| | | | | | | Presented By Curex | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Jun 24, 2021 | | π Good morning! It's me again. π¬ Quote du jour: "Feels amazing, to be honest. Going into OT the building smelled like cigarettes, and now it smells like beers." Find out who said it below. Today's word count: 1,810 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⚾️ Knuckleball sighting! |  Note: Position players not included. Data: Baseball Savant; Chart: Axios Visuals Mickey Jannis, a 33-year-old rookie for the Orioles, threw 62 knuckleballs in his MLB debut on Thursday night. Why it matters: They were the first knuckleballs thrown by a big-league pitcher since July 13, 2019, a span of roughly 1 million pitches. The knuckler in all its glory... Source: Giphy The big picture: The knuckleball's peak came in 1970, when seven knuckleballers — including Hall of Famers Phil Niekro and Hoyt Wilhelm — combined for 47 wins and 44 saves. - It was never a popular pitch by any means (fewer than 100 MLB pitchers have used it as their primary pitch), but few expected it to disappear the way that it has.
- During the pitch-tracking era, it's basically been R.A. Dickey and Tim Wakefield (2008–11), Dickey and Steven Wright (2012–17), then just Wright (2018–19), and now just Jannis (2021).
- The former 44th round pick struggled in his Orioles debut, giving up seven earned runs in 3.1 innings pitched. I'll be rooting for him, but he could be back in the minors at any moment.
Hoyt Wilhelm showing his knuckleball grip in 1954. Photo: Mark Rucker/Transcendental Graphics via Getty Images What they're saying: "The knuckleball's unique appearance and properties have earned it a privileged place in baseball lore," The Ringer's Ben Lindbergh writes: We love it largely because it empowers middle-aged, unathletic-looking dads ... and it helps them hold their own against physical specimens with monstrous swings or far loftier radar readings. We root for those knuckleballers because they've snuck through a back door to baseball that we wish would open for us, and these players never become common enough to wear out their welcome. What's next: The bad news for the knuckleball is that it's designed to induce fly balls, which teams avoid like the plague in today's era of launch angles and juiced baseballs. - Plus, the lack of former knuckleballers available to teach the dark art of the knuckler limits its adoption.
- "I've pretty much been on my own the entire time," Jannis told The Ringer. "Just trial and error."
Yes, but: All it takes is one person to preserve a tradition, and new technology — namely high-speed cameras — could revolutionize how pitchers master the skill. The bottom line: The knuckleball is an endangered species — but it's not extinct. |     | | | | | | 2. π¨ Wednesday scoreboard | | Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images ISLANDERS 3, LIGHTNING 2 (OT) — Anthony Beauvillier buried the overtime game-winner to force Game 7 and keep the hopes of a return to Nassau Coliseum alive (this is their last season in the old barn). - Beauvillier: "Feels amazing, to be honest. Going into OT the building smelled like cigarettes, and now it smells like beers."
Photo: Stacy Revere/Getty Images HAWKS 116, BUCKS 113 — Trae Young scored 48 points, Clint Capela converted a go-ahead putback with 29.8 seconds left and the Hawks beat the Bucks in Milwaukee to open the Eastern Conference Finals. - Of note: Atlanta is the first team to win Game 1 on the road in three playoff series since the 1998-99 Knicks.
Photo: Rich Schultz/Getty Images NATIONALS 13, PHILLIES 12 — Washington rallied three times to beat Philadelphia in a slugfest that saw both teams hit a grand slam and a three-run homer (first time in MLB history). - NL West: 1. Mets (38-31), 2. Nationals (35-36), 3. Braves (35-38), 4. Phillies (34-37), 5. Marlins (31-42). Full MLB standings.
More scores: | | | | | | | | 3. ⚽️ Euro 2020: Round of 16 is set |  Data: UEFA; Table: Michelle McGhee/Axios The Euro 2020 knockout stage is set, with England-Germany and Belgium-Portugal headlining a series of high-profile matchups. π Coming up: The Round of 16 begins this weekend. All matches are on ESPN/ABC, with kickoffs at 12pm ET and 3pm each day. - Saturday: Wales vs. Denmark (in Amsterdam); Italy vs. Austria (in London)
- Sunday: Netherlands vs. Czech Republic (in Budapest); Belgium vs. Portugal (in Seville)
- Monday: Croatia vs. Spain (in Copenhagen); France vs. Switzerland (in Bucharest)
- Tuesday: England vs. Germany (in London); Sweden vs. Ukraine (in Glasgow)
π Whoops ... France fans miss match by going to Bucharest, not Budapest (ESPN) | | | | | | | | A message from Curex | | How Curex allergy is expanding access to at-home immunotherapy | | |  | | | | Allergy immunotherapy is the only clinically proven treatment to reduce your allergies by fixing the source, not just the symptoms. The background: This treatment has been used and proven in Europe for decades and Curex is the first to bring at-home immunotherapy to the U.S. Learn more. | | | | | | 4. π―π΅ Tokyo Olympics: The emperor speaks | | Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako in 2019. Photo: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP via Getty Images Japanese Emperor Naruhito is "very worried" that the Tokyo Olympics could cause a rise in COVID-19 infections, Kyodo News reports. - Why it matters: Though the emperor holds no political power, "it is rare for him to speak out on such an important and controversial topic, and his words carry weight," writes WashPost's Simon Denyer.
- "His warning will embarrass the government and the IOC, but [has] almost certainly come too late to cause a change of heart among organizers."
Yoshihide Suga in 2020. Photo: Nicolas Datiche/Getty Images Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga does have political power — but with national elections looming in September, he's at risk of losing it. - 37%: That's the current favorability rating for Suga, "who may fear his political fortunes are now tied too closely to the Games to cancel them," per NYT.
- "For Suga and his government, staging a successful — and safe — Olympics would offer a huge political upside. The downside, of course, is the risk of a public health disaster."
Go deeper: How Japan's modern monarchy works (UPenn) | | | | | | | | 5. ⛳️ Preview: Women's PGA Championship |  | | | Photo: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images | | | | The KPMG Women's PGA Championship begins today in Atlanta, with 156 of the best women's golfers teeing it up in the third major of the year. - The course: Atlanta Athletic Club (Highlands Course), which has hosted five majors: the 1976 U.S. Open, the 1990 U.S. Women's Open, and the 1981, 2001 and 2011 PGA Championships.
- The field: Good luck predicting this weekend's champion. The last 10 LPGA majors have been won by 10 different players, and seven of them had never won before on tour. Players to watch.
- Of note: This is the final event before Olympic rosters are finalized, so women will be jockeying for national team spots all weekend.
What's new: KPMG is introducing a new technology platform this week that will bring advanced analytics to the women's game for the first time. - On the PGA Tour, ShotLink technology produces insights like "strokes gained off the tee" and shot dispersion charts. Players can use those analytics to improve, and it's often incorporated into broadcasts.
- KPMG plans to bring similar analytics to the LPGA Tour, but in a more manual fashion. Caddies will record shots, club selections and other data points, and KPMG will crunch the numbers.
- "It's about closing the gap," says KPMG U.S. CEO Paul Knopp. "This will be used for all subsequent LPGA events and the platform will continue to improve over time."
| | | | | | | | 6. π¬ Tweet du jour: "I did not post that" | | ESPN's Jay Williams sent a wildly inaccurate tweet on Wednesday about the Celtics hiring Ime Udoka as their head coach — and is now claiming he was hacked. The original tweet: "The first head coach of color for the @celtics ... ππΎ ... & even more importantly... he is one talented individual who has paid his dues. ππΎππΎππΎ." - Clearly, this is very wrong, as Udoka is set to become the Celtics' sixth head coach of color.
- In 1966, Bill Russell became the first Black head coach in North American pro sports history when he was a player-coach for Boston, and he won two championships as head coach.
- K.C. Jones won two titles as Celtics coach in the '80s, Tom Sanders was coach in 1978, M.L. Carr was coach 1979–85, and Doc Rivers led the team for nine seasons and won a championship in 2008.
The explanation: The tweet was later deleted, and then Williams said someone had hacked his account and posted it, not him. Easily one of the weirdest — and hardest to believe — "I was hacked!" claims of all time. Tutorial: How to apologize for an inaccurate tweet that goes viral. - Say "my bad"
- Issue correction
- Move on with your life
| | | | | | | | 7. ⚡️ Lightning round | | The Olympiastadion in Berlin. Photo: Jan-Philipp Burmann/City-Press via Getty Images π³️π Pic du jour: German landmarks were lit up with rainbow colors in response to Hungary (Germany's soccer opponent on Wednesday) banning the depiction of homosexuality to those under 18 years of age. π Historic hops: Tennessee freshman Keon Johnson set the NBA combine record with a 48-inch max vertical jump, breaking the previous record by 2.5 inches. He also had a 41.5-inch standing vertical. Insane. π Cricket champs: Underdog New Zealand beat India by eight wickets to claim the inaugural World Test Championship. ⚽️ "Messi & Me": Today is Lionel Messi's 34th birthday. To celebrate, I'll be watching "Messi & Me," a new short film about Matt Eliason, a former college player who scored a bicycle kick goal in an exhibition organized by Messi and was inspired to chase his professional soccer dreams. | | | | | | | | 8. π June 24, 2010: The longest tennis match ever |  | | | John Isner celebrates the historic win. Photo: Suzanne Plunkett-Pool/Getty Images | | | | 11 years ago today, John Isner defeated Nicolas Mahut in their first-round match at Wimbledon, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6 ... 70-68. - Why it matters: At 11 hours and five minutes, it remains by far the longest match in tennis history.
- Of note: At the time, fifth sets at Wimbledon were decided when a player won by two games. Now, they're decided by tiebreaker.
Timeline: Isner, a North Carolina native and UGA grad, was ranked No. 23 in the world, while France's Mahut clocked in at No. 148. - June 22: Match begins at 6:13pm local time and is suspended due to darkness at 9:07pm with the score tied at two sets apiece.
- June 23: Match resumes at 2:05pm. Seven hours and four minutes later, play is suspended due to darkness with the fifth set tied at 59-59.
- June 24: Match resumes at 3:40pm, and Isner finally wins an hour and seven minutes later.
By the numbers: The match featured 980 points, 183 games and 216 aces (113 for Isner, 103 for Mahut), all tennis records, naturally. "This is the greatest advertisement for our sport. ... We often don't get the respect we deserve in tennis for the athletic demands it places on players, but this should push that respect way up." — John McEnroe The aftermath: An exhausted Isner lost his second-round match the next day. Eight years later, his semifinal match against Kevin Anderson lasted six hours and 36 minutes, the third-longest match on record. π₯ Watch: | | | | | | | | 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |  | | | Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images | | | | Pete Alonso, who will defend his HR Derby crown next month, has hit the most home runs in MLB (80) since his debut season in 2019. - Question: Who ranks second with 79?
- Hint: National League.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. π Poll: Who won the trade? |  | | | Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images | | | | On June 21, 2018, the Hawks traded No. 3 pick Luka DonΔiΔ to the Mavericks for No. 5 pick Trae Young and a 2019 first-round pick (which became Cam Reddish). - DonΔiΔ and Young are already superstars, and barring major injuries, this trade will likely be debated for the next two decades.
- In many ways, both teams won. But that's no fun ... let's pick a winner in this constantly evolving debate.
Click to vote: Who won the trade? Thanks for voting. I'll share the results tomorrow. | | | | | | | | A message from Curex | | This revolutionary allergy treatment can help you get back in the game | | |  | | | | Allergies can impact your everyday life, making it hard to do the things you love like outdoor sports. Curex can help. Here's how: The company is expanding access to at-home immunotherapy, a clinically proven treatment that provides long-term relief to your allergies. Learn more | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Bring back the screwball" Baker Trivia answer: Reds infielder Eugenio SuΓ‘rez π Thanks for reading. Don't forget to refer your friends (axios.com/referral) and follow me on Twitter: @thekendallbaker. |  | | The tool and templates you need for more engaging team updates. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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