👋 Good Morning Stump Nation!

Happy NBA Finals Thursday! Game 1 of the Finals are tonight at 8:30 PM on ABC. Kyrie’s return to Boston! We are in for a treat of a series. Action is picking up big time in the French Open as well with a 17-year-old in the semifinals. Last but not least…we’ve got some GOLF on today!

You LOVE Podcasts? Perfect. We got just the one for you.

You DON’T like podcasts? Perfect. We have the ONLY one for you.

Links below ⬇️⬇️⬇️ 

LETS. GET. INTO. IT.  

THE DAILY STUMPED🔮

The NBA Finals start today! Either the Mavs or Celtics will win the Larry O’Brien trophy. Who is Larry O’Brien?

• A. Built the foundation for President John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign

• B. The Commissioner of the NBA from 1975-1984

• C. The 57th United States Postmaster General

• D. Former special assistant to President Lyndon B. Johnson

• E. All of the above

Answer at the bottom of The Stump!

ON THIS DAY🗓️ 

On this day in 2023…

The PGA Tour turned the world on its head when it struck a deal with the Saudi run LIV Golf League to create its own for-profit entity to be run by the PGA Tour and funded by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Since the merger, the rivalries have stayed strong, the golf has been good, and the PGA Tour is still the top dog. I can’t believe it’s already been a year since this broke, time flies in the golf world.

The LIV and PGA Tour merger, explained: LINK

YESTERDAY IN SPORTS📰 

Breaking News…

• 🏀 Before the Finals kick off tonight, Kristaps Porzingis says that there is ‘No ill will’ between him and Luka after their time together in Dallas

• 🏈 Before signing a record breaking extension with the Vikings, Stud WR Justin Jefferson tried to get poached by the 49ers, Jets, and Colts in trade talks

• 🏀 LV Aces and WNBA Superstar A’ja Wilson had a historic statline…

  • 36 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 steals in a 95-81 win over the Dallas Wings

• 🎾 Mirra Andreeva (17 years old) STUMPSET World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets to become the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist since 1997

• 🏀 Celtics Head Coach says the Finals are no brighter than the ECF. Jokes that “unless they change the lightbulbs”

• 🏀 Luka Doncic says that if his knees permit it, he will be playing fr Slovenia in the Olympic Qualifying

Top Final Scores💯 

• ⚾️ Paul Skeenes improves to 3-0 with the Pirates defeating the Dodgers in a STUMPSET, 10-6

  • Skeenes struck out Ohtani in the first inning and then Shohei went yard in the third! The first battle of many!

• ⚾️ New York and Boston ROLLL!

  • Red Sox def. Braves, 9-0; Mets def. Nationals, 9-1; Yankees def. Twins, 9-5

• 🏀 WNBA Two Game Slate

  • LV Aces def. DAL Wings, 95-81, behind insane showing from reigning MVP A’ja Wilson

  • MIN Lynx def. LA Sparks, 86-62

• ⚽️ International friendlies are in full swing…

  • Spain def. Andorra, 5-0; Denmark def. Sweden, 2-1; France def. Luxembourg, 3-0

Must-Watch Moments👀 

• NBA Finals Preview! ESPN you’ve outdone yourself today! 🏀 

• Angel Reese gone after arguing a call! Soft if you ask me! 🏀 

• Pat McAfee is a BALLER! Dime of an assist right here! 🪙 

• White Sox fans are trolling after losing 13 straight! 😂 

theSTUMP STORY OF THE DAY✍️ 

Chase Budinger: The Olympian? 

A seven-year NBA veteran becomes a Olympian, which isn’t that uncommon, except he’ll be competing in beach volleyball.

It is not uncommon for a college star and 7-year NBA yet to say he’s an Olympian. Select NCAA standouts turned NBA players end up representing their country at the summer Olympics. It’s also not uncommon for players to go down their blood line to their parents or grandparents and work their way into having citizenship in another country to get on the Olympic Stage. Heritage is immensely important to many Olympic athletes. What is uncommon is for a NBA veteran to go to the Olympics for something other than basketball.

A standout at the University of Arizona and a second-round pick in the 2009 draft, Chase Budinger averaged 8 points and 3 rebounds over a 7-year career with the Rockets, Timberwolves, and Rockets. The 36-year old grew up playing both basketball and volleyball at La Costa Canyon High School in Encinitas, California.

In 2005, he was the named Volleyball Magazine’s National High School Player of the Year. The following year, he was named an McDonald’s All American in basketball. Those are elite awards. You gotta be one hell of a jumper to win the National Volleyball Player of the Year.

Following the end of his NBA career, and one quick season in Europe, Budinger went back to the volleyball court. He joined the AVP Tour in 2018. Budinger and his partner Miles Evans qualified Wednesday for the US men’s team. They are tied for 13th in the most recent world rankings and the second-best overall US team behind Miles Partain and Andy Benesh, who are ranked 5th in the world.

Budinger will become the only person to play a regular-season game in the NBA and participate in an Olympic beach volleyball event. The key word in that sentence is BEACH volleyball.

Keith Erickson, a member of the UCLA Bruin 1964 and 1965 NCAA National Championship, was a member of the 1964 US Men’s Indoor Volleyball team. The Olympics took place in Tokyo that year and the Americans went on to place 10th overall. Erickson went on to have a strong NBA career after his college and Olympic experience, winning the NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972.

While Erickson started his NBA career after an Olympic venture, Budinger is dealing with different circumstances. When he retired he was 30 years old and had a lot of wear and tear on the tires. 7 NBA seasons, 4 high level college seasons, and the grind of being a professional athlete. All of this makes Budingers’ run all that more impressive.

He was not satisfied with his career, and knew that his love of sport would overtake his post-NBA life. Many professional athletes are lost after their career ends, so I’d argue Budinger is one of the lucky ones. He agrees, “I was lucky enough to just transition into a different sport immediately and play at the highest level.”

At the highest level he will play: on the Olympic stage, for the world to see, donning the red, white, and blue. Good luck, Chase!

JUICE STATION🧃 

Quote of the Day

Song of the Day

Glue Guy of the Day

Defined: Glue Guy (Noun, Verb, Adj., etc.) - a person, thing, idea, or thought that holds together the larger group. Not the star, not the main character, but a hard hat and lunch pale type who knows its role. The GLUE of the group.

WHAT TO WATCH📺️ 

NBA🏀: The NBA Finals and the hunt for the Larry O’Brien trophy has reached its final stage! We’ve got Boston and Dallas fighting for the chip

• Game 1 of NBA FINALS - Mavericks @ Celtics (8:30 PM ET on ABC)

MLB⚾️: 10-game slate to look forward to today!

• Early after noon AL Divisional battles: Orioles @ Blue Jays (1:07 PM ET) and Royals @ Guardians (1:10 PM ET)

• Evening Highlights: Twins @ Yankees (7:05 PM ET), Red Sox @ White Sox (8:10 PM ET)

• Full Schedule

Soccer⚽️: A TON of international friendlies and FIFA World Cup Qualifying Matches across the world including:

• Mali vs Ghana (3:00 PM ET), Algeria vs Guinea (3:00 PM ET), Gibraltar vs Wales (12:00 PM ET)

• Friendly: Netherlands vs Canada (2:45 PM ET)

• Full Schedule

NCAA Baseball⚾️: Upcoming Full Schedule - LINK

Golf⛳️: The beginning of the PGA Memorial Tournament held at Jack Nicklaus’ (🐐) golf club in Dublin, Ohio, the renowned Muirfield Village Golf Club!

• 10:05 AM: Patrick Cantlay / Wyndham Clack

• 10:20 AM: Xander Schauffele / Victor Hovland

• 10:30 AM: Scottie Scheffler / Ludvig Aberg

• 1:00 PM: Max Homa / Ricky Fowler

• 1:20 PM: Rory McIlroy / Justin Thomas