Champions League Final
The final of the Champions League, which will take place at Wembley Stadium in London, is now set. Borussia Dortmund will face Real Madrid. Dortmund managed to beat Paris Saint Germain in Paris after winning the first leg 1–0. The second leg saw Dortmund win 1–0 again with a goal from Matt Hummels. In aggregate, the score is 2–0. This is the first time Dortmund has reached the final since 2013 when they lost to Bayern Munich 2–1. This would be a fantastic result for Dortmund, as the last time they won the Champions League was in 1997. Their most senior player, Marco Reus, has also announced he will be leaving the club at the end of the season after spending his entire career at Dortmund.
In the second game, Bayern Munich lost in the final stages of the game to Real Madrid. Madrid has been characterized by winning their Champions League games in the dying moments of the match, and this was no different. After taking the lead in the 68th minute with a great goal from Alphonso Davies, Real Madrid then subbed some players off and subbed on striker Joselu Martinez, who scored twice in three minutes to make the aggregate marker 4–3. Madrid now has the opportunity to win their 15th Champions League, which is still far more than the closest team, Inter Milan, with seven titles. The game between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid will take place on June 1 at Wembley Stadium.
NBA Playoffs
The NBA is now in the second round of their playoffs, which have had many surprises. The Indiana Pacers ended up beating the Milwaukee Bucks to advance. The Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Orlando Magic in the series’ final game. Finally, the New York Knicks beat the Philadelphia 76ers. The Minnesota Timberwolves currently hold a 2–0 lead on the reigning champions, the Denver Nuggets. Anthony Edwards has continued to show why he is becoming the league’s next star. Fellow teammate Rudy Gobert also just won his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, a feat that only three other players have achieved.
The Knicks won their first game against the Pacers, and Jalen Brunson has since continued his impressive run of five 40-point games. The Boston Celtics won the first game in their series against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and they did so with a 25-point lead. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Dallas Mavericks. OKC also has one of the youngest squads in the league, which makes their playoff run impressive.
Candace Parker named President of Adidas Women’s Basketball
Since announcing her retirement, Candace Parker has already taken some steps toward her career off the court. She has just been announced as the president of the Adidas Women’s Basketball Branch. Adidas has put a lot of effort into its basketball brand to compete with other brands like Nike. Adidas already sponsors some major stars in the WNBA like Aliyah Boston, Erica Wheeler, Sophie Cunningham, and Kahleah Copper. Candace’s role within the basketball section will be to oversee the creation of a platform that will influence and elevate the future of women’s basketball and sports overall. She will also look at product development and which athletes to target for potential sponsorships. Her role will have an objective to create products that are entirely aimed at women .
Parker has been wearing Adidas since she was in high school. She was also the first woman athlete to have a signature shoe with Adidas. Last February, she told Adidas that she didn’t want to be only a face for the brand but that she also wanted to be in the business end of the company.
Victor Wembanyama wins Rookie of the Year
Throughout the years, there have been some incredible rookie performances, but Victor Wembanyama’s is one to remember. Wembanyma was selected with the first pick by the San Antonio Spurs in last year’s draft. Even before arriving in the league, Wembanyama had already built a reputation to be the face of the NBA for years to come. After playing on a professional team in France and entering the NBA, Wembanyama had a debut season in which he averaged 21.4 points per game, with 10.6 rebounds per game and 3.6 blocks per game. He won the vote for Rookie of the Year unanimously, joining the likes of Damian Lillard, Blake Griffin, and Karl Anthony Towns. In second place was Chet Holmgren, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even though Holmgren is in his second season in the NBA, he enters the Rookie of the Year competition because he suffered an injury before the start of his first season with the team.
Wembanyama has set himself as an incredibly talented player who will be one of the best in the following years. He is also being coached by one of the greatest coaches of all time, Gregg Popovich.
