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😄 Good morning to all but especially to …
THE RED-HOT MILWAUKEE BREWERS
The Brew Crew moved up three spots and into No. 1 in Matt Snyder’s newest MLB Power Rankings. An 11-game winning streak has slingshot the Brewers into the NL Central lead, one game ahead of the Cubs. While it’s been a team effort, Milwaukee continues to receive stellar play from Christian Yelich, who leads the team in home runs and RBI.
Milwaukee’s winning streak has been much-needed as the NL Central — sans the cellar dwelling Pirates … more on them a little bit later — has become one of MLB’s better divisions. Four of those five teams currently boast winning records. One of those teams, the Reds, have clearly responded to future Hall of Fame manager Terry Francona, who recently became the 13th skipper in history to reach 2,000 career wins.
Here are Matt’s top five teams this week:
- Brewers (previous: 4)
- Cubs (3)
- Tigers (1)
- Blue Jays (7)
- Dodgers (2)
👍 Honorable mentions
😟 And not such a good morning for …
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JERRY JONES AND MICAH PARSONS
As has become his wont, the Cowboys longtime owner/CEO/president/GM once again made headlines for all the wrong reasons. While Jerry Jones said that he is “not the least concerned” about Micah Parsons‘ contract situation, he appeared to throw a subtle jab at the star linebacker, and it’s one that he did not appreciate.
“Just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re gonna have him. He was hurt six games last year. Seriously,” Jones said while discussing Parsons’ contract.
As you can imagine, Jones’ comments went viral faster than a scoop of ice cream melting on a Texas football field in July. Future Hall of Fame pass rusher J.J. Watt was the first to take Jones to task for his comments with a critical social media post that Parsons actually reposted!
While none of this looks good, there was some positive news out of Dallas regarding Parsons, which is the fact that he was present for the first day of training camp. But, based on Jones’ comments and Parsons’ reaction to them, things are certainly not great between the Cowboys and arguably their best player.
👎 Not so honorable mentions
🏀 Worst moves of the NBA offseason
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By all accounts, the NBA offseason has been quiet. Outside of the Bucks‘ stunningly dismissal of star guard Damian Lillard, who went on to sign a deal with the Trail Blazers, it has lacked the drama NBA fans have seen is past years. CBS Sports’ Brad Botkin ranked the worst moves of the offseason, with the Bucks ditching “Dame Time” for Myles Turner at the top of the list.
- Botkin: “Give Jon Horst this much: He’s gonna go down swinging. Every time even a tiny whiff of Giannis Antetokounmpo possibly starting to consider a Milwaukee exit — whether or not there’s been any merit to the speculation is another matter — has hit the air, Horst has snapped into action with a blockbuster move aimed at re-stoking the loyalty of the best player to wear a Bucks uniform since Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.”
Other lowlights included: The Suns waiving Bradley Beal, the Pelicans taking a bold swing on Maryland forward Derik Queen in the draft and Portland adding veteran Jrue Holiday via trade in one of the first trades of the offseason.
Plus, Cameron Salerno has your Las Vegas Summer League winners and losers.
🏈 Sanders provides update on his health
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Colorado football coach Deion Sanders provided a vague update on his health. Sanders has largely been quiet this offseason as he continues to deal with unspecified health issues. Sanders provided the update via a video. Sanders was physically active in the video, shooting a basketball, playing tennis and going on a 1.3-mile “run-walk” with his daughter.
“You know I’m still going through something,” Sanders said before he stepped into the ice bath. “I ain’t all the way recovered.”
Despite questions regarding his health, there have been no reports regarding Sanders possibly missing time when the Buffaloes’ season begins. Sanders shot down questions pertaining to his health during Big 12 Media Days.
🎾 Could Serena Williams be planning a comeback?
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While Venus Williams is playing in her first event in over a year, her younger sister, 23-time singles Grand Slam winning Serena Williams, has also been in the headlines after she recently posted a video of herself hitting tennis balls. Serena, 43, hasn’t played professional tennis since 2022, but that didn’t stop Venus from being asked this week about his sister possibly coming out of retirement.
“I keep saying to my team: The only thing that would make this better is if she was here,” Venus said. “Like, we always did everything together, so of course I miss her. But if she comes back, I’m sure she’ll let y’all know.”
As someone who watched their entire careers, I for one am hoping to see the Williams sisters join forces on the court once again.
🏈 Ranking the NFL’s best teams since 2000
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With NFL training camps opening up, we’ve reached the end of “list season,” the month between minicamp and training camp. But before camps start to ramp up, we’ve got one last NFL historical rankings piece for your reading enjoyment as we recently ranked the league’s 25 best teams since 2000.
The list includes several teams that didn’t win the Super Bowl, most notably the 2007 Patriots, who were 18-0 before they were taken down by Eli Manning, David Tyree and the Giants in the Super Bowl. Another notable non-champion were the 2009 Vikings which were headlined by Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and Jared Allen.
And on the subject of older stars, we’ve also got the NFL’s best 30 players 30 and over.
📺 What we’re watching Tuesday
🚴 The Tour de France, Stage 16, 6 a.m. on Peacock
⚽ UEFA Women’s European Championship: Semifinal — England vs. Italy, 3 p.m. on FOX
⚾ Phillies at Red Sox, 6:45 p.m. on TBS
🏀 Fever at Liberty, 8 p.m. on ESPN
🏀 Dream at Aces, 10 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Twins at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on MLBN
