Sports
Tree and acorns: Mitch Johnson, Mike Brown draw on Gregg Popovich's lessons
Oct 30, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich watches his team play against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images SAN ANTONIO — As the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks prepare to clash in the NBA Finals, the shadow of a league legend looms large over both teams’ benches.
Both Spurs coach Mitch Johnson and New York head man Mike Brown spent formative time learning on the staff of retired coach Gregg Popovich, the Basketball Hall of Famer who led San Antonio to five NBA titles.
Brown served under Popovich from 2000-03 and played a key coaching role in helping the franchise win the 2003 NBA Finals over the New Jersey Nets. Brown and Popovich even coached a first-grade, six-man flag football team together during that stint, blowing away the competition.
“We were awesome,” Brown said Tuesday. “Pop was offensive coordinator. I was the defensive coordinator. We actually dominated that league.”
Brown said he still adheres to many of the principles he learned from Popovich, honed in the practice gym and on the Spurs’ bench next to his Hall of Fame mentor.
“There’s a ton on the court. There’s a ton off the court,” Brown said. “Pop was very influential in my life at the time, not just professionally but personally as well.
“The biggest thing is just to stay the course, keep trying to grow and keep trying to learn. Make sure you try to keep everybody, not just your 15 or 18 players, but however many players you have and everybody in the organization and around the city, try to keep them as connected as possible.”
Johnson has spent more time in the Spurs organization, starting as an assistant for the team’s G League affiliate in Austin before moving up to San Antonio in 2019 as an assistant. Johnson took over as interim coach when Popovich suffered a stroke in early November 2024 and led the Spurs to a 32-45 record over the rest of the season.
Johnson was then named head coach in May 2025 when Popovich retired, and he guided the team to a monumental turnaround as San Antonio went 62-20 and finished second in the Western Conference. The Spurs outlasted the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in a seven-game slugfest to earn their first trip to the Finals since 2014.
Popovich, currently the Spurs’ president of basketball operations, was there in the background (and sometimes in a more direct manner) to mentor Johnson every step of the way.
“The relationship has stayed the same in terms of feedback, discussion, challenging each other, me asking him a lot of questions, him giving me a lot of wisdom,” Johnson said Tuesday. “(Popovich is) a pretty good resource for what I’ve been walking through since October and up until now.
“I cannot have created a better rhythm or build-out of him being a constant resource for me, but then also totally giving me the freedom and runway to try to roll this thing out in my own reflection as myself. That’s pretty valuable. To be honest, I don’t know if anyone’s ever had that opportunity that I’ve had this year. I don’t take that for granted. It’s not lost on me the impact he’s had, while also empowering me to be myself.
“My restaurant list and wine list may not be the same as Pop’s, but yeah, we’re trying to connect it all and, again, keep writing new chapters.”
–Steve Habel, Field Level Media
Sports
With Michael Conforto waiting, Cubs vie to take rubber game from Tigers
Jul 21, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs designated hitter Michael Conforto (20) rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Detroit Tigers during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs have been getting instant offense off the bench from Michael Conforto, who hit his MLB-leading fourth pinch-hit home run of the season in an 11-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday night.
Conforto is an outfielder by trade but has had to carve out a bench role because Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki are entrenched as starters.
Conforto already has tied the franchise single-season record for pinch-hit homers, set by Glenallen Hill in 1999, and hopes to be involved in the decisive contest of a three-game series against visiting Detroit on Wednesday night.
“All year, it feels like (Michael’s) biggest hits have been pinch hits,” Chicago manager Craig Counsell said. “I don’t know if there’s any blueprint for it, but Michael has done a fabulous job at it. You feel like it’s a real weapon to have somebody like that.”
Wednesday’s matchup will be the rubber game of the series after Detroit won 8-6 in 10 innings on Monday and the Cubs took Tuesday’s game.
Colin Rea (7-6, 4.74 ERA) will start for Chicago on Wednesday. The right-hander snapped a two-start winning streak in his last appearance on Friday, allowing four runs (three earned) in six innings as the Cubs lost 5-2 to Minnesota.
Rea is 0-1 with a lifetime 6.43 ERA vs. Detroit in three appearances (one start).
Right-hander Keider Montero (6-5, 3.22 ERA) will start for Detroit on Wednesday. He has been used as a reliever throughout July after making starts in 15 of his first 16 appearances this season, but Montero is moving back into the rotation.
He got a win in his most recent outing, tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief as the Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels 2-1 on Friday.
Montero has faced the Cubs once, on June 7, 2025. Serving as the bulk reliever on a bullpen day, he gave up four runs in 5 2/3 innings and didn’t figure into the decision.
Montero has gone an inning-plus in every relief appearance he’s made this month. A versatile pitcher such as Montero gives Detroit manager A.J. Hinch extra flexibility as the team is in a stretch of playing 13 games in 13 days.
“I’ve always said when I pitch (Montero), I’m going to pitch him a lot,” Hinch told the Detroit Free Press.
“When you see him go out for a second inning or a third inning or a fourth inning, part of that is competitive and strategic. The other part of it is to keep him stretched out to where it doesn’t disrupt his volume.”
Montero’s ability to ease back into the rotation quickly took on even greater importance after the Tigers were forced to place Jack Flaherty (right flexor inflammation) on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday. Flaherty reported discomfort after throwing four innings in the series opener the day before.
Hinch explained the decision to put Flaherty on the IL after Tuesday’s game.
“It wasn’t a clear-cut IL (decision) when we woke up this morning,” Hinch told reporters. “And then as the day went on and the more opinion we got, the more we realized he wasn’t going to pitch in five or six days.”
Flaherty has made 19 starts for Detroit this season, going 3-8 with a 4.59 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Heat: Link for LeBron James presser posted by mistake
Nov 5, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) reacts after making a basket against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Heat beat the Raptors 104-95. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-Imagn Images The Miami Heat said a live-stream link titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” was posted by mistake to the team’s YouTube channel.
The post, which included the date July 27, was later deleted. A team spokesperson told ESPN on Tuesday night that the club’s social media department had been preparing for the possibility of the superstar forward rejoining the Heat and errantly published the link.
James, 41, who won two NBA championships in four seasons with Miami from 2010-14, is a free agent for the first time since 2018 after announcing last month that he would not re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Potential landing spots for the league’s all-time leading scorer other than Miami reportedly include the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers (another former team) and the Golden State Warriors.
James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games with the Lakers in 2025-26. The four-time NBA champion owns career averages of 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in a record 1,622 games over 23 seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Spurs C Victor Wembanyama to grace NBA 2K27 cover
Dec 27, 2025; San Antonio, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) reacts after scoring during the first half against the Utah Jazz at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images Spurs star Victor Wembanyama will grace the cover of the NBA 2K27 video game, ESPN reported on Wednesday.
The 7-foot-4 center powered San Antonio to the 2026 NBA Finals, with the Spurs falling to the New York Knicks in five games last month.
In his third NBA season, Wembanyama averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds and a league-leading 3.1 blocks.
Previous cover athletes in the NBA 2K series have included Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal and Jayson Tatum.
Wembanyama, 22, is the third Spurs player to make the cover of at least one version of the game, joining Tony Parker (NBA 2K16, French version) and Pau Gasol (NBA 2K17, Spanish version).
–Field Level Media
The smartest language lessons still start with human experts
With Michael Conforto waiting, Cubs vie to take rubber game from Tigers
