Axios Sports: ⚽️ Europe closing the gap

Plus: Angels gonna Angel | Friday, August 05, 2022

Open in app View in browser     Axios Sports By Kendall Baker · Aug 05, 2022 🎉 Happy Friday! You made it. 🇷🇺 Developing story: Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison on Thursday. What's next: A possible prisoner swap between the U.S. and Russia. Today's word count: 1,612 words (6 minutes). Let's sports...     1 big thing: ⚽️ Europe is closing the gap Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios   The U.S. still rules women's soccer, but Europe is coming fast, and their recently crowned champion will soon have a chance to make a big statement, Axios' Jeff Tracy and I write. Driving the news: Two days after England won the Women's Euro title Sunday at Wembley in front of a record crowd, it was announced that the Lionesses would host the USWNT in an October friendly. Why it matters: The match, also at Wembley, is already generating a ton of hype and will be billed as a possible turning point in the battle for women's soccer supremacy. "[The USWNT] have always been [the benchmark]. If you think of women's football, you think of what [they've] achieved in the past. … So to take them on at Wembley Stadium will be amazing." — England forward Alessia Russo, via ESPN State of play: The No. 1-ranked USWNT has long dominated internationally, and there's every reason to think the next generation will carry on the legacy of Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and others. Yes, but: Europe — motivated by the USWNT's success and aided by their continent's rich soccer culture — is starting to close the gap ahead of the 2023 Women's World Cup. Attendance: Two women's Champions League games this spring set attendance records, breaking marks previously held by the USWNT. Success: After winning four of the first five Olympic golds, the USWNT has failed to reach the final in the past two Games, where Europe has a gold and two silvers. Talent: England and Spain (six) have as many women in ESPN's top 50 players as the U.S., which had 11 on the list just last year. European club teams, now receiving more investment, have many of the best players. Equal pay: The USWNT's long battle for equal pay helped pave the way for countries like Denmark, Finland, the U.K., Norway, Spain and the Netherlands to achieve similar victories. Cultural impact: England's win on Sunday is already being celebrated as an inflection point for women's soccer across the U.K., inspiring a generation of young girls much like the USWNT did in 1999. Looking ahead: This fall, the U.S. and England will go head-to-head in both women's (Oct. 7 friendly) and men's soccer (Nov. 25 World Cup group stage). Should be a fun rivalry.     2. ⚾️ Angels gonna Angel Mickey Moniak is congratulated after his home run. Photo: John McCoy/Getty Images   The Angels have turned the practice of losing games they shouldn't lose into an art form. The latest: The Halos hit seven solo home runs against the A's on Thursday, tied for the most in a game by any team all-time ... and lost 8-7. The bottom line: Usually it's something like "Ohtani tosses gem, Trout goes 4-5, Angels lose." Now we've got some new material: "Angels hit historic number of solo shots, lose to MLB's second-worst team."     3. 🏉 All Blacks in new role: underdogs The All Blacks perform a Haka as Ireland players look on ahead of one of their matches last month. Photo: Marty Melville/AFP via Getty Images   New Zealand's All Blacks, the greatest rugby team ever, will have an unfamiliar label when the annual Rugby Championship kicks off on Saturday: underdogs, Jeff writes. State of play: After losing four of their last five matches — including their first home series loss since 1994 last month — the All Blacks have dropped to No. 4 in the world, their lowest ranking ever. All four losses came against Ireland and France, now ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively. Saturday's match is against No. 3 South Africa. The big picture: The All Blacks have a record-tying three World Cup titles and they're the only international team with a winning record against every opponent. Since their 1903 debut, they've compiled a sterling .787 winning percentage in test matches (473-120-22). That dominance has been built on a replenishing pipeline of youngsters in their rugby-crazed nation of just 5 million people. Yes, but: That pipeline has begun drying up as sports like basketball and soccer have gained popularity and safety concerns have taken center stage amid growing concussion awareness. Fewer players means fewer elite school programs, and many top players have begun jumping straight to Super Rugby (pro league), missing out on the development they used to get at the club level. "When you design your system to circumvent the natural progression that has worked for New Zealand for so many years, that is going to have consequences," rugby commentator Scotty Stevenson told NYT. The last word: "We're desperate to perform against South Africa," said All Blacks coach Ian Foster. "There's a lot riding on it."     A message from Axios Axios Smart Brevity book     Axios' founders wrote a book to share their methods for punching through the noise to get people to pay attention to what matters most. Order the book and enter to participate in a Smart Brevity workshop with the authors. No purchase necessary. Preorder today at SmartBrevity.com.     4. ⚡️ Lightning round Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   ⚾️ London Series: The Cubs and Cardinals will take their storied rivalry overseas for a two-game series in London next June, MLB announced Thursday. 🏈 Raiders 27, Jaguars 11: The Raiders gave new coach Josh McDaniels a successful homecoming on Thursday, routing the Jaguars in the Hall of Fame Game in McDaniels' hometown of Canton, Ohio. 💵 $7.25 million: Goldin Auctions has shattered the record for most expensive trading card ever with a $7.25 million private sale of a Honus Wagner T-206 card. Felt good about my $7 million bid, darn. 🏈 Watson case: Roger Goodell has chosen former New Jersey Attorney General Peter C. Harvey to hear the appeal of the six-game suspension for for Deshaun Watson. ICYMI: Our explainer. 🏀 Transfer U: Florida (89%) and Minnesota (84%) had the highest percentage of minutes played by transfers last season among men's major college hoops programs, per ESPN+ (subscription).     5. ⚾️ The man behind MLB's biggest deals Photo: G Fiume/Getty Images   The biggest trade in MLB history had a familiar man behind the curtain: Scott Boras, Jeff writes. State of play: Juan Soto's trade to the Padres came after the 23-year-old rejected the Nationals' 15-year, $440 million extension, which would have been a record. Boras believes (and many agree) that his client deserves an even bigger sum, and he wasn't about to settle. Soto will be a Padre for at least the next 2.5 seasons. Soon thereafter, if not before then, he's expected to sign the richest contract in baseball history. It's the Boras way. Data: Axios research; Chart: Thomas Oide/Axios The big picture: Boras has made a career of securing massive deals for his clients, engineering nine of the 23 MLB contracts that have exceeded $200 million, including six that set records at the time. Alex Rodriguez (2000, Rangers): 10 years, $252 million — largest MLB contract ever Rodriguez (2007, Yankees): 10 years, $275 million — largest MLB contract ever Prince Fielder (2012, Tigers): Nine years, $214 million Max Scherzer (2015, Nationals): Seven years, $210 million — largest ever for a free agent pitcher Bryce Harper (2019, Phillies): 13 years, $330 million — largest MLB contract ever Stephen Strasburg (2019, Nationals): Seven years, $245 million — largest ever for a pitcher Gerrit Cole (2019, Yankees): Nine years, $324 million — largest ever for a pitcher Anthony Rendon (2019, Angels): Seven years, $245 million Corey Seager (2021, Rangers): 10 years, $325 million The backdrop: Boras Corp. still rules the roost, but a competitor just bolstered its operations, with Wasserman (clients include Nolan Arenado and Giancarlo Stanton) acquiring Jet Sports (Chris Sale, Byron Buxton).     6. 🌎 The world in photos Photo: David Cannon/Getty Images GULLANE, Scotland — Jessica Korda made do with borrowed clothes while her suitcase was stuck in Switzerland, shooting a 65 to finish one shot off the lead on Day 1 of the Women's Open. Go deeper: Why LPGA major purses have skyrocketed (Just Women's Sports) Photo: Omar Vega/Getty Images LOS ANGELES — SoFi Stadium doesn't even look real sometimes. Truly breathtaking facility. Photo: Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images VILLARCAYO, Spain — The peloton passes through a village during the 44th Vuelta a Burgos, a multi-day stage race through northern Spain.     7. 📺 Watchlist: Premier League kicks off Will Manchester City repeat as champions? Photo: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images   The Premier League season kicks off this weekend as all 20 teams take the field, beginning this afternoon when Crystal Palace hosts Arsenal (3pm ET, USA). Split season: Teams will take an unfamiliar midseason pause to accommodate the World Cup (Nov. 21-Dec. 18), splitting the season into two parts. New teams: Fulham and Bournemouth were promoted after brief stints in the EFL Championship, while Nottingham Forest is back after 14 years. They replace Burnley, Watford and Norwich City. More to watch: ⛳️ LPGA: Women's Open (Fri.-Sun., USA/NBC) ⛳️ PGA: Wyndham Championship (Fri.-Sun., Golf/ESPN+/CBS) 🏈 NFL: Hall of Fame induction (Sat. 12pm, ESPN) ⚾️ MLB: Nationals at Phillies (Fri. 7pm, Apple TV+); Marlins at Cubs (Sat. 2:20pm, FS1); Astros at Guardians (Sun. 12pm, Peacock); Padres at Dodgers (Sun. 7pm, ESPN) 🏀 WNBA: Eight games (Fri.-Sun., ABC/CBSSN/NBA/Prime) ⚽️ Bundesliga: Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Sat. 12:30pm, ABC); Eight games (Fri.-Sun., ESPN+) … Opening weekend. ⚽️ Ligue 1: 10 games (Fri.-Sun. beIN Sports) … Opening weekend. ⚽️ NWSL: OL Reign vs. Houston Dash (Sun. 6pm, Paramount+) … Top-four clash. ⚽️ MLS: Salt Lake vs. LAFC (Sat. 10pm, Twitter) … Top-five clash. 🥍 PLL: Denver (Fri.-Sat., ESPN/ESPN+) 🎾 Tennis: Citi Open, Silicon Valley Classic (Fri.-Sun., Tennis) 🏁 NASCAR: Michigan International Speedway (Sun. 3pm, USA) 🏀 BIG3: Week 8 (Sat. 1pm, CBS) … Final weekend of the regular season. 🏒 3ICE: Week 8 (Sat. 5:30pm, CBSSN) … Final weekend of the regular season.     8. 📺 The Ocho: Today on ESPN2 Source: Giphy "The Ocho" began as a joke in the 2004 film "Dodgeball." Now, it's a term used to celebrate fringe sports in this newsletter and beyond — and an annual tradition at ESPN. What's happening: Today, ESPN2 becomes ESPN8: "The Ocho." Events include corgi racing, paper airplane flying, Microsoft Excel, stone skipping, "slippery stairs" and my personal favorite: omegaball. The main event is a pro-am cornhole competition at 8pm ET, which will pair American Cornhole League pros with celebrities like Jay Cutler, Doug Flutie and Dawn Staley. The 24-hour takeover features 14.5 hours of live events broadcast from Rock Hill, South Carolina. Full schedule.     9. ⚾️ MLB trivia Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images   The Dodgers have won eight straight over the Giants, tied for the longest win streak by either team since they both moved to California. Question: What year did they move? Hint: Eisenhower was president. Answer at the bottom.     10. 🏈 1 wild stat: This blew my mind Data: Pro Football Reference; Chart: Axios Visuals Brian Mitchell!!!     A message from Axios Axios Smart Brevity book     Axios' founders wrote a book to share their methods for punching through the noise to get people to pay attention to what matters most. Order the book and enter to participate in a Smart Brevity workshop with the authors. No purchase necessary. Preorder today at SmartBrevity.com.   Enjoy the weekend, Kendall "It's a bold strategy, Cotton" Baker Trivia answer: 1958 Correction: Our story in Thursday's newsletter about active athletes who are also sports team owners failed to include Derrick Henry, who has a stake in Nashville SC. 🙏 Thanks for reading. Follow us: @kendallbaker and @jeffreytracy. Tell friends to sign up. Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. 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