Wednesday’s Hot Clicks: Tristan Thompson Busted Cheating on Khloe Kardashian

The NBA continues to be America’s best soap opera.

Going Behind the Kardashians

The Daily Mail published photos and videos yesterday purporting to show Tristan Thompson kissing a woman at a New York nightclub on Saturday when the Cavs were in town to play the Knicks—and while his fiancée Khloe Kardashian is nine months pregnant. We here at SI examined these images like the Zapruder film and couldn’t decide whether the woman was actually kissing Thompson or just speaking exceptionally closely. (Page Six has an item about Thompson’s weekend with the woman.)

Well, leave it to the wizards at TMZ to uncover more evidence. Hours after the Daily Mail report, TMZ posted a video of Thompson kissing two women at a hookah lounge in D.C. in October. 

The NBA continues to be America’s best soap opera. 

It’s NHL Playoffs Time!

The NHL playoffs start tonight! I’m trying to convince myself that the plus side to the Rangers not making it is that I’ll be able to watch without being excruciatingly stressed. (Here is the full schedule for first-round games.) 

The first round has plenty to look forward to, including the latest installment of the Penguins-Flyers rivalry and whether the Leafs will last long enough for us to see just how bad Mitch Marner’s playoff beard can get. 

One of my favorite hockey moments from recent years was the Jets’ playoff appearance in 2015, their first since coming back to Winnipeg. They’re back in the postseason this year after a two-year absence and Winnipeg will be rocking. Winnipeg is planning a massive outdoor street party outside the arena​ for the game tonight. It’s a white-out theme and, appropriately, the weather forecast calls for snow. You can’t bring your own beer, but at least they will be selling it. 

The Elephant in the Room

As many of you already caught on to, we’re retiring the Lovely Lady of the Day. We’ve been considering this change for a long, long time and decided it made sense to do it now as Andy leaves and Hot Clicks enters a new era. It’s honestly not for one particular reason and it’s certainly not because we’re trying to be “politically correct,” as more than one reader inferred. 

I’ve been blown away by the number of responses I’ve received from people who noticed it was gone. I’ve heard from many people who are happy with the decision, but I’ve also heard from many others (including one former NBA coach!) who are disappointed, upset and even downright angry. A few of these people have said they’ll stop reading Hot Clicks now that there’s no more LLOD, but I hope the gallery wasn’t really the only reason they read this column on a regular basis. Far more people have said the absence of the LLOD gallery won’t keep them from reading, and I really appreciate that.

At its core, Hot Clicks is still going to be the same. It’ll be slightly different in ways that I think will be an improvement, though it’s still your one-stop shop for everything fun, interesting and out of the ordinary from around the web each morning. I know this column has become a part of people's daily routines and that change can be unsettling, but I’m glad so many readers are giving me a chance. 

This Is the Coolest Thing I Read Yesterday

I loved this piece by CBS’s Dayn Perry about the White Sox’ stadium and the modern ballpark more generally. I found the stuff about how older ballparks were constructed with better upper-deck view in mind very interesting. 

Bits & Pieces

Remember the item yesterday about the terrible weather for the White Sox’ home opener? Fewer than 1,000 people attended the game. ... This 1920 photograph of Edinburgh shot from a plane is absolutely stunning. ... Andre Ingram waited 10 years to make his NBA debut–then hit his first four shots and dropped 19 points for the Lakers. ... The last season of Game of Thrones must be really something, because they spent 55 nights filming one battle scene. ... NFL Color Rush is dead, sort of. ... Joe Kelly’s entrance music last night was a remix of the Walmart yodeling kid. ... Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before Congress made for some good jokes. 

I’ll Never Unsee This

The Stupidest Beef in the NBA

rookie: "An athlete playing his or her first season as a member of a professional sports team"

🔥🔥🔥

(via @utahjazz) pic.twitter.com/05mWqTuGYw

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 10, 2018

Some people in the NBA—including Draymond Green—think Ben Simmons shouldn’t win Rookie of the Year because he was drafted two years ago and missed last season with an injury. That’s ridiculous. Even Simmons himself weighed in on Mitchell’s sweatshirt you see above. 

Never Let a College Student Reply-All

What Makes an Athlete Great?

This is the trailer for a documentary coming out in the fall, In Search of Greatness, which is already being hailed as a possible Oscar nominee. 

Elton John Is a Good Sport

The Best Thing About Being Smart Is Finding the Stupidest Applications for Your Intelligence

A Good Song

Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Click here for previous editions of Hot Clicks. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.