Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Monday, July 1.

SOCCER

When the Copa America groups were released, the US was widely expected to advance to the knockout stage. After losing 1-0 to Uruguay last night, America has officially fallen short of those expectations. Let’s go through a tumultuous night in Kansas City:

• From the beginning, this game was all over the map. The TV camera angle was all wonky, the referee had little control over what was going on, and neither team could take control of the game. Each side had to substitute players for injuries, too.

• Midway through the second half, Uruguay scored the winning goal on a controversial call. The offside technology at the Copa America is not as advanced or accurate as the technology used at the Euros and other large tournaments. We’ll never know if this one truly should have counted.

• And yet… the goal really didn’t matter. Panama beat Bolivia 3-1, so a 0-0 draw would not have been enough for team USA to advance. On a night where they needed it the most, the inability to score a goal was what cost this team. There weren’t even any great chances– the US registered just three shots on goal.

• With the pressure mounting and results lacking ahead of the 2026 World Cup, head coach Gregg Berhalter is on the hottest of hot seats.

Over in Europe, France advanced over Belgium 1-0 thanks to an own goal. It was a tightly-contested game with little drama, and the better team found a way to win. Portugal, meanwhile, had a much tougher time beating Slovenia. If you didn’t watch this game, you missed 120 minutes of Cristiano Ronaldo missing free kicks and crying– yes, he cried during the game– before Portugal eventually won in a penalty kick shootout. Not the most exciting day of European football.

NBA

Some more action from NBA free agency:

• Klay Thompson has agreed to a deal with the Dallas Mavericks. The NBA does a cool thing called “sign-and-trades” to help with salary cap stuff, so in exchange for Klay the Mavericks gave up two second round picks. A pretty good price for an elite shooter. On the other side of the deal, the Golden State Warriors released a statement thanking the four-time champion for his time with the team and promising to retire his number 11 jersey.

• Fresh off an NBA championship, Jayson Tatum has signed a massive deal with the Boston Celtics. The five-year, $314 million deal is an NBA record… to the victors go the spoils.

• Two key role players switched teams yesterday. Center Isaiah Hartenstein went from the Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder, and veteran wing Tobias Harris is back with the Detroit Pistons. The Hartenstein move fills the last hole in OKC’s roster– they might be the favorites this year to win the west.

MLB

The top story from yesterday was a top prospect. James Wood made his MLB debut for the Washington Nationals, and the 6’7” outfielder singled in his first at-bat. The trio of Wood, starter Mackenzie Gore, and shortstop C.J. Abrams were acquired by Washington in the Juan Soto trade. With Soto on the Yankees, it’s safe to say the trade is working out very nicely for the Nats– although the Mets won this game 9-7.

Here comes Houston! The Astros continued their win streak, taking down the Blue Jays 3-1. After a horrible start to the season, Houston is just three games out of first place in the AL West

The Colorado Rockies had a walk-off win over the Milwaukee Brewers! Jake Cave drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning to secure an 8-7 win.

NHL

Free agency has begun in the NHL, and it’s been tough to keep up with all the moves. A few, however, were big enough to stand out:

• The Nashville Predators scooped up three really big names. Steven Stamkos joins from the Lightning, Jonathan Marchessault from the Golden Knights, and Brady Skjei from the Hurricanes. Good work for the Preds.

• A couple goal-scoring forwards made big decisions: Sam Reinhart has re-signed with the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, Jake DeBrusk should be a nice pick-up by the Vancouver Canucks, and Elias Lindholm got a lot of money from the Boston Bruins.

• And in the only big trade of the day, the Washington Capitals acquired defenseman Jakob Chychrun from the Ottawa Senators. From what I can gather, it was very good business for the Caps.

TENNIS

A wonderful first day on the courts at the All-England Club. After a day of matches, here’s a few Wimbledon stories to follow:

• Number three seed Aryna Sabalenka withdrew from the tournament before her first match, citing an injury. Unfortunate to lose one of the game’s best on the biggest stage.

• The top-ranked Americans fared well on day one, as Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, and Tommy Paul all won. Plus, Francis Tiafoe battled back from two sets down to advance over Matteo Arnaldi.

• Top seeded men had a good start to the tournament. Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, and Casper Ruud all won handily. But I’d keep an eye on the currently unseeded Denis Shapovalov– Shapovalov loves to play on grass, and started his Wimbledon with a solid win over 19-seed Nico Jarry.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Quincy Wilson has been named to the 4×400 relay team for the USA at the Olympics. Just 16 years old, he’s the youngest male track athlete to compete for America. Pretty incredible.

Just two weeks after winning the NBA Finals, the Boston Celtics are for sale. So if anyone reading this has a couple billion dollars and wasn’t sure what to do with it, there’s now a very cool solution to your problem.

PLAY OF THE DAY

My favorite point of the day… it’s Coco at her best.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

TENNIS: Wimbledon, beginning at 6 AM on ESPN and ESPN+

• Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek headline the day two action from London.

SOCCER: Austria vs Turkey, 3 PM on Fox; Brazil vs Columbia, 9 PM on FS1

• Two evenly-matched teams who play exciting games face off in the Euros, while two of the best teams in South America go head-to-head in the Copa America.

WNBA: Fever @ Aces, 9:30 PM on ESPN

• In her last game, Caitlin Clark was just one rebound away from the first triple-double by a rookie in WNBA history. Clark and the Fever look to build on that momentum, taking on the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.

MLB: Orioles vs Mariners, 9:40 PM

• If you’re willing to stay up late, you’ll be rewarded with the game of the day in Major League Baseball. Grayson Rodriguez and George Kirby have electric stuff– these aces take the mound in a matchup of two of the best teams in the American League.

That’s all for today! Have a wonderful Tuesday.