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Good morning! Watch your swings today.
Coming up: Old, But New: Tonight, we go back in time The Home Run Derby returns tonight from Philadelphia, where All-Star festivities are happening this week.
It will be a radically different experience than what weve seen in recent memory.
But that doesnt mean its new.
Quick catch-up before we get to opinions: - Instead of outs, hitters will get a limited number of swings per round.
That means no 40-homer rounds anymore, which weve seen twice since 2019.
Hitters will get 20 swings in the first round, then 15 for the second and third rounds.
- That means no timed rounds, either, which did produce some drama since the clock-based format emerged in 2015.
That was also the last time the Derby featured swings instead of outs, and had been so since the Derby was born in 1985.
- Why? The reason is twofold: One, to protect hitters.
So much of the conversation around the modern derby focuses on All-Star sluggers tiring out by swinging 200 times, as hard as possible, in the Derby.
Two, this Derby is on Netflix, which is trying to streamline the experience as much as possible.
Read more on that here.
Im bullish on this, and thats coming from someone whos soured on most All-Star games in the last few years.
The 40-homer rounds almost felt gratuitous, and the Derby dragged longer than it shouldve.
Advertisement An easy-to-follow setup should do wonders for general interest.
And the hitters will be good, too, as Eno Sarris wrote in his full breakdown today.
Its worth a read.
Lets keep moving: News to Know Sinner, again Jannik Sinner came back from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev yesterday to win his second straight Wimbledon title, his fifth Grand Slam championship.
Zverev played nearly perfect tennis throughout the first set and onward, but as he admitted afterward, it would take actual perfect tennis to beat Sinner.
The Italians serve was too mighty at the All England Club.
Ryu wins another major Haeran Ryu won the Amundi Evian Championship yesterday in a playoff, which means shes now won two majors in the span of two weeks.
She was even wearing the same yellow shirt she wore 14 days ago at the KPMG Womens PGA Championship.
After the win, she sounded pretty incredulous at the entire thing, which is quite understandable.
Cease, Sanchez to start ASG Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez will take the mound first in a home All-Star Game tomorrow night, which was an easy call.
Not so easy was Blue Jays manager John Schneiders selection of Dylan Cease, Torontos ace, to start over Yankees star Cam Schlittler.
Both are elite, and objectively the decision is tight.
But Schlittler has since opted out of pitching in the game at all.
Read that full update here.
More news: - FIFA president Gianni Infantino said hes pondering further World Cup expansion to 64 teams for 2030.
We might be flying too close to the sun here.
- Tom Kim is finally a winner again after 1,001 days, emerging victorious at the Scottish Open yesterday.
Hes hot right now.
- Former Suns and Lakers head coach Frank Vogel, who won a ring with L.A.
in 2020, is joining the Warriors coaching staff as associate head coach.
- The Marlins picked Stanford first baseman Rintaro Sasaki in the eighth round of the MLB Draft yesterday.
His path here was ..
unusual.
- Ted Lasso star Cristo Fernandez made his USL debut on Saturday as a late sub for the El Paso Locomotive FC.
Futbol is life, for real.
Expectations: Whats next for the American golden boy? There is one USMNT player I cannot stop thinking about in the days since Americas untimely exit from this World Cup: Christian Pulisic.
The 27-year-old has been groomed for this moment a home World Cup, featuring a good American team for what feels like a decade now.
It ended meekly, with a hobbled Pulisic facing critics, despite his very real injury.
Advertisement Is that fair? The soccer (and marketing) star has been the face of the entire program for most of his adult life.
To fail now deserves some feedback.
But were these expectations unjust in the first place? And more importantly: Where does Pulisic go from here? Its the subject of a fascinating column by James Horncastle from yesterday.
Two quick points I want to highlight: - For all the bluster, Pulisic is not the superstar the outward appearance would have you think.
Thats not completely his fault Pulisic is a prolific and successful player in Serie A, one of the best soccer leagues in the world but to equate him with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Eriling Haaland is folly.
- Maybe that betrays him.
He will be 31 by the time another World Cup rolls around.
Do the next four years free him to be the player he wants to be, free of American World Cup expectations? Or does he regress into a fine player who doesnt make a huge impact? Read James full column here.
Much to think about.
Lets keep moving: Watch Guide MLB: Home Run Derby 8 p.m.
ET on Netflix As we discussed above, it should be an interesting experience tonight.
And its on a streamer.
Fascinating.
WNBA: Mercury at Lynx 9 p.m.
ET on Peacock and NBC Sports Network Phoenix isnt great this year, but Im going to recommend watching Minnesota any chance you get.
Pulse Picks David Aldridge makes an interesting plea to LeBron James: Choose the Timberwolves.
Argentina hasnt had an easy road to the World Cup semifinals.
Lionel Messi doesnt care much.
Who was the biggest NBA name moved this offseason: Giannis Antetokounmpo? Jaylen Brown? Ja Morant? Our writers debated in a roundtable discussion.
The Tigers have been one of MLBs best teams this summer.
It might not be enough to avoid a fire sale.
Have any NHL hot takes? Our fan survey went live this morning.
Make your voice known here.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The recipe for strawberry-lemon loaf cake, a recommendation from Torrey Hart.
Most-read on the website yesterday: World Cup semifinals predictions.