The Week the Finals Got Set

A week ago, we said the top seeds were in trouble. Seven days later, two of them have been eliminated entirely, one was swept in four games, and the only 1-seed standing needed five games against a 4-seed to escape the conference round.

The Stanley Cup and NBA Finals are now set. The Champions League trophy has a new home (and an old face). The IPL has a back-to-back champion. New Zealand handed Ireland an innings defeat. Pakistan are still leading Australia in an ODI series that doubles as final World Cup prep. The 2026 NCAA Lacrosse and Baseball brackets have given us their first answers. And we're 11 days from a FIFA World Cup that's about to take over North America.

Here's what mattered.

The Knicks are going to the Finals. For the first time since 1999.

New York closed out Cleveland in Game 4 on Memorial Day at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, 130-93 — a 37-point road win to complete the sweep. The Cavaliers never won a game in the series. Cleveland was the 4-seed. New York was the 3-seed. Both higher-seeded teams (Detroit and Boston) were already out.

The Knicks will play the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals. Game 1 is Wednesday, June 3 in San Antonio.

San Antonio's path back deserves its own paragraph. The 2-seed Spurs were tied 2-2 with the OKC Thunder — who'd swept the Lakers in the semis and held the West's #1 seed since November — and looked like they might be heading home. Instead they won Games 5, 6, and 7 by an average of 14 points, including a 118-91 demolition in Game 6 and a 111-103 Game 7 road win in OKC on Saturday night. The 1-seed Thunder are out.

Vegas opens the Spurs as -200 favorites at home for Game 1. Win probability: 64.9% SAS, 35.1% NYK.

Vegas and Carolina meet for the Cup. Stanley Cup Final starts Tuesday, June 2 in Carolina.

Vegas swept Colorado in four games, finishing the 1-seed Avalanche with a 2-1 road win in Denver on Tuesday May 26. The 4-seed Golden Knights have been the most dominant team in either conference all playoffs.

Carolina got there the harder way. The Hurricanes were tied 1-1 with Montreal — the Cinderella 4-seed that had knocked out Tampa Bay and Buffalo — before winning Games 3, 4, and 5 in succession. The clinching Game 5 in Carolina on Friday was a 6-1 rout.

Game 1 win probability: 57.6% CAR, 42.4% VGK. Carolina is favored as the home 1-seed; Vegas has been the better team for two months. This is not a five-game series.

RCB win back-to-back IPL titles. Royal Challengers Bengaluru won the IPL 2026 final tonight, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Their second consecutive title and one of the most stunning turnarounds in the league's history.

A year ago, RCB ended an 18-year wait for their first IPL trophy. Tonight they made it two in 12 months. They become only the third team in IPL history to defend the title, joining Chennai Super Kings (2010-11) and Mumbai Indians (2019-20). Gujarat were restricted to 155/8 by a disciplined RCB bowling effort. Bhuvneshwar Kumar finished the season with 28 wickets. In the chase, Virat Kohli scored an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls, including his fastest fifty in 19 IPL seasons. The franchise that spent 18 years in the joke of "ee sala cup namdu" — this year the cup is ours — has won two in a row.

Pakistan lead Australia 1-0 in pre-World Cup ODIs. Pakistan beat Australia by 5 wickets in the 1st ODI at Rawalpindi on Friday May 30, restricting Australia to 200 all out, with debutant Arafat Minhas taking a 5-wicket haul on debut. ODIs 2 and 3 are in Lahore on June 2 and June 4. This series is final preparation for both teams ahead of the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup. Pakistan earlier in the year swept Australia 3-0 in a T20I series at home, with captain Salman Ali Agha named Player of the Series.

New Zealand crush Ireland in Stormont Test. New Zealand beat Ireland by an innings and 79 runs in the only Test of the series, finishing inside three days at Belfast (May 27-29). The Black Caps posted 490/8 declared, with Tom Blundell scoring 186 (Player of the Match). Ireland were bowled out for 179 in the first innings, followed on, and made 232 in the second. Blair Tickner took 5-76 for New Zealand in the second innings — his maiden five-wicket Test haul. New Zealand were using the Test as warm-up for their three-match tour of England that starts June 4.

Pakistan women drop both Tri-Series matches in Ireland. In the Ireland Tri-Nation T20I Series at Clontarf — final World Cup prep before the Women's T20 World Cup in England in June — Pakistan have lost both matches. Friday May 29: West Indies won by 25 runs (Chinelle Henry all-rounder of the match). Sunday May 31 (today): Ireland beat Pakistan by 7 wickets with 5 balls remaining. Pakistan have two more group matches and would need to win both to top the table.

PSG retain the Champions League — Arsenal heartbreak. Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal 4-3 on penalties in Saturday's Champions League Final after 120 minutes ended 1-1. Played at Puskás Aréna in Budapest. PSG's second consecutive title — the first team since Real Madrid (2014-2017) to win back-to-back European Cups.

Kai Havertz put Arsenal ahead in the 6th minute. The Gunners then defended brilliantly for nearly an hour before Ousmane Dembélé equalized from the penalty spot in the 64th minute. Extra time produced no winner. The shootout came down to Arsenal defender Gabriel skying his fifth attempt over the bar. PSG lifted the trophy in Hungary.

Arsenal won the Premier League. Their fourth title in club history, first since the 2003-04 Invincibles. 85 points, seven clear of Manchester City. They came within five inches of the league-Champions League double. They got the league.

The FIFA World Cup starts in 11 days. It's the first World Cup hosted by three countries (USA, Canada, Mexico) and the first with 48 teams. Opening match is June 11 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The final is July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Argentina defends as reigning champions. The USMNT plays its final pre-tournament friendlies this week. Maidan will cover the World Cup in proper depth starting next week — the tournament is the biggest sporting event of 2026.

The NL is starting to sort itself. Notable from the Memorial Day weekend:

Princeton beat Notre Dame 16-9 in Monday's NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. The #1-seeded Tigers spotted the Fighting Irish a 3-0 lead in the first 4:49, then ripped off 11 unanswered goals before halftime. Princeton's first national title since 2001 — the school's seventh overall.

On the women's side: Northwestern beat defending champion North Carolina 14-11 on Sunday May 24 at Martin Stadium in Evanston. The Wildcats trailed 11-9 entering the fourth quarter, then closed the game on a 5-0 run to take the title — their 9th, the most of any program in NCAA women's lacrosse history.

UCLA opens the College World Series chase as the #1 overall seed. The 64-team bracket was announced Monday May 25. Regionals began Friday May 29 at 16 host sites. The SEC dominated regional hosting with 7 sites. Florida State is hosting for the 38th time, the most by any program in tournament history. Kansas is hosting for the first time ever. Nebraska is hosting for the first time since 2008. Defending champion LSU entered as a regional 2-seed. The road to Omaha runs through June 12.

If you grew up trusting that the seeding was the prediction, 2026 has been a rough year.

The 1-seed in the NBA East was swept in the Conference Finals. The 1-seed in the NBA West was eliminated in seven games by a 2-seed. The 1-seed in the NHL West was swept by a 4-seed. The only 1-seed left in either NA Final — Carolina — needed five games against a 4-seed to get there. Three of the four Finals teams across the NBA and NHL came in below the 1-line.

But look at the other side of the world this week and the pattern flips. RCB defended their IPL title. PSG defended their Champions League title. Back-to-back champions in the biggest tournaments outside North American leagues, while the NA playoffs went sideways.

It's the kind of week that reminds you sports doesn't operate on a single logic. Hierarchy works until it doesn't. Underdogs run until they don't. The Knicks are in the Finals for the first time in 27 years. Vegas can win a Cup in their seventh year of existence. RCB are champions in consecutive Mays after 18 years of jokes. PSG are kings of Europe. New Zealand crushed Ireland inside three days. Pakistan's men keep beating Australia. Princeton ended a quarter-century lacrosse drought. Northwestern has nine women's lacrosse titles to nobody else's six.

The orderly version of this season would have been Detroit-OKC and Colorado-Carolina and Manchester City-Real Madrid and somebody other than RCB lifting the IPL. We got the chaos version. And the World Cup hasn't even started yet.

This is when sports gets fun.

Issue #2 lands midweek. Until then: the Stanley Cup Final drops Tuesday at 7:00 PM ET. The NBA Finals tip Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET. Pakistan-Australia ODI #2 plays Tuesday in Lahore. Plenty to watch.

— The Maidan team

Maidan covers North American leagues, global cricket, and the global tournaments North American fans actually watch. readmaidan.com