KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Reed Hoffmann has been a freelance photographer for The Associated Press for more than a quarter of century. Before moving to the Kansas City area, he was a newspaper photographer for 20 years, He covers breaking news in addition to various sporting events for the AP.
I’m in the “tribune” position, which means I’m high up in the stands at midfield during the match. As such, I’m the “safety” position, meaning I won’t be blocked by players, so if something important happens and the AP photographers on the field are blocked, I should have photos. This photo was taken after Lionel Messi’s second goal of the game. I though I have a photo of him taking the shot with the goalie in the frame, his back is to me and he’s partially blocked by another player. But reaction is often as important, and sometimes more important, than the action. In this case, I followed him as he ran towards the far sidelines celebrating and captured him standing with his arms extended in front of a partial ad that read: “GOT THIS.”
I was using a Nikon Z9 camera, which at 45-megapixels allows images to be cropped quite a bit and still have plenty of resolution for print and online use. But the most important part of my gear was the lens — a Nikon 400mm f/2.8 with a built-in 1.4X teleconverter. That lets me shoot most of the action at 400mm, but after a goal I can flip a switch on the lens which has me now shooting reaction and celebration tighter, at 560mm and f/4. I did that after the goal as he ran towards the sidelines, for closer framing than I would have gotten with just 400mm. The photo was shot at 1/2000 second, f/4, 5000 ISO.
I could see the message board changing as he ran towards it. The “GOT THIS” is only part of an ad slogan, and I only had four frames over two-seconds where that phrase was on the boards, and just one frame where he was positioned best. I knew as I shot it that the words worked with what he’d done. As soon as the celebration finished, I added a voice file to the image (through my camera) and transmitted it to the my editor, Lauren Mackson. She did a great job cropping tight to give it more impact.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Argentina's Lionel Messi (10) celebrates after scoring their second goal during the World Cup Group J soccer match between Argentina and Algeria in Kansas City, Mo., Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Reed Hoffmann)
NEW YORK (AP) — The New York Knicks’ victory tour following their first NBA championship since 1973 made another stop Wednesday night when Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart threw out ceremonial first pitches at Yankee Stadium.
Before the Yankees played the Chicago White Sox, Brunson and Hart were met with a standing ovation and loud cheers from fans as they took the field to a montage of highlights from the title run.
Standing in front of the mound and wearing Yankees pinstripes, Brunson made his toss to backup catcher J.C. Escarra while Hart threw to utilityman Max Schuemann.
“Oh, I think’s it been awesome,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “What a fun team to get behind and just the story of that team and how it’s kind of come together over the last couple of years and just a lot of grit, a lot of mental fortitude and to see the fanbase and then some galvanized around that club has been a lot of fun to witness."
Brunson and Hart were honored after the Knicks made appearances on NBC’s “The Today Show” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” on Monday. Brunson and Hart along with starters Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby also appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday.
The ceremony occurred a day before the Knicks will be honored with a massive ticker-tape parade in lower Manhattan. Mayor Zohran Mamdani predicted Thursday’s celebration could be “the largest parade in New York City history."
The parade will also be the first for the Knicks, who won their first two NBA champiosnhips in 1970 and 1973. After those titles, then-Mayor John Lindsay celebrated the team at the mayoral mansion and City Hall.
Brunson threw out a first pitch for the second time since joining the Knicks. He also did it before a Mets-Yankees game in July 2024 shortly after signing a four-year, $156.5 million contract to stay with the Knicks.
Brunson averaged 32.6 points in New York’s five-game victory over the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Finals and won MVP honors. He led the Knicks to a 94-90 victory in the clinching Game 5 by scoring 45 points.
Hart is a great-nephew of former Yankees catcher Elston Howard, whose No. 32 jersey is retired by the team. Howard is also honored with a plaque in Monument Park.
The Knicks finished 16-3 in the postseason, an .842 winning percentage that matched the 2024 Boston Celtics for second-best since the format changed to best-of-seven series in all NBA playoff rounds beginning in 2003. The 2017 Golden State Warriors went 16-1.
New York won 13 consecutive postseason games, second to Golden State's 15 in a row in 2017, and set records by winning nine straight road games and outscoring their postseason opponents by 283 points.
Brunson and the Knicks also pulled off several big comebacks on the way to their title.
“It’s just been a captivating run that they’ve been on and with a group that’s now been together for a couple of years and then on top of the 53 years since a championship, it’s been a great story and a fan base that has come to know several of these guys as they’ve kind of climbed that ladder to ultimately winning a championship,” Boone said. “So I think it’ll be one of the historic teams that we talk about when it comes to the NBA.”
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
New York Knicks' Jalen Brunson, left, and Josh Hart leave the field after throwing out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Josh Hart, left, and Jalen Brunson, right, wait to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Josh Hart, left, and Jalen Brunson, right, wait to throws out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks' Josh Hart, right, and Jalen Brunson throw out a ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees Wednesday, June 17, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
