Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Monday, June 16.

But first, in today’s anniversary celebrations, I’m highlighting one of the more unique Remixes I’ve ever written. This post from last August features a live play-by-play of last year’s Cincinnati Open men’s final:

NBA FINALS

Well it finally happened– the number one team in the league, dominant all-season, favorites to win-it-all version of the Oklahoma City Thunder showed up last night in game five. Before I go on, I’ll admit a leg injury to Tyrese Haliburton was hugely impactful in this game. The Pacers guard had no points at halftime and finished with just four on the night. And behind a superb effort by TJ McConnell (18 very scrappy points), Indiana actually cut the Thunder lead to two points in the fourth quarter. But this was all about OKC and their superstar duo. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points with 10 assists, while Jalen Williams was the best player on the floor, dropping 40 points to lead all scorers. You know the only other duo in the NBA Finals over the last 40 years to score 40 and 30? Kyrie Irving and LeBron James. So yeah, the Thunder came to play last night, earning this important 120-109 victory. Oklahoma City is just one win from their city’s first-ever NBA championship.

MLB

A couple of highlights for the diamond today, starting with a much anticipated return:

• For the first time in almost two years, Shohei Ohtani pitched in an MLB game last night. It’s a bit strange, as Ohtani is basically on a rehab assignment during very important games while also hitting leadoff. But nothing about Shohei Ohtani is normal, so let’s just enjoy it. While the reigning NL MVP gave up one run on two hits in his only inning on the mound, he drove in a run and led the Dodgers to a 6-3 win over the Padres.

• Really cool moment as New York native and Angels second baseman Christian Moore laced a triple for his first career hit in front of his family. An even cooler moment for Moore and LA was their 1-0 extra innings win over the Yankees.

• Ryan Pepiot struck out 11 over eight commanding innings and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Baltimore Orioles 7-1. Don’t look now, but the Rays are getting hot– they have the most wins in baseball since May 20.

• The Athletics won their fourth consecutive game last night, taking down the Houston Astros 3-1. The game was tied 1-1 with a runner on first in the bottom of the ninth inning. Up stepped former Wake Forest Demon Deacon Nick Kurtz, who delivered one of the swings, bat flips, and celebrations of the season so far:

COLLEGE WORLD SERIES

Our Remix athlete of the day is Arkansas starter Gage Wood, who threw a no-hitter in an elimination game yesterday against Murray State. This was the third College World Series no-hitter and the first since 1960. Were it not for an unfortunate hit-by-pitch in the eighth inning, Wood may have thrown a perfect game– he walked no batters and struck out a CWS record 19! The Razorbacks won 3-0 to stay alive in Omaha.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The fallout continues from the Rafael Devers trade. Just look at these quotes from the Boston chief baseball officer Craig Breslow: "This is in no way signifying a waving of the white flag on 2025. We are as committed as we were six months ago to putting a winning team on the field, to competing for the division and making a deep postseason run. I do think that there is a real chance that at the end of the season we're looking back and we've won more games than we otherwise would've." President and CEO Sam Kennedy added, “We did what we felt was in the best interest of the Red Sox on and off the field to win championships and to continue to ferociously and relentlessly pursue a culture that we want everyone in that clubhouse to embody and doing everything in their power night in and night out to help the team.” Even Red Sox legend David Ortiz weighed in on the controversial trade! Boston continued their win streak last night, but right now all anyone cares about is this weekend’s series against– you guessed it– the San Francisco Giants.

So you probably didn’t know this, but the Club World Cup is taking place right now across the United States. The top teams from every continent around the world are competing in this newly-reshaped, very expensive event. ”I think the environment was a bit strange. You know, the stadium was almost empty. Not full,” said Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca after last night’s win against LAFC in Atlanta. It’s sort of a disaster for FIFA, as the players are losing their summer break, no one really cares about who wins, and very few fans are showing up to games. Again, you probably didn’t know this was even happening. We’ll move along.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MLB:

• Braves @ Mets, 7:15 PM on MLB Network

• Brewers @ Cubs, 8:05 PM

STANLEY CUP GAME SIX: Oilers @ Panthers, 8 PM on TNT/Max

“If I can walk, then I wanna play… Our backs are against the wall,” –Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton