📰🏟️ Record Speed

Plus: Marlins milestone…

Peter Nowak, Kyle Nowak

05 Aug 2025 — 5 min read

Good morning. In today’s edition: Record MLB attendance, new NFLPA leadership, and much more.

—Peter & Kyle

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🗺️ AROUND THE HORN

Three big headlines

⚾ Surging Miami Marlins complete first-ever sweep of the Yankees. Miami brought out the brooms against the Yankees on Sunday, with their 7-3 victory clinching a series sweep of the Bronx Bombers for the first time in franchise history. The series’ attendance of 101,545 across three games also set an all-time franchise record for the Marlins, who officially climbed back to a .500 record (55-55) after a 24-40 start to the season. The Marlins now have a 25-24 lifetime record against the Yankees, making them the only MLB club with a positive record vs. New York.

🏃 A rising high-school junior ran one of the greatest 800m races ever. 16-year-old Cooper Lutkenhaus made a miraculous comeback to place second at the USATF Outdoor Championships on Sunday, and also become the youngest American ever to qualify for the World Track and Field Championships. His time of 1:42:27 ranks as the fourth-fastest ever by an American, and beat out two world champions competing in the race. Lutkenhaus isn’t the only teenager tearing up the running scene, either: 17-year-old HS junior Tate Taylor set a national high school record with a 9.92-second 100m dash in May, while 16-year-old Sorato Shimizu from Japan broke the U-18 world record for the same race on July 26.

🏊 Team USA was golden at the 2025 World Swimming Championships. In the final race of the month-long event, held Sunday, the US women set a world record in the 4x100m medley to give America its ninth gold medal, clinching victory over Australia (eight golds) following a slow start. Team USA also won the overall medal count with 29, versus 20 for the second-place Aussies. The Americans were led by swimming legend Katie Ledecky, who won her seventh consecutive world title in the 800m freestyle.

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📸 SNAPPED

Pic of the weekend

The MLB Speedway Classic set an attendance record despite rainout. An MLB-record crowd of 91,032 fans showed up to Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee on Saturday, setting the new all-time mark for a regular-season game. However, they were only able to enjoy the pregame festivities—a restrained affair that only included a four-plane flyover, concert with Tim McGraw/Pitbull, and ceremonial first pitch—before torrential rain washed the game out in the bottom of the 1st. The Braves ended up defeating the Reds 4-2 on Sunday, in front of a noticeably smaller crowd.

🔢 STAT OF THE DAY

4.5 games

The gap separating the top-10 MLB teams at the start of August, marking the smallest margin in history at this point in the season. In 5 out of 6 divisions, the first and second-place teams are separated by three games or less, with the sole exception of the AL Central.

👀 MUST-SEE TV

Top plays

🏌️ Two of the best consecutive golf shots in history

⚾ Cedric Mullins goes all the way up for insane, HR-robbing catch

🏀 Fever G Kelsey Mitchell hits no-look, behind-the-back pass for assist

⚽ Marta’s two clutch goals lead Brazil to Copa América Femenina title

⚾ Portland Pickles fan hits HR in street clothes on fan appreciation night

📰 NEWS

What else is happening

March Madness won’t be expanding beyond 68 teams this season, but growth in future years is still on the table, the NCAA announced yesterday.
Texas holds the top spot in USA Today’s preseason coaches football poll, released yesterday; Ohio St., Penn St., Georgia, and Notre Dame round out the top-5.
The LA Lakers signed G Luka Dončić to a three-year, $165 million max extension. The deal is structured so Luka will be eligible for a five-year, $417 million max contract in summer 2028.
DE Micah Parsons, a 4x Pro Bowler and 2x First Team All-Pro, requested a trade from the Dallas Cowboys amid stalled contract negotiations with owner Jerry Jones (who seems unfazed).
The Colorado Rockies erased a nine-run, first-inning deficit on Friday to beat the Pirates 17-16, with all 18 players scoring in a single game for just the sixth time in MLB history.
A group led by Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca reportedly agreed to buy the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun for $325M—a women’s sports record—and move the team to Boston. Pagliuca confirmed his group’s interest, but said a deal hasn’t been reached yet.
The NFL Players Association elected former SAG-AFTRA executive director David White as its new interim executive director. White will replace Lloyd Howell, who resigned last month amid scandal.

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🤔 ‌TRIVIA

Pull a thread, watch it all unravel

Below you’ll find a series of clues, each pertaining to a different pro athlete, playing or retired.

Here's the twist: The athletes are more connected than a group of Washington D.C.-insiders playing Twister—they all share a name in common, either first or last (it doesn't matter which). For example: if two of the answers in the series of clues were "Carter Capps" and "Joe Carter," the thread connecting all the athletes would be the name “Carter.”

Ready?

This athlete, nicknamed "the Judge," was the first MLB player to win an AL MVP and NL MVP.
Nicknamed "the Admiral" for his service with the US Navy, this athlete was a 10-time NBA All-Star and is a current minority owner of the San Antonio Spurs.
This 2B recorded the final walk-off hit in Yankee Stadium history, and snagged 1,695 hits in the 2010s, the most of any major league player during that decade.
This athlete played for the Kansas City Monarchs before embarking on a 10-year MLB career. He also had a brother who won an Olympic silver medal behind Jesse Owens.

🌐 WEB GEMS

Interesting things to click

🏄 Hang ten paws: See the best photos from the annual World Dog Surfing Championships over the weekend.

🗣️ Debate: The 32 teams that can make this year’s College Football Playoff.

🏛️ Trump card: How the White House could shape the long-awaited ESPN-NFL Deal.

👖 Flag on the play: Watch pass-rushing legend Jared Allen rip his suit pants while performing his signature sack celebration at the NFL Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

🤔 ANSWERS