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Good morning! Be inquisitive today. Coming up:

Questions: We’re calling that stat ‘OOPS’ now

Welcome to Pulse Mailbag week! I (Chris) am out on vacation, so we decided to take your questions and bring them to the experts 
 or me, if I could answer well. Today’s topic: rules, in a general sense.

Your questions (lightly edited for clarity!), answered: 

Do umpires have a “home” city? A team they might work a bit more frequently so that they get to be home once in a while? Or are they on the road constantly? — Bob R., Minneapolis, Minn.

💬 Jayson Stark: Bob, those answers are “no” (kind of) and “yes” (definitely). Here’s the way ump scheduling works: The league draws up schedules for all 19 crews. Then the crew chiefs pick their schedule in order of seniority. So longtime crew chiefs can make sure they get 3-6 series near home. But they also try to give the other umps on their crew a chance to get home. No matter how it works out, unlike all 30 teams, they won’t get close to 81 home games. So their suitcases are always packed!

I’ve seen (as a Guards fan) JosĂ© RamĂ­rez send a bat flying out of his hands, maybe a dozen times or more, this season. Is there any tracking on this? If so, is there another record that he could break this season? — Mark S., Columbus, Ohio

💬 Levi Weaver: The short answer: I haven’t seen it tracked.

But have you seen those Google AI commercials that are like “batters who jumped over the foul line hit the ball four percent harder than those who didn’t”?

They’re the worst. A whole ad campaign based on the premise “But what if correlation WAS causation 
 and we made none of the data publicly available?”

How useless. But it means the data does exist! So, unfortunately, your best bet at getting an answer is probably my worst nightmare: more of those commercials. Sorry, Mark.

I’ve been on this one-man quixotic crusade for a while now, but can we *please* start referring to the pitching statistic Opponent’s OPS as OOPS? It’s just sitting right there, and it *works*! (Currently known as OPS against.) — Ben L., Lancaster, Calif.

💬 Branch: Yes. I’m making the call here.

Why isn’t Dallas in the NFC South and Carolina in the NFC East? Seems perfectly logical, though I know that the NFL, at times, doesn’t resort to logic. I’m not a Cowboys fan. Just a fan of geography. — Marty L., Austin, Texas

💬 Branch: I’m taking this one, too, because we published a great retelling of this exact story back in 2022. The answer seems to be pretty simple: Dallas wanted to stay in the NFC East for media exposure, and the NFL granted its wish.

We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Keep the questions coming, please.

News to KnowKnicks complete sweep 

The last time the Knicks were in the NBA Finals was the same year Serena Williams won her first of 23 major singles titles, and Stephen Curry was still a decade away from even being drafted, two of my favorite nuggets from this fun piece. But they’re back now, after a 130-93 blowout win in Cleveland last night, and won’t play again until Game 1 on June 3. Celebrity New York fans invaded Rocket Arena to see a team built on patience, restraint and conference finals MVP Jalen Brunson (one of six Knicks to score in double figures).

Elsewhere in playoff land: The Hurricanes snagged another 3-2 overtime win against the Canadiens to take a 2-1 series lead. Full takeaways here.
Astros throw quirky no-hitter

Beleaguered Astros starter Tatsuya Imai combined with two relievers, Steven Okert and Alimber Santa, to no-hit the Rangers last night. The feat isn’t that rare on its own, but the circumstances here add some intrigue: Houston entered play yesterday with the sport’s highest ERA, Imai — who threw six innings — has infamously struggled to adapt his game since coming over from Japan and 
 Santa was making his major-league debut.

More news
Former Rays shortstop Wander Franco will be spared prison time after a judge in the Dominican Republic ruled yesterday that, though he sexually abused a minor, he also was a victim. Read our full report.
Manchester City star Khadija “Bunny” Shaw committed to a new four-year deal with the club in a shock announcement at a joint parade for City’s women’s and men’s sides yesterday.
Princeton men’s lacrosse bested Notre Dame 16-9 yesterday for its first NCAA title since 2001. Full recap here.
Maple Leafs forward Max Domi’s status for the start of next season is uncertain after he suffered “complications” from a previously undisclosed surgery. Yikes.
UCLA earned the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA baseball tournament, while SEC teams claimed five of the top eight seeds. See the full field.
The Timbers parted with coach Phil Neville after a disappointing start to his third season.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Watch Guide

đŸ“ș French Open: Coco Gauff vs. Taylor Townsend
11 a.m. ET on TNT, TruTV and Max
Gauff’s title defense opens against the fellow American Townsend, who equaled her best Grand Slam singles run at last year’s U.S. Open. Townsend’s playing style might have more of an impact than usual given the high temperatures in Paris, as our tennis staff noted.

đŸ“ș Braves vs. Red Sox
6:45 p.m. ET on TBS
Start your evening viewing with a solid pitching matchup: Spencer Strider (3.00 ERA) for baseball’s leading bunch versus Ranger Suarez (2.40 ERA), Boston’s marquee offseason signing who’s starting to show he’s worth the price.

đŸ“ș NBA: Spurs vs. Thunder
8:30 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock
One of the best NBA series in recent memory heads to Game 5 with the still-favored Thunder potentially weakened by a couple key injuries. Can a fired-up Victor Wembanyama, coming off a 33-point performance, and San Antonio steal this one?

đŸ“ș NHL: Avalanche vs. Golden Knights
9 p.m. ET on ESPN
The NHL’s best regular-season team is on the ropes here, with Vegas now projected to win the Stanley Cup title, too. Unlike in the NBA, a reverse sweep has technically been done before — once. But things are looking 
 bleak for Colorado.

Pulse Picks

Trying to accelerate his recovery from a devastating ankle injury in October, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner became an expert swimmer in a matter of a few months. Matt Barrows explains how.

Count “library people” among the groups who love Wemby. Here’s Mirin Fader on how a San Antonio library is helping people read like the NBA superstar.

Teenage phenom Kimi Antonelli seems to be tightening his grip on the Formula 1 drivers’ championship, though there’s plenty of season left. For teammate George Russell, the whole situation is getting frustrating.

As a believer in the power of a cold shower, tennis great Rafael Nadal may have been ahead of his time. Our Rustin Dodd spoke with an expert about the effects and tested some now-trendy cold-water practices out himself.

A’s slugger Nick Kurtz hit four home runs in a game last July. But he’s much prouder of his current league-leading on-base streak, as Dennis Lin explains.

With Chris out, it’s my duty to recommend this piece on why Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has willingly become a big ambassador for the NFL and growing the league’s international presence.

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The wild Indy 500 finish.

Most-read on the website yesterday: Knicks-Cavs Game 4 live blog.

đŸ“« That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.