Good Morning, Stumpers!

We all know the zig and zag line, but how about this. WHEN THEY YING, WE YANG! And by that we mean the 16th pick in the NBA Draft Yang Hansen! Who the heck is this absolute ball of electricity?!? We’ve got a packed stump with Yang, some golf, some lawsuits, and a whole lot more!

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The Rundown

🤯 Who is this Yang Hansen character? And where can we buy jerseys???

🏀Some Steals from the NBA Draft

⚽️ Kylian Mbappe Sues his Former Club

⛳️ Some Low Low Rounds to Report!

On This Day

🛹 Tony Hawk Pulls off a 900

You never knew what Tony Hawk was going to attempt when he got out on center stage during the X games. I’m not even fully convinced he knew what he was gonna do at times, either.

On this day in 1999, Tony Hawk is the first skateboarded to land a “900” (a 2 ½ revolution ariel spin) at the X Games in San Francisco, California. Here’s an epic video of the moment it finally happened, it was a move that put the whole extreme sports world on notice that Hawk was the greatest to ever do it.

Today’s Trivia

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: D. Kevin Durant! KD ranks eighth on the all-time career playoff points, the second most among active!

Glue Guy of the Day

🤯 Draft Day Shocker…YANG HANSEN!

Glue Guy OTD: Trail Blazers 16th overall pick: Yang Hansen

If all you told me about this guy was that he was nicknamed “Chinese Jokic”, I’d already be sold ten times over!

Well that is absolutely what they are calling him and the film shows some serious finesse. Wednesday night 30 lives were changed forever by getting drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft. The buzz in the Barclays Center was no joke. We had a Stump insider there live on the scene to get the scoop!

We haven’t hired any reporters don’t worry, it was just plain old me. But let me tell you something here. I wouldn’t say this first round had jaw-dropping moments. Coop was supposed to go one. Harper, VJ, Kon, and Ace, were supposed to go behind him. But when I tell you one of the loudest crowd pops of the first round was when Commissioner Adam Silver came out there with that strut that he has, and the crowd gasped at the name Yang Hansen…I’m not kidding.

What followed was incredible. With each player they would show a 30 second highlight tape of what the player was all about. Yang by far got the most ooohs and aaahs from the crowsd. I’ll throw in a highlight tape HERE, but the footwork on this guy is beautiful. The guy is 7’2 and NOBODY expected him to go in the first round. He was on paper supposed to be a mid-second round guy. But the Blazers, who already have Clingan and Ayton decided to take a chance to the superstar from China.

You never really know how these types of things will go, but Yang Hansen is a name I want you to keep an eye on, because we sure will be over here!

Yang. Glue!

Yesterday’s Moments

🏀 NBA Draft Sleepers!

The Stump Short Story: I’m just going to throw a few names at you, don’t get pissed. I’ll even give a little insight into why:

Pick 8 to Nets — Egor Demin: I absolutely LOVE this pick. A 6’8” guard who can run the offense like nobodies business. He is the ideal pick & roll point guard and his ceiling is so high. Perfect fit in Brooklyn where he’ll be with a international coach and has the time to develop in a starting role.

Pick 18 to Wizards — Walter Clayton Jr: You can say whatever you want about his wingspan or whatever, this guy is a straight up baller. Sometimes heart outweighs everything else, and this guy has that it factor. Pure basketball player who can score in an instant.

Pick 27 to Nets — Danny Wolf: Another steal for the Nets. This guy is the perfect fit in today’s NBA. He is a good enough shooter from beyond the arc, has great size at 6’11”, and does all the little right. He is only scratching the surface of his talent after making huge strides after just one season at Michigan following his impressive career at Yale.

Pick 42 to Kings — Maxime Raynaud: Upside, upside, upside. The word of the draft at pick no. 42. That’s the case with Maxime. A 7’0” from France who didn’t really start taking basketball serious until 18. He is an elite rebounder, can space the floor and shoot, and will only get better with NBA coaching. All things that you’re looking for at this part of the draft.

Why it Matters: Simple fact: we ALL love a good underdog or sleeper.

Read More: NBA Draft Results

⛳️ Rocket Classic: Shooting LOWWWW

The Stump Short Story: We thought the Travelers Championship was getting eaten up by the players, until the wind came. This week at the Rocket Classic in Detroit, it looks like we needed one more week for the PGA to tear apart a course. Out of the 156 players in the field, 141 finished at even par or better after day one. There’s 43 players above -5, and another 13 at -7 or better. Woof. Min Woo Lee got the scoring started early and often, throwing out a -9 after an early morning tee time. It wasn’t until late in the day that Aldrich Potgieter and Kevin Roy put together bogey-free 62’s, sharing the lead at -10.

Why it Matters: Here’s the thing, it’s supposed to rain a little. But after my deep dive into tomorrows weather forecast in Detroit, I’m going with the players will be mostly done before the rain gets going. It’s the guys who tee off later in the afternoon who may see some bad weather. If you’re getting up and getting after it, advantage you. Because of the relative ease of this course, those who get stuck in the rain may struggle to keep up with the guys who play on the clean track.

Read More: Here’s the leaderboard (ESPN)

⚽️ Mbappe Sues His Former Club

The Stump Short Story: Kylian Mbappe, star soccer player for Real Madrid, accused his former club of moral harassment in a legal filing, confirmed yesterday. Mbappe is arguing that Paris Saint-Germain owes him 55M euros in unpaid wages, as well as stating that he was unfairly treated during a stint in the 2023-24 season where he was sidelined for not extending his contract. He’s claiming that he was left out in the dark because of non-football related reasons which in turn made his game suffer. He would sit an entire tour of Japan and South Korea and was forced to practice away from the first squad.

Why it Matters: This is not something I think we’ve really ever seen before, at least not of a player of this magnitude. This is one of the best players in the world suing one of the most historic and popular football clubs in the history of the sport, that’s not something to turn your nose up at. This will be interesting to see how it plays out, because it may set an interesting precedent for how teams handle their disgruntled players moving forward.

Read More: Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappé sues PSG for 'moral harassment' (ESPN)

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🔗 Quick Links

😠 Rays’ Franco found guilty of sexual abuse, gets suspended sentence

🏈 Ex-Ravens kicker gets 10-week ban from NFL

⚾️ Shoutout to this absolute GOATTTT 🐐 

Today’s Top Three

⚾️ MLB Weekend Series:

• Blue Jays are in Boston against struggling Sox

• A’s are at Yankee Stadium

• Phillies go to the Braves for rivalry weekend

• Cubs face off with Astros in Houston

• Dodgers head to Kansas City for the Royals

⛳️ Rocket Classic is live from Detroit, Michigan all weekend long, here’s the leaderboard to follow along

⚽️ A host of good soccer matches across the world that includes the FIFA Club World Cup, International Friendlies, and the Concacaf Gold Cup:

• Benfica vs Chelsea (Saturday — 4:00 PM)

• PSG vs Inter Miami (Sunday — 12:00 PM

• USA vs Costa Rica (Sunday — 7:00 PM)

Of! The! Day’s!

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