The Tour de France and the British Open are both going on right now, which basically means that Europe is making its pitch as July’s capital of the sporting world. To which we say: Well, I did see spikeball on ESPN2 last night (come on, Rob Manfred, fix this).
Of course, Europe should be July’s capital of the sporting world this year. The World Cup should be going on right now, in stadiums not built by slaves. Instead, it’ll happen in November, in stadiums…
Still, morning sports are good, and because we have two options, we now have to compare them. The Tour de France vs. the British Open, in terms of which to have on TV:
Tour de France
Advantages:
- Bigger probability of looking up and seeing mayhem
- You have no desire to ride a bike that hard, so it doesn’t feel demoralizing
- More varied scenery
Disadvantages:
- Everyone involved will one day be busted for cheating
- You really don’t care about it
British Open
Advantages:
- Recognizable characters, natural storylines
- One specific very cool location
- You can talk to your friends about it
Disadvantages:
- Might convince you to go golfing
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Overall, I think the British Open has the edge, which is why it’s been on TV these last two mornings and not the Tour de France. Next week, though, I think cycling is back up. Unless spikeball is on.
Joe Kelly, Ready for Anything
As suspected, Joe Kelly didn’t make it into the game last night, but as tensions flared at the end of White Sox/Twins, our hero did this:
What’s in that bag? That’s for Joe Kelly to know and the Twins to find out. Classic deterrence move.
Casey Close, Ready to Sue Doug Gottlieb
Wild stuff!
If you haven’t heard, Freddie Freeman’s old agent is suing Doug Gottlieb for reporting that the agent, Casey Close, didn’t tell Freeman about Atlanta’s final contract offer. Libel suit, and a rare crossover event between college basketball and Major League Baseball.
Does this get Gottlieb all excited? Maybe. Really. He might have been going for this kind of thing.
Horns Down Can Still Be Considered a Taunt
Big 12 media days were this week. That, or Big 12 media day was this week. I’m not sure the media realizes how little those outside the media care about media days, but at the same time, a day named after themselves? That’s the media’s dream, right there.
Anyway, heard a lot about media day, but the thing we all want to know was confirmed: Horns Down remains a gray area. Not an automatic unsportsmanlike conduct flag, but it can be. Similar to a thumbs down, maybe? We’ve been getting into the thumbs down lately in my household.
The Sens’ Dream Offseason Continues
Things continue to go suspiciously well.
Josh Norris? Extended. Eight years.
Connor Brown? Traded to the Capitals for a second-round pick (in 2024) to make salary cap space for…well, probably Giroux and DeBrincat but that’s good, because it means Zaitsev can still get dumped in the quest for an upgrade on the blue line.
Also picked up Antoine Bibeau and Jacob Larsson to two-way deals. Roster-filling depth moves.
Shaka Smart & STEM
Shaka Smart’s Marquette University hosted a camp this week called “STEM and Sport Team Up” for students from Racine Unified Middle School. Good initiative for the kids? Who cares? Marquette just got a ton of data on potential middle school recruits. What an edge.
Hennessey & Cornet
Wayne Hennessey’s officially off to Nottingham Forest, so Burnley’ll need a new goalie, most likely. At least a second option, right? On that topic, Bart Verbruggen of Anderlecht was, unsurprisingly, linked to the Burnleys yesterday. Vincent Kompany is pillaging the Belgian league. Unclear if that’s a good thing or not.
In similar news, Everton’s the likeliest destination for Maxwel Cornet. No deal yet, but a deal to someone is expected and Everton’s the likeliest someone.
Canada & New Hampshire
NASCAR and IndyCar had the same idea as me. Go to the northlands. It’s hot as the sun’s armpits in Texas.
NASCAR’s racing in New Hampshire, which isn’t that exciting but does give me an excuse to look up where Loudon is geographically. Just looked that up. Without much knowledge of what is and isn’t significant in New Hampshire, I can’t tell you anything notable about it, but I do now know where it’s at. Kind of just in the middle of New Hampshire. Near Concord. Mean anything to you? Probably not, I’m guessing.
I know where Toronto is: It’s where IndyCar’s racing this weekend. Evidently there was a question after the Álex Palou/Chip Ganassi Racing blowup this week about whether Palou would still finish out the season for CGR. Evidently the answer to that question is a tentative yes. Would be pretty mean of him to crash all their cars.
Travel Thoughts
Early read on Maine is that it has great vibes. Hadn’t been here in six years, and hadn’t really been on the coastal part even then. Our rental car is a little bit smelly, but it has a Maine license plate, which is solid in person and fits the vibes well, which might boost it in next year’s rankings and my own voting in the upcoming License Plate Bracket III. The commitment to blueberry here is admirable, as is the prevalence of ice cream. I was given multiple kinds of butter at breakfast, too, but I think that was mostly a coincidence. Do people butter their muffins? I’ve never buttered my muffin. Watched the sun rise from Cadillac Mountain today. Gonna do some hiking later. Going to an island on Sunday, so if Joe Kelly pitches while I don’t have reception, well, please tweet your support of him on my behalf. Lastly: I haven’t seen Mason Ramsey, nor do I expect to, but I’m always ready. Don’t worry, guys. I’m always ready.
P.S. Fargo, if you’re reading this, I miss you and you would like it here but we have no way to transport you over this large of distances. Especially if you don’t stop jumping on strangers. Sorry, girl. Figure it out.
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Viewing schedule for the weekend, plus the British Open (for ambience):
Friday, 8:10 PM EDT: White Sox @ Twins, MLB TV
Saturday, 2:10 PM EDT: White Sox @ Twins, MLB TV
Sunday, 2:10 PM EDT: White Sox @ Twins, MLB TV
Joe Kelly will be seen. Possibly not heard, though. Can’t let the Twins know where he is.
Saturday, 2:20 PM EDT: Mets @ Cubs, MLB TV
Saturday, 8:05 PM EDT: Mets @ Cubs, MLB TV
Sunday, 2:20 PM EDT: Mets @ Cubs, MLB TV
The Cubs should push the Game 1 start time tomorrow back to 5:00 PM then see if they can get three games in within 24 hours.
Sunday, 3:00 PM EDT: Ambetter 301, USA
Sunday, 3:00 PM EDT: Honda Indy Toronto, Peacock
Sorry, IndyCar, but you’re going on the phone and NASCAR’s going on the television if I’m in front of both (which I won’t be, because of the island).
