BOSTON (AP) — The Golden State Warriors are NBA champions once again, topping the Boston Celtics 103-90 for their fourth title in the last eight seasons. Stephen Curry scored 34 points for the Warriors, who claimed the franchise’s seventh championship overall. And this one completed a journey like none other, after a run of five consecutive finals, then a plummet to the bottom of the NBA, and now a return to greatness just two seasons after having the league’s worst record.
BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — Adam Hadwin of Canada is the leader after one round of the U.S. Open. Hadwin ran off three straight birdies at the end of the front nine and only dropped one shot on the back nine of The Country Club for a 66. He leads by one shot over five players, including Rory McIlroy. Of the players who were in the first Saudi-backed event last week, Dustin Johnson had the best score at 68.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs long ago moved on from wide receiver Tyreek Hill, whom they shipped to the Miami Dolphins in the offseason for a package of draft picks that have helped them get younger and deeper across the board. But they were dragged back into discussing him at the conclusion of their mandatory minicamp after Hill debuted his new podcast, where he appeared to take subtle shots at coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Both took the high road Thursday, though Mahomes acknowledged he was surprised at some of the criticism that Hill leveled at the organization.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA’s Division I transformation committee will recommend changes to transfer rules and the infractions process before the end of June. The committee wants to establish designated time periods when college athletes can declare their intent to transfer and be eligible immediately at a new school. The transfer windows would set set on a sport-by-sport basis. The intent behind the change is to provide structure and clarity for athletes and coaches. Updates to the infractions process would be made in the hopes of making investigations more timely and holding rule-breakers accountable.
UNDATED (AP) — Kansas will visit Kentucky and Baylor is set to host Arkansas in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge next season. The leagues announced the 10 matchups set for next January 28, a Saturday. All 10 Big 12 members and all but four of the Southeastern Conference teams will participate. The other games include: Alabama at Oklahoma, Auburn at West Virginia, Florida at Kansas State, Texas Tech at LSU, Mississippi at Oklahoma State, TCU at Mississippi State, Iowa State at Missouri, and Texas at Tennessee. The SEC has held the edge in five of the last six years.
NEW YORK (AP) — Kansas City infielder Nicky Lopez went to salary arbitration with the Royals, asking for $2.9 million instead of the team’s $2.55 million offer. Melinda Gordon, Scott Buccheit and John Woods heard the arguments and are expected to issue a decision on Friday. Lopez had career bests of a .300 average and 22 stolen bases in 23 chances last season, when he had two homers and 43 RBIs. He made $597,500 and was eligible for arbitration for the first time.
UNDATED (AP) — Arizona's Bennedict Mathurin, Duke's A.J. Griffin, Wisconsin's Johnny Davis and Kentucky's Shaedon Sharpe are among the top wing players in this year's NBA draft. Davis was a first-team Associated Press All-American, while Mathurin was a second-team pick. Griffin proved to be a capable 3-point shooter in his lone season for the Blue Devils. Sharpe never played for the Wildcats after being a midyear enrollee. Other names to watch include international prospect Ousmane Dieng, Ohio State's Malaki Branham, Kansas' Ochai Agbaji and LSU's Tari Eason. There's also the duo of Jaden Hardy and MarJon Beauchamp from the G League Ignite developmental program for elite prospects who bypass college.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — If the College World Series is like the first two rounds of the NCAA baseball tournament, fans in the outfield seats at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, are going to take home lots of souvenir balls. The 424 home runs hit in regionals and super regionals are a tournament record, and at least 14 games remain to be played in the CWS. The eight-team event opens Friday with No. 5 national seed Texas A&M playing Oklahoma and No. 9 Texas meeting Notre Dame. Saturday openers match No. 2 Stanford against Arkansas and Mississippi against No. 14 Auburn.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bracket 1 in the College World Series could just as easily be called the Rivals Bracket. Texas is grouped with its two biggest adversaries in Oklahoma and Texas A&M and will play one or the other depending on the outcome of its game against Notre Dame on Friday. A subplot is that Texas and Oklahoma will join the Aggies in the Southeastern Conference in the not-too-distant future. Stanford had to win five elimination games in the tournament to reach Omaha for the second straight year. Brock Jones says said that experience could serve the Cardinal well.
UNDATED (AP) — Cheers and sighs met FIFA’s announcement of the host cities for the 2026 World Cup. The winners included sites like Los Angeles, Mexico City and Toronto. But the big announcement was a disappointment for cities that were on the bubble. The crowd at a watch party in Washington D.C., was sullen when the last of the cities was announced. It was just the third time that a nation’s capital has not been included as a host city. A similar scene played out in Denver. That was in contrast to the cheers in Kansas City.
THURSDAY SCORES
INTERLEAGUE
Final Cleveland 4 Colorado 2
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Oakland 4 Boston 3
Final Baltimore 10 Toronto 2
Final N.Y. Yankees 2 Tampa Bay 1
Final Texas 3 Detroit 1
Final L.A. Angels 4 Seattle 1
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final San Diego 6 Chicago Cubs 4
Final Philadelphia 10 Washington 1
Final N.Y. Mets 5 Milwaukee 4
NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PLAYOFFS
Final Golden State 103 Boston 90