OLYMPICS
Paris has closed out two and a half extraordinary weeks of Olympic sports and emotion with a star-studded show in France’s national stadium. The French capital has handed over hosting duties for the Summer Games to the next city in line: Los Angeles in 2028. Hollywood star Tom Cruise descended from the top of the stadium to the “Mission: Impossible” theme song, before taking the Olympic flag from star gymnast Simone Biles, putting it on the back of motorcycle and roaring out of the stadium. Los Angeles is looking to prove that topping Paris isn't mission impossible. The French capital made spectacular use of its cityscape, with the Eiffel Tower and other iconic monuments serving as backdrops and venues.
Meanwhile, A’ja Wilson scored 21 points and the U.S. women’s basketball team survived the biggest challenge of its unprecedented run to eight straight gold medals with a 67-66 win over France on Sunday. No team had been able to push the Americans during this impressive streak of 61 consecutive wins. Only two of those victories had been by single digits before the game against France. The eight straight golds broke a tie with the American men’s program that won seven in a row from 1936-68. The women’s victory came less than 24 hours after the U.S. men’s team also beat France. This was the first time in Olympic history that both gold medal games featured the same two teams. Unlike the men’s game this one came down to the final minute and one last shot by France that was just inside the 3-point line.
U.S. Olympic officials say they will appeal a court ruling that resulted in American gymnast Jordan Chiles being asked to return the bronze medal she won in the Paris Olympics floor exercise. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) voided an on-floor appeal by Chiles’ coach that vaulted her to third, saying the appeal came 4 seconds beyond the 1-minute time limit for scoring inquiries. The International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said Saturday night it would respect the court’s decision and elevate Barbosu to third. The International Olympic Committee confirmed the ruling Sunday, announcing that it was reallocating the bronze from last Monday’s women’s floor final to Romanian Ana Barbosu.
During the 2024 Olympics, crowds from Paris to Tahiti have surprised even themselves with their enthusiasm for two and a half weeks of sports. They've plunged into the party like Léon Marchand parting the waters for his four swimming golds. Now, they're saying “au revoir” — see you again — as the Games drew to a close Sunday. After the 100-year wait since Paris’ last Games, no one can say when France’s capital and the Olympics will next embrace. But they’re both emerging changed — in some ways for the better — from their summer romance. As well as hitting high notes, Paris also experienced lows.
As the Olympics close in Paris, Los Angeles has now taken the torch. The city will become the third to host the games three times. The last was in 1984, when Los Angeles was as much a star as Olympians Carl Lewis and Mary Lou Retton. Olympic organizers will take advantage of a recent building boom in the city. The nearly new SoFi stadium will host an opening ceremony that will also incorporate the century-old Memorial Coliseum. The region has much more public transportation than it did in '84, but is looking to build much more by 2028.
The French lawyer for Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif has filed a legal complaint in France for online harassment. Khelif faced a rain of criticism and false claims about her sex during the Paris Olympics. She won gold Friday in the women’s welterweight division, becoming a new hero in her native Algeria and bringing global attention to women’s boxing. The complaint was filed Friday with a special unit in the Paris prosecutor’s office for combating online hate speech. It is now up to prosecutors to decide whether to open an investigation. The complaint doesn’t name an alleged perpetrator but leaves it to investigators to determine who could be at fault.
Simone Biles stole the show at the Paris Olympics with a captivating comeback that had everyone watching everything she did both in and out of the gymnasium. All eyes were on Biles as she won four medals, but the spotlight was bright enough to highlight new names, new faces and some unlikely new stars. The Paris Games will be remembered for breathtaking venues, unprecedented accessibility, Snoop Dogg taking a starring role in NBC’s record-smashing coverage and remarkable athletic performances.
MLB
Giancarlo Stanton hit a three-run homer after Aaron Judge was intentionally walked in the fifth inning, Juan Soto went deep twice, Judge hit his MLB-best 42nd homer and the New York Yankees hung on for an 8-7 victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday. Judge reached base four times, marking the 41st time he reached base at least three times this season. Stanton tied a season high with four RBIs. Soto hit solo homers in the third and seventh.
Cal Raleigh hit two home runs, Luis Castillo struck out nine and the Seattle Mariners completed a spirited sweep of the New York Mets with a 12-1 win on Sunday. Castillo gave up four hits and walked two in six innings, completing a tour de force series for Seattle’s starters. George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Castillo combined to strike out 21 and give up 10 hits while walking four in 19 innings. New York’s Jeff McNeil ended a scoreless streak of 27 innings with a solo home run in the sixth inning, the only run for the Mets in the three-game series. Seattle has won four straight and remains tied atop the AL West with the Houston Astros.
Alex Bregman hit a three-run homer to key a five-run fifth inning, Yordan Alvarez followed with his third homer in two games and the Houston Astros beat the Boston Red Sox 10-2 to complete a three-game series sweep. It was the fifth straight win for the AL West-leading Astros, who also swept a three-game series in Fenway Park last season. Houston has won seven of its last eight series in Boston. Jeremy Peña added a two-run homer and Yainer Diaz had a two-run double for the Astros, who improved to a season-best seven games over .500. Boston starter James Paxton limped off the field after straining his right calf while making a quick move to cover first on a grounder in the opening inning.
Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran has apologized for directing a homophobic slur at a heckling fan during a 10-2 loss to the Houston Astros. The exchange caught on a live mic during the broadcast of Sunday's game occurred when Duran was at the plate in the sixth inning. A fan at Fenway Park can be heard shouting “You need a tennis racket!” Duran turned his head toward the fan and replied: “Shut up,” followed by a curse word and the slur. In a statement issued through the team, Duran said he used a ”truly horrific word" and apologized to the LGBTQ community.
Merrill Kelly pitched five solid innings in his return from a shoulder injury, Jake McCarthy had three hits and four RBIs, and the Arizona Diamondbacks stayed hot with a 12-5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Sunday. The D-backs won their eighth straight series, taking three of four from the Phillies. Since July 1, Arizona has a 25-10 record. Philadelphia has lost three straight and 10 of 14. The Phillies surrendered 23 runs over the past two games. McCarthy broke the game open in the fifth with a two-out, bases clearing triple down the right-field line that scored three runs and made it 8-2.
Teoscar Hernández drove in three runs, including a game-ending RBI single in the 10th inning, as the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled off a 6-5 victory over Pittsburgh on Sunday, handing the Pirates a season-high seventh consecutive defeat. The Dodgers had an RBI double in the 10th from Kiké Hernández, who scored on Teoscar Hernández’s hit. Kiké Hernández had three hits. The Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen hit a pair of home runs in his return to the leadoff spot after missing his previous three games with knee soreness.
Jack Kochanowicz pitched 7 2/3 innings to earn his first major league win, Kevin Pillar hit a three-run double and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Washington Nationals 6-4 on Sunday. Los Angeles avoided a three-game series sweep in its first visit to Washington since 2017 and went 3-3 on a road trip that began in New York against the Yankees. The Nationals issued 13 walks, matching their most since the franchise moved to Washington in 2005. The Angels turned four of those into runs to help deny the Nationals their fourth series sweep of the season.
Dillon Dingler hit his first career home run, Matt Vierling also went deep, and the Detroit Tigers held on to beat the San Francisco Giants 5-4 to avoid the series sweep. Colt Keith added two hits and an RBI and three Tigers relievers combined for four shutout innings to back rookie Keider Montero’s uneven outing. Dingler hit a two-run home run in the second inning then doubled and scored in the fifth. Montero (3-5) gave up four runs on five hits and four walks. Will Vest earned his first save of the season. Matt Chapman had three hits and three RBIs for the Giants.
Curtis Mead had a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the eighth inning, and the Tampa Bay Rays avoided a three-game sweep by beating the Baltimore Orioles 2-1. Anthony Santander hit his 35th homer and Albert Suárez gave up four hits in 6 2/3 scoreless innings for the Orioles, who started the day with a one-game lead over the New York Yankees in the AL East. Brandon Lowe walked to open the eighth off struggling reliever Craig Kimbrel (6-4) and stole second with one out. Christopher Morel drew a walk, the Rays had a double steal and Josh Lowe was intentionally walked before Mead hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1.
JJ Bleday and Zack Gelof both homered in a six-run first inning, JP Sears pitched seven innings to win his third straight start and the Oakland Athletics beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-4 for their 50th win, matching their total from last season. Lawrence Butler had three hits, including a pair in the first inning, and drove in a run as Oakland improved to 20-13 since July 2, the third-best record in baseball in that span. Toronto slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 0 for 4, ending his hitting streak at 22 games.
David Fry and José Ramírez homered, and the Cleveland Guardians held on to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-3 to earn a split of the four-game series between the top two teams in the AL Central. The Guardians won their second straight after losing seven in a row, and now lead Minnesota by 3 1/2 games. Kansas City is four games back. Emmanuel Clase pitched a shaky ninth for his 35th save as Minnesota loaded the bases with no outs in the final frame, but Willi Castro struck out on a full count and Trevor Larnach grounded into a double play. Byron Buxton homered twice for Minnesota, which fell to 2-7 against Cleveland this year.
Jake Burger homered for the third straight game, Jesús Sánchez also had a home run and the Miami Marlins beat San Diego 7-6 on Sunday to end the Padres’ seven-game win streak. Burger has homered 12 times since the All-Star break. Ha-Seong Kim originally was credited with a game-tying home run off Andrew Nardi when his drive bounced off the padding in left field and then deflected over the wall with two outs in the ninth. But after an umpire review, the call was reversed to a double. George Soriano relieved Nardi and struck out Luis Campuzano for his first save.
Santiago Espinal had two RBIs and scored the go-ahead run in the seventh inning as the Cincinnati Reds beat Milwaukee 4-3 to snap the NL Central-leading Brewers’ five-game winning streak. The Reds avoided a sweep and beat the Brewers for just the 13th time in their last 47 meetings. Tyler Stephenson homered for the Reds and Joey Ortiz had a two-run shot for the Brewers. Cincinnati broke a 3-all tie in the seventh inning as Spencer Steer's bases-loaded sacrifice fly brought home Espinal.
Jake Cave had three RBIs, Charlie Blackmon and Sam Hilliard each had three hits, and the Colorado Rockies mounted a furious comeback to defeat the Atlanta Braves 9-8 on Sunday in the finale of a three-game series. The Rockies earned the victory with a seven-run eighth inning, turning an 8-2 deficit into a 9-8 advantage. It was the largest deficit the Rockies have overcome this season, and the seven runs were tied for the most in an inning by Colorado in 2024. Entering the day, the Rockies had been 2-14 against the Braves since the start of the 2022 season and had lost nine of their previous 10 games against Atlanta at Coors Field.
NFL PRESEASON
Rookie quarterback Bo Nix threw one touchdown pass and took Denver on long scoring marches to close the first half and open the second half as the Broncos won their preseason opener 34-30 at Indianapolis. Nix was the No. 12 overall draft pick in April. He went 15 of 21 for 125 yards, rushed three times for 17 yards and outperformed two veterans competing for the starting job before leaving midway through the third quarter. Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson took his first game snaps since October and was on the field for two series with Jonathan Taylor.
Stetson Bennett rebounded from a four-interception afternoon and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Miller Forristall with 4 seconds remaining as the Los Angeles Rams rallied for a 13-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday afternoon in the preseason opener for both teams. Bennett led the Rams on a 13-play, 70-yard drive, including his sidearm throw to Forristall on fourth-and-goal from the Dallas 6-yard line. Bennett went the distance at quarterback and was 24 of 38 for 224 yards with a touchdown and four interceptions while Trey Lance passed for 188 yards in his first game for the Cowboys.
NASCAR
Austin Dillon raced to his first NASCAR Cup Series victory in nearly two years, sending Joey Logano into a spin on the final lap to win in overtime at Richmond. It was Dillon’s first win since Aug. 28, 2022, at Daytona. He had just two top-10 finishes this year and entered the race ranked 32nd in the standings. Now he’s on track for the postseason. But he didn’t do it gently. Logano clearly got the better of Dillon on the final restart. Then Dillon came up behind Logano and spun him. And when Denny Hamlin appeared to be moving past him on the inside, Dillon made contact with him too and sent him into the wall.
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