Good Morning! Here’s what happened in the world of sports on Monday, July 21.

MLB

We begin this morning as we do most days in July– with a little bit of baseball:

• Nick Kurtz was drafted fourth overall out of Wake Forest just over a year ago. The Athletics first baseman has made the jump to the big leagues real quickly– he was named the AL Player of the Week coming out of the all-star break, and followed of that honor with another home run last night. Kurtz is quickly establishing himself as one of the brightest young hitters in the game.

• For the first time since 1971, a game ended on a walk-off catcher’s interference! That’s right, the Phillies beat the Red Sox last night because Edmundo Sosa’s bat hit Carlos Narvaez’s glove. How about that!

• Quick, name five players on the Milwaukee Brewers… it’s ok if that stumped you because few people in baseball understand what makes the Brew Crew so successful this season. After a 6-0 victory in Seattle last night, Milwaukee has won 11 games in a row and are the proud owners of the best record in the Major Leagues. 

• And just because it’s been a while, we’ll end today with another entry into the lore of Shohei Ohtani (you’re encouraged to click on that link from Mr. Stark. I promise you he’s not exagerating on the craziness of the game):

NBA

Basketball highlights in July? Of course! Sort of…

NOTEWORTHY NEWS

Wake Forest legend Chris Paul is joining up with fellow Demon Deacon John Collins to rebuild Lob City. That’s right, CP3 is back on the Los Angeles Clippers. Paul will team up with his former Houston teammate James Harden, as well as Kawhi Leonard and Bradley Beal. Add in Nicholas Batum and Brook Lopez, and you’ve got a mid-2010s super team! I’m not sure this edition of the Clips will be around for much longer than a year, but it’s a very talented group of veterans– can they gel together for one last magical run?

Zach Tom, drafted out of Wake Forest in 2022, just had himself quite the payday. The Green Bay Packers right tackle signed a four-year, $88 million deal that includes a $30.2 million signing bonus believed to be the largest in NFL history for an O-lineman. Not bad for a fourth round draft pick.

TODAY’S BIG GAMES (all times Eastern)

MLB:

• Yankees @ Blue Jays, 7:07 PM

• Brewers @ Mariners, 9:40 PM on MLB Network

“It never felt right, not being home… When I have to make a decision, a lot of thought goes into it. This decision wasn’t hard at all,” –Damian Lillard, during an inspiring press conference in his return to Portland