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⚾ Good morning everyone. Especially…
Juan Soto and the New York Yankees
There’s very little Juan Soto hasn’t accomplished in his illustrious and still-developing career, but on Tuesday night he accomplished another feat: The Yankees superstar hit three home runs for the first time in his career in a 4-1 win over the White Sox.
Soto’s phenomenal hitting showcased one of his best attributes – his ability to hit in all directions. He hit a home run up the road in the third inning, to left-center in the sixth and to right-center in the seventh. With 33 home runs this season, Soto is just two away from tying his career high of 35, which he set last year with the Padres. At 25 years and 293 days old, Soto is the fourth-youngest Yankee player to hit three home runs on the road, behind Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Keller and Lou Gehrig. Not bad company!
With the win, the Yankees also moved half a game ahead of the Orioles in the AL East standings, marking the first time they have taken sole possession of first place in the division since June 26.
😁 Honorable Mention
🤕 It wasn’t a very good morning…
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JJ McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings have determined who will win the quarterback battle … just not in the way they hoped: JJ McCarthy will have surgery on a torn meniscus and it’s unclear when he will return.
McCarthy reported knee discomfort after the Vikings’ preseason game against the Raiders. He completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, earning an “A-” in Chris Trapasso’s Week 1 rookie evaluation. Reports suggest McCarthy could miss a few weeks if he only needs a meniscus removal. If he needs a full repair, he could miss several months. The 10th overall pick in this year’s draft was in the tier behind fellow prolific Sam Darnold, but it was still up in the air. Now, that spot has been all but officially assigned to Darnold.
“Even if the plan was always to have McCarthy on the bench for at least part of the season, this is a big blow. He needs to work hard to continue his development, and training camp and the preseason provided the perfect environment for that. Cody Benjamin has more details on what this means for Minnesota’s quarterback corps.
👎 Not so honorable mentions
🏈 College football betting guide: Top teams likely to disappoint
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10 days. There are only a few days left until the start of the 2024 college football season. Tom Fornelli’s betting guide is here. Whether you’re an experienced gambler or just starting out, Tom will set you up to win big based on recent trends.
Meanwhile, David Cobb has the highest win total bet throughout the new college football season, and I…
Cobb: “Oklahoma State Over Eight Wins (-130) — Oklahoma State won nine regular season games last season and is among the best in the nation in terms of returning players. … The defense struggled last season in coordinator Brian Naldo’s first year, but now they have a lot of familiar players with Big 12 experience that can strengthen the team. Offensively, quarterback Alan Bowman is a veteran and running back Ollie Gordon is one of the top non-quarterback candidates for the Heisman Trophy. Mike Gundy is the head of the Big 12 coaching staff and leads a team that is competing for a conference title.”
David also projects a 5.5 win line for Colorado: I know you guys are interested in Deion Sanders in year 2. Who wouldn’t be interested?
Finally, a day after Shehan Jeyaraja named the teams that could move up from their preseason AP Top 25 rankings, our staff picked the teams that could go the other way — the top 10 teams that could drop out of the rankings entirely by season’s end. Cameron Salerno says…
Salerno: (10) Florida State — The Seminoles lost more than a dozen stars on both sides of the ball last season, including star quarterback Jordan Travis. Florida State is committed to former Clemson and Oregon State quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. The schedule includes three teams originally ranked (No. 14 Clemson, No. 19 Miami and No. 7 Notre Dame) with games against SMU, North Carolina and Florida sprinkled in between.
🏀 Olympic men’s basketball duos to watch on the NBA
Usachi
Fun, right? The U.S. Men’s Basketball team made a great run to win the gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. A gold medal is special in any sport and any year, but this one felt a little different. It was led by some of the icons and pillars of the NBA’s past: LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kevin Durant, who all played in the final, and perhaps final, performances of their legendary careers.
It’s hard to feel nostalgic about something that’s in motion, but that was one of the emotions I felt as the clock ticked down in the gold medal game against France. Those three, along with some great supporting stars like Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker and Joel Embiid, were a blast.
But what if we saw these two as teammates more often? Brad Botkin envisioned the Olympic duo he’d like to see together in the NBA. James and Curry are great, but I might prefer this one.
Botkin: “Durant and Edwards — We know Durant can thrive alongside other stars. He’s the greatest player in Olympic history, and he joined the Golden State Warriors when they were at the peak of their powers, making them even more effective. When Edwards declared himself the first choice for Team USA, the question many had was whether he could suppress his instinct to take over when submission was expected. He did just that in Paris, where he naturally transitioned between a superstar scorer and a very talented support staff.”
No, that won’t happen (probably), but it’s fun to dream, and Brad has one duo that could, and probably should, actually come to fruition.
📺 What to watch on Wednesday
⚾ Royals vs. Twins, 1:10 p.m., MLB Network
⚾ Dodgers vs. Brewers or Yankees vs. White Sox, 8:10 p.m. on MLB Network
