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16 seasons and a 41-point performance later, Chris Paul heads to his first NBA Finals after landslide victory over the Clippers on Wednesday. View the original article to see embedded media. Time to party like it’s 1993.  The Suns advanced to their first Finals in nearly three decades in Wednesday’s 130-103 win over the Clippers, with the franchise’s landmark victory cementing Chris Paul’s legacy as an all-time great point guard. This frankly shouldn’t have been a question entering the 2021 playoffs. Paul has logged over 15 years of quality point guard play, with his best years in New Orleans and Los Angeles representing peak performance at his position this century. Paul went toe-to-toe with Kobe and the Lakers in 2011. He buried a series-winner in Game 7 vs. San Antonio in 2015, and he’d probably already have a Finals berth to his name had he not hurt his hamstring in the 2018 Western Conference finals. There are playoff clunkers on Paul’s resume to be sure, including season en

Patrick Beverley shoved Paul in the back as the two teams walked toward their benches near the end of Phoenix's 130-103 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. View the original article to see embedded media. As Suns point guard Chris Paul was putting the finishing touches on what would become a series-clinching win that sent Phoenix to the NBA Finals, Clippers guard Patrick Beverley let his frustrations get the better of him. As the teams went to their respective benches following a timeout, Beverley shoved Paul in the back and to the ground after Paul hit a deep three-pointer. The shot gave the Suns a 26-point lead with under six minutes to go. Beverley was issued a technical foul and ejected from the game. He finished with 11 points and three assists, as the Suns went on to win, 130-103. The Suns led virtually wire-to-wire in this one, never trailing since late in the first quarter. Phoenix outscored Los Angeles 64–46 in the second half and shot 17-for-31 on th

JSU's Antwan Owens is one of the country's first athletes to take advantage of the NCAA's newly enacted name, image and likeness policy. Antwan Owens’s hair isn’t necessarily anything special. He used to grow it out, a miniature afro standing atop his head. He’s older now, a fifth-year senior in college whose hair style matches the stage of his career.It’s trimmed somewhat short, edged around the front, back and sides. There’s no party in the back with Owens—he’s all business.. And now it quite literally is his business. Owens, a defensive end at Jackson State, made history on Thursday, becoming what is believed to be the first college athlete to sign an endorsement deal on a seismic day in college athletics. In a midnight ceremony from a New York City hotel, Owens inked with 3 Kings Grooming, a black-owned hair product business that made the first splash of what is expected to be a historic, tide-turning date for athletes across the country. “Somebody pinch me!” Ow

After losing Game 1 of the College World Series final, Mississippi State completed its comeback over Vanderbilt to win the school's first varsity team title in any sport. Starkville, the wait is over: Your Bulldogs are national champions. Mississippi State bulldozed Vanderbilt in Game 3 of the College World Series Final on Wednesday, winning 9-0 behind a lights-out pitching performance and top-to-bottom contributions from the lineup. Facing Vanderbilt's Kumar Rocker, widely considered to be among the top picks in next month's MLB draft, the Bulldogs struck for three runs through two innings thanks to some Vanderbilt miscues. Rocker walked two batters and made an error in the first two frames. The Bulldogs blew the game open in the fifth, as four of the first five hitters singled to make the score 5-0 and knock Rocker out of the game. Mississippi State scored four more times in the seventh inning on a solo home run by Logan Tanner and a three-run blast by Kellum Clark t

Josh Donaldson backed up his talk with another home run against the White Sox on Wednesday. Twins third baseman Josh Donaldson has never been shy about speaking his mind. On Wednesday, he backed up his talk with another moonshot. One day after homering off of White Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito—and then criticizing him for allegedly using sticky substances in the past to illegally increase his grip—Donaldson again went deep off of Dylan Cease in his first at-bat of the game. Donaldson took a moment to admire his work on Wednesday, which isn't exactly a surprise given his comments earlier in the day. "What do we know about this sticky substance? What does it do, what does it help with? It helps with spin rate," Donaldson said before noting how Giolito's spin rate has declined since the league decided to crack down on policing the use of foreign substances. "If we're gonna talk about class, what side are you gonna choose? Are you gonna take the side o

In a 67-page domestic violence restraining order, the 27-year-old woman details being choked unconscious and repeatedly punched by the Dodgers pitcher. View the original article to see embedded media. Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer is under investigation for assaulting a woman earlier this year . Details of the alleged abuse have come to light in a report by Brittany Ghiroli and Katie Strang of The Athletic  that describe two incidents in which Bauer assaulted the survivor. The woman reportedly has filed a domestic violence restraining order against Bauer. The 67-page document was executed on June 28 and reportedly contains graphic images of the assaults. According to the report, Bauer and the 27-year-old woman met on Instagram and, after exchanging messages, met in person on April 21 in Los Angeles. The two had sex that the woman says began as consensual. Bauer then asked whether the woman had ever been choked. When she said yes, he put his fingers down her throat "in an aggr

Trea Turner is only the fourth player in the last 100 years to hit for the cycle three times. Nationals shortstop Trea Turner hit for the cycle for the third time in his career on Wednesday to tie the record for the most during the modern era. The only other players to hit for the cycle three times in the last 100 years are Adrián Beltré, Babe Herman and Bob Meusel. Turner, who turned 28 Wednesday, sealed the monumental milestone in the bottom of the sixth inning against the Rays. He sent an 88 mph cutter to right field on a 1–1 count and had no intention for settling for second, racing onto third and sliding in headfirst to clinch the cycle in the minimum four at-bats. The former first-round pick has never been selected to compete in the All-Star Game , but this could be the sort of signature achievement that gets him there. More MLB Coverage:   Former Mets GM Jared Porter Placed on MLB Ineligible List Márquez Loses No-Hitter Bid, But Achieves Something Better Santiago S

Moultrie, who trained and played in preseason games for the past three seasons with the Thorns, was not allowed to play in official NWSL matches. View the original article to see embedded media. The Portland Thorns signed 15-year-old Olivia Moultrie to a three-year contract with an option , the team announced on Wednesday.  Portland acquired the rights to the midfielder in a trade from OL Reign, who acquired her rights as the first team on the NWSL Discovery Priority List, in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2022 NWSL Draft.  Moultrie has trained and played in preseason games for the past three seasons with the Thorns, but was not allowed to play in official NWSL matches.  "After the development of a comprehensive minor player protection plan and execution of a SPA, special addendum, and parent guaranty, the NWSL welcomed Olivia Moultrie into the league today," the NWSL said in a statement. "The NWSL continues to believe that age requirements for the league

College athletes can now profit from endorsements and sponsorships starting Thursday. As of Thursday, July 1, all NCAA athletes will be able profit from their name, image and likeness after the governing bodies from all three NCAA divisions voted to approve the interim NIL policy Wednesday. College athletes will still have to adhere by NIL rules in their specific states, but can now profit from sponsorships and endorsements.  Students who play for programs in a state without an NIL law can still engage in this type of activity and not be in violation of the rules. Colleges and universities will decide whether or not certain activities are in accordance with state laws. All three divisions agreed to continue to avoid " pay-for-play and improper inducements tied to choosing to attend a particular school ," however.  The interim policy will be enforced until federal legislation passes or new NCAA rules are introduced.  "This is an important day for college athletes s

Olympic organizers have amended their policy regarding the attendance of family members at the Tokyo Games. Olympic organizers announced Wednesday they will allow the babies of breastfeeding mothers to attend the Summer Games in Tokyo in July. Wednesday's announcement marks an update on the previous policy regarding family members at the Olympics. There are no international guests allowed at the Tokyo Games, including both friends and family members.  "Given that the Tokyo 2020 Games will take place during a pandemic, overall we must unfortunately decline to permit athletes' family members or other companions to accompany them to the Games," Tokyo 2020 organizers told Reuters . "However, after careful consideration of the unique situation facing athletes with nursing children, we are pleased to confirm that, when necessary, nursing children will be able to accompany athletes to Japan." Numerous athletes appearing in the upcoming Olympics  spoke out aga

The reigning World Cup champion has enviable talent, squad depth and a blueprint for success. So how did its Euros wind up with a last-16 exit to Switzerland? View the original article to see embedded media. It didn't take much to see that Group F at Euro 2020 was unequivocally the competition's Group of Death . Yet none of the sides in it have reached the quarterfinals of the tournament , which might be taken as evidence that in football, as William Goldman said of show business, nobody knows anything. Except we did know Hungary was game for a challenge despite its limitations. And we did wonder about the integration of this Portugal side, even if nobody expected the complete capitulation against Germany . And we’d seen Germany fall apart at the last World Cup and in some significant, subsequent losses; that Joachim Löw should not have been allowed to continue as coach after Russia 2018 had been increasingly apparent with each passing week. Both the 2016 European champion

A fantasy football breakdown of the New Orleans Saints by high-stakes legend Shawn Childs Coaching Over the last 15 seasons with Sean Payton as the head coach (suspended in 2012) and Drew Brees at quarterback, the Saints finished first or second in the NFL in offense yards nine times. Payton has a 143-81 record with one Super Bowl title (2009) and nine playoff appearances (8-7). They’ve won 11 or more games in each of the past four years. Payton enters 2021 without Drew Brees, who retired after an excellent career. New Orleans scored 482 points (5th), 24 points more than 2019 (458). The Saints regressed to 12th in offensive yards gained, which was their fourth season of decline. From 2006 to 2017, they finished in the top five in offensive yards every year except in 2010 (6th). Pete Carmichael returns for his 12th season as the offensive coordinator. New Orleans added him to their system in 2006 when Payton took over running the team. The Saints’ defense climbed to fourth in yar

Portland had a chance to address the allegations against Chauncey Billups head on. Instead the team insulted its fans. Olshey and the Blazers introduced Billups at a press conference on Tuesday. The Trail Blazers had two options for handling Chauncey Billups’s candidacy for their head-coaching position. One was to hire somebody else. The second was to hire Billups, then explain that while they feel secure in their vetting of the 1997 sexual assault allegation against Billups, they understand that some fans have questions and concerns and might not want Billups, and they respect that. The Blazers created and then chose a third option: hire Billups and tell everybody to shut up. The Blazers did not say those exact words, of course. But they came shamefully close. Billups said the incident shaped his life, but when somebody asked him how, the Blazers’ PR staff shut down the question. Longtime general manager Neil Olshey, who should know better, said the team’s investigation was “pro

The spectator who held a banner along the side of the road at the Tour de France on Saturday and caused a major collision has reportedly been arrested. The spectator who held a banner along the side of the road at the Tour de France on Saturday that made contact with cyclist Tony Martin and caused a major collision has been arrested, according to the French newspaper RTL . The accident happened during the first of the race’s 21 stages, in the municipality of Saint-Cadou. Martin's fall and the subsequent fall of dozens of other riders held up the race for several minutes.  Over the weekend, Tour de France deputy director Pierre-Yves Thouault told the AFP news agency they plan to sue the woman "so that the tiny minority of people who do this don't spoil the show for everyone. " The Tour also took to Twitter to say:  "We're glad to have the public on the side of the road on the #TDF2021. But for the Tour to be a success, respect the safety of the rider

Subway sandwiches aren’t part of the TB12 method. Footlong BMT, hold the nightshades Although Tom Brady’s dietary philosophy could generally be described as “eat fresh,” anyone familiar with his incredibly restrictive TB12 diet knows he wouldn’t be caught dead in a Subway. And yet, according to Terry Lefton of Sports Business Journal , Brady has signed on to be the newest pitchman for the sandwich chain. Brady has already shot a Subway ad, which is expected to debut in about a month, Lefton reports, but it won’t feature him holding a sandwich. Bringing the notoriously health-conscious Brady on board makes sense for Subway as it tries to rebuild its image as a healthier alternative to other fast food. The chain is dealing with a couple of unsavory controversies over the content of its food. A New York Times analysis earlier this month found that Subway’s tuna contains “no amplifiable tuna DNA” and Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled last year that its loaves contain too much sugar to b

A Maddux—a shutout on fewer than 100 pitches—is rarer than a no-hitter, and perhaps a more intriguing feat to pull off. View the original article to see embedded media. Welcome to The Opener, where every weekday morning you’ll get a fresh, topical column to start your day from one of SI.com ’s MLB writers. When Germán Márquez allowed a ninth-inning lead-off hit Tuesday—a solidly hit single to right field—he lost his bid for a no-hitter. It came with all the typical notes of such a moment: A crowd that had risen to its feet in anticipation shifted to one giving a standing ovation. They applauded to show their appreciation for a job well done, and they applauded to show that it was clearly, unambiguously over . It did not particularly matter that the game was ongoing. It mattered only that its central story line had wrapped up. Which is something of a shame. Because Márquez went on to do something that is arguably more intriguing than a no-hitter: He made quick work of the next f

SI Fantasy and Gambling editor Ben Heisler breaks down his top plays for this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic from the Detroit Golf Club. Previous 2021 PGA Tour Event Winners & DraftKings Salary Travelers Championship: Harris English ($8,200) U.S. Open: Jon Rahm ($11,200) Palmetto Championship at Congaree: Garrick Higgo ($9,000) The Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide: Patrick Cantlay ($9,500) Charles Schwab Challenge: Jason Kokrak ($9,000) PGA Championship: Phil Mickelson ($6,700) AT&T Byron Nelson : Kyoung-Hoon Lee ($6,900) Wells Fargo Championship : Rory McIlroy ($10,000) Valspar Classic : Sam Burns ($7,900) RBC Heritage : Stewart Cink ($6,700) The Masters Tournament : Hideki Matsuyama ($8,300) Valero Texas Open : Jordan Spieth ($10,700) World Golf Championship - Dell Technologies Match Play : Billy Horschel ($7,200) The Honda Classic : Matt Jones ($7,400) The Players Championship : Justin Thomas ($9,900) Arnold Palmer Invitational : Bryson