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🚨 Headlines
⚾️ MLB Draft: The Guardians took Oregon State’s Travis Bazzana at No. 1, making him the first second baseman ever taken first overall. The draft resumes today with rounds 3-10 at 2pm ET. Full draft tracker.
🏀 Brunson’s extension: Jalen Brunson signed a team-friendly four-year, $156.5 million extension with the Knicks to help them build a stronger roster around him. He would have been eligible for five years and $269 million next summer.
💔 RIP, Jacoby: Former NFL receiver Jacoby Jones, best known for his record 108-yard kick return TD for the Ravens in the 2013 Super Bowl, died Saturday night in his sleep. He was 40.
⚾️ A’s mash eight homers: The lowly A’s stunned the MLB-best Phillies on Sunday with an 18-3 victory in which they hit eight home runs — the most by any team in three years.
🏀 Clark makes history: Caitlin Clark had 20 points and 13 assists on Friday after dropping 29 and 13 on Wednesday, making her the first WNBA rookie to post multiple games with 20 points and 10 assists.
🏁 Scary scene: IndyCar driver Sting Ray Robb was in a terrifying crash during the final lap of Sunday’s race at Iowa Speedway, but was fortunately released from the hospital later that day.
🇪🇸 Spain is on top of the world
I sincerely hope all of Spain has the day off today. They’re going to need it after celebrating perhaps the greatest day in the history of Spanish sports.
A day for the ages: Carlos Alcaraz got things started on Sunday by defeating Novak Djokovic in straight sets for his second consecutive Wimbledon title, and La Roja provided the nightcap with a 2-1 victory over England in a dramatic Euro 2024 final for their record fourth championship.
Alone at the top: Spain’s fourth Euro title (1964, 2008, 2012, 2024) broke a tie with Germany for the most ever. And this year’s win was as dominant as they come, going 7-0 while scoring a Euros record 15 goals.
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Sunday’s final looked for a moment like it would follow the same blueprint as England’s comeback wins in the quarterfinals and semis, as the Three Lions equalized on a beautiful strike by Cole Palmer in the 73rd minute.
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But it was Mikel Oyarzabal, a second-half sub, who found the net in the 86th minute for Spain’s decisive goal, which held up as the game-winner thanks to a pair of brilliant saves three minutes later.
Players of the tournament: Manchester City midfielder Rodri was named Player of the Tournament, though it was Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal — named Best Young Player (under 23) — who really announced himself to the world at Euros.
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The midfielder, who turned 17 on Saturday, had a tournament-high four assists, including one in the final.
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And after becoming the youngest scorer in Euro history last week, on Sunday he broke Pelé’s record from the 1958 World Cup as the youngest player in a Euro or World Cup final.
It isn’t coming home: England faced heartbreak for a second straight Euros, losing yet another final as they continue to seek their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup.
King Carlos: The young Spaniard dominated Djokovic, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4), to become the sixth man* in the Open Era (since 1968) to win the “Channel Slam” by going back-to-back on the clay of Roland Garros and the grass at the All England Club.
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At 21, he’s the third-youngest man to win four major titles, behind only Björn Borg and Mats Wilander.
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Perhaps as impressive is that he’s never lost a Grand Slam final, trailing only Federer — who won his first seven — for the longest streak by a man to begin his career.
Djoker ran out of steam: The 24-time Grand Slam champ’s run to the final was remarkable given he was only 39 days removed from knee surgery. But Djokovic, 37, finally ran out of steam, losing a Grand Slam final in straight sets for just the fifth time in his career (in a record 37 appearances).
*The other five: Djokovic, Borg, Rod Laver, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal.
⚽️ Argentina defends its Copa crown
Argentina beat Colombia, 1-0 in extra time on Sunday night in Miami, to win their second straight Copa América title and 16th overall, breaking a tie with Uruguay for the most all-time.
Quick recap: The two sides played to a stalemate until Lautaro Martínez, subbed on during extra time, scored the game-winner in the 112th minute. It was the striker’s fifth goal of the tournament, earning him the Golden Boot as Copa’s leading scorer.
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Lionel Messi exited the game in the 65th minute with an ankle injury, which he’d hurt in the first half but began to really swell up in the second as he sat on the sideline in tears.
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Emi Martínez continued his brilliant play with four more saves to earn the Golden Glove as the Copa’s top keeper. He allowed just one goal all tournament.
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Ángel di María ended his career as a champion, exiting the pitch one last time after scoring 31 goals in 145 appearances for La Albiceleste.
Exclusive club: Argentina, coming off victories at the 2021 Copa and 2022 World Cup, joins Spain (2010 World Cup, Euro 2008 and 2012) as the only nations to win three consecutive world and continental trophies.
Streak snapped: Los Cafeteros fell just shy of winning their second Copa title, and with the loss snapped an incredible 28-game unbeaten run that dated back to a loss in February 2022… against Argentina.
Ugly scene: The game was delayed over an hour due to a chaotic scene outside the stadium, where hordes of fans — including many without tickets — crowded around the gates and caused a crush. And when the gates were eventually opened, it became a mad dash to get into the stadium, which wreaked even more havoc.
“People piled on. There was more and more pressure and people were fainting. There are children vomiting, a lot of people there, and you can’t move … you don’t have control of your body; you go where they push you. And on top of that, there is no one to organize or help with anything.” — A fan to The Athletic ($)
🌎 The world in photos
London — Czechia’s Barbora Krejčíková beat Jasmine Paolini in Saturday’s Wimbledon final for her second major title (2021 French Open). This was the eighth straight Wimbledon to crown a different women’s champ.
Evian-Les-Bains, France — Japan’s Ayaka Furue (-19) came back to win the Evian Championship by one stroke, claiming her first major title with a furious finish as she went five under in her final five holes.
North Berwick, Scotland — Robert MacIntyre (-18) nailed a long birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win the Scottish Open by a stroke, erasing last year’s heartbreak when he lost by the same amount and becoming just the second Scot to win his home tournament.
Hautes-Pyrénées, France — Tadej Pogačar won consecutive mountain stages over the weekend to increase his Tour de France lead over fellow two-time champ Jonas Vingegaard, who’s now three minutes, nine seconds back with six stages left. Today is a rest day.
📆 July 15, 1876: The first no-hitter
148 years ago today, St. Louis Brown Stockings pitcher George Bradley threw the first officially recognized no-hitter in MLB history in a 2-0 win over the Hartford Dark Blues.
Almost two straight: Bradley’s excellent pitching continued into his next start, when he took a perfect game into the eighth inning and another no-hitter into the ninth. But he gave up a couple hits in the final frame, falling just shy of two straight no-no’s.
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⚾️ 1996: Cal Ripken started at third base, snapping his 2,216-game streak at shortstop. He returned to short six games later, but the following season made the permanent move to the hot corner, where he stayed for the final five years of his career.
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⚽️ 2018: France beat Croatia, 4-2, in the World Cup Final, making Didier Deschamps the third man* to win a World Cup as both a player and manager after captaining Les Bleus to victory 20 years earlier.
*The other two: Brazil’s Mário Zagallo (player in 1958 and 1962; manager in 1970) and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer (player in 1974; manager in 1990)
📺 Watchlist: Home Run Derby
The Home Run Derby* is tonight in Arlington (8pm ET, ESPN), where eight sluggers will give us a tantalizing appetizer before tomorrow night’s main course.
The field: Gunnar Henderson (SS, Orioles), Bobby Witt Jr. (SS, Royals), Marcell Ozuna (DH, Braves), Pete Alonso (1B, Mets), Adolis García (RF, Rangers), Alec Bohm (3B, Phillies), José Ramírez (3B, Guardians) and Teoscar Hernández (OF, Dodgers).
More to watch:
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🏀 Exhibition: USA vs. Australia (12pm, FS1) … The Olympic squads meet in a friendly in Abu Dhabi.
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🏀 NBA Summer League: Thunder at Heat (6pm, ESPNU); Pistons at Rockets (6:30pm, NBA); Mavericks at Grizzlies (8pm, ESPNU); Trail Blazers at 76ers (8:30pm, NBA); Jazz at Kings (10pm, ESPNU); Celtics at Lakers (10:30pm, NBA)
*New format: The first round is no longer head-to-head, but rather a free-for-all with the top four reaching the semifinals. The timed rounds also now have pitch limits of 40 in the first two rounds (three minutes each) and 27 in the finals (two minutes), ending either when time runs out or the pitch limit is reached, whichever comes first.
🎾 Tennis trivia
Only five men have won Wimbledon since 2003: Roger Federer (8x), Novak Djokovic (7x), Rafael Nadal (2x), Andy Murray (2x) and Carlos Alcaraz (2x).
Question: Who was the last man besides those five to win Wimbledon, in 2002?
Hint: Australian.
Answer at the bottom.
⚾️ O’s get the last laugh
The benches cleared in Friday’s Orioles-Yankees game after O’s rookie Heston Kjerstad took a fastball to the head, but Baltimore got the last laugh on Sunday, closing out the first half with a wild walk-off victory.
Ninth-inning drama: It looked like the Yanks would complete the sweep after taking a 5-3 lead in the ninth on a three-run bomb, but the O’s were gifted three runs and the victory on a pair of defensive blunders and a double from Cedric Mullins in the bottom of the frame.
Division race: Baltimore’s win (58-38) snapped a five-game losing streak and gave them a one-game lead over the Yankees (58-40) in the AL East.
Trivia answer: Lleyton Hewitt
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Source Agencies
