Good Morning, Stumpers!

A little insight into the Stump Admins…We’ve got a Cavs fan and a Nuggets fan, so when these teams are winning playoff games in the second round on the same night, it’s a good night! A lot to discuss from yesterday. Anybody hear about the new reality TV show? Keeping Up With The Belichick’s!?

Today’s Rundown

What’s in today’s edition?

• 🏀 D Mitch Gets his Cavalry!

• 🏀 Nugs Win an OT Thriller!

• 🏈 Keeping Up With The Belichick’s!

• ✏️ Yeah, we’ve got a Rocky quote…WAKE TF UP!

On This Day

On This Day…

🏀 Excuse to Talk Bill Walton…

I’ll tell you what. In the hair department, Bill Walton had us all beater by about a country mile! Any excuse to get this picture on the Stump was fine by me!

On this day in 1993, Bill Walton was named into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame! He was a 2x NBA Champ as well as a 2x Collegiate champ, he did damage anywhere we went. He then cause havoc in the booth as well! We lost an absolute legend last year! 🙏 

Today’s Trivia

🧠 Test your sports knowledge…

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: E. All of the Above! Scottie’s caddie, Ted Scott, made more money than all of those big name golfers in 2024.

Before We Dive In…

👀 Yesterday’s Must See’s

• 🥳 Catching a foul ball feels GOOD for this little dude

• 🏈 BIG MAN TOUCHDOWN in the UFL

• 🚨 Brad Marchand with the OT winner for the Panthers

• ⚾️ DODGERS go up in the NINTH! Guess who?

🔍️ Stump Spotlight

Drama in Chapel Hill

🏈 Banned or Not? UNC has DRAMA

Putting a football as the emoji of this article almost felt wrong, because pretty much everything coming out of Bill Belichick’s football program has absolutely nothing to do with football.

News broke early yesterday morning claiming that Jordan Hudson, the 24-year-old girlfriend of UNC head football coach Bill Belichick, had been banned from university facilities. Apparently people close to Belichick are worried that their relationship would dimmish his legacy and his ability to run a successful program.

In response to these reports, UNC issued a statement just a few hours later claiming that this is false, and that Hudson is indeed welcome in the UNC football facilities. Which, if we’re letting common sense rule the day, is most likely the truth and whatever was reported earlier is probably a dramatization of whatever is actually going on.

But despite that, this UNC program is really giving off soap opera television vibes right now. The saga of this whole situation really hit a new level after Bill sat down with CBS in April to promote his new book. During the interview, the reporter asked about the nature of his and Hudson’s relationship, and more specifically, how it came to be. Hudson, off camera, quickly intervened, saying that the coach would not be discussing personal matters.

Hudson has gained notoriety for her quite, well, assertive approach to Belichick’s media presence and branding. This goes along with the obvious that people continue to bring up, their shocking age difference. No judgement here, just stating facts of the world. Love is love! But as all of this continues to grow in front of our eyes, only more questions will continue to be asked. Especially given the microscope that this program is under now that they have a six time Super Bowl champion as the man leading them.

I’m not sure what to really make of all this. It seems quite odd from the outside looking in, but then again, that’s just it. We’re on the outside, only looking in. Getting small morsels of info every once and awhile, typically which paint their relationship in poor light. So I can’t say truly what’s going on there, but I do know this: when it comes to football, the more light on a program about things that aren’t football, the worst. So I guess we’ll have to wait and see if the Hudson - Belichick duo is back for winning, or not.

The Hot Stove

🏀 Mitchell Gets His Cavalry

I think I speak for all of us when I say that Donovan Mitchell is a warrior, but my god, did he need his squad back together.

After two heartbreaking loses at home, the Cavs went into Indiana down 0-2. Despite this, there was some real optimism coming out of Cavs camp, as they finally got back Darius Garland and welcomed the return of Evan Mobley and DeAndre Hunter who both missed game two. After jumping out to an early lead, the Pacers crawled back to tie the game at the end of the first thanks to Benedict Mathurin and Myles Turner. But from that point forward, it was almost all Cavs. The Pacers would make some runs to tighten up the game a little, especially in the 3rd quarter, but it always seemed like Donovan Mitchell and Cleveland had a response. Donny dazzled again, going for 43 points on close to 50% from the field, but the rest of the starters were no slouches either. Mobley had 18 points, Allen 19, and Max Strus continued his string of strong performances with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists. Garland looked a little rusty with his shot, only dropping in 10 points on 3-11 shooting, but the offense looked much smoother for Cleveland with him on the court. After a great start to the series, Tyrese Haliburton was almost nonexistent for the Pacers, only scoring 4 points. Cleveland takes back some momentum, Cavs 126 - Pacers 104.

🏈 Commanders Legends’ Little Bro in Camp

There’s not many other names as synonymous with the Washington football franchise than Sean Taylor. Now, his younger brother is trying to make the team with the same team his brother once starred for.

Sean Taylor died in November of 2007 at the age of 2007, just three and a half years after Washington made him the 5th pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. It was an absolute tragedy, as not only did we lose one of the best young players in the NFL, but also an amazing young man. 18 years later, his younger brother now wears the same uniform. Gabe Taylor, a defensive back who played five seasons at Rice, went undrafted last month but chose to sign with Washington after receiving multiple calls from other teams. Taylor, through his agency, said he picked Washington because he grew up wanting to play for the team. A true full circle moment, now lets just hope he can pull it off and make the roster as an undrafted rookie.

🏀 Nuggets Win a THRILLER!

This team is just finding a way to win the close ones! WOW! Nugs win in OT to take a 2-1 series lead over the OKC Thunder! Big!

Nikola Jokic had maybe his worst game of the year. He shot 8/25 from the field and 0/10 from three (still comical that his final stat line despite this was 20-16-6). How could his team even compete with the young gunned Thunder? Well, when you have Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and MPJ hitting shots, it’s beyond possible. After getting absolutely blitzed in Game 2, the recipe was simple, just stay close, and then make a run late. That’s exact what they did. The lead never ballooned up like it did in Game 2, and the Nuggets fed off the home crowd and timely shots from their stars.

SGA had a rough night as well shooting 7/22 from the field, but J Dubs’s 32 points and Chet’s 18 were enough to help the Thunder stay in front for most of the night.

But it ended with this. When the going gets tough…the tough get going! Aaron Gordon hit a NUCLEAR game-tying three with 28 seconds to go in regulatio, and then the Nuggets outscored the Thunder 11-2 in OT. Unreal! They don’t make it easy, but they now find themselves up 2-1 against the Vegas favorite!

⬇️ Quick Links

• ✂️ Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, fails to qualify for US Open

• ⛳️ Day two at the Truist Championship

• ⚾️ Raffy Devers and Red Sox owner John Henry have sit down

What To Watch

🏀 NBA Playoffs

• ABC: Celtics @ Knicks (3:30 PM), Timberwolves @ Warriors (8:30 PM)

⚾️ Major League Baseball

• FOX: Cubs @ Mets (7:15 PM)

• More to Watch: Cardinals @ Nationals (4:05 PM), Yankees @ Nationals (4:05 PM), Phillies @ Guardians (6:10 PM), Rangers @ Tigers (6:10 PM), Red Sox @ Royals (7:10 PM), Dodgers @ DBacks (8:10 PM), full schedule

🏒 NHL Playoffs

• TNT: Capitals @ Hurricanes (6:00 PM), Golden Knights @ Oilers (9:00 PM)

⚽️ Soccer

• EPL: Fulham @ Everton (10:00 AM), Wolverhampton vs Brighton (10:00 AM), Bournemouth vs Aston Villa (12:30 PM)

• LALIGA: Atletico vs Sociedad (3:00 PM)

• MLS: 14 game slate!

• NWSL: Chicago vs Washington (12:50 PM on ABC)

⛳️ Day three of the Truist Championship live from the Philadelphia Cricket Club in, you guessed it, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania!

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting For

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