How can the Yankees survive without Aaron Judge; The Spurs need to start Dylan Harper on the Knicks

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🤕 Five things to know on Friday

1. Aaron Judge is expected to miss significant time with a stress fracture in his rib. The silver lining for the Yankees is that the reigning American League MVP is expected to return at some point this season. Still, this is a brutal development for a club that relies heavily on the most powerful bat in baseball. The Yankees may end up spending the summer months without Judge, as they say he will be shooting for four to six weeks before rehabbing his condition. Judge has 17 home runs on the year, but his production has dipped in recent weeks as he battles discomfort, and he has sat out the last three games.
2. The Spurs are looking for a comeback effort tonight in Game 2. If a fourth-quarter collapse in the opening game of the NBA Finals wasn’t the straw that broke the camel’s back, when will we ever see Dylan Harper break the Spurs’ starting lineup? Our Sam Quinn says San Antonio needs to add a rookie to the starting five and give De’Aron Fox a break. It may take more than that for the Spurs to even the series with the Knicks. They also need Victor Wembanyama to answer the call again and win the battle against Karl-Anthony Towns, who didn’t back down from the MVP finals in Game 1.
3. The Hurricanes tied the Stanley Cup Final with a thrilling overtime game. The Golden Knights held a 2-0 lead with less than 10 minutes to play, but Game 2 followed. Carolina scored three straight goals to jump ahead with a brutal comeback, but Vegas answered with a tie in the final two minutes of regulation before Seth Jarvis scored the Hurricanes’ game-winner in overtime. Carolina should have had this game after dropping the series opener on home ice, and the series now heads west at one game apiece.
4. Tommy Fleetwood talks about a four-way tie at the top of the Memorial Tournament leaderboard. The first round is complete at Muirfield Village, and Fleetwood finds itself level with several US Open champions at 5 under. Wyndham Clark, JJ Spaun and Ryan Gerard also shot 67s to start the PGA Tour’s signature pennant event of the year. The first 18 holes were not kind to Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler. McIlroy made a double bogey early in the round, and Scheffler has work to do after shooting a 73.
5. Texas is back as the champion of the Women’s College World Series. There is a new dynasty in college softball. For the second year in a row, the Longhorns topped Texas Tech in the Lone Star State tournament to win the WCWS championship series. This game is unusual for back-to-back title winners, and the big question is whether Mike White can match the four straight titles that rival Oklahoma has reeled off from 2021-24. He has now coached in four championship series in the past five years.

⚽ Don’t miss this: Why the USA can win the World Cup

Let’s be honest; it would be a big surprise if United States won the first FIFA World Cup this summer. The Americans haven’t finished better than eighth in any tournament since 1930, and they have a 12th chance to win this time. But in explaining why each of the top contestants has a chance to win the 2026 installment, our James Benge stopped short of pulling off a surprise.

• Benge: “Give it Mauricio Pochettino his 11 best players, fully fit and roaring for the crowd that has finally swung behind the team, and they can have a fighting chance maybe (not a good fighter, but still) against whoever draws them. To win three games like this, that is an event that will never happen. The fact that we have never seen such an event in the last 22 World Cups does not mean that we can guarantee that they will not see it this time.”

So you are telling me there is a chance?

At least the USMNT has a better idea than the other 36 teams in the field. I’m talking about those groups that are slowly declining, there are a few stories from smaller nations that are worth discussing. Check them out:

⚾ MLB overreaction: Paul Skenes’ Cy Young streak is over

If you like instant gratification, baseball can be a frustrating game. Small sample sizes should not be overwhelming in MLB. But sometimes we can’t resist the urge to jump to conclusions. When we see pitchers like Christopher Sánchez, Chase Burns, Jacob Misiorowski and some stars rise to the beginning of the earth, we may be tempted to set aside the numbers of pedestrians alone Paul Skenes.

Our Matt Snyder tells us that even though Skenes is tied for fourth in the Cy Young race, we should still be buying Pirates ace and his chances of repeating as the award winner in the National League.

• Snyder: “He probably has 19 starts left and probably won’t face the All-Star Game again (he’ll make the team, but since he’s started two years in a row, he’ll be one of the guys not playing). Skenes is by no means finished in this race.”

Now, if you want to believe i Radiation they cost themselves the AL East lead for good, that might not be such an overreaction.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

📺 What we’re watching this weekend

On Friday

⚾ Top NCAA Regionals, all day on ESPN networks
🎾 French Open Men’s Semi: Mensik vs. Zverev, 8:30 am on TNT
🎾 French Open Men’s Semi: Arnaldi vs. Cobolli, 1pm on TNT
⛳ Memorial Tournament, second round, 2pm on the Golf Channel
⛳ US Women Open, second round, 2pm on USA Network
⚾ Little Giants, 2:20 pm on MLB Network
⚾ White Sox at Phillies or Sailors of the Tigers, 6:40 pm on MLB Network
⚾ Red Sox at Yankees, 7:05 pm in Peacock
🏀 The sun in the sky, 7:30 pm on Ion
🤼 WWE SmackDown, 8pm on USA Network
🏀 NBA Finals: Knicks at Spurs, game 2, 8:30 pm on ABC
⚾ Rangers Rangers, 8:15 pm on Apple TV
⚾ Royals at Twins, 8:15 pm on Apple TV
⚾ Dealers in the Rockies, 8:40 pm on ESPN Unlimited
⚾ Mets at Padres or Nationals at Diamondbacks, 9:40 pm on MLB Network
🏀 Sparks Wings or Mercury at Fire, 10pm on Ion

On Saturday

🎾 French Open women’s final: Chwalinska vs. Andreeva, TBD on TNT
⚾ Top NCAA Regionals, all day on ESPN networks
🏀 Storm in Lynx, 1pm on ABC
⚾ Mariners at Tigers, 1:10 pm on MLB Network
⚾ Royals at Twins, 2:10 pm on ESPN Unlimited
⚾ Little Giants, 2:20 pm in Peacock
⛳ Memorial Tournament, third round, 2:30 pm on CBS/Paramount+
⚽ Men’s Friendly: United States vs. Germany, 2:30 pm on TBS
🏀 Aces Valkyries, 3pm on ABC
⚾ White Sox at Phillies or Pirates at Braves, 4:05 pm on MLB Network
⛳ US Women Open, third round, 7pm on NBC
⚾ Red Sox at Yankees or Rangers Rangers, 7:35 pm on Fox
🏒 Stanley Cup Final: Hurricanes at Golden Knights, Game 3, 8pm on ABC
🏀 Liberty Fever, 8pm on CBS/Paramount+
🤼 UFC Fight Night: Muhammad vs. Bonfim, 8pm on Paramount+
⚾ Angels at Dodgers or Places to stay in Padres, 10:10 pm on MLB Network

On Sunday

🎾 French Open men’s final: TBD on TNT
⚾ Top NCAA Regionals, all day on ESPN networks
⚾ Red Sox at Yankees, 1:35 pm on ESPN Unlimited
⚾ Pirates and Braves, 1:35 pm in Peacock
⚾ White Sox at Phillies or Orioles at Blue Jays, 1:35 pm on MLB Network
⛳ Memorial Tournament, final round, 2:30 pm on CBS/Paramount+
🏁 NASCAR in Michigan, 3pm on Prime Video
⚾ Nations at Diamondbacks, 3:15 pm on NBC Sports Network
⛳ US Women Open, final round, 5pm on NBC
🏀 Fire in Sparks, 7pm on NBA TV
⚾ Little Giants, 8:20 pm on NBC