The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off the upset of the playoffs, knocking off the heavily favored Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the first round 109-100. Boston blew a 3-1 lead in this series and that became another brutal end to a Celtics season.

This core was able to win a finals in 2024, but outside of that important win, Boston has had a lot of disastrous playoff losses that seemingly go under the radar. The Celtics have owned the 76ers over the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown era, and that makes this loss so much worse.

Of course, Tatum was absent from game seven due to injury, but Joel Embiid was missing for the entire first half of this series, so that feels like a bit of a wash. Not only that, but the Celtics were the two seed with Tatum missing most of the season anyways.

In recent years, the Celtics have now lost to the eight seed Miami Heat in the Conference Finals, got destroyed by the New York Knicks in the Conference Semis last year, had horrible playoff performances in the final two years of the Brad Stevens era to start the 2020s. They were able to win a Finals in a very down year across the board in the NBA, but this team has had let down spots all over the place in the playoffs.

Currently, it feels like the media has put a spotlight on the Cleveland Cavaliers first round struggles against the Toronto Raptors, but at least those struggles are coming in a 4 vs 5 first round matchup. Boston was completely outplayed by the 7-seed Sixers, who were missing their best player most of the series.

Of course VJ Edgecomb and Paul George having great runs as role players helps, and Tyrese Maxey is a full blown super star; however, this series feels like it’s being swept under the rug by the media. Boston got their ring, but I’m starting to think the window from that core is quietly closing. I’m also interested to see how much grace Boston fans will give to head coach Joe Mazulla.

Boston shot themselves out of this series. This is a team that lives and dies by the three, but at some point you need to make an adjustment when shots simply aren’t falling. Not only that, but the Sixers simply just felt like the better team in this series. I don’t think it’s just bad shooting that won Philly this series. They controlled this series and were able to do whatever they wanted against the Celtics.

The Sixers now head to New York to take on the Knicks, where they are far less of an underdog at only +198 to advance. I think this is a bit of a market overcorrection, and I wouldn’t bet on the Sixers to win this series. Boston might’ve just been a bit of an overrated team, that over performed without Tatum.

The Fighting Nerds have been one of the most notable and popular things about the world of MMA in the last few years. That team has made its name thanks to the success of a number of its fighters in the UFC.

Of the bunch, perhaps the most successful and notable of the Fighting Nerds team so far is Carlos Prates. And Prates put an exclamation mark on that claim with a major win this weekend at UFC Perth, stopping Jack Della Maddalena.

It was a beating. Prates pressured JDM early, and then landed 41 significant strikes on the former champion. Prates also battered Della Maddalena’s leg with kicks, scoring knockdowns of JDM in the second and third rounds. That second knockdown would lead to Prates landing follow-up shots and scoring the TKO.

This now marks two consecutive bouts where Prates has defeated a former UFC welterweight champion. This past November at UFC 322, he put a beating on Leon Edwards, knocking him out cold in the second round.

But let’s just take a look at the picture of Prates’ overall UFC tenure thus far – and just see how much he’s accomplished.

Prates earned a UFC contract on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2023, finishing a then-undefeated Mitch Ramirez.

Prates then fought four times in 2024, competing against Trevin Giles, Charles Radtke, Li Jingliang, and Neil Magny. Four wins, four finishes (all KO/TKOs), four post-fight bonuses. That is a first-year stretch that practically screams Rookie of the Year.

Prates’ sole blemish in the UFC came at UFC Kansas City in April 2025, when he took on Ian Machado Garry in a title eliminator. Prates did not seem like himself, unable to figure Garry out. Prates put a beating on Garry in the fifth, but he was unable to get a comeback finish in time.

It was a disappointing loss for Prates and the people that follow him. He’d need a big-time rebound performance next time out to ensure he’s still in the title picture.

So what does he do? Land a spinning back elbow on Geoff Neal at UFC 319 – one of the top knockouts of 2025. And now he’s followed that up with wins over a pair of former welterweight champions.

Prates has now won seven UFC bouts since 2024. He’s earned finishes in all of those fights. He’s earned performance bonuses in all of those fights. The win over JDM is the only time a fight he’s won has gone past round two.

And the only guy he’s lost to in the Octagon? That man won another title eliminator against Belal Muhammad this past November. Now, Garry is being targeted to challenge Islam Makhachev for the welterweight title in the main event of UFC 330 this coming August in Philadelphia.

That’s far from a terrible loss.

Prates may not get the next immediate welterweight title shot. But if he takes on another former champion or rising star in the welterweight ranks – for example, respectively, Muhammad or Michael Morales – and he gets another highlight finish (let alone another win) – then Prates can’t be denied a title shot any further.