The New York Knicks blasted the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night, 109-93, to take a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is no great surprise. The Knicks are a better team than the Cavs in every area. The Cavaliers let Game 1 slip through their fingers by squandering a 22-point lead with seven minutes to play. The odds of them picking themselves off the mat after that kind of emotional gut punch and rallying back to win Game 2 were very low. 

So the Knicks won the game, and they are probably going to win the series to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1999 in search of their first championship since 1973. It’s good stuff. This is a very good team when clicking, and to say the Knicks have been clicking would be an understatement. 

Thursday’s win was their ninth straight in these playoffs. That does not happen often. After going down 2-1 to the Hawks in a first-round series that appeared to have all the markings of what would have been a disastrous upset, the Knicks closed out Atlanta with three straight wins, swept the Sixers, and have now gone up 2-0 on the Cavs. 

Over that stretch, they have outscored their opponents by 212 points. That is the most lopsided point differential over any nine-game stretch for any team in NBA history. Not just for the playoffs. For any nine-game stretch. That is legitimately crazy. 

To the nines

Best point differential for a team over any nine-game stretch (regular season or playoffs) in NBA history

And here’s how those games break down.

New York’s nine

Look at those numbers. These are blowouts. Against playoff competition. It’s arguably the best nine-game stretch in NBA history.

And yet, the question has to be asked: How much of this do we attribute to the relative weakness of the Eastern Conference?

I understand I’m not going to be a popular man among the New York faithful for even asking this question, and I want to be clear I do not know the answer. I’m just wondering. That’s all. We all know the East has been weaker than the West, by an appreciable margin, for decades. I’m not going to go down the rabbit hole, it just is what it is. LeBron James does not go to eight straight Finals in the West. That’s all there is to it. 

That said, having a couple viable championship contenders, or even just one of them, can create the illusion of conference balance. And maybe the Knicks are that team. They certainly have the look of a team that could win the whole thing. They’ve had a lot of talent for years. But now that talent feels, I don’t know, somehow sturdier. Built to withstand the postseason rigors. A team that erases huge leads rather than coughing them up. 

Jalen Brunson is a total beast. Karl-Anthony Towns is doing everything. Mikal Bridges has gone from a guy who was hardly playable early in the Atlanta series to averaging 18.7 points on 68/50/100 shooting splits. Josh Hart defines a winning player; the Cavs dared him to beat them on Thursday, and he obliged with 26 points and five 3s. OG Anunoby is healthy and basically a perfect playoff player. 

They’re deep. They defend. They shoot. They dominate fourth quarters. Over these past nine games they are shooting 53.6% as a team with a 61.7 effective field-goal percentage. That first number is the best over a nine-game stretch since the 1987 Lakers. The second number is the best ever. You have to seriously squint to find anything that even closely resembles a true weakness on this team. 

And yet, they’re doing it in the East. The Hawks are not any sort of honest gauge for a contender. The Sixers were a play-in team. The Cavs needed seven games to get past the Raptors, and are only here because they played an offensively challenged Pistons team that counts Tobias Harris as its second-biggest weapon and should’ve lost in the first round to the Magic. Perhaps Boston would have given the Knicks a genuine fight in the second round, but they couldn’t hold a 3-1 lead against the play-in Sixers. 

I know how it works, that you can only play who’s in front of you and all that, but I’m looking at a team like Minnesota that is going to be totally forgotten about because they had to play the Nuggets and Spurs in these playoffs. This simply isn’t equitable. I have long believed conferences should be a thing of the past as we move to a 1-16 postseason bracket. It would open up all kinds of fresh matchups. It would get rid of the imbalance.

That’s not going to happen. I get it. And so we are left with trying to evaluate the legitimacy of these Eastern Conference teams through a relative lens. Take last year’s Pacers. They turned out to be an awesome team. They probably would’ve beaten the Thunder had Tyrese Haliburton not blown his Achilles. But that’s not really the point. Once you get to the Finals, anyone can win one series. It’s the path there that I’m wondering about. 

Right now I’m watching the Spurs and Thunder beat the hell out of each other over in the West, and I don’t think there’s a reasonable NBA fan anywhere outside of New York right now that wouldn’t agree that whoever makes it out of that series is going to have a lot more wear and tear on their bodies than the Knicks will have after the way these last nine games have gone. The Knicks are on easy street right now. 

Perhaps that’s a credit to how good they are. I’ll say again, they look awesome. I just don’t know how much to trust the competition. I assume they’ll make it to the Finals, and that’s when we’ll find out for real. 

FOX Sports decided to rank all NFL teams’ “supporting casts” this week — and your Minnesota Vikings have the NFL’s 11th-worst. Most fans perceive the team’s playmakers as one of the team’s strengths, but not everyone agrees.

Minnesota has star power at wide receiver, but national perception still lags behind the roster’s actual upside.

Lists of playmaker rankings really don’t mean anything, but they do provide a thermometer of public opinion. The public says the Vikings are mid.

National Skepticism Follows the Vikings’ Skill Players

No. 22 is the ranking for Minnesota’s WRs, RBs, and TEs.

MIN’s Ranking from FOX Sports

Ranking just ahead of the New Orleans Saints’ supporting cast, Ralph Vacchiano explained Minnesota at No. 22: “They certainly have given whomever is their quarterback some good receivers to work with. Justin Jefferson is as good as any in football when everything is working right with the offense, and Jordan Addison is a strong No. 2. The Vikings also went out and added the underrated Jauan Jennings to give the QB another option. And TE T.J. Hockenson is a big weapon in the passing game, too — at least when he’s healthy.”

“Beyond that, though, they really have to lean into the mind of head coach Kevin O’Connell because there are some issues. The offensive line was not good nor healthy last season.”

Because of Jefferson and Addison on the roster, most Vikings fans expected Minnesota to check in within this ranking’s Top 15. No cigar.

“And they lean way too much on 32-year-old, oft-injured RB Aaron Jones. That lack of a dependable running game is big. It’s why defenses could tee off on Vikings QBs, who were sacked 60 times last season — tied for second-most in the league,” Vacchiano concluded.

Lower Than the … Giants, Steelers, and Patriots?

Vacchiano strangely ranked the Vikings’ playmakers beneath the New York (Giants), Pittsburgh, and New England groups. The Giants have Malik Nabers (injured) and Cam Skattebo (injured). The Steelers showcase DK Metcalf and Jaylen Warren. The Patriots? Treveyon Henderson and Kayshon Boutte. What are we doing? What’s going on?

On the Patriots’ weaponry, Vacchiano noted, “The Pats currently have a bunch of role players in the passing game. Romeo Doubs is a solid No. 2. Kayshon Boutte is a deep threat. And Mack Hollins is a big target, but needs a reduced role at age 32. New England’s strength is in the potent 1-2 RB punch of TreVeyon Henderson and Rhamondre Stevenson.”

“But the real key for this team will be the offensive line. It improved from 2024 yet still gave up a ridiculous 47 sacks in the regular season and a record 21 in four playoff games. There’s a good argument about whether those crazy numbers were more the fault of Drake Maye or his line. But it doesn’t matter. The young QB won’t survive another year like that, especially against a much tougher schedule.”

Doubs, Henderson, and Boutte should not take the cake over Jefferson, Addison, Jennings, Aaron Jones, and Jordan Mason. It doesn’t make sense.

How Much Worse without Jennings?

The Vikings recently signed Jennings from free agency; in theory, had they not, the ranking on Vacchiano’s list might’ve been even more egregious, possibly three to five spots lower.

Still, Jennings is poised to make a significant impact in Minnesota. He’ll seamlessly integrate into three-receiver sets alongside Jefferson and Addison, presenting a formidable challenge for defenses on passing downs. With multiple threats, a favorable matchup would often emerge, and Jennings would be well-positioned to exploit it.

He’ll also likely see a substantial increase in targets within O’Connell’s offense compared to his time in San Francisco. Jennings already embodies the gritty, ‘dirty-work’ mentality Minnesota values, particularly as an elite blocker — a crucial asset for this offense. His role would be genuine, not merely ornamental.

Furthermore, should Jefferson or Addison miss any time, Jennings would immediately elevate to WR1-WR2 status.

The RB Effect?

The culprit behind the FOX Sports clunker regarding Minnesota must be the running backs. Jones is old, and Mason has never experienced an extended run as an RB1. For example, while the Vikings have Jones, Mason, and rookie Demond Claiborne, a team like the Denver Broncos has these options at RB:

• JK Dobbins
• RJ Harvey
• Jonah Coleman

It’s also worth noting that Minnesota has not run the football particularly well under O’Connell.

If you’re looking for an explanation for why the Vikings’ supporting cast must be so putrid compared to fans’ expectations, it must be the running backs. It’s the only thing that makes sense. It’s impossible to look at a WR room with Jefferson and Addison, and say, “Yeah, Romeo Doubs and Kayhson Boutte are better than that.”

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

In the beautiful Basque city of Bilbao, in the north of Spain and which is hosting European rugby finals for the second time, Ulster got their first taste of the San Mames Stadium in the captain’s run on Thursday.

It is a huge occasion, but the session was full of smiles and laughter, rather than any visible nerves.

Ulster may be missing key players, such as Henderson and the injured trio of Stuart McCloskey, Jacob Stockdale and Rob Herring, and only 23 players will take to the pitch on Friday.

But there was unity as the wider group took part in the captain’s run, with players playing football as well as warming up with a rugby ball.

There were no signs of lingering disappointment from Friday’s late defeat by Glasgow Warriors, which ultimately led to them missing out on the top eight in the URC.

“It’s a week that’s not difficult to get up for,” said hooker Tom Stewart.

“We’ve all said it, being in a cup final doesn’t come around too often. It has been a special time for the boys.

“It has been special to get behind Nick and watch how he has taken the team, and watch boys grow into the opportunity that is in front of them.”

By Rodrigo Orihuela and Dylan Sloan

When Lionel Messi was a teenager he received a life-changing offer to join FC Barcelona’s youth team. Sketched out informally on a napkin, the contract included an unconventional clause: a commitment to pay the young footballer’s growth hormone treatment.  

While Ronaldo’s flamboyant persona has long proven a magnet for advertisers from oil products to sportswear, Messi’s marketing machine in the early years of his career at times struggled to match the heights of his on-field talent. But more recently — under the guiding hand of father Jorge — his business career has flourished. A massive pay check from current team Inter Miami, purported TV revenue-sharing deals, real estate holdings and even a stake in an Argentine restaurant chain have all helped land him in the 10-figure club.

It could easily have happened sooner. Many Messi-watchers were surprised when the player, fresh from leading Argentina to World Cup victory in 2022, turned down a huge contract worth $400 million annually to play in the Saudi Pro League. Instead, he opted to join Inter Miami, while Ronaldo signed his own Saudi contract during 2023, worth more than $200 million a year.

The Miami deal also came with innovative perks for Messi, including an unusual equity option that gives him the right to purchase a stake in the club, where retired England star David Beckham is already a shareholder. 

While it’s unclear what stake — if any — Messi has taken in his US team since joining, Inter Miami’s fortunes have been on the rise. The club’s value increased more than a fifth in the year to February to about $1.45 billion, according to Sportico. It’s now the US’s most valuable soccer team, ranking 16th globally and ahead of such teams as Newcastle United.

Apple Deal 

Messi’s US move also opened up other innovative ways of being paid. During initial contract talks, the US football league and Apple discussed a revenue-sharing agreement that would see Messi earn a share of sales from new subscriptions to Apple TV+’s MLS Season Pass streaming package, The Athletic reported. 

From a purely sporting point of view, the move to Inter was seen by some fans as a step down, following a well-trodden path by experienced stars to less-celebrated footballing nations ready to pay for brand-name talent. Before moving, Messi — considered by many the best player of all time — had spent two years at French powerhouse Paris Saint Germain, and prior to that led Barcelona to several Spanish and European titles. He’s also won more Ballon d’Or titles than any other player.

But even as he developed into star at the Catalan club in the 2000s, it took time before his pay really took off: when he signed a contract extension in 2009, Spanish media reported that he was earning about $12 million a year. As salaries have inflated, last season, ten players on the side were making more than that annually, according to data from analytics provider Capology. 

Messi has spent more than half his life in Spain and still maintains strong roots in Barcelona, but is rarely interviewed by media outside Argentina. Widely acclaimed within his home country, especially after the 2022 victory, he struggled in the early years, partly due to his shyness and also because many fans drew tough comparisons with Diego Maradona.

It’s something he’s grappling with even today. In an interview with an Argentine streaming service earlier this year he described himself using a local term for a socially-awkward person, adding that he gets unsettled when daily plans change and watching TV at home alone is among his favorite pastimes.

Off-field Business 

Messi has relied heavily on his father Jorge for much of his off-field dealings, turning to him as agent, business manager and adviser. Alfonso Nebot Armisen, a little-known Spanish banker, has run his private investment firm since 2009. 

At times, though, his business has attracted the attention of Spanish tax authorities, along with peers including Ronaldo. A decade ago, he was found guilty along with Jorge of defrauding the Spanish government of about 4 million euros between 2007 and 2009 over income earned from image rights that went into shell companies. He was handed a prison sentence and fines, though ultimately avoided jail.

Since then, he’s been diversifying. In Dec. 2024, he listed a REIT on a small Spanish exchange, valued at $232 million. The company, Edificio Rostower Socimi, owns several hotels and other commercial real estate. 

He’s also been expanding into consumer goods: in 2024, he released the Más+ by Messi sports drink in partnership with Mark Anthony International SRL, the beverage group behind Mike’s Hard Lemonade. He also joined Argentine restaurant chain El Club de la Milanesa, which specialises in the type of breaded steak that’s a staple in the Latin American nation and one of Messi’s favorite dishes, as an investor — in part to help with its international expansion. 

A former WWE star took a subtle dig at the company. She did so while reacting to a questionable picture.

Scarlett Bordeaux worked for the WWE for several years. However, she spent most of her time as the valet for her husband, Karrion Kross. Despite only competing in a few matches for the company, she was able to get over with the fans. After leaving the sports entertainment juggernaut, she and her husband have been working on the independent scene for various promotions.

Recently, Shotzi took to social media to share a picture of herself spanking Gigi Dolin while other former WWE stars, Scarlett Bordeaux, Karrion Kross, Matt Riddle, and The Good Brothers celebrate as they look on. Scarlett reacted to the picture by taking a subtle dig at her former employer.

“Corporate hates this photo. 😬🍻”

Check out her tweet here.

Corporate could be a WWE reference since the company doesn’t allow its talent to post such pictures on public platforms.

Scarlett Bordeaux opened up about her time in WWE

When Scarlett arrived in World Wrestling Entertainment, the company was looking to move away from the divas era into the women’s revolution. Therefore, women were being involved in serious storylines and matches. However, Scarlett’s gimmick was a throwback to the previous era.

During an interview on D-Von Dudley’s YouTube channel, Scarlett revealed that she upset a lot of people in Stamford-based promotion due to her gimmick, which was a throwback to the previous era that the company was trying to move away from.

“I think they were pushing the Women’s Revolution in the way they were. And my character was the exact opposite of that. It was a throwback. It was a parody, ‘Bring sexy back to wrestling.’ Because all the girls were trying to be serious like the guys. I’m like, ‘No, no. Like, let’s just be a hot chick. Like, bring back bra and panty matches.’ And no one was doing that at the time. No one had their a**es out, no one was doing it, and it pi**ed a lot of people off, including women in the business,” she said.

It remains to be seen what’s next for Scarlett and Karrion Kross.