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Good morning! I hope you have your hat ready for tomorrow. Coming up:
😳 A historic Knicks rout
😰 Edmonton’s conundrum
💸 LIV’s cash burn
About Last Night: The Knicks won by h0w much?
We had a flight of 3-2 series matchups in both the NBA and NHL last night. I must start with an NBA clincher, though, due to a simple staggering fact:
The Knicks advanced to the second round last night after beating the Hawks, in Atlanta, by 51 points. Not a typo! This was a 50-point game in the second quarter. Fans started filing out before halftime. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that in this scenario. New York looks scary.
The rest of the clinchers:
(NHL) Ducks 5, Oilers 2. Anaheim deserves plenty of credit, but Edmonton’s season ending like this after Connor McDavid’s edict before the season is worth an extra look.
(NHL) Wild 5, Stars 2. Minnesota escapes the first round for the first time in over a decade.
(NBA) Timberwolves 110, Nuggets 98. Minnesota gets a standing ovation for doing this without Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo. Denver looks a little funny in the light in three seasons since winning a ring. Now we get Wolves-Spurs. Fun.
Our endcap? The wily Philadelphia 76ers, who might have some real juice after an impressive 106-93 win over Boston to force a Game 7 in their opening-round series. Not many gave Philly a chance against the surprising Celtics’ juggernaut. Turns out having a healthy-enough Joel Embiid alongside two elite wing scorers — Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe — makes you a pretty good team, and that’s before you factor in Paul George.
I hope tonight is just as good. Let’s move:
Monitoring 🧐: Stay alert
Kelley L. Cox / Imagn Images
Every week, there are stories I tab as interesting enough to warrant coverage, or even an expanded focus, that don’t end up making the cut each day. But it doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of your attention.
Thus a new Friday feature, wherein we simply monitor the situation. Things on my radar:
Brandon Aiyuk. Remember him? The wide receiver is still technically an employee of the San Francisco 49ers, but it sure doesn’t feel that way. He’s been AWOL on the team for nearly a year. What happens next?
MLB labor talks. These have been looming for a while now, and it feels like the future of the sport depends on them. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred wants to make big changes, which could include a salary cap. The players remain defiant. Here’s what we can realistically expect.
Mike Trout is back. The Angels are not. Trout is the prince who was promised … then got hurt a lot. We wondered before the season whether we’d ever see the Hall-of-Fame glimpses again. Trout is on pace to hit 52 home runs this year and has been a general bright spot. The Angels are still eight games under .500. Read about that and plenty more in our latest Power Rankings.
The PWHL playoffs. They started last night with a 2-1 Boston win over Ottawa. The Minnesota Frost are the back-to-back champs in a league that’s only held two championships. But what maybe is even more compelling is the format of these playoffs, which features my favorite thing: A team choosing which opponent to face next. Get primed here.
The South Carolina teenager in Germany. Remember the name Mathis Albert, a 16-year-old soccer player from Greenville, South Carolina, who became the youngest American to ever play in the Bundesliga last weekend. That beats Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic. Read his backstory here.
It’s Derby weekend. The Kentucky Derby runs Saturday, and while we’ll have full coverage this weekend, it’s worth a look today. Whether it’s the food — 50,000 blackberries? — or the fashion — feathers? — expect the event to take over your feeds at some point in the next 48 hours. A name to know: Brian Repole, the extremely motivated man behind the favorite, a horse named Renegade.
Thank you for helping me monitor. Onward:
News to Know
In Vancouver, a mess
A buyer in Las Vegas formally submitted a bid for MLS’ Vancouver Whitecaps, days after news broke that the franchise could relocate. In the meantime, Vancouver’s mayor, along with FIFA and Concacaf officials, have called for the provincial government in Vancouver to step in in order to prevent a move. What’s next? Public pressure mounts by the day, but the team’s situation — still up for sale — has not changed. Get a full digest here.
More news:
One Number: Bye, money
LIV Golf is entering what I suspect will be its final stage of relevance: attempting to salvage any form of legitimacy as a professional golf outfit. Maybe that’s a streamlined version of its current self, a team-based tour that’s lean instead of grandiose. Maybe it’s a major-event-themed evolution of the product. Maybe it won’t exist in 2027.
I still just cannot get over the staggering financial drain here. LIV, by some estimates, lost $5 billion since forming in 2022. That’s not just spent money. It’s pure loss. How many sports leagues could even burn $5 billion? For what? The biggest win here, I guess, is some form of sportswashing, but I’m not even sure that happened. Your emails regarding our LIV conversation a couple of weeks ago convinced me of that.
I recommend reading Gabby Herzig’s incisive look at LIV’s future today. Things look bleak.
If anything, they have to change the name, right?
Watch Guide
📺 MLB: Reds at Pirates
6:40 p.m. ET on Apple TV
Did anyone expect Cincinnati to lead the NL Central? Or the division to be entirely composed of teams .500 or above? Pittsburgh is 16-16 … and in last place. Fun.
📺 NBA: First round
7 p.m. ET on Prime Video
Three more clinch chances: Pistons-Magic (7 p.m.), Cavaliers-Raptors (7:30 p.m.) and Lakers-Rockets (9:30 p.m.). Each game is either a crowning achievement or leads to a Game 7. Works for me.
📺 NHL: First round
7 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN 2
Again, same exact story here: Lightning-Canadiens (7 p.m.), Sabres-Bruins (7:30 p.m.) and Golden Knights-Mammoth (10 p.m.). More, please.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
Hector Vivas / Getty Images
F1 is going on an unexpected break after this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, which will draw even more eyes. It’s good that this has turned into F1’s “Super Bowl weekend.”
Speaking of F1: Why is McLaren, the race car company, making golf clubs for Justin Rose?
Tatsuya Imai’s MLB start continues to be … suboptimal. After a wild rehab start, where do he and the Astros go from here?
Tomorrow, Wrexham finally has a shot at history, albeit slim: a chance to earn promotion to the Premier League.
USMNT star Christian Pulisic has the yips in club play. It’s easy to wonder if that carries over to the World Cup.
Yes, Rajon Rondo is a legitimate NBA head coaching candidate. His time with the Bucks has fast-tracked his coaching ascension.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The other guy on Matt Holliday’s rookie card.
Most-read on the website yesterday: 2026 NFL Draft grades.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.