Tom Goldman

The NBA finals begin Thursday night between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. It's a repeat of last year's series. And in hockey, the LA Kings won Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals in overtime.

The Eastern and Western Conference finals are underway in the NBA. Meanwhile, the league has announced its agreement with Shelly Sterling to sell the LA Clippers to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

In one month, the U.S. Men's national soccer team plays Ghana, in the first of three tough opening round games at the World Cup in Brazil. A pre-World Cup camp opened this week at Stanford University.

Banned Los Angeles Clippers owners Donald Sterling and his wife, Shelly, have conducted separate television interviews. Donald told CNN that he's not a racist and that he's sorry if h...

The annual NFL draft of players starts Thursday with the first round at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The Houston Texans, by virtue of their 2-14 record last season, will have the first pick.

It's been more than a week since the Donald Sterling scandal erupted. The NBA players union, legal experts and others say anything short of a Sterling exile could have long-term consequences.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is banned for life from the league. The decision, coupled with a $2.5 million fine, comes in the wake of Sterling's racist remarks.

Donald Sterling is said to be on a tape that was released to the media in which he allegedly made racist comments. The NBA is investigating whether it is Sterling on the tape.

Controversy is swirling around racist comments allegedly made by Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. The NBA is exploring its potential responses as it investigates the allegations.

Football players at Northwestern University are scheduled to vote Friday on whether to unionize. The outcome of the vote won't be revealed until an appeal by the university is heard.

Major changes are expected for the NCAA, whose board meets Thursday. Directors will consider giving the five power conferences more autonomy, as well as changing the way scholarships are administered.

The National Hockey League playoffs start Wednesday night, and the National Basketball Association playoffs begin Saturday. We run down the post-season picture for both sports.

Connecticut has won its second men's NCAA basketball title in four years. Senior Shabazz Napier scored 22 points. The Huskies beat the Kentucky Wildcats 60-54 Monday night in Arlington, Texas.

The Kentucky Wildcats and the Connecticut Huskies take the court in Monday's NCAA men's college basketball final. NPR's Tom Goldman talks to Melissa Block about what to watch for in the game.

The top-two men's college basketball teams play for the championship Monday night in Dallas. Eighth-seeded Kentucky will face seventh-seeded UConn. Neither team was even in the tournament last year.

The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down limits on how much a single individual can give in total to candidates and parties. The ruling could give wealthy donors even more influence in elections.

Last week, a National Labor Relations Board ruling gave football players at Northwestern University the right to unionize. Northwestern is challenging the decision. The NCAA supports the appeal.

The Kentucky Wildcats are headed to the Final Four in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament. It's the third time in five years the team has made the semifinals — all under coach John Calipari.

The men's and women's NCAA basketball tournaments are underway. On the men's side, two highly regarded teams are out of the tournament: Wichita State and the University of Kansas.