OLYMPICS
Gabby Thomas has sped to the win in the women’s 200 meters at the 2024 Olympics. She finished in 21.83 seconds Tuesday night to add a gold to the bronze she took home in the event from Tokyo three years ago. The 27-year-old Harvard graduate, who has a Masters in public health, took the lead for good at the curve and was never challenged in the final stretch. She grabbed her head with both hands after winning. Thomas beat 100-meter champion Julien Alfred by 0.25 seconds. Brittany Brown of the U.S. got the bronze.
Sophia Smith scored in extra time and the U.S. women's national soccer team secured a spot in the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics with a 1-0 victory over Germany. The Americans, undefeated in France under new coach Emma Hayes, will be vying for their fifth gold medal in their sixth appearance in the Olympic women's soccer final. The United States will play Brazil, which defeated Spain 4-2 in the later game. Germany will play Spain for the bronze.
There was a moment where Brazil might have thought it had a chance. It trailed the U.S. by only eight midway through the second quarter. A big deficit had turned into something rather manageable. The moment was short-lived. A 21-2 run turned things into their predictable blowout state and for the 20th time in 20 Olympic appearances, the U.S. will play for a medal. Devin Booker led a balanced front with 18 points and the Americans had little trouble with Brazil in the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics, winning 122-87.
American Cole Hocker pulled the upset of the Olympics on Tuesday night, outracing both favorites Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr to the finish line in the 1,500 meter race. Hocker won the race in an Olympic record 3 minutes 27.65 seconds, pulling from fifth to first over the final 300 meters to beat his personal best by more than 3 seconds. He beat Kerr by .14 seconds, while Ingebrigtsen, who set the pace through the first 1200 meters, ended up in fourth behind American Yared Nuguse.
Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria has advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s welterweight division with a semifinal victory (over) at the Paris Olympics amid scrutiny over misconceptions about her gender. Khelif defeated Janjaem Suwannapheng of Thailand 5:0 in the semifinals at Roland Garros. Khelif has won three consecutive fights in Paris, and she will win either a gold or a silver medal when she completes the tournament on Friday. Khelif had already clinched Algeria’s first medal in women’s boxing before she stepped into the ring to rousing roars from a crowd chanting her name at Court Philippe Chatrier.
MLB
Jake Cave hit a home run, Elias Díaz had two hits and two RBIs, and the Colorado Rockies beat the New York Mets 6-3. Cave hit a two-out, two-run homer off Luis Severino (7-5) to cap a three-run fourth inning and Díaz singled in an insurance run in the eighth. Harrison Bader had a two-run single and Brandon Nimmo had two hits and an RBI for the Mets, who have lost four of six. Justin Lawrence (4-4), the first of four Colorado relievers, pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win. Victor Vodnik pitched the ninth for his sixth save in eight chances.
Dominic Smith scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch in the sixth inning on a call that was overturned on a challenge, and the Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals 6-5. Smith doubled to open the sixth and moved to third on a single to center field by Eric Sogard. After David Hamilton struck out looking, Smith charged home on a pitch by KC’s Seth Lugo that bounced in front of the plate and got away from catcher Salvador Perez. Perez chased the ball to the backstop, wheeled and threw to Lugo, who appeared to tag Smith for an apparent out. The Red Sox challenged the call, which was overturned on review.
Cristopher Sánchez pitched six strong innings, Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber homered back-to-back in the ninth and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2. A preliminary magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in the middle of the seventh inning. There was no discernible reaction from the crowd, although it was felt in the Dodger Stadium press box. The Dodgers had their three-game winning streak snapped and their NL West lead dwindled to four games. Clayton Kershaw took the loss in his third start of the season, getting knocked out in the fifth by Schwarber's two-out RBI single.
Victor Scott II and Tommy Pham each hit two-run homers, Sammy Gray pitched seven innings and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series. Scott, who was recalled from Triple-A Memphis on Sunday, hit his first big league homer in the four-run second inning. Pham added a double in a 2-for-4 night. Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer in the first inning for the Rays, who were visiting St. Louis for the first time since Aug. 27, 2017.
Shota Imanaga gave up two hits through seven innings, Isaac Paredes hit a three-run drive for his first homer with the Cubs, and Chicago beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3. Imanaga retired the first 10 hitters he faced before issuing his only walk of the game, then gave up a two-run homer to Royce Lewis, but the Cubs went on to end Minnesota’s five-game winning streak. The 30-year-old left-hander struck out 10 to tie his career high. Paredes, acquired from Tampa Bay in a trade, finished with two hits and four RBIs. Dansby Swanson had three hits, including a triple. Minnesota starter Pablo López (10-8) allowed four runs on seven hits in five innings.
Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run home run, Chris Bassitt struck out a season-high nine in seven innings to snap a three-start losing streak and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2. Addison Barger hit a two-run double in Toronto’s five-run sixth inning. Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez was scratched minutes before the first pitch because of pain in his upper back and shoulder. Right-handed reliever Albert Suárez started in place of Rodriguez and struck out six over five scoreless innings. Bassitt (9-10) allowed two runs on three hits and walked two. Jackson Holliday homered for Baltimore.
Houston pitcher Framber Valdez lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth inning when Texas slugger Corey Seager hit a two-run homer in the Astros’ 4-2 victory over the Rangers. Valdez was on the verge of his second no-hitter in just more than a year when Seager sent the first pitch he saw in the ninth, an 85 mph slider, into the stands in right field. It was Seager’s fourth homer in four games. The 30-year-old left-hander cruised through eight innings but finally began to stumble in the ninth. Valdez Robbie Grossman before Ezequiel Duran grounded into the second Texas double play of the game. Josh Smith kept the Rangers alive with another walk, setting up Seager’s 24th homer.
Andrew Benintendi hit a two-run homer and the Chicago White Sox snapped their American League record-tying losing streak at 21 games, beating the Oakland Athletics 5-1. Jonathan Cannon gave up one run over six innings on Tuesday to end his personal drought while helping the White Sox to their first victory since early July. Chicago on Monday matched the longest losing streak since the 1988 Baltimore Orioles lost 21 in a row, falling to the Athletics 5-1. The NL record since 1900 is held by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies, who lost 23 straight.
Parker Meadows homered and drove in two runs, Keider Montero pitched six strong innings and the Detroit Tigers beat the Seattle Mariners 4-2 on Tuesday night. Montero (2-5), making the ninth start of his career, allowed just four hits, including Luke Raley’s solo homer in the fifth. Meadows put the Tigers on the board first with an RBI single off Mariners starter Luis Castillo in the fourth, and Detroit plated two more runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Colt Keith and Wenceel Pérez to make it a three-run game. Meadows made it 4-1 with a 415-foot blast off Trent Thornton in the eighth.
Donovan Solano had four hits and four RBIs, and the San Diego Padres used six pitchers to shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-0 on Tuesday night in a game delayed nearly three hours due to rain. Solano had four singles, including a pair for two runs each. It was his first four-hit game since Sept. 26, 2023. Adrián Morejón struck out two in one inning of relief after replacing Bryan Hoeing (2-2) with two outs in the fifth. Hoeing gave up one hit and one walk with three strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings and earned the win.
Elly De La Cruz again battered the Marlins while at bat and on the bases, going 4 for 5 with two doubles, as Cincinnati routed Miami 8-2. A night after hitting two homers and two doubles, De La Cruz singled in the first on Tuesday, doubled and scored in the third and hit a bases-loaded double in the fourth that scored two. He then scored after stealing his major league-leading 58th base of the season, snagging third without a throw while Marlins starter Max Meyer was in his stretch. Nick Lodolo got the win for Cincinnati, giving up two runs in six innings to improve to 9-4. Meyer fell to 2-2.
James Wood homered, tripled and scored four runs, and the Washington Nationals erased a quick four-run deficit to beat the San Francisco Giants 11-5 on Tuesday night. Wood also walked twice and stole two bases for the Nationals, who have won three of four after losing five straight. CJ Abrams hit a three-run homer and Keibert Ruiz had three hits including a solo shot for Washington, which finished with 15 hits. Alex Call added a pair of RBI doubles and a walk. Michael Conforto had a three-run homer, double and a walk for the Giants.
Willy Adames hit a pair of two-run homers and the Milwaukee Brewers routed the Atlanta Braves 10-0, handing them their third straight loss Tuesday night. Colin Rea dominated the Braves for seven innings, striking out a season-high nine batters while allowing five hits and one walk. Rea has not given up a run in his last three road starts, spanning 19 innings. Adames was 4 for 5 with four RBIs, giving him 75 on the season. The Brewers finished with 16 hits. Bryce Elder gave up seven runs on eight hits in just 3 2/3 innings. He struck out six and walked two.
The Yankees’ game against the Angels, originally set for 7:35 in the Bronx, was postponed due to rain and will be made up as a single-admission doubleheader beginning at 4:05 today.
NFL
Two weeks after the San Francisco 49ers reported to training camp there has been no change in the status of Brandon Aiyuk despite trade rumors swirling around the star disgruntled wide receiver. Aiyuk is still taking part in meetings but not practicing as he waits for a long-term contract from San Francisco or a trade. His representatives are talking to other teams to see if any that Aiyuk wants to play for will pay him the salary he wants and give the Niners appropriate compensation in a trade.
NCAA
Women’s college basketball teams are a step away from getting financially rewarded for success in the NCAA Tournament. The Division I Board of Directors agreed to introduce a proposal to give performance units to teams that make March Madness. Units represent revenue from the NCAA's lucrative media rights deal. They have long been a part of the men's tournament. Under the new media rights deal with ESPN, women’s basketball is valued at $65 million per tournament — roughly 10 times more than in the contract that ends this year. If approved in January, the plan would take effect in 2025.
NBA
Charles Barkley intends to remain with TNT Sports through the remainder of his contract. The Hall of Fame player announced that he will not retire next season, reversing the announcement he made in June during the NBA Finals. Barkley said at the time that the upcoming season would be his last on television, no matter what eventually happened with the NBA’s media deal negotiations. He signed a 10-year contract extension with TNT Sports in 2022. The parent company of TNT Sports has sued the NBA in New York state court after the league did not accept the company’s matching offer for one of the packages in its upcoming 11-year media rights deal, which will begin with the 2025-26 season.
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