| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker ·Jul 29, 2021 | | 👋 Good morning! Nice and short edition today. Today's word count: 1,463 words (5.5 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🏀 The NBA draft has arrived |  Table: Axios Visuals The 2021 NBA Draft is tonight in Brooklyn (8pm ET, ESPN), as 60 young men will become the newest members of the Association, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. How it works: 20 players were invited to the "green room" — right in front of the podium — and COVID protocols dictate that only those 20 may take the stage when their name is called. Notes: - Top-heavy: Nearly every mock draft agrees Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs will come off the board first, in some order.
- International risers: Turkey's Alperen Şengün (19.2-9.4-2.5) and Australia's Josh Giddey (10.9-7.4-7.5) have both improved their stock with stellar seasons abroad.
- Draft shake-up: The Knicks and Thunder are the most likely to make noise on draft day, with eight of the top 36 picks and significant financial flexibility to absorb bad contracts.
- Sleepers: Whoever lands Auburn playmaker Sharife Cooper and Tennessee defensive menace Jaden Springer should be elated. Cooper, who modeled his game after Chris Paul, is particularly intriguing.
- New big three? Bradley Beal may stay in Washington yet, but the Warriors — armed with two lottery picks — remain a prime suitor.
Go deeper: |     | | | | | | 2. 🇯🇵 Photos from Tokyo | | Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images Caeleb Dressel went out strong and held off a late challenge to win his first individual Olympic medal and fourth overall — all gold — setting an Olympic record in the 100-meter free (47.02). Photo: Robert Gauthier/L.A. Times via Getty Images The U.S. women have won eight of 11 gold medals in 5-on-5 basketball. Now, they're one-for-one in 3x3, beating Russia in the inaugural event behind a foursome of WNBA talent. Photo: Sergei Bobylev/Getty Images Japan's Daiki Hashimoto, 19, is the youngest man ever to win gold in the individual all-around. He entered the final rotation in fourth place, but dismounted the high bar knowing he'd done enough to secure victory. | | | | | | | | Bonus: 🥇 Olympics dashboard |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | - 📆 Coming up: Today's key events include the women's gymnastics individual all-around final, various swimming finals and the beginning of the track & field program. Full schedule.
- 🥇 Medal tracker (as of 7:30am ET): Team USA (37) has the most medals, followed by China (29), Russia (26) and Japan (24). Full list.
- 🦠 COVID watch: For the second straight day, Tokyo reported a record number of cases (3,177). ... American pole vaulter and reigning world champ Sam Kendricks tested positive and is out of the Games.
Stories: - 🔥 Bring on the heat: Much has been made of Tokyo's searing heat, but as sprinters start taking the track, don't expect any complaints. "99% of sprinters love [the heat], especially Americans," Olympic legend Carl Lewis told NYT.
- 🏋🏽♂️ End of an era? Weightlifting was one of the nine events at the first modern Olympics in 1896, but after decades of corruption within the sport, the IOC is threatening its removal.
- 🚨 Big upset: U.S. women's water polo hadn't lost an Olympic match since 2008, but Hungary eked out a 10-9 victory over the Americans in group play.
Highlights: - 🇺🇸 Comeback sprints: American Bobby Finke came storming back to win the inaugural men's 800-meter freestyle, and Katie Ledecky anchored the 4x200 free relay with a heroic effort in a race that saw all three medalists break the world record.
- 🏳️🌈 Coming out party: After winning silver in rowing, Poland's Katarzyna Zillmann grabbed the microphone and thanked her girlfriend — the first time she'd publicly come out as LGBTQ.
- 🌊 Wipeout! Six medals were handed out at the inaugural surfing competition, but along the way, choppy water challenged even the world's best. Here's every wipeout from this week's four-day event.
Go deeper: For some Olympic fencers, movies deepen their connection to the sport (USA Today) | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Sign up for Axios' Referral Program | | |  | | | | Get Axios swag when your friends subscribe to one of Axios' free newsletters. The more new subscribers you refer, the bigger your rewards. Start sharing. | | | | | | 3. ⛳️ Olympic golf's wild origins |  | | | George Lyon. Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images | | | | With men's golf underway in Tokyo, it's the perfect time to revisit its wild Olympic origins, Jeff writes. Rewind … Olympic golf debuted in 1900, with a normal, 36-hole stroke play tournament. But at the 1904 Games in St. Louis, things got crazy. - 75 golfers competed at Glen Echo Country Club, with 72 coming from the states and three from Canada. One of the Americans? John Rahm!
- A 36-hole qualifying round determined the 32-golfer knockout stage, which played as a single-elimination bracket of 36-hole, match-play rounds on consecutive days.
- Wild stat: The two finalists played a combined 393 holes in six days.
Results: Canadian George Lyon emerged from that sea of Americans to defeat Chicago's Chandler Egan. - Strange but true: Golfers were able to "stymie" opponents by refusing to mark their ball if it blocked the other ball's path to the hole. On No. 7, Egan stymied Lyon.
- Karma: Lyon got the last laugh when Egan's tee shot on 15 landed in the water, sealing his fate.
The aftermath: Lyon traveled to London in 1908 to defend his title, but a format disagreement led to the event's cancelation. Golf wouldn't return to the Olympics until 2016, when Justin Rose won gold in Rio. Go deeper: Tokyo 2020 golf leaderboard (PGA Tour) | | | | | | | | 4. 🎓 Stat du jour: SEC vs. NCAA |  | | | Illustration: Lazaro Gamio/Axios | | | | If the SEC adds Texas and Oklahoma, the conference could generate roughly the same amount of annual revenue as the NCAA ($1.3 billion). 📆 Coming tomorrow: Realignment 2.0, and the remaking of the college sports machine | | | | | | | | 5. 🏈 Chiefs, Bucs top Super Bowl odds |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | Is a Super Bowl rematch in store? The defending champion Buccaneers (+650) have the second-best title odds, behind only the Chiefs (5-1), per Caesars Sportsbook. AFC: - AFC East: Bills (12-1), Dolphins (30-1), Patriots (30-1), Jets (100-1)
- AFC North: Ravens (14-1), Browns (16-1), Steelers (40-1), Bengals (100-1)
- AFC South: Colts (25-1), Titans (30-1), Jaguars (100-1), Texans (250-1)
- AFC West: Chiefs (5-1), Chargers (30-1), Broncos (40-1), Raiders (80-1)
NFC: - NFC East: Cowboys (30-1), Washington (50-1), Giants (80-1), Eagles (80-1)
- NFC North: Packers (15-1), Vikings (40-1), Bears (50-1), Lions (200-1)
- NFC South: Buccaneers (+650), Saints (30-1), Falcons (60-1), Panthers (80-1)
- NFC West: Rams (14-1), 49ers (14-1), Seahawks (25-1), Cardinals (40-1)
ICYMI ... Aaron Rodgers' revealing press conference (The Big Lead) | | | | | | | | 6. ⚽️ USMNT spotlight: Gianluca Busio |  | | | Photo: Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | | | | The USMNT plays Qatar in tonight's Gold Cup semifinal (7:30pm ET, FS1), with the winner facing either Mexico or Canada in the final. Player to watch: 19-year-old midfielder Gianluca Busio made his USMNT debut in this tournament, and has since been acquired by Serie A's Venezia FC. - In 2017, Busio became the youngest player since Freddy Adu to sign an MLS contract, at 15 years, 2 months and 28 days. This summer, he became the second-youngest American to make a Gold Cup roster.
- The Greensboro, N.C. native has been electric for Sporting Kansas City this season. As of July 14, he was leading MLS in possessions won in the mid-third and was one of just two MLS players with 1,000 touches and a passing percentage higher than 89%.
- His nickname: "The American Pirlo."
Go deeper: USA-Qatar match preview (US Soccer) | | | | | | | | 7. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo: Paul Harris/Online USA | | | | 🎾 "King Richard": Will Smith is set to play Richard Williams, father to tennis icons Venus and Serena, in an upcoming film out Nov. 19. Trailer. ⚾️ MLB moves: Teams are starting to make moves ahead of tomorrow's trade deadline. Headlines: The Yankees landed slugger Joey Gallo from the Rangers and the A's acquired Starling Marte from the Marlins. 🏒NHL moves: The rebuilding Devils secured one of the largest prizes in the 2021 free agent class, signing defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a seven-year, $63 million deal. Offseason tracker. | | | | | | | | 8. 📆 July 29, 1948: The Austerity Games |  | | | Photo: Haywood Magee/Hulton Archive via Getty Images | | | | 73 years ago today, the Summer Olympics returned after an extended hiatus in the wake of a world-changing event. Sound familiar? Then: London hosted the first Olympics since WWII ended, and the first since Berlin in 1936. They came to be known as the Austerity Games due to the tiny budget and rationing imposed by the postwar economy. "After all those dark days of the war, the bombing, the killing and the starvation, the revival of the Olympics was as if the sun had come out." — Czech running great, Emil Zátopek Now: The legacy of these COVID Games is still being written, but for all the similarities, there's a big difference between a war three years in the rearview and a still-active pandemic. - As vaccine rollouts have slowed and the delta variant continues surging, worldwide cases are again on the rise.
🎥 Watch: Archival footage (YouTube) | | | | | | | | 9. ✍️ Submit your trivia questions! | | We're running low on trivia questions and need your help. Submit yours here. | | | | | | | | 10. 🍿 Countdown: Best Olympics movies (No. 2) |  | | | Armed police respond to the terrorist attack. Photo: Bettmann Archives/Getty Images | | | | Munich (2005) examines the fallout from the 1972 Munich massacre, using the terrorist attack as a leaping-off point for an electrifying thriller about the limits of vengeance. - Runtime: 2 hours, 44 minutes
- In one word: Suspenseful
- Preview: Trailer
What makes it great: Steven Spielberg's Oscar-nominated drama has some of the most well-executed suspense sequences you'll ever watch. Edge of your seat stuff. Countdown: No. 5 Foxcatcher, No. 4 Miracle, No. 3 Tokyo Olympiad | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Sign up for Axios' Referral Program | | | | | | | | Get Axios swag when your friends subscribe to one of Axios' free newsletters. The more new subscribers you refer, the bigger your rewards. Start sharing. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Detroit, you're on the clock" Baker 🙏 Thanks for reading. Don't forget to refer friends (axios.com/referral) and follow us on Twitter: @thekendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. |  | | 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.
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