Yahoo Sports AM: Early exit for USMNT
In today's edition: USMNT crashes out, the dawn of a new college sports era, Noah Lyles seeks four golds, and more.
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🚨 Headlines
🏀 Klay to Dallas: Klay Thompson is leaving the Warriors to join the Mavericks on a three-year, $50 million deal. The end of an era.
🎾 Murray withdraws: Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, who plans to retire this summer, won't play singles (back surgery), though he will play doubles with his brother, Jamie, later in the tournament.
🏀 Celtics for sale: Majority owner Wyc Grousbeck is exploring a sale of his stake in the $4.7 billion franchise.
💵 Richest contract: Speaking of the Celtics, they've agreed to a five-year, $315 million extension with Jayson Tatum. It's the richest contract in NBA history, surpassing teammate Jaylen Brown's five-year, $304 million deal.
🇺🇸 Teen phenom: 16-year-old Quincy Wilson will be part of Team USA's 4x400m relay in Paris, making him the youngest U.S. male track Olympian ever.
⚽️ USA crashes out, Berhalter on the hot seat
The USMNT crashed out of Copa América on Monday with a 1-0 loss to Uruguay.
Quick recap: The U.S. was the better team for the first 30 minutes. But, as has been the case far too often under head coach Gregg Berhalter, they couldn't score.
Uruguay's Mathías Olivera found the back of the net in the 66th minute. He looked offside, but video review confirmed he was onside by a matter of inches.
Panama, playing simultaneously, beat Bolivia 3-1, leaving the Americans in a distant third place and eliminated.
From Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell:
Many had been asked in the preceding weeks about expectations and benchmarks for the Copa; external assumptions were that a quarterfinal berth would be acceptable and a semifinal successful, but some players went further: Why not try to win it?
Few seemed to even consider a group-stage flop. It was so far beneath the USMNT's apparently inflated sense of self. And it would so clearly constitute colossal disappointment.
But it happened, and now all eyes will turn to what happens next. They'll turn to U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker, and to Berhalter. A majority of fans and pundits now seem to agree that he should be fired. Will he be? If so, who will replace him? And if not, how will he and the USMNT respond?
A mostly-under-23 team will head to the Paris Olympics later this month. But for the full USMNT, the next 18 months will be relatively barren. There will be monotonous, low-profile friendlies. There will be tiresome regional competitions.
This Copa América fracaso will hang over all of them, because this was the tournament that was supposed to elevate the program; this was its stepping stone toward the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Instead, the U.S. will enter 2026 with approximately zero evidence that it can hang with the elite of international soccer and contend.
More coverage: Will Copa flop cost Berhalter his job?
🎓 The dawn of a new college sports era
The NCAA's latest wave of realignment became official on Monday as the calendar flipped to July.
The big picture: The Pac-12 is officially down to two teams, while the ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 have expanded.
Who's going where in 2024:
Arizona: Pac-12 to Big 12
Arizona State: Pac-12 to Big 12
Army: Independent to AAC (Football only)
Cal: Pac-12 to ACC
Colorado: Pac-12 to Big 12
Kennesaw State: FCS to C-USA
Oklahoma: Big 12 to SEC
Oregon: Pac-12 to Big Ten
SMU: AAC to ACC
Stanford: Pac-12 to ACC
Texas: Big 12 to SEC
UCLA: Pac-12 to Big Ten
USC: Pac-12 to Big Ten
Utah: Pac-12 to Big 12
Washington: Pac-12 to Big Ten
Worth a watch: Texas celebrated its move to the SEC with a drone show over Austin.
🥇 Noah Lyles eyes unprecedented four golds
Only four men* have ever pulled off the sprint treble in a single Olympics, winning the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. If Noah Lyles gets his way, he'll have a chance to pull off an unprecedented quad.
Chasing history: Lyles has already guaranteed a shot at the treble by winning the 100m and 200m last week at U.S. Trials, and he'll likely anchor the 4x100m relay. The question is whether USA Track & Field will select him for the 4x400 relay pool, as he's requested.
"I haven't started negotiations yet," Lyles said regarding discussions with his sport's national governing body.
"Let's just say it will be hard. But I'm going to let them know that I'm available and I'm ready to go."
How are his chances? Well, he's just a year removed from claiming the treble at worlds and he's in excellent form right now: His winning time in the 200m was 19.53 seconds — the fastest time in the world this year and a new U.S. Trials record — and his 9.83 in the 100m was a personal best.
And though he doesn't run the 400m very often, he was part of the silver medal winning relay team this spring at the world indoor championships, where he ran the fastest third leg of anyone in the race.
"I'm 100% behind him [getting picked]," said former NCAA indoor 400m champion Noah Williams.
*The four treble winners: Usain Bolt (London 2012, Rio 2016), Carl Lewis (Los Angeles 1984), Bobby Morrow (Melbourne 1956) and Jesse Owens (Berlin 1936).
🌎 The world in photos
Frankfurt — Portugal eked out a win over Slovenia in a penalty shootout on Monday to reach the Euro quarterfinals, though the game could have ended earlier if Ronaldo hadn't missed his penalty in extra time.
London — World No. 1 Jannik Sinner opened Wimbledon with a hard-fought four-set win, setting up a second round match with 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.
Turin, Italy — Eritrea's Biniam Girmay made history on Monday, becoming the first Black African to win a Tour de France stage.
Polignano a Mare, Italy — The Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series descended on southern Italy for its latest event, where divers plunged into the Adriatic Sea.
📆 July 2, 1921: The first million-dollar gate
103 years ago today, Jack Dempsey successfully defended his heavyweight title against Georges Carpentier in boxing's first million-dollar gate.
How it happened: Promoter Tex Rickard borrowed $250,000 (~$4.4 million today) to build a 91,000-seat stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey, for the bout, and his gamble paid off: The sold-out fight earned $1.7 million at the gate, nearly four times the previous record.
⚾️ 1930: White Sox outfielder Carl Reynolds became the first of four* major leaguers to hit home runs in three consecutive innings.
⚾️ 1941: Joe DiMaggio got a hit in his 45th straight game, breaking Willie Keeler's record for the longest hitting streak in MLB history. His record streak would eventually reach 56 games.
*The other three: Mike Cameron, Mariners (2002); Manny Machado, Orioles (2016); Jose Altuve, Astros (2023).
📺 Watchlist: Road to the quarterfinals
The Euro and Copa América quarterfinals will both be set* by the end of the night.
Euros: Romania vs. Netherlands (12pm ET, FS1); Austria vs. Turkey (3pm, Fox)
Copa: Brazil vs. Colombia (9pm, FS1); Costa Rica vs. Paraguay (9pm, FS2)
More to watch:
🎾 Wimbledon: Round 1 (6am, ESPN/ESPN+)
⚾️ MLB: Phillies at Cubs (8:05pm, TBS)
🏀 WNBA: Sky at Dream (7pm, CBSSN); Fever at Aces (9:30pm, ESPN)
🚴♂️ Tour de France: Stage 4 (7am, Peacock)
*Who's already in: Spain, England, Germany, France, Portugal, Switzerland (Euros); Argentina, Ecuador, Venezuela, Canada, Colombia, Panama, Uruguay (Copa)
⚾️ MLB trivia
The Orioles (53-31) and Yankees (54-32) are currently tied atop the AL East.
Question: Can you name the other five division leaders?
Answer at the bottom.
🇯🇵 Rough commute
Japan's DDT Pro Wrestling held an event inside a car on the Tokyo Sakura Tram, the primary line in the city's once-extensive streetcar system.
Trivia answer: Guardians (52-30), Mariners (47-39), Phillies (55-29), Brewers (50-35), Dodgers (52-33)
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