{"id":703496,"date":"2026-06-14T12:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T12:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/703496\/"},"modified":"2026-06-14T12:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T12:06:12","slug":"knicks-end-the-drought-plus-f1s-new-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/703496\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks end the drought, plus F1\u2019s new superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here<\/a> to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Good morning! Save your best for last today. Inside:<\/p>\n

Drought Over: A historically gritty champion<\/p>\n

Not only are the Knicks champs for the first time in 53 years, they\u2019re probably the first thing you\u2019re going to think of for a while when you hear the word \u201ccomeback.\u201d<\/p>\n

They won these NBA Finals<\/a> 4-1 despite trailing San Antonio by at least 10 points in the first quarter of every game. They won it despite trailing in the fourth quarter in every game. By Game 5, it felt like no Spurs lead could ever be safe, and you felt that Spurs players knew it, too.<\/p>\n

Jalen Brunson? Officially a legend. Forty-five points of his team\u2019s 94 points in the clincher. Against a transcendent defensive player in Victor Wembanyama, the Finals MVP<\/a> found the space time and again. Pure genius.<\/p>\n

The dominant images of these finals will always be the OG Anunoby tip-in<\/a> to cap a 29-point comeback in the second half of Game 4 and Knicks fans reveling on the streets<\/a> outside the Garden, invigorated in a way most probably never imagined even a month ago.<\/p>\n

As for the history: Sam Vecenie pointed out that Phil Jackson was a player on the last Knicks team to win a title. This was their first finals appearance this millennium.<\/p>\n

Absolute madness.<\/p>\n

Our Zach Harper, among the few who picked the Knicks to win this series<\/a>, was in the building. We asked his level of surprise it went down like this:<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac I\u2019m not surprised the Knicks were able to leverage their experience against such a young team. But I am surprised that all five games followed nearly the exact same pattern. The Knicks know who they are and that\u2019s why they won.<\/p>\n

No doubt the Spurs will wonder what happened, and why it happened four times. It probably won\u2019t be much solace that they basically skipped a grade to get here, winning so soon in the growth of their young core. But it\u2019s worth keeping that perspective. They\u2019ll be back.<\/p>\n

From our coverage:<\/p>\n

Vroom\"BARCELONA, F1\u2019s latest all-time superstar?<\/p>\n

I knew Kimi Antonelli was having a great season, because there\u2019s not a ton of nuance in a Formula 1 driver winning five of the season\u2019s first six races. But this dispatch<\/a> from our Formula 1 newsletter, Prime Tire<\/a>, really got my attention: The Mercedes driver has had the fastest lap on 44 percent of all laps in F1 this season, through six grands prix. Antonelli\u2019s teammate, George Russell, is next at 15 percent. This has led to a level of despondence<\/a> elsewhere on the grid.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Antonelli has a 66-point lead in the drivers\u2019 championship. He\u2019s all of 19 years old. Only Max Verstappen, who won at 18 in 2016, has won a race at a younger age. The Italian is having \u201cone of the greatest campaigns in modern F1 history,\u201d our crew says, and that seems impossible to argue against.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you are a casual F1 fan, you may be a little taken aback, because the sport has had a lot of historic champions in recent years. Lewis Hamilton (who, by the way, is second behind Antonelli entering today\u2019s Barcelona Grand Prix) is tied with Michael Schumacher at a record count of seven world championships. Verstappen took the mantle from Hamilton in 2021 and ripped off four in a row, looking every bit that dominant, and then he was similarly scary in a just-short comeback effort<\/a> against Lando Norris last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now the sport might have yet another guy like this. Are smart F1 people looking at Antonelli as a talented young driver who\u2019s getting the most out of a great car, or as a future legend who\u2019s already starting to build a Verstappen- or Hamilton-type career? Put another way, how wild should we be going about Antonelli? I asked Patrick:\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcac Antonelli is passing two tests that all the greats have to pass. The first is beating your teammate. The garage next to yours is where legends separate themselves from very good drivers, and Antonelli is doing it to Russell, the preseason favorite and one of the best drivers on the grid. The second test is dominance, which Antonelli is covering with his consistent fastest laps.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The car is putting him at the front, sure. And it\u2019s still early! We\u2019ve only raced six times. But if you\u2019re asking whether Antonelli has the ingredients to become his generation\u2019s Verstappen or Hamilton, the answer is yes.<\/p>\n

My word. The Barcelona Grand Prix starts at 9 a.m. ET today on Apple TV.<\/p>\n

News to Know\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Caean Couto \/ Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t sleep on Morocco<\/p>\n

Do we grieve a World Cup day where two straight games ended in 1-1 ties? Not at all, and not just because it allows us to honor one of the great \u201cSimpsons\u201d openers ever! \u201cTies? You bet<\/a>!\u201d The headliner was Brazil-Morocco, an early clash of heavyweights. Yes, you read that right: Morocco is a heavyweight, reaching the semis in the last World Cup, and it was no great surprise they drew with mighty Brazil 1-1 (takeaways here<\/a>) or that they produced a moment like this:<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Filthy. Notable: After this tie, both Brazil and Morocco are at over 80 percent likely to advance<\/a> per our model. Ties? You bet!<\/p>\n

If you want more World Cup news, make sure to sign up for our World Cup Briefing<\/a>. <\/p>\n

More News
\nCavs star James Harden was arrested and faces a misdemeanor charge of unlawfully carrying a gun. Details here<\/a>.
\nUSMNT World Cup ticket prices are soaring<\/a> after the team\u2019s dominant victory in the opener. Get-in price against Australia is a cool $1,800.
\nMore bad injury news<\/a> for the Yankees: Slugger Giancarlo Stanton tweaked his calf running the bases and his return could be delayed.
\nShohei Ohtani did return for the Dodgers after missing a game with a knee issue. He homered on the second pitch he saw<\/a> \u2026
\n\u2026 while Yoshinobu Yamamoto flirted with a perfecto and fell just short of a new MLB record thanks to a Mookie Betts error. \u201cHe\u2019s special.\u201d<\/a>
\nVegas goalie Carter Hart spoke about those \u201cno means no\u201d chants from Carolina fans. His comments here<\/a>.
\nFormer All-Pro 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith died at 36. Full story<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcf0\u00a0Find more news here 24\/7<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Watch Guide<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa World Cup: Germany vs. Curacao
1 p.m. ET on Fox
The Germans are colossal favorites, but a cool thing about this expanded format (48 teams, up from 32) is that this tournament has more room than usual for first-time participants. Enter Curacao for its World Cup debut, as the smallest nation by population to ever reach a World Cup. It\u2019s highly unlikely, but can you imagine? Here\u2019s the full Group E tactical guide<\/a>, also featuring plenty of commentary on Ecuador and Ivory Coast, who play at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa MLB: Cubs at Giants
3 p.m. ET on ABC
Logan Webb starts for the Giants. This is my chance to link back to this great Tyler Kepner story<\/a> about why so few pitchers other than Webb (and a few others) work deep into games anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa NHL: Hurricanes at Golden Knights
8 p.m. ET on ABC
Vegas needs two straight wins against a Carolina team that feels like it\u2019s hit its stride<\/a>. The first few games alone made this a fantastic final. If it goes seven, it\u2019s an all-timer. <\/p>\n

Get tickets to games like this here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pulse Picks<\/p>\n

\n Isaac Wasserman\/NCAA Photos via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Most-shared features on The Athletic this week:<\/p>\n

A team-by-team guide to the World Cup: What to expect and who to watch<\/a>
\nInside the making of Norway\u2019s \u201cViking\u201d photo<\/a> for World Cup
\nMeet the Spurs nuns<\/a>: Inside the basketball-loving world of the Salesian Sisters
\nThe Chicago mayor who said \u2018no\u2019 to the World Cup: \u201cThe numbers don\u2019t work\u201d<\/a>
\nRanking the teams<\/a> at the 2026 World Cup<\/p>\n

Meet Ja\u2019Kobe Tharp, the American college phenom who just became the 110-meter hurdles world record holder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The story<\/a> behind that Knicks fan\u2019s perfect \u201cSeinfeld\u201d tweet that got Larry David\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

I guess I\u2019ll stay on theme with my ongoing interest in the Reckless Ben vs. Bricks and Minifigs saga. The company has now gotten a temporary restraining order against the YouTuber, and sued the original owner of the Lego for over $1 million. For an independent third-party investigation \/ catch-up, I recommend this one<\/a>. \u2014 Levi Weaver<\/p>\n

Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Pele or Maradona? Our team looked into who has the most valuable collectibles<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no-cook dinner weather, and this corn and black bean salad<\/a> is delicious, leftovers-friendly and comes together in literally three minutes if you just use canned corn. \u2014 Torrey Hart<\/p>\n

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The Seahawks\u2019 Super Bowl rings, with their special buttons<\/a> and all.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udceb That\u2019s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com<\/a>, and check out our other newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pulse Newsletter \ud83d\udce3 | This is The Athletic\u2019s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":703497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[355,99],"class_list":["post-703496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=703496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/703496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/703497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=703496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=703496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=703496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}