📰🏟️ Big mad…ness

Good morning. Today we’re covering the MLB Home Run Derby, a basketball GOAT’s former mansion that you can rent out on Airbnb, and much more.

—Peter & Kyle

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🗺️ AROUND THE HORN

Three big things

🏀 March Madness could get even bigger this upcoming season, NCAA says. While the D1 Men’s and Women’s Basketball Committees wrapped up meetings last week with the March Madness status quo maintained (68 teams), the NCAA said in a later statement that expanding the angrily named college basketball tournament to either 72 or 76 teams is still on the table for 2026 or 2027. The decision appears to hinge on whether CBS and TNT, who are currently shelling out ~$1B/year for the men’s broadcast rights, would be willing to juice their payments if more games are added—an outcome analysts say isn’t likely, though potential solutions exist, and NCAA president Charlie Baker in May said there had been “good conversations” on that front. ESPN’s $65M/year deal for the women’s tournament stipulates the network doesn’t have to part with any more cash to broadcast additional games.

🏎️ Apple poised to become America’s destination for Formula 1. Following a successful debut of the Apple-produced F1: The Movie, the tech giant has reportedly made a $150M/year offer to secure F1: The US Media Rights once they expire after this season. ESPN, the racing circuit’s current rights holder, is paying $80M-$90M/year, and is unable to financially justify anything close to Apple’s proposal, Front Office Sports reports. There are still two questions up in the air, however: 1) if the deal keeps F1 TV, the Liberty Media-owned broadcast platform used by many Americans to watch races, around (it looks like it will)—and 2) if the racing circuit’s decision to trade money for reach will succeed or backfire. ~21% of America has access to ESPN, while Apple TV+ is used in only 11% of US households.

⚾ Cal Raleigh wins the MLB Home Run Derby. The Big Dumper, who barely advanced out of the first round, beating the A’s Brent Rooker in a distance tiebreaker by less than an inch, dumped 18 balls into seats into the final round to top the Rays’ Junior Caminero and take home the trophy. Other highlights from the event include Pirates slugger Oneil Cruz launching a 513-foot blast in the first round, tying Aaron Judge for the longest homer in the contest (outside of Coors Field) since Statcast began tracking in 2016. Next up? The MLB All-Star Game, which is scheduled to start at 7 pm CT tonight (starting lineups + how to watch).

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📸 SNAPPED

Pics from the weekend

🎾 Two major tennis stars captured their first Wimbledon titles. On the women’s side, #8-seed Iga Świątek beat Amanda Anisimova to win her sixth Grand Slam title, with the dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory marking the first Wimbledon women’s final in 114 years where a player failed to claim a single game. On the men’s side, world #1 Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz to win his fourth career major, continuing the two players’ streak of taking home every Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open (won by Novak Djokovic).

⚾ The MLB Draft is in the books. The Nationals selected 17-year-old high school SS Eli Willits—son of former Major Leaguer Reggie Willits—with the #1 pick on Sunday, making him the youngest player taken first overall since Ken Griffey Jr. in 1987. The draft concluded with rounds 4-20 on Monday (full recap), with MLB front offices now focused on splitting up their respective bonus pools—or the collective amount of money they’re allowed to spend on draft picks, based on slot values.

🏌️ Chris Gotterup won the Scottish Open, booking a surprise trip to the British Open. Prior to Sunday, Gotterup had a plane ticket for California to play an event in Lake Tahoe this coming weekend. But after stunning Rory McIlroy on Sunday to win the Scottish Open, Gotterup instead qualified to make his debut at the British Open on Thursday. Gotterup’s victory will also send him to the Masters for the first time, and propelled him to his first top-50 world ranking.

📰 NEWS

What else is happening

• DraftKings is in talks to acquire prediction market Railbird Exchange, in the latest example of sportsbooks looking to push into the space.
• John Elway won't face charges related to the death of Jeff Sperbeck, his longtime friend, business partner and former agent, which has been ruled an accident.
• The Indiana Fever beat the Dallas Wings 102-83 on Sunday, in the first pro matchup between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers.
• The Dallas Mavericks have shut down Cooper Flagg after two summer league games.
• Australia's Grace Kim beat world #2 Jeeno Thitikul in a playoff to capture her first major title at the Evian Championship with some of the most clutch golf you'll see this year (more on that below).

👀 MUST-SEE TV

Top plays

🏌️ Grace Kim’s eagle on 18 forces playoff…where she chips in the first hole, then wins with eagle (can you say…Grace-ful under pressure?)

🎾 Iga Świątek shows off her athleticism

🏀 Chinese rookie C Yang Hansen throwing dimes in NBA Summer League

💨 Anthony Volpe avoids Big Dumper’s tag for game-winning slide at home

⚾ Byron Buxton’s big bobblehead bash beats Bucs (and completes the cycle)

🔢 BY THE NUMBERS

5

How many career games Brewers rookie flamethrower Jacob Misiorowski has played, the fewest of any All-Star in MLB history. But Misiorowski wasn’t the league’s first choice: officials reportedly asked "about a dozen pitchers,” who declined, before Misiorowski agreed.

$110M

How much Chelsea earned from its victorious run at the FIFA Club World Cup. Overall, the newly restructured tournament paid out $1B to the 32 participating clubs, split roughly 50-50 between participation fees and performance bonuses.

9 days

How long French Olympic fencer Ysaora Thibus says she kissed her partner before testing positive for a banned substance—which Thibus claims was transferred to her from the aforementioned liplocking. Her defense was apparently good enough for judges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, who dismissed her doping allegation yesterday.

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🤔 TRIVIA

#1 or bust

Below are three players who were each taken in different years of the MLB Draft. Your challenge is to tell us whether they were drafted first overall—or nah.

• SP Gerrit Cole
• OF Mike Trout
• 1B Albert Pujols

🌐 WEB GEMS

Interesting things to click

🐐 Does it come with cigars and an obsession with winning? Michael Jordan’s former mansion is listed on Airbnb. 

⚾ Baseball fact: Last Tuesday was the first day in MLB history to feature a leadoff inside-the-park homer and a walk-off inside-the-park homer.

🎾 Oof: Money may not be able to buy you love, but it can buy a brief pro tennis career.

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🤔 ANSWERS

SP Gerrit Cole: Yes. The (now hurt) flamethrowing righty was taken #1 overall out of UCLA by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2011. Cole’s rotation mate at UCLA, Trevor Bauer, was picked #3 by the Diamondbacks in that same draft.

OF Mike Trout: Nah. The often-hurt generational talent was drafted 25th overall by the LA Angels in 2009. SP Stephen Strasburg was taken first by the Nationals that year.

1B Albert Pujols: Nah. The man widely considered one of the best right-handed hitters of all time was chosen in the 13th round of the 1999 draft by the St. Louis Cardinals (#402 overall). High school OF Josh Hamilton was picked #1 by the Rays.