Happy 240th birthday to the USA. In honor of the country declaring its freedom from Great Britain, we bring you this week’s newsletter with a touch of sports independence.
For the movie sequel, 20-years in the making, check out the Independence Day: Resurgence trailer. Also on this national holiday, let’s give a shoutout to Jon Stewart for his work with wounded warriors.
National Basketball Association (NBA)
July 1st NBA free agency kicked off, and top NBA players are in hot demand. Picture billionaire owners courting millionaire athletes.
Show me the money…On just day one of the tango there was $1.5 billion of salary committed, making a lot of young basketball players independently wealthy.
The top free agent was former MVP Kevin Durant. KD was courted by his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, as well as five other squads. Possibly a Royal Pains fan, Durant chose the Hamptons as his locale of choice to get the royal treatment. Boston, Oakland, San Antonio, Miami and Los Angeles choppered in their best sales people. The Boston Celtics called in an assist from New England Patriots MVP Tom Brady, and Steve Balmer, owner and head cheerleader, made a strong push for his Los Angeles Clippers.
Sadly for OKC and the others who lost out, Oakland’s Golden State Warriors won Durant’s heart. Some think it was a sell out move joining the league’s best team. KD disagrees in his own words. No hard feelings in Oklahoma? Think again as scorned fans burned Durant’s jersey.
Major League Baseball (MLB)
The baseball season is half over and fans of the first-place Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers in the American League, and the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and San Francisco Giants in the National League are smiling while eating hotdogs and watching the fireworks.
The Cleveland Indians grabbed some mojo from the city’s NBA champs, the Cleveland Cavaliers, and won 14 straight games. Sadly, a loss this past Saturday, ended the longest winning streak in baseball this year.
Getting greedy? The Cavs brought the first professional title to #Believeland since 1964. With a renewed spark in their eyes, Cleveland fans hope these Indians can deliver the first World Series title since 1948.
In tribute to the troops, the Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves played Sunday night at Fort Bragg. Where?…Fort Bragg, located in North Carolina, is the largest military base in the world. The game was the first pro sporting event ever held at a U.S. military base.
Soccer
Au Revoir Euro 2016 tournament. The host with most, France, says goodbye to the games this week.
Independence is in the air…think Brexit…and Britain needs a pick me up. Thankfully the Wales team continues to pleasantly surprise. Their latest victim was a heavily favored Belgium squad on Friday. Next up: the semifinals.
In a battle of endurance, Germany defeated Spain, the two-time defending champions, in a crazy nine-round penalty shootout, 6-5. Also too close for comfort, Portugal put together a 5-3 shootout performance to take down a surprising Poland team. Keep the champagne and wine flowing please.
The magic of Iceland could not be dimmed even by their eventual loss to France in the quarterfinals. With a population of just 330,000, this tiny nation surprised everyone by making it so far. Despite their 5-2 loss to the host country squad, spirit is still alive in Iceland. Watch a Viking war chant by 10,000 fans.
Be on the lookout for your soccer-loving friends and coworkers to conveniently be sick a few afternoons this week.
The Euro 2016 remaining schedule:
Semifinal #1 Portugal vs. Wales Wednesday, June 6 @ 3:00pm ET
Semifinal #2 Germany vs. France Thursday, June 7 @ 3:00pm ET
Finals – Sunday, June 10 @ 3:00pm ET
Tennis
Rain wreaked havoc on last week’s Wimbledon matches but the games continue.
World #1 Novak Djokovic, aka the Djoker, shockingly lost to American Sam Querrey in a third round match marred by four rain delays. With Djokovic out of the way, #2 ranked and Britain’s own Andy Murray is now the men’s favorite.
In the women’s draw, #1 Serena Williams seeks her 22nd Major title. Easier said than done. Serena has lost in the finals in the last three Majors. Her last title came at…Wimbledon in 2015.
Remember at TINK Sports we watch the games so you don’t have stumbled recently.
See you next time…
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