FILE – San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, left, talks with Victor Wembanyama on the bench during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Houston Rockets March 5, 2024, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)

SAN ANTONIO — Victor Wembanyama barely could get the words out.

The question, a few minutes after he and the San Antonio Spurs won the Western Conference title and earned the right to go to this year’s NBA Finals to face the New York Knicks, was about his relationship with former coach Gregg Popovich and what this playoff run likely means to the winningest coach in league history.

And Wembanyama paused, clearly emotional, before starting his answer.

READ: Spurs’ Wembanyama looks ahead to NBA Finals vs Knicks

“I don’t know what it means for him,” Wembanyama said. “That’s a guy who’s got more experience as a coach than almost anybody and has been through so many things in his career and so many things right now as ‘El Jefe.’ He goes through some things we can’t even imagine. So, I need to call him. I need to see him. I need to talk to him because there’s no way I can understand right now how he feels.”

The official title for the 77-year-old Popovich is President of Spurs Basketball. Unofficially, the Basketball Hall of Famer may as well be coach emeritus — still regularly seen at practices in San Antonio, still seen at games, sometimes walking with the assistance of a cane. He’s still in the ears of players and coaches, even visiting the locker room after the Spurs lost Game 3 of the West finals to Oklahoma City for a bit of a pep talk and bit of a chewing out, depending on perspective.

But really, he’s El Jefe. The boss. It’s what he announced himself as when he retired last year, speaking publicly for the first time since the November 2024 stroke that essentially ended his coaching career and led to Mitch Johnson getting the job on basically a couple hours’ notice. He came out for that event in a jacket, then opened it to display the shirt with “El Jefe” on the front.

“You talk about the greatest coach pretty much of all time to be able to sit here and tell you the experiences that they went through or that he’s been through or that he sees,” Spurs guard Devin Vassell said. “I mean, it’s second to none, honestly. He helps out. He helps out a lot. … He just has so much wisdom and stuff that you can’t take for granted.”

Game 1 of the Knicks-Spurs series is Wednesday in San Antonio.

READ: NBA Finals rematch: It’s Spurs vs Knicks for the championship

Knicks coach Mike Brown saw first-hand how Popovich operated the Spurs; he spent three years as an assistant coach under him in San Antonio.

Brown still has family members living in San Antonio — causing him to joke a few days ago that a Knicks-Spurs matchup in the NBA Finals would save him a little bit of money because he wouldn’t have to fly as many people in to see games.

“He still has a huge presence. He will always have a presence,” Brown said of Popovich. “The job that he’s done, not only on the court with that team or that organization but off the court too, is going to be imprinted for as long as the game of basketball exists. His presence is very, very much felt all the time and I’ve got a lot of respect for the organization for a lot of different reasons.”

And Popovich still commands that respect, even now.

READ: NBA: ‘El Jefe’ Gregg Popovich says it’s time for new Spurs coach

Popovich met the Spurs at the airport after they flew home from Games 3 and 4 of their West semifinal series against Minnesota a couple weeks ago — for a purpose. Wembanyama was ejected from Game 4 for a flagrant elbow he threw at Timberwolves forward Naz Reid. When Wembanyama got off the plane, Popovich was waiting. Cameras caught the exchange and it was pretty clear that Popovich was doing the talking and Wembanyama was doing the listening.

“He gives feedback and talks to us regularly,” Wembanyama said, without disclosing what Popovich’s message was that afternoon.

Popovich was also at the airport in the wee hours of Sunday morning, when the Spurs returned home from Oklahoma City — on a night in which thousands of fans, both there and in the city’s streets, celebrated the win.

Popovich won five NBA championships as San Antonio’s coach, the first of those coming in 1999 when the Spurs beat the Knicks. The next era of Spurs basketball is here, with Johnson coaching, and it’s an interesting coincidence that his first finals as Spurs coach is against the Knicks.

READ: NBA: Gregg Popovich coaching farewell ‘end of an era’

“I’m fortunate my old boss is still around, and has been through this a few times,” Johnson said. “Coach Pop has been a resource.”

And in the immediate aftermath of his biggest win yet — the one that got him to his first of what he hopes is many NBA Finals — Wembanyama simply could not wait to talk to El Jefe.

When I talk to him, it’s going to be only stored in my head — except if I record it in secret,” Wembanyama said. “But I need to talk to him, so quick.”

There are more lessons to learn. There are four more wins to get. And Wembanyama knows that if anyone truly knows the way to those wins, it’s Popovich.

For years, fans have criticised Canelo Alvarez for not facing former super-middleweight rival David Benavidez, and now Alvarez has revealed why the fight never took place.

Canelo became the super-middleweight division’s first undisputed champion back in 2021, dethroning each of Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant within 12 months in one of modern boxing’s most impressive runs.

After an unsuccessful challenge for Dmitry Bivol’s light-heavyweight crown, Alvarez returned to 168lbs and defended the belt against Gennadiy Golovkin, John Ryder and Jermell Charlo – ignoring a fight with the physically imposing Benavidez, who was his WBC mandatory challenger.

Speaking to Inside The Ring Show, Canelo said that his only targets at that stage were fellow world champions.

“When we were both at 168, I fought every champion in that division. Why [did] he never fight those champions? If he was a champion at that point, I’d fight him. My goal was being undisputed. 

“Right now it’s just impossible. He can [go] fight with heavyweights, do you know what I mean.” 

Benavidez held the WBC super-middleweight belt in 2020, but he was stripped after missing weight ahead of his fight with Roamer Alexis Angulo, with the vacant title instead being added to Canelo’s clash with Smith four months later.

Earlier this month, Benavidez moved up in the pound-for-pound rankings by knocking out Gilberto Ramirez to become a three-division champion and a new top dog on the cruiserweight scene. He may drop back down to light-heavyweight next, but has also touted a heavyweight run in the future. The 29-year-old’s days at super-middleweight are well and truly over, meaning the Canelo fight is as unlikely as ever.

The Minnesota Vikings turned the page on the Kwesi Adofo-Mensah era this offseason, and with that, many hope the team can start drafting well and inserting rookies into the lineup sooner rather than later. That’s the goal anyway.

The club welcomed about 35 new players altogether this offseason; now it’s time to glance at the rookies who could start as early as Week 1.

Listed alphabetically, these are those rookies who have a reasonable or semi-reasonable path to the starting lineup right away.

Training Camp Will Reveal Which Newcomers Can Push Veterans Early

1. Caleb Banks | DT

Probably a no-brainer on this list — the Vikings drafted Banks as their most impactful possible DT solution since Sharrif Floyd in 2013, a DT from Florida who also had foot issues, ironically enough.

Whether Banks is ready to start will remain a summer suspense novel. Head coach Kevin O’Connell recently stated that the goal is to have him ready by training camp, but the Vikings also have a history of slow-rolling injury recoveries.

If Banks’s foot is good to go, he’ll formally take Jonathan Allen’s spot in the 2026 lineup.

2. Gavin Gerhardt | C

This is the most far-fetched on the list.

The Vikings appeared to scout Gerhardt as their youth solution at center from the start of the pre-draft process. Gerhardt said in April about his pre-draft visit, “The coaches were just genuine, good human beings. Obviously, I think highly of them coaching-wise, but they were all very good people. People that cared about me as a human being — and that’s what I care most about, other human beings.”

“Obviously, I think I’m a good football player, but me as a human being, I think that’s my greatest quality. I really strive to be just like my father and be that man everyone can lean on. That’s the vibe I got when I was there in Minnesota from the coaching staff.

Vikings.com’s Craig Peters also noted after the draft on Gerhardt, “The Vikings have 2024 seventh-round pick Michael Jurgens and 2020 sixth-rounder Blake Brandel returning after both played pivot in place of Kelly last season.”

“The Vikings evaluated multiple interior linemen. Gerhardt’s inclusion in the Top 30 process enabled the team to see how he would handle an install and his voice in a simulated huddle.”

There’s a world, albeit far off in a distant galaxy, where Gerhardt takes the summer by storm and ousts Brandel from his frontrunner status. It could happen, especially if Minnesota extensively scouted Gerhardt as “their guy.”

3. Dominique Orange | DT

Orange is the most likely to start out of the gate on this list.

He has no lingering injury issues — like Banks. He’s not a 7th-Rounder. And he’s not battling a savvy veteran like Johnny Hekker, like the next guy on the list.

Nose tackles often acclimate to the NFL faster than other defensive players, and because Minnesota employs no surefire nose tackle in the starting lineup — Levi Drake Rodriguez would be the closest alternative — Orange has a glowing opportunity to seize the moment.

He’s huge. He stuffs the run. The Vikings don’t have a starting nose tackle. And Minnesota picked him in Round 3, a reasonable spot to suggest Week 1 playing time. Orange will likely be the Week 1 starter at NT.

4. Brett Thorson | P

Thorson stands 61″ and weighs 240 pounds. His primary concern is the weather; he didn’t grow up facing the Midwest’s wind, snow, and cold, and Georgia doesn’t provide the same conditions he would encounter in Minnesota.

Additionally, the Vikings have already signed a new punter: Johnny Hekker. Once regarded as the best punter in football, he earned six All-Pro selections, four Pro Bowl invitations, and a Super Bowl ring. However, that version of him is now a few years in the past. In 2025, he performed closer to league average, so for him to rebound in Minnesota, he would need to regain his previous form.

His contract complicates matters further. It indicates he will be the Vikings’ punter through 2026. If they keep Thorson and release Hekker, they would incur dead money, and teams typically do not carry two punters.

While Thorson could be a viable option, he faces a practical challenge beyond his kicking abilities. He must show that he can handle holding for extra points and field goals, a responsibility he did not fulfill at Georgia. For specialists, the skill can be the difference between and active roster spot and the practice squad.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker

The Kansas Baseball program swept through the regional round of the NCAA Tournament to claim its first-ever appearance in an NCAA Super Regional. The Jayhawks are now just two wins away from the College World Series in Omaha.

This was the first baseball regional where Kansas held a national seed and earned the opportunity to host. KU does have one previous CWS appearance back in 1993, but that was prior to the current Super Regional Format, which began in the 1999 season.

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Over half of KU’s wins this year came in come-from-behind fashion, and this regional final against Arkansas was no different. I’ll mostly let you read about it from your favorite KU beat writers, but in short: After falling behind 5-0 through the first three innings, the Jayhawk offense ignited, scoring 11 unanswered runs. The two teams exchanged scoring opportunities throughout the 8th and 9th innings, but KU scored enough to send the Hogs packing.

KU has now swept through the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA Regionals, winning their last 6 in a row and 8 of 9. As has been the case most of the season, KU rode a red-hot offense along with pitching that was just good enough.

Over the course of the season, KU went a combined 9-0 against Nebraska, Missouri, K-State, and Wichita State, but this is obviously way cooler than that stat. I just felt like it needed mentioning.

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Kansas will have to wait to find out who their Super Regional opponent will be. The Jayhawks await the winner of Oklahoma-Georgia Tech, who will play a winner-take-all matchup on Monday, June 1 (as of this publication, the time is still TBD).

If Georgia Tech beats Oklahoma tomorrow, KU will travel to Atlanta to take on the Yellow Jackets in a best 2-of-3 series that will begin on either June 5 or 6. However, according to my source (ChatGTP), if Oklahoma wins, the Sooners would travel to Lawrence next weekend.

I dunno about you guys, but I kinda feel like hosting a Super Regional now, so for the first time in my life, I guess I will begrudgingly root for Oklahoma. (That, and Georgia Tech is, like, scary good.)

The Honkai Star Rail 4.3 codes can be redeemed to obtain free Stellar Jades, Credits, and other lucrative resources. HoYoverse drops quite a few of them each patch, allowing players to accumulate enough materials to summon and build the new characters. To obtain the freebies, Trailblazer must complete the redemption method via any official method.

This article further lists all the active codes from Honkai Star Rail 4.3.

All active Honkai Star Rail 4.3 redeem codes

Here are all the active codes from the Honkai Star Rail 4.3 update, along with their rewards:

• VS3Q5VK9CMFP: Stellar Jade x50, Credit x10,000
• QS395DJQU4HK: Stellar Jade x60
• SILVERWOLFLV999: Traveler’s Guide x3, Badge Battle Robe x2
• OMEGA: Stellar Jade x60, Fuel x1
• CREATIONNYMPH: Stellar Jade x60, Fuel x1, Heroic Variable x2
• FAREWELL: Stellar Jade x60, Fuel x1
• IFYOUAREREADINGTHIS: Stellar Jade x60, Fuel x1
• STARRAILGIFT: Stellar Jade x100, Traveler’s Guide x4, Bottled Soda x5, 50,000 Credit

The list will be updated with more codes once we discover them. Make sure to redeem them all at the earliest to avoid missing out. The codes usually remain active for a limited time.

How to redeem codes in Honkai Star Rail

You can redeem any active Honkai Star Rail code using either the in-game feature or the official webpage. Pick whichever method is more feasible:

How to redeem on the official webpage

• Use any browser to access the official HSR code redemption website.
• Log in to your account. Pick a server if it doesn’t detect one automatically.
• Enter the active code in the dialogue box.
• Click on Redeem to exchange the rewards.
• Follow the same steps for the remaining codes.

How to redeem in-game

• Launch HSR on any device.
• Log in to your account.
• Wait for the character to appear on the screen and click on the Pause button to access the in-game menu.
• Click on the icon next to the profile name denoted with three dots.
• Choose Redemption Code from the list of options. Doing so will open a pop-up window on your screen.
• Enter the codes in the empty dialogue box.
• Click on Confirm to exchange the rewards.
• Repeat the same steps for the other active codes.

You can expect to earn over 90+ free pulls during Honkai Star Rail 4.3. A fraction of it comes from the redemption code dispatched during the patch.

Here are more HSR articles: