| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Jeff Tracy · Jun 21, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Apologies for ghosting you yesterday — we were off for Juneteenth. Kendall is also off today, but he'll be back tomorrow. P.S. ... Happy first day of summer! Today's word count: 1,844 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⛳️ King of The Country Club |  | | | Matt Fitzpatrick winning the U.S. Open (2022) and U.S. Amateur (2013). Photos: Warren Little/Getty Images; Matthew J. Lee/The Boston Globe via Getty Images | | | | Matt Fitzpatrick delivered a performance for the ages on Sunday at The Country Club, winning the U.S. Open by a stroke to capture his first major championship and first victory on the PGA Tour, period. The big picture: The 27-year-old Englishman also won the 2013 U.S Amateur at TCC, joining Jack Nicklaus as the only men to win both events on the same course (Pebble Beach: 1961 and 1972). "The feeling's out of this world. It is so cliché, but it's stuff you dream of as a kid. Yeah, to achieve it, I can retire a happy man tomorrow." — Fitzpatrick ICYMI: Each of the previous three U.S. Opens at TCC ended in a playoff, and it looked for a moment like this one would, too. - Scottie Scheffler continued his torrid play, finishing at -5 just before the final pairing of Will Zalatoris (-5) and Fitzpatrick (-6) teed off on 18.
- Zalatoris hit a perfect drive while Fitzpatrick missed just his third fairway of the day, landing in a bunker 161 yards from the hole.
- But as he'd done all day, Fitzpatrick found a way to prevail, hitting what Nicklaus called "one of the great iron shots under pressure I've ever seen." It landed 18 feet from the pin and he two-putted for par.
- Zalatoris still had a chance to force a playoff, but missed his 14-foot birdie putt by half an inch, finishing as the runner-up for the third time in his past seven majors.
What they're saying: "I thought even going for it was going to be ballsy," Zalatoris said of Fitzpatrick's shot from the bunker. "[It's] going to be shown probably for the rest of U.S. Open history." Between the lines: Fitzpatrick's superlative iron play helped him become just the third golfer in the past 30 years to hit 17 greens in regulation in the final round of a major win. - He earned a record $3.15 million, part of a record $17.5 million purse.
- His caddie, Billy Foster, had never won a major despite spending nearly 40 years on the bag for some all-time greats. "Utter relief," he told ESPN's Michael Collins of finally winning the big one.
- Just four of 15 LIV golfers made the cut, none finishing higher than Dustin Johnson (t-24th).
Go deeper: Six U.S. Open takeaways (The Ringer) |     | | | | | | 2. 🏒 The Lightning strike back |  | | | Steven Stamkos is the captain, heart and soul of this team. Photo: Andrew Bershaw /Icon_Sportswire | | | | The Lightning answered the bell in a huge way on Monday night at home, shrugging off an 0-2 series deficit to beat the Avalanche, 6-2, in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Why it matters: A loss would have meant nearly insurmountable odds, as just four of 201 NHL teams have successfully come back to win a series after falling behind 3-0. Instead, the two-time defending champs have new life in their quest for a three-peat. Game notes: - The Lightning scored more goals in the second period (four) than in all of Games 1 and 2 combined (three), and five different players recorded multi-point efforts.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy put his struggles behind him, saving 37 of 39 shots (94.9%) after saving just 57 of 68 (83.8%) in the first two games.
- The Avalanche pulled incumbent starter Darcy Kuemper (allowed five goals on 22 shots) for Pavel Francouz, who's been excellent in relief throughout the playoffs. Might coach Jared Bednar have a goalie controversy on his hands entering Game 4?
What's next: Game 4 is Wednesday in Tampa, where the Lightning have won a franchise-record eight straight playoff games and where the Avs just suffered their first road loss of the postseason. Go deeper: How Game 3 impacts the rest of the series (ESPN) | | | | | | | | 3. 🥎 The growing pro softball landscape |  | | | Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios | | | | On the heels of the Women's College World Series, two pro softball leagues began play last week. Why it matters: The existence of multiple leagues is indicative of softball's recent growth, spurred by increasing popularity of the college game and the uptick in investment across women's sports. - AUX is a condensed version of the fantasy-style Athletes Unlimited league that launched in 2020. The standard five-week edition begins its third season in July.
- Women's Professional Fastpitch (WPF) replaces National Pro Fastpitch (NPF), which shuttered last year after two decades due to COVID-induced financial losses.
State of play: Jocelyn Alo, the Oklahoma superstar coming off her second straight WCWS title, was drafted No. 1 overall by both leagues. - She chose WPF and debuted on Friday. The league's commissioner, Lauren Chamberlain, is a fellow Sooner whose NCAA career HR record Alo broke in March.
- WPF has just two teams for its inaugural, exhibition-style season. Athletes Unlimited has added AUX in year three and inked a two-year broadcast deal with ESPN.
The big picture: Softball is the latest women's sport to see such progress. The WNBA recently raised a record $75 million, the NWSL inked its first CBA and USWNT finally achieved equal pay. Yes, but: Given the popularity of college softball (the WCWS outdrew the men's last year), it's surprising that the professional game has yet to truly take off. - Consider that most of Alo's senior teammates' and opponents' careers are now over due to a lack of viable professional options, and it's been that way for decades. One key reason? No external financial support.
- The WNBA survived early on thanks to subsidies from the NBA, which still partially owns the league, and the NWSL received similar support from U.S. Soccer. NPF got nothing.
- Now, the WNBA and NWSL are thriving, and these nascent softball leagues hope to join them.
What they're saying: "More opportunities for pro softball players is a great thing overall," Athletes Unlimited CEO Jon Patricof tells Axios. - "I continue to be a believer that you need to treat women's sports like sports, not like a niche platform, and that's where we are."
- To wit, the addition of AUX means more compensation for athletes, and "the deal with ESPN ensures tremendous coverage and visibility," adds Patricof.
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Business news worthy of your time | | |  | | | | Together, Axios Markets, Axios Macro, and Axios Closer decipher what the daily deluge of news, statistics, and analysis really means — and why it matters. Subscribe for free | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios | | | | 🏊🏼♀️ Trans ban: FINA, the international swimming federation, voted on Sunday to restrict transgender women from competing in elite competitions if they did not complete their transition by age 12. It's considered one of the harshest policies of any sport toward transgender athletes. 🎾 Wimbledon news: Naomi Osaka (Achilles) will sit out Wimbledon for the second straight year. ... Russian-born Natela Dzalamidze, a top doubles player, changed her nationality to avoid Wimbledon's Russian ban. ⚽️🏀 Coaching changes: PSG have sacked Mauricio Pochettino just 18 months into his tenure as manager. ... Davidson men's basketball coach Bob McKillop has retired after 33 seasons, and will be replaced by his son and longtime assistant, Matt. 🏀 Fun fact: The last five All-Star Game MVPs are also the last five Finals MVPs: - LeBron James: 2018 ASG, 2020 Finals
- Kevin Durant: 2019 ASG, 2018 Finals
- Kawhi Leonard: 2020 ASG, 2019 Finals
- Giannis Antetokounmpo: 2021 ASG, 2021 Finals
- Steph Curry: 2022 ASG, 2022 Finals
| | | | | | | | 5. ⚾️ MLB: Three up, three down |  | | | Photo: Alika Jenner/Getty Images | | | | Mike Trout's on fire. The Mariners' offense? Not so much. Up: - Mike Trout: Over the weekend, Trout became the first player in MLB history with four game-winning HR in a single series, continuing his yearslong assault on Mariners pitching.
- Contreras family: Brothers Willson (Cubs) and William Contreras (Braves) are the only catchers this season with an OPS over .900 (min. 100 PA), and on Saturday they shared the field together for the first time.
- Pirates rookies: On Sunday, LF Jack Suwinski became the first rookie in MLB history with a three-homer game that included a walk-off. On Monday, SS Oneil Cruz notched 4 RBI and unleashed the hardest throw by an infielder this season (96.7 mph) in his 2022 debut.
Down - L.A.'s injured stars: Angels 3B Anthony Rendon is out for the season (wrist surgery) and Dodgers RF Mookie Betts is on the IL (cracked rib).
- Seattle's offense: The Mariners (29-39) have lost seven of nine, scoring a total of five runs across those seven losses.
- Lorenzo Cain: The Brewers designated the struggling outfielder for assignment on Saturday, the same day he reached 10 years of MLB service time. Cain, 36, appears set to retire as one of the more beloved stars of his generation.
Go deeper: Power rankings (CBS Sports) | | | | | | | | 6. 🇺🇸 Photos across America | | Photo: Michael Urakami/Getty Images SAN FRANCISCO — The Warriors celebrated their fourth championship in eight years during Monday's championship parade, which featured a live goat and Klay Thompson being a national treasure. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images NEW YORK — Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) defeated Joe Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) with a second-round TKO, capturing his third light-heavyweight title on Saturday at MSG. - Wild stat: Beterbiev, 37, is boxing's only champion with a 100% knockout record.
Zed Williams (4 goals, 2 assists) celebrates the championship with his daughter. Photo courtesy of the Colorado Mammoth BUFFALO, New York — The Colorado Mammoth are NLL champs for the first time since 2006, winning Saturday's decisive Game 3 over the Buffalo Bandits, 10-8. Photo: Mitchell Layton/Getty Images WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ryan Zimmerman was the first and will be the last National ever to wear No. 11. As it should be. | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 Photos around the world | | Photo: Geoff Robins/AFP via Getty Images MONTREAL, Canada — Max Verstappen (Red Bull) held off Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari) at the Canadian Grand Prix for his sixth win in nine races this season. - The big picture: This was the 24-year-old Dutchman's 26th career F1 win, breaking a tie with Niki Lauda and Jim Clark for ninth-most all time.
Photo: Tom Pennington/Getty Images BUDAPEST, Hungary — Katie Ledecky dominated the 1500m free at the World Championships, winning by 14 seconds for the 17th gold and 20th medal overall in her career at Worlds. - Why it matters: 20 medals ties Natalie Coughlin's female world championship record, and Ledecky has two races left this week to break it (4x200m, 800m).
Photo: Ismael Rosasa/Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images MEXICO CITY — 14,299 people attended a mass boxing class on Saturday at the Zócalo, Mexico City's main square, shattering the world record for the largest such class ever (previously: 3,250). Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images PARIS — Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. Pretty casual. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Road to the CWS Finals |  | | | Ole Miss is 2-0 with a cumulative 18-6 score so far in the CWS. | | | | The College World Series continues today in Omaha, Nebraska, with six teams still alive for the championship. - Schedule: Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Texas A&M (2pm ET, ESPN); No. 14 Auburn vs. Arkansas (7pm, ESPN)
- Where it stands: The losers of today's games will be eliminated, joining No. 9 Texas and No. 2 Stanford. The winners advance to tomorrow's semifinals, where Oklahoma and Ole Miss await. Bracket.
More to watch: - 🏒 NHL: Awards show (7pm, ESPN) ... Hart (MVP), Calder (rookie), Vezina (goalie) and Norris Trophy (defenseman) winners announced.
- ⚾️ MLB: Giants at Braves (7:20pm, TBS); Cardinals at Brewers (8:10pm, FS1)
- 🏀 WNBA: Wings at Dream (7pm, NBA); Sky at Aces (10pm, CBSSN); Lynx at Mercury (10pm, NBA)
- ⚽️ U.S. Open Cup: LA Galaxy vs. Sacramento Republic (10:30pm, ESPN+) ... Quarterfinal
- 🏊🏼♀️ World Swimming Championships: Day 4 (12pm, Olympic Channel/Peacock)
| | | | | | | | 9. ⚽️ Premier League trivia |  | | | Photo: ANP via Getty Images | | | | Sadio Mané, who's leaving Liverpool for Bayern Munich, scored 111 goals in the Premier League from 2014-22, fourth-most among active players in that time. - Question: Which three players scored more?
- Hint: Two are English, one is African
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Top plays: Weekend edition | | Source: Giphy - ⚾️ This catch!
- ⛳️ Ace!
- ⚾️ And this catch!
- ⚽️ The cross. The finish.
- ⚾️ Pitchers are athletes.
- 🎾 Ons Jabeur!
- ⚽️ Bend it like Gustavo.
- 🥊 Spinning. Elbow. Knockout.
- 🎾 Oscar Otte!
- ⚾️ Insane range.
Watch all 10. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Business news worthy of your time | | | | | | | | Together, Axios Markets, Axios Macro, and Axios Closer decipher what the daily deluge of news, statistics, and analysis really means — and why it matters. Subscribe for free | | | | Talk tomorrow, Jeff "Happy belated Father's Day" Tracy Trivia answer: Harry Kane (180), Jamie Vardy (133), Mo Salah (118) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |  | It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | | | | | Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here.
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