Sports
New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx look to reset for Game 2 after WNBA Finals’ chaotic opener
NEW YORK — It’s Thursday night, the final buzzer sounds, media obligations are over, phones are blowing up with messages from anyone and everyone, and one of the most dramatic and memorable WNBA Finals games in league history is in the rearview.
Now what?
You can attempt to live in the emotional high (or low) as long as possible, savoring the joy or remembering the pain for motivation. Or flush everything away and move forward, knowing that at least two more games remain in the series.
One thing Lynx and Liberty players had in common after Thursday’s epic Game 1 overtime win by the Lynx: many of them turned to the film. Even before the teams got together Saturday to regroup before Game 2, several players had to see the game again.
“I didn’t sleep till like 3:30 that night,” Lynx guard Kayla McBride said. “I told everybody my soul left my body when Courtney (Williams) made that 3. I had to watch the game in order to calm down.”
we’re not satisfied with one win. pic.twitter.com/ifWDJoQSWl
— Minnesota Lynx (@minnesotalynx) October 12, 2024
Courtney Vandersloot felt similarly after New York’s loss. Even though she wanted to be intentional about looking ahead to the great opportunity they still have in this series, she had to watch the ending once more with her wife, former WNBA champion Allie Quigley.
“We went back together and watched the last five minutes and overtime, which we usually wouldn’t do that, but there were a couple of things that we were analyzing and disagreeing on,” Vandersloot said. “I think that if we didn’t, we wouldn’t have been able to sleep. So it was kind of like let’s get it out there, let’s figure it out.”
Breanna Stewart wanted to see her missed free throw with 0.8 seconds left in regulation, the one that would have given New York the win, to make sure that she hadn’t strayed from her routine. Leonie Fiebich went through the full game three more times because it was playing over and over in her head regardless.
Lynx star Napheesa Collier, who hit the game-winner in overtime, didn’t want to watch her fadeaway over Jonquel Jones more than a couple times and stayed away from social media. But Williams didn’t have that same luxury. Despite wanting to move on to Game 2, the biggest shot of the night kept replaying around her.
“My daddy overdosed on it,” Williams said. “Even if I didn’t want to watch it, he was overdosing.”
Beyond Quigley and Don Williams, the other families and friends played a big part in the players being able to decompress from the theatrics of Game 1.
Stewart said her kids don’t notice whether she wins or loses, though she finds herself less prone to profanity in the aftermath of losses – even when her reaction to the late misses was “WTF” – because she doesn’t want the little ones hearing swear words. She also had former teammate Sue Bird and Nancy Lieberman reach out, both essentially telling her to bounce back. Sabrina Ionescu had 25 family members from California in attendance to help her think about something other than basketball. Although she said her husband’s optimism can sometimes be annoying, she acknowledged that it was helpful to have positive affirmations from the people around her.
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve’s family took her to watch “The Lion King” musical in between hours of breaking down film. Her mind wandered during the production, which she had seen previously, but she powered through because she and her wife wanted their son to see his first Broadway show. Many of her players ended up seeing “The Notebook” — Bridget Carleton noted that the first choice, “Wicked,” was sold out – on what ended up being their first true off day in multiple weeks.
Ultimately, the off day doesn’t matter as much as what the Liberty and Lynx will do in Game 2. Stewart and Ionescu both said what made it easiest to move on was that they saw numerous ways for New York to be better than in the opener. They saw opportunities to improve their pace and increase the number of off-ball actions, both of which are in line with how the Liberty played up until this point.
And Minnesota was already thinking about how its last series went, when Connecticut stole Game 1 on the road but lost in five. If the Lynx don’t close out this series, the heroics of Game 1 will diminish and whatever high they were riding Thursday will be lost to history. In the playoffs, there is only so much time to live in the moment. Another game is always on the horizon.
“We’re definitely not coming in thinking we have this thing won,” Collier said. “We were able to steal that game but it means nothing. It means they’re going to come out even hungrier in Game 2. It’s going to be a battle.”
— The Athletic‘s Ben Pickman contributed reporting to this story.
(Photo of Kayla McBride and Sabrina Ionescu: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)
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Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.
The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.
Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.
A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.
Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.
The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.
From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.
“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE
Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.
The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.
Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.
The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.
Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL
CITY SECTION FINALS
FRIDAY
At Birmingham
DIVISION I
#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21
DIVISION IV
#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23
At Venice
DIVISION II
#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16
DIVISION III
#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10
SATURDAY
At Birmingham
OPEN DIVISION
#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18
DIVISION V
314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
THURSDAY
At Home Sites
DIVISION 9
Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10
FRIDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 1
#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22
DIVISION 4
Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23
At Home Sites
DIVISION 5
Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23
DIVISION 8
Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23
SATURDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 2
Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1
DIVISION 3
Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20
DIVISION 6
Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
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The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
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Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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