13 years after Drew Maggi was drafted, the career minor leaguer finally achieved his dream of playing in the big leagues, Axios' Jeff Tracy and I write.

Driving the news: After getting called up by the Pirates earlier this week, the 33-year-old infielder appeared as a pinch hitter on Wednesday in the eighth inning of a 8-1 win over the Dodgers.

• Maggi received a standing ovation from teammates and the Pittsburgh crowd — a moment he'll surely never forget.
• The Phoenix native ended up striking out (and getting called for a pitch clock violation), but that's beside the point.

Timeline: The Pirates called Maggi up to the majors on Sunday from the Double-A Altoona Curve after the former Arizona State Sun Devil spent 1,155 games and 4,494 plate appearances in the minors.

• 2010-14: After the Pirates selected him in the 15th round of the 2010 draft, Maggi spent five seasons with the organization and reached Double-A.
• 2015-18: He jumped around from the Angels (2015) to the Dodgers (2016-17) to the Indians (2018), splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A.
• 2019-21: He signed with the Twins, and after mashing at Triple-A in 2021 (.850 OPS across 86 games), he got called up. Unfortunately, he never saw the field, becoming just another phantom ballplayer.
• 2022-present: After signing with the Phillies in the spring of 2022, Maggi was traded to the Pirates midseason. He re-signed with Pittsburgh this past offseason, getting the call just eight games into his 2023 campaign.

The big picture: It's exceedingly hard to make the major leagues — just 10% of minor leaguers get to "The Show." It's even rarer for players Maggi's age to still be grinding it out in Double-A, where the average player is roughly nine years younger than him.

What he's saying: "I always believed this moment would come," Maggi said after getting called up. "I'm very thankful that I'm here and that I get to enjoy this."

• "Anything is possible. Never give up," he added after his debut.
• "If you love something, go for it."

❤️ Watch: The moment Maggi got called up (Twitter)

Entering the playoffs, the Bucks were the consensus betting favorite to win their second NBA title in three years. Five games later, they're going home.

Driving the news: Jimmy Butler (42 points) and the Heat beat Giannis Antetokounmpo (38 points) and the Bucks, 128-126 (OT), on Wednesday night in Milwaukee to win their first-round series, 4-1.

• Milwaukee led 102-86 after three quarters but shot just 5-of-25 from the floor in the fourth quarter and overtime.
• Miami is the sixth No. 8 seed to eliminate a No. 1 seed, joining the 1994 Nuggets, 1999 Knicks, 2007 Warriors, 2011 Grizzlies and 2012 76ers.

What they're saying: "There's no failure in sports," Antetokounmpo said after the game. "There's good days, bad days. Some days you're able to be successful. Some days you're not. Some days it's your turn. Some days it's not your turn. That's what sports is about. You don't always win."

What's next: The Heat advance to play the Knicks, who eliminated the Cavaliers on Wednesday to win their first playoff series since 2013 — and just their second since 2001.

Meanwhile, out West ... The Warriors beat the Kings, 123-116, to take a 3-2 series lead; the Grizzlies beat the Lakers, 116-99, to force a Game 6.

Manchester City took charge of the Premier League title race on Wednesday with a 4-1 win over Arsenal, moving within two points of the Gunners with two games in hand.

• Arsenal has five matches left against Chelsea, Newcastle, Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Wolves.
• Man City has seven matches left against Fulham, West Ham, Leeds United, Everton, Chelsea, Brighton and Brentford.

The big picture: Pep Guardiola's side now controls its own destiny as the club seeks a fifth Premier League title in six years — while chasing trophies in the Champions League (semifinal vs. Real Madrid) and FA Cup (final vs. Manchester United).

More Premier League ... Liverpool beat West Ham to keep its European hopes alive, Chelsea lost its fifth straight match under interim coach Frank Lampard and Sheffield United secured promotion alongside Burnley.

Go deeper: City's quest for the Treble (ESPN)

🏀 New CBA ratified: The NBA and NBPA announced Wednesday that they have ratified the recently agreed-upon new CBA, ensuring labor peace through the remainder of the decade.

🏒 Quite the debut: Tye Kartye scored in his NHL debut to help the Kraken beat the reigning champion Avalanche, 3-2, and take a 3-2 series lead.

⚾️ Wild stat: The combined salaries of the 12 players on the Yankees' injured list ($117.8 million) is higher than the entire 26-man payroll of 13 MLB teams.

⚽️ Soccer in San Diego: In February, MLS commissioner Don Garber said Las Vegas and San Diego were the two leading candidates to get the league's 30th team. ESPN reports that San Diego now has "considerably more momentum."

The Rays have reclaimed the top spot in our power rankings four weeks into the season, with their +87 run differential putting them on pace for a record-shattering +564, Jeff writes.

Three up: The Orioles, Rangers and Pirates are among the biggest surprises so far. Can they keep it up?

• Baltimore's offense is legit (top half of the league in runs, HR and batting average), but its excellent record in one-run games (7-2) may be unsustainable.
• Texas' offense is even better (second-most runs scored in MLB), and combined with a top-10 pitching staff its +56 run differential trails only Tampa.
• Pittsburgh's beautiful ballpark now hosts one of the league's most exciting teams, early season mirage or not. Plus: Andrew McCutchen is raking again.

Three down: The Guardians, Cardinals and White Sox have struggled. Can they turn it around?

• Cleveland is 5-9 since starting 7-4, and needs to get back some injured starters, but history says never count out the Guardians.
• St. Louis was the preseason favorite to win the NL Central, but the Red Birds' 9-16 record is their worst through 25 games since 1973 (5-20).
• Chicago is slogging through a brutal start under rookie manager Pedro Grifol, losing seven straight games for the third-worst record in the league.

Go deeper: Early takeaways (ESPN+)

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Aaron Rodgers in a Jets uniform is going to take some getting used to.

BOSTON — Matthew Tkachuk's overtime goal lifted the Panthers past the Bruins, 4-3, and forced a Game 6 against the best regular-season team ever.

CINCINNATI — Everybody loves a walk-off homer.

The 2023 NFL Draft begins tonight in Kansas City (8pm ET), with three QBs expected to go in the first four picks.

• How to watch: The first round will be broadcast live from historic Union Station on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network.
• Of note: There will only be 31 selections tonight (rather than 32) after the Dolphins forfeited their pick for tampering.

More to watch:

• 🏀 NBA playoffs: Celtics (up 3-2) at Hawks (8:30pm, TNT) ... The Hawks must win at home to force a Game 7.
• 🏒 NHL playoffs: Lightning (down 3-1) at Maple Leafs (7pm, TBS); Rangers (2-2) at Devils (7:30pm, ESPN2); Jets (down 3-1) at Golden Knights (10pm, ESPN2)
• ⚽️ Women's Champions League: Barcelona (up 1-0) vs. Chelsea (12:45pm, YouTube) … Semifinals, second leg.
• ⚾️ MLB: A's at Angels (4pm, MLB.TV free game of the day) … Shohei Ohtani takes the mound.
• ⚽️ EPL: Tottenham vs. Manchester United (3:15pm, Peacock)
• ⛳️ PGA: Mexico Open (8:45am, ESPN+; 3:30pm, Golf) … At Vidanta in Puerto Vallarta.
• ⛳️ LPGA: JM Eagle LA Championship (6:30pm, Golf) … The new event at the Wilshire Country Club features eight of the world's top 10 players.
• ⛳️ LIV: Singapore (10:30pm, The CW app) … At the Serapong Course on Sentosa Island.

Welly wanging originated about 50 years ago in the U.K., and the sport couldn't be simpler: How far can you throw a boot?

The backdrop: Welly is short for Wellington boot — the standard rubber rain boot — and one story goes that welly wanging's origins can be traced to a pub in rural Britain, when a tipsy farmer spilled his ale into another farmer's welly, Jeff writes.

• The latter removed his boot and threw it at the former, angrily chasing him from the pub.
• In the following weeks, pubgoers began reenacting the incident, and soon turned it into a competition to see who could throw their welly the farthest.

Between the lines: The four main throwing techniques are one-handed, two-handed (like a hammer throw), between the legs and backward over the head.

The big picture: Welly wanging competitions have since sprung up across Europe, and even made their way to New Zealand, where Gumboot Day has been an annual celebration since 1985.

🇮🇪 Watch: 2019's All-Ireland competition (YouTube)

Paolo Banchero is the first No. 1 overall pick to win NBA Rookie of the Year since 2018.

• Question: Who won it that year?
• Hint: Plays for a different team now.

Answer at the bottom.

There are two Sebastian Aho's in the NHL, and they shared a penalty box on Tuesday, Jeff writes.

• Sebastian Aho, Hurricanes: 25-year-old forward from Finland.
• Sebastian Aho, Islanders: 27-year-old defender from Sweden.

Flashback: Last year, they scored goals in different games at almost the exact same time, just 34 seconds apart.

Looking ahead: Game 6 is tomorrow, with Sebastian Aho's Hurricanes leading Sebastian Aho's Islanders, 3-2.