WEDNESDAY SPORTS, JULY 16, 2025
AMATEUR BASEBALL
Parkston Rays 1, Wynot (Neb.) 0
Alexandria vs. Corsica – Thursday
Mitchell Aces vs. Parkston Rays – Thursday
Garretson vs. Parkston Mudcats – Thursday
MITCHELL KERNELS
— Mitchell Gold 16-and-under (18-9) hosts Rapid City for a doubleheader starting at noon on Wednesday.
— Mitchell Black 14-and-under (17-14) hosts a doubleheader against Brandon Valley on Sunday.
— Mitchell White 13-and-under (8-16) hosts Pierre for a doubleheader at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
— The Dakota Riptide swim team racked up 25 event titles at the State B Long Course Championship in Pierre over the weekend. The meet was the final opportunity for swimmers to qualify for the State A meet in Aberdeen this coming weekend, July 18th to the 20th. In total, the Riptide had 22 second-place finishes and 16 third-place showings with Rorey Koch and Halstyn Huss each winning four events in their respective age groups.
MLB
— Kyle Schwarber went 3 for 3 in the first All-Star Game home run swing-off to put the National League ahead 4-3 following a 6-6 tie in which the American League rallied from a six-run deficit. The game was decided by having three batters from each league take three swings, each off coaches. The change was agreed to in 2022 to alleviate the concern of teams running out of pitchers. Schwarber was named All-Star MVP after going 0 for 2 with a walk in the game. The Twins Byron Buxton went 1-for-2 with a double in the ninth inning. Buxton would come around to score on a Bobby Witt Jr double to make it 6-5. Cleveland’s Steven Kwan then reached on an infield single that scored Witt from third to tied the game at 6-6.
— Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh successfully used the robot umpire to gain a strikeout for pitcher Tarik Skubal in the first inning. Four of five challenges of plate umpire Dan Iassogna’s calls were successful in the first All-Star use of the Automated Ball-Strike System, which could make its regular-season debut next year. The players’ association is unsure whether the ABS System is accurate enough. A decision for 2026 use likely will be considered by sport’s 11-man competition committee.
— Major League Baseball honored late Hall of Famer Hank Aaron by recreating his record-breaking 715th career home run through the use of projection mapping and custom pyrotechnics. The lights went down at Truist Park and fans stood holding their cell phone lights following the sixth inning. The scene from April 8, 1974 at old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium was projected on the infield and also shown on the video board.
— Viewership for Cal Raleigh’s Home Run Derby victory on Monday night was up 5% from 2024, according to Nielsen ratings. Raleigh’s win over Junior Caminero of Tampa Bay drew an average audience of 5.7 million viewers, up from 5.4 million last year when Teoscar Hernández defeated Bobby Witt Jr. in the finals.
— Major League Baseball faces a potential lockout in December 2026. Players and management have long clashed over salary cap proposals, a format that union head Tony Clark criticizes as harmful to competition and player salary guarantees. Commissioner Rob Manfred argues the cap could address payroll disparities as MLB also tries to deal with declining revenue from regional sports networks. Teams like the Dodgers and Mets have pushed payrolls to record levels, highlighting disparity. Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2026, and past negotiations have led to nine work stoppages.
— Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred says the sport is in better position to reach national broadcasting agreements for 2026-28 after he attended the annual Allen & Co. Conference of media and finance leaders in Idaho. ESPN said in February it was ending after this season its agreement to broadcast Sunday night games, the All-Star Home Run Derby and the Wild Card Series. MLB’s other agreements, with Fox and TBS, run through the 2028 season, and MLB wants all its national broadcast contracts to end at the same time. Manfred said in early June he hoped to reach a deal before the All-Star break.
NBA
— The NBA may finally be one step closer on the long road to expansion. Commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday that the league has been tasked by team owners to study the issue more formally, which would be the first official move in a long process toward adding franchises. The decision to take a harder look at expansion wasn’t totally unexpected, since the notion of adding teams has been a talking point for several years. Cities like Las Vegas and Seattle, the long perceived front-runners should the NBA decide to expand past its current 30-team footprint, will continue to push to be the eventual picks.
— Philadelphia 76ers’ Paul George had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Monday to treat an injury that occurred during a recent workout. George’s rehab program is set to begin and he will be re-evaluated prior to the start of training camp. State. George, who turned 35 on May 2, signed a $212 million, four-year contract in free agency last summer. But his first year in Philly was marred by knee and adductor injuries that resulted in the forward having one of the worst years of his NBA career. He averaged 16 points in just 41 games, his lowest scoring average in a full season since he averaged 12 points for Indiana in his second NBA season.
WNBA
— Caitlin Clark left Tuesday night’s game in the final minute holding back tears after grabbing at her leg, an apparent injury that would be her third this season. Clark walked back downcourt holding her right groin after assisting on the Indiana Fever’s final basket of an 85-77 victory over the Connecticut Sun in front of a sold-out crowd at the TD Garden in Boston. Clark finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
— Caitlin Clark will be in a 3-point contest for the first time in her pro career as the Indiana Fever guard will compete Friday night in the WNBA All-Star competition. She’ll be joined by contest record holder Sabrina Ionescu, who is back in the 3-point contest after a one-year hiatus. Ionescu last entered the contest in 2023 and set a record hitting 25 of her 27 shots in the final round. The WNBA All-Star Game is Saturday night at 7:30 on ABC from Indianapolis.
— The WNBA players union and league officials have much to discuss when they sit down this week for their first in-person talks as a group since December about the new collective bargaining agreement. The two sides are hoping for a transformational new collective bargaining agreement. After sharing initial proposals, Phoenix Mercury forward and union rep Satou Sabally said the league’s offer was “a slap in the face.” The two sides are scheduled to have their first face-to-face meeting in Indianapolis on Thursday. Increased salaries, revenue sharing and roster size are three areas where the union hopes to see major changes from the current CBA.
Los Angeles Sparks 99, Washington Mystics 80
Minnesota Lynx vs. Phoenix Mercury, Noon on Wednesday
New York Liberty vs. Indiana Fever, 6:30 pm on Wednesday at CBS Sports Network
SOCCER
— Soccer faces growing challenges from extreme heat, as seen during the FIFA Club World Cup in the U.S. this summer. Rising global temperatures are making summer tournaments increasingly dangerous for players and fans. Scientists warn that continuing to hold events in June and July could lead to severe heat-related illnesses. FIFA has introduced measures like extra water breaks and shaded benches but still faced criticism from players. Experts suggest shifting tournaments to cooler months, though this disrupts traditional soccer calendars. With the 2026 and 2030 World Cups scheduled in hot regions, addressing heat risks is becoming urgent as climate change worsens.
NFL
— The Kansas City Chiefs beat the deadline to sign franchise-tagged guard Trey Smith to a multiyear contract by agreeing to terms on a $94 million deal. The four-year contract includes $70 million guaranteed. His average salary of $23.5 million annually makes Smith the highest-paid player at the position in the NFL. The Chiefs had until 3 p.m. on Tuesday to work out a deal beyond this season after giving Smith the franchise tag in March.
— The New York Jets and wide receiver Garrett Wilson have agreed on a four-year, $130 million contract extension. Wilson, drafted 10th overall in 2022, was the Offensive Rookie of the Year that season and has surpassed 1,000 receiving yards in each of his first three years.
— Twenty-four hours after reaching a long-term contract extension with wide receiver Garrett Wilson, the Jets rewarded star cornerback Sauce Gardner with a record-setting contract, a four-year, $120 million extension. The contract includes $85 million guaranteed. The two-time All-Pro becomes the NFL’s highest-paid cornerback, based on average salary per year ($30 million).
— San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who is scheduled to make $7.5 million in the final year of his deal, wants a new contract or a trade. It marks the second straight summer the 49ers have a receiver who wants to be paid or traded — Brandon Aiyuk. Jennings has approached the 49ers about his request, but little progress has been made. If a new deal is not reached by the time training camp starts next week, Jennings plans to request a trade to a team willing to pay him. Aiyuk, who is recovering from a torn ACL, is scheduled to make close to $25 million this season under the extension he signed in August.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
— The Sun Belt Conference has formally approved a proposal to extend a membership invitation to Louisiana Tech, a person familiar with the situation said. It is not clear how soon the Bulldogs will join the Sun Belt, but that it could be as early as the 2026 football season if the university is able to negotiate a departure from Conference USA at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. A person familiar with the situation said Louisiana Tech had notified Conference USA Commissioner Judy MacLeod of its intent to move to the Sun Belt.
TENNIS
— Jannik Sinner’s victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon men’s final earned a 31% increase over last year’s title match, after the semifinals were the most-watched since 2019. The final between the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the men’s rankings averaged nearly 2.9 million viewers. That came after semifinal Friday, when Sinner beat Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz ousted Taylor Fritz, averaged 1.3 million viewers, up 34% from last year. Meanwhile, the women’s semis averaged 897,000 viewers, the most since 2015.