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WNBA cuts roundup: Sky waive 2025 first-rounder Hailey Van Lith

WNBA: Seattle Storm at Chicago SkyJul 24, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Hailey Van Lith (2) brings the ball up court against the Seattle Storm during the first half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Chicago Sky waived 2025 first-round draft pick Hailey Van Lith on Monday.

The 24-year-old point guard averaged 3.5 points and 1.6 assists in 29 games (no starts) as a rookie in 2025.

Van Lith averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 assists in two preseason games for Chicago, which opens the regular season on Saturday at the Portland Fire.

The Sky drafted Van Lith with the 11th overall pick in 2025 after her decorated collegiate career at Louisville, LSU and TCU. The 5-foot-9 Van Lith was an All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year after averaging 17.9 points, 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds with the Horned Frogs in 2024-25.

Later in the day, the Sky also waived two more 2025 draft picks, forward Maddy Westbeld (No. 16 pick) and guard/forward Aicha Coulibaly (No. 22). Westbeld averaged 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 26 games for Chicago as a rookie, while Coulibaly did not see game action.

WNBA teams have until Thursday at 5 p.m. ET to make their final roster cuts before the regular season begins Friday.

–The Dallas Wings waived six players Monday, including veteran guard Lindsay Allen.

The 31-year-old Allen has played 214 career games in eight WNBA seasons for six different franchises, including 31 games (nine starts) for the Connecticut Sun in 2025. She has career averages of 4.4 points and 3.1 assists per contest and was not able to secure a roster spot in Dallas after signing last month.

The Wings also waived Rayah Marshall, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, Amy Okonkwo, Grace Berger and Costanza Verona.

Berger caught on with the Wings in the middle of 2025 on a series of seven-day contracts and wound up averaging 3.6 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 18 games (13 starts). Okonkwo scored 11.0 points per game for the Wings but appeared in just eight contests at the end of the season.

–Field Level Media

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Stewart Cink wins Regions Tradition to clinch back-to-back majors

Syndication: Desert SunStewart Cink hits his driver on the first tee during the first round of The Galleri Classic at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Friday, March 28, 2025.

Less than a month ago, Stewart Cink had never won a PGA Tour Champions major.

Now he has won two.

Cink shot a 3-under-par 69 on Sunday at the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala., taking home the title by three strokes over nearest competitor Scott Hend of Australia in breezy conditions.

“It wasn’t easy,” Cink said. “But I was pretty resilient and I trusted what I had and our game plan was good. You know, I wasn’t perfect by any stretch, but I played good golf under the circumstances.”

The Florence, Ala. native had his own cheering section at Greystone Golf and Country Club on Sunday, as Cink carded five birdies against two bogeys to earn his second straight major after winning the Senior PGA Championship in Bradenton, Fla. two weeks ago.

“This is where I cut my teeth in golf,” Cink said. “The fans out here were awesome, I saw a lot of familiar faces. Everybody’s put on the years, but some people from junior golf that I played with and against and their families. A lot of my friends and family have been out here all week anyway that I knew they were coming. It’s just been great.”

The eight-time PGA Champions tourney winner cited the importance of keeping his focus on the present for his recent hot streak, which has included four wins overall in 2026. He has yet to finish lower than sixth this calendar year.

“One of the things I’m doing a pretty good job of is just kind of staying in the moment,” he said. “It feels good to get back in the winner’s circle again, of course. I hope there’s a lot more times coming.”

Hend surged up the leaderboard to apply some pressure as most other golfers struggled to match Cink’s strong day. Hend did Cink four better with a 7-under 65, but he ultimately had too much ground to make up coming into the day. Still, a day with six birdies, a bogey and an eagle on the par-5 No. 13 left much to be proud of.

Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie shot a 1-under 71 which left him in third place at 13 under once the dust settled, while Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen took fourth with a 3-under 69 that put him at 12 under.

Three golfers rounded out the top five in a tie for fifth: South Korea’s Charlie Wi (68), Germany’s Alex Cejka (70) and Doug Barron (71).

–Field Level Media

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Missing Game 7 a tough pill to swallow for Jayson Tatum

NBA: Playoffs-Philadelphia 76ers at Boston CelticsMay 2, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) and the rest of the Celtics bench react to a three point basket against the Philadelphia 76ers during the second quarter of game seven of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

It was going well until it wasn’t.

The second-seeded Boston Celtics took a 3-1 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Six-time All-Star forward Jayson Tatum, who came back from Achilles tendon surgery much faster than anyone expected, was averaging 24.8 points through the first four games of the series.

But then the Sixers routed the host Celtics in Game 5 and Tatum hobbled off the court in the second half of Game 6, another Philadelphia triumph.

It was not apparent whether Boston coach Joe Mazzulla did not re-insert Tatum into Game 6 due to an injury or the fact that his team trailed by 23 points in the fourth quarter.

But Tatum’s status for Sunday’s Game 7 continued to downgrade and two hours before tipoff, he was ruled out for Boston’s do-or-die contest.

Hence, the four-time All-NBA first-teamer sat on the bench in street clothes as the Sixers completed the comeback, ousting Boston 109-100.

Tatum addressed the media on Sunday, reflecting on his satisfaction on returning to the court and his frustration about the last few days.

“My recovery and comeback (from the Achilles injury) were going so well that how it ended, I didn’t think it was going to end that way,” said Tatum. “It was just unfortunate.

“I worked really, really, really, really hard to come back in the fashion that I did and play at the level I was playing at. So for it to end the way it did was a tough pill to swallow.”

Tatum explained that, since he was still in the return-to-play window, NBA protocols had to be followed pertaining to his left knee stiffness. The Celtics’ medical team and Tatum’s trainer, Nick Sang, agreed that he would not be able to compete on Saturday.

Tatum admitted on Sunday that he was not playing at full capacity since his return to the court on March 6 vs. Dallas. He rated himself at about 80-85% and relayed that his right leg is still shorter than his left.

The Boston star averaged 31.0 minutes per game in 11 March games and 36.2 minutes in five regular-season contests in April. His scoring (21.8) and shooting splits (41.1% FG, 32.9% 3FG) were a little below his career marks, but he rebounded at a career-best 10.0 per game heading into the playoffs.

But Tatum has no regrets about pushing himself to return in a 10-month window and help this year’s team.

“I’m happy and proud of the fact that I was able to do that,” Tatum said. “And, unfortunately, if somebody else has to deal with this, they can look at what I was able to do and have some hope and inspiration that it’s not what people used to think it was. And you can come back from this and be who you were and hopefully be better.”

–Field Level Media

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Kentucky Derby sets several TV ratings records

Syndication: The Indianapolis StarGolden Tempo reached to nip the lead as Cherie DeVaux takes him out of his stall after winning the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Sunday, May 3, 2026.

An estimated record 24.4 million people watched Golden Tempo’s historic comeback win on Saturday at the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

NBC released that figure based on preliminary data collected from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics on Sunday.

The previous peak audience had been 21.8 million the year prior, meaning the 2026 running, in which jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo from last place around the final turn all the way into first, was up 12% over the previous most-watched Derby.

Cherie DeVaux, the horse’s trainer, became the first woman trainer to win the Kentucky Derby in the event’s history Saturday.

NBC’s presentation also delivered the event’s highest average audience at 19.6 million, once again topping the previous year’s 17.7 million by roughly 11%.

The streaming numbers, mostly directed through Peacock, represented yet another record, with an average minute audience (AMA) of 1.3 million viewers, clearing 2025’s figure of 959,000.

Friday night’s Kentucky Oaks, contested for the first time in the television primetime window, likewise set viewership records. Always A Runner’s comfortable win averaged 2.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, a number that was four times higher than any previous viewership for the event (593,000 in 1997 on ESPN).

–Field Level Media

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