Aces continue to chase history beginning quest for three-peat
Las Vegas raised its WNBA championship banner Tuesday night, then started its title defense with an 89-80 win over Phoenix, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp.
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1. Aces continue to chase history beginning quest for three-peat
Las Vegas raised its WNBA championship banner Tuesday night, then started its title defense with an 89-80 win over Phoenix, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Steve Carp.
They got their championship rings. They raised their championship banner. They got their props from the record sellout crowd at Michelob Ultra Arena.
And then it was time to get back to business.
When you are the Las Vegas Aces, there’s a sense of ownership which comes with being the best team in the WNBA. They embrace their success. They don’t run and hide from it. They always have a tinge of disrespect in the way they conduct themselves, from head coach Becky Hammon all the way down the line. If there’s a perceived slight, they’ll find a way to exploit it and look to stick up everyone’s butt.
And it never hurts when you can have one of the owners walk into your locker room before the opening tip to give a word or two of encouragement. Especially when that owner happens to be Tom Brady, a guy who knows a thing or two about winning.
Sometimes, the message gets acknowledged, as was the case of A’ja Wilson finally getting a shoe deal from Nike, something that apparently was in the works for a while. Never mind Hammon basically blasted every sneaker company from Nike to P.F. Flyers for dissing her star.
2. LAFC’s ‘French Connection’ grows with addition of Giroud
LAFC adds pivotal piece to their French Connections they welcome FIFA World Cup winner Olivier Giroud to the Los Angeles club, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Chandrima Chatterjee.
Thanks to Olivier Giroud, LAFC’s French Revolution is officially on.
A day after Giroud announced he was leaving AC Milan for LAFC, the Major League Soccer team unveiled the star forward Tuesday.
Giroud will be joining fellow Frenchmen Hugo Lloris, Denís Bouanga and Maxime Chanot. He will occupy one of the team's two Designated Player slots through 2025, with an option for an additional year.
He will be arriving this summer during the MLS transfer window, which runs from July 18-Aug. 14, after the UEFA Euro tournament concludes.
“I am delighted and excited to join LAFC,” Giroud said. “I can’t wait to get to Los Angeles and to play in front of the 3252 and all of the incredible fans.”
3. Dodgers dominate Giants in complete win
Shohei Ohtani and Gavin Stone lead an overpowering win against injury-riddled Giants, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
The Dodgers’ offense came to play on Tuesday against the Giants, hitting three triples, behind the stellar pitching of Gavin Stone (4-1) to win 10-2.
Shohei Ohtani led the way for the Dodgers’ at the plate, notching three hits to go along with two RBI. The team as a whole had 13 hits on the day with four players having multi-hit games. This is the type of offense that did not show up in the last series against the Padres.
Gavin Stone lowered his ERA to 3.27 on the year with six fantastic innings. Once again the story of the game was the bullpen. J.P. Feyereisen, Gus Varland, and Nabil Crismatt combined for only one run allowed after Stone left the game, continuing the dominance since late April.
The Dodgers are now 29-15 on the season and first in the National League West.
4. Angels’ rally falls short against Cardinals, 7-6
The Angels managed to climb back into the game after falling behind by five runs early, but fell short against the Cardinals in a 7-6 loss, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Anthony Bautista.
In a game full of minor mistakes snowballing into major ones for the Angels, the Halos just couldn’t stop themselves from getting in their own way in a 7-6 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals at Angel Stadium Tuesday.
In search of spark late in the game, Zach Neto entered the game, despite Angels manager Ron Washington saying earlier in the day Neto was going to take the day off for rest, in the 8th inning in place of Tucker and hit a double into right field, with Neto marking the tying run in scoring position.
Back-to-back walks from Cardinals reliever Jojo Romero loaded the bases with one out and Luis Guillorme coming up to the plate, seemingly putting the Angels in prime position to retake the lead.
Then, a squeeze play attempt failed before it even got started, with Zach Neto getting tagged out before even coming close to home for the second out.
“I didn’t want him to hit into a double play,” Washington said of the decision to go for the squeeze play. “[Guillorme] can handle the bat, he didn’t do the job, it wasn’t anything I did wrong. He didn’t do the job.”
5. Sports legend Serena Williams set to host 2024 ESPYs
Tennis icon Serena Williams to headline the 2024 ESPYs for a celebration of sports, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Marisa Flores.
Serena Williams, a tennis powerhouse revered globally for her unparalleled prowess both on and off the court, is poised to take the spotlight once again as the host of the 2024 ESPYs. The announcement comes as a crescendo to the anticipation surrounding her return to the sports arena, scheduled for July 11 at 8 p.m. PT, broadcasting live from The Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on ABC.
Williams expressed her elation at this career milestone in a press release from ESPN, declaring, “I couldn’t be more excited to host The ESPYS. This is a dream come true for me, and something I’ve wanted to do for as long as I can remember.” With a remarkable career that collected 23 Grand Slam singles titles, Williams serves as an inspiration to athletes and fans worldwide.
6. Los Angeles Sparks finalize their 2024 Opening Day roster
The Sparks begin their 2024 regular season against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
On Monday, the WNBA rosters were finalized. That, of course, also includes the Los Angeles Sparks. While the WNBA season begins on Tuesday, the Sparks don’t start until Wednesday when they face the Atlanta Dream in the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.
The Sparks had to cut multiple players to get to these 12. Those include Monique Billings (free agent signing), McKenzie Forbes (former USC Trojan that was picked in the third round of the draft by the Sparks), Nia Clouden (who played in a limited capacity with the Sparks last season), Blake Dietrick (last played in the WNBA for Atlanta in 2021), and Taylor Mikesell (played with Atlanta last season). Julie Allemand, acquired from Chicago along with Li Yueru, is sitting out the season due to an ankle injury.
Half of the current roster return from last season while the other half are newcomers acquired from trade, free agency, or the draft. Let’s start with the returning players.
7. Video of the Day
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8. Ticket Time
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today:
6:00 p.m. – Cardinals at Angels – $3
7:00 p.m. – Dream at Sparks – $42
9. On the Air
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today:
5:30 p.m. – Galaxy at Minnesota United – Apple TV
5:30 p.m. – LAFC at St. Louis City SC – Apple TV
6:00 p.m. – Cardinals at Angels – Bally Sports West
6:45 p.m. – Dodgers at Giants – SportsNet LA
7:00 p.m. – Dream at Sparks – Spectrum SportsNet
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
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