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🚨 Headlines
⚾️ Monster blasts: Giants DH Jorge Soler hit the longest home run of the season (478 feet) on Sunday in San Francisco. Hours later, Shohei Ohtani blasted the second-longest homer in Dodger Stadium history (473 feet).
🏈 Saban Field: Alabama’s board of trustees voted Friday to name the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium after Nick Saban. The official name: Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
🐎 Back in the Derby: Churchill Downs lifted its three-year suspension of Bob Baffert on Friday after the Hall of Fame trainer posted a statement taking responsibility for Medina Spirit’s positive drug test in 2021.
🏈 Shopping mall champs: The Billings Outlaws beat the Albany Firebirds, 46-41, in the Arena League title game, which was played inside a massive New Jersey mall.
⛳️ Double major: Xander wins again
Xander Schauffele shot a final-round 65 on Sunday at Royal Troon to win the 152nd Open Championship and claim his second major title after winning the PGA Championship in May.
Elite company: Schauffele is the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win two majors in the same year, and he’s just the seventh player ever to finish inside the top 10 in all four majors and win at least two in the same season.
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Arnold Palmer (1960)
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Gary Player (1974)
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Jack Nicklaus (1975)
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Tom Watson (1977, 1982)
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Tiger Woods (2000, 2005)
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Jordan Spieth (2015)
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Schauffele (2024)
American sweep: This is the first time in 42 years that Americans won all four majors. In 1982, it was Craig Stadler (Masters), Tom Watson (U.S. Open, Open) and Raymond Floyd (PGA); This year, it was Scheffler (Masters), Schauffele (PGA, Open), and Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. Open).
From Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee…
Sometimes you win a major by solving the course, as Scheffler did in the Masters this year. Sometimes, you win a major by facing down a rival, as Schauffele did at the PGA, and DeChambeau did at the U.S. Open. And sometimes, you win a major by just hanging out, waiting for the right moment … and then launching into orbit.
In a week where Scotland threw all it could at Royal Troon Golf Club — wind from three directions, sideways rain, haze and chill — Schauffele survived the elements and 158 other challengers to win the British Open.
12 players entered Sunday within four strokes of the lead, and four players held the solo lead for at least some point. But Royal Troon ground them all down, one after the other, and only Schauffele was able to go low.
He carded six birdies over 11 holes in the middle of his round, turning a three-shot deficit into a three-shot lead and all but engraving his name on the Claret Jug long before Saturday’s leaders got within sight of the clubhouse.
A season to remember: Schauffele, who will move up to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, has 12 top-10 finishes this year and hasn’t missed a single cut. If not for Scheffler’s historic campaign, he’d be the runaway choice for Player of the Year.
What’s next: Schauffele, the defending Olympic gold medalist, will head to Paris as part of Team USA.
🇫🇷 Pogačar dominant in third Tour victory
Tadej Pogačar concluded an utterly dominant three weeks of cycling on Sunday to win the 111th Tour de France and become the ninth three-time winner in history.
Race recap: The 25-year-old Slovenian, who also won in 2020 and 2021, finished 6 minutes and 17 seconds ahead of two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, first claiming the yellow jersey after Stage 4 (of 21) and never relinquishing it. Tour debutant Remco Evenepoel rounded out the podium.
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Pogačar won each of the final three stages and six overall, the most by a Tour champion since Bernard Hinault won seven stages in 1979.
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He was particularly dominant in the mountains, joining Gino Bartali in 1948 as the only riders to win five mountain stages in a single Tour.
A rare double: Pogačar is just the eighth cyclist — and first since 1998 — to win the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same year.
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Marco Pantani (1998)
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Miguel Induráin (1992-93)
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Stephen Roche (1987)
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Hinault (1982, 1985)
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Eddy Merckx (1970, 1972)
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Jacques Anquetil (1964)
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Fausto Coppi (1949, 1952)
More from the Tour:
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Finishing outside Paris: The race ended on a time trial for the first time since 1989 and, to avoid the Olympics, it finished outside Paris for the first time ever.
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Other winners: Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay won the green jersey (points), Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz won the polka dot jersey (mountains) and Belgium’s Evenepoel, 24, won the white jersey (young rider).
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Going out in style: Sprinting specialist Mark Cavendish, 39, won a record-breaking 35th career Tour de France stage in what was likely his final race.
What to watch: Pogačar will represent Slovenia in the Olympics, but he’s “99% sure” he won’t compete in next month’s Vuelta a España. Should he change his mind, he’ll have a chance to become the first man to win all three legs of the Grand Tour in a calendar year.
🇺🇸 Photos across America
Cooperstown, New York — The Baseball Hall of Fame welcomed its four newest members on Sunday, officially inducting Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, Todd Helton and Jim Leyland.
Phoenix — Team WNBA beat Team USA, 117-109, in Saturday’s thrilling All-Star Game. It’s only possible every four years, but this format — pitting the national team against players who believe they should have been selected — is fantastic.
Indianapolis — Two months ago, rain spoiled Kyle Larson’s Indy 500/Coca-Cola 600 “double” attempt. On Sunday, he returned to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and won the Brickyard 400.
🌎 Photos around the world
London — Noah Lyles won the 100m final at Saturday’s Diamond League event, running a personal best of 9.81 seconds in his final race before the Olympics.
Budapest — Oscar Piastri claimed his first F1 victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix*, where teammate Lando Norris — who begrudgingly pulled over to let Piastri pass him — finished second for McLaren’s first 1-2 since 2021.
Dublin, Ireland — Clare beat Cork on Sunday in an All-Ireland Hurling final for the ages. ICYMI: Watch these highlights. What a sport!
*Max’s cold streak: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who finished fifth, has now gone three straight races without a win for the first time since 2021, a span of 58 races.
📆 July 22, 1997: Maddux’s 76-pitch gem
27 years ago today, Greg Maddux threw the Maddux-iest* game of his career, mowing down the Cubs in a 4-1 complete game victory on just 76 pitches.
Mr. Efficient: Just 13 of Maddux’s 76 pitches that day were balls, which was a perfect encapsulation of his hyper-efficient season. He faced 893 batters that year, walked only 20 and went to a 3-0 count just five times (!!).
*A “Maddux” is a complete-game shutout on fewer than 100 pitches — something Greg accomplished a record 13 times. Though this one wasn’t one of them thanks to the Cubs’ lone run, it was the fewest pitches he ever threw in a complete game.
📺 Watchlist: Team USA’s final tune-up
Team USA takes on Germany this afternoon in London (3pm ET, Fox) for their fifth and final exhibition before heading to Paris.
Close call: The Americans* escaped with a 101-100 comeback win over 43-point underdog South Sudan on Saturday thanks to LeBron James’ late game-winning layup. They’ll be hoping for a better showing today.
More to watch:
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⚾️ MLB: Rays at Yankees (1pm, MLB)
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⚽️ CONCACAF U20 Championship: USA vs. Cuba (10pm, FS2) … Group stage.
*Reinforcements coming? Kevin Durant, who’s been sidelined by a calf strain for Team USA’s first four exhibitions, is expected to return tonight.
🇫🇷 Olympics trivia
Paris is one of two cities to host the Olympics three times (1900, 1924, 2024).
Question: Can you name the other city?
Answer at the bottom.
🍿 Baker’s Dozen: Top 13 plays of the weekend
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⛳️ Historic ace
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⚾️ Josh Smith!
Trivia answer: London (1908, 1948, 2012)
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Daniel Miller is a sports fanatic who lives and breathes athletics. His coverage spans from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis for sports enthusiasts.
