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⚾ Five things to know Monday
- Roch Cholowsky was the first of 613 picks at the 2026 MLB Draft. All 20 rounds are complete, and they started Saturday when the UCLA shortstop became the No. 1 overall selection. The White Sox took Cholowsky over Texas high school shortstop Grady Emerson and Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey, who had both been tied to the top pick but ultimately went No. 2 and No. 3. While each of those first three picks garnered “A” grades from our baseball analysts, it did not take long for a couple of questionable selections to hit the board. Also, the first round was rough on pitchers as only three went in the first 20 picks. Among the big winners, on the other hand, were the Guardians and Cardinals, who picked in the middle of the order and still managed to build two of the best draft classes.
- The World Cup is down to four semifinalists. One of Spain, France, Argentina and England will hoist the trophy in less than a week’s time. The biggest thriller of the quarterfinals came Saturday when Jude Bellingham scored a brace — with the second of his goals coming in extra time — to lead England past Norway in a battle that featured just about everything, including controversial refereeing decisions. Bellingham’s stardom is one of many reasons why England could win their first World Cup since 1966, but we still have two other squads ahead of the Three Lions in our semifinal power rankings. The finalists will be set by Wednesday evening, and we ranked all four potential matchups. Every single one of them is compelling.
- Conor McGregor’s legacy is in flux after his recent injury. McGregor’s five-year absence from the Octagon came to an end when he took on Max Holloway in the UFC 329 main event, but it was a short-lived return. McGregor’s leg buckled on a running kick attempt mere seconds into the fight, and the referee stopped the fight after 1:09 as McGregor clearly could not bear weight on that right leg. Fans theorized that the Irish superstar was injured heading into the fight, but he dispelled that narrative in a statement. What does this mean for his career? Dana White mentioned doctors suspect it is a torn ACL, which might be a career-ending injury for a fighter who already suffered one devastating leg problem. If this is it for McGregor, who turns 38 this week, it is a disappointing end to what could have been a redemption tour.
- Jannik Sinner and Linda Noskova are Wimbledon champions. Sinner dropped the first set tiebreaker to Alexander Zverev but took the next three sets to win the men’s singles tournament for the second straight year and to become a five-time grand slam champion at 24. He also reached 100 major match wins in his career. The previous day, Noskova secured her first grand slam title and became the youngest woman to win Wimbledon since 2011. The 21-year-old defeated Karolina Muchova in three sets. The winners took home $4.8 million apiece from the largest purse in Wimbledon history.
- MLB All-Star festivities are underway. The All-Star events will go up a notch tonight with the Home Run Derby, but even before teams wrapped up their weekend series, rising stars took the stage in the MLB Futures Game. Top pitching prospect Kade Anderson and No. 1 hitting prospect Jesús Made went head-to-head, and both looked the part of future major-league standouts. As for the Derby, it will feature a freshly healthy Munetaka Murakami after he became the final player to accept an invitation. Everything leads up to Tuesday’s All-Star Game. Phillies ace Cristopher Sánchez will start for the National League in front of his home fans in Philadelphia while Dylan Cease opens on the mound for the American League. Unfortunately, top vote-getter Shohei Ohtani is out of the lineup due to left knee discomfort.
🏀 Do not miss this: NBA Summer League takeaways
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The first weekend of the NBA Las Vegas Summer League is complete, and it featured many of the top picks from this year’s loaded draft class. We hardly even had to wait for the first AJ Dybantsa vs. Darryn Peterson matchup of their professional careers since they squared off against each other on the event’s opening day. That showdown lived up to the hype, but it was far from the only game we monitored over the Summer League’s first few days.
For instance, we had our eyes on the Bulls and No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson, whom our Cameron Salerno mentioned in his Summer League takeaways already looks like a star. Wilson racked up 35 points in his pro debut, good for the most of any rookie thus far.
- Salerno: “What really stood out about Wilson’s performance was the shooting. Wilson made the same number of 3-pointers, seven, in his summer league debut as he did during his entire freshman season at North Carolina. That was probably the biggest question mark about his offensive profile as a prospect. He was one of the best dunkers in college basketball and got to the free-throw line at a high clip, but becoming a threat from beyond the arc will make him even more dangerous.”
It was not just the rookies who put on a show. A few second-year players also shined and looked like they might be on the verge of sophomore breakouts. A couple in particular who stood out: Joan Beringer of the Timberwolves and Egor Dёmin of the Nets.
🏈 College football wild cards, regression candidates
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The past few seasons of college football taught us to expect the unexpected from CFP contenders and dark horses. For every team that punched above its weight class, there was one that completely fell on its face. I’m looking at you, Penn State and Florida State. Since we’ve been preparing for the season for months at this point, we are well aware of which teams are the hardest to get a read on this time around.
Get to know 2026’s wild card teams, which boast extremely high ceilings but also have some of the lowest floors in the Power Four.
Perhaps no team embodies the wild card moniker like Florida, which our Austin Nivison says could either be great or poor on both sides of the ball.
- Nivison: “The Gators are the definition of a wild-card team. This is a relatively talented roster with some obvious question marks. Offensively, no one is doubting running back Jadan Baugh or the overall skill at the wide receiver position, but how good is Aaron Philo? He attempted just 102 passes at Georgia Tech, and Florida needs to find answers at offensive tackle in order to keep Philo upright.”
A few perennial playoff hopefuls could be at risk of missing the postseason if they do not catch the right breaks. It is hard to picture a 12-team CFP without Ohio State, but the betting market indicates this Buckeyes squad is unlikely to match last year’s 12 regular-season wins. Here are a few other regression candidates and their projected win totals:
- Texas A&M: 8.5
- BYU: 8.5
- Oklahoma: 7.5
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
- Haeran Ryu won her second consecutive LPGA major at the Evian Championship, and she did so with the lowest single-round score in major history.
- Victor Wembanyama reportedly agreed to a five-year, $252 million extension with the Spurs. He potentially left money on the table to get the deal done, so here’s what that means for him and the team.
- NL Rookie of the Year favorite JJ Wetherholt reportedly secured an eight-year, $112.5 million extension with the Cardinals.
- Former Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro reportedly got into a physical altercation on a Las Vegas practice court.
- Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel‘s job is in jeopardy amid an internal investigation, and this comes right after he removed the interim tag from Mike Boynton, making Boynton the Wolverines’ head basketball coach on a two-year deal.
- WNBA drama struck again when Betnijah Laney-Hamilton was ejected for hitting Marina Mabrey with a shoe and Chris DeMarco blasted the league’s “pathetic” officiating.
- The Seahawks declared a new ownership group and a record price tag for their sale.
- Tom Kim snapped his three-year PGA Tour win drought with his victory at the Scottish Open. It was a tournament to forget for Scottie Scheffler, however, as he missed the cut for the first time in 50 events.
- MLB trade deadline rumors keep flying in. The Marlins made a decision on whether to keep or shop Sandy Alcantara, these two teams are in the market for a catcher and the Mariners are ready to move on from one of their veteran pitchers.
- There is no ring-chasing for LeBron James in free agency, according to his agent, Rich Paul.
- Even amid his felony case, Terrion Arnold worked out with the Texans and garnered interest from these three other teams.
- Argentina‘s football association is under FBI investigation for alleged money laundering and fraud in the United States.
- Stefon Diggs says he is the best No. 2 wide receiver in the NFL. Here’s why that makes him more signable in free agency.
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📺 What we’re watching Monday
🏀 Summer League: Raptors vs. Pacers, 4:30 p.m. on ESPN2
🏀 Summer League: Mavericks vs. Grizzlies, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Sparks at Dream, 7 p.m. on USA Network
⚾ MLB Home Run Derby, 8 p.m. on Netflix
🤼 WWE Raw, 8 p.m. on Netflix
🏀 Summer League: Bulls vs. Jazz, 9 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Mercury at Lynx, 9 p.m. on NBC Sports Network
🏀 Summer League: Timberwolves vs. Trail Blazers, 11 p.m. on ESPN2
