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After helping lead Boston to a 100-96 Game 7 victory over the Miami Heat on Sunday, Jayson Tatum was selected to win the inaugural award. The Celtics superstar received eight of the nine votes for the award as Heat All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler got a single vote. Celtics legend and 1981 NBA Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell presented the award to Tatum with a flourish, calling out the Celtics superstar’s name with great excitement....

Boston is emerging as a “stealth” suitor for Hornets guard Kemba Walker, according to the New York Times. Walker has told The Athletic during the offseason he would make Charlotte his first priority in free agency but he will have plenty of teams interested on the open market. The Lakers are reportedly interested in the guard as they traded away Lonzo Ball in the reported Anthony Davis deal and will likely not re-sign Rajon Rondo, who inked a one-year contract with the team last season....

Miami, the No. 1 seed in the East, dispatched Atlanta and Philadelphia in the first two rounds of the NBA Playoffs. Jimmy Butler has been the driving force behind the Heat’s success, as the All-Star forward is averaging 28.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.1 steals this postseason. Boston eliminated Brooklyn and Milwaukee on its way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have carried the Celtics throughout the postseason, but they have gotten plenty of support from role players like Al Horford, Marcus Smart and Grant Williams....

A report released Wednesday by the Office of Inspector General concluded the hackers’ efforts to keep access to the system did not work and that the attack was not made on the 2020 U.S. Census data. It also noted the Census Bureau did not seize opportunities to protect itself against the attack alongside failing to identify and report the attack soon enough. “Furthermore, no systems or data maintained and managed by the Census Bureau on behalf of the public were compromised, manipulated or lost,” Census Bureau Director Ron Jarmin said in a statement....

Symptoms Frequent symptoms associated with central serous retinopathy include: A darker area in your central, or middle, visionBlurred central vision in only one eye but may affect your other eye, as wellHaving dimmed or blind spots in your visionPerceiving objects as smaller than they actually areSeeing colors incorrectlySeeing straight lines as bent, crooked, or irregular These symptoms often occur in just one eye, but it is possible for both eyes to have the condition....

Maybe Knaus getting married, Johnson reasons, will help the six-time Cup winners reconnect at the racetrack and get their mojo back. “I’m very happy that he’s engaged, and I think that from my own experience, having the home life kind of anchored down and stable, it’s just great for me and I think it’s going to be a very good thing for him as well,” Johnson said. MORE: Keselowski picks best driver … it’s not Jimmie | Daytona 500, Speedweeks schedule...

“I set up a studio, brand new,” Sonnen told Sporting News earlier in the week. “I had been renting one for four years, and I just went out and got one of my own. The studio from my house is less than one mile. “My career started as a fan,” he continued “and my career will end as a fan.” Before the latter happens, Sonnen could manufacture his latest talking point with a win over Lyoto Machida at Bellator 222 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, live and exclusively on DAZN....

The CEO of Social Capital has been tipped as a potential candidate in the state’s gubernatorial election scheduled for 2022—with the possibility a vote could be held even sooner if a recall effort by Newsom’s opponents proves successful. British betting site Betfair priced the former Facebook executive at 5-4 (an implied chance of 44 percent, according to the bookmaker). Palihapitiya pushed the current governor into second place in Betfair’s ranking, with Newsom given odds of 6-4 (an implied chance of 40 percent)....

Spain, England, Italy and Germany are all guaranteed at least four teams in the Champions League group stage which, of course, helps. Since the 1999-2000 season, La Liga’s representatives, in particular, have flourished, providing at least one finalist in 11 of the past 19 editions of the Champions League. That dominance is reflected in the Europa League too, with 10 of the past 19 tournaments featuring at least one Spanish team....

Elsewhere, holders Bayern Munich have been drawn against Lazio, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus tackle Porto and Manchester City must overcome Borussia Monchengladbach. The Round of 16 will begin in February 2021. Champions League draw Borussia Monchengladbach vs Man City Lazio vs Bayern Munich Atletico Madrid vs Chelsea RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Porto vs Juventus Barcelona vs PSG Sevilla vs Borussia Dortmund Atalanta vs Real Madrid The first legs of the last-16 ties will be played on Feb....

While there is bipartisan support for further measures to be taken, with stimulus checks generally a point of agreement, talks have stalled over the finer details. The Democrats’ HEROES Acts, both the original and updated version, included another round of Economic Impact Payments, known by many as stimulus checks. Some Republican lawmakers and the White House have also indicated support for these payments, though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is looking to push a slimmed down proposal which does not include them....

The “Coloring Book” musician completed a swift U-turn when he thought he received an endorsement from Crews on Twitter over comments about West’s highly-debated run for office. The artist, whose real name is Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, initially claimed that he had more trust in the rapper’s ability to govern as president than Democratic nominee Joe Biden—and faced immediate backlash from his fans who urged him not to take his fellow rapper’s foray into politics seriously....

A lot of these trades involve pitchers, and for the players who get moved in the middle of the season the transition can be especially tricky. They have to learn to work with a new catcher, coaching staff and, sometimes, a new league. Acclimation has to happen fast. This means a crash course in getting acquainted with a new battery mate, and usually with only a day or two to do it....

The two teams could take a major step toward closing the gap between their project and the already-approved Inglewood plans with the Carson city council’s approval of the project at Tuesday night’s meeting, NBCLosAngeles.com reported. Another option: The council could call for an election on the stadium initiative. MORE: Kroenke reveals LA Stadium design | AEG drops stadium plans UPDATE: The council voted 3-0 to approve the project, the Los Angeles Times reported....

Amid reports that the Chargers would seriously consider a move to London, the L.A. owner didn’t mince words on how false that is. (Warning: NSFW language upcoming.) MORE: Panthers place Cam Newton on IR The Athletic’s Vincent Bonsignore reported Tuesday that NFL personnel were probing the idea of a potential Chargers move to London, and that the Chargers would listen to the offering if they were approached. The NFL issued a statement later Tuesday, saying “there is no substance whatsoever to this report....

Golden State’s star forward went down with an Achilles injury in the second quarter of Monday night’s contest, and Barkley blames the team and media for pushing him toward a premature return from injury. Speaking on ESPN’s “Get Up” Tuesday, Barkley referenced several articles questioning Durant’s dedication to the Warriors, as some expect him to decline his player option this summer and test the free-agency waters. But ultimately it was Golden State’s decision to clear him....

Well, Chuck delivered. The Hall of Famer didn’t hold back on a Bucks team that led by 16 points at halftime, only to be outscored 71-49 over the final two periods. Barkley was critical of Milwaukee’s inability to make adjustments and create easy buckets on the offensive end. MORE: NBA players react to Durant’s historic playoff performance “That was embarrassing for basketball,” Barkley said. “To lose that game, to have that — like, you could tell they were gonna lose the game at halftime....

Barkley had already made it clear that if LIV Golf came knocking, he would have to consider. In a Monday appearance on the Dan Patrick Show, the “Inside the NBA” host detailed just what the terms would have to be for him to spurn TNT for the controversial golf series. LIV Golf’s offer would have to be “something crazy,” per Barkley. He didn’t give an outright figure. But with three years left on his TNT deal, Barkley’s wages wouldn’t be cheap....

Texas’ Charlie Strong and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin both respect the rivalry’s tradition and would like to put each other on the schedule again. MORE: Urban gets new contract | Lou Holtz leaving ESPN | Spring game recaps “That game is so much a part of this state,” Strong, who is entering his second season at Texas, told ESPN. “Over 100 years, we’ve played that game. Why stop it now because we’re in different conferences?...

Cuomo went on the defense following the news that New York Attorney General Letitia James concluded he sexually harassed 11 women in an investigative report. He apologized to Bennett and another staffer who accused him of sexual harassment but denied any wrongdoing. Cuomo said that he talked with Bennett about her love life as she dealt with the aftermath of a sexual assault and that he thought he “could help her work through a difficult time....