It almost doesn’t matter what is happening with each individual team heading into a series (both have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games), and the results of the series have almost no bearing on what will happen after the series ends (the Padres get a day off before a three-game series at home against the 1st place Sacramento A’s), but that is because the games are significantly more important than just regular season games….especially when 1st place in the NL West is on the line, as it is tonight at Petco Park.

And, look, I’m not stupid. I understand that the Dodgers consider the Giants to be their #1 rival. That being said, the modern day rival is usually handed out to whichever team has been the biggest threat to your championship aspirations over the last few seasons. Fans hardly have a memory to go back any further than that. For the Dodgers and Padres, that team has been each other.

The Dodgers and their $300 million payroll, absurd television contract, owners with bottomless resources, and an analytics department that is the envy of MLB have been the biggest obstacle for the Padres in trying to get back to the World Series.

The Padres (with their $212 million payroll) have finished in 2nd place in the division in five of the last seven years. The Dodgers finished ahead of them all seven years, and won the division in each of those seasons except 2021 (when the Giants hired a witch).

The thing about rivals is that they are necessary. They are the result of multiple teams from the same division going after the exact same piece of glory and hardware. You’re probably not going to get to where you want to go without a rival pushing you to find your absolute peak. That’s what shows you where the ceiling is. That’s how you get to where you want to be.

Whether or not the Dodgers or their fans want to admit it, they need the Padres. This rivalry is as essential to their recent success as is their ballooning payroll. I think the Joker said it best…

The San Diego Padres are, once again, riding high. They survived a week and a half of their offense completely disappearing before it went back to its previous setting: Being carried by the bottom half of the payroll.

That was enough to get them a sweep of the Mariners in Seattle, but the baseball world is still holding its collective breath to see when and how the biggest stars in the Padres lineup (Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado & Jackson Merrill) are going to break out of their excruciatingly slow start to the season.

In a perfect world, it happens this week against the Dodgers for all three of them and the Padres win the series. That alone would be enough to put them in 1st place in the NL West, would make the dreams of Padres fans feel a little bit closer to reality, and would get A.J. Preller’s head spinning about how to add to this year’s team for a long postseason run.

But the Dodgers are always the measuring stick because they’re not usually so kind. They’re good at revealing the weaknesses of the Padres and then jabbing those weaknesses with a sharpened blade. There’s a world where Tatis/Machado/Merrill have an awful time against Yamamoto, Sheehan and Ohtani (pitching version) while Randy Vasquez can’t dance out of trouble, Griffin Canning shows that his last outing was a harbinger of doom instead of a fluke, and Michael King can’t control his wicked stuff.

The Dodgers are a good measuring stick for the Padres because the Padres are a measuring stick for the Dodgers. These organizations, from the players all the way up to the front office, put a lot more weight into these games than they do any other games this early on in a long season. This is when they attempt to find an answer to the question of “Do we have enough to beat them?”

This isn’t going to be some full-scale analytical preview of the series, but I did want to stress one thing:

The 2026 San Diego Padres have some magic.

I could go through the list of struggles (such as the team being significantly better at hitting against relievers than starters) or the injuries (Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove were supposed to be a part of this team), but that doesn’t capture it at all.

I could tell you that their 9th inning OPS is about 100 points higher than their next-best inning (the 5th), and I could also point out that it goes even higher in extra innings. When the moment calls for it, the Padres seem to come through more often than not. That explains why their actual win-loss record is about four full games better than their Pythagorean win-loss record. Still, that doesn’t capture it.

I think it’s the total sum of the vibes. Despite career-worst starts for the stars in the lineup, the team still seems to be having a blast. They still (collectively) seem to believe in their ability to win games, even if everyone’s stats aren’t currently great. That speaks to Craig Stammen’s ability to keep everyone loose, which is essentially how he was sold to Padres fans despite no managerial record to speak of before this season.

There’s no gimmicks needed this time. There’s no swag chain or Polaroids that I’ve seen, just a team that believes that it can win games if they’re patient and smart and determined. Tatis doesn’t look like he’s beating himself up for letting the team down all the time (just some of the time!), and he often finds ways to get important hits or walks when the team needs him to come through for an important rally.

Machado, who usually turns into a big grumpy asshole when he’s not playing well, just….hasn’t. He’s been fine! And any concerns that him and Nick Castellanos would ruin the vibes of Craig Stammen’s clubhouse seem to be gone, at least for now.

I’ve often thought that baseball teams can take on the identity of their manager. I wonder about that now, if the career middle-reliever is finding ways to get the most from role players and bench players while struggling to figure out how to get the superstars back on track. That will be the next hurdle for Stammen to overcome as he continues to earn the trust and respect of Padres fans and the rest of the baseball world.

But first, or maybe simultaneously, he gets to meet the measuring stick tonight. He gets to see if the way he is managing the Padres is enough to beat the Dodgers in a series. And we all get to find out just how much magic he carries with him. Can Stammen make this team, that has glaring weaknesses that it is trying to work around and through, believe that they can win when they’re up against Goliath?

Two teams have already punched their ticket to the conference finals, with the Thunder sweeping the Lakers and the Knicks sweeping the 76ers.

The Pistons and Cavaliers are battling it out to see who will face the Knicks in the next round and, as we sometimes see with teams that haven’t reached this level of success before, neither seems able to win a playoff game on the road. The Pistons, who finished the season as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference, hold the advantage there.

But the series the everyone has been waiting for since December is the Western Conference Finals, which is likely to be between the reigning champions (Thunder) and the team that gave them fits all season (Spurs). Apologies to the Timberwolves, who again seem like a hellacious postseason team (that is falling apart physically) up against a generational superstar.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term “sandwich generation”, I envy you. The sandwich generation speaks to a problem caused by people having children later in their life than previous generations and elders living longer than ever before because of advances in modern medicine. Where people used to be able to care for their aging parents after their children had grown up and left the house, they’re now sandwiched between caring for young children and aging parents at the same time.

This feels like a little bit of a sandwich season for the NBA. The elders of the league (LeBron, Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, etc.) haven’t retired yet, but they’re not quite good enough to compete for championships anymore. They’re still here and need to be accounted for. Meanwhile, a new generation of NBA superstars has taken the league from them (Wembanyama, SGA, Luka Doncic, Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham, etc.) and seem ready to hold tight to their position at the top for a while, even if they’re still learning the ins-and-outs of playing that role.

Maybe that’s why it’s been difficult to get a handle on this year’s NBA Playoffs. Maybe we need the elders of the league to officially be eliminated from competition before we could move on. Maybe we need to figure out what a post-LeBron NBA looks and feels like for the first time in 20+ years. If that’s the case, the next couple of weeks will help set the course.

Which is to say, it’s finally getting fun.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

After tough outing, where does Waldron fit in Padres’ plans? - MLB.com
Waldron’s line was probably a bit harsh. He lasted just 2 2/3 innings, following opener Bradgley Rodriguez, and he allowed six runs on eight hits. But Waldron dealt with some brutal batted-ball luck, as things spiraled on him in a five-run fourth.

Then again, so much of that was self-inflicted. Waldron put himself in poor counts and couldn’t put away hitters. He walked Jake Bauers. Presented with a free out, Waldron misread a David Hamilton bunt. Then, the inning unraveled.

Padres Daily: Better against the starter; Castellanos keeps feeling it; Tatis’ long fly; bullpen does its job - San Diego Union-Tribune
A game after hitting his longest fly ball of the season, Tatis hit his second longest last night.

His problem is he keeps hitting those fly balls to center field, so they were caught and he remains homerless.

Last night’s drive in the fifth inning left his bat at 104.5 mph with a too-high 40 degree launch angle and went 374 feet. His blast on Sunday was 105.8 mph with a 37 degree launch angle and traveled a projected 393 feet.

Padres Cut Ties With Former Dodgers Outfielder After Disappointing Tenure - Sports Illustrated
On Monday, the Padres officially released Verdugo from his minor league contract, according to his official transactions log. Verdugo went 1-for-5 with a walk in his two Cactus League contests, then was assigned to the team’s Arizona Complex League to begin the regular season.

Now, two months after it began, Verdugo’s time in the organization is over.

According to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Verdugo suffered a shoulder injury that is expected to require season-ending surgery.

San Diego FC

Well, It Wasn’t A Loss - Chromatic FC
Big picture, San Diego continues to build and has received a point in back-to-back matches. This is a big accomplishment considering all the injuries the team is dealing with right now. San Diego does not have the healthiest squad, and getting to the World Cup break is going to be key to finishing out the rest of the 19 matches that remain on schedule after the break. The wins will come eventually, but for now, this squad is surviving with what they have.

Tom Krasovic: San Diego FC’s goal Wednesday is simple — just win, baby - San Diego Union-Tribune
It’s winning time for a club that’s winless in its last nine Major League Soccer matches.

Even bad things must come to an end, and there’s sound reason to believe SDFC will come out on top Wednesday night in Mission Valley for its first Major League Soccer victory since — yikes — March 7.

If a worthy but reduced Austin FC denies SDFC the three points, the breakthrough should come within San Diego’s two home games that follow ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

SDFC GAM/TAM Midseason Edition 2026 - Chromatic FC
San Diego FC began January with $5.5 million in GAM, which was reduced by $200,000 for Bombino’s buy option and $170,000 for a trade with Charlotte. Another $2.9 million is required for the current roster. However, there could be gains in U-22 GAM for maintaining a U-22 roster profile, likely amounting to just under one million (estimated at $950,000). Additionally, while the fee for the Paddy McNair transfer was undisclosed, if San Diego received $1 million in cash, they could had converted 90% of that into an additional $900,000 in GAM.

With all that said, San Diego should have about $4 million in GAM to play with for the summer transfer window.

Here’s what Chucky Lozano will make not to play for San Diego FC in 2026 - San Diego Union-Tribune
The Major League Soccer Players Association, as it does twice annually, released its spring batch of salary numbers Tuesday for every player on every team. SDFC ranks fifth in total team compensation at $24.4 million, behind Inter Miami ($54.6 million), LAFC ($32.7 million), Atlanta United ($27.9 million), LA Galaxy ($26.4 million) and Vancouver ($24.6 million).

Subtract Lozano’s $9.33 million in guaranteed compensation, and SDFC — which sits 13th in the Western Conference heading into Wednesday’s match against Austin FC at Snapdragon Stadium — plunges to 23rd out of the 30 MLS clubs in payroll at $15.1 million.

NBA

Victor Wembanyama counters Timberwolves’ ‘rage baiting’ with cold-blooded revenge - The Athletic
Victor Wembanyama could see a blue Tesla Model X waiting for him on the tarmac, gull-wing door in the air, somehow high enough to reach his eye level. Gregg Popovich stepped out, waiting for his young pupil a day ahead of what would become a 126-97 Game 5 win that gave the Spurs a 3-2 series lead.

He knew his first NBA coach would have an earful to say, as he always does. Just by showing up, Popovich made a statement before Wembanyama even got a chance to say hi. Wembanyama stood there and listened, an arm behind his back, vulnerable, attentive, present.

Victor Wembanyama Must Be Seen To Be Believed - Defector
San Antonio rolled Minnesota in Game 5, 127-96, and while you can see the faint outline of Wemby’s impact circumscribed within the stats, that will only get you so far. I found his Game 5 performance spectacular. To even say he was the best player on the court undersells it. He seemed to be the only player on the court. It felt so different from Game 4’s bombastic frenzy. This game felt contained, never in competitive or aesthetic jeopardy. This is the Wemby effect. When I watch the Spurs, I find myself straying from the visual tenets of how to watch the game and focusing solely on Wembanyama. I don’t end up missing anything, because everyone on the court is doing the same. Maybe that’s the way in to describing what makes him singular.

76ers part ways with Daryl Morey after another disappointing season, head coach Nick Nurse to remain with Philadelphia - Yahoo Sports
After cutting his teeth with the Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey was supposed to take the next step in his career and lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a championship. Instead, the team endured ups and down during Morey’s tenure, leading to the executive’s dismissal on Tuesday.

The news ends Morey’s six-year run with the franchise.

Heaven Help Us, The Thunder Have Yet Another Dude - Defector
It feels faintly ridiculous that the Thunder, awash as they are in so many surplus lottery picks that they won’t even be able to roster all of them going forward, could find a reliable starter with the 38th pick and then sign him to a below-market deal right before he broke out for the world to see, but that’s the sort of move that makes Oklahoma City the best organization in the NBA these days. Also, it’s not like Mitchell was hiding. The Big West, where he played his college ball, is not Division III, and when you go back and read Mitchell’s college scouting reports, everyone was pretty clear that he’s an extremely precise player with great vision and a well-rounded game suited to the modern NBA. There were some minor quibbles about his age—he played three years of college ball and turned 22 the day before the 2024 draft began, making him a relative ancient by today’s standards—and twitchiness, though Oklahoma City clearly saw his gifts and fast-tracked him to a huge role.

Jason Collins, 1st openly gay NBA player, dies of brain cancer at 47 - ESPN
Jason Collins, the NBA’s first openly gay player who served as a global ambassador for the sport for the past decade, has died of brain cancer, his family said Tuesday. He was 47.

Collins told ESPN in November that he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer. He traveled to Singapore this past winter to receive experimental treatments not yet authorized in the United States. Those treatments were effective enough for him to return home, attend NBA All-Star Weekend events in Los Angeles and go to a game at his alma mater, Stanford.

But the cancer returned recently, and Collins died peacefully at his Los Angeles home, surrounded by his family.

Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke dies at age 29 - ESPN
LAPD sources confirmed to ABC News that Clarke was found dead from a possible drug overdose Monday in a home located in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. Narcotics were found at the scene, and there was no evidence of foul play, sources told ABC News.

Odds & Ends

Were we all too harsh to Ronda Rousey at the end of her UFC career? - Yahoo Sports
Do we owe Rousey’s body of work a reexamination? We were unfairly harsh to her at the time? Does her MMA legacy deserve better than the treatment it’s gotten over the last decade?

There are bound to be those who say no just based on skepticism toward her explanation. Migraines? Really? Plus, doesn’t every fighter have their own excuses after a loss? If you let them tell it, no MMA fighter has ever legitimately lost a fight. This is nothing new.

Rousey, for her part, seems resigned to that response. “There’s a lot of people out there who think I’m making it up or don’t believe me or whatever,” she told Helwani. “Neurological problems are an injury that nobody else can see.”

Lane Kiffin’s Decision To Abandon Ole Miss Was Actually Smart And Good, According To Lane Kiffin - Defector
What made people so angry at him—aside from using Ole Miss and a hot new yoga body to rehab his head-coaching stock—is that he abandoned a winning team, one that could’ve competed for a national championship, and in doing so basically said he thinks seasons like that are a total fluke for a school like Ole Miss. To pretend this should not have affected his reputation there is disingenuous. In contrast, Curt Cignetti could lose every game from now on, and he’ll still forever be the guy who brought a national championship to Indiana. Sometimes a chance at immortality is a better bet than a guarantee of a bigger NIL budget.

Countywide Tijuana River tax measure edges toward ballot - North County Pipeline
A proposed county sales tax framed around the Tijuana River sewage crisis would fund broader healthcare and public safety programs, raising questions about scope, accountability and timing

Nearly 40 Public Restrooms Would Close Under Budget Proposal - Voice of San Diego
Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed budget would close dozens of public restrooms in some of San Diego’s most heavily trafficked and popular tourist destinations.

San Diego is already infamous for its lack of toilets. If adopted, these cuts would mark the most dramatic rollback of public restrooms since Gloria vowed to expand access in 2021.

At least 38 public restrooms in Downtown, Balboa Park, Mission Bay and local beaches would be closed under the current plan, according to an Independent Budget Analyst report. These areas, which are heavily trafficked by tourists and locals alike, currently house 64 public restrooms – which means the number would be cut by more than half.

Instead, I was going to write about LeBron James, who is quite possibly the greatest basketball player we’ve ever seen and is currently wondering if he just played in his final professional basketball game ever.

As someone that has watched practically the entire NBA career of LeBron James thus far, I would honestly be shocked if he decided to hang up his jersey and walk away into whatever his post-playing career is going to be without a full-scale farewell tour. So, at the risk of having to double back and write it later anyway, we’re going to hold on to that right now and celebrate a little victory.

The San Diego Padres are all alone in 1st place of the NL West. They were tied yesterday, and all that has changed since then is that the Los Angeles Dodgers lost their third consecutive game. Still, it has been quite some time since the Padres could get comfortable leading the pack in their division, which means every opportunity to celebrate them being at the top should be taken.

There are still one hundred and twenty two games left for the Padres to play before the season is through. So much can change between now and then. Still, to this point, they have been the total opposite of what I expected them to be.

Craig Stammen has been a breath of fresh air as the manager of the team, and the bottom half of the roster has been more than what I could’ve imagined. The top half of the roster should, in theory, put it together eventually. They get paid those big bucks because of their consistency, which is something even Xander Bogaerts is proving this season.

Whether San Diego can put it all together before the bottom falls out, and whether they can finish at the top of the division, is not guaranteed. However, it’s now in play in a way that it didn’t seem to be back in February. That’s exciting!

I remember a Padres player being once asked why they did one of those stupid little dances that seemingly every hitter in baseball now does when they get a hit, usually aimed at the dugout (with the dugout reciprocating). Their answer was “Because getting a hit at this level is really difficult and should be celebrated.” I love that mentality. Celebrate doing the difficult things.

Does it mean anything that the Padres are in 1st place on May 12th? No. But was it easy for them to get here? Also no. And is it, therefore, worth celebrating? Absolutely.

So, do a stupid little dance. Celebrate. For at least a few more hours, refer to them exclusive as “The First Place San Diego Padres” in conversation. Enjoy it.

Now, onto the links…

The First Place San Diego Padres

Half empty ... or half full? What to make of Padres’ offense - MLB.com
I suppose the way you view this offense probably says as much about you as it does the actual San Diego offense. There’s something for everyone -- the optimists, the pessimists, the realists and the dreamers. I’m not sure what to make of it all. I guess we’ll find out over the next five months. But I certainly understand the varying perspectives.

Salas headlines Padres prospects off to strong starts in 2026 - MLB.com
That roller coaster is pointed back up this spring. Salas just rejoined the Top 100 and is set to jump up even further in an upcoming update this week after slashing .320/.396/.546 with five homers through 28 games for Double-A San Antonio. The catcher, who still only turns 20 on June 1, has become a nightly offensive highlight reel full of hard-hit balls – a huge development for the Padres’ No. 2 prospect, who drew reviews as a possible plus-plus defender even during the down times.

NBA

LeBron James may be at retirement age, but everything else tells us he’s not done yet - CBS Sports
Not long after the Lakers’ season ended late Monday night in Los Angeles with an inevitable sweep courtesy of the Thunder, the focus shifted to LeBron James and his future. Would he still have one in the NBA, or had he decided that his playing days were in the past and this was finally the end of his remarkable career? It was hard to imagine James announcing a snap retirement well after midnight on the East Coast, with no fanfare or sendoff. Tim Duncan faded into the background with no advance warning, but LeBron has always courted the spotlight.

Still, the question had to be asked. Larry Bird retired at 35. Magic Johnson, 36. Michael Jordan, 40 (the final time). Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki were 40 when they called it quits. At 41, James is well past the traditional NBA expiration date. So how about it, LeBron? What are your plans?

Donovan Mitchell explodes for NBA playoff record-tying 39 second-half points, leads Cavaliers to 2-2 series tie with Pistons - Yahoo Sports
“I apologized to the group,” Mitchell told NBC of his halftime message to his teammates after a four-point first half. … “I came in and told the guys, it’s on me. I tried to make a statement in the second half.”

Make a statement, Mitchell did. And the Cavs are back in the series with a trip to the Eastern Conference finals at stake.

Are the Knicks a Mirage, a Moment, or the Real Thing? - The Ringer
With eight wins still standing between these Knicks and basketball immortality, it’s still a wee bit early to plan a parade. We’re not that far removed from New York falling down 2-1 against the very same Hawks they eventually decapitated, with 34-year-old CJ McCollum sashaying around Madison Square Garden like it was his own living room. This is the same team that spent much of the season afflicted by melodrama and instability, stumbling through stretches where disappointment seemed inevitable. There was infighting, questions about the starting lineup, trade rumors, and inconsistent play.

Today, all of it feels approximately 600 years ago. Having now won seven straight games in convincing fashion, New York’s first championship in 53 years has never felt more realistic for a franchise that traditionally makes no room for Pollyannaish prognostication.

Luka Dončić says he won’t play for Slovenian national team amid custody battle with ex-fianceé - The Athletic
Shortly after the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder Monday night, Lakers star Luka Dončić announced via an Instagram story that he will not be playing with the Slovenian national team this summer so he can focus on spending time with his daughters.

Dončić, who wrote the message in both Slovenian and English, is in the midst of a custody battle over his two daughters with ex-fiancée Anamaria Goltes. His oldest, Gabriela, is 3, while his youngest, Olivia, was born this past December.

NBC touted Michael Jordan’s participation in its NBA revival. The reality fizzled - The Athletic
The lack of “Air Jordan” hasn’t ruined NBC’s first season, but it’s been a letdown on its overall strong return to showing the league’s game.

Led by Tirico, Noah Eagle and Maria Taylor and little tributes to yesteryear, like showing the starting lineups, the NBA on NBC has felt big. A real contribution from Jordan and it would be in another galaxy.

Jordan and NBC apparently are still talking about Jordan doing some more, maybe with hoops, possibly with NASCAR. He couldn’t do much less.

Jordan’s lack of airtime was sort of predictable. While a very good idea by NBC, its executives weren’t the first to try to recruit No. 23 to a mic. He has never done it.

Odds & Ends

Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club hosts U.S. Women’s Open Qualifier - FOX 5 San Diego
“I think it’s really awesome that we get this opportunity,” said Kate Hu, a junior at Torrey Pines High School. “This course is really challenging, and it’s really fun, and it’s just a really great opportunity.”

Hosted by the Southern California Golf Association, this one-day, 36-hole tournament carries the ultimate prize – qualification into this year’s U.S. Women’s Open Championship.

“It’s such a cool opportunity,” continued Lauren Dickey, an Amateur/Pro Golfer out of Las Vegas, “It’s one of the few events on the schedule that allows you to do that.”

HCD Says San Diego Sports Arena Project Can Use Density Bonus Law To Break Height Limit - California Planning & Development Report
In the wake of two court cases striking down voters’ decision to eliminate a coastal height limit in San Diego, developers of the city’s sports arena site have now taken the position that they can violate the height limit under the Density Bonus Law. And now the California Department of Housing and Community Development has issued a letter that would appear to validate that position.

San Diego Volleyball Tabbed to Represent Team USA at 2026 FISU America Games - USD Toreros
Coming off a 2025 calendar year that included a Team USA appearance at the FISU World University Games in Berlin and an undefeated West Coast Conference championship run, San Diego volleyball will once again don the red, white, and blue this summer when it represents the United States at the 2026 FISU America Games in Lima, Peru.

The man who predicted the last crash says something much worse is coming — are you prepared? - The Economic Times
Robert Kiyosaki has once again ignited debate across financial circles after warning that America could be heading toward a “Greater Depression.” The bestselling author behind Rich Dad Poor Dad believes rising debt, inflation pressure, weakening purchasing power and unstable financial systems are creating dangerous cracks beneath the U.S. economy. His message is dramatic, sometimes controversial, yet impossible to ignore because many of the economic signals he highlighted continue flashing red in 2026.

The Padres are also, somewhat surprisingly, about a quarter of the way through the season. Their 24-16 overall record is good enough for a tie atop the NL West standings with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

You would assume, if I had told you before the season began that the Padres would tied for first place in their division a quarter of the way through the season, that Fernando Tatis Jr. was supplying the power that the team so desperately needs from him in the lineup. You would be wrong. He still has not hit a home run this season and has posted his worst offensive numbers across the board.

You would also probably assume that the Padres had found a bunch of good fortune in their starting rotation, that Joe Musgrove would be back to the player he was before his Tommy John surgery and that Nick Pivetta would be replicating last year’s success and that the guys picked up in the offseason (Buehler & Marquez) had both been performing well when it was their turn to take the ball.

You’d be wrong about all of this, and probably a lot more.

Here are the offensive categories in which the 2026 Padres fall below the league-average line:

• Runs per game

• Hits (last in the league!)

• Double

• Home Runs

• RBIs

• Walks

• Batting average

• On-base percentage

• Slugging percentage

• OPS+

They also have the fourth oldest average age for their hitters this season, so these trends could have a disastrous end. I don’t even have time or energy to go into the Tatis conversation right now.

The team’s 101 ERA+ says that, overall, the Padres pitching has been exceedingly average.

So, what is it? If the team can’t hit, and they can’t pitch at anything more than an average level, how are they racking up so many wins?

Well, the Padres seem to find new life late in games. The stats back this one up, too. While the Padres hitters put up a paltry .605 OPS against starting pitchers (.541 in innings 1-3), they are posting a .748 OPS against relievers (.730 in innings 7-9).

Meanwhile, the San Diego pitchers are doing the opposite to their opponents. Early in games (innings 1-3), opposing batters have an OPS of .728 against Padres pitching. Late in games (innings 7-9), that number drops to .635.

Now, on the offensive side, this is probably just dumb luck. But I do feel like maybe this coaching staff is currently better at making in-game adjustments than they are using scouting reports as they head into games. Or the scouting department needs to be adjusted in some way to improve efficacy. On the pitching side of things, the bullpen is just much better off than the rotation right now for the Padres. That’s not a surprise.

Either way, I do think the Padres getting these kinds of big picture results while having less-than-ideal production from their hitters and their starting rotation is a great sign for the short-term and long-term future of the Padres. Now, they just need to figure out how to hit more in the early innings. Maybe try espresso?

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Castellanos’ HR, Machado’s walk-off lift Padres to 10-inning comeback victory - MLB.com
Castellanos came to the plate in the ninth as the potential final out, with the Padres trailing 2-0. He fell behind in the count, 0-2. Then, the battle began.

Castellanos fouled off three pitches, and he worked the count full, before Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien left a belt-high sinker over the inner half. Castellanos turned on it and launched a game-tying two-run homer into the left-field seats, sending the game to extras.

Top Padres prospect self-deported to Mexico after plea related to human smuggling - The Athletic
After waiving his Miranda rights, the complaint said, Cruz told agents he had responded to a social media advertisement seeking drivers “to pick up people for easy money.” According to the complaint, Cruz said he was offered $1,000 for each person he transported, was directed to pickup locations through pin drops sent to his phone by an unknown contact, and had been told to drive to Tucson and then on to Phoenix. Cruz said after he picked up the people, he knew “they were illegal,” the complaint said.

The Padres at the quarter mark: Sparse offense, enough pitching and a 97-win pace - The Athletic
For years, little about the San Diego Padres has been straightforward. The 2026 season is providing the latest series of examples.

A mostly patchwork starting rotation has largely delivered. A supposedly deep offense, meanwhile, has appeared riddled with holes. After 40 games, San Diego’s plus-three run differential suggests the record should be 20-20.

And yet, thanks to a dozen comeback victories, the Padres are 24-16. As indicated by seven losses in the past 12 games, their 97-win pace is likely unsustainable. So, you would think, is the glaring underperformance of their household names.

San Diego FC / San Diego Wave FC

San Diego Wave rookie scores late to beat rival Angel City FC in Los Angeles - San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Wave broke a two-game losing streak Saturday night by rediscovering their offensive touch against one of the National Women’s Soccer League’s better defensive squads.

Mimi Van Zanten scored her first goal as a professional in the 81st minute to give the Wave a 2-1 victory against Angel City FC in front of 17,169 at BMO Stadium.

Dudinha added her third goal of the season before recording her fourth assist on Van Zanten’s goal. Kimmi Ascanio contributed her third assist of the year.

Danny Musovski’s late goal extends Sounders’ home unbeaten streak - The Seattle Times
For too long, San Diego FC was in the same sentence as Paris Saint-Germain.

The last time the Sounders lost a match at Lumen Field, it was against the European giant during the FIFA men’s Club World Cup in June 2025. A run that includes defeating Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami for a Leagues Cup title.

A spiraling San Diego made its second trip to the storied facility Saturday. After grabbing an early lead, the visitors appeared to have a game plan that could not only be their first win since March but hand the Sounders their first loss at home in nearly a year.

San Diego blocked seven shots and keeper Duran Ferree had three saves before Danny Musovski had the needed touch in the 80^th minute to give the Sounders a 1-1 draw.

NBA

Victor Wembanyama ejected from Game 4 for elbowing Naz Reid - ESPN
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama experienced his first career ejection Sunday in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals after throwing an elbow at the jaw of Minnesota Timberwolves forward Naz Reid early in the second quarter.

While Spurs coach Mitch Johnson didn’t condone Wembanyama’s actions, he said after San Antonio’s 114-109 loss that officials could do a better job of protecting the 22-year-old big man from the “physicality” routinely imposed on him by opponents.

Knicks torch 76ers with record-tying effort from 3, set team playoff record with 144 points to complete dominant sweep - Yahoo Sports
With OG Anunoby sidelined with a hamstring injury, Miles McBride got a second straight start for the New York Knicks on Sunday in a closeout game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

McBride made the most of the opportunity while leading the Knicks to a record-tying effort from 3 in an overwhelming Game 4 win. The Knicks ran away with the 144-114 victory to complete a dominant sweep of their rivals to advance to the Eastern Conference finals. It was the most points the Knicks have ever scored in a playoff game.

Josh Hart after Knicks sweep 76ers: ‘I used to think Philly was a sports town’ - The Athletic
There’s no official count of how many Knicks fans there were in comparison with hometown 76ers fans, but Philadelphia star Joel Embiid was booed when shown on the giant video screen just before the game, if that gives any idea.

When these two teams met in the playoffs in 2024, Knicks fans took over in Philadelphia. It led to Embiid’s pleading for 76ers fans not to sell their tickets ahead of this year’s series between the two teams.

Clearly, it didn’t work.

Winners and Losers of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery - The Ringer
In one of the most consequential lotteries of the decade, the Wizards’ tank was rewarded while the Pacers’ big gamble backfired in the most painful way possible.

The 2026 NBA Mock Draft - Hoops HQ
The Washington Wizards have won the draft lottery for the second time in franchise history, securing the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in June. The Wizards entered the lottery with the best odds (14 percent) after a 17-65 season and had a bit of luck with their No. 1 pick from the 2010 draft John Wall representing the team at the drawing. This is widely considered one of the deepest and talented draft classes, particularly at the top with AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer and Caleb Wilson headlining.

Steve Kerr Hasn’t Had Enough Just Yet - Defector
Steve Kerr and Steph Curry are a matched pair, and each helped the other build the last great NBA dynasty; you may quarrel amongst yourselves about the who-did-what ratio, but there's no arguing the broader point. And, as each man was both comfortable and competitive, it seemed appropriate that neither would consider leaving without the other.

Odds & Ends

Sparks routed in season-opener by Aces - Silver Screen and Roll
Aside from an exciting second quarter, it was a pretty underwhelming season opener for the Sparks, who fell to the Aces.

Trump says he ‘wouldn’t pay it either’ in response to USMNT World Cup ticket prices - The Athletic
FIFA, world football’s governing body, has been widely criticised for ticket prices at this summer’s tournament, with the cheapest ticket in its three main categories for U.S.-Paraguay initially costing $1,120 (£823).

And now President Trump, who has a close relationship with Gianni Infantino, the FIFA president, has offered his view.

“I did not know that number (the USMNT’s opening match prices),” the U.S. president said in an exclusive interview with the New York Post. “I would certainly like to be there, but I wouldn’t pay it either, to be honest with you.”

Las Cuatro Milpas is now ready to reopen - San Diego Union-Tribune
The beloved Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant, which shut its doors several months ago following a more than 90-year run in Barrio Logan, will reopen Tuesday at a new location just a couple of blocks away.

The restaurant’s owners announced the grand opening on Instagram, thanking their scores of loyal followers for “standing by us through this journey. We cannot wait to serve our community once again.”

In the first round, there were two upsets. One of them was the Minnesota Timberwolves (battling through injuries) defeating the Denver Nuggets (who struggled without a healthy Aaron Gordon or Peyton Watson). The other was the Philadelphia 76ers (with Joel Embiid rushing back from appendicitis) toppling the Boston Celtics (who were dealing with a new Jayson Tatum injury after he rushed back from an Achilles tear a year ago).

It wasn’t the basketball itself that won those series, but it was one broken-down team dealing with their injuries better than another broken down team. That helps to explain why the 76ers are down 0-2 to the Knicks in the second round (with Embiid missing both games) and why the Timberwolves lost game 2 of their series against the Spurs by 38 points. You can only plan for life without your best players for so long before the floor gives out.

That margin of victory hasn’t exactly been rare, either. Seemingly every night of the NBA Playoffs this year, there is at least one game that is over by halftime because of the dominance of one team over the other. The reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder have yet to lose a game and yet to really have a game close enough that you could theoretically worry about them potentially losing.

Everyone, including myself, is waiting on a Western Conference Finals between the Thunder and Spurs. Those are clearly the two best teams in the league and two of the youngest, which means we could be in for a run of boring, lopsided playoffs for years to come.

Despite the dynastic potential, and the brewing rivalry between these two teams, the NBA needs more than two teams to have a chance here. Especially since those two teams are in the same conference. The NBA also needs the playoffs to be more than just a battle of which teams can stay healthy against which ones can’t (although, I could make an argument that we already had this problem last year when Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton’s Achilles tears turned the playoffs on its head).

These issues are bigger than me and I don’t have any good solutions, I’m just pointing out that….to this point….this has been a pretty lame postseason for NBA fans.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

King looks sharp, but Padres come up short in series opener - MLB.com
Despite the relatively solid numbers, Michael King hasn’t quite been himself this season. He’s been mostly unable to command his fastball, and he’s had to grind his way through his outings.

But this? This looked more like the version of Michael King from his dominant late-season run in 2024.

King pitched six innings of one-hit, one-run ball, allowing only Alec Burleson’s solo home run in the fourth. Otherwise, he was as sharp as he’s looked all season.

Late swing doesn’t go Padres’ way this time in loss to Cardinals - San Diego Union-Tribune
The Cardinals broke a 1-1 tie by scoring against Bradgley Rodriguez in the seventh inning when Jordan Walker’s double landed just fair down the left-field line and a triple down the right-field line by Masyn Winn got past the sliding catch attempt by Nick Castellanos — pretty much the exact play the younger and much quicker Tatis has made his signature.

How sold-out crowd of Padres faithful gave young Cardinals a test Oli Marmol wanted to see - St. Louis Post-Dispatch
In front of a sold-out Petco Park crowd of 44,966 – the third-largest crowd they’ve played in front of this season – the Cardinals needed a nearly perfect game to best host San Diego and got it. As unbothered by a packed, raucous audience as they were by an inability to generate much offensively, the Cardinals tied the game in fourth, took their first lead in the seventh, and held tight for a 2-1 victory Thursday night. Not starter Michael King’s wily changeup, nor the Padres’ lineup, nor the hostile environment could jar the Cardinals from their steady style.

“You want to check certain boxes when it comes to growth and development with this young group at the end of the year, and one of them is being able to play in tough environments,” Marmol said. “I’d like to see another group as young as ours that calm in an environment like this. … There wasn’t a single player in the dugout who was sped up by any of it.

San Diego Padres sale a full-circle moment for Black baseball - Andscape
The next frontier for African Americans in sports is team ownership. Black bodies have helped build enormous wealth for sports teams and leagues, but ownership remains an economic and cultural mountain that largely has remained out of view.

That mountain came a bit more into focus Saturday when the family of Peter Seidler, the late San Diego Padres owner, announced it had reached an agreement to sell the franchise to an investor group led by Kwanza Jones and her husband, José E. Feliciano, co-founder of private equity firm Clearlake Capital.

If the $3.9 billion sale is approved, the purchase would make Jones, a Princeton grad and Washington, D.C., native, the first Black woman in MLB history to own a majority stake of a franchise. Her husband would be the first majority owner in the league of Puerto Rican descent and would join Los Angeles Angels owner as the league’s second Latino majority owner.

NBA Playoffs

Thunder use depth to take control of Game 2, series vs. Lakers - ESPN
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander served as a cheerleader during the most important stretch of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 125-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers in Thursday’s Game 2 of their second-round series.

The Lakers had a five-point lead when Gilgeous-Alexander picked up his fourth foul only 86 seconds into the second half, forcing the reigning MVP to the bench for the rest of the third quarter.

By the time Gilgeous-Alexander returned to start the fourth quarter, the Thunder led by 13. Oklahoma City seized command of the game thanks to a 22-4 run soon after Gilgeous-Alexander’s exit, the key to the Thunder taking a 2-0 series lead and remaining undefeated this postseason.

James Harden’s struggles continue in Cavaliers’ Game 2 loss to Pistons, with turnovers piling up vs. Pistons - Yahoo Sports
The Cavaliers lost 107-97 on Thursday to put themselves in a 2-0 hole as the series goes to Cleveland. No player faced more blame than the 36-year-old Harden, whose postseason struggles have become a defining element of his career across multiple playoff teams.

Harden finished the game with 10 points on 3-of-13 shooting (0-of-4 from 3-point range) with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 turnovers. One of those turnovers essentially put the game away for Detroit.

Why is watching the NBA playoffs at a bar harder than it should be? - The Athletic
This season, the NBA aired games on multiple networks and platforms, including ESPN/ABC, Amazon Prime Video, and NBC/Peacock. Prime Video streamed 66 regular-season games, the NBA Cup and approximately one-third of the playoffs. NBCUniversal aired 100 regular-season games across NBC and Peacock (NBC’s streaming platform), including Sunday night games, plus playoff coverage. The 11-year media rights deal will net the NBA $77 billion.

The league saw high viewership during the regular season, and announced the first round of this postseason (through April 27) had its highest viewership in 33 years, with an average of 3.91 million viewers per game. Imagine how much larger the audience could be if those Prime games were widely available in bars and restaurants.

Odds & Ends

The King’s Court: 23 moments from LeBron James’ 23 seasons - ESPN
There were a few before-and-after inflection points in LeBron’s career -- and this was the first. One way to qualify as a superstar is to lead a lesser team to a playoff series win. James did this in breathtaking fashion, his 48 points in double overtime not only beating the rival Detroit Pistons but breaking their will in the process.

Notebook: Fan’s ‘Free Chucky’ banner captures growing frustration around San Diego FC - San Diego Union-Tribune
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano arrived as the club’s first superstar, an expensive symbol of ambition for an expansion team that wanted to make a good first impression.

Now, as SDFC stumbles through the roughest patch of its young life in Major League Soccer, Lozano has become something else entirely — an unused designated player, a training-ground exile and a growing source of frustration for a fanbase searching for answers.

After San Diego’s 2-1 loss to Portland at Snapdragon Stadium two weeks ago, chants of “Chucky Lozano” could be heard from frustrated supporters in the stands.

Last Saturday, during SDFC’s rivalry match against LAFC, one fan took the message up a notch.

Early in the match, a plane circled above Snapdragon carrying a banner that read: “#FreeChucky = More Wins.”

13 WNBA Predictions We Actually Believe for 2026 - The Ringer
If Caitlin Clark’s rookie season in 2024 was a dry run for the W’s adulthood, this is the real thing. The stars are brighter. The arenas are bigger. The league, with new teams in Toronto and Portland, is getting bigger. The CBA impasse that threatened to impede the league’s momentum was resolved at the buzzer with a new deal. The infrastructure around the sport is catching up to the talent and attention. Player salaries have increased sevenfold and are now into the seven figures, and refereeing reform should be ahead.

World Cup Tallies Another Human Rights Abuse - Defector
The legacy of the World Cup is intertwined with human rights abuses and propagandizing on behalf of killers and despots. The 2026 tournament has already sullied itself with things like the handing of a totally real FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump, and FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s botched attempt to engineer a Palestine-Israel handshake photo op. Even Fox, the tournament’s broadcast partner in the United States, has taken it upon itself to further make watching this World Cup an act of moral compromise. In a particularly dastardly move, the network has decided to inflict Jameis Winston on its viewers.

The UFC champ who sold his soul - Sports Politika
Khamzat Chimaev’s story is no longer that of a fearless contender rising to greatness, but of a gifted fighter diminished into a warlord’s prized pet—a UFC champ who sold his soul to the strongman.

Mexico ends school year six weeks early for World Cup, ‘extraordinary heat wave’ - The Athletic
The Mexican government has agreed to end the school year around six weeks early due to their co-hosting of the World Cup and the “extraordinary heat wave” forecast.

Schools were scheduled to break up around July 15, but an official release on Thursday confirmed the Ministry of Public Education (SEP) and the education ministries had agreed to bring the date forward to June 5, six days before the tournament’s first match.

The 2026 San Diego Padres started the season going 0-2, losing their first two series before winning their next six series. That got them up to a 6-2 series record for the season.

They then traveled to Mexico City, where they tied a two-game series against the Diamondbacks (6-2-1) before returning home to lose a series to the Cubs (6-3-1) and then the White Sox (6-4-1).

A series win in San Francisco (7-4-1) has them moving back in the right direction. The Padres welcome the St. Louis Cardinals to town tonight and, bad news, the Cardinals are good this year. Also, they’ve been really good on the road.

St. Louis comes to town with a 21-15 overall record, but an 11-5 record on the road. They’ve been a better at both scoring runs and preventing runs on the road.

That doesn’t mean everything in May. They put up a lot of those numbers against the Pirates, Nationals and the very-injured Astros. They’ve found ways to lose a road series to the Marlins and the Tigers. They’ve also been horrible in afternoon games, which could end up being a factor (Saturday’s game starts at 4p and Sunday’s starts at 1p).

I’ll continue to monitor how well the Padres are doing at winning each series they’re in because, as you probably know, I’m weird and find that to be a better indicator of team success than the actual win-loss record.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Padres win late again, take series from Giants - San Diego Union-Tribune
So it is that a riddle of a season continued, as the Padres won for the third time in four games. This comes after they lost five times in six games, which came after a 16-3 stretch, which followed a 2-5 start.

Xander Bogaerts, who entered the game at shortstop after France pinch-hit for Sung-Mun Song, hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning.

In all, 69 of the Padres’ 162 runs have been scored after the sixth inning. That is the second most in the major leagues.

Stammen accidentally puts France down 0-1 ... then watches him get the hit of the game - MLB.com
France, despite starting the count behind, got to work. He battled for eight pitches. (Well, technically seven, not counting the automatic strike.) He worked the count full.

“It was a whirlwind, but it all worked out,” France said. “You just treat it like another at-bat.”

With the count full, France got a fastball from Gage and shot it into the right-field corner. The Giants’ Jesus Rodriguez, playing his first game in right, dove and couldn’t make the play. France sped into third base with his second triple of the season, plating two runs and giving the Padres a 3-1 lead.

“I don’t know if the manager put him in the best spot to succeed,” Stammen said. “But we got him out there, and he came through, made me look good.”

Kwanza Jones To Become MLB’s First Black Woman Majority Owner With $3.9 Billion Padres Deal - Essence
Jones is not a newcomer to historic firsts. She won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater while she was still an undergrad at Princeton, and later earned a law degree from Cardozo School of Law and a master’s in dispute resolution from Pepperdine. She released music on her own independent label and founded a motivational media company. She and Feliciano have put over $200 million toward education and equity through their philanthropic initiative, and Jones has held board seats at the Apollo Theater, Susan G. Komen, and Bennett College, where her mother, her aunt, and other family members are alumnae. Princeton named two residence halls after the couple in 2023, which were the first to ever be named after Black and Latino donors in its nearly 280-year history.

NBA Playoffs

Knicks prove they can win a slugfest to take 2-0 series lead over 76ers - Yahoo Sports
Two nights after getting absolutely shellacked, the shorthanded and overmatched Sixers were putting together a performance that dragged a Knicks team that had played only blowouts over the past couple of weeks down into the mud — a physical, foul-filled, aggressive slugfest; a fistfight in a phone booth in which neither team could gain more than three possessions of separation.

Spurs respond to Game 1 loss with beatdown of Timberwolves in Game 2 - Yahoo Sports
The best that can be said for the Timberwolves is they still weren’t quite 100%, or at least as close as they can get to 100% in a series where Donte DiVincenzo is guaranteed to be out. Anthony Edwards still came off the bench after a surprise return in Game 1, and Ayo Dosunmu left the game early with heel pain after previously being considered questionable.

Odds & Ends

San Diego NASCAR race to be held on ‘Qualcomm Circuit’ - San Diego Union-Tribune
Get ready for NASCAR to circle Naval Base Coronado for the inaugural Qualcomm Circuit on Father’s Day weekend.

Qualcomm has the naming rights as the official circuit partner of NASCAR’s San Diego race on June 19-21, the company said Monday. The 16-turn, 3.4-mile circuit will be NASCAR’s first race on an active military base.

Hotels in U.S. World Cup host cities claim underwhelming demand, new report says - The Athletic
The report — which is based on 205 responses from hotel operators and owners, many of whom own multiple portfolios across multiple World Cup markets, an AHLA spokesperson said — indicates that current performance is very soft compared to the expectations of the hotels themselves.

Over 70 percent of respondents in San Francisco, Seattle, Philadelphia and Boston also reported that booking pace was below expectations, with over 60 percent saying the same in Los Angeles, New York City, Houston and Dallas.

Banning the infield shift didn’t bring back the base hit. Does anyone care? - The Athletic
“Most people thought the science was right and we weren’t going to see teams hitting .270,” said an American League executive, who was granted anonymity in exchange for their candor. “But we were going to see people less frustrated with the idea that David Ortiz is up and there are three guys standing in a triangle between 150 and 200 feet from home plate.”

That triangle has been banished, yet the root issue remains. Banning the shift revived one type of hit — lefties’ BABIP on pulled ground balls is up 24 points since 2022 — but did not alter the sport’s prevailing hitting philosophy.

“Even though we changed the shift in the infield,” Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said, “we didn’t change that the optimal ball in play is the ball in the air.”

Batters are lifting and pulling the ball more than ever. No batted-ball type has a lower batting average than a fly ball, and ever fewer are dropping for hits as clubs move toward increasingly athletic outfield trios.

PSG on brink of greatness after reaching another Champions League final - ESPN
After last week’s epic drama in the Parc des Princes, when Luis Enrique’s team edged an incredible semifinal first leg against Bayern Munich in a 5-4 victory, the reigning European champions finished the job Wednesday with a 1-1 draw in the Allianz Arena to seal a 6-5 aggregate win.

But don’t let the scoreline, made acceptable for Bayern by Harry Kane’s stoppage time equalizer, fool you. After taking a third-minute lead through Ousmane Dembélé following Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s burst down the left flank, PSG controlled the game and could have scored five again, just as they did on their last visit to the Allianz Arena for last season’s Champions League final against Inter Milan.

Report: Mike Vrabel And Dianna Russini Went Boat Mode - Defector
On Wednesday evening, TMZ reported that Vrabel and Russini booked a private boat trip in June 2021, while Vrabel was still head coach of the Tennessee Titans and while Russini would have been pregnant with her first child. According to TMZ’s story, Russini and Vrabel were the only people on board during the two-to-three-hour trip, and were cautious about photos.

This boat trip is just the latest piece of evidence indicating that Russini and Vrabel carried on a romantic relationship for many years. The publication of photos of them getting cozy at an adults-only resort in Sedona, Ariz. in 2026 led to more sources digging up photos of them smooching in a bar in 2020 and gambling at a casino in 2024.

Could Claude Mythos Actually Destroy the Internet? - The Ringer
Anthropic says its new AI model is too dangerous to be released to the public. But Mythos’s real danger is not what you think.

I get all of the information I need from the newsletter and podcast on the three things that I care about: The Padres, San Diego FC, and whether or not Trump has lit the world on fire yet.

That was a while ago. You could probably argue, since that exchange, that the President of this country has lit the world on fire since.

Still, I used to make it a point to include something at the end of each newsletter when the news was big enough to require it. The problem is, that quickly became every day. Every single day there was some sort of news about some way in which Trump was dooming the present and future of the USA, if not also the rest of the world (or, at least, our allies). It also seems to change by the second.

It became too much. The end of this sports newsletter can no longer fit the bill as “Your source for when the government news gets big enough that you should pay attention” because, these days, that’s probably always. Every minute there is some news that is massive in some way. And the next minute it has changed completely. And it’s all unprecedented.

You have two options at this point, and I won’t begrudge your choice. You can find yourself a reliable news source, someone that you trust that you feel is giving you the proper facts and context, or you can bury your head in the sand because it’s all too much to keep up with while trying to just exist in what is left over. Both are fine, just don’t assume that anything you’d need to know about the world you can get from this sports-focused daily newsletter.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Padres mix up lineup, light up scoreboard in victory over Giants - San Diego Union-Tribune
Whether it was the actual impetus for them executing much better at-bats on a consistent basis, it resulted in the Padres scoring more runs and getting more hits than they had in more than a week, beating the Giants 10-5 at Oracle Park.

Manager Craig Stammen moved struggling Fernando Tatis Jr. down in the order — from second to fifth, the erstwhile slugger’s first time lower than fourth since the 18th game of his career in 2019.

That created a cavalcade of switches that had several players batting in spots they had either not been in or had been just once. Stammen said the hope was to “ignite” the offense.

“I don’t know if it was needed or not, but we switched it up and got fresh faces in different spots, and things clicked,” Gavin Sheets said afterward. “I think that you need still a level of consistency, but sometimes you do this and it works. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. We switched up today and got a good result. I don’t think you do it every game, but you get in a little funk and get some fresh faces and see what happens.”

Padres notes: ‘Hazy’ Jake Cronenworth placed on concussion IL; Sung-Mun Song up - San Diego Union-Tribune
Jake Cronenworth woke up in his hotel room here Monday and knew it was time to figure out what was going on.

“I don’t drink much,” he said, “… and I woke up yesterday like I was hungover for like the fourth straight day.”

On Tuesday, Cronenworth was placed on the seven-day concussion injured list, 2½ weeks after he was hit in the head by a 97 mph fastball.

Sung-Mun Song was called up and started in Cronenworth’s place at second base.

Cronenworth will see a specialist when the team returns to San Diego after their series against the Giants.

“Since I’ve been hit, there have been good days, there have been bad days,” Cronenworth said. “Looking back at some of the days that I had, I probably should have said something a lot earlier. But I had never had a concussion, so I didn’t know what it felt like.”

The aging Padres need a boost of energy. Sung-Mun Song is a convenient candidate - The Athletic
The Padres are likely to be cautious with Cronenworth — the infielder plans to see a concussion specialist later this week in San Diego — giving Song an opportunity to stick for a while. He is most comfortable at third base, the position where he spent most of his KBO career, but he and Tatis figure to form an athletic platoon at second. While Cronenworth is sidelined, Song will also serve as the primary backup at shortstop.

At the same time, he could provide an intangible boost inside the clubhouse.

“He’s smiling at all times,” Stammen said. “Smiles are a good thing. Laughter is a good thing. He brings a little energy. And I think just, you know, someone from a different country is curious. The guys are curious about him. They want to get to know him. And he’s a fun guy to be around.

“I think just even having him in the locker room with the guys lightens the mood. And then when he gets a hit, we’re all excited for him getting his first big-league hit, RBI, and having a great game.”

SF Giants hide ‘F—k the Padres’ in a new social media ad - SFGATE
In the promotional Facebook reel, the top portion of the letter F in the Giants’ “SF” logo had “F—k the Padres” written in a slightly darker orange font, making it just barely visible in the opening frames of the 15-second video. The message disappears within a second as the SF logo moves back in the frame before the rest of the advertisement plays.

NBA Playoffs

Courtside chess: Inside the Lakers’ defensive plans to slow Shai Gilgeous-Alexander — and give themselves a puncher’s chance - Yahoo Sports
“You’re playing the world champs, your margin for error in terms of mistakes is not that high,” Redick said following the Lakers’ 108-90 loss in Game 1 of the second-round series. “You can make mistakes — basketball is a game full of mistakes — but just too many tonight. But there were some good things, we held Shai under 20 and the guys played hard. Just gotta do a better job of execution, which comes down to attention to detail. We’ll clean things up and be better.”

Gilgeous-Alexander’s output is buried within Redick’s eulogy but considering the reigning regular-season and Finals MVP’s impact on Oklahoma City’s halfcourt execution, it’s worth exponentially more than a passing statement. Gilgeous-Alexander is the best scorer in basketball on the most dangerous team in the league. A plethora of defenses have tried to stop or slow him down and many have failed.

The Pistons Are Getting Down To Business - Defector
The Detroit Pistons won Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series Tuesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers, 111–101. The home team took control in the first quarter, smashing and bashing their way into the paint and forcing the involvement of the game’s referees. The Pistons responded to a lot of fun and zippy off-ball stuff from the Cavaliers by running fast and having large shoulders, and it worked: Detroit took 12 free throws in the first quarter to Cleveland’s two; that plus Cleveland’s cold shooting on a scavenger’s diet of looks put the road team into a 16-point hole, and the rest of the game featured the higher seed big-brothering the lower, most of the way to the finish line.

Odds & Ends

The Leafs Fell Ass-Backward Into Gavin McKenna - Defector
The Leafs bucked the odds, entering the lottery with an 8.5 percent chance of winning the top pick, fifth-longest odds in the field. They leapfrogged some truly terrible teams, but that’s the way the ping-pong ball bounces, and they’ll be rewarded with McKenna, the 18-year-old Penn State forward who’s been tapped as the gem of this draft class for a couple years now, and enters the league with more hype than anyone since Connor Bedard. Only morons believe draft lotteries are rigged, but if this one were, this is how they would’ve rigged it.

Sources: College football coaches throwing support behind 24-team CFP format - Yahoo Sports
Coaches are swinging their support behind a remade and expanded college football postseason.

The American Football Coaches Association voted last week to recommend that college leaders implement a playoff with “the maximum number of participants,” discontinue conference championship games, preserve the Army-Navy game’s exclusive time window but hold other games on that day, and end the playoff by the second week of January.

In their annual meeting, the AFCA’s Board of Trustees discussed and adopted the recommendations, AFCA executive director Craig Bohl told Yahoo Sports. The association is expected to publicly release its decisions soon, most notable of which is the nod of support for a 24-team playoff and the elimination of league title games.

Bryson DeChambeau plans to focus on YouTube if LIV Golf ends - ESPN
If LIV Golf can’t survive beyond this season without Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s purse strings, two-time major champion Bryson DeChambeau said Tuesday that he’s prepared to grow his YouTube channel and play in tournaments that want him.

DeChambeau, 32, said he had some conversations with the PGA Tour, but not specifically about what his potential pathway back to his former circuit might look like if LIV folds.

FIFA’s Theatre of Unity - Sports Politika
Infantino’s speech, like those of other FIFA officials, did not address the concerns or provide insight into how they will ensure the safety and protection of participants and attendees at the games. Instead, Infantino called for optimism and a focus on the positive.

“We have to be smiling, we have to be happy. There are enough problems around the world. There are enough people who try to divide all over the world. If nobody tries to unite, what will happen to our world?” said Infantino.

He made his own attempt at peacemaking by trying to stage a handshake between the delegates of the Palestine and Israel football associations after the representatives gave separate speeches addressing FIFA’s decision to take no action against Israeli settlement clubs.

Jibril Rajoub, the 72-year-old president of the Palestine Football Association (PFA), wearing a suit and a keffiyeh draped over his shoulders, called on FIFA to follow its own statutes.

“We do not ask FIFA to solve a political conflict. We ask FIFA to govern football,” said Rajoub.

Was Muhammad Ali’s most famous photo a lie? The many mysteries of Sonny Liston, boxing’s menacing, mob-affiliated sledgehammer - Yahoo Sports
It’s not a stretch to say that Liston boxed his way out of prison. Word spread about the hulking inmate with the prodigious, powerful fists. Soon a loose confederacy of Catholic priests, local sports media types, and at least one boxing manager had all banded together to assure the parole board that they would help Liston find meaningful work and training as a boxer upon his release.

This is how it came to be that, in October of 1952, Liston was released into the care of his first handlers. They would later be muscled out of the Liston operation by more dangerous men, the kind with experience in this arena. Then others would come in for a percentage of Liston’s earnings. Then still others. By the end, as one commission official estimated, Liston owned about only 10% of himself.

After the Padres tripped out of the gates of the regular season, they went on a tear of good vibes, fueled by late-inning comeback wins and Don Orsillo reaching the tippy-top of his vocal chords.

We knew it wasn’t going to last like that for six months. We knew this team had issues. Issues that we can point to and say “That’s the result of the team being mid-sale process during free agency,” but issues all the same. Over the course of a long baseball season, the issues always come up. It’s just a matter of how long they stick around.

An astounding amount of ink and time was spent shitting on the 5.9 bWAR all-around all-star 2025 season for Fernando Tatis Jr., with writers and Padres employees alike talking about the player that Tatis could be instead of appreciating who he is….or was.

The Padres’ hope for fixing their biggest issue in recent seasons, a lack of power in the lineup, was two-fold. One, Tatis would work with new hitting coach Steven Souza Jr. and find the power that led him to hit 42 HRs in 130 games in 2021 (he’s hit 71 total HRs in three seasons since). Two, Manny Machado’s buddy Nick Castellanos would sign for the minimum for a chance to prove the Phillies wrong.

Through 34 games (20% of the season), Tatis is on pace for zero home runs. Castellanos has one more HR than Tatis, but an OPS+ of 37 says he has been well below-average when he’s in the Padres lineup.

As such, the Padres rank 22nd in MLB in home runs hit this season and 24th in slugging percentage. They’ve also, somewhat uncharacteristically, been awful at getting on base (27th in on-base percentage). This was all going to catch up with them eventually.

Since the Padres opened Petco Park a little more than 22 years ago, no Padres hitting coach has lasted more than three seasons with the team. Since A.J. Preller took over as the Padres GM at the end of the 2014 season, no Padres hitting coach has lasted more than two seasons with the team. About half of them were fired after one season. Craig Elsten once likened the job to being the drummer for Spinal Tap.

I guess you can start the clock on Steven Souza Jr., whose number one job with the Padres is to make sure Tatis is hitting dingers. An outside-the-box hire who had never before worked as the hitting coach of a baseball team, much less an MLB team, time is running out for him (and Preller) to prove that he can deliver on his promises.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Padres’ struggles at the plate continue in series-opening loss to Giants - San Diego Union-Tribune
Between Merrill’s single and Laureano’s blast, the Padres made 15 consecutive outs. They ended the game with three more in a row — a strikeout by Fernando Tatis Jr., a groundout by Merrill and a strikeout by Manny Machado.

Thus ended the Padres’ quest to add another late win. Of their 20 victories, half have have been earned with the decisive run scored in the seventh inning or later.

That is an astonishing accomplishment. And it is a perilous way to live, because it is not always going to happen.

San Diego still searching for offensive rhythm: ‘We know it’s in there’ - MLB.com
The Padres mashed on their road trip through Denver and Mexico City. (And, to be fair, they scored nine runs in their first game back at sea level last week.) But across the last six games, San Diego has scored just 14 runs.

On Monday night, it was Giants rookie right-hander Trevor McDonald who held the Padres in check across seven innings.

“The kid was making pitches, was throwing a little harder than what he was throwing all year,” said manager Craig Stammen. “... Then, I think a little bit is: We’ve got to fight him a little bit more. We made it a little easier on him.”

Padres keep saying their offense will ‘eventually’ arrive. The wait continues - The Athletic
“We’re definitely racking our brains and trying to figure out why that is. We just haven’t hit our stride early in games yet,” manager Craig Stammen said before Monday’s game. “We’re making small little tweaks here and there to see if that might spark the difference. I’ve probably got to look internally, maybe in the lineup or something like that, but kind of anything is on the table to spark us early in games.”

Monday’s game would go down as another with few answers. In a 3-2 loss, the Padres (20-14) fell to a fourth-place Giants club (14-21) that has rivaled the New York Mets for the league’s worst overall offense. San Diego finished with just three hits: Merrill’s first-inning homer and fourth-inning single, and Ramón Laureano’s ninth-inning solo shot.

Reinforcements - Letters to A.J.
Though his first outing was very effective, there were moments where you could see how it might go wrong for Canning. He’s always had a bit of trouble with walks, and if that rears its head frequently, he’ll struggle to have clean innings. That’s really going to be the differentiator. But he’s a major leaguer, and he’ll raise the floor of competence in the starts he makes. Across a long season, for a team with a threadbare back of the rotation, that is exactly the reinforcement the Padres need.

NBA Playoffs

Knicks stay on historic roll, crush 76ers by 39 in Game 1 - ESPN
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals was essentially over before halftime as the Knicks took a 23-point lead over the Philadelphia 76ers on the back of Jalen Brunson’s 27 first-half points. He finished with 35 as New York emphatically added to a historic postseason roll with a 137-98 win Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks became the first team in NBA history to win three straight postseason games by at least 25 points, continuing a wave that began midway through the first round against the Atlanta Hawks by shooting 63% and leading by as many as 40 points Monday night.

The Minnesota Timberwolves Cannot Be Doubted - Defector
For as gutsy and impressive as their first-round upset of the Denver Nuggets was, there were plenty of reasons to doubt the Minnesota Timberwolves’ chances against San Antonio. That’s not saying much—to point out that the Spurs are heavy favorites in this series is like pointing out that a rock will fall to the ground when released from your hand. And yet here we are, once again trying to make sense of a Timberwolves victory that did not seem possible. Without the services of Donte DiVincenzo or Ayo Dosunmu, and with a hobbled Anthony Edwards restricted to just 25 minutes, the Wolves beat the Spurs in Game 1, 104–102.

One Loaded Question for Every NBA Second-Round Series - The Ringer
After one of the more exhilarating, consequential, and undeniably sloshed first rounds in recent NBA playoff history, the conference semifinals are here. Eight teams are still standing and all of them have what it takes to reach the NBA Finals. Questions abound, though. As we get ready for what should be an incredible few weeks of basketball, here’s a question that will help decide each second-round series.

Odds & Ends

Aztecs add Italian pro to basketball recruiting class - San Diego Union-Tribune
On Monday, 6-2 David Torresani became the fifth player — and second European pro — to commit to the Aztecs as they restock a roster ravaged by transfer portal defections. Torresani plays for Nutribullet Treviso, a first-division Italian club that started the season with a 36-year-old forward named Deshawn Stephens. He also played against another former Aztecs, center Skylar Spencer at Udine.

Maple Leafs confronted at John Chayka’s introductory press conference for ‘sham’ hiring of ‘con artist’ new GM - Yahoo Sports
Chayka had been hired by the Coyotes in 2016, becoming the youngest GM in the league at age 26. A month after his resignation, the NHL sanctioned the Coyotes for illegal pre-draft testing for more than 20 Canadian Hockey League prospects, which violates the league’s combine testing policy. And in 2021, Chayka was suspended for one year by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for “conduct detrimental to the league and game” for pursuing jobs with other teams while still under contract with Arizona.

All of that hung over the news conference, which peaked with a question from the Toronto Sun’s Steve Simmons. Simmons confronted Pelley on the hire, saying that he had spoken to 20 people who work in the NHL, and 19 of them had not been supportive of the Chayka hire. Simmons added that some of those sources had called the hire a “sham,” describing Chayka as a “con artist,” “liar” and “salesman.”

Pablo Torre’s Kawhi Leonard reporting wins Pulitzer Prize, a first for The Athletic - The Athletic
The podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” won the Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting on Monday for an investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers’ alleged evasion of the NBA’s salary cap through the use of a separate entity to pay star Kawhi Leonard.

You’re Not Looking Through 12,000 New Artemis Photos, So Here Are Some Of The Best - Defector
I suppose that if I were to complain about how NASA is making available the bulk of the photography captured by Artemis astronauts, NASA would tell me to go to the Moon and get my own pics, if I think I could do it better. But the fact remains that they’re just dumping these things: 12,217 new images released this weekend, “available” on a website that barely works, and not sorted, or sortable.

I still like a lot of what I have seen from this year’s Padres team and its new coaching staff. I’m also painfully aware that, especially in baseball, long-term success usually comes with learning some lessons the hard way.

The Padres went 16-3 over a stretch of 19 games, many of them on the road and many of them against pretty good competition. However, since returning from their two-game series in Mexico City, San Diego has gone 2-4.

They also needed to rally back from behind against the White Sox on Sunday to avoid being swept by Chicago in what would’ve been their 5th straight loss. Still, the team seems to be taking it all in stride, celebrating the wins and trying to not get too down about the losses. That should, hopefully, serve them well going forward.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Canning’s impressive debut snaps Padres’ losing streak - MLB.com
The Padres have spent most of the season with major questions at the back end of their starting rotation. Griffin Canning might help answer some of those.

Canning made his Padres debut on Sunday afternoon, working five innings of one-run ball. He punched out seven White Sox hitters in his first start since an Achilles injury ended his season last June.

“I just had a lot of fun being back out there and competing again,” Canning said.

Padres come back to beat White Sox, stop losing streak - San Diego Union-Tribune
A four-game losing streak came to an end Sunday in large part because Bogaerts hit a check-swing grounder straight down, off the plate and then out toward the left side of the infield to bring home the decisive run from third base with two outs in the eighth inning of what ended up a 4-3 victory over the White Sox.

When Ramón Laureano ran past home plate and Bogaerts was nearing first with no throw attempted by White Sox third baseman Colson Montgomery, the Padres’ dugout reacted as if Bogaerts had cleared the Western Metal Supply Co. building with a towering home run.

They raised their fists and high-fived and slammed their palms down on the railing and clapped as they shouted with joy.

“That was so good,” Miguel Andujar said. “We needed that.”

Probably Still Nothing - Letters to A.J.
Peralta is a likely target for relaying tipped pitches, for a couple of reasons. He doesn’t have a huge pitch mix, rarely throwing anything other than changeup or sinker. And the changeup is one of the easiest pitches to inadvertently tip because the grip requires the pitcher to essentially engulf the ball with the entire hand.

Padres announce agreement for ownership transfer to Jones-Feliciano group - The Athletic
The San Diego Padres announced Saturday that the Seidler family has entered into a definitive agreement for the transfer of control of the franchise to a group led by Kwanza Jones and José E. Feliciano, the couple who made a record-setting bid for the team.

“The Padres are more than a baseball team; they are a unifying force in San Diego, rooted in community, connection, and belonging,” Jones and Feliciano said in a joint statement released by the Padres. “As life and business partners, and as a family, we are honored to lead this next chapter together.

San Diego FC

Tom Krasovic: San Diego FC misses chance to get unstuck against overworked LAFC and frustrated coach - San Diego Union-Tribune
With its 2-2 tie before an announced crowd of 28,458 via Marcus Ingvartsen’s two goals off assists from fellow Danish forward Anders Dreyer, San Diego is unbeaten in three matches versus LAFC.

The competing demands of club schedules and international events create severe attrition tests throughout the world’s game.

If SDFC benefited Saturday from Dos Santos withholding star forward Son Heung-min until the 60th minute, while LAFC played its fifth match in 14 days, the task of ending a five-game MLS losing streak remained unchanged.

San Diego FC and LAFC Share the Points in Hard-Fought Match - Chromatic FC
While the first half was a success, the second half saw San Diego manage only 2 shots compared to LAFC’s 8. SDFC also had only 5 touches in the opposition’s box while LAFC had 18, suggesting the team took their foot off the gas. San Diego now has an MLS-worst record of losing 7 points after the 75th minute this season. The team must learn to play a full 90 minutes and close out matches. Looking forward, the health of Bombino and Pellegrino remains a major factor, as does the goalkeeper situation; with Dos Santos and Pablo Sisniega potentially injured, SDFC may need to call up SuperDraft pick Kyle Durham. With 4 tough matches left before the break, figuring out if the roster is healthy enough to compete is now the top priority.

San Diego Wave FC

Coach sent off as Wave fall to Bay FC at home - San Diego Union-Tribune
Wave head coach Jonas Eidevall walked off the pitch enraged after being shown a red card 10 minutes before his team suffered a 1-0 loss to Bay FC.

Eidevall didn’t agree with referee Ekaterina Koroleva when she stopped play in the 86th minute while the Wave were building up offensively as Bay FC left back Anouk Denton was down on the field.

As soon as Koroleva blew her whistle, Eidevall lost his cool, taking off his jacket and throwing it angrily in response to the decision. She was quick to show him the door.

As he exited the pitch, Eidevall was met with a standing ovation from Snapdragon Stadium.

NBA Playoffs

Celtics’ Jaylen Brown rips refs, calls out Embiid for flopping - ESPN
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said the officials “had an agenda” against him in Boston’s seven-game first-round loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Appearing on his Twitch stream Sunday, Brown took issue with the officiating during the series, as well as with Sixers big man Joel Embiid, whom he accused of the type of flopping that has “ruined our game.”

“Joel Embiid is a great player. One of the best bigs in basketball history. [But he] flops. He know it,” Brown said. “This ain’t breaking news. It is what it is.”

The NBA’s Gap Between Great and Gone Has Never Been Smaller - The Ringer
It all looks bad in the abstract and through the lens of history. No one wants to be on those lists. But this was a most unusual Celtics campaign, concluding against a most unusual first-round opponent. The Sixers, for all their warts and volatility, are stacked with All-Star talent, from Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to the aging (but still dangerous) Paul George to the very young (but very dangerous) rookie VJ Edgecombe. “I don’t feel like that was a traditional seventh seed,” Brown said, and he was right.

But then, this entire first round was untraditional—unconventional, unpredictable, weird, occasionally painful, and sometimes bordering on absurd—and it was marked by prolonged series, razor-thin talent margins, and two major upsets. If it felt chaotic, it wasn’t your imagination. By almost every measure, this was the most volatile first round in recent memory.

Fraud Allegations Against Pistons Dismissed - Defector
The issue is that Detroit, despite winning 60 games and playing the Knicks super tough last year, did not profile as a playoff riser due to a concerning lack of two-way players (or, viewed another way, a bounty of one-way players) as well as a style that relied on outhustling opponents on defense and on the glass. In the playoffs everyone is trying hard, and suddenly that Daniss Jenkins second-side stuff stops working, Duncan Robinson’s presence on defense starts to become a problem, and Ausar Thompson’s lack of presence on offense also starts to become a problem. It’s hard to win while covering gaps like that. If you can’t ride two horses at once, you shouldn’t be working at the circus.

Magic fire coach Jamahl Mosley after first-round playoff defeat - The Athletic
The Orlando Magic entered the 2025-26 season as a clear favorite to finish near the top of the Eastern Conference standings. A comprehensive preseason survey of NBA general managers even ranked the Magic as a top-four team in the East.

Yet the Magic barely qualified for the playoffs and, once they reached the first round, let a 3-1 series lead over the top-seeded Detroit Pistons slip away.

Jamahl Mosley paid a heavy price for that disappointing, perplexing season. After his team was eliminated from the playoffs with a 116-94 Game 7 loss to the Pistons, Magic officials fired Mosley on Monday morning, ending his head-coaching tenure after five seasons, team officials announced.

Cavaliers finally pull away from Raptors in Game 7 to close out series, set up battle with Pistons - Yahoo Sports
After 26 quarters, the series between the Cavaliers and the Raptors had been about as even as it could possibly be. The Cavaliers rallied every time the Raptors appeared to take a step ahead Sunday night, and they mounted an 11-2 run to tie the game 49-49 by halftime. As the two teams entered the locker room, they had each put up exactly 718 total points and were each shooting 47% from the field at that point in the series.

But finally, Cleveland made a move and started controlling the game in the third quarter. Donovan Mitchell got the Cavs up by nine points early, and then Sam Merrill drilled a wide-open 3-pointer late in the period to push their lead to 12. The surge continued after a Raptors timeout when Max Strus picked the ball away from Scottie Barnes and tossed it up to Jarrett Allen for a breakaway dunk.

Anthony Edwards upgraded to questionable for Timberwolves-Spurs series - The Athletic
Anthony Edwards was upgraded to questionable on the Minnesota Timberwolves’ injury report Sunday evening, further indication he is pushing to get into this second-round series against the San Antonio Spurs as quickly as possible. He suffered a hyperextension of his left knee in Game 4 of Minnesota’s first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, missing the final two-plus games.

Edwards has been laying the groundwork for a faster-than-expected return since he went down in Game 4, but he ramped it up Sunday when his team posted a video to his YouTube channel titled “Don’t count me out.”

Odds & Ends

Winners and losers from F1’s eventful Miami Grand Prix - Yahoo Sports
With every passing week, young Kimi Antonelli is convincing more and more sceptics about whether he is really ready to take the title fight all the way in what is only his sophomore F1 season as a teenager.

There is no doubt that Antonelli is still a raw diamond rather than a polished product. But he has paired his obvious talent and speed with more maturity this year and has not flinched when the pressure is on, as evidenced by the various wheel-to-wheel battles for the lead in Miami.

Midway Rising bill rewritten to override court ruling on building height limits - San Diego Union-Tribune
A bill working its way through the state Legislature centered on making the Midway Rising mega project possible is now more narrowly focused on rendering moot a court order that seems to prohibit the developer’s ability to erect buildings taller than 30 feet in San Diego’s Midway District.

In recent weeks, Senate Bill 958, authored by state Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson, D-La Mesa, was rewritten to block the designation of environmental impacts associated with increased building heights as significant for select projects under California’s Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. Previously, the bill sought to provide blanket protection for the Midway Rising project from legal challenges linked to the state environmental law.

If signed into law, the bill, championed by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, would give Midway Rising a statutory override to the court-imposed height limit in the Midway District, making the project’s 165-foot-tall sports arena and 105-foot-tall residential buildings legally permissible.

John Sterling, legendary Yankees broadcaster, dies at age 87 - The Athletic
Sterling became the Yankees’ play-by-play announcer in 1989 and spent 36 years in the position, calling 5,060 consecutive games (plus 211 more in the postseason) until he missed his first game in July of 2019. He called 5,631 Yankees games, including eight World Series appearances. By the time he retired in 2024, he was known as “The Voice of the Yankees.”

It’s okay if you don’t know everything about everything. It’s okay if you don’t go out and attend every event. It’s fine if you don’t know what those people are talking about.

The world has a bazillion things to offer us and we have access to all of them through the magic of the internet. The goal is to find what works for you. Find what sparks your joy, whatever that may be, and ignore everything else. People having different interests and doing different things is part of what makes life life.

Another thing that I believe is that I shouldn’t speak authoritatively about things that I know almost nothing about. These two points combine to make the following statement:

I know that this newsletter has been covering the NBA Playoffs and not the NHL Playoffs. It’s because I don’t follow the NHL and don’t want to pretend that I know more about the league than actual hockey fans. And that’s okay! You’re smart, you can find NHL coverage elsewhere on the internet. I won’t mind.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Is Padres closer Mason Miller the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived? - The Athletic
I’ve talked to two of the greatest closers of modern times, Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner.

I’ve dug deep into every number that could shape this argument.

It has all pointed me right back to the same place: The Padres’ closer is the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived. Fortunately, I had no trouble finding two Hall of Fame closers who were right there with me.

Padres considering all options as new, returning arms inch closer to starting rotation - San Diego Union-Tribune
Márquez and Buehler are holding their own as back-end starters, knuckleballer Matt Waldron showed signs of turning a corner in Wednesday’s five-inning start and Canning might make just one more rehab start before he’s added to a rotation that has hardly been the Achilles heel so many expected.

Only six teams have fewer than the Padres’ seven quality starts so far this season. But a starting rotation with so many questions and variables begins the weekend as a middle-of-the-pack unit in ERA (4.30, 18th), WHIP (1.30, 17th), opponent batting average (.244, 18th) and WAR (2.2, 17th).

Perhaps most telling, for all the hiccups and moving pieces, the 11 wins tallied by Padres starting pitchers so far are tied for fifth-most in the majors.

Padres get devastating injury news on one of their top prospects - Friars On Base
The Padres’ number nine prospect via MLB Pipeline will undergo season-ending surgery for a left shoulder subluxation, the team confirmed this week. Fountain signed for $1.7 million out of Norris High in Nebraska as a fifth-round pick in 2024, but has had injury issues from the start after needing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow before ever taking a big league at bat. Now, he’s sustained a shoulder subluxation while making a catch at the wall last week. He was placed on the injured list and will now have season-ending surgery to repair the labrum.

It is the second major surgery of Fountain’s young career. He returned from Tommy John to make his pro debut in 2025, splitting time between the Arizona Complex League and Lake Elsinore, and was finally getting a clean look at full-season ball this year when the wall got in the way.

NBA Playoffs

Celtics star Jayson Tatum has left calf discomfort after 76ers force Game 7 with 106-93 win over Boston - Yahoo Sports
The Philadelphia 76ers forced a Game 7 in their first-round NBA playoff series versus the Boston Celtics with a 106-93 win Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. That decisive game will be played Saturday night in Boston, but the Celtics may have an issue with star Jayson Tatum.

The Celtics played the fourth quarter without Tatum, who left the game with left calf discomfort. He came back to the Boston bench, but with an ice pack on that calf. (Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon in last year’s Eastern Conference finals.)

Knicks administer generational beatdown of Hawks to advance to Eastern Conference semis - Yahoo Sports
The box score will tell you that Game 6 of the Hawks-Knicks playoff series ended after 48 minutes of game play. The box score lies. This game was over in four minutes and 10 seconds, the exact length of time the Hawks could run with the Knicks.

What followed those scant competitive minutes was pure, uncut, not-safe-for-work-or-children carnage. New York started with a virtually flawless 40-15 first quarter and a playoff-record 83-36 halftime lead — no, there’s no typo there — to stomp the Hawks into paste and set up a fourth straight trip to the Eastern Conference semis.

Did the Nuggets’ Title Window Just Slam Shut? - The Ringer
Championship windows close at various speeds. Some slam shut in the blink of an eye. Others slowly descend, allowing for the slight possibility of a return to the top—an exceedingly rare best-case scenario that was last pulled off by the 2022 Golden State Warriors.

Time will tell where the Denver Nuggets fall on that scale. But right now, one day after they were eliminated in humiliating fashion by the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves, it would be perfectly fair to wonder whether Thursday night was the end of an era. How could you not?

Odds & Ends

San Diego Wave, SDFC play at home this weekend. But the Wave is soaring, while SDFC struggles - Times of San Diego
It’s still early for both San Diego Wave FC and San Diego FC, but there is no denying that they have had diametrically opposed starts to their seasons.

Despite Wednesday night’s 2-0 loss to the Portland Thorns – the setback ended a five-game win streak – the Wave is currently second in the NWSL standings after seven games. SDFC, however, is in a five-game skid and sits in 11th place in the 15-team MLS Western Conference.

This weekend they both play at home, with SDFC (3-5-2) hosting rivals LAFC on Saturday, and the Wave (5-2-0) welcoming Bay FC on Sunday.

Local Sports Report: Seals still alive in NLL playoffs; league comments on Mojo’s announcement - San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Seals overcame a rough regular-season run to make the National Lacrosse League playoffs.

And they’re still alive.

The Seals pulled out a thrilling 13-12 overtime victory at Colorado last week to advance to the NLL postseason’s second round, where they’ll face the Toronto Rock at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Canada.

Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Sunday at Pechanga Arena.

MLB owners, MLBPA reportedly set to begin labor negotiations soon, with salary cap at center of talks - Yahoo Sports
With the 2026 MLB season only a month old, both the players and owners are already looking to the future. The league’s collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) expires at the end of the season, and both sides are expected to engage in multiple contentious rounds of negotiation.

In an effort to get ahead of that, the owners and MLBPA will reportedly start meeting in the coming weeks, per The Athletic. At the center of those talks is a salary cap, which the owners are eager to implement.

Fever vs. Wings takeaways: Caitlin Clark’s early exit, Azzi Fudd’s pro debut - The Athletic
It had been 291 days since Caitlin Clark played in a home game for the Indiana Fever. The 2024 No. 1 pick was limited to 13 games, including eight home games, last year amid an injury-riddled campaign. On Thursday night, however, Clark received a long-awaited applause from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd during pregame warmups as the Fever prepared to host the Dallas Wings in their second preseason game.

The home fans got even louder when Clark scored the Fever’s first bucket on a driving layup and followed that with a long 3-pointer. But her night was cut short after she was fouled on a 3-pointer and banged her knee “really hard” on the court. Clark finished with 21 points in 16 minutes as the Wings pulled away for a 95-80 victory.

News Is Fleeting. Conspiracy Brain Is Forever. - The Ringer
What an assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner revealed about how our internet-poisoned minds make sense of the world

Thousands in US to join ‘no school, no work, no shopping’ May Day protest in economic blackout - The Guardian
Thousands are set to join an economic blackout for International Workers’ Day on Friday, as part of 3,500 “May Day Strong” events across the country. Organizers are calling for “no school, no work, no shopping” with walkouts, marches, block parties and other gatherings planned into the evening.

In her final season with the club in 2024, the Wave won just 6 of their 26 matches. Alex Morgan played in half of those games and started even fewer. The team finished 10th in the NWSL standings (there are 16 teams), but the end of the season was more focused on Morgan’s retirement announcement.

Last year, Morgan’s jersey retirement was maybe the highlight of the season for the Wave. It certainly was the best attended Wave home game and the one that got the most attention.

While the team scored 37 points in 2025, which was enough for them to finish in 1st place in 2023, the rest of the league has shifted around to the point where the Wave finished 6th (good enough for them to make the playoffs, at least!). The Wave spent the offseason making it clear that was not an acceptable outcome, as far as they are concerned, investing even more in the roster and bringing in some great players.

Seven matches into this season, the Wave are in 2nd place. They were at the top of the table until they lost to the Portland Thorns last night, with the Thorns taking over the 1st place spot. Still, San Diego’s NWSL team looks like it’s back to being one of the league’s powerhouse franchises and they’re doing it without Alex Morgan.

For that, they deserve praise. And, hopefully, the winning ways gets a few more people down to Snapdragon to support the team.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Padres can’t come back twice, drop game, series to Cubs - San Diego Union-Tribune
The result was a 5-4 loss to the Cubs that was the Padres’ second defeat in a row and meant they lost a series, neither of which had happened in nearly a month.

The Padres were playing the team that vanquished them in the National League Wild Card Series in October. The Cubs (19-12) were coming off a series loss at Dodger Stadium but have a sure-handed team with a deep lineup and capable bench, similar to the Padres.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is hitting baseballs harder than anyone. None are leaving the yard - The Athletic
One of the most maddening months of his standout career had come to an unsatisfying end. Through 30 games, the Padres right fielder leads the majors with a 66.7 percent hard-hit rate, pacing ahead of Munetaka Murakami, Ben Rice and James Woods, all of whom have produced double-digit home runs.

Yet, Tatis, batting .250 with four doubles and no other extra-base hits, has practically nothing to show for it.

A reliever hasn’t won the Cy Young since 2003. Here’s how Miller can end the drought - MLB.com
True, Miller’s scoreless streak ending (thanks in part to a disputed fair-foul call) does put a bit of a dent in his Cy Young case. The flamethrowing righty threw 34 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to August 2025, the eighth-longest streak by a reliever in the Expansion Era (since 1961).

He has a 1.17 ERA after Wednesday’s appearance, which obviously looks less impressive than 0.00. But don’t count him out just yet.

It’s going to be tough, but Miller still has a chance to become the 10th reliever to win a Cy Young. Here’s how voters could be swayed.

San Diego Padres Top 25 Prospects - FanGraphs
Can you believe that he’s still only 19? Three years after bursting out of the blocks as a prospect, hitting .267/.350/.487 as a 17-year-old in the Cal League, Salas has since endured the equivalent of two lost seasons. He didn’t hit a lick in 2024, sparking concerns about the viability of his hit tool, and then he missed almost all of 2025 with a back injury. He entered 2026 as the youngest patient to ever come down with a case of prospect fatigue.

NBA Playoffs

Rockets hold off Lakers to force Game 6 after falling behind 3-0 in series - Yahoo Sports
The Houston Rockets are still on their back foot, but they’re two wins from making NBA history.

After trailing by double-digits at one point in the first quarter, Houston roared back to take Game 5 99-93 against the Los Angeles and force a Game 6 in a series they once trailed 3-0. No NBA team has ever overcome a 3-0 deficit, but the Rockets will try to take another step toward that feat on Friday.

Schroder’s halftime speech, 11 points in 4th quarter spark Cavaliers to victory over Raptors - Associated Press
James Harden garnered the most attention in the series of moves the Cleveland Cavaliers made near the NBA trade deadline.

However, the Cavaliers would have been in dire straits Wednesday night without Dennis Schroder.

Schroder scored 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Cavaliers came back to beat the Toronto Raptors 125-120 in Game 5 of their first-round series.

Cade Cunningham drops record 45 points to power Pistons past Magic in Game 5, avoid elimination - Yahoo Sports
Cunningham went off in a historic battle with Paolo Banchero on Wednesday night to keep the Pistons alive this spring. Cunningham dropped 45 points to lead them to a 116-109 win over the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of their opening-round playoff series.

That cut the Magic’s lead in the series to 3-2 and forced a Game 6 later this week back in Florida.

Cunningham shot 13 of 23 from the floor and 5 of 8 from behind the arc while picking up his 45 points, which set a new Pistons single-game playoff record. That passed a mark set by Dave Bing back in 1968.

Odds & Ends

Thorns beat Wave, snapping San Diego’s franchise-record winning streak - San Diego Union-Tribune
Proximity and parochialism dictate that the San Diego Wave’s biggest rival is Angel City, Los Angeles’ National Women’s Soccer League club.

In reality, it’s the Portland Thorns.

The teams met three times last year, drawing twice before Portland ended San Diego’s season with an overtime win in the playoffs.

The Wave handed the Thorns their first loss of the season last month at Snapdragon Stadium.

Wednesday night, Portland struck back.

The Ringer’s 2026 NBA Draft Guide
Welcome to The Ringer’s NBA Big Board, J. Kyle Mann’s in-depth analysis and ranking of the top prospects in the 2026 NBA draft. Each profile has been compiled over a prospect’s college or international career, and sometimes even earlier, at the prep and grassroots levels. Players highlighted in gold are the marquee, need-to-know guys in this year’s class, and have full, super-deep-dive scouting reports. Every other profile includes detailed scouting notes.

Source: Some LIV players exploring potential of PGA Tour return - ESPN
Multiple representatives for LIV Golf players have started to reach out to the PGA Tour to explore what a path back would look like, a source told ESPN on Wednesday.

A potential return for such players comes amid reports in recent weeks that Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund will stop its funding of LIV after the 2026 season, clouding that tour’s future.

Earlier Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that LIV is expected to tell its players by Thursday that PIF’s funding will stop at season’s end. The Telegraph reported that captains of LIV’s team already have been informed.

Iran soccer officials turned away by Canadian authorities, poised to miss FIFA Congress - The Athletic
Iranian soccer officials were turned back by Canadian authorities en route to this week’s FIFA Congress and will miss the annual meeting, according to Canada’s foreign minister and multiple reports.

It is at least the second time Iranian representatives have been denied entry into North America ahead of the 2026 World Cup, and raises further questions about the extent of their participation in the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Prosecutors Got A Guilty Plea In The NBA Gambling Case - Defector
Former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones this week became the first person to plead guilty in the far-reaching federal gambling case that has engulfed several former pro basketball players. The plea came a day after prosecutors announced their intention to file additional charges against former Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, connected to the belief that Rozier, per the attorney quoted by The Athletic, “solicited and accepted a bribe.”

I also tend to ignore winning streaks and losing streaks, as fun (or not) as they may be. But I do pay special attention to series wins and series losses. The most successful Padres teams that I’ve followed tend to go months and months without ever losing a series, even if they’re occasionally losing a game or two here or there.

Today is April 29th. If the Padres lose to the Cubs this afternoon, it will be their first series loss since they lost to the Giants on March 31st. That loss brought them to a record of 1-4, having also lost their season opening series against the Detroit Tigers.

The Padres are 18-6 since that loss to the Giants. If they beat the Cubs this afternoon, it will be their 8th consecutive series without a series loss (their 1-1 series against the Diamondbacks in Mexico City being the lone tie). That is an incredible streak. That, to me, gives today’s game a boost of importance.

It doesn’t hurt matters that the Padres are playing an afternoon home game before a day off before a home game against a still-pretty-bad White Sox team. Craig Stammen can use every last resource he has to support Matt Waldron today and try to keep the streak alive.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Xander Bogaerts stays hot, rest of Padres cold in loss to Cubs - San Diego Union-Tribune
Xander Bogaerts lingered at home plate, watching a high drive to left field in the second inning bend toward the foul line. The ball stayed fair long enough to drop into the third level of the Western Metal Supply Co. building for his team-leading fifth home run.

The rest of the Padres’ stars were MIA on Tuesday, but the Padres’ shortstop is confident that won’t be the case for long.

Calf cramping forced Manny Machado to the bench, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jackson Merrill were both hitless and the supporting cast around Bogaerts didn’t do nearly enough in an 8-3 loss to the Cubs in front of a sellout crowd of 40,106 at Petco Park.

That’s A Fair Ball, Believe It Or Not - Defector
If the ball settles, it needs to be on fair territory to be fair. But it only need to be on or over fair territory when touched to be fair.

The distinction is likely due to the latter scenario being meant for fielders biffing catch attempts down the line, but it’s the closest thing the rulebook has to describing Shaw’s grounder last night. It’s imperfect, and raises another question: Had the ball “settled” when France touched it?

“It stopped rolling,” France said later. “I thought it was foul, but they said otherwise. They said they both had it fair and it’s a non-reviewable play.”

It was real close. Close enough to be subjective, I’d say. Close enough for gripes to be legitimate, and hadal rulebook depths to be plumbed. God bless baseball, where obscure rules and the human element will never go out of style.

Padres minors: Ethan Salas homers again; Griffin Canning, Jeremiah Estrada rehab with El Paso - San Diego Union-Tribune
Ethan Salas is not only shaking the rust off, he’s settling into a groove now.

The 19-year-old catcher homered in a third straight game in Double-A San Antonio’s 17-7 loss at Tulsa on Tuesday.

Salas went 2-for-5 with three RBIs, lifting his batting line to .305/.379/.525 through 17 games with the Missions. He also swiped his fourth base of the year but also committed his first error on an interference.

NBA Playoffs

‘Dominant’ Joel Embiid, 76ers’ defense shut down Celtics late - ESPN
The Philadelphia 76ers are down but not out.

Led by 33 points from Joel Embiid, 25 points and 10 rebounds from Tyrese Maxey and a stellar fourth quarter on defense that saw the Boston Celtics miss their final 14 shots, Philadelphia emerged with a 113-97 victory Tuesday in Game 5 of this Eastern Conference first-round series.

As a result, the 76ers -- down 3-2 in the series -- will get another chance for a win at home in Game 6 Thursday night.

De’Aaron Fox, Spurs dispatch Blazers to win playoff series for first time since 2017: Takeaways - The Athletic
It became clear Wembanyama was ready before the game when he threw down the through-the-legs dunks he often misses in warmups. He had a different juice coming into this game. But the way he managed the game showed how much he can handle the eye of the storm. He took just seven shots in this game, controlling it instead as a choreographer off the ball and a terror on the other end protecting the rim. He looked more in control of this game than he did all series — a premonition that he is realizing his potential in real time.

Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks deliver dominant Game 5 win - ESPN
Brunson’s 39 points was, by far, his best showing of the series, and it coincided with the Knicks’ all-around domination of the Hawks on Tuesday night in a 126-97 win at Madison Square Garden. New York took a 3-2 lead with a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals Thursday.

It was the second straight complete performance by the Knicks after two one-point losses, and perhaps Brunson had the Hawks’ Game 2 visit in mind when they stunned the Knicks with a fourth-quarter rally to steal home-court advantage.

Why Has Scoring Taken a Nosedive in the NBA Playoffs? - The Ringer
We just watched the highest-scoring regular season since 1969-70, but suddenly nobody can score the ball. Teams have gone from scoring an average of 115.6 points per game in the regular season down to 106.8 points per game so far in Round 1 of the playoffs. Now, I know what you’re thinking—“This is the playoffs, it’s always like this”—and, well, while that’s kind of true, it’s also not. The scoring drop-off this year is the biggest we’ve seen in the modern era.

Odds & Ends

Will SDFC Get Better As-Is? - Chromatic FC
The loss to the Portland Timbers marks a significant low point for San Diego FC, who fell 2-1 at Snapdragon Stadium on Saturday night. This match represented the sixth meeting between these two clubs in just two seasons, yet the result highlighted a concerning trend for the home side. San Diego is now mired in a five-game losing streak and remains winless in seven matches. As fans begin to turn on Mikey Varas and the squad, the team is desperate to rediscover its winning form. While the performance contained flashes of potential, the central question remains how the club can pull itself out of this tailspin

Sources: NBA eyes new anti-tanking proposal for draft lottery - ESPN
The NBA has disclosed to its 30 general managers a new anti-tanking draft reform termed the “3-2-1 lottery” that includes expanding the lottery to 16 teams, flattened odds and a relegation zone where the bottom three teams would be penalized with fewer lottery balls for the No. 1 pick, starting with the 2027 draft, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

San Diego State Aztecs prepare for free football spring game and announce new basketball roster additions - 10 News San Diego
The Aztecs basketball season is even further in the future, but Brian Dutcher is hard at work rebuilding his roster at the JAM Center, this week adding a 23-year-old professional player from Croatia.

Luka Skoric is an athletic 6-foot-9 guard and forward from Zagreb who comes to San Diego State from club team KK Cibona, where he averaged six points and three rebounds off the bench against mostly older European pros.

Growing up, I fell in love with watching the smooth first base defense of Wally Joyner and John Olerud. I remember following the career of Doug Mientkiewicz as closely as if he were a distant relative, fascinated by him being good enough defensively to play in MLB and getting paid big money but not being a good hitter (or pitcher).

I could go back in my memories and think about watching Adrian Gonzalez play first base, although his bat was probably more impactful than his glove, or watching a young Anthony Rizzo wow the tiny crowds at Petco Park. But we’re here to talk about Ty France.

I liked Ty France when he was previously with the Padres, but it was evident that he was a “sum of its parts” type of player. He did everything fine but was great at nothing. Now that he’s back, he’s that player plus Gold Glove-level defense at first base. Until he hits some sort of a slump, that player can be quite valuable. (France’s OPS is currently .999.)

Ty France started last night’s game at first base, with Nick Castellanos in RF and Gavin Sheets getting a day off. In addition to his stellar defense, he went 2-4 with a double and a triple. He finished the game with 4 RBIs and scored a run himself. He also picked up a walk in one of his at-bats, and later moved over to third base (when Manny Machado’s knee started barking at him) and showed off a good glove over there, as well.

Ty France is not a superstar. He’s a role player. I have a thing where I fall in love with role players, especially the guys with limited specialties (who cares about first base defense?) that find ways to make a big impact on a winning ballclub. The Padres have a number of them this year, and it’s a big reason why they’re 19-9 despite some cold spells and rotten injury luck for their highest paid players.

A role player can really boost your team for a night when put in the right situation. That was Ty France last night and, hopefully, more nights in the future.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Ty France drives in 4 runs as Padres push past Cubs - Field Level Media
Ty France knocked in four runs Monday night and Manny Machado doubled twice and singled before leaving the game as the San Diego Padres rallied for a 9-7 win over the visiting Chicago Cubs.

Machado exits game with left leg injury for precautionary reasons - MLB.com
Third baseman Manny Machado was removed in the seventh inning of the Padres’ 9-7 win over the Cubs on Monday night at Petco Park with an apparent left leg injury.

After grounding out to end the previous inning, Machado was seen being tended to by trainers in the Padres’ dugout. Ty France shifted from first to third base while Gavin Sheets entered the game at first.

Padres manager Craig Stammen noted postgame that Machado’s injury wasn’t significant and that he was removed out of precaution.

Padres closer Mason Miller’s scoreless streak ends after controversial call - The Athletic
Miller, pitching in a non-save situation after a late home run by teammate Gavin Sheets, yielded three hits for the first time as a member of the Padres. The first left the bat of Matt Shaw at 49.5 mph and trickled up the third-base line as infielder Ty France and home-plate umpire Dan Merzel hovered over the ball, tracking its movement.

A moment later, France — who had shifted from first base to third after Manny Machado left the game with lower-body discomfort — picked it up, assuming it had crossed far enough into foul territory. Merzel disagreed, ruling it a barely fair ball. France immediately objected.

Padres notes: Jeremiah Estrada’s velo ‘better’ on rehab, Lucas Giolito’s whereabouts - San Diego Union-Tribune
Jeremiah Estrada was hitting 95 and 96 mph with his fastball in Friday’s rehab appearance at low Single-A Lake Elsinore. A couple 97s, too, he said.

“Feel good; felt back,” he said as he unpacked his bag at his locker at Petco Park. “Been working hard with the staff here and just very blessed to have the training staff that we have here. You know, they really take the time and effort to help us get better.”

Estrada is not back officially. He’s expected to continue rehabbing this week with Triple-A El Paso. He landed on the 15-day injured list with elbow tendinitis on April 10 after his four-seam velocity dipped as low as 92.2 mph in his final appearance.

NBA Playoffs

Desmond Bane scores 22, No. 8 seed Magic beat No. 1 seed Pistons 94-88 for a 3-1 series lead - Associated Press
The Orlando Magic are one win away from knocking off a No. 1 seed and winning their first playoff series in 16 years.

They’re not celebrating yet.

Desmond Bane scored 22 points, Franz Wagner had 19 in three quarters and the Magic beat the Detroit Pistons 94-88 Monday night to take a 3-1 series lead, putting the East’s No. 1 seed on the brink of elimination.

Nikola Jokić, Nuggets deliver dominant win over Timberwolves in Game 5 to fend off elimination - Yahoo Sports
The Nuggets picked up a commanding 125-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their opening-round playoff series on Monday night to keep their postseason hopes alive. Jokić had his 23rd career triple-double, which is the third-most all time behind only Magic Johnson and LeBron James.

While they can’t lose the rest of the way and trail 3-2 headed into Game 6 later this week on the road, Monday night’s win was easily the biggest of the series so far — and it came on the heels of a contentious finish on Saturday night that capped a three-game losing skid.

Thunder sweep the Suns behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 31 points, will wait on Lakers, Rockets - Yahoo Sports
The Oklahoma City Thunder are moving on in the NBA playoffs, completing a first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns with a definitive 131-122 win in Game 4.

Although the Suns fought to keep their season alive, Phoenix was unable to provide a real answer for Oklahoma City’s offense. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the team with 31 points behind a number of wild, tough finishes in the paint.

Odds & Ends

San Diego Sockers win record 17th indoor soccer title - San Diego Union-Tribune
For the first time since 2022, the San Diego Sockers are Major Arena Soccer League champions.

The Sockers captured the Ron Newman Cup with a 10-3 Game 3, winner-take-all victory over the Milwaukee Wave Monday night at Frontwave Arena.

Facing the MASL’s highest-scoring team, the Sockers rode a hat-trick performance from Sebastian Mendez, two goals and an assist from Leo de Oliveira, intense defense and a few timely stops from goalkeeper Chris Toth.

Cooper Flagg edges Kon Knueppel in close NBA Rookie of the Year race - The Athletic
Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, on Monday joined Jason Kidd (1995) and Luka Dončić (2019) as the only Mavericks players to earn the honor. Flagg narrowly beat out Kon Knueppel, his former college teammate and roommate at Duke, in one of the best Rookie of the Year award races in recent memory.

Texas Tech Transfer QB Brendan Sorsby Leaves School, Enters Gambling Rehab - Defector
Smart money says that sports gambling scandals will be more dog-licks-man than man-bites-dog real soon. But for now, this rates as big college football news: Texas Tech announced on Monday that quarterback Brendan Sorsby has left the program to get treated for a gambling addiction.

The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that Sorsby, who transferred to the Red Raiders in January after two years at Cincinnati, will enter a residential rehab facility. According to the school, the length of his stay at the treatment center is “indefinite.”

The teams that are significantly better than the rest of the league (Thunder and maybe the Spurs) look significantly better than the rest of the league. Every other teams looks ready to lose the thread and their season at any moment.

Two of the eight series are tied at 2-2. A #8 seed (Magic) has a lead over the #1 seed in the East (Pistons). The Nuggets are down 3-1 but the Timberwolves have lost two of their most important players to injury for the rest of the series, so most everyone is still picking the Nuggets to win the series.

There are rumors that Damian Lillard, who missed the entire season after tearing his Achilles tendon about a year ago, is going to come back and play for Portland Trail Blazers. Again, after not playing all season. Joel Embiid, who had his appendix removed about two weeks ago, played against the Boston Celtics last night.

It’s just an especially unpredictable NBA Playoffs in some respects and an especially predicable NBA Playoffs in others. It’s enough to give you whiplash.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Late-game implosion costs Padres sweep in Mexico City Series - San Diego Union-Tribune
The Diamondbacks scored six runs in that inning off relievers David Morgan and Bradgley Rodriguez and added four more against Ron Marinaccio with help from a base-loaded triple in the eighth for a 12-7 victory in Sunday’s finale of a two-game series at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú.

Only once in franchise history — 30 years ago — had a Padres bullpen allowed more runs in a two-inning stint.

“You never want to give away a game where you have a … six-run lead at one point,” Padres manager Craig Stammen said. “But circumstances are different here at this ballpark. You know, six-run lead and five-run lead, those aren’t really leads here. Anything can happen, and something did happen today. We’ve been on the good end of this so far. We get a taste of what it feels like on the other end.”

Padres notes: Feliciano, Jones take in game; King thrives in thin air - San Diego Union-Tribune
José E. Feliciano and his wife, Kwanza Jones, arrived at Estadio Alfredo Harp Helú about an hour before first pitch and watched the Padres’ 12-7 loss from the suite of the man after whom the stadium is named.

Most team employees, including manager Craig Stammen and the players, seemed unaware their future bosses were in town.

“They were here?” Manny Machado said. “Oh, man. Nice, awesome. I mean, I wish we would have brought them a ‘W.’ This is their team now. So, I love the support. Hopefully we see them more often and see them around San Diego.”

Miller stands alone, setting record for longest scoreless streak in Padres history - Padres.com
With the scoreless inning, Miller moved past Cla Meredith for the longest scoreless streak in Padres history -- now 34 2/3 frames.

“Big load off, for sure -- I think we can stop talking about it now,” Miller said with a wry smile. “Just keep pitching, see how long we can go.”

Bad news for Miller: He’s approaching another record that could soon have the whole baseball world talking.

Not only did Miller surpass Meredith for the top spot on the Padres all-time list, he’s now closing in on the longest scoreless streak by any reliever (since at least 1961). Miller currently sits eighth, 6 2/3 innings from passing Baltimore’s Gregg Olson for the top spot.

In Mexico City, a glimpse of the Padres’ future — and reasons for cautious optimism - The Athletic
For all the underperformance in their lineup, the Padres might have been due for such a result. They had already rallied from a deficit of at least four runs in five victories, tying the 1998 Philadelphia Phillies for the most such comeback wins in April. Their Pythagorean winning percentage, calculated based on runs scored and allowed, suggests they should be closer to 15-12 than 18-9.

Collective success aside, this sport can be maddening — even for star talents. Tatis ranks second in the majors in hard-hit percentage. Earlier this month, he voiced his belief that the baseball gods were angry with him. This weekend, he confirmed he still felt that way; all he had to show for five more batted balls with an exit velocity above 95 mph was a pair of singles.

Good Morning San Diego: Sung-Mun Song makes MLB debut in Padres’ loss to Diamondbacks - Gaslamp Ball
Sung-Mun Song was added to the San Diego Padres roster as the 27th-man for the Mexico City Series and made his debut with two outs in the top of the eighth inning of their 12-7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks when he came in to run for Luis Campusano. He was able to advance to third base on a wild pitch, but he was unable to score as Jake Cronenworth grounded out to first base to end the inning. Song was then replaced in the order by Freddy Fermin who came in to catch the bottom of the eighth inning.

San Diego Soccer

Timbers score in injury time, send slumping SDFC to fifth straight loss - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego FC coach Mikey Varas acknowledged “no one wants to hear this” amid a losing skid that reached five MLS Cup matches with Saturday’s 2-1 decision against the Portland Timbers at Snapdragon Stadium.

But, Varas said, SDFC (3-2-6) showed true progress in its fifth consecutive loss. For more than 90 minutes, the Blue and Chrome were on the verge of ending the slump, even if only with a draw.

Alex Bonetig’s goal more than five minutes into extra time made the difference for Portland (4-1-5), which threatened repeatedly late to break a 1-1 stalemate that lasted nearly the entire second half.

Own-goal lifts first-place Wave past Summit in Denver - San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Wave won Saturday to remain in first place in the National Women’s Soccer League standings.

This time, they were both lucky and good.

Carson Pickett’s own-goal in the 65th minute gave the visiting Wave a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory over the expansion Denver Summit on Saturday night in Colorado. At 5-1-0, the Wave maintain their league lead. Denver falls to 1-2-3.

Pro Sports Report: Sockers will play Monday night for MASL title; Gulls’ season ends in playoffs - San Diego Union-Tribune
The short-handed San Diego Sockers will play one last match to decide the Major Arena Soccer League’s Ron Newman Cup finals.

The Milwaukee Wave forced a winner-take-all Game 3 by beating the Sockers 7-2 late Friday night in front of a Frontwave Arena-record crowd of 5,521. The teams will return to Oceanside at 7:05 p.m. on Monday night; win, and the Sockers will capture their 17th indoor soccer championship and their first MASL crown since 2022.

The visitors scored the final seven goals after the Sockers had taken a 2-0 lead.

NBA Playoffs

Spurs overwhelm Blazers late in Wembanyama’s return - ESPN
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama didn’t dazzle offensively early, but his stifling defense laid the groundwork Sunday for a comeback that sent the Portland Trail Blazers to the brink of elimination.

Wembanyama logged seven blocks and four steals to go with 27 points and 12 rebounds as San Antonio rallied from a 19-point deficit to defeat the Trail Blazers 114-93 in Game 4 to seize a 3-1 lead in a Western Conference first-round series. In his first game back after sustaining a concussion in Game 2, Wembanyama became the first player to log at least 25 points and five blocks in his first career postseason road game since 1973-74, when blocks became an official statistic, according to ESPN Research.

LeBron James takes blame for turnovers, poor performance in Game 4 loss to Rockets: ‘It started with me’ - Yahoo Sports
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James isn’t going to sugarcoat it, he played a significant role in the team getting blown out by the Houston Rockets in Game 4 on Sunday. James shouldered the blame for the loss after the game, saying the Lakers’ struggles “started with me, obviously.”

It was an extremely muted performance for James, who scored 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting in the 115-96 loss. His struggles from the field were one thing, but his game-leading eight turnovers were what stuck with James following the game. “My turnovers were unacceptable,” he told ESPN.

Odds & Ends

2026 NFL Draft grades: Giants among 4 teams with an A, while a Super Bowl contender doesn’t do so hot - Yahoo Sports
Nate Tice and Charles McDonald go through every team’s draft class and hand out grades. Find out if your NFL team had a great weekend or one they’ll regret for a long time.

FIFA struggling to sell tickets for USMNT’s World Cup opener vs. Paraguay - The Athletic
Ticket sales for the United States’ high-priced World Cup opener are lagging behind other matches in Los Angeles, according to a document distributed to local organizers and a variety of other indicators.

The document, dated April 10 and shared with hosts to ensure adequate planning, listed 40,934 tickets purchased for that June 12 match between the U.S. and Paraguay, compared with 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand match three days later at the same venue, SoFi Stadium.

Tottenham’s Relegation Would Be Shocking. It Now Seems Inevitable. - The Ringer
Spursy has never suggested anything close to the perilous situation Spurs find themselves in right now. With less than a month remaining in the season, Tottenham is staring down the increasingly likely and terrifying prospect of relegation from the Premier League. It’s been a swift fall—remember that less than a year ago, they beat Manchester United in the Europa League final to claim their first trophy since 2007. Betting markets now think Spurs are more likely than not to be relegated, something that has not happened to the club in its 34-year history in the Premier League. The club has kept its place in the highest division of English soccer every year since 1978.

Sabastian Sawe finishes London Marathon in under two hours to obliterate men’s world record - The Athletic
Sabastian Sawe broke the men’s marathon world record at the London Marathon on Sunday, becoming the first person to run the distance in under two hours in a legal race.

The Kenyan athlete produced a phenomenal race, closing hard to finish in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. He obliterated the previous world record of 2:00:35, held by Kelvin Kiptum from the 2023 Chicago Marathon, with second-placed Yomif Kejelcha running 1:59:41 on his debut.

The Saudi Sports Bubble is Bursting - Sports Politika
The US-Israel war on Iran, and the subsequent fallout in the Middle East, has jeopardized Saudi’s sports ambitions and raised concerns that the Kingdom’s investment-driven gold rush may be drying up.

A big perk of working from home is the ability to watch afternoon baseball. That means that I had the Padres-Rockies game on the TV yesterday while I went about my day, occasionally stopping to watch an at-bat or an entire half-inning before going on to whatever my next task was.

Had it been in the evening, when the NFL Draft and the NBA Playoffs were taking place, I probably would’ve turned the game off at some point and turned on something more competitive.

Then the top of the 9th inning happened.

I sat down when Merrill came up to bat, but then my phone rang. I talked for a bit while keeping an eye on what was happening, but then got reminded that it was time to head to my kid’s school. Weekday afternoon baseball is rarely something that anyone is able to dedicate their full attention towards.

I got in the car and put on the Padres radio broadcast. I heard the Bogaerts single. I heard the Andujar single. The last thing I heard before I had to leave the car was Jesse Agler saying “The Padres have scored twice, they have runners at first and third, and there are still no outs in the top of the 9th inning with Gavin Sheets coming to the plate.”

I experienced Gavin Sheets’ home run via a push notification, informing me that the score had changed and the Padres had taken a two-run lead. By time I got back to the car, Mason Miller was trotting in from the Coors Field bullpen. I’m happy with the result, but I definitely missed out on the most thrilling elements of the home run.

All of this falls in line with a tenet that is core to my belief system: Weekday afternoon baseball is incredible if you can clear your schedule and focus on the baseball. Otherwise, it’s just a crafty way to ensure that the guys can get on a plane and travel to their next destination before the sun goes down. And that’s fine! It just means that, occasionally, big moments are going to happen in the background of more important stuff. Good thing MLB decided, almost a century ago, to start playing (most) games under lights at night!

It’s also good that they play some of them during the day because….

Gavin Sheets currently has an OPS of 1.205 in day games and .557 in night games. The difference wasn’t quite that dramatic last season (.844 vs. .696) but it was enough that the Padres should probably make sure Gavin Sheets is getting at-bats whenever the sun is still shining. Or maybe get his eyes checked. Or both!

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Sheets plays hero on 30th birthday as Miller keeps streak intact - MLB.com
The Padres opened the ninth inning trailing 8-5, but a haunting leadoff walk and four straight hits capped by a three-run birthday blast over the out-of-town scoreboard in right field by Gavin Sheets quickly turned the tide as the Friars took a 10-8 lead.

The come-from-behind rally set the stage for Miller to close out the ninth. He induced a grounder from Tyler Freeman before yielding a single to Troy Johnston, setting up a game-ending 5-4-3 double play off the bat of Ezequiel Tovar.

Padres Daily: Offense gets there, still ‘not there’; Sheets comes through again; Tatis veers off course - San Diego Union-Tribune
We have spent a lot of time here discussing how well Tatis has fought off the frustration of some bad batted-ball luck and kept his composure and stayed with his approach even as he would like to actually hit a home run.

Well, something to keep an eye on is that he without a doubt had his worst batch of at-bats this season over the past couple days. They weren’t all in a row. He had a couple single Tuesday. He beat out an infield single yesterday while also striking out three times.That was after striking out twice in each of the first two games of the series.

But he also watched pitches down the middle and, more than anything, made poor swing decisions.

Hired Gun - Letters to A.J.
On April 12th the San Diego Padres should have been celebrating the completion of an ultra-rare four-game sweep of the perennially pesky Colorado Rockies. A feat last accomplished during the Clinton Administration (1999). But the mood was dampened by the sudden early exit of the Padres starting rotation anchor, Nick Pivetta. 10 days later the Padres signed Lucas Giolito, the last remaining impact starter on the free agent market. Whiplash events like this can be disorienting. Breaking these developments into their component parts can help bring the Padres’ new equilibrium into focus.

NBA Playoffs

Knicks can’t get off a shot against Hawks in wild finish of Game 3, as CJ McCollum lifts Atlanta again - Yahoo Sports
After trailing for most of Thursday’s Game 3, the New York Knicks had a chance to win it in the closing seconds, with the ball in the hands of Jalen Brunson — their captain, their closer, last season’s Clutch Player of the Year.

But it’s not last year.

Cavaliers unravel against Raptors in Game 3, but there’s little reason to panic - The Athletic
Cleveland still holds a 2-1 advantage in this series, and it would take a lot more than what happened Thursday to sound the alarm bells. Observers of past Cavs-Raptors campaigns might recall Toronto taking Games 3 and 4 of the 2016 Eastern Conference finals, to even the series at two games apiece, and LeBron James would later say: “I’ve been a part of some really adverse situations … and I just didn’t believe that this was one of them.”

On Thursday, the Raptors made 50 of 87 shots. That’s the second-best shooting night they’ve had in the playoffs, ever. They’d also dropped 12 consecutive playoff games to Cleveland, dating all the way back to when they evened the conference finals 10 years ago but did not exactly have the LeBron Cavs shaking in their boots.

Nuggets-Timberwolves takeaways: Jaden McDaniels backs up his talk, as Minnesota dominates Game 3 with defense - Yahoo Sports
Losing Gordon was a big blow, but the contrast between the group we saw in Game 1 and Game 3 was startling. Jokić/Murray shooting aside, this was one of the rare occasions we didn’t feel the force of Denver’s offense. All of its off-ball actions, cuts and movement were disrupted.

Ball movement became a stagnant adventure. Transition attacks did not feel as dangerous. Pressure points were not hit. The defense that looked great in Game 1 and slipped in Game 2 disappeared Thursday night.

2026 NFL Draft

The Winners and Losers of the First Round of the 2026 NFL Draft - The Ringer
The Raiders got their man, the Rams got a surprise new QB, and the Cardinals did what now?? Here are the highlights and lowlights from day one of the draft.

NFL Draft 2026: Sean McVay comes off as ‘muted,’ ‘mad’ after Rams’ surprise pick of Alabama QB Ty Simpson - Yahoo Sports
The biggest surprise in Round 1 of the 2026 NFL Draft came from the Los Angeles Rams, a win-now team that opted to draft its quarterback of the future.

With the 13th overall pick and plenty of talent still on the board, the Rams selected Alabama passer Ty Simpson as the heir apparent to Matthew Stafford. It was quickly reported that head coach Sean McVay had spoken to Stafford earlier in the day to notify him about the decision to draft a quarterback.

Stafford’s reaction to the pick will be interesting. But what really stood out Thursday night was McVay’s reaction.

‘Real-life dreams coming true’: Aztecs cornerback Chris Johnson picked in first round of NFL draft - San Diego Union-Tribune
On Thursday night, Johnson was a Day 1 selection when the Miami Dolphins took him with the draft’s 27th pick. Johnson is SDSU’s first first-round pick since running back Rashaad Penny was also selected 27th by Seattle in the 2018 draft. Johnson is the second SDSU defensive back selected in the first round, joining Willie Buchanon (Green Bay, 1972).

LSU’s Mansoor Delane (Chiefs, sixth pick) was the only cornerback taken ahead of Johnson, who is slotted to receive a four-year contract worth $18.30 million as the 27th pick.

2026 NFL mock draft, Rounds 2 and 3: Garrett Nussmeier to Jets; Chiefs add big-play WR - The Athletic
The first round of the 2026 NFL Draft certainly featured its share of surprises, including Caleb Banks going to the Vikings at No. 18 and the Texans trading up for Keylan Rutledge at No. 26.

But it also featured several expected moves, including seven offensive tackles hearing their names called and a slew of defensive backs being pushed down the board — potentially making them prime pickings on Day 2.

With that in mind, here’s a mock draft for Rounds 2 and 3.

Odds & Ends

Report: Furyk to lead U.S. Ryder Cup team after Tiger Woods withdrew - ESPN
Jim Furyk is returning as U.S. Ryder Cup captain for the 2027 matches in Ireland as the Americans try to get back on track against a European team that has dominated the past three decades, according to The Associated Press.

Three people aware of the selection process said the Ryder Cup committee chose Furyk once Tiger Woods removed himself from competition after his March 27 arrest on suspicion of DUI. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the PGA of America has not announced its pick.

Despite progress toward deals, San Diego’s fight over Liberty Station takes a rancorous turn - San Diego Union-Tribune
City officials have managed in recent weeks to convince 10 of 12 other government agencies to agree to payouts needed for the city to retain control of Liberty Station, but the effort has prompted a war of words.

That’s because the leaseholder — Seligman Properties — has been simultaneously trying to convince those agencies to reject the city’s efforts so Seligman can buy and control much of the sprawling district of parks, artist studios, shops and restaurants.

City officials say Seligman is trying to scuttle the payout deals so the city will be forced to sell Liberty Station to Seligman at a substantially deflated purchase price.

Youth advocates speak against proposed cuts to San Diego’s libraries, parks and recreation centers - KPBS
The budget would cut operating hours and staff in both the library and parks and recreation departments. Advocates gathered in Civic Center Plaza on Monday morning to speak against those cuts.

“For many families across San Diego, especially those with the fewest resources, these spaces are essential lifelines,” said Patrick Stewart, CEO of the Library Foundation.

The proposed budget also eliminates the Office of Child and Youth Success from the library department. That office advocates for youth and families in city planning and seeks grants to support the city’s youth programs. One of the office’s goals has been to create licensed child care facilities on city property.

Anyway, this is why I subscribe to a lot of podcasts on TikTok and Instagram. I get fed little clips (in theory, they’re clips of the very best moments) of these podcasts and occasionally get enticed to listen to the entire episode.

Yesterday, I saw a clip from Good Hang with Amy Poehler that stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t just because I’m a fan of Amy’s and it wasn’t because her guest, Nick Offerman, was arguably my favorite character in the show that he co-starred in with Amy, Parks & Rec.

In the clip, Nick is holding a ukulele. Amy asks if he can play the ukulele. He says yes, and asks if she would like to hear his ukulele song, to which she replies (with the excited wonder of a child), “Yes, please!” The rest is magic:

@gy79471#goodhangwithamypoehler #podcast #amypoehler #Amy #nickofferman

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You can actually find the full version of this song on YouTube:

The exact verse that caught my ear was the following:

Everywhere I go, people staring at a phone
Sitting in a crowded room, completely alone
It gives me more willies than The Twilight Zone
Our brains are hooked on that shit like a dog on a bone

Put down your gadget, look me in the eye
So our interaction can proceed more gaily
Silence your tablet, ejaculate a sigh
To the sweetly strumming sounds of ukulele

Lately, I have been struggling to do exactly this.

Checking/opening my phone in a moment when nothing is happening (like a commercial break during a basketball game) has become such an instinctual move that I hardly even notice when I’m doing it anymore.

And, I’ve noticed, when I decide to “check my phone” for a minute instead of watching the commercials on the TV screen, I too often find myself looking up ten minutes later to see that I’m missing something meaningful and real. I lose that time and can’t get it back.

Hearing Nick Offerman’s silly ukulele song yesterday reminded me that human connection is more important than whatever is in my phone. Something about the idea of people sitting in a crowded room but being completely alone resonated with me.

I started thinking about how people used to consider the crowd of a bar thoroughly before entering, because they knew these were people that they were going to spend time with and likely get into a conversation with, before everyone started staring at their phone if they weren’t already there with a friend.

So, last night I found myself alone and in need of a bar (so that I could watch the NBA and NHL Playoffs while waiting for my kid to finish her tennis lesson). I found one, with both games on, and made the decision to keep my phone in my pocket. This felt like a good crowd to spend some time with.

After about five minutes, the guy that was sitting next to me put his phone away, too. We started talking, first about sports and then about life and then about the differences between us. We learned that his upbringing in Indiana was not dissimilar from my upbringing in New Jersey. We enjoyed the compelling moments in the basketball and hockey games together. We said goodbye when it was time to go, and I was earnest when I said, “It was really nice to meet you.”

I’m not going to call it a lesson learned. This is a lesson I’ve learned many times before. Putting your phone away encourages human interaction, which is a lot more fulfilling than the social media algorithms. Instead, I’m going to call it a reminder.

And, yeah, I can be mad at myself for falling back into old habits and spending too much time looking at my phone as an escape from the real world, but that doesn’t help matters. Instead, I’m going to be thankful that a reminder presented itself and that I saw enough of it to change an unhealthy pattern.

We can all use reminders sometimes. Occasionally, those reminders even come via your phone and social media. Usually, those reminders are to put the phone down and spend some time remembering that other humans (even the ones you don’t already know) are worth your time and shouldn’t be avoided. Maybe this can be yours.

I’ve been writing about the Chargers again.

Someone who was starting a blog about the Los Angeles Chargers about six months ago reached out to me via a Bluesky DM around that time and made me an offer of money-for-posts that fit with my situation at the time (in need of money while building a growing media company).

I replied to the person reaching out to me that I had not closely paid attention to the Chargers in about ten years, but he didn’t seem to mind. He remembered my blogging about the Chargers for SB Nation many moons ago and that’s what he wanted. I accepted, and started the grueling process of trying to become an expert on a team you know almost nothing about (and have a little hatred in your heart for).

I have been writing about the Chargers every day since early on in the 2025 NFL season. On weekdays, on weekends, on days where there was nothing even resembling news that could be covered, writing about games and free agency and…yes, now the 2026 NFL Draft.

I also told them earlier this week that I can’t do it anymore. I’m giving them the last few days of April and then riding off into the sunset.

I’ve lazily hidden this side project from the public. Partially due to shame and partially to avoid heckling. I also had my doubts about anyone following me still being interested in hearing my thoughts on the Chargers.

As such, I never posted about it on X or Bluesky. I never included an article in any edition of the Front Row Seat newsletter. However, for those morbidly curious, here’s your chance to go back and read through it all.

Or, if you’re a Chargers fan, hang out here for the draft (and probably beyond). It’s a pretty good group of writers.

As for me, I will probably never shake my love of the NFL. But, now that I am unattached, I can now go back to the time-honored San Diego tradition of wishing for nothing but horrible things to bestow the NFL franchise that left us behind.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Padres’ offense continues to struggle in loss to Rockies - San Diego Union-Tribune
A night after scoring the game’s only run on a bases-loaded walk, in the greatest hitters’ paradise to regularly host big-league games, the Padres’ bats remained cold on Wednesday in an 8-3 loss to the Rockies.

Buehler missed on some pitches while allowing four runs in the second inning. But the Padres hitters, who did have some long but fruitless at-bats, also missed on some pitches.

Campusano’s big night at plate can’t carry Padres to a win - MLB.com
Luis Campusano was a bright light on the night, hitting to all fields for the Friars as he went 3-for-4 with a solo homer to left, a pair of doubles to center and right, two runs and an RBI. Both of his homers this season have come against the Rockies -- he’s hit safely in 14 of his 17 career games against Colorado. He accounted for all of San Diego’s extra-base hits on Wednesday.

Lucas Giolito signs with Padres, finally finding a free-agent fit a month into the season - The Athletic
One month into the 2026 MLB season, the last of the major free agents is finally off the board. The San Diego Padres announced Wednesday that they signed free-agent right-hander Lucas Giolito to a one-year, $3 million deal with a mutual option for 2027.

The deal, according to a league source, includes a $1.5 million base salary, a $1.5 million buyout on the $8 million mutual option, and up to $3 million in escalators on the buyout based on games started.

New Padres ownership group will include some familiar names - San Diego Union-Tribune
The group that owns the Padres will continue to be relatively large, and it will include some familiar names.

Among the current Padres owners that are expected to remain when control of the club transfers to billionaire Jose E. Feliciano is Mexican businessman Alfred Harp Helú, whose name is on the Mexico City stadium where the team will play two games this weekend.

Helú owns 15% of the Padres, which makes him the largest single stakeholder outside of the 24% held by Peter Seidler’s trust, of which his widow and three young children are beneficiaries.

Some members of the Seidler family are expected to retain ownership stakes as well. Those family members, as well as some others who have owned a portion of the team, are divesting a share of their stakes as part of the transaction.

NFL Draft

The Most Important Questions About the 2026 NFL Draft - The Ringer
What will the Jets do at no. 2? How high will Jeremiyah Love get picked? Will Ty Simpson be picked on night one? These are just some of the biggest story lines in this draft.

Cornerback Chris Johnson expected to end San Diego State’s NFL draft drought - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State has not had a player selected in the NFL draft the past three years, the program’s longest draft drought over the past six decades.

That is expected to change — perhaps as soon as Thursday night, when the first round of the 2026 NFL draft is conducted in Pittsburgh.

SDSU cornerback Chris Johnson is projected as a first-or second-round pick.

NFL Draft 2026: Running back may be devalued, but the safest pick is probably Jeremiyah Love - Yahoo Sports
Whoever drafts Jeremiyah Love is very unlikely to regret adding him.

You probably can’t say that about anyone else in this NFL Draft class, at least with as much confidence. The edge rushers at the top of the draft have questions. None of the receivers are Ja’Marr Chase level prospects. There are even questions about Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza and his upside.

There is no guarantee Love won’t be a bust. Every prospect has bust potential. But throughout the NFL Draft process, there haven’t been many criticisms of Love’s game. He’s a complete prospect. The only knock has been that he plays running back.

NBA Playoffs

Magic-Pistons takeaways: Cade Cunningham shines, but questions remain about consistency and Detroit’s supporting cast - Yahoo Sports
As Game 2 between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic wrapped up, with the Pistons winning 98-83, one thing proved clear, yet again.

The Pistons, the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, can either smoke teams or find themselves in an absolute dogfight. There does not seem to be a middle ground with this group.

Suns’ Booker, Brooks rip refs after Game 2 loss to Thunder - ESPN
Add the Phoenix Suns to the list of teams that have publicly complained about officiating after a loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

“In my 11 years, I haven’t called a ref out by name, but James [Williams] was terrible tonight through and through,” Suns star Devin Booker said after a 120-107 loss in Wednesday’s Game 2 that gave the defending champion Thunder a 2-0 series lead. “It’s bad for the sport, bad for the integrity of the sport. People are going to start viewing this as a WWE if they’re not held responsible.”

Odds & Ends

San Diego FC loses fourth consecutive match, receives another red card - San Diego Union-Tribune
Amahl Pellegrino became the latest SDFC player to receive a red card, and the visiting club lost 1-0 to the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday night. The 2025 Western Conference finalists have now lost four consecutive Major League Soccer matches, a club record.

Pellegrino’s red came in the 79th minute with the team down a goal; Pellegrino was sent off and will have to miss Saturday’s match between SDFC (3-4-2) and the Portland Timbers as a result.

SDFC has already seen twice as many red cards in MLS play this season (4) as all of last season (2) — and the 2026 schedule is still in its infancy.

Tempers flare, fans get involved in ugly end to Wave-Sockers Game 1 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Shoves escalated between the Milwaukee Wave and San Diego Sockers and fans got involved in the unpleasantries, turning the conclusion of Game 1 of the MASL championship series ugly.

In the final seconds of the Sockers’ 5-4 victory April 22 at the UWM Panther Arena, Wave defender Tony Walls took a kick to the groin on a play that ended any chance for a traditional exchange of handshakes and hugs.

Spirited jawing turned into jostling between players, and then fans joined in the altercation by pelting Sockers players with debris and drinks. Players retaliated. As the situation grew more chaotic, a security officer requested the presence of police who were at the Arena.

SDSU to pay $300K to settle Title IX lawsuit that alleged unequal treatment of female athletes - San Diego Union-Tribune
San Diego State University has agreed to pay $300,000 — plus another $1.3 million in opposing attorney fees — to settle a class-action Title IX lawsuit brought by more than a dozen female student-athletes who alleged they received less scholarship money than their male counterparts.

The settlement, which was approved Monday by a San Diego federal judge, marks the first time ever that a university will pay for allegedly depriving female student-athletes of equal athletic financial aid.

SDSU did not admit to any wrongdoing and maintains that it treats its female student-athletes fairly and did not violate Title IX, the landmark 1972 legislation that prohibits gender discrimination at educational institutions receiving federal funding.

Toronto FC goalkeeper scores tying goal at the death on wild midweek MLS night - The Athletic
The 25-year-old Canadian scored on a header at the death to steal a point for TFC against the Philadelphia Union at BMO Field on Wednesday night. Philadelphia, the reigning yet struggling Supporters’ Shield winner, led 2-0, blew that lead and then seized it back in the 89th minute through Nathan Harriel, seemingly on course for the 3 points. The Union didn’t account for the heroic efforts of Gavran, though, who charged forward for a free kick and wound up in prime position to get his head – and his shoulder – to Alonso Coello’s cross in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.

Mike Vrabel To Seek Counseling Over “Completely Innocent Interaction” With Dianna Russini - Defector
This is all a bit silly. We’re clearly at the point now where both Russini (by resigning from her position at The Athletic) and Vrabel (by telling us all he’s getting therapy) have acknowledged that something more than innocent handholding between professional acquaintances was going down at that resort, but neither have said so directly. Russini’s way out of the scandal was clear—she committed a journalistic sin and had to resign over it—but Vrabel finds himself on shakier ground.

You get the sense that Vrabel and the Patriots have spent the last few weeks trying to divine exactly how mad people are at him, and for what. “Offseason infidelity with a reporter” is not something that carries a clear set of consequences for a coach, which is how we end up with Vrabel spending a good chunk of this week performing context-free penitence in front of the press. Even the timing of the trip to the therapist’s office—Vrabel won’t be leaving to get the help he apparently so desperately needs until the third day of the draft—suggests a sweaty strategy session in a conference room.

My initial assumption was that the players were relying too heavily on the thin air. That they were telling themselves “Just hit a long fly ball and let the stadium do the rest.” I mostly thought this after seeing multiple Padres fly balls die at the warning track.

So, I looked into the stats of last night’s 1-0 Padres win (lots of praise/talk about Randy Vasquez in the links below) and here’s what I found:

Gavin Sheets hit a flyout in the 7th inning that would’ve been a home run at Wrigley Field.

Freddy Fermin, who is getting beat to hell behind the dish lately and was limping for half of last night’s game after taking a foul ball off the top of his foot, hit a ball in the 3rd inning that would’ve been a home run in literally every MLB ballpark except for Coors Field and Chase Field. Unfortunately, he was playing at Coors Field.

Then, in case you were thinking that Freddy (with his .194 batting average and a career high of 9 home runs in any single season) just lucked into that one, he did it again. In the 6th inning, he hit a flyout that would’ve been a home run in 17 of the 30 MLB ballparks.

Those three swings were, honest to goodness, the only chances for a home run in Denver last night. And none of them made it over the fence.

I think I’m going to attribute the lack of offense last night to some talented pitchers that were feeling good. And maybe some uncharacteristic (but not insane) winds swirling around the stadium last night.

Now, onto the links…

San Diego Padres

Vásquez shines with 7 scoreless as Padres toss shutout at Coors - MLB.com
It was the fourth 1-0 win for a visiting team in Coors Field history, and the first time the Padres won a 1-0 game with the only run being walked home since April 7, 2005.

On paper, it was an unlikely matchup for a classic pitchers’ duel, with Randy Vásquez taking on the Rockies’ bullpen. On the field, however, pitching aficionados got a rare treat as Vásquez squared off inning after inning, primarily against Colorado’s Chase Dollander, who pitched six innings after opener Jimmy Herget. Ultimately, Vásquez threw seven scoreless innings and combined with relievers Jason Adam and Adrian Morejon for a Coors Field shutout.

Padres Daily: Randy Vásquez loves Coors; Mason Miller gets a day; Manny’s eye, the good and bad - San Diego Union-Tribune
Miller, who has been the talk of baseball for his dominance so far this season, threw 20 pitches on Saturday and 13 on Sunday. Those were his 10th and 11th appearances and seventh and eighth saves.

Sunday was his third appearance in four days.

Miller maintained that he did not push back when told he would be down yesterday.

“Not in April,” he said.

After Jason Adam worked the ninth, Adrian Morejón got last night’s final three outs on eight pitches.

Feliciano-Jones stake in Padres to be up to 40 percent, with more investors to join: Sources - The Athletic
José E. Feliciano and Kwanza Jones are expected to acquire at least 30 percent — and up to 40 percent — of the San Diego Padres as part of their agreement to purchase the franchise at a record-breaking valuation, multiple people briefed on the deal told The Athletic.

The structure of the pending transaction means the previously reported valuation of $3.9 billion — which would smash the MLB record, set in 2020 when Steve Cohen bought 95 percent of the New York Mets at a $2.42 billion valuation — reflects the enterprise value of the Padres rather than the direct investment by Feliciano and Jones. A stake of, say, 35 percent would put the couple’s actual commitment closer to $1.4 billion.

San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: April 22 - MadFriars
Former Minnesota Twin Jose Miranda, coming off a strong week, homered in the second inning as part of a multi-hit effort. The homer was his third of 2026, and extended his hitting streak to five games. During the streak, The 27-year-old is 9-for-24 (.375 average) with a pair of homers, two doubles, and a triple. The former big leaguer can opt out of his contract in June if he is not added to the big league roster.

NBA Playoffs

LeBron has Father Time in Hell - Good Morning, Let’s Basketball
I did not come into this postseason thinking that anything that happened would impact LeBron James’ legacy, which feels pretty baked at this point. But now LeBron James has his injury-shredded Los Angeles Lakers up 2-0 on the Houston Rockets after L.A.’s 101-94 win on Tuesday.

Getting cut backdoor by a 41-year-old for the dagger dunk with late or absent rotations everywhere. Incredible. The cut, read, pass and dunk are incredible. The fact that the Rockets appear to have completely given up down five with a minute left to a team missing its two top scorers is incredible, too.

Spurs lose Victor Wembanyama — and control — as Portland evens series. How can they adjust if Wemby misses Game 3? - Yahoo Sports
For a moment, Wembanyama lay motionless on the ground before resting against the stanchion in an attempt to gather himself. In some ways, the Spurs’ hopes and dreams laid there with him. He would later be followed to the locker room after leaving on his own power before being officially ruled out with a concussion and entered into protocol. Per NBA rules, there is a 48-hour mandatory recovery period from the onset of a concussion before a player can be evaluated by a team physician or athletic trainer for a return to action.

The Scariest Part Of A Concussion Is The Uncertainty - Defector
There is little point in parsing the fine movements of Wembanyama’s eyes during the fall and in its immediate aftermath, because even though you might be able to derive some rough understanding of the force of the impact, every brain is different, as is every impact. You can’t just take a look at someone’s brain; there is no direct physical manifestation of a concussion, only the shadows it projects onto the inner shell of your skull (read: headaches). Someone I know who was recovering from a concussion whose neurologist told them that their symptoms, which at that point had persisted for months, would likely dissipate in “one-to-12 months.”

Rookie VJ Edgecombe’s playoff breakout sends 76ers past Celtics, puts him in company with Magic Johnson - Yahoo Sports
Rookie VJ Edgecombe stole the show at TD Garden on Tuesday night to power the Philadelphia 76ers past the Celtics in a 111-97 win. Edgecombe overcame a hard fall on his backside in the first quarter that prompted him to go to the locker room twice.

But he returned both times to pace the 76ers alongside his backcourt mate, Tyrese Maxey. The tandem led an onslaught from 3 as Philadelphia shot 19 of 39 (48.7%) from long distance.

Odds & Ends

Poway native, SDSU alum Kraig Chiles ready to retire from SD Sockers, completing ‘great journey’ - Times of San Diego
“This is definitely my last season, and it’s been a great journey,” said Chiles, 41, in his 17th season with the Sockers, back in December. “To be a rookie and now a veteran is something I will cherish forever. I still feel I can add a little bit to this championship-caliber group. Hopefully, we can grab the (Ron Newman) Cup, and I can ride into the sunset.”

Chiles sustained a knee injury at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on March 15 against the Kansas City Comets, sidelining him for the remainder of the regular season and likely the playoffs, which begin Friday for the Sockers after a first-round bye. The team elevated him to an assistant coaching role for the rest of the year.

Lynx’s Napheesa Collier out until June following ‘successful’ ankle surgery - The Athletic
Ankle injuries plagued Collier throughout the 2025 WNBA season. She sprained her right ankle during an Aug. 2 win over the Las Vegas Aces before returning on Aug. 24. She played the rest of the season despite the injury.

Just over a month later, on Sept. 27, Collier went down clutching her left ankle after colliding with the Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas in Game 3 of the WNBA semifinals. She was unable to return for the game’s closing moments, and the team later said she tore three ligaments in her ankle and a muscle in her shin.

Formula 1’s Emergency Midseason Regulation Changes, Explained - Defector
After unceasing complaints from drivers, fans, teams, and team principals, along with a healthy dose of outside humiliation, the FIA and various Formula 1 manufacturing authorities took the opportunity of no April races to implement overhauls to the vastly unpopular 2026 regulations. The “refinements,” as the official FIA news release calls them, were released on Monday, April 20, and are—with one exception—to be implemented immediately in the Miami Grand Prix on the weekend of May 3. They focus on three main issues: the prevalence of superclipping in qualifying, safety concerns with energy deployment, and race start procedure.

Firestone Walker & Duvel USA acquiring Stone Brewing - San Diego Beer News
Following the transaction, the Richmond, Virginia brewery will serve as Sapporo USA’s primary U.S. production hub for the Sapporo brand. During a transition period, Sapporo USA will continue producing the Stone Brewing portfolio at its Escondido, California and Richmond, Virginia breweries. The Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens – Escondido will also continue to operate during this time. Sapporo USA is evaluating long‑term strategic options for the Escondido brewery and bistro following the completion of the transition.

Tijuana River is fueling San Diego air pollution, study finds - Axios
The study, published Thursday in Science, connects water quality to air quality for the first time, according to the team of researchers, from UC San Diego, UC Riverside, San Diego State University and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

While previous research showed chemicals from drugs, tires and personal care products carried by the river were getting into the air via sea spray, this study focuses on gases.

With that in mind, I’m skipping the writing part of this newsletter and going straight to the links. If you want my thoughts, you can catch them in audio/video form in a couple of hours.

Now, onto the links….

NBA Playoffs

CJ McCollum, Hawks erupt in fourth quarter to stun Knicks and even series 1-1 - Yahoo Sports
The Knicks’ collapse was similar, but worse, than what happened in the final minutes of Game 1 on Saturday, too. The Knicks held a 19-point lead just past the midway point of the fourth quarter in that contest before giving up an 11-0 run to allow the Hawks back within single digits in the final minute. Had that run happened just a few minutes sooner, Atlanta may have been able to pull the comeback off that day, too.

Madison Square Garden Has A Reluctant New Villain - Defector
McCollum had 26 points when the “Fuck you CJ!” chant started, and had just gotten into a little kerfuffle with Jose Alvarado, who seeks out kerfuffles with great fervor. McCollum smirked and nodded his head along to the chant for a little bit, but he also looked sheepish at having found himself in that position. Villainy may come naturally to a little gremlin like Trae Young, but not to a steady and understated operator like McCollum. He even faded from the game over the next few minutes, missing his next five shots while the Knicks got out to a 14-point lead.

Victor Wembanyama becomes NBA’s first unanimous Defensive Player of the Year winner - The Athletic
The 7-foot-4 San Antonio Spurs big man won the NBA’s 2026 Defensive Player of the Year award, earning all 100 first-place votes from a panel of select media members. The 22-year-old beat out Oklahoma City Thunder big man Chet Holmgren and Detroit Pistons wing Ausar Thompson to become the youngest player to win the award since it was introduced for the 1982-83 season.

Holmgren finished second with 76 second-place votes and 11 third-place votes, followed by Thompson, Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert and Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes.

Rudy Gobert contains Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic as Wolves tie series - ESPN
On the same day he finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting, Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert held three-time MVP Nikola Jokic to 1-of-8 shooting in his individual Game 2 matchup.

That defensive work, which included three one-on-one stops in the closing minutes, helped the Timberwolves to a 119-114 win over the Denver Nuggets to tie their first-round series at 1-1. It was the worst shooting performance in Jokic’s playoff career against a single defender (minimum six shot attempts).

“I was lucky,” Gobert said. “A top-three defender cannot do that. So I was lucky.”

NBA playoffs 2026 takeaways: Brandon Ingram remains M.I.A. for Raptors as potent Cavs trio emerges - Yahoo Sports
The 6-foot-8 forward, in his first active season with Toronto, had a lackluster 17-point Game 1 and criticized the coaching staff for his lack of shots (nine). He followed that up by scoring a grand total of zero points in the first half of Game 2 — scoring seven overall on 3-of-15 shooting — putting even more pressure on his teammates to offset his lack of production.

Ingram, who has a history of being a reluctant 3-point shooter, is currently re-triggering old habits and offering limited spacing to the Raptors, who aren’t exactly deep in the shooting department as is.

San Diego Padres

Padres hitters looking forward to some altitude therapy this week - San Diego Union-Tribune
Tatis is looking for his first home run of this season. And he is headed back to Mexico City after a stop for three games in another place where the breathing can be difficult but the home runs come more easily.

Tatis has spent the past few weeks making an effort not to dwell on his total power outage. But this week, he is happily thinking about what is in store.

“Hopefully, we can get some at-bats,” he said with a smile. “That way, I can get a home run.”

The Padres begin a three-game series here Tuesday against the Rockies before heading to Mexico City for a pair of weekend games against the Diamondbacks.

That is a lot of thin air.

Padres top prospect is showing encouraging progress with one frustrating problem still hanging around - Friars On Base
Salas is still only 19, still catching, still handling one of the hardest development paths in baseball, and still doing enough defensively to protect the shine on his prospect status. His defensive work behind the plate is a reason his standing remains so high, and that matters here because it keeps this from turning into an overly dramatic offensive referendum after a rough couple of weeks.

But the frustrating part is easy to spot too. The recent multi-hit games are encouraging because they suggest he is settling in a bit. They don’t erase the larger profile of what has been happening. A .289 slugging percentage with just one extra-base hit is still a pretty thin offensive start, and when that is paired with strikeout swing-and-miss issues, the whole thing starts to feel more incomplete than uplifting.

San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: April 19 - MadFriars
Stop me if you have heard this before — Jase Bowen homered. The toolsy 25-year-old outfielder clubbed his team-leading fifth home run of the season to lead off the resumption of Saturday’s game with the blast leaving his bat at 108.2 mph. In game two, he went 1-for-3 with a double. Bowen has done two things a lot this season– hit the ball hard and swing and miss. The former 11th-round selection owns a 45.5% hard hit rate, 11.3% barrel rate, and 112.6 max exit velocity, all of which rank in the 84th or percentile or better of Triple-A hitters. At the same time, he’s punched out 27.8% of the time with a 29.5% whiff rate and 34.6% chase rate, all in the bottom third of Triple-A batters. He’s now batting .278/.350/.653 through 80 plate appearances.

Odds & Ends

San Diego Just Can’t Get Out Of Its Own Way - Chromatic FC
While some fans are calling for the club and Lozano to make amends, it is important to realize this situation has nothing to do with the people involved; it is about the Right to Dream system. SDFC is committed to a specific standard of conduct intended to serve as a model for younger players. Everyone from Sporting Director Tyler Heaps to Head Coach Mikey Varas must fit this playbook. If leadership were to change, they would be replaced by others who implement the same philosophy: develop young players in a certain way and play style and sell them for profit.

NCTD maps grade separations across North County - North County Pipeline
The Board of Directors discussed nine proposed grade separation projects and their strategic framework on Thursday in a massive effort to ease congestion, enhance other mobility options, and increase safety at those rail crossings. NCTD staff detailed its ranking system for the expected multi-billion-dollar effort to guide the pursuit of state and federal funding.

A Deep Dive Into the Elon Musk vs. Sam Altman Trial, Our Next Techstravaganza - The Ringer
The two tech giants are scheduled to square off next week in a court battle over the past, present, and future of OpenAI. Here’s what to expect—and how this whole mess started in the first place.