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Welcome Back 👋
The weekend in sports brought trophies in droves across America and Europe. The two winningest nations in the UEFA Euros (Spain) and Copa America (Argentina) are champions once more. A Scottish golfer did the unthinkable to win the Scottish Open to beat a guy named 'Scott' (can't make this up). Plus, Wimbledon winners were crowned and the Tour de France rages on. Now, we head to Texas for MLB All-Star Week before a weekend at the Open Championship. The non-stop sports summer continues...
🏅 T-minus 10 days to the 2024 Paris Olympics. Scroll to the bottom of today's edition for a special note. Letter Rip! |
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Copa Completion for Messi & Co. 🇦🇷 |
Photo: Charly Triballeau / Getty Images
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Copa America Final Delayed by Fan Frenzy Before 🇦🇷 Argentina Takes Down 🇨🇴 Colombia (1-0) With 112th-Minute Winner From Lautaro Martinez
More chaos at Copa America overshadowed the biggest game of the tournament on Sunday, but what a match it was. The Copa America finals, held at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, were overrun prior to kickoff by an estimated 7,000 fans without tickets rushing the gates. The match was delayed until the chaos was sorted and eventually kicked more than an hour later. In the game itself, Colombia had the better first half while Lionel Messi twisted an ankle early on. He played through to the second half before another fall ended his night in the 60th minute. The photos of Messi’s swollen ankle will make you queasy.
After a scoreless game (0-0) needed extra time, Argentina’s Lautaro Martinez (112’) fired the winner on a breakaway that made the difference. Martinez finished as the leading scorer in the Copa America tournament with five goals, including the decisive one in the final. Three of his five goals in the tournament were late-game winners. Colombia hadn’t been beaten in international competition since February 2022 — that loss was against Argentina, too. It was potentially the last match for Messi (37) with the Argentina national team. Argentina now owns 16 Copa America titles, breaking a tie with Uruguay (15) for the most of any nation.
Watch: 🇦🇷 Argentina def. 🇨🇴 Colombia (1-0) Read More
ESPN: Copa America Final Delayed After Fans Rush Gates Without Tickets
FOX Sports: Argentina Wins Record 16th Copa America Final (1-0) on 112th-Minute Goal |
🇪🇸 Spain Secures Record 4th Euros |
Photo: NurPhoto / Getty Images |
🇪🇸 Spain Captures 3rd Euro Crown in Last 5 (4th Overall), Haunts 🏴 England’s Euro Dream With Another Heartbreaker
Earlier on Sunday afternoon across the pond, Spain took down England to claim their third UEFA Euro title in the last five tournaments. It was another “almost” for England who have still never won the Euros despite back-to-back runner-up finishes. They lost to Italy in 2020 in penalty kicks. The 2024 tournament closed with an overwhelming performance by Spain. Nico Williams (47’) scored to open the second half before England’s Cole Palmer (73’) equalized with a screamer from 20 yards and sent the English fans into celebratory shock. The excitement didn’t last long, though. Mikel Oyarzabal (86’) put Spain back in front (2-1) with the deciding goal on a brilliant run to the front of the six. Spain out-possessed England (66-34), outshot them (16-9), and they were downright clinical with their passing (89% accuracy).
It was Spain’s third Euro title in the last five competitions, but it was their fourth overall (the most of any nation). The 2024 edition of the Euros further signaled the domination by Mediterranean countries. The last seven Euros have been won by Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece or France. None of the northern European countries have claimed the Euros since the 1900s, and England is still waiting. Watch: 🇪🇸 Spain def. 🏴 England (2-1) Read More NBC: Spain Defeats England 2-1 to Win Euro 2024 Final Reuters: Sublime Spain Strike Late to Win Record 4th Euro Crown |
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Wimbledon Winners Circle 🏆 |
Photo: Frey/TPN & Shi Tang / Getty Images
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W: #31 Barbora Krejcikova Completes Underdog Run / M: #3 Carlos Alcaraz Sweeps #2 Novak Djokovic for 2nd Straight Year
Two weeks at the All England Club have come to an end, and our two champions have been found. Czech star Barbora Krejcikova delivered a Wimbledon underdog story as the women’s 31st seed. In the men’s final, it was the latest clash of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, and the 21-year-old Spaniard made light work of the game's all-time great. Let’s recap the finals.
Men’s Final: The Alcaraz Era is Now #3 C. Alcaraz def. #2 N. Djokovic (6-2, 6-2, 7-6)
At 21 years old, Carlos Alcaraz is now a four-time major champion in men’s tennis. The young superstar battled his way to a second straight Wimbledon crown on Sunday — both against Novak Djokovic in 2023 and 2024 — beating Djokovic in straight sets that culminated with a third-set tiebreaker. Alcaraz’s path to his second Wimbledon title wasn’t easy, though. He dropped sets in each of his previous four matches against ranked opponents before sweeping Novak. He joins Roger Federer as the only men’s tennis players to win each of their first four grand slam finals matches. It won’t be his last.
Women’s Final: Krejcikova Left Standing
#31 B. Krejcikova def. #7 J. Paolini (6-2, 2-6, 6-4)
While the top seeds prevailed throughout the men’s bracket, the women’s draw fell in favor of the underdog. Barbora Krejcikova’s mid-career surge just put the tennis world on notice. The 28-year-old Czech player took down #11 Danielle Collins (R16), #13 Jelena Ostapenko (QFs), and #4 Elena Rybakina (SFs) before overpowering #7 Jasmine Paolini in Saturday’s final for her second career grand slam title. She owns seven doubles crowns, but her only other major victory was back in 2021 (French Open). Don’t sleep on Krejcikova, now a two-time major champion.
Read More
SI: 50 Parting Thoughts From Wimbledon 2024
ESPN: Alcaraz Repeats Wimbledon ‘Dream’ Over Djokovic
Yahoo! Sports: Krejcikova Defeats Paolini to Win 1st Wimbledon Title |
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MLB Draft Notes: All-Star Week Continues... |
Photo: Gene Wang / Getty Images |
MLB Draft Round 1 Recap: Guardians Take 1st Australian-Born Player, Travis Bazzana, With No. 1 Overall Pick
MLB’s All-Star Week is swinging after the opening weekend in Texas. Saturday’s Celebrity Softball Game kicked off the fun with stars like Deion Sanders, Tiffany Haddish, and a lineup of young comedians and streamers. Sunday brought us the MLB Draft, and history was made. Wake Forest had three players taken in the top 10 (2nd time ever), and the Guardians selected 2B Travis Bazzana with the top overall pick — the first Australian-born player taken No. 1 overall in MLB history. Tonight, the fun continues with the MLB Home Run Derby.
MLB Draft (Round 1) 1. Guardians: 2B Travis Bazzana (Oregon State)
2. Reds: P Chase Burns (Wake Forest) 3. Rockies: 3B Charlie Condon (Georgia) 4. Athletics: 1B Nick Kurtz (Wake Forest) 5. White Sox: P Hagen Smith (Arkansas) 6. Royals: 1B/P Jac Caglianone (Florida)
7. Cardinals: INF JJ Wetherholt (West Virginia) 8. Angels: 2B Christian Moore (Tennessee)
9. Pirates: CF/SS Konnor Griffin (High School) 10. Nationals: CF/INF Seaver King (Wake Forest)
Full Round 1 MLB Draft Tracker ⚾️ MLB All-Star Week Home Run Derby (Tonight, 8:00 pm ET, ESPN) Read More
CBS Sports: Why Guardians Selected Travis Bazzana No. 1 in MLB Draft
B/R: 2024 MLB Draft Results: Top Picks, Reactions to Bazzana, Burns & More
MLB: Everything to Know About Monday’s MLB Home Run Derby |
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⚾️ MLB All-Star Week Home Run Derby (8:00 pm ET, ESPN)
*No WNBA, Tour de France or Soccer |
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The Summer State of Sports |
The events that took place in Pennsylvania this weekend caused us to reflect before today’s edition. While our audience isn’t entirely American, +90% of our readership is located in the United States. We want to thank you all for continuing to support us as we grow a newsletter that operates independently from the “big media” machine. We take a lot of pride in being a small-feel, friendly publication run by real people, for real people, without special interests. We hope our community is a place where all are welcome, regardless of political views or any other factors that separate one reader from another.
The next few months of 2024 will likely bring more divisive moments, but we'll continue to make The Sportsletter a place for sports and sports alone. If any content we share strays too far, please let us know. We sometimes link to media sites that we do not always agree with, and what they write is not a direct reflection of our values and beliefs. Every time I’ve traveled, sports has always been the ultimate common denominator. Language barrier? Cultural differences? Drop a ball and we’re all the same. Hopefully, sports will continue to be one of the great unifiers, especially during the next few weeks of Olympics coverage. Stay tuned... Thank you, The Sportsletter Team |
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