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There are five to know on Wednesday
- Thunder and Baker opens a series of leads. Oklahoma City was a touch more dominant than Detroit, but both favorites took care of business on their home court to take 1-0 leads in their respective series. The Thunder overcame 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 in the Pistons’ 111-101 win over the Cavaliers. Here are our nights winners and losers.
- Arsenal have reached the Champions League final. The semi-final is set, and Arsenal’s opponent will know later today with Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. crash in the second leg of the semifinal match (you can see it on CBS and Paramount+ at 3 pm ET). After 44-minute goal from Bukayo Saka and a key challenge from Gabriele Magalhaes, the Gunners beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 to finalize with a 2-1 total victory and a mighty ticket to the last. Athletes meanwhile; They remain looking for a UCL breakthrough.
- 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 Penn State Leafs take Gavin McKenna with the top pick, or will Chase Reid or Ivar Stenberg hear his name called first? Wherever they go, the Maple Leafs will find themselves a new cornerstone of the franchise. And since consensus isn’t the highest expectation, a few teams in the next tier (including the Sharks and Canucks at Nos. 2 and 3) should be happy with what falls to them.
- Tina Charles called it a career. A WNBA legend was hanging up her shoes. Charles He announced that he was from basketball just three days before the start of the 2026 season, he closed out his career as the league’s all-time leader in rebounds and field goals. The former No. 1 overall pick also placed second on the scoring leaderboard. Over 14 seasons, Charles has 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. About the free agent two days of trial on Tuesday and the cook was driven out of his alleged private business by criminal wrongdoing. The case arose late in Ditch’s season with the Patriots, and he pleaded not guilty to a felony charge and a misdemeanor charge in February during the team’s Super Bowl run. New England has since released him, and Diggs is already looking for a new home now that the legal matter is behind him.
Don’t miss this: MLB first-year manager rankings
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More than one-quarter of major league clubs signed new managers at the start of the 2016 season; so it only behooves us to put them first we have now come to one side of the war.
Two hires were heralded as promising at the time, two seemed to come out of left field, and one. Tony Vitello to Giants — hardly sense at all. Turns out, Vitello fostered a culture of reward as an awkward expectation, and very little Year 1 success matched the mask’s insolence. Dayn Perry explained why Vitelloti placed him at the bottom of the ranking among his first-year colleagues.
- Perry: “Sure, I don’t project the Giants (14-21) as serious contenders in the competitive NL West, but Vitello has them hitting their worst season in nearly a decade. If the offense doesn’t improve, the Giants could indeed finish behind the Rockies in the NL West.”
On the flip side, it’s a seamless transition Brian Snitker to Walt Weiss in Atlanta The Braves they are well on their way to winning more games this year than they have lost in 2025 (86) and taking the lead in the NL East.
Agents between Weiss and Vitello.
2. Craig Stammen, Parents
3. Blake Butters, Nationals
4. Skip Schumaker, Rangers
5. Derek Shelton, Fetus
6. Kurt Suzuki, Angels
7. Craig Albernaz, Orioles
Boxing’s pound for pound rankings
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It has been three months since we were placed next to the best boxers in the world; that you may be obliged to restoreespecially after David Benavidez He moved to cruiserweight and defeated one champion Gilbert “Zurdo” Ramirez over the weekend. Now a three-division champion, Benavidez is on the rise in our pound-for-pound rankings, and Brian Campbell has explained the scan.
- Campbell: “The victory made Benavidez the first boxer in history to win titles at 168, 175 and 200 pounds. Benavidez also plans to become the first boxer to simultaneously defend the heavyweight and cruiserweight titles moving forward.”
But not until or after the weekend. Naoya Inoue He entered the biggest match in Japanese history with the top pound-for-pound boxer in the world and went further from it in the rarefied air. He conquers his own invincible Junto Nakatani He was only adding to the legacy as an all-time great.
Here’s how it shakes out the top five:
- 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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That we are watching on Wednesday
⚾ Dodgers in Astro 2:10 pm on MLB Network
⚽ UCL Paris Saint-Germain at Bayern Munich, second leg 3 pm on CBS/Paramount+
⚾ Red Sox at Tigers 6:40 in the afternoon on the peacock
Born in the National; 6:45 pm on ESPN Infinity
🏀 76ers at Knicks, Game 2 7 pm on ESPN
Canadiens at Sabres, Game 1 7 pm on TNT
the sauce on the Yankees 7:05 pm on MLB Network
🏀 Timberwolves at Spurs, Game 2 9:30 pm on ESPN
🏒 Leaders to the Golden Knights, Game 2 9:30 pm on TNT
⚽ Concacaf Champions Cup: LAFC Toluca, second leg; 9:30 pm on FS2
Pirates at Diamondbacks 9:40 pm on MLB Network
Dash at Royals 10 pm on CBS Sports Network