Knicks Win It All, Caitlin Clark Gets Hit in the Throat, Serena's Back, and the World Cup Is Actually Good" | June 26, 2026 Episode Description (for Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Buzzsprout — paste here): The New York Knicks just ended a 53-year championship drought. Caitlin Clark got punched in the throat on national television and the refs didn't call a foul. Serena Williams — at 44 — just accepted a Wimbledon singles wildcard and plays Tuesday. The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup. The FIFA World Cup 2026 is happening in America and international fans are losing their minds over Waffle House. And your AL East standings? The Yankees are holding first at 48-32 while Boston somehow sweeps them this weekend. We break it all down on this week's You Don't Know Jack — your fast, no-filter take on everything happening in sports right now. What We're Talking About This Week NBA — New York Knicks: 2026 NBA Champions The Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs 4-1 in the NBA Finals to end the longest championship drought in franchise history — 53 years since 1973. New York ran through the Eastern Conference like a freight train, sweeping both the 76ers and the Cavaliers before closing out San Antonio in five. This is one of the most significant NBA championships in the past two decades and the city of New York is still celebrating. Knicks defeated the Spurs in five games, winning the decisive Game 5 in San Antonio New York swept the 76ers 4-0 in the second round and swept Cleveland 4-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals First Knicks NBA title since 1973 — 53 years between championships Spurs came in as the #2 seed in the West after a brutal seven-game series win over Oklahoma City Notable: Knicks won Game 2 of the Finals on the road 105-104 — the type of win that defines champions   WNBA — Caitlin Clark, Fouls, and the Officiating Debate Caitlin Clark is having a historic season for the Indiana Fever — but she's also in the middle of the most-talked-about officiating controversy in WNBA history. This week she picked up her fifth technical foul of the season for clapping and was later punched in the throat during a play with no foul called in real time. The WNBA eventually suspended Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas and upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2 — but the damage was already done, and the internet had already seen everything. Indiana Fever record: 10-7 — in the playoff picture Clark has 5 technical fouls on the season; automatic one-game suspension kicks in at 8 Monday June 23: Clark was T'd up for clapping after a foul call — league has not rescinded it despite a Fever appeal Wednesday June 25: Alyssa Thomas hit Clark in the throat on a dead ball — no foul called live, later upgraded to Flagrant 2, Thomas suspended Clark's stat line from Monday: 24 points, 9 assists in an 86-77 Fever win over Phoenix Clark holds the WNBA record for most consecutive 20-point, 5-assist games (6 in a row) Fever coach Stephanie White: "We have a generational talent who had two cheap shots that weren't called." Former players and athletes across sports weighed in on social media — this is a mainstream story, not just a WNBA story   FIFA World Cup 2026 — America Hosts, America Delivers The 2026 FIFA World Cup is being hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico — and it is exceeding expectations in every possible way. The USMNT won Group D, scored 7 goals in the group stage (tying their all-time record before the knockout round), and now faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32. Off the field, international fans are going viral for discovering American culture for the first time — Waffle House, Big Gulps, and Buc-ee's are now internationally famous. USA beat Paraguay 4-1 in their opener — one of the strongest competitive performances in years USA beat Australia in Game 2 to clinch the group Final group game: Lost 3-2 to Turkey (already eliminated, Pochettino rested starters) — Christian Pulisic came on in the 58th minute returning from a calf injury 7 goals in the group stage ties the USMNT record before knockout play Round of 32: USA vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina — next up The expanded 48-team World Cup already set the record for most combined goals in tournament history International fan reactions: Scotland's Tartan Army played bagpipes in a Boston neighborhood at 6:30am — neighbors loved it Pre-tournament concerns about immigration enforcement, ticket prices ($11,000 for Finals seats), and boycott calls have largely given way to an overwhelmingly positive on-the-ground experience   Tennis — Serena Williams Returns to Wimbledon Singles Serena Williams, 44, has accepted a wildcard to compete in the 2026 Wimbledon singles draw — her first singles match at a Grand Slam since the 2022 US Open. What started as a doubles comeback has turned into a full singles return on the biggest stage in tennis. Wimbledon begins Monday, June 29. Serena plays Tuesday. Serena holds 7 Wimbledon singles titles and 23 Grand Slam titles total Last major singles match: 2022 US Open, third round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic Comeback started at Queen's Club (doubles with Victoria Mboko — won the opener 7-6, 6-2) Also played doubles in Berlin with Karolina Muchova before the Wimbledon wildcard announcement Wimbledon confirmed the singles wildcard June 21 with the Instagram post: "This is not a drill" Serena and Venus also received a doubles wildcard — the sisters play together at SW19 First round opponent: Maya Joint (Australia), World No. 53 — plays Tuesday, June 30 Unseeded and could face a top-10 player as early as the second round Serena's own words on returning: "I need to get to work." On pressure: "I've had enough pressure." On motivation: "It's really about my kids getting to see me play."   NHL — Carolina Hurricanes Win the Stanley Cup The Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 in the Stanley Cup Final. Carolina was the top seed in the East all season and backed it up all the way to a Cup-clinching shutout in Game 6. They didn't just win — they dominated, including a dominant sweep of Ottawa in the first round and a five-game win over Montreal. Carolina won the Stanley Cup Final over Vegas 4-2 Game 6 was a shutout — Hurricanes closed it out in style Vegas made it to the Finals by eliminating top-seeded Colorado in 4 games in the Western Conference Finals — a major upset Hurricanes playoff run: def. Ottawa (4-0), def. Montreal (4-1), then won the Cup in 6 over Vegas Second Stanley Cup in franchise history for Raleigh, NC Carolina's defensive system and goaltending were elite all playoffs   MLB — AL East Report: June 26, 2026 The Yankees are in first place and the Rays are right behind them. Baltimore is underperforming. Boston is struggling — but they're somehow making the Yankees' weekend miserable. Here's your AL East breakdown heading into the weekend series. AL East Standings (as of June 26, 2026): Team W L GB New York Yankees 48 32 — Tampa Bay Rays 45 33 3.0 Toronto Blue Jays 39 42 9.0 Baltimore Orioles 38 44 10.0 Boston Red Sox 33 46 15.0 New York Yankees (48-32) — First Place Best record in the AL East by 3 games Won at Detroit Wednesday 4-2 Lost at Boston Thursday 6-3 Tonight at Boston: Down 5-0 in a game in progress — could be swept in the series Weekend series vs. Boston continues Saturday 1:10pm and Sunday 1:10pm Tampa Bay Rays (45-33) — 3 Games Back Quietly one of the best teams in the American League — 3rd in the entire AL by record Swept Kansas City this week — beat them 5-3, then 13-2 Tonight vs. Arizona: Up 4-1 in a game in progress Don't count the Rays out of the division race Baltimore Orioles (38-44) — 10 Games Back Ten games under .500 and 10 back in the division — struggling to find consistency Lost to the Angels 7-6 on Wednesday on the road Tonight at home vs. Washington: Up 2-1 — a game Baltimore needs to win Toronto Blue Jays (39-42) — 9 Games Back Under .500 and getting swept by Texas this week Lost to Houston 3-1 Wednesday, lost to Texas 6-5 Thursday Down 5-0 to Texas tonight — not a good series Boston Red Sox (33-46) — 15 Games Back 15 games back is tough. But they're making the Yankees feel it right now Beat New York 6-3 Thursday and lead them 5-0 tonight — may be heading for a sweep The Red Sox making life hard for the Yankees is never not entertaining AL East Games to Watch This Weekend: Yankees at Red Sox: Sat 1:10pm, Sun 1:10pm — this is the series of the weekend Rays at home vs. Arizona: Sat 6:10pm Orioles vs. Nationals: Sat 7:05pm, Sun 1:35pm Blue Jays vs. Rangers: Sat 3:07pm, Sun 1:37pm   Subscribe, Review, Share If you got something out of this episode, leave a review on Apple Podcasts — it goes a long way. Share this episode with the sports fan in your life who thinks they know everything. Spoiler: they don't know Jack. Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify |  Follow: @JackYDK @Jmggmpg @RTLPod

We start of strong with Matt's opening day recap, we talk new screens, new challange rules, and how both of our teams made out on opening day.  We are both alive in our respective brackets, Matt hanging on a dream of BIG10 sucess, at number 3 and Lydia holding firm in 5th place with Arizona cutting down the nets. The women's tournament is not getting as much attention as in years past and it could be due in part to the lack of a stand out star player ex. Kaitlyn Clark, paige buckets, Angel Reese   Mr Woods, we suggest you get a driver, and maybe consider rehab, he needs to stop flipping cars and start keeping all four wheels on the ground. Lucky as always no one was hurt in this accident, but the frequency and lack of consiquences is concerning.  Finally, we wish a very happy and well deserved retirement for Dr. Gregg Wolff  We hope you enjoy this episode, feel free to leave us a review, like the show and share!     

In this week's episode we talk about March Madness, as in weather and basketball and our predictions for the Mens and Womens tournaments.  Opening Day is only a few days away, and Matt makes a strong prediciton for the AL East The WNBA Players have secured there much deserved bag, with the starting salary going from 60K to 300K per year.  We also touch on the passing of Robert Mueller III.     

We are back!  One trip to Florida later and warmer weather in the Moutnians has us very eager for spring!  While we were away a lot has happened, so we kick things off with the Ravens giving up two first round draft picks for Maxx Crosby.  We then head back to Italy for the paraolympics that started on March 7th, that is not without it's own controversial decisions to allow Russians and Bulrusian olympians to compete under their own flag.  F1 has kicked off their new season, and Mercedes has rocket of a car, claiming the 1&2 spots at this weeks race, proving again that they can be a dominat team when your car is this good.  Kristi Noem is out as DHS secretary after being questioned in congress. She is being replaced with Markwayne Mullins from OK. The same guy to wanted to beat up a teamster during a Sentate meeting.  We then finish things off with "operation epic fury" the conflict in Iran that has upeneded the world and has put millions of people at risk. 

This week we talk Olympics, the two gold medal games for US Mens and Women's Hockey, the mindset shift to take the pressure off and find joy, Lindsey Vonn's injuries, and finally we honor Bill Mazeroski, Robert DuVall, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson.      We as always welome you to leave us a review and reach out to us, we will be back on the air in about a week.   

We talk Daytona 500 is happening 1 hour early and it is great day for Americana, Super Bowl was the most boring game possible, and Matt killed it with the prop bet. and the olympics are saving us from the lull between football and baseball season and unitl March Madness fully kicks off.    We are over curling espcially when the Canadain Team has been accused of two touching the stones. XC country is seeing some americans in medal positiions and we have a steller speed skater Stotz with two golds under his belt and another one in his sights. 39 days until opening day, we can do it folks. 

The olympics kicked off this Friday wiht a pretty spectacular opening ceremony, in three differenct locations since winter events were about 3 hours apart. It was a great way to keep the athletes close to wear they are competeing and acknolwege them with their own mini opening ceremnonies.  Vonn's comeback came to a crashing halt on her first competion run since her ACL tear. She was airlifted off the slopes and the Amercian Breezey Johnson won Gold.  Matt tells us exactly how he feels about Curling....  We place our prop bets for what could be the most underwhelming Super Bowl in history.  We also morn the loss of the most fantastic sports section with the firing of 1/3 of the Washington Post.     

This past week was full of new hires, transfer portal juggling and some questionable goverment arrests of notable journalists.  We cover who we think will win the superbowl, what the new coaching landscape looks like in 2026, and Matt tells you how he really feels about Robert Kraft.  The Portal shuffle is upon us with a free agency style for 18-22 year olds, and  Unlimited transfers... what could go wrong? The great American pastime is almost upon us and we could not be more thrilled, 10 days until Pitchers and Catchters Report, spring training is back!  We finally made it through January and ALL it threw at us, including this past week the arrest of two notbale journalists covering and reporting on a news story in Minnesota church.  We have crossed into open use of federal power against reporters, and this futher indicates trying to erode 1st ammendment rights.  A lot of americans participated in the National Economic Blackout on Jan 30. 2026.No work, No School, No shopping. To encourage the withdrwal of ice agents. Thousands of people participated and showed up in sub zero temps.  Other ways you can participate is the Resist & Unsubscibe movement, the tech industry will respond when you effect their bottom line.  The Goverment is in an offical shutdown, after the Senate removed the funding for DHS, from the approparations bill, it was a bipartisan effort, the DHS will be funded at it's current level for the next two weeks and then that department will not be funded until a new reduced amount passes the house. This should come up for a vote quickly, although Johnson might delay and bring it with his very very narrow majoity.  If the down ballot elections are any indication it looks like that majority will vanish at the midterm, or possibly before with speical elections in California and Georgia.    Catherine O'Hara- died suddenly at the age of 71, she was a huge talent, starting on SCTV and most well known as the mother in Home Alone and as stand out star in Christopher Guest films like, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and  A Mighty Wind. In more recent years she gave us the wonderful Moria Rose on Schitt's Creek. Her sublte physical comedy and unique ability to create memoriable characters allowed us all to enjoy her genius in every role she played.     

   The Great NFL Coaching Shake-Up, Playoff Fever, & Western Maryland's Future!  This week on the podcast, we dive headfirst into all the major shake-ups happening across the National Football League, including our thoughts on the new Baltimore Ravens Head Coach, Jesse Minter, and other notable hires!   We break down the NFL Playoff action and look back at the excitement of the recent College Football National Championships.     We also turn our focus to Western Maryland, shining a light on some great local projects and discussing why we love our area and why we're postive about its future success! Whether you're here for the football or the local flavor, you won't want to miss this one.   Subscribe to the podcast, rate, and review to never miss an episode!                    

This weeks episode we discuss:  Two raw losses shake us this week: Bob Weir, the heartbeat of the Grateful Dead, passes at 78 after beating cancer, and in Minneapolis, 37-year-old American citizen Renee Nicole Good is dead, killed by an ICE agent. Then we pivot to sports, where competition, chaos, and comebacks remind us what resilience looks like.   From Weir's light in dark places to Good's fight for truth, playoffs' glory to hot stove gambles, this noise is where we find hope. "Without love in the dream, it will never come true."  Keep beibg bullish on America, be Kind and use your privlage to do the right thing.