Curley Culp, Defensive Anchor of Two Football Teams, Dies at 75

By BY RICHARD SANDOMIR from NYT Sports A bruising Hall of Famer, Culp helped lead the Kansas City Chiefs to an upset victory in Super Bowl IV. With the Houston Oilers, he revolutionized the role of nose tackle.https://nyti.ms/2ZMtR80

Teenage Ballers Can Cash in Earlier Than Ever. But at What Cost?

By BY DAVID GARDNER from NYT Sports Male players as young as 16 have many options to play high-level basketball before the N.B.A. without going to college — and get paid big money to do it.https://nyti.ms/3w0fjfg

Mike Krzyzewski’s Finish at Duke Comes on His Terms

By BY BILLY WITZ from NYT Sports Some signs that the end might be near came last season. But Krzyzewski has remained steadfast in his program’s tenets even as his teams adapted to the game.https://nyti.ms/2SbLNFf

The Jets Try to Find a Quarterback … Again

By Unknown Author from NYT Sports Zach Wilson is the Jets’ latest attempt to solve a decades-long quarterback quandary: They’re still trying to replace Joe Namath.https://nyti.ms/32YAbXV

Philadelphia Eagles G.M. Howie Roseman Talks Team’s Next Steps

By BY KEN BELSON from NYT Sports Philadelphia’s general manager has come under fire in recent years for Carson Wentz’s contract, the team’s post-Super Bowl slide and reports of dysfunction in the front office.https://nyti.ms/2PxpJUr

N.F.L. Draft Process Adapts With the Pandemic

By BY EMMANUEL MORGAN from NYT Sports Players and scouts adjusted their methods to account for the absence of a traditional combine in Indianapolis.https://nyti.ms/3x6FyCp

Chelsea Dungee Was Ready for Her W.N.B.A. (and Yacht?) Moment

By BY NATALIE WEINER from NYT Sports Dungee, a guard from the University of Arkansas, was drafted fifth overall by the Dallas Wings after a whirlwind few days (that’s the yacht) and a lifetime in the gym.https://nyti.ms/32mHKYo

‘Guru, Genius, Gentleman, Scout’

By BY KEVIN ARMSTRONG from NYT Sports Tom Konchalski, who died last month, influenced college basketball recruiting for more than four decades.https://nyti.ms/3qZPaug

A New League’s Shot at the N.C.A.A.: $100,000 Salaries for High School Players

By BY KEVIN DRAPER from NYT Sports The Overtime Elite league proposes that providing a salary and a focus toward a pro career might be more appealing than college basketball’s biggest programs.https://nyti.ms/3rkqJZu

Liberty Win the W.N.B.A. Draft Lottery Again

By BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports The team, which took Sabrina Ionescu in the most recent draft, got the top pick for a second consecutive year. The choice will be more complicated this time.https://nyti.ms/3qurDmm

Immanuel Quickley’s Path to the Knicks Started at the Foul Line

By BY DAVID WALDSTEIN from NYT Sports Quickley, a guard out of Kentucky, is an exceptional free throw shooter, a skill he learned from his mother. He had the third highest free-throw percentage in Division I last season.https://nyti.ms/2Jdxw6b

Knicks Get ‘Must-See TV’ Player in Obi Toppin

By BY DAVID WALDSTEIN from NYT Sports The Knicks selected Toppin, who is from Brooklyn, with the eighth overall pick in Wednesday’s N.B.A. draft. Toppin said he models his game after Anthony Davis.https://nyti.ms/376PTCj

1,000 Interviews to Pick No. 1: Inside the Timberwolves’ N.B.A. Draft Prep

By BY SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports It has taken months of watching film, traveling the country and conducting interviews on video, but Minnesota is just about ready to make the first pick in the N.B.A. draft — or trade it away.https://nyti.ms/2UPOytT

Precious Achiuwa’s Journey May Finally Take Him to the N.B.A.

By BY SCOTT CACCIOLA from NYT Sports Achiuwa has gone from Nigeria to New York to Memphis, cultivating an “extreme level of versatility” in his game that is key to making it in today’s N.B.A.https://nyti.ms/358J17r

With Push on Diversity, N.H.L. Makes Landmark Selection of Black Player

By BY SALIM VALJI from NYT Sports Quinton Byfield became the highest-drafted Black player in league history just one day before the Hockey Diversity Alliance said it would work independently of the N.H.L.https://nyti.ms/2SJSg7i

N.H.L. Draft: Rangers Go Big, While Rangers and Islanders Look for Scorers

By BY ANDREW KNOLL from NYT Sports The Rangers took a 6-foot-7 goalie in the later rounds. The Devils selected a wing to play with their cornerstone centers, and the Islanders tried to make the most of the draft without a first-round pick.https://nyti.ms/3daoFgH

No Summer Tournaments Means More Recruits Committing to Colleges

By BY ADAM ZAGORIA from NYT Sports Villanova has already received verbal commitments from enough players to build most of a starting lineup for future seasons.https://nyti.ms/39CBZbO

The First Pick in the N.H.L. Draft Goes to … TBD

By BY ANDREW KNOLL from NYT Sports The N.H.L. held the first of two lotteries to determine the 2020 draft order but, in a confounding reveal, did not name the team which will select first over all.https://nyti.ms/31mnWVJ

Cade Cunningham Will Stay Committed to Oklahoma State

By BY ADAM ZAGORIA from NYT Sports The 6-foot-7 point guard, who is among the top players in his high school class, had other options to consider after the N.C.A.A. banned the Cowboys from the 2020-21 postseason.https://nyti.ms/3ev1VYr

Oklahoma State Punished by N.C.A.A. for Role in Basketball Recruiting Scandal

By BY BILLY WITZ AND ADAM ZAGORIA from NYT Sports The university was handed a ban of one year from the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament, as well as fines and a loss of scholarships.https://nyti.ms/374EF0x