The USMNT’s World Cup ride ended in the worst possible way: a 4-1 loss to Belgium on home soil, a flat finish after such an electric start. In what was supposed to be the biggest game in team history, the Americans never found their footing. Matt Freese’s humiliating mistake and Christian Pulisic’s disastrous night helped turn the postgame player ratings into a bloodbath, and the pressure of the moment proved too much for the U.S.
That defeat also reopened a familiar question about the tournament as a whole. At least one U.S. player said the loss felt all too familiar, with the team now bounced in the round of 16 four straight times. Meanwhile, Spain moved on in stronger fashion, beating rival Portugal to reach the quarterfinals and ending Christiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career.
On the NBA front, Brad Stevens finally addressed the Jaylen Brown trade, though his explanation for sending Boston’s 2024 NBA Finals MVP to the rival 76ers didn’t exactly calm the backlash. The deal had already angered Celtics fans, and Stevens’ comments did little to ease that frustration.
Out in Sacramento, the Kings waived six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan in a move designed to save $15.7 million. DeRozan is now a free agent, and the next step is wide open.
The questions are obvious: will he take a pay cut to chase a contender, and will a contender pay for a 37-year-old scorer? If teams miss out on LeBron James, DeRozan could become the fallback option.
At Wimbledon, Taylor Fritz kept the American flag flying. He beat Alexander Bublik in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals, becoming the last American man left in the draw.
The win was Fritz’s 47th on grass since 2020, the most on the ATP tour in that span. Next up is the winner of No.
13 Jiri Lehecka vs. No.
2 Alexander Zverev. On the women’s side, Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff are set to meet in the quarterfinals today.
Kansas City also made some history of its own. The Royals rolled past the Phillies 15-1 on Monday, and the scorebook got even stranger from there.
The Royals scored in every inning they batted, which was eight at home, becoming the first AL team ever to do it. They jumped on Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez for six runs in the first inning, then kept pouring it on with four home runs and 22 hits overall.
And with the Aug. 3 trade deadline getting closer, the MLB rumor mill is heating up. Mike Axisa’s top 25 trade candidates list features plenty of names to watch, including Mets starters, Red Sox arms, and one especially intriguing bat in Orioles outfielder Taylor Ward. Ward is hitting .253 with a .378 on-base percentage, and Axisa called him “the most coveted rental bat on the trade market.”
Axisa added: “Ward will be the most coveted rental bat on the trade market. He is well short of last year's 36-homer pace, but he's been a terrific on-base guy, plus his power could tick up away from the left field wall at Camden Yards.
There is a shortage of quality right-handed hitting outfielders throughout baseball right now and there won't be many available at the deadline, and certainly none with Ward's pedigree and production. The O's should get a very nice return.”
Other names on that board include Tarik Skubal, Freddy Peralta, CJ Abrams, Joe Ryan and Eugenio Suárez. One player who is not going anywhere is Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, who has 26 home runs and has pushed himself into the AL MVP race.
There was also a fresh look back at the 2024 NFL Draft. Zach Pereles’ redraft put Drake Maye at No. 1 overall over Caleb Williams after Maye led the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance.
Pereles said, “This is a brutally close call between Drake Maye and Caleb Williams, both of whom took massive leaps in 2025. Maye, though, was truly special, leading the NFL in completion percentage and yards per attempt en route to an MVP runner-up finish.
There are still questions, as his up-and-down playoff showing revealed, but the physical tools combined with the accuracy and playmaking is a tremendous combination.”
Williams went No. 2 to the Commanders in that exercise. The redraft also had Graham Barton to the Seahawks at No.
16, Zach Frazier to the Vikings at No. 17, Nate Wiggins to the Bengals at No.
18, Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Rams at No. 19 and Rome Odunze to the Steelers at No. 20.
Elsewhere, Williams gifted an autographed jersey to Pope Leo XIV, though not in a way that revealed the Bears’ new alternate look. Looking ahead to the 2026 draft class, Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love is among the players already under immediate pressure.
In Other News...
Royals Just Made A Move That Says Plenty About This Staff
The Royals have added another arm to the organizational mix, signing right-hander Justin Topa to a minor league contract and sending him to Triple-A Omaha. It is the kind of move that rarely turns heads on its own, but it fits the reality Kansas City is dealing with right now as it tries to keep pitching depth intact.
Injuries have already thinned the staff, and the possibility of more turnover before the deadline only makes that depth more important. Topas path has taken him through Minnesota and Seattle before this latest stop, and the Royals are giving themselves another experienced option to lean on if the pitching picture keeps shifting. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Suddenly Face A Trade Deadline Decision That Could Change Everything
With the trade deadline drawing closer, the Royals find themselves juggling more than just their place in the standings. Injuries have thinned the roster, with Kyle Isbel dealing with a setback and Cole Ragans also in the mix, while Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Wacha gave the club at least a little national recognition with All-Star nods. It is the kind of stretch that forces a front office to weigh short-term survival against the bigger picture, especially when the team has already shown it can be pushed around by a rough patch.
The Royals Rundown Podcast dug into that pressure point, along with the recent slide and the kinds of moves that could still be on the table if Kansas City decides to get aggressive. There is also uncertainty around Maikel Garcia, which only adds to the sense that the roster is in flux at exactly the wrong time. The bigger question now is whether the Royals follow a more cautious path or take a page from a rival that chose to act boldly when the deadline arrived. [Read more 🡒]
Former Royals Arm Is Suddenly Raising A Familiar Question Again
Foster Griffins name is back in circulation for all the right reasons, and for Royals fans, it comes with a familiar kind of curiosity. The former Kansas City left-hander has put together a steadier run lately, showing the sort of consistency that can make a pitcher interesting again after a few uneven stretches, even if the control still leaves something to clean up.
Griffins recent work has also put him on the radar as a possible trade piece for Toronto, which is still weighing how aggressive it wants to be on the pitching market. He spent the last few seasons in Japan before signing a one-year deal with the Nationals, and that path has only added to the sense that he could be one of those arms who quietly re-enters the conversation when contenders start looking for depth. [Read more 🡒]