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Weekend winners
The Philadelphia Phillies. Look, we’ll discuss the Braves and their bitter run in a moment, but Philadelphia is doing work. Doing work across all innings — last week in taking three of four from Washington, this stat blew me away: Innings 1-7: Nats 21, Phillies 15; ninth innings: Phillies 15, Nationals 1 — they have cut the NL East lead down to a manageable four games. Plus with Wheeler and Sanchez, the top-end of the Phillies rotation looks way, Way, WAY better than the rest of division.
Tennis. Look Wimbledon is always a reason for tennis to feel like a winner. It’s right there with Augusta and Churchill Downs and Indianapolis Motor Speedway in those iconic places that just make everything feel bigger. And better. But it also brings back Serena Williams, and in a global sport starving for one-name star-power, Serena checks that box with a Sharpie. Even at 44.
World Cup. After a soccer-filled TV avalanche that made me feel like I was filling a water glass from a fire hydrant, only having one match on Sunday felt somewhat odd. But the match was great, and for all the passion from the pool play, the added 700 layers of drama in the knockout rounds, which started Sunday, make this even more intense. Good times.