📰🏟️ MVP showdown
Plus: NFL preseason kicks off...
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—Kyle
1) Cubs’ PCA outshines Ohtani in MVP showdown
The Chicago Cubs completed a 3-game sweep of the LA Dodgers yesterday, with Cubs OF Pete Crow-Armstrong and Dodgers SP/DH Shohei Ohtani each hitting 2 HRs—including a pair of lead-off blasts to start the game.
- PCA currently leads all MLB players with a massive 7.8 WAR this season (per FanGraphs), leading second-place Ohtani by a 1.1 WAR margin.
- After yesterday’s game, PCA officially surged past Ohtani to become the MVP betting favorite on DraftKings (-120).
- Crow-Armstrong also became the only player in Cubs history to record consecutive 25-25 (HR/SB) seasons.
PCA era officially arrives in Chicago
2) NFL preseason officially kicks off tonight
The Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers meet tonight in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, OH, at 7 pm CT, officially launching the 2026 NFL preseason.
- Rookie QB Carson Beck, Arizona’s 3rd-round pick this past spring, is slated to start for the Cardinals in his professional debut, with starting QB Jacoby Brissett resting.
- The game headlines a weekend of festivities that includes the enshrinement of the Hall of Fame Class of 2026, which includes QB Drew Brees, WR Larry Fitzgerald, LB Luke Kuechly, and K Adam Vinatieri.
Football season is back in action
🌐 WEB GEMS
Interesting things to click
⚾ Post-deadline power rankings: How MLB teams stack up following a flurry of recent trades.
🏈 Canton, OH, is calling: Future Hall of Fame players from all 32 NFL teams.
⚽ Infantino rallies the troops: How the ‘King of Soccer’ went rogue, nearly lost his FIFA empire—and survived, for now.
🏆 CFB ambition tiers: Who's all in this year, who's building for the future, and who's behind?
3) 22-year-old wins $10M at WSOP Main Event
Lucas Jumalon, a 22-year-old poker player from Spokane, WA, took down the 2026 WSOP Main Event last night, finishing at the top of the 9,208-player field.
- He walked away with the gold bracelet and a cool $10M top prize after defeating runner-up Lauri Saaskilahti of Finland in just 17 hands of heads-up play.
- Jumalon, the second-youngest Main Event champion in WSOP history, had career tournament earnings of just $180K heading into the $10K buy-in Main Event.
Jumalon jumps for joy in Vegas
4) Clark, Bueckers make Team USA women’s hoops squad
US basketball's long-awaited youth movement is here: Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, and Aliyah Boston are all set to make their first major USA appearances at next month’s FIBA World Cup in Germany.
- The 12-player women's national team is also headlined by A'ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart, who’ve combined for six WNBA MVPs and each won World Cup and Olympic MVP honors.
- They’re seeking Team USA's 5th straight World Cup gold medal and 12th overall.
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