The Toronto Raptors have won their first NBA title after defeating defending champions the Golden State Warriors in a nail-biting end to game six.

Just as the screams of history and legacy can make the greats try to play on one leg, nature has a cruel and sudden way of reminding them that even they are mortals.

The Toronto Raptors came agonisingly close to securing their maiden NBA title, losing 106-105 to the Golden State Warriors.

Today’s lesson commenceth with the Queen herself. Beyoncé, if you have to ask.

Kawhi Leonard hit 30 points as the Toronto Raptors took a 2-1 series lead in the NBA Finals over the Golden State Warriors with a 123-109 win.

A few hundred metres from Nick Nurse’s city centre apartment in downtown Toronto stands Fort York, one of Canada’s most significant historical landmarks, the symbol of the still nascent country’s war of 1812 with the US.

The Toronto Raptors marked their NBA Finals debut with a convincing 118-109 victory over defending champions the Golden State Warriors.

Sometime in the next couple weeks, either the Toronto Raptors or Golden State Warriors will proclaim themselves to be world champions.

While football has rarely before had a decade like this one where two players have been streets out on their own, basketball during the same period hasn’t even had such a contest.

You know, because of course you know, that I now write a regular feature in the paper on Fridays about hurlers’ hands — injuries and idiosyncrasies, skill sets and skinned knuckles.

If you stepped aboard a flight today, and you heard Jim Gavin introduce himself as the captain from the cockpit, you would feel immediately reassured.

And now, they wait. Again. The Golden State Warriors have gotten used to going to the NBA Finals, and their win in Portland on Monday night clinched their fifth consecutive trip.

The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 110-106 to seal a series sweep and become the first team to advance to the second round of the NBA play-offs.

The Denver Nuggets secured a play-off berth for the first time in six years after a 114-105 win against the Boston Celtics.

Although he would be lambasted after The Decision, with people in his hometown of Cleveland so scorned they’d burn his Cavaliers jersey, history has proven that LeBron James made the right call that summer of 2010 by opting to join the Miami Heat.

Kemba Walker scored a career-high 60 points for the Charlotte Hornets but it still was not enough to top the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night.

The NBA starts again on Tuesday night with a high-profile doubleheader.

To watch LeBron James play basketball is to witness the qualities that distinguish the truly great player in every sport.

The odds are longer than a Stephen Curry three-pointer, Kevin Durant’s wingspan, or Draymond Green’s catalogue of technical fouls.

The GAA needs to acknowledge that, along with its much-heralded community and amateur status, there is a pervasive cynicism that is ‘unique to our games’, writes Kieran Shannon

Tiger Woods was never in contention in his return to the PGA Tour.

Can LeBron James lift a fourth NBA title and be compared to Michael Jordan as the sport’s GOAT, or will he lose in the finals for the sixth time? asks Kieran Shannon

Barcelona top the list of the world’s best-paid football teams but the Premier League in England has a higher average wage than any of its rivals.

The provocateur president has drawn the ire of the sports world for saying players who kneel during the national anthem should be fired, writes Catherine Lucey and Arnie Stapleton

US president Donald Trump's criticism of American football players who kneel during the national anthem has sparked a mass increase in such protests around the NFL, as about 200 players sat, knelt or raised their fists in defiance.

United States president Donald Trump followed up his scathing comments about protesting NFL players by withdrawing an invitation to NBA champions the Golden State Warriors to attend the White House.

One victory left for the Golden State Warriors to claim another title. Not the one as NBA champions. The one as the best team ever.

Martin O’Neill is an avid consumer, a voracious reader. Forever aware and always interested in the topics of the day. At Ireland training on Tuesday afternoon, he was heard enquiring on the rolling updates of Tiger Woods’ latest sorry episode.

Kevin Durant does not need to be told that Golden State Warriors should have a muted celebration after winning the Western Conference finals.

LeBron James led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 128-96 win over the Detroit Pistons in the NBA.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

The Cleveland Cavaliers won for an eighth time in nine NBA games this season as they had too much for the Charlotte Hornets.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

LeBron James and Kyrie Irving led the way as the Cleveland Cavaliers completed a historic comeback to win the NBA title.

Like everyone else, Draymond Green could only watch as LeBron James and Kyrie Irving sent the NBA Finals back to Cleveland.

Stephen Curry scored 36 points to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 96-88 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder and into an NBA title rematch with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr knows just what his players are going through down the stretch of a potentially record-setting season. Having stumbled to the finish of a 72-win season as a player with the Chicago Bulls two decades ago, Kerr is watching his Warriors do the same.

Steph Curry might be small in stature for a basketball player, but the staggering success he and the Golden State Warriors have achieved under coach Steve Kerr can serve as an inspiration to all teams, reports Kieran Shannon.

They came in groups, pairs, wearing county colours, leaving cards, candles, flowers, pictures, a half pint of beer, even a wheel hub.

LeBron James had a night for the ages as he hauled the Cleveland Cavaliers level in the NBA Finals with a 95-93 overtime win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night.