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Good morning! Don’t get dunked on today.

Dingers: The Big Dumper has claimed 2025

I must be honest with you this morning. I turned on last night’s MLB Home Run Derby reluctantly, as the recent malaise over all-star games of all kinds had set in again. Would we really have to have this conversation all over again? 

And then the lads started crushing baseballs and I didn’t care. The competition itself was electric. Cal Raleigh, the Big Dumper himself, continued his swift takeover of baseball with a narrow win over Junior Caminero. I was anxiously standing behind my couch as Caminero flamed out in the championship round. 

That’s a good thing. Some assorted thoughts from a pleasant surprise: 

• What else can we say about Raleigh at this point? He entered the All-Star break with 38 home runs and has a real shot to win AL MVP. The 28-year-old also won last night’s event with his father pitching to him and brother catching. A-plus, all around. Did we mention he’s a first-time All-Star and the first catcher ever to win the Derby, too?
• Byron Buxton was also easy to root for, the supremely talented Minnesota Twin who’s dealt with injury after injury. He’s healthy now, and coaching his son’s baseball team reignited his passion for baseball. Buxton performed well last night and flamed out in the semifinals.
• I also must mention Oneil Cruz, the Pirates slugger known for obliterating baseballs. He hit the longest dinger of the night, a 513-foot blast that literally went out of the stadium:

That’s the longest homer in Truist Park history. Also, Caminero got robbed by one of the outfielders. With apologies to Caminero, it was great theater. 

We’ll see if tonight’s All-Star Game continues the entertainment. Onward:

Feedback Loop: Sinner wins, but let’s clap for Kim

Yesterday we asked a simple query: Who had the best Sunday? As you can see, most of you answered as expected. But I am delighted to see our second-place finisher. Two random notes from our results:

• Somehow, we sold Kim’s comeback a little short yesterday, too, accidentally indicating she won the playoff on a chip-in, which was slightly incorrect; she forced an extra playoff hole with the chip-in on No. 17, then eagled No. 18 to win the Evian Championship. That means her final three holes of a major were eagle-birdie-eagle. Casual.
• Other notable write-ins: Terry Francona, who reached 2,000 wins Sunday. Shane van Gisbergen, whose NASCAR win Sunday is disrupting the sport. And, of course, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, who somehow got four votes. We will find you, Thanasis stan. 

Thank you, as always, for voting.

News to Know

Rays sale nearly done

Rays owner Stu Sternberg agreed in principle to a $1.7 billion deal to sell the franchise to a group led by Jacksonville developer Patrick Zalupski, a source told The Athletic. The deal is expected to be completed by September and, most importantly, Zalupski is expected to keep the team in the Tampa Bay area. Let’s just hope the sale hastens a stadium solution for the team. Plenty more scoop in the full story.

Taylor out at Fox

Joy Taylor’s time at Fox is over after the network canceled three shows yesterday, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reports, including “Speak,” which Taylor co-hosted. It ends a tumultuous year at the network for Taylor, after being named in a sexual harassment lawsuit against former network executive Charlie Dixon. Read Andrew’s report here.

Hold off on those CFP expansion plans

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said yesterday that, despite a 16-team Playoff seeming like a foregone conclusion, the sport could easily remain in a 12-team setup if conference commissioners can’t agree on the structure, which very much seems the case right now. The Big Ten wants four automatic bids each for itself and the SEC, while other conferences seem to prefer the 5+11 model. It all appears quite fluid at the moment. See our full update.

More news

• The Jets agreed to a four-year, $130 million extension with wideout Garrett Wilson. It’s a huge win for the organization.
• Former NFL quarterback Teddy Bridgewater was suspended yesterday by Miami Northwestern, the high school where he serves as head football coach, for the dastardly deed of helping pay for student expenses.
• Paul George underwent surgery on his left knee, the 76ers announced yesterday. How does it feel like the Sixers’ season is already derailed?
• NASCAR cleared Ty Gibbs of wrongdoing after he passed through another driver’s pit box during a stop.

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Things You Need to See: Look out below

For most of the sporting world, focus on NBA Summer League departed with No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg. Maybe that was a mistake. Just look at what Pacers second-year man Johnny Furphy did last night:

That’s a July basketball poster. Rare stuff. We’re almost done:

What to Watch

📺 MLB: All-Star Game

8 p.m. ET on Fox

Tarik Skubal vs. Paul Skenes. I still think this game is the best of the major sports all-star contests, but that’s a low bar. If you’re searching for something to watch, put it on. 

📺 WNBA: Fever at Sun

8 p.m. ET on ESPN

Don’t like baseball? The W is serving this up opposite the MLB All-Star Game, as Caitlin Clark and the Fever travel to Connecticut to face the league-worst Sun. Stands should be packed, as most Fever road games tend to be. 

Get tickets to games like these here.

Pulse Picks

Lindsay Schnell took her turn with an impossible undertaking yesterday, somehow trying to rank the best college basketball players of the 2000s. It was hard for me to argue with the top 10, too. See her picks. 

Try not to tear up reading this: Colorado coach Deion Sanders answered a student’s question after a game in September. It changed the young reporter’s life. 

Andrew Marchand has a plan for MLB’s future media plans. I think Rob Manfred should read it if he hasn’t already. 

I can’t believe a story about shoes moved me so much, but this did: on Shohei Ohtani’s 50/50 cleats, his dog and how they made an old man cry.

The first of our WNBA anonymous poll stories is here, with scoop on trash talkers and best athletes. We’ll have more this week, too.

(Top photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images)