Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner spoke to the media for the first time since she was wrongfully detained in Russia yesterday and renewed the spotlight on the league’s salary structure.

With all due apologies to Ms. Jackson, the Eastern Conference (EC) No. 2 Boston Celtics prevailed over the No. 7 Atlanta Hawks last night, which means six of eight squads have locked in their spots in the Conference Semifinals.

After last night’s triple-header of crucial Game 5s, two teams have booked their spot in Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs.

The other series? Much messier — here’s who’s on the verge of clinching (hi, WC No. 4 Phoenix Suns) and who still has a long way to go.

Game 3s are certainly a party in the NBA Playoffs as the series shift venues for two tilts, giving the lower seeds a chance to capitalize on home-court advantage.

Yesterday, the league inked a multiyear agreement with Scripps to televise games nationally and regionally on Friday nights.

It’s way too early to predict where any series is heading in the always dramatic NBA Playoffs.

Let’s take stock of what’s next for the Dinos, then, the show must go on — there’s more NBA playoff hoops to discuss.

With super-high demand for next season’s tickets, a ton of momentum heading into media rights negotiations, and even SNL taking notice, the sport’s party is still raging.

At Monday’s WNBA Draft, commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league plans to capitalize on the March Madness hype by increasing marketing spend and promoting incoming collegiate stars, several of whom will go pro after becoming household names.

The dramatic NBA play-in tournament more than delivered with last night’s tip-off, giving way to tonight’s win-or-go-home showdowns. Nothing like high stakes hoops.

Today’s newsletter has everything you need to know about how it works, plus a team-by-team breakdown of all the playoff fun to come.