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⚽ Five things to know Monday
- Wyndham Clark led wire-to-wire en route to winning the U.S. Open. The second national championship of Clark’s career was also one of the most dominant efforts in the tournament’s 126-year history. He became the eighth man to lead at the conclusion of all four rounds and finished 4 under for the tournament, fending off second-place Sam Burns and his 3 under. Burns rose to the occasion with a 67 on Sunday in what was a total about-face from his final-round performance a year ago, but it was not enough to erase the six-shot lead Clark carried into the day. The biggest payout in U.S. Open history is headed Clark’s way, which should ease the pain from the jeers he experienced from fans throughout the weekend.
- Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics have the USMNT riding high at the World Cup. Pochettino is 2-0-0 in his World Cup history as United States manager after Friday’s 2-0 victory over Australia, and the Americans already clinched a spot atop Group D. Terrific performances from players like Alex Freeman showed that the USMNT is deeper than just one or two stars and emphasized that Pochettino knows how to press the right buttons. Can he keep doing it, though? If his squad makes the kind of deep run it wants, it has to find a way to make the aggressive system translate into matches against superior talent. If the Americans can pair the high-level defense they played against Australia with their patented approach in the attacking third, they might defy the odds and slay some giants.
- The Tkachuk brothers are set to become teammates thanks to a blockbuster trade. The NHL offseason was only a week old when the Panthers and Senators reportedly agreed to terms on what will be one of the summer’s biggest moves. Brady Tkachuk heads to Florida in exchange for three first-round picks (two in 2026, one in 2027) and a 2030 second-rounder, and in turn, he will team up with Matthew Tkachuk for the first time in the NHL. The last time the brothers played together, they won gold medals with Team USA at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. This is the second significant NHL trade of the weekend after the Maple Leafs acquired Darren Raddysh in what looks like a major roll of the dice.
- Serena Williams will make her major singles return at Wimbledon. It has been nearly four years since the legend last competed in singles at a grand slam tournament. Williams will reappear on tennis’ biggest stage later this month, though, after Wimbledon granted her a wild card entry into the field. She was already set to team back up with her sister, Venus Williams, in the grass-court doubles competition, so she will have a full schedule in what is set to be the largest step in her comeback. Williams has played three doubles matches but no singles matches since launching her professional return two weeks ago.
- North Carolina and Oklahoma will play for the college baseball national championship tonight. There will be a Game 3 in the 2026 College World Series Finals. In a contest it had to win to keep its season alive, No. 5 North Carolina delivered a clutch effort both on the mound and at the plate, beating Oklahoma 6-2 on Sunday. While the Sooners took Game 1 comfortably and jumped out to a 2-0 first-inning lead in the rematch, the Tar Heels’ tandem of Ryan Lynch and Caden Glauber shut them down the rest of the way to force a winner-take-all finale tonight at 7 p.m. ET.
🏀 Do not miss this: Who will go No. 1 in NBA Draft?
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In some other years, AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson would be the clear-cut frontrunners to become the No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick. Instead, they find themselves in the same class. And the team on the clock in tomorrow’s first round, the Wizards, has not tipped its hand. While it would be hard to go wrong between the BYU star and Kansas phenom, our experts do have their personal favorites.
A pre-draft roundtable showed a slight lean toward Dybantsa with four of our writers preferring him over Peterson. Here’s why Gary Parrish would select Dybantsa if he was in the Wizards’ draft room:
- Parrish: “I just think he’s the best high-ceiling/high-floor prospect in this draft. There’s no way, barring injuries and other things impossible to predict, that he isn’t an elite scorer in the NBA. Size is not a problem. Athleticism is not a problem. Worst-case scenario, he’s really good. Best-case scenario, he’s a multi-time scoring champ and face of a championship-contending franchise.”
Dybantsa himself sounds confident his name will be the first to come out of commissioner Adam Silver’s mouth. If that proves true, it would be the crowning moment on a journey where that was always the ultimate goal.
Leave it up to our Isaac Trotter, and Dybantsa would achieve that dream. He projected in his latest mock draft that the 25.5-points-per-game scorer will fly off the board:
- Wizards: AJ Dybantsa, BYU
- Jazz: Darryn Peterson, Kansas
- Grizzlies: Cameron Boozer, Duke
- Bulls: Caleb Wilson, North Carolina
- Clippers: Keaton Wagler, Illinois
Cameron Salerno’s mock draft, on the other hand, goes in a different direction.
- Salerno: “Like I’ve said for the last calendar year, I strongly believe that Peterson is the best player in the class. It might be a shocker to some if Peterson goes here, but I personally think he is a better fit in Washington than Utah.”
🏆 Top weekend moments from the World Cup
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We’re partial to the United States around here, of course, but the win over Australia on Friday was just one of the countless results that was worth noting around the midpoint of the group stage. A few other nations made headlines, for better or worse, as the rubber really started to hit the road over the weekend.
Here’s what you should know from Saturday’s action:
Sunday delivered a couple of uplifting stories:
- Iran overcame their unique travel demands to force a scoreless draw with Belgium, which puts them within striking distance of a trip to the knockout stage.
- Cabo Verde are in the midst of something truly magical. After their bewildering draw with Spain in the opener, they pulled level with Uruguay in a 2-2 stunner to pick up another point and put themselves in contention to become the smallest nation to ever reach the knockout stage.
📈📉 Top tier emerges in MLB Power Rankings
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The divide between the four best teams in baseball and the remaining 26 is more than just a gap; it is a chasm. There was a point last week when the Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and Brewers held a combined run differential of +480 while everyone else accounted for a differential of -480. Keep that in mind while interpreting Matt Snyder’s MLB Power Rankings this week. Just because a team stands inside the top 10, that does not mean it is even remotely in the same tier as the surefire World Series contenders.
That’s not to say you should call it quits on this season if your team is not one of those four. Injuries, unfortunately, are a reality of baseball and can change the landscape. The trade deadline ought to shift the power structure. Crazy things happen in the postseason.
What I’m telling you is this: If your team is listed below in the next-best tier of this week’s power rankings, keep the faith.
5. Rays (–)
6. Phillies (–)
7. Cardinals (↑2)
8. Guardians (–)
Snyder makes a pretty compelling case to keep believing in the Cardinals, who are one of five teams to move up multiple spots.
- Snyder: “JJ Weltherholt homered in consecutive innings Sunday, prospect Joshua Baez had a four-homer game last week and looks ready, Jordan Walker is a beast, etc. This rebuild sure doesn’t seem too painful, huh?”
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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📺 What we’re watching Monday
⚽ World Cup: Argentina vs. Austria, 1 p.m. on Fox
🤼 WWE Raw, 2 p.m. on Netflix
⚽ World Cup: France vs. Iraq, 5 p.m. on Fox
⚾ Royals at Rays or Yankees at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ CWS Finals: North Carolina vs. Oklahoma, Game 3, 7 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Astros at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. on ESPN Unlimited
⚾ Cubs at Mets, 7:10 p.m. on Peacock
⚽ World Cup: Norway vs. Senegal, 8 p.m. on Fox
🏀 Mercury at Fever, 8 p.m. on USA Network
⚾ Braves at Padres, 10:10 p.m. on ESPN
⚽ World Cup: Jordan vs. Algeria, 11 p.m. on FS1
