Axios Sports: Magical Monday

Plus: Schwarber's historic hot streak. | Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Open in app View in browser     Axios Sports By Kendall Baker ·Jun 29, 2021 👋 Good morning! Soccer is good. Today's word count: 1,592 words (6 minutes). Let's sports...     1 big thing: ⚽️ Europe's Magical Monday Photo: Justin Setterfield/AFP via Getty Images   There have only been three Euro knockout stage games in history in which both teams scored three goals. Two happened on Monday. Switzerland 3, France 3 (5-4 PKs): The Swiss stunned the French in a thrilling penalty kick finish. Both teams had a 99.2% win probability when up by two goals, meaning the likelihood of what transpired (neither team winning in 90 minutes) was 0.0064%, per ESPN. Spain 5, Croatia 3: Spain scored twice in extra time to cap an epic match that featured an embarrassing own goal by Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón — the most relieved person in Europe this morning. The big picture: There were moments of brilliance in Copenhagen and Bucharest on Monday, none better than Karim Benzema's perfect touch or Paul Pogba's bending strike. But above all, there was chaos — and it was beautiful. "[Both games] swung back and forth in the type of raucous, tense atmospheres we have missed for so long — and added to the feeling that Euro 2020 ... is shaping into the tournament that Europe desperately needed after such a bleak year." — Oliver Kay, The Athletic (subscription) Looking ahead: Three of the four quarterfinal matchups are now set, with the final pairing to be determined today. Friday: Switzerland vs. Spain (12pm ET); Belgium vs. Italy (3pm) Saturday: Czech Republic vs. Denmark (12pm); England/Germany vs. Sweden/Ukraine (3pm) 📆 Today's slate: England vs. Germany (12pm); Sweden vs. Ukraine (3pm)     2. 🔥 Kyle Schwarber's historic hot streak Source: Giphy With two more dingers on Monday, Nationals slugger Kyle Schwarber has now hit 15 HR in 17 games. We've (almost) never seen anything like it. Why it matters: Barry Bonds (2001) and Sammy Sosa (1998) are the only other players in MLB history with 15 HR in a 17-game stretch. Schwarber's 15 bombs are also the most ever in a calendar month by a lead-off hitter — a spot he moved into on June 12. "Honestly, I've never seen anything like it before," said Nationals manager Dave Martinez. The big picture: Schwarber is up to 24 HR on the season, the fourth-most in baseball. Talk about a fun cast of characters... Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 26 Shohei Ohtani, 26 Fernando Tatís Jr., 25 Kyle Schwarber, 24 Ronald Acuña Jr., 21 🎥 Watch: All 15 HRs in one frame (Twitter)     3. 🚨 Monday's scoreboard Photo: Mike Carlson/Getty Images LIGHTNING 5, CANADIENS 1 — Tampa Bay got off to a dominant start in the Stanley Cup Final, cruising to a Game 1 victory behind Nikita Kucherov's two goals and one assist. Wild stat: Only three players have scored 30+ points in consecutive postseasons: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Kucherov. Photo: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images CLIPPERS 116, SUNS 102 — Paul George scored a playoff career-high 41 points, Reggie Jackson added 23 and the feisty Clippers staved off elimination to send the series back to L.A. for Game 6. What they're saying: "Give this dude his flowers, man," DeMarcus Cousins said of George. "I don't understand the slander. It's becoming quite silly now. Respect these players, man. Respect these greats." Photo: Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images WIMBLEDON — Two Americans pulled off major upsets on Day 1, with Frances Tiafoe taking down third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Sloane Stephens beating two-time champion Petra Kvitova. Never forget: Tiafoe grew up living in the storage room of a tennis center in suburban Washington, D.C., where his father was the custodian. Incredible journey. More: ⚾️ CWS Finals: Sophomore ace Jack Leiter pushed Vanderbilt within one game of a second straight national title, striking out eight in an 8-2 win over Mississippi State in Game 1. ⚽️ Copa América: Argentina and Uruguay won on Monday night, finalizing the quarterfinal field. Matchups: Peru vs. Paraguay, Brazil vs. Chile, Uruguay vs. Colombia, Argentina vs. Ecuador.     A message from Axios Discover what's changing in how we work, play and get around     ''Axios What's Next' will guide you through the next decade of big, sweeping changes when new technologies like 5G, AI and drones will transform how we work, live and play together. Sign up for free     4. 📊 Chart du jour: Players turned coaches Data: Sports Reference; Chart: Connor Rothschild/Axios All four NBA coaches hired in the past week (Jason Kidd, Chauncey Billups, Ime Udoka and Rick Carlisle) are former players, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Which got us thinking ... How do the four major North American sports leagues compare in terms of players-turned-coaches? Who has the most and who has the fewest? ⚾️ MLB (76.7%): 23 of 30 managers made it to the big leagues as players, and Cardinals skipper Mike Shildt is the only one who never played in the minors. 🏒 NHL (70%): 21 of 30 current coaches (Coyotes and Sabres have vacancies) played in the league. 🏀 NBA (44.4%): 12 of 27 coaches played in the NBA, and all three teams with vacancies are eyeing former players in their search (Pelicans, Jacque Vaughn; Wizards, Sam Cassell; Magic, Penny Hardaway). 🏈 NFL (18.8%): Just six of 32 coaches played in the NFL. Four had solid careers (Mike Vrabel, Ron Rivera, Frank Reich, Dan Campbell), while two had brief stints as backup QBs (Sean Payton and Kliff Kingsbury).     5. 🎾 The great lawns of Wimbledon Photo: Bob Martin/AFP via Getty Images   After two years away, the world's best tennis players have returned to Wimbledon and the magical grass at the All England Club, Jeff writes. The big picture: Despite modern tennis originating 150 years ago as a grass-court endeavor, the calendar now boasts fewer than a dozen grass events each year, all packed into a six-week summer window. The backdrop: In 1870s England, the centuries-old game of real tennis was brought outside, with the rules modified for play on croquet lawns. Just like that, lawn tennis was born. In 1877, the All England Croquet Club held the first Lawn Tennis Championship to help pay for repairs to its lawn maintenance equipment. 200 spectators paid one shilling each (~$3 today) to watch 22 men play in the tournament, and Englishman Spencer Gore won the inaugural Championships at Wimbledon. The rest is history. The grass on Centre Court at Wimbledon. Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Between the lines: Grass courts have mostly disappeared from the calendar because they're so expensive to maintain. But at Wimbledon, it's worth the trouble. A team of 28 cares for the club's 38 grass courts, which require nine tons of seed annually and must be trimmed to exactly eight millimeters during The Championships. The surface is 100% perennial ryegrass, which experts believe is the best plant to combat wear and tear without affecting ball speed. In fact, it's the soil, not the grass, that dictates ball speed, so the grass must be strong enough to protect that sub-layer. Balls bounce lower than on other surfaces, and often inconsistently, so the most successful players at Wimbledon tend to be those with superlative serve and volley games. What to watch: It's already raining at Wimbledon, and the forecast calls for more damp weather. Wet courts mean even lower and slower bounces, which could put a greater emphasis on serves and volleys. 🎥 Watch: The secret behind Wimbledon's courts (YouTube)     6. ⚡️ Lightning round Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios   💵 Suns scoop: Dyal Capital Partners is in advanced talks to buy a stake in the Suns, Axios' Dan Primack reports. New NBA rules allow PE funds to own up to 20% in a single franchise, and stakes in up to five teams. 💉 Vaccine slam dunk: The WNBA has had zero positive COVID-19 tests this season, and 99% of players are now fully vaccinated, per the league. 🏈 Wild stat: Demaryius Thomas retired on Monday. From 2012 to 2016, he had 535 catches, 7,332 receiving yards, 51 TD catches and 64 wins. The only WR to match those numbers over a five-year period? Jerry Rice. 🏒 NWHL evolution: The NWHL has reached its goal of having all six teams operated by independent owners as it transition from a single-entity model to a franchise model.     7. 📆 June 29, 1986: Argentina 3, Germany 2 Photo: Staff/AFP via Getty Images 35 years ago today, Argentina beat West Germany, 3-2, at Mexico's Estadio Azteca to win its second and most recent World Cup. The big picture: The game was a thriller, with Germany scoring two late goals to tie it up before Argentina's Jorge Burruchaga netted the game-winner in the 86th minute. Yes, but: The biggest story of the tournament came one week earlier in Argentina's 2-1 quarterfinal win over England. In a four-minute span, Diego Maradona scored two legendary goals: "The Hand of God" (51') and the "Goal of the Century" (55'). "The Hand of God" saw Maradona challenge the keeper for a ball in the air. At first, it looked like it came off his head, but photos later showed just how egregious the handball was. Maradona's famous "Hand of God" goal. Photo: Allsport/Getty Images What he said: Maradona shut down all handball accusations, saying it was "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the Hand of God." Years later, in his autobiography, he'd finally admit the truth: "Now I can say what I couldn't at that moment, what I defined at that time as 'The Hand of God.' What hand of God? It was the hand of Diego!" What came next: West Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup four years later. They remain the only countries to meet in back-to-back finals.     8. 🐪 The Ocho: Camel wrestling Photo: Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images   Each year on Turkey's Aegean coast, thousands gather for the annual Selcuk-Efes Camel Wrestling festival. How it works: Camels, which naturally wrestle in the wild, go head-to-head in matches lasting roughly 15 minutes. A camel wins by making its opponent scream, fall or retreat. "The animals used in wrestling events are known as Tulu camels — a breed that results from mating a Bactrian (two-humped) camel with a dromedary (one-humped) camel," writes NYT's Bradley Secker. "Before entering the ring, the male camels are brought close to a female camel, but ... not allowed to touch, resulting in a sexual tension which trainers say provides the males with extra strength." Go deeper: Photo gallery (NYT)     9. ⚽️ USWNT trivia Courtesy: Goldin Auctions   The Mia Hamm card pictured above is now the most expensive female athlete trading card ever sold, going for over $34,000 at Goldin Auctions. Question: Hamm's 158 USWNT goals rank second all-time. Who ranks first? Hint: Born in the '80s. Answer at the bottom.     10. ❤️ Why we love sports Photo: Focus on Sport/Getty Images Scott C. (Philly native) writes: It was the spring of 1994 just outside Philadelphia, and my friends and I were gearing up for the baseball season. At some point, we decided to start an unofficial fan club for a favorite player. There were plenty of candidates from the NL champion Phillies, but we chose a part-time outfielder named Milt Thompson. Why Milt? I can't remember exactly. Maybe because of his 5 RBIs in Game 4 of the World Series. Or maybe because we tried to emulate his funny batting stance when playing Wiffle Ball after school. Anyway, like any good group of baseball nerds, we went all-in on our obscure fandom: homemade T-shirts, laminated membership cards printed on Dad's office Bubble Jet, the works. But the best thing we did was publish a "Milt Thompson Fan Club Newsletter." It served no real purpose — we were the only members, and we all knew the "news." But we printed them, passed them around and had a good laugh. Photo: Scott C. Soon thereafter, my friends and I decided to go to a game. We got to the Vet early to watch BP and get autographs and were crushed to find Milt not in the starting lineup, and not on the field taking warm-ups. I'd brought a couple copies of the newsletter, hoping he might sign one and take the other. I managed to get one to another player and made him promise to give it to Milt. We retreated to our seats and I scanned the dugout through my binoculars. Sure enough, there was Milt holding a few pieces of paper in his hands, grinning ear-to-ear. My friends and I were ecstatic. We never got a chance to follow up with Milt. He was traded at the deadline that year. But memories of that day fueled years of inside jokes. Decades later, a friend posted the above photo on Facebook. He'd long since moved to the U.K., but somehow his membership card was still in an old wallet, and we were able to reconnect. That's why I love sports. ✍️ Submit your story: Do you have a fondest sports memory? Or an example of sports having a positive impact on your life? To share your story, simply reply to this newsletter or email me at kendall@axios.com.     A message from Axios Discover what's changing in how we work, play and get around     ''Axios What's Next' will guide you through the next decade of big, sweeping changes when new technologies like 5G, AI and drones will transform how we work, live and play together. Sign up for free   Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Would pay to mow Wimbledon's grass" Baker Trivia answer: Abby Wambach (184 goals) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Don't forget to refer your friends (axios.com/referral) and follow us on Twitter: @thekendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Like this email style and format? Learn more about Axios HQ. It'll help you deliver employee communications more effectively.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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