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