“THE SCOREBOARD”
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
MINNESOTA 13 ARIZONA 6
CHICAGO CUBS 5 SAN FRANCISCO 3 (10)
CHICAGO WHITE SOX 1 ATLANTA 0
MIAMI 7 PHILADELPHIA 4
BALTIMORE 11 TEXAS 2
TORONTO 9 NY YANKEES 2
CINCINNATI 11 ST. LOUIS 4
KANSAS CITY 2 CLEVELAND 1
LA ANGELS 5 DETROIT 0
MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SCORES
ROCHESTER 4 INDIANAPOLIS 3 (8)
ROCHESTER 5 INDIANAPOLIS 4
DAYTON 10 FT. WAYNE 7
DAYTON 3 FT. WAYNE 1
TEAM BY TEAM NBA DRAFT
ATLANTA HAWKS
1 (1) ZACCHARIE RISACHER, F, (FRANCE).
2 (43) NIKOLA DJURISIC, G, SERBIA (FROM MIAMI).
BOSTON CELTICS
1 (30) BAYLOR SCHEIERMAN, F, CREIGHTON.
2 (54) ANTON WATSON, F, GONZAGA.
CHARLOTTE HORNETS
1 (6) TIDJANE SALAUN, F, (FRANCE).
2 (42) KJ SIMPSON, G, COLORADO.
CHICAGO BULLS
1 (11) MATAS BUZELIS, F, G-LEAGUE IGNITE.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
1 (20) JAYLON TYSON, F, CALIFORNIA.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
NO SELECTIONS
DENVER NUGGETS
NO SELECTIONS
DETROIT PISTONS
1 (5) RON HOLLAND II, F, G-LEAGUE IGNITE.
2 (37) BOBI KLINTMAN, F, SWEDEN (FROM MINNESOTA).
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
NO SELECTIONS
HOUSTON ROCKETS
1 (3) REED SHEPPARD, G, KENTUCKY.
INDIANA PACERS
2 (35) JOHNNY FURPHY, G, KANSAS (FROM SAN ANTONIO).
2 (49) TRISTEN NEWTON, G, UCONN.
2 (50) ENRIQUE FREEMAN, F, AKRON.
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
2 (46) CAMERON CHRISTIE, G, MINNESOTA.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
1 (17) DALTON KNECHT, F ,TENNESSEE.
2 (55) BRONNY JAMES, G, SOUTHERN CAL.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
1 (9) ZACH EDEY, C, PURDUE.
2 (39) JAYLEN WELLS, G, WASHINGTON STATE.
2 (53) CAM SPENCER, G, UCONN.
MIAMI HEAT
1 (15) KEL’EL WARE, C, INDIANA.
2 (44) PELLE LARSON, G, ARIZONA (FROM HOUSTON VIA ATLANTA).
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
1 (23) AJ JOHNSON, G, SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY.
2 (33) TYLER SMITH, F, G-LEAGUE IGNITE.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
1 (8) ROB DILLINGHAM, G, KENTUCKY (FROM SAN ANTONIO VIA TORONTO).
1 (27) TERRENCE SHANNON JR., F, ILLINOIS.
NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
1 (21) YVES MISSI, C, BAYLOR.
2 (47) ANTONIO REEVES, G, KENTUCKY (FROM ORLANDO).
NEW YORK KNICKS.
1 (25) PACOME DADIET, F, (FRANCE).
2 (34) TYLER KOLEK, G, MARQUETTE (FROM PORTLAND).
2 (51) MELVIN AJINCA, G, FRANCE (FROM WASHINGTON).
2 (56) KEVIN MCCULLAR JR., F, KANSAS (FROM DENVER VIA PHOENIX).
2 (58) ARIEL HUKPORTI, C, GERMANY (FROM DALLAS).
OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
1 (12) NIKOLA TOPIC, G, (SERBIA).
1 (26) DILLON JONES, F, WEBER ST.(FROM NEW YORK VIA WASHINGTON, LA CLIPPERS, DALLAS AND OKLAHOMA CITY).
2 (38) AJAY MITCHELL, G, SANTA BARBARA (FROM NEW YORK).
2 (52) QUINTEN POST, C, BOSTON COLLEGE (FROM GOLDEN STATE VIA PORTLAND).
ORLANDO MAGIC
1 (18) TRISTA DA SILVA, F, COLORADO.
PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
1 (16) JARED MCCAIN, G, DUKE.
2 (41) ADEM BONA, C, UCLA.
PHOENIX SUNS
1 (22) DARON HOLMES II, C, DAYTON.
1 (28) RYAN DUNN, F, VIRGINIA (FROM DENVER).
2 (40) OSASERE IGHODARO, F, MARQUETTE (FROM PORTLAND VIA OKLAHOMA CITY AND NEW YORK).
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
1 (7) DONOVAN CLINGAN, C, UCONN.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
1 (13) DEVIN CARTER, G, PROVIDENCE.
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
1 (4) STEPHON CASTLE, G, UCONN.
2 (36) JUAN NUNEZ, G, SPAIN (FROM INDIANA).
2 (48) HARRISON INGRAM, F, NORTH CAROLINA.
TORONTO RAPTORS
1 (19) JA’KOBE WALTER, F, BAYLOR.
2 (31) JONATHAN MOGBO, C, SAN FRANCISCO.
2 (45) JAMAL SHEAD, G, HOUSTON (FROM SACRAMENTO).
2 (57) ULRICH CHOMCHE, F, CAMEROON (FROM MEMPHIS VIA MINNESOTA).
UTAH JAZZ
1 (10) CODY WILLIAMS, F, COLORADO.
1 (29) ISAIAH COLLIER, G, SOUTHERN CAL.
2 (32) KYLE FILIPOWSKI, C, DUKE.
WASHINGTON WIZARDS
1 (2) ALEX SARR, C, (FRANCE).
1 (14) CARLTON ‘BUB’ CARRINGTON, G, PITTSBURGH (FROM PORTLAND VIA GOLDEN STATE, BOSTON AND MEMPHIS).
1 (24) KYSHAWN GEORGE, F, MIAMI (FROM NEW YORK VIA DALLAS).
WNBA SCORES
DALLAS 94 MINNESOTA 88
CONNECTICUT 94 WASHINGTON 91
LAS VEGAS 95 CHICAGO 83
SEATTLE 89 INDIANA 77
NHL DRAFT ORDER
FRIDAY, JUNE 28
ROUND 1
1. SAN JOSE SHARKS
2. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
3. ANAHEIM DUCKS
4. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
5. MONTREAL CANADIENS
6. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB
7. OTTAWA SENATORS
8. SEATTLE KRAKEN
9. CALGARY FLAMES
10. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
11. BUFFALO SABRES
12. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
13. MINNESOTA WILD
14. SAN JOSE SHARKS (FROM PIT)
15. DETROIT RED WINGS
16. ST. LOUIS BLUES
17. WASHINGTON CAPITALS
18. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (FROM NYI)
19. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
20. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (FROM TBL VIA CHI)
21. LOS ANGELES KINGS
22. NASHVILLE PREDATORS
23. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
24. COLORADO AVALANCHE
25. BOSTON BRUINS (VIA DET AND OTT)
26. MONTREAL CANADIENS (FROM WPG)
27. CAROLINA HURRICANES
28. CALGARY FLAMES (FROM VAN)
29. DALLAS STARS
30. NEW YORK RANGERS
31. ANAHEIM DUCKS (FROM EDM)
32. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (FROM FLA)
SATURDAY, JUNE 29
ROUND 2
33. SAN JOSE SHARKS
34. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
35. ANAHEIM DUCKS
36. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (OPTIONAL TO PHI)
37. WINNIPEG JETS (FROM MTL VIA UTA AND LAK)
38. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB
39. OTTAWA SENATORS
40. SEATTLE KRAKEN
41. CALGARY FLAMES
42. SAN JOSE SHARKS (FROM NJD)
43. BUFFALO SABRES
44. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (FROM PHI VIA CAR)
45. MINNESOTA WILD
46. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
47. DETROIT RED WINGS
48. ST. LOUIS BLUES
49. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB (FROM WSH VIA OTT)
50. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (FROM NYI)
51. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS(ASTERISK)
52. WASHINGTON CAPITALS (FROM VGK)
53. SAN JOSE SHARKS (FROM TBL VIA NSH AND DET)
54. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (FROM LAK VIA PHI AND CHI)
55. NASHVILLE PREDATORS
56. ST. LOUIS BLUES (FROM TOR)
57. MONTREAL CANADIENS (FROM COL)
58. ANAHEIM DUCKS (FROM BOS)
59. NASHVILLE PREDATORS (FROM WPG)
60. CAROLINA HURRICANES
61. NEW YORK ISLANDERS (FROM VAN VIA CHI)
62. CALGARY FLAMES (FROM DAL)
63. SEATTLE KRAKEN (FROM NYR)
64. EDMONTON OILERS
65. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB (FROM FLA)
PICK 36 – COLUMBUS WILL SEND ITS 2ND-ROUND PICK IN 2024 OR 2025 TO PHILADELPHIA, AT COLUMBUS’ OPTION
PICK 51 – ASSIGNED TO PHILADELPHIA FOR CLUB NOT SIGNING 2018 1ST-ROUND PICK JAY O’BRIEN
ROUND 3
66. ANAHEIM DUCKS (FROM SJS)
67. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
68. ANAHEIM DUCKS
69. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
70. MONTREAL CANADIENS
71. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB
72. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (FROM OTT)
73. SEATTLE KRAKEN
74. CALGARY FLAMES
75. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
76. BUFFALO SABRES
77. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
78. MONTREAL CANADIENS (FROM MIN VIA WSH)
79. ANAHEIM DUCKS (FROM PIT)
80. DETROIT RED WINGS
81. ST. LOUIS BLUES
82. WASHINGTON CAPITALS
83. WASHINGTON CAPITALS (FROM NYI VIA TOR)
84. CALGARY FLAMES (FROM VGK VIA PIT)
85. SAN JOSE SHARKS (FROM TBL)
86. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (FROM LAK)
87. NASHVILLE PREDATORS
88. SEATTLE KRAKEN (FROM TOR)
89. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB (FROM COL)
90. WASHINGTON CAPITALS (FROM BOS)
91. NEW JERSEY DEVILS (FROM WPG)
92. CAROLINA HURRICANES
93. VANCOUVER CANUCKS
94. NASHVILLE PREDATORS (FROM DAL)
95. ST. LOUIS BLUES (FROM NYR)
96. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB (FROM EDM)
97. FLORIDA PANTHERS
ROUND 4
98. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB (FROM SJS)
99. NASHVILLE PREDATORS (FROM CHI VIA TBL)
100. ANAHEIM DUCKS
101. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
102. MONTREAL CANADIENS
103. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB
104. OTTAWA SENATORS
105. SEATTLE KRAKEN
106. CALGARY FLAMES
107. CALGARY FLAMES (FROM NJD VIA VAN)
108. BUFFALO SABRES
109. BUFFALO SABRES (FROM PHI)
110. MINNESOTA WILD
111. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
112. OTTAWA SENATORS (FROM DET)
113. ST. LOUIS BLUES
114. WASHINGTON CAPITALS
115. NEW YORK ISLANDERS
116. SAN JOSE SHARKS (FROM VGK)
117. OTTAWA SENATORS (FROM TBL)
118. LOS ANGELES KINGS
119. NASHVILLE PREDATORS
120. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
121. COLORADO AVALANCHE
122. BOSTON BRUINS
123. WINNIPEG JETS
124. CAROLINA HURRICANES
125. VANCOUVER CANUCKS
126. DETROIT RED WINGS (FROM DAL)
127. NEW YORK RANGERS
128. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (FROM EDM VIA NSH)
129. FLORIDA PANTHERS
ROUND 5
130. MONTREAL CANADIENS (FROM SJS)
131. SAN JOSE SHARKS (FROM CHI VIA VAN AND CGY)
132. COLORADO AVALANCHE (FROM ANA)
133. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
134. MONTREAL CANADIENS
135. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB
136. OTTAWA SENATORS
137. COLORADO AVALANCHE (FROM SEA)
138. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (FROM CGY)
139. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
140. MINNESOTA WILD (FROM BUF)
141. FLORIDA PANTHERS (FROM PHI)
142. MINNESOTA WILD
143. SAN JOSE SHARKS (FROM PIT)
144. DETROIT RED WINGS
145. ST. LOUIS BLUES
146. WASHINGTON CAPITALS
147. NEW YORK ISLANDERS
148. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (FROM VGK)
149. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
150. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (FROM LAK)
151. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (FROM NSH VIA CHI)
152. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
153. NEW JERSEY DEVILS (FROM COL VIA SJS)
154. BOSTON BRUINS
155. WINNIPEG JETS
156. CAROLINA HURRICANES
157. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (FROM VAN)
158. DALLAS STARS
159. NEW YORK RANGERS
160. EDMONTON OILERS
161. BUFFALO SABRES (FROM FLA)
ROUND 6
162. VANCOUVER CANUCKS (FROM SJS)
163. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
164. ANAHEIM DUCKS
165. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
166. MONTREAL CANADIENS
167. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB
168. CAROLINA HURRICANES (FROM OTT)
169. SEATTLE KRAKEN
170. CALGARY FLAMES
171. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
172. BUFFALO SABRES
173. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
174. MINNESOTA WILD
175. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
176. DETROIT RED WINGS
177. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (FROM STL)
178. WASHINGTON CAPITALS
179. NEW YORK ISLANDERS
180. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
181. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
182. LOS ANGELES KINGS
183. EDMONTON OILERS (FROM NSH)
184. CAROLINA HURRICANES (FROM TOR)
185. COLORADO AVALANCHE
186. BOSTON BRUINS
187. WINNIPEG JETS
188. CAROLINA HURRICANES
189. VANCOUVER CANUCKS
190. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB (FROM DAL VIA NSH)
191. NEW YORK RANGERS
192. EDMONTON OILERS
193. FLORIDA PANTHERS
ROUND 7
194. SAN JOSE SHARKS
195. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (FROM CHI)
196. EDMONTON OILERS (FROM ANA)
197. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS (FROM CBJ)
198. MONTREAL CANADIENS
199. UTAH HOCKEY CLUB
200. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (FROM OTT)
201. SEATTLE KRAKEN
202. SEATTLE KRAKEN (FROM CGY)
203. DETROIT RED WINGS (FROM NJD VIA SJS)
204. BUFFALO SABRES
205. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
206. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (FROM MIN)
207. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
208. DETROIT RED WINGS
209. ST. LOUIS BLUES
210. MONTREAL CANADIENS (FROM WSH)
211. ST. LOUIS BLUES (FROM NYI)
212. VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
213. NASHVILLE PREDATORS (FROM TBL)
214. LOS ANGELES KINGS
215. COLORADO AVALANCHE (FROM NSH VIA NJD)
216. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
217. COLORADO AVALANCHE
218. EDMONTON OILERS (FROM BOS VIA UTA)
219. WINNIPEG JETS
220. CAROLINA HURRICANES
221. VANCOUVER CANUCKS
222. DALLAS STARS
223. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (FROM NYR)
224. MONTREAL CANADIENS (FROM EDM)
225. FLORIDA PANTHERS
MLS
NO GAMES SCHEDULED
TOP NATIONAL SPORTS HEADLINES
BASKETBALL NEWS
NBA DRAFT FINALLY WORTH THE LONGER WAIT FOR SOME PLAYERS AFTER MOVING TO A TWO-DAY FORMAT
NEW YORK (AP) — Jaylen Wells sat in the stands at Barclays Center in his snazzy white suit, hoping to hear his name called in the first round of the NBA draft.
A day later, at a second site in a second borough, Wells was finally on his way to the NBA — wearing the same white suit.
“Actually, I had two suits planned and then I was like, I just love this one so much,” the forward from Washington State said Thursday. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to wear it again.’”
Wells was one of the early selections in the new two-day NBA draft, taken with the No. 39 pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. The league went to the format this year instead of having its draft drag too late into the night.
The second round was held at ESPN’s Seaport District studios in Manhattan after the first round took place as usual at the home of the Brooklyn Nets. Ten players and their families attended, though Bronny James wasn’t present to hear his name announced after the Los Angeles Lakers took the son of the NBA career scoring leader LeBron James at No. 55, near the end of draft.
With extra time between rounds and between picks — it’s now four minutes between selections in the second round, up from two previously — the new format might help teams make more confident selections.
It’s a little more difficult for the players.
“Two days kind of makes it more stressful,” UCLA’s Adem Bona, who was taken by Philadelphia with the No. 41 pick, said with a laugh. “If it’s one, it’s like, ‘All right, I’m getting my name called today!”
But he said he was happier that the new format allowed him to have extended family present. The native of Nigeria who played in high school in California said he had aunts and cousins from Canada with him Thursday, which wouldn’t have been the case a night earlier in Brooklyn.
The draft resumed with the Toronto Raptors taking Jonathan Mogbo of San Francisco with the No. 31 pick.
It felt like a normal second round, with a flurry of trades as teams tried to move up and others sought to move out of the draft.
But the setup was all new, with players and their families sitting in a room off the studio set and a nice view of boats docked in the harbor below on a gorgeous summer afternoon.
“It’s nice, but I was down there nervous,” said Harrison Ingram, the North Carolina product taken by the San Antonio Spurs at No. 48. “I was panicking, my mom was nervous, my sister is up there hyperventilating, so a whole lot of stuff going on.”
He also went to Barclays Center and returned Thursday wearing the same blue suit. Ingram said he always wanted to go to the NBA draft and didn’t want to miss his chance, but he wished it had been under the old format.
“First time they’re doing two nights, so it was tough to go there, hear everybody being called,” Ingram said. “A lot of my friends, I was happy for them, but knowing that my day might not come until tomorrow and I have to go to sleep, I couldn’t fall sleep until like 3 or 4 a.m., just up thinking about where I’m going to be the next however many years of my life.”
Duke’s Kyle Filipowski and Johnny Furphy of Kansas, the two players who remained in the green room after the first round, didn’t return for the second round. Filipowski was finally selected at No. 32 by Utah with the second pick of the second round. Furphy went a few picks later at No. 35 to San Antonio, which traded his rights to Indiana.
Bobi Klintman, a native of Sweden who played last year in Australia’s National Basketball League, was the first player in attendance who was selected, with his family cheering loudly after Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum announced his name at No. 37.
The players who did attend treated the event like the glitzy first round, wearing sharp suits and seated at tables — albeit much smaller ones — that had the same gold basketballs at centerpieces as Barclays Center, just without thousands of fans surrounding them.
And perhaps some of the prospects will have better careers than some of the players who were picked Wednesday.
The NBA has sought to spur interest in the second round with an “every pick matters” slogan, highlighting the success of MVP Nikola Jokic and New York guard Jalen Brunson, who finished fifth in this year’s voting, along with former Defensive Players of the Year Draymond Green and Marc Gasol.
Both Filipowski and Furphy were viewed as potential picks in the middle of the first round, so they was certainly some disappointment when they left Barclays Center without knowing their NBA destination.
Not so for Wells, whose family got some food, went to bed and got ready to do it all again.
“I knew I’d hear my name called at one point, so it didn’t really get me down,” he said. “I was just excited to be here.”
USA BASKETBALL EXPECTS LEONARD, HALIBURTON, EMBIID TO BE READY FOR OLYMPIC CAMP IN VEGAS NEXT WEEK
Kawhi Leonard, Tyrese Haliburton and Joel Embiid are all good to go for the start of USA Basketball’s men’s national team training camp in Las Vegas next week, the first step toward what the Americans hope is a fifth consecutive Olympic gold medal.
Leonard missed 12 of the Los Angeles Clippers’ final 14 games this past season with right knee inflammation. Haliburton was hampered at the end of the Indiana Pacers’ playoff run by issues with his left hamstring. And Embiid was dealing with left knee issues throughout his season with the Philadelphia 76ers.
“We expect everybody to be good to go,” U.S. coach Steve Kerr said Thursday. “We’ve been in touch with everyone, not just those three guys. … We’ve been in communication constantly, so we expect all 12 guys to be ready to roll.”
Leonard may have been the biggest question mark. Haliburton said when the Pacers’ season ended that he thought he’d have enough time to get ready for the Olympic run, and Embiid was at the NBA Finals about two weeks ago and proclaimed himself ready for what will be his first Olympic experience.
But Leonard’s status was a mystery. USA Basketball has been checking on Leonard, who has been working out for the past couple weeks, and likes where he’s currently at.
“We will continue to stay in touch with the whole group as we head into Vegas next week,” Kerr said.
It’s a major sigh of relief for the Americans, who will go to the Paris Games as the favorite and the top-ranked men’s team in the world — though nobody expects these Olympics will be a cakewalk. France, featuring Victor Wembanyama, has the edge of being at home. Germany won the World Cup last year and has basically the same team this summer. Canada has its best shot at an Olympic medal since winning silver in 1936.
“We’re well aware of the challenge we’re facing,” Kerr said. “The world of basketball has gotten so much better, so much stronger. We know how good these teams are, and we know we’re going to have to be at our best. So, couldn’t be more excited.”
The U.S. still hasn’t had to make any changes to the roster since it was originally announced in April, though there are contingency plans in place at every position. The original 12 names remain unchanged: Leonard, Haliburton, Embiid, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Anthony Edwards, Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, Devin Booker, Bam Adebayo and Anthony Davis.
“Winning is the peak of the sport,” Haliburton said. “And winning a gold medal is right at the top of it. … How could you not want to do this?”
The group has seven players with Olympic gold medals; Durant has three, James has two, while Adebayo, Booker, Holiday, Tatum and Booker each have one. There is a still a chance the roster could change, if necessary. The roster was in flux before the Tokyo Games three years ago until just before the start of competition.
“Every roster spot is important,” Kerr said. “You just never know how these things are going to play out.”
The Americans play their first exhibition against Canada on July 10, then have games at Abu Dhabi and London before the Paris Games start. The U.S. opens Olympic play July 28 against Serbia, and will also face South Sudan and the winner of next month’s qualifier in Puerto Rico — either Mexico, Lithuania, Ivory Coast, Italy, Bahrain or Puerto Rico — in its other group games.
VICTOR WEMBANYAMA ‘CAN’T WAIT’ FOR A FRANCE-USA SHOWDOWN AT THE PARIS OLYMPICS
PARIS (AP) — Victor Wembanyama plays against the top names in the game with the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA. He can’t wait to do the same for France at the Paris Olympics.
The NBA Rookie of the Year was asked Thursday about the potential for a France-USA final and possibly battling against LeBron James and Stephen Curry for the gold medal in his home city.
“I can’t wait to face them, it will be a very interesting matchup,” Wembanyama said at a news conference in Paris. “As a basketball player, it’s also a dream to play against Team USA and even against all those players, all those legends.”
The U.S. beat France 87-82 in the final at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
This time, though, France has Wembanyama, who at 20 years old is making his Olympic debut. He’s the biggest star of the French team and at the center of attention, both on and off the court.
“I believe it’s the biggest competition for an athlete. But I’m going to approach it like everything else in my life: a sporting pleasure,” Wembanyama said.
For France coach Vincent Collet, it’s a sporting pleasure to have both Wembanyama and fellow NBA star Rudy Gobert, the four-time Defensive Player of the Year, disrupting opposing offenses.
“If we want to reach our dream, we will have to display exceptional defense,” said Collet, who will be assisted by the newly appointed Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson.
France, which has never won an Olympic gold medal in basketball, was set to hold its first full practice on Friday in Paris. They have six warmup games in July.
The players will miss the opening ceremony of the Olympics on July 26 because France is scheduled to play its first game the following day in Lille, 220 kilometers (136 miles) north of Paris, where the group stage for the 12-team tournament will take place.
“Victor would be arriving in Lille at 3 or 4 in the morning if he were to participate in the ceremony. That would put a stop to his preparation for the Games,” said Fabrice Canet, a spokesman for the French national team.
France doesn’t know its first opponent yet — it will be the winner of the last qualifying tournament next week. The host nation then plays Japan and reigning world champion Germany in Group B.
Playing in front of home fans, France is considered among the strongest teams alongside the U.S, Canada, Serbia and Germany.
REPORT: NUGGETS’ MURRAY NEARING MAX DEAL; KCP OPTING OUT
Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets are working on a four-year, $209-million maximum contract extension, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Nuggets guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is also declining his $15.4-million player option for the 2024-25 season to become a free agent, sources told Charania and Tony Jones.
Both players had key roles when the Nuggets won their first championship in 2023.
This past season, Murray averaged 21.2 points, 6.5 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and a steal in 59 games. Caldwell-Pope averaged 10.1 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals in 76 games. He shot 40.6% from deep, making 1.6 per game.
Denver was eliminated in the second round this past season by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Nuggets acquired former Dayton center DaRon Holmes II in the first round of the draft Wednesday night.
REPORT: RAPTORS GRAB MITCHELL IN TRADE WITH KINGS
The Toronto Raptors are trading Jalen McDaniels to the Sacramento Kings for Davion Mitchell and Sasha Vezenkov, sources told The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Thursday.
Toronto will also receive the No. 45 pick of the 2024 NBA Draft from Sacramento, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Mitchell’s minutes have decreased in each of his three seasons since the Kings drafted the Baylor product with the No. 9 pick in 2021. The 25-year-old’s statistics dropped to 5.3 points and 1.9 assists per game in 2023-24 after he averaged 11.5 points and 4.2 assists as a rookie.
The 6-foot-2 guard is best known for his physical perimeter defense and has one year remaining on his rookie contract.
Vezenkov is fresh off his first NBA campaign, following a successful career overseas in which he won a EuroLeague MVP. He averaged 5.4 points per game while making 37.5% of his threes in 2023-24. Vezenkov has a $7-million team option for 2025-26.
Sacramento gets McDaniels’ expiring contract in the deal and will move under the luxury tax, adds Wojnarowski. McDaniels disappointed in his one season in Toronto, posting 3.4 points per game on 34.4% shooting from the field and 17% from deep.
REPORT: ERIC GORDON DECLINES PLAYER OPTION, BECOMES FREE AGENT
The Phoenix Suns’ Eric Gordon declined his $3.4-million player option and will become a free agent, sources told Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Multiple contenders are expected to pursue Gordon, Charania reports.
The 16-year veteran averaged 11 points and two assists while shooting 37.8% from deep during his lone season with the Suns.
A career 37% shooter from three, Gordon would have been a cheap option off the bench for the Suns, who have $150 million pledged to the trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal next season.
In late December, Gordon publicly complained about a lack of touches in the Suns’ offense. He struggled during the team’s opening-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves, going just 9-of-28 (32.1%) from the field in the four-game sweep.
The 35-year-old won Sixth Man of the Year for the 2016-17 season while a member of the Houston Rockets.
CELTICS 7-FOOTER KRISTAPS PORZINGIS COULD BE SIDELINED UNTIL DECEMBER FOLLOWING ANKLE SURGERY
BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis will miss 5-6 months after left ankle surgery.
The team said Thursday that Porzingis had surgery to fix a tear in the tissue that holds the ankle tendons in place. That will prevent the Latvian from competing with his home nation next month as it attempts to win one of the final four qualifying spots for the Paris Olympics.
The 7-foot-2 Porzingis injured his ankle in Game 2 of the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks and missed the next two games. He returned for Game 5, contributing five points and one rebound in 16 minutes as the Celtics beat Dallas 106-88 to clinch their record 18th NBA championship. Porzingis averaged 20 points and seven rebounds in 57 games for the Celtics this season.
He signed a $60 million, two-year extension with Boston after they acquired him in a trade with Washington last summer.
HORNETS ACQUIRE REGGIE JACKSON, 3 2ND-ROUND PICKS FROM NUGGETS, WHO GET CAP RELIEF, AP SOURCE SAYS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Charlotte Hornets acquired guard Reggie Jackson and three future second-round draft picks from Denver on Thursday in a move that will open up salary cap space for the Nuggets, a person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the trade can’t take affect until after the new league year begins.
The Nuggets were up against the luxury cap and the Hornets proved a willing partner to absorb Jackson’s contact.
The 34-year-old Jackson played in all 82 games last season for Denver and averaged 10.2 points and 3.8 assists per game while shooting 36% from 3-point range. Jackson has been in the NBA since the 2011 season when he started with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Jackson has one year left on a $10.2 million contract.
REPORT: ROCKETS LAND HAWKS FORWARD GRIFFIN FOR PICK NO. 44
The Houston Rockets are sending the 44th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft to the Atlanta Hawks in return for 20-year-old sharpshooter AJ Griffin, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Thursday.
Houston is using the $4.5-million trade exception it received for sending Kevin Porter Jr. to the Oklahoma City Thunder, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
Griffin, the 16th pick of the 2022 draft, struggled with injuries and inconsistent shooting during his second season in the league. The 6-foot-6 small forward shot a horrific 25.6% from deep in 20 games, a substantial drop from his 37.2% mark during his rookie campaign.
Griffin, the son of former Milwaukee Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin, has two years and roughly $10 million remaining on his rookie deal.
WNBA NEWS
JEWELL LOYD SCORES 34 AS STORM BEATS FEVER A THIRD TIME
Jewell Loyd scored a season-high 34 points as the host Seattle Storm beat the Indiana Fever 89-77 on Thursday.
Ezi Magbegor added 18 points and Nneka Ogwumike contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Storm (11-6), which matched its win total from the 2023 season while beating the Fever (7-12) for the third time this year.
Caitlin Clark and Erica Wheeler each scored 15 points for Indiana, which has lost two straight after a four-game winning streak.
Loyd scored 23 points in the first half despite being poked in the left eye late in the first quarter and missing five minutes. With a swollen eye, Loyd went 3-for-4 after returning, leading all scorers with eight second-quarter points while playing just 5:47 of the quarter.
It was Loyd’s second 30-point game of the season. She scored 32 against Indiana in an 85-83 win on May 22, and she has averaged 29.3 points per game in the three contests against the Fever.
Ogwumike contributed all over the court for Seattle. The eight-time All-Star, who came to Seattle from the Los Angeles Sparks this year, added three blocked shots and three steals.
Skylar Diggins-Smith led all players with nine assists. Jordan Horston, starting her second straight game (and second of the season), had a career-high five assists.
Clark added seven assists and six rebounds for Indiana. She was more effective in the first half, scoring 12 points. Clark also led all players with six turnovers.
Kelsey Mitchell, who led the Fever at 16.4 points per game, scored 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting. NaLyssa Smith added 12 points.
In the third quarter, Seattle built a 19-point lead, its largest of the night. However, Indiana responded with a 13-3 run in the final 4:37 of the quarter, cutting the deficit to nine. The momentum didn’t carry into the fourth quarter and Seattle extended its lead back to double digits.
The Storm’s defense was too much for Indiana to handle. Seattle won the turnover margin 20-8, scoring 27 points off those turnovers.
DEWANNA BONNER (24 PTS), SUN OUTLAST SHORT-HANDED MYSTICS IN OT
DeWanna Bonner scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds Thursday night as the visiting Connecticut Sun erased a 16-point first half deficit and outlasted the shorthanded Washington Mystics 94-91 in overtime.
Tyasha Harris added 23 points and DiJonai Carrington hit for 22, including a 3-pointer with 57.1 seconds left in overtime that gave Connecticut (14-3) a 92-88 lead. Carrington added a pair of clinching foul shots with 3.2 seconds remaining.
Six players scored in double figures for Washington (4-14), which had four starters out with injuries and had only eight players available. Myisha Hines-Allen went 8-for-8 from the field and led the way with 21 points, while Stefanie Dolson added 18.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough came off the bench for 16 points, while Julie Vanloo netted 12. Ariel Atkins and Jade Melbourne each hit for 10 points as the Mystics shot 51.5 percent from the field.
The Sun forced overtime after Carrington converted a driving layup with 24.1 seconds but missed the ensuing free throw. Neither team scored on its last possession of regulation, leaving the game tied at 82.
Washington made 11 of 28 3-pointers and drew 26 assists on 35 made baskets but also committed 26 turnovers that Connecticut converted into 32 points.
The Mystics came out firing on all cylinders in the first quarter, looking more like a team that won four of its last five instead of the one that started 0-12.
Washington made six 3-pointers in the first 7 1/2 minutes and established a 32-21 lead going to the second period.
The margin reached 37-21 on a 3-pointer by Melbourne early in the second before Connecticut finally found some footing on both ends. A 20-2 run gave the Sun a 41-39 edge on Brionna Jones’ jumper, but the Mystics answered back to grab a 50-46 advantage at the half.
Connecticut tightened up its usually stingy defense in the third quarter and took a 60-55 lead on Harris’s jumper at the 3:24 mark before Washington fought back, tying the score at 65 entering the fourth period.
A’JA WILSON SCORES 31 AS ACES PULL AWAY FROM SKY
A’ja Wilson had a game-high 31 points and added six rebounds to lead the visiting Las Vegas Aces to a 95-83 win over the Chicago Sky on Thursday.
Wilson, who finished 10-for-19 from the floor, scored at least 30 points for the fifth time this season for Las Vegas, which has won four of five.
The Sky were paced by forward Marina Mabrey, who scored a team-high 21 points. Chennedy Carter added 20 points and star rookie Angel Reese finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, posting her ninth straight double-double. Lindsay Allen added 10 points and five assists.
Wilson scored 15 points in the first quarter on 6-of-10 shooting, but the Sky led 25-21 heading into the second quarter thanks to 13 points from Mabrey.
The Aces (9-6) led 46-39 at the half, but the Sky (6-10) briefly took a 51-50 lead on Kamilla Cardoso’s hook shot with 6:42 left in the third quarter. The Aces answered with a 22-10 run to take control of the game over the next six minutes. Jackie Young had 12 points during that run, including a pair of 3-pointers to begin the rally.
Young finished with 22 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the floor. Kelsey Plum scored 16 of her 21 points in the fourth quarter to help the Aces stretch their lead. Plum’s 3-pointer with 6:50 to play increased Las Vegas’ cushion to 85-67, the largest lead of the night. Chicago never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
The Aces connected on 50 percent (33-for-66) of their shots, and hit 20 of 27 free-throw attempts. Chicago shot just 43.6 percent (34-for-78) from the floor but had only six turnovers for the game.
WINGS SURGE PAST LYNX TO END 11-GAME LOSING STREAK
Arike Ogunbowale scored 23 points and Teaira McCowan added 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Dallas Wings ended an 11-game losing streak with a 94-88 victory over the visiting Minnesota Lynx at Arlington, Texas.
Odyssey Sims scored 18 points in her season debut as the Wings (4-13) trailed by 15 points midway through the second period but rallied to take a 71-70 advantage after three quarters. Sims, a Dallas-area native, was signed to a salary cap hardship contract following a number of injuries.
Minnesota came back to go up 83-82 with 4:44 to play before an Ogunbowale jumper put Dallas on top with 4:30 remaining and the Wings never trailed again.
Monique Billings had 14 points for the Wings, including nine in the second half.
Naphessa Collier scored 29 points with 11 rebounds for the Lynx (13-4), who had won six straight games and just defeated the New York Liberty for the Commissioner’s Cup crown.
Bridget Carleton added 17 points for Minnesota, Alanna Smith scored 15 and Kayla McBride had 11 in the loss.
The Lynx dominated the first six minutes of the game, forging a 20-10 lead after a 3-pointer by Carleton at the 4:01 mark as part of an 8-0 run of points scored just by the Minnesota forward. The Lynx led 28-15 after the opening quarter.
Minnesota pushed its lead to 45-30 in the second quarter when Smith canned a running shot from beyond the arc with 3:22 to play before halftime. The Wings finally found their stride, outscoring the Lynx 13-0 down the stretch to cut its deficit to 45-43 at the break.
Collier and Smith led the Lynx with 13 and 12 points, respectively, before halftime. Dallas stayed close thanks to 15 points and 7 rebounds in the half from McCowan.
Minnesota built its lead to five points midway through the third period until Dallas fashioned another surge. A 3-pointer and a floating jumper from Ogunbowale, the latter with 4:09 to play in the quarter, tied the game at 59-all.
The Wings shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the fourth quarter to win it.
BASEBALL NEWS
MLB ROUNDUP: O’S BEAT RANGERS, TIE FOR AL EAST LEAD
Corbin Burnes pitched seven strong innings and the Baltimore Orioles used early offense and four home runs to beat the visiting Texas Rangers 11-2 on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.
Heston Kjerstad, Cedric Mullins, Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser homered for Baltimore, which won for the second night in a row following a season-worst five-game skid. With the win, the Orioles (.630) took over first place by percentage points over the slumping New York Yankees (.627) in the American League East.
Mullins finished with three hits and Gunnar Henderson, who scored two runs, joined the other three home run hitters with two hits apiece for the Orioles, who improved to 2-2 on their seven-game homestand. This was the first meeting between the teams since Texas swept Baltimore in three games in last year’s playoffs.
Adolis Garcia homered and Corey Seager, Leody Taveras, Jonah Heim and Josh Smith all had two hits for the Rangers, who have dropped four straight and nine of their last 13 games.
Royals 2, Guardians 1
Kyle Isbel and Maikel Garcia hit back-to-back triples to rally Kansas City past visiting Cleveland to win the opener of a four-game series.
Cleveland broke through in the fifth when Tyler Freeman led off with a sharp single and Steven Kwan doubled to right. Schneemann’s sacrifice fly gave the Guardians a 1-0 lead.
Royals starter Michael Wacha pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing a run on seven hits and two walks, striking out six. Lively (7-4) allowed two runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts. Royals manager Matt Quatraro was ejected in the fifth inning.
Cubs 5, Giants 3 (10 innings)
Ian Happ hit a two-run home run off the top of the center field wall with one out in the 10th inning, helping Chicago beat host San Francisco to avoid a four-game sweep.
Seiya Suzuki finished with a double and triple for the Cubs, who outhit the Giants 10-6. Nico ho*rner collected three hits, while Cody Bellinger scored twice.
Jorge Soler’s double was the only extra-base hit for the Giants, who still captured the season series over the Cubs, 4-3.
Twins 13, Diamondbacks 6
Byron Buxton had three hits, drove in three runs and scored three times to help visiting Minnesota beat Arizona in the rubber game of a three-game series in Phoenix.
Manuel Margot had two hits and two RBIs, and Willi Castro and Carlos Santana each had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, who have won four of five. Margot and Castro also scored two runs apiece.
Ketel Marte homered and doubled for the Diamondbacks, who have four of five. Kevin Newman had two RBIs.
White Sox 1, Braves 0
Luis Robert Jr. homered and five pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout as Chicago edged visiting Atlanta to stop a four-game losing streak.
Chicago made the most of its four hits in the makeup of a game rained out on April 3. Michael Kopech worked around a two-out error in the ninth to pick up his sixth save and secure a White Sox series victory.
The Braves lost for the fourth time in six games. Atlanta stranded seven runners and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
Marlins 7, Phillies 4
Bryan De La Cruz had three RBIs and Jake Burger homered as part of a three-hit night to lift visiting Miami over Philadelphia.
De La Cruz hit a game-tying three-run double in the seventh, and Burger delivered a go-ahead blast in the eighth. Josh Bell tallied an RBI double and Ali Sanchez had two hits as the Marlins improved to 2-3 vs. the Phillies this season.
Edmundo Sosa went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Bryce Harper hit an RBI double for Philadelphia, which has lost two of three. Harper appeared to injure his hamstring running to first base to end the game. Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber left in the top of the ninth with left groin tightness.
Blue Jays 9, Yankees 2
George Springer hit two three-run home runs in the first two innings as Toronto defeated visiting New York.
Springer finished 3-for-3 and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added a solo homer and an RBI double to help the Blue Jays earn their second consecutive win.
Trent Grisham hit a two-run homer for the Yankees, who dropped a fourth straight game for the first time this season. New York has lost seven of its past eight games.
Reds 11, Cardinals 4
Noelvi Marte returned from an 80-game PED suspension and went 3-for-5 with a stolen base, three runs and an RBI as visiting Cincinnati routed St. Louis.
Spencer Steer hit a two-run homer and scored twice for the Reds. Will Benson snapped a 0-for-25 slump by going 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.
Nolan Arenado hit a two-run homer for the Cardinals, who suffered their second loss in seven games.
Angels 5, Tigers 0
Davis Daniel, who was recalled from the minors earlier in the day, threw eight scoreless innings to help Los Angeles beat Detroit in Anaheim, Calif.
Daniel allowed four hits and no walks while striking out eight. He is tied for the second-most strikeouts in his first major league start in Angels history, trailing Rudy May’s 10 in 1965. The Angels, who have won five of six, had just eight hits, but four of them went for extra bases, including home runs by Miguel Sano, Willie Calhoun and Luis Rengifo.
Tigers starter Jack Flaherty (5-5), who was 5-1 with a 1.56 ERA in his previous six starts, retired the side in order in the first inning, but Sano led off the second with a home run, his second of the season. Riley Greene had two of the four hits for the Tigers, who have lost three of four.
JUDGE AND HARPER TO START IN ALL-STAR GAME AS TOP VOTE-GETTERS IN FIRST ROUND OF FAN BALLOTING
NEW YORK (AP) — New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper were elected Thursday to start in the July 16 All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
Judge led the major leagues with 3,425,309 votes in the first round of fan balloting and was picked for his sixth American League start in seven All-Star Games, though he missed last year because of a sprained right big toe. He also was the leading vote-getter during the first phase in 2022.
He became the 11th player to lead the majors in votes on multiple occasions since fan balloting resumed in 1970, joining Ken Griffey Jr. (five times); Rod Carew (four); Ichiro Suzuki (three); and Hank Aaron, José Bautista, Johnny Bench, Albert Pujols, Cal Ripken Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Ozzie Smith (two each).
Harper topped the NL and was second in the big leagues with 3,277,920 votes. He was chosen for his eighth All-Star Game, seventh as a starter. His previous All-Star appearances came as an outfielder and designated hitter.
The pair were selected under rules that began in 2022 and give starting spots to the top vote-getter in each league in the first phase of online voting, which began June 5 and ended Thursday. Two finalists at every other position advanced to the second phase, which runs from noon EDT on Sunday to noon EDT on June 30. Votes from the first phase do not carry over.
An individual can vote once per 24-hour period.
Remaining starters will be announced on June 30. Pitchers and reserves will be revealed on July 7.
Six players each from the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies advanced to the second phase.
In the final days of the initial voting, Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber overtook Atlanta’s Marcell Ozuna for the second spot among NL designated hitters behind Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani.
Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn moved ahead of Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton for second among designated hitters in the AL behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez. O’Hearn had been fourth, also trailing Cleveland’s David Fry.
AL finalists:
Catcher: Salvador Perez, Adley Rutschman
First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ryan Mountcastle
Second Base: Jose Altuve, Marcus Semien
Third Base: José Ramírez, Jordan Westburg
Shortstop: Gunnar Henderson, Bobby Witt Jr.
Outfield: Steven Kwan, Anthony Santander, Juan Soto, Kyle Tucker
Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez, Ryan O’Hearn
NL finalists:
Catcher: William Contreras, J.T. Realmuto
Second Base: Luis Arraez, Ketel Marte
Third Base: Alec Bohm, Manny Machado
Shortstop: Mookie Betts, Trea Turner
Outfield: Nick Castellanos, Teoscar Hernández, Brandon Marsh, Jurickson Profar, Fernando Tatis Jr., Christian Yelich
Designated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber
FOOTBALL NEWS
JURY ORDERS NFL TO PAY NEARLY $4.8 BILLION IN ‘SUNDAY TICKET’ CASE FOR VIOLATING ANTITRUST LAWS
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A jury in U.S. District Court ordered the NFL to pay nearly $4.8 billion in damages Thursday after ruling that the league violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
The jury awarded $4.7 billion in damages to the residential class and $96 million in damages to the commercial class. Since damages can be tripled under federal antitrust laws, the NFL could end up being liable for $14.39 billion.
The lawsuit covered 2.4 million residential subscribers and 48,000 businesses in the United States who paid for the package of out-of-market games from the 2011 through 2022 seasons on DirecTV. The lawsuit claimed the league broke antitrust laws by selling its package of Sunday games at an inflated price. The subscribers also say the league restricted competition by offering “Sunday Ticket” only on a satellite provider.
The NFL said it would appeal the verdict. That appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and then possibly the Supreme Court.
Should the NFL end up paying damages, it could cost each of the 32 teams approximately $449.6 million.
“We are disappointed with the jury’s verdict today in the NFL Sunday Ticket class action lawsuit,” the league said in a statement. “We continue to believe that our media distribution strategy, which features all NFL games broadcast on free over-the-air television in the markets of the participating teams and national distribution of our most popular games, supplemented by many additional choices including RedZone, Sunday Ticket and NFL+, is by far the most fan friendly distribution model in all of sports and entertainment.
“We will certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”
The trial lasted three weeks and featured testimony from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
“Justice was done. The verdict upholds protection for the consumers in our class. It was a great day for consumers,” plaintiffs attorney Bill Carmody said.
During his closing remarks, Carmody showed an April, 2017, NFL memo that showed the league was exploring a world without “Sunday Ticket” in 2017, where cable channels would air Sunday afternoon out-of-market games not shown on Fox or CBS.
The jury of five men and three women deliberated for nearly five hours before reaching its decision.
Judge Philip S. Gutierrez is scheduled to hear post-trial motions on July 31, including the NFL’s request to have him rule in favor of the league because the judge determined the plaintiffs did not prove their case.
Payment of damages, any changes to the “Sunday Ticket” package and/or the ways the NFL carries its Sunday afternoon games would be stayed until all appeals have been concluded.
The league maintained it had the right to sell “Sunday Ticket” under its antitrust exemption for broadcasting. The plaintiffs said that only covers over-the-air broadcasts and not pay TV.
Other professional sports leagues were also keeping an eye on this case since they also offer out-of-market packages. A major difference though is that MLB, the NBA and the NHL market their packages on multiple distributors and share in the revenue per subscriber instead of receiving an outright rights fee.
DirecTV had “Sunday Ticket” from its inception in 1994 through 2022. The league signed a seven-year deal with Google’s YouTube TV that began with the 2023 season.
The lawsuit was originally filed in 2015 by the Mucky Duck sports bar in San Francisco but was dismissed in 2017. Two years later, the 9th Circuit, which has jurisdiction over California and eight other states, reinstated the case. Gutierrez ruled last year the case could proceed as a class action.
NCAA NEWS
THE FIRST LEGAL OBJECTION TO THE $2.8B NCAA ANTITRUST SETTLEMENT PLAN COMES FROM HOUSTON CHRISTIAN
A small Texas university has gone to court to object to the $2.77 billion settlement proposal that would erase a set of antitrust claims against the NCAA and the nation’s largest conferences and clear the way for schools to begin steering millions of dollars directly to athletes as soon as fall 2025.
Houston Christian filed its motion in federal court in California, arguing the settlement would divert funds from academics and marginalized and underserved populations as well as putting big-money college sports the over the needs of non-athlete students. The school contends its interests were not represented during settlement talks despite being an NCAA member.
Officials at smaller schools across the NCAA noted they were not consulted or informed about settlement details before they were announced last month and have said the financial impacts for them could be dire. The court filing by Houston Christian is first known official objection to the proposal, which will need approval from U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken to take effect.
Tyler Boyd, Houston Christian’s general counsel, said there could be more objections on the way.
“I think for other people that look into this case, it’s going to raise an issue of fiduciary responsibility,” Boyd said this week. “And whenever there’s a fiduciary responsibility issue raised, that goes to the core mission of the university, and are we living out the core mission of the university.”
The plan is intended to settle a host of federal antitrust claims and also clears the way for schools to share revenue with athletes, a dramatic step that all but ends the NCAA’s longstanding amateurism model.
The defendants in the case included the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Bit 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern conferences but also the NCAA, whose vast membership includes 1,100 schools that have athletic departments of varying sizes and budgets to match.
The NCAA will cover 41% of the $2.77 billion total — largely by lowering its annual payments to its member schools over 10 years — while the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC will cover 24%. The next five largest college football conferences (American Athletic, Mid-American, Conference USA, Mountain West ands Sun Belt) will cover 10%.
The remaining quarter of the total will be covered by non-football conferences in Division I and by conferences that compete in the second tier of D-I football, the Championship Subdivision. Houston Christian is a member of the latter group, competing in the Southland Conference that has 10 schools and some 4,200 athletes.
“Even now, without the proposed settlement, NCAA member institutions annually lose untold millions of dollars by participating in Division I sports. Only a select few ever generate enough revenue from athletics to cover their expenses,” the school said in its motion to intervene — formally take part — in the case. “The proposed settlement institutionalizes the diversion of money that would otherwise inure to the member institutions for the core mission of education and research, by requiring them to pay damages for athletes’ name, image, and likeness and establishing a continuing formula for doing so on a go-forward basis.”
HCU said 95% of its approximately 2,500 students receive financial aid. Boyd said Houston Christian believes someone has to look out for smaller schools with limited resources.
“I think it’s certainly unprecedented, and this is uncharted territory,” he said. “And the reason for the intervention is really just to have our voice be heard during these unprecedented times.”
Boyd said he wouldn’t be surprised to see other challenges from smaller schools or others looking to join Houston Christian’s fight. He said the case is not anti-athlete, but rather is in favor of supporting regular students.
“Those institutions are going to have to look at this case,” he said. “And it’s certainly up to them if they would want to get involved with our intervention.”
HOCKEY NEWS
COLORADO’S MACKINNON WINS HART AND LINDSAY AWARDS AS THE NHL’S TOP PLAYER
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon was the big winner at Thursday’s NHL awards show, taking home the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player as decided by the NHL Players Association.
Three other major awards where handed out earlier Thursday.
Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard was selected as the league’s top rookie, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy. Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets won the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie, and Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks was named winner of the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the top defenseman.
MacKinnon had a career-high 140 points this season to win both awards for the first time. He opened the season with a 35-game point streak at home, second all-time only to Wayne Gretzky.
MacKinnon finished the season with 54 goals and 89 assists.
He beat out Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers for the Hart and Kucherov and Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the Lindsay.
Bedard, one of the most-hyped prospects in recent years, was last year’s No. 1 overall draft pick by the Blackhawks and led all rookies with 61 points. He also was first with 22 goals and his 39 assists tied for the lead as well.
Brock Faber of the Minnesota Wild and Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils were the other contenders.
Hellebuyck, who also won the Vezina in 2020, allowed 2.39 goals were per game, had a .921 save percentage and recorded five shutouts. Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers and Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks were the other finalists.
Hughes, won the Norris Trophy for the first time, led all defenseman with 92 points and 75 assists. He also scored 17 goals. Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators and Cale Makar of the Avalanche were the other contenders.
Awards announced earlier include:
— Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov won the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward for the second time in four years.
— Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Jaccob Slavin won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, awarded for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. He also won it in 2021.
— Rick Tocchet received the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year. He led the Vancouver Canucks to the Pacific Division title.
— Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill was named the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award winner.
OILERS, GM KEN HOLLAND PART WAYS AFTER 5 SEASONS FOLLOWING THEIR TRIP TO THE STANLEY CUP FINAL
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — The Edmonton Oilers said Thursday general manager Ken Holland will not have his contract renewed, calling it a mutual decision between the veteran executive and the NHL club.
Holland spent the past five seasons as the Oilers’ GM and built a team that advanced to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Florida Panthers. His departure has been anticipated since Connor McDavid’s longtime agent, Jeff Jackson, took over as CEO of hockey operations last August.
“Over the past five seasons as general manager, Ken has not only built the Edmonton Oilers into one of the NHL’s best teams, but he has also established a deeply rooted foundation of success and a culture of winning that will continue well into the future,” Jackson said in a statement confirming Holland’s departure from the organization.
“Thanks in large part to Ken’s outstanding work, Edmonton has become a destination city for players around the National Hockey League.”
Holland, 68, spent 22 seasons as GM of the Detroit Red Wings, winning the Cup three times: in 1998, 2002 and 2008.
Building around McDavid and elite forward Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers finished the season looking like the potential champions many expected to see when Holland, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builder category in 2020, took over for interim GM Keith Gretzky on May 7, 2019.
But Edmonton’s rise to the top came in fits and starts, with Holland coming under fire over much of his tenure for building a top-heavy roster and failing to solve the team’s goaltending woes.
The Oilers lost in the qualifying round of the playoffs in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season, then were swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the ’21 postseason.
Edmonton appeared to turn a corner when it advanced to the 2022 Western Conference final before being swept by Colorado, but the team regressed the following season by losing in the second round to eventual champion Vegas.
Faith in Holland’s ability to build a winner in Edmonton was shaken to its core earlier this season when the Oilers stumbled out of the gate with a 3-9-1 record.
However, after Jay Woodcroft was fired and replaced as coach by Kris Knoblauch, the Oilers transformed into one of the league’s best teams, punctuated by a 16-game winning streak that was one shy of the league record.
And by the time the Oilers headed into Game 7 of this year’s Cup final, the team was getting solid goaltending from Stuart Skinner and contributions throughout the lineup, addressing two of the biggest criticisms levied against Holland.
Now the Oilers have a major hockey operations role to fill as they head into the offseason looking for a way to make the final step toward winning their sixth Stanley Cup title and first since 1990.
CANUCKS RE-SIGN F DAKOTA JOSHUA TO 4-YEAR, $13M DEAL
Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua agreed to terms on a four-year, $13 million contract on Thursday.
Joshua, 28, recorded career-high totals in goals (18), assists (14) and points (32) to go along with a plus-19 rating in 63 games last season.
“Dakota had a strong season for us and took some big steps forward in his game,” Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin said. “We really like his size, his speed and physicality. He fit in well with our system and the way we want to play hockey and I look forward to watching him to continue to develop under our coaching staff.”
Joshua has totaled 64 points (33 goals, 31 assists) in 184 career games with the St. Louis Blues and Canucks.
He was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the fifth round of the 2014 NHL Draft before being traded to the Blues on July 12, 2019. He was signed as a free agent by the Canucks on July 13, 2022.
CAPITALS ACQUIRE F ANDREW MANGIAPANE FROM FLAMES
The Washington Capitals acquired forward Andrew Mangiapane from the Calgary Flames on Thursday for a draft pick.
The Flames received a 2025 second-round selection that the Capitals got from the Colorado Avalanche for forward Lars Eller in March 2023.
“Today’s trade provides us with an increase in valuable draft capital and we have continued to emphasize the importance of how upcoming drafts will influence the future of our franchise,” Flames general manager Craig Conroy said. “Additionally, this move affords us with more salary-cap and roster flexibility to make decisions after July 1.”
Mangiapane, 28, had 14 goals and 26 assists in 75 games for the Flames last season. He has played all seven of his NHL seasons in Calgary, accumulating 109 goals and 106 assists in 417 games.
This is the latest move in Washington’s attempt to add offense. The Capitals averaged 2.63 goals last season, ranked 28th in the NHL. Washington picked up center Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Kings last week in exchange for goalie Darcy Kuemper. Dubois had 16 goals and 24 assists last season for Los Angeles.
RACING NEWS
MAX VERSTAPPEN: STAYING AT RED BULL THROUGH 2025
Three-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen confirmed Thursday he will race for Red Bull next season, refuting rumors that he was contemplating a switch to Mercedes.
“I think I’ve said this before,” he said at a pre-Austrian Grand Prix press conference. “I mean, naturally of course people are talking, but it’s most important just that we have a very competitive car for the future.
“At the moment of course it’s very tight, but we are working very well as a team to try and improve more. For sure, I’ve said this already with the team, we are working and focusing on next year to try and be competitive again.”
When asked if he’d depart should the 2025 car give him pause, the 26-year-old Belgian was quick to reference his current contract that spans through 2028.
“I have a long contract with the team, I’m very happy where I’m at and, like I said before, we’re focusing also already on next year with things that we can implement on the car,” Verstappen said.
“So, I guess that should say enough of where I’m driving next year.”
Verstappen passed George Russell on the third lap and cruised to a win at the Spanish Grand Prix last Sunday in Barcelona. It was his seventh F1 victory of the season and third straight at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalonia.
ALPINE’S PIERRE GASLY, ASTON MARTIN’S LANCE STROLL SIGN EXTENSIONS
The potential available seats on the Formula 1 grid for 2025 decreased by two on Thursday with multi-year extensions announced for Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll.
The terms of the contracts were not revealed other than being for “2025 and beyond.”
Gasly, 28, is in his second season with Alpine. He has accumulated only five points heading into this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix and Alpine is seventh in the constructors’ championship standings, but said he remains “faithful” that the team is heading in the right direction.
“I feel very much at home at this great team,” he said. “I’ve been officially here for over 18 months and it has always been the plan to build a long-term project with the team.”
Gasly’s teammate for 2025 remains to be seen. The team confirmed earlier this month that Esteban Ocon will leave at the end of the season. Alpine has reportedly engaged in conversations with Carlos Sainz, who will be leaving Ferrari and has also been in discussions with Williams and Sauber/Audi.
Stroll, 25, is the son of Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, and has been with Aston Martin since it rebranded from Racing Point in 2021. However, there had been some question about the future of Stroll, who has only 17 points this season compared to teammate Fernando Alonso’s 41.
Aston Martin sits fifth in the standings, and announced earlier this season that Alonso will return for 2025. With Thursday’s announcement, the team’s driver lineup for next year is now confirmed.
“I’m super happy to have committed to staying with the team for 2025 and beyond,” Stroll said. “It’s amazing to see how far we’ve come in the last five years.
“We’ve grown so much as a team and there’s still so much more to look forward to.”
As F1’s “silly season” of seat changes heats up, Sainz is the biggest remaining available name.
Haas has yet to officially lock up either of its seats for next year. Nico Hulkenberg will be leaving for Sauber/Audi at the end of the year, and Haas reportedly will give one of the seats to Ferrari protege Ollie Bearman.
The second seat is reportedly close to going to Ocon, which would leave Kevin Magnussen out of a ride. Magnussen said he has been in discussions with teams, but is comfortable with the idea of walking away from F1 at season’s end.
The Dane said he may pursue opportunities that interest him in other racing circuits.
“I am an active participant in contention for a few of the seats and that is great,” Magnussen told reporters. “It is all very open at the moment, and there is a good chance for the established guys to end up in a seat anywhere.
“I’ve been in the midfield every year that I’ve been in F1. I’m 31 years old and I’m starting to think that if I finished my motorsport career having just done F1 in the midfield, that would feel empty.
“I watch Le Mans or the Indy 500 and see some of the guys that win, they look bloody happy and I think there’s a career outside of Formula 1.
“I’ve been part of it a few times when I’ve not been in Formula 1, it is a great life and it is pulling a little bit.”
There is also questions about Daniel Ricciardo’s future with Red Bull’s sister team RB, with the Australian responding Thursday to Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko’s comments that Liam Lawson should be elevated once Ricciardo’s contract expires at the end of this season.
“I’ve become really good at not reading things,” Ricciardo said. “I actually didn’t know about it until I was told when I got here. Look, I don’t feel one way or another about it. I still know that the overriding thing in this sport is performance, and that’s it. That’s what will give me my best chance of staying here, I know that. It’s not going to be my smile or anything else. It’s the on-track stuff.”
Ricciardo arrived in Austria coming off consecutive races in which he has finished ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
WEEKEND PREVIEW: NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY
As the NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Nashville Superspeedway for Sunday’s Ally 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), the competitive vibe in the garage feels distinctively different with only eight more races to decide the 16-driver 2024 Playoff field.
One of those circling the Music City visit on the calendar is defending race winner Ross Chastain, who is still looking for his first win of the season to lock himself into a Playoff position — and do it in front of the team’s hometown crowd.
Chastain won the race on the 1.33-mile Nashville track last year from the pole position — the first pole of his career in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet. Currently, Chastain is ranked ninth in the regular season points and 12th in the Playoff picture.
“Last year at Nashville was a career highlight for me for sure,” said Chastain, who led a race-best 99 of the 300 laps. “It was one of those weekends that you dream about. We went out and performed really well. … I’m really proud of that and I’ve been trying to put something together like that in a lot of weeks since.”
Chevrolet has won all three of the Nashville Cup Series races — including Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Team Penske’s Joey Logano and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. would certainly love to break that Chevrolet monopoly. Logano, driver of the No. 22 Ford, is holding on to that final Playoff points position entering the Nashville race. Both his Penske teammates have already clinched their Playoff berths with wins this season. Two-time series champion Logano has only one top-10 finish — ninth place in 2022 — in three Nashville races.
Logano holds only a slim 13-point advantage over 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace for that 16th and final Playoff position. Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe — who on Tuesday formally announced his move to Joe Gibbs Racing next season — is 25 points behind Logano.
Truex, the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion, revealed two weeks ago that he would be retiring from fulltime competition at the end of the season. The driver of the No. 19 JGR Toyota is still intent to cap his fulltime career, however, with a win and a championship shot. He finished 22nd at Nashville in 2021 and 2023 and was runner-up to Elliott in 2022.
Larson and Elliott are involved in their own tight competition — tied atop the series championship standings. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin is third, 40 points back and Truex is fourth, 48 points behind the Hendrick duo.
Ten drivers have already secured Playoff bids with race victories. Larson, Elliott, Hamlin, last week’s New Hampshire winner Christopher Bell and William Byron all have three wins. Elliott, Tyler Reddick, reigning series champion Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric all have earned a trophy, too.
Practice for the Ally 400 begins at 2 p.m. ET Saturday, followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying. All the track action will be on USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
–Nashville offers great opportunity for Xfinity drivers looking for a Playoff spot
The NASCAR Xfinity Series moves to Nashville Speedway for Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 (5 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), another crucial stop with 10 races remaining to the set the 2024 Playoff field.
Justin Allgaier and defending race winner A.J. Allmendinger are the only drivers in Saturday’s field with a previous win at Nashville. While Allgaier has already secured his position in the 2024 Playoffs with a victory at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway this spring, Allmendinger is ranked 10th in points and still racing for his first trophy of the year. The popular veteran would love to reignite that Nashville magic he has shown before. The Kaulig Racing driver has two top-five finishes in three starts and the win last year.
Six drivers have won races and already secured 2024 Playoff positions — Chandler Smith, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, Shane van Gisbergen, Allgaier and Jesse Love — leaving six spots to be decided. The regular season championship is also still up for grabs.
Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer continues to hold that championship points lead — 15 points ahead of Joe Gibbs Racing’s Chandler Smith — but the reigning series champ Custer is still racing for his first win of the season and that automatic Playoff bid. He led 32 laps and finished ninth last year in the Music City.
Smith’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Sheldon Creed earned his 10th runner-up effort last week at New Hampshire — his third of the season — tying a series record for most career runner-up finishes before a victory. The 26-year-old Californian is racing for his first top-10 in two series starts at Nashville and is currently ranked eighth in the Playoff standings.
“I’m really proud that we’ve been close these past few weeks,” said Creed, driver of the No. 18 JGR Toyota. “It says a lot about the progress we have made this season and the speed we are capable of. I would say from that standpoint, I feel more optimistic every week and I’m excited to get to the track more and more as we continue to click off these strong runs.
“I’ve developed a funny relationship with second place lately. Obviously, anytime you can leave the track with a runner-up it’s a good day, but it does get a little old to get so close to winning one and still come up short. Right now, all these second places mean consistency and I’ll take that above all else going forward.”
23XI Racing’s Tyler Reddick — a two-time Xfinity Series season champion — will drive the No. 26 Sam Hunt Racing Toyota in Saturday’s race. He joins an impressive list of NASCAR Cup Series regulars doing double duty this week, including Chastain and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson.
Practice is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. ET on Saturday with qualifying at 12:45 p.m. ET televised on USA Network and streaming on the NBC Sports App.
–Craftsman Truck Series returns after three-week break
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series returns to action Friday night with the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway (8 p.m. ET on FS2, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — the first race for the series since June 1 when TRICON Garage driver Corey Heim claimed his season-leading fourth win of the year.
That victory moved him to within 31 points of championship leader McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes and places him 22 points ahead of third place Rev Racing’s Nick Sanchez with only four regular season races remaining to set the 10-driver Playoff field.
Eckes, Heim, Sanchez and Rajah Caruth are the only championship-eligible drivers with wins and automatic Playoff bids to date.
None of the series championship contenders have ever won a truck series race on the 1.33-mile Nashville oval. NASCAR Cup Series rookies Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith finished 1-2 last year with Sanchez in third place after winning pole position and leading 37 of the 150 laps. Heim was fourth.
Eckes, with wins at Bristol, Tenn., and Martinsville, Va., this season, didn’t lead a lap at Nashville last year and finished 23rd after being involved in two accidents in the closing laps of the race. The 23-year-old New York native does bring an impressive statistic to Nashville, however.
At tracks measuring between 1.25-1.5-miles — like the 1.33-mile Nashville oval — Eckes is a perfect 6-for-6 in top-10 finishes; four of those have been top-five efforts. He was runner-up to Heim at the 1.25-mile World Wide Technology Raceway.
Friday marks the conclusion of the exciting Triple Truck Challenge with $50,000 to a new race winner or $150,000 paid to either Nick Sanchez (Charlotte) or Cory Heim (WWTR) — winners of the first two races in the incentive program.
Of note, popular FOX Sports NASCAR broadcaster Clint Bowyer will make his first race start since retiring from fulltime NASCAR competition in 2020. A race winner in all three of NASCAR’s national series, Bowyer will steer the No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in Friday night’s Rackley Roofing 200.
Popular Hollywood actor-turned stock car driver Frankie Muniz is hoping to make his Truck Series debut this weekend in the No. 22 Reaume Brothers Racing Ford. Former Motocross star, Japanese racer Akinori Ogata, 50, is also hoping to make the field driving the No. 20 Young Motorsports Chevrolet.
There have been 13 different winners in the 16 Truck Series races at Nashville. Seven times the pole-winner has hoisted the trophy.
Practice is Friday at 4:30 p.m. ET and televised on FS2 with Cometic Gasket Pole Qualifying following at 5 p.m. ET.
SOCCER NEWS
PANAMA SCORES LATE GOAL, BEATS SHORTHANDED AMERICANS 2-1 AT COPA AMERICA
ATLANTA (AP) — Jose Fajardo beat backup goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in the 83rd minute to give Panama a 2-1 victory over the United States at the Copa America on Thursday night and put the Americans in danger of elimination if they don’t beat Uruguay in their first-round finale.
The U.S. played nearly the entire game a man down after a silly foul by Tim Weah in the 18th minute.
Folarin Balogun put the short-handed U.S. ahead in the 22nd minute but César Blackman tied the score in the 26th.
Horvath, who replaced injured Matt Turner at halftime, couldn’t prevent Fajardo’s close-range shot from going through his arms, and Panama beat the U.S. for just the third time in 27 meetings.
The U.S., which opened with a win against Bolivia, likely will need to beat 15-time champion Uruguay on Monday at Kansas City, Missouri, in order to finish among the top two teams in Group C and earn a quarterfinal berth.
Panama lost to Uruguay 3-1 and closes against Bolivia, a team with 13 straight Copa America losses going into Thursday night’s game against the Uruguayans.
Weston McKennie appeared to put the U.S. ahead in the fifth minute but the goal was disallowed for offside.
Panama also finished a man short after Adalberto Carrasquilla was given a red card in the 88th for chopping down Christian Pulisic from behind. The U.S. threw everyone forward in a desperate attempt to tie the game — including Horvath — but Panama held.
Turner left with a bruised leg and Horvath entered in his first game for club or country since May 4.
TENNIS NEWS
LEYLAH FERNANDEZ REACHES THE SEMIFINALS AT EASTBOURNE. SHE’LL FACE DEFENDING CHAMPION MADISON KEYS
EASTBOURNE, England (AP) — Former U.S. Open finalist Leylah Fernandez advanced to her first semifinal of the year at the Eastbourne International by beating Harriet Dart 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday.
With Wimbledon starting on Monday, Fernandez is finding a comfort zone on the grass courts.
“I’m not the biggest nor the strongest out there on tour,” Fernandez said, “but I do know that if I move my feet right and I have a solid base on my legs, then I will be able to hit the balls that I want in the direction that I want it. So for me, the key is the legs and the footwork.”
The 21-year-old Fernandez will next face defending champion Madison Keys after the American advanced by walkover when Karolina Muchova withdrew because of a right wrist injury.
The other semifinal will feature French Open finalist Jasmine Paolini against Daria Kasatkina.
Paolini eliminated Katie Boulter 6-1, 7-6 (0) to reach her first grass-court semifinal and Kasatkina defeated Emma Raducanu 6-2, 6-2.
Fernandez achieved her career-best result when she reached the 2021 U.S. Open final, losing to Raducanu.
Kasatkina, the runner-up to Keys last year, said the weather conditions made it so she was mostly trying to keep the ball in the court.
“The conditions are very tough. It’s super windy. It’s very difficult to do some nice things,” the Russian said. “(Paolini) is having a great season. She’s playing amazing, she’s on fire. But I’m also not too bad. I think it’s going to be a good match tomorrow.”
In the men’s quarterfinals, local wild card Billy Harris rallied past Flavio Cobolli 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-2 and will face Australian qualifier Max Purcell, who beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 7-6 (4).
In a matchup of qualifiers, Aleksandar Vukic defeated Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) and will play top-seeded Taylor Fritz, who eliminated Chinese qualifier Shang Juncheng 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5).
ATP ROUNDUP: TAYLOR FRITZ TAKES AIM AT THIRD ROTHESAY INTERNATIONAL
Top seed Taylor Fritz continued his pursuit of a third Rothesay International title, downing Chinese qualifier Juncheng Shang 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) in the quarterfinals Thursday in Eastbourne, England.
Fritz, who captured the event in 2019 and 2022, won 50 of 54 first-serve points (92.6 percent), racked up 20 aces and saved all four break points he faced in capturing the match in one hour, 46 minutes.
He will face Australian lucky loser Aleksandar Vukic, who ousted Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) to advance to the semifinals. British wild card Billy Harris eliminated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-2. Harris will play Australian qualifier Max Purcell, a 6-3, 7-6 (4) winner over Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.
Mallorca Championships
Top seed Ben Shelton had match point on serve in the third-set tiebreaker before British qualifier Paul Jubb rallied for the upset, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8), in the quarterfinals in Spain.
Jubb, who won an NCAA singles championship in 2019 while at the University of South Carolina, converted his seventh match point against World No. 14 Shelton, a college singles champion in 2022 at Florida. Shelton had more aces (13-1) and winners (44-24) as well as unforced errors (32-14) on Thursday.
Sixth-seeded Gael Monfils of France, in his first grass tournament since Wimbledon in 2021, advanced to the semifinals by defeating Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Monfils faces fourth-seeded Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Czech Jakub Mensik. Austrian Sebastian Ofner downed Alex Michelsen 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 and will meet Jubb in the semis.
TOP INDIANA SPORTS RELEASES
INDIANA PACERS
AFTER QUIET DAY ONE, PACERS ACTIVE IN SECOND ROUND OF DRAFT
Indiana’s 2024 draft class will include a promising Australian teenager who was expected to go in the first round, a two-time national champion point guard, and one of the top collegiate double-double getters of all time.
After going pick-less on the first day of the draft, the Pacers made a trio of selections in the second round on Thursday.
This year’s draft is just the second time in the last eight years that the Pacers entered without a first-round selection. Indiana, which came into the draft with the 36th, 49th and 50th picks, was originally slated to have two first-round picks, but those were traded to the Toronto Raptors in January in the deal that brought two-time All-Star Pascal Siakam to the Pacers.
Coming off an Eastern Conference Finals appearance with an already young roster, the Pacers drafted for fit and the future when they finally went on the clock.
Pacers acquire Furphy early in second round
Indiana’s front office got busy early Thursday, as the Pacers moved up a spot to 35 to select University of Kansas wing Johnny Furphy. In principle, the Pacers agreed to Furphy’s draft rights from the San Antonio Spurs in a trade that is not yet final.
Furphy, a 19-year-old from Melbourne, Australia, is a big, aggressive player with a high IQ and length that can make threes and run the floor. Leading up to the draft, many models projected Furphy to go late in the first round.
In his lone season with the Jayhawks, Furphy, listed at 6-foot-8, 202 pounds, averaged 9.0 points per game, on 46.6 shooting (35.2 percent from 3-point range), and 4.9 rebounds, while being named All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and to the Big 12 All-Freshman team.
Furphy’s workload grew as his freshman season went on, and he quickly became a fan favorite in Lawrence.
After averaging just 13.7 minutes in the first 15 games of the season, Furphy proceeded to average 11.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 1.1 steals while knocking down 35.4 percent of 4.4 3-point attempts per game in 32.7 minutes of action across the Jayhawks’ final 18 games. Furphy led Kansas with 44 made 3-pointers, which ranks 11th among KU freshman list all-time.
Going into Thursday, the Pacers were ready to make moves to get Furphy.
“He was the guy we had targeted to go get,” Pacers General Manager Chad Buchanan said. “We wanted to make sure we got him – we didn’t want to leave any room to chance that we weren’t going to go get him. It happens lots of times in this business, I’ve experienced it several times where the guy you have targeted gets picked right in front of you. We had an opportunity to ensure that we were going to get him and we took advantage and made it happen.”
Buchanan said that Furphy’s assertiveness, catch-and-shoot ability, and movement off the ball are some of his top traits, and that the organization looks to build on his strengths.
Top college point guard joining Blue & Gold
Less than an hour after taking Furphy, the Pacers selected a proven winner at pick 49: University of Connecticut guard Tristen Newton.
Newton, 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, helped the Huskies to back-to-back national titles the last two seasons, leading the best team in the country in scoring (15.1 point per game) and assists (6.2) during his senior season. The 23-year-old from El Paso, Texas, was also second on Uconn in assists, dishing out 6.2 dimes per game.
In his final college season, Newton collected dozens of awards, highlighted by a consensus first-team All-American pick, Big East Player of the Year award, Bob Cousy Award, and the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honor.
Against Purdue in the National Championship, Newton posted 20 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
On top of his numerous intangibles, Newton is a strong on-ball defender who is crafty from close range and is smart with the basketball.
“He’s done a lot of winning in a great program,” Buchanan said. “I think that team last year at Uconn might be the best college basketball team I’ve seen in quite some time from top to bottom. He was a big, big part of it, as the leader at the point guard opposition. We want to get another lead guard to continue to groom and develop. … We liked his size, his pedigree, his toughness. He’s very calm. Hes’s a gamer.”
Buchanan said the team wants more high-IQ point guards, and compared Newton to current Pacer Andrew Nembhard.
Indiana lands double-double machine
Four minutes after the Pacers took Newton, the Blue & Gold selected University of Akron forward Enrique Freeman with the 50th overall pick.
Freeman, 6-foot-7 and 212 pounds, averaged 18.6 points, 12.9 rebounds and 1.7 blocks in 35 games during his senior season en route to earning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year honors.
As a senior, Freeman, 24, tied the NCAA single-season record for double-doubles (31) in a season, joining North Carolina’s Armando Bacot (2022) and Navy’s David Robinson (1986) at the top. Freeman led the NCAA in rebounding while earning AP All-American Honorable Mention honors.
While undersized for a frontcourt player, Freeman has some elite defensive tools and strong footwork in the post.
The Cleveland native’s path to the draft was atypical, as he never planned on playing college basketball to begin with. Freeman walked on at Akron as a freshman before finishing as one of the most decorated Zips men’s basketball players of all time in Division I.
The Zips won the MAC Tournament twice with Freeman on the team in both 2022 and 2024, with him being named the tournament’s MVP both those seasons.
Freeman finished first at Akron in career rebounds (1,405), second in blocks (186) and third in points (1,843) in 132 games played. He was a four-time MAC All-Defensive team member, two-time first-team All-MAC member, and was the 2022 MAC Defensive Player of the Year. He is the first player drafted from Akron since Marcle Boyce in 1987.
“He’s a self-made player,” Buchanan said. “A lot of his qualities match up with who we are. Players in the past that have had his qualities have had success with us.
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANS WALKED OFF TWICE BY RED WINGS IN DOUBLEHEADER SWEEP
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Despite a home run by Liover Peguero and third consecutive strong start by Jake Woodford, the Indianapolis Indians dropped both games of an afternoon doubleheader against the Rochester Red Wings in walk-off fashion at Innovative Field on Thursday, 4-3 and 5-4.
After tying the first contest on a two-run shot by Peguero in the seventh inning and scoreless bottom half that sent the game to extras, Indianapolis (0-3, 33-43) grabbed a brief 3-2 lead in the eighth on a run-scoring single by Alika Williams. Rochester (3-0, 41-35) countered in the home half against Brent Honeywell (L, 1-3), with Alex Call sending his ninth home run of the season into the Indians’ bullpen beyond the left field wall for a two-run, walk-off blast.
The Red Wings tallied the first runs of the twin bill in the second inning. Travis Blankenhorn and Juan Yepez led off the inning with a single and double, respectively, and Trey Lipscomb followed with an RBI single to plate Blankenhorn. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Call then brought Yepez home to end the inning.
The Indians had no answer against Andrew Alvarez and Adonis Medina through the first six innings before striking for three runs (two earned) against Rico Garcia. Tim Cate (W, 4-1) entered to log the Indians’ final out before the Red Wings walked it off.
In the second affair, Rochester scored the game’s last five runs in the final two innings – four in the bottom of the seventh – to secure the doubleheader sweep. Following a walk, hit by pitch and walk that loaded the bases with one out, Dylan Crews, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft behind former Indian Paul Skenes, hit a line drive up the middle that kicked off the glove of Williams at second base into shallow left-center for a two-run double. Darren Baker, who singled and scored the Red Wings’ first run in the sixth, then plated Erick Mejia as the tying run while reaching safely on a missed catch error by Malcom Nuñez at first base. Carter Kieboom completed the trifecta of close calls for the Indians defensively, flaring a fly ball to right field that Joshua Palacios dropped on a sliding attempt, allowing Crews to jog home as the winning run.
Indianapolis got on the board early and rode the arm of Woodford to build a 4-0 lead. Williams worked a leadoff walk and Seth Beer smacked a two-out double to make it 1-0. After Thaddeus Ward walked Williams, Palacios and Peguero in the third inning, a sac fly courtesy of Beer scored Peguero.
The Indians tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Gilberto Celestino doubled off Luis Reyes (W, 2-1) and later scored on a Mike Jarvis fielder’s choice. A ground-rule double by Peguero added another run to cap the scoring.
Connor Sadzeck (L, 2-1) faced seven batters in the decisive seventh and recorded just one out. Woodford dazzled on the mound, throwing 5.1 innings of scoreless baseball. He yielded just three hits, beaned one batter and struck out eight.
Indianapolis and Rochester will meet for game four of the six-game set tomorrow at 6:45 PM. RHP Luis Cessa (2-2, 3.99) gets the nod for the Indians and RHP Spenser Watkins (4-3, 4.38) will counter for the Red Wings.
COLTS NEWS
COLTS RELEASE TRAINING CAMP SCHEDULE
Training camp kicks off on July 25. The Colts will practice from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. that day, and Colts city will be open from 9 a.m. to noon.
Here is the rest of the full training camp schedule:
- Saturday, July 27 (primetime) – practice from 10-11:15 a.m. (Back Together Weekend)
- Sunday, July 28 (primetime) – practice from 4-5:30 p.m. (Back Together Weekend)
- Tuesday, July 30 – practice from 10-11:15 a.m.
- Wednesday, July 31 – practice from10-11:30 a.m.
- Friday, August 2 – practice from 9-10:45 a.m. (Family Day)
- Sunday, August 4 (primetime) – practice from 4-5:30 p.m. (Give Back Sunday)
- Monday, August 5 – practice from 2-3:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, August 7 – practice from 9-10:30 a.m. (Salute to Service)
- Friday, August 9 – practice from 10-11 a.m.
- Wednesday, August 14 (primetime) –practice with the Arizona Cardinals from 6-8 p.m. (Fan Appreciation Day)
- Thursday, August 15 (primetime) – joint practice with the Arizona Cardinals from 6-7:20 p.m. (Thirsty Thursday)
Practices that are considered primetime practices will have a $5 admission fee for people ages 18 and older. All other practices have free admission, and people ages 17 and under are free for all practices.
INDIANA IGNITE VOLLEYBALL
INDY IGNITE HIRES GEORGE PADJEN AS INAUGURAL HEAD COACH
Padjen is a renowned collegiate volleyball coach with 25 years of experience on the court. He comes to Ignite from Concordia University, where he helped lead the team to nine NCAA championships. As head coach, Padjen will recruit Indy’s first players, build its team strategy, and prepare Ignite for success in its inaugural season in 2025.
“It is rare to find an individual with such genuine passion and dedication as George Padjen,” saidMary Kay Huse, General Manager and President of Indy Ignite. “George is meticulously focused on player development. From day one, Pro Volleyball Federation has focused on the players first, and George shares that same sense of servant leadership. I couldn’t be more excited to work hand-in-hand with him as we build Indy Ignite into a franchise that will energize our fans and make our city proud.”
Prior to Ignite, Padjen spent 21 years as Assistant Coach for the highly decorated volleyball program at Concordia University, St. Paul. He was hired alongside Brady Starkey—the winningest active volleyball coach in any division—and together, they built Concordia St. Paul into one of the greatest dynasties in college volleyball.
Padjen also coached at Minnesota Select, one of the premier volleyball clubs in the country and a breeding ground for volleyball superstars such as Kansas alum and pro outside hitter, Jenny Mosser; four-time Academic All-Big Ten Minnesota libero, CC McGraw; professional setter and University of Wisconsin alum, Izzy Ashburn; and former First Team All-American at Minnesota, Katherine Harms.
“George brings a player-driven perspective to his coaching style, helping athletes develop their skills and embrace innovation both on and off the court,” saidJim Schumacher, co-owner of Indy Ignite. “This entrepreneurial spirit makes him the perfect fit for Indy Ignite, as our team works to optimize the fan experience and bring the best of women’s volleyball to Indianapolis.”
Beyond coaching, Padjen is also the Co-Founder of Athlusion—a corporate search firm that connects athletes with career opportunities. Athlusion empowers former athletes to pursue their passions, while helping companies find game-changing hires that understand the value of teamwork.
For Padjen, this role is an opportunity to build another winning team and drive innovation in the sports industry. He looks forward to bringing his honest, forward-thinking approach to Indy Ignite and its Fan Firestorm.
“Volleyball is the ultimate team sport. All the pieces have to work in perfect unison, but no two players are alike,” said Padjen. “My job is to help each player achieve their individual goals, while fostering an environment for team success. At Indy Ignite, we’re working together to find that exact, right formula for victory by building a lasting culture around the principles of hard work and positive attitude.”
As head coach of Indy Ignite, Padjen’s first job will be signing 14 world-class players for the team’s debut in 2025. All Pro Volleyball Federation players became free agents at the end of the 2024 season, giving Indy Ignite a chance to recruit top players from other teams.
Player contract negotiations are currently underway—with signing announcements to come starting June 30. These recruiting efforts will lead up to the Pro Volleyball Federation College Draft at the end of the year.
“This is a pivotal time for Indy Ignite, as we lay the foundation for our future team,” saidDon Hutchinson, co-owner of Indy Ignite. “George is already diving in, building relationships, and showing the world that Indianapolis didn’t come here just to play—we’re here to win.”
Indy Ignite will play in the state-of-the-art Fishers Event Center starting in January 2025—with season ticket deposits available now!VisitIndyIgniteVB.comto secure your season tickets and become a member of the exclusive Indy Ignite Founders Club today.
PURDUE TRACK
CHARLTON EARNS PARIS OLYMPICS BERTH
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue track & field alumna Devynne Charlton qualified for her second Olympic Games in the 100-meter hurdles on Thursday evening.
Charlton officially earned her place at the 2024 Paris Games when she won the Bahamas National Championships on June 27 in Nassau, Bahamas. Charlton also ran in the 100m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Two Boilermaker track & field alums have now punched their ticket to Paris, as Charlton joins Chukwuebuka Enekwechi, who qualified in the shot put for Nigeria on June 17.
Charlton won the Bahamas national title with a finals time of 12.62 seconds on Thursday evening. She was victorious by 0.32 seconds. Several hours earlier, Charlton was first in the prelims in 12.73.
Ranked No. 3 in the world in the event, Charlton has a season-best time of 12.49, achieved on April 20 in Xiamen, China. Earlier in 2024 indoors, the Nassau native broke the world record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.65 to win the World Athletics Indoor Championships.
A Boilermaker from 2014-18, Charlton was seventh in the 100m hurdles at the 2022 World Athletics Championships and sixth at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The school record-holder in the 100m hurdles and 100m, she is a nine-time All-American and an 11-time Big Ten Champion. Charlton was named the Big Ten Track Athlete of the Year three times.
Several more current and former Boilermakers are competing at Olympic Trials across the world this week. Additional information on how to follow along with their competitions is available at PurdueSports.com/TrackField and by following the Boilermakers on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook.
PURDUE SWIMMING
WRIGHT, PATRICK OFFICIALLY QUALIFY FOR OLYMPICS IN 10-METER DIVING
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue’s Daryn Wright and Jaye Patrick have learned they’re going to Paris this summer, receiving notice from World Aquatics they have officially qualified for the Olympic Games in 10-meter diving.
Wright will compete for the United States and Patrick for Latvia, giving the Purdue Divers four Olympic qualifiers this year. Maycey Vieta (10-meter for Puerto Rico) and Greg Duncan (3-meter synchro for USA) have also qualified.
An official ruling on the qualification status of alumnus Brandon Loschiavo is still pending and may not be resolved until Monday. Like Wright, Loschiavo was the runner-up on 10-meter at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last week in Knoxville. Loschiavo previously represented Team USA in the event at the Tokyo Olympics and earned the U.S. its Olympic quota spot in the event as a finalist on the tower at the 2024 World Aquatics Championships in February. However, USA Diving did not earn a second quota bid in the event this year and Carson Tyler earned the men’s lone automatic bid with his victory on 10-meter at the Olympic Trials.
“It has been a long four days, but thankfully it came out on top with the good news. I’m pretty much just shocked right now to say the least. I’m very, very excited and emotional, but very shocked,” Wright said.
“It was hard because I didn’t necessarily know the odds, if they were good or not, just because it had taken so long to see if we had the second spot. My mind was racing in probably every possible direction, but I’m glad today was good.”
Wright was surprised by teammates, friends and family at the Morgan J. Burke Aquatic on Thursday morning. Patrick is currently traveling in Europe.
“It was very special. Obviously, it’s not the same experience as everyone else (at trials), but them showing up and being there for me was everything,” Wright said.
Patrick was 21st and Wright 24th on 10-meter at the World Championships earlier this year. Since then, they were finalists in platform diving at the Big Ten Championships (with Wright winning bronze) and NCAA Championships qualifiers. Wright joined Maycey Vieta and Sophie McAfee in the platform championship final at NCAAs, all three earning All-America accolades.
Purdue Diving has been represented at the Olympic Games every quadrennium dating back to 2008. With at least four representatives this year, it will mark a program high for the Boilermakers. Purdue’s qualifiers will also be competing for three different nations.
Wright joins Steele Johnson (2016) as Boilermakers to become Olympians while they were active student-athletes for Purdue Diving. Duncan, Patrick and Vieta are all alumni – Duncan wrapping up his collegiate career in the spring of 2022 and Patrick and Vieta closing out their NCAA eligibility as fifth-year student-athletes this spring.
The women’s 10-meter event this year in Paris will join the men’s 10-meter event in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro as individual competitions at the Olympics to feature multiple Boilermakers. David Boudia and Johnson both competed individually on the tower in Rio after winning silver together in 10-meter synchro.
PURDUE MEN’S BASKETBALL
EDEY REPEATS AS BIG TEN JESSE OWENS MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. –Zach Edeycontinued to add to his already-overflowing trophy case, being named the Big Ten’s Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year for the second straight season, the league office announced Thursday morning.
Edey was joined by Iowa women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark as recipients of the award. The duo swept the awards for the second straight year.
Edey becomes just the second repeat winner on the men’s side, joining Ohio State wrestler Kyle Snyder (2017, 2018) as the only repeat winners in the 43-year history of the award. Edey’s honor is the fourth won by a Boilermaker (Edey – 2023; David Boudia – 2011; Glenn Robinson – 1994).
Purdue and Michigan State are the only teams to have at least two men’s basketball student-athletes earn the honor. Purdue’s three men’s basketball honors are the most in the league.
Last night, Edey became Purdue’s second NBA Draft lottery pick in the last three years when he was selected ninth by the Memphis Grizzlies. He was the first Big Ten player selected in last night’s Draft.
Edey’s ascent into college basketball’s hierarchy has been well-documented. Having just completed his seventh season of competitive basketball, Edey was a standout baseball and hockey prospect growing up in Toronto, before turning to basketball prior to his sophom*ore campaign. He transferred to IMG Academy (Fla.) where he was ranked as the No. 436 prospect in the Class of 2020. He committed to Purdue in October 2019 and became one of the top college players in NCAA history.
He won all six National Player of the Year Awards in both 2023 and 2024, becoming the first player since the late Bill Walton in 1972 and 1973 to sweep all National Player of the Year awards in back-to-back seasons. He technically became the sixth two-time National Player of the Year, joining Ralph Sampson (1981, 1982, 1983), Bill Walton (1971, 1972, 1973), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1967, 1969), Jerry Lucas (1961, 1962) and Oscar Robertson (1958, 1959, 1960) as multiple NPOY recipients.
Simply put, Edey had a season and career for the ages and will go down as one of the greatest college basketball players in NCAA history. As a senior, he led Purdue to a 34-5 record and a spot in the National Championship game for the first time in 55 years. He averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.0 assists per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the field and 71.1 percent from the free throw line.
In the NCAA Tournament, he was even better, averaging 29.5 points, 14.5 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.8 assists while shooting 64.1 percent from the field. He finished the tournament with 177 points, the third most in NCAA Tournament history, while playing all but four minutes in the last four games of the tournament. In fact, only three players in NCAA Tournament history have scored 150 points with 60 rebounds in the same tournament (Edey, Elvin Hayes, Jerry West) and Edey had 177 points and 87 rebounds.
His 37 points in the National Championship game were tied for the third most in a title game in NCAA history.
The performance capped off one of the most-dominant seasons in history. He scored 983 points with 474 rebounds, joining Houston’s Elvin Hayes (1968) as the only players in NCAA history to reach those marks in a season in NCAA history. He finished the year by scoring at least 20 points with 10 rebounds in nine straight games, while posting 16 straight games of 20 or more points to end his career. He finished the season with ten 30-10 games, the most for a player since Kansas State’s Michael Beasley in 2007-08 (13).
His 983 points and 474 rebounds in a season are both second in Big Ten history in both categories.
Edey’s senior season was the icing on the cake of a career that will be considered one of the best in college basketball history. He finished his career with 2,516 points and 1,321 rebounds – one of six players in history to reach those marks and the first since 1990 (Lionel Simmons, 1987-90; Michael Brooks, Elvin Hayes, Oscar Robertson, Dickie Hemric).
He finished his career third in Big Ten history in scoring and second in rebounding.
Edey will likely play in NBA Summer League contests starting in the next couple of weeks. Schedules will be announced soon.
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL
NOTRE DAME AND MICHIGAN STATE WILL RENEW FOOTBALL RIVALRY IN 2026
The University of Notre Dame football program has announced a continuation of its storied rivalry with Michigan State via a two-game series against the Spartans that will begin in 2026.
Notre Dame will host Michigan State in Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 19, 2026, and the Irish will then travel to face the Spartans in East Lansing on Sept. 18, 2027. Game times and broadcast networks will be announced at a later date.
Notre Dame and Michigan State have met on 79 occasions, which is the fourth-most prolific series in Irish football history. The programs first met in 1887 – a 34-6 Irish victory. Since 1949 the winner of each installment of the rivalry earns the Megaphone Trophy, which is currently held by the Irish after a win in the most recent matchup, a 38-18 victory in East Lansing in 2017.
A highly competitive series, which features the legendary 10-10 tie when top-ranked Michigan State and second-ranked Notre Dame met in East Lansing during the 1966 season, the last 64 meetings between the Irish and Spartans have featured at least one Associated Press ranked team.
Notre Dame holds a 249-131-16 record in program history vs. the Big Ten.
BUTLER BASKETBALL
SECOND ANNUAL ARIZONA TIP-OFF FIELD ANNOUNCED
TEMPE, Ariz. – The four-team Cactus Division field for the 2024 Arizona Tip-Off has been announced, bringing together four power conference college basketball programs that combined to average better than 20 wins per game last season.
Butler, Mississippi State, Northwestern and UNLV will take part in this year’s Arizona Tip-Off, which is set for Nov. 28-29 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Ariz. The sterling 5,000-seat multipurpose facility, which opened in October 2022, will host the event for the first time. Matchups, game times and television designations will be announced at a later date.
All four programs took part in postseason play last year, with Mississippi State and Northwestern earning NCAA berths and Butler and UNLV appearing in the NIT. The Wildcats posted 22 wins a year ago, Mississippi State and UNLV finished with 21 and Butler recorded 18. Mississippi State and Northwestern are competing in the same early season tournament for the second year in a row, with the Bulldogs defeating the Wildcats in the 2023 Hall of Fame Classic championship game.
The only way to guarantee tickets to the event is by purchasing an official fan travel package. Travel packages for fans looking to join their favorite team in the Valley of the Sun over Thanksgiving Weekend will be available on July 17 at www.arizonatipoff.com/travel. Packages will include tickets to each Cactus Division game of the tournament and hotel accommodations at one of the Tip-Off’s host resorts – the Scottsdale Plaza Resort & Villas and Gila River Resorts & Casino – Wild Horse Pass. Fans can also register to receive regular event updates and additional tournament and ticket news by visiting www.arizonatipoff.com/contact. Ticket packages, based on availability, will be available in the fall.
“The collective strength of these programs will make the Arizona Tip-Off one of the more intriguing early season events in college basketball,” said Mark Starsiak, vice president of basketball at Intersport, which owns and operates the event. “We established an incredible foundation for this event in its inaugural year, showcased by the highly competitive championship game that featured two NCAA Tournament programs. The expectations are high for each of the participating 2024 programs entering this season and we are excited to bring what should be an ultra-competitive basketball environment to Mullett Arena and The Valley this Thanksgiving.”
In the event’s inaugural year last season, South Carolina defeated Grand Canyon in the Cactus Division championship game. It proved to be an early indication of each team’s strength as the Gameco*cks won 26 games and finished second in the loaded SEC, while the Lopes won 30 games and claimed the WAC title. Both squads advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
To receive the latest email alerts regarding tournament news, ticket information and more, visit our website at www.arizonatipoff.com and follow Intersport Basketball on Twitter (X) and Instagram at @IntersportHoops.
About the Teams of the Arizona Tip-Off Cactus Division
Butler
– Longtime coach Thad Matta is in his third season with Butler and fourth overall with the program, having previously served as head coach in 2000-01
– Matta boasts 471 wins in 19 seasons as a head coach with Butler, Xavier and Ohio State, carrying an overall winning percentage of .716, which ranks among the top 15 nationally among active coaches
– The Bulldogs have appeared in 16 NCAA Tournaments in their history, including a pair of trips to the national championship game, and have won 20 conference championships – 13 regular season and seven tournament titles
– Butler was 18-15 last year and returned to postseason play for the first time since 2018 (the Bulldogs were 22-9 in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season), and will be the only Big East team to return its top two scorers from last year
Mississippi State
– Chris Jans is embarking on his third season as head coach of the Bulldogs, and ninth overall as a head coach, joining the program in 2022 and guiding it to consecutive 21-win campaigns
– With the exception of the COVID-impacted season of 2020-21, Jans has led his teams to 20 or more wins in seven of his eight years as a head coach and five NCAA Tournaments
– The Bulldogs have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 13 times, including each of the last two years, the first time the program has made consecutive berths since 2008 and 2009
– Mississippi State is seeking its third straight early season tournament championship, having won the 2022 Fort Myers Tip-Off and the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, the latter of which coming after defeating Northwestern for the championship
Northwestern
– Entering his 12th season as head coach, Chris Collins has established Northwestern as an NCAA-Tournament caliber program since he took over in Evanston in 2013
– Collins has guided Northwestern to its three all-time NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the Round of 32 each season (2017, 2023, 2024)
– Northwestern has four 20-win seasons in the last nine years; prior to that stretch, Northwestern had just two 20-win seasons in their entire history
– Last season, the Wildcats were 22-12 and 12-8 in Big Ten play, finishing tied for third in league play and earning a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament for the second straight year
UNLV
– Now in his fourth year at his alma mater, Kevin Kruger guided UNLV to 21 victories last year, the most wins since the Rebels won 25 games in 2012-13
– Kruger played under his father, Lon, at UNLV for the 2006-07 season, helping the program to a 30-7 record and a berth in the Sweet 16 while earning MWC Tournament MVP honors
– One of the most iconic programs in college basketball, the Runnin’ Rebels have appeared in 20 NCAA Tournaments, advanced to four Final Fours and won the 1990 national title
– The program owns a combined 24 conference championships, 13 regular-season titles and 11 tournament crowns.
BUTLER ATHLETICS
BIG EAST ANNOUNCES NEW MEDIA RIGHTS AGREEMENT
NEW YORK – The BIG EAST Conference announced today a new six-year media rights agreement that will ensure that the league maintains its position as one of the most televised conferences in all of college athletics. FOX Sports, the BIG EAST’s television partner for the last 11 years, will continue as the conference’s lead network provider, with NBC Sports and TNT Sports also providing comprehensive BIG EAST basketball coverage for the first time. The agreement was unanimously approved by the Presidents of the BIG EAST’s 11 member institutions.
The new agreement, which will span from 2025-26 through 2030-31, encompasses coverage on FOX Sports (FOX, FS1, FS2), NBC Sports (NBC, Peaco*ck) and TNT Sports (TNT, TBS, truTV and Max). The agreement will provide major national broadcast, cable and direct-to-consumer streaming coverage of BIG EAST men’s and women’s basketball games and Olympic sport championship contests. The BIG EAST’s current agreement with FOX Sports is scheduled to expire after the 2024-25 academic year.
FOX Sports will feature at least 80 BIG EAST men’s and women’s basketball contests across the regular season and postseason beginning in 2025-26. In addition, the FOX broadcast network will remain the home of the BIG EAST Men’s Tournament Final through 2031.
Peaco*ck will launch its coverage of BIG EAST men’s basketball in 2024-25 with a package of 25 regular season games and five early round and quarterfinal conference tournament games. Beginning with the 2025-26 season, Peaco*ck and NBC Sports will present more than 60 men’s and women’s regular season and BIG EAST Tournament games.
TNT Sports will feature more than 65 regular season BIG EAST basketball games airing on TNT – as its primary network – along with TBS, truTV and Max, beginning with the 2025-26 season.
“Our new agreement that provides coverage by FOX Sports, NBC Sports and TNT Sports will allow the BIG EAST to maintain our already high level of national broadcast and cable exposure while adding first-time streaming coverage for men’s basketball games and expanded distribution of games on the women’s basketball side,” said Creighton University President and BIG EAST Conference Board of Directors Chair Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, SJ, PhD. “The arrangement will provide enhanced revenue and long-term stability for the conference, create benefits for our student-athletes, and allow us to remain nationally competitive in our marquee sport: basketball. We are especially excited to continue our one-of-a-kind relationship with FOX Sports and look forward to building on the exceptional foundation we have established together over the past 11 years.”
“Everyone at FOX Sports is thrilled to continue our long-standing relationship with the BIG EAST, one of the nation’s top basketball conferences and a pillar of our college hoops lineup,” said Eric Shanks, CEO & Executive Producer, FOX Sports. “It’s a privilege to showcase these spectacular student-athletes and institutions alongside our new partners, NBC Sports and TNT Sports, while also fortifying our role as a leader in college sports.”
“BIG EAST Basketball is among the most prestigious in all of college sports, and we’re proud to be able to feature the men’s and women’s teams across our NBCUniversal platforms,” said Rick Cordella, President, NBC Sports. “The BIG EAST has a storied basketball history, and we look forward to showcasing these games as the conference creates more memorable moments.”
“BIG EAST basketball has historically delivered some of the most thrilling teams and moments in college sports, including its most recent accomplishments, and we are excited to showcase the conference and its fantastic men’s and women’s college basketball programs on all of our TNT Sports platforms,” said Luis Silberwasser, Chairman and CEO, TNT Sports. “This agreement further adds to TNT Sports’ portfolio of premium live sports content, featuring championship-caliber college basketball programs and student athletes, and we will utilize all of our assets to elevate the fan experience.”
For men’s basketball, more than 150 regular season games will be distributed on the networks’ various platforms, including all league contests and all BIG EAST Tournament games.
BIG EAST women’s basketball coverage will be enhanced significantly under the new deal, with the networks at least tripling the current contractual commitment under the current agreement up to 65 regular season games and all BIG EAST Tournament games.
BIG EAST Olympic Sport team championship contests will be carried annually as part of the new package, including men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s lacrosse, volleyball, baseball and softball.
The BIG EAST was advised by Allen & Company and Proskauer in its negotiations.
BIG EAST Conference member institutions are located in some of the country’s top media markets and reach over 50 million people. The conference is celebrating its 45th year of academic and athletic excellence following its founding on May 31, 1979.
BALL STATE BASKETBALL
INITIAL MATCHUPS ANNOUNCED FOR 2024-25 MAC-SBC CHALLENGE
CLEVELAND — The MAC-SBC Challenge — the second installment of a scheduling alliance in men’s and women’s basketball — will tip off on Monday, Nov. 4 with 12 Mid-American Conference (MAC) women’s basketball programs hosting 12 Sun Belt Conference (SBC) teams, while the 12 MAC men’s basketball programs will visit 12 SBC teams.
The second MAC-SBC Challenge contest for each team will take place on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, with the matchups based on real-time NET rankings and announced in January. The MAC men and Sun Belt women will host the February matchups.
Each MAC and Sun Belt team included in the MAC-SBC Challenge is guaranteed one home and one away game each season.
Scheduling assistance is provided by Ordinal Sports Group. In addition to relevant NET data, geography and frequency of past contests is considered in determining the matchups.
Each MAC-SBC Challenge game will be carried on an ESPN platform.
MAC-SBC Challenge Basketball Matchups
Women’s Basketball
Georgia State at Akron
Old Dominion at Ball State
Southern Miss at Bowling Green
Troy at Buffalo
Coastal Carolina at Central Michigan
Texas State at Eastern Michigan
James Madison at Kent State
Appalachian State at Miami
Louisiana at Northern Illinois
Georgia Southern at Ohio
Marshall at Toledo
Arkansas State at Western Michigan
Men’s Basketball
Miami at Appalachian State
Akron at Arkansas State
Western Michigan at Coastal Carolina
Northern Illinois at Georgia Southern
Ball State at Georgia State
Ohio at James Madison
Kent State at Louisiana
Buffalo at Old Dominion
Central Michigan at South Alabama
Bowling Green at Southern Miss
Eastern Michigan at Texas State
Toledo at Troy
BALL STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
SALLEE SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION THROUGH 2030
MUNCIE, Ind. – Ball State University Director of Athletics Jeff Mitchell announced Thursday that head women’s basketball coach Brady Sallee has signed a contract extension that will run through 2030. This marks the fifth time in 12 years that Sallee has been awarded a contract extension. The last time was in 2021.
“Coach Sallee continues to build successful teams of exceptional quality,” Mitchell said. “I have enjoyed working with Coach Sallee and value his perspective on leadership and coaching. He believes in our approach to developing winners and leaders, and our talented women’s basketball student-athletes benefit from his mentorship.”
Sallee arrived at Ball State in May of 2012. In 12 seasons, he has guided the Cardinals to the NCAA’s first-ever postseason Women’s Basketball lnvitation Tournament (WBIT), nine postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournaments (WNIT), a WNIT Final 16 appearance, a Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division title (2014), 10 MAC Tournament appearances, and seven 20-plus win seasons —a feat no head coach at Ball State had done before him.
“Time flies when you’re having fun,” Sallee said. “It seems like yesterday when my family and I rolled into Muncie, and now, 12 years later, this is home. I am thrilled to continue my tenure at Ball State and am grateful to have leaders like President Mearns and Jeff Mitchell in my corner. I am excited for this season and the future of this program. I am thankful to be the head women’s basketball coach at Ball State University.”
The progam’s winningest coach with 237 overall victories, Sallee has etched his name into the Ball State women’s basketball record books a multitude of times over his tenure.
In 2023-24, the Cardinals had one of their most historic seasons yet as Ball State finished with a program-record 28 overall victories and 16 MAC wins. Ball State won 14 games in-a-row from Dec. 10 until Feb. 7 which was another program record for the Cardinals.
Sallee has led Ball State to wins over six Power 5 schools — Georgia, Pitt, Vanderbilt, Purdue, Iowa, and Minnesota. He has coached 36 all-conference selections and 15 players who have gone on to play professionally. He has mentored three league freshman of the year winners, three defensive players of the year, three sixth players of the year, one MAC Player of the Year and one Associated Press All-America selection.
Sallee has coached some of the program’s most prestigious players, including Ball State’s all-time leading scorer Nathalie Fontaine, all-time rebounder Oshlynn Brown, all-time assists leader Carmen Grande and all-time 3-point shooter Thelma Dis Agustsdottir. Over the years, 13 of Sallee’s players have scored 1,000 points or more under his tutelage.
In 20 years, Sallee has amassed a 373-257 (.592) career coaching record, including his eight years as the head basketball coach at Eastern Illinois. Sallee currently owns a 237-147 (.617) mark at Ball State.
VINCENNES VOLLEYBALL
VUVB ADDS NEARBY DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST BROOKLYN SUMMERS
VINCENNES, Ind. – The three-time defending Region 24 Champion Vincennes University Volleyball team picked up another local addition this week in walk on defensive specialist Brooklyn Summers from nearby Loogootee High School.
Summers comes to the Trailblazers after spending her first year out of high school at VU as a student.
Summers is a five-foot three defensive specialist who helped guide the Lions to a final record of 21-11 in her senior season in 2022, playing in all 32 matches and recording 424 set assists, 234 digs, 48 kills and 35 aces.
Summers graduated from Loogootee as a member of the Lions 1,000 Assists Club, while also leading the team in Assists twice, service points once and finished the season with the highest serve percentage twice.
Summers was also named to the All Blue Chip Conference Team in 2022 and received the team’s Mental Attitude Award in 2022.
Summers brings to the Trailblazers Championship experience as she was a member of the Loogootee State Runner-Up team in 2020 and helped the Lions repeat as Sectional Champions the following year.
Summers also comes in with some previous experience playing with fellow Blazers Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) and Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) who all played for the Metro Volleyball Club.
Brooklyn is the daughter of Travis and Leslie Summers and is a Business Management major.
Summers also comes to the VU Volleyball team with a host of academic accomplishments.
Summers was named to the Indiana High School Volleyball Coaches Association (IHSVCA) Academic All-State team as a senior, graduated high school with an Academic Honors and Technical Honors Diploma.
Summers is also a recipient of the Knights of Columbus Scholarship, Butcher-Gee Scholarship and VU Academic Scholarship.
“I’ve known about Brooklyn for a while,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “A good thing that she brings is that she played on the same Club team as Dylan and Libby. It’s always nice to bring different players together who played at different schools that have played together in a Club setting.”
“From what I’ve heard about Brooklyn she’s a great teammate and a hard worker,” Sien added. “She’s someone that really loves the game and someone like that will always fit in here, as well as being an exceptional student. She’s been at VU already a year as a student, so she’s coming in as a second year student, first year player.”
“Skill wise, she’ll be adding another DS / libero option for us,” Sien said. “I always try every year to get in as many of those players as we can carry. My saying is that you can never have too many defensive specialists. Plus she has some previous experience setting, which is not a bad combination to have. We’ll have a number of players this year who have that ability and experience to run an offense. That plays into the recent rule changes with how you can use your hands and she definitely has that ability to be able to put up a hittable ball.”
“Since I’ve started coaching at this level, even back at Kankakee, I always tried to recruit the local athletes,” Sien said. “I like to stay on top of the scouting reports for the teams that are local, those within about an hour away. Getting the local players and families to be a part of the program really helps build a fan base. Even though you can’t fully fill out a team every year with local athletes, we had a number of local players last year and we saw the parents and families at most every game and many of them traveled to watch us on the road.”
“Recruiting locally and in Indiana has always been a priority for me,” Sien added. “If you build that, the word gets out because then they are going to let people close by know.”
“I know it’s her first year playing collegiately, but it definitely helps when you add on a second year student,” Sien said. “They add to the maturity of the group and possibly bring some leadership to the team. If nothing else, she brings the experience of already being a VU student. She is also bringing in some State Championship experience and that’s something that you can’t buy. That’s going to be something that is going to help both your individual and team success.”
“Brooklyn loves to compete and is a positive team player,” Loogootee Volleyball Coach Shelly Lengacher said. “I am thrilled that she is going to continue playing the sport she loves at Vincennes University.”
The Vincennes University Athletic Department is excited to welcome Brooklyn Summers to the 2024 Trailblazer recruiting class.
INDIANA SMALL COLLEGE WEB SITES
INDIANA WESLEYAN ATHLETICS:https://iwuwildcats.com/
EARLHAM ATHLETICS:https://goearlham.com/
WABASH ATHLETICS:https://sports.wabash.edu/
FRANKLIN ATHLETICS:https://franklingrizzlies.com/
ROSE-HULMAN ATHLETICS:https://athletics.rose-hulman.edu/
ANDERSON ATHLETICS:https://athletics.anderson.edu/landing/index
TRINE ATHLETICS:https://trinethunder.com/landing/index
BETHEL ATHLETICS:https://bupilots.com/
DEPAUW ATHLETICS:https://depauwtigers.com/
HANOVER ATHLETICS:https://athletics.hanover.edu/
MANCHESTER ATHLETICS:https://muspartans.com/
HUNTINGTON ATHLETICS:https://www.huathletics.com/
OAKLAND CITY ATHLETICS:https://gomightyoaks.com/index.aspx
ST. FRANCIS ATHLETICS:https://www.saintfranciscougars.com/landing/index
IU KOKOMO ATHLETICS:https://iukcougars.com/
IU EAST ATHLETICS:https://www.iueredwolves.com/
IU SOUTH BENDATHLETICS:https://iusbtitans.com/
PURDUE NORTHWEST ATHLETICS:https://pnwathletics.com/
INDIANA TECH ATHLETICS:https://indianatechwarriors.com/index.aspx
GRACE COLLEGE ATHLETICS:https://gclancers.com/
ST. MARY OFTHE WOODS ATHLETICS:https://smwcathletics.com/
GOSHEN COLLEGE ATHLETICS:https://goleafs.net/
HOY CROSS ATHLETICS:https://www.hcsaints.com/index.php
TAYLOR ATHLETICS:https://www.taylortrojans.com/
VINCENNES ATHLETICS:https://govutrailblazers.com/landing/index
NUMBERS IN SPORTS
3 – 14 – 25 – 26
June 28, 1907 – In baseball history when one hears the name of Branch Rickey, the thoughts of bravery of a a brilliant baseball executive who inked Jackie Robinso to a deal where he would play int he MLB for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The knowledgibale sports historian might also know that Rickey introduced the batting helmet to baseball, created the framework for the modern minor league farm system, played professional football for the Shelby Blues of the “Ohio League”, and encouraged the Major Leagues to expand to new markets with added team through his involvement in the proposed Continental League. What you might not know is that Branch was an MLB player once. Admittedly not a very good one as he only played from 1905 through 1907. On this day in history Nationals stole a record 13 bases off New York Highlanders catcher Branch Rickey. After some struggles playing such as this outing, Branch Rickey returned to college, where he learned about administration. Returning to MLB in 1913, Rickey embarked on a successful managing and executive career with the St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates.
June 28, 1919 – Boston Red Sox hurler Carl Mays pitched a complete doubleheader against New York Yankees. Mays and the Sox won the first game, 2-0, but suffered a loss in game 2 of the twinbill, 4-1 at the Polo Grounds in the heart of New York City.
June 28, 1935 – Earl Averill wearing the Number 3 on the Cleveland Indians roster consecutive-game streak ended at 673 contests.
June 28, 1959 – Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Wally Post who wore the Number 14, became the only outfielder to throw out 2 runners in a single inning. The defense of Post was not enough as the Phils ended up losing to the Giants 6-0.
June 28, 1987 – Talking about taking one for the team, but this may be a bit over the line! Boston outfielder Don Baylor, Number 25 set an MLB career hit-by-pitch record at 244 when he was nailed by Yank pitcher Rick Rhoden, Number 26 in the Red Sox, 6-2 win over New York Yankees. Rhoden finished his 16 year career in the Majors hit a total of 39 batters with balls he threw. As for Baylor and his record at the time… SBNation.com in a recent article says, ” Baylor will be known as the player who set the all-time record for getting hit by a pitch, later broken by Craig Biggio. If you think that was poor luck or that he liked to break unwritten rules, please disabuse yourself of that notion. Getting hit by a pitch is a skill, and Baylor was better at it than any baseball player who ever played.”
FOOTBALL HISTORY
June 28, 1926 – The Mercedes Benz Company (Sponsor of the New Orleans Dome stadium) forms when DMC and Benz-Cie merge.
38 Named to First Black Hall of Fame
This article was on the occurrence of June 28, 1973 where the Black Sports Hall of Fame formed and inducted 38 great African-American athletes, seven of them coming from the sport of football. NFL the legendary rusher, Jim Brown was one of the first enshrines along with Marion Motley, Fritz Pollard, Dr. Bud Holland, Paul Robeson, Herb McDonald and Roynell Young. Allan Burrow of the Black Sports magazine made the announcement of the entry class along with comedian Bill Cosby. Other athletes of note enshrined were Jackie Robinson, Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Bob Beamon, Wilt Chamberlin, Jesse Owens, Muhammad Ali, and Roberto Clemente.
June 28, 1958 – The Chicago Cardinals re-signed Cornerback Dick “Night Train” Lane to a 1-year deal according to the NFL.com website. It was the second consecutive offseason in a row that the future Hall of Fame player signed a 1-year deal with Chicago. What a great signing it was too as Lane earned his 4th and final Pro Bowl selection with the Cardinals in 1958.
June 28, 2020 – Cam Newton signs a one year contract to play quarterback for the New England Patriots. Newton had not been resigned by the Carolina Panthers in the off-season.
June 28, 2020 – ESPN and NFL Network report that the New England Patriots were penalized one 2021 3rd round draft pick and fined $1.1 million for filming the Cincinnati Bengal’s side line during a December 2019 game after an extensive investigation by the League.
June 28, 2021 – Former Denver Broncos wide receiver Demarius Thomas retires from playing in the NFL according to NFL.com. Demarius was the first receiver taken in the 2010 NFL Draft. Thomas grew into an athletic mismatch and yards after catch demon especially after Peyton Manning joined the Broncos in 2012. Thomas emerged as the Broncos’ No. 1 receiver and would earn five straight Pro Bowl selections as the teams number one receiver. For his career Thomas had 724 receptions for 9,763 yards and 63 TDs. Thomas ranks 53rd all time in receiving yards in NFL history at the time of his retirement.
Hall of Fame Birthdays for June 28
June 28, 1902 – Rochelle, Illinois – Ralph Baker, the Northwestern halfback from 1924 to 1926 arrived into this life. The FootballFoundation.org writes that before the arrival of Ralph “Moon” Baker upon the Evanston, Illinois campus, Northwestern was a perennial Big Ten doormat. Through his efforts and some talented teammates, Northwestern improved to break even status his first season and became Big Ten co-champions during his senior season. Ralph spent his freshman year at Illinois before transferring to Northwestern in 1924. The talent and enthusiasm of Baker not only changed Northwestern’s won-lost record but its nickname as well. Known as the “Purple” or “Fighting Methodists,” Baker inspired a sportswriter to begin calling Northwestern teams the “Wildcats.” Baker kicked two first half field goals to take Northwestern into the locker room leading 6-0 against the legendary “Four Horseman team of Notre Dame. However a furious Notre Dame comeback resulted in a 13-6 Notre Dame victory. In his 1926 senior season Baker earned consensus All-American status. Against Chicago he threw two touchdown passes in the first game ever played at Northwestern’s Dyche Stadium. The National Football Foundation selected Ralph Baker for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. After his playing days Ralph did a bit of coaching when he wasn’t working at his day job in the business world.
June 28, 1911 – Inverness, Alabama – Jimmy Hitchco*ck a great player from Auburn University in 1930 through the 1932 season was born. Jimmy’s brilliant career was placed in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 as he excelled at both quarterback and halfback for Auburn University. The National Football Foundation informs the reader that Hitchco*ck was a triple-threat halfback, as he led the Southern Conference in scoring in 1932 and handled the Tiger punting chores as a matter of fact Jim became Auburn’s first All-American following his brilliant senior season. “The Phantom of Union Springs” compiled an incredible record as a punter, kicking 232 times without having a single punt blocked. During a 1932 game against rival Tulane, Hitchco*ck flashed his ball-carrying brilliance with a 60- yard touchdown return of an intercepted pass, followed quickly by a 63-yard TD run out of his punting formation. Tulane was demoralized and Hitchco*ck was racing toward one of the finest seasons the South had ever witnessed. That same season, after Auburn had defeated coach Wallace Wade’s Duke eleven, Wade commented: “I have never seen a finer all- around back play against one of my teams.” Jimmy also was an excellent baseball player for the Tigers and in fact he was the school’s first student to be nominated as an All-American in both sports. His athletic prowess led him into a 7 year career in professional baseball after college and during the off season, he helped out Auburn by coaching the Tiger backfield players.
June 28, 1937 – Marianna, Arkansas – Charlie Flowers was a Fullback out of the University of Mississippi from 1957 through 1959 that entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997. According to the National Football Foundation’s website, “Flavy” made All-Southeastern Conference twice and Academic All-Conference twice. In 1959 he made All-America and Academic All-America. His rushing totals were 438 yards as a sophom*ore, 546 as a junior, 733 as a senior. That last figure ranked him sixth in the nation in 1959. Mr. Flowers was embroiled in a Pre-draft Era controversy when he secretly signed a contract with the NY Giants but asked them to keep it secret until after he played in the Sugar Bowl so as not to lose his eligibility to do so. However after the Sugar Bowl was over and prior to Wellington Mara of the Giants submitting the contract to the NFL offices, Flowers signed a higher paying contract with the AFL’s San Diego Chargers. The NY Giants hands were tied as they had “unclean hands” in the original deal and could not have the original contract enforced. He played a couple of seasons with the Chargers and then one with the AFL’s New York Titans before calling it a career.
June 28, 1960 – Port Angeles, Washington – John Elway, the legendary Stanford quarterback was born. John Elway is a Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined Quarterback that played for the Denver Broncos. The standout from Stanford University won two Super Bowl Titles and was selected to the Pro Bowl 9 times in his 16 year career. For that pro career he threw for 51,475 yards and 300 TDs while allowing 226 interceptions. His 1998 yard drive against Cleveland in the 1986 NFL Championship game was phenomenal. John won the NFL MVP award in 1987. His 47 fourth quarter comebacks are truly an astounding feat to have been accomplished at football’s highest level as well. The ProFootballHOF.com describes his brilliant career as almost storybook-like in fashion. The veteran quarterback was the starting QB in 5 different Super Bowls, losing the first three but directed his team to a 31-24 victory over the heavily favored Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. It was Denver’s first Super Bowl victory. Elway would go on to lead his team to a second Super Bowl win a year later, capturing game Most Valuable Player honors in the process. Weeks after the title win, as expected the decorated QB retired from playing football. Elway was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in the 2000 class. The Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrined John Elway as part of the Class of 2004. Elway has spent many seasons since hanging up his helmet to assume a front office job with the Broncos.
TODAY IN BASEBALL HISTORY
June 28
1910 — Joe Tinker of the Chicago Cubs became the first major leaguer to steal home twice in the same game, an 11-1 win over Cincinnati.
1919 — Carl Mays of Boston pitched two complete games against the New York Yankees. The Red Sox won the first game 2-0 and lost the nightcap 4-1.
1949 — Joe DiMaggio played his first series of the year after a bone spur operation and hit .455, with four home runs and nine RBIs, as the New York Yankees swept Boston at Fenway Park.
1970 — Pittsburgh swept the Chicago Cubs 3-2 and 4-1 in the Pirates’ final games at Forbes Field.
1984 — Dwight Evans of the Boston Red Sox completed the cycle with a three-run 11th-inning homer to beat the Seattle Mariners 9-6.
1986 — Phil Niekro of the Cleveland Indians and Don Sutton of the California Angels became the first 300-game winners to start against each other in this century. Neither Niekro nor Sutton got a decision as the Angels scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to win 9-3.
1994 — Matt Williams tied Willie Stargell’s 1971 NL record for home runs before July with his 28th in San Francisco’s 7-4 loss to Los Angeles.
2004 — David Bell became the first Philadelphia player in almost nine years to hit for the cycle as the Phillies beat Montreal 14-6.
2007 — Frank Thomas hit his 500th home run to become the 21st major leaguer to reach the career mark. Thomas hit a three-run shot in the first inning, connecting against Minnesota’s Carlos Silva.
2007 — Craig Biggio became the 27th player in major league history to get 3,000 hits in Houston’s 8-5 11-inning victory over Colorado. Biggio singled to center field in the seventh inning for the milestone hit and was thrown out trying to stretch the play into a double.
2008 — Jered Weaver and Jose Arredondo combined to no-hit the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the Angels lost 1-0. It was the fifth game in the majors since 1900 in which the winning team didn’t get a hit, and first since Boston’s Matt Young lost one in 1992.
2009 — Mariano Rivera earned his 500th save, becoming the second reliever to reach the milestone, and the New York Yankees beat the Mets 4-2 for a Subway Series sweep.
2011 — Jason Bay and Carlos Beltran hit grand slams in consecutive innings — after the New York Mets had gone nearly two years without one — of a 14-3 win over Detroit. Bay and Beltran cleared the bases in the fourth and fifth innings off Daniel Schlereth.
2015 — In an astonishing debut, Steven Matz became the only major league pitcher to drive in four runs in his first career game while leading the New York Mets to a 7-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds.
2018 — Freshman Kevin Abel threw a two-hitter for his record fourth win in the College World Series, and Oregon State beat Arkansas 5-0 for the national championship.
2023 — Domingo Germán of the Yankees throws the 24th perfect game in major league history, and the first since 2012, in defeating the Athletics, 11-0. He strikes out nine batters in pitching his gem.
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June 29
1916 — The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds played a nine-inning game with just one baseball.
1923 — Brooklyn’s Jacques Fournier went 6-for-6 with a home run, two doubles and three singles as the Dodgers beat the Philadelphia Phillies 14-5.
1937 — Chicago Cubs first baseman Rip Collins played an entire game without a putout or an assist.
1941 — In a doubleheader against the Washington Senators, New York’s Joe DiMaggio tied and then broke the American League record of hitting safely in 41 consecutive games. DiMaggio doubled in four at-bats in the opener and singled in five at-bats in the nightcap to break the record set by George Sisler of the St. Louis Browns in 1922.
1968 — Detroit’s Jim Northrup hit his third grand slam in a week as the Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 5-2.
1990 — Dave Stewart of the Oakland A’s pitched the first of two no-hitters on this day, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0 at the SkyDome. Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers duplicated Stewart’s feat by throwing a 6-0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was the first time in major league history that two no-hitters were pitched in both leagues on the same day.
2003 — Eric Byrnes hit for the cycle and matched a franchise record with five hits as Oakland beat San Francisco 5-2.
2004 — Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks became the fourth pitcher to record 4,000 strikeouts when he struck out San Diego’s Jeff Cirillo in the eighth inning of the Padres’ 3-2 win.
2007 — Barry Bonds hit his 750th career home run in San Francisco’s 4-3, 10-inning loss to Arizona.
2007 — Aubrey Huff hit for the cycle in Baltimore’s 9-7 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.
2010 — Whit Merrifield’s RBI single with one out in the bottom of the 11th inning gave South Carolina its first baseball national championship with a 2-1 victory over UCLA in the College World Series. The Gameco*cks won the last championship played at Omaha’s Rosenblatt Stadium, the CWS’ home since 1950.
2012 — Aaron Hill hit for the cycle for the second time in 12 days, leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-3 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers. The Arizona Diamondbacks’ second baseman cycled on June 18 against Seattle. Brooklyn’s Babe Herman was the only other major leaguer to hit for two cycles in one season since 1900. He accomplished the feat in 1931.
2014 — Felix Hernandez allowed one hit over eight innings while striking out nine for Seattle, and Robinson Cano backed him with a two-run homer in a 3-0 win over Cleveland. Hernandez allowed just Lonnie Chisenhall’s single in the fifth inning and walked three. Fernando Rodney earned his 23rd save with a perfect ninth inning.
2019 — The first ever major league game to be played in Europe resulted in the Yankees defeating the Red Sox 17-13 in front of 60,000 spectators at London Olympic Stadium.
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June 30
1908 — Cy Young of the Boston Red Sox pitched the third no-hitter of his career at age 41, an 8-0 win over the New York Highlanders.
1948 — Cleveland’s Bob Lemon pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers for the first American League no-hitter at night.
1962 — Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers struck out 13 New York Mets en route to the first of four career no-hitters, a 5-0 victory at Dodger Stadium.
1970 — Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati was dedicated, but Henry Aaron spoiled the show for the crowd of 51,050 with a first-inning homer off Jim McGlothlin to send Atlanta past the Reds 8-2.
1978 — Willie McCovey became the 12th player in major league history to hit 500 home runs. His shot off Atlanta’s Jamie Easterly wasn’t enough, with the Braves beating the visiting San Francisco Giants 10-5 in the second game of a doubleheader.
1986 — 1985 Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson makes his professional baseball debut with the Memphis Chicks of the AA Southern League and goes 1 for 4 with two strikeouts.
1995 — Eddie Murray of the Cleveland Indians became the second switch-hitter and the 20th player in baseball history to reach 3,000 hits when he singled against the Minnesota Twins. Murray joined Pete Rose, the career hits leader with 4,256, as the only switch-hitters to get 3,000.
1997 — Bobby Witt of Texas hit the first home run by an American League pitcher in a regular-season game in almost 25 years, connecting off Ismael Valdes in the Rangers’ 3-2 interleague victory over Los Angeles.
1998 — Sammy Sosa hit his 20th home run in June, extending his major league record for most homers in a month with an eighth-inning shot for the Cubs against Arizona.
2005 — Chad Cordero earned his 15th save in June in the Washington Nationals’ 7-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He tied a major league record set by Lee Smith in 1993 and matched by John Wetteland in 1996.
2006 — Adam Dunn hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off closer Bob Wickman to lead Cincinnati to a 9-8 victory over Cleveland.
2008 — Nick Swisher homered from both sides of the plate, hitting his second grand slam in four games and adding a solo shot to lead the Chicago White Sox past Cleveland, 9-7.
2009 — Nick Markakis hit a two-run double off Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon to complete the biggest comeback in Baltimore Orioles history for an 11-10 win. Baltimore trailed 10-1 before scoring five runs in the seventh inning and five more in the eighth.
2016 — Coastal Carolina capitalized on two errors on the same play for four unearned runs in the sixth inning, and the Chanticleers won their first national championship in any sport with a 4-3 victory over Arizona in Game 3 of the College World Series finals. The Chanticleers became the first school since Minnesota in 1956 to win the title in its first CWS appearance.
2020 — Minor League Baseball officially announces the cancellation of its season as Major League Baseball will keep a “taxi squad” of eligible players that can be added to the roster if needed.
2021 — Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner ties the major league record with his third hit for the cycle in a 15-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
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July 1
1910 — Comiskey Park — then known as White Sox Park — held its first major league game, with the St. Louis Browns beating Chicago 2-0.
1917 — Fred Toney of the Cincinnati Reds pitched complete-game victories in a doubleheader against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Toney threw a three-hitter in each game for 4-1 and 5-1 wins, setting a record for the fewest hits allowed in a doubleheader by a pitcher.
1920 — Walter Johnson of the Washington Senators defeated the Boston Red Sox 1-0 at Fenway Park with the season’s only no-hitter.
1925 — Hack Wilson of the New York Giants hit two home runs in the third inning of a 16-7 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies in the second game of a doubleheader. Wilson also doubled twice during the game.
1941 — Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees singled off Boston’s Jack Wilson in the fourth inning, tying Willie Keeler’s hitting streak of 44 games.
1951 — Bob Feller of the Indians pitched his third career no-hitter, beating the Detroit Tigers 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader at Cleveland.
1990 — Andy Hawkins of the New York Yankees pitched the sixth no-hitter in the majors this season and the third in less than 48 hours, but lost 4-0 to the Chicago White Sox on two outfield errors in the eighth inning.
1997 — Detroit’s Bobby Higginson homered in the first inning against the New York Mets, tying a major league record by homering in four consecutive at-bats over two games. Higginson, who struck out looking in his next at-bat, became the 23rd player since 1900 to accomplish the feat and the fourth Tiger.
2009 — One run was enough for a victory for three National League teams, the first time in 33 years there were three 1-0 games in one league on the same day. The Mets, Dodgers and Reds came away with 1-0 victories. The last time there were three 1-0 games in one league was Sept. 1, 1976, in the NL.
2009 — Hanley Ramirez extended his RBI streak to 10 games in the Florida Marlins’ 5-3 victory over the Washington Nationals. Ramirez hit a two-run double in the third inning to become the first shortstop in NL history with an RBI streak of double-digit games.
2013 — Andy Pettitte passes Whitey Ford for the most strikeouts in New York Yankees history when he records his 1,957th in the Yankees’ 10 – 4 win over the Twins. The win goes to reliever Joba Chamberlain, his first of the year, as he benefits from a three-run outburst off reliever Jared Burton in the 8th. The Yankees then add four runs in the top of the 9th as they end a five-game losing streak.
2014 — The Cleveland Indians executed an unorthodox triple play in the fourth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers that required two video replay reviews to sort out. With runners on first and third, Adrian Gonzalez lifted a fly ball to left fielder Michael Brantley, who threw out Dee Gordon at the plate. Catcher Yan Gomes then fired to second baseman Jason Kipnis for the tag on Yasiel Puig as he slid headfirst. Cleveland manager Terry Francona challenged the original safe call at second and got the play overturned after a replay delay that lasted 1 minute, 29 seconds. Dodgers skipper Don Mattingly then challenged the call at the plate, but that call stood after another wait of 1 minute, 34 seconds. Cleveland went on to a 10-3 win.
2015 — Carlos Carrasco came within one strike of throwing the Cleveland Indians’ first no-hitter since 1981, giving up an RBI single to Joey Butler over leaping second baseman Jason Kipnis’ glove in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
2019 — Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs is found dead in his hotel room a few hour before the team’s scheduled game with the Texas Rangers. Police confirm that no foul play is suspected.
2021 — The results of the vote for starters at the 2021 All-Star Game are announced and youth is well represented as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leads all players for most votes received, and other brash youngsters such as Fernando Tatis Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Rafael Devers, Adam Frazier, Teoscar Hernandez and Jesse Winker join him as first-timers voted in by fans, while Ronald Acuna is a second-timer at 23. It’s veterans like Salvador Perez and Mike Trout – who is injured and likely to miss the game – who stand out in this group.
July 2
1903 — Washington outfielder Ed Delahanty went over a railroad bridge at Niagara Falls and drowned. The exact circ*mstances of his death never were determined.
1909 — The Chicago White Sox stole 12 bases, including home plate three times, in a 15-3 rout of the St. Louis Browns.
1930 — Chicago outfielder Carl Reynolds homered in the first, second and third innings, leading the White Sox to a 15-4 win over the New York Yankees. Reynolds, the second player in history to hit home runs in three consecutive innings, had two inside-the-park homers.
1933 — Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 1-0 in an 18-inning game. He allowed six hits and no walks. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Cardinals were blanked 1-0, with Roy Parmelee outdueling Dizzy Dean.
1933 — Jimmie Foxx of the Philadelphia Athletics set and American League record with 21 total bases in a doubleheader. Foxx hit two solo homers in the opener, a 6-5 win over the St. Louis Browns. In the nightcap, an 11-6 loss, Foxx had two homers, a double and a triple.
1941 — Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees hit a home run to extend his consecutive game hitting streak to 45 games, surpassing Willie Keeler’s record of 44 straight games for the Orioles in 1897.
1963 — Juan Marichal of San Francisco beat Warren Spahn and the Milwaukee Braves 1-0 in 16 innings on Willie Mays’ homer.
1986 — Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox fell short of a record-tying 15th consecutive winning decision when the Toronto Blue Jays scored three runs in the eighth inning for a 4-2 victory.
1995 — Hideo Nomo of the Los Angeles Dodgers became the first Japanese player picked for baseball’s All-Star game. Nomo was the NL’s leader in strikeouts and second in ERA.
2007 — Roger Clemens reached a rare milestone, pitching eight innings of two-hit ball to earn his 350th career win and lead the New York Yankees past Minnesota 5-1. Clemens became the first major leaguer to win 350 games since Hall of Famer Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves accomplished the feat in 1963.
2009 — Houston Astros beat the Padres 7-2, but only after waiting out a 52-minute delay in the top of the ninth inning caused when a swarm of bees took over part of left field at San Diego’s Petco Park.
2013 — Homer Bailey pitched his second no-hitter in 10 months and the first in the majors this season, pitching the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-0 victory over the slumping San Francisco Giants. Bailey beat the Pirates 1-0 in Pittsburgh last Sept. 28.
2014 — Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz became the 36th player in major league history to collect 1,000 extra-base hits with a ground-rule double during a 16-9 lost to the Chicago Cubs.
2016 — Cleveland’s franchise-record 14-game winning streak was snapped by a 9-6 loss to Toronto, with the Blue Jays scoring three runs in the eighth to overcome a cycle by Rajai Davis.
2016 — C.J. Cron went 6 for 6 with two homers and five RBIs, Carlos Perez had five hits and drove in six and the Los Angeles Angels ended a four-game losing streak with 21-2 rout of the Boston Red Sox.
2019 — The New York Yankees record streak of consecutive games with at least one home run comes to an end at 31.
2022 — The Cardinals become the first team to hit four consecutive homers in the 1st inning when Nolan Arenado, Nolan Gorman, Juan Yepez and Dylan Carlson all go deep against Kyle Gibson of the Phillies. Gibson retires the first two batters before giving up a single to Paul Goldschmidt, followed by the homer barrage. Lars Nootbaar then hits a ball that is caught at the warning track to end the inning. It is the 11th time time this has been done in any inning, but the Cards need another homer by Arenado, this one in the 9th, to end up as 7 – 6 winners.
TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY
June 28
1935 — Alf Perry ties a British Open scoring record with a 283 total at Muirfield in Gullane, East Lothian, Scotland. Perry’s finishes five-under for four-stroke win over Alf Padgham.
1939 — Joe Louis stops Tony Galento in the fourth round at Yankee Stadium to retain the world heavyweight title.
1953 — Betsy Rawls wins the U.S. Women’s Open with a six-stroke playoff victory over Jacqueline Pung.
1966 — Ernie Terrell scores a unanimous 15-round decision over Doug Jones in Houston to win the WBA title, which had been stripped from Muhammad Ali.
1971 — Muhammad Ali wins a four-year legal battle to overturn his 1967 conviction for draft evasion in an 8-0 vote by the U.S. Supreme Court.
1992 — Connie Price-Smith, who earlier won the discus, wins the shot put at 62 feet, 6 inches, to become the first woman to win both events at the U.S. Olympic trials since Earlene Brown in 1960.
1992 — U.S. Dream Team beats Cuba in 1st exhibition basketball game, 133-57.
1994 — Oleg Salenko scores a World Cup record five goals as Russia beats Cameroon 6-1.
1994 — NHL Draft: Windsor Spitfires (OHL) defenceman Ed Jovanovski first pick by Florida Panthers.
1995 — NBA draft: Maryland power forward Joe Smith first pick by Golden State Warriors.
1997 — Evander Holyfield, bleeding badly from his right ear after being bitten by Mike Tyson, retains the WBA heavyweight championship in Las Vegas when Tyson is disqualified after the third round.
2000 — NBA Draft: Cincinnati power forward Kenyon Martin first pick by New Jersey Nets.
2005 — NBA Draft: Utah center Andrew Bogut first pick by Milwaukee Bucks.
2006 — NBA Draft: Benetton Treviso (Italy) power forward Andrea Bargnani first pick by Toronto Raptors.
2007 — Frank Thomas hit his 500th home run to become the 21st major leaguer to reach the career mark.
2007 — Craig Biggio becomes the 27th player in major league history to get 3,000 hits in Houston’s 8-5 11-inning victory over Colorado.
2007 — NBA Draft: Ohio State center Greg Oden first pick by Portland Trail Blazers.
2009 — Mariano Rivera earns his 500th save, becoming the second reliever to reach the milestone, and the New York Yankees beat the Mets 4-2 for a Subway Series sweep.
2009 — Nineteen-year-old Joey Logano becomes the youngest winner in the history of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, winning the rain-shortened race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
2012 — Kentucky becomes the first school to go 1-2 in the NBA Draft. New Orleans Hornets select Kentucky forward Anthony Davis with the No. 1 pick. Then Charlotte follows by taking fellow freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The Wildcats join UNLV with six players drafted in the entire draft. UNLV had six players drafted in 1977 — but none in the first round.
2014 — Sebastian K, driven by trainer Ake Svanstedt, trots the fastest mile in harness racing history, finishing in 1:49 in the $100,000 Sun Invitational for older trotters at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Sebastian K, an 8-year-old stallion who raced four times in the U.S. since arriving from Sweden during the winter, breaks the record of 1:49.3 set by Enough Talk in 2008.
2023 — New York Yankees’ pitcher Domingo Germán (30) throws a perfect game in 11-0 win over Oakland A’s at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum; it is his first complete game in 7-year MLB career.
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June 29
1906 — Alex Smith shoots a record 295 to beat brother Willie in the U.S. Open. Alex shoots a 295 at Onwentsia Club Ill.
1933 — Primo Carnera knocks out Jack Sharkey in the sixth round at the Long Island City Bowl to win the world heavyweight title.
1947 — Betty Jameson wins the U.S. Women’s Open by six strokes over amateurs Sally Sessions and Rolly Riley.
1952 — Louise Suggs beats Betty Jameson and Marlene Bauer by seven strokes to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
1956 — Charles Dumas becomes the first high jumper to clear 7 feet, jumping 7 feet, 5-8 inches in the U.S. Olympic trials at Los Angeles.
1957 — Jackie Pung loses the U.S. Women’s Open when she turns in an incorrect scorecard. Betsy Rawls is declared the winner.
1958 — Brazil, led by Pele, beats Sweden 5-2 in Stockholm to become the first team to win the World Cup outside its continent. The 17-year-old, coming off a hat-trick in Brazil’s 5-2 semifinal victory over France, scores twice in the final. Pele’s first and memorable goal comes in the 55th minute to put Brazil ahead 3-1. Pele controls the ball in the penalty area with his thigh, flips it over the head of the defender and smashes it past a helpless Kalle Svensson. Pele seals the win with a headed goal in stoppage time.
1969 — Donna Caponi beats Peggy Wilson by one stroke to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
1984 — Montreal Expos infielder Pete Rose plays in record 3,309th MLB game, surpassing Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox.
1986 — Argentina withstands West Germany’s comeback to win the World Cup, 3-2 in Mexico City’s Aztec stadium. Argentina takes a 2-0 lead on Jorge Valdano’s goal 10 minutes into the second half. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Rudi Voller score goals seven minutes apart to tie the game in the 81st minute. Four minutes later Jorge Burruchaga scores the game-winner after getting a superb pass from Diego Maradona.
1990 — Dave Stewart of the Oakland A’s pitches the first of two no-hitters on this day, beating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-0. Fernando Valenzuela of the Los Angeles Dodgers duplicates Stewart’s feat, throwing a 6-0 no-hitter against the St. Louis Cardinals. It’s the first time in major league history that two no-hitters are pitched in the two leagues on the same day.
1991 — Britain’s Nick Brown scores a big upset at Wimbledon, beating 10th-seeded Goran Ivanisevic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the second round. Brown, at 591 the lowest-ranked player in the men’s championship, posts the biggest upset, based on comparative rankings, since the ATP began compiling world rankings in 1973.
1994 — Martina Navratilova sets a Wimbledon record, playing her 266th career match. Navratilova passes Billie Jean King’s record of 265 when she and Manon Bollegraf beat Ingelisa Driehuis and Maja Muric 6-4, 6-2 in a doubles quarterfinal.
1994 — NBA Draft: Purdue small forward Glenn Robinson first pick by Milwaukee Bucks.
1995 — George Foreman loses IBF boxing title for refusing to re-fight Axel Schulz.
2001 — Russian swimmer Roman Sludnov becomes the first person to swim the 100-meter breaststroke in under a minute, breaking a world record for the second time in two days at the national championships in Moscow. Sludnov finishes in 00:59.97.
2004 — Randy Johnson of the Arizona Diamondbacks becomes the fourth pitcher to record 4,000 strikeouts when he strikes out San Diego’s Jeff Cirillo in the eighth inning of the Padres’ 3-2 win.
2007 — After 16 years in Europe, the NFL shuts down its developmental league.
2008 — Two weeks away from her 20th birthday, Inbee Park becomes the youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Open by closing with a 2-under 71. Her four-shot victory over Helen Alfredsson, who shot 75, is the largest in the Women’s Open since Karrie Webb won by eight shots at Pine Needles in 2001.
2008 — UEFA European Championship Final, Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Vienna, Austria: Fernando Torres scores as Spain beats Germany, 1-0.
2009 — Indoor tennis at Wimbledon. The new retractable roof over Centre Court is closed after rain halts play during a fourth-round match with Amelie Mauresmo leading top-ranked Dinara Safina, 6-4, 1-4.
2012 — The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency files formal charges against Lance Armstrong, accusing the seven-time Tour de France winner of using performance-enhancing drugs throughout the best years of his career.
2014 — Bernard Langer beats Jeff Sluman with a birdie on the 2nd playoff hole to win the Senior Players Championship at Fox Chapel GC.
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June 30
1909 — Jack Johnson fights Tony Ross to a no decision in 6 rounds at Duquesne Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to retain his heavyweight boxing title.
1916 — Amateur Chick Evans Jr. wins the U.S. Open with a record 286 total.
1929 — Bobby Jones beats Al Espinosa by 23 strokes in a 36-hole playoff to win the U.S. Open.
1962 — Murle Lindstrom wins the U.S. Women’s Open by two strokes over Jo Anne Prentice and Ruth Jessen.
1965 — The NFL grants Atlanta a franchise. Rankin Smith Sr., an Executive Vice President of Life Insurance Company of Georgia, pays $8.5 million for the franchise. It’s the highest price paid in league history at the time.
1975 — Muhammad Ali retains world heavyweight boxing crown by beating Englishman Joe Bugner by unanimous points decision in a re-match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
1978 — Willie McCovey becomes the 12th player in major league history to hit 500 home runs.
1991 — Wimbledon breaks 114 years of tradition by playing on the middle Sunday of the tournament, a move forced by a huge backlog of matches caused by rain earlier in the week.
1991 — Meg Mallon sinks a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole to break a tie with Pat Bradley and Ayako Okamoto and win the LPGA Championship.
1993 — NBA Draft: Michigan center Chris Webber first pick by Orlando Magic (traded to Golden State).
1994 — Diego Maradona is kicked out of the World Cup by FIFA for failing a drug test following Argentina’s June 25 victory over Nigeria in Foxboro, Mass.
1994 — Tonya Harding is stripped of her national title and banned for life from the U.S. Figure Skating Association because of her role in an attack on Nancy Kerrigan.
1995 — Eddie Murray of the Cleveland Indians becomes the second switch-hitter and the 20th player in baseball history to reach 3,000 hits when he singles in the sixth inning against the Minnesota Twins. Murray joins Pete Rose, the career hits leader with 4,256.
1996 — UEFA European Championship Final, Wembley Stadium, London, England: Oliver Bierhoff scores his second goal in extra time as Germany beat Czech Republic, 2-1.
1999 — NBA Draft: Duke power forward Elton Brand first pick by Chicago Bulls.
2002 — Ronaldo scores both goals to lead Brazil to a 2-0 victory over Germany for the team’s record fifth World Cup title.
2012 — Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan becomes the first player in a Grand Slam tournament to win every point of a set on her way to beating French Open runner-up Sara Errani 6-0, 6-4 in the third round of Wimbledon.
2013 — Inbee Park wins the U.S. Women’s Open for her third straight major this year. Babe Zaharias is the last player to win three straight majors on the calendar, but that was in 1950 when that’s all there were.
2013 — NHL Draft: Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) center Nathan MacKinnon #1 pick by Colorado Avalanche.
2015 — The United States defeat Germany 2-0 in semifinals at Women’s World Cup. Carli Lloyd converts a penalty kick for Team USA and a 1-0 lead. Substitute Kelley O’Hara scores in the 84th minute off a Lloyd cross to seal the U.S. team’s 2-0 victory.
2016 — Coastal Carolina capitalizes on two errors on the same play for four unearned runs in the sixth inning, and the Chanticleers win their first national championship in any sport with a 4-3 victory over Arizona in Game 3 of the College World Series finals. The Chanticleers are the first program since Minnesota in 1956 to win the title in its first CWS appearance.
2018 — FIFA World Cup: Kylian Mbappé (19) becomes only 2nd teenager (Pelé 1st 1958) to score twice in a World Cup match as France eliminate Argentina 4-3 in Kazan.
2020 — FC Barcelona’ Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi scores his 700th career goal in a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid.
2021 — Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner ties the major league record with his third hit for the cycle in a 15-6 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays.
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July 1
1859 — Amherst defeats Williams 73-32 in the first intercollegiate baseball game. The game is played by Massachusetts Rules, a wide-open form of the sport commonly known as roundball and Amherst wins by reaching the pre-established score of 65 runs. Amherst exceeds 65-run limit during a 10-run 26th inning.
1903 — Maurice Garin wins the first stage of the first Tour de France bicycle race. Garin finishes 55 seconds ahead of Emile Pagie. The first stage, from Paris to Lyon, is 467 kilometers long, and takes 17 hours and 45 minutes, riding both day and night. Only 37 riders of 60 are able to complete the day’s race.
1920 — Suzanne Lenglen of France becomes the first player to win three Wimbledon titles in one year, taking the singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
1932 — Helen Moody wins her fifth women’s singles title in six years at Wimbledon, defeating Helen Jacobs 6-3, 6-1.
1938 — Don Budge defeats Henry Austin 6-1, 6-0, 6-3 to win the men’s singles title and sweep the singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon for the second straight year.
1947 — Basketball Association of America (BAA), which later became the National Basketball Association (NBA), holds its inaugural college player draft.
1951 — Bob Feller of the Cleveland Indians pitches his third career no-hitter, beating the Detroit Tigers 2-1.
1951 — Beverly Hanson wins the Eastern Open by three strokes over Babe Zaharias in her first start on the LPGA Tour. Hanson is the only golfer to win a tournament in her first professional start.
1961 — Mickey Wright beats defending champion Betsy Rawls by six strokes to win the U.S. Women’s Open.
1977 — Britain’s Virginia Wade wins the singles title on the 100th anniversary of Wimbledon, defeating Betty Stove 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
1982 — Cal Ripken Jr. makes the first of his record 2,216 consecutive MLB starts at shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles.
1990 — Cathy Johnston completes a wire-to-wire performance, beating Patty Sheehan by two strokes to win the LPGA du Maurier Classic.
1995 — The NBA locks out its players at 12:01 a.m., the first work stoppage in league history.
1997 — Nevada Athletic Commission suspends Mike Tyson indefinitely & withholds $20m purse for biting Evander Holyfield’s ear during their heavyweight title fight 28 June.
2007 — Cristie Kerr wins the U.S. Women’s Open by making only two bogeys over her final 45 holes. Kerr finishes at 5-under 279 for her 10th career victory.
2011 — The NBA locks out its players, a long-expected move putting the 2011-12 season in jeopardy.
2012 — Spain wins its third straight major soccer title, beating Italy 4-0 in the European Championship final in Kiev, Ukraine. The Spanish, who won the Euro 2008 title and World Cup title in 2010, posts the largest score in a Euro final.
2012 — Tiger Woods wins the AT&T National at Congressional in Bethesda, Md. for the 74th win of his career. That moves him past Jack Nicklaus into second place on the tour list, eight short of Sam Snead.
2018 — NBA super star LeBron James agrees to a 4-year $154m deal with the LA Lakers, moving from Cleveland Cavaliers.
2018 — Park Sung-hyun wins the PGA Women’s Championship at Kemper Lakes Golf Course in a playoff with Nasa Hataoka and Ryu So-yeon.
2018 — David Toms wins the Men’ US Senior Open at Broadmoor Golf Course by one stroke ove Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jerry Kelly and Tim Petrovic.
July 2
1921 — The Jack Dempsey-Georges Carpentier heavyweight match at Rickard’s Orchard in Jersey City, N.J., becomes the first million-dollar gate in boxing history. The receipts total $1,789,238 with $50 ringside seats. In front of 80,183, Dempsey knocks out Carpentier at 1:16 of the fourth round.
1927 — Helen Wills becomes the first American to win at Wimbledon since May Sutton in 1907, beating Lili de Alvar 6-2, 6-4 for the title.
1937 — Don Budge beats Gottfried von Cramm, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to win the men’s singles title at Wimbledon. Budge sweeps the championships winning the singles, the men’s doubles title with Gene Mako and the mixed doubles crown with Alice Marble.
1938 — Helen Wills Moody wins her eighth and final singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Helen Jacobs 6-4, 6-0.
1966 — Billie Jean King wins the first of her six singles titles at Wimbledon, beating Maria Bueno of Brazil 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
1967 — Catherine Lacoste of France becomes the first foreigner and first amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship. At age 22, she is also the youngest champion.
1976 — Chris Evert beats Evonne Goolagong, 6-3, 4-6, 8-6, to win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon.
1988 — Steffi Graf ends Martina Navratilova’s six-year reign as Wimbledon champion with a 5-7, 6-2, 6-1 victory. It is the first time in nine finals that Navratilova loses a Wimbledon singles match.
1989 — Jockey Steve Cauthen becomes the first rider in history to sweep the world’s four major derbies after winning the Irish Derby with Old Vic. He had previously won the Kentucky Derby with Affirmed (1978), the Epsom Derby with Slip Anchor (1985) and Reference Point (1987) and the French Derby with Old Vic (1989).
1994 — Colombian defender Andres Escobar, 27, is killed outside a bar in Colombia in retaliation for deflecting a ball into his own goal in a 2-1 loss to the United States in the World Cup.
1995 — Tom Weiskopf withstands a charge by Jack Nicklaus to win the U.S. Senior Open by four strokes.
1995 — LA Dodgers pitcher Hideo Nomo is first Japanese player to be selected for a MLB All Star game when he is named in the NL squad.
1999 — Alexandra Stevenson becomes first qualifier in Wimbledon history to reach the women’s semis. She beats another qualifier, 16-year-old Jelena Dokic, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
2000 — UEFA European Championship Final, Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam, Netherlands: David Trezeguet scores in extra time to give France a 2-1 win over Italy.
2005 — Venus Williams overcomes an early deficit and a championship point to beat top-ranked Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 7-6 (4), 9-7 for her fifth major title and her first in nearly four years.
2010 — The United States beats Japan 7-2 to win its seventh consecutive world softball championship.
2010 — FIFA World Cup: Ghana, only African team remaining in last 8, are beaten 4-2 on penalties by Uruguay; Netherlands upset Brazil 2-1.
2011 — Wladimir Klitschko wins a lopsided unanimous decision over David Haye, adding the WBA title to his heavyweight haul. Klitschko and his older brother, Vitali, hold all three major heavyweight titles. Wladimir already had the IBF title (and minor WBO, IBO belts), while Vitali is the WBC champion.
2016 — Sam Querrey ends Novak Djokovic’s quest for a true Grand Slam in the third round at Wimbledon. In a match interrupted by three rain delays after being suspended in progress because of showers a night earlier, Querrey ousts Djokovic 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (5) at the All England Club.
2017 — Home town underdog Jeff Horn upsets Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines on points in a highly controversial WBO welterweight title fight in Brisbane, Australia.
2018 — A wild brawl breaks out between Australia and the Philippines during the Basketball World Cup qualifying game in Manila. Thirteen players, including four Australians, are ejected for their part in the brawl. The game is won 79-48 by Australia.
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July 3
1920 — Suzanne Lenglen beats Dorothea Chambers a second straight year (6-3, 6-0) to win the women’s singles title at Wimbledon.
1925 — Suzanne Lenglen wins her sixth and final women’s singles title at Wimbledon, easily beating Joan Fry, 6-2, 6-0.
1931 — Max Schmeling knocks out Young Stribling at 2:46 of the 15th round to retain the world heavyweight title in Cleveland.
1951 — Sam Snead wins his third PGA Championship with a 7 and 6 victory over Walter Burkemo at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club.
1966 — Atlanta pitcher Tony Cloninger becomes the first National League player to hit two grand slams in one game. He adds a single for nine RBIs in a 17-3 triumph over San Francisco.
1976 — Bjorn Borg beats Ilie Nastase 6-4, 6-2, 9-7, to win his first men’s singles title at Wimbledon.
1981 — Wimbledon Women’s Tennis: Chris Evert beats Hana Mandlíková 6-2, 6-2 for her third and final Wimbledon singles title.
1982 — Martina Navratilova begins her streak of six straight singles titles at Wimbledon with a 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Chris Evert Lloyd. It’s the third Wimbledon singles title for Navratilova, all against Evert Lloyd.
1983 — Calvin Smith sets the 100-meter world record at Colorado Springs, with a run of 9.93 seconds. He breaks the previous record of 9.95 set by Jim Hines in 1968.
1983 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: American John McEnroe wins 5th career Grand Slam title; outclasses Chris Lewis of New Zealand 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
1994 — FIFA World Cup: In a huge upset Romania eliminates Argentina 3-2 from the round of 16 at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.
2004 — Maria Sharapova, 17, wins her first Grand Slam title and instant celebrity by beating Serena Williams 6-1, 6-4. For the first time since 1999, none of the four major titles is held by a Williams.
2005 — Roger Federer wins his third consecutive Wimbledon title by beating Andy Roddick 6-2, 7-6 (2), 6-4. Federer is the third man since 1936 to win three straight Wimbledon crowns, joining seven-time champion Pete Sampras and five-time winner Bjorn Borg.
2006 — Annika Sorenstam wins the U.S. Women’s Open after 10 years of frustration and wins her 10th major championship. Sorenstam, who shot a 1-under 70 in the 18-hole playoff, beats Pat Hurst by four strokes for the largest margin of victory in a playoff at the major since Kathy Cornelius won by seven shots 50 years ago.
2006 — Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman officially retires from the NHL, finishing with 692 goals and 1,755 points.
2007 — The Alinghi team from Switzerland — a country more often associated with Alpine skiing and winter snowscapes — successfully defends sailing’s coveted America’s Cup, beating Emirates Team New Zealand 5-2.
2010 — Serena Williams wins her fourth Wimbledon title and 13th Grand Slam championship by sweeping Vera Zvonareva in straight sets in the women’s final. Williams, who finishes the tournament without dropping a set, takes 67 minutes to win 6-3, 6-2.
2011 — Novak Djokovic wins his first Wimbledon, beating defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. Djokovic, already guaranteed to take over the No. 1 ranking from the Spaniard on July 4, extends his mastery over Nadal this season with a fifth straight head-to-head victory.
2016 — Serena Williams overwhelms Annika Beck 6-3, 6-0 in just 51 minutes on Centre Court at Wimbledon, advancing to the fourth round with her 300th career Grand Slam match win.
2018 — Feliciano Lopez makes history just by taking to the court at Wimbledon. The 36-year-old Spaniard breaks Roger Federer’s record by appearing in a 66th consecutive Grand Slam singles tournament, continuing a run that started at the 2002 French Open. Lopez beats Federico Delbonis of Argentina 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
2020 — The Major League Baseball All-Star game planned to be hosted by the Los Angeles Dodgers is cancelled due to governmental restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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July 4
1907 — Canadian world heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Burns KOs Bill Squires of Australia in round 1 in Colma, California, his 6th title defense.
1910 — Jack Johnson knocks out Jim Jeffries in the 15th round at Reno, Nev., to retain the world heavyweight title and spoil Jeffries’ comeback.
1914 — The Harvard eight wins the Grand Challenge Cup to become the first American crew to capture the top event at the Henley Royal Regatta.
1919 — Jack Dempsey wins the world heavyweight title at Toledo, Ohio, when Jess Willard fails to answer the bell for the fourth round.
1923 — Jack Dempsey beats Tommy Gibbon in 15 for the heavyweight title. The fight almost bankrupts the town of Shelby, Montana, which borrowed heavily to stage it.
1930 — Helen Wills Moody wins her fourth straight singles title at Wimbledon with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Elizabeth Ryan. Moody would go on to win four more Wimbledon singles titles.
1954 — FIFA World Cup Final, Wankdorf Stadium, Bern, Switzerland: Helmut Rahn scores twice as West Germany beats Hungary, 3-2.
1964 — Maria Bueno of Brazil upsets Margaret Smith of Australia 6-4, 7-9, 6-3 for the women’s title at Wimbledon.
1975 — Billie Jean King beats Evonne Goolagong, 6-0, 6-1 for her sixth and final singles title at Wimbledon.
1980 — Nolan Ryan (Houston Astros) fans Reds’ Cesar Geronimo to become 4th pitcher to 3,000 MLB strikeouts.
1982 — Jimmy Connors beats John McEnroe 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 for the men’s singles championship at Wimbledon. The match lasts 4 hours, 16 minutes.
1987 — Martina Navratilova wins her eighth Wimbledon singles title and sixth straight, beating Steffi Graf 7-5, 6-3.
1994 — FIFA World Cup: A Bebeto strike saves Brazil from embarrassment, beat USA 1-0 at Stanford.
1999 — Pete Sampras overwhelms Andre Agassi in three sets to capture his sixth Wimbledon title and tie Roy Emerson’s record with his 12th Grand Slam championship. Sampras is the first man in the Open era with six Wimbledon titles.
2002 — Venus and Serena Williams win in straight sets to set up their third title match at a major in 10 months — and the first all-sister Wimbledon final since 1884. Top-seeded Venus, the two-time defending champion, overpowers Justine Henin 6-3, 6-2. Second-seeded Serena routs Amelie Mauresmo 6-2, 6-1 in 55 minutes.
2003 — LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant is arrested in Eagle, Colorado for sexual assault, charges eventually dismissed.
2004 — UEFA European Championship Final, Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal: In a huge upset Greece beats host nation Portugal, 1-0.
2004 — Meg Mallon wins the Women’s U.S. Open with a 6-under 65, the lowest final round by a champion in the 59-year history of the tournament. Mallon finishes at 10-under 274 for a two-shot victory over Annika Sorenstam.
2008 — Dara Torres completes her improbable Olympic comeback, making the U.S. team for the fifth time by winning the 100 freestyle at the U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb. The 41-year-old wins in 54.78. A nine-time medalist, she already was the first U.S. swimmer to make four Olympic teams.
2009 — Serena Williams beats her big sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 for her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship. In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena comes out on top for the third time. Later, Venus and Serena win their fourth women’s doubles title at Wimbledon and ninth Grand Slam doubles title as a pair.
2010 — Rafael Nadal beats Tomas Berdych in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, to win his second Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam championship.
2011 — Tyler Farrar becomes the first American to win a July 4 Tour de France stage, dominating a sprint finish in the third leg as teammate Thor Hushovd of Norway kept the yellow jersey.
2014 — Germany becomes the first country to reach the semifinals for a fourth straight World Cup by beating France 1-0 in a quarterfinal match settled by a first-half header from Mats Hummels.
2015 — Copa América Final, Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago: Chile defeats Argentina, 4-1 penalties to win their first title; 0-0 after extra time.
2015 — Super Rugby Final, Westpac Stadium, Wellington: Otago Highlanders beat Wellington Hurricanes 21-14 for their first title.
2022 — Minneosta Twins turn 1st 8-5 triple play in MLB history as centerfielder Byron Buxton makes a catch and third baseman Gio Urshela tags one runner out in the basepath and doubles-off another runner by tagging second base against White Sox in Chicago.
TV SPORTS FRIDAY
| MLB REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Miami at Philadelphia | 6:20pm | Bally Sports Florida NBC Sports Philadelphia MLB.TV Fubo |
| Washington at Tampa Bay | 6:50pm | MASN2 Bally Sports Sun MLB.TV Fubo |
| Texas at Baltimore | 7:05pm | Bally Sports Southwest MASN MLB.TV Fubo |
| NY Yankees at Toronto | 7:07pm | YES Sportsnet MLB.TV Fubo |
| Houston at NY Mets | 7:10pm | SCHN SNY MLB.TV Fubo |
| San Diego at Boston | 7:10pm | San Diego.TV NESN MLB.TV Fubo |
| Colorado at Chi. White Sox | 7:10pm | Rockies.TV NBC Sports Chicago MLB.TV Fubo |
| Pittsburgh at Atlanta | 7:20pm | ATTSN-Pittsburgh Bally Sports Southeast MLB.TV Fubo |
| Chi. Cubs at Milwaukee | 8:10pm | MARQ Bally Sports Wisconsin MLB.TV Fubo |
| Cleveland at Kansas City | 8:10pm | Bally Sports Great Lakes Bally Sports Kansas City MLB.TV Fubo |
| Cincinnati at St. Louis | 8:15pm | Bally Sports Ohio Bally Sports Midwest MLB.TV Fubo |
| Detroit at LA Angels | 9:38pm | Bally Sports Detroit Bally Sports West MLB.TV Fubo |
| Oakland at Arizona | 9:40pm | NBC Sports California YurView MLB.TV Fubo |
| Minnesota at Seattle | 9:40pm | Bally Sports North Root Sports MLB.TV Fubo |
| LA Dodgers at San Francisco | 10:15pm | SNLA NBC Sports Bay Area MLB.TV Fubo |
| NHL | TIME ET | TV |
| NHL Draft Round 1 | 7:00pm | ESPN |
| MOTORSPORTS | TIME ET | TV |
| NASCAR Truck Series at Nashville | 8:00pm | FS1 |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| DP World: Italian Open | 7:00am | GOLF |
| LPGA: Dow Championship | 10:00am | GOLF |
| Champions: US Senior Open | 12:00pm | GOLF |
| PGA: Rocket Mortgage Classic | 3:00pm | GOLF |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| Copa América: Colombia vs Costa Rica | 6:00pm | FS1 UniMas Vix Fubo |
| MLS: New York City vs Orlando City SC | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| NWSL: Kansas City Current vs Houston Dash | 8:00pm | Prime |
| Copa América: Paraguay vs Brazil | 9:00pm | FS1 UniMas Vix Fubo |
| WNBA | TIME ET | TV |
| Atlanta vs Connecticut | 7:30pm | ION |
| Los Angeles vs Phoenix | 10:00pm | ION |
| GYMNASTICS | TIME ET | TV |
| US Olympic Trials | 8:00pm | NBC |
| TRACK & FIELD | TIME ET | TV |
| US Olympic Trials | 8:00pm | USA |
| US Olympic Trials | 10:00pm | NBC |
| TENNIS | TIME ET | TV |
| Eastbourne-ATP/WTA, Mallorca-ATP & Bad Homburg-WTA Semifinals | 6:00am | TENNIS |
TV SPORTS SATURDAY
| MLB REGULAR SEASON | TIME ET | TV |
| Colorado at Chi. White Sox | 2:10pm | Rockies.TV NBC Sports Chicago MLB.TV Fubo |
| Cincinnati at St. Louis | 2:15pm | Bally Sports Ohio Bally Sports Midwest MLB.TV Fubo |
| NY Yankees at Toronto | 3:07pm | YES Sportsnet MLB.TV Fubo |
| Miami at Philadelphia | 4:05pm | Bally Sports Florida NBC Sports Philadelphia MLB.TV Fubo |
| Houston at NY Mets | 4:10pm | SCHN PIX11 MLB.TV Fubo |
| Oakland at Arizona | 4:10pm | NBC Sports California YurView MLB.TV Fubo |
| Chi. Cubs at Milwaukee | 4:10pm | FS1 MARQ Bally Sports Wisconsin MLB.TV Fubo |
| Cleveland at Kansas City | 4:10pm | Bally Sports Great Lakes Bally Sports Kansas City MLB.TV Fubo |
| Washington at Tampa Bay | 4:10pm | MASN2 Bally Sports Sun MLB.TV Fubo |
| San Diego at Boston | 4:10pm | Padres.TV NESN MLB.TV Fubo |
| Pittsburgh at Atlanta | 4:10pm | ATTSN-Pittsburgh Bally Sports Southeast MLB.TV Fubo |
| LA Dodgers at San Francisco | 7:15pm | FOX MLB.TV Fubo |
| Texas at Baltimore | 7:15pm | FOX MLB.TV Fubo |
| Detroit at LA Angels | 10:07pm | Bally Sports Detroit Bally Sports West MLB.TV Fubo |
| Minnesota at Seattle | 10:10pm | Bally Sports North Root Sports MLB.TV Fubo |
| NHL | TIME ET | TV |
| NHL Draft Rounds 2-7 | 7:00pm | NHLN |
| MOTORSPORTS | TIME ET | TV |
| Xfinity Series at Nashville | 5:00pm | USA |
| GOLF | TIME ET | TV |
| DP World: Italian Open | 7:30am | GOLF |
| Champions: US Senior Open | 12:00pm | NBC |
| PGA: Rocket Mortgage Classic | 1:00pm | GOLF |
| Champions: US Senior Open | 1:00pm | GOLF |
| PGA: Rocket Mortgage Classic | 3:00pm | CBS |
| LPGA: Dow Championship | 5:00pm | GOLF |
| SOCCER | TIME ET | TV |
| UEFA Euro Round of 16 | 12:00pm | FS1 VIX Fubo |
| UEFA Euro Round of 16 | 3:00pm | FOX VIX Fubo |
| NWSL: Racing Louisville FC vs Bay FC | 4:00pm | ESPN ESPN+ |
| MLS: Atlanta United vs Toronto FC | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: CF Montréal vs Philadelphia Union | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: New England vs Columbus Crew | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: New York RB vs DC United | 7:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| NWSL: Washington Spirit vs North Carolina Courage | 7:30pm | ION |
| UEFA Copa América: Argentina vs Peru | 8:00pm | FS1 Univision VIX Fubo |
| UEFA Copa América: Canada vs Chile | 8:00pm | FS2 UniMas VIX Fubo |
| MLS: Dallas vs Cincinnati | 8:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Houston Dynamo vs Charlotte | 8:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Nashville SC vs Inter Miami | 8:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Sporting KC vs Austin | 8:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| NWSL: Utah Royals vs Portland Thorns | 10:00pm | ION |
| MLS: Los Angeles FC vs Colorado Rapids | 10:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Portland Timbers vs Minnesota United | 10:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: SJ Earthquakes vs LA Galaxy | 10:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Seattle Sounders FC vs Chicago Fire | 10:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| MLS: Vancouver Whitecaps vs St. Louis City | 10:30pm | MLS Season Pass |
| BOXING | TIME ET | TV |
| WBO Junior Welterweight Title | 10:00pm | ESPN |
| MMA | TIME ET | TV |
| UFC Prelims | 6:00pm | ESPN |
| LACROSSE | TIME ET | TV |
| PLL: California vs. Denver | 6:00pm | ESPN2 |
| WNBA | TIME ET | TV |
| Las Vegas vs Washington | 1:00pm | MNMT SSSEN |
| Dallas vs Seattle | 5:00pm | Prime – Seattle Bally Sports Southwest |
| GYMNASTICS | TIME ET | TV |
| US Olympic Trials | 3:00pm | NBC |
| SWIMMING | TIME ET | TV |
| US Paralympic Trials | 6:00pm | NBC |
| TENNIS | TIME ET | TV |
| Eastbourne-ATP/WTA, Mallorca-ATP & Bad Homburg-WTA Finals | 7:30am | TENNIS |
| FISHING | TIME ET | TV |
| Fireworks Bassmasters Elite | 8:00am | FS1 |
