Stephen Strasburg has been shut down from physical activity due to "severe nerve damage" stemming from his 2021 surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

Why it matters: There's a very real chance that the Nationals' former ace has thrown his last pitch, which would cement his gargantuan contract as arguably the worst in MLB history.

The backdrop: In the fall of 2019, the Nationals rewarded their newly minted World Series MVP with a seven-year, $245 million contract — the largest ever for a pitcher at the time and still second only to Gerrit Cole's $324 million deal.

• But since then, injuries have limited Strasburg to just 31.1 innings across eight starts, the last of which came one year ago this Friday.
• Now, after three years' worth of nerve issues, there's a distinct possibility that the 34-year-old may never pitch again.

The big picture: Strasburg's career, which once appeared destined for Cooperstown, will instead likely be remembered alongside other MLB "what-ifs?"

• His debut in 2010 — which I was lucky enough to attend — remains the stuff of legend. 2009's No. 1 pick struck out 14 Pirates with his signature mix of high-90s fastballs and backbreaking off-speed pitches.
• From 2010-19, Strasburg's 3.17 ERA ranked ninth among the 89 pitchers who threw 1,000+ innings, his 1.086 WHIP ranked sixth and his 10.6 K/9 ranked fourth.
• He was even better in the playoffs: He's one of just five pitchers in MLB history with a sub-1.50 ERA (1.46) in at least 50 postseason innings; the other four are in the Hall of Fame.

Yes, but: Strasburg's injury issues didn't come out of nowhere. Durability concerns surfaced throughout that dominant prime, when nagging ailments limited him to just three seasons with 30+ starts.

• The Nationals took a chance on their star, and now they're saddled with an albatross: Strasburg is owed $105 million over the next three years after this season.
• To make matters worse, Washington didn't get disability insurance on his deal because of how high the premiums would have been, WashPost reports.

State of play: Strasburg's contract, paired with the six-year, $140 million deal given to Patrick Corbin — who has been terrible — have pushed the Nationals into a full-on rebuild and could impact the sale of the team, which ownership has been exploring.

The last word: "I don't know if I'll ever be able to do this consistently on a major league mound again. But I'm not ready to hang it up quite yet," Strasburg told WashPost last fall. Nine months later, his body may force him to.

Go deeper: Strasburg's legacy is what he did, not what he couldn't do (WashPost)

The Golden Knights seized control of the Stanley Cup Final with a 7-2 win over the Panthers on Monday night in Las Vegas.

By the numbers: There were 148 penalty minutes in Game 2, the second-most ever in a Stanley Cup Final game.

• Jack Eichel (two assists) leads Vegas with 22 playoff points, the third-most ever for a player in their first postseason.
• Sergei Bobrovsky was red hot coming into the series but has given up eight goals in 87 minutes against Vegas and was chased from the game on Monday.

The big picture: Nevada is now two wins shy of becoming the 24th state with a "Big Four" champion — and the first new state to join the list since Louisiana in 2009 (Saints).

Looking ahead: Game 3 is Thursday in Florida, where the Panthers are 4-3 this postseason.

Wake up, tennis is on! The French Open quarterfinals are underway in Paris.

Men

• Today: No. 3 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 11 Karen Khachanov (7:45am ET): No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas (2:15pm)
• Tomorrow: No. 22 Alexander Zverev vs. Tomás Etcheverry (TBD); No. 6 Holger Rune vs. No. 3 Casper Ruud (TBD)

Women

• Today: Karolína Muchová vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (update: Muchová won); Elina Svitolina vs. No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka (currently in first set)
• Tomorrow: No. 1 Iga Świątek vs. No. 6 Coco Gauff (TBD); No. 14 Beatriz Maia vs. No. 7 Ons Jabeur (TBD)

The intrigue: For over a year, Djokovic and Alcaraz have kept missing each other. If they both win today, the duel everyone has been waiting for will finally happen.

Go deeper: Ranking the quarterfinalists (ESPN)

🏈 New Bills stadium: The Bills broke ground on their new stadium on Monday, beginning construction across the street from their current home with plans to be ready for the start of the 2026 season.

⛳️ What a guy: On Sunday, Viktor Hovland won The Memorial's $3.6 million prize. On Monday, he caddied 36 holes for his college roommate at U.S. Open qualifying.

⚾️ Albert's new gigs: Albert Pujols has been named special assistant to commissioner Rob Manfred and will consult on issues including player relations. He'll also work as an on-air analyst for MLB Network.

🏒 Anaheim's new coach: The Ducks hired veteran NHL assistant and AHL coach Greg Cronin as their new head coach. Cronin, 60, spent 12 years as a Maple Leafs and Islanders assistant but has never been an NHL head coach.

The NCAA baseball super regionals are set, and the 16 teams that emerged from regionals now have one clear goal: Win two games and you're in the College World Series, Jeff writes.

The intrigue: Oral Roberts, which hasn't made it this far since 2006, hasn't lost in over six weeks and looks like the team to beat.

• The Golden Eagles' 21-game winning streak is the longest in the nation this season, and their last loss (April 22) was preceded by a separate eight-game winning streak.
• At 49-11, they're two wins shy of tying the program record for most wins in a season.

State of play: Eight best-of-three series begin on Friday, with the higher seeds hosting and the winners advancing to the CWS in Omaha.

• Winston-Salem: No. 1 Wake Forest (50-10) vs. No. 16 Alabama (43-19)
• Gainesville: No. 2 Florida (48-15) vs. No. 15 South Carolina (42-19)
• Baton Rouge: No. 5 LSU (46-15) vs. No. 12 Kentucky (40-19)
• Charlottesville: No. 7 Virginia (48-12) vs. Duke (38-22)
• Stanford: No. 8 Stanford (42-17) vs. Texas (41-20)
• Eugene: Oregon (40-20) vs. Oral Roberts (49-11)
• TBD*: No. 14 Indiana State (45-15) vs. TCU (40-22)
• TBD*: Tennessee (41-19) vs. Southern Mississippi (45-18)

*Tennessee and Southern Miss, both No. 2 seeds in their regionals, await a decision from the NCAA regarding who will host; Indiana State cannot host due to a scheduling conflict, so the NCAA will decide the matchup's location.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Super Bowl champion Chiefs were welcomed to the White House on Monday by President Biden.

ARLINGTON, Texas — The Rangers (39-20) walked it off against the Cardinals on Monday to up their run differential to an incredible +153.

BRASSAC-LES-MINES, France — Cyclists prior to the start of Stage 2 of the 75th Critérium du Dauphiné.

The Sun host the Aces tonight (7pm ET, Fox) in a clash of the top two teams in the WNBA.

• Where it stands: The defending champion Aces are the 12th team in league history to start 6-0. The Sun are just behind them at 6-1.
• Who to watch: Vegas' A'ja Wilson (20.7 pts, 8.7 reb, 2.3 ast) looks like the reigning MVP and Connecticut's Alyssa Thomas (14.4 pts, 11.6 reb, 6.9 ast) is a stat-sheet stuffer.

More to watch:

• 🎾 Tennis: French Open (5am, Tennis) … Quarterfinal coverage into the afternoon.
• ⚾️ MLB: Mets at Braves (7:20pm, TBS)
• 🏀 WNBA: Fever at Sky (8pm, CBSSN); Sparks at Storm (10pm, CBSSN)
• 🍿 Documentary: "The Luckiest Guy in the World" (8pm, ESPN) … Episodes 1 and 2 in the four-part "30 for 30" about basketball legend Bill Walton.

One, two, three, four, I declare a … toe war? Turns out, arm and thumb wrestling have a cousin, Jeff writes.

How it works: Toe wrestling — a medieval sport revived in 1974 at a pub in Staffordshire, England — involves competitors interlocking their big toes and fighting to pin their opponent's foot to one side of the playing surface (see above).

• The non-playing leg must be raised off the ground so that it can't be used for leverage.
• Matches are best-of-three, alternating right foot, then left, then back to right if necessary.

State of play: Last year saw a changing of the guard atop the men's side of the sport when Ben Woodroffe, 34, finally dethroned undefeated 17-time world champion Alan "Nasty" Nash, 64.

• Nash had beaten Woodroffe in the previous five finals, powered by a right foot that proclaimed, in tattooed cursive script, "Unleash the beast."
• Woodroffe takes the sport so seriously that he had his big toenails surgically removed to alleviate midmatch pain.

Go deeper: The toe king rises (Slate)

The Nuggets are the last of the four ABA franchises merged into the NBA to reach the Finals.

• Question: Who are the other three?
• Hint: Two East, one West.

Answer at the bottom.

Nine NFL teams — the Browns, Commanders, Cowboys, Dolphins, Falcons, Lions, Raiders, Seahawks and Titans — open their mandatory three-day minicamps today. The rest of the league will follow next week.

🎶 Are you ready for some football? 🎶