Baseball: Historical All Star Game. Gunshots at Nationals/Padres game. Verdugo hit by fan. Crazy Pirates play. deGrom on IL. Bauer extended admin leave.
Basketball-NBA: Bucks lead 3-2.
Football: Sherman arrested and facing charges. OU signed 2 to Class of 2023. M Den signed NIL deal with football players. NFL vaccinations.
Golf: Collin Morikawa = Open Champion. Bryson babbles. Power wins Barbasol.
Hockey: Prokop comes out.
Olympic Sports: Opening ceremony starts Friday! Soccer and softball start Wednesday. W Gym alt test positive. UGA weightlifter goes missing. Toyota to not run Olympic ads. Olympic composer resigns. TdF winner Tadej Pogacar.
Tennis: Coco Gauff out of Tokyo with positive test.
Baseball-MLB:
- History was made during the MLB All-Star game on Tuesday. Shohei Ohtani became the first player to be selected as a pitcher and a hitter to the Midsummer Classic (just another name for this game). Ohtani pitched a shutout first inning and picked up the W as the American League beat the National League 5-2. Vladimir Guerrero Jr was named MVP and is the youngest player to earn the honor in the game’s history. The American league has won the last 8 All-Star Games, which is the 2nd longest streak in MLB history. The first being 11 straight by the National league from 1972-1982.
- Gunshots rang out around Nationals Park in DC during the National/Padres game on Saturday night. The shooting was outside the stadium and completely unrelated to the game but that didn’t stop Padres SS Fernando Tatis Jr from grabbing fans and teammates alike to guide them into the dugout. 2 cars exchanged gunfire outside the 3rd base side of the stadium, injuring 3 people including a woman who was waiting for an uber after leaving the game. The Padres were up 8-4 in the 6th when it happened. The game was picked up on Sunday where the Padres win 10-4.
- Red Sox LF Alex Verdugo was hit by a ball thrown by a fan in the back at Yankee Stadium during their game Saturday night. The fan that threw the ball has now been banned for life from attending any major league games. Verdugo was throwing the ball to a Red Sox kid when the Yankee fan intercepted it and then hit the player with it. NY did end up winning that game 3-1 in 6 after it was called for heavy rain.
- Here’s a weird one for you. “We’ve seen it all now” was literally the words of the announcer. A ball was barely hit by Pirates SS Kevin Newman down the 3rd base line when Mets P Taijuan Walker batted the ball away thinking it was foul. However the umpire was right there watching as the ball grazed the chalk meaning it’s a fair ball. The Pirates scored 3 runs off of that play. Mets manager Rojas was ejected from the game for arguing with the ump and bumping him in the chest. The Mets got the last laugh however as they came back to win 7-6.
- Mets have placed ace Jacob deGrom back on the IL for right forearm tightness. Only for 10 days so far but deGrom has only pitched 15 starts this season due to multiple injuries.
- The Dodgers troubles continue as they put Trevor Bauer on longer administrative leave due to the domestic violence allegations. There is a hearing scheduled on July 23rd.
Basketball:
- For the first time in the series, the Bucks have the lead. After starting 0-2, the Bucks have come roaring back, won 3 in a row and now lead 3-2, winning Saturday’s game in PHX. Why is this so big? Because whatever team wins Game 5 goes onto win the title over 72% of the time. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 32 points although the Suns’ Devin Booker scored 40points. With 20 seconds to go, the Suns had the ball down only by 1 but the Bucks forced a turnover and alley-ooped to 123-119. Game 6 will be played Tuesday in MIL. The Suns need to win to force a game 7 and that game would be in PHX…
Football:
- Former Seahawks and current free agent CB Richard Sherman has been arrested for burglary and domestic abuse charges. On Wednesday, 911 was called after Sherman was drunk, belligerent and threatening to kill himself. He also crashed his SUV in a construction zone. His wife was the one who called police after he wrestled with her uncle. The couple has 2 kids together and no one was harmed in the incident. Charges against Sherman include 2 domestic violence counts, criminal trespassing, malicious mischief, driving under the influence and reckless endangerment of roadway workers. All of these are classified as misdemeanors and could be 90 days – 1 year in jail. This is a huge deal not only bc he got arrested but Sherman is considered one of the best CBs of all time and he is a free agent this season after playing the last 2 years with the 49ers. TBD if a team will be willing to sign him now.
- Talking Season has started and Oklahoma has been off to a hot start. OU has signed 2 Top 300 from the Class of 2023. QB Malachi Nelson (from CA) and RB Treyaun Webb (FL) have both committed as Juniors. Alabama, no surprise here, has also killed it on the recruiting front. The Crimson Tide signed #7 prospect (and #1 OT) Tyler Booker (from FL). This is the 10th ESPN 300 prospect for the Tide in the 2022 class so far.
- The M Den, an athletics store in Michigan, has partnered with Michigan football players to have current player’s names on the back of their custom jerseys to sell in their stores. This was allowed under the new NIL rules in college athletics and it is believed that 60 players are involved in this new deal. The university does not allow officially licensed products to have player’s names and numbers on it but the store got around that with the custom option. This will not be the last we hear of this.
- Keeping with the NIL theme, the TexasAgs website, will pay 2 aggie football players $10k each to do exclusive interviews with them. The 2 players are of course RB Isaiah Spiller and S Demani Richardson. (Watch one Aggie game and it wont be a surprise why these 2 specifically were picked). The website is not officially affiliated with the university but is a poplar site for alumni.
- NFL teams are encouraging their players to get vaccinated and have a 85% vaccination rate goal before training camps start (these next couple of weeks). Only 13 teams have reached that threshold, the Dallas Cowboys is not among them.
- Who wouldn’t want to be serenaded by a football coach?
Golf:
- Collin Morikawa is champion golfer of the year, adding the Open championship to his PGA Championship title to be a 2x major winner at only 24 years old. The other impressive part was this was his first time playing in the Open. Sound familiar? Bc he also won his first PGA he ever played in as well. This is Collin’s 5th win on the PGA Tour. His score of 15 under par put him 2 strokes over Jordan Spieth and 4 strokes over Louis Oosthuizen, who have both previously won the Open in 2017 and 2010 respectively.
- #GFHint: The Open is a links course which means that the course is built on sand. This makes the ball run further than most other courses in the US. The weather conditions also makes links courses hard as the weather is usually windy and rainy.
- Bryson DeChambeau also found himself in the news this week but not in the way you want. After his round on Thursday, an obviously frustrated Bryson said his driver sucks after only hitting 4 of 14 fairways. Why is this such a big deal? Because this was just 2 weeks after the Cobra rep caddied for Bryson at the Rocket Mortgage when his original caddy quit. Needless to say, his equipment people were not impressed. In consultation Bryson did shot 65 on Sunday to finish T33.
- There was another tournament on this side of the pond as well. And yet another playoff to determine the winner! The Barbasol Championship was played in KT and Irishman Seamus Power won his first PGA Tour victory on the 6th playoff hole over JT Poston. Power parred the final playoff hole after Poston found the water to make bogey. The only downside, bc the tournament was the same week as the Open, he wont get an invite to the Masters. But he does get his PGA Tour card for 2 years and will get invites to the PGA Championship, Players and Tournament of Champions in HI.
Hockey:
- Predators prospect defensemen Luke Prokop has come out as a gay man, the first active player in the NHL to do so. He was drafted in the 3rd round to the Predators in the 2020 draft but spent last season playing with the Calgary Hitmen in the Western Hockey League.
Olympic Sports:
- The Olympics start this week! Opening ceremonies are Friday @ 6:30pm on NBC but events start as early as Wednesday (softball and soccer). During the Olympic Opening ceremonies, you will see the typical Team USA outfits by Ralph Lauren but this year they will feature cooling devices inside the clothing as the temperatures are expected to be in the 90s. no word on who Team USA has chosen to be the flag bearers.
- Friday opens with Archery, Rowing, Shooting, Volleyball, Handball, Table Tennis, Badminton, Beach Volleyball, Fencing, Field Hockey, Weightlifting, Men’s Gymnastics, Softball, Taekwondo, Bball, Cycling, Boxing, Judo, M Tennis, M Volleyball,
- Gold Medal Events this weekend:
- Fri 7/23
- Shooting: W 10m Air Rifle Final @ 8:45pm
- Cycling: M Road Race @ 9pm
- Sat 7/24
- Weightlifting: W 49kg @ 11:50pm
- Shooting: M 10m Air Pistol @ 1:30am
- Judo: W 48kg & M 60kg @ 4:08am – 4:58am
- Taekwondo: W Flyweight -49kg, M Flyweight -58kg @ 6:30am – 7:45am
- Swimming: M 400m Free, W 400m IM @ 8:52pm – 9:12pm
- Shooting: W 10m Air Pistol @ 9:15pm
- Swimming: W 4x100m Free Relay @ 9:45pm
- Skateboarding: M Street @ 10:25pm
- Sun 7/25
- Cycling: W Road Race @ 11pm
- Diving: W 3m Springboard Synchro @ 1am
- Shooting: M 10m Air Rifle @ 1:30am
- Weightlifting: M 61kg @ 1:50am
- Archery: W Recurve Team @ 2:15am
- Judo: W 52kg, M 66kg @ 4:08am – 4:58am
- Weightlifting: M 67kg @ 5:50am
- Taekwondo: W Featherweight 49-57kg, M Featherweight 58-68kg @ 6:30am – 7:45am
- Triathlon: Men’s Race @ 4:30am
- Swimming: W 100m Fly, M 100m Breast, W 400m Free, M 4x100m Free Relay @ 8:30pm – 10:05pm
- Skateboarding: W Street @ 10:25pm
- Fri 7/23
- To no one’s surprise the Tokyo games have already experienced issues with COVID. So far on Team USA, Coco Gauff and an alternate on the women’s gymnastics team, Kara Eaker, have tested positive. Leanne Wong, another alternate for Team USA, has been placed in isolation as she and Eaker share a coach. A CZE beach volleyball player is the 3rd athlete to test positive in the Olympic village. This follows 2 KSA men’s soccer players also out with COVID. So far 21.6% of the JPN population has been vaccinated.
- Julius Ssekitoleko, a UGA weightlifter, has gone missing but he left a note saying he wanted to start a new life in JPN. He disappeared on Friday from a training camp in Osaka.
- Toyota has announced that they will not run the Olympic themes ads during the games due to how polarizing having the games at all has been. Kinda dumb in my opinion as the company has already spent the money to make those commercials and being a corporate sponsor means you get to use the Olympics as a platform. Toyota’s sponsorship of the Games runs from 2017-2024.
- Just to add another controversy to the fire, Olympic composer Keigo Oyamada, resigned today (4 days before his opening ceremonies) because he bullied classmates in his childhood. Oyamada is 52 years old and has previously talked about the abuse in an interview he gave in the 90s. the music he composed for the opening ceremonies will not be used.
- The Tour de France ended in Paris on Sunday and SLO Tadej Pogacar won his 2nd straight title at the young age of 22. He gained the yellow jersey (aka the lead) in stage 8 and never looked back, winning 3 of the 21 stages. ECU Richard Carapaz finished 3rd and is the first man from Ecuador to be in the top 3. Mark Cavendish, GBR, won 4 stages during this year’s TdF, putting his career total to 34. This ties the record set by Eddy Mercks in 1969-1975.
What to watch this week
Baseball-MLB:
- Mon 7/19
- Cubs at Cardinals @ 7pm on ESPN
- Mills vs Woodford
- Cubs at Cardinals @ 7pm on ESPN
- Wed 7/21
- Cubs at Cardinals @ 7pm on ESPN
- Henricks vs Wainwright
- Cubs at Cardinals @ 7pm on ESPN
- Sat 7/24
- Yankees at Red Sox @ 3:05pm on FS1
- Taillon vs Perez
- Rays at Indians @ 6:10pm on FS1
- Yarbrough vs Mejia
- Yankees at Red Sox @ 3:05pm on FS1
- Sun 7/25
- White Sox at Brewers @ 6pm on ESPN
- Lynn vs Burnes
- White Sox at Brewers @ 6pm on ESPN
Basketball-NBA:
- Tues 7/20 – Finals Game 6
- Suns at Bucks @ 8pm on ABC
- Thurs 7/22 – Finals Game 7
- Bucks at Suns @ 8pm on ABC
- If necessary
- Bucks at Suns @ 8pm on ABC
- Fri 7/23
- Olympics 3×3 Bball: Pool @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Sun 7/25
- Olympic BBall @ 11pm on NBCSN: FRA vs USA @ 11pm on NBCSN
Golf:
- Thurs 7/22
- 3M Open – Round 1 @ 1:30pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 7/23
- 3M Open – Round 2 @ 1:30pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 7/24
- 3M Open – Round 3
- @ 12pm on Golf Channel
- @ 2pm on CBS
- 3M Open – Round 3
- Sun 7/25
- 3M Open – Round 3
- @ 12pm on Golf Channel
- @ 2pm on CBS
- 3M Open – Round 3
Olympic Sports:
- Mon 7/19
- Track & Field: US Olympic Trials Re-Run @ 6am on NBCSN
- Gymnastics: US Olympic Trials Re-Run @ 2:30pm on NBCSN
- Tues 7/20
- Swimming: US Olympic Trials Re-Run @ 8am on NBCSN
- Softball: AUS vs JPN @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo 2020 TBA @ 9pm on NBCSN
- Softball: USA vs ITA @ 10pm on NBCSN
- Wed 7/21
- Olympics Tokyo 2020 TBA @ 12am on NBCSN
- Softball: MEX vs CAN @ 1am on NBCSN
- W Soccer: CHN vs BRA @ 3am on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo 2020 TBA @ 5am on NBCSN
- W Soccer: JPN vs CAN @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- W Soccer: SWE vs US @ 7:30am on NBCSN
- W Soccer: CHN vs BRA @ 9:30am on NBCSN
- W Soccer: AUS vs NZL @ 1:15pm on NBCSN
- Softball: US v CAN @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Tokyo Olympics TBA @ 9pm on NBCSN
- Softball: KPN vs MEX @ 10pm on NBCSN
- Thurs 7/22
- Softball : ITA vs AUS @ 1am on NBCSN
- M Soccer: NZL vs KOR @ 3am on NBCSN
- M Soccer: Mex vs FRA @ 5am on NBCSN
- M Soccer: JPN vs RSA @ 6am on NBCSN
- M Soccer: EGY vs ESP @ 8am on NBCSN
- M Soccer: BRA vs GER @ 2pm on NBCSN
- Softball: USA vs CAN @ 4:30pm on NBCSN
- Archery & Rowing @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- Fri 7/23
- Olympics Tokyo TBA @ 6am on NBC
- Olympic replays @ all day on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo Opening Ceremonies @ 6:30pm on NBC
- 3×3 Bball: Pool @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Archery @ 11:30pm on NBCSN
- Sat 7/24
- W Water Polo: JPN vs USA @ 12am on NBCSN
- Replay @ 7pm
- Olympics Tokyo TBA @ 12:30am on NBC
- Softball: USA vs MEX @ 1:10am on NBCSN
- Archery & 3×3 Bball @ 2:30am on NBCSN
- W Soccer: SWE vs AUS @ 3:30am on NBCSN
- M Handball: FRA vs ARG @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- W Soccer: NZL vs USA @ 6:30am on NBCSN
- Replay @ 1am Sun
- Olympics Tokyo: M Volleyball, Rowing, 3×3 bball, Cycling, Swimming @ 8am on NBC
- Table Tennis @ 10:30am on NBCSN
- Equestrian @ 12pm on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo: M Volleyball, Rowing, 3×3 bball, Cycling, Swimming @ 12:30pm on NBC
- Badminton @ 1:30pm on NBCSN
- M Handball: DEN vs JPN @ 2:45pm on NBCSN
- Beach Volleyball @ 4pm on NBCSN
- M Volleyball: USA vs FRA @ 5pm on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo: Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, 3×3 bball, Swimming @ 7pm on NBC
- Beach Volleyball @ 8pm on NBCSN
- Softball: USA vs AUS @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo: Skateboarding, W Volleyball: USA vs ARG @ 11pm on NBC
- W Water Polo: JPN vs USA @ 12am on NBCSN
- Sun 7/25
- Olympics Tokyo: Beach Volleyball, Gymnastics, 3×3 bball, Swimming @ 1am on NBC
- 3×3 Bball @ 3am on NBCSN
- M Soccer: BRA vs CIV @ 3:30am on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo: Bball, Cycling, Water Polo, Canoe/Kayaking, Swimming @ 7am on NBC
- M Water Polo: SER vs ESP @ 8am on NBCSN
- W Handball: NOR vs KOR @ 9am on NBCSN
- Table Tennis @ 10:15am on NBCSN
- Badminton @ 11:15am on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo: Bball, Cycling, Water Polo, Canoe/Kayaking, Swimming @ 12:30pm on NBC
- Equestrian @ 12:30pm on NBCSN
- Table Tennis @ 2:30pm on NBCSN
- M Soccer: JPN vs MEX @ 3:30pm on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo: M Triathlon, Women’s Team Gym, Swimming Finals @ 6pm on NBC
- W Volleyball: USA vs ARG @ 9pm on NBCSN
- Olympics Tokyo: Skateboarding, M Volleyball: USA vs ROC @ 11pm on NBC
Soccer:
- Wed 7/21
- Olympics W Soccer: CHN vs BRA @ 3am on NBCSN
- Olympics W Soccer: JPN vs CAN @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- Olympics W Soccer: SWE vs US @ 7:30am on NBCSN
- Olympics W Soccer: CHN vs BRA @ 9:30am on NBCSN
- Olympics W Soccer: AUS vs NZL @ 1:15pm on NBCSN
- USL Championship: San Antonio FC vs New Mexico United @ 8:30pm on ESPN2
- Thurs 7/22
- Olympics M Soccer: NZL vs KOR @ 3am on NBCSN
- Olympics M Soccer: Mex vs FRA @ 5am on NBCSN
- Olympics M Soccer: JPN vs RSA @ 6am on NBCSN
- Olympics M Soccer: EGY vs ESP @ 8am on NBCSN
- Olympics M Soccer: BRA vs GER @ 2pm on NBCSN
- Olympics MLS: Orlando City vs Phili Union @ 6:30pm on ESPN
- MLS: Austin vs Seattle Sounders @ 8:30pm on ESPN
- Sat 7/24
- Olympics W Soccer: NZL vs USA @ 6:30am on NBCSN
- Replay @ 1am Sun
- MLS: Atlanta United vs Columbus Crew @ 2:30pm on ABC
- Olympics W Soccer: NZL vs USA @ 6:30am on NBCSN
- Sun 7/25
- Olympics M Soccer: BRA vs CIV @ 3:30am on NBCSN
- Olympics M Soccer: JPN vs MEX @ 3:30pm on NBCSN
- Club Friendly: Arsenal vs Internazionale @ 5pm on ESPN2
- Club Friendly: Everton vs Millonarios @ 7:30pm on ESPN2
