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🏀 Good morning to everyone, but especially to …
TEAM USA MEN’S BASKETBALL …
Now that was more like it from Team USA Men’s Basketball. Ten days after barely escaping what would have been one of the largest upsets in international sports history against South Sudan, the Americans turned it up a notch on both ends and earned a 103-86 win over the upstart Bright Stars. After trailing 10-8 early, the U.S. went on a 25-4 run and never looked back.
After LeBron James and Kevin Durant led the way in the Olympic opener against Serbia, it was a lesser-known name who shined Wednesday: Bam Adebayo had a team-high 18 points off the bench. With Joel Embiid not playing (coach’s decision), Adebayo did a bit of everything, writes James Herbert.
- Herbert: “Jrue Holiday provided his usual all-world ball pressure and Derrick White was absolutely everywhere, but no one made a bigger impact than Adebayo. … In this context, Adebayo doesn’t have to shoulder the same kind of load as he does with the Miami Heat, but it’s not a stretch to say he dominated a portion of this game. He scored 14 of his 18 points before halftime on 6-for-6 shooting, while wreaking havoc on the defensive end.”
The United States officially qualified for the quarterfinals with the win and will finish group play Saturday against Puerto Rico. Team USA will return to its typical starting five for that game, Steve Kerr said.
… AND KATIE LEDECKY AND LÉON MARCHAND
It starts slowly. One body length. Five. Ten. Twenty. By race’s end, it’s too many to fit on the TV screen. Katie Ledecky‘s dominance is stunning, jaw-dropping, hilarious and all-encompassing. The all-time great American distance swimmer captured her eighth Olympic gold medal (and 12th Olympic medal overall) with an Olympic-record 15:30.02 in the 1500-meter freestyle.
- Ledecky now owns the 20 fastest times ever in the 1500-meter freestyle. Yeah, it’s absolutely silly. She won this race by more than 10 seconds and topped her own Olympic record — from 2020 Tokyo — in the process.
- Ledecky’s 12 Olympic medals tie Jenny Thompson, Natalie Coughlin and Dara Torres for most by a female swimmer.
- Ledecky’s eight golds tie Thompson for most by an American woman.
- Torri Huske also medaled Wednesday for the Americans.
If Ledecky, 27, is one of the established GOATs, Léon Marchand might just be on his way. The French star won gold in both the 200-meter butterfly and the 200-meter breaststroke.
- He’s the first swimmer to win both events at a single Olympics, and he did it in the same night, no less.
- That makes him the first swimmer to win gold in multiple individual events on the same day since Kornelia Ender in 1976.
Matt Norlander has more from a truly memorable night at the pool.
Here’s more from the Olympics:
😃 Honorable mentions
😣 Not so honorable mentions
🤸 Simone Biles, Suni Lee headline women’s gymnastics all-around final
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Fresh off leading the United States to gold in the team competition, Simone Biles and Suni Lee are set to face off in a historic individual all-around final. It’s the first time two former Olympic all-around champions will face off in the individual final. Lee, the Tokyo 2020 gold medalist, is looking to make it two in a row while Biles, the 2016 Rio Games gold medalist, is looking to further what’s already been a redemptive Olympics (and finish an outstanding clap back against a former teammate).
Here’s the thing. No matter what happens today, Biles is an icon. A singular force who changed her sport. A gigantic presence despite her 4-foot-8 stature. Her eight Olympic medals are most of any U.S. gymnast.
Lyle Fitzsimmons previews what should be an epic afternoon.
- Fitzsimmons: “Biles arrives to Thursday’s competition having laid down Sunday’s top scores in both the vault (15.800) and floor exercise (14.600). … Biles was second among Sunday scorers on the balance beam and ninth on the uneven bars. No other athlete had single-digit qualifying finishes in all four events.”
⚾ Why was MLB trade deadline so quiet, and who could move next?
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As we broke down yesterday, the MLB trade deadline was … meh. There were plenty of trades but none of the big ones that we thought could be in the works.
Why is that? R.J. Anderson has three reasons there wasn’t more movement.
But prime trade candidates who didn’t move Tuesday could move in the coming months. R.J. outlined 10 notable names who could be sent elsewhere this offseason, and among them is …
- Anderson: “Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Marlins — How’s this for a wild card? Alcantara has not pitched since undergoing Tommy John surgery last fall. He should be ready to roll come Opening Day 2025, however, giving teams ample time to monitor his rehab in the interim. Alcantara had established himself as one of the top pitchers in baseball prior to the injury (he was a year removed from winning the National League Cy Young Award), and a team with confidence in their risk analysis could try to swing a deal for him this winter. Remember, Alcantara is about to get (relatively) pricey for the Fish.”
🏈 Which rookies will be best at each position in 2024?
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It’s August! There’s an NFL game tonight! (Just don’t expect to see Caleb Williams … or many other starters, if any.) That means it’s time to kick it into high gear as the season nears, and we have just the trick: Cody Benjamin projected the top rookie at every position.
This was a really fun one to read, and given that six quarterbacks were taken in the first 12 picks, I can’t imagine it was an easy task for Cody. You’ll have to read the story to see who he chose there, but I liked this selection.
- Benjamin: “CB: Terrion Arnold (Lions) — Quinyon Mitchell technically went ahead of Arnold in the draft, but he’s currently slated for slot duties with the Philadelphia Eagles, whereas Arnold profiles as a Day 1 perimeter starter in Detroit. The balance of youth (i.e. Brian Branch, Ennis Rakestraw Jr.) and experience (i.e. Carlton Davis) around him should help.”
If Arnold help lead an improved Detroit secondary, the Lions are in for another really good year.
📺 What we’re watching Thursday
🥇 We’re watching the Olympics. Here’s how.
🤸 Women’s Gymnastics — All-around final, 12:15 p.m. on NBC
🏀 Women’s Basketball, 5×5 — USA vs. Belgium, 3 p.m. on USA
🏈 Texans vs. Bears, 8 p.m. on ABC/ESPN
