Show notes
WNBA – Women’s National Basketball Association Yesterday Connecticut Sun 84, Chicago Sky 72 New York Liberty 95, Indiana Fever 87 – OT Sun 84, Sky 72 – Hayes scores 22, Bonner 21 and the Sun pull away from the Sky for an 84-72 win Tiffany Hayes scored 22 points, DeWanna Bonner added 21 and the Connecticut Sun defeated the Chicago Sky 84-72. Alyssa Thomas added 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Sun, who would have advanced to the Commissioner’s Cup championship game against Las Vegas if the New York Liberty hadn’t pulled out an overtime win at Indiana. Kahleah Cooper had 22 points for the Sky, who have lost three straight. Bonner scored 10 points in the third quarter when the Sun turned a two-point halftime deficit into a 10-point lead. The Sky had used an 18-7 run to take a 38-36 halftime edge. Liberty 95, Fever 87 – OT – Liberty blow lead, top Fever in overtime 95-87 to advance to Commissioner’s Cup final Sabrina Ionescu scored eight of her 34 points in overtime and the New York Liberty clinched a berth in the Commissioner’s Cup championship with a 95-87 win over the Indiana Fever, despite blowing an 18-point fourth-quarter lead. Aliyah Boston hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of regulation for Indiana. That tied the game at 80 but the Liberty pulled away in overtime as Ionescu hit two big 3-pointers. Boston led Indiana with 23 points. Breanna Stewart had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Liberty, who play at Western Conference winner and defending champion Las Vegas for the Commissioner’s Cup on Aug. 15. MLB – Major League Baseball Friday Chicago White Sox at Atlanta Braves, 7:20 p.m. Boston Red Sox at Chicago Cubs, 8:05 p.m. Detroit Tigers at Seattle Mariners, 10:10 p.m. NBASL – NBA Summer League Last Night Detroit Pistons 94, Toronto Raptors 90 Oklahoma City 98, Indiana Pacers 87 Today Chicago Bulls vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, 3:00 p.m. (at Thomas and Mack Center, Las Vegas) NBA – LeBron James says at ESPYS he will play for Lakers in upcoming season LeBron James plans to play next season for the Los Angeles Lakers. The 38-year-old superstar announced his intentions at The ESPYS. James accepted the record-breaking performance award for becoming the NBA’s career scoring leader. James had said at the end of last season that he wasn’t sure if he would be back. He says the day he can’t give everything to the game he will retire, but he told the crowd, “Lucky for you guys that day is not today.” The audience in Los Angeles greeted his words with a huge cheer. NBA – Kobe’s legacy in the NBA lives on in a new way. Two players bear his name There’s Kobe, wearing the uniform of a team from Los Angeles. There’s Kobe, the last one on the court at practice and getting yelled at because the buses are waiting for him. How fitting. Just like old times. Kobe Brown of the Los Angeles Clippers and Kobe Bufkin of the Atlanta Hawks know there will never be another Kobe Bryant. But his namesakes are about to enter the NBA, the first players with that name to do so since the late Hall of Famer. Bufkin was drafted No. 15 overall out of Michigan by the Hawks. Brown was selected No. 30 overall out of Missouri by the Clippers. NBA – Morant’s lawyers cite self-defense in pickup basketball lawsuit The future of a lawsuit accusing Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant of assaulting a teenager during a pickup basketball game hinges on whether Morant will be allowed to say that he was acting in self-defense and can receive immunity under Tennessee law. A judge on Wednesday allowed Morant’s lawyers to proceed with their case that Morant was acting in self-defense when he punched then-17-year-old Joshua Holloway during a game at Morant’s Memphis-area home in July 2022. Morant’s lawyers have acknowledged he punched Holloway one time after Holloway threw a basketball at Morant and the ball hit him in the chin. Morant has filed a countersuit against Holloway. Nassar – Suspect in stabbing said Nassar made lewd remark watching Wimbledon A prisoner suspected of stabbing Larry Nassar at a federal penitentiary in Florida said the disgraced former sports doctor provoked the attack by making a lewd comment while they were watching a Wimbledon tennis match. That’s according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Court records show the inmate, identified as Shane McMillan, was previously convicted of assaulting a correctional officer at a federal penitentiary in Louisiana in 2006 and attempting to stab another inmate to death at the federal Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado in 2011. Messages seeking comment were left with lawyers who’ve represented McMillan in his past cases. Tennis – Chris Eubanks’ magical Wimbledon ends against Daniil Medvedev Daniil Medvedev has ended American Chris Eubanks’ surprising run at Wimbledon in the quarterfinals. Medvedev came back to beat Eubanks in five sets on Wednesday. The 2021 U.S. Open champion reached his first semifinal at the All England Club. Next up for Medvedev is a matchup against No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who eliminated Holger Rune. Ons Jabeur eliminated defending champion Elena Rybakina in a rematch of last year’s final to get back to the semifinals. Jabeur now meets Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, a winner against American Madison Keys. Soccer – Panama upsets US 5-4 on penalty kicks after 1-1 tie to reach Gold Cup final Adalberto Carrasquilla converted the decisive penalty kick after Cristian Roldan failed to convert his attempt, and Panama beat the defending champion United States 5-4 in a shootout after a 1-1 tie to reach the CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Mexico or Jamaica. Iván Anderson scored in the ninth minute of extra time. Jesús Ferreira tied the score for the U.S. six minutes later. Panama reached the final for the third time after losing to the U.S. in 2005 and 2013. The U.S. failed to reach the final for the first time since a 2015 semifinal loss. Soccer – Messi mania engulfs Miami ahead of Argentine soccer superstar’s arrival A hamburger and drink combination called the Lionel Messi. A huge sketch of the soccer star’s smiling face on a restaurant wall beside a meme that went viral during the 2022 World Cup. A beer with a pink label matching the color of the Inter Miami jersey he will wear. Wherever you turn in Miami these days something reminds you of the imminent arrival of the Argentine soccer legend. There is no hiding the euphoria generated by Messi in Miami as he begins the new Major League Soccer phase of his career in one of the most Latino cities in the United States. Golf – Schauffele and Spieth say PGA Tour Commissioner Monahan has to earn back trust PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan is set to return to work next week. Xander Schauffele says there are tough questions for him to answer about the tour’s stunning commercial deal with the Saudis. And he believes Monahan has some trust to earn back from the players because of the secretive nature of the deal with the Saudi Arabia wealth fund behind LIV Golf. Schauffele says Monahan had his trust and now has a lot less of it. Jordan Spieth also said Monahan will have quite a bit of trust issues with players. Scottie Scheffler says he wishes player representatives were kept in the loop. NCAA – NCAA head: 175 sports-betting violations since 2018, 17 active investigations, The NCAA has found 175 infractions of its sports-betting policy since 2018, and there are 17 active investigations. That is according to a letter from NCAA President Charlie Baker that was obtained by The Associated Press. The NCAA says less than 0.25% of its approximately 13,000 sporting events are flagged for suspicious betting patterns and far fewer actually have "actionable information.” ESPN – ESPN’s Dick Vitale diagnosed with cancer for a 3rd time Longtime ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale says he has been diagnosed with cancer for a third time. Vitale tweeted Wednesday that he had surgery in Boston this week, and tests revealed that he has vocal cord cancer. He said he will undergo six weeks of radiation treatments. He says he will fight to be ready to call games when the college basketball season begins this fall. The 84-year-old Vitale has previously been treated for melanoma and lymphoma. Vitale has been with ESPN since 1979, the year the network launched. He’s also a longtime fundraiser for cancer research. MWL – Midwest League Baseball Last Night No games last night Tonight No games tonightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.