So let’s swirl to Thursday, when Obama and his family were dedicating a tower at the same hour Jalen Brunson was speaking to more than a million celebrants in New York. In 2010, Brunson arrived with his father, Rick, in Lincolnshire when Obama was the Chicago hero in Washington. Early in his career, Brunson emerged as a champion four times — once at Stevenson High, twice at Villanova and with the Knicks, breaking a 53-year drought in a city where he arguably is the biggest sports superstar since … Derek Jeter? Joe DiMaggio? Babe Ruth?

He stood in front of the masses and decided to spank his critics. The day was sweet, when he was accompanied to the parade by his wife and 1-year-old daughter, and he waited until the end to conquer the invasive likes of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith and Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon. She once said of Brunson, “If your best player is small, you’re not winning.” Why?

Here was an episode of harsh vengeance that again showed he’s a wonderful leader, allowing the Knicks to add major players because he gave back $113 million in salary. He didn’t have to say a word. Brunson owned the metropolis. But he made Alicia Keys wait because he voiced his own version of “Empire State of Mind.”

“There’s a lot of people that have a lot of negative stuff to say,” Brunson said at City Hall. “There’s a lot of people who have a lot of opinions. But when you prove them wrong, you really don’t have to say s--- to them. They don’t deserve it.”

Chicago lost him, though he would have brought fire to the city’s lame NBA team. It did keep Obama, who was greeted by musical guests — The Roots, Bono, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen among them — as he was dealing with a harsh story in Crain’s Chicago Business. It was picked up and blasted out by the Wall Street Journal.

If the 19-acre campus cost $850 million, why are several subcontractors waiting too long to be paid millions? “It’s been holy hell for them,” said Omar Shareef, the African American Contractors Association president. “It’s to the point that they wished they never had done (the project).”

A city that can’t build a stadium for the Bears certainly has taken care of Obama. Chicago is ailing and crime-tortured, with many leaders blaming President Trump. The Crain’s news is a pain to Obama, who doesn’t need the Presidential Center. He and Michelle live in Washington while visiting Martha’s Vineyard and Hawaii.

Said Obama Foundation spokeswoman Emily Bittner to Crain’s: “(The organization) has been committed to a subcontracting process that exceeds industry standards for financial support to firms … We have also committed to working with firms that have been historically shut out of opportunities and we are thrilled that so many of the project’s subcontractors have used this opportunity to transform their businesses and dramatically expand their horizons.”

The Journal headline: “He Didn’t Pay to Build That?”

It seemed odd that Brunson was a bigger hero in a bigger city, at 29, when Obama was lost at 64. I still say he’d be best as the next WNBA commissioner. That way, he can fine Hammon for a stupid cheap shot.

Above all, make sure the subcontractors are paid. How does Obama rip Trump for malfeasance when “holy hell” hasn’t been addressed on the South Side?

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

It’s a way for Fox to make an extra $250 million in commercials, a pathetic scheme to pause action and impact outcomes. Soccer is supposed to employ a running clock without breaks, but the plotted discontinuation is turning off players, coaches and traditionalists. We knew America would have issues as one of three hosts. Who knew the first problem would be a network that makes sleazy money off supposed heat and hydration troubles — while creating industry warfare and wondering why ESPN isn’t airing enough World Cup coverage.

“We’re in America, right? So, it’s like it is a timeout,” said Roy Keane, the pundit and former Ireland player.

“I don’t like it,” said Mauricio Pochettino, the U.S. coach. “When the conditions are good, it is unnecessary.”

“Football is being held hostage by executives in air-conditioned offices,” said Jurgen Klopp, the former Liverpool manager. “These so-called ‘cooling breaks’ were sold to us as a shield for the players’ well-being, a noble sword against the heat. But in reality? It’s nothing more than a gilded cage built for sponsors.”

The sport’s global governing body, FIFA, installed the breaks. A fly on the wall in a meeting heard Fox second the motion — and third it before calling loads of advertisers. Why not use the time to analyze the game, as USWNT coach Emma Hayes has done so well for ITV Sport? Don’t expect anything but financial nonsense from Fox, which asked commentator Ian Darke to say stoppages are “powered to you by Gatorade.”

It has reached the derelict point where Fox is picking fights with ESPN. Coming off a successful NBA Finals, when more viewers watched since the climax of the Michael Jordan era, Bristol must cover other leagues. Fox is the chosen soccer god and airs all World Cup games in English on two networks. With Game 5 only hours away for the Knicks and Spurs, ESPN didn’t swarm to cover America’s 4-1 victory over Paraguay. That prompted Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports to write: “Some Fox executives are frustrated at what they perceive as ESPN’s lack of coverage.”

Maybe Fox should call FIFA, which knows ESPN can’t run daily coverage tape until all World Cup games have concluded. That’s what happens when Fox wins the TV rights package. For some reason, Fox denied McCarthy’s story and said: “This is simply not true. We are focused on our own coverage of the biggest event in the world, not on what others choose to air. And frankly, it’s insulting to ESPN to suggest they would pass on covering it. This is all absurd.”

Shame on Fox for mentioning ESPN while making a mockery of the story. In truth, Fox should be thrilled about ratings and forget about competition. Five games already are in knockout range, including the combined 27.5 million viewers for the Americans. We’ve had too much warfare between the networks, as ESPN wants to reward Pat McAfee with a $60-million-a-year deal — why? — and deals with President Trump questioning Stephen A. Smith’s IQ. Already, Fox is catching fire as foreign crowds jam into football stadiums. Who cares about ESPN when Scotland vs. Haiti drew 6.1 million against the final NBA game?

But the hydration breaks? Only in America. Only on Fox. Even Telemundo said no to advertisers, sticking with players on the field.

“We love football because of the pace of the game. What it’s doing is stopping the flow, the momentum,” said Gary Neville, the celebrated former English player.

“Every time going to a commercial ... not really (something) that I like,” Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk said.

Fox paid $485 million for the World Cup. Making $250 million on a scam — or more than $300 million, depending on Team USA — almost finances the entire event. They fired Mark Sanchez after his Indianapolis chaos.

They couldn’t ignore hydration breaks.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

America has wonderful athletes, but they are not the greatest on the planet. What happens is an unconscionable scene where Mahomes, in the Kansas City stadium he chilled with three Super Bowl titles and several MVP awards, grabbed his phone and posted an emoji. It was a GOAT, a status he’d like to attain in our version of football, with his personal tribute to Lionel Messi.

What else was he supposed to do when the best soccer player of all time, a week from his 39th birthday, scored a hat trick for Argentina in a 3-0 victory over Algeria? This is where our country needs to dap up, bow from our waists and acknowledge what we too often miss. Already, Messi is the first man to play in six World Cups. Now, he is threatening to rule another. What has GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium become?

Welcome to his stage, his new juncture. Can we forget other sports, including all quarterbacks, until the final on July 19? Already, Messi and Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland have jerked our senses with goal rages. America can feel good about USMNT — so far — after a 4-1 victory. Iran deserves patience, as wartime is finished, when its team is forced to board a flight to Tijuana after a 2-2 tie in Los Angeles. But never forget why billions are watching our amphitheaters.

They want touches of gold.

“It makes me very happy to have lived through everything that came my way,” Messi said. “What I’m living through now is the cherry on top. I’m very happy and grateful for this wonderful group. I enjoy it so much. I can’t ask for anything more, God gave me too much, now everything is just to enjoy. I’m just happy being considered as one of the best in football history. I’m just grateful to be considered among many great players.”

He tied Miroslav Klose with 16 goals in the megaevent. And to think he thought about retiring. “It’s an honor being up there for what it means, being alongside Klose and Ronaldo, who is there also. But it doesn’t mean anything,” Messi said. “Mbappe is there too, he scored twice today. At the end of the day, they are stats and nothing more. It’s an honor to compete with them, but it doesn’t mean anything.

“For me, it’s just stats.”

Stats? Goals are why people turn soccer into religion and view the World Cup as majesty every four years. The red jerseys of Mahomes were replaced across town by No. 10s. In New Jersey, Mbappe rewarded Frenchmen who don’t care about Thursday’s parade in Manhattan for the Knicks. In general, they don’t like the striker, viewing him as a pretentious soul who left Paris Saint-Germain for a big contract at Real Madrid — while his former team has won the Champions League two straight years. Has he forgotten how he grew up in the working-class suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis?

“It’s not in my plans to become president of France. I’m already hated enough as it is,” Mbappe said.

When he puts on a France uniform, countrypeople find ways to love him. He scored twice in a 3-1 victory over Senegal and, at 27, is only two goals behind Messi and Klose after passing Pele. Someday, he should be recalled as the GOAT. Don’t be surprised if he leads Les Bleus to another championship. He has 58 career goals for his country.

“I’m very happy to be able to write a bit more the history of my country. It’s always what I have wanted to do,” Mbappe said. “But we know why we are here. I will have time to think about these kind of things later when I stop playing. I’m here to help the team, to continue with my teammates to write another page in the history of the French national team. We know there is still a long way, but we are ready.”

And the critics? “There is no revenge,” he said. “If I started playing for all the people who criticize me and to shut them up, I would have to play until I’m 80.”

Haaland scored twice for Norway in a 4-1 win over Iraq. He might chase Mbappe for the Golden Boot. Last Friday, America received two goals from Folarin Balogun. Some might say the tournament is watered down with 48 teams. Messi says no. “The first matches of a World Cup are always tough, and we’re seeing that nobody’s giving anything away,” he said. “It’s a competitive World Cup with well-prepared teams.”

His Argentina teammates are mere waves in his aura. “There are no words to describe him. If anyone thought this team was better without Leo, today it was proven that the opposite is true,” Alexis Mac Allister said. “He is our most important player. We need to build a team around him, and we are doing it.”

“It’s an advantage to have Leo because of how he handles the group and pushes it forward. Because of who he is,” Rodrigo De Paul said. “He doesn’t care about individual records. He prioritizes the group, and for us it’s incredible.”

The World Cup will take odd turns. What America wants this month and next: Messi and Mbappe establishing records in stadia swelled in substantial prominence. We also want a breakthrough from the U.S. team, which next plays Australia in Seattle. The players are praising the new coach, Mauricio Pochettino, for creating a stronger will.

“I think one is that we’re American. We don’t take s—-. I think that’s something that (Pochettino) really put in,” midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said. “Even though he’s Argentinian, he has that mindset of, like, ‘Look, this is what we do, and this is who we are, and this is what America is about.’ So I think he just, you know, even from an outside perspective, he showed us Americans what we’re about. He really drilled that into us, and I think that’s something that has helped us this last cycle.”

The s— stompers play Friday. Until then, it occurs to our nation’s fan base that the height of sportsdom is upon us. Watch the games. Study the goals. Notice how the FIFA resale sites, for Mbappe, were selling get-in seats at $69. Weren’t they $620?

The gods are here only once in our lives. President Trump thinks he runs the land.

They do.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

The gadflies in Portland will point to this lowball as another way Dundon is cheap, as they worry he is degrading the Trail Blazers. Is the owner junky? Or is he just smart after spending $4.24 billion for the NBA club? When he bought the NHL’s Hurricanes in 2018, he realized Brind’Amour won a Cup as a team captain and thought he’d repeat in naming him head coach. He was correct Sunday night, when Carolina beat Las Vegas in six games and Rod The Bod removed his shirt in the locker room.

“YEAHHHHHHH!!” the champions chanted when he tossed aside his white garment and held the Cup, not showing a beer belly at 55.

Know how many NHL franchises would love to hire him now? It’s a league that has extended so far beyond repackaged coaches, Pete DeBoer could be called a re-re-re-re-retread. Paul Maurice is a re-re-re-retread. Nine other coaches have worked for three or four teams. John Tortorella was fired Tuesday by the Golden Knights, making him a re-re-re-re-re-retread. Anyone on his first contract soon will be dismissed and working for another team. With Brind’Amour working for only one organization, he is a virgin.

His contract doesn’t expire until after the 2028-29 season. Dundon would be a wise man to upgrade the deal and change the way he is viewed in two sports. Once upon a time, I wrote the same comments about Jerry Reinsdorf. Of course, he did not upgrade Michael Jordan’s contract until it expired. One knucklehead in the 1990s could lead to another knucklehead in the 2020s, yet according to Dundon, all he wants to do is win. Here’s a way to give Brind’Amour what he deserves — $7 million a year — and quiet down Portland, Oregon, where the Blazers still don’t have a head coach. An owner can be cheap, win a title and reward those who deserve money and respect.

Right, Tom? Right?

“I can’t conceive of success without him,” Dundon said of Brind’Amour this week. “He is literally the most important thing we have in Carolina. He was proud of the Hurricanes when nobody else was. The reason I hired him was because he loved the Hurricanes. Now he keeps it every day in a way that I know I can be proud and not have to worry. Nobody has to worry about how we’re going to play and if we’re going to have a chance to win and how he’s going to treat people. We’re very lucky.”

And next season? Dundon expects the same outcome. Two Cups in two years in an area known more for basketball in Durham and Bill Belichick dating 25-year-old Jordon Hudson in Chapel Hill. “I think the team will be pretty similar next year,” Dundon said. “Our expectations will be a little like this.”

Will Brind’Amour make demands? Probably not. He remains grateful to Dundon for promoting him when no other team viewed him in that manner. “I’ve got to give him a lot of credit for this whole thing,” Brind’Amour said Sunday. “Number one, he gave me the opportunity, I wouldn’t be sitting here without that. His commitment to trying to build a winner was there. He went out and got us the players and here we are.”

He adores the Triangle, where hockey attention is minimal from media. He has advantages in a small market. You don’t think Canada, which hasn’t won a Cup since 1993, isn’t mind-boggled by the Hurricanes. “I have a certain way to coach, and I don’t think I can do it anywhere else,” Brind’Amour said. “We have a lot of talk in our room about caring. That’s not phony. This has been my home forever, my kids have been raised in Raleigh, I played for the team, it’s just — I’ve been very lucky. I don’t know how many coaches anywhere kind of have that.

“We know coaching has a shelf life. I get it. But certainly not this year. It’s a special bond I get to have with my guys, just because I’ve been here so long and some of them have been here so long. That’s special.”

If Dundon doesn’t extend the contract, Brind’Amour is represented by CAA. If he wins another Cup next June, damn, he can ask for $10 million annually. He is one of four men to win a Cup as a coach and captain with the same team. He played nine seasons in Philadelphia, which would love him. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston — you name it. But not yet. He’s coaching the Hurricanes, two-time champs.

Let’s see if Dundon figures out life and pays for the coaching prize he created. When he laid off dozens of Trail Blazers employees — while forcing staffers to check out of playoff hotels early — he was termed low-rent. Well, he just won a Stanley Cup in one of America’s four major leagues. They love him so much in Carolina, they might buy him barbecued ribs and a NASCAR pass.

“I want to run the business properly, but I want to win more than I want to make money,” Dundon said of the NBA. “That seems kind of obvious if you’re in this business, right? Winning is the only reason you do it. I’m just not gonna waste $100 million just because someone wants to write an article calling me cheap. I’m just not going to do it. Like on traveling players, I just made a mistake. I just don’t understand the league.”

He understands the NHL. “The big thing is when you win, everybody likes each other,’’ Dundon said. “And that’s all I wanted.”

He has done so with Brind’Amour. In English, his name means Toast Love.

Toast him heartily for five years, $35 million. Or lose him.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

Let me prescribe a mental illness.

If you theorize about betting that way, your sickness is what’s ruining the industry. Your team never, ever should draft Sorsby and, for that matter, the NFL should ignore his application — with a Monday deadline — and not allow a draft for his purposes. It was a thrill to see the Big 12 and NCAA move forward against a temporary injunction, which would have allowed him to play this year for the Red Raiders. It then became a cheap shot against the system, that Sorsby and his attorney, Jeffrey Kessler, instantly chose the long-term money route against $6 million of NIL money.

Here is where commissioner Roger Goodell and the owners must say no to the gambler — and gambling in general, despite their twisted TV ads. In due time, if Sorsby continues to control impulses and pursue serious rehabilitation for years, he can seek a path that allows franchises to pick him or choose his own team as a free agent. But to say yes so quickly would serve as a distorted pick-me-up, only because he threw for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns with only five interceptions last year.

Pro football adores quarterbacks. Please, not this one. Imagine Sorsby learning the game with Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh. Imagine him with the Jets, the Dolphins, the Colts, the Cardinals. Imagine him hooking up with Tom Brady in Las Vegas, where he’d seek playing time with Fernando Mendoza, who eventually won a Heisman Trophy and finished 16-0 at Indiana. Those are sentiments floating through the minds of warlords, people who see gambling as a necessary offshoot of Sport In 2026.

Kill their thoughts.

Let Sorsby bleed and consider what he has done over multiple years.

“I am grateful for the support from my family, my Tech coaching staff, teammates, the community, and so many others who have encouraged me to address and learn more about this important issue,” Sorsby said in a statement Monday. “As my journey continues, I remain fully committed to and focused on being the best I can be, both on and off the field.”

Give credit to Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, a former NBA executive, who gathered other universities in that conference to fight Sorsby’s injunction. Said the Big 12 board of directors: “Universities should not field players who have bet on their own team’s games in college athletics.” The NCAA, which finally showed some sort of impetus, demanded resolution from an appeals court. Texas Tech, which never has won a national title, was left to give up while ignoring an attempt by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to keep supporting Sorsby.

“When Brendan’s lawsuit resulted in the granting of a temporary injunction, we found ourselves in a difficult situation,” Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec and athletic director Kirby Hocutt said in a Monday statement. “With his health and wellness as our top priority, we supported him in spite of very different perspectives and opinions. Our position was challenged by many but our support for him never changed. We will continue to extend all available resources that Brendan had as a student and athlete to ensure his transition is as successful as possible.”

TCU coach Sonny Dykes wondered last week about Sorsby: “How is anyone ever going to trust the outcome of a game again?” Today, he thanks Yormark. “He showed strong leadership,” he told ESPN. “Appreciate his desire to do what’s best for college football.”

At least one level of football has created some guidance amid disaster. The NFL cannot allow a supplemental draft for a quarterback who reminds, us, comically, of Fred Flintstone in a gambling rage. Let Sorsby sit.

And remove his phone.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

Doesn’t blood in office bring blood into the Octagon? Didn’t Trump just end his war with Iran, reopening the Strait of Hormuz? Or would heavy thunderstorms, as forecast, wash away all the wretched warriors Sunday night?

“This week here with the UFC, on the grandest stage of them all, we’ve told all of our partners, all of our friends, all of our fans that this isn’t about politics. We’re not here to talk about policy and politics,” said Mark Shapiro, president of UFC and former ESPN boss. “We’re here because we’re fortunate enough that the president of the United States has decided …”

Decided to do what? Flip out on his 80th birthday? Wouldn’t fentanyl be a better plan than a wire-mesh cage on a site where Thomas Jefferson invited the U.S. Marine Band, where an Egg Roll was started by Benjamin Harrison, where Woodrow Wilson invited a few sheep, where Dwight Eisenhower installed a putting green, where Lyndon Johnson brought in the Joffrey Ballet and where George H.W. Bush aimed at a horseshoe pit? Teddy Roosevelt boxed and played tennis. Richard Nixon bowled. Even when Jimmy Carter had Willie Nelson sing — both belted out “Against The Wall, Redneck Mother” — that wasn’t half as nuts as the UFC, with fights streamed by Paramount+.

“Whether you’re far right, far left, or right down the middle, you’re still an American, and there’s no way you don’t love this show,” said Dana White, CEO of the UFC.

At least combat sports didn’t happen on July 4, the original plan. At least Trump refrained from competition between migrants, with the winner facing a UFC champion. “The migrant guy might win,” he said. Instead, he bought stock in a company run by Ari Emanuel and Shapiro. An advocacy group tried to stop the event — known as “UFC Freedom 250,” an ode to America’s upcoming anniversary — but a U.S. District Judge approved it. White was tired of hearing about weather problems in Washington, which grew into afternoon concerns that hail and wind could damage the scenes. Fighters were covered in part by The Claw, filled with lights above 4,000 seats while many visitors covened inside a fan zone in the Ellipse.

Darkness arrived. “Inclement weather,” the UFC wrote before a delay. Action would carry on as JD Vance, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Tkachuk brothers remained in The Claw. On the telecast, the Washington Monument was shown prominently while fighters emerged from … the White House. We’ve now seen everything imaginable from Trump.

It is beyond humankind that the famed facade was dominated by the cyclops. A U.S. flag was beside the ring, where advertisers included Crypto.com, Bud Light, Toyo Tires and Pit Boss Grills. Motocross riders did backflips on the lawn. Fighters dressed inside a library. When Trump left the Oval Office to watch the brawls, we wondered what might happen in a country where he could be assassinated at any time.

“Listen, the show goes on no matter what,” White said. “I’m sick of hearing about the weather and all the other bulls— surrounding this event. I don’t care if it snows, rains, we’re going. Even lightning. You guys all played sports when you were growing up. Whenever there was lightning, you’d sit the lightning out. When it was over, you played. That’s what we’ll do.”

Joe Rogan changed his mind about UFC after initially opposing the concept. “I mean, there’s no more American thing than having a UFC fight on the White House lawn,” the UFC commentator said. “It’s so America. It’s so Trump. It’s so crazy. You know what I mean? A UFC fight on the White House lawn is bananas.”

The night was about male dominance. Who was watching beyond the MAGA base? “Trump is building a golden ballroom for his birthday party — while you’re fighting to pay this month’s bills,” said Sen. Adam Schiff. “Could he be more out of touch?” Trump said the Eiffel Tower was supposed to be a temporary edition for the 1889 World’s Fair. Would he actually keep The Claw for future events?

“They said, ‘You know we sort of like it,’ and eventually, they never took it down,” he said. “You know, we’ve (built) something that’s quite attractive to a lot of people. And I’m looking at it, and maybe we’ll never, ever take it down. I have never seen anybody want anything so much as people want those tickets. It’s a one-of-a-kind UFC.”

Actually, it’s a one-of-a-kind emotional breakdown. Can you imagine cage fighting providing a “definition of American soft diplomatic power,” as Secretary of State Marco Rubio said? Nothing is soft about the UFC. And when Trump announced a cease fire with Iran — “Congratulations to all,” he said — do we have any idea what that mission was about? The President could have tried bingo.

He called Belgium and ordered The Claw, which could fall. Take it down before it kills people.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

He was left to weep on the court after leading the Knicks to their first NBA title in 53 seasons Saturday night, scoring 45 points in a 94-90 win over the Spurs — meaning he almost outscored his teammates. We have coddled Steph Curry for years. Brunson has worked harder, as a second-round draft pick, realizing Luka Doncic was better in Dallas and why he needed to raise his game in the big city.

Now he is larger than any New York sportsman this century, with apologies to Aaron Judge and Derek Jeter. He grew up in Chicago, where the Bulls didn’t take him after he won a state title in high school. He signed with Villanova and won two national crowns in Philadelphia, where the 76ers didn’t take him. Because of Leon Rose, his godfather and president of the Knicks, he was signed at Madison Square Garden and eventually chose to take $113 million less to allow for major acquisitions.

Turns out he is bigger than Wembanyama, who was tired and scored three points in the final quarter. Rarely have we seen a team lose only once in almost two months, so important in a league of gambling, tanking and flopping. And if the Comeback of All Finals Comebacks always will stagger us, Brunson finished his duty in Game 5 and was able to celebrate in San Antonio with older sorts — say Patrick Ewing, who never won — and the same celebrities who have nothing else to do. His desperation plea — “zero-zero” — has become a prank in the kingdom. He no longer has to repeat his watchword.

“I got no words. I don’t know what I’m feeling,” he said as he brushed off tears. “I’m in awe. I don’t know. Whenever someone counts us out, we come back.”

Everyone knew he would have the ball and shoot it, hitting 14 of 27 attempts. At one point, he was victimized by the coldest trick in the sport: Brunson’s left sneaker landed awkwardly on Wembanyama’s size-21 foot. Was the shoe inserted there purposely, to wobble his ankle? The answer might be yes, as suggested when coach Mike Brown and Brunson’s father, RIck — the assistant coach — argued with official Scott Foster.

He fell to the court and held his foot. Brunson kept performing, of course. He always does. “My work ethic. Every time I’ve ever had the ball, in every summer I’ve had, we had to make this a reality,” he said. “Just being alone in the gym. We’re going to find a way. Every time we step on the court. Every time.”

This was the highest-rated series since the Michael Jordan era. Game 4 had 23.2 million viewers when OG Anunoby tipped in the winner. “After 53 years, the wait is over,” said league commissioner Adam Silver, a Knicks fan. The NBA needed a surge after too many bleak episodes, including the fan outbursts following games last week. Whatever was happening in Manhattan — even more madness — didn’t matter in south Texas. James Dolan, the team owner, wanted wild watch parties and argued with Mayor Zohran Mamdani about safety. Suddenly, for the first time, Dolan held the trophy at the ceremony.

“I saw a team. We were a team, the whole time,” he said. “I want to say something to New York. I’m sorry it took so long, and hopefully it won’t take that long again.” He went on to speak about the reckless sickos in the city: “We need to tell everybody in New York that we know that they’re celebrating, we want them to have a great time. Please be safe. Don’t get hurt, don’t hurt anybody.”

He and Rose replaced Tom Thibodeau with Brown, who had been fired as an NBA head coach four times. He also was crying. “Woo woo woo woo. Who let the dogs out? Woo woo woo woo,” Brown said. “We’ve got the dogs on this team, baby. We’re full of dogs. Who let them out?”

Said Rose, who doesn’t speak to the local media: “There really aren’t words you can put into what these guys have done. The character they have. We care about each other and make sure we look out for one another. It’s about sacrifice.”

And there were Josh Hart and Mikal Bridges, who also won with Brunson in college. Karl-Anthony Towns held his own against Wemby and should not be traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo. In the end, there was Brunson, holding the MVP trophy and asking what the rest of us asked about slow starts. “The game starts at 8:30. We show up at 9 o’clock,” he said. He saved a long hug for his father and his wife.

In Paris, please know The Mazet wasn’t calling police officers. On Rue Saint-Andre des Arts, the bar was thrilled when out-of-towners watched Wembanyama, while San Antonio was threatening New Yorkers with expensive tickets. Turns out Ben Stiller and Timothee Chalamet were in the mob scene, unlike French locals who rooted for the 22-year-old “legend” but know this is World Cup season. He’ll have other chances to win many titles. In a few weeks, France could launch another riot with another triumph. Wemby didn’t congratulate the winners, saying in a huff: “What I’m pissed about is that there’s probably a hundred games before we can be back in Finals. … LeBron lost his first final at 22. Michael Jordan got swept in the first round at 22. All of you need to take it easy. I swear I’ll do better than them. Patience.” Whoa.

This is Jalen Brunson’s time, with another trophy, when America must realize he keeps winning and winning. The parade is Thursday on the Canyon of Heroes. “It’s everything we ever dreamed of,” he said. “It’s why I came to New York.”

Four times, 11 years. When will he win a fifth?

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

But today, no baseball executive deserves more applause than the general manager of the Chicago White Sox. It’s staggering to believe a team that reeked for three years, like no bottom-feeder in American sports history, has won 37 games — before June 15 — after beating the two-time champion Dodgers before 38,000 fans at Rate Field. The Sox lost 324 times in a 30-month period and should have been relegated to the Midwest League, where they would play Quad Cities and Peoria.

Instead, Getz has created an engaging ballclub — through trades, patience, manager Will Venable and an uncommon awareness of chemistry — that approaches the All-Star break with a lead in the American League Central. I am not crazy enough to say the Sox will reach the postseason. I am not silly enough to say owner Jerry Reinsdorf will do anything but sit in his suite, at 90, and maintain a crap payroll of $89 million when he should be BUYING pitchers.

In his warped mind, the Sox are a team that every owner should treasure — when, in fact, the Dodgers spent $515 million and won a second straight title as the Sox were drifting from consciousness. If Reinsdorf continues to run the store, we’ve seen this situation before — a rebuild doesn’t lead to big paydays, with a 93-victory club in 2021 fading out, while previous reclamation projects have gone south. In 1994, the Sox were possibly headed to a World Series — against the Montreal Expos — when he chose to be a labor “hawk” and canceled October. There is a reason he has owned this club since 1981 with only one championship. Much as he likes what he sees, he stays in business only because he wants a salary cap, meaning this team will fade into a Dec. 1 lockout the way the ’94 club never had a chance.

He will squeeze the new players the way he squeezed other editions. He and Getz should be formulating a pattern — starting with Munetaka Murakami, who is injured and needs more than $34 million, and followed by Colson and Braden Montgomery into the future. Next month, they should be drafting Roch Cholowsky, who can be added to the list as the top draft pick. The Sox have a future — until Reinsdorf messes it up when he should be gardening. Can Justin Ishbia toss Jerry into the lake and take over?

For now, enjoy the ride, which included fans in the upper deck removing shirts and demanding visions of Shohei Ohtani, who was sitting out Friday night. The Sox beat the Dodgers, 8-2. Two years ago, when they lost a record 121 games, their 37th win didn’t come until Sept. 24.

“It was special,” Venable said. “It was electric, starting with the fans. A really good environment to play in. They showed up, and our guys responded. I thought we played with a lot of energy, and the contributions from everybody were special.’’

Dave Roberts was impressed. He knew the ugliness from 2024. He credited Getz and the front office. “I remember a few years back, it was empty and there was a lot of dismay here on the South Side,” the Dodgers manager said. “Now there’s a lot of energy and excitement. They’re in first place. It’s a young, tough, athletic team.”

Days ago, Bob Costas was in a similar mode. “This season’s best baseball story,” he said. “The White Sox aren’t a fluke. It’s a plan that’s working.”

It’s working despite Reinsdorf, who again put intense pressure on a GM with a low payroll in a major market. I had doubts about Getz. Who didn’t? Credit Jerry — there, I said it — for appointing him. When the Dodgers arrived and moped back to the hotel, who in the hell knew?

“We know how important this series is for the whole team in general,” third baseman Miguel Vargas said. “We want to play this type of team — they are really good, and see how we are. We are very excited for this series.”

Sox fans are reappearing. They have sold out four games, and after the Bears move to Hammond, Reinsdorf will want tax money for a new stadium from Gov. JB Pritzker. The lockout will end that farce.

And we’ll be back to normal, despite the wondrous ways of Chris Getz.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

Who is Folarin Balogun? He could have played for England but chose America, born in New York, and scored twice in the first half. Christian Pulisic finally was amplified as our long-prescribed great player before he was substituted at halftime with a left calf injury, a safe call. Nothing could interfere with a 4-1 victory over Paraguay — not even boos for Iran’s flag — that lended hope on a single Friday night to a cause that normally lets down our people.

Never has the U.S. scored four goals in a World Cup game. Next comes Australia in Seattle, where the get-in ticket price — real — is $2,000. Tom Cruise sat next to David Beckham. Justin Trudeau blew off Canada, where he was prime minister, to sit beside Katy Perry, who sang in the opening ceremony. This has been a rag-tag group that has won only one of eight knockout games in the defining tournament. Every four years, the fans are jacked. Every four years, they go home brooding, such as the last time in Qatar, when three goals were scored in four games. Check out the new quartet.

“A real dream, it’s a dreamy night,” Balogun said. “I’ve not been able to take it all in. I’m sure when I get back to my hotel, I’m going to be able to be in the moment and experience how much of an amazing night this is.”

The latest coach, Mauricio Pochettino, says the Americans can win the World Cup though not one player was rated among the planet’s top 100. “Why not us? Why not us? Why not us?” he said. “We need to really believe that we can be there. We need to dream.”

“We want to do this for ourselves. We want to do this for our own country. We don’t need to prove to anyone else,” Pulisic said. “We have really good players playing in top clubs in the world. We have a good team and, yeah, we’re going to do the best we can to prove ourselves right more than anything.”

Is it too early to suggest a killer performance against a top team? Is this the year, in front of the home fans? “It’s just been a while, I feel like, since we’ve knocked off a big boy,” Tyler Adams said. “I think we need to try and find that in our character, and I think that we will.”

For now, Pochettino prefers not to discuss ugly times. “It’s difficult to compare with the past. I don’t know what happened in the past,” he said after the victory. “I think we need to talk about today, because it was a great match. It was amazing for our fans to see, to watch this type of game, and today, I am so proud and we are so proud. I think we are winning a lot of fans, adding fans for the sport here in America.”

“To put in a performance like that and get three points and start the way we have, is everything we wanted,” captain Tim Ream said. “Hats off to the guys — a lot of firsts. It’s been a good night overall.”

The rest of the world continues to carp about President Trump and his colleague, FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Why the low crowd total in Guadalajara, which didn’t fork out high ticket fees? The event has considerable issues. Remember when the U.S. played home games and was wildly outcheered by fans from other nations? That didn’t happen on debut night in Inglewood.

“Americans are some type of fans that show out and show up for the big things even if they don’t love soccer,” Weston McKennie said. “Any big event, we know how to put on a show and we know to show up, so I think it’s a huge advantage.”

It’s one night. The globe awaits Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal. But say hello to Balogun.

“Poch has said many times, ‘Why not us?’ ” he said. “We have to believe. You can’t do anything if you don’t believe in yourself.”

It doesn’t take much to believe.

This works: 4-1.

This works: 70,492.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

What the official should have done was remove both people from the area so Harper didn’t have three New Yorkers on him. Before he was given the ball, the man in orange leaned toward Harper and began yelling and clapping his hands. The other man was laughing and clapping. Then it was time to complete an all-time NBA Finals comeback, though none of the concluding circumstances was fair.

Harper had no chance. He threw the ball over the 7-foot Towns, and Stephon Castle bobbled it as time ran out. According to the NBA rulebook, fans are prohibited from entering the playing area and aren’t allowed to interfere with players. Harper, a rookie, should have told the official that only he and Towns legally were allowed in that space. The official should have summoned Madison Square Garden security. With a better chance, maybe Harper would have hit Castle before he went up for a shot.

It is extremely difficult defending a team that blew a 29-point lead and lost 107-106, in the wildest sports finish we’ve seen in ages. But league commissioner Adam Silver — ahummmmm — is a Knicks fan who lives in New York. Was he concerned about the Spurs and Harper? No, he was not. “Look, I’m a New York guy. I grew up here,” he said. “It’s great to see the Knicks successful. I know that in terms of what people talk to me about as the commissioner, whether I’m just walking into your studio today or walking in my neighborhood, people love to talk about the Knicks.”

If I am running the NBA, I’d have forced officials to replay the final 1.2 seconds. Maybe the Spurs would have continued the dumbest form of lead protection in basketball history. But give them a real chance. As it was, with 1:05 left, Castle was called for stepping out of bounds — and the NBA acknowledged he didn’t do so in its post-game report of the last two minutes. And for those asking about Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox? In his mindless attempt at a layup when he could have kept dribbling — before a foul call — is it possible OG Anunoby fouled him at the rim? According to the league: “Anunoby makes a legal attempt to block Fox’s shot and dislodges the ball from his control before making incidental arm contact.” Another angle shows Anunoby’s hand on Fox’s left wrist before he released the ball.

“You have to score,” Fox said. “Try to get a layup, get up three (points), (and) force them to need a 3. OG made a good block.”

Did he?

On top of everything else, wacko Knicks fans threw eggs at Victor Wembanyama as he walked off the bus later at the team hotel. This continues the senseless taunting of the Spurs, while their fans were subjected to violence on the streets after the last two games. Why isn’t Silver making harsh comments about New York? Oh, because he’s a Knicks fan, and he lives there.

“Once again, there were large crowds of people who engaged in incredibly reckless and dangerous behavior last night both during and after the game,” the New York Police Department said in a statement.

The series isn’t over. The Spurs are ordering more security for Game 5, when local fans might pounce on the visiting guests. “It was painful,” Wembanyama said. “It just feels like we worked too hard and give up our leads. It just hurts.” Before the series, I wrote that that the Knicks vs. Wemby is the biggest sports story of the year.

I’m right. Some of the reasons have turned out wrong.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

For some reason, the team physician of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Rams wrote a letter helping McGregor obtain performance-enhancing drugs after he operated on the fighter’s broken leg five years ago. This should trouble MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, whose office will question ElAttrache given the facts: He operated on Shohei Ohtani for Tommy John surgery in 2018 and shoulder surgery in 2024. The NFL and NBA should be disturbed that ElAttrache performed Achilles surgery on Aaron Rodgers in 2023, Achilles surgery on Kobe Bryant in 2013 and left knee surgery on Tom Brady in 2008. He did not prescribe steriods to McGregor, asking for an exemption from UFC’s drug policies.

He referred McGregor to a specialist, when such a connection should be completely removed from his phone contacts and Rolodex. The New York Times reported the story — note how The Athletic did not, as a sporting offshoot of the Times — and asked why ElAttrache knows people who offer banned drugs.

“I purposely wasn’t involved with his evaluation by the consultant nor with prescribing medication,” ElAttrache told The Times. He said “expert opinions” could help McGregor and “optimize his chance of solid union and healing of his fractures.”

Baseball does not need a major steroids scandal. But the Times points out that ElAttrache has been involved with 18 of 29 players who have won the Most Valuable Player or Cy Young Awards over the last 10 years. This season, Ohtani might win both honors in the National League. Shouldn’t he be bothered that ElAttrache is hooked up with PED creeps? On Dec. 1, less than six months away, the sport faced a deadline for the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement.

Would ElAttrache’s story help the owners or the players? Neither. In the 1990s, the owners and commissioner Bud Selig knew about steroids. They should be the first to shutter the McGregor angle. Where are they, until a reporter called? Owners will blame athletes who continue to see ElAttrache despite the Times story. The NFL and the NBA aren’t facing a labor lockout, but Brady, Rodgers and Bryant have been the biggest names in their industries. UFC types shouldn’t be involved in the same hospital ward.

McGregor’s manager, Audie Attar, told the Times in a written response: “(E)ven with surgery there was a real risk Conor might not walk again, a high likelihood he would face numerous lifelong side effects that would limit his mobility and serious doubts he would ever return to the octagon. … (Doctors) oversaw a combination of a gruesome surgery, intense physical therapy and appropriately prescribed medicines. It is an unfathomable breach of health and privacy protections that my client’s purported personal medical records would be disclosed.”

The records were disclosed because sports needs protection, now more than ever. Routinely, injured athletes are proud to say they’re treated by ElAttrache. He works at a clinic near the Los Angeles airport — Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe — and is a brother-in-law of Sylvester Stallone. You’ve seen him on the NFL’s pregame programs. He is a Doctor to the Stars, mentored by the illustrious James Andrews.

Steroids are on the tips of tongues because PEDs have been a cancer to sports. ElAttrache should know that. Then he met Conor McGregor, who should have nothing in common with Ohtani. Delete him, please.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

That sounds like an invitation to have casual sex while people are watching Netflix, if you know the drift. It suggests Infantino has no idea how to make us content through the final on July 19. L’Equipe, the popular sports paper in Paris, ran a front-page caricature of Infantino as a puppet while Trump wears the FIFA Peace Prize. The headline: “Infantino mocked as a Trump puppet.” The publication covers France, based in Boston as a favorite for the golden trophy.

How disturbing to see the world treat us with disdain and horror. Ticket prices have been outrageous, with FIFA trying to move seats to resale sites. Sticker shock is burying hotels as visitors avoid America. Omar Artan, the Somali referee, was denied entry into the U.S. Iran is locked in a war with Trump and is training in Tijuana, uptight about two upcoming games in Los Angeles. We need a firm leader in a megaevent that involves 48 teams playing 104 matches.

Infantino is a quack in a heat wave. What happens if the World Cup transforms into a national nightmare? He says he can contact Trump at any time. Oh, boy.

“It’s true we are confronted with challenges we would rather not confront,” Infantino said with blazing confidence in Mexico, one of three host countries in North America. “Sometimes we can solve them, and sometimes we can’t. We’re not the kings of the world who can rule over governments and police forces. We are a sports organization. We do our best with the means to do as much as possible.

“When I say to chill, I don’t mean to relax and do nothing. I’m telling you to trust us, that we are working behind the scenes, we are trying to understand, and there are things we can know and things we cannot know. Things we are told, things we are not told. And we try to make the situation as positive as possible, and to find solutions. Sometimes we manage, other times not. We do not live on the moon. We live on Planet Earth.”

Juxtapose his comments with those of the Pope. “The World Cup begins, and many will watch the matches. Soccer reminds us of something we must not forget: Life is not a race to show off on our own, but a path we learn to walk together,” he said. “Anyone who does not know how to pass the ball, even if they have talent, has not yet understood the game. Anyone who does not know how to live with and for others has not yet understood life.”

His words are perfect. Infantino’s are dangerous. If the U.S. government thinks Artan has links to terrorist groups, he should explain. He can’t. “The reality of the matter — it’s not easy. Unfortunately, our world is a very aggressive world. And security goes above everything. And you need to respect decisions which are taken,” he said. “It’s unfortunate what happened to Omar, the referee from Somalia. But again, we don’t control everything. Maybe it’s good to chill and relax. Sometimes screaming and shouting has the opposite effect. We’ll try. We’ll discuss. We’ll speak. We’ll see.”

The former FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, is condeming Infantino on many subjects — including Artan. “No one is more official than the referee, and if a country refuses to allow a referee in, the World Cup should not be held in such a country,” Blatter said.

Why is Infantino in charge? See Trump. He is a soccer father to Barron, but he never showed up to watch a game in Arlington, Va. He embraces the World Cup as a flimsy way to make monster money that isn’t necessarily coming. “I have a great relationship with President Trump,” Infantino said. “Without his engagement and involvement, it would have been impossible to organize a World Cup in the U.S. He understood immediately the magnitude of the World Cup, the impact of the World Cup, and instructed the administration to help and assist.

“I don’t regret anything. Now, you are speaking about the biggest power in the world. Of course, there are certain things that need to be taken into account. But to be able to exchange with the president on important topics, to put everything on the table, without asking for anything, but trying to explain — it’s the key to having a positive relationship. That’s how I see it.”

Iran is on the continent. “People were saying it would be impossible. I promised them that they would come, even if I had to drive the bus from Tehran,” he said. “They are here today. I don’t know who else would have been able to ensure that.” But what if Iran goes elsewhere this weekend?

Ticket prices are at a corporate level. The games have priced out the middle class. In Infantino’s mind, “the World Cup is much, much more important” than the NBA Finals. Try selling that premise in New York, where the Knicks completed an all-time comeback in the Finals to take a 3-1 lead. “We want to bring the World Cup to every football fan. This is what dynamic pricing is as well,” he said. “If we are doing something wrong, then probably everyone selling tickets in North America is doing something wrong.”

Yes, they are criminally overpricing seats. If you must, assail Infantino with shots the next few weeks. He has no idea what’s coming on social media. “If you want to criticize me, criticize me, that’s fine, it’s OK,” he said. “But promote the unity of the World Cup. Promote people coming to the World Cup and feeling those emotions that all of you have been feeling when you were children, and you can still feel them now.

“Because we want to unite the world.”

Unite the world and steal money. This is the man who said in Qatar: “Today I have very strong feelings, I can tell you. Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arab. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel a migrant worker.”

Today, why doesn’t he feel American?

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

So how would the Knicks complete the biggest comeback in Finals history? Anunoby tipped the basketball into the net, as Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle only watched, and sent New York into a legitimate frenzy in an exploding Madison Square Garden. Say what you will about people in America’s largest city. When they win, we all shake.

“Right hand from God,” teammate Karl-Anthony Towns said.

President Trump was not needed, as we know, for an astonishing 107-106 victory. The Knicks managed to overcome a 29-point deficit early in the third quarter, when Victor Wembanyama wasn’t nearly as smart as he had thought. Did you notice how he pointed at his head and grinned after he was shouldered in the jaw viciously by Mitchell Robinson, exuding even more intelligence after he sketched Edwin Booth as Hamlet in Gramercy Park? Now he was popping Towns with his own jaw shot, when the Spurs led by an 81-52 margin that almost broke the scoreboard. Why? For what possible reason?

Consider it the biggest mistake of his early career if the Knicks, up 3-1, finally win the title. Last time we saw Wembanyama, he was closing his eyes and breathing at the free-throw line … and missed both shots while missing 10 of his last 12 from the field. Brunson drove and scored to take a one-point lead with 1:12 left. At this point, anyone disgusted with the punks who’ve wandered around beating up Spurs fans — trying to light one on fire — was required to join the emerging wild circus. You might loathe Trump and James Dolan and the endless celebrities, such as Taylor Swift, who was seen screaming at the end with Spike Lee and Timothee Chalamet and the Billionaire Jenner Girlfriend. But if Broadway still exists, it was a proud moment from the sports world, when the Knicks took advantage of a young team crippled by inexperience at the worst time. If the police department still exists, it actually hoped local loons would hug each other and celebrate a precious moment. Sure. People were throwing objects at the Spurs as they returned to their hotel.

“I just went and crashed,” said Anunoby, whose first name is Ogugua, as they will teach in future regional classes. “The ball went over my head, so I couldn’t really dunk it. So I just tried to tip it in softly, and it went in. … It feels cool.”

“That has to be the most iconic shot in the history of New York basketball,” coach Mike Brown said.

“OG! OG! OG!” fans chanted as the Knicks head to San Antonio, where Wembanyama and the Spurs will have difficulty recovering from the collapse. Later, folks sang “Don’t Stop Believin’,” picking up an old Chicago White Sox song from 2005.

Why didn’t De’Aaron Fox keep dribbling instead of allowing the enemy one last shot after an OG block? And why did Wemby lose his cool? Did he think his sport was that simple, marching into the Mecca and finishing a second victory that could have led to a title? Up by almost 30, why not let Towns score garbage points with 9:27 left in the third quarter? Didn’t he learn from the Minnesota series, when he was ejected after elbowing Naz Reid? He one-upped Robinson and Jose Alvarado, who pummeled Wembanyama in the leg. Another cheap shot was not necessary. It was stupid.

“Execution. Greediness. I can’t really explain it right now,” Wembanyama said of the dead period. “I don’t know. We clearly weren’t the most hungry in the second half. It was painful, of course. It feels like we worked too hard and gave up our lead. It’s as simple as that. It just hurts. Holding each other accountable. Communicating. Not pointing fingers. And after that, we’ve either got it or we don’t.”

“The dumbest team,” said Charles Barkley, “in NBA history.”

Before then, New York was convinced the league was protecting the new god, failing to whistle Wembanyama for a flagrant foul in Game 3. “I thought it was a very bad call, absolutely,” Trump said. “But I’m not the ref, you know.” Dolan kept picking fights with Mayor Zohran Mamdani — calling him a “party pooper” — and rejected a watch party of 1,000 beside the Garden. The Knicks owner said Mamdani is in a “police state” to “freeze fans from celebrating” and said he “doesn’t have faith in his own police force.” We were sick of New York.

But we love the Knicks. Who doesn’t? Josh Hart was positioned to be a hero after he stole the ball and missed a dunk. “I got a special shoutout for OG because he saved me,” he said. “At least for this game but he saved me a lifetime of regret.” Brunson scored 36 and is thrilled with Anunoby, who might get MVP votes after a 33-point performance. Only one team in Finals history has blown a 3-1 lead: Golden State in 2016, to LeBron James and the Cavaliers.

“0-0 is our mentality,” Brunson said. “Our starts have to be a lot better. Our focus to begin to game, our attention detail has to be a lot better, but most importantly, just keep believing. We’re all fighting, we’re all believing. That’s most important.”

At one point, he looked at his father, Rick, an assistant coach. “We kept chipping away, when it got down to 15 in the fourth, just kinda looking at Pops,” he said. “And he looked at me and he said, ‘We’re going to win this game.’ And I was like all right.”

The Spurs will win championships. Not this time. Before Game 4, Wembanyama was asked what he has learned in the postseason. “Many things,” he said. “Brace yourself with your hands and not with your chin. Hit below the head. If you do, be relentless.”

He hit Towns in the jaw. From there, his team collapsed. “We got on our heels — we missed some shots,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s disappointing, to say the least.”

No one saw Anunoby. He breezed through the lane and prompted joy in a place that hasn’t seen much. “We’re a resilient group. We’ve been through a lot,” he said. “We’ve come back plenty of times when we’re behind. Just staying with it, weathering the storm, not being too down or angry or frustrated.”

It’s a comfort when New York, in a foolhardy world, is thrilled by three victories in June. One remains. All the while, we’ll ask why almost every shot taken by Victor Wembanyama missed when it mattered. OG Anunoby did not miss.

Call him the Original Gangster.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

The fans have formulated the second-biggest TV numbers in sports, second to the NFL. But now that Brendan Sorsby can play for Texas Tech this season after gambling on his team and other sports for years, why bother with virtue and integrity? I mean serious commissioners such as Tony Petitti and Greg Sankey. I mean the bosses of networks, such as James Pitaro and Eric Shanks. I mean Nick Saban, who keeps asking Congress to “bring order” to the proceedings. I mean President Trump, who has tried to intercede when he has a war and our nation’s troubled World Cup to monitor.

What is the point of watching games when Sorsby and other players can bet as they choose? Every network — ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC, CBS — should refuse air times until the quarterback sits as the NCAA once ruled. Is the Big 12 capable of a real mission against Texas Tech, which has played the sport since 1925 and never came close to a national championship — but did happen to hire Bob Knight after Indiana fired him? I doubt it. An idiot district judge has blundered, though he retired about 300 miles away from Lubbock in Tarrant County. Sorsby is eligible Sept. 18 to play the rest of the season.

Do not ask if DraftKings can put him in commercial slots with Kevin Hart. Uglier, an eligible Sorsby is gaining odds for a January title, the Heisman Trophy and the possible No. 1 spot — over Arch Manning — in the next NFL draft. Welcome to Sports In 2026. At least the NBA has banned those who have wagered as we await the fates of Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier. At least Major League Baseball banned Tucupita Marcano. At least the NFL has written stern language.

College football?

Trash the inner workings.

“How is anyone ever going to trust the outcome,” said TCU coach Sonny Dykes — who attended Texas Tech — told ESPN.

“A horrendous pattern (that is) severely eroding the integrity of our process,” said Jim Phillips, the ACC commissioner. “This is another example of why we remain diligently focused on working with Congress to ensure rules are consistently and fairly applied.”

Said NCAA president Charlie Baker, who tried to ban Sorsby: “I spent eight years as governor of Massachusetts, and three years and change in this job. This was pretty much a new low, and I’ll leave it at that. I mean, this is a pretty fundamental issue, and I think the facts can speak for themselves. I think it’s about as good an example as you’re ever going to have of a thunderbolt moment. So many of the folks that I deal with every day, either through email or text or phone calls, were shocked by this.”

Imagine Pete Rose remaining eligible. Think about the worst examples of gambling in sports. Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin thought about the 1919 Black Sox. “As someone who grew up reading about the ‘Black Sox Scandal,’ and seeing what happened to Pete Rose and just understanding how bright that line seemed to be in all of American sports, I’m stunned that there would be a question at the court level that this is acceptable,” Stricklin said. “It’s just that was a pretty fundamental tenet of American sports, that if you’re going to participate, you can’t gamble, especially on your own team.”

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, whose background is in the NBA, is using league colleagues to fight back. But Yormark is not Saban, who requires an imminent meeting with Congress. “We had a thoughtful, productive conversation with our athletics directors today as we continue to work through the broader implications of this situation,” Yormark said in a statement. “Many of our athletics directors voiced opinions. We will continue to have open and honest dialogue amongst the group and until there is something to report, these conversations will remain within the conference.”

How about banning Texas Tech from the conference? Every team gets a victory. Hell, that will help in the playoff conversation.

It isn’t enough for athletic directors at Georgia and Nebraska to stop scheduling Tech in all sports. The Big Ten might create a mandate, but it still offers Petitti, who wants a 24-team playoff that further disintegrates the grand platform. “True integrity means holding your program accountable when things go wrong, not buying custom legislation or running to a local courtroom to bypass the rules,” Georgia AD Josh Brooks said.

The local courtrooms have become the biggest enemy. They decide as they choose, even if their decision defies logic and reason. “The rules on this one are pretty clear, and they apply to everybody who plays sports at the amateur and professional level everywhere,” Baker said. “But if you think about it, three or four of the most challenging issues that Division I faces are all the result of a court case. And in most cases, it’s one student-athlete, the judge sees that one student-athlete and makes a decision based on that, but the consequences of it ripple all over the place.”

College sports, which should be educating young people, remain lawless. If you still watch, either you have to — personal gambling does not apply — or you have no life.

###

Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

What I also know is that Wembanyama would speak out harshly in his native country. “My thoughts, of course, (are) that we can’t forget it’s a game,” he said Tuesday. “We’re just playing a game out there. I am all for passion, but (with) the respect of each other — it’s unacceptable.” The brutality on the streets is only beginning.

Consider tonight. Think the New Yorkers will listen to Wembanyama or Karl-Anthony Towns of the Knicks? At least 21 were arrested after watch parties throughout the city. We should anticipate more savagery after Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, which could be the site of victorious lunacy or a disturbed morgue.

“The game is built off of respect and passion,” Towns said. “We want everyone to respect each other. We want everyone to enjoy basketball at its purest state. It’s the NBA Finals. There’s no better place to watch basketball. Leave the physicality to everyone on the court.”

Dylan Harper grew up nearby in New Jersey. He can’t believe the daily reaction. “It’s my first time in New York, walking out and getting booed. I can say that,” the Spurs rookie said. “I feel like it’s New York, (a) hostile environment. I don’t think it would feel the same if it wasn’t this hostile.”

No one in the big city will suggest Wembanyama deserves a Sportsman of the Year candidacy. When challenged on the court, he doesn’t become Draymond Green — but he throws elbows and shoves. He was ejected in the Minnesota series for popping Naz Reid in the jaw, and Monday night, he shoved Jalen Brunson to the floor in the first quarter. He wasn’t whistled for a flagrant foul, which helped ignite Knicks coach Mike Brown, who knows Wembanyama has two flagrant points this postseason — and would be suspended one game for four flagrants, which might mean the end of the series.

The shove was not worthy of a suspension. The Knicks wonder, with Jose Alvarado saying: “I think that’s not basketball. That’s something that they gotta look at. But he got away with one. That’ll be the last one.” Wembanyama sparkled again, and if he continues his dominance, the Spurs just might win the series. His comments about New York should resonate. They won’t.

“I feel like, for the fans, it should never be that serious where you have to jump people, beat people up, follow people home,” said Spurs forward Julian Champagnie, who grew up in Brooklyn. “Whether we win, they win, it doesn’t really matter.”

It’s beneath Wembanyama and his teammates to comment on Stephen A. Smith and President Trump. If Smith wonders why ESPN is offering Pat McAfee an annual salary of more than $60 million, maybe it’s his own Foolish Mouth. He used the Knicks’ loss to fuel his debate with Trump, who had nothing to do with New York falling 115-111.

“I think he’s a nice guy, but you need a certain aptitude to run for president,” Trump said. “You need a high IQ. I’m not sure Stephen has that. I don’t think he does, actually.”

At that point, ESPN boss Jimmy Pitaro should have called Smith and told him to stay hush. He did not, because they are desperate for ratings, which means management also is to blame. “You wanna talk about IQ, I could say I could put my IQ against yours,” Smith said on his TV show. “I got something even better I could ask you: Why you been running from me for the past year since I asked you to debate me since you think you’re that dude. We could go a myriad of ways.”

The President doesn’t care about Smith, beyond his low IQ. “You want to find out? Want some?” Smith asked Trump. “Come get some.”

Isn’t that what New Yorkers are saying to San Antonio fans? Come get some.

Everyone go home when the buzzer sounds. Wembanyama did. He’s ready for Game 4.

Is New York?

###

Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

Would misery overtake New York’s incinerator? Would it kill off Monday night when all Wembanyama did was draw sketches with his sister in Gramercy Park? If President Trump was holding a hand to his forehead during the national anthem, behind plate glass in suite 47, couldn’t he have been elsewhere rather than hear rampant boos and insults?

Never mind the waves of endless civic euphoria. The Spurs showed guts in their youth and hushed Madison Square Garden. The nation was joining the big city in a romance with the Knicks, but they missed eight straight shots in the fourth quarter and fell 115-111 in Game 3. They revved back into the NBA Finals thanks to Wembanyama’s double whammy of 32 points and revolutionary defense along with Stephon Castle’s devilry. Afterward, a bottle was thrown at a police officer outside Bryant Park, not far from where a trash can was lit on fire.

Is Wembanyama a new local villain? Didn’t he laugh after popping Brunson? “I guess. I’m nowhere near Trea Young level, though,” he said after contributing eight rebounds, six assists and three blocks. “I really tried to relax. The playoffs, it’s like a whirlwind. It’s hard to put your head out of the water. Sometimes, I don’t even have time to watch the games back right away. I need some time off to let my brain cool down, recover. Recover as much for the body as for the mind.”

Was the secret a bench at Gramercy, where he could have played chess? “I drew a statue of that park,” he said of the previous day. “Not bad, pretty good.”

And what about the loons who weaved into the famous arena for hours, courtesy of Trump’s nightlife mischief? They were zapped of energy. Even Hart, in a pregame post, wrote of the house guest: “GET TRUMP’S DUMBASS OUT THE WHITE HOUSE!!!!!” If stock for James Dolan’s franchise was making billions for investors, what in the name of horror was happening? Did it occur to New York, in its moment of premature joy, that the team in black would bring measures of gray on celebrity row? Did Timothee Chalamet cry? Will Ben Stiller stop shooting press conferences with an iPhone? Did Pope Leo XIV make a mistake in autographing Spike Lee’s jersey? Why did Michael Bloomberg’s face turn red after Jose Alvarado crashed into him?

Fifty-three years of waiting have not ended yet.

Game 4 is Wednesday night in the same building. The winning streak stops at 13 in front of the first sitting U.S. president at the Finals, who has been attacked by Stephen A. Smith for screwing up the cause — ESPN should punish him if he goes too far. The Knicks lead the series 2-1 and still might be roared by a city in deep championship need. But the Spurs awakened and have us wondering — just a bit — if they could win three straight in San Antonio.

Mike Brown, who lost for the first time since April 23, was angry at the officials for giving the Spurs a 24-8 edge in second-half free throws. “I never thought I would be in the NBA Finals and see (those numbers). I don’t think I complain much about officials or the fairness. I tell the guys, it’s a seven-game series for a reason,” he said. “They are a great team. They are well-coached. They have an iconic player. It’s not going to be easy. Maybe we were fouling. But they fouled, too.”

Karl-Anthony Towns said the Knicks stunk. “That ain’t cost us the game,” he said of fouls. “Turned the ball over. Didn’t execute. Didn’t do what got us 13 straight wins. That’s how you lose a game. We decided to do something different, and it ain’t going to work.”

Brown responded in a press conference, not a good sign. In five quarters, Towns has taken only 11 shots with two assists. “It was the way we played and the things that we were doing offensively,” the coach said. “We were just coming down and just basically playing ‘drag.’ We’d get the first screen, and then we literally just stood and watched. There was no movement. Like, sometimes KAT has to flash the elbow. Sometimes he’s got to post up. They are junking up the game by putting (Wembanyama) in one of the two corners. If they junk the game up, I can call a play.”

The night was physical and, quite often, mean. Jalen Brunson scored 32 points after overcoming back pain when Castle smacked him in the jaw and floored him. “Just trying to tire him out throughout the game. Keep my aggressiveness on him, the whole 48 minutes,” Castle said. The Knicks will need a reset if they want a return of the wildest hometown merrymaking we’ll see. The metropolitan region has 20.2 million people. Not one soul has worked this week.

What will happen next? Are there enough police? No one wants the President in the feral midst, even though commissioner Adam Silver pleaded, saying, “What makes sports so special, especially when there’s so much that divides us, it’s something that we have in common. We should look for things and build off that.”

The President was slaughtered, in his red tie. “Trump must go!” people chanted. “Impeach. Convict.” Dolan doesn’t need him for the finale.

He needs help for Wemby. Turns out Gregg Popovich, the former coach, was right about the Spurs. They simply needed to forget the first two losses. “I’m sure Victor has numerous sources of motivation,” coach Mitch Johnson said. “I don’t think any of us are surprised or expect anything but a strong performance.”

Wembanyama meant it a compliment when he said of the Garden: “At home, it feels like playing six against five. Here it feels like five against six. It really shows what teams are made of.” He said nothing about Trump.

“I think the president being here makes it inconvenient on everybody else,” Spurs guard De’Aaron Fox said. “We have more security, we had to send stuff early. I think our buses are getting there a little early.”

They overcame the mess. At one point, ABC showed a watch party where fans were going crazy. The coverage was live from south Texas. How lovely for the Spurs.

How embarrassing for New York.

###

Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

He won. By the same rationale, murderers and rapists also have a “compulsion.”

Do we forgive them, too?

There is no need to ask if society has lost the entirety of mental might. That can be formally confirmed now. The outrageous decision Monday by a district judge in Lubbock County — home village of the Red Raiders — might have destroyed sport as we know it and allowed wagering fools to overwhelm what still made sense about our fun and games. Judge Ken Curry believes anyone who screws up a life, even as America tries to control gambling’s vices, can rightfully declare a disorder. Sorsby will miss only the first two games this year, against nonconference schools Abilene Christian and Oregon State, and will be in uniform against Houston on Sept. 18.

Throughout college athletics, players who want to bet on their own teams can declare a monster heyday. Lay down your money, between ages 18 and 23, and the worst penalty is missing a game or two while committing to a rehab stay. Sorsby went down the dark road at Indiana, pre-Curt Cignetti, but what stops the next cretins from gambling against their own teams? It has happened often in football and basketball, but rather than go to jail, welcome back the high rollers. Same goes for folks betting ungodly sums on sports, including prominent media members. They catch a major moral break, too.

According to Curry, Sorsby would “suffer a probable, imminent and irreparable injury” if he sat out the season. That was the hope of the NCAA, which continues to fight for its existence. When he returns to the lineup, Sorsby becomes the symbol of the NCAA’s court filing — “the first and only major American sports league to allow an athlete to compete after betting on his own games.”

This was one of the ugliest moments in sports history. Quickly, the NCAA said the ruling “undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports.” Why would anyone continue to follow games when moral uprightness is trashed? Is it all about spreads and no longer about hearts, brains and souls?

“The NCAA strongly disagrees with the court’s ruling in Sorsby’s case and is deeply concerned about the damaging, far-reaching and broadly destabilizing ramifications of this outcome — which undermines and corrupts the integrity of sports,” the NCAA said in a statement. “The NCAA is committed to supporting student-athlete mental health but must continue to aggressively defend against actions that defraud college athletics and threaten competitive integrity, such as betting on one’s own sport.”

Curry should not have been making the call. He is a retired judge from Tarrant County, from Fort Worth, which is hundreds of miles from Lubbock. Who paid him? An appeal has been filed, but Texas Tech’s season will be over before it’s heard. “It is a just result,” Kessler told ESPN. “Brendan gets to devote himself to his team and the education of athletes on the dangers of gambling addiction. He will continue his treatment, miss two games, and there is no injury to the competitive integrity of the NCAA. It is what we proposed and what the NCAA should have accepted had it been true to its promises to prioritize the welfare of athletes.”

The welfare of athletes? How about the pockets of bookies, digital or human? When a player is introduced to a program, we once asked about his past and his dreams.

We’ll now ask about his gambling portfolio.

###

Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

First, there will be a Trump convention at Madison Square Garden. Watch parties and home-packed bags have been shut down for Game 3 of the NBA Finals, yet survival also remains a twisted watchword Monday night. He is a native New Yorker — the King is from Queens — and he believes in the Knicks, though not all the Knicks believe in him. Karl-Anthony Towns was asked about the President. He ignored the question.

“I talked about the word hope. Hope has been brought back to the city, but the word success hasn’t been seen,” he said. “We have to fight to bring that word back to fruition.”

The global view comes from Victor Wembanyama, who was asked if Trump will be a distraction. “Not really. I think it could be,” he said. “Isolating myself is something I’ve practiced over the years and I think I’m good at it so it’s not a problem. This is something similar media-wise, like the Olympics.”

Trump at the Garden — watching in front of a massive town that wants to disown him — might be a bigger story than the game. Said Jalen Brunson, who apparently approves: “I’ll be on the court playing as hard as I can for my president. He represents every Knicks’ fans’ beliefs. He embodies what it means to be a New Yorker.” How many times will Trump show up at the World Cup? Welcome to days and weeks when he’ll be front and center when he should just disembowel. America is at war with Iran, which may or may not play its first two games in Los Angeles or a third in Seattle. Our stadiums are disturbed by artificial intelligence as much as traditional terrorists — and watch out for hunter drones when you’re buying a hot dog. Thanks to Trump, who is merging soccer/football with a certain 250th anniversary, our nation joins Mexico and Canada in welcoming 48 teams to play 104 matches.

Six million fans are arriving from around the world to see supreme athletes win a golden trophy. Our fans are following USMNT and have no faith beyond the Round of 16. The idea is to watch, smell, taste and absorb the planet’s biggest gathering — “78 Super Bowls over 39 days,” said Andrew Giuliani — and get the hell out of 16 cities.

“There’s never been a summer like this in American history from a security angle,” Giuliani said. And if that doesn’t fully prepare us, he told ESPN: “This entire country’s police force is leaning in. It is an unbelievable problem set when I think about what local law enforcement is going to have to go over this 40-day stretch. It is unprecedented. We’re going to do everything in our power to make sure that nothing goes wrong.”

So, why did America decide to host the World Cup? Are we beyond psycho? Why not hand it to Morocco during the 2018 voting? Did anyone foresee two Trump terms, COVID, racial pain and a nation unprepared for the vicious knockout? It was Gianni Infantino, replacing a corruption-ruined Sepp Blatter as FIFA president, who eventually created a friendship with Trump and awarded the President with the first “Peace Prize.” Critics are blaming Trump and are prepared to execute him — not too harsh — if the country must be protected from ruin. Nothing is funny about drones. The authorities aren’t ready.

“If there is one threat that keeps me up at night, it is from drones,” said New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who must deal with eight games at MetLife Stadium across the Hudson River, including the final.

“On the counter-drone measures, everybody’s a little behind,” confirmed Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. “Drones are my biggest concern. Every single day, we improve. But that is a huge concern that we have.”

Allow us to be immersed in uneasy headlines. The tournament begins Thursday at Estadio Azteca, where Mexico will host South Africa. But all eyes are on Iran’s national team, which arrived in Tijuana after the U.S. didn’t issue visas to 15 members of the support stuff. When will Iran feel safe about crossing the border, with the first game a week from today at SoFi Stadium? The coach, Amir Ghalenoei, already is firing shots at Americans. At Trump.

“Normally, in tournaments like this, humanitarian and ethical considerations should come ​before technical matters, and I believe those considerations were not extended to us and were not respected,” he said at Tijuana airport.

A city that isn’t ready for serious World Cup weight, Los Angeles, must deal with Iran fears and a vague U.S. opener Friday against Paraguay. Plenty of tickets are available, which is frightening when soccer will continue to stall nationally if the next few weeks are farcical. Fans are arriving to watch Mbappe, Messi, Yamal, Kane and Dembele, but in southern California, why would locals care? The Rams are turning loose Myles Garrett and Aaron Donald, while the Dodgers are enjoying the 0.74 earned run average of a four-time MVP, Shohei Ohtani.

Who needs more civic headaches? The problem with soccer involves large swaths who aren’t buying into the scene. This has been a major issue for decades. Analyst Alexi Lalas thinks it’s time for Americans to plunge into the team, saying, “I do think that there is a magic to a home World Cup. I believe within that magic is the capability of everything coming together. That’s how I truly feel and it’s more fun that way.” But beyond intense fan clubs, where is the culture? If USMNT begins to win big games, Americans will watch. Until then, we will yawn.

For now, we just yelp. All week. day after day after day, we monitor Trump. “We prepare for the worst day,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Amit Kachhia-Patel told The Associated Press. “And that’s how we go into any single event.”

The worst could be tonight. The worst could be this week or next week or next month. Our country is supposed to be woven into the finest sporting moments. Instead, we pray the games are not interrupted by extremists.

###

Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

Imagine the blur of Dolan hosting a week of wildness when Bloomberg News — started by Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York — suggested he is “the worst owner in professional sports.” Imagine how he once tried to buy New York Magazine with Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. Imagine when he hired Isiah Thomas as team president before a jury said the Hall of Famer sexually harassed an employee he fired.

He is hated like no owner who ever ran a franchise, loathed by fans and media and former players. Charles Oakley still despises Dolan after he was banned from the Garden, which prompted commissioner Adam Silver to say this week, “It is a shame, in that I tried — Michael Jordan tried too — to broker peace between Charles and Jim Dolan. Our efforts were unsuccessful. I think it’s unfortunate for the NBA that this is an ongoing situation.” Once, Dolan told an angry 73-year-old fan that he’s “a sad person” with alcohol issues. In spite of the rampant detestation, he’ll be in the front row as he oversees one of the city’s biggest sports stories ever.

How is this possible?

A city always adores a champion, apparently, and this man is two victories from a long-desired crown. Dolan has struggled intensely running the Knicks, failing with Phil Jackson and other men until, oddly, he hired Mike Brown after he’d been fired four times in the league. The best deed was bringing in president Leon Rose, a former agent, who made sure his godson, Jalen Brunson, was heisted from Dallas before filling in the roster with ideal teammates. Somehow, Dolan finally figured it out after 28 years. And though Trump isn’t wise to attend as a native New Yorker — fans aren’t allowed to bring bags and will experience Secret Service-type screening — he’ll leave his fate to the owner.

“I’ve been a Knick fan for a long time, and I’m also a Jim Dolan fan. He’s a nice guy, OK?” Trump said. “He spent a long time wanting to win and he’s a competitive guy and he’s got a team that’s amazing. I’m happy for Jim because Jim has been fighting hard to produce such a team, so, yes, he’s invited me and I’m going.”

And if fans can’t afford the prices? “They can watch it on television,” Trump said. “It’s sort of semi-free to watch it on television, but that’s the way life goes.”

At 71, Dolan suddenly is entrenched as the town honcho. He predicted a title last week and leads the Spurs 2-0. Today, he says the Knicks are a symbol of the city. “It represents the people of New York City, yes. Absolutely. That’s New Yorkers, right?” he told the New York Post. “They’re tough, they’re gritty, they’re full of personality. But they’re also high-character individuals. You have a good sense of right and wrong and what’s fair and what’s not, and if you cross it with ’em, you’re gonna get a New York hello. That’s New Yorkers, right? We’re not subtle, but we’re very straightforward. New Yorkers, they love effort. They don’t just love winners, they love effort, sincere effort. And if there’s nothing else you’re getting from the Knicks, you’re getting sincere effort.”

He has been a subject lately in various publications, but Dolan usually says no to interviews. When the Knicks won the Eastern Conference, he didn’t accept the trophy — he wanted Brunson to hold it. Why did he hire Brown to replace Tom Thibodeau? “Leon convinced me,” he told the Post. “We knew we had a good coach in Thibs. We weren’t just going for a change, right? There was something we wanted, and we laid it out, really on paper, what we were looking for in a coach. I would say the No. 1 quality was collaborative, that was a big piece, somebody who strategically could avail himself of all the minds around him. And we were looking for flexibility. So we laid out all these sort of characteristics that we were looking for, and then I set Leon loose. And he interviewed a lot of different guys, and he came back with Mike, and I’m like, ‘OK.’ Leon did all the work. I just blessed it.”

Why does he love Brunson? “At first, I would have said — and I don’t think you can say this anymore — is how underestimated he was. I don’t think people are underestimating him anymore,” Dolan said. “They were underestimating him to now they’re double-teaming him, now he’s moving the ball around. And how focused he is — don’t get too high, don’t get too low — that’s a big part of Jalen.”

Of all people, Stephen A. Smith wants Trump to stay at the White House. Can we also ask Smith to remain at home? “I don’t want him there. It has nothing to do with politics, policy, or anything like that. It has everything to do with him disrupting and contributing at the same time to the chaos that’s going to be existing at Madison Square Garden,” Smith said. “If it were Barack Obama coming to the Garden, I would say, ‘Stay home.’ I have been covering sports for over 30 years. And I’m telling you right now, come Monday, for Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden, I expect to see an environment I have never seen in my entire career.”

But for Trump and Dolan, fear is part of the fun. Has it occurred to the owner that he soon might he waving at fans from the Canyon of Heroes? Before Game 1, he said, “If we are able to at least take one of the first away games, then I think you can dream about that. At some point or another, I hope to be going down the Canyon of Heroes, yes.”

Will people boo him? Sure.

Will he laugh at them?

Sure.

###

Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.

What is left of the NBA Finals? The Spurs have lost the first two games at home when no other team has responded from such a rut. A sweep means the Knicks will finish with 15 straight wins, the best concluding act ever. At least Wembanyama’s anger resulted in a 12-0 run, but as Jalen Brunson made shots, the Spurs needed a game-winner. Instead, he threw the ball off Stephon Castle in a wicked turnover, which led to a Brunson free throw with 9.5 seconds remaining. And in the final ticks, Wemby missed his open jumper. Were the nuns weeping in the front row of Frost Bank Center after a 105-104 loss?

He won’t live down the errant pass to Castle. “I threw that one away. I messed up. We needed to win that game,” Wembanyama said. “This game was ours. But at this point, it’s done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”

Seems he hasn’t recovered from the thrill of beating the Thunder in seven games. “I think I could have been better recovering from the high of the conference finals. But here we are now,” he said. “The past is the past. We can’t change the past. … I’m still very blurry, and that’s the whole problem. I need to have more poise, more control over the game. That’s the general image.”

In Manhattan, by Madison Square Garden and throughout a rocking place, crazies are beginning to celebrate their team’s first championship since 1973. It reached the point where De’Aaron Fox was left to jaw with Brunson and his father, Rick, an assistant coach. It didn’t matter because the Knicks kept receiving scoring waves on an evening when Brunson hit only 7 of 25 shots — Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, Landry Shamet.

“Zero-zero man. F— em. Keep playing desperate, man,” Bridges said of the trip home. “Sorry, excuse my language. Desperate. That’s the only thing we got to worry about. Take this break, we got two days, take a break, do whatever we gotta do to get ready. Keep going out there and don’t stop. Keep pushing. Leave everything on that court.”

Only the fools aren’t paying attention. Game 1 had a peak audience of 19.63 million viewers, the biggest Finals number in seven years and 90 percent higher than the opener of last year’s Thunder-Pacers series. Those who favor baseball, in sad markets, should realize the Knicks-Spurs wiped out Game 1 in 15 of the last 16 World Series. Wait until President Trump — oh, what will he do? — tries to shut down Wembanyama on Monday night. The 13 straight wins have come by 273 points, which is 31 more than the Warriors needed amid 15 consecutive wins in 2017.

Forget the Nova Knicks. Brunson, Bridges and Josh Hart are the pride of New York, in a flurry described as more fun than three recent championships by the Yankees and two by the Giants. Pat Ambrose, Brunson’s coach at Stevenson High in Illinois, compares the Finals to “The Shawshank Redemption.” He watches every game. He knows Brunson will win his fourth title — NBA, college, high school — in 11 years. “Everybody is better than Jalen Brunson until it’s time to be better than Jalen Brunson,” Hart said. “He’s still underrated in the league. He keeps proving people wrong.”

Towns again was an early factor on offense and defense, jamming the ball and yelling in Wembanyama’s face. “As for us, we’re kind of like spoiled kids. For some of us, it’s our first season — or one of our first seasons — and we’re already in the Finals,” Wemby said. “We don’t fully realize it yet. And to me, the team that appreciates the position we’re in the most will be the one that wins.” See the Knicks. Ignore the Spurs.

No one is certain what happens next to Ben Stiller and Timothee Chalamet. They are delirious and won’t come down the rest of their lives. Said coach Mike Brown of the fans: “To have them come and take over a town, take over a hotel, take over an arena and hear them chant ‘Let’s Go Knicks’ — or Jalen shooting a free throw, ‘MVP’ — that definitely gives you a boost.”

The players needed it as they gassed out. “The reason we won this game is because we gave ourselves a lead. Something we’ve done so well in these playoffs is, we got leads, and we held the lead,” Towns said. “Today, the Spurs fought. They got themselves back into the game, put themselves in a chance to win. The grit, the resiliency of New York City showed up. The fans showed up. The energy showed up. And we found a way to get it done.”

Again, he noticed his late mother. Will Towns be the MVP? “You go through life, if you lose a parent, anyone who’s listening, you just look for signs,” he said. “I’ll take any sign I could get, and I prayed to her strong before (the final) possession. A great player got a great shot, it just didn’t go in. I take it as a sign that my mom was here for me.”

For 53 years, no one was there for the Knicks.

Next week, they will have millions.

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Jay Mariotti, called “without question the most impacting Chicago sportswriter of the past quarter-century,’’ writes general sports columns for Substack while appearing on some of the 1,678,498 podcasts and shows in production today. He is an accomplished columnist, TV panelist and talk/podcast host.