England pays the price. Argentina vs. Spain
Yankees for sale?
Good morning, all and happy Thursday!
I will admit it. I am not the biggest soccer fan in the world, although I have covered and watched my share of high school soccer matches over the years. That said, that was some comeback victory for Argentina over England, 2-1, in the World Cup semifinals yesterday.
From this naked eye, it appeared England was content to protect a 1-0 lead in the closing minutes, staying back on defense rather than being aggressive. I get having to hold your team back to defend against goals being scored, but playing the last quarter of the game mostly in your zone, rather than forcing the action onto the Argentinian side to me was a mistake. In the end, England paid the ultimate price and lost, 2-1.
So it will be Spain vs. Argentina for all the marbles Sunday afternoon at 3 EDT at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Expect record television ratings.
Some other thoughts as July meanders along:
Among my predictions at the start of the 2026 season was it would not surprise me, if the New York Yankees sold a portion of the franchise or the entire team. Well, Sportico is reporting that the Yankees and Apollo Global Management are in talks for Apollo to invest between $2 and $3 billion into the team and its related businesses. That’s some serious coin. Neither the Yankees nor Apollo would comment on the story.
TV ratings for the World Cup have been through the roof for Fox. No wonder Amazon Prime wants in on the next World Cup. Look for a bidding war to secure the 2030 games to be played in Morocco, Portugal and Spain. It will be the 100th anniversary of the games, meaning the first three matches will actually be played in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay.
I cannot tell you the number of professional baseball players who love and follow soccer. Throughout the World Cup, every time I arrived at the ballpark to broadcast a Hartford Yard Goats game - usually 3 1/2 to four hours before first pitch - baseball players from both teams would be out on the field kicking around a soccer ball. And when the Yard Goats took batting practice the visiting club would be sequestered in right field doing - you guessed it - kicking around a soccer ball. Many baseball players, by the way, come from countries where soccer is the most popular sport or a pretty close second.
You think you were inundated with NFL news before? Get ready for non-stop coverage from now until after the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers open rookie camp tomorrow.
Kudos to Cody Bellinger of the New York Yankees for winning the All-Star MVP award, following the American League’s 4-0 win over the National League on Tuesday night. I thought this post was interesting:
As you read this, golf’s final major of the season is underway, the British Open. This year’s Open is being played at historic Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, located on the Irish Sea coast. As you read this the tournament’s first round has started. Scottie Scheffler, the defending champ, teed off at 4:58 a.m. ET, meaning you can have breakfast with Scottie. My golf picks this year have been a disaster. That’s okay. Let’s have some fun anyway. My pick is Matt Fitzpatrick to win the tournament. Enjoy!
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. Thank you for subscribing and have a terrific Thursday!
DAN