| | | | | | | | | | | Axios Sports | | By Kendall Baker · Jul 12, 2022 | | 👋 Good morning! It's me again. Today's word count: 1,734 words (6.5 minutes). Let's sports... | | | | | | 1 big thing: 🇬🇧 Sir Mo tells his story |  | | | Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images | | | | Mo Farah, the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic history, is finally telling his story. Driving the news: In a stunning revelation, the four-time gold medalist says he was trafficked to the U.K. from Somalia as a child and forced to work as a domestic servant. - "Most people know me as Mo Farah, but it's not my name or the reality," the elite distance runner said in a BBC documentary that premieres Wednesday.
- "The real story is I was born in Somaliland, north of Somalia, as Hussein Abdi Kahin. Despite what I've said in the past, my parents never lived in the U.K."
Mo's story: Farah, 39, says he was separated from his family after his father was killed during Somalia's civil war and brought to Britain at age 9 under the name Mohamed Farah by a woman he didn't know. - Once in the U.K., Farah said he was forced to do chores for the woman, who threatened he would never see his family again if he said anything. "If I wanted food in my mouth, my job was to look after those kids, shower them, cook for them, clean for them," Farah said.
- Years later, after revealing his identity to his gym teacher, Farah was placed in foster care and taken in by another Somali family. In 2000, he was granted British citizenship.
The big picture: In the two decades since becoming a citizen, Farah has represented Britain on the global stage and become a national sports icon. In 2017, he received his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth. |     | | | | | | 2. ⚾️ Streak snapped: 553 straight games |  | | | Photo: Ed Zurga/Getty Images | | | | Royals infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield didn't play in the opener of a split doubleheader against the Tigers on Monday due to a toe injury, ending his consecutive games streak at a franchise record 553. Why it matters: Merrifield's streak, which began on June 24, 2018, was the longest active streak in MLB — and the longest since Miguel Tejada played in 1,152 straight games from June 2, 2000, to June 21, 2007. - 553 straight games ranks 25th all-time, behind superstars like record-holder Cal Ripken Jr. (2,632), Lou Gehrig (2,130), Stan Musial (895), Pete Rose (745) and Ernie Banks (717).
- Among players this century, only Tejada (1,152), Merrifield (553), Prince Fielder (547), Alex Rodriguez (546), Hideki Matsui (519) and Mark Teixera (507) have eclipsed 500 games.
Looking ahead: Braves first baseman Matt Olson now has the longest active streak of consecutive games in the majors at 221. | | | | | | | | 3. 🏏 Four arrested in wild cricket scheme |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | There's match fixing, and then there's the scheme hatched last month by a few enterprising Indians: fabricating a cricket league to dupe Russian bettors, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. The setup: Shoeb Davda worked eight months in a Russian pub known as a gambling hangout. While there, he met a man named Asif Mohammed who masterminded the scheme, per the Times of India. - Once Davda returned to India and Mohammed had taught the Russians about cricket, the con was on.
How it worked: In a plan reminiscent of "The Sting," Davda and his colleagues went all out to make their "Century Hitters T20" league look legit, despite the real IPL season having ended three weeks earlier. - The field: They built their field on a farm in Molipur, 400 miles due north of Mumbai, adding halogen lights to give it a professional feel.
- The players: 21 locals, wearing jerseys of real IPL teams, were paid $5 per game to be their players.
- The broadcast: They streamed games on YouTube with two HD cameras, adding graphics, sound effects and a commentator. Footage with audio.
- The scheme: They set up a betting channel on Telegram. When bets came in, they alerted the "umpires" via walkie-talkie, who signaled the players to produce whatever result was needed to win that bet.
How it ended: Four of the organizers were arrested last week after police received a tip, per BBC. They'd completed nine games and had just received their first installment of money from the bettors: $3,770. The bottom line: People really will bet on anything. | | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Get smarter, faster on Cryptocurrencies | | |  | | | | Axios Crypto brings you daily updates on the most consequential trends in cryptocurrency and the blockchain Subscribe for free | | | | | | 4. ⚡️ Lightning round |  | | | Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images | | | | ⚾️ Pete's back: Reigning champion Pete Alonso (2019, 2021) will defend his title at the Home Run Derby. Alonso is one of three back-to-back champs, along with Ken Griffey Jr. (1998-99) and Yoenis Céspedes (2013-14). 🎾 Tennis rankings: Roger Federer dropped out of the ATP rankings for the first time in 25 years, while Novak Djokovic fell to No. 7 and Elena Rybakina stayed at No. 23 due to Wimbledon awarding no ranking points. 🏈 Broncos add Rice: Condoleezza Rice has joined the new Broncos ownership group as a minority owner. The former Secretary of State went to high school in Denver and attended the University of Denver. ⚾️ Dodger Stadium strike: With MLB's All Star-Game set to begin this weekend, Dodger Stadium concession workers are positioning themselves for a potential strike, per the L.A. Times. 🥍 USA wins it all: The U.S. beat Canada 11-8 this weekend to become the first host country to capture gold at the World Lacrosse Women's Championship. The U.S. has won 30 straight games dating to 2009. | | | | | | | | 5. 🏁 Formula 1: Midseason snapshot |  Data: Formula 1; Table: Will Chase/Axios Red Bull and Ferrari's boom-or-bust campaign has them atop the F1 standings through 11 of 22 races, but Mercedes is lurking in the rearview, Jeff writes. Driving the news: Ferrari's Charles Leclerc held off Red Bull's Max Verstappen to win Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix, while their teammates both failed to finish and Mercedes took 3-4. State of play: The results from Austria were a near-perfect microcosm of the season thus far. - Red Bull (359 points, 1st place) has won seven races and finished second six times. But Verstappen and Sergio Pérez — first and third in the standings — also have five DNFs, four due to mechanical failure.
- Ferrari (303, 2nd) has the remaining four wins and five second-place finishes. But Leclerc and Carlos Sainz — second and fourth in the standings — have six DNFs, four also due to mechanical failure.
- Mercedes (237, 3rd) needs some wins to truly threaten for the title, but George Russell and Lewis Hamilton's consistency (13 top-four finishes, one DNF) has them in great position should Red Bull or Ferrari falter.
Looking ahead: Here's what the schedule looks like the rest of the way: - 🇫🇷 July 24: French GP
- 🇭🇺 July 31: Hungarian GP
- 🇧🇪 Aug. 28: Belgian GP
- 🇳🇱 Sept. 4: Dutch GP
- 🇮🇹 Sept. 11: Italian GP
- 🇸🇬 Oct. 2: Singapore GP
- 🇯🇵 Oct. 9: Japanese GP
- 🇺🇸 Oct. 23: U.S. GP
- 🇲🇽 Oct. 30: Mexican GP
- 🇧🇷 Nov. 13: Brazilian GP
- 🇦🇪 Nov. 20: Abu Dhabi GP
Go deeper: Will Leclerc's win be a turning point? (ESPN) | | | | | | | | 6. ⚽️ UCL rights could double in value |  | | | Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios | | | | UEFA and the European Club Association launched a tender offer Monday morning for the lucrative U.S. broadcast and streaming rights for the Champions League, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. Why it matters: The bids are expected to top $2 billion for a six-year contract beginning in 2024, doubling the $150 million per year that Paramount pays now to at least $300 million per year, according to two sources familiar with the matter. State of play: Representatives from UEFA, ECA and Relevent Sports Group, which is running the bidding process, have met with nine major media companies — Disney/ESPN, NBCU/Telemundo, Peacock, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, Univision, Apple, Amazon and DAZN. - Bids are due for review on Aug. 15. A decision is expected shortly thereafter, before the 2022/2023 season begins.
- Rights could be split between two networks, which would both get streaming and linear TV rights, the sources said. Amazon and BT Sport split the rights in the U.K.
The big picture: Champions League is one of the last high-profile sports rights auctions remaining for the next few years, aside from NFL Sunday Ticket, another six-year deal that is expected to be announced this fall. - A record 5.36 million people in the U.S. watched the 2022 Champions League final between Liverpool and Real Madrid in May.
- There's been an uptick of interest in soccer in the U.S. in the past few years, and that interest is only expected to increase when the World Cup comes to North America in 2026.
| | | | | | | | 7. 🌎 The world in photos | | Photo: Azael Rodriguez/Getty Images MONTERREY, Mexico — Kristie Mewis scored a late game-winner to lift the USWNT past Mexico 1-0 in the final Group A match of the CONCACAF W Championship. - What's next: The U.S. won the group and will play Costa Rica in Thursday's semifinals. Mexico came in last place and was eliminated from contention for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
Photo: Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images EDINBURGH, Scotland — A portrait of Tom Morris (aka Old Tom), the Scottish golfer who redesigned the Old Course at St. Andrews, could fetch more than $500,000 at auction. Photo: Pedja Milosavljevic/AFP via Getty Images BELGRADE, Serbia — Novak Djokovic received a hero's welcome in his nation's capital after his victory at Wimbledon. | | | | | | | | 8. 📺 Watchlist: Texas Derby |  | | | Austin FC supporters. Photo: David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images | | | | Austin FC hosts the Houston Dynamo tonight (9pm ET, Twitter), with Austin looking like a surprise contender in their second season since joining MLS. - State of play: After finishing with the West's second-worst record last year, Austin is just two points shy of LAFC for the league's best record.
- The big picture: From 2006-20, the Texas Derby featured only Dallas and Houston battling for the title of best team in the state. This year? Austin has entered the chat.
More to watch: | | | | | | | | 9. ⚾️ MLB trivia |  | | | Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios | | | | Only two MLB players have won ROY and MVP in the same season. - Question: Name them.
- Hint: 1975 and 2001.
Answer at the bottom. | | | | | | | | 10. 🏀 1 fun thing: RJ the ref |  | | | Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images | | | | Richard Jefferson, the NBA veteran turned ESPN analyst, officiated the second quarter of Monday's Knicks-Trail Blazers summer league game. "Part of the reason why I agreed to do it is because I had such a tremendous amount of respect for the officials. ... Anybody that wants to criticize [them] just go referee a high school game first and then you might look at it a little differently." — Jefferson His stats: - 10 minutes
- 6 passes to the free throw shooter
- 1 call overturned by another ref
| | | | | | | | A message from Axios | | Get smarter, faster on Cryptocurrencies | | | | | | | | Axios Crypto brings you daily updates on the most consequential trends in cryptocurrency and the blockchain Subscribe for free | | | | Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Bidding on Old Tom" Baker Trivia answer: Fred Lynn, Red Sox (1975) and Ichiro Suzuki, Mariners (2001) 🙏 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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