The second round of the 2026 NBA postseason began on Tuesday, and it gave severe “opposite day” vibes. The first matchup between New York and Philadelphia was supposed to be the start of what most expected to be the most competitive series of the round, a rematch of an epic 2024 series that went six games. Nope. New York blew the doors off of Philadelphia in a 137-98 Game 1 victory.

The second game, meanwhile, was the one we expected to be simple. The Timberwolves were hobbled. No Ayo Dosunmu. No Donte DiVincenzo. Anthony Edwards was playing on a minutes limit. Their first-round win over Denver was a tremendous accomplishment, but come on. They were seemingly built for Denver’s size. How would they react to the younger, deeper and more athletic Spurs team, playing at full strength in their home building? Well, we got our answer. Minnesota, a 9.5-point underdog, stole Game 1 in San Antonio.

Monday’s NBA playoff scoreboard

• Game 1: Knicks 137, 76ers 98
• Game 1: Timberwolves 104, Spurs 102

With half of the second round now underway, let’s pick some winners and losers from the two Game 1s we just witnessed on Monday.

Winner: Chris Finch

You could go in any number of directions for Minnesota. Mike Conley played 42 seconds in Minnesota’s Game 3 win over Denver, yet he started this game and made four 3s. Anthony Edwards hyperextended his knee and suffered a bone bruise nine days ago. He played 25 minutes, shot 8 of 13 and helped build the fourth-quarter lead that Minnesota carried across the finish line. Terrence Shannon gave them real minutes. The defense was spectacular. We’re not lacking for choices here.

But at a certain point, we have to extend some credit to the coach who’s making all of these playoff upsets possible. Something about Minnesota’s culture just seems more conducive to the postseason than the regular season. The Wolves are a team-wide playoff riser who has now won a playoff series as an underdog three postseasons in a row and just stunned one of the championship favorites on their home-court shorthanded.

Some of that is cultural. Some of it is strategic. Finch coached an incredible Game 1 full of really creative wrinkles. He toyed with a three-big lineup against Denver featuring Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Julius Randle, and he had more success with it against San Antonio. For most of the fourth quarter, he played without Gobert on the floor so Minnesota could go five-out and draw Wembanyama away from the rim. They scored 35 in the final frame, their most of any quarter in the game. He managed Edwards carefully but effectively, allowing him to finish strong after a fairly light workload throughout the first three quarters.

Really, this is an organizational victory for Minnesota. They’ve had a lot of those recently. Somehow, the Timberwolves built a team that consistently outperforms playoff expectations. If we’re going to condense it to a single name, though, it has to be Finch.

Loser: Victor Wembanyama

Here’s how high of a standard Victor Wembanyama has set: entering tonight, the record for blocks in a single playoff game (at least since they were officially tracked dating back to the 1973-74 season) was 10. Wembanyama tied that record in the third quarter of his fifth playoff game. I struggle to imagine anyone breaking the new record of 12 he set on Monday — except, well, him. He finished the night with a triple-double (11 points, 15 rebounds and 12 blocks), but his offense still underwhelmed.

Wembanyama’s 3-point attempt rate dipped from 47% last season to 32.4% this season. It was a welcome change. He shouldn’t cut triples out of his shot diet, but he’s so dangerous near the basket that the bulk of his shots should be inside. Denver’s struggles against Gobert in the first round were tied to Nikola Jokić’s poor 3-point shooting. The idea, clearly, was to drag Gobert away from the basket to open the rim up for everyone else, and the Spurs did score well at the basket. But Wembanyama missed all eight of his 3-point attempts.

Now, it’s hard to blame him too much for a bad shooting night. That will turn. But Wembanyama did have success attacking Gobert in pick-and-roll and as a driver. When Minnesota went away from Gobert in the fourth quarter, they were very intentional about packing the paint with help whenever he had the ball. The Timberwolves game-planned Wembanyama out of the paint offensively, and that’s the problem the Spurs need to solve in Game 2.

Winner: Jalen Brunson

You could pick pretty much any core Knick as the Game 1 winner. Mikal Bridges seems back on track after a 7-of-10 shooting night in which he defended Tyrese Maxey very well. Karl-Anthony Towns continues to thrive as a top-of-the-key hub, racking up six more assists in a role opposing defenses haven’t cracked yet. OG Anunoby took his playoff 3-point percentage up to… checks notes… 63.75%. Josh Hart just did Josh Hart stuff all night. You can’t really go wrong.

But I’d like to point out that Jalen Brunson has now scored 35 or more points in five consecutive playoff games against the 76ers:

• Game 3, 2024: 39 points on 13-of-27 shooting.
• Game 4, 2024: 47 points on 18-of-34 shooting.
• Game 5, 2024: 40 points on 15-of-32 shooting.
• Game 6, 2024: 41 points on 13-of-27 shooting.
• Game 1, 2026: 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting.

Guard defense was a well-known problem for the 76ers coming into this series, and Joel Embiid’s mobility in pick-and-roll defense isn’t great. Philadelphia could take Embiid off of New York’s big men and instead let him serve as a helper off of Josh Hart, but the Knicks have seen plenty of that over the past two seasons and seem more comfortable than ever in dealing with it. Besides, Embiid wasn’t particularly active defensively in this game regardless.

What’s so scary about this outburst, specifically, is the number of shots. Brunson got his points without completely monopolizing the offense. Three other starters scored at least 17. If New York can keep Bridges in a rhythm and maximize Towns as a weapon away from the basket without sacrificing Brunson’s individual offense, that’s probably checkmate for Philadelphia. The Knicks are at their worst when they’re a one-man band. They found the proper balance in the last three games against Atlanta and are absolutely humming thus far against the 76ers.

Loser: Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid

Boston is a juicy matchup for Maxey and Embiid. Derrick White is a great defensive guard, but more so in a help role than straight up against stars. Maxey was too quick for him. Boston’s center rotation consists of two players making minimum money in Neemias Queta and Luka Garza and a career-long defensive liability in Nikola Vučević. Queta couldn’t stop fouling him, Vučević was too slow to contest Embiid’s pick-and-pop jumpers. It’s not terribly surprising that Philadelphia’s two best players thrived in that series.

The Knicks represent an entirely different set of problems. Philadelphia got Karl-Anthony Towns into foul trouble, but Mitchell Robinson is far more defensively capable than anyone Boston had. The Knicks have a number of quick reserve guards who can at least keep pace with Maxey, most notably Deuce McBride and Jose Alvarado, and Mikal Bridges had one of his better defensive games of the postseason as his primary matchup.

Embiid and Maxey still managed to get to the line. They almost always will. But they combined to shoot 6 of 20 from the field. The volume there is as concerning as the efficiency. They took between 40 and 44 field goals combined in Games 5, 6 and 7 against Boston, which is probably around where the Sixers would like them in any big game. But the Knicks are so much better equipped to guard them and were so stout in help on Monday that very few easy points were available to them. Philadelphia played a Game 7 two days ago. They’re at a rest and game-planning disadvantage against a Knicks team that closed its own series out far less stressfully two days earlier. There’s plenty of room here for the old “play better” adjustment, but if they come out this flat in Game 2, this won’t be much of a series.

The Minnesota Vikings drafted four defensive players before the end of Round 3 in the 2026 NFL draft, the most such selections before the start of Round 4 in franchise history. Now, according to ESPN, two of those rookies have outside chances of winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award: defensive tackle Caleb Banks and linebacker Jake Golday.

Banks and Golday already have outside attention before playing a snap.

No Vikings player has won rookie of the year since 2009, when wide receiver Percy Harvin brought home the hardware.

Minnesota’s Defensive Youth Movement Gets Early Buzz

Do you think Banks and Golday have a shot at DROY glory?

ESPN Names Banks a ‘Longshot” Contender for DROY

Ben Solak analyzed the Rookie of the Year chase at length last week, and on Banks, he noted: “No defensive tackle has won Rookie of the Year since Aaron Donald in 2014, and the only other tackle to do it this century was Ndamukong Suh. Banks is that sort of talent and an enticing bet accordingly. But he has a foot injury that’s impossible to overlook.”

“He also plays in a Brian Flores defense that doesn’t allow defensive tackles to play the sort of unhinged, penetration-oriented style that leads to sacks. Sure, the Vikings spent an early pick on Banks — but as head coach of the Dolphins in 2019, Flores used the No. 13 pick on Christian Wilkins, and he had two sacks as a rookie. It’s hard to see the path for Banks.”

Banks broke a bone in his foot at the NFL Combine in late February, so fans will monitor whether he will be ready for Week 1, let alone contend for DROY.

Golday, Too

Calling Golday, a 2nd-Rounder from Cincinnati, an even longer long shot, Solak opined, “Golday is an off-ball/on-ball tweener who will be stuck behind established starters at both positions: Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner at outside linebacker; Eric Wilson and Blake Cashman at inside linebacker.”

“He will undoubtedly have flashy plays in subpackages, but he simply will not see enough snaps — barring injury — to contend for this award.”

Many consider a Golday a “raw” prospect, and with the Vikings showcasing tremendous ILB depth, it’s unclear if Golday will carve out a meaningful role on defense as a rookie. Stay tuned.

The Other Contenders

From the Vikings’ rookie haul, four other men have outside chances of contending for OROY or DROY:

• Domonique Orange (NT)
• Jakobe Thomas (S)
• Charles Demmings (CB)
• Demond Claiborne (RB)

The league doesn’t typically acknowledge nose tackles for DROY, but in theory, if Orange logged 5-7 sacks as a rookie, he could move the needle. Thomas probably won’t win a starter’s job this summer, but if he pulled off that feat, he could, in theory, raise eyebrows.

On Demmings, if Byron Murphy Jr. or Isaiah Rodgers fell injured this summer, Flores could tap him on the shoulder to start as a rookie, casting his profile into a national spotlight.

Overall, after Banks, Claiborne is probably the most likely Viking to contend for OROY. If one pretends that he barnstorms the summer, so much so that he cannot be denied the RB1 job, he could turn heads in an offense tailor-made for offensive creativity.

On the whole, Banks is the favorite Viking to win the award, assuming his injured foot is ready for Week 1.

A Draft Class That Must Hit

The firing of former general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in January can be traced directly to the draft.

His draft success rate remained persistently low. Since 2022, only about 18% of Minnesota’s draft picks have proven successful, leaving too many gaps on a roster that desperately needs inexpensive, young talent. A stagnant draft pipeline forces reliance on costly free agency, which explains why the Vikings increasingly depended on older players to remain competitive.

The unsustainable approach eventually catches up. The next general manager, whether Rob Brzezinski or an external candidate, faces one critical mandate: the draft must yield results. Minnesota urgently needs an influx of starting-caliber players on rookie contracts to stabilize the roster and reset its long-term trajectory. The draft is only place in the NFL to find players for free.

The success of this strategy hinges on current prospects as well. Players such as Banks, Golday, Orange, Thomas, Demmings, and Claiborne must develop into legitimate contributors. If this group delivers, the roster will become younger, faster, and more sustainable. If not, the Vikings will remain trapped in the same cycle — absolutely required to win in free agency across the board to cleanse the draft sins. In 2024, that strategy worked. A year later, it flopped.

A fancy rookie of the year trophy would be the cake topper.

Manchester City star Phil Foden has struggled for form in recent months but has been backed publicly by his manager and now the club

Phil Foden is set to sign a new long-term deal that keeps him at Manchester City after a breakthrough in contract negotiations. The homegrown star will commit for at least another four years, ending uncertainty around his future with his current contract running out next summer.

Foden jointly holds the record as the club’s most decorated player, breaking into Pep Guardiola’s squad from the academy in the 2017/18 season and playing a major role in an unprecedented level of success. He was voted as the best player in the Premier League after guiding City to their fourth consecutive title in the 2023/24 season, although he has seen his form diminish sharply since.

The player admitted to suffering from physical and mental burnout last season and appeared to be refreshed this season with excellent form shown between September and December, but his level has dropped again and the last league game he started was the disappointing draw with Nottingham Forest more than two months ago.

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Despite that, Guardiola has been adamant throughout that Foden will rediscover his best form and has regularly turned to him as a substitute in that time. The club have now shown their backing for the 25-year-old by handing him a new deal that ties him to the Etihad until 2023, with the option of another year.

As reported by the Athletic, the contract negotiations have been handled by Rafaela Pimenta – the super agent who represents Erling Haaland and agreed his nine-and-a-half-year contract extension last year. Foden is still hoping to be called into the England squad for the World Cup this summer, but faces a nervous wait as Thomas Tuchel weighs up his options.

A newly published, 95-page Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has revealed how the sovereign wealth fund has “facilitated and benefited from human rights abuses” and how sportswashing has helped “to whitewash reputational harm.”

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Finals were held in Riyadh in November, the first installment of a three-year agreement. The prize money was $5.15 million (€4.87 million) for the tournament, matching that of the ATP Finals. This meant for the first time ever, the women’s and men’s year-end champions earned the same reward.

The sums of money being poured into golf, football and motor racing in Saudi Arabia have also been astoundingly high, too. As demand grows for more professionalism within women’s sports across multiple disciplines, the significant financial incentives being offered by the PIF are hard to turn down, especially in a sporting landscape where women’s teams often struggle for funding, sponsorships and visibility.

“Investing in women’s sports sends great signals to both the domestic Saudi population and the rest of the world that they are doing great stuff for women,” Stanis Elsborg, head of Play the Game — an initiative promoting democracy, transparency and freedom of expression in world sport — told DW.

“Which then leads to more or less or no discussion about the continued human rights abuses of women in the country.”

Reality different for women in Saudi Arabia

While the push for equality is supposedly evident, women in Saudi Arabia continue to live under strict male guardianship laws.

The system requires women to obtain permission from a male relative — usually a father, husband or brother — for many aspects of their lives, including marriage, travel and sometimes access to health care or education.

Even after recent incremental progress for women in Saudi Arabia, problems remain.

“There are still a number of women’s rights defenders, either in prison or under house arrest, serving long prison sentences for social media posts advocating for women’s rights,” Minky Worden, HRW’s director of global initiatives, told DW.

Worden also believes the male guardianship system might have played a role in the poor crowd numbers for the WTA Finals in Riyadh.

“Moreover, the WTA did not do the work to make it safe for their players, because their players were being questioned about the women in jail. That’s not right,” Worden said.

“The players should have been concentrating on playing their best game, not worrying about whether a journalist is going to ask them why they aren’t doing more to get women’s rights defenders out of jail.”

Earlier in 2024, former tennis legends Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova wrote an open letter to WTA chief Steve Simon saying hosting the finals in Saudi Arabia “would represent a significant step backwards” and that it was “entirely incompatible with the spirit and purpose of women’s tennis and the WTA itself.”

Eventual tournament winner Coco Gauff admitted she had her “reservations” about playing in Saudi Arabia, citing the country’s treatment of women and the LGBTQ+ community. Gauff said she was hopeful the WTA’s presence in Saudi Arabia for the next three years would help introduce more Saudi women to tennis and “enact more equality.”

Women central to much-publicized Saudi Vision 2030

Since 2018, Saudi Arabia’s PIF has invested billions of euros into men’s sports, and the country look set to host the 2034 men’s FIFA World Cup. The decision to diversify toward investing in women’s sports appears an equally considered move.

Women are central to the much-publicized Saudi Vision 2030, the country’s ambitious blueprint for economic and social reform, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. A key goal of the plan is to empower women to contribute more significantly to Saudi society and its workforce.

Currently, though, as the HRW report found, there is no evidence that “PIF-funded projects advanced the government’s obligations to fulfill economic, social and cultural rights of its people.”

“I do believe that they have an interest in getting more women to do sports in Saudi Arabia and get a healthier population,” said Elsborg.

“I also think that one of the key factors behind their sport strategy is that they really don’t want people to talk about the lack of women’s or LGBTQ+ rights. They want us to talk about all the good things that they do for world sport and that they do for women’s sports as well.”

While the increased remuneration remains attractive, many female athletes have raised their voices against Saudi Arabia’s involvement in women’s sports.

In October, in response to an announcement that FIFA was entering into a partnership with Saudi Arabia’s state oil company Aramco, over 100 international players signed an open letter criticizing the deal as a betrayal of women’s sports values and human rights. The group suggested including female athletes on decision-making boards for future partnerships.​

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“Players have no say when it comes to sponsorships and partnerships and that’s one of the big problems,” Elsborg said.

“What the players expressed in their letter to FIFA about having a review committee, where the players could have more say about sponsorships their organizations have, could possibly be a way forward for women’s sport.”

Edited by: Jonathan Harding

Former India player Ravi Shastri has opined that the IPL 2026 clash between the Delhi Capitals (DC) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) would be a great contest. He highlighted that CSK have gathered momentum lately, with Ruturaj Gaikwad’s return to form also helping his captaincy.

DC and CSK will square off in the 48th game of IPL 2026 in Delhi on Tuesday, May 5. Both sides have garnered eight points from nine games, with CSK placed a rung higher at sixth on the points table due to their superior net run rate.

During a discussion on JioHotstar, Shastri reckoned that Gaikwad and Sanju Samson’s form should make CSK competitive in their IPL 2026 clash against DC. However, he gave Axar Patel and company a slight edge in Tuesday’s game.

“It will be a mighty contest because the Chennai Super Kings have got a little momentum. Having said that, the Delhi Capitals have been slightly unlucky this season. They have lost many close matches, with little, little mistakes, or else they would have had four more points. Mitchell Starc has returned. So their bowling has gotten strengthened a little,” the former India all-rounder said.

“Ruturaj Gaikwad coming in form makes a huge difference because there is a difference in his captaincy as well. Sanju Samson is in tremendous form. If the top three of any side fires, it means you are in the contest. I would give Delhi the slight upper hand because it’s a home game and because of the team they have. These are extremely important two points,” he added.

Sanju Samson has amassed 315 runs at a strike rate of 167.55 in nine innings in IPL 2026. Ruturaj Gaikwad has scored 245 runs, including unbeaten half-centuries in CSK’s previous two games, at a strike rate of 125.64 in his nine hits.

“Chennai would want to maintain the momentum, but it won’t be easy” – Harbhajan Singh on DC vs CSK IPL 2026 clash

In the same discussion, former India spinner Harbhajan Singh highlighted the significance of Tuesday’s IPL 2026 clash and opined that it won’t be easy for CSK to maintain their winning momentum.

“As Ravi bhai said, these might be the two most crucial points because whichever team loses, their chances of qualifying would become minimal. You have to win every match now. Chennai would want to maintain the momentum, but it won’t be easy,” he said.

The former CSK player gave DC the edge, highlighting that the five-time champions haven’t fired as a unit with bat and bowl.

“Delhi will be a stronger team in Delhi. I feel Delhi have much better bowling options. Chennai have won, but they have won with great difficulty. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Kartik Sharma batted well. However, their batting or bowling hasn’t flourished fully as a team,” Harbhajan observed.

However, Harbhajan Singh acknowledged that the Delhi Capitals would have to work hard for the two points. He added that the home team needs to come up with better game plans, pointing out that they couldn’t defend even a 264-run total against the Punjab Kings (PBKS) at the same venue.