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🏀 Five things to know Wednesday
- The Thunder and Pistons opened up series leads. Oklahoma City was a touch more dominant than Detroit, but both favorites took care of business on home court to take 1-0 leads in their respective series. The Thunder outdid LeBron James’ 27-point effort and won all four quarters in a 108-90 triumph over the Lakers, while six players scored in double figures for the Pistons in a 111-101 win over the Cavaliers. Here are our nightly winners and losers.
- Arsenal are headed to the Champions League final. Half of the final is set, and Arsenal will know their opponent later today when Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich clash in their second-leg semifinal match (you can watch it on CBS and Paramount+ at 3 p.m. ET). Behind a 44th-minute goal from Bukayo Saka and a key challenge from Gabriel Magalhaes, the Gunners defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 to finalize a 2-1 aggregate victory and punch their ticket to the final. Atleti, meanwhile, remain in search of a UCL breakthrough.
- The Maple Leafs will pick first in the 2026 NHL Draft. Toronto won the lottery and is now on the clock in this summer’s draft. Will the Leafs take Penn State’s Gavin McKenna with that top overall pick, or will it be Chase Reid or Ivar Stenberg that hears his name called first? No matter which direction they go, the Maple Leafs will have themselves a new franchise cornerstone. And given that there is no consensus top prospect, the next few teams in the order (including the Sharks and Canucks at Nos. 2 and 3) ought to be happy with whomever falls to them.
- Tina Charles called it a career. A WNBA legend is hanging up her shoes. Charles announced her retirement from basketball just three days before the start of the 2026 season and closed her career as the league’s all-time leader in rebounds and field goals. The former No. 1 overall pick also ranks second on the scoring leaderboard. Over 14 seasons, Charles accumulated numerous accolades, including Rookie of the Year, 2012 MVP and eight All-Star selections.
- A Massachusetts jury found Stefon Diggs not guilty of assault and strangulation charges. The free agent wide receiver completed his two-day trial on Tuesday and was cleared of criminal wrongdoing in an alleged incident with his private chef. The case arose late in Diggs’ lone season with the Patriots, and he pleaded not guilty to the felony and misdemeanor charges in February amid the team’s Super Bowl run. New England has since released him, and Diggs will now seek a new home now that the legal matter is behind him.
⚾ Do not miss this: MLB first-year manager rankings
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More than one-quarter of major-league clubs broke in new managers in the 2026 season’s early going, so it’s only fitting for us to rank them now that we’ve reached the one-quarter mark of the campaign.
A couple of hires were heralded at the time as promising moves, a couple seemed to come out of left field and one — Tony Vitello to the Giants — hardly made sense at all. Turns out, the Vitello hire has fostered about as awkward of a culture as expected, and there is very little Year 1 success to mask the strangeness of the fit. Dayn Perry explained why he ranked Vitello at the bottom of the pecking order among his first-year colleagues.
- Perry: “To be sure, the Giants (14-21) didn’t profile as serious contenders in a competitive NL West, but Vitello has them on target for their worst season in almost a decade. If the offense doesn’t improve, the Giants could indeed finish behind the Rockies in the NL West.”
On the flip side, there was the seamless transition from Brian Snitker to Walt Weiss in Atlanta. The Braves are well on their way to winning more games this year than they lost in 2025 (86), and hold a commanding lead in the NL East.
As for the managers between Weiss and Vitello …
2. Craig Stammen, Padres
3. Blake Butera, Nationals
4. Skip Schumaker, Rangers
5. Derek Shelton, Twins
6. Kurt Suzuki, Angels
7. Craig Albernaz, Orioles
🥊 Boxing pound-for-pound rankings
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It has been three months since we last ranked the best boxers in the world, so we’re due for a refresh, especially after David Benavidez moved up to cruiserweight and knocked out unified champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez over the weekend. Now a three-division champion, Benavidez is on the climb in our pound-for-pound rankings, and Brian Campbell explained the climb.
- Campbell: “The victory made Benavidez the first boxer in history to win titles at 168, 175 and 200 pounds. Benavidez plans to also become the first boxer to simultaneously defend light heavyweight and cruiserweight titles moving forward.”
That was not the only notable result from the weekend, though. Naoya Inoue entered the biggest match in Japanese history as the world’s top pound-for-pound boxer and walked away from it further entrenched in that rarified air. His win over undefeated Junto Nakatani only added to his legacy as an all-time great.
Here’s how the top five shakes out:
- Naoya Inoue (Previously: 1)
- Oleksandr Usyk (2)
- Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez (3)
- David Benavidez (6)
- Shakur Stevenson (4)
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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📺 What we’re watching Wednesday
⚾ Dodgers at Astros, 2:10 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ UCL Paris Saint-Germain at Bayern Munich, second leg, 3 p.m. on CBS/Paramount+
⚾ Red Sox at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on Peacock
⚾ Twins at Nationals, 6:45 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
🏀 76ers at Knicks, Game 2, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Canadiens at Sabres, Game 1, 7 p.m. on TNT
⚾ Rangers at Yankees, 7:05 p.m. on MLB Network
🏀 Timberwolves at Spurs, Game 2, 9:30 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Ducks at Golden Knights, Game 2, 9:30 p.m. on TNT
⚽ Concacaf Champions Cup: LAFC at Toluca, second leg, 9:30 p.m. on FS2
⚾ Pirates at Diamondbacks, 9:40 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ Dash at Royals, 10 p.m. on CBS Sports Network
Article Originally Posted Here.