FOLLOWING A SIX-POINT loss to the Brooklyn Nets, the Detroit Pistons had just set the all-time mark for consecutive losses in a single season in NBA history, dropping 27 in a row. It was Dec. 26, 2023. Inside the locker room, the mood was somber and quiet -- apathy a constant threat to seep into a season well on pace to becoming the worst in NBA history. Cade Cunningham, the team's 22-year-old cornerstone, spoke first.

"Don't jump off the boat," he said. " Right now is the easiest time to stand off and be on your own, but we need to continue to lean on each other and continue to push each other and hold each other accountable more than ever now."

There's perhaps no player in the league who would know better. After being selected No. 1 in the 2021 NBA draft, he had endured a miserable 23-win rookie campaign and an injury-marred 17 wins the following year, and he was now in the middle of a season that was breaking all the wrong records.

And after enduring the worst record in franchise history last season, at 14-68, Cunningham carries those low moments with him as he leads a miraculous Pistons turnaround this year, quieting what might remain of any bust talk as a heavy favorite to win the NBA's Most Improved Player.

"There was a time where I didn't give them much else to think," Cunningham told ESPN, when asked about the early bust talk. "But I felt support since day one being here, though, and more than anything I wanted to hold up my end of the bargain."

Detroit is 42-32 this season entering Wednesday's showdown with the West-leading Oklahoma City Thunder (9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN), making the Pistons the first team in NBA history to triple their win total from the previous season, excluding the two lockout seasons in 1998-99 and 2011-12, per ESPN Research.

Cunningham is averaging career highs in points per game (25.7), assists per game (9.2) and field goal percentage (46.2%). He has a chance to become the first Pistons player to average 25 points per game in a season since Jerry Stackhouse in 2000-01, when he set the franchise record with 29.8 PPG.

"I don't think people are giving him his full respect," New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson, another former No. 1 pick, told ESPN. "In my opinion, he's an All-NBA player this year. He's been doing his thing, but from watching Cade from afar and my few interactions with him, he's somebody that's gonna let his work speak for him."

That work could make Cunningham the third player in Pistons history to average nine or more assists per game in a season, joining Isiah Thomas (six times) and Kevin Porter (13.4 in 1978-79), and the first to have a 25-9 season.

His goals are much higher, however.

"I think I can be the best basketball player in the world. I think I'm on my way," Cunningham said. "I want people to understand that and that's what I'm working to show people every time I play."

WITH FIVE SECONDS remaining in regulation, Detroit Lions All-Pro receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown pulled out his phone, hoping to capture the scene from his courtside seat in Miami. It was March 19. The Pistons and Heat were tied 113-113.

As he pressed record, he told his girlfriend, Brooklyn Adams, and Lions teammate Craig Reynolds, how he had never witnessed the Pistons win in person..

Pistons veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. inbounded the ball to Cunningham in the waning seconds, and as Cunningham broke free, he launched a 25-foot 3 that banked in to give the Pistons the improbable win at the buzzer.

Cunningham raised his No. 2 Pistons jersey in front of the Kaseya Center crowd in jubilation.

He had finished with a triple-double, with 25 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the victory.

Former Pistons two-time All-Star Andre Drummond, now with the Philadelphia 76ers, posted the viral image of Cunningham.

Drummond still roots for Detroit. He was part of the most recent Pistons team to reach the playoffs in 2018-19, and he has said he wants to someday retire in Detroit.

"This is amazing to see Detroit win. People actually look at me crazy for posting or liking stuff in Detroit, but it's, like, Detroit's my home," Drummond told ESPN. "To see the success of the city of what's going with the team, I almost feel like I'm a part of it even though I don't play for the team."

St. Brown, a fourth-round selection in the 2021 NFL draft, also relates to Cunningham's rise. The Lions have ascended from a 3-13-1 season in 2021 to a record-setting 15-win season in 2024.

"Obviously, it's different sports but we've kind of had the same journey, in terms of just team success. I feel like I know exactly how it feels," St. Brown said.

"I'm glad to watch it and to be able to sit back and to see them come from really nothing to being a solid team right now. I see myself and the Lions in them a lot."

It didn't take long for Cunningham to win over the long-frustrated Detroit fan base. On draft night, he broke out a pair of Cartier sunglasses, known around town as "Buffs," which is an iconic fashion piece in the city.

He learned about the city's culture through popular rappers like 42 Dugg, Sada Baby and Babyface Ray, as well as the underground movie scene and through the Tubi TV show McGraw Ave. When the league announced that Cunningham was named to his first NBA All-Star game in January, 42 Dugg was one of the first to share the news.

"I feel like Cade fits more into the culture with all of us being young and up and coming," 42 Dugg said. "He fits more into us. We've seen Cade out a few times. He gives us more of something to root for. We're all behind Cade."

Cunningham has nine triple-doubles this season, third-most in Pistons history behind NBA legend Grant Hill, who posted 13 in 1996-97 and 10 in 1995-96.

No other player in Pistons history has ever had five in a season.

Cunningham's style has often been compared to Hill's before injuries robbed him of peak.

Hill, the managing director of the USA men's national team, doesn't mind hearing his name attached to a rising star such as Cunningham, who he sees as a strong candidate for the FIBA World Cup and Olympics during the next cycle.

"I think there's some similarities in terms of trying to just control the game and trying to have an impact on the game in a number of different ways," Hill told ESPN.

"He thinks the game at a very high level, and he's got just this incredible feel and incredible basketball instincts, and I do feel like those were some of the similarities that we brought to the game."

ASK THOSE AROUND Cunningham for an underrated quality of his game, and the response is nearly universal. It's the leadership he provided when the losses mounted, and now, too, when the wins are doing the same.

"Very rarely do you find a guy who can grow and develop and not leave people behind," said Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff ahead of Detroit's 123-103 win over Washington on March 11. "Cade has the uncanny ability to not only take care of himself and do what's best for his development and growth, but he makes sure that his teammates are always right alongside, and giving them the same opportunities that he's getting."

Consider: Cunningham has the third-most points created this season on drives (1,162), behind MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, according to Second Spectrum.

And he has assisted on 75 3-pointers to teammate Malik Beasley and 84 dunks to Pistons center Jalen Duren, both the most in the NBA respectively by any passer-shooter combo, per Second Spectrum.

That potential is why Pistons owner Tom Gores agreed to sign Cunningham to a five-year, $224 million maximum rookie extension last offseason, a deal that was met with questions across the league.

"What I saw in Cade is not something you just see on the court. He embraced the adversity; he didn't put it on anybody else. He took his own accountability," Gores told ESPN. "Part of the reason I didn't blink is he didn't blink. He didn't start like, 'Oh, geez, Detroit.' He was all in.

"And we knew we had to change some things and sometimes you learn the most in the tough times ... you go through some war with each other and you see how somebody acts, and I thought he handled it so well in so many ways. So I didn't blink, honestly."

Through four seasons, Cunningham has already played for three different head coaches: Dwane Casey, Monty Williams and now Bickerstaff.

He missed most of his second season with a stress fracture in his left leg and has yet to experience the NBA playoffs, but he says he's having the most fun of his career at the helm of Detroit's resurgence.

"Winning. I think that's the main difference for real," Cunningham said. "It's a lot of fun winning games. It's not fun losing at all, so playing in meaningful games and constantly putting ourselves in a position to win has been a lot of fun this year."

Duren said: "He's only gonna continue to get better. This is probably the worst version of him we will see."

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired speedy outfielder Esteury Ruiz from the Athletics in exchange for minor league right-hander Carlos Duran on Wednesday.

Ruiz, a 26-year-old right-handed hitter who was designated for assignment by the A's three days earlier, will be optioned to the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate. If called up, he can provide speed off the bench and fill in at both center field and second base.

In his first full season in 2023, Ruiz led the American League with 67 stolen bases and provided solid defense in center field, contributing three outs above average. His slash line, however, was just .254/.309/.345 with five home runs in 132 games.

The 2024 season was a struggle for Ruiz. An injury to his left wrist forced him out for close to seven weeks. After about a week of action, he was shut down again due to lingering discomfort. And then, near the end of September, he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. All told, Ruiz posted a .652 OPS in 29 major league games and a .994 OPS in 16 minor league games.

The emergence of Lawrence Butler and JJ Bleday severely limited Ruiz's role with the A's, and he was taken off the 40-man roster after lefty Angel Perdomo was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

Duran, a 23-year-old right-hander who's listed at 6-foot-7, made 19 starts across three levels in the Dodgers' system last year, combining for a 4.73 ERA with 73 strikeouts and 32 walks across 53 innings.

The Dodgers transferred pitcher Kyle Hurt to the 60-day injured list to make room for Ruiz on the 40-man roster.

Rookie second baseman Kristian Campbell and the Boston Red Sox agreed to an eight-year extension Wednesday, marking the earliest in a career the Red Sox have ever locked up a player to a multiyear deal.

The extension is worth $60 million, sources told ESPN.

Barely a week into Campbell's time in the big leagues, the Red Sox showed even more faith in Campbell than they had by breaking camp with him. The deal, which will go through the 2034 season, includes two club options, sources told ESPN.

Campbell, 22, was the consensus minor league player of the year in 2024 after a star-making performance that came out of nowhere. With an unorthodox-looking right-handed swing, Campbell hit .330/.439/.558 with 20 home runs and 77 RBIs while jumping from High-A to Triple-A.

Boston officials entered camp hopeful Campbell would earn the second-base job, and despite the possibility of big-dollar free agent signing Alex Bregman occupying it. Bregman remained at third base, with Rafael Devers switching to designated hitter to accommodate Campbell's arrival.

The Red Sox's continued spending -- they locked up ace Garrett Crochet to a six-year, $170 million deal earlier this week -- enriches a long-term core that includes Devers signed until 2033, super-utility man Ceddanne Rafaela through 2031, Crochet and right-hander Brayan Bello through 2030 and the forthcoming arrival of Campbell's running mates in Boston's big three prospects, outfielder Roman Anthony and shortstop Marcelo Mayer.

Boston's desire to lock in players to early-career deals in hope of maximizing their performance is no secret. And Campbell's first week with the Red Sox only serves as validation: He's hitting .375/.500/.688 with a long home run to left-center field.

Campbell's burgeoning power helped launch him toward the top of prospect lists this winter. After hitting .376/.484/.549 in his lone season at Georgia Tech, Campbell went to the Red Sox in the fourth round with the compensation pick they received for losing Xander Bogaerts to San Diego in free agency. Boston coaches helped rebuild Campbell's swing and saw immediate results, more than doubling his homer-per-game output from college.

At 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Campbell will be the solution for a second-base position held down for more than a decade by Dustin Pedroia. Since his retirement following the 2017 season, the Red Sox have been led in games played at second by six different players in seven years.

Britain's Fran Jones was helped off court in a wheelchair after collapsing during a match in Colombia.

Jones was attempting to serve in the ninth game of a deciding third set in Bogota when she fell to the floor.

The 24-year-old initially lay on her back before rolling on to her side as she was attended to by medical staff.

Opponent Julia Riera walked over to check on Jones and helped lift her on to a wheelchair.

Jones, the British number five, was unable to finish the first-round match in the Colsanitas Cup, a WTA 250 tournament.

"Due to a physical issue, Francesca Jones has withdrawn from her match against Julia Riera at 6-2 5-7 5-3 in favour of the Argentinian," read a Colsanitas Cup statement.

"We wish the British tennis player a speedy recovery."

Jones beat Riera in straight sets last week on her way to winning the W75 Vacaria in Brazil, the eighth ITF title of her career.

Meanwhile, Heather Watson is out of the Charleston Open after a straight-set defeat by Iryna Shymanovich in the first round.

The British number seven was beaten 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 by the Belarusian world number 215.

Match official Tom Foley is to leave his role at the Rugby Football Union after 15 years' refereeing to "pursue new opportunities".

Foley, from Bath, began his career officiating in the National League and has been a referee in Premiership rugby since 2014, working on more than 250 matches.

He stepped down from international rugby in November 2023 after receiving a "torrent of criticism and abuse" working at the Rugby World Cup final as the television match official.

His career has seen him officiate in four Premiership finals as well as four Champions Cup finals in 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Foley's first international match was in 2011 and he officiated in 48 Tests in total before retiring after the South Africa v New Zealand World Cup final in October 2023.

The game saw All Blacks captain Sam Cane's yellow card upgraded to a red card following a TMO 'bunker' review.

At the time Foley said: "The pressure and scrutiny I came under after the Rugby World Cup final, along with a torrent of criticism and abuse online, has helped to reaffirm that this is the right decision for me at this point in my life.

"While it's a privilege to be at the heart of some of the sport's most iconic moments, the increasing levels of vitriol, when the demands and expectation are so high, have led me to this moment."

Gloucester's attack has been transformed this season under Lightfoot Brown, who joined the club in 2023. A scintillating victory against Bristol on Saturday saw them move back into the Premiership top four.

Williams tops the Premiership stats, provided by Oval Insights, for the most passes in the league this season (762), while he is second overall for most metres kicked (3,858), and third for most line breaks (20) and most offloads (18).

Against the Bears he provided two try assists including a moment of brilliant skill to jump and collect a ball one-handed, before a no-look pass to Seb Atkinson to score.

"[He's] a very committed individual. He'll be the last one out here practicing his kicking, practicing the bits you see at the weekend," Lightfoot Brown said.

"You bring a world-class player into your environment and I think you're going to reap the benefits of that, everyone is.

"Young players, players in the same position, they're all improving without question."

Interim Ireland head coach Paul O'Connell will have Denis Leamy, Mike Prendergast and Colm Tucker as his coaching team for this summer's Tests in Georgia and Portugal.

O'Connell was confirmed as interim boss last week, with Andy Farrell and Simon Easterby away with the Lions.

Former Ireland back row Leamy has been Munster defence coach since 2022, while Prendergast has been the province's attack coach for the past three seasons and led Ireland 'A' in February's defeat by England.

Tucker is Connacht's scrum coach and also led the team during last weekend's United Rugby Championship loss to Munster in Castlebar, with head coach Pete Wilkins on sick leave.

All three coaches will link up with Ireland at the end of the club season. The squad is due to be announced in mid-June.

Ireland face Georgia in Tbilisi on 5 July (18:00 BST) and Portugal in Lisbon on 12 July (time TBC).

Former Ireland and British and Irish Lions captain O'Connell took over as interim boss after Easterby was appointed as part of Lions head coach Farrell's backroom team.

Ireland scrum coach John Fogarty and attack coach Andrew Goodman are also on Farrell's Lions ticket.

O'Connell said he was "honoured" to accept the position.

"With a busy schedule of international rugby this summer, these two Tests will provide us with further opportunities to assess and develop the competition levels within the squad," added O'Connell.

"I am excited to work with a coaching team who I know well individually and are hugely motivated to deliver success to Ireland and look forward to putting our plans in place over the coming weeks."

Irish Rugby Football Union performance director David Humphreys says it will mark an "important step" in O'Connell's coaching career.

"He will be assisted by Denis, Mike and Cullie who have all been in Ireland camp at different points over the last number of months and their selections is another positive progression in their coaching careers and reasserts the IRFU's commitment to developing a pathway for Irish coaches," added Humphreys.

There is a "high degree of uncertainty" over how much of the hundreds of millions of pounds lent to sports bodies during the Covid pandemic will be repaid, says an influential group of MPs.

In a report, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) criticises "severe weaknesses" in the way the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) handled the loans, and that it has been "overly optimistic" about repayments.

Between 2020 and 2022, the DCMS gave 474m to bodies in the sport and culture sectors to help them to survive lockdown, 218m was to sporting bodies with 124m supporting Premiership rugby union clubs.

But the cross-party PAC, which assesses value for taxpayers' money, says 400m is yet to be paid back, and less than half of borrowers had started repayments.

Nine bodies, which had collectively received 46m, have become insolvent.

That includes three rugby clubs - London Irish, Wasps and Worcester - with the DCMS saying it does not expect to recover up to 29m of the 41m it lent to them.

Amid concerns over the finances of the remaining top-flight teams, the MPs say that "future repayment is put at risk by the department's need to maintain the financial viability of the sectors to which it has given loans".

The PAC warned of a "gap in accountability to parliament" over the money lent to rugby union, due to "a conflict of interest" involving a senior civil servant's connections with the sport.

PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP said it was "right that government came forward with necessary support [but] not to provide a lifetime guarantee to institutions like rugby union which may be experiencing financial difficulties five years later".

"DCMS is inherently conflicted in the management of its Covid loan-book," he said. "As a lender, its priority will be to secure best value for the taxpayer from these loans. As a department, its priority is to do everything in its power to support a sector which has become its debtor."

In a statement, the DCMS said: "This government will always protect taxpayers' money and we are committed to recovering funds paid out under the previous administration. We have recovered 97% of repayments due and we are set to see all borrowers begin their repayments by later this year.

"Ministers and the department continue to actively engage with the chief executives of the Rugby Football Union, Premiership Rugby and Championship Rugby to support the ongoing sustainability of the sport.

"We will take time to consider the full contents of the report and will respond in due course."