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      Marketa Vondrousova Ends Elina Svitolina’s Wimbledon Run

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      Vondrousova beat Svitolina, the Ukrainian tennis star who had won the hearts of fans, in straight sets to advance to the women’s singles final.Elina Svitolina’s storybook run at Wimbledon came to an agonizing end on Thursday as she lost her semifinal match against Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic in straight sets.Svitolina, a new mother from Ukraine who has become a symbol of defiance since the Russian invasion in February 2022 — especially so during her runs at the French Open and Wimbledon — fell to Vondrousova, 6-3, 6-3, on an error-filled afternoon under the roof on Centre Court.For 10 days, Svitolina, who needed a wild card to get into the tournament, had played tennis with a combination of freedom and defiance that thrilled the British crowd, especially during her win over 19th-seeded Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the fourth round, when she prevailed in a final set tiebreaker after Azarenka appeared to have the match all but won. Two days later, Svitolina toppled Iga Swiatek of Poland, the world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion, in another tense and emotional three-set triumph.She spoke of how the war and being a new mother had changed her and her approach to tennis, even making her better because she had a new perspective on the sport.“I don’t take difficult situations as like a disaster,” she said. “There are worse things in life. I’m just more calmer.”But then she ran into Vondrousova, a talented and tricky left-handed player who may not have anything close to the résumé of Swiatek and Azarenka — or Sofia Kenin or Venus Williams, two of Svitolina’s other victims at this tournament — but she played as if she did.Vondrousova, who was a ranked No. 1 in the world as a junior and reached the French Open final in 2019, is developing a habit of playing the spoiler. At the Tokyo Olympics, she eliminated Naomi Osaka of Japan, the national hero and international star who had lit the Olympic torch at the opening ceremony, and went on to win a silver medal.Against Svitolina, she displayed every bit of the skill that she has shown in her best matches, showing off a varied attack that includes rolling forehands, drop shots and a penchant for going to the net to finish points at every opportunity. Being left-handed also helps. It forces opponents to adjust to different spins than they normally face and to switch the direction of their attack if they want to get the ball onto her backhand.She had plenty of help from Svitolina, who during the first hour of the match looked as if she had lost the ethereal feel for the ball that had characterized her play throughout so much of the tournament. Swiatek has spoken about how this version of Svitolina, who spent so much of her maternity leave raising money for war relief in Ukraine, was so different.“She played with more freedom and more guts,” Swiatek said. “Sometimes she really just let go of her hand and she played really, really fast.”That version of Svitolina appeared only briefly. In the second set, down a set and 4-0, she broke Vondrousova’s serve twice to gain a chance to even the set.The crowd, which had wanted so badly to help swing the match in her favor, came alive as Svitolina let out a scream and a fist pump and skipped toward her chair for the changeover. But as soon as she seized the momentum, she gave it right back. More

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      Inside the NBA’s Version of Comic-Con

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      Promoted as a celebration of the league’s cultural relevance, the convention also highlighted the N.B.A.’s business ambitions.Somewhere under the lights of the Mandalay Bay Convention Center over the weekend, the Jabbawockeez danced during a television special that could have been an email as part of the “most culturally relevant basketball experience on the planet.”That’s what the signs called it, anyway. It was the first-ever N.B.A. Con, the league’s riff on Comic-Con. The basketball-themed Lollapalooza was a three-day smorgasbord of fashion, music and basketball.But seen through another lens, the convention was an intriguing window into how the league sees itself as a business.The first-ever N.B.A. Con drew more than 25,000 attendees.Bridget Bennett for The New York TimesThe event was a three-day festival of fashion, music and basketball. There were also arcade games.Bridget Bennett for The New York TimesFor the N.B.A., stars are bigger than the games — cultural presences far beyond the floor. The N.B.A. took advantage of that by holding the convention during its summer league in Las Vegas, when scores of stakeholders from the union, retired players, owners, general managers, players, sponsors and fans descend on Nevada.“When you ask people about the N.B.A., for them, it’s not a company,” said Mark Tatum, the league’s deputy commissioner. “It’s life. It’s their culture. The N.B.A. is this culture of music and fashion and entertainment and style.”More than 25,000 fans attended, mostly paying $30 to $250 to get in. But really, cultural relevance is priceless, especially when sponsored by Michelob Ultra. (They were there too.)The convention floor was set up to evoke the spirit of New York City, with park benches, Jenga, cornhole and pickleball courts. There were neighborhoods titled the Drip, the Collection, the Network, the Park and the Convos.The Drip, where sponsors set up shop, was the real core of the convention.Sure, a convention does help the league reach fans in a way it otherwise wouldn’t at a time when LeBron James isn’t playing every night. On Saturday, N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver detailed a new in-season tournament during a bloated television special. But throwing an N.B.A. Con meant the league also created an opportunity for new intellectual property. It sold N.B.A. Con merchandise and created a new Twitter account, though the account had fewer than 2,000 followers on Monday compared with nearly 44 million on the league account.There was an AT&T booth, where a sign read, “Step into the spotlight and show off your fire fit.” Fans lined up and shot slow-motion videos of their outfits under a fancy spotlight.Attendees swarmed the former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony for photos and autographs.Bridget Bennett for The New York TimesAnother booth, run by a memorabilia company, MeiGray, sold game-worn jerseys. Its main podium showed a mannequin wearing a jersey that Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic wore in Game 2 of the N.B.A. finals last month. It sold for $150,000. Next to that was a smaller podium with a jersey that Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler wore during Game 3 of that series. It sold for $17,500. To the victors — the Nuggets — go the bigger boxes and higher prices.Tucked in a back corner of the convention space was an exhibit called “Rings Culture,” from the jewelry store Jason of Beverly Hills. It displayed several replicas of championship rings. It might’ve been the perfect place for a heist in a movie like “Ocean’s Eleven.”The night before the convention, the N.B.A. held a walk-through for journalists. Tristan Jass, a YouTuber known for trick basketball shots, displayed some of his skills on a temporary court. But before doing so, he described his ascension to fame.“When you ask people about the N.B.A., for them, it’s not a company,” said the league’s deputy commissioner. “It’s life. It’s their culture.”Bridget Bennett for The New York TimesFans measured their vertical leaps near the Drip, an area of the convention where sponsors sold merchandise.Bridget Bennett for The New York Times“We just left a trail of inspiration around the world,” Jass told the crowd.His first shot was a heave from a spot adjacent to the court behind a chain-link fence. He missed the first two attempts, but hit the third. It was impressive. His second shot was a full-court launch from the opposite corner. This one didn’t go as well. After at least 20 misses, some observers — the uninspired ones, clearly — moved on to the rest of the tour. When a shot rimmed out, Jass muttered, “Those ones hurt.”The biggest draw for the weekend was a panel discussion with Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar moderated by Isiah Thomas, the former Detroit Pistons star. There were a couple hundred seats, but a long overflow line for viewers trying to catch a glimpse of a basketball torch being passed. Wembanyama was the much-heralded No. 1 pick in the N.B.A. draft last month.There was a larger backdrop too: Abdul-Jabbar’s conversation with Wembanyama in that 30-minute panel was more time than he had spent chatting with James in the last two decades combined. Last month, Abdul-Jabbar told reporters in Los Angeles that he had “never had a chance really to talk to LeBron, other than two or three minutes.”At N.B.A. Con, Abdul-Jabbar said he was struck by how much the game had changed.“The different duties and what is expected of various players in various positions,” he said. “It’s really been through a tremendous change, and for more than a few minutes, I just sat there and wondered, ‘Would I be able to compete?’”Abdul-Jabbar spent 20 seasons in the N.B.A. and retired in 1989 as the career scoring leader. James surpassed his record in February.“Sure would have been nice, though, to be able to fly from city to city in a charter jet like these guys do,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “I didn’t get to do that. I could have played longer.”To that end, the convention served not just as a branding exercise for the N.B.A., but also the players themselves. Scoot Henderson, the 19-year-old who was drafted third by the Portland Trail Blazers last month, is part of a new generation of stars with a marketing reach that players from Abdul-Jabbar’s era would find unrecognizable. Most players are active on social media, which has given them expanded ways to build an audience. Henderson was interviewed in a panel by the former Knicks star Carmelo Anthony — delivering a signal that the league viewed Henderson as next in the star lineage.“I’ve been thinking about myself as a business for a minute,” Henderson said afterward. “The name. A corporation — that’s who I am.”Most fans paid $30 to $250 to get into N.B.A. Con.Bridget Bennett for The New York Times More

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      The Tennis ‘Pilgrimage’ to the Wimbledon Queue

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      Thousands are waiting, even camping out, in rainy England for a chance to see one Wimbledon match. For some, it is an annual ritual, a pilgrimage for the love of tennis.Tom O’Neill and Roz McArdle stood in Wimbledon’s famous ticketing queue with barely a hope of getting inside the grounds. It was 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, there were 4,000 people ahead of them, and they were told by a steward that it was “enormously unlikely” they would get inside.But they, and hundreds of others, clinging to the tiniest flicker of hope that they might get to see at least one match in the citadel of tennis, persistently inched along the snaking line.“We might as well give it a shot,” McArdle said. “We left work around 4 and got here about 5. If we don’t make it, maybe we’ll come back on Friday.”They were doing what people have done for more than a century, joining a line that weaves through an adjacent golf course and down Church Road to a ticket office, where each person, some of whom wait in line for over 24 hours, can purchase one ticket, for that day only, to attend the most famous tennis tournament in the world.Wimbledon sells tickets months in advance through a public ballot system, and allocates some tickets to tennis clubs and residents who live near the All England Club.Jane Stockdale for The New York Times“It’s totally worth it,” said Shreyas Dharmadhikari, a defense lawyer from Jabalpur in central India. “It is a pilgrimage you make for the love of tennis, for the love of Wimbledon.”With a capacity of roughly 42,000 for the grounds, Wimbledon sells tickets months in advance through a public ballot system, and allocates some tickets to tennis clubs and people who live near the All England Club, and through other select means. It is among the hardest tickets to get in sports, but the tournament does provide thousands of daily tickets to the public, if they are willing to wait hours for one.The queue is one of the longest, old-fashioned box office lines in the world, the sports equivalent to the infamous Studio 54 line, but a lot older.Roz McArdle and Tom O’Neill hoped they would get inside for at least one match on Wednesday.Jane Stockdale for The New York TimesShreyas Dharmadhikari and his son Arjun waited 5 ½ hours to get inside.Jane Stockdale for The New York TimesOn Wednesday, Dharmadhikari brought his son, Arjun, who wore a sticker given out by stewards that read, “I queued in the rain.” They were given holding cards with Nos. 11,466 and 11,477, waited five and a half hours to get inside and were delighted to see several matches and eat strawberries and cream.But on Monday, some people waited nearly twice that long under periodic bursts of persistent rain on a disastrous opening day for the queue. Tournament organizers blamed the delays, which slowed the pace of the line to a crawl, on heightened security searches due to the threat of a climate protest.A protester threw confetti during a match between Sho Shimabukuro and Grigor Dimitrov on Court 18 on Wednesday.Jane Stockdale for The New York TimesThe ball crew picked up confetti and jigsaw pieces that had been thrown on the court.Tolga Akmen/EPA, via ShutterstockThe threat became reality on Wednesday when two protesters ran onto Court No. 18 and flipped over a box of orange confetti. The protesters were led away rather quickly and the match resumed — but only after another rain delay in a tournament plagued by them. After weeks with virtually no precipitation in London, it rained intermittently during the first three days of the tournament, causing havoc within the schedule and in the soggy queue.But even without special circumstances, the queue can be a long (sometimes over a mile), tiresome, adventurous, wet, fun and uniquely British institution.Two schoolboys, Simon, 10, and his brother Stefano, 8, calmly read comic books as they waited on Wednesday, hoping to see their favorite player, the Italian 21-year-old Jannik Sinner, who beat Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in straight sets on Court No. 1.“We have been waiting for maybe two hours,” Simon said, and his brother asked, “Do you think we will make it?”Jane Stockdale for The New York TimesStewards helped organize the queue on Wednesday.Jane Stockdale for The New York TimesAbout an hour later, a steward announced to a group somewhere in the middle of the line that there were 1,600 people ahead of them and that he was informed by a ticket manager only 250 more tickets would be released. Gasps of incredulity and disappointment rang out from the group, but no one immediately left.“How you receive this information is entirely up to you,” said the steward, who did everything short of ordering everyone to go home.That would not have been easy for Danielle Payten and her husband, David Payten, who flew from Sydney, Australia, with their three children. They took no chances of being shut out from the daily queue by doing what hundreds do daily. They camped overnight in tents.David Payten, top center, flew from Sydney with his family and camped overnight in tents.Jane Stockdale for The New York TimesThe tent area, where spectators spend the night to ensure they’ll have a good spot in line the following day, is the more festive area of the queue: People play soccer, cards, cricket or read and sip cocktails. The sun broke out Wednesday afternoon, prompting young men in the line to remove their shirts for some spontaneous sunbathing.“It’s like a carnival atmosphere,” said one steward, who asked not to be named because they are not permitted to speak to reporters.The Paytens arrived at 3:30 p.m. and met some folks from the neighboring tents, one of whom had a dog. They chatted, ate and drank as they prepared for a cricket game on a patch of flat grass later that evening. Danielle’s brother, Chris Kearsley, who lives in London, arrived early to set up three tents for them (only two people per tent are given tickets). His daughter, Eliza Kearsley, lives a 15-minute walk from the same mystical venue that her relatives traveled 10,000 miles to see.She popped over just to see her relatives, for neither she nor her father planned to camp out and attend the next day’s matches.“If I stayed overnight, I’d been too drunk to go inside,” Chris Kearsley joked.But with only about 200 people in front of their group, the Australian cousins were virtually guaranteed entrance for Thursday’s matches.“It’s well worth it,” David Payten said. “It’s an adventure.”One traveler from Japan, who planned to stay for most of the two weeks of the tournament, brought a portable, solar powered clothes washer.Maria Balhetchet, a professional violinist from Dorset in southern England, and Felix Bailey, her tennis-playing son, arrived at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, aiming for Thursday’s action. They were given card No. 101, meaning only 100 people were ahead of them. Balhetchet camped out last year with her other son, and even though they scored third-row tickets to an explosive match between the eventual men’s singles finalist Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the experience was generally exhausting. Moisture infiltrated the tent, she did not get any sleep and she vowed never to do it again.But there she was on Wednesday.“It’s like giving birth,” she said. “You go through it and say, ‘Never again,’ but then of course you want to.”They were prepared to awake at 6 a.m. Thursday (after being in line almost 18 hours). Campers are given 30 minutes to dismantle their tents and put them in daily storage, then get into the line and wait — wait for it — for four more hours until the gates open. Some people, after watching the tennis, go back to the park, pick up their tents and queue up all over again — hence the need for the washing machine.Among those still hoping to get in on Wednesday was a group of teenage tennis players from the Time to Play Tennis Academy in Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare. Their coach, Doug Robinson, said the group flew from Harare to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and then to London, where they hoped to see Wimbledon live, and then play some matches around England.Late Wednesday afternoon they were still far back in the queue. The kids sat on the ground chatting, and Robinson sized up the situation.“It’s not looking too good from here,” he said. “But it’s Wimbledon. You have to take the chance.”Jane Stockdale for The New York Times More

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      in Basket

      After Midnight at the NBA Draft, Dreams Still Come True

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      Mark Tatum, the deputy commissioner of the N.B.A., had an important job — though not a glamorous one — on Thursday night.He had the late shift.Shortly after 11 p.m., Tatum clocked in to begin announcing the names of the players who had been selected in the second round of the N.B.A. draft at Barclays Center. By then, the crowd had thinned, leaving just dozens of scattered fans — and sharply dressed but tired family members — as his audience. There might have been tumbleweeds somewhere.Commissioner Adam Silver had received prime billing at 8 p.m., calling the names and shaking the hands of the most-hyped prospects in the first round, such as Victor Wembanyama, Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson — the top three picks.But Tatum was there for the confident players who were starting to feel snubbed, and for the long shots still hoping to be given a chance. Some of the players Tatum called — like Amari Bailey of U.C.L.A. — were with their family and friends up in the stands, not high-profile enough to be one of the 24 players invited to sit at the long tables draped with black tablecloths and gold basketballs on the floor of the arena. It looked like the most upscale cafeteria known to man.Mark Tatum on stage during the second round of the draft.The first pick Tatum announced, for the Charlotte Hornets at No. 31 overall, was James Nnaji, a center from Nigeria who came up and shook his hand. Art Nevins, a 34-year-old from Brooklyn, was still around to see it.A New Orleans Pelicans fan, Nevins had come with his friend John Traub, 33. Sitting in the stands, Nevins said he was sticking around for the second round to see if the Pelicans might be able to trade for Henderson, whom the Portland Trail Blazers had selected with the No. 3 pick.“I’m wide-awake,” Nevins said. “I’m ready.”It helped that because he had purchased his tickets with a particular credit card, he had received a voucher for two free drinks.Bailey, a point guard who spent one season at U.C.L.A., was selected 41st overall by Charlotte. He descended from the stands in a stylish white suit that appeared to be lined with pearls.Tatum, through a spokesman, said that he looked forward to announcing the second-round picks every year.“The second round is when the hard-core basketball fans at Barclays Center make the most noise,” he said.And they did: Even a single person’s cheers could be heard from the opposite side of the emptying arena.A few rows behind Nevins sat Christian Cabrera, a 22-year-old San Antonio Spurs fan who had made the trek from Atlantic City, N.J., to see Wembanyama be selected with the first pick. He wasn’t ready to leave.“You can’t be tired on a night like this,” Cabrera said. He added: “I’m a real fan, you know? I’m getting my money’s worth for the trip out here. I got to see Wemby up close and personal. I got to be on ESPN, so it was cool.”Amari Bailey, a point guard from U.C.L.A., was selected 41st overall by the Charlotte Hornets. He came down from the stands to meet Tatum on the stage.There’s always a chance of seeing history by hanging in there.In 2014, Nikola Jokic was sleeping in Serbia when the Denver Nuggets drafted him in the second round, and a Taco Bell commercial had been airing when Tatum announced his name. It seemed that only the people in the building had heard the call — the start of the N.B.A. career of a future champion and two-time winner of the Most Valuable Player Award.Depelsha McGruder, who attended the draft with her 11-year-old son, Grant, said she went to Harvard Business School with Tatum. She said his affection for the night shift was genuine.“It’s still the N.B.A. draft,” said McGruder, an executive at the Ford Foundation. “It doesn’t matter. I mean, there’s still people here. This is one of the biggest nights in basketball. Hoop dreams are coming true.”One player sobbed in Tatum’s arms after his name was called.Rayan Rupert, a 19-year-old guard from France, was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 43rd pick.Tatum had another triumphant made-for-television moment, for those who were still awake and watching.Rayan Rupert, a 19-year-old guard from France, was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers with the 43rd pick. Rupert was the last of the 24 invited players still remaining at the tables on the main floor. When Tatum announced his name, Rupert received a roaring standing ovation from the remaining crowd as he hugged his family and friends, with tears in his eyes.Most second-round picks will not have All-Star careers, though players like Jokic, Draymond Green, Dennis Rodman and Manu Ginobili have been exceptions. But judging by all of the hugs, cheers and tears deep into Thursday night, getting drafted, no matter how late, still matters.The 58th and last pick of the draft went to the Milwaukee Bucks, sometime after midnight.They chose Chris Livingston, a forward from the University of Kentucky. He was in the stands and made his way down to the stage.Tatum ended the night with a handshake.One pick acknowledged some of the few remaining fans while heading into the tunnel at Barclays Center. More

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      Victor Wembanyama Has San Antonio Businesses Eager to Cash In

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      Mark Burnett can’t get Victor Wembanyama out of his head. Well, he could, but it would be like taking a knife to the “Mona Lisa.”Burnett, a San Antonio Spurs superfan, had Joe Barajas, a well-known local barber, shear Wembanyama’s likeness into the side of his head just over a week ago. He, like pretty much everyone else in the basketball world, had been expecting the Spurs to select Wembanyama No. 1 overall in the N.B.A. draft on Thursday.“I wanted to show Victor something special, that the city of San Antonio already loves him,” Burnett said at a draft night party at the Spurs’ home arena, moments before San Antonio indeed selected Wembanyama, who had shared a photo of Burnett on his Instagram account.Fanatical? Perhaps. But also eminently reasonable, and not just because of the immense promise of Wembanyama, a 19-year-old French basketball star. As San Antonio’s sole major professional sports franchise, the Spurs are the beating heart of the seventh-largest city in the United States.The Spurs introduced Victor Wembanyama at a news conference at their home arena, the AT&T Center, on Saturday.Darren Abate/Associated Press“I want to do the best I can in every aspect of the job,” Wembanyama said during his introductory news conference on Saturday in San Antonio. “The fans have been the best at their job. I can only hope to be at their level.”That magic, though, has recently gone missing in the River City. The Spurs have not been to the playoffs in the past four seasons; they had made it every year since 1997, winning five championships. A miserable 2022-23 campaign, where they tied for the worst record in the Western Conference, granted a silver lining: a tie for the best odds to receive the No. 1 pick in the draft. Now they have Wembanyama.“It’s going to be a huge uptick for the economy,” said Aaron Peña, who owns two bars in San Antonio and plans to open another in two weeks. “We’re already planning to host not only opening-night parties, but every Spurs game. It’s going to be a party.”For some business owners, the party has already commenced. Chip Ingram owns Roo Pub, an Australian-themed bar inspired by Patty Mills, a former Spurs guard from Australia. Ingram got a big crowd in his pub on May 16 after he announced that if the Spurs won the draft lottery that night, he would pick up the tab. That night might have cost him a pretty penny, since the Spurs won, but Ingram said the spotlight made it more than worth it.Matt Dawson, a Spurs fan, celebrated the draft at the Southtown 101 bar in San Antonio on Thursday in a T-shirt that turned the “W” logo for Whataburger into a symbol for Wembanyama.Josh Huskin for The New York TimesFans at the draft party at the AT&T Center on Thursday in San Antonio.Josh Huskin for The New York TimesIngram has spruced up his menu with a “Wemby Burger” that includes foie gras and French onion strings. After a $1 promotional deal on draft night, the burger now costs $21.50 — a nod to the Spurs legends Tim Duncan, who wore No. 21, and David Robinson, who wore No. 50. They, too, were No. 1 picks.Economic research casts some doubt on the potential strength of the Wembanyama effect in San Antonio. A 2017 paper from Daniel Shoag of Harvard University and Stan Veuger of the American Enterprise Institute found that LeBron James’s return to Cleveland in 2014 boosted the number of restaurants and other eating and drinking venues close to the Cavaliers’ arena. But that wasn’t the case in Miami when James joined the Heat in 2010, though he had a significant effect on employment close to the arenas in both cities. Economists have long argued that professional sports franchises and their stadiums don’t do much to help local economies.“I think people are going to be into the Spurs no matter what, but this just does give more attention to San Antonio,” said Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio who was also the secretary of housing and urban development under President Barack Obama. “It gives a boost to the city in terms of how much it’s in the national spotlight. It raises the profile and visibility of the city with people, and that’s always good for business.”Fans rushed to purchase Wembanyama gear at the Spurs’ draft night party.Josh Huskin for The New York TimesShea Serrano, an author and television writer from San Antonio, never passes up an opportunity to discuss his beloved Spurs. He said he “lost my mind” when the Spurs won the draft lottery.“It felt in the city at that moment like we had won another championship,” he said.Brandon Gayle, chief operating officer of the Spurs, said the team had seen a sharp increase in demand for season tickets — and from a younger, more diverse demographic than usual. San Antonio’s population is about 66 percent Hispanic or Latino of any race and 23 percent white alone, with less than 10 percent of residents who identify as Asian or Black/African American, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Gayle said the Spurs wanted to expand their reach further into Mexico and Austin, Texas, where the team has played several games in recent seasons.From the opening of the Spurs’ arena, the AT&T Center, before the 2002-3 season to the 2018-19 season, the last time the team made the playoffs, San Antonio always ranked in the top half of N.B.A. attendance. They were in the bottom five the past two seasonsCarly Tovar represents the second generation of a three-generation Spurs family. She attended the draft night party with her young son, Mario Calderon, and her father, Ralph Tovar, who started rooting for the Spurs when the team moved from Dallas in the 1970s. The Spurs won their first title in 1999, when Carly was in high school. Over the protests of her father, she went downtown to join in the celebration, where fans walked on the freeway, honked their car horns in jubilation and soaked in the victory over the Knicks.Ralph Tovar, left, his grandson Mario Calderon, center, and his daughter Carly Tovar, right, at the Spurs’ draft night party.Josh Huskin for The New York Times“I came up with David Robinson, Avery Johnson, and I was able to appreciate the next generation with Duncan and Robinson,” Carly said. “So now we get to see that happen for the third time.” She motioned to her son.Ralph agreed. “It’s good for our city,” he said. “It’s got what we call la lumbre, the fire.”The renewed energy around the Spurs has visibly changed San Antonio, in the form of striking Wembanyama homages from local artists. Oscar Alvarado, a tile mosaic artist who traces his family’s San Antonio roots back nearly 300 years, built an 18-foot-tall Wembanyama cutout from steel and plywood. Colton Valentine crafted a larger-than-life mural of Wembanyama palming two basketballs on the outside of a bar in the artsy neighborhood of Southtown, earning a visit from Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich. And Nik Soupe was perhaps the boldest of them all: He finished a mural of Wembanyama wearing a Spurs jersey nearly two months before the draft lottery.An art installation of Victor Wembanyama by San Antonio artist Oscar Alvarado.Josh Huskin for The New York TimesSeveral fans said Wembanyama’s ability to generate a palpable buzz was decidedly “un-Spurslike.” Duncan was notably quiet and rarely did interviews or commercials, much like Kawhi Leonard, who helped the Spurs win their most recent championship, in 2014.But so far, Wembanyama has reveled in the spotlight. He beamed in a video on Instagram as a horde of fans greeted him after he landed in San Antonio on Friday.“He should expect legions of little old ladies saying prayers in Catholic churches for the Spurs to win,” Castro said, “and his success being celebrated by people like he’s a member of their family. That’s the level of enthusiasm and how personally that a lot of folks take it over there.” More

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      Where Do Miami Heat Fans Watch the N.B.A. Finals? For Many, Flanigan’s Seafood Bar and Grill.

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      In South Florida, Flanigan’s, a fishing-themed restaurant chain, is the hot spot to watch the Miami Heat play the Denver Nuggets.People are used to waiting in lines behind velvet ropes to squeeze into the hottest bars and clubs in Miami. But when the Miami Heat are playing for an N.B.A. title, the trendiest place to be is a fishing-themed bar and grill.Nearly two hours before Game 1 of the finals began on Thursday night, most of the wood-paneled booths and bar stools at the Flanigan’s in Kendall were filled with Heat fans, many of them wearing the No. 22 jersey of the team’s star forward Jimmy Butler. (The restaurant is one of more than 20 Flanigan’s in South Florida.)Dozens of other unlucky fans lined up outside the entrance, even after the hostesses told them they’d be waiting about three hours to get in, longer than the game itself. A father and son ate takeout in the back of their pickup truck as they watched the game on one of the restaurant’s outdoor TV screens visible from the parking lot.“The energy and enthusiasm is electric,” said Kelly Connor, 59. Her husband had arrived hours earlier to grab a table for her and their teenage daughter. “It’s the next best thing to being at the game.”Erick Morales, 31, enjoying a bit of Stella Artois beer at the Flanigan’s location in Kendall, Fla.Martina Tuaty for The New York TimesSome of the most popular items include the mountain of loaded nachos and the buttery garlic rolls.Martina Tuaty for The New York TimesEvery seat in the restaurant, too, had a view of a flat-screen television, some mounted between life-size Atlantic blue marlins. All were broadcasting the game.But the generous all-day specials are also a draw for this restaurant, which Joe (Big Daddy) Flanigan started in 1959 as Big Daddy’s, a chain of liquor stores and lounges. Though he died in 2005, his face still adorns the green plastic cups and the restaurant signage.In the 1980s, while facing bankruptcy, the company added restaurants to the business, said Abel Sanchez, a local historian. The pivot happened as interest in Miami sports increased.“They’ve been gold ever since,” Mr. Sanchez said.On Monday, when the Heat won the Eastern Conference finals, the chain sold more than 50,000 wings.That’s Erick Morales’s go-to item when he comes here. He recently moved to Atlanta, but since returning to Miami for vacation three weeks ago, he has been at least eight times to the restaurant, where he and his friends can consume about 50 wings. He also chose the restaurant for his high school graduation dinner in 2010.“This is the hidden gem of Miami,” Mr. Morales, 31, yelled as the crowd cheered when the Heat scored. But the fans’ enthusiasm didn’t keep the Heat from losing to the Denver Nuggets 104-93. As soon as the game was done, the TV channels were changed and the soundtrack switched to salsa music.Heat fans know to show up at the restaurant about two hours before tipoff. Those who didn’t get a table on Thursday night before the game had to wait about three hours.Martina Tuaty for The New York TimesFollow New York Times Cooking on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok and Pinterest. Get regular updates from New York Times Cooking, with recipe suggestions, cooking tips and shopping advice. More

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      in Tennis

      At Roland Garros, the French Get Behind Their Own

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      Had you been at Roland Garros around supper time Wednesday evening and heard the crowd of nearly 10,000 fans chanting Lucas Pouille’s name at a near deafening level, you would have assumed you had just missed a triumphant performance.Not even close. Pouille, a 29-year-old Frenchman, on the court named for Suzanne Lenglen, the French tennis star of the 1920s, lost in straight sets to Cameron Norrie, a Briton to add insult to injury, in less than two hours.No matter.For 105 minutes, the French faithful had serenaded Pouille and met his every winner with rousing roars. A four-piece band with a horn and a bass drum tooted and banged away between points. If you are French at the French Open, it’s what you do.Each of the four Grand Slam tournaments has its unique charms and intangible quirks, rhythms and characteristics.Fans waited for the Frenchman Arthur Fils to sign autographs after his first-round match on Monday.Pete Kiehart for The New York TimesFrench flags fluttered in the stands during the Fils match.Pete Kiehart for The New York TimesThe Australian Open is a two-week summertime party held when much of the world is shivering. Wimbledon has its mystique, the sense that the grass, especially on Centre Court, is hallowed ground, and the hear-a-pin-drop silence of the most proper of crowds. The U.S. Open delivers noisy chaos, the rattle of New York’s subways and the teeming crowds that joyfully ignore the idea that big-time tennis is supposed to unfold amid quiet.Roland Garros’s signature is the near limitless abandon with which the French fans unite behind anyone who plays under the bleu-blanc-rouge as the French standard is known. There are spontaneous renditions of the French national anthem, “La Marseillaise,” as though they are at Humphrey Bogart’s cafe in “Casablanca.”This happened after Pouille, once ranked 10th in the world and currently 675th following struggles with injuries and depression, beat Jurij Rodionov of Austria in the first round in waning light Sunday.“It made me want to keep working to get back and experience it again,” said Pouille, who stayed and listened to the serenade.When a French player is on the court — any French player, on any court — there is a distinctly louder, higher-pitched and fuller sound that rises from the stands. It’s like the crescendo of a symphony, over and over, hour after hour.Supporters of Alice Robbe of France serenaded her during a qualifying match last week.Pete Kiehart for The New York TimesFils enjoyed the crowd’s backing after winning a game during his first-round match.Pete Kiehart for The New York TimesAmazingly, it keeps going on even though the French have been mostly terrible at this event for a long while — or maybe that’s why it happens. A Frenchman has not won the singles tournament since Yannick Noah in 1983, or made the final since Henri Leconte in 1988. A Frenchwoman has not won since Mary Pierce in 2000, which was also the last time the country was represented in the women’s singles final.Albert Camus, the French philosopher, famously wrote that we must consider Sisyphus, the Greek mythology figure, to be happy, even though he spends his life repeatedly pushing a rock uphill because “the struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart.”Camus would have made a perfect modern French tennis fan.The zenith of this tournament for the French came Tuesday night as Gael Monfils, whose Gumby-like athleticism and ambivalent relationship with the sport have made him a tennis folk hero, came back from the brink to beat Sebastian Baez of Argentina in five sets.Monfils, 36, who has been battling injuries and played little the past year, cramped so badly in the fifth set he could barely walk. He fell behind by 4-0, but the crowd never relented and willed him back to life. The roars at the main court, Philippe Chatrier, could be heard more than a mile away. It was obvious what was unfolding simply by opening a bedroom window.Monfils told the crowd the victory was as much theirs as his after he prevailed 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 1-6, 7-5.The ecstasy ride ended 24 hours later when Monfils called a late-night news conference to announce his withdrawal from the tournament because of a wrist injury.Caroline Garcia, seeded fifth, seemed to be the French’s best hope of having their first women’s singles finalist since 2000.James Hill for The New York TimesGarcia lost her second-round match to Anna Blinkova of Russia in three sets, despite the encouragement of the crowd.James Hill for The New York TimesIt came at the end of an awful day for the French players, who dropped all their singles matches. That included Caroline Garcia, the fifth seed and the only seeded Frenchwoman.Garcia had spoken earlier in the week of trying to capture the enthusiasm of the crowd and use it to her advantage. In the past, she has experienced it as pressure that has caused her to disappoint in front of the hometown fans. She has never made it past the quarterfinals.“I try and take all of this energy,” she had said of the support. “It’s a great opportunity.”No such luck. Garcia was cruising, up a set and a break in her second-round match Wednesday against Anna Blinkova of Russia. But she tightened up and frittered away the lead. The crowd helped her draw even at 5-5 in the third set, rattling Blinkova into double faults as Garcia saved eight match points before she lost, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.“She managed the crowd very well and kept very calm,” Garcia said of Blinkova.There was more pain Thursday as French players lost their last three singles matches, but those uniquely throaty urgings were an accompaniment all the same. When the last Frenchman, Arthur Rinderknech, lost Thursday night to the ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz, the crowd booed Fritz so loudly he could not hear the questions during his on-court interview. And a year from now, the French fans will push the rock up the hill again, and again, and again.James Hill for The New York Times More

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      in Basket

      What Carmelo Anthony Meant to New York City

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      Anthony, a Brooklyn native, rejuvenated a beleaguered Knicks fan base and embraced the city’s culture, on and off the court.There were many moments that evoked roars inside Madison Square Garden when the Knicks faced the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals this month: when Jalen Brunson hit a 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, prompting a Heat timeout, or any of the five times RJ Barrett sank a 3, sending the Garden’s white-knuckled Knicks fans into a frenzy.But the loudest roar that night came during a stoppage in play when a large video screen showed Carmelo Anthony sitting courtside. Anthony stood with one hand raised as most of the fans gave him a standing ovation, showering him with applause and cheers as if he had just made a game-winning shot.Anthony never won a title for the Knicks or even made a conference finals in his six and a half seasons with the team, but the moment was a reminder of how much he still means to New York. The city had yearned for a star after years of mediocrity and got one in Anthony, a Brooklyn native ready to make Knicks games exciting again.Anthony came to the Knicks in 2011, after they had missed the playoffs for six years in a row.Barton Silverman/The New York TimesWhen Anthony announced his retirement Monday, many fans began to wonder when the Knicks would retire the No. 7 he wore while he played for the team.“New York is the type of place that will melt you if you ain’t ready for it,” said the rapper Chuck D, who grew up on Long Island and co-founded the rap group Public Enemy. “But Melo came in and danced with the pressure of New York.”He added: “Most ball players in New York, they don’t come from New York. So he brought a New York state of mind to a place that didn’t really have the ballplayers that knew how to adapt to it. So we’ll always love Melo for that.”The Denver Nuggets drafted Anthony third overall out of Syracuse in 2003 after he led the school to an N.C.A.A. Division I national championship. In Denver, Anthony quickly established himself as one of the best players in the league.Anthony taking a shot during a game against the Indiana Pacers in 2013.Barton Silverman/The New York TimesAnthony did not fit the mold of other Knicks fan favorites, who were aggressive on defense. But he was one of the league’s best on offense.Adrees Latif/ReutersAt 6-foot-7 and about 240 pounds, Anthony was known for his 3-point prowess and his nifty footwork. On offense, he made moves on the high and low posts, outmuscling smaller guards and forwards while having the speed to blow by defenders.But all of Anthony’s offensive success didn’t translate into much in the postseason for the Nuggets. In seven and a half seasons, Anthony’s teams made the conference finals just once, and he pressured the Nuggets to trade him to New York in 2011 in a deal that gutted the Knicks’ roster. Nuggets fans never forgot about Anthony’s exit, and they booed him each time he visited Denver.“I gave my all here,” Anthony said at a news conference after he was booed in 2021. “I’ve never said anything bad about Denver — about the fans, the organization, players — never complained.” He added: “So it will always be a special place for me regardless of the boos.”It also seemed like the front office had not forgotten about Anthony’s departure. Anthony was one of the best players in Nuggets history, and the No. 15 that he wore seemed destined for retirement. But in 2014, the Nuggets gave Anthony’s number to a little-known second-round pick whose selection was revealed while a Taco Bell commercial played during ESPN’s broadcast of the draft.That player, Nikola Jokic, has become one of the best players in the N.B.A. and already has done more in a Nuggets uniform than Anthony had, winning two Most Valuable Player Awards. On Monday, Jokic led the Nuggets to their first N.B.A. finals.“I hope they are able to retire both of their jerseys,” Nuggets forward Jeff Green told ESPN. “Nikola and Carmelo, I know it can be done, and it’s deserving for what he has done for the franchise.”Anthony’s best chance for a jersey retirement is most likely in New York.For many fans in the city, especially those who are Black or Latino, Anthony felt like a reflection of them on the court. Fans gravitated to Anthony, who is African American and Puerto Rican, because of his style: his signature cornrow braids — though he didn’t have them in New York — the tattoos that covered his arms, his love of hip-hop music.Anthony spoke at the third annual College Signing Day at the Harlem Armory in 2016.D Dipasupil/FilmMagic, via Getty ImagesAnthony appeared at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards in 2015.Kevin Mazur/WireImage, via Getty ImagesAnthony was also omnipresent in the city outside of basketball. He attended everything from high school basketball games to hip-hop events, and still does. A year ago, he was in the audience at the Garden during a music battle between the rap groups The Lox and Dipset, rapping lyrics word for word.In November 2005, Anthony called into Angie Martinez’s radio show on Hot 97, where The Lox were ranting about a contract dispute they had with Diddy, in what seemed to be an attempt to help make peace.“What can he do to help?” Martinez asked about Anthony.“You see his contract?” the rapper Jadakiss replied.“I’m all the way in Oklahoma City,” Anthony said. “We’re about to go to the game. They told me you all were on the radio, so I had to call up.”Anthony’s call went down in New York City radio folklore, but it was also a moment that was a reflection of who he had always been.“Culturally, he means everything,” said Charlamagne Tha God, the host of the radio show “The Breakfast Club,” who remembers Anthony calling into Martinez’s show, and being one of the most accessible stars.“Certain moments like that stand out to me when we talk about culture,” he said, “because those are moments when you saw the intersectionality between hip-hop and in basketball, and I think there are not too many people who represented that intersectionality better than Carmelo Anthony.”One of the peculiar parts about the romance between New York fans and Anthony was that his approach to basketball was vastly different from what the greatest Knicks teams had been known for.During some of their best years, the Knicks were a physical team with defenders who would wear opposing players down with aggressive guarding and hard fouls when they attacked the basket. Players like Charles Oakley and John Starks became fan favorites because of how they embraced the bully and villain style of play.But Anthony was not of that mold. He was notorious for seeming uninterested in guarding players most of the time. While on offense, he scored frequently but was something of a black hole: When the ball went to him, he wasn’t going to pass it.Anthony has the Knicks’ record for most points in a single game, with 62 against the Charlotte Bobcats in 2014; it’s also the third-most any player has scored in N.B.A. history without an assist.Anthony scored a Knicks record 62 points against the Charlotte Bobcats in 2014.Bill Kostroun/Associated Press“Yes, he was selfish at times. And you know, he was a ball stopper,” said Casey Powell, who is known as CP The Fanchise as the founder of Knicks Fan TV. “But he was a bucket, man.”He said that Anthony didn’t have many options for players to pass to on those Knicks teams and that players like Starks and Oakley were beloved because they played hard, “but Carmelo, it was his actual talent that drew fans to him.” Knicks fans had not had a player of Anthony’s caliber since Patrick Ewing led the team to the finals in the 1994, he said.“Even though they didn’t win much when he was here, he inspired a lot of kids, a lot of African American kids, a lot of Latino kids, and he just gave us hope,” Powell said. “So sometimes the conversation around Melo is how he didn’t win, and he’s a selfish player, but there’s more to him than on the court. Off the court, he delivered.” More