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Darkness on the Edge of Causeway

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – They were up three-games-to-one against a Philadelphia 76ers team that hadn’t beaten the Boston Celtics in a NBA Playoff series since Billy Cunningham coached a 1982 team, and they blew it. The hometown team– once invincible in Game 7s – has left the TD Garden dark. The Sixers moved on to meet the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals and were mowed down by a superior team. The Knicks will face Cleveland for the right to play in the NBA Finals.

The Celtics “Owe Us One.”

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But, it gets worse.

The TD Garden was witness to a suspect Boston Bruins team losing to the once-lowly Buffalo Sabres a night before the Celtics were sent to see St. Peter. The Sabres hadn’t won a Stanley Cup playoff series in 19 years, while the Sixers hadn’t beaten the Celtics in the playoffs since 1982, a mere 44 years. The Sabres lost to Montreal who are now playing Carolina for right to advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

It’s understandable how the Bs lost, but how could the Celtics collapse in such epic fashion?

Let us count the ways:

o Live by chucking 3s, die by chucking 3s. In their four losses to Philadelphia, the Boston Celtics shot 49-for-191, or 25.7%.

  • Game 5 (April 28): Shot 28.2% (11-of-39) from three in a 113-97 home loss.
  • Game 6 (April 30): Shot 29.3% (12-of-41) from three in a 106-93 loss in Philadelphia.
  • Game 7 (May 2): Shot 26.5% (13-of-49) from three in a 109-100 series-clinching loss at home.

o Nick Nurse, the head coach of the Sixers and a champ when he coached at every level, including an NBA Finals title with the Toronto Raptors, can flat-out coach. Yes, he was graced with a resurgence from one-time NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid, but Nurse guided the Sixers masterfully. NBA Coach of the Year, Joe Mazulla of the Celtics, was out-coached.

o Face facts: A starting five of: Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Ron Harper Jr., Luka Garza, and Baylor Scheierman could not cut it in a decisive NBA Playoff game.  That group will never be compared to Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. The team of Celtics so many NBA pundits expected for 2025-26 finally showed up. The absence of true “bigs” caught up with the team of green. Remember Al Horford? He was pretty good.

Two Boston pro teams were whooped on their home turf. They’re gone by May 2 and only Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band can bring life to the backstreets of the West End (May 24th), because on Saturday night, it seemed you could hear the whole damn city crying. Springsteen might say, “Blame it on the lies that killed us, blame it on the truth that ran us down.”

The truth was the fact the Celtics could not endure a full season without their best player, Jayson Tatum.

While Tatum orchestrated a miraculous (and quick) return from the devastating right Achilles’ injury he suffered in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, and performed quite well from his March 6 return to active duty right on through to an incredible Game 3 shooting performance against the Sixers in Philadelphia, a sore left knee and discomfort that forced him to leave Game 6, also ruled him out just hours before Game 7.

Nine years into his NBA career, the 28-year-old Tatum is feeling the effects of 729 NBA regular season and playoff games.

Boston’s wonderkid GM, Brad Stevens, cannot be blamed for inactivity.

Stevens was faced with a choice of trading one of his “Big Two” of Tatum or Jaylen Brown, and possibly dismantling the 2024 NBA championship team somewhere short of a total rebuild. Instead, being faced with an aging Celtics team and a double secret probation by far exceeding the NBA’s agreed upon maximum team salary zones – the Cs – via Stevens’ surgical strike on salaries – dipped under both the First and Second Aprons of the NBA’s salary cap structure by reducing the team payroll for the 2025-26 season to a mere $187,885,254.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors are all over $200 million and face limitations in their wheeling and dealing. Stevens and the Celtics do not.

The cost (saving) came when the Celtics jettisoned veteran bigs Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Both players contributed mightily in the 2024 NBA Finals with Porzingis’ astonishing Game 1 performance which won the most important game of the series at Boston.  If you remember, with Porzingis coming off the bench for just the second time in his career and playing in his first game (June 6) since he had sustained a calf injury in late April, Porzingis scored 20 points, including 18 in the first half, and added six rebounds and three blocks as the Celtics defeated the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 to send a statement to the Texans.

Horford provided even more. The veteran center was an influential presence in the locker room, an intangible for NBA teams destined for good things to come, for chemistry, for facing and conquering adversity, and for winning championships. Horford was the whole package, plus, he hit three-pointer after three-pointer, drawing opposing centers away from the basket and allowing Tatum and Brown to operate inside.

Horford was traded to the Golden State Warriors in September 2025, signing a multi-year deal, and continuing into his 19th NBA season.

Boston’s other cost-saving move was to send multi-talented guard Jrue Holiday and his $32.4 million contract to the NBA outskirts of Portland, Oregon (not Maine). Holiday was another veteran, positive influence and key contributor to the 2024 championship, especially on the defensive end of the basketball court.

All of those moves put together allowed the Celtics to avoid the NBA’s punitive luxury taxes. The more stable payroll paved the way for new ownership as the franchise was sold by the longtime ownership group headed by Wyc Grousbeck for a then-record $6.1 billion. The new group, led by Bill Chisholm, paid an amazing amount of cash considering Grousbeck bought the team for $360 million in 2002.

A look over to the Fens, just past the Longwood Medical Center, and the prognosis isn’t much better. The Red Sox are floundering in the AL East basement. The offense is anemic and the middle relievers count runs against, ERA and Whip as though they were all MIT graduates. The brown paper bags are making a fashion statement and Jason Veritek’s wife is pouring on the sarcastic quips aimed at Sox GM, head of baseball Craig Breslow. Veritek “is being re-assigned” within the organization after Breslow leveled the coaching staff, including manager Alex Cora. There’s no AC and no DC in the Sox bats. No static at all.

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But, there’s one thing worse than a dark June at the TD Boston Garden, and that was a dark May. Only Bruce Springsteen’s rock show on May 24th will bring some “glory days” back to Boston.

The memories of 2018 and a club record of 108 wins is long gone. as those were, indeed, the glory days.

And, one thing’s sure of the glory days.

They’ll pass you by.

 

 

Can Suarez Push Sox Winning Ways?

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KANSAS CITY – (Wire Service Report) – Ranger Suarez has been dominant on the mound of late, but he needs some run support from his Boston Red Sox teammates. Having not allowed a run in three straight starts, Suarez will aim to help the Red Sox to a second consecutive victory and a road-series win over the struggling Kansas City Royals on Tuesday night.

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Suarez (2-2, 2.44 ERA) has allowed eight hits and three walks and struck out 21 over 17 1/3 scoreless innings of his past three starts. The left-hander last yielded a run in the third inning of Boston’s 4-1 home loss to the New York Yankees on April 22 — a string of 19 consecutive scoreless frames overall.

“(It’s a good feeling) when you’re able to command all your pitches and throw (them) for strikes, and be able throw it how you want it,” said Suarez, who has a win and two no-decisions over his past three games.

“I think I felt very good (in) the last three starts.”

On Thursday against his former team, the Philadelphia Phillies, Suarez allowed four hits and a walk and struck out eight in 5 1/3 innings. However, the Red Sox fell 3-1 and have failed to score a run with Suarez on the mound in his past two starts.

In five of Suarez’s eight 2026 starts, his Boston teammates did not give him a run of support.

The Red Sox managed just three runs in the series opener on Monday, but it was enough for a 3-1 victory over the Royals. Willson Contreras hit a two-run homer for Boston, which has failed to score more than three times in any contest during its current 4-5 stretch.

“Whenever you can get the win, it’s great,” Boston catcher Connor Wong told Boston’s flagship radio.

Contreras is 4-for-11 with two home runs and four RBIs in the past three games. He’s batting .296 with five homers and 21 RBIs in 21 games vs. Kansas City.

The Royals got a pair of doubles from Jac Caglianone, the second of which drove home the club’s lone run of the night in the seventh inning Monday. Caglianone is 5-for-10 in the last three games for Kansas City, which has averaged 3.3 runs during its current 3-9 rut.

“Every night you play, it’s an opportunity to win a game. There’s always that sense of urgency,” Kansas City general manager J.J. Picollo said.

After the Royals announced that scheduled Tuesday starter Kris Bubic was placed on the injured list with elbow soreness, they’ll look at a bullpen game for this contest. Bailey Falter (0-0, 10.13 ERA), a longtime starter turned reliever, is expected to pitch first.

“We’ll certainly need somebody to step up (Tuesday),” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “You need depth, you need quality depth, and you need guys that are versatile. We think we have that.”

Falter, a left-hander, has made three career appearances (two starts) against Boston, going 1-2 with an 11.17 ERA.

Suarez has one career start against the Royals — on Aug. 24, 2024, in Kansas City. He allowed one run, four hits and a walk and struck out six over five innings in an 11-2 win for Philadelphia.

For Kansas City, Kyle Isbel is batting .304 during a six-game hitting streak.

–Field Level Media

 

Spurs Defeat OKC in 2-OT

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OKLAHOMA CITY – (Wire Service Report) – Before Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was presented with the NBA Most Valuable Player award.

Then San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama went out and put on an MVP-level performance.

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Wembanyama had 41 points, 24 rebounds and three blocks to help lift the Spurs to a 122-115 double-overtime road win to open the series.

Asked whether watching Gilgeous-Alexander win the award served as motivation, Wembanyama said, “Yeah, for sure.”

The Frenchman, at 22 years, 134 days old became the youngest player in NBA history with 40-plus points and 20-plus rebounds in a postseason  game, beating the record set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The then-Milwaukee Bucks star was 22 years, 352 days old when he had a 46-25 game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 1970 playoffs.

Wembanyama became the second Spurs player with a 40-point, 20-rebound playoff game, joining David Robinson, who did it in the first round in 1996. He joined Wilt Chamberlain (in 1960) as the only players in league history with 40-plus points and 20-plus rebounds in a conference finals debut.

Wembanyama came through repeatedly in clutch situations.

“He has a rare desire to step into every moment that’s in front of him,” Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said. “And I think he has showed in his three years in a lot of different situations with a lot of different circumstances that he’s going to attack those moments. … He has some rare God-given ability.”

With just more than a minute remaining in double overtime, Wembanyama delivered a dunk over Chet Holmgren for a three-point play moments after the Thunder closed the deficit to one with a Jalen Williams 3-pointer.

Then with 22 seconds remaining, he finished a back-to-the-basket alley-oop dunk from Stephon Castle to put San Antonio up by six and start to put the game away.

With 27 seconds left in the first overtime, Wembanyama pulled up for a 28-foot 3-pointer in transition to tie the game after a 7-0 Oklahoma City run put the Thunder ahead by three.

“Confidence through the roof,” San Antonio rookie Dylan Harper said of the importance of Wembanyama’s long trey. “I was kind of stunned a little bit. But once the ball went up, I’m like, ‘Oh, it’s going in.’ It’s kind of just who he is.”

In the closing seconds of regulation, Wembanyama nailed a turnaround shot near the basket over Williams to put San Antonio up 101-99 before Gilgeous-Alexander tied it with a driving layup to force overtime.

Wembanyama finished 14 of 25 from the field and 12 of 13 from the free-throw line.

While Wembanyama was the headliner for the Spurs, Harper had a monster game as well, finishing with 24 points, 11 rebounds, seven steals and six assists.

Magic Johnson is the only other rookie to log 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, five-plus assists and five-plus steals in a conference finals game.

Harper’s 24 points were the most by a rookie in his first conference finals game since Andrew Toney had 26 in 1981.

Harper was starting in place of De’Aaron Fox, who was out due to right ankle soreness.

“I thought he was phenomenal,” Mitch Johnson said. “I thought he was even better defensively. … It’s just been very rewarding for someone who’s tried to support him through this year and help him in terms of coaching him at times and giving him guidance.”

Gilgeous-Alexander struggled for long stretches of the game, finishing with 24 points, 12 assists and five steals but going just 7 of 23 from the field.

“We knew it was going to be a dog fight,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We’ve just got to be better, me in particular.”

The Thunder stayed in the game thanks in large part to their defense, which helped generate 28 points off 23 San Antonio turnovers, and big plays from Alex Caruso.

Caruso scored Oklahoma City’s first seven points, despite coming off the bench. He finished with a career-playoff-high 31 points, hitting eight 3-pointers. He also had two steals and two blocks.

“It’s playoffs,” Caruso said. “Game 1 at home, you’re trying to get juiced up.”

Williams, playing for the first time since April 22, had 26 points. He returned from a hamstring injury.

Game 2 is Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | May 17

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Greetings from Boston, Massachusetts where the Red Sox are on the road and struggling mightily, the Bruins were eliminated from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the once-lowly Buffalo Sabres and the Celtics are watching Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals from their beach chairs in Cancun.

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That brings us to this weekend’s PGA Championship in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, just a few miles north of Philadelphia. (Little known fact about Newtown Square, PA – not to be confused with Newton Centre, Massachusetts – is that it’s the place your favorite columnist made his Keswick Americans debut on the Dek, circa 1977). And, yes, I put a couple in centering for Holy Trinity mates Greg Pannell and Matt Feeney, but we lost to the Glenolden Gents of Philly in the semis.

I digress, although I’d love to be in Philadelphia.

The PGA Championship is run by the PGA of America, not to be confused with the PGA TOUR. The PGA of America is the governing body for all the club professionals working the thousands of golf courses in the USA, teaching and caring for the game. The PGA of America is also responsible for fielding the USA Ryder Cup teams and organizing the tournament when it’s staged in America. The President’s Cup comes in there, too, but we’ll leave that for another Presidency.

This year’s PGA Championship, the 108th, is being played at Aronimink Golf Club, a former PGA Tour venue for the BMW Championship.

The Thursday and Friday opening rounds were beyond challenging as a 1/2 inch of rain Wednesday night made for very soft, wet conditions in the deep rough. Morning round golfers paid the price, as did their counterparts on Friday when cold, blustery (14-20 mph winds) weather took its toll on the scorecards of even the very best – like Scottie Scheffler who bogeyed three of his first four holes (started on the Back 9) before grinding out a (+1) score of (71) after shooting (67) the previous afternoon.

As tough as the course and the rough played, it was the difficult pin placements which caused the most grief amongst the field. “You see it, you’re like, oh, wow, they’re pushing these things as far as they can,” Scheffler said of the pin locations. “Most of the pins today were, I mean, kind of absurd,” Scheffler added. “They were just so far into the areas where we thought the pins were going to be. This is the hardest set of pin locations that I’ve seen since I’ve been on Tour,” he said, “and that includes U.S. Opens, that includes Oakmont.”

Each of golf’s Majors had their signature attributes, but the PGA Championship was sort of lost in the shuffle without any single identity. Yes, the Wanamaker Trophy has its place amongst the great trophies in all of sports, but the fact the PGA moved around so much, and then was shifted from August to May in the PGA Tour schedule made it less important.

The Masters has the glory of Augusta National and its positioning in April is a sure sign of Spring. The players adore the course and the acceptance of the corny Green Jacket.

The U.S. Open (organized by the United States Golf Association or USGA) has been the most difficult and the courses utilized have become known as the hardest, or even “unfair” by some players.

The Open (a.k.a. British Open) is organized by the The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and is known as the R & A. The Open has the all the great golf courses, it has the history and the prestige associated with winning The Open is second-to-none. It’s golf’s version of Wimbledon. Whether it’s the Old Course at St. Andrew’s (host 30 times) to Prestwick (24 times) or the prestige of Muirfield (16 times), or Royal St. George’s Golf Club (15), or Royal Liverpool (12 times), The Open is the most distinguished of all tournament and it has the Claret Jug Trophy, The Open has cemented its place – not only in golf – but in all of sport.

That leaves The PGA Championship as “the fourth Major,” which is quite alright. The PGA of America’s hierarchy is proud of their tournament and its 107-year past history. This weekend, the Aronimink Golf Club is shining brightly, although you’d never know it from the Thursday and Friday weather. The 2026 edition of the PGA is shaping up to be two different tournaments, the first to get through the qualifier in the winds, then the weekend of great weather, some breeze, but overall – paradise on the golf course.

This week, 98 of the top 100 players in the World Golf Rankings teed-it-up. Only Lucas Herbert (#89) and Shaun Norris (#95) are missing.

Thirty-six hole leader Maverick McNealy faltered on Moving Day and shot (+1) but his co-leader, Alex Smalley, kept up his pace (-2) and it’s Smalley who leads the PGA by two strokes over five golfers tied for second. Saturday saw the big names jump up the leaderboard, a la Rory McIlroy who shot a (-4) to fight his way into contention after an opening round (74).

Five players shot (65) and six joined McIlroy in shooting a (66).

The take-away message channels the great line from the great Houston Rockets and Team USA coach Rudy Tomjanovich and that is to “never underestimate a major or a major champion.”

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: WWYIs believes it’s important to keep an eye on minor league baseball. Last week, there was some “investment advice” for the Oakland Ballers of the Pioneeer League. This weekend? It’s an update on the American Association. The sound of “Play Ball!” will be heard across the Midwest this week, as the American Association of Professional Baseball (@AA_Baseball) opened the 2026 regular season. There’s quite a newsworthy item of note to start the season; The Kane County Cougars will adopt an “alternate identity, the “Swedish Meatballs,” celebrating the strong Swedish population in Geneva, Illinois for games on June 13, July 31 and August 20.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame announced announced the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic will return to the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield on Sunday, December 6. The games will feature UMass vs. Wake Forest and Brown vs. Central Connecticut State (CCSU). The event is made possible in partnership with Explore Western Mass, Springfield Business Improvement District, UMass, and the MassMutual Center.

This year’s Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremonies will be held August 14 (Mohegan Sun festivities) and August 15 (Springfield, Mass.).

Teams of 1×1 hoopsters representing the great basketball cities of Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Miami, New York, and Washington, D.C. advanced at “OBL: Battle of the Cities,” the first of three Championship events for Tracy McGrady’s Ones Basketball League.

The six teams advance to the next phase of the championship, “Standing 6,” set for June 12. From there, four will move on to “For the Throne,” the July 1 finals. All the games are being staged at Oak Ridge High School in Orlando.

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YOU CAN’T MAKE IT UP: Here’s a new one. On Saturday, the National Hockey League issued a very stiff penalty in regard to the leaague’s media relations rules. In a statement, the NHL notes, “As a result of flagrant violations of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs media regulations following Game 6 of their second round series against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday, May 14, the Vegas Golden Knights will forfeit a second-round pick in the 2026 (Upper Deck) NHL Draft. In addition, Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella has been fined $100,000.”

The statement continued, “The imposition of these penalties comes after previous warnings were issued to the club regarding their compliance with the media regulations and other associated policies. Vegas has been offered the opportunity to appeal these penalties to the Commissioner’s Office. That appeal would be held in person next week in New York.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: The Man from U.N.C.L.E. – Napoleon Solo took honors in the Preakness on Saturday. The horse came into the race known for his impressive win in the 2025 Grade 1 Champagne Stakes. but with a questionable results in the Wood Memorial and in the Fountain of Youth Stakes when he finished 11 lengths and change off the lead. Mr Solo is trained by Chad Summers and was ridden to victory by Paco Lopez. The Preakness was run at Laurel in Maryland as Pimlico is undergoing renovations much like Belmont Park which shifts the third leg of the Triple Crown to Saratoga. Of course, thre was no intrigue for a Triple Crown winner this year as Derby winner, Golden Tempo, trained by Cherie DeVaux and ridden by José Ortiz, was not entered at Laurel Park. The 158th Belmont Stakes takes place on Saturday, June 6, 2026.

Second-seeded Notre Dame outscored Johns Hopkins 9-3 in the second half to break from a 6-6 tie and the Fighting Irish advanced to NCAA Lacrosse Championship Weekend for the third time in four years, topping the Blue Jays, 15-9, in the NCAA Quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Hofstra. Syracuse advanced as well.

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THIS JEST IN: According to the Associated Press, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol believes in a “no shirt, no problem” mantra. His club was boosted to a win over the Royals Friday night and again on Saturday by a group of college players in the right-field seats who took off and waved their shirts as they sang, chanted and drew others into the fray. Marmol loved it so much that he bought tickets for shirtless revelers this weekend.

“Last night’s atmosphere was electric. Let’s run it back this weekend,” Marmol said in a social media post. “I’ll buy tickets for fans who want to sit in the right field Loge and bring the energy.”

It all began when the Stephen F. Austin club baseball team, known as the Lumberjacks, was in nearby Alton, Illinois, for the National Club Baseball Division II World Series. The Cardinals offered tickets to the team, and 17 players attended. The college players were back Saturday, when they shouted Marmol’s name numerous times along with “M-V-P!” when Jordan Walker came to bat. Other fans in the stadium joined in on the fun.

“I heard it pretty clearly,” Marmol said. “Welcome back to Busch. It was cool to see them back. The environment was awesome. We feed off that.”

Will he keep buying tickets?

“I’ll go broke,” Marmol quipped.

NFL Schedule: Here’s a Top Ten

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LOS ANGELES – (Wire Service Report) – Not only do the Los Angeles Rams have a reasonable shot at becoming the first team to win the Super Bowl on its homefield twice, the NFC West runner-up is by far the easiest team to find on the NFL’s 2026 broadcast schedule.

Seven times the Rams are positioned for a primetime slot — tying a league record — barring a slip from contender status that would prompt networks to invoke the “flex” option and reassign Sean McVay’s team to an afternoon kickoff.

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You’ve got to appreciate McVay’s offensive machine as much as the next NFL fan, but let’s survey the broader landscape for the 10 games we are circling on the 2026 schedule.

1. Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears, Friday, Dec. 25
Are the Packers still gutted by two heartbreaking losses to the Bears? They’ll never admit it. The drama on the field and sidelines restored one of the  game’s best rivalries. Chicago’s schedule strength adds a degree of difficulty the Bears didn’t face rising from the bottom of the NFC North to a division title in Ben Johnson’s first season. The Packers had owned this series in recent years and want to pull the pendulum northward.

2. Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys, Thursday, Nov. 26
Thanksgiving Day amplifies whatever the state of the Dallas Cowboys happens to be, and this one should be extra spicy. It hasn’t happened since 2014 and will be the third Turkey Day meeting between the teams. Cowboys fans are crossing their fingers the results will be better than the last time (33-10 loss in ‘14) and 1989, when the Eagles used two Randall Cunningham-to-Cris Carter TDs and Philly’s defense ransacked Troy Aikman at Texas Stadium, 27-0. Philadelphia hosts the first meeting of the 2026 season with Dallas on “Monday Night Football” in October.

3. Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots, Sunday, Dec. 6
Josh Allen ran the AFC East for nearly a decade and Drake Maye was more than the new kid on the block in 2025. He played like an MVP candidate — even winning in Buffalo — and the Patriots went 5-1 in the division. The only loss was a 35-31 barnburner at Gillette Stadium won by the Bills on Dec. 14. It was New England’s only loss between Sept. 28 and the Super Bowl.

4. Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks, Friday, Dec. 25
Fine, we can talk Rams, too Merry Christmas to those who celebrate, the NFL wrapped up a matchup between teams who combined for 26 regular-season wins and took the division duel down to the wire last season. Lumen Field won’t be a present for the Rams, but Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay have usually done just fine in enemy territory. The game falls one week after the one-year anniversary of Seattle’s memorable fourth-quarter rally from 16 down, forced overtime and walked it off with a 38-37 victory over the Rams.

5. Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals, Thursday, Dec. 31
Last season wasn’t a typical set of Bengals-Ravens games. The AFC North rivals split with an average margin of victory of 21 points. Rewind to 2025 and unleashed Lamar Jackson vs. bomb-happy Joe Burrow produced scores of 35-34 and 41-38 (overtime). If we get a New Year’s Eve snow game with division and playoff consequences, even better.

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6. New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks, Wednesday, Sept. 9
A Wednesday night opener ahead of the Thursday Rams-49ers matchup in Australia, we’ll find out if the Patriots are better prepared for a Super Bowl rematch with months to prepare. New England oscillated from disjointed to complete disarray in the February loss to Seattle and didn’t have all oars in the water during an offseason when Mike Vrabel’s off-field, ahem, affairs were a constant talking point.

7. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Chicago Bears, Sunday, Nov. 8
Baker Mayfield vs. Caleb Williams piques our interest in a midseason “Sunday Night Football” matchup with the undercard of Buccaneers head coach and defensive maestro Todd Bowles against Bears coach and offensive brain Ben Johnson. The Bucs fell short of the postseason in 2025 for the first time since 2019, while the Bears are trending upward after the franchise won a playoff game (well, two of them, actually) in January to snap a 15-year drought dating to 2011.

8. Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks, Monday, Dec. 7
Crossover games with the NFC West add a degree of difficulty to the Dallas schedule this season. While we wait to offer judgment on the revamped defense, the Cowboys are likely to bring all the smoke to test Seattle’s versatile, attacking defense in a game sandwiched between matchups with the Eagles and Rams for Dallas.

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9. Jacksonville Jaguars at Denver Broncos, Sunday, Sept. 20
Some called the Denver AFC West run last season but far fewer anticipated Jacksonville winning 13  games and dealing the Broncos one of the team’s three regular-season losses. First-year head coach Liam Coen reflects many of Broncos head coach Sean Payton’s qualities as a play-caller and designer, adding built-in entertainment value.

10. San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Dec. 27
What will the 49ers have left in the tank? San Francisco is setting a record for miles traveled in a season thanks to international treks to Mexico and Australia and the closing stretch for the 49ers is some kind of minefield from NFL schedulers. Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy are familiar foes but 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has not beaten Andy Reid as a head coach (0-3). Two of those losses were agonizing Super Bowl defeats (LIV, 2020 and LVIII, 2024). After falling short of historical track and expectations in 2025, is the window closed on one or both of these longtime contenders?

–Field Level Media

Red Sox Hope to Regroup

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KANSAS CITY – (Wire Service Report) – While the Boston Red Sox continue to struggle, they have played well with Sonny Gray on the mound this season. Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals haven’t enjoyed much success of late when Seth Lugo has pitched.

With those veterans squaring off, these last-place teams will open a three-game set at Kansas City tonight.

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Sitting at the bottom of American League East, Boston is 3-6 while dropping three consecutive series. The Red Sox have just 14 runs over the last eight games and — although they had nine hits on Sunday — they stranded nine runners during an 8-1 loss to Atlanta.

“It’s tough,” Boston interim manager Chad Tracy said. “Flipside, there’s no consolation prizes here. We’ve got to win games. We are actually having better at-bats, but we’ve got to find a way to get runs.”

The Red Sox have 19 victories this season, with five coming among the seven starts made by Gray (4-1, 3.18 ERA). They’ve won the last three games started by the right-hander, who has yielded one run, six hits and three walks over 11 innings to win his two starts since coming off the injury list from a strained hamstring. Games

“You feel very confident with the guys that we have behind us. They’re elite,” Gray said of his teammates.

That run came via a solo homer Wednesday against Philadelphia, when Gray allowed one other hit, a walk and struck out six over six innings of Boston’s 3-1 home victory.

Though Gray has not faced the Royals since 2023, he’s 9-2 with a 1.76 ERA in 13 career starts against them.

Kansas City, which shares the basement in the AL Central with Detroit, snapped its six-game losing streak Sunday with a 2-0 win at St. Louis. Salvador Perez hit a solo homer and drove in both runs, while Stephen Kolek pitched 6 1/3 strong innings.

“Just try to forget how we played the last (few) days,” Perez told Royals.TV. “This group, we turn the page quick.”

Though Perez came up big Sunday, he’s 6-for-34 all time against Gray.

Seth Lugo (1-3, 3.76 ERA), Monday’s scheduled starter for Kansas City, allowed just five runs — four earned — and 19 hits over 31 1/3 innings of his first five starts this season. In four outings since, however, the right-hander has yielded 18 runs and a whopping 37 hits over 21 1/3 frames.

Five of those runs and eight hits were surrendered through five innings Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox, as Lugo dropped his second straight game. He did record his 1,000th career strikeout in that contest.

“(The milestone) means a lot, but that’s not my goal right now,” said Lugo, 36. “The goal is winning. That’s where my priorities are.”

A winning decision is not something Lugo has experienced against the Red Sox, going 0-3 with a 6.61 ERA in three starts — all with Kansas City.

Boston’s Jarren Duran and Willson Contreras each have three hits in the last two games. Those two, along with teammate Wilyer Abreu, who is batting .300 this season, are a combined 9-for-24 against Lugo.

–Field Level Media

Red Sox and Braves Battle it Out

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ATLANTA – (Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox and host Atlanta Braves have authored two dramatic finishes to begin their weekend interleague series.

What will Sunday’s rubber game have in store?

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Boston hands the ball to right-hander Brayan Bello (2-4, 6.46 ERA) as it looks to build off a 3-2 Saturday win, which came on the strength of a two-out, two-run home run by Willson Contreras in the eighth inning. Aroldis Chapman stranded the bases loaded in the ninth for a save, making the big swing and Payton Tolle’s eight-inning start stand tall.

“It feels great to be able to help the team,” Contreras said. “We’re trying to play better baseball, we’re trying to have better at-bats. … I come here every single day to play baseball and play for the guys. Tonight, we played for each other.”

Tolle and Bello have helped the Red Sox pitch the ball incredibly well in May, as their 2.34 team ERA for the month is tops in the American League.

Sunday is expected to be a true start for Bello, who has followed an opener in each of his last two outings. After going 1-4 with a 9.12 ERA through six starts to begin the season, Bello is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his last two outings (13 1/3 innings).

Bello followed Jovani Moran into the game and ultimately tossed 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball in his Tuesday appearance against the Philadelphia Phillies.

“Sometimes you gotta flip something,” Boston catcher Carlos Narvaez said. “Flip that mentality, and coming out of the bullpen he probably thinks, ‘OK, I gotta be convicted right now. It’s not like, OK, I got five innings, 90 pitches.’ Something in his mind has changed.”

In three career starts against Atlanta, Bello is 1-1 with a 6.61 ERA.

The Red Sox started Saturday with shortstop Trevor Story being placed on the 10-day injured list with a sports hernia, but he is contemplating surgery that would sideline him for at least six weeks. Nick Sogard was recalled from Triple-A Worcester to take Story’s roster spot.

“He’s meant a lot to me in my transition here, the way he’s accepted me and pushed other guys to do so. So he’s a big piece of it,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said of Story.

The Braves were unable to duplicate their series-opening magic, as Mike Yastrzemski — a Massachusetts native and grandson of Red Sox legend Carl — hit a 10th-inning double to make the difference in a 3-2 Friday win.

On Saturday, they were held to just four hits by the duo of Tolle and Chapman. Drake Baldwin and Jose Azocar both had two, with the former leading off the bottom of the first with a home run. It was the team’s National League-leading 64th of the season.

“Bryce (Elder) was throwing the ball well, pitch count was OK. It’s unfortunate (to lose),” Atlanta skipper Walt Weiss said. “The game was going to be Bryce and Martin (Perez).”

Baldwin, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, has swung a hot bat of late. He has socked first-inning homers in the first two games of the series.

“There’s no egos here,” Yastrzemski said earlier this week. “Nobody feels like they own any piece of this team. We’re all pulling on the same rope together, the same direction. Whatever opportunities come for you that day, that’s good enough.”

Grant Holmes (2-1, 4.35) looks to earn his first win since April 24 against Philadelphia and lift Atlanta in the series. Last Tuesday, Holmes allowed two runs on one hit and four walks while striking out five in a four-inning start against the Chicago Cubs.

The Braves have won four consecutive Holmes starts.

Holmes is 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA in two career starts against the Red Sox, both coming in May of last season.

–Field Level Media

Yaz! – “Say It Ain’t So”

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ATLANTA – (Wire Service Report) – Atlanta’s Mike Yastrzemski’s leadoff double in the bottom of the 10th inning propelled the Atlanta Braves to a 3-2 win over the visiting Boston Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night. The Massachusetts native and grandson of Red Sox legend and Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski lined a 1-2 pitch into left field and past Jarren Duran’s attempted cutoff throw, allowing automatic runner Ha-Seong Kim to score the deciding run from second base.

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Drake Baldwin went 2-for-4 with a home run that gave the Braves a first-inning lead. Michael Harris II also went deep before the Red Sox clawed back into a tie game with single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings.

The last of five Atlanta relievers to appear, Didier Fuentes (3-0) stranded two runners on base to post a scoreless 10th. Atlanta has won five of its last six  games.

Marcelo Mayer hit a game-tying homer while Mickey Gasper (2-for-5, RBI) and Ceddanne Rafaela (2-for-3, double) both had multiple hits to lead Boston, which has lost four of its last five.

Tyler Samaniego (0-2) gave up the game-winning hit.

Baldwin helped the Braves to a 1-0 start in the bottom of the first, knocking a one-out solo homer out to center field. Rafaela had the ball pop out of his glove as he attempted to make a leaping catch at the wall.

The Red Sox were held without a hit until Gasper knocked a leadoff single into right to begin the fourth, but Atlanta starter Spencer Strider wound up facing the minimum after Sandy Leon caught Gasper trying to steal second.

The bottom half of that frame saw Harris double Atlanta’s lead, crushing a leadoff line-drive shot into the bullpen in center. Boston starter Connelly Early retired the next two batters and worked around Jose Azocar’s two-out single to escape the inning without any further damage.

Strider also benefited from Rafaela being caught stealing following a leadoff double in the fifth and left with a lead after 5 1/3 despite the visitors coming within 2-1. After Carlos Narvaez knocked a leadoff double down the left field line, Gasper drove him home with a two-out RBI single off reliever Dylan Lee.

After Tyler Kinley induced back-to-back flyouts to start Boston’s seventh, Mayer’s towering blast out to right-center knotted the score.

The Red Sox had two on with two outs in the ninth with a chance to win the game, but Raisel Iglesias struck out Andruw Monasterio to end the inning. Aroldis Chapman then set down the Braves 1-2-3 to force extras.

–Field Level Media

PGA Championship: Weekend Warriors

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2026 PGA Championship | Third Round

NEWTOWN SQUARE – The first two rounds of the 108th PGA Championship challenged the field with overnight rain and wet conditions for the morning cycle of Thursday’s tournament opener and cold, blustery conditions for the Friday morning crew. In both cases, PGA of America pin placements made the course even tougher.

That second round of the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club concluded with Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy holding the co-lead at 4 under par after 36 holes.

The punitive rough, brutal morning winds, and what World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler described as “kind of absurd” pin locations kept the leaderboard exceptionally tight. Despite a tough three-bogey start, Smalley rebounded with a 69, while McNealy battled to shoot (67). A massive pack of heavy hitters remains firmly in the hunt, including Hideki Matsuyama and Chris Gotterup just one shot back at 3 under. Meanwhile, Scheffler ground out a 71 to join two-time PGA champion Justin Thomas and Cameron Young at 2 under, and Rory McIlroy fired a clean 67 to safely make the weekend at 1 over par.

A historic 58 players sit within six shots of the lead, creating the most crowded 36-hole leaderboard in tournament history. The difficult scoring conditions ultimately caused the cut line to settle at 4 over par, sending 73 players packing. There were moments of high drama late in the afternoon on the cut line loop. Former champion Justin Rose spectacularly kept his weekend hopes alive by chipping in for an eagle on his final hole to finish at 3 over, while Michael Kim holed a lengthy eagle putt on his final shot to safely clear the line at the exact same mark.

The stringent (+4) cut line claimed an incredibly distinguished group of elite players, headlined by Bryson DeChambeau, who missed his second consecutive major cut after finishing at 7 over despite a late flurry of three straight birdies. Joining him on the wrong side of the line was World No. 6 Tommy Fleetwood (+5), whose tournament unraveled after making only two birdies all week. Other top-tier stars who failed to advance included former major champions Viktor Hovland (+6), Wyndham Clark (+5), Keegan Bradley (+6), and Adam Scott (+8). Highly ranked contenders like Russell Henley (+5), Tyrrell Hatton (+6), and Max Homa (+12) also fell victim to Aronimink’s relentless defense, making for a star-studded list of early exits.

2026 PGA Championship | Leaderboard After 36 Holes

T1 Alex Smalley -4 (69)

T1 Maverick McNealy (-4) (67)

T3 Hideki Matsuyama (-3) (67)

T3 Aldrich Potgieter (-3) (72)

T3 Chris Gotterup (-3) (65)

T3 Stephan Jaeger (-3) (70)

T3 Min Woo Lee (-3) (69)

T3 Max Greyserman (-3) (69)

Full Leaderboard (link)

Log Jam at The PGA Championship

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2026 PGA Championship | Second Round

NEWTOWN SQUARE – Welcome to the second round of the 2026 PGA Championship, held a few miles north of the City of Brotherly Love – Philadelphia. There are 33 players within two strokes of the lead, setting up for a Friday and weekend to remember. A former host of the BMW Championship, the Aronimink Golf Club delivered in its return to professional golf, providing a tough test of thick rough, morning dew, and gusty conditions.

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World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler headlines a log-jam of leaders at 3-under. Of the “Big 4” favorites entering the tournament – Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick – only Scheffler is under par.

When the PGA Championship post-round press conference moderator asked McIlroy to describe his opening round Thursday, and the six-time major winner needed just one word, not fit for print. “S—,” McIlroy said after his rough finish with bogeys on his final four holes for a 4-over-par 74.

LIV golfer Bryson DeChambeau had an even “S—ttier” day. DeChambeau did not speak to reporters after his round, and he’s in danger of missing his third cut at the past four majors. DeChambeau missed seven greens in regulation and needed 33 putts to get through his round, which did not see a birdie until his final hole, the ninth. He shot a (+6) – (76) and is T-135 with a 1:45pm tee time today.

The cut is projected at (+2).

2026 PGA Championship | Leaderboard After 18 Holes

T1 – Martin Kaymer -3 67

T1 – Scottie Scheffler -3 67

T1 – Alex Smalley -3 67

T1 – Aldrich Potgieter -3 67

T1 – Stephan Jaeger. -3 67

T1 – Min Woo Lee -3 67

T1 – Ryo Hisatsune -3 67