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Intro. Hit a milestone today.
While You Were Sleeping: Headline
Every 3 Steph Curry hits is a record, sure. I get it. But this still feels worth pausing to appreciate: He is now the first NBA player with 4,000career regular-season 3-pointers.
Needing two 3s to reach the mark in a matchup against the Kings last night, Curry hit a wipe-open shot for No. 3,999, but had to fight a little more for the big one:
4,000 of ‘em 👌 pic.twitter.com/mfmjCWyghm
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) March 14, 2025
It took Curry — who turns 37 today — roughly three years and three months to go from 3,000 to 4,000, so it’s natural to wonder: Is 5,000 in play? Here’s Anthony Slater:
💬 It’s reachable, but it’ll be difficult. He has two more seasons on his current contract. If he maintains his health and somewhere near his current production, he’d probably be somewhere around 4,600 at the end of that deal. Assuming he plays two more seasons after that, then 5,000 is in play, but it’d presumably have to come after his 40th birthday.
Enjoy it while you can. And by the way, Golden State has won 11 straight games with Jimmy Butler in the lineup. Onward:
Glow Ups: The forest thrives in Nottingham
Catherine Ivill – AMA / Getty Images
In any professional sport, there is a loose hierarchy. The powerhouses, the muddy middle and the cellar-dwellers. Teams can travel a level up or down sometimes, but for the most part, the tiers are solid. Unshakeable.
And yet across the Atlantic, Nottingham Forest has done just that. A team that just made a long-awaited return to the Premier League three years ago — after 23 years away — is now the darling of English soccer.
A few things on the season’s best story:
The crowning moment of the season thus far came in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Manchester City, a statement win for a club no one thought would be here — third in the Premier League table. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who infamously flamed out at Tottenham Hotspur in 2021, has finally found a home for his preferred defensive-focused style. In a word, City got Nuno’d.
This team was a relegation candidate heading into the year. Forest finished 16th and 17th in their first two seasons back in the EPL. Now they’re two months from earning a Champions League spot. Describing that as “unbelievable” feels light.
Such a finish could change the entire outlook of the club financially. Plans are already underway to build a Champions League-level stadium.
I really enjoyed this episode of “The Athletic FC” podcast focused on Forest’s rise, which includes plenty of analysis on which players have made the biggest difference this year.Let’s keep moving:
News to Know
Cooper Flagg hurts ankle
A collective gasp spread through men’s college basketball yesterday as Duke phenom Cooper Flagg crumpled to the floor with an ankle injury during the Blue Devils’ ACC tournament win over Georgia Tech. Flagg had to be helped off the court in a wheelchair, so it was a relief when he was diagnosed with only a sprain. Regardless, coach Jon Scheyer said “it’s not worth it” to play Flagg in the rest of the conference tournament, as the 18-year-old’s outlook literally affects the entire NCAA Tournament. Read our report here.
Rays stadium deal hits an impasse
The Tampa Bay Rays announced yesterday they will not move forward with a planned stadium project in St. Petersburg, ending months of frustration. This comes after Hurricane Milton severely damaged Tropicana Field back in October, forcing the Rays to play home games at the Yankees’ spring training facility this season. The situation is so tenuous that MLB power brokers, including commissioner Rob Manfred, are pushing for an ownership change. It’s all quite dramatic.
MJ Cheeto for sale
I laughed the entire way through this story: A Michael Jordan-shaped Cheeto is up for auction right now, in hopes the jumpman-silhouetted snack will mirror the recent sale of the “Cheetozard,” which is a Cheeto shaped like the Pokémon character Charizard. These are all real things. The Cheetozard sold for nearly $90,000. More details here. Unreal.
More news
- Sportswriter John Feinstein died yesterday at 69. Read Brendan Quinn’s tribute.
- Brandon Montour scored the fastest overtime goal in NHLhistory Wednesday. Watch the replay.
- Poor Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony had to buy coffee for the team a few weeks ago — the entire team, 76 coffees’ worth.
- Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox will undergo season-ending surgery next week for damage to a tendon in his left pinkie. Read more.
- The Steelers brought back quarterback Mason Rudolphyesterday as the team awaits Aaron Rodgers’ decision. Scoop City has intel on which teams are in on Rodgers. Watch here.
- A judge granted a protective order yesterday to the woman accusing Chiefs wideout Xavier Worthy of assault. Full report here.
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Watch and Listen
📺 NCAAM: Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Auburn
1 p.m. ET on ESPN
We are again doing some preliminary research for title contenders here, and the Tigers certainly qualify. The last headlining game we saw from them featured a buzzer-beater loss to the loathed Alabama at home. Let’s see how Bruce Pearl’s team is faring.
📺 NWSL: Orlando Pride at Chicago Stars FC
8 p.m. ET on Prime Video
The NWSL season kicks off tonight, and here we have the defending champs facing off against the team that inexplicably changed its nameafter last season. Should be fun, and we’ll have more on the new season in Sunday’s newsletter.
Pulse Picks
Yes, the leaked photo of a possible EA Sports College Football 26cover is real.
Remember Mo Cheeks helping a young girl sing the national anthembefore a Blazers game? Twenty-two years later, Cheeks was in the house to watch Natalie Zito sing the anthem again — and crush it. Such a cool story.
The Big 12 Tournament court design made me — and many others — dizzy. The players see it differently.
Brody Miller explains why Scottie Scheffler’s 95-week run as the world’s No. 1 golfer isn’t ending anytime soon, through the eyes of other former No. 1 golfers. Great stuff in there.
Cameron Brink is a face of the WNBA, but she is much more than basketball, as Jason Jones writes.
Insta-click: How the All Hockey Hair Team became a fun tradition at the Minnesota state tournament. Read it here.
An important story I missed earlier this week: Ralph Russo’s in-depth report on how a new system outside the NCAA could enforce the new rules of the player payment structure.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on even more “overlap” hats being pulled from MLB’s store after the disastrous rollout.
Most-read on the website yesterday: ☝️
(Top photo: Elsa / Getty Images)
