NBA close to picking new $12-13B Vegas team owners — report

NEW YORK — Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers seek a third consecutive World Series title but Boston and the New York Yankees own the spotlight when Major League Baseball’s playoffs begin Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila). The Dodgers seek a three-peat not achieved since the Yankees in 1998-2000 after winning 100 games over the six-month season. “It doesn’t change anything as far as our standing going forward in the post-season, but it’s still a nice feather in our cap to win 100 games,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Six teams each qualified for the National League and American League playoffs, which start with best-of-three wildcard series play. The Yankees will host arch-rival Boston with the winner advancing to face AL top seed Tampa Bay in the best-of-five division series. Slugger Aaron Judge, recovering from a calf strain after missing 84 games earlier with a rib injury, aims to return against the Red Sox. The Yankees were 7-6 against Boston this season. “My goal is to come back as soon as I can,” outfielder Judge said. “Ask me if I’m going to be back I’ll tell you yeah.” Yankees manager Aaron Boone was more cautious, saying, “We’ll listen to the trainers and medical and see where we’re at.” Last-day qualifier Houston — the AL West winners with the worst record in playoff history, at 81-81 — will host the Chicago White Sox in the other AL series. The Astros won the regular season series 5-2. The winner meets Cleveland, which also earned a first-round bye. In the NL, San Diego will play host to the Chicago Cubs, who went 5-1 against the Padres, with the winner advancing to face NL top seed Milwaukee, which won an MLB-best 103 games this season. The other NL wildcard series sends Philadelphia, which survived four straight losses to qualify on the last day, against Atlanta, which went 9-4 against the Phillies. The winner will visit Dodger Stadium for a division series opener on Saturday. The Dodgers went 18-7 in September to enter the post-season on a hot streak. “As a group we played better baseball again and that’s what you want going into the post-season,” first baseman Freddie Freeman said. “Our pitching staff is amazing. Guys started to swing the bat better. Some of us still need to use these five days to figure it out. But a lot of good things happened over the course of the end of the season.” One concern for the Dodgers is the play of Japanese superstar Ohtani, who struggled in five games since returning from left knee and right biceps injuries. Ohtani, a four-time league Most Valuable Player, batted 5-for-21 with eight strikeouts and one walk over his closing stretch, ending the season hitting .275 with 30 home runs. “He came out of it healthy, so you just expect the ensuing days he feels even better,” Roberts said. “When you look out to Saturday, I think he’ll be in a good spot.”

BOSTON — Jayson Tatum’s one constant during his development into a star with the Boston Celtics has been having Jaylen Brown as a teammate. That partnership ended this offseason when the Celtics front office decided to trade Brown — the 2024 NBA Finals MVP — to the Philadelphia 76ers in what was largely a cost-cutting move that broke up the duo most responsible for leading Boston to the 2024 NBA championship. “The business of the NBA comes and plays a part at some point. And I’ve seen it in my almost 10 years in this league,” Tatum said during the Celtics media day on Monday. “For me it’s more so being grateful for what we accomplished and what he means for this city and to this organization. Just the ups and downs in our career that we were able to grow and learn from and made us the players that we are today. So really just being thankful for those nine years.” The closeness of the Tatum and Brown’s off-court relationship — or lack thereof — was a topic of conversation throughout their time together as teammates, especially as it became clearer that having two $300 million contracts on the books would be unsustainable for the team’s salary cap health going forward. The choice was ultimately to keep Tatum, sending Brown to an interdivision rival that has suddenly vaulted to a contender in the Eastern Conference after also picking up LeBron James this offseason. It has cast a brighter spotlight on Tatum, a six-time All-star and five-time All-NBA selection, as the unequivocal leader of the Celtics as he enters his first full season after tearing his Achiles tendon during the 2025 NBA playoffs. He said he’s ready to take on the challenge of leading new-look version of the Celtics, that got back Paul George in the trade and added big man Mitchell Robinson and guard Mike Conley Jr. “Yeah, very comfortable. This is Year 10,” Tatum said. “Leadership is about a lot of different things. Awareness is the biggest one. Self-awareness, awareness of the group. And just understanding we all have roles and we’re just kind of simply in this together. So it looks different from person to person.” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said the style of the team won’t necessarily change without Brown. “I don’t think that it’s necessarily the phrase ‘without Jaylen,‘” Mazzulla said. “Every year you’re getting new players, old players, the same players that you have coming back expand their games and they look differently. So it’s not as much what it looks like without one person or the other as much as it’s what’s our roster, how can we take advantage of the strengths and talent that we have.” Tatum reached the 16-month mark since he had surgery on his Achilles tendon and he said he’s ready to go after having to miss Game 7 of Boston’s first-round playoff matchup against the Sixers last season. “I feel great having this offseason to get stronger,” he said. “Get more explosive and just work on my body in totality. So, obviously feel much better than I did this time last year and I’m excited and thankful for that.” George ready to support Tatum If anyone knows what it’s like to try to return to the court after a major injury, it’s George. He missed nearly all of the 2014-2015 NBA season while with the Indiana Pacers after sustaining a compound fracture in his right leg during a Team USA scrimmage. He reiterated that he sees his role this season as filing whatever holes there are on the court. “Obviously, JT is the guy,” George said. “I’m there to support him in all facets. I’ve always prided myself on being able to not just do one thing, kind of wearing whatever hat that I needed to while still producing at a high level. That’s kind of how I view being here.” Robinson needed apology from Mazzulla Two years ago, during Boston’s conference semifinals loss to the New York Knicks, Mazzulla employed an intentional foul strategy against Robinson, a historically bad shooter at the line. Mazzulla joked Monday that he’d miss fouling Robinson now that he was one of his players. Robinson, who said he’s worked on his career 50.8% free throw shooting this offseason, said that his history with Mazzulla required a conversation between the two. “At first, we had a little issue because I’m like, ‘You’ve got to say sorry for fouling me,’” Robinson joked. “He apologized, and now we’re on the same team, so it’s going to be great, just building together and stuff like that. ... I feel like it’s going to be epic.”

CHICAGO — Case Keenum passed for two touchdowns in his first start in almost three years, and the Chicago Bears shut down Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles for a 27-7 victory on Monday (Tuesday in Manila). Stepping in for Caleb Williams, Keenum was 24 for 34 for 247 yards. He also scored his first rushing touchdown since 2019 on a 1-yard plunge with 7:19 left, capping a 13-play drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock. It was Keenum’s first action since he started for Houston in a 36-22 loss to Cleveland on Dec. 24, 2023. Williams was sidelined by a right hamstring injury, and Tyson Bagent backed up Keenum after he cleared the L’s concussion protocol on Sunday. Kalif Raymond had six receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown as Chicago (2-1) bounced back after an ugly 9-3 loss to Minnesota. Philadelphia (2-1) turned the ball over three times and failed to record a takeaway for the third consecutive game to begin the season. Hurts was 16 for 25 for 153 yards with an interception, and Saquon Barkley rushed for 82 yards on 15 carries. Keenum capped Chicago’s first drive with a shovel pass to Luther Burden for an 8-yard touchdown, and he connected with a wide-open Raymond on a 41-yard TD in the second half. Trailing 7-0, Hurts drove Philadelphia deep into Chicago territory in the second quarter before he absorbed a late hit by linebacker D’Marco Jackson along the sideline. Hurts was pulled off the field to be checked for a concussion, and backup Andy Dalton was intercepted by rookie Dillon Thieneman in the back of the end zone with 6:14 left. Hurts scored on a quarterback sneak as time expired in the first half, but Chicago (2-1) controlled the final two periods. Hurts was picked off by linebacker T.J. Edwards late in the third quarter. Edwards dropped a potential interception on third down on Philadelphia’s first drive of the second half. Chicago finished with 24 first downs and 128 yards rushing. The Bears had 28 first downs and 281 yards on the ground in a 24-15 win at Philadelphia last season.

MINNEAPOLIS — Cheryl Reeve smiled as she sat in a chair on the stage with Olivia Miles to her left, as the Minnesota Lynx were presented with two major awards. Reeve’s record fifth WNBA Coach of the Year trophy, she said, would not have materialized without Miles and her performance at point guard this season that made her an unanimous selection for Rookie of the Year. “What I was reminded of with Liv is the importance of letting greatness be great,” Reeve said, “and not getting in the way.” Miles received all 74 votes for the award from a national panel of sports writers and broadcasters covering the league, after she set the WNBA rookie scoring record. The second pick in the draft out of TCU played in 40 of 44 games and averaged 19.8 points, 6.0 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals while shooting 49.2% from the field, 38.8% from 3-point range and 87% from the free-throw line. Reeve, who is in her 17th season as head coach of the Lynx and fourth as president of basketball operations, was sold on Miles and her curiosity and humility during the pre-draft interview process and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly she became comfortable on the court. The coach and the player realized they see the game through a similar lens, thanks to Reeve’s degree from La Salle in computer science and the mindset Miles shares with her father, Yakubu, a software engineer. “It was important for me to have someone who was humble,” said Reeve, who guided the Lynx to WNBA titles in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. “I think a lot of players come in feeling like they know and they don’t need to be told or have others around them to guide them.” Miles became the sixth winner of the award in Lynx history, following Betty Lennox (2000), Seimone Augustus (2006), Maya Moore (2011), Napheesa Collier (2019) and Crystal Dangerfield (2020). Just like Reeve became a better coach with her on the floor, Miles found the ideal place to land in the league with a core of welcoming veterans on and off the court in Collier, Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams and an accomplished coach in Reeve with such high standards. “I truly think that her method to her madness, what she refers to it as, will lead to success if we trust in it,” Miles said. “I knew it was going to be hard. I didn’t know it was going to be this hard. I didn’t think I’d have the opportunity I’d have right away, so I kind of just took that and ran with it. She’s given me a lot of grace as well.” Reeve, who received 40 of 74 votes from media panel, previously won the award in 2011, 2016, 2020 and 2024. She became the WNBA’s all-time leader in regular-season coaching wins this year. Golden State’s Natalie Nakase, who won the award last year, finished second with 20 votes. Washington’s Sydney Johnson was third with 14 votes. Miles, a native of New Jersey who started her college career at Notre Dame, led all rookies in points, points per game, field goals made, defensive rebounds, assists, assists per game and efficiency rating. The WNBA announced the awards on Monday, before the Lynx traveled to New York for an elimination game in their best-of-three first-round playoff series on Tuesday. The top-seeded Lynx lost the opener at home 91-75 to the 2024 champion Liberty on Sunday, when Miles had just 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting with four turnovers and four fouls in her postseason debut. Even for one of the most precocious rookies to join the league lately, the playoffs are another level of competition. “I think she’s feeling it right now, but it’s what we expected and it’s not easy,” Reeve said. “She’s a smart player, and she’ll figure it out.”

EJ Obiena has won another Asian Games gold and rewritten the Games record for the second straight edition, but perhaps his biggest takeaway from it is something that cannot be measured in length.

The Philippines bagged four medals on Tuesday, its biggest single-day medal haul in the 2026 Asian Games.

Lawrence Mangubat and Jamhir Eligado powered Jose Rizal University past Lyceum of the Philippines University, 94-69, in the NCAA Season 102 men"s basketball tournament on Tuesday.

Olympian and pole vaulter EJ Obiena remained the king of Asian pole vault as he ruled the event at the 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, on Tuesday.

MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine bets Alex Eala and Shaira Rivera held off their Hong Kong rivals Lai Ching Laam and Liu Kallista, 6-1, 6-3, at the Higashiyama Park Tennis Center Indoor Court B in Japan Tuesday evening to enter the 20th Asian Games tennis women's doubles second round. Unable to close out Lai and Liu in the eighth game of the second set, Eala and Rivera blanked the Hong Kong players the following game for the first round win. Rivera delivered the clincher at the net as the Philippines finished the match in one hour and 17 minutes. Eala and Rivera face the Chinese duo of Jiang Xinyu and Yang Zhaoxuan in the second round. Jiang and Yang received a first-round bye.

Alex Eala and Shaira Rivera flexed their might to pull off a 6-1, 6-3 win over Hong Kong's Lai Ching Laam and Kallista Liu in the women's doubles first round in the 2026 Asian Games on Tuesday in Japan.

NCAA Season 102 Men’s Basketball Tournament JRU def. Letran, 94-69 Jahmir Eligado Player of the Game #NCAASeason102