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🏀 Good morning to everyone, but especially to …
JJ REDICK
After weeks of speculation, the Los Angeles Lakers finally made it official. The Lakers have hired JJ Redick to be their next head coach.
This hiring ends a lengthy coaching search by the Lakers, which included a very public courtship of UConn head coach Dan Hurley, who turned down a $70 million offer from the team.
Redick, who spent 15 seasons as a player in the NBA, has never coached at the professional or collegiate level. In recent years, Redick has risen to prominence through his role as a television analyst and his “The Old Man and the Three” podcast.
Now Redick suddenly goes from his role in the media to coaching perhaps the most high-profile gig in all of basketball. As you might expect, our own Sam Quinn says Redick is a clear winner at the end of this saga.
Anthony Davis, on the other hand, might not be quite as happy. Davis apparently preferred New Orleans Pelicans assistant James Borrego, with whom he already had a pre-existing relationship.
Redick’s new job as the head coach of a franchise with 17 banners will come with the weight of expectations. Part of that weight comes from coaching LeBron James, who has a history of being rather mercurial with his head coaches. Our own Bill Reither lays out the challenge Redick faces in that regard.
Reiter: “Take the coaching history that surrounded his all-time great career. LeBron has had eight full-time head coaches in his career. Only two — Erik Spoelstra and Ty Lue– weren’t let go on his watch (five coaches were fired and Luke Walton ‘mutually parted ways’ with the Lakers in 2019 before taking the Kings job). And even those two cases require some caveats.”
Redick’s hiring has already produced a great story about the late Kobe Bryant. According to Carmelo Anthony, Bryant tormented Redick at Team USA practices ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
👍 Honorable mentions
Reggie Jackson shared a moving tribute to Willie Mays in his return to Rickwood Field.
Charlie Woods has qualified for his first U.S. Amateur Junior.
Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson is reportedly about to get paid.
The Kings have made the wise decision to return to their Gretzky-era logo and color scheme.
Guardians leadoff batter Steven Kwan is within striking distance of a .400 average.
Patriots punter Bryce Baringer showed versatility by winning an amateur golf tournament.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is determined to lead Greece to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
🥊 And not such a good morning for …
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RYAN GARCIA
Boxer Ryan Garcia won’t be stepping into the ring for a while after the New York State Athletic Commission suspended him for one year.
Following his win over WBC junior welterweight champion Devin Haney, Garcia tested positive for the banned substance ostarine. The year-long suspension was part of a settlement reached by Garcia’s legal team and the suspension.
Garcia was also fined $10,000, and he was forced to forfeit the $1.1 million purse from his bout with Haney. Garcia defeated Haney via majority decision, but that has now been overturned to a no contest. Haney may even be entitled to a portion of the purse as well.
Even before his fight against Haney, there was some controversy surrounding Garcia, who was more than three pounds overweight. As a result of his weight, Garcia was ineligible to claim Haney’s title despite the win.
It’s been a long month for Garcia. Just a couple of weeks ago, he was arrested on a charge of felony vandalism after allegedly causing $15,000 in damage at a Beverly Hills hotel.
The 25-year-old Garcia will now be sidelined for a while as he serves his suspension, which is retroactive to April 20. After the no contest decision, Garcia’s career record drops to 24-1-1.
👎 Not so honorable mentions
The Browns have waived DL Lonnie Phelps following his DUI charge.
Steelers QB Justin Fields was reduced to returning kickoffs in the latest “Madden” trailer.
England had to settle for a draw with Denmark in their UEFA Euro 2024 match.
Maybe the 76ers won’t be pursuing Paul George after all.
Argentina kicked off Copa America with an underwhelming win over Canada.
🏀 Thunder earn high marks for Alex Caruso trade
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The Thunder made a savvy move on the NBA trade market yesterday, acquiring Alex Caruso from the Bulls in exchange for Josh Giddey.
Over the course of his career, Caruso has gone from undrafted free agent to critical role player, and now he might be exactly what the Thunder need to take the next step. Between his stout defense and skillful passing, Caruso gives Oklahoma City vastly improved depth at minimal cost.
In his evaluation of the trade, our own Sam Quinn gave the Thunder an “A+.” That’s because, with Caruso in the mix, the Thunder have the makings of a championship defense.
Quinn: “The Celtics just won a championship in large part by acquiring an endless array of switchable perimeter stoppers. The Thunder now have Caruso, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace and Jalen Williams … with Chet Holmgren, who ranked third in the NBA in contested shots per game last season, protecting the basket. You could now credibly argue that Oklahoma City’s defense is primed to be better than Boston’s.”
The Bulls’ report card wasn’t quite honor roll material. They got a “C-” from Quinn for selling a highly sought-after player at a bargain-bin price. The Bulls can only hope Giddey lives up to his former No. 6 overall pick potential in Chicago.
🏌 Kim gets off to fast start at Travelers Championship
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On his last day as a 21-year-old, Tom Kim celebrated by dominating the first round of the Travelers Championship. Kim turned in a sparkling round of golf, shooting a 62 at TPC River Highlands.
Kim ended the day at 8-under, good for a two-stroke lead heading into Round 2. Kim hit 11 of 14 fairways, and our own Kyle Porter broke down his nearly perfect afternoon.
Porter: “He is not the biggest hitter nor the most talented player, but he was awesome on Thursday on the eve of his 22nd birthday. What did he do well? Everything. And while his putter carried him to the 62, as we discussed on the First Cut Podcast, this is the type of course on which Kim can compete.”
Behind Kim, there is a logjam atop the Travelers Championship leaderboard. Rickie Fowler, who is trying to end an otherwise poor season on a high note, is in a tie for second with Akshay Bhatia, Will Zalatoris and Kurt Kitayama at 6-under.
In sixth place, Scottie Scheffler and Tony Finau are tied with four other golfers at 5-under.
While Kim is off to a hot start, there is still a lot of golf with some big names in the hunt. Keep it locked on CBS Sports’ coverage of the Travelers Championship all weekend.
🏀 Angel Reese breaks WNBA rookie record
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Few WNBA players have gotten off to a hotter start than Sky rookie Angel Reese, who made history in her team’s 83-72 win over the Wings on Thursday.
With 16 points and a career-high 18 rebounds, Reese recorded her seventh consecutive double-double. That is a new WNBA rookie record as Reese, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 draft, continues to make life at the professional level look easy.
Over the last 25 seasons, only six rookies between the WNBA and NBA have rattled off seven double-doubles in a row, and it’s pretty impressive company for Reese.
Blake Griffin (3x)
Victor Wembanyama (2x)
Karl-Anthony Towns (2x)
Emeka Okafor (2x)
Angel Reese
Ben Simmons
Reese’s exceptional run of form has earned her the No. 2 spot in our latest WNBA Rookie Rankings. Reese is now averaging 12.1 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists through her first 13 WNBA games. Reese will go for eight straight double-doubles against Caitlin Clark and the Fever in Chicago on Sunday afternoon.
But before you ask if either Reese or Clark could replace an injured Cameron Brink on Team USA 3×3 team at the Paris Olympics, we’ve got some bad news. Neither fit the eligibility criteria, as our own Jack Maloney explains in his latest piece. Thankfully, he also found some big names who could.
📺 What we’re watching this weekend
⛳ We’ll be tuned into the Travelers Championship all weekend. Here’s how to catch all the action.
Friday
⚽ Euro 2024 — Poland at Austria, 12 p.m. on FS1
⚽ Euro 2024 — Netherlands at France, 3 p.m. on Fox
🏃 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, 6:30 p.m. on USA Network
🏒 Stanley Cup Final — Game 6: Panthers at Oilers, 8 p.m. on ABC
🏊 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, 8 p.m. on NBC and Peacock
🏃 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, 9 p.m. on NBC
⚽ Copa America — Peru at Chile, 8 p.m. on FS1
Saturday
⚽ Euro 2024 — Turkey at Portugal, 12 p.m. on Fox
⚾ Mets at Cubs, 2:20 p.m. on FS1
🏀 Sparks at Liberty, 3 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Euro 2024 — Belgium at Romania, 3 p.m. on Fox
⚽ Copa America — Ecuador at Venezuela, 6 p.m. on FS1
⚾ Braves at Yankees, 7:15 p.m. on Fox
⚾ College World Series — Game 1: Texas A&M at Tennessee, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏊 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, 8 p.m. on NBC and Peacock
🏃 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, 9 p.m. on NBC
⚽ Copa America — Mexico at Jamaica, 9 p.m. on FS1
Sunday
🏎 Spanish Grand Prix, 9 a.m. on ESPN
⚾ College World Series — Game 2: Tennessee at Texas A&M, 2 p.m. on ABC
🏎 USA Today 301, 2:30 p.m. on USA Network
⚽ Euro 2024 — Scotland at Hungary, 3 p.m. on FS1
⚽ Euro 2024 — Switzerland at Germany, 3 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Fever at Sky, 4 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ Copa America — USA at Bolivia, 6 p.m. on Fox
⚾ Mets at Cubs, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏊 U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials, 8 p.m. on NBC and Peacock
🏃 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, 8:40 p.m. on NBC
⚽ Copa America — Uruguay at Panama, 9 p.m. on Fox
