For the 18th time in franchise history, the Boston Celtics are NBA champions.

The Celtics closed the first quarter of Monday’s NBA Finals Game 5 on a 9-0 run and never looked back en route to a dominant 106-88 win over the Dallas Mavericks. The win secured a 4-1 win in the NBA Finals and the franchise’s first title since 2008.

The Celtics set the tone from the opening tip as they took the floor for the first time in these Finals wearing their classic green jerseys. They proceeded to put on a performance worthy of those colors. It was also worthy of a team that rolled to an NBA-best 64 wins in the regular season and produced advanced metrics that rank among the best in league history.

They did it on Monday with defense. They did it with 3s. They did it with stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown leading the way. It was an optimal conclusion to the Celtics season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars and quarterback Trevor Lawrence have reached an agreement on a five-year, $275 million contract extension, which includes $200 million guaranteed and a $142 million signing bonus.

Lawrence’s reported extension matches Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow‘s 2023 extension as the highest-paid deal in NFL history with an average salary of $55 million.

Lawrence, 24, was selected by the Jaguars at No. 1 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and has led Jacksonville to a 20-30 record in three seasons which included the franchise’s first playoff berth and AFC South Division title in five seasons in 2022.

Lawrence enters his fourth NFL season with 11,770 yards, 58 touchdowns and 39 interceptions on 1,116 of 1,750 passing, as well as 964 yards and 11 touchdowns on 205 rushing attempts. The Knoxville native entered the NFL after a decorated collegiate career at Clemson.

Gerrit Cole made his return to the mound in a rehab start Tuesday at Double-A Somerset and looked like his old self.

Cole threw 3 innings against the Hartford Yard Goats, allowing zero runs, no walks and two hits and striking out five.

The New York Yankees ace threw 45 pitches, which was right in line with the 40-50 Somerset manager Raul Dominguez planned to hold Cole to heading into the game. Of those 45 pitches, 34 went for strikes, and his fastball sat between 94 and 96 mph.

“It felt really great to get back out there, get back in the flow of things, get some adrenaline,” Cole said afterward.

Cole, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, hasn’t pitched for the Yankees this season after being shut down during spring training due to right elbow inflammation.