Lakers vs. Clippers: who won the summer? + Summer League superlatives & standouts
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube
KOC and Jack Simone both grew up in Boston, so naturally both were stunned to see the Marcus Smart/Lakers news! Don't miss their reasoning for why they think it was a great move by the Lakers. Both think this move could unlock PEAK Luka Doncic — is he primed for his 1st ever MVP season in the NBA?
Then Kevin and Simone recap a wild Summer League: which rookie impressed them the most, which Year 2 player left the best mark in Vegas — and conversely which players disappointed?
Then, KOC is joined by Es Baraheni at NBA Summer League in Las Vegas to break down the performances of the league's newest stars including Carter Bryant, Dylan Harper, Yang Hansen & more. Plus, what can we REALLY expect from the Toronto Raptors this season?
(1:32) CP3 returns to Clippers
(7:27) Lakers sign Marcus Smart
(14:46) Summer League superlatives
(38:39) Ben Simmons free agency update
(44:41) Summer League recap with Es Baraheni
(59:29) Expectations for Raptors this season
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CBS News
2 minutes ago
- CBS News
The Red Sox have become nearly unbeatable at Fenway Park over the last two months
It hasn't mattered who the Red Sox have played or which uniforms they've worn. Alex Cora's club has been nearly unbeatable at Fenway Park for almost two months. With Monday night's 8-5 win over the Kanas City Royals, Boston has now won six straight games on its home diamond. The Red Sox have taken 13 of their last 14 games at Fenway Park, and 24 of their last 29 games going back to the first half of the season. Whether they've been in their classic home whites, yellow marathon-themed uniforms, or the new Green Monster City Connect unis, the Red Sox are putting up important wins at a key point in the season. More importantly, they've made coming to Fenway Park a miserable experience for opposing teams -- and a lot of fun for their own players and fans. "This place is fun again," Cora said Sunday after the team broke out the brooms for a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros. The electricity inside Fenway has been evident in and around the ballpark. The Red Sox have swept five of their last nine series at home, scrubbing away the likes of the Yankees, Nationals, Rockies, Rays, and Astros. The team has won eight of its last nine series overall at their home ballpark, taking two of three against the Rays, Reds, and Dodgers to go along with those sweeps. The only blemish at Fenway over the last two months is when the Red Sox lost two of three to the Blue Jays in the last week of June. The Red Sox have been getting it done in different ways too. They've done it by crushing the baseball, as Boston did when it outscored the lowly Rockies by 22 runs over three games. The Red Sox have also won by playing smallball, as we saw several times over the weekend against the Astros. The team has eight one-run victories over its torrid home stretch. It's led to some exciting nights at Fenway Park and a rejuvenated fanbase, which was charged up throughout Monday night's victory thanks to a five-run first inning from the Boston offense. The Red Sox are now 38-21 at Fenway Park this season, and tied with the Mets and the Blue Jays for the most home victories. Such joyous nights at Fenway were no guarantee over the last three seasons. After going 43-38 at Fenway Park in 2022, the team finished below .500 at home in each of the last two seasons. The Red Sox averaged just 40 home wins over the last three years, and missed the playoff in each. They're already flirting with 40 Fenway wins in 2025, and this home surge has seen the Red Sox climb up the American League standings. Winners of six straight overall and eight of its last 10, Boston now sits at 63-51 -- a season-high 12 games above .500 -- and owns a 2.5-game lead over the Yankees and Mariners for the top Wild Card spot. The Red Sox trail the Blue Jays by just three games in the American League East. The Red Sox offense has found its footing overall, but it's really taken off inside the friendly confines of Fenway Park. Boston is tied for the most home hits in baseball with 525 and second in runs scored at 312. The Red Sox are fourth in baseball with a .266 batting average, a .338 OBP, and fifth with a .453 slugging percentage at home. The team's .791 OPS at Fenway is tied for the second-best home OPS in MLB. Last year at home, the Red Sox ranked eighth with a .253 batting average and 10th with a .321 OBP and .422 slugging percentage. Last year's team averaged 4.5 runs per game, to this year's 5.3 runs per game at Fenway Park. Righties are doing a lot of the damage for the Boston offense this season. At home, right-handed hitters are batting .273 (ranking third) with a .342 OBP (also ranking third) and a .447 slugging percentage (seventh). Those numbers are way up from last season when the Red Sox hit .241 (ranking 17th) with a .306 OBP and .391 slugging percentage (both ranked 18th). But really, it feels like anyone stepping to the plate at Fenway Park in a Red Sox uniform has been swinging a hot bat this season. Romy Gonzalez is slashing .330/.360/.612 with four homers, three triples, and 11 doubles in his 32 home games. Rookie Roman Anthony, who delivered a game-winning, walk-off RBI single in the 10th inning of Friday night's win over the Astros, has slashed .302/.381/.465 with 11 extra-base hits in his 25 games in his new ballpark. Jarren Duran has been touching a lot of bases at Fenway Park this season, with seven of his 12 homers, seven triples, and 18 doubles at the ballpark. Trevor Story has also left the yard seven times at Fenway Park, while Wilyer Abreu leads the team with 11 round trippers in front of home fans. Scoring a ton of runs is good, but we all know pitching is what really matters. Boston's pitching staff has been excellent at Fenway Park as well, touting the seventh-best home ERA at 3.42. Last season, Red Sox pitchers had a 4.16 ERA at home, which ranked 21st. Boston starters have turned in 28 of their 52 quality starts this season at Fenway Park. Brayan Bello has really thrived at home, going 6-3 with a 3.09 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. Lucas Giolito is 4-1 at home, and even Walker Buehler has been decent at Fenway Park at 3-2 with a 4.35 ERA. Ace Garrett Crochet has enjoyed most of his success on the road, going 9-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. But he's thrown five quality starts at Fenway to go with a 3-3 record, a 2.42 ERA, and 1.12 WHIP. The Red Sox are starting to put it all together this season, and can thank a lot of their success to some quality home cooking. If they keep it up and remain the top Wild Card team, the Red Sox would be hosting a best-of three Wild Card series at Fenway Park this October. But given how they've been playing as of late, surpassing the Blue Jays and claiming home-field advantage for the postseason isn't out of the question for the 2025 Boston Red Sox.
New York Times
31 minutes ago
- New York Times
What Luka Dončić's $165M means, plus grading NBA team offseasons
The Bounce Newsletter | This is The Athletic's daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. I'm writing today's edition from my laptop in the middle of the Green Park in London. Imagine if you told people 100 years ago that we could send out The Bounce over the internet to people all over the world. Their first question would be: 'What's The Bounce?' And you could tell them: 'You fool! It's a free NBA newsletter from The Athletic, and you can subscribe so easily.' Technology! Dončić signs 3-year, $165 million extension 'Is Luka Dončić going to sign the extension with the Lakers?' It was a question, but it was also mostly a formality. While some doubts can be spun into justifying absurd trade ideas in Dallas, when it came to the question of whether Dončić was going to sign his extension, it never felt like there was a real possibility of him leaving the franchise. The 26-year-old had a player option for next season, but declining that would have made him an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026. Advertisement Instead of waiting for next summer and opting for a longer, possibly more lucrative contract over those next four years, Luka did what's best, both for the Lakers in the interim — and in the long term for his earning potential. He agreed to a three-year extension worth as much as $165 million. It's probably more like a two-year extension, though. There is a player option for the 2028-29 season at $57.5 million, which sounds like a lot. Because it is. I would suspect he declines that option. Why? In the summer of 2028, he'll be 10 years into his career, which makes him eligible for a five-year contract worth at least projected $400 million. I'll say it if nobody else will: That is a significant amount of money. He'll be 29 years old at that point, so it's not like they're giving that money to an older player. He'll likely be in his prime, which is eye-popping to consider about someone who has averaged 30 points, 8.8 rebounds and 8.7 assists with 47.4/35.3/75.7 shooting splits since his rookie season. The Lakers are also set up to put players around Dončić. These are the other players they have signed through each season past this one: Assuming they reach a deal with Reaves when he declines his player option in 2026, the Lakers will have quite a bit of roster flexibility. If Ayton works out for them as their long-lost big man, then he probably opts out of that contract next summer, but gets something a bit more lucrative as he keeps proving himself. And, of course, we have no idea what this means for LeBron James. Lakers executive Rob Pelinka mentioned it would be 'great' if LeBron retires a Laker, but what does that mean about his free agency next summer? Or anything potentially happening before the February trade deadline? Do the Lakers still want to pay him the max during whatever short time he has left in the NBA? Can you imagine him taking a discount? A lot of questions about the Lakers remain, but the Luka one has been answered. RFA, revisited 🏀 Does it work? Restricted free agency doesn't seem to work for players anymore. But did it ever? 🃏 Always joking. Gilbert Arenas is under some serious allegations of running an illegal gambling business. ICYMI: Who is Gil, and why is he always joking? 🏀 Dame's back. Damian Lillard is now one of several NBA players to take on a college role. GM at his alma mater, Weber State. 🏀 This is fun. A familiar game has a pretty fun national competition. Welcome to Pop-A-Shot! 🎧 'NBA Daily.' Zena and Es are joined by Amick to discuss trade rumors around the NBA. Watch on YouTube. Fox agrees to a big extension with the Spurs When the Spurs came upon some draft lottery luck and found themselves with the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, it was pretty obvious right away that lead guard Dylan Harper out of Rutgers would be the selection. Sure enough, that's whom the Spurs took, and it at least made some people raise an eyebrow about what that meant for De'Aaron Fox and his future in San Antonio. Advertisement The franchise has Stephon Castle, the reigning Rookie of the Year. He's a very good playmaker, and while he's definitely more of a wing or an off-guard, he fancies himself a point guard in the NBA. Harper, one of the top prospects in the draft, showed a lot of the reasons why so many people believe in him during his Summer League exploits. He looks like the real deal, and the promise of him and Victor Wembanyama together in the future is a lot of fun. Fox is an All-NBA point guard the Spurs traded for last season. But fear not about his future in San Antonio. The Spurs agreed to a four-year, $229 million extension that will keep him in San Antonio through the 2029-30 season. It's a lot of the cap for a guy they might have a replacement for already, but Wemby is on his rookie deal for two more years, Castle for three and Harper is just beginning his. The Spurs have time to pay Fox until they have to make decisions down the road on how to manage the cap under the second apron. Or if we want to get really spicy and raise some eyebrows, maybe in a year or two, the Spurs have a massive contract to use in matching Giannis Antetokounmpo's deal in a trade. Sun could sell for $325 million, head to Boston I mean the WNBA's Connecticut Sun, not the giant gas star you want to stare at while knowing it's such a bad idea. Not that thing that gives sustenance to the plant life Chris Paul and his vegan friends enjoy every day. OK, that's enough about the sun. A group led by Steve Pagliuca, a minority owner for the Celtics, has interest in buying the Connecticut Sun (down at 11th in Power Rankings!). The potential price could be a record-breaking $325 million, with an additional $100 million going toward a practice facility. The reported intention is to move the team to Boston, possibly as early as 2027. This is a pretty big deal for the WNBA in general. While some might scoff at the purchase price when compared to the $10 billion to took to buy the Lakers, remember the Sacramento Kings were sold for $534 million in 2013 and the Milwaukee Bucks for $550 million in 2014. Also remember the NBA had a decades-long head start at creating value for their franchises. With expansion franchises going for $250 million, I'm sure this eye-popping Sun number will make players feel even more emboldened to earn what they're owed. The WNBA is possibly heading toward a lockout during labor negotiations, in which players want a much bigger piece of the thriving league's pie. Grading offseasons is tough, but we did it We've got a little less than two months left in the offseason before we're past media day and knee-deep in some training camp action and soundbites. And while this summer is not completely over for people named Kuminga, Russell Westbrook or Cam Thomas, the majority of teams have filled their rotations and are looking set for the start of next season. So it's the perfect time to start grading each team's offseason. Advertisement That's exactly what my colleagues at The Athletic did this week. Every team has a grade, except for the one team that has earned an incomplete so far. Let's go over four teams I felt were graded too low and four teams I felt were graded too high. Luckily for my colleagues, I'm wrong a lot, so they probably nailed these grades regardless. Four teams I graded lower: Four teams I graded higher: Here are all those grades again. Streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
Forbes
32 minutes ago
- Forbes
Between Two Worlds Captures Growth Of Women's Soccer In The Philippines
With women's soccer on the rise, the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup marked a monumental moment in the game, not just for what it displayed on the field, but how its impact off the field continues to shape the trajectory of the game. During the World Cup, it paved a new wave of growth for the Philippines Women's National Team or better known as the Filipinas. Over the weekend, soccer host and influencer, Megan Reyes premiered her first short film documentary about discovering the heritage and the growth of soccer in the Philippines through her new film called, Between Two Worlds, which premiered in Los Angeles, CA. From podcasting to a first-time filmmaker Many eyes were on the Filipinas as they were one of the eight teams to make their World Cup debut at the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. While head coach Alen Stajcic led the team to their first major tournament, Reyes documented their journey as she produced a four-part podcast series called Between Two Worlds. From her Filipino-American heritage, Reyes told the story of the Filipinas using core pillars of identity, history, and growth in the game. From the podcast, Reyes then spent three weeks in the Philippines to document stories from youth players and coaches throughout Metro Manila to create a short length documentary with the same name. The film premiered as part of the Manila International Film Festival's 2025 Summer Screening series and was created by Reyes, her partner Evan Bledsoe, and a team of five other Filipino creatives. Reyes used her platform as an influencer in the sport to partner with Adidas Philippines to bring nearly a dozen soccer balls to kids in the Philippines. She also partnered with organizations such as Women In Soccer and IDA Sports to donate new soccer cleats to soccer academies. Reyes also included gently used jerseys from her personal collection and from the online soccer community that mailed them to her and passed them along to young female soccer players. As she opened the box filled with items, the girls in the room quickly gathered around Reyes and lit up at the sight of new soccer gear. Throughout the documentary, this film captures the essence of simplicity in the game, the joy of generosity, and the common thread of loving soccer. 'I want people to know that they [Filipinos] very much want to compete with the best, they just need the proper resources,' said Reyes. 'I want to tell this story so that hopefully those changes can be put in place. We as a country are more than basketball, boxing, and beauty pageants, we are football fans.' 'We have what it takes' Alongside Reyes, Filipina midfielder Camille Rodriguez also worked on the film as a co-producer. Rodriguez made her debut on the senior team in 2011 at 16 years old and also plays for PFF Women's League club Kaya-Iloilo. Rodriguez scored her first goal at the 2011 AFF Women's Championship and went on to play in the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup. As a player who started her professional career at a young age, Rodriguez has seen the program reach new heights as the Filipinas continue to inspire and celebrate new milestones. 'Homegrown athletes just want the opportunity to play because we know that we are capable,' said Rodriguez in the film. 'We know that we have what it takes to compete against the best, with the best. It's just a matter of belief that we can do it with them and the opportunity to be able to get there. Yes, we inspire but I think there's still work to be done between inspiring and actually having an opportunity and I think the bridge that connects both is action.' Rodriguez was also an integral part of the team as she participated on the 2022 AFF Women's Asian Championship team, which is when the Filipinas won their first regional gold medal. She also participated at the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup team when the Philippines qualified for the 2023 FIFA World Cup. During her time in the Philippines, Reyes also interviewed Let Dimzon, who is a former player of the Filipina National Team. Dizmon also coached both the youth and the senior level teams and is well respected in both the coaching community and for the path she paved for the Filipinas. As Reyes spent three weeks traveling the Philippines and interviewing a variety of those who have shaped the game from journalists, players, and coaches, the documentary showcases the strength and grit of how the World Cup tournament was more than just soccer. 'When you watch how much that goal and that win at the World Cup meant to the country, no one expected them to win a game or score a goal, but when they defeated the host country, New Zealand, it sounded like a home crowd,' said Reyes. Sharing the love of the game As a first time filmmaker, Reyes' perspective of Between Two Worlds captures hope, joy, and excitement for the future of the women's game in the Philippines. The three-week excursion also marked her first time visiting her home country where both her parents once lived. Reyes is no stranger to telling stories as she's partnered with major brands such as Google Pixel, Spotify, FIFA, and is now the in-stadium host of San Diego Wave FC. The documentary also shows Reyes' passion to capture the game through a lens of allowing others to experience the endless excitement of possibilities that come with playing the beautiful game. 'I want to continue sharing what I have with these players back home,' said Reyes. 'I have a whole closet full of football jerseys that I love to collect but it would mean so much more to them, so, if sending football jerseys and cleats, and gear that we collect but may not use, those could be of greater value to kids in the Philippines in inspiring them to play. There are lots of little actions that we can take and hopefully, I can help build those programs that we can all support together.' This inspiring short film documentary of Between Two Worlds is not only one that should be watched by every consumer of the game, but it's a film that powerfully showcases how soccer builds bridges to create across the globe. The premiere in Los Angeles, CA hosted over 100 guests in attendance and the next screening of Between Two Worlds will be hosted in Oakland, CA on August 17, which is also sold out.
