Galaxy defeats LAFC in front of record crowd
The Galaxy beat LAFC, 2-1, before an MLS record crowd of 82,110 at the Rose Bowl to extend their unbeaten streak to six games.
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1. Galaxy defeats LAFC in front of record crowd
The Galaxy beat LAFC, 2-1, before an MLS record crowd of 82,110 at the Rose Bowl to extend their unbeaten streak to six games, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Anthony Bautista.
In front of a record-breaking crowd on 4th of July, the latest edition of El Tráfico provided its own firework show on and off the field, while also providing a glimpse at how much soccer has grown in popularity in the States.
The Galaxy earned a 2-1 win over LAFC in the latest rendition of the Los Angeles Derby, in front of a crowd of 82,110 in attendance at the Rose Bowl, a new MLS standalone record.
For LA Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney, he couldn’t hide the emotions coming back to the first venue that his former club called home and he played in for six seasons.
“For me personally be back in the Rose Bowl to see it full to take a second and realize just how far he has come since we kick it off and it saves to where it is now. The level of the two teams the competition tonight the quality of players on the field and it was just an incredible venue, incredible atmosphere and wonderful game,” Vanney said following the victory. “I just remember all the moments and the things that happened here, the wins, the people and the memories, so those things kind of came back. It was surreal coming in,” he added.
2. Angels star Mike Trout will miss time with wrist injury
The Angels will not have Mike Trout for an extended period of time and may also be without Shohei Ohtani and Anthony Rendon as both left with injuries Tuesday, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Fernando Ramirez.
The Los Angeles Angels announced on Tuesday morning that they are placing superstar outfielder Mike Trout on the IL with a fracture of the hamate bone in his left hand.
The bad news continued during the Angels' 8-5 loss to the San Diego Padres as third baseman Anthony Rendon was removed in the furth inning after suffering a left shin contusion. Moments later, All-Star two-way player Shohei Ohtani was removed with a blister on the middle finger of his pitching hand after giving up back-to-back home runs.
Ohtani said he does not expect to pitch during next week's MLB All-Star Game in Seattle while Rendon was on crutches postgame.
Trout was facing Padres pitcher Nick Martinez during Monday night's 10-3 loss in the eighth inning when he felt discomfort after hitting a foul ball.
"Looking back, I had no soreness, or anything before that just felt something really weird," Trout said.
3. Sporting Tribune MLB Mock Draft 1.0
The Sporting Tribune's Taylor Blake Ward releases his first MLB Mock Draft as we are just over a week away from the first selection of the 2023 MLB Draft.
As we are just over a week away from the first selection of the 2023 MLB Draft, Taylor Blake Ward of The Sporting Tribune has put together his first MLB Mock Draft for the year. Team executives, decision makers, and crosscheckers flew in across the country last week and over the weekend to their respective club locations or draft meeting settings to finalize their big boards and systematically map out of a gameplan for the draft in their own personal favor following the College World Series and MLB Draft Combine where they finalized their collection of data and concluded some in-person interviews.
There is a consensus top five talents in this draft, with the often consensus top position player and top pitcher going 1-2 in some order between LSU's Dylan Crews and Paul Skenes. The remaining three of the five have all been mentioned with the top two picks and further with some questions about one of them falling a few picks out of the top five selections. After that, Wake Forest's Rhett Lowder and Virginia's Kyle Teel are in an odd second tier that's not distant from the top five or the next tier of about 12-15 players which could go anywhere from picks 6-20 with the eventual surprise one or two that fall into the 20-25 range.
4. Clippers look to make a deal for Harden or Lillard
The Clippers are returning Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Russell Westbrook next season but want to add one more star, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Mark Medina.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have not proven they can stay healthy. The Clippers have stressed optimism, however, that they can recover from their injuries and still win an NBA championship together. That success also depends on another factor the Clippers have hoped to address this offseason.
“We're trying to maximize these two and figure out ways that we can get better,” Lawrence Frank, the Clippers president of basketball operations, told reporters.
Within the first three days of free agency, the Clippers have tried to reach that goal with two approaches.
They retained some of their core players. They kept a star point guard that Leonard and George advocated for following the trade deadline. The Clippers retained Russell Westbrook, who accepted a two-year, $8 million deal partly because he appreciated how the Clippers helped rejuvenate his career after 1 ½ seasons of turbulence with the Lakers. As ESPN reported, the Clippers agreed to re-sign Mason Plumlee on a one-year, $5 million deal, a candidate the Clippers as a viable backup center to complement Ivica Zubac.
5. Gudas, Killorn bring snarl and skill to Anaheim
The Anaheim Ducks improved in free agency after the additions of Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Felix Sicard.
The Anaheim Ducks have signed Alex Killorn and Radko Gudas on the first day of unrestricted free agency to four-year, $6.25 million annual average value ("AAV"), and three-years, $4 million AAV contracts, respectively. Both signings represent a further shift away from Anaheim's rebuild, and an added emphasis on the immediate future.
General manager Pat Verbeek just witnessed 82 games of his club playing some of the worst hockey in NHL history. He has a young core in Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, and Troy Terry that is about to get far more expensive.
As bad as Anaheim's season was -- netting them the second overall pick that turned into Leo Carlsson -- the time for full-on rebuilding has effectively passed due to the roster's changing financial structure. If there was any doubt about that, Verbeek swiftly vaporized it by signing two aging veterans to term-laden deals. Both contracts carry risk to the players' respective ages, and how they pan out will have an outsized impact on Anaheim's fortunes in the coming years.
6. Dodgers blow another lead in 9-7 loss to the Pirates
An unfortunate 9th inning by the bullpen and late rally by the offense falls short, writes The Sporting Tribune’s Grant Mona.
The Fourth of July is all about the fireworks, and there were plenty of them Tuesday night. After a two-run first by the Pirates, the Dodgers scored four unanswered runs led by two home runs by James Outman and Mookie Betts. Then in the 4th inning the Pirates came right back as they did all night and scored 3 runs to take the lead right back, led by Jack Suwinski, Austin Hedges, and Bryan Reynolds. This Pirates team has been in a funk as of late, but they mustered some of that early season energy all game. James Outman homered once again on an absolute bomb to give the Dodgers the lead back in the 4th, but of course, the Pirates came right back and tied it in the 6th on a Henry Davis single.
Things were dormant for a couple of innings until Jonny Deluca came on and played hero, launching a go-ahead solo shot to left to give the Dodgers the lead late in the game. It ignited the crowd, but the Pirates offense exploded in the 9th with a late 3-run rally off of the Dodgers top reliever Evan Phillips. In the bottom of the 9th, there were more theatrics but this time the Pirates sent their top reliever David Bednar to the mound to close out the Dodgers and that he did. After having first and third with 1 out, the bottom of the lineup failed to get even one run across and the game was over in a matter of minutes.
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.
5:30 p.m. – Angels at Padres – $43
7:00 p.m. – Pirates at Dodgers – $27
7:00 p.m. – Dream at Sparks – $4
7:00 p.m. – Wings at Aces – $13
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.
5:30 p.m. – Angels at Padres – Bally Sports West
7:00 p.m. – Pirates at Dodgers – SportsNet LA
7:00 p.m. – Dream at Sparks – CBS Sports Network
7:00 p.m. – Wings at Aces –YouTube
10. The Arash Markazi Show presented by The Sporting Tribune
The Sporting Tribune’s Arash Markazi is joined by Brandon Deutsch and Armani Buckets to talk about where James Harden and Damian Lillard will end up this offseason and which one would be a better fit with the Clippers?
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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That’s it for today. Talk to you tomorrow!