and Taubert all launched home runs for UE.
Evansville (37-24) and East Carolina (46-16) will now meet once again on Monday afternoon at 12 noon eastern/11 a.m. central time in the ‘if necessary’ Regional Final. The winner of Monday’s contest will advance on to face top-seeded Tennessee in the Super Regional Round next weekend. Monday’s game can be heard live in the Tri-State area on 107.1 FM-WJPS and seen live on ESPN+.
INDIANA SMALL COLLEGE WEB SITES
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS: https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS: https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS: https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS: https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS: https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS: https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS: https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS: https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS: https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS: https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS: https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS: https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS: https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS: https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS: https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS: https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BEND ATHLETICS: https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS: https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS: https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OF THE WOODS ATHLETICS: https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS: https://goleafs.net/
HOY CROSS ATHLETICS: https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS: https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS: https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
4
June 3, 1851 – The first baseball uniforms recorded were worn when the New York Knickerbockers members wore a uniform of straw hats, white shirts and blue long trousers.
June 3, 1918 – Boston Red Sox pitcher Dutch Leonard tossed his 2nd career no-hitter. The Sox used his strong performance on the hill in disposing of the Detroit Tigers, 5-0 at Navin Field.
June 3, 1932 – Future Baseball Hall of Fame first baseman New York Yankees, Number 4, Lou Gehrig became the first MLB player to hit 4 consecutive Home Runs in a MLB game. With this bit of offense, the NY Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, by the tune of a 20-13 score at Philly’s Shibe Park.
FOOTBALL HISTORY
June 3, 1851- Though it is not totally confirmed there is a common thread that it is possible that this was the first time in U.S. history where a team wears a uniform occurred on this date in baseball when the NY Knickerbockers trotted out on to the diamond all wearing straw hats, white shirts and long blue pants. Some 30 to 40 years later this occurred in baseball it translated into the game of football in the college ranks, minus the straw hats of course.
June 3, 1951 The Newspapers.com Football History Headline of the Day comes from the Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Virginia when it posted:
To his “Old Boys” …It’s Always Coach Wade!
The story tells of how former head coach of Alabama and Duke, Wallace Wade had just recently been named as the Southern Conference’s Commissioner. It is a gripping story of when the new Commish took the stage at his press conference former players from both schools were there to welcome him to his new position. Wade had fought in both World Wars and had still kept his coaching career going in a positive direction. Wallace started as a great football player at Brown University and then was inspired to coach. He was successful and impactful as from 1923 to 1930 he was the head of the Crimson Tide he led his teams to three National Championship titles per a Bleacher Report article. The Tide sported a record 61 victories, 13 loses, and 3 ties during Coach Wade’s seven seasons there. At the end of the 1930 season, Wade shocked the sports world by announcing his intention to end his solid career at the University of Alabama to try his hand at an upstart program at Duke University. Duke was not known for being anything but mediocre at football, or any other sport at that time. Not until later in life did he reveal his reason for leaving Tuscaloosa. Wade coached the Duke Blue Devils from 1931 through 1941. Then again, from 1946-1950. In 1941 the Blue Devils were 5-0 during the regular season and were named Southern Conference champions. His Duke squad was awarded the honor of playing in the 1942 Rose Bowl.
In a bizarre turn of events, because of the attack at Pearl Harbor, the Rose Bowl game was played in Duke Stadium. Duke hosted the Pacific Coast conference champion Oregon State Beavers, losing the game to a well-coached team led by another college football legend, Lon Stiner. Wade then surprisingly relinquished his coaching role and enlisted into the Army as a foot soldier but was soon promoted a couple of times to lieutenant colonel and eventually led the 272nd Field Artillery battalion in the Battle of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He was a hero and was awarded the Bronze star, four battle stars and was honored by the French government with the Croix De Guerre “Cross of War,” a metal received as a high honor for heroism. After the war, Wade returned to Durham to coach the Blue Devils once again for four more years, retiring as head coach in 1950 at the age of 58. He was so respected that Duke University even named their football stadium after him, Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.
If you want to be able to be able to read through some old articles like The Times-Dispatch, you need to check out Newspapers.com. At Newspapers.com, you can get access to over 640 million pages’ worth of news from the US, Canada, England, Scotland, Ireland and more dating back from 1798 to yesterday. Get a free one week subscription to Newspapers.com by visiting SportsHistoryNetwork.com/newspapers. And with a paid subscription, you’ll also be helping to support the production of this and other Sports History Network shows.
June 3 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays
June 3, 1943 – Angleton, Texas – The great defensive back from Bishop College in Dallas Texas, Emmitt Thomas celebrated his date of birth. It is hard to beleive that this 6 foot – 2 inch 192 pound player went undrafted. The Kansas City Chiefs saw his potential post draft though and signed him to their squad as a free agent in 1966. He went on to have a great career with the Chiefs franchise setting a club record with 58 career interceptions. 1969 was in particular a special season as he led the AFL with 9 picks then followed that up by intercepting three more passes in the playoffs and one additional to cap off the magical season by adding one more in the Super Bowl IV win for Kansas City. In 1974 he had 12 interceptions, just two shy of the NFL record. He was All AFL/AFC five times and played in 5 Pro Bowl games and was All-NFL on the first or second teams in three different years of the early 1970’s. Emmitt Thomas was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008.
June 3, 1959 – Neptune City, New Jersey – Montclair State linebacker from 1977 through the 1980 season, Sam Mills was born. I am sure standing at 5 foot – 9 inches tall that Mills had more than one person doubting that his size would prevent him from being a successful linebacker, boy were they wrong! The FootballFoundation.org informs us that Sam was a two-time First Team All-American both in 1979 and the 1980 seasons. Mills finished his career at Montclair State with a school record 501 tackles. Mills was nicknamed “The Field Mouse” and finished his career with three school records including career tackles standing at 501, tackles in a season with 142 and 22 tackles in a game. Sam Mills received the great honor of being selected for inclusion into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2009. Sam out of college first signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 1981 but was released after the conclusion of preseason. Sam tried to play pro ball again the next year in 1982, when he signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League but was released before their season. It seems that the conventional wisdom of the day felt that the prototypical linebacker needed to be at least 6 foot tall. But there was a new opportunity coming up on the horizon that would showcase Mills’ playing ability at the top levels of football, the USFL. The Browns head coach, Sam Rutigliano, who cut Mills earlier suggested to his friend and head coach of the Philadelphia Stars, Carl Peterson should give the undersized backer a shot in the new league. Peterson never regretted it as Mills became one of the cornerstones of the Stars’ feared “Doghouse Defense.” During that time he became known around the league for both his tenacity on the field and his leadership off it. Mills played the rugged 18 game schedule of the Philadelphia Stars in 1983 and 1984. The franchise in 1985 moved to Baltimore where the linebacker played another 18 game season. The Baltimore Stars won the 1985 USFL title, their head coach Jim Mora was signed on to coach the New Orleans Saints, and after three years playing in the USFL, Mills followed Mora to the NFL. During his tenure with the Saints, starting in 1986, Mills was an anchor of the defense. He was a member of the vaunted “Dome Patrol,” the incredible linebacking corps that led the Saints defense in the early 1990s. Mills earned four Pro Bowl appearances with the Saints and later played with the Carolina Panthers. He was named to the Pro Bowl a total of five times. Tragically, Sam was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, and this spurred him to found the “Keep Pounding” Foundation at the Carolina Medical Center to advance cancer research in North Carolina. Sam Mills passed away in 2005 at age 45.
June 3, 1977 – Atlanta, Georgia – Matt Stinchcomb, the Georgia Bulldog tackle of the seasons of 1995 to 1998, arrived into the world. The NFF shares in Stinchcomb’s bio that he was a two-time First Team All-American as he earned consensus honors following his senior season in 1998. The big tackle also claimed the 1998 Campbell Trophy as the top football scholar-athlete in the country. Matt helped lead Georgia to a 19-5 record during his junior and senior campaigns with respective victories in the Outback and Peach Bowls. Stinchcomb started 32 consecutive games for College Football Hall of Fame coach Jim Donnan’s Bulldogs while also claiming the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as the SEC’s most outstanding blocker in 1998. The National Football Foundation selected Matt Stinchcomb for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2018. After his collegiate days were over Matt was selected with the 18th overall selection by the Oakland Raiders in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played five seasons with the Raiders helping the team win the AFC championship in 2002 and earn a trip to Super Bowl XXXVII. He retired in 2006 following two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
VIPs of the Gridiron not yet in the HOF
June 3, 1892- James F. Duffy was a collegiate quarterback at Colgate University and later a head coach of the University of Detroit. As the head coach of the University of Detroit, Duffy molded the program into national power house in the early 1920’s. It should be noted that he did take one year off in coaching to serve his country during World War I.
June 3, 1965- Mike Shula, yes the famous coaches son who also had some NFL coaching jobs himself, most notably as the head coach of the Cincinnatti Bengals. Mike Shula was a graduate from the University of Alabama and he even had the opportunity to serve and the school’s head coach from 2003 through the 2006 season.
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
June 3
1918 — Dutch Leonard of the Boston Red Sox pitched his second no-hitter, blanking the Detroit Tigers 5-0.
1932 — Lou Gehrig became the first American League player to hit four home runs in a game, helping the New York Yankees beat the Philadelphia A’s 20-13. The event was overshadowed by the resignation of John McGraw as manager of the New York Giants.
1954 — Henry Thompson of the New York Giants hit three home runs and drove in eight runs in a 13-8 win against the St. Louis Cardinals. Willie Mays drove in the other five runs with two homers.
1971 — Ken Holtzman of the Chicago Cubs pitched his second no-hitter, beating the Cincinnati Reds 1-0.
1978 — Dave Johnson became the first major leaguer to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in a season. His grand slam in the ninth inning gave the Philadelphia Phillies a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1989 — Los Angeles and Houston played 22 innings at the Astrodome in the longest night game in National League history — 7 hours and 14 minutes. The Astros won the game on Rafael Ramirez’s RBI single off Jeff Hamilton, normally the Dodgers’ third baseman. When the game ended, Fernando Valenzuela was playing first and Eddie Murray was at third.
1989 — Nolan Ryan pitched his 11th career one-hitter and struck out 11 as Texas beat Seattle 6-1. It was Ryan’s 16th low-hit game (no-hitter or one-hitter), breaking Bob Feller’s record of 15.
1995 — Pedro Martinez of Montreal pitched nine perfect innings against San Diego before giving up a leadoff double to Bip Roberts in the 10th inning of the Expos 1-0 win.
2003 — Sammy Sosa was ejected in the first inning of Chicago’s 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Devil Rays after umpires found cork in his shattered bat.
2006 — Damion Easley hit three homers and had seven RBIs in Arizona’s 13-9 victory over Atlanta.
2008 — Randy Johnson took sole possession of second place on baseball’s career strikeout list after getting the Milwaukee Brewers’ Mike Cameron to go down swinging in the first inning. It was Johnson’s 4,673rd career strikeout, breaking a tie with Roger Clemens and leaving the Arizona Diamondbacks’ veteran ace behind only Nolan Ryan, who had 5,714 strikeouts in his career.
2017 — Albert Pujols hits his 600th home run of his career, the historic blast being a 4th-inning grand slam off Ervin Santana of the Twins in a 7 – 2 Angels win. He is the ninth player to join the exclusive fraternity.
2017 — Endinson Volquez of the Mets throws the first no-hiitter of the year, defeating the Diamonbacks 3-0.
2018 — Blake Snell ties an American League record by striking out the first 7 batters he faces for the Rays against the Mariners.
2022 — With a disappointing 22-29 record after splurging on free agents over the past few years, the Phillies fire manager Joe Girardi, who has failed to take them to the postseason in his two-plus seasons at the helm. Bench coach Rob Thomson is named manager on an interim basis to finish the season.
June 4
1940 — The Pirates beat the Boston Bees 14-2 in the first night game at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field.
1940 — The St. Louis Cardinals play their first night game at Sportsman’s Park, defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers 10-1.
1951 — Pittsburgh’s Gus Bell hit for the cycle to lead the Pirates to a 12-4 victory over the Phillies at Philadelphia.
1964 — Sandy Koufax pitched his third no-hitter, striking out 12, as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Phillies 3-0 in Philadelphia.
1968 — Don Drysdale of the Dodgers blanked the Pirates 5-0 for his sixth straight shutout en route to a record 58 2-3 scoreless innings.
1972 — A major league record eight shutouts were pitched in 16 major league games: five in the American League, three in the National League. The Oakland Athletics swept a pair from the Baltimore Orioles by identical 2-0 scores.
1974 — The game between the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium was forfeited to Texas. Umpire Nestor Chylak had problems with fans all night on 10-cent beer night. The crowd got out of control when Cleveland tied the score 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth.
1989 — Toronto beats Boston 13-11 in 12 innings after trailing 10-0 after six inngs. Red Sox starter Mike Smithson threw six scoreless innings before leaving in the seventh because of a foot blister. The Jays then scored two in the seventh, four in the eighth and five in the ninth and two more in the 11th on Junior Felix’s home run. It was the biggest lead the Red Sox have blown and their 12th consecutive loss to the Blue Jays at Fenway Park.
1990 — Ramon Martinez struck out 18 and pitched a three-hitter, sending the Los Angeles Dodgers past the Atlanta Braves 6-0.
1996 — Pamela Davis pitched one inning of scoreless relief and got the win in a minor league exhibition game. She is believed to be the first woman to pitch for a major league farm club under the current minor league system. The 21-year-old right-hander pitched for the Jacksonville Suns, a Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, against the Australian Olympic team.
2000 — Esteban Yan of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays becomes the 77th major league player to hit a home run in his first at bat, but just the fourth American League pitcher and the first since the Angels’ Don Rose in 1972, the year before the designated hitter rule took the bat out of AL pitchers’ hands.
2005 — Rafael Palmeiro and Melvin Mora each hit grand slams to help Baltimore rally for a 14-7 win over Detroit.
2007 — Mark Ellis hit for the cycle and Eric Chavez had a two-out homer in the 11th inning to lift Oakland to a 5-4 win over Boston.
2009 — Randy Johnson became the 24th major league pitcher to win 300 games by leading San Francisco to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader.
2012 — Mike Scioscia of the Los Angeles Angels manager became the ninth manager in AL history to manage 2,000 games with one club. The Mariners beat the Angels 8-6.
2018 — In a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge sets a record by striking out eight times.
2019 — San Francisco Giant Manager Bruce Bochy wins his 1,000th game as the manager of the Giants with a 9-3 victory over the New York Mets.
2022 — The rule preventing position players from pitching in a close game is invoked for the first time when Crew chief C.B. Bucknor objects to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts calling on OF Zach McKinstry to pitch the 9th inning gainst the Mets with his team trailing, 9 – 4. The rule, adopted before the 2020 season but not implemented until this year due to the upheavals caused by the coronavirus pandemic, states that a team cannot use a position player on the mound unless there is a difference of six or more runs between the two teams. Roberts is thus forced to use a real pitcher, Evan Phillips, to pitch the final inning. In spite of the rule, the practice of using such “mystery pitchers” is continuing undiminished, with teams even resorting to them when they have built a huge lead late in the game, in order to rest their bullpens, something that was completely unseen before the decade started.
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June 5
1915 — Philadelphia’s Grover Cleveland Alexander lost his no-hitter when Artie Butler punched a single with two outs in the ninth. Alexander struck out Bob Bescher for the final out to beat St. Louis 3-0. Alexander went on to pitch three more one-hitters during the season.
1929 — The Cincinnati Reds scored nine runs in the sixth inning en route to a 21-4 romp over the Chicago Cubs.
1935 — Chicago White Sox rookie John Whitehead loses to St. Louis 2-0. It was his first loss after winning his first eight starts, an AL record for the start of a career.
1949 — Commissioner Happy Chandler lifted the ban on all players who jumped to Mexico, starting in 1946.
1955 — Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees hit a home run off Chicago’s Billy Pierce that traveled about 550 feet. The ball cleared the left-field upper deck at Comiskey Park.
1959 — Pittsburgh’s Dick Stuart hit the longest home run at Forbes Field. Stuart smashed a shot over the center-field wall off Chicago pitcher Glenn Hobbie.
1966 — Leo Cardenas of the Reds hit four home runs in a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs. Cardenas hit two home runs in each game as Cincinnati won the opener 8-3 but dropped the second game 9-5.
1986 — San Diego’s Steve Garvey was ejected for the first time in his career when he argued a play at home plate. Garvey, the on-deck hitter, protested the last out of a triple play by the Atlanta Braves. Television replays showed that Bip Roberts was indeed safe. The Padres lost 4-2.
1989 — The Blue Jays lost their debut in the SkyDome as Glenn Braggs hit a two-run homer to lead the Milwaukee Brewers past Toronto 5-3. The $375 million complex featured a $100 million, four-section, retractable roof.
1997 — Alex Rodriguez of the Mariners became the first Seattle player to hit for the cycle in a nine-inning game. He completed the cycle with a double in the ninth of a 14-6 win at Detroit.
2001 — Colorado pitcher Mike Hampton had two homers, three RBIs and recorded his eighth win as Colorado defeated Houston 9-4.
2008 — Atlanta’s Chipper Jones became the third switch-hitter in major league history to hit 400 career home runs. Jones’ homer off Ricky Nolasco was one of his four hits in the 7-5 comeback win over Florida. Mickey Mantle and Eddie Murray were the first two reach the milestone.
2013 — The Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners played the first game in major league history when each team scored five or more runs in the game when it was scoreless through the ninth. Alejandro De Aza and Alex Rios each had an RBI single in the 16th inning, and Chicago won 7-5.
2015 — Oakland’s Pat Venditte became the first pitcher in 20 years to throw with both arms in the same game, but the Boston Red Sox beat the Athletics 4-2 on a night a fan sustained life-threatening injuries when she was struck by a broken bat.
2021 — Team USA secured a spot in the Tokyo Olympics by winning the Americas Olympic Qualifier.
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June 6
1918 — Casey Stengel, after being traded by Brooklyn in the offseason, made his return to Ebbets Field a memorable one. In his first at-bat, Stengel called time, stepped out of the batter’s box and doffed his cap. A bird flew out and the fans broke into laughter.
1934 — Myril Hoag hit a major league record six singles in the New York Yankees’ 15-3 rout of the Boston Red Sox.
1939 — The New York Giants hit five home runs in the fourth inning in a 17-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds at the Polo Grounds. With two out, Harry Danning, Al Demaree, Burgess Whitehead, Manny Salvo and Joe Moore connected as the Giants scored eight runs in the inning.
1945 — In the first game of a doubleheader, Boston’s Boo Ferriss scattered 14 hits to beat Philadelphia 5-2. Ferris, 8-0 on the year, tied the AL mark held by Chicago’s John Whitehead for wins at the start of a career.
1975 — Cleveland manager Frank Robinson hit two three-run homers in a 7-5 win over the Texas Rangers.
1986 — San Diego Padres manager Steve Boros was ejected before the first pitch of the game with the Atlanta Braves when he tried to give umpire Charlie Williams a videotape of a disputed play in the previous night’s 4-2 loss to Atlanta.
1992 — Eddie Murray drove in two runs at Pittsburgh to pass Mickey Mantle (1,509) as the all-time RBI leader among switch-hitters.
1995 — J.D. Drew of Florida State hit a record-setting three homers in his final three at-bats in a 16-11 loss to Southern California in the College World Series. Drew finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs and 12 total bases, also a series record.
1996 — For the second time in major league history and first in the AL, a cycle and a triple play took place in the same game. Boston’s John Valentin hit for the cycle, while Chicago turned a triple play in the Red Sox’s 7-4 victory. In 1931, Philadelphia’s Chuck Klein hit for the cycle in the same game that the Phillies turned a triple play against the Chicago Cubs.
2000 — The Rally Monkey is born, thanks to the Anaheim Angels’ video crew playing a clip from the 1994 film Ace Ventura, Pet Detective on the JumboTron. With the words Rally Monkey superimposed over a monkey jumping up and down in the Jim Carrey movie, the crowd goes wild as the Angels score two runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-5.
2003 — Insisting the corked bat, designed to put on home run displays during batting practice, was accidentally used in a game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa is suspended for eight games by Major League Baseball. Bob Watson, baseball’s vice president of on-field operations, agrees that the Cubs outfielder’s use of an illegal bat was an “isolated incident,” but one that still deserves a penalty.
2007 — Trevor Hoffman became the first major leaguer with 500 career saves when he closed out the San Diego Padres’ 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
2017 — Scooter Gennett hit four home runs, matching the major league record, and finished with 10 RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds routed the St. Louis Cardinals 13-1. Gennett became the 17th player to homer four times in one game.
2022 — Eduardo Escobar hits for the cycle in an 11-5 win over the Padres; he is the first Mets player to do so since Scott Hairston in 2012, and the first player for any team to accomplish the feat at Petco Park.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
June 3
1932 — Lou Gehrig becomes the first major league player to hit four consecutive home runs in a game, giving the New York Yankees a 20-13 win over the Philadelphia A’s. Gehrig’s feat, however, is overshadowed by the resignation of John McGraw, manager of the New York Giants for 30 years.
1944 — Bounding Home, ridden by G.L. Smith, wins the Belmont Stakes by one-half length over Pensive, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness.
1959 — European Cup Final, Stuttgart: Real Madrid beats Stade de Reims, 2-0; 4th consecutive title for Los Blancos.
1961 — Sherluck, ridden by Braulio Baeza, wins the Belmont Stakes. Carry Beck, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, finishes seventh.
1972 — French Open Women’s Tennis: American icon Billie Jean King wins her only French singles title; beats Evonne Goolagong of Australia 6-3, 6-3.
1980 — NY Mets draft Darryl Strawberry, 18, #1 overall.
1984 — Patty Sheehan wins the LPGA championship by a record 10 strokes over Beth Daniel and Pat Bradley.
1991 — Thomas Hearns becomes a world champion for the sixth time, capturing the World Boxing Association’s light-heavyweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Virgil Hill.
1992 — Chicago’s Michael Jordan scores a record 35 points, including a record six 3-pointers, in the first half as the Bulls beat Portland 122-89 in the opening game of the NBA Finals. Jordan finishes with 39 points and Chicago is only two points shy of the largest victory margin in the finals.
1995 — Pedro Martinez of Montreal pitches nine perfect innings against San Diego before giving up a leadoff double to Bip Roberts in the 10th inning of the Expos’ 1-0 win.
1999 — Four days after her first LPGA Tour victory, Kelli Kuehne ties the Women’s U.S. Open record with an 8-under 64 in the first round to take a one-stroke lead over Juli Inkster.
2001 — Karrie Webb wins the U.S. Women’s Open in a runaway for the second year in a row. Webb shoots a 1-under 69 for an eight-stroke victory, the largest margin at a Women’s Open in 21 years.
2004 — Calgary ties an NHL record with its 10th road win of the playoffs with a 3-2 overtime victory over Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. The New Jersey Devils also won 10 road playoff games during their championship seasons of 1995 and 2000.
2006 — Jeff Burton has the biggest come-from-behind win ever in a Busch race, overcoming a 36th-place starting position in the Dover 200 for his second victory of the season.
2006 — Russia’s Nikolai Valuev retains his WBA heavyweight title in Hanover, Germany, stopping Jamaican challenger Owen Beck with a right uppercut in the third round.
2011 — Roger Federer ends Novak Djokovic’s perfect season and 43-match winning streak, beating him 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) in the French Open semifinals. Federer advances to the title match against five-time champion Rafael Nadal. Nadal reaches his sixth final in seven years at Roland Garros by defeating Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal.
2012 — Tiger Woods won his 73rd PGA tour victory with a two-stoke win over Andres Romero and Rory Sabbatini in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Course.
2017 — UEFA Champions League Final, Cardiff: Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice as defending champions Real Madrid thrash Juventus, 4-1 for 12th title; Juventus loses 5th consecutive final.
2018 — Stephen Curry, Golden State, broke Ray Allen’s NBA Finals record for the most 3-pointers with nine in the Warriors 122-103 Game 2 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
June 4
1870 — Ed Brown becomes the first African-American jockey to win the Belmont Stakes, with Kingfisher.
1927 — The United States wins the first Ryder Cup golf tournament by beating Britain 9½-2½.
1932 — Faireno, ridden by Tommy Malley, wins the Belmont Stakes by 1½ lengths over Osculator. Burgoo King, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, doesn’t race.
1966 — Ameroid, ridden by Bill Boland, wins the Belmont Stakes by 2½ lengths over Buffle. Kauai King, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, finishes fourth.
1974 — NFL grants franchise to Seattle Seahawks.
1984 — 1960 champion Arnold Palmer fails to qualify for the US Open Golf Championship for the first time in 32 years.
1987 — Danny Harris defeats Edwin Moses in the 400 hurdles at a meet in Madrid, ending the longest winning streak in track and field. Moses, had won 122 consecutive races dating to Aug. 26, 1977.
1988 — West Germany’s Steffi Graf beats 17-year-old Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union in 32 minutes with a 6-0, 6-0 victory to win the French Open for the second straight year.
1990 — Penn State is voted into the Big Ten. The school becomes the 11th member of the league and first addition to the Midwest-based conference since Michigan State in 1949.
1994 — Haile Gebrselassie becomes the first Ethiopian to set a world track record with a time of 12:56.96 in the men’s 5,000 meters at Hengelo, Netherlands.
1998 — Harut Karapetyan of the LA Galaxy scores three goals in five minutes for the fastest hat trick in MLS history in an 8-1 rout of the Dallas Burn. The seven-goal margin sets an MLS record.
2005 — Justine Henin-Hardenne beats a rattled and fumbling Mary Pierce 6-1, 6-1 to win the French Open, capping a comeback from a blood virus with her fourth Grand Slam title and her second at Roland Garros.
2005 — Eddie Castro sets a North American record for most wins by a jockey in one day at one track, winning nine races on the 13-race card at Miami’s Calder Race Course.
2008 — The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 seasons with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 .
2009 — Randy Johnson earns his 300th win, becoming the 24th major league pitcher to reach the milestone by leading San Francisco to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader.
2011 — Li Na becomes the first Chinese — man or woman — to win a Grand Slam singles title. She beats Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 (0) in the French Open final for her fifth career title and first on clay.
2016 — Garbine Muguruza wins her first Grand Slam title by beating defending champion Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 at the French Open, denying the American her record-equaling 22nd major trophy.
2019 — San Francisco Giant Manager Bruce Bochy wins his 1,000th game as the manager of the Giants with a 9-3 victory over the New York Mets.
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June 5
1884 — James McLaughlin becomes the first jockey to win three straight Belmont Stakes when he rides Panique to victory. He won with George Kinney (1883) and Forester (1882). McLaughlin repeats his feat in 1886-88. McLaughlin’s triple is matched by jockey Laffit Pincay Jr. in 1984.
1925 — Willie McFarlane beats Bobby Jones by one stroke in the second round of a playoff to capture the U.S. Open. Macfarlane shoots a 291 at Worcester (Mass.) Country Club.
1927 — Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-yard & 200-yard free-style swim record.
1937 — War Admiral, ridden by Charles Kurtsinger, wins the Triple Crown with a three-length victory over Sceneshifter in the Belmont Stakes.
1943 — Count Fleet, ridden by Johnny Longden, wins the Triple Crown by 25 lengths in the Belmont Stakes. Count Fleet goes at off at 1-20 odds in a race with no place or show betting.
1952 — Jersey Joe Walcott scores a 15-round unanimous decision over Ezzard Charles in Philadelphia to retain the world heavyweight title.
1961 — The newly formed American Basketball League adopts the 3-point field goal.
1977 — The Portland Trail Blazers hold off the Philadelphia 76ers 109-107 to win the NBA championship in six games. Portland becomes the first team in the 31-year history of the league to win four straight after losing the first two games.
1985 — Steve Cauthen wins the Epsom Derby aboard Slip Anchor and became the only American jockey to win both the English Derby and Kentucky Derby. Cauthen had ridden Affirmed to victory in the 1978 Kentucky Derby.
1993 — Julie Krone guides Colonial Affair to victory in the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first female jockey to win a Triple Crown race.
1994 — Arantxa Sanchez Vicario and Sergi Bruguera produce the best day of tennis in Spanish history. Sanchez Vicario beats Mary Pierce 6-4, 6-4 in the French Open final and Bruguera retains his title by defeating another Spaniard, Alberto Berasategui, 6-3, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.
1999 — Steffi Graf wins her sixth French Open title and her first Grand Slam championship in almost three years, beating top-ranked Martina Hingis 4-6, 7-5, 6-2.
1999 — Charismatic loses his bid to become the 12th Triple Crown winner when he fractures his left front cannon bone and sesamoid while finishing third to Lemon Drop Kid in the Belmont Stakes.
2004 — Smarty Jones loses his Triple Crown bid and his perfect record when Birdstone runs him down near the finish of a thrilling Belmont Stakes. Birdstone, a 36-1 long shot ridden by Edgar Prado, returns $74, $14 and $8.60.
2005 — Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal beats unseeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina in four sets to win the French Open men’s singles title. The No. 4-seeded Nadal becomes the youngest men’s Grand Slam champion since Pete Sampras won the U.S. Open at 19 in 1990.
2011 — Rafael Nadal wins his record-equaling sixth French Open title, beating Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 in the final.
2016 — Novak Djokovic becomes the first man in nearly a half-century to win four consecutive major championships and finally earned elusive French Open title to complete a career Grand Slam, beating Andy Murray 3-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
2021 — Luis Saez rides Essential Quality to wins the 153rd Belmont Stakes.
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June 6
1919 — Man o’ War wins his first race, a 5-furlong contest over a straightaway at Belmont Park. The 3-to-5 favorite wins by six lengths, covering the distance in 59 seconds.
1924 — Cyril Walker captures the U.S. Open with a three-stroke victory over Bobby Jones.
1936 — Granville, ridden by James Stout, wins the Belmont Stakes by a neck over Mr. Bones. Bold Venture, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, does not run in the race.
1946 — The National Basketball Association is founded at the Commodore Hotel in New York.
1966 — NFL & AFL announce their merger.
1969 — Joe Namath resigns from NFL after Pete Rozelle, football commissioner, said he must sell his stake in a bar.
1976 — 30th NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat Phoenix Suns, 4 games to 2.
1981 — Summing, ridden by George Martins, wins the Belmont Stakes, spoiling Pleasant Colony’s Triple Crown bid.
1987 — Bet Twice, ridden by Craig Perret, breezes to a 14-length victory in the Belmont Stakes to deny Alysheba the Triple Crown. Alysheba is a distant fourth.
1987 — West Germany’s Steffi Graf, eight days shy of her 18th birthday, becomes the youngest women’s champion of the French Open when she beats Martina Navratilova 6-4, 4-6, 8-6.
1992 — NY Mets first baseman Eddie Murray records his 1,510th run batted in during 15-1 thrashing of Pittsburgh Pirates to pass Mickey Mantle as all-time RBI leader among MLB switch-hitters.
1998 — Real Quiet is denied the Triple Crown when Victory Gallop edges him at the wire in the Belmont Stakes.
1999 — Andre Agassi rallies to win the French Open and become the fifth man to complete a career Grand Slam. After losing the first two sets, Agassi surges back to beat Andrei Medvedev 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Agassi won the 1992 Wimbledon, 1994 U.S. Open and 1995 Australian Open.
1999 — Juli Inkster wins the U.S. Women’s Open with a 16-under 272, the lowest 72-hole score in the championship’s 54-year history.
2007 — The Anaheim Ducks capture the Stanley Cup with a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators, ending the series in five games.
2007 — Trevor Hoffman becomes the first major leaguer with 500 career saves when he closes out the San Diego Padres’ 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
2010 — Rafael Nadal wins his fifth French Open title and avenges his lone Roland Garros defeat, beating Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-2, 6-4. Nadal improves to 38-1 at Roland Garros, with the only loss to Soderling in the fourth round a year ago.
2011 — The Bowl Championship Series strips the Southern California Trojans of their 2004 title, leaving that season without a BCS champion. BCS officials vacated the championship after the Trojans were hit with heavy NCAA sanctions last year for rules violations committed during the 2004 and ’05 seasons.
2015 — American Pharoah leads all the way to win the Belmont Stakes by 5½ lengths, becoming the first horse in 37 years to sweep the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes. The bay colt, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Victor Espinoza, is the 12th horse and first since Affirmed in 1978 to win the Triple Crown.
2015 — Serena Williams overcomes a mid-match lull and a third-set deficit to win her third French Open title and 20th major singles trophy by beating Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-2.
2015 — Tiger Woods hits a new low with the highest score of his career — an 85 in the Memorial at Muirfield Village, the course where he has won eight times. Woods ends his front nine of the third round with back-to-back double bogeys and finishes with a quadruple-bogey 8.
2015 — UEFA Champions League Final, Berlin: FC Barcelona beats Juventus, 3-1 for 5th title and second treble (Spanish La Liga & Cup champions).
2018 — LeBron James passes Michael Jordan’s record of 109 for the most 30-point games in NBA playoff history in a 110-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
2023 — In a stunning development, the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf League agree to unify to create its own for-profit entity to be run by the PGA Tour and funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
TV SPORTS MONDAY
| MLB REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| MILWAUKEE AT PHILADELPHIA | 6:40PM | MLBN BALLY SPORTS WISCONSIN NBC SPORTS PHILADELPHIA MLB.TV FUBO |
| NY METS AT WASHINGTON | 6:45PM | MLBN SNY MASN MLB.TV FUBO |
| BALTIMORE AT TORONTO | 7:07PM | MASN2 SPORTSNET1 MLB.TV FUBO |
| DETROIT AT TEXAS | 8:05PM | BALLY SPORTS DETROIT BALLY SPORTS SOUTHWEST MLB.TV FUBO |
| ST. LOUIS AT HOUSTON | 8:10PM | BALLY SPORTS MIDWEST SCHN MLB.TV FUBO |
| CINCINNATI AT COLORADO | 8:40PM | BALLY SPORTS OHIO ROCKIES.TV MLB.TV FUBO |
| SAN DIEGO AT LA ANGELS | 9:38PM | PADRES.TV BALLY SPORTS WEST MLB.TV FUBO |
| SAN FRANCISCO AT ARIZONA | 9:40PM | FS1 NBC SPORTS BAY AREA YURVIEW MLB.TV FUBO |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| WOMEN’S FRIENDLY: AUSTRALIA VS CHINA | 5:40AM | ESPN+ FUBO |
| MEN’S FRIENDLY: GIBRALTAR VS SCOTLAND | 12:00PM | FS2 FUBO |
| MEN’S FRIENDLY: ENGLAND VS BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA | 2:45PM | FS2 FUBO |
| ARGENTINA PRIMERA DIVISIÓN: SAN LORENZO VS SARMIENTO | 6:00PM | PARAMOUNT+ FUBO |
| ARGENTINA PRIMERA DIVISIÓN: DEFENSA Y JUSTICIA VS INDEPENDIENTE | 8:15PM | PARAMOUNT+ FUBO |
| ARGENTINA PRIMERA DIVISIÓN: ESTUDIANTES VS GODOY CRUZ | 8:15PM | PARAMOUNT+ FUBO |
| TENNIS | TIME ET | TV |
| FRENCH OPEN | 5:00AM | TENNIS |
| FRENCH OPEN | 2:00PM | TENNIS |