SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The Larry O’Brien Trophy will be in the building in San Antonio. The rehearsals for the presentation ceremony, if one is needed, are complete. Thousands of New York fans have made the trip to Texas, looking to see something that hasn’t happened in 53 years. The rest is up to the Knicks. New York can win its first NBA championship since 1973 on Saturday night, with the Knicks holding a 3-1 lead going into Game 5 of the NBA Finals against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — The U.S. has opened its first home World Cup in 32 years with a dynamic 4-1 victory over Paraguay. Folarin Balogun scored twice in the Americans’ historic three-goal first half. Christian Pulisic had an assist in a stellar playmaking performance for the Americans, who enthralled their Southern California fans with an aggressive attack while streaking to a 3-0 halftime lead. Gio Reyna ripped another goal in the dying moments of second-half injury time, giving the Americans four goals in a World Cup match for the first time. The U.S. scored only three goals combined in Qatar four years ago.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Folarin Balogun chose to play for the U.S. and made a splashy World Cup debut. The 24-year-old striker scored two goals in a 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the Americans' opening match. The game took place in front of a sold-out crowd of 70,492 outside Los Angeles. With David Beckham watching, Balogun became the first U.S. player to score multiple goals in a World Cup game since 1930. Born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents, he moved to England as a child. Balogun is now making himself an American household name during this Summer of Soccer.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump is making a splash by hosting a UFC event at the White House, marking his 80th birthday and the nation's 250th anniversary. The event called UFC Freedom 250 takes place on Sunday night and streams on Paramount+. Trump, a longtime fan of cage fighting, first suggested the idea at a rally in Iowa. While top stars like Conor McGregor and Ronda Rousey aren't participating, the event features fighters like Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. The unique setting includes a cage on the South Lawn, drawing attention more for its location than the fights themselves.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jacob Misiorowski keeps setting records for velocity by a starting pitcher. He threw a 104.5 mph pitch, the fastest by a starter since tracking began, and struck out 15 with no walks in a one-hitter that led the Milwaukee Brewers over the Philadelphia Phillies 6-0. Pitching one year to the day of his major league debut, the 24-year-old right-hander threw four pitches of 104 mph or higher. Misiorowski reached 100 mph with a record 58 pitches and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.34.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama, the tallest man in these NBA Finals, is about to face the tallest order of his basketball career. And he’s fine with that. Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs — who just became the first team in NBA Finals history to lead a game by 29 points and still lose — need to win the next three games, or they’ll watch the New York Knicks celebrate an NBA title at their expense. And when the Spurs gathered for practice on Friday, Wembanyama insisted the belief within the Spurs camp is still there.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Yordan Alvarez became the first player to hit a grand slam and multi-run homer in the first inning of a Major League Baseball game, pulling off the feat for Houston against Kansas City on Friday night. He became the eighth player to hit a grand slam and multi-run homer in an inning and the first since Angels slugger Kendrys Morales did it against Texas in 2012, according to Sportradar. The left-handed Alvarez drove in two runs with an opposite-field homer early in the inning and cleared the bases with a two-out shot, giving him six RBIs in Houston’s nine-run inning.
CHICAGO (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani is day to day with left knee inflammation. Ohtani was sidelined for the team's 8-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox. But manager Dave Roberts says Ohtani could play this weekend and remains in line to make his next scheduled start on the mound on Wednesday. Ohtani was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Thursday night’s 8-6 win at Pittsburgh. Roberts says Ohtani had some imaging done and “it's just normal wear and tear.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — Throngs of UFC fans have descended on the nation's capital for an unusual fight night at the White House. The Sunday night event is marking both America’s 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. Fans from as far away as Australia are in Washington for the spectacle. Polling shows UFC fans skew male and nonwhite, with more identifying as Republicans, but the crowd near the Lincoln Memorial for a news conference with the fights on Friday night was diverse. Trump has billed this weekend as “the greatest show on earth.” A watchdog group tried to stop it with a lawsuit and says the event is a corrupt use of national monuments.
CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Ben James is making quite the impression in his professional debut. James has a one-shot lead in the RBC Canadian after a bogey-free 63 on the TPC Toronto. The four-time All-American from Virginia led the PGA Tour University ranking to earn a tour card through 27. This is his 10th time playing a PGA Tour event but the first time with a paycheck on the line. He leads over a group that includes Sam Burns. Brooks Koepka overcame a double bogey and shot a 68. He's in a large group two shots behind going into the weekend.
Finals
INTERLEAGUE
Final Seattle 10 Washington 2
Final Baltimore 7 San Diego 3
Final Chicago White Sox 8 L.A. Dodgers 2
Final Minnesota 9 St. Louis 8
Final Athletics 6 Colorado 4
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Cleveland 3 Detroit 2
Final Boston 10 Texas 1
Final Toronto 8 N.Y. Yankees 5
Final Houston 10 Kansas City 8
Final L.A. Angels 4 Tampa Bay 3
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 8 Pittsburgh 3
Final Milwaukee 6 Philadelphia 0
Final N.Y. Mets 7 Atlanta 5
Final Arizona 5 Cincinnati 2