Avila is ready to start over again with the Rams
From captain at TCU to the new guy in L.A., Steve Avila is ready to take the next step in his life and career with the Los Angeles Rams.
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1. Avila is ready to start over again with the Rams
From captain at TCU to the new guy in L.A., Steve Avila is ready to take the next step in his life and career with the Los Angeles Rams, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Kamran Nia.
Texas has been Steve Avila’s only home for the first 23 years of his life. He was born and raised in Dallas. Then, he went to Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas, for college.
At TCU, Avila was a captain for their football team, leading them to the College Football Playoff (CFP) National Championship in 2023, losing to Georgia.
Avila loves the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as he relishes the tasty Mexican food and diverse culture. But after staying in the same place his whole life, he is ready to embrace his new home, Los Angeles.
After the Los Angeles Rams drafted Avila with pick No. 36 in the 2023 NFL Draft, he arrived in Los Angeles on May 12. And as Avila met his teammates and learned his way around the facilities, he understood he was starting fresh with the Rams, like when he was a freshman in college. So now, he is looking to build respect and make a difference, as he has done on his previous teams.
“I [was] talking to the other rookies like, ‘dude, we are just freshmen again,” Avila said. “Yeah, that's really what it is. But I've always found a way to gain the respect of my teammates, which leads to more of a leadership role. And that's something that I plan to do here.”
2. Astros survive another Dodger comeback, win 6-5
Dodgers’ offense comes through again, but bullpen falters in extras, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
It seems as if every time I mention the Dodgers have their best win of the year or most complete win of the year, they take a loss the next day.
This was another one of those cases.
Consistency seemed to be coming back as the Dodgers had won 4 in a row coming in after a losing streak of their own right before that, and even though there was a loss on the board today, they should be proud of the way they played this series. Mookie Betts once again got things going with a leadoff home run in the 1st, but the Astros responded with 4 runs in the 2nd and 4th innings with a Jeremy Peña 2 run home run and Jose Abreu 2 run home run to make it 4-1. The game stayed quiet as Tony Gonsolin didn’t have his best stuff and only went 5 innings, giving up 4 earned runs.
His counterpart Hunter Brown did have it tonight though, going 6 innings and only giving up 1 earned run, stifling the Dodgers lineup after the Betts home run. In the 8th, it looked dire for the Dodgers, but with two outs they rallied. Freddie Freeman hit an RBI double, which was his 2000th career base hit, inching the Dodgers closer at 4-2. Right after that, Will Smith came in clutch once again, hitting a game tying 2 run home run to tie it. After two scoreless innings by both teams, we went to extras in this one, and it was a back and forth affair after that.
3. Angel City draws with Dash in front of sold-out crowd
A sellout crowd of 22,000 fans showed up to watch Angel City. However, they did not get to see any goals in the scoreless draw, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Kamran Nia.
The post was just not Angel City’s friend in their 0-0 draw with the Houston Dash.
77 minutes into the game, forward Alyssa Thompson took a shot between a few defenders but missed off the post. Then, in the final stoppage time, midfielder Le Bihan took a powerful shot, but it hit the post, ending Angel City’s chance of picking up three points.
The draw moves Angel City to ninth in the NWSL, seven points away from a playoff spot.
Angel City celebrated pride night against the Dash. During the pregame fan fest, they had dance performances and drag performances, along with other pride-related festivities. Then, 22,000 fans showed up for the game, a sell out. They were enthusiastic as they waved LGBTQ flags and honored pride in other ways.
“I think everyone should have a voice for sure. And I'm glad that we celebrate it to make sure that everyone in the LGBTQ+ community has a voice and is seen here and feels loved and we all support them and this team, and we're so happy that we got to celebrate it tonight,” said forward Alyssa Thompson.
4. Padres struggles continue in 8-3 loss to the Nationals
The Padres drop the series finale to the Washington Nationals, 8-3, in San Diego writes The Sporting Tribune’s Isaiah Zuravel.
The Padres as a team is just lost. They don’t really have an identity and aren’t really doing too well. When the hitting is good the pitching is bad, when the pitching is good the hitting is bad. Nothing has really worked this season and some are calling for Bob Melvin’s firing. While some of the blame can be put on him it really comes down to the effort of the team and it just isn’t there right now.
After being one of the league's best bullpens the last couple of weeks they have just completely fallen apart this week as a whole. They are unreliable and inconsistent just like the rest of the team. While they weren’t earned runs giving up 5 runs in an inning is just unacceptable. There needs to be better situational pitching and getting out of jams which has been a struggle this year.
5. Club Tigres defeat C.F. Pachuca 2-1 in Liga MX Campeón de Campeones
Liga MX’s Club Tigres lifted their second trophy in less than a month after defeating C.F. Pachuca, 2-1, in the Campeón de Campeones hosted by Dignity Health Sports Park, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Anthony Bautista.
Returning to Dignity Health Sports Park for the seventh consecutive year that the competition has been held, the 2023 Liga MX Campeón de Campeones saw the league’s 2023 “Clausura” winner Club Tigres square off against 2022 Liga MX “Apertura” champion C.F. Pachuca on Sunday.
Tigres 2-1 victory earned the club its second trophy in less than a month and marks their fourth time winning this competition.
“We are very happy, very happy for today's achievement. The boys played a great game against a great rival who plays soccer very well, who has been playing well for a long time and came to this stage for a reason,” Tigres head coach Robert Siboldi said after the victory. “Today [the team] once again showed that they are hungry for victory, for achievements and to continue increasing the prestige for the institution and for our people, for our fans.”
6. Sparks win second straight against the Dallas Wings, 93-83
The Sparks get back to .500 after a second win in a row against the Dallas Wings at home, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Rey Moralde.
On Friday, the Sparks got the best of the Wings in a fantastic comeback. On Sunday, they made it two in a row. Los Angeles defeated Dallas on the day Nneka Ogwumike got named to the all-star team as a starter, 93-83.
The Sparks are now back at .500 and salvaged their home stand with those wins over Dallas. Their stay in L.A. ended with a 2-3 record and now they're going back on the road to play a couple of games against Chicago next.
Maybe this will be a turning point? At the very least, the Sparks have showed they can finish games the last couple of times.
7. Odds and Ends presented by Circa Sports
Here are some odds at Circa Sports if you’re thinking about placing a wager today:
8. Ticket Time presented by TickPick
Here are the “get in” prices for tickets if you’re thinking about going to a game today.
6:30 p.m. – White Sox at Angels – $6
7:00 p.m. – Fever at Aces – $11
9. On the Air presented by The D Las Vegas
Here are the game times and television channels for professional teams in the region today.
6:30 p.m. – White Sox at Angels – Bally Sports West
7:00 p.m. – Fever at Aces – CBS Sports Network
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Ji Hae Wiley, Armani Buckets and Brandon Deutsch to talk about the NBA draft and if the Clippers should hit the reset button and trade Paul George and if the Lakers should break-up a team that made it to the West Finals to improve their title hopes?
Listen to The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune on The Mightier 1090 ESPN Radio in Southern California, 98.5 The Bet in Las Vegas and the Hawaii Sports Radio Network 95.1 FM and 760 AM in Hawaii. You can also listen to the show on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Play and Stitcher.
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