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🏀 Five things to know Monday
- LeBron James shook up the NBA with his decision to join the 76ers. The long wait for an announcement is over. James announced Philadelphia as his destination for what could be the final season (or two) of his legendary career. King James will reportedly sign a two-year, $8 million contract that both marks the smallest salary of his career and leaves the door open for him to walk away from the team -- or perhaps from basketball altogether -- after one season. The NBA's all-time leading scorer moving to a new team has massive implications league-wide. The 76ers and their uber-talented projected lineup are squarely in the championship hunt thanks to this massive addition, which fills the need for another star veteran. The league had been holding its breath for some time, awaiting James' decision. Now that it has arrived, more important business can unfold. Schedule-makers should have a field day with all the enticing matchup possibilities, teams that missed out on James will soon sign other free agents and the Lakers have to decide what to do with Bronny James.
- The Red Sox and Nationals completed a significant MLB trade deadline move. The deadline is now just one week away. The biggest transaction of the cycle thus far unfolded Sunday when the Nationals traded breakout infielder Curtis Mead to the Red Sox for standout rookie pitcher Connelly Early, and our trade grades show just how well Washington aced this deal. The trade is a product of Boston emerging as a deadline buyer with its midsummer surge, and now for Washington, all eyes turn to Foster Griffin and whether the Nationals use their new pitching depth as another reason to shop him. This is probably not the end of the Nationals' moves as they prepare to both buy and sell over the next week. In addition to Griffin, the team will also reportedly listen to offers for All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams. Also, expect the Yankees to be aggressive after placing yet another outfielder on the injured list.
- Jonquel Jones shined at WNBA All-Star weekend, while Cathy Engelbert felt the heat. Jones was the biggest winner from the festivities with her 22-point, 13-rebound, eight-assist showcase in the All-Star Game. The Liberty center earned the game's MVP award after leading Team Spoon to a 129-122 win over Team Coop in front of a record crowd in Chicago. As for the other events, Azzi Fudd became the first rookie to win the 3-point contest, and Elena Delle Donne ushered in a new era for All-Star Weekend when the retired star led her team to the inaugural Shooting Stars crown. The weekend was not all about celebration for Engelbert, however, as she faced tough questions and was noncommittal about her future as the WNBA's commissioner. Her complicated legacy at times overshadowed the party, although she added a feather to her cap with the announcement of a centralized replay center, which will debut next season.
- Jacob Misiorowski broke a Brewers record in a historically dominant outing. The seven consecutive strikeouts Misiorowski recorded to open Sunday's game against the Rockies are the most in franchise history and just two shy of the MLB record. Additionally, he fanned 12 of the first 13 batters he faced and became the first pitcher since 1920 to rack up 11 punchouts without allowing a hit through four innings. While Milwaukee's ace was as overpowering as ever, he lasted just 83 pitches in another example of how the Brewers could limit his workload enough to cost him the National League Cy Young Award.
- Jackson Koivun outdid Scottie Scheffler to win the 3M Open. It took just three PGA Tour starts for Koivun to secure his first win. It was quite the statement for the 21-year-old, who became the 10th youngest winner on the PGA Tour this century and bested the world No. 1 in doing so. Scheffler, by the way, finished the weekend as runner-up for the fifth time this season, which matches the most second-place finishes by any player since 2000. Earlier in the tournament, Michael Kim shot a 12-under 59 in Round 2 to become the 16th player to shoot below 60 in a PGA Tour round. Meanwhile, Johnny Keefer missed the cut and is now on the outside looking in on the FedEx Cup Playoffs bubble -- and he is content with his tedious position in the rankings.
👑 Do not miss this: LeBron James grades, winners and losers
Getty Images LeBron James was never going to make everyone happy with his free agency decision. While the 76ers are the fortunate team to secure his talents, a host of other suitors must now pivot to try and compete with them in the championship race. Not everyone is fully convinced Philadelphia was the perfect landing spot for the King, but none of our NBA experts are particularly puzzled by the move. John Gonzalez is the biggest fan of James' decision, and he explained why he graded it as an "A+."
- Gonzalez: "This works both ways -- for the player and the organization. In LeBron's announcement, he mentioned that he thinks he can make the Sixers a championship team. He's right. The Sixers had a LeBron-sized hole at power forward before he decided to take his talents to Philly."
The 76ers still have one major hurdle to jump, however. The reigning NBA champions reside in their conference and are not going anywhere. Plus, there are a few very real contenders behind them who could make them pay if the injury bug bites or if things take some time to mesh.
These three teams in our new Eastern Conference Power Rankings will be hot on the 76ers' heels:
3. Celtics 4. Cavaliers 5. Raptors
All of the teams that whiffed on landing James are obvious losers from this whole saga. The Warriors might be the most unfortunate of the bunch, though. Any hope of contending at the top of the Western Conference probably just went out the window. Where do they go from here? While our Sam Quinn says that teams like the Timberwolves and Heat still have paths to championships in the next couple of years, the window is now closed on Golden State.
- Quinn: "The Warriors have entered a different phase of their existence. Stephen Curry is still too good to turn the next few years into an extended retirement tour, but the Warriors have wisely resisted the urge to spend their future turning it into anything more. It's going to be a tough few seasons in Golden State."
📈📉 MLB Power Rankings entering trade deadline week
Getty Images If you're a middle-of-the-road baseball team, chances are you are torn between buying and selling. The Wild Card races in both leagues are so unbelievably wide open this year that more clubs than usual face tough decisions about whether to mortgage their futures to win now or sell off their veterans and move on to next year.
An ill-timed losing streak or an opportune winning binge could turn a "buy" decision into a "sell" over the next week. The biggest movers in our MLB Power Rankings this week happen to reside on that bubble:
- Risers: Nationals (↑7), Twins (↑4)
- Fallers: Marlins (↓10), Pirates (↓3)
And then there's the question of the Tigers. After splitting a four-game series with the Royals, they are up one spot to No. 18 in our rankings and face the greatest uncertainty of them all. Here's our Matt Snyder on the situation in Detroit:
- Snyder: "With every contender eyeing two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, the Tigers continue to linger in contention. They are 3.5 games out of the Wild Card despite being six games under .500."
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
Getty Images - Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones and Jeff Kent are officially Baseball Hall of Famers.
- Kyle Shanahan will begin 49ers training camp in a limited role after suffering serious but non-life threatening injuries in a car accident.
- Jacoby Brissett and the Cardinals came to an agreement on a significant one-year pay bump.
- Tim Tszyu defeated Errol Spence Jr. by unanimous decision to send boxing's former unified welterweight champion into retirement.
- Magomed Ankalaev is on the road back to the light heavyweight title with his TKO of Bogdan Guskov at UFC Fight Night.
- These teams are overrated and underrated in the preseason SEC football media poll. And you might be surprised to see where Arch Manning landed on the Preseason All-SEC Team.
- Dan Hurley explained to CBS Sports why college basketball's nonconference schedule is better now than ever -- even with next season's Duke vs. Michigan game called off due to broadcast complications.
- Finn Balor secured a spot in the No. 1 contender's match at WWE SummerSlam, where he will take on Sami Zayn.
- We now know how much buyout money Michigan will owe athletic director Warde Manuel when he steps down at the end of the year.
- Here's how Brandon Aiyuk went from a $120 million contract with the 49ers to potentially never playing in the NFL again. Former sports agent Joel Corry says Aiyuk only has himself to blame.
- Caitlin Clark addressed the latest WNBA controversies and her meeting with former President Barack Obama. At the end of the day, she just wants the conversation to revolve around basketball.
- Germany officially appointed Jürgen Klopp as head coach of the national team.
- Which new college basketball coach will have the most successful long-term career? Our experts debated.
- These rookie tight ends are poised to make a serious impact in Year 1.
- Edgar Berlanga lowers the boom on Steve Butler in the main event at Zuffa Boxing 09.
- Here's what the USMNT can learn from Spain's success at the World Cup.
📺 What we're watching Monday
⚾ Mariners at Rangers, 2:35 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited ⚾ Guardians at Reds, 7 p.m. on ESPN 🤼 WWE Raw, 8 p.m. on Netflix ⚾ Red Sox at Athletics, 9:40 p.m. on MLB Network
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