Weekend Wrap-Up: OKC Claps Back, Alcaraz & Gauff Conquer Paris, & More

Understanding that dropping a second game at home could be a fatal blow to their title aspirations, OKC took to the court and did what they do best: beat up on opponents and show just why they haven’t dropped back-to-back games against the same team.

❝That’s our goal, get better through every experience.❞ pic.twitter.com/sOBj25Nwdt

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 9, 2025

As the Thunder get ready for game three in Indiana this coming Wednesday and enter as -210 moneyline odds favorites, will the Thunder step up and give the Pacers a taste of their own medicine, taking a must-win home game away from them?

The look says it all 👀 pic.twitter.com/hjEueBIYtT

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 9, 2025

Channeling my inner Shannon Sharpe (in a wholesome way, though), Pacers, chasers, spacers, Thunder in six!

Coco Gauff Claims Roland Garros Title

Moving on to another sport, over in Paris, France, 21-year-old American tennis star Coco Gauff made tennis news headlines after winning her second Grand Slam title this Saturday, beating #1 tournament-ranked star Aryna Sabalenka by two sets to one (7-6, 6-2, and 6-4).

With her win at Roland Garros, Gauff became the first American tennis player to win the French Open title in ten years, with Serena Williams being the last to do so back in 2015.

Coco Gauff becomes the first American player to win a singles title at the French Open since Serena Williams (2015) 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/duMUGhOKDq

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) June 7, 2025

Now, of course, you’d think Gauff’s win and celebration afterward would be met with professional and humbling acceptance from Sabalenka, right?

Wrong!

In a sad display of bad losing spirits, Sabalenka stated, “I think she won the match not because she played incredibly. Just because I made all of those mistakes.”

Aryna Sabalenka needs a lesson in humility, what a horrible loser!

It’s not even the “she didn’t play incredibly,I made a lot of mistakes” comment but bringing in another player and saying she would’ve beat her

Distasteful#RolandGarros2025 #CocoGauff

pic.twitter.com/N9wDElAUrU

— Andile Ncube (@AndileNcube) June 8, 2025

As backlash started to rise fast from experts and fans condemning Sabalenka’s attitude, the player was quick to backtrack on her pouting, putting out a statement on social media this past Sunday saying: “Yesterday was a tough one. Coco handled the conditions much better than I did and fully deserved the win…She was the better player yesterday, and I want to give her the credit she earned.”

Welcome to the ‘Roland-Garros champions’ club, @CocoGauff 🏆#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/uMXYAZngfv

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 7, 2025

Whatever Sabalenka might want to say now, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Roland Garros has a new queen, and her last name is Gauff.

Alcaraz and Sinner Put On French Open Finals Epic

Staying on Roland Garros, in one of the best finals tennis games in recent history, Carlos Alcaraz treated sports fans around the world to one of the most epic comeback title wins in the sport’s history.

Trailing #1 Jannik Sinner by two sets in the men’s final of the French Open Tournament, Alcaraz not only battled back in immense fashion winning the following three sets by 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) and 7-6 (10-2) and cementing his status as the world’s best tennis player right now.

CARLOS ALCARAZ DID THE IMPOSSIBLE 🤯🏆#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/qUggO9zUi2

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2025

Deemed by general opinion as the best tennis game of the decade, Carlos Alcaraz’s stats lay as testimony of one of the most impressive performances in the tournament’s history, winning two tie-breakers against one from Sinner, beating the Italian 30-29 in games won, and barely edging his opponent by 117-116 in service points won.

Carlos Alcaraz won this final.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/PQeBmK58Ay

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2025

Take a bow, Alcaraz, the tennis and sports world is officially at your feet.

Kayla Harrison Takes Bantamweight Belt

Over at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, UFC put on their stellar UFC 316 event Saturday night, which saw Kayla Harrison win the Women’s Bantamweight title in the co-main event of the night, after submitting former champion Julianna Peña at the 4:42 time mark in the third round of their fight.

Kayla Harrison defeats Julianna Peña to become the new Bantamweight Champion 🔥💪 pic.twitter.com/KugfjdLsUF

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 8, 2025

Harrison, considered by various MMA experts as the third-best pound-for-pound female fighter in the world, added yet another accolade to her list of titles, adding her new UFC title to her two Olympic gold medal wins and two PFL titles.

🇺🇸🫡 Kayla Harrison reached the LEGEND status. pic.twitter.com/QIqgk5vp6b

— Home of Fight (@Home_of_Fight) June 8, 2025

Following the fight, a familiar face in the women’s fighting world stepped up to congratulate the new champion and open the idea of a potential future epic title fight, Amanda Nunes.

Amanda Nunes vs Kayla Harrison (2025) pic.twitter.com/2yGMcYkEdR

— Fight Pics That Go Hard (@fightpicsgohard) June 8, 2025

Can you imagine a Harrison vs Nuñez bout in the future? I’m already giddy with emotion just from thinking about it.

Dvalishvili Shows O’Malley Who’s Boss

In the main event of UFC 316, Georgia, not the state, the Eastern European country lived it up this Saturday as their tried and true fighter Merab Dvalishvili took over the Men’s Bantamweight division, retaining the title against Sean O’Malley.

Merab Dvalishvili retains the UFC bantamweight title with a win over Sean O’Malley at #UFC316 🔥

His resume continues to be one of the most impressive in MMA today 😳 pic.twitter.com/p91ckRqPx0

— ESPN (@espn) June 8, 2025

With this being his second win against O’Malley, Dvalishvili now moves to 13 consecutive wins, making his current run one of the most dominant in UFC history, currently placing him at 4th overall.

Crazy to think Merab Dvalishvili started 0-2 in the UFC and now he’s tied for the 4th longest win streak in UFC history 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xKNAXMruTK

— Happy Punch (@HappyPunch) June 8, 2025

Following the fight, and with UFC rumors starting to spark up on who the champ’s next opponent should be, the Georgian took no time in squashing said rumors, calling out fellow bantamweight fighter Cory Sandhagen, stating he wants him next.

Your favorite fighter wakes up every day and thanks God that Merab Dvalishvili is a 5’6″ bantamweight. pic.twitter.com/9vsR4bUyoA

— Giorgi Kokiashvili 🇬🇪 (@iHeartGeorgius1) June 8, 2025

It’s now up to Sandhagen to step up or else.

Rodgers Finally Signs With Pittsburgh

Aaron Rodgers is back in the news. And no, it’s not because of anything worth making gossip headlines for.

After what felt like an eternity, the former Green Bay Packers and New York Jets quarterback and the Pittsburgh Steelers finally agreed on a one-year deal for the future Hall of Famer to join Mike Tomlin’s squad.

ESPN sources: Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers was in the team’s training facility today to sign his one-year, $13.65 million contract that includes $10 million guaranteed and has a maximum value of $19.5 million. The deal includes $5.85 million worth of playtime and team performance… pic.twitter.com/a9DygTvufb

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 7, 2025

The deal, which runs upwards of $13.65 million with $10 million guaranteed for Rodgers and a max value of $19.5 million, also includes upwards of $5.85 million in personal and team performance bonuses and incentives.

With Pittsburgh’s Super Bowl LX odds currently slated at +4000, could Rodgers hold the key to the Steelers’ potential playoff and title run?

One More Lap Around the Block

If there’s anybody brave enough to tell Cristiano Ronaldo to stop dominating the international soccer scene and continue to carry the Portugal National Soccer Team on his back, I dare them to stand up and speak up!

In a thriller of a game that saw CR7 score the equalizer for his side, Portugal would go on to tie 2-2 against Lamine Yamal’s Spain side to then kick them to the curb 5-3 in penalty kicks and win the UEFA Nations League title, their second in six years.

𝗔𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗲. 🏆🏆 @UEFAEURO #FazHistória | #NationsLeague pic.twitter.com/VTksuypPg1

— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) June 8, 2025

At 40 years old, and not looking anywhere close to stopping, CR7 once again showed that when it comes to Portugal, he’ll go to all extents possible as long as it means winning.

Cristiano Ronaldo just loves Portugal 𝙎𝙊 𝙈𝙐𝘾𝙃 😍

‘Winning titles is the pinnacle. Captaining this generation makes me so proud!’ pic.twitter.com/3u1Zkknp1k

— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) June 9, 2025

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming up, could we be in for a CR7-ridden last dance?

Until next time, stay classy, peeps.