Analyzing USMNT’s run after World Cup exit; Top 25 MLB trade deadline candidates

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⚽ Five things to know Tuesday

1. The USMNT ended its World Cup run with a clunker vs. Belgium. The Americans began their exciting World Cup run with a roar, but they went out with a whimper. In perhaps the biggest game in team history, the USMNT laid an egg in a 4-1 loss to Belgium on home soil. Between goalkeeper Matt Freese’s humiliating mistake and Christian Pulisic’s disastrous night, our postgame player ratings were a bloodbath. In the end, the pressure of the moment was simply too much for the Americans. But the larger question is whether the United States can claim it had a successful tournament. At least one U.S. player reported this loss feels rather familiar as the team has now been ousted in the round of 16 four straight times. Elsewhere, it was a better day for Spain, which reached the quarterfinals by eliminating rival Portugal and ending Christiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career.
2. Brad Stevens offered an explanation for the Jaylen Brown trade. For the first time since the blockbuster trade went down, Stevens spoke publicly and attempted — but failed — to offer an adequate explanation about why he sent the team’s 2024 NBA Finals MVP to the rival 76ers. Boston fans were already upset about the deal, and Stevens probably didn’t ease that pain. The heat on Stevens won’t get turned down anytime soon.
3. The Kings have waived six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan. Looking to save some money, the Kings chose to waive DeRozan in order to save $15.7 million. Now, DeRozan is a free agent, and there should be a healthy list of suitors. Is DeRozan willing to take a pay cut to join a contender? Is a contender willing to pony up for a 37-year-old scorer? He could be a pivot option for teams that miss out on LeBron James.
4. Taylor Fritz punched his ticket to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The last American man standing at Wimbledon, Fritz defeated Alexander Bublik in straight sets to reach the quarterfinals. The win for Fritz was his 47th on grass since 2020, which is the most of any player on the ATP tour. Fritz will now take on the winner of No. 13 Jiri Lehecka vs. No. 2 Alexander Zverev. On the women’s side, Americans Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff will do battle in the quarterfinals today.
5. The Royals achieved a feat more rare than a perfect game. It has been a rough season for the Royals, but they played their way into the record books with a 15-1 win over the Phillies on Monday. Kansas City scored at least every inning it batted, which was eight because they were at home. Still, it was the first time an AL team has ever accomplished that feat. The Royals got to Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez for six runs in the first inning and didn’t look back. Kansas City mashed four home runs and recorded 22 total hits.

⚾ Do not miss this: Top 25 MLB trade candidates

We’re less than a month away from the Aug. 3 trade deadline, and the MLB rumor mill is running wild. With that in mind, our own Mike Axisa put together a list of the top 25 MLB trade deadline candidates. The Mets have a pair of appealing starters — and the Red Sox could move out two key arms — but the Orioles have one of the best bats on the market in outfielder Taylor Ward.

Ward, hitting .253 with a .378 on-base percentage, plays a role that’s in short supply around baseball these days.

• Axisa: “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.”

Here’s a taste of the other names on Axisa’s board:

• Tarik Skubal, SP, Tigers
• Freddy Peralta, SP, Mets
• CJ Abrams, SS, Nationals
• Joe Ryan, SP, Twins
• Eugenio Suárez, 3B, Reds

One player who is most certainly not on the trade block is Rays third baseman Junior Caminero. The 23-year-old slugger has crushed 26 home runs, and he has powered his way into the AL MVP race.

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🏈 Maye goes No. 1 in 2024 NFL redraft

Judging an NFL Draft in its immediate aftermath is a perilous endeavor, but what about two years down the road? Hindsight is 20/20, but our own Zach Pereles conducted a redraft of the 2024 class, and two players had a fantastic case for the No. 1 overall pick.

The Bears shouldn’t have any regrets about taking Caleb Williams at the top of the draft, but has Drake Maye been the best player from that 2024 class? After leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance, Maye gets the nod over Williams in this exercise.

• Pereles: “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 didn’t have to wait too much longer in our redraft — going to the Commanders at No. 2 overall. Check out the full draft here, but I’m nice enough to share a sneak peek:

16. Seahawks: Graham Barton, C, Duke
17. Vikings: Zach Frazier, C, WVU
18. Bengals: Nate Wiggins, CB, Clemson
19. Rams: Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Ohio State
20. Steelers: Rome Odunze, WR, Washington

Meanwhile, in the reality where the Bears did draft Williams, he gifted an autographed jersey to Pope Leo XIV. And in the process did Williams accidentally unveil the team’s new alternate look in the process? Well, not quite.

As far as the 2026 draft class is concerned, Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love is one of a few players facing immediate pressure.

👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest

• LeBron James needs to join forces with Anthony Edwards on the Timberwolves.
• Former Kentucky player Kerr Kriisa was indicted in an alleged $2.2 million scam.
• The Sky benched Skylar Diggans … and she’s not very happy about it.
• Angel Reese and the Dream tumbled drastically in our newest WNBA Power Rankings.
• Five-star Tennessee QB Faizon Brandon is one of many SEC freshmen to watch this fall.
• Quiet superstar Kevin Jennings will try to carry SMU to a national title.
• Can Conor McGregor prove he still has gas left in the tank at UFC 329?
• Despite going win-for-win with Scottie Scheffler, Chris Gotterup is still flying under the radar.
• Here are the 25 college basketball teams that can win the 2027 NCAA Tournament.

📺 What we’re watching Tuesday

🎾 Wimbledon: Quarterfinals, 8 a.m. on ESPN/ESPN2
⚽ World Cup: Argentina vs. Egypt, 12 p.m. on Fox
⚽ World Cup: Switzerland vs. Colombia, 4 p.m. on Fox
⚾ Yankees at Rays, 6:40 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Summer League: Hawks vs. Grizzlies, 7 p.m. on ESPNU
🏀 Wings at Liberty, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Summer League: Thunder vs. Jazz, 9 p.m. on ESPNU