Although he won't miss any game action during the Western Conference semifinals, Murray didn't get off scot-free. The 27-year-old will be hit with a substantial fine of $100,000 for "throwing multiple objects in the direction of a game official during live play," according to a statement from the league.
Murray was on the bench with just under five minutes remaining in the second quarter of Monday night's game, when he was seen throwing the heating pad onto the court while play was live. The pad and towel landed next to the foot of Karl-Anthony Towns, who scored a layup on the play, and was removed moments later by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
Officials did not stop play, and Murray did not receive a technical foul.
The TNT camera shows Nuggets star Jamal Murray throwing a heat pack from the bench right into game action on the floor before a T-Wolves bucket. ⁉️ pic.twitter.com/btZp6dbtZR
The Nuggets, already trailing 2–0 in the series, have managed to avoid what would've been a significant blow had Murray been suspended. Instead, he'll be available for Game 3 on Friday, which tips off from the Target Center at 9:30 p.m. ET.
In two games against the Timberwolves during the second round, Murray is averaging just 12.5 points and shooting 28.1% from the field.
The 2024 NHL draft lottery was held Tuesday night, though it came without many surprises. In fact, this year's draft is the first since 2010 in which the picks went unchanged through the lottery process, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
As such, it'll be the San Jose Sharks on the clock first. After a rough season that saw the Sharks finish at the bottom of the league with a record of 19–54–5, they'll have the chance to pick atop this year's draft, where it's widely anticipated that they'll select Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini.
Celebrini, 17, won't turn 18 until just a couple of weeks before the draft in June. This past year at BU, he became the youngest player ever to win the Hoby Baker Award, which recognizes college hockey's top talent. He racked up 64 points—32 goals and 32 assists—across 38 games, and now could be headed to San Jose as the franchise looks to add a game-changing talent to help facilitate the rebuild.
Welcome back to SI Golf’s Fact or Fiction, where we hope the finish of next week's PGA Championship in Kentucky is as great as the Kentucky Derby.
Once again, we’re here to debate a series of statements for writers and editors to declare as “Fact” or “Fiction” along with a brief explanation. Responses may also (occasionally) be “Neutral” since there's a lot of gray area in golf.
Do you agree or disagree? Let us know on the SI Golf X account.
Brooks Koepka won the LIV Golf Singapore event, turning around a slow season just in time for his PGA Championship defense. He is LIV’s best candidate to win a major this year.
Bob Harig: FACT. Based on his major promise and a confidence-boosting performance, Koepka will head to Louisville as LIV’s best hope. But don’t count out Cam Smith, who seems to have his game coming around as well.
John Pluym: FACT. Koepka’s at his best in the majors despite his recent Masters performance. Whether that’s enough to overtake Scottie Scheffler (Yes, I think he wins the PGA), we’ll see. But he’s definitely LIV’s best hope in Louisville.
A week in Singapore appears to have turned around Brooks Koepka's outlook for his PGA Championship defense.
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Ritter: FACT. He’s the most proven major champion on the LIV circuit aside from Mickelson’s six titles, and Koepka may be putting it together just in time to pick off one more this summer and match Mickelson.
John Schwarb: FACT. This is a nod to Koepka but also acknowledgment that Jon Rahm still hasn’t rediscovered the top gear he had before going to LIV. He’s actually second in season points (well behind Joaquin Niemann) but his best finishes are a pair of thirds; wasn’t he supposed to dominate and be at the top of any major discussions?
Koepka became the first to win four times in LIV Golf. He also has four titles on the PGA Tour (not counting majors). Koepka’s career will ultimately have more LIV wins than Tour wins.
Bob Harig: FACT. This is likely inevitable. Koepka seems certain to win more times on LIV Golf and his future with the PGA Tour seems murky at best.
John Pluym: FACT. I don’t think there’s any doubt that he wins more tournaments on LIV Golf than the PGA Tour.
Jeff Ritter: FACT. Perhaps someday there will be a path back to the PGA Tour for Koepka and his fellow LIV’ers, but at the moment it looks like he’ll lift more LIV trophies from here on out.
John Schwarb: NEUTRAL. Two possible paths for Koepka to go back to the PGA Tour: some kind of reunification or he returns after not signing a second LIV contract (he’s believed to be signed through next year). I wouldn’t put money on either but somehow I don’t think he’s done winning regular Tour events.
Tiger Woods accepted a special exemption into next month’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst. The 15-time major winner is entitled to an unlimited number of special exemptions.
Bob Harig: FACT. Have been saying this and writing this for years. There was going to come a time where Tiger would need an exemption and—if he’s willing and able—he will get as many as he wants. It’s unlikely Woods would attempt to play if he felt he was was unworthy. He deserves to make that call. And if Jack got eight exemptions and Arnie got five, there’s no reason why a nine-time USGA champion—including three U.S. Opens—wouldn’t get an abundance of special invites.
John Pluym: FACT. Jack Nicklaus won 18 professional majors in his career, including four U.S. Open titles. He received a record eight special exemptions, including five in a row until he stopped playing the U.S. Open after 2000 at Pebble Beach. So as long as Tiger wants to play in the U.S. Open, he should get as many as he wants. He’s the only golfer in recent history to be on the same level as Nicklaus. As such, the USGA should keep giving him special exemptions.
Tiger Woods's last U.S. Open appearance was in 2020 at Winged Foot.
Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jeff Ritter: FACT. This shouldn’t even be controversial. (Is it controversial?) Woods made the tour what it is today, and although he’s diminished he can still play, as evidenced by that recent made-cut at Augusta. Is there any special exemption that will do more to boost fan interest and overall buzz than Tiger Woods?
John Schwarb: FACT. What Woods has done to earn multiple exemptions isn’t up for debate, and the truth is he is highly unlikely to take as many as Nicklaus and play U.S. Opens into his late 50s. Not sure he’ll even match Arnie’s five. Golf fans need to just enjoy these moments.
Bob Harig: NEUTRAL. This all depends on where you sit on this issue. Certainly, not even trying to qualify doesn’t help Gooch’s cause. He could use it as motivation. He’s only hurting himself here. If he believes himself to be a major player—why wouldn’t he?—he should do everything he can to get in the majors, even if he disagrees with the process.
John Pluym: FACT. His Official World Golf Ranking is No. 644, and he had only one PGA Tour victory before joining LIV. So based on the facts, he is only hurting himself by not going through qualifying. And, honestly, he hasn’t proved to be good enough to be deserving of a special exemption.
Jeff Ritter: FICTION. Skipping major qualifying is good headline fodder but it doesn’t change how I perceive Gooch at all—he has shown all of us that when it comes to career decisions, his top priority is cash. Since he didn’t give a reason, I assume he is skipping the lower-paying USO to stay fresh for the $4 million top prize at LIV Golf Nashville the following week.
John Schwarb: FACT. I don’t think many fans begrudge pro golfers getting their bags of cash like other athletes but a lack of effort or caring is where they draw the line. Not attempting to qualify for our national championship is a betrayal of one's talent.
Rudy Gobert is the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year once again.
The Minnesota Timberwolves center was named the winner of the defensive award Tuesday for the fourth time in his 11-year career.
Gobert received 72 first-place votes and 433 total points in the award voting, well ahead of San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama (19 first-place votes, 245 total points) in second place.
The complete voting results for the 2023-24 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/SpApbyUUw2
Gobert also was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the 2017–18, 2018–19 and 2020–21 campaigns.
In 76 games this season, Gobert registered a 104 defensive rating and 2.1 blocks per game. He was the centerpiece of Minnesota's top-ranked defense that led the NBA in defensive rating (108.4) and opponent points per game (106.5).
Gobert missed Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Monday because he and his partner Julia Bonilla welcomed their first-born child.
Monte Harrison is taking an unconventional path to gridiron glory. The 28-year-old former MLB player has committed to play wide receiver at Arkansas. He will enroll as a freshman walk-on.
Harrison was a two-sport start at Lee's Summit West High School and committed to play football at Nebraska in the summer of 2013, but was also a top prospect entering the 2014 MLB draft. The Milwaukee Brewers selected him in the second round as an outfielder, and he signed on June 14.
In January of 2018, he was traded to the Miami Marlins as part of the blockbuster Christian Yelich deal, and was immediately ranked as one of the Marlins' top prospects. He made his big league debut on August 4, 2020 and in 32 games slashed .170/.235/.255 with one home run and three RBIs. Over the next two seasons, he only got into 18 games with the Marlins (in 2021) and the Los Angeles Angels (in 2022). In 50 career games, Harrison hit .176 with an on-base percentage of .253, while slugging .295. He hit two home runs, drive in six runs and posted an OPS of .547 and a -0.1 WAR.
He caught back on with the Brewers in 2023, and played in 88 Triple-A games but was released in September. He decided football was his best option.
As a high school senior, 247 Sports ranked Harrison as a four-star receiver and the 376th-best player in the nation. In his final prep season, he caught 60 passes for 1,007 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns. He also added 12 touchdowns on 198 rushing yards and threw a touchdown pass.
This is a fascinating story. Harrison is one part Bo Jackson, one part Van Wilder.
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders is looking to finish out his college career with another strong season in 2024, ahead of his projected leap to the NFL. That hasn't kept him from pursuing some of his aspirations outside of football during the offseason.
Sanders recently made his musical debut by releasing a hip hop song titled, "Perfect Timing," on which he both sings and raps. Among the topics he touches on include flashy cars, specifically a Maybach, watches and jewelry, as well as making money.
On3 shared a snippet of the song on social media Tuesday. The full song runs for just under two minutes.
Sanders officially released the song on Spotify in late April, with the song's digital artwork being a photo of himself doing his signature watch flex celebration. It's the only song under his discography.
Last year for Colorado, Sanders completed 69.3% of his pass attempts for 3,230 yards, 27 touchdowns and three interceptions.
If you think Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark's rise over the last four years—from Des Moines-area high school basketball star to one of the most transcendent college athletes ever—has been the stuff of Disney movies, you are not alone.
Disney+ will debut in the live sports space next Tuesday by airing Clark's WNBA regular season debut, ESPN toldThe Hollywood Reporter Tuesday.
The Fever are slated to open their season against the Connecticut Sun, one of four games scheduled for the league's first day. A second matchup between the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces will also air on Disney+.
These two games will be the first traditional live sporting events to air on Disney+, barring a pair of themed animated telecasts of NFL and NHL games.
Clark was selected with the No. 1 pick by Indiana in the WNBA draft out of Iowa on April 15, part of a heralded rookie class that includes Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese and Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink.
J.J. Watt does not have time for Austin Rivers's foolishness. On Tuesday, the ESPN analyst told Pat McAfee that plenty of NBA players could make it in the NFL, but the reverse wasn't true. Watt offered Rivers a tryout to prove it.
While trying to argue the best athletes in the world reside in the NBA, Rivers told McAfee, "I can take 30 players right now in the NBA and throw them in the NFL. You cannot take 30 NFL players and put them in the NFL."
The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year tweeted, "You don't got a job in either right now, go head and try it."
Watt then followed that up by saying, "For the record, I could absolutely not play in the NBA. 6 hard fouls is about all I could give you and call it a day."
Rivers is probably correct that a number of super-athletic NBA players could make it at receiver or running back in the NFL, and there are a few big guys who could play offensive line. On the flip side, given the fine-tuned skills it takes to succeed in basketball, NFL players may not translate to the NBA. It's not that he's wrong, it's the dismissive nature of his statement.
McAfee and Watt both pushed back hard. I'd imagine a number of NFL guys would agree with their assessment that Rivers was being disrespectful of the level of athleticism in the league.
Per On3's Pete Nakos, running back Kevin Davis has withdrawn from the transfer portal. Davis had entered the portal this offseason after 25 carries for 96 yards in 2023.
Miami (OH) running back Kevin Davis has withdrawn from the transfer portal, @On3sports has learned.
Over his previous four seasons with Miami, Davis carried 163 times for 796 yards and six touchdowns. He has three receiving touchdowns as well. Davis will likely see an increased role with the departure of several key offensive contributors, including leading rusher Rashad Amos. Amos committed to Colorado olut of the transfer portal on April 26.
Coming out of Trinity Christian High School in Jackson, TN in the class of 2020, Davis was a two-star prospect per 247Sports.
The Miami RedHawks are coming off of a season where they won the Mid-American Conference title, compiling a record of 11-3. They will open the 2024 football season on August 31 at Northwestern.
This week, the Army Black Knights football team were officially presented the Commander-In-Chief's Trophy by President Biden. The trophy is given annually to the service academy football program that wins the three-team series between Army, Navy, and Air Force.
As part of the celebration, West Point also revealed the design for the rings that Army players will receive to commemorate the win.
The rings will feature a plethora of details with nods to the accomplishments of Army's senior class, as well as other classes who claimed the CIC trophy for West Point. This includes the ten seasons that Army has won the CIC trophy outright along the outer sides of the ring. The six stars on one side also symbolize the wins of the Army senior class over Navy and Air Force over the last few years.
Army's 2023 win was the first time that the Black Knights won the trophy outright since 2020.
Army football will open up the 2024 season on August 30 when they host FCS foe Lehigh. The Black Knights will face Air Force on November 2 and Navy on December 14.
