The Sportsletter - Hot Shots & Trade Rumors

BY JEFF YODER

JULY 24, 2024 |  SUBSCRIBE  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning 👋

Today’s the day. While the opening ceremonies won’t officially launch the Olympics until Friday, you can catch some early action today with rugby sevens and men’s soccer.

In Today’s Edition: MLB trade rumors and the MLS All-Star Game (tonight) have our attention. The Team USA women’s basketball team also grabbed a bounce-back win, and we're still waiting for the women’s flag bearer announcement. A few awesome photos went viral yesterday, too. 👇

Letter Rip!

  IMAGES  

Hot Shots of the Day 📸

Some sports moments happen off the field, and our photo license only goes so far. Here are some of the best images and funniest stories from a day that was void of much on-field action.

🏈 Blonde Joe Burrow: Bengals QB Joe Burrow showed up to training camp with a new buzzed, blonde haircut that turned heads. There's a strong resemblance to another JB — Justin Bieber.

🦆 Big Ten, Big Duck: Oregon floated a massive inflatable duck down the White River in Indianapolis to launch their inaugural appearance at Big Ten Media Day. Is this the world's largest rubber ducky?

🌕 One Ring to Rule Them All: A full moon aligned perfectly with the Olympic Rings at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, making for a spectacular photo op. 

  MLB  

Made to Trade: Buy or Sell?

Photo: Mark Blinch / Getty Images

While 25 Teams Still Have Hope for the Playoffs, the Difference Between Buyers & Sellers Isn’t What it Seems

It’s that time again! With the Olympics garnering our attention for the next week, the MLB Trade Deadline (Next Tuesday, July 30) will sneak up quickly. Yesterday’s MLB Power Rankings showed that 25 teams still have reasonable hopes for making the postseason, but don’t be fooled. If your team is well below .500 in late July, they aren’t thinking about a World Series push. There’s a thin line between buyers and sellers this year, and it all depends on front-office beliefs. Buyers are going all in. Sellers are playing for 2025.

Got it? Now let’s group some teams to watch.

Buyers

• AL: Orioles, Yankees, Guardians, Royals, Mariners, Twins, Rangers & Astros
• NL: Dodgers, Phillies, Brewers, Mets, D-Backs, Cardinals, Padres, Giants, Pirates & Cubs

Sellers

• AL: Blue Jays, White Sox, Angels, Rays & A’s
• NL: Rockies, Nationals & Marlins

Players to Watch (Top 10 Trade Targets)

There’s a lot of buzz right now around these 10 guys, but we’ve been fooled by smokescreens before. It’s hard to imagine that some of these names end up being gifted to a contender. Who knows? Their teams might see value in the massive hauls they can get in return.

1B Vlad Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays)

LHP Tarik Skubal (Tigers)

LF Randy Arozarena (Rays)

C Elias Diaz (Rockies)

LHP Garrett Crochet (White Sox)

CF Luis Robert Jr. (White Sox)

OF Jesse Winker (Nationals)

2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Marlins)

3B Luis Rengifo (Angels)

DH Brent Rooker (Athletics)

Read More

MLB: 5 Reasons Now is the Right Time to Trade Vlad Guerrero Jr.

ESPN: MLB Trade Deadline Tracker: Rumors, News, Analysis & More

CBS Sports: MLB Trade Rumors: Cubs Not Looking for Rentals, Yankees Won’t Rule Out Moving Prospects

MLB Quick-Hitters ⚾️

Mets Outlast Yankees (3-2)

Jeff McNeill Hits Decisive 2-Run Homer

Dodgers Take Down Giants (5-2)

Los Angeles Wins 5th Straight Game

Red Sox Roll Rockies (6-0)

Tyler O’Neill Hits 2 HRs

Cardinals Beat Pirates (2-1)

Paul Skenes Gets 1st Loss

Lance Lynn Reaches 2,000-K Milestone

Full MLB Scoreboard

  MLS  

The MLS All-Star Checkpoint ⚽️

Photo: Shaun Clark / Getty Images

MLS All-Star Game Tonight (8:00 pm ET, AppleTV) Features MLS vs. Liga MX Before Final Playoff Push

It's another July All-Star break... In the waning hours before Olympic soccer, we decided to check on the MLS outlook before tonight's All-Star Game. The matchup features the MLS All-Stars against the Liga MX All-Stars — Mexico’s top division. A total of 29 players will represent the MLS roster, and we’ll have full coverage of the game in tomorrow’s edition. Today, however, we’re breaking down the MLS playoff picture with less than 10 matches left. It's been a full year since Lionel Messi’s historic transfer to Inter Miami, and his squad is leading the charge in the East while he recovers from an ankle injury. Both Los Angeles squads are neck-and-neck out West. Here’s the playoff outlook:

MLS Playoff Picture

Eastern Conference

1. Inter Miami: 53 points (16-5-4)

2. FC Cincinnati: 48 points (15-3-7)

3. Columbus Crew: 43 points (12-7-4)

4. NY Red Bulls: 41 points (10-11-4)

5. New York City FC: 38 points (11-5-9)

6. Charlotte FC: 37 points (10-7-8)

7. Orlando City: 34 points (9-7-9)

8. Toronto FC: 30 points (9-3-14)

9. Atlanta United: 28 points (7-7-11)

10. Philadelphia Union: 27 points (6-9-10)

Western Conference

1. LA Galaxy: 49 points (14-7-5)

2. LAFC: 47 points (14-5-5)

3. Real Salt Lake: 44 points (12-8-5)

4. Colorado Rapids: 41 points (12-5-9)

5. Vancouver Whitecaps: 38 points (11-5-8)

6. Houston Dynamo: 37 points (10-7-7)

7. Seattle Sounders: 37 points (10-7-8)

8. Portland Timbers: 36 points (10-6-9)

9. Minnesota United: 33 points 9-6-10)

10. Austin FC: 31 points (8-7-10)

MLS All-Star Game

MLS vs. Liga MX (Tonight, 8:00 pm ET, AppleTV)

Read More

B/R: Predictions & Top Storylines for the 2024 MLS All-Star Game

Reuters: Lionel Messi Ruled Out for MLS All-Star Game After Copa America Injury

  OLYMPICS   🏅

Bounce Back 'W' 🇺🇸

Photo: Tim Clayton-Corbis / Getty Images

Team USA Women’s Basketball Routs Germany (87-54) in Olympic Exhibition

It wasn’t all smiles after Team USA lost to the WNBA All-Stars last Saturday. That may have been an exhibition, but this team has high hopes in Paris. Those smiles returned yesterday when they obliterated Germany (84-57) in a blowout showcase win. A’ja Wilson (19 points, 14 rebounds) was a dominant force while Breanna Stewart (15 pts) was efficient and Jewell Loyd (11 pts) got hot off the bench. Diana Taurasi opened the game with a 3 and sent the USA on a 22-9 run to open the 1st quarter. They never looked back.

55 Straight International Wins: Including Olympic exhibitions, the U.S. women’s basketball team has now won 55 straight Olympic-sanctioned games (not the WNBA All-Star Game). Their last Olympic loss occurred in 1992, and they’re the clear-cut favorites to win gold this Summer. Their first game of the Olympics is next Monday against Japan.

Watch: USA Women’s Basketball Blows Out Germany (84-57)

Read More

ESPN: Team USA Rebounds From All-Star Loss to Beat Germany

Sporting News: A’ja Wilson Dominates Early as U.S. Cruises to Olympic Exhibition Win

  STORYLINES  

🎮 CFB25: A Wave of Nostalgia

EA Sports' NCAA Football video game is not like other games. For those of us who could never compete at the highest level of college football, this was as close as we got to reenacting or creating the experience of the game-winning drive or winning a national title. (FOX Sports)

📺 TNT vs. Amazon

The NBA's current television deal is set to expire after the 2024-25 season, and there were plenty of rumblings as to which networks would be a part of the new deal. Disney and Amazon had reported deals, but Warner Bros. (TNT) jumped back in the game. (Sporting News)

🏅 Air Conditioning at The Olympics

The Olympics’ first competition has already been won — for AC. The Paris organizing committee wanted this to be an AC-free experience under the promise of hosting the “greenest” Olympics ever, but some athletes have had other ideas. (Yahoo! Sports)

  NEWS   📰 

🎾 Andy Murray Announces He Will Retire From Tennis After Paris Olympics (Yahoo! Sports)

🏀 2024 WNBA All-Star Game Obliterates 21-Year-Old Viewership Record (SI)

🏈 Saquon Barkley Calls Giants Contract Talks ‘Slap in the Face’ (B/R)

🏈 NFL & Players Union Having Discussions About 18-Game Seasons (CBS Sports)

🏀 Veteran Guard Reggie Jackson Signs With 76ers (ESPN)

🏈 Jaguars Sign CB Tyson Campbell to 4-Year, $76.5 Million Deal (NBC Sports)

⛳️ Tiger Woods Watches 15-Year-Old Son Charlie Shoot 12-Over in US Junior Amateur (Yahoo! Sports)

🏈 Vikings Keep DT Christian Darrisaw With 4-Year, $113 Million (ESPN)

  SCHEDULE   🗓️

Today's Must-Watch List

🏅 Olympics (Early Pool Play)

Rugby: 🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇫🇷 France (10:30 am ET)

Rugby: 🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇫🇯 Fiji (2:30 pm ET)

Men’s Soccer: 🇺🇸 USA vs. 🇫🇷 France (3:00 pm ET)

Coverage on NBC Sports / Peacock

⚽️ MLS All-Star Game

MLS vs. Liga MX (8:00 pm ET, AppleTV)

⚾️ MLB

Phillies at Twins (1:10 pm ET, ESPN+)

Mets at Yankees (7:00 pm ET, ESPN)

Giants at Dodgers (10:10 pm ET, MLBN)

  POLL   📊

The Olympics Hype Meter 🏅

Yesterday, we asked: On a scale of 1-10, how excited are you about the Olympics?

Nearly 20 percent of the team gave their excitement rating a '10' while 75 percent selected ‘5’ or above. The good news? Prime time in Paris (8:00 pm local) is early afternoon in the U.S. (2:00 pm ET). Work breaks, anyone?

  THE TEAM  

Writer & Editor: Jeff Yoder

Assistant Writer: Marissa Kasch

Social Media: Aaron Yorke

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