Christian Pulisic begins ‘fresh start’ with AC Milan in L.A.
Christian Pulisic begins ‘fresh start’ with AC Milan in L.A.
Pulisic has the chance to build his club-level reputation with A.C. Milan and his journey begins in Los Angeles.
Good morning and welcome to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. Please subscribe if you haven’t done so already. It’s free and will be delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. OK, let’s get to it!
1. Christian Pulisic begins ‘fresh start’ with AC Milan in L.A.
Pulisic has the chance to build his club-level reputation with Milan and his journey begins in Los Angeles, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Kamran Nia.
Christian Pulisic does not know Los Angeles very well. He grew up on the other side of the United States, in Hershey, Pa. But as he prepares for the Soccer Champions Tour 2023, Los Angeles could be the start of something special for him.
“Everyone always says, ‘we’re in your country; you got to show me around,’ but I grew up like a five-hour flight from here. I’m not from here at all.”
Pulisic will do his best to show them around with the few people he knows in Los Angeles. He was last there in early June with the United States Men’s National Team, training ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League semi-final, a tournament they would go on to win.
The Nations League was a significant tournament for Pulisic because it offered him a fresh start. During the 2022-23 club season with Chelsea F.C., inconsistent playing time under three different managers and one goal and assist in 24 appearances marked his season, a decrease from six goals and two assists in the previous season.
2. Angels injury updates: Trout, Rendon and more
The Sporting Tribune’s Taylor Arrey gives you a breakdown of some of the Angels players who have been missing from the lineup due to injury.
From growing speculation about Shohei Ohtani’s future to the wild card race, the Angels are at a critical point in their season, one that has also been impacted by injuries to some of the team’s top performers.
They currently have 16 players on the injured list — the most in the majors.
Four games back from the No. 3 American League wild card spot, here’s a roundup of updates for a few of the players who are healing and heading toward a return.
3. An overview of the Ducks prospect pool: Goalies
The Anaheim Ducks have a number of talented goaltenders in their system and The Sporting Tribune’s Derek Lee breaks them down for you.
The Ducks’ prospect pool was recently ranked No. 3 by NHL Network. While some of the names may be familiar to fans, others are not. Today, I’m taking a look at the goaltenders in the Ducks’ prospect pool.
Qualifications: Anyone who is 23 and under who has not played a full season in the NHL and is either still unsigned or on their entry-level contract, which is why you won’t see Lukáš Dostál here.
4. Angel City’s World Cup watch parties show the growth of women’s soccer
Angel City fans have showed up in large numbers to support their team's players at World Cup watch parties and The Sporting Tribune’s Kamran Nia was there to capture the scene.
Angel City defender Ali Riley was expecting few people in the United States to be watching her national team New Zealand and her face Norway on July 20. The kick-off time was 12 a.m. in Los Angeles when many of her hometown supporters would typically be asleep.
But overcoming yawns, what ensued was nothing like what Riley expected. Hundreds of fans packed two watch parties hosted by Angel City in Los Angeles, cheering her until around 2 a.m. The watch parties happened at 33 Taps locations in Culver City and Silver Lake and included giveaways and an appearance from Angel City co-founder Julie Uhrman, among others.
The supporters vibrantly rooted for their captain, Riley, as New Zealand secured a 1-0 victory, their first World Cup win in history.
“Here I was thinking nobody would watch a Football Ferns game that kicked off at midnight,” said Riley in a Twitter post. Then I see @weareangelcity merch in the stands, videos from the watch parties, and hundreds of messages from LA. I can’t describe how much your support means. I love you all!”
5. Rangers score 8 unanswered, beat Dodgers, 8-4
An early grand slam by Max Muncy was all the Dodgers could muster Sunday, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
The Dodgers’ only offense of the game Sunday came in the first inning off the bat of Max Muncy. After a Mookie Betts double to lead the game off and a Freddie Freeman single to center to stay hot, the bases were juiced for Muncy. He proceeded to put a ball halfway up the bleachers in right field for a grand slam and put the Dodgers ahead early.
6. Padres struggle in 3-1 loss to Tigers
The San Diego Padres failed to complete the series sweep Sunday in Detroit, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Isaiah Zuravel.
With Joe Musgrove on the mound, the Padres were coming into the game fairly confident. It was a struggle early for the star pitcher giving up a home run in the first inning to former first-overall pick Spencer Torkelson. In the 3rd inning, he gave up an additional homerun to Andy Ibanez plus an RBI single to extend the Tigers lead to 3-0. The Padres offense struggled mightily only scoring 1 run in the 7th inning off a Gary Sánchez single. Joe Musgrove stuck it out 6 innings only making the bullpen have to pitch 2 innings. The game concluded with a 3-1 final score.
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 Friday.
7:10 p.m. – Blue Jays at Dodgers – $19
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.
6:40 p.m. – Pirates at Padres –Bally Sports San Diego
7:10 p.m. – Blue Jays at Dodgers – SportsNet LA
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Adrian Hernandez, Brandon Deutsch and Armani Buckets as they talk to Slam Dunk champion Mac McClung.
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.
Thank you for reading. Please click below to subscribe to The Morning Column presented by The Sporting Tribune. It’s free and will be delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.
That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!