The ESPN Daily: The Bruins force Game 7

THINGS TO WATCH

THINGS TO CARE ABOUT

Who is Kawhi Leonard? He’s on the verge of leading Toronto to its first NBA championship. He might be the best player in basketball. Yet for all his accolades, Kawhi Leonard might be the most mysterious superstar in the league … except to those who know him best. Read More

The weirdest night of Bobby V’s life … Twenty years ago, Bobby Valentine was thrown out of a Mets game for arguing about a so-called “catcher’s balk.” Most managers would stay in the locker room, but Bobby V was not most managers. He grabbed some glasses, made creative use of eye black, and created one of the strangest rules interpretations in MLB history. Here’s the inside story from the man himself. Read More

The most beat-up ride in the NFL … You know the fullback stereotype: hard-nosed, no-nonsense, ready to do whatever it takes to get where the team needs to go. If you took one look at Broncos fullback Andy Janovich’s ancient truck, you’d be able to guess what he does for a living immediately, as it entirely embodies his fullback-ness. Read More

BY THE NUMBERS

12

The number of French Open titles won by Rafael Nadal. His 12-0 record in French Open finals is by far the best in a major final by a men’s player at a single tournament in the Open era.

1,818

On Saturday night, UFC 238 (Henry Cejudo vs. Marlon Moraes) set the record for most significant strikes landed at a single event. The next-closest is UFC 231 (Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega) with 1,674.

OVERHEARD

“LeBron was their favorite player growing up. Everyone had the shoes, his jersey. You’re the biggest fan in the world … then you get there, and it’s like your mom and dad, or the person that you looked up to and idolized, doesn’t want you.”
— Rajon Rondo, on how trade rumors affected the Lakers’ players, via Bleacher Report. Read more

REMEMBER WHEN?

On this date in 2001, the full power of the Shaq/Kobe Lakers era was in effect, as the duo each scored over 30 points in a win over the 76ers in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. Los Angeles would end up winning the series in five games. Watch

WHAT’S ON TONIGHT?

A’s at Rays (7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN+): Don’t look now, but the Rays are tied for first with the Yankees in the American League East. This is primarily due to center fielder Austin Meadows, who’s having a breakout season and leading the AL in batting with a .346 average, and a pitching staff with the best ERA in the majors.

Warriors at Raptors (9 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN App): Golden State finds itself in a strange position — down 3-1 in an NBA Finals most analysts saw the Warriors winning. Is it really any surprise, though, when most Warriors players not named Steph or Klay have been shooting so poorly? On the plus side, if they come back from this, all those “Warriors blew a 3-1 lead” jokes aren’t really relevant anymore, are they?

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