The end of an era is coming for Duke and college basketball: Coach K will retire at the end of the 2021-2022 season.

Mike Krzyzewski, 74, has coached the Blue Devils since 1980, accruing a resume few can match in college sports.

• 5 national titles in 12 Final Four appearances
• 15 ACC tournament championships and 12 regular season titles
• The most wins of any college basketball coach with 1,170

Krzyzewski’s $7 million salary is second among college basketball coaches to John Calipari’s $8.1 million at Kentucky. He’s made $75 million from his salaries since 2010.

With 41 years at the same job, he is the second-longest-tenured coach after Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim. He coached numerous future NBA stars including Grant Hill, Kyrie Irving, Jayson Taytum, and Zion Williamson.

He also nurtured future coaches and executives. Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder, who had the NBA’s best record this season, worked as Coach K’s assistant from 1993-1999. Philadelphia 76ers general manager Elton Brand played for Duke in the late ‘90s. Hill is now a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks.

The leading candidate to step into Krzyzewski’s shoes is associate head coach Jon Scheyer, who played for Duke from 2006-2010 and joined the coaching staff in 2014.

Rebuilding is now a reality for the Boston Celtics. 

The team announced Brad Stevens will relinquish his role as head coach and step in as the new president of basketball operations, replacing Danny Ainge, who resigned on Wednesday after 18 years in the role.

Stevens will lead the team’s search for a new head coach. 

“I’m excited for Brad,” Ainge told reporters. “He was born for this.”

Stevens came to fame after taking his mid-major Butler University men’s basketball teams to back-to-back national championship game appearances in 2010 and 2011. 

He then became a hot commodity, with the Celtics winning the bidding war. 

• Stevens was hired as head coach in a six-year, $22 million deal in 2013, replacing current Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers. 
• He signed a three-year extension in 2016, then another in 2020 that would’ve kept him as head coach through the 2024-25 season. 
• Indiana University was prepared to offer Stevens a seven-year, $70 million contract in April, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. 

The shift in power follows the Celtics’ first-round playoff exit to the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday.

Despite playoff appearances every season as head coach, Stevens and his teams have failed to meet the championship expectations of the organization. 

Horse trainer Bob Baffert claimed Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit was a victim of cancel culture after rumors swirled that the four-legged phenom tested positive for a steroid. 

On Wednesday, the University of California, Davis confirmed the positive results, increasing the possibility that Medina Spirit will be disqualified and Madaloun will be crowned champion.

A disqualification will cost owner Amr Zedan his winnings of $1.86 million — he bought Medina Spirit for $35,000 last year.

The total purse for this year’s Kentucky Derby was $3 million, with the first-place jockey and trainer each receiving a 10% cut.

Baffert was suspended by the New York Racing Association after the race and later said that Medina Spirit’s test had come back positive due to an ointment.

“I acknowledge that I am not perfect, and I could have better handled the initial announcement of this news,” said Baffert.

The trainer isn’t new to winning … or doping. 

• He’s trained seven Kentucky Derby champions, including Triple Crown winners American Pharaoh and Justify.
• Since 2019, five Baffert horses have failed drug tests.
• In last year’s Kentucky Oaks race, Gamine — who finished third — tested positive for steroids, costing Baffert a $1,500 fine and a suspension that was overturned in April.

While it’s not clear how much Baffert will be fined for illegally winning a Triple Crown race, it will be a mere fraction of his income. In 2021 alone, he’s brought in over $7 million, with lifetime earnings of more than $321 million.