MANILA, Philippines–The NBA Western Conference Finals continued today, May 21 (May 20 US time) with the San Antonio Spurs taking on Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series.
Despite the weight limit previously being a major sticking point for a fight between Shakur Stevenson and Ryan Garcia, the pair seem to now be on the same page.
Since then, Stevenson has been linked to a host of fights, perhaps none bigger than with Ryan Garcia, but the Newark southpaw has maintained that he would either like to meet at a 144lbs catchweight, or want a rehydration clause in any fights up at 147lbs.
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However, speaking on ESPN’s ‘First Take’, Garcia revealed that he has been informed by his team that he would be able to move down to Stevenson’s division in a challenge for world honours at super-lightweight.
“My strength and conditioning coach thinks and believes that I can make 140lbs comfortably. I trust the people in my team around me, if the opportunity presents itself, I would love to fight Shakur.”
It may be wishful thinking, as Garcia’s last attempt to make the super-lightweight limit came against Devin Haney in 2023, when he tipped the scales 3lbs over.
It leaves options for Stevenson, who also has eyes on Devin Haney, requiring a move up, and Raymond Muratalla, meaning a drop back down to lightweight. In the end, he may decide to stick at 140lbs to defend his WBO belt.
With the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America now barely three weeks away, AFP Sport runs the rule over the leading contenders at the first-ever 48-team finals (world ranking in brackets): France (1) Les Bleus have won the World Cup twice and lost two finals on penalties in the last seven editions.
BOTTOM LINE: The Oklahoma City Thunder visit the San Antonio Spurs for game three of the Western Conference finals with the series tied 1-1. The Thunder defeated the Spurs 122-113 in the last matchup on Thursday. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 30 points, and Stephon Castle led the Spurs with 25.
The Spurs are 36-16 in Western Conference games. San Antonio is second in the Western Conference scoring 119.8 points while shooting 48.3% from the field.
The Thunder are 41-11 in conference games. Oklahoma City scores 119.0 points and has outscored opponents by 11.1 points per game.
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The 119.8 points per game the Spurs average are 11.9 more points than the Thunder give up (107.9). The Thunder average 13.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.8 more makes per game than the Spurs allow.
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TOP PERFORMERS: Castle is shooting 47.1% and averaging 16.6 points for the Spurs. Victor Wembanyama is averaging 22.5 points over the last 10 games.
Gilgeous-Alexander is scoring 31.1 points per game and averaging 4.3 rebounds for the Thunder. Alex Caruso is averaging 2.4 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
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LAST 10 GAMES: Spurs: 7-3, averaging 118.7 points, 48.9 rebounds, 25.5 assists, 8.3 steals and 8.5 blocks per game while shooting 49.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.2 points per game.
Thunder: 9-1, averaging 120.7 points, 41.0 rebounds, 26.6 assists, 11.0 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 49.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.2 points.
Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you play smarter, better golf.
Hitting longer drives off the tee doesn’t always require you to swing harder. Sure, it helps to put more force into the ball, but there’s another way to belt it past your playing partners without swinging out of your shoes — and it all starts with optimizing your launch conditions.
One of the best ways to hit the ball longer is by increasing your attack angle. If you can hit more “up” on the ball, you can launch it higher and with less spin, which is crucial for hitting longer drives.
So, how can you increase your attack angle angle? One easy way is by adjusting the way you set up to the ball.
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Fundamentals like setup are often overlooked by recreational golfers, but they can have a huge impact on how you strike the ball. A poor setup can lead to all sorts of issues in the swing, which leads to compensations that can have negative long-term consequences. But if you set up to the ball correctly, you will put yourself into the best possible position to strike it consistently.
If you want to increase you attack angle (and set yourself up for a solid strike on every drive), it’s important you learn how to set up to the ball correctly with a driver. I recently learned how to do this from GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jason Baile, and it has helped me hit the driver longer than ever before.
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Increase attack angle with a setup tweak
One problem I have when setting up to the driver is that my shoulders and hips are too level at setup. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing when hitting irons and wedges, but for clubs that demand a more positive angle of attack (like the driver), it causes some issues. Namely, it creates conditions for a negative attack angle.
A negative attack angle isn’t necessarily a death knell when hitting the driver, but when you are a slower swing speed player, it can sap you of distance. When you hit down on the ball, it increases spin. This is great for control, but robs you of distance. So if you want to hit the ball longer, you’re better off hitting up on it.
If you watch LPGA pros, you’ll notice that they don’t swing especially hard at the ball, but they still get plenty of distance on their drives. This is a direct result of optimizing their attack angles and hitting up on the ball, allowing them to maximize their distance without swinging harder.
In my lesson with Jason Baile, we made it a goal to get my attack angle up to not only help me get more distance, but also put me in a better position for a consistent strike. This all started with adjusting my setup.
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The first thing he asked me to do was slightly “bump” my lead hip toward the target at address. This movement slightly raised my lead hip and lowered my trail hip.
“I’d rather see you get the proper tilts at address with your lower body than your upper body,” Jason said.
The next thing he fixed was the orientation on my arms at address. Before, I had a tendency to get my trail arm too high, which covered up my lead arm when looking at my swing from down the line. To fix it, he had me think about pointing my trail elbow more at my trail hip when I gripped the club.
By tweaking these two simple setup mistakes, I instantly increased my angle of attack and got into a better position to make swings that didn’t have so many compensations built in.
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If you are someone who needs more distance with the driver, check out the attack angle numbers of your driver on a launch monitor. Chance are, you need a little more positive angle of attack to launch the ball higher. For that, all you need to do is make a few small setup tweaks.
Khamzat Chimaev suffered the first defeat of his MMA career at UFC 328 against Sean Strickland. In the aftermath of the loss, ‘Borz’s’ team has maintained that a brutal weight cut severely hampered the Chechen-born Emirati’s performance inside the octagon. Dricus du Plessis, for one, is not buying it.
According to Arman Tsarukyan, Chimaev, who had originally planned to move up to 205 pounds, was forced to cut 40 pounds during his training camp for the middleweight matchup.
‘Ahalkalakets’ further claimed that Chimaev still had 13 pounds left to lose the day before the fight. While the first nine pounds came off with little trouble, what remained became a grueling ordeal that appeared to take a significant toll on the former middleweight champion.
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Du Plessis, however, appears to have little sympathy for his fellow middleweight. The South African suggested that cutting 12 pounds in a day should not be overly difficult for a professional fighter. Speaking to Fight Forecast, du Plessis said:
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“I think this whole weight-cut excuse is ridiculous. So he got 12 pounds in 24 hours? Those are rookie numbers. Twelve pounds in 24 hours? That’s not that bad. I have definitely cut more than that. Yes, sometimes I have had bad weight cuts too.”
‘Stillknocks’ added:
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“Using a weight cut as an excuse when it comes to the fight, even if you had a bad weight cut? It’s fine. That happens to all of us. But you don’t go, ‘Oh, I lost the fight because of that.’ If you wanna change weight divisions, change weight divisions. Blaming a bad weight cut is like saying, ‘I lost the fight because I wasn’t fit.’ It’s on you. Be more disciplined.”
Check out Dricus du Plessis’ comments on Khamzat Chimaev below:
Dricus du Plessis argues Khamzat Chimaev does not deserve an immediate title rematch
Although Khamzat Chimaev initially asked Dana White to let him move up to 205 pounds in the aftermath of his UFC 328 loss, ‘Borz’ has since changed his stance and is now campaigning for an immediate title rematch against Sean Strickland. Dricus du Plessis, however, does not think that is fair.
During the aforementioned interview, du Plessis argued that Chimaev hardly deserves an immediate rematch, noting that he was not a long-reigning champion to begin with:
“He said he is moving up to 205 to Dana, but now he’s calling Strickland for a rematch. I don’t think he deserves a rematch. He definitely doesn’t because he has no title defenses. Zero. So it doesn’t justify a rematch at all.” [1:18 mark of the interview]
The new golfer brings the bottom of the new-to-her object close to her face and tilts it at a 2 o’clock angle, examining it curiously, before extending it toward a nearby onlooker.
“Is this one right?”
It’s a 4-hybrid club, which the new golfer discovers after being shown its marking. That’s good to know, and it seems correct, but that also depends, especially when you’re a new golfer.
I’d hit whatever feels best.
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“OK, thanks,” says Jenna Smith, who goes with the club, and her ball wanders off to the right, dodging a few trees along the way.
The college golfer then does it all over again.
And again.
Her scores are out there, but keep scrolling down the leaderboard. Two weeks after the hybrid session, at her school’s most important meet of the year, the NAIA-level Appalachian Athletic Conference conference tournament, there were 12s, a 13, some 14s and a 21. After three rounds, Smith finished with a 511, 295-over-par at Governors Towne Club in northern Georgia, and 289 strokes behind the winner. How she got there isn’t complicated. Her school, Reinhardt University, also in northern Georgia, had been down to three women’s golfers, four are needed to field a team, a note went out to Reinhardt’s other teams, and Smith and a few of her volleyball teammates were in. What’s the worst that could happen?
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How about finishing worst?
Was she ready to put herself out there like that? Was she prepared to be embarrassed? She’s really, really good at volleyball, and really, really competitive in just about everything she does, so could she handle being really, really bad at golf?
What if a golf website heard about her story and chose to put her score in the big, bold words that everyone can see? 295-over par at a college event?
But look at the second part of that headline above.
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Here’s the uplifting story behind it.
But maybe not initially. Samantha Roper, Isabella Mobley and Addy Anderson would’ve concurred to that, after their women’s golf coach, Evans Nichols, first told them they’d be joined by volleyballers. He could’ve entered the trio as individuals in events, foregoing a team score, but Nichols said the NAIA sours on that, though his solution wasn’t welcomed, either. His players seemed, well …
“To be frank,” Nichols said, “they seemed pissed.”
Addy?
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Maja Brodzinska is a member of the Reinhardt University volleyball team. And the golf team.
Nick Piastowski
“My first thought was: This isn’t good,” she said.
“This is not embarrassing for our program that we’re bringing in somebody that doesn’t know how to play golf and we’re playing the college sport, but just like, could we not find somebody else?”
Smith had played once before, just nine holes, and she thinks she shot 200. Maja Brodzinska, a volleyball teammate, had previously played for an hour, then played two days for Reinhardt in early March. The weeks leading up to that felt like a midterm cram session, only in this case, you never went to class all semester and the material was written in something akin to Martian. The instruction? Buffet style, as in here’s everything, but eventually you may get stuffed. During one practice round, Brodzinska worked on basics on the practice green with assistant Debbie Blount — in between nines. No one believes in Reinhardt and its women’s golf team like Blount, who, five years ago, joined the team — as a 62-year-old freshman. “She asked me the first time, she said, ‘What is the thing that you put the ball on?’” Blount said. “I said, ‘The tee?’ She said, ‘Oh, tee, tee.’ She said, ‘I don’t have any of those.’” Or anything. Blount gave Brodzinska her clubs; Smith was given a set that had been donated to the school a couple of years ago.
The next day, she shot a 172, 100-over. Progress. She took photos.
But a few weeks later, she needed to go back home, to Poland. Smith was called on, for conference of all places. On the first tee, she said a prayer. Smith does that. Back in late December, she did, and it had to have been heard. How else can you explain her asking to feel a little more unpredictability, and the golfer upstairs gives her tee times? “I want to be in uncomfortable situations as I’m getting older,” Smith said. “I crave uncomfortable situations because I know that’s going to push me to think about things, talk to different people. Think about how I’m going to get through it. And so it is very nerve-wracking, and it is uncomfortable, but it’s very exciting, and it’s something that every day I’m like, ‘Ooh, I don’t know how the next day is going to go.’”
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Or her tee shots. Why the prayer on the first hole?
On the range at conference, her driver had been going right.
“No one knew why,” Smith said. “Coach was like, ‘I don’t know why. The swing looks great. The head face is turning the right way. I don’t know what’s going on.’ And so I was like, ‘Dear Lord, please don’t let this ball go to the right.’ I was literally sitting there thinking that the whole time.
“And I swung and it went to the right. And that just made me so angry.”
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On the first hole, she made an 8. Then a 12. Then a five; hey, that’s a double bogey. Then a 21; that’s a septendecuple bogey. Or a lot. Whatever, she thought. She finished. It became a game. Finish holes, then better them in the next round and the round after that, especially that fourth hole. “I knew that I was going to have to do the same thing tomorrow,” Smith said. “And if I wanted to get better at tomorrow, then I had to finish it today at least.
“And then I ended up — I remember I counted specifically because this hole was so annoying. I got it in 11 strokes the next day. And then the last day, I got it in seven. So I was so happy about that.”
From left, Jenna Smith, Isabella Mobley, coach Evans Nichols, Addy Anderson and Samantha Roper.
Debbie Blount
This, too.
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Afterward, she learned her teammates tried to guess what she’d shoot. The number was 185.
Smith shot 184.
Then 167 in round two.
Then 160 in round three.
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“And so I was like, ‘Hmph.’ So we got the scores in,” Smith said.
“And I got 184. Boom, boom. I beat everyone’s bets.”
She laughed. The question is, could her teammates have done what she did?
Thought of another way, could the golfers have, say, played volleyball, if the Reinhardt volleyball team had been in a similar bind?
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Maybe now, following Smith and following Brodzinska. Maybe there’s beauty in 295-over par. It’s better than a zero. You started, you finished and then you returned wanting to shoot 294-over, which is what golf is all about, ain’t it?
If not more than golf.
295-over par at a college event?
Here’s the uplifting story behind it.
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“One of the things that I’ve tried to take out of this whole experience for volleyball is the sport is not you. You are so much more than the sport,” Smith said. “And after this is all over, it’s not going to matter.
“I’ve talked to one of the girls on the team about that. She was beating herself up and I was like, you know, your score is not who you are. You’re more than that. You have so many qualities that just aren’t bound by golf. And I have to tell a lot of the girls on the volleyball team that as well, because it’s the same thing. It’s the same mindset.
“Even I have to remind myself at the end of the day, if I have a bad game. I am so much more than this sport. And this sport doesn’t last forever.”
Neither did Smith’s driver, the club she kept hitting right. She ditched it after the first hole. A few other clubs, too. She finished with a putter, a wedge, a 7-iron.
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And that 4-hybrid.
They felt best.
They’re also getting new grips soon. Smith’s just a junior, after all.
Among the priority tasks for United will be settling Marcus Rashford‘s future. The England international has now received a significant update on his prospects of securing a permanent switch to Barcelona as a successful loan spell at the Camp Nou comes to a close.
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There has also been a dramatic development in the pursuit of one Premier League star who could take his countryman’s place. MEN Sport brings you the latest developments concerning United in today’s key stories.
Get MEN Premium now for just £1 HERE – or get involved in our United WhatsApp group by clicking HERE. You can also join our United Facebook page by clicking HERE and don’t miss out on our brilliant selection of newsletters HERE.
The Guardian reported West Ham will need to generate £100million through player sales this summer if they suffer relegation. England international Bowen will be among the prime candidates to be offloaded should the east London outfit drop down.
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Liverpool and Chelsea are also understood to be monitoring Bowen’s circumstances closely. Liverpool in particular could emerge as formidable rivals having previously been linked with the attacker, while Mohamed Salah’s departure will demand fresh additions.
Bowen, 29, has registered eight goals and 10 assists so far this season ahead of Sunday’s relegation showdown at home to Leeds. In reality, the Hammers must defeat Leeds and hope Spurs, who sit two points clear, lose at home to Everton to have a realistic chance of staying up.
United may pursue Bowen even should West Ham preserve their top-flight status given Nuno Espirito Santo’s outfit will likely need to offload assets regardless. Carrick’s side are thought to admire Bowen’s adaptability across the forward line, though the intense competition for his services could prove problematic.
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Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package
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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.
Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.
Flick wants Rashford deal
Rashford’s chances of making a permanent move to Barca appear to have strengthened after Hansi Flick gave his backing to the transfer. Reports from Spain indicate the German has told Rashford he expects him back in Catalonia next term.
It recently emerged Barcelona would favour another loan arrangement, with an option to complete a permanent transfer in 2027. United, however, are reluctant to agree to such terms as they look to finalise an outright sale this summer.
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Flick’s reassurance marks a significant development in the saga, as it suggests he may now push Barcelona’s hierarchy to finalise a deal. It’s widely understood La Liga’s back-to-back titleholders are far from financially stable, though United will be hoping Robert Lewandowski’s departure will free the necessary funds to retain Rashford’s services.
It’s been well documented that Barcelona can make Rashford’s loan switch permanent for a sum in the region of £26million. The Spanish giants have tried to drive that price down, but United remain resolute on the valuation for a player who has registered 14 goals and 14 assists this season.
Should Flick fail to land his target, United would presumably be content to showcase Rashford elsewhere and potentially command an even higher sale price. Meanwhile, Carrick would be delighted to welcome the player back to Old Trafford in what could prove a major development in the months ahead.
NEW YORK – Trey Yesavage was never going to pitch in Game 4 of the American League Division Series last fall, but his job that fateful night was to sell the possibility that he might. So, after manager John Schneider floated the idea during his pre-game media availability, the rookie righty walked from the third-base dugout to the visitors’ bullpen in left-centre field, trying to make sure the New York Yankees noticed.
“I needed to make sure I kept a straight face and was, like, serious, because all I wanted to do is just laugh at what was going on,” he recalled this week. “I was definitely taking my time. It was a slower walk. I don’t know, it was so weird for me to be doing that.”
As things turned out, the Toronto Blue Jays didn’t need him anyway during a well-executed bullpen day that clinched the series, but they certainly did Wednesday night after a pair of dispiriting losses in the Bronx. Finally making his Yankee Stadium debut, no subterfuge this time, Yesavage did not disappoint, shaking off a two-hour 11-minute rain delay to outduel fellow phenom Cam Schlittler with six shutout innings in a 2-1 victory.
Just as he was in the post-season, Yesavage was simply dominant, pinning the game under his thumb from his first pitch to his last, allowing only two hits, one on a Trent Grisham blooper to left that dropped in between Kazuma Okamoto and Yohendrick Pinango after they both pulled up looking at one another.
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No matter, Yesavage cleaned up that mess while striking out eight, including Aaron Judge three times. His fastball sat at 95.2, up 1.3 m.p.h. from his season average, he got five of his 13 whiffs with his slider and was never once in a hint of trouble.
Schlittler, dominating to this point with his three fastballs moving in different directions, had to dodge far more traffic and for the most part did, stranding runners in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings before the Blue Jays finally managed to eke out some offence in the seventh.
Ernie Clement singled and Jesus Sanchez walked to open the frame before Brandon Valenzuela dropped a perfect bunt that both Paul Goldschmidt and Austin Wells tried to pick up and dropped, leaving the bases loaded.
Andres Gimenez then fouled off five pitches between 97.3 and 99.3 m.p.h. before working an 11-pitch walk that opened the scoring and ended Schlittler’s night. Jake Bird came in and limited further damage to a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. sacrifice fly to the wall in right but the Blue Jays made the lead hold, even if there was some adventure in getting there.
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Mason Fluharty took over in the top of the seventh and watched a one-out Jazz Chisholm Jr. blooper fall in beyond a charging Gimenez as Daulton Varsho looked on, and then saw Goldschmidt’s flare to right drop in front of a diving Sanchez, who had to leave the game.
Jeff Hoffman came in to kill that rally, getting Amed Rosario to fly out and Ryan McMahon on a dribbler in front of the plate. After Tyler Rogers worked a clean eighth, Louis Varland had to work around a Cody Bellinger double and a Chisholm single, on a chopper that he bobbled, with one out, allowing Goldschmidt’s RBI groundout before striking out Rosario to end it.
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Alex Caruso (9) celebrates with guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) after a 3-pointer during the first half of Game 2 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the San Antonio Spurs Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
OKLAHOMA CITY — The MVP looked like the MVP again, and the NBA Western Conference finals are knotted up.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander bounced back from a subpar series opener to score 30 points, Alex Caruso added 17 off the bench and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 122-113 on Wednesday night in Game 2.
Chet Holmgren scored 13 points and reserves Jared McCain and Cason Wallace each had 12 for Oklahoma City. The Thunder finished with a 57-25 edge in bench scoring, plus a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers.
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Stephon Castle scored 25 points for the Spurs, who got 22 points from Devin Vassell and a 21-point, 17-rebound, six-assist, four-block night from Victor Wembanyama.
Game 3 is Friday in San Antonio.
“The guys brought it tonight. Knowing what it would have meant if we lost this one, we brought the energy from the jump,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
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San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, and guard Dylan Harper (2) defend against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during the first half of Game 2 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Nate Billings)
Isaiah Hartenstein — who barely played in Game 1 — had 10 points and 13 rebounds for the Thunder, who improved to 14-5 after a loss this season — and beat the Spurs for just the second time in seven meetings.
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The win was not without cost for the Thunder, who lost guard Jalen Williams — who had already missed six games in these playoffs with a left hamstring strain — in the first half with a recurrence of the hamstring issue. The Thunder said it was tightness, but even that would figure to put his availability for Friday into doubt.
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And the Spurs got banged up as well. Already without All-Star guard De’Aaron Fox because of ankle soreness, San Antonio lost his replacement in the starting lineup — Dylan Harper — to a right leg injury after he took a couple of awkward falls in the third quarter.
San Antonio was down by 11 at the half and trailed by eight going into the fourth quarter, then got within 99-97 off a corner 3-pointer by Harrison Barnes with 9:06 left.
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The next 2 1/2 minutes saved the Thunder. An 11-0 run by the defending champions — including a banked-in 3-pointer by Jared McCain midway through the burst — pushed OKC’s lead to 13.
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But the Spurs were far from done. Wembanyama scored down low to make it 118-113 with 1:25 remaining, but Gilgeous-Alexander got one last basket to settle things down and send the series to San Antonio tied.
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The 2026 meeting will be a third chance for Jedd Fisch to beat Dan Lanning head-to-head. 
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