Sports

The Thunder are NBA champions, and they might be just getting started

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The promise came three years ago from Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti. It might have been overlooked for a couple of reasons. One, the Thunder were awful at the time. Two, he was speaking Latin. “Labor omnia vincit,” Presti said after the 2021-22 season, quoting a motto of Oklahoma. Depending on how Presti was translating it, it could have been “hard work conquers all” or “slow work conquers all.” Either way, it applies to the Thunder. They did hard work. They did slow work. They conquered all.

Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton suffers right leg injury in Game 7 loss. His father says it’s an Achilles

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, who was playing with a strained right calf, went down with a lower right leg injury in the first quarter of the Pacers’ Game 7 loss in the NBA Finals to the Oklahoma City Thunder and immediately began punching the court in frustration. Haliburton was taken to the Pacers’ locker room for evaluation while putting no weight on the leg. Virtually the entire Indiana playing, coaching and medical staff surrounded him on the court once he got hurt. He was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. Haliburton’s father, John, told ABC it was an Achilles tendon injury. The Thunder won 103-91.

Golden State Warriors help transform lives of incarcerated men through coaching program

VACAVILLE, Calif. (AP) — The Golden State Warriors are partnering with the UK-based Twinning Project to teach incarcerated men at Solano State Prison in Vacaville, California, how to coach. The program includes a focus on mental health and anger management, too. Coaching has provided a purpose and much-needed self-confidence for these men, many of whom are serving sentences of life without the possibility of parole.

‘Craziest’ reversal of fortune puts Mavs on path to Flagg after all the Doncic drama

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Mavericks CEO Rick Welts marvels at the “craziest” reversal of fortune for the club that landed the rights to draft Cooper Flagg just months after the seismic trade of Luka Doncic. Dallas had just a 1.8% chance to win the draft lottery when Welts was telling his staff it was about to embark on the most important offseason in franchise history. He was thinking about the lingering fallout of the widely reviled Doncic trade. Suddenly the Mavs have a chance to grow with another young player who has superstar potential in Flagg, the teenager from Duke.

Rebuilding Pac-12 reaches deal with CBS for its football and men’s basketball games

The Pac-12 struck a media-rights deal with CBS that sets up the network to broadcast a minimum of four football and men’s basketball games per season on its main network and provide a cable and streaming presence for the reconfigured league from 2026-31. Financial details of the new deal were not disclosed. Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould called it a “transformational partnership” that allows the Pac-12 to grow when it starts as remodeled league in 2026-27.

Kevin Durant is going from the Suns to the Rockets in a blockbuster trade, AP source says

The Houston Rockets are acquiring 15-time All-Star and four-time Olympic gold medalist Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in a blockbuster deal struck Sunday, according to a person with knowledge of the agreement. The Rockets are giving up Dillon Brooks, Jalen Green and six future picks, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal was still pending NBA approval. It ends weeks of speculation about where Durant would end up. Many teams were involved at various times, including Miami and Minnesota, but in the end Phoenix took the Rockets’ offer.

Olympics’ champion: New IOC president Kirsty Coventry inaugurated to start 8-year leadership

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The first female and first African president of the IOC, Kirsty Coventry, was inaugurated in the role on Monday. The ceremony was on the Olympic body’s 131st birthday with praise for Coventry from her predecessor Thomas Bach that it was “in the best of hands.” Coventry cited her family including her two young daughters as “my rocks, my inspiration” to lead the International Olympic Committee through the next eight years. The challenges include staging the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.

Jets owner Woody Johnson buys 43% stake in English soccer club Crystal Palace

LONDON (AP) — New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is finally set to get his hands on an English soccer team. Premier League side Crystal Palace says Johnson has signed “a legally binding contract” to buy the shares of fellow American John Textor. Reports have placed the price between $220 million and $260 million for the 43% stake in the London club. Johnson submitted a bid to buy Chelsea in 2022 but was unsuccessful. The sale of Textor’s shares boosts Palace’s hopes of playing in the Europa League next season. Textor is also a shareholder in French side Lyon, which is set to enter the same competition, and under UEFA multi-club ownership rules it looked as if Palace could miss out.

F1 owner Liberty Media finally set to seal deal to take control of MotoGP after European approval

Formula 1 owner Liberty Media says it is finally set to complete a deal to take control of motorcycle racing series MotoGP after receiving approval from the European Commission. Liberty Media says the “unconditional” approval was the last step in completing the deal to buy 84% of Spain-based MotoGP rights holder Dorna Sports. Liberty says the agreement could go through by July 3. Dorna chief executive Carmelo Ezpeleta remains in charge of MotoGP but Liberty says he will be joined on the Dorna board by Chase Carey and Sean Bratches, two veterans of Liberty’s takeover of F1 in 2017.

Shohei Ohtani pitches sharp first inning for Dodgers before driving in 5 runs at the plate

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Shohei Ohtani pitched one hitless inning Sunday in his second mound start for the Los Angeles Dodgers, striking out two and allowing just one baserunner on an error. The three-time MVP then drove in five runs at the plate, hitting a three-run triple down the right field line in the seventh before adding a two-run homer in the eighth. Ohtani threw 18 pitches against the Washington Nationals at Chavez Ravine, recording 12 strikes with one wild pitch. After leadoff hitter CJ Abrams grounded out, Mookie Betts dropped James Wood’s popup in the sun, but Ohtani struck out Luis García Jr. and Nathaniel Lowe to end it.