OLYMPICS
Simone Biles edged Rebeca Andrade of Brazil during a tense all-around gymnastics final Thursday to become a two-time Olympic champion. Biles’ total of 59.131 was just ahead of Andrade at 57.932. Biles now has nine Olympic medals, six of them gold. She's also the third woman to become a two-time Olympic champion, joining Larisa Latynina of the Soviet Union in 1956 and 1960 and Vera Caslavska of Czechoslovakia in 1964 and 1968. American Sunisa Lee, the defending Olympic all-around champion, earned the bronze.
Summer McIntosh and Kate Douglass each won Gold medals. And, to cap things off, a record-breaking night for Katie Ledecky. The Canadian McIntosh finished the 200-meter butterfly in an Olympic record 2:03.03, and Douglass took gold in the 200-meter breaststroke in 2:19.24, breaking her own American record. With a silver in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay, Ledecky collected the 13th medal of her stellar career to become the most decorated woman in swimming history. She would’ve preferred it to be gold, but that went to an Australian squad led by gold medalists Mollie O’Callaghan and Ariarne Titmus. Still, in her next-to-last event of these games, Ledecky broke the mark she shared with fellow Americans Dara Torres, Natalie Coughlin and Jenny Thompson. The 27-year-old now has eight golds, four silvers and one bronze over four Olympics, with every intention of swimming on to Los Angeles in 2028.
Brittney Griner knows only too well the swirling emotions of being involved in a prisoner swap. She says she is “head over heels” that fellow Americans are coming home from Russia. Griner called it a great day and that she is so happy for the families. She says any day Americans come home is a win. She spoke after the U.S. women beat Belgium 87-74 to clinch a berth in the Paris Games quarterfinals. The two-time Olympic gold medalist went through her own prisoner exchange with Russia in 2022. Now Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan from Michigan are coming home after being convicted of espionage charges the U.S. government considered baseless.
NFL
A federal judge overturned a jury’s $4.7 billion verdict in the class-action lawsuit filed by “Sunday Ticket” subscribers against the NFL and granted judgment to the NFL. U.S. District Judge Philip Gutierrez ruled Thursday that the testimony of two witnesses for the subscribers had flawed methodologies and should have been excluded. The jury on June 27 awarded $4.7 billion in damages to residential and commercial subscribers after it ruled the NFL violated antitrust laws in distributing out-of-market Sunday afternoon games on a premium subscription service.
While Caleb Williams, C.J. Stroud and other starters from both teams watched from the sideline, the NFL’s new kickoffs didn’t provide any excitement. Brett Rypien stole the show before lighting and heavy rain ended the game. The veteran quarterback threw three touchdown passes, leading the Chicago Bears to a 21-17 victory over the Houston Texans on Thursday night in the Hall of Fame game. The NFL’s exhibition opener was stopped with 3:31 left in the third quarter and was called off after a 36-minute delay. All eyes were on the NFL’s radical new kickoffs rule at the start. The league dramatically redesigned the play, aiming to revive it after a record-low returns last season.
The first two kickoffs under the NFL’s radical new rule were both returned a yard farther than the old touchback. Houston’s Steven Sims fielded Cairo Santos’ kickoff at the 5 and ran 21 yards before he was tackled at the 26 to open Thursday night’s preseason game between the Texans and Chicago Bears. Touchbacks used to result in the offense starting at the 25. After the Texans scored on the opening drive, Chicago’s Tyler Scott caught Ka’imi Fairbairn’s kickoff at the 7 and returned it 19 yards to the 26. With both teams sitting starters, all eyes were on the overhauled kickoffs during the annual Hall of Fame game at Tom Benson Stadium.
Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert will miss at least the next two weeks because of an injury to the plantar fascia in his right foot. The injury was diagnosed following practice Wednesday. Doctors expect that the fifth-year quarterback will be ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 8 against the Las Vegas Raiders. Herbert will spend two weeks in a walking boot followed by what the Chargers termed “a graduated return to play protocol.” It is the first significant injury during Jim Harbaugh’s first training camp as Chargers coach. Harbaugh has made it a priority to slowly ramp up the intensity of practices to prevent soft tissue injuries.
Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew are locked in an even battle to become the Las Vegas Raiders starting quarterback. Coach Antonio Pierce said he was waiting for one of them to take charge. There are several teams with similar questions at that position around the NFL. Quarterbacks are competing for starting jobs with the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots. Expected starters with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings are being pushed to keep those spots.
MLB
Jake Cave hit a tying two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning and the Colorado Rockies scored on an error in the 10th to beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-4 on Thursday night. Cave homered off Hunter Strickland, the right-hander who is being used to finish off games after closer Carlos Estevez was traded to Philadelphia on Saturday. Michael Toglia added a two-run home run for the Rockies, who have won consecutive games following a five-game losing streak. With Jacob Stallings at second base to open the 10th inning for Colorado, Sam Hilliard attempted a sacrifice bunt. Angels right-hander Hans Crouse (4-3) threw the ball wide of first base, allowing Hillard to score the go-ahead run.
Vinnie Pasquantino homered twice, Seth Lugo gave up just four hits over eight strong innings and the Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 7-1. Bobby Witt Jr. also homered for the Royals, who are 4-0 on their current road trip. Detroit has lost four in a row and been outscored 25-5 in that span. Lugo (13-5) gave up one run, struck out three and walked one after going 1-3 in July. He is 7-0 with a 1.31 ERA in nine starts against the AL Central this season. Detroit's Keider Montero (1-5) allowed four runs on six hits in a career-high seven innings.
David Fry hit a three-run homer, José Ramírez had a two-run shot and the Cleveland Guardians hammered the Baltimore Orioles 10-3 in a matchup of two of the AL’s division leaders. Bo Naylor added a three-run blast as the Guardians outhomered the Orioles, who lead the majors with 172 homers. Fry homered in the third off Trevor Rogers, who went 4 1/3 innings in his debut for the Orioles after being acquired from Miami. He allowed five runs and six hits. Ramírez hit his 28th homer in the seventh, giving him homers in three straight games for the first time since 2021. Ben Lively notched his 10th win for Cleveland with six solid innings.
Austin Riley and Matt Olson hit first-inning home runs, Orlando Arcia added a shot in the third and the Atlanta Braves beat the Miami Marlins 4-2 on Thursday night. The Braves have won five of their last six games. Charlie Morton (6-6) allowed just one run on five hits in six innings. He had six strikeouts and two walks. Morton allowed the leadoff batter to reach five times in six innings, but kept the Marlins off the scoreboard with the exception of an unearned run in the fifth.
Pinch-hitter Mike Tauchman doubled in Dansby Swanson with the winning run as the Chicago Cubs scored three times in the ninth inning to rally for a 5-4 win over the St. Louis Cardinals. With Chicago down 4-2, Cody Bellinger hit a solo homer with one out. After Nico Hoerner singled and stole second, Swanson followed with an RBI double to tie it. Tauchman lined St. Louis closer Ryan Helsley’s 2-2 fastball down the left field line for the win. Seiya Suzuki hit a 459-foot solo shot in the sixth inning for his second hit of the night. The team said it was the longest by a Cubs player this season.
The Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Phillies were off last night. The Yankees start a three-game home series against Toronto at 7:05 tonight, while the Mets are on the road to play the first of three against the Angels at 9:38 tonight. The Red Sox are also on the road, playing the first of three against the Rangers at 8:05 tonight in Arlington. Philadelphia plays the first of three against the Mariners at 9:40 tonight in Seattle.
A Southern California bookmaker who took thousands of sports bets from the ex-interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani has agreed to plead guilty to running an illegal gambling business. Federal prosecutors say Mathew Bowyer’s business operated for at least five years in Southern California and Las Vegas and took wagers from more than 700 bettors, including Ohtani’s former interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. Bowyer is expected to plead guilty Aug. 9 to running an illegal gambling business, money laundering, and subscribing to a false tax return.
Angels star Mike Trout needs a second surgery for a torn meniscus in his left knee. The operation will end another injury-marred campaign for the three-time MVP. Trout said Thursday in a social media post that an MRI revealed the new meniscus tear. He previously had surgery on May 3 to repair the meniscus and had been working toward a return before his rehab was shut down on Tuesday. Trout says he was “devastated” by the news. Trout batted .220 with 10 homers and 14 RBIs in 29 games this season. The 32-year-old has been limited by a series of injuries over the past five years.
HORSE RACING
Today is the induction ceremony for nine new members of the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs. The Class of 2024 includes jockey Joel Rosario and racehorses Gun Runner and Justify, all elected in their first year of eligibility. The Pre-1900 Historic Review Committee also chose jockey Abe Hawkins and racehorses Lecomte and Aristides, while Harry Guggenheim, Clement Hirsch and Joe Hirsch were elected by the Pillars of the Turf Committee. Rosario is a native of the Dominican Republic who has won more than 3,600 races including 115 Grade I stakes. Gun Runner was the 2017 Horse of the Year, and Justify won the 2018 Triple Crown as part of a career where he won all six of his starts.
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