The Pulse Newsletter <\/span><\/strong>📣 | This is The Athletic\u2019<\/em>s daily sports newsletter. <\/span>Sign up here<\/span><\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/span><\/p>\n Good morning! Consider basket weaving today. Inside:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There was a brief period where Yasiel Puig was probably MLB\u2019s most talented player. His story was inspirational, that of a talented Cuban player defecting to the United States. He put together an unforgettable debut season, where pundits wondered if he should be an All-Star in his rookie season despite playing for just a month prior.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nearly 13 years later, Puig is playing for a semi-pro team in Toronto and has possible jail time ahead of him. How did he get here?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s the subject of a fantastic <\/span>story<\/span><\/a> by Dan Robson today. Two takeaways from me:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n So now he\u2019s hitting home runs at a sparsely packed game in Toronto, full of fans who don\u2019t know what to make of the now-35-year-old. He has just two weeks until he reports for sentencing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Read the full story here<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n \n Ethan Miller \/ Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n I think, at this point, it\u2019s easy to say the NHL playoffs have been slightly more entertaining than the NBA\u2019s postseason. <\/span>So far<\/span><\/i>, before you yell at me. Just look at last night\u2019s games:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the NBA, there is a feeling of inevitability if Victor Wembanyama plays.<\/b> San Antonio routed visiting Minnesota <\/span>126-97<\/span><\/a> to take a 3-2 lead in that series. Wembanyama scored 27 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. It\u2019s hard to count out this Minnesota team, but don\u2019t be shocked if this one is wrapped Friday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s move on to some sobering updates:<\/span><\/p>\n \n Grant Burke \/ NBAE via Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n A tough day in the NBA<\/b><\/strong> Elsewhere in the league, sources told <\/span>The Athletic<\/span><\/i> that 76ers team president Daryl Morey will not return to the organization next season, but Nick Nurse will remain as head coach. <\/span>More here<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Everyone\u2019s ganging up on Ole Miss<\/b><\/strong> Later in the day, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian took a potshot at Ole Miss\u2019 academic rigor \u2014 or lack thereof \u2014 by indicating in a USA Today story that transfers only have to \u201ctake basket weaving\u201d in order to get an Ole Miss degree. <\/span>Read his quotes here<\/span><\/a>. What a day.<\/span><\/p>\n Sinner ties a record<\/b><\/strong> More news:<\/strong><\/p>\n 📰\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n 📺 EPL: Crystal Palace at Manchester City 📺 NBA: Cavaliers at Pistons 📺 NHL: Wild at Avalanche Get tickets to games like these <\/i>here<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n The biggest drama in <\/span>tennis<\/b> arguably does not come during the actual match. It occurs during the <\/span>handshake<\/b>. <\/span>I love this story<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The one thing missing from <\/span>golf\u2019s <\/b>last few years? <\/span>A true battle between <\/span>Scottie Scheffler<\/b> and <\/span>Rory McIlroy<\/b> in a major<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n (Also, sign up for <\/span>our golf newsletter<\/span><\/a> for full <\/span>PGA Championship<\/b> coverage this weekend.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nForgotten Faces: The fall of Yasiel Puig<\/b><\/h3>\n
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About Last Night<\/strong>: In the NHL, grit<\/b><\/h3>\n
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Despite the aforementioned playoff game, the NBA news of the day emerged via tragedy:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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Before this week, the animus between LSU and Ole Miss after Lane Kiffin\u2019s job swap had actually died down a bit. Then, in a Vanity Fair piece, Kiffin indicated that a stronger sense of \u201ccampus diversity\u201d at LSU <\/span>factored into his switching jobs<\/span><\/a>, adding that he struggled with convincing Black recruits to attend Ole Miss over segregation concerns. Everyone\u2019s very mad, and it was great timing for ABC to announce that this fall\u2019s game between the two schools <\/span>will be in prime time<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Jannik Sinner won his 31st consecutive ATP Masters 1000 match at the Italian Open yesterday, which equals the record set by Novak Djokovic. Sinner, 24, will be the overwhelming favorite in the remainder of his Italian Open matches, as the Masters 1000 level is one rung below the Grand Slams. He\u2019s <\/span>playing really, really wel<\/span><\/a>l heading into a Carlos Alcaraz-less French Open.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
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<\/b>3 p.m. ET on USA Network
<\/b>City is heavily favored here and must win this match if they have any dream of catching Arsenal in the Premier League title race. Wonky things can happen when pressure is applied.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>8 p.m. ET on ESPN<\/b>
<\/span>The home team has won all four games in this series. Cleveland has momentum. The fun part is that these two are quite evenly matched. Lock in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/b>8 p.m. ET on TNT and HBO Max
<\/b>Colorado can close out Minnesota here in five games. So much for that <\/span>Avalanche antidote<\/span><\/a> the Wild cooked up. Still time to make tweaks, I guess?<\/span><\/b>Pulse Picks<\/h3>\n
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