The Lead

The Atlanta Braves are riding a wild hot streak so far in June (14-0 this month), and a big reason why has been the arrival of top prospect Michael Harris II, who’s hitting .328 in his young big league career. Today, Justin Toscano — who covers the team for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — tells the story of three key days that led the Braves to fall in love with Harris as a player, when a lot of the industry overlooked him. Plus, the latest on what's suddenly a close race between the Mets and Braves in the NL East. 

Read Justin Toscano’s full story about Michael Harris: https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/the-three-dates-that-led-to-the-braves-drafting-top-prospect-michael-harris/FXEFHPDGHBHBXPMAHZFLIR2LTU/ 

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two years ago, Deion Sanders left the comfort of his expansive home outside of Dallas -- a place he calls "Lake Prime" -- to become the next head football coach at Jackson State, the historically black university in Jackson, Mississippi. At times, his welcome speech felt more like a Sunday sermon than a press conference, and he pledged to do everything he could to restore the program to its former glory. Now, after a conference championship and a recruiting season that saw him snag the country's #1 ranked player, Sanders has invited unsupported accusations of cheating. Today, reporter Jean-Jacques Taylor, who recently wrote a cover story about Sanders for Sports Illustrated, joins us to explain how "Coach Prime" is fueling a resurgence of HBCU football -- and why some are trying to take the shine off his success.

Read Jean-Jacques Taylor's full story: https://www.si.com/college/2022/06/09/deion-sanders-fuels-rise-of-hbcu-football-daily-cover

More from JJT Media: https://www.jjtmediagroup.com/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Plus: The Lightning look to strike down the juggernaut coming out of Colorado. And Sabrina Ionescu is unimpressed with making history.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

New York Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant has made a habit of achieving near immediate success -- and then promptly getting fired. This season, Gallant has once again worked some hockey coaching magic, steering the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Finals in his first year at the helm (they currently trail the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 in the series). Today, The Athletic’s Michael Russo joins us to discuss why Gallant’s coaching career has followed a rather bumpy and confusing path, the secret to his coaching success, and what this year’s playoff run could mean for his reputation and his future.

Read Michael Russo's profile of Gerard Gallant:

https://theathletic.com/3350258/2022/06/06/gerard-gallant-goofy-firings-rangers-playoffs/?redirected=1

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Back in the early 2000’s, Josiah Johnson was a benchwarmer for one of the most storied college basketball programs in the nation: the UCLA Bruins. It was the closest he came to being a basketball star, and a long way from the heights reached by his dad, five-time NBA All-Star Marques Johnson. However, Josiah Johnson found a different path to basketball success, and today, Ben Bolch of the L.A. Times tells the story of his rise from the UCLA bench to NBA Twitter heavyweight.

Read Ben Bolch’s full story about Josiah Johnson: https://www.latimes.com/sports/ucla/story/2022-06-01/josiah-johnson-ucla-nba-meme-king

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Plus: The Warriors go full steamroll mode in Game 2. And Max Scherzer wants you to know that nothing happened with his dog.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

From the minute the Green Bay Packers called his name with the 34th pick of this year’s NFL Draft, wide receiver Christian Watson has had to answer questions about becoming the new face of the team’s wide receivers room — as he steps into the void created by the trade of Davante Adams. Today, The Athletic’s Matt Schneidman tells the story of Watson’s amazing rise from 4-year-old on a dirt bike, to undersized, awkward teenager, to now potentially becoming Aaron Rodgers’s top target. 

Read Matt Schneidman’s full story about Christian Watson: https://theathletic.com/3298227/2022/05/27/christian-watson-packers-wide-receiver/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're just over two rounds into the NHL Playoffs, and the league's brightest star -- Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid -- has already put in a performance for the ages. Today, reporter Jonathan Willis joins us to discuss how the 24-year-old McDavid has somehow taken his game to yet another level, the records he’s breaking and minds he’s blowing along the way, and what his continued ascent means for the NHL. Plus, what to watch for as the Western Conference Finals between the the Oilers and Colorado Avalanche continue.

More from Jonathan Willis: https://theathletic.com/author/jonathan-willis/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Plus: Another European triumph for the kings of the Champions League. And two major leaguers take a fantasy football dispute way too far.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Back in December, just a couple of days before his wedding, San Francisco Giants pitcher Logan Webb and his family endured a devastating tragedy. Today, The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly joins us to talk about how it upended the life of the Webb family, and what they are doing now to try to fight a growing epidemic.

Read Andrew Baggarly’s full story about the Webb family: https://theathletic.com/3326815/2022/05/24/logan-webb-giants-cousin/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.