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Weekend winners
Spain sports. Carlos Escape from Alcaraz won Wimbledon. The Spain kick-ballers beat England to win the Euro thing. Heck, Sergio even won the LIV even over the weekend. Viva La Espana.
Billy Napier. Yeah, the embattled Florida coach could always use some good news. But when the seed was released for this week's SEC media event in Dallas, Napier's spot on Wednesday — when Kalen DeBoer and Steve Sarkisian also take the podium — offers the perfect, keep your head low spot for a guy who needs Teflon underpants because his seat is so hot.
Local/regional MLB talent. A couple of former Baylor School players went high in round one of the MLB draft Sunday. Three UT players went on the first day. Heck, you could make an argument that Colorado got the best news when super-slugger Charlie Condon of Georgia fell to the third overall pick.
Alabama recruiting. The aforementioned DeBoer is reeling in five-star talent, and the Tide's 2025 class is second nationally in the rankings and already has a whopping five five-star players.
Weekend losers
America. You know. I know. I will pray for whoever wins in November, because with a nation this divided, they are going to need all the help they can get.
American soccer. Man, soccer fans make college football crazies look like etiquette school graduates. This Copa America thing was supposed to be a look at if the U.S. was ready to help host the World Cup later this decade. Sunday's free-for-all that delayed the start as fans rushed the gates and ignored security just goes to the next line item on the list with in-stands brawls, shoddy playing conditions and the American men failing to advance out of group play.
Lakers offseason moves. So hire a TV analyst who last coached 10-year rec hoops. Yes, Dalton Knecht was a gift, but the details about the most egregious nepotism relationship in sports since Pete Rose Jr. got chance after chance — that would be Bronny James — looks worse and worse with each passing summer league game.
Tennis. Man, that's the biggest tennis stage in the sport, and it came and went with barely a whisper. And if The Joker is about to fade into the sunset, I'm not sure how many folks can name even the best tennis players in the world right now.
At the break
So MLB is hosting the draft and headed to the All-Star break.
The questions seem more pertinent and pressing than any of the answers we may think we know.
I do think we can see the Phillies are very good. They have battled some injuries, but the other two elite teams in the NL assuredly do not want to hear about the Phillies' nagging injury concerns.
That's because the Dodgers are playing for an extended period without Mookie Betts, who broke his hand after getting with a pitch, as well as pitchers Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw.
The Braves got the double whammy of Ronald Acuña and Spencer Strider being shelved for the season.
Which brings us back to the Braves, who are 53-42 and likely should feel very fortunate to be 11 games over .500 and just 8.5 games back of the Phillies.
With your best starting pitcher and arguably one of the best five position players in the game out for the season, that's a big hurdle.
And the bats have been inconsistent at best. Do you know that of the Braves regulars, only DH Marcel Ozuna (.303) has a batting average over .260?
Granted no one could have expected this version of Chris Sale — who got his MLB-leading 13th win Sunday — and the lefty's march to an All-Star nod makes him a clear frontrunner for not only comeback player of the year but potentially a Cy Young.
In fact, his return to greatness is one of the handful of most intriguing storylines of this first half, up there with my man Paul Skenes — thank goodness he gets the All-Star start — as well as the power of Aaron Judge and the divide between the half dozen or so teams with a real chance to win it all and everyone else.
Thoughts?
This and that
— One more thing on the attempted assassination of former President Trump: Big picture, if the names and pictures of these cowards with long-range weapons were not published, would that help curb some of the avalanche of gun violence?
— Rest easy Brenda Walsh (aka Shannen Doherty) who died over the weekend at 53. And that was just one of several recognizable names that died over the weekend as we said good-bye to Dr. Ruth, Shelley Duvall and Richard Simmons.
— Did anyone else see this clip of a guy who averages 393 off the tee with a driver that is something like 15 feet long?
Today's questions
Weekend winners and losers. Go.
Also, on a multiple choice Monday, what is the best word to describe these Braves headed to the break?
As for today, July 15, let's review.
"Die Hard" was released on this day in 1988. Still holds up.
Forest Whitaker is 63 today.
Rushmore of best MLB No. 1 overall picks.
Go, and try to be kind to each other today.