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Good morning! Don’t get cursed today. Inside:

• 1️⃣ DybantsagoesNo. 1
• ✋ NFLrefusesSorsby
• 🥅 Ronaldo,back

Draft Day: We’re on the clock

I love when a day presents an easy bit. Yesterday, as usual, was stacked. In honor of the NBA Draft, we’re going to make a big board of stories, hunch over our desks, conduct a few calls and make our picks for yesterday’s most important folks:

1. AJ Dybantsa, actual No. 1 pick

The BYU phenom, as we mostly expected,went firstin last night’s draft to the Wizards, filling out what could be a very interesting team next season. Washington adds Dybantsa a day after signing Trae Young to a four-year, $212 million deal, and Anthony Davis — when healthy — is still an elite big man. Fun.

At No. 2, the JazzselectedKansas’ Darryn Peterson, despite the prospect refusing to work out for anyone except Washington.See the full list of picks here.

2. Brendan Sorsby, stuck

I almost feel bad for Sorsby at this point. After bowing out of college football last week, as Texas Tech — where Sorsby never played a snap — prepared to defend him, the talented yet troubled quarterback opted to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft. The saga was over, we thought.

But yesterday, the NFL issued a stern rebuke of Sorsby, who admitted to illegal gambling while playing college football, deciding the league would not even hold a supplemental draft this year. That means the 22-year-old is ineligible to play in the NFL until the 2027 season, when he can enter the regular draft.

What Sorsby does next is unclear. His lawyer vowed to fight the NFL’s decision, while the quarterback remains ineligible to play in college.Read our full story for more details.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo, late to the party, but still here

The 41-year-old has watched his counterparts rack up goals at this World Cup, notably Lionel Messi, while doing nothing of note during Portugal’s opening draw against DR Congo. Yesterday, Ronaldo arrived.

He scored twice in Portugal’s 5-0 blowout of Uzbekistan, a first-time Cup participant, to register a goal in six World Cups. No one has done that, not even Messi. As he said following the game:“I’m back.”

Elsewhere at the World Cup yesterday:

• I almost picked the Ghanaian witch doctor whocursedEngland’s Harry Kane in this slot. Ghana and England drew yesterday in a physical match, which isa disappointmentfor Thomas Tuchel’s side. Kane missed a golden chance to score in the 86th minute, too.
• Panamais outafter a loss to Croatia and Luka Modric, who made his 200th cap last night. In the late game, Colombiaeked pastDR Congo to ensure a spot in the knockout rounds.

See the full group standings.Quick news break before our final two selections

News to Know

Mark J. Rebilas / Getty Images

Blazers tab Nori … with little leeway
Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori is the new head coach of the Trail Blazers, sources toldThe Athletic, after agreeing to a one-year deal (with team options for the next two seasons). Nori, 52, is plenty qualified for the job, having served twice as interim coach in Minnesota, and is generally regarded as one of the league’s smartest tacticians. The one-year deal, though, is rare among head coaches, where job security is valued above all.Read more on the unique setup here.

Oilers hire Babcock
In another controversial coaching move, albeit of a completely different tenor, the Oilers finally hired Mike Babcock as their head coach. It can only be seen as a move of desperation; Edmonton needs to maximize its title window while Connor McDavid is still around. Babcock, despite his past, has won a Stanley Cup. Apparently, McDavid and others are on board with this, too.Read our full report for more.

More news:

• Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clarkis close to being suspended a game because of technical fouls.She was … chippy with officials on Monday.
• Giants president of baseball operations Buster Poseytried to address the team’s Pride Night controversy.It didn’t go well.
• Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammonrefused to apologize for her infamousJalen Brunsontake from a couple years ago. Yesterday, she called Brunson “an outlier.”See her full comments.
• Falcons tight end Kyle Pittsagreed to a three-year, $54 million deal to stay in Atlanta. Thiswasn’t a foregone conclusion when the offseason started.
• TheNHLis opening theexpansionprocess with eyes onHoustonandAustin.Read our full story.
• Also in theNHL: Buffalosent defensemanBowen Byramand forward Jordan Greenway toChicagofor multiple picks in Friday’s draft, including No. 4, and defenseman Louis Crevier.Our writers called it “grand larceny.”

📰Find more news here 24/7.

Draft Day, Cont.

Andrew Redington / Getty Images

Let’s finish the first and final round of our draft:

4. Brian Rolapp, PGA Tour CEO/changemaker

Rolapp hasn’t been in charge a year yet and has still managed to help overhaul a notoriously slow-moving sport. Yesterday, the tour’s board approved a radical new plan to split the tour into two groups: the Championship Series and Challenger Series, with promotion and relegation between the two. Gone are signature events. Match play is in for the playoff run.

See our full write-up for more details. I like the changes.

5. Jazz Chisholm Jr., lollipop guy

I am not surprised by much when it comes to Chisholm, the Yankees’ brash, talented and sometimes maddening second baseman who plays with a flair for the game that simultaneously inspires awe and befuddlement.

Latest in his file: Taking the field Monday with a green lollipop in his mouth. New York manager Aaron Boonewas rankled.

Thanks for attending our draft. Almost done:

Watch Guide

📺 World Cup: Group play
3 p.m. ET-9 p.m. on Fox, FS1 and Telemundo

We’re beginning a sprint here of six matches a day for the next four days to finish out group play. To be clear, some of them will be laughers, with scattered groups already decided. But many will be compelling finishes to the first stage of this Cup: Watch the pairings of Switzerland-Canada and Qatar-Bosnia-Herzegovina today, in a Group B where no one has been eliminatedorbooked passage through to the knockout rounds. Scintillating.

A fun new tab to bookmark:Our third-place tracker,which calculates odds for which third-place group teams will advance to the knockout stages. This next stable of matches will go a long way toward that.

📺 WNBA: Dream at Valkyries
10 p.m. ET on USA and CNBC

Yes, CNBC, that’s not a typo. Atlanta is the hottest team in the league, and Golden State occupies a playoff spot as of today. Good game.

Pulse Picks

I loved this story so much: Michael Silver onPackers legend Antonio Freeman, who’s a “joyous wreck” watching his son,Alex,star forUSMNTin theWorld Cup.Prep some happy tears.

If you read anything more on theGiannis Antetokounmpo trade, make itthe inside story of how the blockbuster unfolded.

I really enjoyed this story on theNFL’ssix newoffensive play callersand what we can expect from each this year. Tons of hype inDenver.

Today marks one year out from the2027 Women’s World Cup.Our Full Time newsletterset the tableearlier this week.

Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarberhas a new honorific, courtesy of Jayson Stark:the best free-agent slugger ever.

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday:The Giannis tradenews, naturally.

Most-read on the website yesterday:NBA Draftlive blog.