__DEGRADED__ MLB Network is adding another decorated front-office voice to its Draft Combine coverage. Mike Rizzo will serve as an analyst for the network’s June 23 Draft Combine coverage at Chase Field, according to Sports Business Journal, joining Dan O’Dowd as the second former MLB general manager on the broadcast. Rizzo spent 17 seasons running the Nationals’ baseball operations department, including the 2019 World Series-winning season, before the team let him go last July alongside manager Davey Martinez amid a stalled rebuild. Rizzo, whose scouting departments in Arizona and Washington produced No. 1 overall picks Justin Upton, Stephen Strasburg, and Bryce Harper, has made occasional appearances on MLB Network since his firing, including as a contributor to the network’s annual Top Ten Right Now offseason series. MLB Network became the new home of the Golden Spikes Award presentation this year, adding to its existing role as the exclusive home of the Draft Combine since 2021. The network’s amateur baseball coverage doesn’t stop there, either, with the Andre Dawson Classic and the Desert Invitational both part of its rotation outside the USA Baseball partnership. This year’s Combine runs June 23-26 at Chase Field, with 335 prospects in attendance and a five-hour on-site MLB Network program on June 23 featuring O’Dowd, Greg Amsinger, Jared Carrabis, Harold Reynolds, Xavier Scruggs, Jim Callis, Lance Brozdowski, Mike Lowell, and Dan Plesac. A feature on Georgia Tech standout Vahn Lackey airs tonight on the National Pregame Show ahead of the Combine, with the Draft itself set for July 11-12 in Philadelphia during All-Star Week. Amsinger, who has hosted the network’s draft coverage since 2009, has talked before about what the steady expansion of names and coverage says about the event’s growth, telling AA in 2021 that “it’s symbolic of the growth and the importance of this event.” The post Former Nationals GM Mike Rizzo joins MLB Network’s Draft Combine coverage appeared first on Awful Announcing.
The Guardian World·—__DEGRADED__ Plane on way to pick up Yadier Molina and his family crashed in Dominican Republic, killing pilot and co-pilot A pilot and co-pilot from the United States have died in a fiery plane crash as they attempted an emergency landing in the Dominican Republic, authorities said. Former major league baseball all-star catcher Yadier Molina said on social media that the plane was bound for Texas to pick him up, along with family and friends. Continue reading...
There are many more than 10 trade candidates in Major League Baseball.
What the paid list got this week: A look at why immigrants are making baseball the best sports in the world right now, a zoom talking baseball with me and Joe Posnanski, and six different World Baseba…
One more sleep until (full) opening day! I hope you’re hanging with us in the chat tonight as we watch the Yankees and Giants together! It’s open to all readers, free and paid.
As MLB All-Star Game voting approaches, the Los Angeles Dodgers are evaluating potential representatives for the midsummer classic in Philadelphia. Shohei Ohtani is expected to be an All-Star again, likely as both a hitter and pitcher, though there’s speculation on whether he will secure the fan vote as the starting designated hitter. Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts, both regular All-Stars, are facing challenges this season. Betts has missed significant time due to injury, which diminishes his chances. Freeman's performance has also been underwhelming, with a batting line that raises questions about his All-Star candidacy. Historical comparisons show that other National League first basemen, like Matt Olson and Spencer Horowitz, are currently outperforming him. Max Muncy and Andy Pages are emerging as strong All-Star candidates, showcasing impressive offensive stats and solid defense. Will Smith, a three-time All-Star, faces stiff competition among catchers but remains in the conversation, especially with recent injuries affecting other players. On the pitching front, Ohtani leads the conversation, but pitchers like Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Justin Wrobleski are also making strong cases. Relief pitchers Tanner Scott and Alex Vesia have been effective, though their lack of high save totals may hinder their All-Star chances. The Dodgers have several players vying for All-Star recognition, and the next month and a half will be crucial for their cases.
As the 2026 MLB season approaches its ninth week, several second basemen are making strong cases for All-Star selections. Brice Turang of Milwaukee stands out as the top second baseman, leading the team in stolen bases and OPS, and is on track for a second consecutive NL All-Star nod. Brandon Lowe is thriving in Pittsburgh, contributing significantly to a competitive team while staying healthy. Ozzie Albies of Atlanta is also having a notable season, with his batting average and on-base percentage at career-high levels, solidifying his status as a potential All-Star. JJ Wetherholt is making waves with his power, ranking among the top three in home runs for second basemen while showcasing impressive on-base skills. Nico Hoerner of the Cubs, despite a recent slowdown, remains a key player, leading the team in hits, doubles, and RBIs. Ernie Clement is enjoying a breakout season in Toronto, ranking in the top three for hits among second basemen. Chase Meidroth is making his mark with the White Sox, leading the team in hits during his second season. Ezequiel Duran has stepped up in the absence of Josh Smith, enjoying the best start of his career. Finally, Luis Arraez continues to be a bright spot for San Francisco, leading the team in hits and on-base percentage, despite the team's struggles offensively. As the season progresses, these players are proving their worth and making significant contributions to their teams.
As the 2026 MLB season enters its ninth week, several first basemen are making headlines with impressive performances. Leading the pack is Atlanta's Matt Olson, who tops the team in home runs, RBI, and total bases, showcasing a strong batting average and on-base percentage that exceed his career norms. Following closely is Rice, who is on track for a breakout season after finishing 2025 with 26 home runs; he aims for 35 home runs and 80 RBI this year. Veteran first baseman Vargas is also having a standout season, already achieving a new career high in home runs while maintaining a low strikeout rate. Chicago's Munetaka Murakami continues to be a dual-threat, ranking among the top three in both home runs and strikeouts. Meanwhile, Oakland's Kurtz, despite a high strikeout rate, is proving his worth as a future star with solid on-base skills in his sophomore season. In Philadelphia, a managerial change has revitalized the offense, with Harper playing a crucial role in the team's resurgence. Houston's Walker is building on a strong finish from last season, ranking second on the team in home runs and OPS. Tampa Bay's Aranda, recovering from an injury last year, is leading his team in RBI and making a strong comeback. St. Louis' Burleson is on pace for career highs in both home runs and RBI, while Willson Contreras, now a full-time first baseman, is enjoying a career-best on-base percentage and leading the Red Sox in home runs. As the season progresses, these players are solidifying their cases for All-Star selections and showcasing their talents on the field.
…n favorite infielder announces retirement after 10 years in MLB originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. The New York Yankees have seen p…
Lucas Giolito, a former MLB All-Star, is set to join the San Diego Padres' rotation this weekend. While he may not be the game-changer the team needs, he is considered an upgrade over some of their current options. Giolito had a solid season last year with the Boston Red Sox, posting a 3.41 ERA over 145 innings in 26 starts. However, his previous two seasons were less impressive, with ERAs around 4.90, which may explain the limited interest he received during the offseason. In addition to his fluctuating performance, Giolito's strikeouts per nine innings dropped to 7.51 last season, and his expected ERA suggested he might not be as effective as his surface numbers indicated. He missed all of 2024 due to elbow surgery and faced additional injury issues late last season, which may have affected his performance. Recently, Giolito pitched well in a Double-A game, allowing just one run over six innings, though he struck out only three batters and is still building up his pitch count. The Padres are likely to manage his workload carefully as he transitions back to the major leagues. Despite not living up to his initial prospect expectations, Giolito's addition is viewed as a smart move for the Padres, providing them with valuable depth in their rotation.
Jose Ortiz and Irad Ortiz Jr., prominent jockeys from Puerto Rico, are facing scrutiny over their alleged involvement in illegal cockfighting as they prepare for the Preakness Stakes. Photos surfaced on social media showing the brothers in cockfighting arenas, including one where they appeared to collect money from spectators. This comes after a video from November showed them at a cockfighting club in Puerto Rico. Additionally, MLB pitcher Edwin Diaz, currently with the Los Angeles Dodgers, is linked to cockfighting through social media posts featuring him at events and promoting tournaments. Diaz has openly expressed his long-standing interest in cockfighting, which remains legal in Puerto Rico despite a federal ban enacted in 2019. The maximum penalty for participating in a cockfight is five years in prison, while spectators can face up to one year. The Ortiz brothers did not respond to requests for comment, nor did Diaz, whose involvement has drawn attention given the cultural significance of cockfighting in Puerto Rico. The controversy highlights a broader issue as several athletes from the island are reportedly connected to the practice, which has roots dating back 400 years. Despite the legal ramifications, cockfighting continues to thrive in Puerto Rico, with clubs actively promoting events and even challenging the federal ban. The Ortiz brothers and Diaz's connections to this controversial sport raise questions about the implications for their careers in professional sports.
This week's MLB mailbag discusses the trade value of relief pitchers Josh Hader and Aroldis Chapman, as well as trade considerations for the Mariners and the Rays' shortstop situation. The Astros, struggling this season, are suggested to consider selling players not named Yordan Alvarez, especially with Hader currently on the injured list. Hader, who has 2.5 years left on his contract worth about $46 million, would need to waive his no-trade clause for any potential deal. His recent injury history complicates his trade value, but if he can prove his health before the August deadline, he could still attract interest from big-market teams. Chapman, who has been performing well for the Red Sox, may also be a candidate for an early season trade, although such moves are uncommon. The Red Sox would likely seek significant value in return if they decide to move him. The mailbag also raises questions about which closers might be the best options available at the trade deadline, with Hader being a prominent name due to his past All-Star status and potential impact in the postseason. The discussion highlights the complexities of trading high-salary players, particularly those with no-trade clauses, and emphasizes the importance of health and performance leading up to the trade deadline. Teams like the Yankees and Cubs, who are in contention, could be more inclined to pursue Hader, while smaller market teams may hesitate due to financial constraints. Overall, the trade landscape for relief pitchers is shaping up to be intriguing as the season progresses.
The Oakland Athletics began their home stand with a 6-4 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. This weekend, they face their Bay Area rivals, the San Francisco Giants, in a three-game series. The A's recently promoted outfield prospect Henry Bolte to the Major Leagues, but he did not play in the opener. Manager Mark Kotsay opted for backup catcher Jonah Heim to pinch-hit instead, a decision that did not pay off. With a left-handed pitcher starting tonight, Bolte is expected to make his MLB debut. Bolte is part of a promising group of outfielders in the A's system, along with Colby Thomas. Both players have shown potential as they progressed through the minors, highlighting the A's improved player development, particularly in hitting. However, the team’s pitching development remains a concern. Right-hander Luis Morales has struggled this season after a promising start last year, and top pitching prospects Gage Jump and Jamie Arnold have also faced challenges. Wei En-Lin, however, has stood out, dominating at Double-A and looking ready for a promotion. Looking ahead, the Athletics hold the eighth pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, with some mock drafts suggesting they might target college hitters like Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick or Virginia outfielder AJ Gracia. Given their recent draft history, there’s debate on whether to select a polished hitter or focus on pitching, which continues to be a pressing need. In roster news, the A's made several moves, including recalling Bolte and Stefanic, placing Wilson on the injured list, and designating Nuñez for assignment. Shea Langeliers has emerged as a key player, hitting his 12th home run and positioning himself as a strong candidate for the American League All-Star Game. The A's are also making organizational adjustments, with various prospects moving up in the ranks and a focus on strengthening their overall talent pool.
The National League boasts a strong lineup of first basemen, showcasing a mix of seasoned veterans and promising young talent. At the forefront is Matt Olson, known for his elite power and defensive skills, making him a key player for the Atlanta Braves. His ability to deliver both offensively and defensively sets a high standard for the position. Bryce Harper, now playing first base, continues to be a dominant force for the Philadelphia Phillies. His combination of power, patience, and clutch performance, along with his leadership, keeps him at the top of the game. Despite his lengthy career, Harper maintains the energy and intensity that made him a standout player early on. Freddie Freeman remains a model of consistency and professionalism. His disciplined approach at the plate ensures he remains a reliable offensive contributor for the Los Angeles Dodgers, making him a cornerstone of their championship aspirations. His ability to balance hitting for average and power keeps him among the elite. Rafael Devers has made a successful transition to first base, allowing him to maintain his offensive prowess while alleviating some defensive burdens. His quick bat speed and ability to hit to all fields make him a formidable presence in any lineup when healthy. Lastly, young talent Sal Stewart is emerging as a future star. His advanced hitting skills and developing power have garnered attention, positioning him as a key part of the Cincinnati Reds' future. If his growth continues, Stewart could soon be recognized as one of the league's breakout players.
Max Muncy, the Los Angeles Dodgers' third baseman, is having a standout start to the 2026 season, leading the team with 11 home runs and 17 RBIs while batting .280. His performance has sparked discussions about his potential selection for the All-Star team, with analysts noting that he has been a consistent performer despite the team's recent struggles. Muncy has an OPS of .852 since early May, reinforcing his status as a key player for the Dodgers. After signing an extension following an injury-plagued 2025 season, Muncy has proven the Dodgers made a wise investment. He has previously been selected for the All-Star team twice, in 2019 and 2021, and many believe he is on track to make his third appearance this season. His last All-Star nod came in 2021, but he has remained a formidable force, hitting 31 home runs and achieving a career-high 105 RBIs in 2023. Muncy joined the Dodgers in 2017 after being released by the Oakland Athletics and quickly made an impact. Over his nine-year tenure with the team, he has accumulated impressive career stats, including 220 home runs and 604 RBIs. As the Dodgers' top offensive contributor at the moment, Muncy is poised to secure a spot on the National League All-Star team if he maintains his current performance level.
… only 36 home runs away from doing something that no one in MLB history has ever accomplished originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. Ne…
…y is saying the same thing about the Mets after blockbuster MLB trade over the weekend. originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here. There ha…
The Atlanta Braves are facing injury challenges as they aim to maintain their position as the top team in the National League. Catcher Sean Murphy, who recently returned to the lineup, is set to undergo an X-ray on his hand and fingers after experiencing an issue during a play. The team will provide an update on his condition soon. Murphy, 31, has struggled at the plate this season, hitting just .071 with no home runs or RBIs in 14 at-bats. His performance has been underwhelming, following a disappointing previous season where he batted .199 with 15 home runs. The Braves are hopeful that Murphy can regain his form, as he is considered one of the better catchers in baseball when performing at his best. As the Braves look ahead to the playoffs, the health of key players like Murphy will be crucial for their success. The team is eager to avoid further setbacks as they strive to capitalize on their talent and strong performance this season.
__DEGRADED__ Baseball Banana Ball World Tour Game 2, Autzen Stadium, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR Savannah Bananas vs. Party Animals — ABC/ESPN Unlimited, 4 p.m. Banana Ball Live — ESPN2, 3:30 p.m. CFL Week 4 Ottawa Redblacks at Montréal Alouettes — TSN1/TSN5/RDS/CBS Sports Network, 7 p.m. Dogs 2026 AKC Agility Premier Cup — ESPN, 3 p.m. Drag Racing NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series NHRA Summit Racing Equipment Nationals, Summit Racing Equipment Motorsports Park, Norwalk, OH Announcers: Brian Lohnes/Tony Pedregon//Amanda Busick//Bruno Massel PS All-Star Callout — FS1/Fox One, 11 a.m. Qualifying Show 1 — FS1/Fox One, noon Finals — Fox/Fox One, 5:30 p.m. FIFA World Cup Knockout Stage Round of 32, SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, CA Announcers — Fox/Fox One: Jacqui Oatley/Warren Barton//Katie Shanahan South Africa vs. Canada — Fox/Fox One//Telemundo/Peacock, 3 p.m. Hoy en el Mundial — Telemundo/Peacock, 1 p.m. Vive el Mundial — Telemundo/Peacock, 1:30 p.m. Announcers: Rob Stone/Carli Lloyd/Peter Schmeichel/Clarence Seedorf FIFA World Cup Live — Fox/Fox One, 2 p.m. World Cup Soccer In-Game Live Gameday — SportsGrid, 3 p.m. Announcers: Rob Stone/Clint Dempsey/Carli Lloyd/Peter Schmeichel/Clarence Seedorf FIFA World Cup Postgame — Fox/Fox One, 5 p.m. Todo el Mundial — Telemundo/Peacock, 5 p.m. FIFA World Cup on Fox After Hours with James Corden — Fox, 11 p.m. Formula 1 FIA Formula One World Championship Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria Race — Apple TV (Sky Sports UK), 8:55 a.m. Race — Apple TV (F1 TV), 9 a.m. Pre-Race Coverage — Apple TV (F1 TV), 7:10 a.m. Grand Prix Sunday — Apple TV (Sky Sports UK), 7:30 a.m. Golf PGA Tour Greater Hartford Open, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, CT Final Round Main Feed — ESPN+/PGA Tour Live, 9 a.m. Featured Groups: Min Woo Lee/Cameron Young & Ludvig Åberg/Andrew Novak — ESPN+/PGA Tour Live, 9:15 a.m. PGA Tour Live BetCast — ESPN+/PGA Tour Live, 10:30 a.m. Marquee Group: Tony Finau/Xander Schauffele — ESPN+/PGA Tour Live, 10:45 a.m. Featured Group 1: Chris Gotterup/Collin Morikawa — ESPN+/PGA Tour Live, 1 p.m. Featured Group 2: Brian Harman/Justin Rose — ESPN+/PGA Tour Live, 1 p.m. Featured Hole: 16 — ESPN+/PGA Tour Live, 1 p.m. Announcers: Terry Gannon/Curt Byrum/Jim Furyk//Jim “Bones” MacKay//Smylie Kaufman//Ryan Lavner Main Feed — Golf Channel, 2 p.m. Announcers: Dan Hicks/Terry Gannon/Brad Faxon/Kevin Kisner//Jim “Bones’ MacKay//Smylie Kaufman//John Wood//Kira K. Dixon Main Feed — NBC/Peacock, 4 p.m. Announcers: Anna Jackson/Rich Lerner/Amanda Blumenherst/Brandel Chamblee/Beth Ann Nichols/Mel Reid//Amy Rogers//Ryan Lavner Golf Central Pregame — Golf Channel, 1 p.m. PGA of America Women’s PGA Championship, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, MN Announcers: Cara Banks/Paige Mackenzie/Morgan Pressel/Tom Abbott//Kay Cockerill//Emilia Doran//Mel Reid//Amy Rogers Final Round — NBCSN/Peacock, 9 a.m. Final Round — NBC/Peacock, 1 p.m. PGA Tour Champions Dick’s Open, En-Joie Golf Club, Endicott, NJ Final Round — Golf Channel app/GolfChannel.com, 3 p.m. Final Round — Golf Channel, 4 p.m. Announcers: Anna Jackson/Rich Lerner/Amanda Blumenherst/Brandel Chamblee/Beth Ann Nichols/Mel Reid//Amy Rogers//Ryan Lavner Golf Central — Golf Channel, 7 p.m. Where It Lies: Van Cortlandt Park — ESPN2, 6 p.m. Where it Lies: Rancho Park — ESPN2., 6:30 p.m. MLB American League MLB Sunday Leadoff Announcers: Dave Flemming/Dallas Braden/Mark Gubicza//John Fanta Sacramento Athletics at Anaheim Angels — NBCSN/Peacock, 3:15 p.m. Sunday Night Baseball Announcers: Jason Benetti/Roger Clemens/Will Middlebrooks//Anthony Rizzo New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox — NBC/Peacock, 7:20 p.m. Announcers: Bob Costas/Anthony Rizzo Sunday Night Baseball Pregame — NBC/Peacock, 7 p.m. Houston at Detroit — Space City Home Network/Detroit SportsNet, 1:30 p.m. Seattle at Cleveland — Mariners.TV/CleGuardians.TV, 1:30 p.m. Texas at Toronto — Rangers Sports Network/Sportsnet, 1:30 p.m. Kansas City at Chicago White Sox — Royals.TV/Chicago Sports Network, 2 p.m. National League Cincinnati at Pittsburgh — Reds.TV/SportsNet Pittsburgh, 1:30 p.m. Philadelphia at New York Mets — NBC Sports Philadelphia/SNY, 1:30 p.m. Chicago Cubs at Milwaukee — Marquee Sports Network/Brewers.TV, 2 p.m. Miami at St.
__DEGRADED__ Despite strong viewership in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final, a media rights analyst is casting doubt on the NHL’s ability to achieve significantly higher rights fees in its next media rights deal. The six-game 2026 Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights averaged 5.2 million viewers according to Nielsen, the most-watched SCF since the St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins in 2019 on NBC (5.5 million viewers). Viewership was up 106% from 2025 and up 26% from 2024. With such large increases in viewership, one might think it is a given that media rights partners will pay up for NHL rights. ESPN and TNT Sports signed a 7-year, $4.5 billion deal with the NHL that began with the 2021–22 season. While the current contract is expensive, it pales in comparison to the NBA’s 11-year agreements with ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video, which are worth $76 billion. Notably, ESPN also pays slightly more per year for its recently signed three-year Major League Baseball agreement. In that deal, ESPN pays $500 million per year compared to the NHL’s $400 million. The MLB contract also does not include rights to the postseason or All-Star competitions, which ESPN holds for the NHL. Despite all these signs pointing toward an increase in media rights, William Mao, a senior vice president of global media rights at Octagon, told Sports Business Journal that the NFL going to market at the same time could significantly hurt the NHL’s market. “On the one hand, the substantial rights fee increases secured by other Tier 1 U.S. sports properties, such as the NBA, are encouraging for the NHL’s prospects of achieving a similar outcome, particularly given the league’s strong growth narrative,” Mao said. “However, ongoing market uncertainty and disruption, the continued erosion of the traditional cable television ecosystem, and more constrained spending by media companies raise questions about whether sufficient capital will remain available when the NHL’s current media rights agreements come to term.” “These challenges are compounded by the NFL’s active pursuit of early extensions to its broadcast agreements,” Mao added. “Given the NFL’s outsized influence on our sports media landscape, any movement by the NFL is likely to have significant ripple effects across the industry, potentially forcing even premier properties such as the NHL to reassess their media rights strategies.” A reassessment for the NHL could mean any number of things. A report in February suggested that the NHL could try to go to market earlier to head off competition. The NFL, however, has also already begun its negotiation process. Even with the NHL’s recent growth, the NFL is still far and away the most valuable sports property in the United States. MLB will also go to market at a similar time, which could create even more competition and potentially reduce the value of media rights for both leagues. That could result in expanded interest for less traditional sports bidders. Versant’s USA Sports division has already expressed interest in these kinds of rights. Still, the recent growth of the NHL and the media rights market at large suggests it would be surprising for the league not to see any increase in media rights, even if better timing might have resulted in higher gains. The post Analyst: NHL may struggle to maximize next media rights deal despite ratings surge appeared first on Awful Announcing.
__DEGRADED__ It’s nearly July, and summer streaming is on and popping, baby. Disney+ and Hulu have a massive roster of sports coverage coming to their platform, from all things WNBA to every Wimbledon match and post-match coverage. Plus, there’s a ton of new family-friendly movies and shows coming to the app, from a brand new Descendants special to hours of shark content for the ocean-loving kid in your family. Oh, and that’s to say nothing of the brand new Dancing With the Stars spinoff being hosted by... drumroll please... Robert Irwin. (*Squeal.*) Here’s all the newness coming to Disney+ and Hulu this month. SHARKFEST — July 5 On July 5, you’ll see a whole new batch of shark shows and documentaries hit the streaming platform to kick off SHARKFEST, Disney+ and Hulu’s annual summer event starring everyone’s favorite apex predator. New content will include Hammerhead Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory, World’s Biggest Mako, Attack of the Samurai Sharks, Shark vs. Giant Croc, Shark Island Showdown, Sharks: Reef Rivals, and Great White Gauntlet. Project Runway Season 22 — July 10 In Season 22 of everyone’s favorite fashion competition show, Heidi Klum, Law Roach, and Nina Garcia return as judges, and we’re promised some very interesting cameos (read: Tyra Banks) as 22 designers compete for a career-changing prize package. Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro — July 14 Yes, more Robert Irwin gracing our TV screens! In this DWTS spinoff, Robert Irwin hosts as 12 elite up-and-coming dancers move into one house and compete for one coveted role as the new pro dancer on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars. The first season premieres July 14. Descendants: Wicked Wonderland — July 17 You can’t change the past without changing the present, a lesson the Descendants are about to learn the hard way. After turning the Queen of Hearts nice and saving Cinderella, they’ve accidentally created a new enemy: Maddox Hatter. The squad will have to work together with a new cast of Descendants to stop him and save Wonderland. Lollapalooza Livestream Day 1 — July 30 Disney+ and Hulu are livestreaming all the action at Lollapalooza, so don’t miss your favorite sets! Day 1 headliners are Lorde and John Summit, with other solid acts on the roster like Sombr, 5 Seconds of Summer, and Empire of the Sun. Don’t worry, they’re streaming the other three days as well. - X-Men ‘97 (Season 2) — July 1 - Magicampers (New Episodes) — July 1 - Abandoned — July 1 - Chibiverse (New Episodes) — July 5 - Bluey Compilations — July 8 - Theme Song Takeover Season 6 — July 11 - Rabbit Hole — July 13 - Marvel’s Spidey and his Amazing Friends (New Episodes) — July 14 - The 2026 ESPYS Presented by Capital One — July 15 - Mission: Yozakura Family Season 2 (Dubbed) — July 15 - America’s Funniest Home Videos (Seasons 19-21) — July 17 - They Fight — July 17 - King of the Hill Season 15 Premiere — July 20 - BeddyByes — July 22 - Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston — July 23 - Soy Luna: Let’s Roll Again — July 24 - Locker Diaries: Descendants: Shorts — July 25 - Furious — July 27 - Disney Jr. Play Break: Shorts Season 1 — July 30 - FX’s Adults — July 31 - Wimbledon Second Round — July 1 - Women’s College World Series Championship Game 1 — July 1 - PGA TOUR: John Deere Classic Day 1 — July 2 - Wimbledon Second Round — July 2 - PGA TOUR: John Deere Classic Day 2 — July 3 - Wimbledon Third Round — July 3 - PGA TOUR: John Deere Classic Day 3 — July 4 - Wimbledon Third Round — July 4 - Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – Women’s — July 4 - Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest – Men’s — July 4 - ESPN: PGA TOUR: John Deere Classic Day 4 — July 5 - Wimbledon Round of 16 (ESPN, ESPN Deportes) — July 5 - WNBA: Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces — July 5 - Wimbledon Round of 16 No. 1 Court & Outer Courts — July 6 - Wimbledon Round of 16 Centre Court — July 6 - Wimbledon Quarterfinals Centre Court — July 7 - Wimbledon Quarterfinals No. 1 Court — July 7 - WNBA: Dallas Wings vs. New York Liberty — July 7 - Wimbledon Quarterfinals Centre Court — July 8 - Wimbledon Quarterfinals No. 1 Court — July 8 - Wimbledon Ladies’ Semifinals — July 9 - Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Championship — July 9 - Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Semifinals — July 10 - Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Doubles Championship — July 11 - Wimbledon Ladies’ Championship — July 11 - WNBA: New York Liberty vs. Minnesota Lynx — July 11 - Wimbledon Ladies’ Doubles Championship — July 12 - Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Championship — July 12 - WNBA: Chicago Sky vs. Dallas Wings — July 12 - MLB: New York Mets vs. Philadelphia Phillies — July 16 - WNBA: Los Angeles Sparks vs. Dallas Wings — July 19 - WNBA: Connecticut Sun vs. Phoenix Mercury — July 19 - WNBA All-Star Game — July 25 - WNBA: Indiana Fever vs. Seattle Storm — July 28 Between Wimbledon and the World Cup, there are so many good sporting events to watch this summer.
__DEGRADED__ Subscribe to Scoreboard by clicking here! Read the archive here. Hello, and hopefully you’re having a great Tuesday as we find another big sports week in full swing. Congrats are in order to Oklahoma’s baseball team, who beat favored North Carolina to win the College World Series — Boomer Sooner! — and to the incomparable Lionel Messi, who followed his opening-game World Cup hat trick with a brace against Austria to break the all-time record (men’s or women’s) for career World Cup goals. Much like with Tom Brady a few years ago, we should appreciate the fact that we are watching the GOAT of his sport still operate at the highest level. On the docket today, the World Cup continues with England back in action and Portugal trying to atone for its dismal first game, but we have a summer basketball-takeover of the newsletter with the NBA draft and superstar trades bringing hoops back into the spotlight. The Main Events All listed times are Eastern. 🚨= Elimination game Soccer: World Cup: Portugal (87%) vs. Uzbekistan (5%) - 1 p.m. (FOX/Tele/Peacock) World Cup: England (84%) vs. Ghana (6%) - 4 p.m. (FOX/Tele/Peacock) World Cup: Panama (13%) vs. Croatia (67%) - 7 p.m. (FOX/Tele/Peacock) World Cup: Colombia (65%) vs. DR Congo (14%) - 10 p.m. (FOX/Tele/Peacock) World Cup odds: France 22% to win NBA: 2026 NBA Draft, Round 1 - 8 p.m. (ESPN/ABC) - AJ Dybantsa 87% to go No. 1 MLB: Phillies (60%) at Nationals (40%) - 6:45 p.m. (MLB.tv) Dodgers (62%) at Twins (38%) - 7:40 p.m. (MLB.tv) Braves (51%) at Padres (49%) - 9:40 p.m. (MLB.tv) Championship check-in: Dodgers 29% to win World Series WNBA: Liberty (43%) at Aces (57%) - 10 p.m. (USA Network) Championship check-in: Lynx 27% to win WNBA title Draft Kings As we hinted at above, today is the start of the NBA Draft, one of the most exciting days on the league calendar both for the players being picked, and also the adjacent player movement it always seems to trigger — more on that later. And this year’s draft is more anticipated than most. Instead of a single “can’t-miss” prospect at the top of the rankings, there is actually a consensus trio of potential future stars: AJ Dybantsa from BYU, Darryn Peterson of Kansas, and Cameron Boozer of Duke. Prospect-hounds have been raving about all three for months, and each brings a little something different to the table. Dybantsa is the explosive, shot-creating wing with No. 1-pick superstar upside; Peterson is the polished two-way guard with few holes in his game; and Boozer is the stat-sheet monster whose diverse skills make him one of the most complete frontcourt prospects in years. Here where the prediction market traders think they will go, along with the rest of tonight’s top prospects: Based on the odds, those three aren’t totally guaranteed to go 1-2-3 — which might be surprising, given the three-headed draft hype building for months — but they probably will. (All three are at or above 86% to go Top-3 in this Kalshi market, for instance.) Beyond them, though, this is still a deeper draft than usual. Each of the next handful of likely picks — names like Caleb Wilson, Keaton Wagler, Darius Acuff Jr., Mikel Brown Jr., Aday Mara, Brayden Burries and Kingston Flemings — has their own case for future NBA success, and probably at least one of them will go on to be an All-Star type of player if history is any indication. Of course, that process takes years to play out, and can’t really be properly evaluated on draft night itself — but that won’t stop us from doing the sacred work of wildly overreacting to every pick as they come in tonight. Taking his talents to South Beach Because all NBA blockbusters must happen in the middle of the night — I think Adam Silver formally added that to the league rulebook a few years ago — the big NBA news on Monday night going into Tuesday was not the draft, but rather a superstar on the move: ESPN reported that Giannis Antetokounmpo has been traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat in a six-player megadeal that also included three first-round picks. Is all this superstar hubbub worth it in a league where unheralded teams keep winning? Maybe less than it used to be when LeBron James went to Miami 16 years ago, but Giannis is still a needle-mover — over the past three seasons, he was tied with Kawhi Leonard for the third-largest on-court impact according to my LAKER impact ratings, trailing only MVPs Nikola Jokić and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. What else we’re reading Smart, short reads we liked while building today’s odds. “The Skeptical GM, Part II: Stress Testing My Draft Evaluations” by Rafael Barlowe “Giannis Antetokounmpo and Julius Randle trade grades” by Mike Shearer “Can These Doomed CFB Coaches Turn It Around?” by Split Zone Duo “DraftKings’ World Cup Data Shows A Split Between Bettors And Prediction Traders” by Dustin Gouker “Welcome to the Summer of the Carolina Hurricanes” by Sara Civian Next on deck… Wednesday (6/24) World Cup: Switzerland vs. Canada / Morocco vs.
__DEGRADED__ The 2026 American League pennant race is a lot like a drunk cousin at Thanksgiving. Fun for a while as long as the cranberry sauce stays off the floor, we might even get a good story or two, but… how is this actually going to end? By my calculations, there are five teams that could currently win the American League but only about 2.5 that could win the World Series. Several preseason contenders (looking at you Boston Red Sox) have just had the worst time, and even the ones that aren’t 14.5 games back in their division before July 4 have to figure out pretty quickly if this is a “we can fix this” year or a “we can fix this next year” year (looking at you Houston Astros). Everyone is scrambling so much we should make some eggs. With that said, MLB still needs someone to come out of the AL and lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, so we may as well get to work on cleaning up the cranberry sauce off the hardwood. It’s a Top Five and man, did I struggle to get to five — heck, there are only five teams with a winning record; it’s late-June! Made Up Award: The “I’m only here for the free Mimosas” Award for team that’s just happy they made the list “Hey, wait, we are four games above .500 what is this?” Listen, Guardians, you’re lucky you even made this list. The Texas Rangers are sitting in the wing ready to come on stage and take this award if you don’t hush up and just be happy about this. Cleveland has not gotten nearly enough press for being a complete analytical fraud when teams like the Rays and St. Louis Cardinals distract the masses. Cleveland scores fewer than four runs per game (only the Red Sox and Padres are worse), has a negative run differential despite leading their division. The AL Central has been putting up hilarious season after hilarious season since I was in high school. You may ask why the Chicago White Sox, one of the fun stories of the season and a legit threat to pass Cleveland in this division, did not make the cut over such a lame division leader, but I just don’t know if I can trust the pitching long term. As silly as the Guardians are offensively, their pitching has been solidly better than the White Sox all year, and pitching projects. Cleveland probably isn’t this bad at hitting, and even if they are, they’ve limited scoring to the point where I can reasonably bank of them for the division. That, by default, puts them in the fifth-best spot. God, what a mess. Made Up Award: The Two-outs away from winning the World Series Award for 2026 hangover From the first All-Star voting returns, you’d think that the Blue Jays were on 116-win pace. Imagine my surprise when I learned they not only had a losing record, but probably should be even worse than they are. Coming off the crushing World Series loss, the Blue Jays have had nothing offensively, cratering from over five to just over four runs per game from 2025 to 2026. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is having a notable down year, and it’s no longer too early to worry about. Pitching has been alright, and Dylan Cease looks like he was worth the cash the Jays shelled out to bring him in. But guys we’re four teams in, this is our third AL East team and they aren’t even above .500. That’s the energy we’re bringing to this World Series revenge tour. That is not the energy you want in that situation. Made Up Award: The Metaphysics Award for the team that is not good on paper but is fourth by default I wrote many more words than should be allowed about how MLB’s bunting boom was a Tampa Bay Rays-filled load of nothing, and their offensive cool down has shown just such a situation. They have basically been middle of the road since that piece came out, 14-16 in their last 30 — good enough to still be number three on this list but not good enough for me to take their high-contact approach seriously. The Rays being twelve games over .500 with a run differential of only eight doesn’t just suggest they’re a total mirage, it ruthlessly demands it. I wanted, with every fiber of my spiritual and corporeal being, to put the Toronto Blue Jays above the Rays here just to further cement the anti-bunt agenda, but I simply could not do it. The math would not math. Made Up Award: The “I don’t even know that guy” Award for distancing themselves from the Red Sox and Astros There was a real chance that Boston, Houston and Seattle could make up a true Axis of Meh after all three got off to abysmal starts. Credit to the Mariners, though, for turning things around while their friends continued down the path to the dark side. The Astros are actually not all that far back from the Mariners, but if we’re just talking trend lines? The Mariners are your dark horse AL team. Yes, we have a “dark horse” at number two on the list. I never said this would be a chill experience. The Mariners started out the season essentially unable to hit but with elite pitching.
__DEGRADED__ On June 12, the San Francisco Giants held their annual Pride Night at Oracle Park, a tradition rooted in 1994, when the team became the first in professional sports to hold an HIV/AIDS benefit. Most players wore the rainbow-lettered SF caps without comment, but three pitchers did not. Starter Landen Roupp took the mound against the Chicago Cubs with “Gen 9:12-16” across his cap, a reference to the Bible passage where the rainbow becomes God’s promise to Noah after the Flood. Relievers JT Brubaker and Ryan Walker also donned caps with added verses of their own. A fourth pitcher, Sam Hentges, opted not to wear the rainbow cap entirely and wore the standard black one. Every one of them had that choice. The league had already told players on the Giants and Dodgers that anyone uncomfortable with the Pride cap could wear a regular hat instead, and Hentges did exactly that. Roupp, Brubaker, and Walker chose to write Bible references on a cap meant to welcome LGBTQ fans, reframing the rainbow as a biblical symbol. For that, Major League Baseball gave them a verbal warning about writing on uniforms, with no fine and no suspension. Just 10 years ago, Colin Kaepernick knelt to protest police killings of Black Americans and never played another NFL down. I’m fighting to document stories like this before they get dismissed or erased entirely, and I need your help! With no corporate backing or wealthy sponsors, this work depends entirely on readers like you. If everyone reading this became a paid subscriber, I could investigate these warning signs full-time, but right now less than 5% of my followers are paid subscribers. If you believe in journalism that tracks the canaries leaving our coal mine when others look away, please consider a paid subscription today! The MLB cited its uniform rule, which bars players from writing any message on their gear, and noted it had given an identical warning before for caps reading “Dad” or “Hi Mom.” Officials said the content of the verses had nothing to do with it. The players themselves later told the San Francisco Chronicle they did not feel discriminated against. Powerful people insisted otherwise on their behalf. Vice President JD Vance posted on X that “Trump won we don’t have to do this anymore.” Senator Josh Hawley wrote to Commissioner Rob Manfred accusing baseball of targeting Christians and threatening the sport’s antitrust exemption. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon asked the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to examine religious discrimination, the Department of Justice opened an investigation, and Florida’s attorney general launched a probe. In 2025, Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw wrote a Bible verse on his Pride cap, but the league said nothing. Officials applied the rule only once the episode became a national controversy, and the pitchers lost nothing. In 2016, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat during the national anthem to protest police killings of Black Americans. A former Green Beret, Nate Boyer, told him kneeling would be seen as respectful, and Kaepernick agreed, kneeling before games for the rest of the season. He did not write over anyone’s symbol or tell any groups of fans they were unwelcome; he asked the country to stop killing people who looked like him. He left the 49ers after that season, and no team has signed him since. The First Amendment restrains the government, not private employers like the NFL, so it protected neither Kaepernick then nor the Giants pitchers a decade later. Each expressed a belief that his league would rather he kept to himself. Kaepernick’s protest defended people with little power, while the pitchers refused a group of fans a single night of welcome. Yet only Kaepernick lost his livelihood. Kaepernick joined a long line of athletes who lost something real for siding with the powerless. In 1967, Muhammad Ali refused induction into the Army during the Vietnam War, citing his Muslim faith. Boxing authorities stripped his heavyweight title and barred him from the ring. An all-white jury convicted him and sentenced him to five years in prison. He lost years of his prime before the Supreme Court reversed the conviction in 1971. A year after Ali’s refusal, sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists on the medal podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics to protest the treatment of Black Americans. Avery Brundage, the head of the International Olympic Committee, had them suspended and thrown out of the Olympic Village. They went home to boos and death threats. In 1969, fourteen Black football players at the University of Wyoming asked their coach about wearing armbands before a game against Brigham Young to protest the Mormon church’s racial doctrines. Coach Lloyd Eaton cut all fourteen on the spot, and the university did not apologize until 2019.
__DEGRADED__ Welcome. Today, the US repeats a diplomatic mistake in Ukraine. We consider Ebola in Kenya, politics in Britain and France, and we welcome the World Cup to North America. Common Sense and Whiskey goes deeper than the headlines on a few stories a week, in a presentation that busy people can absorb quickly. It’s a short, sharp look at the world out there. If you’re reading this as an email, have a look at the online version at CommonSenseandWhiskey.com, where all CS&W content is available, and if you like what you see, please subscribe. Talk to me in the comments section or directly, at BillMurrayWriter (at) gmail.com. Let me know what you think. ••••• WELCOME TO THE WORLD CUP: The 2026 World Cup is underway, hosted here in North America this time. Locally, Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz stadium hosts five group stage matches and three more in the knockout round. In Atlanta like elsewhere in the United States, the anticipated tourism cash bonanza never materialized. In fact, hotel bookings are down a remarkable 83,000 rooms for the tournament period, compared to last year when the MLB All-Star Game was in town and Beyoncé played four concert dates. I think it’s more fun when Europe plays host, as it has for four of the last twelve World Cups. Europe is a ready-made, tourist-friendly continent-sized museum that all the world’s favorite teams and biggest stars call home. The United States is continent-sized, but we’re going through a rough patch on the tourist-friendly thing. FIFA has sailed into authoritarian waters these last eight years, holding the 2018 World Cup in Russia and 2022’s in Qatar. By coming to North America it’s trying to right the ship. But with the United States hosting the most matches (US 78, Canada and Mexico 13 each) politics is inevitable. Signature Trump administration gestures like not issuing visas to a Somali referee or Iranian team staff just come with the turf. Every four years at this time the journalist herd converges around the idea that once the competition begins, politics is cast aside to reveal the only thing that truly matters—the fans’ pure love of the game. The notions of “FIFA” and “pure love” do not overlap in most people’s internal Venn diagrams, unless perhaps in common with “money.” Where the fans fit in, we all hope for the best. • Here’s an unusual possibility, from a worth-your-while Substack called Sports & Geopolitics: “The tournament bracket even opens up the possibility of a direct on-pitch showdown between the United States and Iran. Should both national teams finish as runners-up in their respective groups, they would face each other in the Round of 32. The match would take place on American soil, in Dallas, marking the first time in the World Cup’s nearly century-long history that two nations actively at war face off on the pitch.” ••••• THE UNITED KINGDOM: British Secretary of State for Defence John Healey, a Labour politician previously known as a domestic policy guy, resigned on Thursday, declaring Prime Minister Kier Starmer was “unwilling to commit the resources” necessary to defend Britain. Job one for any leader is protection of his/her borders, so it’s a big deal when any defense minister resigns, all the more when s/he slams you on the way out the door. So that’s gotta hurt if you’re Starmer, but it looks like what Healey says might be true. At around 72,000 troops, the British army right now is at its smallest since the time of Napoleon. Even in the midst of a spectacular drawdown from the European continent, the United States right now has more soldiers in Europe than there are in the entire British army. Later in the day on Thursday, Al Carns, who was Minister for the Armed Forces, also resigned, and two of Healey’s ministerial aides followed the two of them out the Defense Ministry’s doors. It looks like a preview of the next couple of weeks, as the end of the Starmer government quickly comes into view. The Financial Times used what it called a quote from a ‘senior Labour adviser’ to express this sentiment: “This isn’t the beginning of the end, it has gone way beyond that.” The FT added that Starmer’s premiership risks unravelling in “precisely the undignified fashion that his allies want to avoid.” A by-election in the Labour stronghold constituency of Makerfield is next Thursday. Should Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham win it, it will set up a leadership race during which further resignations are likely among Starmer’s team. It’s curious, this Labour Party notion that it’s a good idea to change leaders without a plan for what comes next.
The Conversation US·—__DEGRADED__ Soccer purists have long feared the “Americanization” of the game. But in one key respect, it is already happening: ownership. Americans now own more than 40 European soccer clubs, including current English Premier League champion Arsenal, Italian Serie A champion Inter Milan and storied teams such as Manchester United and Liverpool. Americans are also investing heavily in the lower leagues, taking ownership of two dozen clubs outside the top division, including Birmingham City, whose ownership group includes former NFL star Tom Brady, and Norwich City, purchased by Milwaukee Bucks owner Mark Attanasio in 2022. And while global fans may carp at superficial changes that hint at the growing influence of American culture – halftime shows, cheerleaders and the use of “soccer” over “football – the reality is, it is at the level of ownership where Americans have the biggest capacity to change the game. It is a trend my colleagues and I have been charting for several years. U.S. sports ownership norms and rules differ greatly from the traditional European model: U.S. owners tend to operate like "emperors” who can move franchises from city to city in pursuit of bigger profits; European owners are more inclined to act as “caretakers” and traditionally come from the local business community. They see their teams as passion projects that they’re willing to sink money into. But the global rise of soccer has seen wealthy Americans increasingly take an interest in European teams. It began in earnest in 2005 when American businessman Malcolm Glazer bought Manchester United. The Glazer-leveraged buyout sparked protest from the club’s supporters trust at the time and has grown as the owners sucked out more than 1 billion pounds from the club to pay back debt interest, repayments, dividends and fees. But such opposition, which has only accelerated since 2018 with the entrance of U.S. private equity groups, has done little to put off American owners. Today, there are 11 American ownership groups in the English Premier League – and they are more accustomed to the U.S. way of doing things. Combined, they own six NFL teams, four NBA teams, two MLB franchises and four NHL clubs. Stan Kroenke, the owner of English champion Arsenal, also owns the Los Angeles Rams, the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. Ownership of these franchises has made some very rich men ever more wealthy as the value of top teams grew. But traditional soccer fans are increasingly concerned about this shift toward a profit-driven style of ownership. But there is a potential barrier to these American owners making megabucks: the structure of soccer itself. It represents a battle between U.S. “closed” leagues – that is, with fixed franchises – and a European pyramid structure in which teams can drop down divisions, wiping millions of dollars off their valuation in the process. To understand why U.S. and English leagues have these different models, you need to look back to how professional sports leagues in the two territories were originally designed. Until the late 19th century, sports in England and the U.S. followed similar trajectories, with the baseball teams in America and soccer teams in England playing in organized leagues with predictable schedules. Then, in 1876, baseball’s National League was founded with territorial exclusivity for teams and, by 1891, a constitution that enshrined eight permanent members. New franchises were not absorbed into the National League but instead formed the American League. Underperforming professional baseball teams could not be ejected or relegated to a minor league even if they lost every game. Meanwhile, franchises could relocate to new cities at will. Other U.S. sports adopted baseball’s monopolistic system of fixed teams with all-powerful owners – a system that, by the 21st century, produced regular profits, the world’s highest-valued sports teams and absolute power for owners. In contrast, England’s Football League, which began life in 1888, had a fluid membership – exchanging its weakest teams with the strongest teams from the rival Football Alliance to create a two-tier system. The English pyramid system took shape after another rival league was absorbed in 1894 as the third tier. From the outset there was the possibility of teams moving up – or being promoted – based on their performance on the pitch. Conversely, teams could be demoted if they played badly. This pyramid structure quickly became the norm for soccer around the world and enshrined in FIFA statutes. Promotions and regulations create drama, romance, season-long tension and fan passion that help make soccer the most popular sport in the world. But it also terrifies many American owners. Burnley and West Ham, English clubs with significant American investment, were recently relegated to the second tier of the English pyramid – a move that will likely devastate their budgets and valuations.
The Conversation US·—__DEGRADED__ Sports have been part of America’s big birthday celebrations in Philadelphia dating back to the Centennial Exposition of 1876, which featured an international regatta and helped establish Philadelphia as a global center for rowing. During the bicentennial festivities in 1976, the NHL, NBA and MLB all held their all-star games in Philadelphia, along with the NCAA Men’s Final Four. The city also hosted an exhibition between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Soviet Red Army hockey team, as well as the annual Army-Navy game. For the semiquincentennial events in 2026, which have been branded America 250, Philadelphia is an epicenter of sports again. This kicked off with the PGA Championship in May. Soon, the FIFA World Cup, MLB All-Star Game, golf’s U.S. Amateur Championship and the Philadelphia Cycling Classic, which comes back after a 10-year hiatus, will also descend upon the city. As a researcher who studies and teaches about sports and the economics of fandom, I see the events coming to Philadelphia for America 250 as an opportunity to reflect on the growing financial inaccessibility of sports. If excitement over these events feels reserved, it might be because so many Philadelphians have been priced out of them. Early signs of Philadelphia sports fans opting out of the growing unaffordability of sporting events came during the PGA Championship. The tournament took place at the Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) outside of Philadelphia. Prices to attend ranged from about US$79 for an early-week practice round to $299 for the third and fourth rounds. An all-inclusive ticket cost $1,433. The tournament sold out nearly a year ago, but as the event approached, tickets on the resale market were being sold below face value. This shows both the impact on fan’s direct access to tickets and potential cooling of the resale market and fans. With the first 2026 World Cup match approaching, thousands of tickets to U.S. matches remain unsold. These include group stage – or early tournament – matches featuring the U.S. team. A select number of $60 tickets were made available to national soccer federations for supporters, but the lowest price for tickets available to the general public for a group stage match in Philadelphia is $380. While Philadelphia, unlike other U.S. cities, has not further inflated fans’ expenses by price gouging on public transportation and hotels, the costs are still too high for many if not most sports fans to afford. Ticket prices, combined with a political climate not conducive to attracting international fans, has led to slower than expected sales for U.S. matches. According to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, FIFA has canceled up to 70% of the hotel reservations it had made in Philadelphia and other U.S. host cities. Back in 1976, ticket prices for the all-star games and the Flyers’ exhibition topped out at $15. That’s the equivalent of about $88 today when adjusted for inflation. Some tickets, like for the 1976 MLB All-Star Game, sold for as low as $6, or the equivalent of $35 today. Face-value ticket prices for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game, however, range from $220 to $700 and are currently available only to full-season ticket holders. That’s just to attend the game. Fans who also want to attend the Home Run Derby or other events will have to pay more. Adjusted for inflation, the cheapest MLB All-Star Game ticket today costs more than three times the highest-priced ticket cost 50 years ago. There are a number of reasons ticket prices for live events, including sports, have skyrocketed. The monopolistic practices of venue operator Live Nation, and its subsidiary Ticketmaster have contributed to this increase. In addition to service fees, Live Nation uses dynamic pricing, which raises ticket prices based on demand throughout the sale period. The resale market is another contributing factor. Brokers and individual resellers use multiple accounts and artificial intelligence to snatch up tickets before fans can, and then resell them at a higher cost to make a profit. Sports teams also continue to test the market and push ticket prices higher. And finally, the size and composition of stadiums has changed dramatically in the past half-century in a way that leaves fewer affordable tickets for fans. For example, Veterans Stadium, which opened in 1971 and served as the home for both the Philadelphia Eagles football team and the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team for over 30 years, offered more affordable tickets than the current Philadelphia stadiums. The Eagles moved into Lincoln Financial Field in 2003, and although it has a capacity slightly larger than the Vet, it has fewer seats when the luxury boxes are taken into account.
ArtNews·—__DEGRADED__ The Ultimate Fighting ring had not yet been erected on the White House lawn. The National Mall had not yet been repaved into an IndyCar race track for the Freedom 250. But the entertainment programming of America 250, the semiquincentennial celebration of the birth of a nation, was nevertheless well underway. Banners three stories tall with Donald Trump’s menacing portrait were being stretched accross federal office buildings around the Mall, including the Department of Justice. A similarly glowering headshot of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing polemicist and college dropout who encouraged America’s online youth to harass teachers out of their jobs and who, though shot at a school, technically didn’t die in a school shooting, appeared on the facade of the Department of Education. Though little noted at the time, beginning last New Year’s Eve, A250 announced the semiquincentennial theme of celebrating the great white men who first made America great with a nightly video projection onto the Washington Monument. The computer-animated, 24-minute history of the USA begins with an underwater POV, bobbing above the surface of the ocean as two ships sail away. This could be taken as the view of someone escaping enslavement by jumping overboard during the Middle Passage, until an unseen narrator praises Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the New World. Soon, a bird’s-eye view follows a low-res Paul Revere riding through the streets of Boston like a free-to-play mobile phone app. In this telling, the rest of the United States’ story is about real estate. Freedom having been won from England, the video skips most of a century as it hurdles from the Louisiana Purchase and the California gold rush to the Empire State Building. Lewis and Clark appear in a pan across a painting from the Wikipedia page of their unmentioned Hidatsa guide, Sacagawea—the only woman, the only Indigenous person, the only non-white person in the video. America’s history ends with the World Trade Center (the new one), and a giant animated birthday candle, accompanied by a military band playing John Philip Sousa marches. The video repeated every 30 minutes for a week. Projected on an obelisk, this narrowest of histories prefigured the commemorative distortions to follow. In February, it was reported that the National Park Service will exhibit a decommissioned equestrian monument of a slaveholding signatory of the Declaration of Independence. That statue, of Delaware delegate Caesar Rodney, had been removed from its original site in Wilmington after the anti-racist demonstrations of 2020. It will be installed on Pennsylvania Avenue, in a plaza dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. Behind the retrenchment of official programming is an events company founded by the producers of Trump’s rallies, including the rally-turned-insurrection on January 6. In March of this year, it was revealed that, in 2025, the contractors for the nonpartisan A250 Commission had been fired and replaced by this MAGA team. So far, they have received no-bid federal contracts totaling over $26 million. IN OTHER WORDS: as America marks the literal anniversary of the OG “No Kings” manifesto, the official spectacles now aim to consolidate Donald Trump’s authoritarian rule and advance a white supremacist agenda by whitewashing the country’s history. But it’s a big country, and even amid the racist violence and mayhem, even with legacy institutions wavering, museums can be anchors to the independent national and local commemorations. And they are indeed stepping into the gap to tell America’s fuller, more complicated history of colonialism, displacement, slavery, immigration, liberation, and self-government. But no museum shows are coming to save us. Back in 2017, when the Trump Muslim travel ban was announced, The Museum of Modern Art quickly organized a solidarity show of works by artists from affected countries. In the wake of the 2020 protests of anti-Black police violence, museums put themselves forward as hosts for their communities’ racial reckonings and difficult discourses. But in the current climate of censorship and funding threats, museums have largely pulled back from the political front lines. With rare exceptions, the America 250 exhibitions and programs of US museums reflect plans set around 2024, rather than in response to the urgency or precarity of the moment. For museums in the original 13 colonies especially, this means quietly carrying on with efforts to reconsider and diversify historically white-centered art collections and re-presenting the results as an America 250 glow-up. In Philadelphia, where the Declaration was signed, it means collecting stories of local billionaires that can finally be told.
__DEGRADED__ Moving away from the solipsistic, perhaps we should consider this, when reflecting on the wretched Astros/Rockies/Angels trip that was followed by a lifeforce-draining home series against the Astros. We all wanted to believe, with good reason, that the road trip was a real chance to break out of the .500-toeing doldrums and start to separate from the pack. But shouldn’t we recognize those teams probably couldn’t wait to face this lineup themselves? On to this week’s Hops — which is free today. If you’re not already a subscriber, welcome. Things are about to look different around here. As I tweeted Wednesday night, as another disappointing loss to Houston came to a close, I decided my routine around here needed a change. Sunday Hops will remain in place, but I’m going to back off the pace of my gamers. I’d dropped a “Three Up, Three Down” 39 times in the team’s first 54 games this season (plus five times in spring training), but I’m reading your comments (and your tweets) and it seems clear to me a whole lot of you are widening the lens and would like for me to do the same. Heard. I’m not retiring the gamers, but they’re going to be more sparse. I’m going to devote more writing time to the bigger picture, hoping to start that this week. I’ve got some things I want to write about, including: the active roster, with a proposed blueprint I’m going to throw against the wall the Rangers’ recent trade activity, focusing not just on specifics but also on mentality this year’s trade deadline the upcoming draft and whatever else draws me to the computer — invariably, things will pop up that haven’t even occurred to any of us yet Can’t believe I’m doing this before we even get to June. But I’m listening to you. Serving as the DH, Wyatt Langford kicked off his rehab assignment with Triple-A Round Rock last night, with these results (none of which matter as much as how his forearm is feeling this morning): First inning: pop-out to second base Third inning: walk (scored on a Blaine Crim home run) Fifth inning: walk (scored on a Cody Freeman home run) Seventh inning: strikeout looking There are all kinds of ways to look at that brutal nine-game road trip that preceded the rough four-game home set against Houston, and here’s another that occurred to me. Not only were the Rangers heading out to face the teams with baseball’s three worst records — but you would have to believe they had the rotation set up exactly the way they wanted. Jacob deGrom and Nathan Eovaldi were set to start four of the nine games against the Astros, Rockies, and Angels; in fact, deGrom, Eovaldi, MacKenzie Gore, and Jack Leiter each got two starts, with Kumar Rocker (who has pronounced home/road splits) taking just one. And another: though they went 3-6 on the abysmal trip, they outscored their opponents, 39-33. An 8-0 win in Houston and a 10-0 drubbing in Colorado had lots to do with that, but not one of the six losses was by more than three runs, making the overall win-loss even more excruciating. It wouldn’t have taken much to make that an acceptable road trip — or even better than that. Which makes this as good a place as any to pay our weekly visit to Pythagoras. The MLB average for team runs scored in a game this year is now 4.40. The Rangers are at 3.98 per game. Last year, when the offense was the culprit for a season that ended at 162, Texas scored 4.22 runs per game, which in 2026 would be close to middle of the pack. This year, when the Rangers score even a little less than that league average — specifically, four runs — they have a 22-6 record. When they don’t: 5-25. Texas sits at 27-31. Its Pythagorean win-loss is 30-28. But if the Rangers were scoring runs at the league average — not a dominant offense, but an exactly average one — their Pythagorean record would be 32-26, which would give them the biggest division lead in the AL. And that 32-26 mark would extrapolate to 90-72 — if not better, considering they’ve got a schedule the rest of the way that’s supposedly less challenging than what they’ve been through — even with nothing more than an average offense. As we’ve been saying, this drives home an unbelievably deflating truth: the Rangers, just as in 2025, have some of baseball’s best pitching . . . but what their offense continues to do — that is, not do — is once again threatening to somehow waste all of that. Factoring in strength of schedule, not to mention the relative weakness of the American League, FanGraphs now gives the Rangers healthy 38.1 percent odds to reach the playoffs. Baseball Reference boosts it to 49.2 percent. If the season were to end today, the Rangers would slot 12th in next year’s amateur draft, with a 1.32 percent chance of CooperFlagging the lottery. My semi-annual Top 72 Rangers Prospects series is now complete. In case you want to go back to any of the six installments, here you go: Group 1: No. 1 through No. 12 (plus a complete rundown of the entire list) Group 2: No. 13 through No. 24 Group 3: No.
__DEGRADED__ There is no one in the media more knowledgeable about Major League Baseball than Tim Kurkjian. The longtime ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame writer has followed the sport for decades. He is synonymous with The Worldwide Leader in Sports’ MLB coverage. In recent years, Kurkjian, 69, has decided to do something different. He co-hosts a podcast with his 32-year-old son, Jeff, called Is This A Great Game, or What? We recently caught up with Kurkjian to discuss the podcast, the baseball season, and other topics. Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity. What led you to start a podcast with your son? Tim Kurkjian: “Jeffrey has been asking me for years to do this. We just never found the right time, but this time we decided, ‘All right, we’re going to do this.’ We’re in our third year. The first year, we did one a week. Now we do three, and it has been the highlight of my professional career working with my son. I think it really works because he doesn’t know a whole lot about baseball, and I only know about three things in life, like baseball, basketball, and sitcoms from the 60s. But he knows everything about everything else, music, pop culture, all this stuff, and he’s a magician with technology, so I think we’re a pretty good team. I provide most of the content for the podcast, but mostly it’s just a father-son relationship show.” Your son has a radio career. When did you know he would be good at broadcasting? “I took him to Cooperstown, and while I was at Radio Row, one of the producers from a small New York station asked ten-year-old Jeff Kurkjian if he would like to do a radio spot about what it’s like for a ten-year-old to be in Cooperstown. He did an eight-minute radio spot. The producer came up to me afterward and said, ‘He was great. I can’t believe how good he was at age 10.’ But more importantly, Jeffrey came to me afterward and said this is what he wanted to do, so the light went on for him when he was 10.” Does he not know much about baseball? “He knows more about baseball than most people do. I’m just saying, in relation to me, he doesn’t know that much. So if I tell him a story about Stan Musial, there’s a pretty good chance he’s never heard it before, and that’s why the show actually works. When I tell him something, his reaction is natural because he didn’t know that. If I had another baseball guy on, I would tell him the Stan Musial note, and he would say, ‘Well, I’ve already heard that.’ The response I get from him is what makes it work well, at least to me, and I think I’ve turned him into a little bit more of a baseball fan. He’s even more of a fan now, because he’s looking at box scores for arcane, stupid little things as I do and have for my entire life.” Has there been a learning curve for podcasts? “What the podcast has allowed me to do is take my time to tell a story because we’re not under the gun on Baseball Tonight or SportsCenter to do it in 20 seconds, so that’s what I’ve enjoyed the most. When we get to interview somebody, instead of interviewing them for five minutes like we might do on the set at the World Series or the All-Star Game, we’ve got 45 minutes with them. In doing something like that, you have to gauge how to ask the question properly, when to ask it, what to ask, when to start the interview, and how to finish it. That’s what the podcast has really taught me the most about doing a long-form interview.” Do you have a favorite episode? “Last year, we interviewed Jeff Francoeur, a former Brave. He told this absolutely priceless Bobby Cox story. He said, ‘I was 22 years old, trying to make the team in spring training. Bobby comes up to me and says, I heard you have a chance to play golf with Tiger Woods today.’ Francoeur says, ‘Yes, I’ve been invited, but I’m not going. I’m a baseball player. I’m playing today.’ Bobby says, ‘I’ll make a deal with you. If you go to Bradenton in two days, because none of our guys like to go to Bradenton because the infield is so bad, I will give you today off, but this is what I want you to do. I want you to, after your first at-bat, pretend that you injured your leg or something along the way, then I’ll get you out of the game, and then you can go play golf.’” What happened next? “So, Jeff Francoeur hit a groundout against the Yankees, and when he crossed first base, he started limping. They took him out of the game. He didn’t take a shower, jumped into his golf clothes, got to the first tee just as they were teeing off, and then played 27 holes with Tiger Woods. At 4.30 that afternoon, his wife sent him a text, ‘You’re on the wire.’ You were taken out of the game with a mild ankle sprain, which wasn’t an ankle sprain at all. He faked the whole thing because his manager told him to. A priceless story. I had never heard that before, and Jeff Francoeur had never told it before.” Turning to baseball, what has stood out to you so far this season? “The pitching we see now is absolutely ridiculous.
