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🚨Heads
🏀 Monty in Detroit: The Pistons fired head coach Monty Williams a year into his record-setting $78.5 million contract.
🇺🇸 US Swimming Review: Regan Smith shattered the world record in the women’s 100-meter backstroke, gold medalists Simone Manuel and Caeleb Dressel returned from lengthy layoffs to qualify for their third Olympics, and Katie Ledecky dominated the 1,500-meter freestyle.
⚾️ TJ for Bradish: Orioles starter Kyle Bradish, who finished fourth in the AL Cy Young rankings last year and had a 2.75 ERA in eight starts this season, underwent Tommy John surgery on Wednesday in a huge blow to the Birds.
🏀 Brink tears ACL: Sparks rookie and No. 2 pick Cameron Brink, who was set to play in the Olympics for Team USA’s 3×3 basketball team, tore her ACL on Tuesday.
⛳️ Charlie wins qualifying match: Tiger Woods’ son Charlie, 15, won a USGA qualifier to earn a spot in next month’s US Junior Amateur.
⚽️Copa America has arrived
The Copa America 2024, a mini World Cup for the Western Hemisphere starts tonight in Atlanta with Argentina versus Canada (8 p.m. ET, FS1).
Extended field: Copa América is a centuries-old competition between the ten national teams of South America. But this year the US, Canada, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica will also participate.
Groups:
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Group A: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Peru
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Group B: Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Venezuela
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Group C: Bolivia, Panama, USA, Uruguay
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Group D: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay
Locations: The matches will be played in fourteen American stadiums, five of which are home to MLS clubs. The finals will be held on July 14 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
To set the stage: Here’s Henry Bushnell from Yahoo Sports…
For almost a quarter of a century, the story of the Copa América was one of two constants: Brazil and the football obsession of an entire continent.
From 1997 to 2019, the South American Championship was played nine times; and nine different countries – eight of CONMEBOL’s ten members, plus an invitee, Mexico – made at least one final. It dates back to 1967 and eight out of ten have won it.
Cadences and formats are varied. Chaos reigned regularly. But for decades, unless Brazil was chasing a title, the tournament would always showcase the breadth of passion and talent of South American football.
Even teams that didn’t qualify for the World Cups could – and did – win the Copa América. Such was the depth of the field and the unpredictability of a sport that can be so volatile when it is so hotly contested.
But here, in 2024, during the 48th Copa América, the story feels different. The superpower Brazil has fallen; and the deep is dried up. The decline of Chile, Paraguay and Peru – not to mention Mexico – has created a top-heavy field that looks more predictable than usual.
Power Rankings:
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Argentina
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Brazil
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Colombia
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Uruguay
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USA
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Ecuador
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Mexico
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Venezuela
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Chili
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Canada
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Jamaica
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Panama
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Paraguay
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Peru
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Bolivia
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Costa Rica
Good reading: How Copa America changed Lionel Messi forever
🏀 Conversations about expanding March Madness are heating up
College basketball this week moved one step closer to an expanded NCAA men’s basketball tournament.
From Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports:
NCAA officials on Wednesday presented Division I conference commissioners with at least two models of an expanded field, one with four more teams and another with eight more teams, commissioners told Yahoo Sports. Officials declined to speak publicly about the models.
The models would expand the field from 68 teams to 72 or 76 teams, with additional large rosters and at least one additional First Four location. Any expansion would not begin until the 2025-2026 season at the earliest. If the men’s tournament expands, the women’s tournament will likely undergo a similar expansion.
Officials plan to maintain the current bracket of 64 teams. Because winners of play-in games need a place in that structure, space must be made. More 10-12 seeds, originally in the 64-team bracket, would have to win play-in games on that Tuesday or Wednesday to advance to the first round on Thursday or Friday.
Read the full story.
🏒 We are witnessing greatness
Connor McDavid (2 goals, 2 assists) led the Oilers past the Panthers 5-3 on Tuesday to keep their season alive and force Game 6 back in Edmonton tomorrow.
Historical achievements: McDavid, who had a goal and three assists in Game 4, is the first player in Stanley Cup Final history with consecutive four-point performances.
Points per game: The Oilers captain now owns the second-highest career points per game in the playoffs, behind only Wayne Gretzky.
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Gretzky (1.84)
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McDavid (1.63)
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Mario Lemieux (1.61)
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Barry Pederson (1.53)
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Leon Draisaitl (1.49)
Season for all ages: McDavid’s 174 points in 2023-2024 (regular season and playoffs combined) are the most since Lemieux had 188 points during the 1995-96 season.
🌎 The world in photos
Omaha Texas A&M defeated Florida and Tennessee defeated Florida State to advance to this weekend’s CWS Finals, which will be an all-SEC affair for the third time in the last four years. The Aggies and Vols are both looking for their first national titles.
Denver— Shohei Ohtani unleashed a 450-foot bomb at Coors Field on Tuesday, the longest home run in the Majors this season.
Dortmund, Germany — Arda Güler, the ‘Turkish Messi’, scored a spectacular goal in Turkey’s 3-1 win over Georgia, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s record as the youngest player to score on his European Championship debut (19 years, 114 days).
Antigua and Barbuda – Team USA fell to South Africa in their Super 8 opener on Wednesday, but the Americans still have two matches remaining to try to advance to the semi-finals of the T20 Cricket World Cup.
📆 June 20, 2004: Griffey joins the 500 HR club
20 years ago today, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 500th home run, becoming the twentieth member of that exclusive club*. He would end his career with 630 long balls, good for seventh on the all-time list.
Like father Like Son: The historic home run was extra special for Griffey, who hit it on Father’s Day with his father, Ken Griffey Sr., in the stands. And as fate would have it, the blast doubled as his 2,143rd career hit, exactly matching his father’s career hit total.
More about this day:
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🏀 1993: The Bulls completed the first of their two three-peats, and the first in the NBA in 27 years.
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⛳️ 1999: Payne Stewart won the US Open at Pinehurst. Four months later he died in a plane crash.
*500 HR Club: Barry Bonds (762), Hank Aaron (755), Babe Ruth (714), Albert Pujols (703), Alex Rodriguez (696), Willie Mays (660), Griffey (630), Jim Thome (612) ) , Sammy Sosa (609), Frank Robinson (586), Mark McGwire (583), Harmon Killebrew (573), Rafael Palmeiro (569), Reggie Jackson (563), Manny Ramirez (555), Mike Schmidt (548), David Ortiz (541), Mickey Mantle (536), Jimmie Foxx (534), Ted Williams (521), Willie McCovey (521), Frank Thomas (521), Ernie Banks (512), Eddie Mathews (512), Mel Ott (511), Miguel Cabrera (511), Gary Sheffield (509), Eddie Murray (504).
📺 Watchlist: MLB at Rickwood Field
The Giants and Cardinals play tonight (7:15 p.m. ET, Fox) at historic Rickwood Field*, the longtime home of the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro Leagues.
A tribute to the Negro Leagues: 60 living Negro Leaguers will attend tonight’s game, which will also serve as a memorial to the late Willie Mays, who began his career with the Black Barons on this field.
More to watch:
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⚽️ Euro: Slovenia vs Serbia (9am, FS1); Denmark vs England (12:00, FS1); Spain vs Italy (3 p.m., Fox)
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⚽️ Copa America: Argentina vs Canada (8 p.m., FS1)
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⛳️ LPGA: Women’s PGA Championship (4 p.m., Peacock; 6 p.m., Golf) … The third major meet of the season begins at Sahalee Country Club in Washington.
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⛳️ PGA: Travelers Championship (8 a.m., ESPN+; 3 p.m., golf) … The final signature event of the season kicks off at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.
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🇺🇸 Swimming/diving: US Olympic Trials (8 p.m., NBC)
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🏀 WNBA: Sparks at Freedom (7 p.m., Prime Minister)
*Sacred Ground: Rickwood is America’s oldest professional ballpark (1910) and 181 Hall of Fame players, managers and umpires over the years. Among them are: Josh Gibson, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle and Ty Cobb.
🏀 NBA trivia
Al Horford was the active record holder for most playoff games without a championship (186) before winning his first on Monday.
Ask: Who is the new active record holder with 166 playoff games without a title?
Tip: He played in the 2012 NBA Finals.
Answer below.
🎾 This is a great ad
Well played, Prime Video. To promote their new Roger Federer documentary (out today!), they have Fed bumping into his younger self on London’s Tower Bridge.
Stream now: “Federer: twelve last days”
Trivia answer: James Harden
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