| | | | | | | Presented By SiriusXM | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Jul 25, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Today's newsletter is dedicated to Willis Carrier, the inventor of the modern air conditioner. Hope you're staying cool. Today's word count: 1,819 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: ⚾️ The new faces of Cooperstown |  | | | The three living members of the 2022 Hall of Fame class: Jim Kaat (L), Tony Oliva and David Ortiz. Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images | | | | Seven legends were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, representing the largest class since 2006, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. - David Ortiz (1997-2016): The Red Sox great is one of just four players to hit 500 HR and win three World Series, joining Babe Ruth, Mickey Mantle and Reggie Jackson.
- Gil Hodges (1943-63): 50 years after dying of a rare heart condition at 47, the Dodgers' slugger — and manager of the 1969 Amazin' Mets — is finally where he belongs.
- Jim Kaat (1959-83): The 16-time Gold Glover (second-most) played for so long that he faced both Ted Williams (retired in 1960) and Julio Franco (retired in 2007).
- Buck O'Neil (1937-48): The Kansas City Monarchs legend founded the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in 1990, a project to ensure stories like his were never forgotten.
- Minnie Miñoso (1946-80): "The Cuban Comet," whose career began in the Negro Leagues, was the first Black Latino to play in MLB when he debuted with the Indians in 1949.
- Tony Oliva (1962-76): The career Minnesota Twin, also from Cuba, is one of two players since 1882 to win the batting title as a rookie (the other: Ichiro in 2001).
- Bud Fowler (1878-early 1900s): Considered to be the first Black player in pro baseball, Fowler grew up in Cooperstown and is buried 25 miles from the Hall of Fame.
What they're saying ... ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian, who was honored with the BBWAA Career Excellence Award, had the most humble quote of the weekend: "I'm not a great writer. I look terrible on TV. I'm four feet tall. I have an awful voice. But I've had a love of the game that has carried my entire career. That's all I have and that's all I'll ever have." Go deeper: |     | | | | | | 2. 🏈 Battle for the spring: XFL 3.0 vs. USFL 2.0 |  | | | Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios | | | | In 2019, we had the AAF. In 2020, we had the re-booted XFL. In 2022, we had the re-booted USFL. And in 2023, we'll have the re-re-booted XFL and re-booted USFL — at the same time. What a country. Driving the news: The XFL's third iteration, set to launch next February, will feature five holdover cities from 2020 and three newcomers in Las Vegas, Orlando and San Antonio, the league announced Sunday. Of note: The three new cities replace New York, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay, which drew the lowest average attendance in 2020. XFL co-owner Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at a recent player showcase in Arlington, Texas. Courtesy: XFL Catch up quick: The XFL's 2020 season was cut short by the pandemic, causing the league to file for bankruptcy and marking the second straight year that a spring league folded (RIP, Alliance of American Football). - In August 2020, the Vince McMahon-owned league was sold for $15 million to Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, his ex-wife and business partner Dany Garcia, and RedBird Capital Partners.
- McMahon, who also founded the original XFL in 2001, retired as WWE chairman and CEO on Friday amid a flurry of sexual misconduct allegations.
Looking ahead: The XFL 3.0 will have some competition when it launches next spring. The USFL 2.0 recently completed its 2022 campaign and is coming back for more. - The Fox-owned USFL ended Year 1 on a high note with a thrilling championship game, and is the first spring league without NFL ties to last beyond one season since the original USFL (1983-85).
- The leagues will compete for players and fans, especially in Houston, which has a team in both. USFL games will be played in two to four markets in 2023 after Birmingham hosted all eight teams this year.
How you'll be watching (or not watching) ... XFL games will air on Disney platforms (ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, FX, ESPN+), while the USFL will air on Fox, FS1 and possibly NBC, which had some games this year. | | | | | | | | 3. 🥇 World Championships: USA dominates |  | | | Noah Lyles after winning gold in the men's 200m, one of three podium sweeps for Team USA. Photo: Andy Lyons/Getty Images | | | | The U.S. dominated the first World Athletics Championships ever held on American soil, which concluded Sunday night in Eugene, Oregon, after 10 days of non-stop action, Jeff writes. Behind the scenes ... Housing wasn't easy to come by in the college town of Eugene, so Adidas and Puma transformed two frat houses to lodge their athletes. "At Sigma Chi, there is new furniture, a dedicated room for physiotherapy ... and a cafe that, on a recent afternoon, was serving watermelon gazpacho from stemless glassware." — Scott Cacciola, NYT | | | | | | | | A message from SiriusXM | | Stream SiriusXM now and get 3 months for free | | |  | | | | With SiriusXM Streaming, get access to three months of expertly curated ad-free music, Pandora artist stations, live sports, celebrity hosts, Howard Stern and more. More info: Listen on your phone, at home and more with the SXM App. See Offer Details. | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Jonathan Huberdeau (L) and Matthew Tkachuk. Photos: Eliot J. Schechter/NHLI via Getty Images; Derek Leung/Getty Images | | | | 🏒 NHL blockbuster: The Panthers traded Jonathan Huberdeau to the Flames for Matthew Tkachuk — the second time 100-point scorers from the prior season have been swapped. The only other time was when Wayne Gretzky was traded to the Kings for Jimmy Carson in 1988. ❤️ Thinking of John: Texans rookie WR John Metchie III has been diagnosed with leukemia. The former Alabama star will likely miss the season but says he expects to be back "stronger than ever." ⛳️ Golf roundup: Brooke Henderson won the Evian Championship, her second major ... Tony Finau won the 3M Open after Scott Piercy's epic collapse ... Richie Ramsay won in England for his daughter. 🏁 Racing roundup: Max Verstappen won the French Grand Prix, with Mercedes taking second and third. ... Denny Hamlin was DQ'd after his car failed inspection, giving Chase Elliott the win at Pocono Raceway. ⚽️ Final Four: The Women's Euro 2022 semifinals are set. Host England (No. 8 in the world) will play Sweden (No. 2) tomorrow, and Germany (No. 5) will play France (No. 3) on Wednesday. | | | | | | | | 5. 🤖 Sign of the apocalypse |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | A chess-playing robot, apparently unsettled by a quick move, grabbed and broke a 7-year-old boy's finger during a recent match in Moscow. - Footage shows the robot, which was reportedly playing against three kids at once, grabbing the boy's index finger and adults rushing over to help. The boy returned to the event after his finger was put in a cast.
- "The child made a move, and after that we need to give time for the robot to answer, but the boy hurried, the robot grabbed him," said Sergey Lazarev, president of the Moscow Chess Federation.
The last word: "The robot broke the child's finger," said Lazarev. "This is of course bad." | | | | | | | | 6. 🏀 Pause on the Palouse |  | | | Photo illustration: Aïda Amer. Photo: Peyton Williams/Getty Images | | | | Washington State vs. Idaho, the nation's longest running continuous men's basketball series (since 1906), has come to a screeching halt — thanks in part to a Pac-12 rule. What's happening: In 2020, the Pac-12 introduced non-conference scheduling standards designed to improve strength of schedule and send more teams to the NCAA Tournament. - Washington State's non-conference opponents are required to have a rolling five-year NET ranking average of 175, so Idaho's recent struggles (No. 320 or worse the past four seasons) were a problem.
- Road games against teams with a sub-200 NET ranking are also restricted. Washington State reportedly offered to pay Idaho to play in Pullman only (they're separated by just eight miles), but they declined.
The backdrop: Washington State owns a 167-110 edge in "The Battle of the Palouse," which is rich with history. In 1962-63, when they used to play as many as five times a year, Idaho won four of five led by future NBA Hall of Famer Gus "Honeycomb" Johnson.¹ The bottom line: The Pac-12's scheduling rules make sense in this era of college sports and they exist for good reason. It's just a shame that a 116-year-old rivalry is collateral damage. ¹Johnson is one of the NBA's forgotten legends. He starred for the Bullets. Went head-to-head with Wilt. Shattered three backboards. Sadly, less than 1% of his career exists on film. I encourage you to read this, read this, and/or watch this. | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images PARIS — Jonas Vingegaard, who used to work in a fish factory to keep his cycling dreams alive, won the Tour de France on Sunday. The 25-year-old is the first Danish rider to win the Tour since 1996. Photo: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images PHOENIX — Diana Taurasi got the best of Sue Bird in their final regular-season meeting on Friday, but the box score felt trivial. What a ride it's been for two best friends. Photo: Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images GREEN BAY, Wis. — Manchester City beat Bayern Munich, 1-0, at Lambeau Field on Saturday in a match that was shortened due to multiple lightning delays. Photo: Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images HAMBURG, Germany — Men's and women's champions were crowned at the Hamburg European Open this weekend, where matches were played under a unique retractable roof. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: July Madness |  | | | Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios | | | | The Basketball Tournament, a 64-team event featuring former NBA players and college stars competing for $1 million, is now in the Sweet 16. - Syracuse Regional (7pm ET, ESPN2): The Nerd Team (mostly from top academic schools) just beat Boeheim's Army, the defending champs. Next up: 2021 semifinalists Blue Collar U (Buffalo alumni).
- Wichita Regional (9pm, ESPN2): AfterShocks (Wichita State alumni) take on Bleed Green (North Texas alumni) in a battle of future American Athletic Conference foes.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |  | | | Photo: Brian Fluharty/Getty Images | | | | The Blue Jays destroyed the Red Sox, 28-5, on Friday, coming two runs short of tying the modern MLB record for most in a game (30). - Question: Which team holds the record and who'd they beat that day?
- Hint: Happened in 2007.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🎥 Top plays: Weekend edition |  | | | Sydney McLaughlin broke her own world record — again. Photo: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | | | - 🥇 McLaughlin dominates
- 🎯 Nine-darter
- ⚾️ Nifty little flip
- ⚽️ Sensational goal
- ⚾️ Insane speed
- ⚾️ What a grab
- ⛳️ Tony toes it in
- 🏀 What a block
- ⛳️ Crafty little chip
- ⚾️ Flashes the leather
Watch all 10. | | | | | | | | A message from SiriusXM | | Stream SiriusXM now and get 3 months for free | | |  | | | | With SiriusXM Streaming, get access to three months of expertly curated ad-free music, Pandora artist stations, live sports, celebrity hosts, Howard Stern and more. More info: Listen on your phone, at home and more with the SXM App. See Offer Details. | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "This is of course bad" Baker Trivia answer: Rangers (30-3 win over the Orioles) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell your friends to sign up. |  | | Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 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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