Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Monday, August 18.

TENNIS

Walking into the Lindner Tennis Center yesterday afternoon, you could feel the energy. There was never a group of fans more excited to take off work on a Monday afternoon to watch a tennis match. But just 20 minutes after they began play, the men’s final was over. Down 5-0 and clearly unable to play at a competitive level, Jannik Sinner withdrew due to a mysterious illness. Was it related to the suffocating heat? Let’s just hope the defending champion is healthy for the US Open. It was anticlimactic, but Carlos Alcaraz won his first career title in Cincinnati. A well-deserved trophy, even if the final was bittersweet.

On the women’s side, Jasmine Paolini put up quite a fight. The crowd was almost 100% behind the Italian as she battled Iga Swiatek for over two hours. In the end, the Wimbledon champ continued her winning summer, taking the title with a 7-5, 6-4 victory. After watching up close for two weeks, I can confidently say there is no athlete in the game who moves their feet as well as Swiatek. It was impressive how she adapted her game for the faster hardcourt surfaces and earned her trophy without dropping a set. Congrats to both champions– that’s officially a wrap on the 2025 Cincinnati Open!

MLB

Let’s get to the action on the diamond:

• Some home runs should count for double… like these two last night, as Bryce Harper became the first player this season to blast two homers over 440 feet in the same game. The Phillies beat the Mariners 12-7.

• Speaking of homers, the San Francisco Giants hit three in the first inning! As of publishing, they lead the Padres 4-0 in the seventh inning. That’s a big result because the Rockies beat the Dodgers on a walk-off single by rookie Warming Bernabel. It’s the time of year for scoreboard watching, especially in the close-knit NL West.

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

The Cleveland Browns named Joe Flacco as their week one starting quarterback. Kenny Pickett, Dillon Gabriel, and Shedeur Sanders are all expected to make the roster as backups.

On Sunday night’s ESPN broadcast, commissioner Rob Manfred floated the idea of MLB expansion and realignment. If you’ll allow me to go on a brief tangent… let’s break this down:

• First off, Nashville and Salt Lake City are rumored to be the favorites for the (expected) two expansion teams. Portland, Charlotte, and Montreal are among the other cities that have campaigned for a franchise of their own. Who knows when the day will come, but it’s likely to be announced before 2030. You’ve been warned.

• Manfred says expansion is an opportunity for geographic realignment. That’s where we need to be careful, because the barrier between the American and National League is already quite thin. Moving to an east-west system like other pro sports leagues might save a bit on travel, but I think most baseball fans would be strongly opposed. You’d lose traditional rivalries and the fabric of the game would never be the same. Is that an overreaction? Maybe. But also consider this–

• Let’s say Nashville and Salt Lake get the two new teams. I’ve attempted to build eight balanced divisions of four teams each, and it’s very difficult to do without stretching the geography. Salt Lake would make nine teams based in the pacific and mountain time zones. Do you push Colorado to a “central” division with Kansas City, Houston, and Dallas? Would Arizona or Vegas join that group instead? On the other side, you can envision Manfred and the owners eagerly discussing the financial benefits of an “east” division consisting of the Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, and Phillies. Is that windfall worth breaking up other rivals like the Cardinals and Cubs?

• This is all hypothetical, but you see the immediate issues that spring up just in the beginning of the conversation. I don’t know how they’re going to solve the question of expansion and realignment over the next few seasons. I do know that it could get quite messy.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

US OPEN: A new format for mixed doubles gives us a star-studded, two-day tournament that begins today on ESPN, beginning at 11 AM

MLB: Astros @ Tigers, 6:40 PM on TBS

Have a wonderful Tuesday!