It’s the Indiana Pacers against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals.

The Pacers finished off the New York Knicks on Saturday, winning 125-108 in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals after a third-quarter rally. It will be their first NBA Finals appearance since 2000, back when Reggie Miller and Jalen Rose starred while Larry Bird coached.

The Pacers players entered Gainbridge Fieldhouse decked out in all black, a shot at the Knicks doing the same last year, and fulfilled their promise of a funeral. They shot lights out, going 17-of-33 (51.5%) from 3-point range, and punished nearly all of the Knicks’ mistakes, with 34 points off 17 turnovers.

The Indiana offense was once again a beautiful machine, continuing a postseason in which they’ve outraced the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers and now the Knicks.

The NFL announced it will return to São Paulo, Brazil, in Week 1 of the 2025 season, with the Los Angeles Chargers as the designated team.

The NFL made its Brazilian debut during a Week 1 matchup at Corinthians Arena last season, which saw the eventual Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles defeat the Green Bay Packers in Week 1.

“After a successful and memorable first game in Brazil in 2024, we are delighted to confirm the league’s return to São Paulo with the Los Angeles Chargers as the designated team in what will be an incredible next chapter in the market,” said a spokesperson.

Brazil has long been a targeted market for the NFL, which said it had  more than 36 million fans, the second-largest among international fan bases behind only Mexico. The league previously announced it would add Melbourne, Australia, to its international slate in 2026 at a date and time to be determined later.

Alex Palou continued his incredibly dominant IndyCar Series season with his first Indianapolis 500 win.

Palou passed Marcus Ericsson entering Turn 1 with 14 laps to go and held off Ericsson, David Malukas and Pato O’Ward the rest of the way. Ericsson lifted into the corner behind two lapped cars when Palou passed him and left a gap for the three-time IndyCar champion.

The victory is Palou’s fifth in six races in 2025 and the Barcelona native is the first Spanish driver to win the Indy 500. After winning  the 2023 and 2024 IndyCar titles, Palou is even better in 2025. The only race of the season he didn’t win was the Long Beach Grand Prix. And Palou was second to Kyle Kirkwood in that event.

After getting out of his car on the front-stretch after the checkered  flag, Palou ran down the track and celebrated with his crew and his father Ramon.

“I cannot believe it, what an amazing day, what an amazing race,” Palou said.

In some ways, this weekend’s Subway Series could’ve been about the Mets taking over this baseball town. They came to the Yankees’ house toting their free agent prize, Juan Soto, pried from the Bronx last winter, along with a terrific pitching staff, a star shortstop and a better record. Maybe even better buzz citywide.

But the series ended and the Mets certainly didn’t look like the better team, especially after Sunday’s thud of a performance, an 8-2 loss that went kablooey in the eighth inning after Pete Alonso made a horrendous throw at first that allowed the go-ahead run to score, tilting a tight game.

A few months from now, the Mets might be the better team and they’re so talented, that an October stage should be their ultimate proving ground. The 29-18 Mets lost two of three, but still have a better record than the Yankees (27-19).

Soto moving to Queens for a 15-year, $765-million deal gave a forever jolt to the rivalry. Never had a player anywhere close to his  stature left the Yankees for the Mets. He instantly gave a good team an even bigger, better vibe.

But he’s got to do more. He’s batting .246 with eight home runs and 20 RBI. His .822 OPS over a slow start — for him — shows how high his floor is. His first foray into the Subway Series as a Met was, to say the least, a disappointment.

Chocolate enthusiasts rejoice as Krispy Kreme introduces its latest indulgence, the Chocomania Collection, in partnership with Hershey’s.

The Chocomania Collection boasts a range of four flavors, each infused with rich Hershey’s chocolate from fillings to toppings:

• Hershey’s Galaxy Brownie: A doughnut filled with Hershey’s Special Dark Fudge Kreme dipped in delicious Hershey’s chocolate icing and topped with crunchy brownie pieces and colorful rainbow sprinkles.
• Hershey’s Black & White Chocolate Chip Dream: An Original Glazed doughnut inspired by the iconic black & white cookie! Dipped in white icing and drizzled with Hershey’s chocolate icing and mini chocolate chips.
• Hershey’s Chocolate Cake Overload: A Hershey’s fudge old fashioned cake doughnut dipped in Hershey’s milk chocolate icing and decorated with a HERSHEY’S dark chocolate fudge buttercream dollop.
• Hershey’s Chocolate Iced: An Original Glazed doughnut dipped in Hershey’s milk chocolate icing and decorated with a chocolate drizzle.

A 15.1-carat fancy vivid blue diamond is projected to be auctioned for a whopping $48 million — the highest estimate ever for a blue diamond.

The gemstone — known as the De Beers Cullinan Blue — will be the largest fancy vivid blue diamond to appear in an auction when it is offered up at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. 

The jewel was first discovered in April 2021 at the South African Cullinan mine, which, according to Sotheby’s, is one of the very few places in the world to discover rare blue gems.

“Blue diamonds of any kind are rare on the market, but this is the rarest of the rare; nothing of remotely similar caliber has appeared at auction in recent years,” said Chairman of Sotheby’s Asia Patti Wong.

The chunk of stone was originally cut from a 39.34-carat rough piece from the mine, which was purchased from De Beers in 2008.

The mine is also the source of the largest rough gem diamond ever discovered. In 1905, the hefty 3,106 carat rock was cut to create two of the British Crown Jewels.

The defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles will host the NFC East Division rival Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Kickoff Game at Lincoln Financial Field on September 4, the NFL announced.

The Eagles defeated the Cowboys in both of their two annual division matchups during the 2024 NFL regular season by a combined 75-13 margin. The NFL is scheduled to reveal its full 2025 regular season schedule on Wednesday (May 14) on NFL Network, NFL.com, the NFL app and NFL+.

The Eagles defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 40-22, in Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on February 9. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 221 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on 17 of 22 passing, while also recording 72 yards and one touchdown on 11 rushing attempts to be named Super Bowl MVP.

Eagles running back Saquon Barkley is coming off a season in which he led the NFL with 2,005 rushing yards and became the ninth player in NFL history to record more than 2,000 yards in a single season. The Cowboys finished the 2024 season at 7-10, having lost quarterback Dak Prescott in Week 9 to a season-ending hamstring injury following a 3-4 start.

Amazon-owned Whole Foods has rolled out its cashierless technology in Washington, DC.

The store announced that shoppers at the Whole Foods location in the Glover Park section of the capital would no longer need to interact with anyone at a cash register when paying for their groceries.

The company unveiled its Just Walk Out technology, which was first announced in the fall of last year, at the 21,500-square-foot location — the first of two that will be outfitted with automated cash registers.

A similar initiative is being planned for a Whole Foods in the Sherman Oaks section of Los Angeles.

Just Walk Out works by having shoppers scan their payment method of choice when walking into the store. It could be a credit card; the Amazon One payment system, which lets shoppers hover their palms over a scanner to identify themselves; or the Amazon and Whole Foods apps.

Instead of a bagger scanning each item taken, cameras and sensors track what shoppers choose and automatically charge them.

Shoppers then have to scan again upon exiting with their groceries.

At the DC and LA locations, shoppers will be able to opt out of the new technology and instead pay in the traditional way.

Amazon has said that it will gauge customer experiences in the two stores before deciding on whether to expand the feature to other Whole Foods locations around the country.

NEW YORK — After defeating the Boston Celtics, The New York Knicks are heading to the NBA Eastern Conference Finals where they will face the Indiana Pacers. And the sexy Rick’s Cabaret New York Girls couldn’t be happier.

“Bring on the Pacers,” said Rick’s girl Deanna, one of the lovely ladies who perform at Rick’s Cabaret New York, the famous adult club known for its abundance of beautiful dancers, warm hospitality, and celebrity clientele. 

Just one block from Madison Square Garden, the multi-level Rick’s Cabaret is a favorite with sports fans who visit the club before and after attending the games at the Garden.

“Rick’s is the home of the best basketball after-parties,” said Rick’s girl Monica. “We are Party Central— with so many sexy girls, the best in VIP treatment, and delicious food.” 

Located at 50 West 33 Street, Rick’s Cabaret features multiple stages, private suites, luxury skyboxes, and a Roof Top Cigar Lounge. The top-rated Rick’s Steakhouse on the club’s second floor is under the direction of acclaimed chef Jayson Margulies and offers daily lunch specials, dinner, and the city’s best late-night menu, served all the way until 3AM!

Rick’s Cabaret New York
RICK: NASDAQ Listed
Beautiful Entertainers 
VIP Suites, Deluxe Skyboxes
Rick’s Steakhouse, Open Late
Daily Lunch Specials

The Rockies finally made a change after an abysmal start to the season. 

Colorado announced the firing of manager Bud Black and bench coach Mike Redmond, with the team off to a 7-33 start after beating the Padres 9-3 on Sunday. They were coming off a 21-0 loss to San Diego on Saturday.

“Our play so far this season, especially coming off the last two seasons, has been unacceptable. Our fans deserve better, and we are capable of better,” said a Rockies spokesperson.

“While we all share responsibility in how this season has played out, these changes are necessary. We will use the remainder of 2025 to improve where we can on the field and to evaluate all areas of our operation so we can properly turn the page into the next chapter of Rockies Baseball.” 

Third base coach Waren Schaeffer has been named interim manager and hitting coach Clint Hurdle will take over as interim bench coach.