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Wembanyama wins West finals MVP, and looks ahead to NBA Finals matchup

OKLAHOMA CITY — When the Western Conference finals started, Victor Wembanyama watched Shai Gilgeous-Alexander hoist a Most Valuable Player trophy that the San Antonio Spurs star desperately wanted. Wembanyama left the series with an MVP trophy of his own — and a whole lot more. The French standout — in just his third season — has led the Spurs to the NBA Finals. The newly crowned Western Conference finals MVP had 22 points in a Game 7 win at Oklahoma City, one that gave San Antonio a chance to play for the NBA title for the first time since 2014. It'll be San Antonio vs. New ...

Hurricanes’ longtime holdovers savor breakthrough moment in reaching Stanley Cup Final

RALEIGH, N.C. — The on-ice celebration was underway for the Carolina Hurricanes after securing their first trip to the Stanley Cup Final in two decades. Rod Brind'Amour hugged and congratulated his players, all while reminding them there was another series ahead. Then came veteran forward Jordan Martinook. "All right, Marty, you got us here," Brind'Amour told him. "One more," Martinook replied, on cue. "Yep, one more." It took eight seasons under Brind'Amour — the captain on Carolina's Cup winner in 2006 — to punch through an Eastern Conference Final roadblock by closing ...

Burton’s 25 sparks Valkyries’ 90-88 win over Fever

SAN FRANCISCO — Veronica Burton had 25 points and six rebounds, Gabby Williams added 19 points, six rebounds and six assists, and the Golden State Valkyries beat Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever 90-88 on Thursday night. Clark's 3-pointer with 3:55 to play pulled Indiana to 81-80 and Aliyah Boston put the Fever ahead with a jumper the next time down. But Clark turned the ball over with 1:32 left and her team trailing by three then again with 1:06 to go before missing a 3 with 40 seconds remaining. Indiana had another chance with 24.8 seconds left and Sophie Cunningham scored on ...

The cheesehead hat is a sunny nod to America’s ‘Hold my beer’ exuberance

Americans long have leavened their powerful global image with goofiness, a cheerful confidence that can deflect international wonder over certain strains of ignorance into a smile. Behold, for example, the cheesehead hat. Made of sofa foam and sunny yellow defiance, the hat was created in the late 1980s in response to the taunting faced by supporters of sports teams in Wisconsin, which has long called itself America's dairyland. "Cheeseheads!" residents of neighboring Illinois said. The insult was embraced and, yes, turned on its head — particularly in the realm of a certain ...