Rumors

Woj: "Working at ESPN is like playing for the Yankees. Nobody roots for you...you're going to get criticism there. That's what you signed up for"

x.com

NBA superstar Luka Dončić of the Los Angeles Lakers was at the New York Yankees-Tampa Bay Rays game for his Jordan Brand tour on Monday. During the game, he spoke with Michael Kay and David Cone of YES Network and the topic of playing with LeBron James came up. Dončić, who looked up to LeBron growing up in Slovenia, said it was amazing playing with King James last season. “It was an amazing experience,” Dončić said. “I always looked up to him, the way he approaches the game, his professionalism. So when I came, he accepted me with open arms and it was just amazing to be his teammate.”

Dallas Hoops Journal

Luka Dončić discusses his body transformation photos in the broadcast booth for the Yankees/Rays game: “[The Dallas Mavericks] probably saw it. I don't have to worry about that.”

reddit

Marc Stein: Luka Dončić flanked by Yankees stars Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr. at Yankee Stadium tonight.

x.com

On Monday, new pictures surfaced of Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic in Men’s Health magazine, featuring the point forward looking much slimmer than he did last time we saw him on an NBA court. The photos were further proof of the conditioning work that Doncic has been putting in this offseason in hopes of ridding himself of his reputation as an under-conditioned player. Recently, NBA insider Marc Stein took to X, formerly Twitter, to report on an upcoming appearance that Doncic will make in collaboration with Jordan brand. “Jordan Brand says Luka Dončić is scheduled to attend the Yankees’ game tonight and meet up beforehand with fellow Jordan Brand athletes Aaron Judge and Jazz Chisholm Jr.,” reported Stein.

Clutch Points

Harper, a 6-foot-4 guard who is projected to be picked No. 2 overall in next Wednesday’s first round, will throw out the first pitch at Yankees Stadium on Sunday, when the Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles. Bailey, the 6-foot-7 forward whose potential draft position is all over the map, will throw out the first pitch at Citi Field on Tuesday, when the Mets host the Atlanta Braves.

Newark Star-Ledger

On Wednesday night, Pitino threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the New York Yankees game. He then made an appearance on the broadcast and was asked about the job. Pitino didn't leave the door open at all. “Absolutely not,” Pitino said when he was asked about the Knicks job.

Clutch Points

The Yankees were playing again Saturday on the other side of the country as the Knicks hosted Game 3 of the second round against the Celtics at the Garden, where they suffered a lopsided 115-93 loss. “It’s been tough to catch a game,” Judge said before Saturday’s 11-7 loss to the A’s at Sutter Health Park. “But I’ve been seeing the highlights, seeing what they’re doing. It’s impressive, especially going up against Boston. They just won it, the former champs. “And for [the Knicks] to have a two-game lead, it’s pretty impressive. They’ve been up. They’ve been down big. Come back with some great clutch plays at the end on the offensive side and defensive side. I wish we could catch a game.”

New York Post

Sphere’s shares on Friday were recently up 10% at $29 on the news. The company confirmed the news, which was exclusively reported by The Post on Thursday, in securities filings before the market open. MSG and YES — which airs the Yankees and Brooklyn Nets — now partner on the Gotham Sports App, with access to both networks costing $41.99 a month. Customers can also elect to pay $29.99 a month for MSG or $24.99 a month for YES. MSGN had faced a deadline at midnight Monday to avoid bankruptcy, and got an extension to Thursday as the network and bank feverishly tried to hammer out a truce.

New York Post

Grousbeck and partner Steve Pagliuca led a group that purchased the Celtics in 2002 for $360 million. Franchise valuations have since skyrocketed, with the Phoenix Suns being sold for $4 billion to Mat Ishbia in February 2023, the Milwaukee Bucks being sold to Jimmy and Dee Haslam for $3.5 billion several weeks later, and the Mavericks being sold to the Adelson and Dumont families for $3.5 billion in December 2023. The Celtics are one of the iconic franchises in professional sports, with an NBA record 18 NBA titles -- trailing only the New York Yankees (27) and Montreal Canadiens (24) among all North American professional sports leagues.

ESPN

"He was always a good guy to talk to," Albert said in our phone chat of Burke, who was previously president and CEO of the New York Yankees before moving into a similar role with MSG and the Knicks. "But he surprised me by saying: 'You know … we're trying to get Kareem.' " Burke surprised Albert again when the Knicks' radio voice asked him: "Can I use this on the air?" Invited to do so, Albert proceeded to break the story on WNBC-TV's 6 PM broadcast as the station's sports anchor, then discussed it further on the Knicks' radio pregame show that night as well as during a home victory over Portland.

marcstein.substack.com

Over his decades-long career, Trautwig covered the Knicks, Yankees, Rangers, New York Marathon and the Olympics. Trautwig worked for ABC and NBC, covering a total of 16 Olympics. He then went on to have a 30-plus year career as a studio analyst for MSG Networks where he was known for his unique approach to sports coverage and pregame shows for Knicks and Rangers games.

Newark Star-Ledger

Unfortunately for Riley, he wasn’t able to put three-peat to use for his own team. While the Lakers made it to the 1989 NBA Finals, they lost to the Detroit Pistons. But it didn’t take long for Riley to profit. The Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, won the NBA Finals three years in a row from 1991 to 1993. Riley, in turn, earned licensing fees and, if negotiated, other types of revenue such as royalties and portions of profits, from sports apparel and merchandise companies that used “three-peat” in ways covered by the trademarks. Riley’s licensing take, ESPN estimated 20 years ago, was about $300,000 from the Bulls’ run. Riley earned additional compensation when the Bulls scored their second three-peat from 1996 to 1998, when the New York Yankees won three straight World Series from 1998 to 2000, and when Riley’s old team, the Lakers, won the NBA title in 2000, 2001 and 2002. Riley has said he’s given most of the three-peat money to charities.

Sportico

Diablos Rojos is owned by Santiago’s father, billionaire and San Diego Padres part owner Alfredo Harp Helú. Diablos is a famous Mexican League baseball franchise that hosted the New York Yankees for a game during spring training last season and started a basketball franchise in the Mexican national league this year. Sources close to the Harp family said Santiago, who is being groomed by his father, has an interest in bringing an NBA or WNBA franchise to Mexico City.

New York Times