Champions, Closers, and Confused Rookies š¾ā¾š
If you like tennis, baseball, and a little chaosā¦ youāve come to the right place.
Welcome to the weekend, Smallballers! Here are three things you need to know. ā¬ļø
1ļøā£ Rematch on the Grass! š¾
Itās official: the menās Wimbledon final is set. And itās the exact same matchup we saw at last monthās French Openā¦ #1 Jannik Sinner vs. #2 Carlos Alcaraz.
Letās break down the semis:
In one of the matches, Sinner crushed Novak Djokovic in straight sets (3ā0, without dropping a set). Thatās four Grand Slam finals in a row for Sinner!
In the other semifinal, Alcaraz beat Taylor Fritz in a tighter match that went to four sets. Now heās trying to win his third straight Wimbledon titleā¦ and heās won 24 matches in a row!
š Final match: Sunday. Game on.
Sinnerās ranked #1 in the world. And heās won two of the last three Grand Slams.
Alcaraz is the defending champ. Heās red-hot, and just beat Sinner a few weeks ago.
š Experts say: 60% chance Alcaraz gets it done.
Is that enough information for you to make a prediction, Sam and Jake???
Well, just to be safeā¦ hereās one more thing.
šŖ Alcarazās secret weapon? Juggling. Yep, really.
Alcarazās pre-match juggling routine boosts his hand-eye coordination, calms his nerves, and fires up his brain before big matches.
š§ Scientists say juggling can rewire your brain to help you focus and react faster.
Plus, juggling is just fun. As Alcaraz says: āI always say that Iām playing better with a smile on my face.ā
š¾ And donāt forget! The womenās final you predicted yesterday? Itās happening todayā¦ probably right now!
2ļøā£ Judge, Jacks, and Jhoan ā¾
It wasnāt just one big moment last night in baseballā¦ it was a bunch of them.
š½ Letās start in New York.
Just 24 hours after his walk-off sacrifice fly, Aaron Judge showed off his all-around greatness with not one, but two jaw-dropping defensive plays.
š„ Hit play to see why heās one of the best in the gameā¦ even when heās not at bat.
The Yankees went on to win 11ā0, and Judgeās teammate Cody Bellinger smashed three home runs!
Oh, and speaking of home runsā¦
Judge now sits second in all of MLB with 34 home runs this season. So whoās ahead of him?
š£ Thatās Cal Raleigh, the slugging catcher for the Seattle Mariners!
And last night? He made sure to stay at the top of the leaderboard.
š„ Watch the highlights from Calās massive night at the plate.
Did you catch that second homer? A grand slam! Four runs on one swing.
But not every game is a slugfest.
šÆ The Minnesota Twins barely beat the Pittsburgh Pirates in a low-scoring, 2ā1 battle.
Games like that often come down to one guy: the closer.
Whatās a closer? š”
Itās the pitcher who comes in at the very end of the game to protect the lead and try to ācloseā it out.
For the Twins, that guy is Jhoan DurƔn. He throws absolute fireballs. And last night, he locked down the win and earned the save.
š„ But before he throws a single pitch? His entrance might be the coolest in baseball.
š¤ If you were a closer, what would your entrance theme be?
Would you zoom in with a Mario Kartāstyle race car? ššØ
Parachute down from a fighter jet as the music blasts? šŖš„
Or maybe ride a giant dinosaur across the field? š¦š²
š¬ Tell us your wildest, coolest entrance idea in the comments!
Now, from fiery entrances toā¦ not-so-fiery ones.
3ļøā£ Wrong Basket, Right Attitude š
A few nights ago, Brooklyn Nets rookie Erik Reynolds II played in his first NBA Summer League game.
š„ And, wellā¦ it didnāt start quite the way he hoped.
Easy bucketā¦ in the wrong basket! š¬
Actually, according to some pretty confusing NBA rules, it just ended up being a turnover.
So: no points on the boardā¦ but still a moment he wonāt forget.
And hereās what really matters: one awkward play wonāt define him.
Even the best players arenāt perfect. They have āoopsā momentsā¦ what counts is how you bounce back.
Now go outside!
Juggle like Alcaraz. Bring the heat like DurƔn. And bounce back like Reynolds.
See you tomorrow for our Sunday Special!
Mario kart! Jake!
I want to parachute down from a fighter jet.