Category: 6. Sports

We have exciting NBA Summer League action in Utah and California before Las Vegas puts on a show. The California Classic Summer League and Salt Lake City Summer League is what we’ve seen the last two days. Miami, Los Angeles, Golden State and San Antonio all played back-to-back games in Golden State, while Philly, Utah, Memphis and Oklahoma City played one game each in Utah. We’ve seen some fascinating performances from those youngsters thus far, so let’s highlight some of those superb stat lines!

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VJ Edgecombe, 76ers

Edgecombe was the third overall pick in this year’s draft, and he looks like an alpha already. The Baylor product had 28 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two blocks on 13-of-27 shooting in his Summer League debut. He also took a game-tying shot in the closing seconds for the Sixers in that 93-89 defeat, looking like the true leader of this Summer League team. It doesn’t show in the stat sheet, but Edgecombe was all over the floor defensively as well. Adem Bona also played well next to Edgecombe, collecting 16 points and eight rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. 

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David Jones Garcia, Spurs

It’s rare to lead your team in scoring in both games of Summer League, but that’s what we’ve seen from Jones Garcia. This small forward led the way with 18 points and seven rebounds in a defeat against the Miami Heat in San Antonio’s debut on Saturday and followed it up with an even better performance on Sunday. Jones Garcia collected 25 points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in a 90-88 win over the Golden State Warriors. There’s no doubt that Jones Garcia is the focal point of the Spurs offense in the California Classic. It remains to be seen if that’ll happen in the NBA2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas when Dylan Harper is expected to be showcased as the second pick in the draft.

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Cole Swider, Lakers

Swider has also led the Lakers in scoring through their first two games. The versatile big man had 24 points and eight rebounds on Saturday and followed that up with 20 points and three boards on Sunday. What’s really impressive is that Swider shot 7-of-10 from the field in both of those 20-point games. He’s averaged 22.3 points and 6.9 rebounds in the G League over the last two years and will be one of the keys for this LA Summer League team. DJ Steward has also been impressive for the Lakers, averaging 17 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists through the opening two games.

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Kyle Filipowski, Jazz

Filipowski started throughout the second half of last season and appears to be the star of this Summer League team. The big man had 22 points, six rebounds and two assists on 8-of-11 shooting in their narrow win over the Philadelphia 76ers. Brice Sensabaugh was also part of Utah’s rotation last season, finishing that victory with 19 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

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Jaylen Wells, Grizzlies

It’s rare to see a second-round pick in the Rookie of the Year running, but that’s what Wells did last year. He finished third in the Rookie of the Year race, averaging 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.6 steals per game. That clearly carried over into his first Summer League game, leading the Grizzlies with 20 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in their win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was also 7-of-7 from the free-throw line and is clearly preparing for a more substantial role with Desmond Bane being traded to Orlando. GG Jackson was also impressive in that defeat, collecting 20 points and three rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting. 

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Ajay Mitchell, Thunder

OKC has a tough rotation to crack, but Mitchell is making a case. The second-round pick from last season played just 17 minutes per night in his rookie campaign but looks to be one of the focal points of the offense in the Summer League. Mitchell led the way with 24 points and six assists on 10-of-18 shooting in OKC’s 92-80 win over Memphis. He did that while making just one 3-pointer, showcasing some elite finishing around the basket. Nikola Topić missed the 2024-25 season after ACL surgery but showcased his ability with 14 points, four assists and two steals in his Summer League debut. 

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe (AP) — Wiaan Mulder sacrificed a shot at one of cricket’s most hallowed records to start mopping up Zimbabwe in the second test at Queens Sports Club on Monday.

The first-time captain of South Africa was on 367, just 33 runs away from tying the highest individual test score, Brian Lara’s 400 not out 21 years ago, when he stopped his epic innings and declared at lunch with South Africa on 626-5.

He then chipped in with two wickets in consecutive overs and a catch to bowl out Zimbabwe for 170, enforced the follow-on, and had Zimbabwe 51-1 in the second innings at stumps.

Already 1-0 up in the short series, South Africa was 405 runs ahead and gearing toward wrapping up another three-day win on Tuesday.

“First, I thought we have enough and we need to bowl,” Mulder said. “Secondly, Brian Lara is a legend, he got 400 against England and for someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special. If I get the chance again I’d probably do the same thing.

“I was speaking to Shuks (Proteas coach Shukri Conrad) and he kind of said to me as well, ‘Let the legends keep the really big scores,’ and you never know what my fate is or what is destined for me. But Brian Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be.”

Mulder achieved the fifth highest test score, and the highest by a South African.

He started day two on 264 and the second new ball only eight overs old. But he picked up where he left off on Sunday, plundering the Zimbabwe bowlers.

When he became the second South African to the 300 landmark, guiding Tanaka Chivanga’s yorker to fine leg for a single, he took off his helmet, smiled and raised his bat to bathe in the applause.

“I never even dreamt of getting a double hundred never mind a triple hundred but it’s super special,” Mulder said. “The most important thing is it put the team in a good position to hopefully win the test.”

His 297 balls to the milestone were the second fastest to 300 after India’s Virender Sehwag took 278 balls versus South Africa in 2008.

Mulder became the highest-scoring South African in tests when he eclipsed Hashim Amla’s 311 not out against England in 2012.

He raced from 300 to 350 in 27 balls, and gave his dressing room a salute.

He went from 300 to 367 in 37 balls then hardly faced another ball. Kyle Verreynne had the strike for most of the last four overs to lunch and was 42 not out.

Mulder’s 334-ball knock in just under seven hours included 49 boundaries and four sixes.

The only higher scores in test history were Lara’s unbeaten 400 and 375, Matthew Hayden’s 380 and Mahela Jayawardene’s 374.

In the morning session, Mulder scored 103 of South Africa’s 161 runs, which came at an average 6.1 per over. The only wicket to fall was Dewald Brevis, 15 overnight, for 30, giving Zimbabwe debutant Kundai Matigimu a second wicket.

After South Africa rested on its sixth highest total in history, and highest in nine years, Zimbabwe’s first bat lasted only 43 overs.

Off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen, making his test debut at age 31, took 4-42 to leave Zimbabwe’s Sean Williams stranded on 83.

Williams had been ill and didn’t field in the morning. He didn’t bat until Zimbabwe was 56-5 and he zoomed to 50 in 32 balls, the fastest test 50 in the team’s history.

No. 11 batter Chivanga seemed to give Williams every chance to achieve back-to-back centuries in the series, by lasting for more than six overs.

Williams, given life by a no-ball on 79, hit 83 off 55 balls.

Corbin Bosch got the only second-innings wicket, and Zimbabwe reached stumps with Takudzwanashe Kaitano on 34 and Nick Welch on 6.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Great Britain’s Anna Henderson won the second stage of the Women’s Giro d’Italia and claimed the pink jersey for the overall leader.

Olympic time-trial silver medallist Henderson edged past French rider Dilyxine Miermont in an uphill sprint finish after the pair broke away from the peloton with 41.4km to go of the 92km stage through the Alps.

Henderson, riding for Lidl-Trek, took the pink jersey from Switzerland’s Marlen Reusser who won the opening stage, and currently has a lead of 15 seconds.

“As a team, we made the plan to be aggressive because we knew it would be a hard final and we have a really good team for attacking,” said Henderson.

“We’re here for stages, this is what we came to do, and I’m so thankful for my teammates for supporting me.

“I’m just beyond grateful and happy, I can’t believe it. It’s my first World Tour victory, my first individual Grand Tour victory. I’m in shock.”

Defending champion Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy finished sixth and is third in the general classification, 31 seconds behind Henderson.

The eight-day race continues with a 122km stage through the Alps on Tuesday, between Vezza d’Oglio and Trento.

Editor’s Note: Read more NBA coverage from The Athletic here. The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its teams. 

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Years before signing a rookie contract with the Dallas Mavericks, netting him $13.8 million in the first year alone, Cooper Flagg had a more menial job.

He was a pea picker on the Thunder Road Farm in Corinna, Maine.

Flagg was 11 years old when he, his fraternal twin brother Ace and his older brother Hunter were hired. The pay was $1 for every pound collected.

Like everything else the boys did, it turned into a competition.

“Cooper the pea picker was very competitive,” Kelly Flagg, the boys’ mother, told The Athletic. “He wanted to make more money than his brothers. They only picked for about three hours in the morning before it got too hot. He was very aggressive.”

The first week, Cooper cleared $100. Charlie and Barb Peavey, who own Thunder Road Farm, weren’t sure if they could afford him.

“A lot of kids come on the farm and think it’s going to be easy. They fool around and talk; Cooper never did that,” said Barb Peavey, whose son, Kellen, played basketball with the Flagg brothers when they were younger. “Cooper was very focused on what he was doing. … He put his nose to the grindstone. He picked and worked.”

Besides peas, the Peaveys grew strawberries, red potatoes, cucumbers, corn and pumpkins. Every summer, they hired between 15 and 20 youngsters from central Maine as crop pickers. Harvesting peas required Flagg to sit on a five-gallon bucket during his morning shift.

“It helps with your work ethic,” Cooper Flagg said. “It helps you teach early about having a job. It was always fun to make a little money and hang out with your friends.”

Now 18, Flagg is one of the most well-rounded prospects to enter the NBA in recent memory. The Mavericks landed a 6-foot-8 forward who can pass, shoot, dribble and defend. According to one catch-all metric, box plus/minus, Flagg, while at Duke, had the most impactful freshman season of any NCAA men’s basketball player in the past 15 years aside from Zion Williamson and Anthony Davis.

As much as Flagg’s numbers popped, his intangibles excited the Mavericks more than anything. Flagg badly wants to win — even at something as trivial as pea picking.

“When people talk about him, they don’t talk about basketball with him,” Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison said. “They talk about all the intangibles. When you have a player who’s that good and they talk about the intangibles, that’s a guy who’s going to add to your culture.”

Flagg did his first year of high school in Maine and then attended Montverde Academy, a prep school and basketball powerhouse in Florida, for two years. In August 2023, he reclassified so he could play college ball a year early. When he made that decision, he was following one of the Flagg family mantras: If you’re the best player in the gym, find a new gym.

Most nights, Flagg looked like the best player in the gym, even when he was the youngest player on the floor. On Jan. 11, three weeks after his 18th birthday, Flagg had 42 points, seven assists and six rebounds in Duke’s 86-78 win against Notre Dame. Throughout the 2024-25 season, the Blue Devils were one of the best teams in college basketball. They went 19-1 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and ultimately advanced to the NCAA Final Four.

Flagg has become a teenage millionaire; despite that status, he remains grounded. The week before the NBA Draft, he traveled to Dallas for a two-day visit. He made the trip alone. He didn’t need handlers or an entourage accompanying him. Flagg went through an on-court workout and then got two different steak dinners: one with members of the Mavericks’ front office and another with his future teammates.

“We’re very proud of him. We’re proud of the family,” Peavey said. “We’re proud that he’s stayed so humble and he’s just kept those Maine roots alive.”

In a June 27 news conference with Dallas local media, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd talked about deploying Flagg at lead guard and on the wing. Kidd sounded impressed with the way Flagg was handling the hoopla.

“Just sitting here listening to him, isn’t it incredible?” Kidd said. “We are talking about an 18-year-old who has all the right answers.”

Flagg will suit up for the Mavericks this week during NBA Summer League. Their first game is Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers.

This fall, Flagg will make his NBA debut. Around that same time, the Peaveys plan on opening their Thunder Road Farm corn maze to the public for the 21st consecutive year.

This year’s maze will be Cooper Flagg-themed. An aerial view will show the Newport, Maine, native dunking a basketball. Flagg’s nickname, “The Maine Event,” will be cut into the crops, as well.

Flagg has gone from pea picking to finding a place in the NBA as the No. 1 draft pick. His mother sees the same competitive person now as she did back then.

“I think it’s exactly who he is as a person,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s pea picking or anything else. He can turn it into a competition.”

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Olympic and world medallists renew rivalries in Monaco

With the reigning Olympic champions set to compete in nine of the events, there’s lots of star power in action in Monaco.

The evening begins with the women’s shot put, with Germany’s Ogunleye due to come up against world champion Chase Jackson of the USA and world indoor champion Sarah Mitton from Canada.

Duplantis then goes in the pole vault in a field which features not only a full Olympic podium rematch from Paris 2024 alongside Sam Kendricks and Emmanouil Karalis, but also a World Championships podium rematch from Budapest in 2023 with EJ Obiena and Kurtis Marschall.

There is another Paris 2024 podium rematch in the men’s 800m: alongside Kenya’s Wanyonyi, Marco Arop of Canada and Djamel Sedjati of Algeria are back to challenge him, as are the surging Frenchman Gabriel Tual and world indoor champion Bryce Hoppel.

Kerr and Shelby McEwen will go head-to-head against each other again in the men’s high jump, while the Olympic silver and bronze medallists in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, Kenneth Rooks and Abraham Kibiwot respectively, are the top draws in that distance.

Meanwhile, Alfred and Tebogo are the runaway favourites in their respective events. And Gout Gout, the 17-year-old Australian sprint sensation who rewrote the Oceanian area record in the 200m with a 20.02 on 24 June in Czechia, is set to run in an invitational under-23 race over the distance, in what will be just his second race ever on European soil.

Those who have followed Cobolli’s rise over the past 12 months will not be surprised to see him making a maiden appearance in the last eight of a Grand Slam.

He won his first ATP Tour title this year in Romania and followed that up with victory in Hamburg – both on his favoured surface of clay.

Cobolli has previously stated that as a junior he “hated playing on grass”.

Ironic for someone who also played football, spending five years in the academy of his beloved football club Roma, where he played as a right-back.

He has a tattoo on his chest with the words ‘sei tu l’unica mia sposa, sei tu l’unico mio amor’ which translates as ‘you are my only wife, you are my only love’ – a famous quote from club legend Daniele de Rossi.

When he won the French Open boys’ singles title in 2020, he held a Roma scarf above his head in celebration and says he still prefers to watch football than tennis, attending matches when he can.

He chose to pursue tennis aged 14, preferring the solo nature of the game, and is starting to reap the rewards.

Against the wily Cilic, who beat Briton Jack Draper in the second round and was enjoying his best run at Wimbledon since reaching the final in 2017, Cobolli showed efficiency and poise, needing just two breaks of serve to take a two-set lead.

World number 83 Cilic finally got into the contest when an untimely double fault from Cobolli handed the Croat the third set, the first blemish on Cobolli’s perfect record at this tournament.

With strong strokes from the baseline forming a solid foundation and an impressive shot variety at his disposal, Cobolli quickly put Cilic on the back foot with break points in the fourth.

The pair traded breaks before another tie-break sealed Cobolli’s place in the quarter-finals, where he hopes he will get to play on one of the Grand Slam’s main courts.

His father Stefano, a former tennis player himself who peaked at 238 in the rankings, is now his coach and was in tears as Cobolli lifted his arms to take in the crowd’s adulation after a gruelling three hours and 27 minutes on court.

Cilic, who has showed great perseverance to return to the sport after several years of injury problems, waved to all sides of the court as he departed, perhaps signalling he does not know whether he will get to play at the grass-court major again.