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Tom Cruise's NASCAR Update, Diggs' Yacht Scandal, & WNBA's Racism Claims

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👋 Hey FirstFans!

This week, Tom Cruise teased a potential Days of Thunder 2, sending NASCAR fans into a frenzy and revving up Hollywood’s love affair with motorsports. Over in the WNBA, a heated debate sparked over alleged racial chants at the Fever-Sky opener—but the league’s investigation came up empty, leaving fans divided. Meanwhile, Stefon Diggs turned heads (and raised some questions) after a wild yacht party, putting the Patriots on alert. Ready for a wild ride?

Let’s dive in!

Today’s WOW moments from sports world!

🏌️ WOODS: LIKE FATHER LIKE SON
🏀 WNBA RACIAL CONTROVERSY & CLARK’S INJURY IMPACT
🏈 DIGGS’ YACHT PARTY SPARKS NFL DRAMA
🏎️ NASCAR LEGENDS, HALL OF FAME DRAMA & RACING FILM BUZZ

⛳️ Woods Legacy Grows and PGA Drama Brews Ahead of Memorial Tournament

Like father, like son — Charlie Woods just bagged his first American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournament win this week. Tiger’s kid put up a ridiculous 15-under across three rounds, outplaying some of the top junior golfers in the country. Fun fact: 4 of the top 5 AJGA-ranked players were in the field, and Charlie still stole the show.

Meanwhile, the PGA Tour is heading to the Memorial Tournament, hosted by none other than golf legend Jack Nicklaus. But Rory McIlroy is catching heat for skipping it this year — for the first time since 2017. What’s worse? He didn’t even give Nicklaus a heads-up. Fans weren’t thrilled, considering Rory and Jack have always had a bit of a tight bond.

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Trying to cool things down, PGA Tour boss Jay Monahan stepped up to defend Rory’s decision. But before you could say “double bogey,” LIV Golf’s Phil Mickelson swooped in to roast Monahan online. Mickelson clearly hasn’t missed an opportunity to stir the pot between the rival tours.

Between generational triumphs and old-school feuds, the golf world is never short on drama — and this week’s Memorial will carry that same spicy energy, even without Rory teeing it up.

🏆️ Shai Runs the West, Ant Slips, and the Knicks Call in the Spirits

The NBA Playoffs reached its finale in the West, as the Oklahoma City Thunder embarrassed the Minnesota Timberwolves to book their tickets to the NBA Finals. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was rightly awarded the West Finals MVP, further cementing his position as one of the best in the league.

On that note, Charles Barkley declared him the Face of the NBA. That title, however, was supposed to be going to Anthony Edwards, who Barkley believed was being trumped up by ESPN. Even though the jury is still open, many believe Ant Man has seen his chances slip away.

In the East, Game 4 was a reminder that Tyrese Haliburton wants to throw his hat into the Face of the NBA ring. But Stephen A. Smith is still not convinced he is a superstar, let alone the league’s face. Haliburton’s Game 5 performance could not do justice to those who believe he has elevated himself.

Smith thanked a black magic priest’s spell which seemingly helped the New York Knicks bounce back with a stellar victory at home. The usual rounds of celebrities were there to cheer the team, but Pat McAfee was missing.

Ben Stiller had asked him to come down to Madison Square Garden after McAfee taunted him and Timothée Chalamet in Game 4. Indiana legend John Mellencamp believes the former NFL punter’s taunt was unbecoming of a true Indiana basketball fan.

Kevin Durant has been enjoying his offseason, appearing courtside for WNBA games. But after the Thunder won the West, he extended an olive branch to his former fans, who apparently sent death threats to him after he jumped to the Warriors.

🏀 Reese, Clark & The Noise That Won’t Die Down

The race-based discourses surrounding the WNBA received another boost when the league clarified that its investigation into racially discriminatory chants at the Fever-Sky season opener turned up empty.

Fans went on a tirade, asking if it was right to launch an investigation based on social media claims from Sky fans who were not even at the arena. They wondered if Angel Reese lied about hearing any such chants at the game

They also blasted her for having a different reaction to Alyssa Thomas’ hard foul than how she did when Caitlin Clark fouled the Sky forward. However, Jemele Hill clarified that Reese is not the villain in Caitlin Clark’s story.

Clark’s injury saw her not play a game for the first time since her freshman year at Iowa. The superstar resorted to babysitting and camerawoman duties to keep herself occupied, but could not stop herself from walking on the court and arguing with referees.

The Fever’s loss to the rebuilding Washington Mystics further gave proof that Clark’s impact on the team’s offense is crucial to their WNBA title hopes. They will need to adjust quickly as the 23-year-old is not expected to suit up for at least another 10 days.

🏈 Diggs’ Yacht Drama, Anime Dates & Rodgers’ Vanishing Act

The NFL world did not have much to talk about, and phone notifications were mostly silent. That is, until they saw videos of New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs seemingly flirting with three women on a yacht.

It was later understood that his now-girlfriend, Cardi B, was also on the yacht, suggesting it was a pre-planned party. But another analysis of the video revealed that Diggs had handed out a pouch with a pink colored substance inside.

Now the Patriots and the league are scrambling to find out if he was handing out banned substances. Even if he did not, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is not happy with his leading superstar’s decision to publicly party in this manner.

Myles Garrett also made a public appearance, but the focus was on who he was with when they arrived at an Anime awards show in Tokyo. Arriving with snowboarder Chloe Kim set social media buzzing of dating rumors, as that could be the only reason to skip voluntary OTAs.

Kirk Cousins and James Cook are skipping OTAs for matters closer to their roles and contracts. Aaron Rodgers has also missed OTAs, but it is still not clear which team he is playing for. This angered franchise legend Terry Bradshaw, who believes it is futile to pursue the 4-time MVP to suit up for 1 year.

Shedeur Sanders is taking his work at the Browns' facilities seriously and decided to slam rumor mills that suggested he had splurged on a Rolls-Royce. His former teammate, Travis Hunter, had a reason to splurge on an expensive car for his wife Leanna Lenee after they got married.

🏁 Hollywood Heat & Hall of Fame Drama in NASCAR

It’s not race day, but NASCAR’s still making headlines. Rumors are heating up about a Days of Thunder sequel, with none other than Tom Cruise hinting the iconic racing flick might finally get a Part 2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is all for it — the Hall of Famer says he’d happily cameo again, but wonders if Cruise would still suit up as a driver or trade the helmet for a team owner’s cap this time.

And while NASCAR fans were buzzing about Cruise’s comments, the Hall of Fame Class of 2026 brought its own kind of controversy. 2004 Cup Series champ Kurt Busch made the cut, but not everyone’s celebrating. Longtime NASCAR veteran Tommy Baldwin admitted he voted against Busch — not because of his on-track résumé, but due to past off-track issues. Baldwin didn’t mince words either, saying the vote missed a chance to “earn some integrity.”

Between Hollywood sequels and Hall of Fame debates, NASCAR’s off-track drama might just be as entertaining as the races themselves.

Thank you folks for reading our newsletter! Will see you in the next edition with more exciting highlights from the sports world curated for you! 🙏