Happy Tuesday, everyone.
Let's get right to it.
Good morning to everyone but especially to...
THE UNITED STATES WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
It wasn't pretty, but sometimes winning ugly is necessary. The United States women's soccer team eked out a 1-0 win over Mexico in the final match of the Concacaf W Championship group play to finish the group with a perfect 3-0 record while scoring nine goals and conceding zero.
- Kristie Mewis scored the game-winner, knocking the ball in amid a frantic scramble in front of net in the 89th minute.
- The U.S. enjoyed 67% possession and a 15-6 shots advantage but couldn't take advantage until late, with Mexico down to 10 women after Lizbeth Ovalle was red-carded.
- The U.S. is now 40-1-1 against Mexico all-time, with the only loss coming back in 2010 and the only draw coming back in 2008.
The U.S. will face Costa Rica on Thursday in the semifinal.
Honorable mentions
- Pete Alonso will be looking to three-peat (three-Pete?) at the Home Run Derby. Albert Pujols, Ronald Acuña Jr. and Juan Soto are also in the field.
- Four-star 2023 QB Dylan Lonergan is headed to Alabama.
And not such a good morning for...
WHATEVER THE HECK "ACRISURE STADIUM" IS
For the first time since 2000, the Steelers will not call their home Heinz Field. Well, they might still call it that, but that won't be its official name.
Heinz Field is now Acrisure Stadium, and it will be that way for at least the next 15 years.
- The Steelers and Heinz agreed to a 20-year, $57 million deal in 2001. Heinz agreed to a 1-year extension in 2021.
- Heinz had been in negotiations for a new naming rights deal as recently as just a few months ago but opted out of extending its rights.
- So, what is Acrisure? It's an insurance brokerage based out of Michigan. Co-founder Greg Williams said the partnership is "the opportunity of a lifetime and a tremendous honor."
Acrisure has a lot of work to do considering there are gigantic ketchup bottles right above the video board and plenty of other Heinz signage all over the stadium. And yes, I will probably (accidentally... or not) keep calling it Heinz Field, just like the Lakers' and Clippers' (and Kings' and Sparks') home is still the Staples Center to me -- not whatever Crypto.com Arena is.
Not so honorable mentions
- Four Phillies players won't play against the Blue Jays in Toronto due to their COVID-19 vaccination statuses.
- The Department of Justice is investigating the PGA Tour for potential anticompetitive measures against LIV Golf.
- Iran has fired head coach Dragan Skocic roughly four months ahead of the World Cup.
MLB Power Rankings: Is a new No. 1 coming soon? ⚾
The Yankees are atop our MLB expert Matt Snyder's latest MLB Power Rankings. That's nothing new. The Bronx Bombers are by far the best team in the bigs, with the best record and run differential, most runs scored and fewest runs allowed. As Matt explains, just because it's boring to keep them No. 1 doesn't mean it's wrong.
There's also a chance the Yankees get caught at some point, if not in the standings then at least in Matt's Power Rankings. In fact, the No. 2 team in this week's rankings is quietly heating up.
- Snyder: "Dodgers: They are 56-29 and the last remaining NL team with fewer than 30 losses. They are on pace to win 107 games, which seems like it should be the best record in baseball. Their +151 run differential is more than double anyone else in the NL. In terms of the 'hot' factor, they've now won 11 of their last 12 games. They are also 18-13 against teams .500 or better."
There was plenty of movement elsewhere, including four teams tying for the biggest move up:
- Twins (from 13 to 8)
- Phillies (from 14 to 9)
- Mariners (from 17 to 12)
- Orioles (from 21 to 16)
As for those going in the opposite direction, the Guardians fell from 12th to 18th.
Here's the top five:
- 1. Yankees (prev. 1)
- 2. Dodgers (prev. 3)
- 3. Astros (prev. 2)
- 4. Braves (prev. 5)
- 5. Mets (prev. 4)
Storylines, sleepers for the Open Championship: Tiger's last go at St. Andrews?🏌
St. Andrews has been the backdrop for two of Tiger Woods's most iconic wins. In 2000, he won his first Open Championship by eight strokes and completed his first career Grand Slam. In 2005, he was nearly as dominant, winning by five to claim his second Claret Jug.
Now, golf's most iconic player of this era and golf's most iconic course might be meeting for a final time as St. Andrews -- the "Birthplace of Golf" -- hosts the 150th Open Championship. It won't host again until 2027 at the earliest, when Woods would be 51.
That makes Woods' return one of the biggest storylines this week, writes golf expert Kyle Porter.
- Porter: "It seemed like yesterday when it felt as if Woods' run would never end. ... It felt as if one was watching Woods walk through the pages of time itself. That's no longer the case, which is humanizing, but far more difficult to reconcile. Like any champion who knows the dark depths of what is required, he can sense the finish line of his career even if he's not totally sure if he's in front of or behind it."
But there's much more to this historic tournament than Tiger, and Kyle nails down all the biggest storylines here. Woods has 60-1 odds to win at Caesars Sportsbook, a relatively short number thanks to his history at St. Andrews and the fact that, well, he's Tiger Woods. But he's not one of our golf reporter Patrick McDonald's five sleeper picks who could win this week.
Also be sure to check out:
NBA play-in tournament here to stay, plus two new rule changes 🏀
There are two new rule changes afoot in the NBA, but let's start with what's staying in place: The NBA's Board of Governors is set to make the play-in tournament a permanent feature going forward.
- The idea of a play-in tournament began in the 2020 bubble and was fully implemented for the first time in 2021.
- In the play-in tournament, the 7 seed takes on the 8 seed and the 9 seed takes on the 10 seed. The winner of the 7-8 games earns the 7 seed in the playoffs. The loser of that game takes on the winner of the 9-10 game for the right to earn the 8 seed in the playoffs. This happens in both conferences.
While the play-in does dilute the importance of the regular season a tiny bit, the three games to determine two spots are highly entertaining, so I'm ok with it staying. Plus, if you're the 7 or 8 seed in the play-in and can't win either game, do you really deserve to be in the playoffs?
Another change that I'm very much on board with: Take fouls will be penalized more heavily.
- Take fouls often occur when one team has a fast break and defenders, instead of wanting to give up an easy basket, foul to stop the fast break. The team on the fast break, instead of getting two easy points, has to stop for the foul and inbound the ball (just like any foul on the floor), thus allowing the defense to reset. That is, until now.
- Now, when a team commits a take foul, the opposing team not only keeps possession but also gets a free throw (and gets to choose who takes the free throw).
- This rule proposal is expected to be approved unanimously by the Board of Governors
Take fouls have prevented a lot of the highlight-reel transition dunks. Now we're going to get a lot of those dunks back. Who doesn't love that?
Finally, the NBA will enforce bench decorum penalties more heavily. While there aren't a ton of details yet, it basically means the league wants fewer players on the bench standing, intruding on game action, etc. The Mavericks were fined for this several times this past postseason.
What we're watching Tuesday 📺
⚾ Dodgers at Cardinals, 7:45 p.m. on TBS
