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Diego Pavia getting an opportunity to show the Ravens what he can do
OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore Ravens coach Jesse Minter’s message to undrafted free-agent quarterback Diego Pavia ahead of rookie minicamp was simple: “Show us what you can do,” Minter said.The Ravens certainly know what Pavia did in college. He starred for two years at New Mexico State before transferring to Vanderbilt, where he became the program’s first Heisman finalist and led the Commodores to their first season of double-digit wins in school history. In the process, Pavia became one of the...
Canadiens’ tight-knit identity propels them past Lightning, into second round
TAMPA, Fla. — Prior to the start of this first-round series between the Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning, there was symbolism everywhere.Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis became a Hall of Fame player with the Lightning. His teammate was Vincent Lecavalier, who is now in the Canadiens front office. Lecavalier’s agent back then was Kent Hughes, now the general manager of the Canadiens.Advertisement
Four straight years, 4 first-round playoff exits. What's next for the Lightning?
TAMPA, Fla. — In a dressing room drenched in silence and populated by faces all expressing disbelief, the Tampa Bay Lightning hadn’t quite come to grips with it all.This year was supposed to be different. They were the bad boys, they were hungrier, they looked so damn good all year long.This was the season they would get back to their deep playoff run ways. It had to be. They felt it. They looked the part.Advertisement
Bills big picture questions: Does Buffalo have enough to reach new heights in 2026?
The Buffalo Bills are entering a critical year.A new head coach, a franchise quarterback who turns 30 on May 21, and sky-high expectations after seven straight premature playoff exits.Now that the draft is complete and spring workouts are on the way, it’s a good time to examine the big picture. Here are four pressing Bills questions about the team, and what will be worth keeping an eye on for the 2026 campaign.Advertisement
Pistons showed grit in series comeback. Did they unlock a new level for the future?
DETROIT — All season, J.B. Bickerstaff has harped on one thing being paramount to the Detroit Pistons’ long-term success: peaking at the perfect time.He’s reiterated it from the Pistons’ 13-game win streak in November to their four-game losing streak in March. As Bickerstaff subbed out his starters Sunday to a standing ovation from the Little Caesars Arena crowd in a sea of blue and white rally towels, his vision was coming to fruition.Advertisement
What to expect from The Athletic's women's basketball coverage in 2026? Even more
Let’s go back 30 years.The WNBA’s first season had no salary cap and players received as little as $15,000 to play. The best players topped out around $50,000, even as stars in 1997 became household names — Cynthia Cooper, Lisa Leslie, Rebecca Lobo, Sheryl Swoopes.Excitement was there, but skepticism abounded. How long would the league exist? Would people watch? Was this a novelty? Would interest eventually wear off? How could it sustain itself financially?Advertisement
Rudy Gobert has mentored Victor Wembanyama for years. Now they stand in each other’s way
MINNEAPOLIS — Eyes darting around the room, Rudy Gobert is racking his brain for a message for his protege. Gobert and his Minnesota Timberwolves had just defeated the San Antonio Spurs and his mentee, Victor Wembanyama, in January.Gobert could have talked trash about the game. He also could have imparted some wisdom on getting his health back so his game could finally reach the next level.Advertisement
What I'm seeing from the PWHL playoffs: A physical start, a goalie battle and a hat trick
LAVAL, Que., — It took just one loss in the opening game of the Montreal Victoire’s first-round series against the Minnesota Frost for the questions to begin.The Victoire got to select their opponent for the first round of the PWHL playoffs by virtue of winning the PWHL’s regular-season title. And rather than face the No. 4-seeded Ottawa Charge, Montreal made the bold move to play the two-time defending champion Minnesota Frost.Advertisement
New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers: Playoff series schedule and channel listings
Two longstanding franchises with rabid, bellowing fanbases. A host of NBA All-Stars with narrative arcs to close. Home arenas separated by just 100 miles of interstate highway and a few Amtrak stops. It’s the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers. It’s always personal.The Knicks haven’t won a championship since 1973, and they haven’t played in the NBA Finals since 1999. The 76ers last won it all in 1983, and their most recent finals berth came in 2001. One side will push ever closer to snap...
It's up to WNBA fans to raise the roof (and the floor) of the conversation
The WNBA is just days away, so there’s still time. Enough of it for fans who love this league to swoop in and save the conversation. Enough of it for fans who love this league to swoop in and save the conversation.Across certain corners of the internet, the complexity of WNBA games is condensed into highlights, bite-sized and devoid of context. Any small and forgettable moment caught on camera, a cutaway shot shown on a national broadcast, can live on as a GIF. And fan bases will reveal the...
The Maple Leafs aren't operating like a serious hockey team
“At the end of the day, this is the most important decision that I will likely make in my tenure at MLSE.”The “decision” that Keith Pelley, the president and CEO of MLSE, was referring to in late March was the hiring of the next front office of the Toronto Maple Leafs.This was it then? With the most important decision of his tenure, at a crucial pivot point for the franchise, the best Pelley could do — the best the Leafs, one of the league’s most iconic and richest franchises, could do — was hir...
Post-draft outlook for all 32 NFL teams: Which rosters improved most? Who got worse?
The NFL Draft dust is settling. Rookie minicamps and OTAs — with the league’s schedule release sandwiched in-between — are the NFL’s calendar’s next major checkpoints.It’s the perfect time to step back and take stock, which The Athletic’s NFL writers will do. Which teams are better? Which teams got worse? Did your favorite team fill the necessary holes to improve? Is there still work to be done?Our writers break down the post-NFL draft outlook for all 32 teams heading into the summer.Advertiseme...
Blue Jackets Monday Gathering: With an 'uncomfortable' summer ahead, how can they improve?
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A collection of notes, insights, ruminations and did-you-knows gathered throughout the week that was for the Columbus Blue Jackets:Item No. 1: Next stepsThe Blue Jackets need to get faster and more physical. They need more skill and scoring, specifically players who can actually finish. They need to become more resilient and better able to withstand pressure at the biggest moments of the season.Advertisement
How the NHL's youngest teams are pushing for the Stanley Cup
It’s a stat that speaks volumes about the sea change happening across the NHL right now.Four of the five youngest teams in the league at the start of the 2025-26 season are all into the second round of the playoffs, with the Montreal Canadiens joining the Buffalo Sabres (who they’ll face in the Atlantic Division final starting on Wednesday in Game 1), Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks as the faces of a new generation in Round 2.Advertisement
Before Curt Cignetti made college football history winning, he endured a lot of losing
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Nearly 50 years before he would lead Indiana to the most unlikely national championship in college football history, Curt Cignetti got a harsh lesson about the perils of losing.In November 1978, during Curt’s senior year of high school, his father, Frank, then the head coach at West Virginia, came down with a mysterious illness. Curt idolized his dad, who he would later say “had a little John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in him.” Curt had been on the Mountaineers’ sideline with F...
Nationals fan survey results, Pt. 1: Grading the new brass and the Gore trade
WASHINGTON — I’ll begin this story with an apology.It is difficult to judge a team after one month. I imagine, for instance, that the consensus on Cade Cavalli (back-to-back 10-strikeout games) has changed since you all filled this survey out. Still, I believe it’s important to regularly hear from the fans — in this case, 1,639 of you — and I personally believe we’ve already learned a good deal about the direction of this club, and the way it operates.Advertisement
What can the 2026 Mets learn from 2024's turnaround?
“This is the incomprehensible basis of reality in things, the irreducible remainder which cannot be resolved into reason by the greatest exertion but always remains in the depths. Out of this which is unreasonable, reason in the true sense is born. Without this preceding gloom, creation would have no reality; darkness is its necessary heritage.” —“Philosophical Inquiries into the Nature of Human Freedom,” F.W.J. SchellingHow exactly did this all feel two years ago?Advertisement
Wild stand by Jesper Wallstedt after 8-goal Game 1: 'He’s going to bounce back'
DENVER — The “WALLY!” chants had quite a different tone this time.Jesper Wallstedt heard his nickname yelled exultingly often during his remarkable run in the Minnesota Wild’s first-round series victory over the Dallas Stars. The rookie goaltender was a big reason the Wild made it to the second round for the first time in a decade.Advertisement
Who will go No. 1 in 2026 NHL Draft? McKenna leads race ahead of lottery
With the NHL Draft Lottery taking place on Tuesday, there still isn’t a consensus for who will be the No. 1 pick in 2026. The media has largely circled Penn State’s Gavin McKenna, but the discourse in the league is a little different. Because there isn’t a prospect separating from the pack, who wins the lottery will, in part, dictate which player goes first, depending on organizational need and philosophical preference. I’ve polled NHL scouts and front office executives to get a pulse on the top...
Cavs' and Pistons' survival, Joel Embiid, 3-1 comebacks turned the East on its ear
CLEVELAND — It was a Saturday night in the Eastern Conference playoffs, and a Green Giant was crashing toward the Earth.Joel Embiid is too big, too decorated, to be called the little guy. But his sudden re-emergence with the 76ers after two virtually lost seasons not only was a rock to the Boston Celtics’ collective temple, it has the rest of the NBA scratching its head in mild trepidation of what’s to come.Advertisement