Ten-Second Runoff
I’m happy that Pete Alonso won the Home Run Derby, because at least when the Mets inevitably collapse at the end of the regular season and miss the playoffs, their fans can still remember the season fondly. All necessary Mets jokes aside, the Home Run Derby was legitimately fun. Good job MLB! The head-to-head matchups create an unparalleled energy when one player is quickly trying to catch up vs. his opponent. Shohei Ohtani lost in a double tiebreaker to Juan Soto, but still wowed the crowd. As for the guy below who fell over the railing trying to catch a ball, well, it wasn’t the best night.
Speaking of Shohei, Stephen A. Smith is in some hot water for his take on Ohtani yesterday. Smith tried defending himself online, but it’ll be super interesting to see if ESPN punishes him in any way, especially after the whole Rachel Nichols saga.
Dyal Capital is close to finalizing their second minority stake acquisition in an NBA team since the league tweaked the rules to allow for minority institutional investors. The firm, a unit of the newly public Blue Owl Capital Inc., will acquire 5% of the Sacramento Kings at a $1.5 billion valuation.
ESPN raised the price of its premium streaming service, ESPN+, from $5.99 to $6.99 per month. In case you’re a cable subscriber, that’s on top of the $9 per month that parent company Disney charges for the ESPN network on TV. ESPN+’s price is only going to continue soaring, since the company has been spending on sports media rights (UFC, MNF, NHL).
Jacob Steinmetz, an orthodox Jew who attended HAFTR, was drafted by the Diamondbacks in the MLB Draft. Couldn’t tell if his friends were celebrating the accomplishment or if they just found out there’s sushi at the Shmorg.
This is definitely not the Dream Team. Team USA Men’s Basketball lost to Australia last night in an Olympics tune-up exhibition, after losing to Nigeria in their previous game.
I do not understand why the NBA Finals aren’t on tonight. When there’s such a long gap between games (Sunday-Wednesday), the event loses momentum.
Welcome to the . . . Fortnite? LeBron is now a character in the video game, just in time to promote Space Jam.
The Washington Football Team announced that they will have a new name in 2022, and that it won’t be the ‘Warriors.’ I think they should remain as the WFT—it has a cool vibe that reminds me of a classy English soccer club.
It’s actually impressive that the Stanley Cup is still in existence after the Lightning’s celebration.
Disclosure: I have no positions in any of the companies mentioned (besides NBA Top Shots). I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
Additional disclosure: This article expresses solely my opinions, is produced for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any securities. Please always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.