| | | | | | | Presented By SiriusXM | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Jul 28, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! Politics invades the sports world today, with former President Trump playing in the LIV pro-am and Congress playing baseball. Today's word count: 1,731 words (7 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🧠 The shadow of CTE |  | | | Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios | | | | For the first time, conclusive evidence has been found that repeated head trauma leads to chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), an incurable brain disease, Axios' Jeff Tracy and I write. By the numbers: A new study, carried out by nine universities and the Concussion Legacy Foundation, determined athletes in contact sports are 68 times more likely to develop CTE than the general public. - The researchers are calling on sports and government bodies to implement prevention and mitigation efforts, especially for children, who are "too young to legally consent to any potential long-term risks."
- "It is time to include repetitive head impacts and CTE among child protection efforts like exposure to lead, mercury, smoking and sunburns," said co-author Adam Finkel of the University of Michigan.
The backdrop: This report comes amid a flurry of CTE-related news, as the shadow it casts across the sports world continues to grow. - The English Football Association (FA), which has banned headers in soccer practice for children under 12 since 2020, announced a trial on Monday to extend that ban to games.
- Nearly 200 rugby players plan to sue the sport's governing bodies for failing to protect them from permanent brain injury caused by repeated concussions.
- Two American athletes, Demaryius Thomas (NFL) and Scott Vermillion (MLS), were posthumously diagnosed with CTE in the past month. That remains the only way to diagnose the disease — for now.
What we're watching: CTE is most often linked with hard-hitting sports like football and rugby. Now it's soccer — which doesn't have constant collisions but does have headers — that's facing a reckoning. - The FA already recommends that pros limit headers, which have been linked to dementia, in training. If they completely ban them for kids, we could see the skill gradually fade from the game.
- That would, of course, fundamentally alter the world's most popular sport. "The threat [of a header] itself has value," writes NYT's Rory Smith. "Soccer is defined, still, by all the crosses that do not come."
|     | | | | | | 2. ⚾️ Why "three true outcomes" are down |  Data: Baseball Reference; Chart: Axios Visuals Baseball is still dominated by the "three true outcomes" of home runs, strikeouts and walks. But for the first time since 2005, all three are down, Jeff writes. By the numbers: Teams are hitting 1.08 HR per game this season (down from 1.22 last season), while striking out 8.35 times (down from 8.68) and walking 3.11 times (down from 3.25). Between the lines: There are plenty of theories as to why each is declining, but three stand out above the rest, per The Athletic (subscription). - Home runs: The decrease could be due to the universal use of deadened balls, which were introduced last year but got mixed in with some older, "juiced" balls.
- Walks: As pitchers fear home runs less, they also fear putting the ball in the strike zone less.
- Strikeouts: The sticky-stuff crackdown and universal DH (i.e. no more pitchers hitting) are working in tandem to decrease strikeouts.
| | | | | | | | 3. 🏈 Welcome to training camp |  | | | Chargers fans have their photo taken at training camp on Wednesday. Photo: Mark Rightmire/Orange County Register via Getty Images | | | | NFL training camp is underway for all 32 teams, who will begin to gel over the coming days as they prepare for next month's preseason. How it works: This ramp-up period includes "two-a-days," scrimmages, weight training and team meetings, and gives fans a chance to see their favorite players (and new additions) in a low-intensity environment. - Days 1-3: No contact
- Days 4-5: Helmets and light practice gear
- Day 6: Mandatory day off
- Day 7: Fully padded practices begin
The intrigue: The NFL wants to make training camp a bigger deal and a more marketable event. So they're promoting July 30 — the first day most teams are in pads — as "Back Together Saturday." - NFL Network is planning 13 hours of live coverage and will have reporters at all 32 camps. ESPN will also have expanded coverage.
- Teams are ramping up activities to make it a more family-friendly event, ranging from autograph signings to spectator nights.
Go deeper: Dates, locations for all 32 training camps (NFL) | | | | | | | | 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 |  | | | Photo: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images | | | | ⚾ Mets sweep: Starling Marte's walk-off single helped the Mets sweep the Yankees in a quick two-game series at Citi Field. Shortly after the loss, the Yankees acquired All-Star Andrew Benintendi from the Royals. 🇷🇺 Griner update: The Biden administration has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan. We'll go deeper tomorrow. ⚾️ Trout's injury: Mike Trout, who left a July 12 game with spasms, has been diagnosed with a "pretty rare condition" in his back that he may need to manage for the rest of his career. 🏈 Uniform reveal: Notre Dame revealed a new, all-white uniform in a fun video that pays homage to "The Hangover." | | | | | | | | 5. ⚾️ Relationship, revisited: Jeter and A-Rod |  | | | Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter in 1995. Photo: Steve Crandall/Getty Images | | | | Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were teammates for 11 years in the Bronx. Before that, they were friends whose relationship couldn't quite stand the test of time, Jeff writes. Driving the news: ESPN's docuseries, "The Captain," returns tonight (9pm ET) with two new episodes, the first of which focuses partly on Jeter and Rodriguez's rise — and the comments that derailed their bond. - The two shortstops were drafted in consecutive years in the early 90s, and by 2000 they'd made seven combined All-Star Games. A-Rod had the stats, but Jeter had the titles.
- "Derek Jeter wanted to be a Yankee. Alex Rodriguez wanted to be a star," former baseball writer Alan Schwarz says during Episode 3.
The comments: After A-Rod signed a record 10-year, $252 million contract with the lowly Rangers in 2000 — two months after Jeter won World Series MVP — their divergent paths became even more apparent. And soon thereafter, their friendship fell apart. - In a 2001 interview (subscription), Rodriguez told Esquire that because "Jeter's been blessed with great talent around him … he's never had to lead."
- "You go into New York trying to stop Bernie [Williams] and [Paul] O'Neill. You never say, 'Don't let Derek beat you.' That's never your concern."
The fallout: A-Rod later apologized, but this was the second time he'd taken a public jab at his fellow shortstop, and that's all it took for Jeter to realize he wasn't "a true friend." - "[If someone] slights me, I have a unique ability to just cut 'em off," Jeter says during tonight's episode. "I'm still gonna be cordial, but you've crossed the line and I'm not gonna let you in again."
- "[Derek will] let you get away with a couple of things. Then you'll do it one more time and ... you're done. That's it. And there's really no coming back," adds his sister, Sharlee.
Watch "The Captain" tonight on ESPN (9-11pm ET). | | | | | | | | 6. ⛵️ California to Hawaii in 34 days |  | | | The squad. Courtesy: Lat 35 Racing | | | | A crew of four has broken the women's record for the quickest time rowing from San Francisco to Honolulu. Driving the news: After 34 days and more than 2,400 nautical miles, Libby Costello, Sophia Denison-Johnston, Brooke Downes and Adrienne Smith arrived in Hawaii on Tuesday morning. - The journey, which was documented on social media by the team's sponsor Lat 35 Racing, saw the women row in two-hour shifts and average just 90 minutes of sleep per day.
- Most of their food consisted of canned goods and boil-to-order meals, but sometimes they enjoyed fruit. On occasion, they jumped in the water to check for barnacles.
- The four women were a little wobbly getting off the boat after rowing for 34 days, 14 hours and 11 minutes, but couldn't stop smiling as they were greeted by leis and cheering fans.
The last word: "I feel totally overwhelmed in the best way by love. And I'm also exhausted," Denison-Johnston told "Good Morning America." | | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 The world in photos | | Former President Donald Trump and Caitlyn Jenner at Wednesday's LIV welcome party. Photo: Chris Trotman/LIV Golf via Getty Images NEW YORK — Former President Trump's New Jersey golf course hosts this weekend's LIV Golf event, and he'll be playing in today's pro-am, along with Caitlyn Jenner, Charles Barkley and others. Photo: Harriet Lander/Getty Images MILTON KEYNES, England — Germany beat France, 2-1, behind two goals from Alexandra Popp, who became the first player to score in five straight Women's Euro matches. - What's next: Germany (9-o in Euro finals) will play host England (0-3) in Sunday's title game at Wembley Stadium.
Photo: Bernard Papon/Getty Images BAR-SUR-AUBE, France — Stage 4 of the Tour de France Femmes took riders through eight miles of gravel, spread out over four sectors interspersed with climbs. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Bipartisan baseball |  | | | Photo: Alex Edelman/Getty Images | | | | The 87th Congressional Baseball Game, played between teams of Democrats and Republicans, is tonight at Nationals Park (7pm ET, FS2). - By the numbers: The Democrats are looking to tie up the all-time series, which the Republicans lead 43-42-1. In terms of talent, this year's game truly looks like a toss-up.
- The backdrop: Upwards of 300 environmental activists are planning a peaceful protest. "Congress must stop playing games with our one and only, life-giving climate," one protester wrote in a WashPost op-ed.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |  | | | A fan flies a Dominican flag during the World Baseball Classic. Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images | | | | The Dominican Republic has produced the most MLB players of any non-U.S. nation (850). - Question: Which country is second?
- Hint: Not an island.
Answer at the bottom. Context: The MLBPA rejected MLB's final international draft proposal this week, which means the qualifying-offer system will remain in place. | | | | | | | | 10. 🍿 Must-see play: Sacramento!!!! |  | | | Photo: Erin Chang/ISI Photos/Getty Images | | | | Picture this: Your team is playing the most important game in its history, and it's your turn to take a penalty kick. Everything is on the line. Context: You play for Sacramento Republic FC of the USL (one level below MLS), and your team is one win away from becoming the first lower-tier club to make the U.S. Open Cup Final since 2008. - Sacramento needs this. The Kings are in the midst of the longest playoff drought in NBA history. Your team was supposed to join MLS, but the deal fell apart. This is your moment.
- Your MLS opponent, Sporting KC, has made all four PKs so far and the last guy just celebrated with a backflip. Your hometown fans — packed into your sold-out stadium — need you to make this kick.
Would you have the guts to do THIS? | | | | | | | | 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 "Absolutely disgusting!" Baker Trivia answer: Venezuela (453 MLB players) 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us on Twitter: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. And of course, 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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