CNN
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The Detroit Pistons are showing signs that the franchise’s decade-plus malaise is finally starting to ebb, and a franchise legend believes there are signs a new age of Detroit basketball is emerging.

Richard “Rip” Hamilton, a three-time NBA All-Star who won the 2003-04 title with the Pistons, told CNN Sports that these fresh-look Pistons remind him a lot of the group of players who went to six straight conference finals in the 2000s.

“A big part of our success was the grit and the grind, right? And being mentally tough, right? You know, you talk about the fans – they don’t have no time for the mentally weak,” Hamilton said.

“Just knowing from the day-to-day, I mean, look at the weather, where in April it snows sometimes. You gotta be mentally tough for situations like that. And when I do look at the team, yes, it does remind me of the past.”

The Pistons play the New York Knicks in Game 3 of their best-of-seven first round series at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday on TNT. The series returns to the Motor City with the Pistons having ended one of the longest playoff victory droughts in sports, winning the second game of the series in New York to end a 15-game playoff losing streak that spanned 17 years.

Hamilton was on the 2007-08 team that lost to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, the last chapter in the most successful period in franchise history. While those great Pistons teams never had a player with the talent level of someone like Cade Cunningham, the fourth-year star who has become one of the best players in the NBA this season, Hamilton said there are a lot of similarities in how ownership and the front office built the team.

“They understood what the city embodies. They understood the success that we had in the past and how we did, how we do things there,” Hamilton said, emphasizing that the Pistons have built through the draft with younger players and then added pieces like Tobas Harris, Dennis Schröder and Tim Hardaway Jr. to be important veteran voices on the team.

After the long run of playoff futility following that loss in the 2008 conference finals – the Pistons only made the playoffs three times in the ensuing years and were swept in each of those series – a new generation of basketball fans in the Motor City is getting to experience success for the first time. It’s coming just a year after the franchise’s worst season in history, a 14-68 stinker that included a 28-game losing streak that tied the single-season record.

Hamilton, who still works as a consultant for the Pistons in addition to his entrepreneurial work and being a full-time dad to his three children, said fans can expect the players to be inspired by the people they play for, as his teammates – like Chauncey Billups, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince – were.

“The thing that was special for me, and I can speak probably for the rest of guys, is we embodied the city,” he told CNN Sports. “We came to work every day. We had our hard hat or Timberland boots or overalls, and we were coming to work, right? And the city respected that, the way we did it. We did it together, we did it as one.

“We played 100% each and every night, and the fans came and supported us and yelled and screamed, regardless if it was up by 20 or down by 20.

“It wasn’t a situation where you go to certain cities that the team is not playing well, the fans boo you. That’s not what Detroit did. The fans understood that if it ain’t rough, it ain’t right, and that was our motto, too.”

The Pistons are taking on a New York team that is heavily favored in the series and has the weight of expectations on its shoulders. After ending their own lackluster period, the Knicks have been to the playoffs three out of the last four years – but haven’t yet advanced past the second round.

This year is supposed to be different, thanks to the additions of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges to the team alongside superstar guard Jalen Brunson. It’s possible that the weight of those expectations might be weighing on the Knicks, though.

The Pistons have looked the better team throughout much of the series, and if not for a blistering New York comeback and Detroit’s collapse in the fourth quarter of Game 1, the Knicks might be heading to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit trailing in the series.

Instead, it’s a 1-1 series and the youthful Pistons – the fourth-youngest playoff team with an average age of 25.8 – are looking to feed off a home crowd that was once the envy of the league during Hamilton’s heyday.

One thing that makes Hamilton envious of the modern Pistons is the location of the team’s home base. When Hamilton and his teammates were the cream of the NBA crop, they played at the Palace of Auburn Hills, about an hour’s drive north of downtown. Hamilton and fellow Pistons legend Billups would often talk about wanting to play one or two games a year in the city, just to get the vibe of being in the heart of Detroit.

Now, when he comes back, Hamilton likes to take an electric scooter and ride around the city to marvel at all the changes that have happened over the last two decades since he first arrived in southeast Michigan. He is treated like family at local restaurants and other establishments when he walks in.

“We played in Auburn Hills, so we spent most of our time in the suburbs out there, and we didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the heart of the city where you get to grit, and you get to grind, and you really get to feel the true essence of Detroit,” he said.

“So, when I’m riding around there, I’m super amazed just at the development. The people there are so gracious. They’re so sweet. As I’m going around, I’m saying hello to fans and hanging out at local restaurants and local bars, and I’m just pulling up like it’s like ‘Cheers’ pretty much.

“That’s what the city is because the fans and the community have always put their hands around their athletes or their people that support the community.”

CNN
 — 

Rory McIlroy has a special shine to him as he returns to competitive action this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and who can blame him after finally ending years of heartbreak with victory at the Masters earlier this month.

After so many attempts to complete a historic career grand slam – winning all four of golf’s majors – the Northern Irishman finally was able to slip on the famous green jacket and enter himself into the record books.

There were emotional scenes in the aftermath of McIlroy’s victory at Augusta National, as the relief of the victory became apparent.

And as the 35-year-old returns to golfing action at TPC Louisiana on Thursday, McIlroy detailed the “absolutely amazing” reaction he’s had since his victory.

“It’s been an amazing few days after, and to be able to reflect on it and everything that happened and the magnitude of everything, I think the big thing for me is just how the whole journey sort of resonated with people and the people that have reached out to me,” McIlroy told reporters on Wednesday, also admitting that he came down with a cold in the days after his victory.

“It’s not every day you get to fulfill one of your lifelong goals and dreams, and I’ve just really tried to enjoy everything that comes along with that.”

McIlroy explained that he spent time celebrating in his new house outside of London, as well as visiting family and friends back in Northern Ireland.

He also detailed that he spoke to two US Presidents the day after his Masters victory – something he described as “pretty cool.”

“Just people reaching out from all walks of life, whether it be sports, entertainment, culture. Just all of it,” the five-time major winner said. “People that you would never even think that would watch golf or would know what’s going on, that was very, very humbling, I guess.

“I think people can see themselves in the struggle at times, and everything that you sort of try to put into getting the best out of yourself in that journey. I think people watching someone finally get it done, something they’ve been trying to do for a decade plus, I think it resonated with a lot of people.”

McIlroy returns to New Orleans as the defending champion in the pairs event with his Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry.

The two shared an emotional embrace close to the 18th green at Augusta National in the moments after McIlroy’s win and now look to retain their title at TPC Louisiana.

And the Northern Irishman admitted that he’s in the best place possible to continue his good form this week.

“I honestly could not be in a better place in my life professionally, personally, all of it,” he said. “It’s amazing what a year can do.

“This tournament last year was a really cool moment for both of us. I think it probably injected a little bit of joy back into golf for me in some way, which I think is really, really important, not to lose that. For me, I had a great year last year, and I think this tournament was sort of the catalyst to the really good golf that I played for the rest of the year.”

Madrid, Spain
CNN
 — 

It became one of the defining images of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Despite more than six months passing since US gymnasts Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowed to Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade atop the podium, the floor gold medalist says the moment still gives her “goosebumps.”

As well as the heart-warming display of sportsmanship earning Biles and Chiles plaudits around the world, it was also a historic moment as the trio became the first all-Black Olympics gymnastics podium.

“It was a really important moment on the podium,” Andrade told CNN Sports at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards, where the Brazilian was named Comeback of the Year winner.

“Three female Black athletes, representing their nations, and showing that we deserve to be there. Knowing that it’s possible to make it happen and it was beautiful. It’s a moment that gives me goosebumps every time I remember it.”

Perhaps there is no better word that sums Andrade up than “comeback.”

The 25-year-old had considered quitting gymnastics after suffering three ACL tears – in 2015, 2017 and 2019 – one of the most brutal injuries for any athlete to overcome.

There is not only the painful and monotonous physical rehabilitation required after each major surgery, but also the grueling mental drain of facing one of the most arduous recovery processes in all of sports three times.

Not to mention the lingering fear that it could happen again with a slightly miscued landing or take off. Those setbacks – each of which could have been career-ending – made Andrade’s win over Biles in the floor final in Paris all the more remarkable.

So, what was it that gave Andrade the motivation to keep battling back?

“I think it has a lot do with the strength of my family and my team,” she said. “Every day in the gym showing me that regardless of my choice, if I wanted to carry on or not, they would be there to support me.

“I was sure that it was worth coming back, every time, and I returned alongside them and the results followed, so I’m very proud.”

Andrade, Brazil’s most decorated Olympian of all time with two golds, three silvers and a bronze, said being awarded the Comeback of the Year award “means a lot.”

“It’s recognition of my work, that of my team and of my story as an athlete, and so I feel very honored.”

The nail-biting battle in Paris – Andrade and Biles were separated by just 0.033 points – understandably has fans eager to see the two gymnastics greats go head-to-head at the Olympics again at Los Angeles 2028.

Biles remains unsure whether she will still be competing then, telling French newspaper L’Equipe this week that “2028 seems so far away.”

She also noted concerns over her body’s ability to keep pushing at the top level, revealing that her body “literally collapsed” after competing at Paris last year.

Andrade, however, said she wants to be there.

“Only God knows the future. Many things still need to happen,” she told CNN. “There’s qualifying, but there’s still a desire. It’s a dream of mine, so we’ll battle on, but let’s do it slowly.”