The 2023 NBA Finals are set: the Denver Nuggets vs. the Miami Heat.

The Denver Nuggets are in the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. The Miami Heat are going to the NBA Finals for the seventh time since 2006. This isn’t the matchup anyone expected as the final battle for the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy, but it should be a fascinating showdown arguably featuring the NBA’s best player, best coach, and its most clutch playoff performer.

The Nuggets were the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference during the regular season, but they only finished a game over .500 after the All-Star break to sow some doubt about their chances. Clearly, the Nuggets were just taking it easy before it was time to get serious in the postseason. Denver is 12-3 since the playoffs began, knocking out the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games, advancing past the Phoenix Suns in six games, and then sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Nuggets are led by Nikola Jokic. While Jokic failed in his bid for a third straight NBA MVP this season, he’s proved he’s the best player in the world during this postseason run. Jokic is averaging an incredible 29.9 points, 13.3 rebounds, 10.3 assists per game in the playoffs while shooting 47.4 percent from three-point range. The Nuggets have surrounded their supersized playmaking wizard with a team of shooters and tough defenders. Jamal Murray is the Nuggets’ next best creator, and he’s coming off a conference finals series where he averaged 32.5 points per game while exceeding the prestigious 50/40/90 line for shooting splits on field goal percentage, three-point percentage, and free throw percentage.

The Miami Heat break into the NBA Finals with one of the most unlikely runs to the championship series in the history of the sport. The Heat finished the regular season as the No. 7 seed in the East, and had to earn their playoff spot in the play-in tournament. They lost a home game to the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in, then trailed the Chicago Bulls in a do-or-die elimination game for the No. 8 seed with under three minutes left. The Heat persevered to win that game against Chicago, and then went on an inspired run once they entered the playoffs.

Miami knocked out the championship favorite in round one when they defeated the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in five games. The Heat advanced past the New York Knicks in six games in round two. Miami then ran out to a shocking 3-0 series lead against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, but Boston responded by winning the next three games to force a Game 7. The Heat went into Boston and routed the Celtics in Game 7 to make it back to the NBA Finals.

NBA Finals 2023 Heat vs. Nuggets schedule, TV times, and more

All games can be streamed on Watch ESPN.

Game 1: Heat @ Nuggets, Thursday, June 1, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Game 2: Heat @ Nuggets, Sunday, June 4, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Game 3: Nuggets @ Heat, Wednesday, June 7, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC

Game 4: Nuggets @ Heat, Friday, June 9, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC

*Game 5: Heat @ Nuggets, Monday, June 12, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC

*Game 6: Nuggets @ Heat, Thursday, June 15, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC

*Game 7: Heat @ Nuggets, Sunday, June 18, 8 p.m. ET, ABC

* if necessary

An MLB ump was caught mocking a Marlins challenge into a hot mic before overturning the call.

Replay review remains a fiercely debated topic even years after being adopted by every major sports league in America. On one hand, it’s great that referees and umpires can consult video replay to make sure they get calls correct. On the other, it slows the game down and often loses the momentum of what’s happening on the field, ice, or court.

The pro-replay types have a new argument in their favor after Saturday night’s Los Angeles Angels vs. Miami Marlins game: sometimes they can be intentionally hilarious. That was the case after a hot mic caught an umpire mocking the Marlins for challenging a call in the 10th inning when they believed Angels catcher Matt Thaiss never touched home plate on what was originally called on double-play for LA.

When the Marlins challenged the call, an umpire was accidentally caught mocking the challenge on a live mic: “They got their heads up their ass.”

The best part? The umps reversed the call and gave Miami another run. Listen to the clip of the umpire here:

Here’s video of the play. It’s clear Thaiss wasn’t even close to touching home. The Marlins beat the Angels, 8-5, in 10 innings.

Watch the play that was challenged here:

Maybe the umps are the ones that actually have their heads up their ass?

The Angels got an incredible performance from Shohei Ohtani, and a pair of hits from Mike Trout, but still found a way to lose a baseball game. Stop me if you’ve heard that one before. Ohtani started the game for the Angels as a pitcher and struck out 10 in six innings, but his bullpen coughed up the lead. Trout ended the game 2-for-4 with a walk.

Steve Stricker won his second major the year at the Senior PGA Championship, but this one meant a little more because his daughter was on his bag.

Steve Stricker defeated Padraig Harrington in a playoff to win the Senior PGA Championship, with his daughter Izzi Stricker caddying for him. The father-daughter duo shared a heartwarming moment after Stricker won his second straight major in two weeks.

The reporters asked him about her in his post round interview, and he choked up talking about how special it was for him to share this major with her.

“She did a great job. It was a lot of fun to be with her this week. She did a great job,” Stricker said as he teared up talking about Izzi. “You had to bring that up, didn’t you? To spend all this time with your kids — she looks up to what I do for a living, and she plays pretty dang good golf herself. It’s a lot of fun to have her with me, and this is pretty special.”

This adorable selfie video shows a little insight into their relationship as Izzi tells her dad, “I’m so proud of you, and I’m so glad I got to be a part of it.”

The way Stricker and Izzi interact with each other, this clearly meant a lot. Any time someone wins a major, it’s a big deal, but to have a child on the bag, it has to be an even sweeter win.

This championship marks Stricker’s sixth major championship on the Tour Champions. As for Izzi, she won the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 1 girls’ golf state title as a junior in high school, per the PGA Tour website. She is committed to playing college golf at the University of Wisconsin, following in her mom’s and sister’s footsteps.

Mom Nicki and sister Bobbi have caddied for Stricker in the past, and now it was IIzzi’s turn to tote the bag — bringing home a major championship.

The 2023 Women’s French Open gets underway this weekend, and here is the bracket, how to watch, and more

Tennis fans could see a wide-open women’s bracket at the 2023 French Open.

Defending champion and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek is looking to become the first back-to-back champion at Roland-Garros in 16 years, but has dealt with some injuries this season. She withdrew from the Miami Open in March with a rib injury, and then a thigh injury caused an early exit from the Italian Open.

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka enters as the second seed in the tournament, but clay surfaces have caused her problems in her career. She has never advanced beyond the third round of the French Open, despite advancing to at least the semi-finals in the other three majors. She is, however, coming off her first Grand Slam title, as she captured the Australian Open in January.

Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina is coming off a win in the Italian Open, which could put her in position to make a deep run over the next few weeks.

The entire women’s bracket for the 2023 French Open is below.

Women’s Bracket

Here is the bracket for the 2023 Women’s French Open:

You can view the bracket on the official Roland Garros website.

How to Watch

NBC/NBC Sports, Peacock, and the Tennis Channel are your homes for the 2023 French Open. NBC and Peacock air live coverage of the first two days of main draw play starting on Sunday, May 28 and continuing on Monday, May 29. Tennis Channel has live daily coverage from Tuesday, May 30 through Friday, June 2. On the middle weekend of the tournament, NBC and Peacock pick the coverage back up.

Coverage reverts to the Tennis Channel for the following weekdays, and NBC/Peacock return for the men’s and women’s singles semifinals and finals.

You can also stream coverage on NBCSports.com/live, as well as the NBC Sports app.

Broadcast Schedule

Below is the entire broadcast schedule for the 2023 French Open. All times are Eastern.

Schedule and results (All times Eastern)

Sunday May 28 – First Round

Panna Udvardy vs. Iryna Shymanovich – 5:00 a.m. ET
Nadia Podoroska vs. Jessika Ponchet – 5:00 a.m. ET
Shuai Zhang (29) vs. Magdalena Frech – 5:00 a.m. ET
Nuria Parrizas Diaz vs. Storm Hunter – 5:00 a.m. ET
Marta Kostyuk vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – 5:00 a.m. ET
Maria Sakkari (8) vs. Karolina Muchova – 7:00 a.m. ET
Sara Bejlek vs. Kamilla Rakhimova – 7:00 a.m. ET
Magda Linette (21) vs. Leylah Fernandez – 7:00 a.m. ET
Alize Cornet vs. Camila Giorgi – 8:30 a.m. ET
Leolia Jeanjean vs. Kimberly Birrell – 8:30 a.m. ET
Elise Mertens (28) vs. Viktoria Hruncakova – 8:30 a.m. ET
Clara Tauson vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich – 8:30 a.m. ET
Taylor Townsend vs. Anastasia Potapova (24) – 9:00 a.m. ET
Tamara Zidansek vs. Qinwen Zheng (19) – 9:00 a.m. ET
Anna Bondar vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (27) – 10:30 a.m. ET
Liudmila Samsonova (15) vs. Katie Volynets – 10:30 a.m. ET
Sara Errani vs. Jil Teichmann – 10:30 a.m. ET
Mayar Sherif vs. Madison Brengle – 10:30 a.m. ET
Jule Neimeier vs. Daria Kasatkina (9) – 10:30 a.m. ET
Danielle Collins vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – 10:30 a.m. ET

Monday May 29 – First Round

Ylena In-Albon vs. Claire Liu – TBD
Iga Swiatek vs. Cristina Bucsa – TBD
Rebecca Peterson vs. Fiona Ferro – TBD
Lin Zhu vs. Lauren Davis – TBD
Nao Hibino vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam – TBD
Ekaterina Alexandrova (23) vs. Viktoriya Tomova – TBD
Xinyu Wang vs. Marie Bouzkova (31) – TBD
Clara Burel vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo – TBD
Simona Waltert vs. Qualifier – TBD
Petra Kvitova (10) vs. Elisabetta Cocciaretto – TBD
Tatjana Maria vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia (14) – TBD
Veronika Kudermetova (11) vs. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova – TBD
Rebecca Marino vs. Diana Shnaider – TBD
Linda Noskova vs. Danka Kovinic – TBD
Arantxa Rus vs. Julia Grabher – TBD
Elena Rybakina (4) vs. Brenda Fruhvirtova – TBD
Anna Kalinskaya vs. Emma Navarro – TBD
Mirra Andreeva vs. Alison Riske-Amritraj – TBD
Kaia Kanepi vs. Madison Keys (20) – TBD
Elina Avanesyan vs. Belinda Bencic (12) – TBD
Rebeka Masarova vs. Coco Gauff (6) – TBD
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Linda Furhvirtova – TBD
Kayla Day vs. Kristina Mladenovic – TBD
Dayana Yastremska vs. Donna Vekic (22) – TBD
Varvara Gracheva vs. Dalma Galfi – TBD
Karolina Pliskova (16) vs. Sloane Stephens – TBD
Olga Danilovic vs. Kateryna Baindl – TBD
Yulia Putintseva vs. Maryna Zanevska – TBD
Marketa Vondrousova vs. Alycia Parks – TBD
Peyton Stearns vs. Katerina Siniakova – TBD
Jelena Ostapenko (17) vs. Tereza Martincova – TBD
Elina Svitolina vs. Martina Trevisan (26) – TBD
Anett Kontaveit vs. Bernarda Pera – TBD
Anna Blinkova vs. Ysaline Bonaventure – TBD
Anhelina Kalinina (25) vs. Diane Parry – TBD
Carolina Garcia (5) vs. Xiyu Wang – TBD
Aliona Bolsova vs. Kristina Kucova – TBD
Lesia Tsurenko vs. Barbora Krejcikova (13) – TBD
Catherine McNally vs. Ana Bogdan – TBD
Victoria Azarenka (18) vs. Bianca Andreescu – TBD
Lucia Bronzetti vs. Ons Jabeur (7) – TBD
Selena Janicijevic vs. Oceane Dodin – TBD
Sorana Cirstea (30) vs. Jasmine Paolini – TBD

The 2023 Men’s French Open gets underway this weekend, and here is the bracket, how to watch, and more

The 2023 French Open is set to get underway this weekend from at Stade Roland Garros in Paris.

On the men’s side, two of the sport’s biggest names will be absent this week, but there is no shortage of talent in the field.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal announced earlier this month that he was withdrawing due to a lingering hip injury. Speaking at his tennis academy last week, Nadal had this to say about his health: “You can´t keep demanding more and more from your body, because there comes a moment when your body raises a white flag,” said Nadal. “Even though your head wants to keep going, your body says this is as far it goes.”

Also absent is Andy Murray, who withdrew from the field following early-round losses in clay tournament. Murray lost in the first round of the Italian Open last week. He was also bounced 6-3, 6-0 by Stan Wawrinka at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux, which was also held on clay. It is expected that Murray will focus his preparation on Wimbledon, set to begin on July 3rd.

This year’s top seed is Carlos Alcaraz, who is playing in his first Grand Slam since winning last year’s US Open. Daniil Medvedev enters the tournament as the second seed, thanks to his win in the Italian Open. That was Medvedev’s first-ever tournament victory on a clay court, and it marked the first Italian Open where he had even won a match.

“Honestly, I didn’t believe much I can win a Masters 1000 on clay in my career because usually I hated it. I hated playing on it. I don’t feel good on it, like nothing was working,” Medvedev said after his victory over Holger Rune.

That win moved Medvedev up to No. 2 in the world, and boosted his chances at winning the French Open.

The third seed? None other than Novak Djokovic, who in contrast to Medvedev has a strong history playing on clay. Djokovic has won 18 titles on clay courts, including a pair of French Opens.

As far as the rest of the field, the entire men’s bracket is below.

Men’s Bracket

You can view the bracket on the official Roland Garros website.

How to Watch

NBC/NBC Sports, Peacock, and the Tennis Channel are your homes for the 2023 French Open. NBC and Peacock air live coverage of the first two days of main draw play starting on Sunday, May 28 and continuing on Monday, May 29. Tennis Channel has live daily coverage from Tuesday, May 30 through Friday, June 2. On the middle weekend of the tournament, NBC and Peacock pick the coverage back up.

Coverage reverts to the Tennis Channel for the following weekdays, and NBC/Peacock return for the men’s and women’s singles semifinals and finals.

You can also stream coverage on NBCSports.com/live, as well as the NBC Sports app.

Broadcast Schedule

Below is the entire broadcast schedule for the 2023 French Open. All times are Eastern.

Schedule and results (All times Eastern)

Sunday May 28 – First Round

Pedro Martinez vs. Tallon Griekspoor – 5:00 a.m. ET
Sebastian Ofner vs. Maxime Cressy – 5:00 a.m. ET
Patrick Kypson vs. Radu Albot – 5:00 a.m. ET
David Goffin vs. Hubert Hurkacz (13) – 5:00 a.m. ET
Karen Khachanov (11) vs. Constant Lestienne – 5:00 a.m. ET
John Isner vs. Nuno Borges – 6:30 a.m. ET
Marton Fucsovics vs. Hugo Grenier – 6:30 a.m. ET
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs. Daniel Evans (20) – 6:30 a.m. ET
Jason Jubler vs. Facundo Diaz Acosta – 6:30 a.m. ET
Jiri Vesely vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) – 6:30 a.m. ET
Matteo Arnaldi vs. Daniel Elahi Galan – 7:00 a.m. ET
Mackenzie McDonald vs. Sebastian Korda – 7:00 a.m. ET
Ben Shelton (30) vs. Lorenzo Sonego – 8:30 a.m. ET
Roberto Carballes Baena vs. Emilio Nava – 8:30 a.m. ET
Arthur Cazaux vs. Corentin Moulet – 8:30 a.m. ET
Laslo Djere vs. Andrey Rublev (7) – 8:30 a.m. ET
Lucas Pouille vs. Jurij Rodionov – 10:00 a.m. ET
Lorenzo Musetti (17) vs. Mikael Ymer- 10:00 a.m ET
Alexander Shevchenko vs. Oscar Otte – 10:00 a.m. ET
Adrian Mannarino vs. Ugo Humbert – 1:00 p.m. ET

Monday, May 29 – First Round

Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Flavio Cobolli – TBD
Timofey Skatov vs. Grigor Dimitrov (28) – TBD
Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Gregoire Barrere – TBD
Daniel Altmaier vs. Marc-Andrew Huesler – TBD
Botic Van De Zandschulp (25) vs. Thiago Agustin Tirante – TBD
Jiri Lehecka vs. Jan-Lennard Struff (21) – TBD
Hamad Medjedovic vs. Marcus Giron – TBD
Nicholas Jarry vs. Hugo Dellien – TBD
Jannik Sinner (8) vs. Alexandre Muller – TBD
Elias Ymer vs. Casper Ruud (4) – TBD
Alexander Bublik vs. Giulio Zeppieri – TBD
Zhizhen Zhang vs. Dusan Lajovic – TBD
Tommy Paul (16) vs. Dominic Stricker – TBD
Michael Mmoh vs. Taylor Fritz (9) – TBD
Francisco Cerundolo (23) vs. Jaume Munar – TBD
Andrea Vavassori vs. Miomir Kecmanovic (31) – TBD
Richard Gasquet vs. Arthur Rinderknech – TBD
Thiago Monteiro vs. Benjamin Bonzi – TBD
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard vs. Genaro Alberto Olivieri – TBD
Holger Rune (6) vs. Christopher Eubanks – TBD
Gael Monfils vs. Sebastian Baez – TBD
Stan Wawrinka vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas – TBD
Juncheng Shang vs. Juan Pablo Varillas – TBD
Roberto Bautista Agut (19) vs. Ybing Wu – TBD
Arthur Fils vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29) – TBD
Filip Krajinovic vs. Frances Tiafoe (12) – TBD
Luca Van Assche vs. Marco Cecchinato – TBD
Novak Djokovic (3) vs. Aleksandar Kovacevic – TBD
Bernabe Zapata Miralles (32) vs. Diego Schwartzman – TBD
Felix Auger-Aliassime (10) vs. Fabio Fognini – TBD
Benoit Paire vs. Cameron Norrie (14) – TBD
Thiago Seyboth Wild vs. Daniil Medvedev (2) – TBD
Quentin Halys vs. Guido Pella – TBD
Brandon Nakashima vs. Denis Shapovalov (26) – TBD
Max Purcell vs. Jordan Thompson – TBD
Yoshihito Nishioka (27) vs. J.J. Wolf – TBD
Alexei Popyrin vs. Aslan Karatsev – TBD
Hugo Gaston vs. Alex Molcan – TBD
Alexander Zverev (22) vs. Lloyd Harris – TBD
Christopher O’Connell vs. Taro Daniel – TBD
Ilya Ivashka vs. Alex De Minaur (18) – TBD
Jack Draper vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry – TBD
Dominic Thiem vs. Pedro Cachin – TBD
Borna Coric (15) vs. Gederico Coria – TBD