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Good morning! Watch out for glass today. Coming up:
- 🤕 Wemby’s injury
- ⚠️ Falling glass in Colorado
- 🎟️ FIFA’s ticket struggle
About Last Night: Glass Breaks, Two Ways
We must start in the NBA this morning, where the invincible aura of two legitimate title contenders shattered in stunning losses last night. Quickly:
- In San Antonio, the Spurs lost both Victor Wembanyama to a concussion and the game to the underdog Trail Blazers, 106-103, to tie the series. It is troubling in both the short and long term. If Wembanyama misses multiple games, the Spurs’ season is over. It’s possible he returns for Game 3 on Friday, though. See the latest on his injury here.
- In Boston, it might be worse. No Celtics star was injured while the 76ers ran roughshod on the home team, 111-97, with VJ Edgecombe ascending to superstar level before our eyes (30 points, 10 rebounds). This series is also tied 1-1. Gulp.
In the late game, the Lakers went up 2-0 after a solid 101-94 win against the Rockets, who had Kevin Durant back on the court. Reminder that neither Austin Reaves nor Luka Dončić has played in this series. Impressive.
Let’s move on to actual glass breaking:
THIS IS INSANE: THE FANS IN COLORADO WERE SO HYPED FOR THE PENALTY SHOT SAVE THAT THEY SHATTERED THE GLASS BEHIND THE KINGS BENCH 😱🤯 pic.twitter.com/WYMgGZCQgl
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 22, 2026
That’s the glass behind the Kings’ bench vaporizing mid-game in Colorado, which delayed the contest by 19 minutes. It was a rowdy game outside of that, too, which might’ve gotten the crowd a little too hyped. They stayed hyped until Nicolas Roy batted home the game winner in overtime of the Avalanche’s 2-1 win. The best team in the NHL is up 2-0.
- Elsewhere: Every other series went to 1-1, which is great news for the objective fan. Boston used a three-goal blitz in the second period to quench a frothy Buffalo crowd, Utah white-knuckled a win in Las Vegas and Tampa Bay survived overtime with Montreal. Bravo, everyone.
Both first rounds have been great so far. Let’s move on:
News to Know
FIFA struggling to sell tickets
It’s felt like a difficult spring for the World Cup here in America. Amid various reports of match ticket deception and train ticket spikes, maybe the most worrying news came yesterday: Ticket sales for the USMNT’s first game of the tournament, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, are dragging behind other matches at the same venue. The U.S.’s opener against Paraguay has sold just over 40,000 tickets as of earlier this month; a match three days later between Iran and New Zealand at SoFi has sold more than 50,000. Read our full update here.
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Donovan done
Billy Donovan stepped down as Chicago Bulls coach yesterday, an ending most saw coming after Donovan publicly speculated about his future last week. It’s still a notable outcome, both because Donovan is theoretically on the market and the Bulls now must hire a new front office and head coach in the same offseason. Donovan, 60, finishes his six-year Chicago tenure 226-252, but leaves with plenty of respect. More details inside Chicago’s turmoil here.
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I also wonder if we’ll hear news soon on Steve Kerr’s future with the Warriors, where it sure seems like both he and the team are paving the way for a mutual parting. But Nick Friedell wondered: Could Kerr really walk away from Steph Curry?
Mets lose, again
The New York Mets have lost 12 straight games now after a 5-3 loss to the Twins last night in Queens, the longest such streak for the franchise since 2002. The club record is 17, set in 1962. It’s so bad that New York mayor Zohran Mamdani is getting asked about the “Curse of the Mambino.”
At least Juan Soto is coming back today?
More news:
- Patriots coach Mike Vrabel made his first public comments yesterday since photos emerged of him with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini. Read his full comments.
- Lynx superstar Napheesa Collier is out until at least June as she recovers from ankle surgery, the team announced.
- Fever guard Sophie Cunningham clarified comments she made on a podcast about her new contract, which she initially expressed disappointment with. See her full explanation.
- The NWSL awarded Columbus, Ohio, a new franchise for a tidy $205 million fee. The numbers keep going up.
- Duke landed highly coveted men’s basketball transfer prospect John Blackwell from Wisconsin. The Blue Devils will be a top-five team entering next year.
- Remember when Leicester City shocked the sports world by winning the Premier League 10 years ago? Next year, they’ll play in England’s third level.
- After one day of Browns minicamp, it appears the quarterback competition will come down to Deshaun Watson and Shedeur Sanders. Hm.
Long Reads: Aaron Gordon’s deeper meaning
Aaron Gordon has one of my favorite arcs among modern pro athletes. A high-flying, confident teenager when he entered the NBA in 2014, the focal point of a franchise that never launched into pure superstardom. Then, after a trade to a contender, he became one of the league’s best and most selfless role players, rewarded with a ring and a $103 million contract.
But as Mirin Fader wrote in a moving profile today, Gordon is one of the NBA’s best people, too. And a recent tragedy, the death of his older brother Drew, has made him ponder life at a deeper level.
One note from me:
- It’s hard to leave this story and not root for Gordon, whose mourning process for his brother brought his spirituality to the forefront. The 30-year-old paints, meditates and plays music in his downtime, among other things. He’s also the glue of a Nuggets team with title hopes.
Read Mirin’s story here. I bet you’ll come away with the same impression I had.
Watch Guide
📺 EPL: Manchester City at Burnley
3 p.m. ET on USA Network
This might not be much of a game — City is favored heavily — but it represents a possible seismic moment, in which a win could deliver City into a tie for the Premier League lead. The juggernaut is also the betting favorite to win the title after the huge win against Arsenal this weekend. What a story.
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📺 NBA: First round
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Just two games tonight, Magic-Pistons at 7 p.m. and Suns-Thunder at 9:30 p.m., and you should be keenly interested in our early game. Orlando snatched Game 1 from the East’s No. 1 seed on the road this week. Is this a real thing, or first-game jitters from the green Pistons? Let’s find out.
📺 NHL: First round
6 p.m. ET on TNT/TBS/HBO Max
Three games here: Penguins-Flyers (7 p.m., TNT), Stars-Wild (9:30 p.m., TNT) and Ducks-Oilers (10 p.m., TBS). All three should be fantastic. Pittsburgh is down 2-0 and now has to go on the road, across the state, to survive here. Tough.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Pulse Picks
A story worth your time I struggle to properly explain: Jourdan Rodrigue dove deep into the new tech NFL scouts use, which kind of blew my mind. Read that here.
Jayna Bardahl also has a great story on KC Concepcion, the Texas A&M wide receiver who should be a first-round draft pick. He can also “throw down” in the kitchen.
Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak may have had the most unique NHL season in recent memory: He played with nine potential Hall of Famers in one year.
This year’s NFL Draft hats look pretty basic from the outside. The inside tells a different story.
Wait, why are Greg Oden trading cards selling for more than ever?
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers’ on-court fit.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The FIFA tickets story above.
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, check out our other newsletters and connect with me on Instagram for more.