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Knicks vs. Spurs: Wembanyama’s shove of Brunson a foul, but not flagrant, NBA says

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With about five minutes remaining in the first quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals, Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s shoved Knicks standout Jalen Brunson hard to the ground in a play that resulted in no foul call on the floor. However, NBA Senior Vice President and Head of Development and Training for Referee Operations Monty McCutchen admitted Tuesday that the play should have been whistled as a foul.

“Well, most certainly I think we can all agree that a foul was missed on that play,” McCutchen said on ESPN’s NBA Today. “A big part of our job is on-ball, off-ball exchanges between referees. We did a poor job of that here, where we’ve got two people on ball and we don’t see the screening action. Lots of fighting over screens throughout the game. And if we break down in our fundamentals in even the smallest amounts, we have the opportunity to miss a clear foul as we missed here.”

Despite McCutchen’s comments, the league said Tuesday night that Wembanyama’s shove on Brunson will not be upgraded to a flagrant foul. 

The play itself came with a bit less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter. Josh Hart took the ball up the court, and Brunson was fighting for position with Wembanyama just above the free-throw line. After about a second of physical contact between the two, Wembanyama can be seen shoving Brunson by the head into the ground.

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If it had been upgraded to a flagrant foul, it could have had significant ramifications on the rest of the series. When a player accumulates four flagrant foul points in a single postseason, he is automatically suspended for one game. Wembanyama currently has two flagrant foul points, both accumulated on a single play. In the second round against the Timberwolves, he received a flagrant-2 foul and was ejected for elbowing Naz Reid in the neck.

If the play with Brunson was upgraded to a flagrant-1, Wembanyama would have been just one flagrant foul away from an automatic suspension. It would have undoubtedly affected the physicality he could play with for the rest of the Finals. Instead, he remains at two flagrant foul points heading into Wednesday night’s Game 4. 

While suspensions resulting from players hitting the four-flagrant foul point threshold in the postseason are rare, they do happen. Most notably, Draymond Green was suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 NBA Finals after accumulating four flagrant foul points throughout that postseason, culminating in his absence in a key loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers that eventually led to the first-ever 3-1 Finals comeback at Golden State’s expense.

Wembanyama’s propensity for hard fouls has come under increased scrutiny this postseason, particularly since that elbow to Reid’s neck. In Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he appeared to pull Lu Dort’s hair while running up the court.

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In Game 2 of the NBA Finals, Wembanyama can be seen tossing Knicks backup point guard Jose Alvarado by the neck while fighting for rebounding position following a Dylan Harper layup attempt.

Simply put, the Spurs need Wembanyama on the court. Though the Spurs went 12-6 in the regular season without Wembanyama and they won Game 3 of their first-round series against the Portland Trail Blazers without him, things have only gotten harder as the competition has improved deeper into the postseason.

When Wembanyama was ejected against Minnesota, the Spurs lost Game 4 to the Timberwolves. He has not missed a game in the last two rounds, but the minutes that he rests have become very precarious. In the Western Conference Finals, the Spurs were outscored by 38 points with backup center Luke Kornet on the floor. Thus far in the NBA Finals, the Knicks have won Kornet’s minutes by 17 points.

Beyond even backup center, the Spurs only seem to fully trust six players in this series: Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox, Harper, Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie. Removing Wembanyama from the equation would force San Antonio to lean even more heavily into bench players who have lost prominence as the postseason has progressed. But Tuesday night’s decision by the NBA eases any concerns that Wembanyama won’t be on the court due to disciplinary reasons. 

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Though he was focused more on the free-throw disparity, Knicks coach Mike Brown shared his frustrations with the officials following New York’s Game 3 loss. “I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see a team get 24 free-throw attempts in the second half to another team’s eight,” Brown said Monday night.

When asked about the shove from Wembanyama, Brunson refused to add fuel to the fire. “Whatever you saw is what you saw,” he said.

While the verdict on the Wembanyama-Brunson play did not change, other calls in this series have been adjusted. Mitchell Robinson’s Game 2 technical foul, received for a bit of shoving with Wembanyama, was rescinded on Saturday. A change here would have been far more consequential. 

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Remo Stars Appoint Olumide Ajibolade as New Head Coach

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Remo Stars have announced the appointment of Olumide Ajibolade as the club’s new Head Coach, SportsRation reports.

Ajibolade takes over after several years of success within the Remo Stars Sports Club structure, where he built a strong reputation in youth development and team management.

He joined the Remo Stars Academy in 2019 as the U-17 Head Coach. Following the launch of Beyond Limits Football Academy in 2021, he was appointed head coach and guided the team to sustained success.

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Remo Stars have announced the appointment of Olumide Ajibolade as the club’s new Head CoachRemo Stars have announced the appointment of Olumide Ajibolade as the club’s new Head Coach

During his time at Beyond Limits, Ajibolade led the club to five TCC League titles in six seasons (2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2025/26). He also won back-to-back TCC Cup titles in the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, the TCC Super Cup in 2025, and the Ogun State FA Cup in 2024 and 2026.

He also achieved back-to-back promotions with the club, leading Beyond Limits from the Nationwide League One (NLO) to the Nigeria National League (NNL) in the 2022/23 season before securing promotion to the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) in 2023/24. The team capped that campaign by winning the Nigeria National League title in Enugu.

On the international stage, Ajibolade guided Beyond Limits to victory at the Viareggio Cup in Italy in 2024 and followed it up with consecutive Gothia Cup triumphs in Sweden in 2025 and 2026.

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Widely recognised for his focus on player development, he has helped nurture several young footballers who have gone on to play professionally in Europe and other parts of the world.

His appointment marks a new chapter for Remo Stars as the club prepares for the upcoming season under his leadership. His immediate focus will be on taking Remo Stars back to the NPFL.

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Dynamo transfer F Exon Arzu to Venezuelan club

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MLS Houston Dynamo striker Exon ArzuMLS Houston Dynamo striker Exon Arzu

The Houston Dynamo transferred forward Exon Arzu to Venezuelan club Carabobo FC on Wednesday.

Arzu, 22, had three goals and an assist in 15 matches for MLS NEXT Pro side Houston Dynamo 2 in 2025.

Houston originally acquired Arzu from Real Club Deportivo Espana in his native Honduras in August 2024.

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–Field Level Media

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Oscar De La Hoya names the next great Mexican American superstar: “He’s the one”

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Oscar De La Hoya claims to have unearthed boxing’s next Mexican-American superstar, who he believes has one key advantage over Ryan Garcia.

During his own fighting career, De La Hoya was undoubtedly the most popular boxer of Hispanic descent, consistently generating monstrous pay-per-view and ticket sales.

And now, as a promoter, the Golden Boy boss is confident that his rising star will snatch the mantle from Canelo Alvarez and endear himself to a mammoth Mexican-American audience.

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As things stand, the two flagship names of such heritage appear to be Garcia and David Benavidez, while Canelo remains the ultimate face of Mexican boxing.

Crucially, though, Alvarez did not fight on this year’s Cinco de Mayo weekend, which was instead occupied by Benavidez’s sixth-round stoppage of Gilberto Ramirez.

Garcia, meanwhile, will face Conor Benn on September 12, with Canelo’s clash against WBC super-middleweight champion Christian Mbilli having been pushed back from Mexican Independence Day weekend to October 31.

But while Garcia could, in theory, become boxing’s leading Mexican-American star, De La Hoya has suggested that the WBC welterweight champion’s lack of Spanish represents a slight disadvantage.

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Instead, the Hall of Famer has told Ariel Helwani that 17-year-old prospect Dylan Capetillo has all the ingredients to be ‘the one’.

“[Garcia can be the next Mexican-American star] if he wants to. It’s all about performances inside the ring; it’s all about winning world titles; it’s all about who you fight.

“And you obviously have to make the effort and speak [Spanish] – you have to care. Can he be ‘the one’? Absolutely. But I truly feel ‘the one’ is [Capetillo].”

Capetillo has won both of his fights to date, one of them coming by knockout, and he will have his third outing when he features on the undercard of William Zepeda vs Lamont Roach this weekend.

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$60,500,000 Bills star recruits Stefon Diggs to Buffalo for reunion as All-Pro WR looks for new home

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Training camp is underway and Stefon Diggs remains a free agent. The former All-Pro wide receiver is searching for a new home ahead of Year 12.

Buffalo Bills offensive lineman Dion Dawkins took to Instagram to recruit Diggs. Here’s a look at the duo’s interaction:

Dawkins has been trying to recruit his former teammate for some time. In June, the veteran tackle revealed that he wouldn’t mind a reunion with the wideout.

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According to Yahoo Sports, Dawkins uploaded a post himself. Diggs replied. Dawkins answered back with a message that said: “It’s time.”

Dion Dawkins has spent his entire professional football career with the Buffalo Bills. The five-time Pro Bowler signed a three-year, $60.5 million contract extension ahead of the 2024 season.

Dawkins featured in 15 regular season games and two postseason showdowns in 2025. He earned his fifth consecutive Pro Bowl nod for his efforts.

Stefon Diggs endured mixed fortunes since leaving the Buffalo Bills

Stefon Diggs spent four impressive seasons with the Buffalo Bills. The shifty wide receiver was Josh Allen’s primary target during that spell, earning numerous Pro Bowl nods and leading the Bills to perennial deep postseason runs.

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The Bills traded Diggs and draft consideration to the Houston Texans after the 2023 season. Diggs was poised to help C.J. Stroud and the Texans in their quest for a Super Bowl ring.

Diggs started the 2024 season in decent form, amassing a stat line of 47 receptions, 496 receiving yards, and three touchdowns in eight games. However, his season ended in disaster as he suffered an ACL injury in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts. He missed the rest of the campaign and wasn’t re-signed by DeMeco Ryan’s team.

The New England Patriots signed Diggs to a three-year, $63.5 million contract in the lead-up to the 2025 season. Diggs amassed a stat line of 85 receptions, 1,013 yards, and four touchdowns in 17 regular-season games as the Patriots reached Super Bowl LX, where they lost to the Seattle Seahawks. The perennial Pro Bowler was released in March.

Stefon Diggs is now searching for a landing spot ahead of Year 12. The Buffalo Bills, Washington Commanders, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts are among rumored suitors for his route-running skills.

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