In today's edition: MLB power rankings, PSG wins another trophy, Ohtani vs. the Angels, NFL valuations, Georgia's $62 million high school stadium, and more.
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🚨 Headlines
⚾️ 12 straight: The Brewers have won 12 straight games for just the third time in franchise history, outscoring their opponents 103-39 in that time. They are 32 games over .500. They have six more wins than anyone else. They are, quite simply, the best team in baseball.
🏈 Cook gets paid: The Bills signed James Cook to a four-year, $48 million extension that includes $30 million guaranteed, ending the two-time Pro Bowler's "hold-in."
🎾 Venus returns to the Open: Venus Williams, 45, will play in the U.S. Open as a wild card, making her the oldest singles player at the event since 47-year-old Renée Richards in 1981.
🏀 Trail Blazers sold: Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon has reportedly reached an agreement to buy the Trail Blazers from the estate of the late Paul Allen for more than $4 billion.
🏈 Training camp news: Micah Parsons and the Cowboys are no closer to reaching a deal; Shedeur Sanders is day-to-day with an oblique injury; the Lions embarrassed the Dolphins in a scrimmage; Michael Penix Jr. was involved in a scuffle with the Titans during a joint practice.
⚾️ MLB power rankings
We've reached the MLB season's three-quarter mark, and with seven weeks left until the playoffs our latest power rankings more closely resemble what the postseason field will actually look like. But the teams that eventually make it to October still have some work to do before they get there.
With that in mind… Here is one realistic goal that each of our top 10 teams should pursue from now until the end of the regular season, courtesy of Yahoo Sports' Jordan Shusterman.
Brewers — Secure the best record in baseball: This, of course, should be the bare minimum expectation given Milwaukee's magical summer. More important is finding their way back to the NLCS or beyond for the first time since 2018.
Phillies — Enter October with momentum: Since reaching the World Series in 2022, Philly's season has ended one round earlier each successive year. They've got the roster to reverse that trend; now they just need to go out and do it.
Dodgers — Figure out who their 13 best pitchers are: On paper, this pitching staff is as loaded as it gets. But sifting through injuries and inconsistency to find the right mix of arms will be of paramount importance as they seek to repeat as champions.
Blue Jays — Win the AL East for the first time in a decade: They've come a long way since last year's last-place finish and this spring's contract talks with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Now all that's left is to secure what should be a raucous home-field advantage north of the border.
Cubs — Restore juggernaut status as an offense: The North Siders' success in October will hinge on whether or not they can find the offensive firepower that carried them in the first few months of the season.
Tigers — Secure a top-two seed in the AL: Despite recent stumbles, Detroit still figures to win its first division crown since 2014. But this is a team that would seriously benefit from earning a bye to ensure its top arms are rested and ready to roll.
Astros — Reclaim full-blown villain status: The laundry list of injuries, most recently to closer Josh Hader, can't be overlooked. But with Carlos Correa back in the fold they look far more intimidating and far more familiar as the league's ultimate heel.
Padres — Chase down the Dodgers: It's been almost 20 years since their last division title, but here they are on the doorstep of finally slaying the "dragon up the freeway," holding sole possession of first place after winning their fifth straight game on Wednesday.
Mariners — Win the AL West for the first time since 2001: After winning an MLB record-tying 116 games, they vanished from the postseason for two decades. Now, just one game behind the Astros, is this the year they finally reclaim the crown?
Red Sox — Finish ahead of the Yankees and make the playoffs: Missing the playoffs would make this the first time since the 90's that Boston failed to reach October in four consecutive seasons. For a team that spends this much money, that's simply inexcusable.
📸 Through the lens
Udine, Italy — Paris Saint-Germain staged a thrilling comeback against Tottenham to win their first UEFA Super Cup, scoring twice in the final 10 minutes to tie the game before finishing the job in penalties.
Another trophy: PSG have won the Super Cup, Champions League, Coupe de France, Ligue 1 and Trophée des Champions this year, with their only blemish coming in last month's Club World Cup final loss to Chelsea.
Anaheim — Shohei Ohtani had his longest outing of the season (4.1 IP), struck out seven and tripled against his former team. But the Dodgers still fell to the Angels for their fourth straight loss, and for the first time since April 27 the defending champs are out of first place.
Coming up: The Dodgers are off today, but this weekend they host a massive series against the Padres, who've taken advantage of their prolonged slide (10-14 since the break) to leapfrog them into first.
Mason, Ohio — The weather has made for a challenging week at the Cincinnati Open, with multiple days delayed by storms and numerous players forced to retire due to extreme heat. But at least it gave us this gorgeous photo.
San Francisco — The Olympic Club is a seriously stunning setting for the U.S. Amateur (yes, that is the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance), which opened match play on Wednesday. Highlights include 16-year-old Miles Russell and John Daly II both advancing to the Round of 32.
📈 NFL valuations: Business is booming
The NFL long ago surpassed the imaginary threshold of being "too big to fail." Now it's just showing off.
Business is booming: The average NFL team is worth $7.13 billion — a staggering sum and a 20% increase over last year according to Sportico's annual valuations, released on Wednesday.
The Cowboys again lead the way at $12.8 billion. But after becoming the first team to cross the $10 billion threshold last year they're now joined by two others in the Rams ($10.43B) and Giants ($10.25B).
13 teams are worth at least $7 billion and even the last-place Bengals are worth $5.5 billion — more than every NHL team, all but four MLB teams and all but seven NBA teams.
Big picture: If a 20% increase in a year sounds big (which it most certainly should), consider this: the average NFL franchise has more than doubled in value just since 2021.
The professional sports ecosystem: I know it's hard to read the table above — which features the rank-ordered valuations of all 154* teams across the "Big Five" leagues — but the colors alone tell the story as the NFL makes up almost the entire left-hand column (i.e. most valuable).
🏈 NFL: $7.13 billion average 🔴
🏀 NBA: $4.6 billion average 🟠
⚾️ MLB: $2.82 billion average 🟢
🏒 NHL: $1.79 billion average ⚪️
⚽️ MLS: $721 million average 🔵
*Actually, 153: MLS expansion side San Diego FC is the only team missing from that table because they had not yet begun playing when Sportico last released their MLS valuations.
📺 Watchlist: Thursday, Aug. 14
⛳️ BMW Championship | 9:15am ET, ESPN+; 2pm, Golf
The second leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs tees off today at Caves Valley Golf Club outside Baltimore, where 49 golfers will compete for one of the 30 spots at next week's Tour Championship.
Why 49? The top 50 qualified, but No. 5 Sepp Straka has withdrawn due to a family emergency. He's already clinched a spot in the top 30, though, and plans to compete at the Tour Championship.
🏈 No. 7 Buford Wolves vs. No. 13 Milton Eagles | 7pm, ESPN2
Everything might be bigger in Texas, but tonight it's Georgia that's at the center of the high school football world when two of the nation's best teams open their season in a — get this — $62 million stadium.
Thursday night lights: In-state rivals Buford and Milton face off at Buford's brand new Phillip Beard Stadium, which at a cost of $62 million is the most expensive high school football stadium in Georgia. The venue seats 10,000 fans and features 15 luxury suites, a 3,500 square foot video scoreboard and a two-story fieldhouse.
More to watch:
🎾 Tennis: Cincinnati Open (11am, Tennis) … No. 2 Coco Gauff (11am) and No. 5 Ben Shelton (4:30pm) play fourth-round matches while No. 1 Jannik Sinner (3pm) has already reached the quarters.
⚾️ MLB: Mariners at Orioles (1pm, MLB); Cubs at Blue Jays (3pm, MLB) … Three contenders take the diamond (sorry, Baltimore).
⚾️ LLWS: Japan vs. Czechia (1pm, ESPN); South Carolina vs. Massachusetts (3pm, ESPN); Mexico vs. Taiwan (5pm, ESPN); Pennsylvania vs. South Dakota (7pm)
⛳️ U.S. Amateur: Rounds of 32 and 16 (7pm, Golf/Peacock) … Match play continues in San Francisco.
⚽️ Premier League trivia
Question: With the Premier League season kicking off this weekend, can you name every club that has won a league title this century?
Hint: Six teams.
Answer at the bottom.
📆 Aug. 14, 2016: Bolt's three-peat
Nine years ago today, Usain Bolt became the first man ever to win Olympic gold three times in the 100-meter dash, completing the trifecta at his final Games in Rio. A few days later, he added his third 200m gold, too.
Trivia answer: Manchester United (8 titles), Manchester City (8), Chelsea (5), Arsenal (2), Liverpool (2), Leicester City (1)
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Category: General Sports
