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MLB – Major League Baseball
Tonight
2025 MLB All-Star Game, Truist Park, Atlanta, GA
American League (Tarik Skubal) vs. National League (Paul Skenes), 8:00 p.m.

MLB – Seattle’s Cal Raleigh becomes first catcher, switch-hitter to win Home Run Derby
Seattle’s Cal Raleigh won his first All-Star Home Run Derby after leading the big leagues in long balls going into the break, defeating Tampa Bay’s Junior Caminero 18-15 in the final round. The Mariners’ breakout slugger nicknamed Big Dumper advanced from the first round on a tiebreaker by less than an inch over the Athletics’ Brent Rooker, then won his semifinal 19-13 over Pittsburgh’s Oneil Cruz, whose 513-foot first-round drive over Truist Park’s right-center field seats was the longest of the night. Hitting second in the final round, the 22-year-old Caminero closed within three dingers, took three pitches and hit a liner to left field.

MLB – Shohei Ohtani to hit leadoff for NL in All-Star Game, Tigers Torres for AL
Shohei Ohtani will bat leadoff as the designated hitter for the National League in Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts announced the NL lineup, with Ronald Acuña Jr. batting second and Ketel Marte third. Paul Skenes of the Pirates will start for the NL, while Detroit’s Tarik Skubal will pitch for the AL. Gleyber Torres will lead off for the AL, followed by Riley Greene and Aaron Judge. Skenes and Skubal rank first and second in fastball velocity this season. Skenes has a 2.01 ERA, while Skubal, the reigning AL Cy Young winner, holds a 2.23 ERA.

MLB – Curveballs disappearing in MLB as velocity obsession reshapes pitching landscape
Curveballs are disappearing from Major League Baseball as pitchers prioritize velocity, emphasizing sliders and sweepers. Curveball usage dropped from 10.7% in 2019 to 8.4% this season, with 22,962 fewer thrown in 2024 than five years earlier. Pitchers and coaches say the focus has shifted to harder, faster pitches that generate more swings and misses. Batters are hitting .225 against curveballs this season, lower than fastballs. The game continues evolving toward power and speed.

MLB – Robot umps to make ASG debut, another step toward possible regular-season
Major League Baseball is testing automated ball-strike systems in the All-Star Game for the first time. The system, used in some minor leagues since 2019, allows teams two challenges per game, retaining them if successful. All-Star starters Tarik Skubal of Detroit and Paul Skenes of Pittsburgh say pitchers often think everything is a strike. Clayton Kershaw believes the system works if it’s adjusted for player height, which it does. During spring training tests, teams won 52.2% of challenges.

WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association
Last Night
Minnesota Lynx 91, Chicago Sky 78

Lynx 91, Sky 78 – Napheesa Collier scores 29 and the Lynx beat the Sky 91-78
Napheesa Collier had 29 points, five assists and three steals, Courtney Williams added 18 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Chicago Sky 91-78. Minnesota avenged an 87-81 loss to the Sky on Saturday. Bridget Carleton opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer to give the Lynx a lead, 47-46, they would not relinquish the rest of the way. Kayla McBride added 17 points and Carleton scored 11 for the Lynx. Angel Reese secured her ninth straight double-double for Chicago with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Rachel Banham added 15 points and Rebecca Allen scored 10.

Tonight
Indiana Fever at Connecticut Sun, 8:00 p.m.

Golf – Rory McIlroy returns home for the British Open ready to embrace the love
Rory McIlroy is back at Royal Portrush and feeling plenty of love as the Masters champion. It’s far different from when the British Open was last held in Northern Ireland. He was overwhelmed by the support and wound up missing the cut. McIlroy says he tried to treat 2019 like another Open. This time he is ready to embrace it. He now has the career Grand Slam. He wants to play well for the home crowd. But he’s a lot more at peace and energized about another crack at Royal Portrush. He played 18 holes before bad weather arrived.
NHL – Panthers’ banner raising set for Oct. 7 hosting Blackhawks to open NHL season
The Florida Panthers are set to raise their second consecutive Stanley Cup banner before beginning the NHL season against the Chicago Blackhawks. The back-to-back champions play at 5 p.m. EDT on Oct. 7 to lead off an opening night tripleheader. The New York Rangers host the Pittsburgh Penguins at 8 p.m. with the Colorado Avalanche visiting the Los Angeles Kings at 10:30 p.m. EDT. The remainder of the schedule is set to be released Wednesday. This is the final 82-game regular season before going to 84 in 2026-27 as part of a collective bargaining agreement extension agreed to and ratified by the league and the Players’ Association.

NBA – Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama says he’s been cleared to return following blood clot
San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama says he expects to play this coming season and has been fully cleared after dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his shoulder for the past few months. Wembanyama made the comments to French newspaper L’Equipe in remarks published Monday. There was no immediate word from the Spurs on the report. Wembanyama was the NBA’s rookie of the year two years ago and was the front-runner for defensive player of the year last season when he was diagnosed with the blood clot in his right shoulder in February and was shut down.

NCAAFB – SEC and Big Ten are at a standstill over the College Football Playoff format
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey says the SEC and Big Ten have not agreed on a College Football Playoff format beyond this season. Sankey noted frequent discussions with Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti but highlighted differing views on playoff allocations. The current 12-team playoff guarantees spots for the five highest-ranked conference champions. Sankey emphasized collaboration but stated changes could proceed without unanimous agreement. The CFP contract allows the SEC and Big Ten to propose and impose changes if aligned.

NCAAFB – Argument over ‘valid business purpose’ for NIL collectives threatens settlement
Less than two weeks after terms of a multibillion-dollar college sports settlement went into effect, friction erupted over the definition of a “valid business purpose” that collectives making name, image likeness payments to players are supposed to have. The new College Sports Commission sent a letter to athletic directors last week saying it was rejecting deals in which players were receiving money from collectives that were created solely to pay them and don’t provide goods or services to the general public for profit. An attorney for the players responded by saying those instructions went against settlement terms and asking the CSC to rescind the guidance.

MWL – Midwest League Baseball
This Week
No games until Friday, MLB All Star Week