DETROIT -- When Pistons general manager Troy Weaver initially reached out to Monty Williams last month about the team's coaching vacancy, Williams said he wasn't in the right place mentally to discuss the gig.

Not only was Williams still reeling from being fired as coach of the Phoenix Suns on May 13, but he was considering taking time off from coaching after his wife, Lisa, was diagnosed with breast cancer during the playoffs.

However, Williams received good news about Lisa's health sooner than the family anticipated. And once he connected with the Pistons again later in the month, a deal came together quickly to make him the team's coach.

"That was a huge part of my decision-making," Williams said Tuesday at his introductory news conference. "The patience the Pistons had with that told me a lot."

Williams said he was discussing his wife's health in an attempt to help others and stress the importance of testing.

"The reason that I bring it up is to not talk about my family, but to make it more of an emphasis that women need early-detection testing," said Williams, whose first wife, Ingrid, died in a car crash in 2016. "We had genetic testing done and then scan after scan after scan and then we found it early, and that may have saved my wife's life. It can save others."

Another major factor in Williams ending up as the Pistons' coach: the six-year, $78.5 million contract they gave him, the largest coaching deal in NBA history.

While Williams was impressed by Weaver and Pistons owner Tom Gores and the three shared similar visions, Williams was not shy in acknowledging that the money helped persuade him to lead the team. He flew to Los Angeles to meet with Gores and Weaver at Gores' home, and by the end of the night, Williams was on board.

"That's something that people don't talk about; they always say it wasn't about the money," Williams said. "I always laugh at that. I think that's disrespectful. When somebody is that generous to pay me that kind of money, one, that should be applauded, and two, it should be talked about."

Williams takes over a Pistons team that finished with the league's worst record last season at 17-65. Detroit has won just 80 games over the past four seasons, the fewest wins in the NBA during that span.

Turning around the Pistons presents a familiar challenge for Williams. The last team to post a winning percentage under .300 in three consecutive seasons was the Suns, who had done so in four straight seasons from 2015 to '19 before Williams took over, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

The next season, Phoenix won 34 games, a 15-win improvement with Williams at the helm.

"Monty is hungry," Gores said Tuesday. "He's not resting on his laurels. ... We got a lot of work to do, but it's an exciting time for us and a big win."

Although the Pistons have been hesitant in the past to place too many expectations on one of the youngest rosters in the league, Weaver said Williams could help jump-start the process of getting Detroit out of the basement of the Eastern Conference.

"We're ready to take a step forward," Weaver said. "We had a lot of injuries last year that derailed us and slowed us down."

The Pistons finished with their worst record since 1979-80, but their dismal showing did not turn into good luck at the draft lottery. Detroit landed the No.5 pick for the second consecutive season, missing out on the opportunity to select French prospect Victor Wembanyama, who is expected to go No.1 overall.

Still, the Pistons have a foundation on their roster from recent top draft picks, including Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 overall selection in 2021, and Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren, who went No. 5 and No. 13, respectively, last summer. The entire roster, other than Bojan Bogdanovic, who is from Croatia, sat in attendance for Williams' introduction Tuesday.

"You can see the talent of this group and you see the size, but what I'm really impressed by is the people," Williams said. "I don't think I've ever seen a press conference for a head coach and all the players show up. That's what I see: a hunger, a desire. They all want it.

"If you're asking about similarities to Phoenix [at the start], that was what was similar. Those guys were hungry, they wanted it."

Williams coached the Hornets from 2010 to '15 and went 173-221 (.439) with a pair of first-round playoff losses. He had much more success with the Suns during his four-year tenure, reaching the 2021 NBA Finals and winning Coach of the Year honors in '22. Williams had a .628 winning percentage in Phoenix, but the organization fired him after losing in the Western Conference semifinals two years in a row.

"You just have to have the fortitude to move forward," Williams said. "That experience has allowed me to be here.

"When you get fired, that doesn't mean there has to be contention or there has to be silliness that goes with that. I don't believe that. And yet, when somebody shows this kind of confidence in you, it gives you confidence to move forward with them in a cool way."

The Denver Nuggets are the 2023 NBA champions. Delivering the franchise its first title, two-time MVP Nikola Jokic has taken that long-awaited next step in his postseason legacy alongside his star teammate Jamal Murray.

Now what?

What lies ahead for Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat after they made it back to the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons, only to come up short again? Do they still have confidence in their current roster in a stacked Eastern Conference that will still boast the star-powered Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers?

The Nuggets will look to maintain dominance in the Western Conference next season after cruising through the playoffs. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, along with Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, are in line to challenge Denver, while the Memphis Grizzlies, LA Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans could face some difficult decisions regarding their franchise superstars.

Note: These rankings are based on where the members of our panel (ESPN's Kendra Andrews, Tim Bontemps, Jamal Collier, Nick Friedell, Andrew Lopez, Tim MacMahon, Dave McMenamin and Ohm Youngmisuk) think teams belong heading into next season, taking into account potential player movement and the draft. Title odds for 2024 by Caesars Sportsbook.

1. Denver Nuggets
2022-23 record: 53-29
Result: Won NBA Finals
2024 title odds: +475

It took 47 seasons -- the longest in NBA history before winning a first title -- but the Denver Nuggets are finally world champions. And now that they are champions, the Nuggets look set up to repeat. Their starting five of Jokic, Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon are all under contract through at least 2024-25. Keeping valuable reserve player Bruce Brown will be difficult. The guard is projected to double his salary if he declines the $6.8 million player option for next season. The Nuggets are a tax team and Brown has non-Bird rights, leaving the max contract that Denver can offer the guard at $7.8 million. Denver might need to retool its bench with Jeff Green, DeAndre Jordan, Thomas Bryant, Reggie Jackson and Ish Smith among their eight free agents. But if Jokic, Murray and the Nuggets starters stay healthy, they have the experience to return to the Finals and win. -- Youngmisuk

2. Boston Celtics
2022-23 record: 57-25
Result: Lost East finals
2024 title odds: +575

After coming agonizingly close to being the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series, Boston will now enter the offseason trying to figure out what it needs to do to retool. Among the decisions ahead: whether to give Jaylen Brown a supermax contract extension and what to do with restricted free agent Grant Williams. -- Bontemps

3. Miami Heat
2022-23 record: 44-38
Result: Lost NBA Finals
2024 title odds: +1800

Miami just completed one of the most unlikely Finals runs in NBA history, becoming only the second No. 8 seed to get to the game's ultimate stage. After the well-earned plaudits fade from one of the most memorable postseason runs in franchise history, Heat president Pat Riley will have to make some interesting decisions about his team. Max Strus and Gabe Vincent will both be free agents. Tyler Herro will have to work his way back after being unavailable for almost the entirety of the postseason because of a broken hand. The Heat still need to decide if they will put together a package for a star to pair with Butler. It will be a busy summer for the organization after a playoff run that won't soon be forgotten. -- Friedell

4. Milwaukee Bucks
2022-23 record: 58-24
Result: Lost East first round
2024 title odds: +700

The Bucks are looking to turn the page following a way-sooner-than-expected exit in the playoffs, and it starts with the hiring of Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin as their head coach. Milwaukee anticipates that a new voice will provide a jolt for a team that finished with the best record in the NBA. The Bucks hope to bring back center Brook Lopez, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. -- Collier

5. Philadelphia 76ers
2022-23 record: 54-28
Result: Lost East semifinals
2024 title odds: +1200

After hiring Nick Nurse to replace coach Doc Rivers, all eyes on Philadelphia now turn to James Harden -- and whether the superstar guard will return to the 76ers this summer. If he does, this team is a championship contender once again. If he doesn't? Well, work will be required to get Philadelphia back to that level around reigning MVP Joel Embiid. -- Bontemps

6. Phoenix Suns
2022-23 record: 45-37
Result: Lost West semifinals
2024 title odds: +850

Heading into the 2022 playoffs, the Suns had the best record in the NBA and the Coach of the Year in Monty Williams. Now? They have a second straight second-round exit and Frank Vogel on the sidelines. Oh, and Kevin Durant wearing the purple and orange, too. Vogel won a championship in his first season with the Lakers, pushing all the right buttons with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Can he duplicate that success with Phoenix's dynamic duo of Durant and Devin Booker? -- Lopez

7. Los Angeles Lakers
2022-23 record: 43-39
Result: Lost West finals
2024 title odds: +1200

Prior to being swept by Denver in the conference finals, the Lakers reeled off 18 wins in their previous 24 games from the end of the regular season through the play-in tournament and first two rounds of the playoffs -- a .750 winning percentage, better than Milwaukee's NBA-best mark of .707 for the entirety of the 2022-23 regular season. Was that enough of a sample size to convince L.A. to run it back with the same core, or will the offseason bring more roster upheaval? -- McMenamin

8. Memphis Grizzlies
2022-23 record: 51-31
Result: Lost West first round
2024 title odds: +2200

The Grizzlies' top priority has to be helping Ja Morant deal with his off-court issues that likely will result in a lengthy suspension to start the season. But that isn't the only pressing matter in Memphis this summer. Expect general manager Zach Kleiman to aggressively pursue a replacement for Dillon Brooks in the trade market, as well as work out a lucrative contract extension for Desmond Bane. -- MacMahon

9. New York Knicks
2022-23 record: 47-35
Result: Lost East semifinals
2024 title odds: +5000

The Knicks won a playoff series for the first time in a decade. But beginning with extension talks with Immanuel Quickley, it will be a fascinating summer in Gotham, as the Knicks weigh what direction to take as they hope to build off this past season's successes. -- Bontemps

10. Golden State Warriors
2022-23 record: 44-38
Result: Lost West semifinals
2024 title odds: +1200

Bob Myers will not return as GM after stepping down. Draymond Green still has to decide what to do with his player option. The Warriors' salary is already sky-high. The Warriors might not find it as easy to bounce back to championship level as they have in the past. -- Andrews

11. Sacramento Kings
2022-23 record: 48-34
Result: Lost West first round
2024 title odds: +2500

Over 50 wins: check. Coach of the Year: check. Clutch Player of the Year: check. First playoff appearance in 16 years -- and a seven-game series against the defending champion Warriors, no less: check. This season was better than expected for the Kings. With every player coming back next season, Sacramento's rise should continue -- but with a much higher bar for success. -- Andrews

12. Cleveland Cavaliers
2022-23 record: 51-31
Result: Lost East first round
2024 title odds: +2800

Cleveland's 51-win season will ultimately be remembered for a 4-1 first-round exit at the hands of the Knicks. The challenge for the Cavs will be upgrading their offense -- they scored 94.2 points per game in the playoffs -- without compromising their league-leading defense. The good news is they should have time to progress; their core four of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen are all 26 years old or younger. -- McMenamin

13. LA Clippers
2022-23 record: 44-38
Result: Lost West first round
2024 title odds: +1600

The Clippers' fortunes rest on Kawhi Leonard's right knee, as he tore the meniscus in the same knee that required surgery for a torn ACL. Paul George did not play in the first-round loss to Phoenix because of a right knee sprain. The Clippers will certainly look to improve, but the new collective bargaining agreement rules will make it difficult to upgrade around their star duo that played just 38 games together in 2022-23. -- Youngmisuk

14. New Orleans Pelicans
2022-23 record: 42-40
Result: Lost West play-in
2024 title odds: +3000

Health, health, health. Whether New Orleans looks like the team from December -- when it was tops in the West -- or the one that missed the play-in tournament is going to come down to health. Zion Williamson missed the final 45 games because of a hamstring injury. Brandon Ingram has missed 64 regular-season games over the past two seasons. Things will be looking up for New Orleans if its stars can stay on the court. -- Lopez

15. Oklahoma City Thunder
2021-22 record: 40-42
Result: Lost West play-in
2023 title odds: +7000

The Thunder were supposed to be in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes but instead found themselves one win from sneaking in as the No. 8 seed via the play-in tournament. And they did it all with Chet Holmgren -- the No. 2 overall pick from last year's draft -- missing the entire season because of a foot injury. With Shai Gilgeous-Alexander becoming a first-team All-NBA selection and a hoard of draft picks ahead, the future is bright in Oklahoma City. -- Lopez

16. Minnesota Timberwolves
2022-23 record: 42-40
Result: Lost West first round
2024 title odds: +5500

The Timberwolves were not nearly as successful as they hoped they would be when they made the blockbuster trade to acquire Rudy Gobert last summer. Sure, injuries tore apart their season. But even whole, the Wolves showed few glimpses of a team ready to compete in a stacked West. -- Andrews

17. Dallas Mavericks
2022-23 record: 38-44
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +1800

The Mavs have their work cut out to position themselves for a bounce-back campaign. It remains to be seen if other serious suitors emerge for Kyrie Irving, but he has leverage regardless because losing him would be a disaster for Dallas. The Mavs also must improve the supporting cast around Luka Doncic and, hopefully, Irving. They will likely dangle the No. 10 overall pick in pursuit of a quality, defensive-minded role player who can help them win right away. -- MacMahon

18. Atlanta Hawks
2022-23 record: 41-41
Result: Lost East first round
2024 title odds: +6000

After being hired midseason, coach Quin Snyder was able to lay a foundation over the final 28 games of the regular season, a play-in tournament win over the Heat and a six-game series loss to the Celtics in the first round. Now, Snyder and Landry Fields, who oversees the team's basketball operations, have to figure out how to take the Hawks to the next level. -- Lopez

19. Brooklyn Nets
2022-23 record: 45-37
Result: Lost East first round
2024 title odds: +12500

The Nets love Mikal Bridges. They believe in young players Cam Johnson and Nic Claxton. And they hope Ben Simmons can turn around his career. The Nets have a long way to go to get back to championship contention, but they do have pick Nos. 21 and 22 in this month's NBA draft as well as trust in the culture they are putting back together. -- Friedell

20. Chicago Bulls
2022-23 record: 40-42
Result: Lost East play-in
2024 title odds: +10000

The Bulls could face some major roster decisions with Nikola Vucevic and Coby White entering free agency. However, despite missing the playoffs this past season and winning one playoff game over two campaigns with this core, Bulls vice president Arturas Karnisovas says he intends to keep this roster intact. -- Collier

21. Toronto Raptors
2022-23 record: 41-41
Result: Lost East play-in
2024 title odds: +6500

The Raptors are hiring Grizzlies assistant Darko Rajakovic as the franchise's replacement for Nick Nurse, but that's just the beginning of their work this summer. Fred VanVleet will become a free agent and Gary Trent and Jakob Poeltl are expected to join him. Two more players -- Pascal Siakam and O.G. Anunoby -- are a year away from getting there. -- Bontemps

22. Utah Jazz
2022-23 record: 37-45
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +15000

The Jazz have many pathways as they attempt to build around All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen and All-Rookie center Walker Kessler. Utah has not traditionally been a free agency destination, but the Jazz have $30 million in salary cap space, which also could have significant value in the trade market. Additionally, Utah has three first-round picks in this month's draft and several extra picks in the years to come after the roster renovation over the past year. -- MacMahon

23. Indiana Pacers
2022-23 record: 35-47
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +15000

The Pacers are in rebuilding mode, but the future of their roster is already off to a strong start with guard Tyrese Haliburton, who made his first All-Star Game this past season. Indiana also owns three first-round picks in this month's draft: Nos. 7, 26 and 29. -- Collier

24. Orlando Magic
2022-23 record: 34-48
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +12500

The core in Orlando is solid. 2022 No. 1 pick Paolo Banchero is the reigning Rookie of the Year. Franz Wagner continues to come into his own. Wendell Carter Jr. keeps improving. And Markelle Fultz is showing more and more why he was the No. 1 pick in 2017. The Magic have the Nos. 6 and 11 picks in this month's draft in addition to cap space. Things are finally looking up again in central Florida. -- Friedell

25. Portland Trail Blazers
2022-23 record: 33-49
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +7500

The Blazers didn't win the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes, but they did nab the No. 3 pick in the draft. Of course, Damian Lillard, 32, wants to play for a contender and win now. There would be no shortage of suitors if Lillard wants a change of scenery. -- Youngmisuk

26. Washington Wizards
2022-23 record: 35-47
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +25000

Team owner Ted Leonsis has a new right-hand man to rebuild Wizards basketball in Michael Winger. Winger played a large role in helping shape the Clippers' roster, and he will now try to turn around a franchise that has made the postseason once since 2017-18. Once Winger assembles his front office, he can start to improve the team with the No. 8 pick in the draft -- and see what Bradley Beal has in mind for his future. -- Youngmisuk

27. San Antonio Spurs
2022-23 record: 22-60
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +15000

Perhaps the biggest postseason move of them all -- so far -- has been the Spurs locking up the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft and the right to select Victor Wembanyama. Everything changed for the Spurs when their 14% chance at the French phenom hit. It will be the third time the Spurs have had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft; they took David Robinson in 1987 and Tim Duncan in 1997. -- Lopez

28. Houston Rockets
2022-23 record: 22-60
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +9000

Tilman Fertitta has declared that "Phase 2" of the Rockets' rebuild began with the hiring of coach Ime Udoka, and the billionaire team owner expects Houston to be competitive next season. The long-rumored return of James Harden would help in that regard, but would bringing back "The Beard" stunt the development of Jalen Green? That's a concern Green expressed on Paul George's podcast. -- MacMahon

29. Charlotte Hornets
2022-23 record: 27-55
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +20000

The Hornets missed out on Victor Wembanyama, but the good news is with the second pick they should be able to add a potential future star in Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson. With guard LaMelo Ball expected to be fully healthy and coach Steve Clifford still running the show, the Hornets appear to finally have the players in place to push out of the East basement. -- Friedell

30. Detroit Pistons

2022-23 record: 17-65
Result: Missed postseason
2024 title odds: +60000

The Pistons already made a big splash this offseason by making Monty Williams the highest-paid coach in the NBA to guide their young team. For now, the Pistons are still preaching patience, but with cap space and the No. 5 pick in the draft, things could be setting up for an intriguing offseason in Detroit. -- Collier

ST. LOUIS -- San Francisco Giants outfielder Mitch Haniger broke his right forearm when hit by a pitch from St. Louis Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty in the third inning of the Giants' 11-3 win on Tuesday night.

"Any time you get hit, the hand's warm and it doesn't feel great," Haniger said. "Injuries are part of the game, at same time you've got to focus on what's next."

Haniger battled back from an oblique injury in spring training and was rounding into form. The 32-year-old left fielder, who is hitting .230 with four homers and 22 RBIs, drove in two runs to help the Giants beat the Cardinals 4-2 on Monday night.

"He worked so hard to get back and he was just starting to get on a roll," Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. "He was starting to swing the bat good and feel good. This is a pretty good gut punch for Mitch and our club."

San Francisco infielder J.D. Davis sprained his right ankle in the third inning during a hard slide into third base. A Giants athletic trainer came out to work on Davis' leg before the veteran player slowly walked off.

Davis, 30, leads the Giants this season with 35 RBIs, and he improved his batting average to .286 by going 1-for-2 on Tuesday.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

The oldest professional ballpark in the country will host the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2024 "Field of Dreams" game, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.

Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, which opened in 1910, will be the site of the annual game, according to the report. MLB has not made any comment about the game as of Tuesday.

"I would love [wearing throwbacks], that would be really cool," Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. told the Chronicle. "It'll definitely give you the full effect of the game. I hope it is us who wears the jerseys for sure. That would be something to remember forever."

Hall of Famer Willie Mays, a Giants legend in New York and San Francisco, played at Rickwood Field when he was in the Negro Leagues as a member of the Birmingham Black Barons.

The first two Field of Dreams games were played in Dyersville, Iowa, on the site of the popular movie with the same name, complete with the cornfield beyond the outfield. The Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees played in the inaugural game in 2021, and the Chicago Cubs faced the Cincinnati Reds last year. Both games were on the second Thursday of August of each year.

The Iowa site is currently under construction and no game is slated for this season.

Rickwood Field also has served as a location for films such as "Cobb" (1994), "Soul of the Game" (1996) and "42" (2013). It is one of two Negro League ballparks still standing along with Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, N.J. Rickwood Field is the home field for Miles College, a historically Black college and University in Fairfield, Alabama.

Reuters contributed to this story.

OAKLAND, Calif. -- On the same day the Nevada Senate voted to approve $380 million in public money for a Las Vegas ballpark for the Athletics, fans in Oakland held their long-planned "Reverse Boycott" intended to fill the Oakland Coliseum and prove their worth to owner John Fisher and Major League Baseball. The timing felt cruel in a cosmic sort of way.

It turned out to be a party without a celebration.

In the south parking lot, fans lined up three hours before the game to grab one of the 7,000 green "SELL" T-shirts provided by $39,000 in community donations and produced by Oaklandish, a local clothing company. There was a taco truck and a DJ and tables set up for fans to make their own anti-Fisher signs.

The game drew 27,759, the largest home crowd of the season and more than triple the team's home average of 8,555.

The A's won 97 games in 2019 and made the postseason again in 2020 before Fisher began stripping the team of its young stars, reducing payroll to the lowest in baseball. The team raised ticket prices and did little to nothing to improve the fan experience as the wins dwindled, then used poor attendance and the condition of the ballpark to justify its decision to seek a new home.

The news of the Nevada vote cast a pall over what was expected to be a jubilant display of Oakland's ability to support its team.

"Now we just want to let people vent their frustrations," said Jorge Leon, the president of the Oakland 68s, a fan club that helped organize the protest. He wore a "SELL" shirt and a wedding ring that inscribed "Oakland" in A's script. "If it's set in stone that they're leaving for Las Vegas, I hope the mayor kicks them out."

An A's fan who asked to be identified only as Dee said, "They have literally repelled the fan base."

"Empty seats by design," Leon said.

"Whatever longshot it is, whoever wants an expansion team should look to Oakland," Dee said. "There's a fan base here ready to support a team that deserves it."

Two hours before the game, the A's announced they were donating all ticket revenue from the game to the Alameda County Food Bank and the Oakland Public Education Fund. One of the sticking points in the Nevada deliberations was the team's commitment to the community, which was deemed inadequate by several opponents. The bill passed only after it was amended to force the team to commit $1.5 million to the community once the ballpark is completed.

"From this point on, I'm rooting for the Oakland A's fans," Oakland mayor Sheng Thao told ESPN. "If anybody ever doubted the passion of these fans, just look at the sea of green out here. We're going to continue to work to keep the Oakland A's in Oakland. Las Vegas deserves a team -- an expansion team. But the A's must stay in Oakland."

That prospect became far less likely Tuesday afternoon, when the Nevada Senate voted 13-8 to give Fisher -- a billionaire heir to the Gap fortune -- what he sought: a package of public funding that will pave the way for him to build a $1.2 billion stadium on the Las Vegas Strip. Thao, making her way through the Coliseum parking lot wearing a Matt Chapman A's jersey, said the city of Oakland and the A's were "days away" from agreeing on a massive $12 to $18 billion real-estate project that would have brought a waterfront ballpark to Howard Terminal on the Oakland waterfront when she received a call from Fisher telling her the team had agreed to a land deal in Las Vegas.

"We were so close," Thao said. "We secured $1 billion for outside infrastructure, and I truly believe the city of Oakland was being leveraged in the move to go to Las Vegas. That's why I said no more. No more. It started to feel a little bit abusive in that sense, and that's why we walked away."

Looking up at the "Rooted In Oakland" signs the A's splashed all over the Coliseum to project their supposed devotion to the city, Thao said, "If you have a real plan to stay rooted in Oakland, you'd be a good partner. We want them to be honest with their marketing."

Asked what avenues she could pursue to keep the A's from leaving, Thao said, "I'm going to continue to talk to the legislature in Nevada, and I'm going to continue to work with Congresswoman Barbara Lee to make sure there are some checks and balances in regards to when and how teams move from one city to another."

Lee, D-Oakland, and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, have introduced a bill called the "Moneyball Act" that takes aim at MLB's antitrust exemption. It requires any team that relocates more than 25 miles away to compensate its former city, or MLB would lose its antitrust exemption.

A woman roaming the south lot 90 minutes before Tuesday's game stopped and took in the moment. Thousands of fans in "SELL" shirts and A's jerseys -- Coco Crisp was a particular favorite -- ate free tacos and drank beer. A steady stream of fans crossed the pedestrian walkway from the BART station to the ballpark, a sight rarely seen outside of playoff games.

"This is just going to make me feel sadder that I came here," she said.

As a few fans danced in the shade of a section of mothballed Coliseum seats in the south lot, Dee was asked to imagine the scene had Nevada voted down SB1.

"You'd see a lot more smoke out here, that's for sure," Dee said.

Inside the stadium, the "sell the team" chants began immediately after the national anthem, and the crowd attempted to remain eerily quiet for the first at-bat of the top of the fifth inning as a nod to the 55 years the team has called Oakland home.

Jose Siri, who led off the inning for the Tampa Bay Rays, must have wondered what he did wrong. As Siri neared second base after slapping a double down the left-field line off Hogan Harris, the silence broke and a boisterous chant of "sell the team" rumbled through the stadium.

And for nine innings, baseball mattered again in Oakland. With the crowd engaged in every pitch, it felt like it meant more than a midweek, mid-June game between the best team in baseball and, prior to Tuesday, the worst. The A's, although not used to the attention, beat the Rays 2-1 for their seventh win in a row -- perhaps the most improbable event of a momentous day.

After Trevor May struck out Siri for the final out, the venting took on a more ominous tone as fans threw water bottles and beer cans and whatever else was handy onto the field toward security and the grounds crew.

They came for a celebration, and they did their best under the circumstances.

An hour before the game, the crumbled asphalt of the south parking lot had become a minefield of empty beer cans, most of them local and craft. The line to the taco truck was half a football field. The music played, a fair amount of smoke hung in the air and the invective flowed. It managed to straddle the fine line between wake and party.

LAS VEGAS -- Florida star forward Matthew Tkachuk, injured earlier in the series, will not play in Tuesday's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena, where the Panthers will look to avoid elimination and force a Game 6 vs. the Vegas Golden Knights.

Forward Grigori Denisenko will take the place of Tkachuk, Florida's leading scorer in the postseason as the Panthers look to begin the road back in a series they trail, 3-1, with the Stanley Cup in the building.

Earlier in the day, Florida coach Paul Maurice told reporters he had decided on whether or not Tkachuk would play, he just didn't want to share his decision.

Maurice said Tkachuk's status would be revealed right before puck drop in Las Vegas, where Florida faces elimination.

Tkachuk leads the Panthers in goals (11) and points (24). He has been their most valuable forward in the playoffs with four game-winning goals -- three of them coming in overtime.

Tkachuk was limited to just 16 minutes, 40 seconds of ice time in the Panthers' Game 4 loss. Although he managed four shots on goal, he was clearly laboring with what appeared to be an upper-body injury. He skated only four shifts during the third period.

While he was cleared from concussion protocol stemming from a Game 3 hit from Vegas forward Keegan Kolesar, there may be lingering effects elsewhere due to his hard fall to the ice after that hit.

Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said Tkachuk's absence would be felt in a must-win game.

"He's a top player in this league. He's a huge player for our team. No matter what, I think everyone has to step up a little bit and play a little better than we've been," he said.

Panthers players sounded confident Tuesday, with or without their star.

"We've been shorthanded a lot this year with big guys being in and out of the lineup and it's just an opportunity for other guys to step up and take a bigger role, be more of an impact. So that shouldn't be an issue," center Sam Bennett, Tkachuk's linemate, said.

LOS ANGELES – So many questions, so few answers.

It’s been a week since the stunning announcement that the PGA Tour was entering into an agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, and there remains little clarity on the future of what the professional game will look like next year, let alone over the next decade.

Jay Monahan and Jimmy Dunne have hit their talking points. PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan has reportedly signaled his intentions, too, to LIV leadership. But the players who would actually be participating in golf’s new world order?

“I literally know as much as you,” Matt Fitzpatrick said.

Added Cam Smith: “There’s definitely a lot of curious players.”

Collin Morikawa said that he doesn’t “know anything,” and then transitioned into talking about a youth initiative he was working on. 

When a reporter suggested that a lot of players were “clueless” about the news last week, Jon Rahm interrupted to say, “Add me to that, by the way.”

“It’s just not easy as a player that’s been involved, like so many others, to wake up one day and see this bombshell,” Rahm said. “That’s why we’re all in a bit of a state of limbo. … It’s a state of uncertainty that we don’t love.”

Because uncertainty creates angst. Angst creates a distraction. And distractions simply can’t be tolerated during these legacy-defining major weeks.

That’s why Rory McIlroy may have been the smartest one of all Tuesday. Having been pressed for his immediate reaction last week in Canada, he canceled his news conference here at Los Angeles Country Club – one of just two top-9 players who didn’t meet with the press on the eve of the year’s third major.

When asked why, McIlroy said, “Because I’m the one that’s already talked about it.”

Everyone else was left to try to answer what, at least right now, are unanswerable questions about a deal that still has significant hurdles to clear, especially with the Department of Justice looming large and a U.S. Senate subcommittee opening an inquiry on Monday.

By now, we get the gist. That players were shocked at the timing. Confused by the partnership. Angered at being left in the dark.

Even as a Tour policy board member, Patrick Cantlay was all of those things, too – shocked, confused, angered – and now he will be tasked with voting on the agreement on June 26. Needing, in his position, to represent the entirety of the membership, he has spent much of the past week quizzing Monahan, the independent directors, other influential players on the board. He’s as plugged-in as anyone, and yet, “It’s still too early to have enough information to have a good handle on the situation.”

And that’s true for players on both sides of golf’s civil war.

Dustin Johnson said he’s been assured by Al-Rumayyan that LIV will continue next year, but nothing beyond that.

Someone asked Smith whether he’d attempt to reapply for PGA Tour membership, if LIV ended up folding.

“That’s a pretty hypothetical question,” he said. “I’m unable to answer that one.”

Another reporter queried Brooks Koepka if he’d be OK with any sanctions the Tour could impose on him prior to a return.

“It’s a lot of what-if games,” he said. “I’m not going to play the what-if game.”

It’s a massive story. The story of the moment. But it’s a story that, for now, doesn’t get past the first few paragraphs.

More will come out in a few weeks, when Cantlay and McIlroy and the rest of the 10-man Tour policy board meet to sign off on the agreement.

But more important is what transpires in a few months, when the all-important details are hammered out – assuming, of course, that they are hammered out at all.

Until then, the focus can return to majestic Los Angeles Country Club and handicapping the list of favorites here at the 123^rd U.S. Open. At least, in a welcome change, we can make some educated guesses about that.

LOS ANGELES – Max Homa knows there is added pressure on him this week.

He's playing one of the biggest tournaments of the year, in his hometown, at a place he holds the course record, and in front of friends and family, which could be enough to make any player crumble.

For better or worse, Homa has plenty of experience struggling under the brightest lights.

“You just look at how I played every other major, trying way too hard, so I'm quite good at that,” Homa said. “This has been almost a welcome change because I've been so prepared to try too hard at this event in particular, I've been more keen to avoid doing that.”

Homa was his typical vulnerable self Tuesday, blending excitement and wariness for what lies ahead. The L.A. native believes his perfectionism can be a double-edged sword. A work ethic that helped him climb from the dark depths of the professional golf world to a spot among the world’s best players is also a determination that makes failure a difficult pill to swallow.

After a hot start to the 2023 season, Homa expected better results in the first two majors. The PGA Championship was particularly disappointing. All it took was a missed green on the first hole of the tournament for Homa to fall into a fight-or-flight response.

After the third round at Oak Hill Country Club, Homa and coach Mark Blackburn sat down for an honest conversation about finding joy in golf when he doesn’t have his best stuff. Good golf is hardly a guarantee, so Homa is now hoping to enjoy the challenge of managing his emotions and being better with flushing away his struggles.

“I do believe that once I start to see the joy controlling your own mind, what that can bring you, I think I'm going to start to make that more of a priority or at least be more in tune with it,” Homa said.

The process of controlling his mind started earlier for this tournament than any other in his career. There are ticket requests from old friends, expectations from local fans and pressure from within. He set the LACC standard in 2013 with his course-record 61 that propelled him to a Pac-12 Championship title.

But instead of focusing on that, Homa’s thinking about all the positives this week will bring. He got to have dinner with two of his best friends Monday night, and his dad was able to walk with him for Tuesday’s practice round.

That shift may seem simple, but it’s evidence of Homa’s new endeavor in action.

“I think I've been waiting for the weeks to click with my golf game and realizing that it's not the golf game,” he said. “This week will be a mental test for me, which is good.”

The preparation for this week began months ago, and Homa thinks he’s off to a good start, but the grades don’t start counting until Thursday.

LOS ANGELES – It’s no secret that few players in this U.S. Open field have any measure of experience around Los Angeles Country Club.

Max Homa shot 61 here at the 2013 Pac-12 Championship, a tournament that included a few other current competitors, including Jon Rahm.

Collin Morikawa and Scottie Scheffler were members of the 2017 U.S. Walker Cup team, with Morikawa going 4-0 to lead the Americans to a dominant victory around the George Thomas gem.

And then there’s UCLA sophomore Omar Morales, a final qualifier who estimates he’s played LACC nearly two dozen times in the past two years.  The Bruins get access to the ultra-private layout about two Mondays a month, and Morales once fired a team-best 66.

Morales will take a couple of those rounds this week in his major-championship debut, which kicks off Thursday at 6:45 a.m. local time. Morales, a native of Puebla, Mexico, will strike the championship’s opening tee ball off No. 1 in the shadows of LACC’s sprawling, white clubhouse and as his parents, brother and cousin watch from just outside the rope line.

“It’s a great honor,” said Morales, who is paired with South Africa’s Deon Germishuys and Auburn product Jacob Solomon. “I feel very grateful for the opportunity that I have.”

Nine months ago, Morales might not have imagined himself in this spot. After arriving in Los Angeles as Mexico’s top-ranked junior and posting just one top-10 finish as a freshman, Morales finished dead last in the Bruins’ season opener, the Maui Jim Intercollegiate, last September in Scottsdale, Arizona. The fact that Morales lost to 88 players and beat none was even more shocking considering in qualifying the week prior he’d posted a bogey-free 65 at Desert Forest in aptly named Carefree, Arizona.

“To watch him play in that tournament and see that, it was kind of revealing of what he needed to work on,” said UCLA head coach Armen Kirakossian, who is on Morales’ bag this week at LACC. “And it wasn’t that he needed better skills or didn’t have the shots or didn’t have the game, he just needed to work on some composure, sticking to his game plan, being accepting of poor shots and mistakes.”

“Omar is a perfectionist, that’s obviously what’s gotten him this far, but he needed to learn how to control, and to his credit he did.”

Added Morales: “I feel like I owned it. … If I didn’t have that tournament, I probably wouldn’t be standing here.”

Morales’ sophomore season was far from perfect, but he finished strong, winning the team’s regular-season finale, the El Macero Classic, and then capturing a 36-hole event in Mexico to qualify for his first PGA Tour event, the Mexico Open, in April. He ended up missing the cut by a single shot in that debut, but more importantly, he further proved to himself that he doesn’t have to play his best golf to shoot a good score and compete.

He also learned, however, that he needed to look at leaderboards less.

“That first day, I looked too many times,” Morales said. “I was 1 over through seven holes, nine back of the lead, and I was getting mad at myself and didn’t realize I was playing all the hard holes. Just focusing on what I can do is most important.”

Morales’ home course back in Mexico, Club Campestre de Puebla, is a tight, tree-line layout with soft greens that sits at about 6,000 feet above sea level. In most ways, it’s nothing like LACC.

But then again, even in his major debut, Morales will at least have some comfort.

Former United States coach Gregg Berhalter is in the running for the vacant managerial posts at Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam and Liga MX giants Club América, sources have confirmed to ESPN.

The Sparta job recently became open when Maurice Steijn departed to become manager at Ajax Amsterdam. Berhalter, who managed the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup, has a previous connection to Sparta having played there from 1996-98. He also spent time as a player with PEC Zwolle and SC Cambuur.

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Berhalter has also held preliminary talks with América over potentially filling its managerial vacancy ahead of the new Apertura season, which begins June 30, sources confirmed to ESPN Mexico.

Executives for the Mexico City club have not been able to close a deal with a new manager, despite team's president Santiago Baños traveling to Europe to offer the job to both Javier Aguirre and Diego Alonso.

Sources told ESPN that former Tijuana and Celta Vigo coach Eduardo Coudet was subsequently offered to América's executive board as an option after his exit from Atletico Mineiro last week. Andre Jardine, current Atlético San Luis manager, is also still in the race to be the club's coach.

News of América's interest in Berhalter was first reported by TUDN, while Sparta Rotterdam's approach was initially reported by Rijnmond Sport.

Berhalter, 49, has been in limbo since the end of 2022, when has contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation was allowed to expire in the wake of an investigation into a domestic violence incident from 1992 involving him and his now wife Rosalind when the two were students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The investigation concluded that the Berhalters responded truthfully during the investigation, confirming that the incident took place, with the USSF stating that Berhalter was still a candidate to resume his post as U.S. manager.

A U.S. Soccer spokesperson told ESPN last month that "nothing has changed" with regard to Berhalter's candidacy.

The U.S. post remains open with first Anthony Hudson, and now B.J. Callaghan serving in an interim capacity, with the federation saying it expects to name a coach by the end of the summer.

Berhalter's record with the U.S. was 37-11-12, and included triumphs at the 2021 Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup. He also led the U.S. to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup, where the Americans lost 3-1 to the Netherlands to exit the tournament. Berhalter has also managed Hammarby IF in Sweden and MLS side the Columbus Crew.

In addition to his spells in the Netherlands, Berhalter had stints as a player with Crystal Palace, Energie Cottbus, 1860 Munich and the LA Galaxy. At international level, Berhalter made 44 appearances for the U.S. and was part of squads at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

Information from ESPN Mexico's Cesar Caballero contributed to this report.