Sports Poets Society

Despite two injuries before halftime, Jalen Brunson came alive  in the fourth  quarter to lift the Knicks over the Spurs in Game 1.  Gregory Shamus / Getty Images By Joe Vardon , James L. Edwards III , Jared Weiss , Fred Katz , John Hollinger and Sam Amick June 4, 2026  SAN ANTONIO — Are the New York Knicks ever going to lose again? They’d rather not think of it that way, preferring instead to focus on the three more wins they need for their first championship in 53 years. Jalen Brunson shrugged off a poor shooting night and two lower-leg injuries to finish with 30 points, and the Knicks won Game 1 of the 2026 NBA Finals over the San Antonio Spurs, 105-95, Wednesday night at Frost Bank Center. Victor Wembanyama, perhaps the NBA’s preeminent rising star, also had a tough shooting night and finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in the Spurs’ loss. The series remains in San Antonio for Game 2 on Friday at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Knicks have now won 12 consecu...

Jalen Brunson scoops in a fourth-quarter layup to rally the Knicks past the Spurs in Game 1  of the NBA Finals. “I thought, ‘He’s not coming back,’" Walt Frazier said of Brunson,  who left with an injury in the first quarter. "And all of a sudden he got a second wind."  Gregory Shamus / Getty Images https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7332196/2026/06/04/jalen-brunson-knicks-spurs-game-1-nba-finals/?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur https://x.com/nytimes/status/2062592750910914963/photo/1 When Jalen Brunson limped out of Game 1 late in the first quarter, many feared he wouldn't return. Then he proved again why he's the superstar to lead the Knicks to glory. "That’s why he’s the reigning Mr. Clutch." By Ian O'Connor  - The Athletic June 4, 2026  SAN ANTONIO — Even Walt Frazier thought Jalen Brunson was done, cooked, out of Game 1 of the NBA Finals for keeps. Yes, the same Frazier who once watched the New York Knicks’ captain, Willis Reed, hobble out the Game...

Jalen Brunson split Spurs defenders Stephon Castle (left) and  Julian Champaigne on his way to 30 points in the Knicks' Game 1 victory. 4 Jun 2026 - The Boston Globe Associated Press The Knicks’ winning streak lives on, and they struck first in the NBA Finals. Jalen Brunson scored 30 points , Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds , and the Knicks erased a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the Spurs, 105-95, in Game 1 of the finals on Wednesday night in San Antonio. OG Anunoby had 17 points for the Knicks — who have won 12 consecutive playoff games , the seventh team to have such a streak in NBA history. And the Knicks, who finished on an 11-0 run , made a little more history. They became the first team to beat San Antonio in a Game 1 of the title series — the Spurs were 6-0 in those — and this is also the first time the Spurs have ever trailed a finals before the finish . Victor Wembanyama had 26 points and 12 rebounds for the Spurs, but he shot 6 for ...

KIRBY LEE/IMAGN IMAGES Immigrant rights advocates and labor groups in Los Angeles  join  in  protest of ICE’S planned presence at World Cup games this summer. Poll finds nearly 2 in 3 disapprove of agents patrolling U.S. stadiums 4 Jun 2026 - The Washington Post BY RICK MAESE AND SCOTT CLEMENT Americans broadly oppose Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents patrolling U.S. stadiums during this summer’s World Cup, according to a nationwide Washington Post-university of Maryland poll, a sign of public resistance to making immigration enforcement visible at the global soccer showcase. Nearly 2 in 3 Americans, roughly 65 percent, oppose ICE agents being stationed at U.S. stadiums during the tournament, which will be played in the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 7 in 10 Republicans support the idea, while more than 7 in 10 independents and more than 9 in 10 Democrats oppose it. ICE’S role has emerged as one of the most scrutinized — and least transparent — issue...

RALF IBING/FIRO SPORTPHOTO/GETTY IMAGES ‘It’s not bad for Germany to be underdogs at the World Cup’ Drawing on his own family’s experience in Sierra Leone, the Germany defender is challenging stereotypes ‘What do you want us to do at Madrid?  Cry over the last seasons?  No. Find the right conclusion‘ 4 Jun 2026 - The Guardian Sam Cunningham As a child, Antonio Rüdiger would look out of his bedroom window to see whether anyone was playing on the field it overlooked. It was not a big pitch, but it had two goals, enough room for six-a-side and was where a young Rüdiger honed the skills that would take him to the top. He grew up in Neukölln, Berlin, in a community largely made up of refugees, where his parents settled after fleeing civil war in Sierra Leone. It was, by his own account, a tough area, and football kept him out of trouble. Rüdiger, preparing to represent Germany at the World Cup, says: “We didn’t have phones to call each other. No. We just looked out of the window, w...

‘In the right situation, I can win a Grand Tour’ The British rider and unvarnished free spirit on why duelling with Pogacar is like ‘racing a zombie’ and his Grand Tour hopes ‘My shoulder, elbow and my hand hurt the most. I was, like, I’ve definitely broken something here’ 4 Jun 2026 - The Guardian Sean Ingle When Tom Pidcock talks about how it feels to chase down the greatest cyclist of his generation, his language is so vivid you can almost taste the salt-baked sweat on Tadej Pogacar’s jersey. But as we discuss the pair’s epic duel at the Milan-San Remo classic in March, and what it was like when a bloodied Pogacar went nuclear on the final climb, Pidcock can’t help but smile. “Up the Poggio, when I was following his attack, it was like racing a zombie,” he says. “He was white, white skinsuit, white shorts cut up, blood. He’s a demon. It was incredible.” What made Pogacar’s performance even more staggering was that he crashed 30km from the finish. Yet as everyone else slipped back, ...

L’accolade entre Matteo Arnaldi et Matteo Berrettini,  contraint à l’abandon, hier, dans le deuxième set. Revenu en quarts de finale de Grand Chelem quatre ans après sa dernière apparition à ce niveau, l’Italien a de nouveau été trahi par son physique, hier, et contraint à un abandon déchirant. 4 Jun 2026 - L'Équipe LUCILE ALARD « Je suis fatigué d’abandonner. » Casquette vissée sur la tête, regard un peu perdu, Matteo Berrettini ne cachait pas son immense désarroi, hier, au moment d’évoquer ses douleurs. L’Italien de 30 ans, sixième mondial à son meilleur en 2022 mais hors top 100 (105e) au moment d’aborder ce Roland-Garros, a de nouveau été trahi par son corps en pleine session de nuit, hier, face à son compatriote Matteo Arnaldi . Un pépin physique de plus pour celui dont la carrière est pourrie par les blessures depuis quatre ans. Alors qu’il avait retrouvé les quarts de finale d’un Grand Chelem pour la première fois depuis 2022, l’ancien finaliste de Wimbledon en 2021 ne cach...

Gianni Infantino Le meneur de jeu tout-puissant du football mondial A une semaine du début de la Coupe du monde, enquête sur le président tout-puissant et controversé de la planète foot. En poste depuis dix ans en dépit de polémiques répétées, le président de la Fifa, organisatrice de la Coupe du monde qui débute le 11 juin, affiche ostensiblement son amitié avec les puissants, en premier lieu Donald Trump. «Aucun étranger n’a passé autant de temps qu’Infantino  à la Maison Blanche ces dernières années.»     - Alexander Koch ancien directeur       de la communication de la FIFA» 4 Jun 2026 - Libération Par SAMUEL RAVIER-REGNAT Washington, 5 décembre 2025. C’est le grand jour, celui qui lance la chamade dans le coeur des amateurs de foot. Le tirage au sort de la Coupe du monde. Dans un amphithéâtre du Kennedy Center, l’emblématique salle de spectacle mise au pas l’an dernier par Donald Trump, Gianni Infantino déroule le tapis rouge au président de...