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Madden Orlovsky had a heartfelt message for his family and friends in honor of World Autism Awareness Day 🥹 This was a special moment for all of us at ESPN. Thanks, Madden and @danorlovsky7 ❤️

A non-verbal young man has been going to this barber shop since he was little. It took a long time to build up trust so that he could handle being in a public space and allow the haircut due to over stimulation. He has a tablet to communicate with and on this day, the young man wanted to say thank you to the barber. It's a touching interaction that meant a lot to the barber. #Autism 🧩

BRAYLON MULLINS FOR THE LEAD 🤯🤯🤯

Early contender for photo of the season

AJ is being an absolute menace to the Stanford bench 😂

Madden Orlovsky who has autism, breaks into "You've Got a Friend in Me" while his father Dan Orlovsky watches on with tears in his eyes.

This past August, we were flying cross‑country with our 8‑month‑old son after his sixth round of chemo. His stomach hurt, his little body was exhausted, and he kept letting out that soft, broken whine babies make when they’re uncomfortable but trying so hard to settle. Not screaming. Not throwing a fit. Just hurting in the only way he knew how. In front of us was a family taking their daughter to SMU’s freshman welcome week. Their biggest stress was how she was going to fit all her clothes in her dorm room — and she was the one who kept turning around. Every few minutes, this privileged freshman would glare at my wife like our son was ruining her trip and her wardrobe planning. It lasted maybe 30 minutes before he fell asleep. But the way those looks made my wife feel… man. I’ll be honest — I was praying she got a nightmare roommate who “borrowed” every outfit she brought. That flight reminded me of something important: you never know what that baby is going through, you never know what those parents are carrying, and you never know what that tiny cry is coming from. So yeah, maybe a baby whining on a plane is annoying. But sometimes that sound is coming from a kid fighting battles you can’t see — and parents doing everything they can just to make it through the day. A little grace goes a long way.

Hey Kansas City….need a team to root for?! The Iowa Hawkeyes just defeated Florida 73-72 to advance to the Sweet 16 🏀 Led by head coach Ben McCollum who coached NW Missouri State to several DII National Championships, Iowa features many players from the KC Metro. Hawkeyes’ leading scorer Bennett Stirtz - Liberty HS Cam Manyawu - Staley HS Tavion Banks - Ruskin HS Isaia Howard - Plattsburg HS Joey Matteoni - Blue Valley Northwest Hawkeyes make Sweet 16 for first time since 1999. They’ll take on Nebraska Thursday.

When I was growing up in Southern France, it was remarkably rare and wholly unusual to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. People were mostly respectful, but they never missed an opportunity to remind us that we were different. And sometimes, being different is hard, especially when all you want to do is belong. Despite the challenges of being different, I loved the Lord and His Church with all my heart. I loved living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I felt very grateful to be among the very few in my country at that time to have received such a precious gift—the restored gospel of Jesus Christ, and a testimony of it. Being a Latter-day Saint is anything but ordinary. It is the most purposeful and thrilling path you can walk in this life—a disciple of Jesus Christ, bound to Him through sacred covenants. You and I have been chosen to participate in a divine and monumental work, one that matters eternally. You are needed. You are wanted. The Lord is counting on you to do remarkable things in His name.

Um ... WOW 😮

Here’s a mashup you probably didn’t see coming! The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square is teaming up with Coach Andy Reid for a special broadcast marking the nation’s 250th anniversary. The program airing, July 5, 2026, will feature Reid as guest narrator, reflecting on unity, perseverance and faith, themes he says mirror the teamwork behind the country’s founding. Reid, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, said the Founding Fathers “were the ultimate team,” building something that has endured for 250 years. The Choir, often called “America’s Choir,” has performed worldwide for nearly 180 years, including presidential inaugurations and the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

19 years ago, a high school basketball coach put his team manager into a game for the final four minutes. The kid had never played a single minute of competitive basketball in his life. He scored 20 points. Jason McElwain was diagnosed with severe autism at age two. He didn’t speak until he was five. He couldn’t chew solid food until he was six. He wore a nappy for most of his early childhood. As a baby, he was rigid, wouldn’t make eye contact, and hid in corners away from other children. He tried out for his school basketball team every year and got cut every time. Too small. Too slight. Barely 5’6 and about 54 kilograms. But he loved the game so much that his mum called the school and asked if there was any way he could be involved. The coach created a team manager role for him. For three years, McElwain showed up to every practice and every game. He wore a shirt and tie on match days. He ran drills, handed out water, kept stats, and cheered every basket like he’d scored it himself. On 15 February 2006, the last home game of his final school year, the coach let him suit up in a proper jersey and sit on the bench. With four minutes left and a comfortable lead, the coach sent him in. His first shot missed. His second missed. Then something shifted. He hit a three-pointer. Then another. Then another. His teammates stopped shooting entirely and just kept passing him the ball. He hit six three-pointers and a two-pointer. 20 points in four minutes. The highest scorer in the game. When the final buzzer went, the entire crowd rushed the court and lifted him onto their shoulders. His mum tapped the coach on the shoulder, in tears. “This is the nicest gift you could have ever given my son.” McElwain won the ESPY Award for Best Moment in Sports that year, beating out some of the biggest names in professional sport. He’s 36 now. He works at a local supermarket, coaches basketball, has run 17 marathons including five Boston Marathons, and travels the country speaking about never giving up. When asked about that night, his coach still gets emotional. “For him to come in and seize the moment like he did was certainly more than I ever expected. I was an emotional wreck.”

Maybe I’m dumb but why is this getting dunked on so hard? • Tries something very creative • Got buzz because it was cool • Product didn’t work • Commissioner listens to players & coaches • Pivots Wouldn’t this actually be a masterclass in how to operate?

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matthew 28:19) Nobody does this better than The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

You can hear Jaylen yell “that’s not basketball.” He’s right. A bunch of stars have adopted this specific “drive hard left, draw contact on a semi-impossible shot, then flail” move and it keeps working. Refs have to stop calling it. It sucks to watch.

JANE IS THE 5000M NATIONAL CHAMPION!!!! 🦋 📺 ESPN+

Big Red looks good in Royal Blue 🤙 #Big12MBB | @Phillips66Gas

Hey @Chiefs, y’all recognize this guy?!

This is the beauty of the WBC: A 29-year-old bearded electrician from Ostrava, Czechia who has played baseball his whole life in a country where very few play the sport helps Czechia qualify for its first-ever WBC, strikes out Shohei Ohtani on a pitch he says came out of his hand wrong, and becomes one of the faces of the Classic. Ondřej Satoria, who is retiring from the national team after this tournament, will leave Japan where he gets stopped for autographs and photos and receives standing ovations, and fly back to Ostrava where he’s a normal guy with a simple life. And while no one back home is stopping him in the streets for autographs, imagine the stories he’ll have for his 2-year-old son when he grows up. “The most important thing is that the baseball community from around the world now knows that Czechia plays baseball.” - @OndrejSatoria in @michaelsclair’s book “We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball” 🇨🇿

Speechless.