Changing of the Guard

All-Star week 

It’s a typically quiet stretch for all of professional sports, as Major League Baseball takes its midsummer pause for the All-Star Game and related activities. MLB did make noise over the weekend, though, with the start of its annual draft, when Australian native Travis Bazzana from Oregon State became the first second baseman ever to be the top pick—he went to the Cleveland Guardians. He’s also the first Australian taken Number 1 in the MLB draft. 

The Reds, with the second pick, chose Chase Burns, a right-handed pitcher from Wake Forest by way of the University of Tennessee. He’s already drawing comparisons to Paul Skenes, who made a lightning-fast move to the bigs in less than a year. And in a move that may portend future trends, the first high school player wasn’t chosen until the ninth slot—usually high school players are in high demand in the draft, but this may show that teams are now using the college game for their “minor leagues” so players can move to the show sooner after being drafted. 

Tennis, anyone? 

Speaking of changing of the guards (something they do regularly in London), we may have seen a changing of the old guard in men’s tennis with the Carlos Alcaraz’ dismantling of Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon gentlemen’s final. Yes, the Joker was coming off knee surgery this spring, but overall, Alcaraz was the younger, fitter, more creative player on the grass Sunday. Neither player has a lot of time to rest, as both will need to shift back to the clay surface to play at Roland Garros during the Paris Olympics. 

So what to watch this week? 

With Baseball’s biggest showcase on Tuesday, what else is going on this week? MLS has 14 matches on Wednesday, the 17th, taking advantage of the lack of baseball. The WNBA plays through Wednesday, then has its own All-Star Game on Saturday, July 20th against the US National team. For those of you who like to go racing, the Xfinity series runs Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, with the Cup race Sunday. And for those who prefer breakfast with their golf, the British Open starts Thursday at Royal Troon. If you have a few extra quid, BetMGM likes Scottie Scheffler to become the Champion Golfer of the Year for the first time in his career, with hard-luck Rory McIlroy second favorite to win, 10 years after he won at Royal Liverpool. Tee ‘em up!