Sports
Jordan Walker stuns home favorite Kyle Schwarber in HR Derby final
Jul 13, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Jordan Walker (18) at bat during the home run derby at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images PHILADELPHIA — Not even the partisan Philadelphia Phillies fans could get St. Louis Cardinals breakout star Jordan Walker out of his groove when it mattered most.
Walker homered on his last four swings to extend his final round and pull off a shocking victory over hometown hero Kyle Schwarber, finishing the round with 12 homers to Schwarber’s 11 to capture the 2026 Home Run Derby on Monday night.
Walker had arguably the best performance in every stage of the event, tying the Boston Red Sox’s Willson Contreras with 13 blasts in Round 1, then besting Tampa Bay Rays slugger Junior Caminero with several swings to spare in the semifinal.
But he needed a little extra in the final round, silencing 43,863 booing fans by taking advantage of the event’s magenta ball rule that allowed hitters to extend their stay at the plate if they homered on their final swing, given bonus swings until a ball fell short of the fences.
It was just another exceptional moment in the 24-year-old Walker’s first career All-Star campaign that has included 22 home runs and an MLB-best 74 RBIs.
For Schwarber, it was eerily reminiscent of his first Derby appearance eight years ago, when now-Philadelphia teammate Bryce Harper went on a similarly exceptional late run to win the 2018 event in front of his then-hometown Washington fans.
The 33-year-old Schwarber also added a bonus home run in his final round, and when it was over, he raised his arms skyward to the delight of the crowd, perhaps believing he’d done enough.
Harper also competed again, but only homered only eight times in the 20-swing first round, one of four who failed to make the cut.
Schwarber defeated Contreras by one homer with nine in his semifinal, while Walker made easy work of Caminero in the other.
In the first round, Contreras and Walker each clubbed 13 homers, while Caminero had 12 and Schwarber hit 10 to round out the top four.
Chicago White Sox rookie Munetaka Murakami (nine), the Kansas City Royals’ Jac Caglianone (eight) and the New York Yankees’ Ben Rice (seven) joined Harper among those eliminated in the first round.
Schwarber needed a late surge in the first round to qualify for the latter stages, but was in his element once he got there.
With three swings to go in his semifinal against Contreras, he raised an arm to implore the crowd for more noise, then clubbed his eighth and ninth homers. Those fans then cheered every Contreras miss, eventually roaring approval when he fell one short of forcing a tiebreaker.
Caminero had the evening’s longest home run at 491 feet in his semifinal. And while Caglianone did not move on, he became the first hitter to touch the third deck in right field since Phillies legend Ryan Howard did it on a 2009 grand slam.
In the city of Rocky Balboa, Joe Frazier and Bernard Hopkins, Philadelphia leaned into its combative spirit from the start.
Famous boxing master of ceremonies Michael Buffer introduced the eight contestants, who strode into a makeshift ring at second base, as the crowd booed everyone but their hometown heroes.
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
Sports
Golf Glance: The Open returns to Royal Birkdale; Critical points at stake in Puntacana
Scottie Scheffler during a practice round at Royal Birkdale on July 14, 2026. The Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale for the first time since 2017, while critical FedExCup points are on the line in the Dominican Republic as the regular season winds down.
PGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: The 154th Open Championship, Southport, England, July 16-19
Course: Royal Birkdale Golf Club (Par 70, 7,223 Yards)
Purse: $17.75M (Winner: $3.2M)
Defending Champion: Scottie Scheffler
FedEx Cup Leader: Scheffler
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 1:30-4 a.m. (NBC Sports Network/Peacock); 4 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (USA); Saturday: 5-7 a.m. (USA), 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC/Peacock); Sunday: 4-7 a.m. (USA), 7 a.m.-2 p.m. (NBC/Peacock)
Streaming: TheOpen.com/watch
X: @TheOpen
NOTES: Only four weeks remain before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs. … The Open returns to Royal Birkdale for the 11th time, and first since 2017, when it was won by Jordan Spieth. There are 41 players in this week’s field who also competed in 2017. … The field includes all players in the top 50 of the Official World Golf Ranking and each of the top 30 in the FedExCup standings. … An American has won each of the past three Open Championships: Scheffler, Xander Schauffele (2024), Brian Harman (2023). Each of the past 12 champions won the event for the first time. … Tom Kim seeks to become the first player since Rory McIlroy in 2014 to win a major the week after winning on the PGA Tour. … Adam Scott will make his 101st consecutive start in a major, dating back to the 2001 Open Championship. … Scheffler is attempting to become the first player since Padraig Harrington in 2008 to successfully defend at The Open. … Justin Rose finished fourth at Royal Birkdale as an amateur in 1998. He has finished T3-T10-T11 at the year’s first three majors.
BEST BETS: Scheffler (+650 at DraftKings) is coming off his first missed cut in four years and hasn’t won since the AmEx but did win by four shots last year. … Rory McIlroy (+840) finished T4 at Royal Birkdale in 2017, one of eight top-10 finishes in 16 starts in the event. … Matt Fitzpatrick (+1800) finished T4 last year and already has a trio of victories in 2026. … Tommy Fleetwood (+1900) is a Southport, England native seeking to become the first English winner of The Open since Sir Nick Faldo in 1992. … Jon Rahm (+1950) finished T2 in 2023 and has two LIV Golf wins this year. However, he followed a MC at the U.S. Open with a T36 last week. … Chris Gotterup (+2900) won his third title of the year before a T11 in his defense at the Scottish Open. … 2021 champion Collin Morikawa (+3300) is coming off a solo third at the Travelers. … Wyndham Clark (+3900) has a pair of wins and has not finished worse than T13 in his past six starts.
PGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: Corales Puntacana Championship, Puntacana, Dominican Republic, July 16-19
Course: Puntacana Resort, Corales Golf Course (Par 72, 7,670 Yards)
Purse: $4M (Winner: $720,000)
Defending Champion: Garrick Higgo
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 12:30-3:30 p.m. ET; Saturday: Noon-3 p.m.; Sunday: 4-6 p.m. (Golf Channel)
X: @PGATour
NOTES: This is the ninth playing of the PGA Tour’s first and only event in the Dominican Republic. It has been co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour since 2022, and moved to July from April this year. … The winner will receive 300 FedExCup points and a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour if not already exempt. … Higgo won by a single shot over five runners-up last year. One of them was Joel Dahmen, who bogeyed his final three holes, including a missed one-foot putt, to finish T2 after leading after each of the first three rounds.
Last Tournament: Genesis Scottish Open (Tom Kim); ISCO Championship (Steven Fisk)
Next Tournament: 3M Open, Blaine, Minn., July 23-26
LPGA TOUR
THIS WEEK: OFF
Race to CME Globe Leader: Nelly Korda
Last Tournament: Evian Championship (Haeran Ryu)
Next Tournament: Women’s Scottish Open, North Ayrshire, Scotland, July 23-26
LIV GOLF
THIS WEEK: OFF
2026 Season Leaders: Individual: Jon Rahm; Team: 4Aces GC
Last Event: LIV Golf Andalucia (Individual: Tyrrell Hatton; Team: Legion XIII)
Next Event: LIV Golf United Kingdom, July 23-26
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
THIS WEEK: OFF
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink
Last Tournament: Kaulig Companies Championship (Zach Johnson)
Next Tournament: Senior Open, Auchterarder, Scotland, July 23-26
DP WORLD TOUR
THIS WEEK: The 154th Open Championship, Southport, England, July 16-19
Race to Dubai Leader: Patrick Reed
Last Tournament: BMW International Open (David Puig)
Next Tournament: Danish Golf Championship, Funen, Denmark, Aug. 13-16
–Field Level Media
Sports
Manfred disputes MLBPA's notion that CBA ads are 'perverse'
Oct 27, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred before game three of the 2025 MLB World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images While Major League Baseball celebrates with the 96th annual All-Star Game in Philadelphia on Tuesday, storm clouds continue to gather regarding whether the 97th edition will take place in 2027.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB Players Association interim executive director Bruce Meyer spoke separately with the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and shared divergent views on the immediate future of the sport.
The current labor agreement between the league and its players expires on Dec. 1, 2026.
Both Meyer and Manfred lauded the current product on the field, but for different reasons.
Meyer accused MLB of putting out extremely negative messaging about the game’s future. He cited its complaints about the need for a hard salary cap, restrictions on amateur entries into the sport and limitations on free-agent agreements.
“The supposed stewards of the game have spent an inordinate amount of time trying to convince fans that they don’t have hope, that they shouldn’t have hope, or that the product that they’re paying to consume in record numbers is somehow broken,” Meyer said. “I think it’s perverse.”
Manfred countered by claiming that the fans are responding positively to recent changes such as the pitch clock and the automatic ball-strike (ABS) system. Attendance and viewing have risen, and the commissioner is claiming that fan input is driving the league’s proposals to the union.
“Momentum in the game is a great thing. We got that momentum by listening to our fans. And the best way to lose momentum is to stand still,” Manfred said.
“We’re doing exactly the same thing that we did with the rule changes. And what fans in a number of our markets are telling us, better half of them, is that there’s a lack of competitive balance in the game. Everything we’ve proposed is focused on addressing that fan concern.”
Meyer, who replaced Tony Clark in February, was steadfast regarding the union’s stance against a salary cap.
“All my years of experience in this tells me that these systems are really, really bad for players — now and in the future,” Meyer said. “The history in those (cap) systems, every one, it’s gotten worse (for players). Once they get into it, they never get out of it. And the history in every one of the other sports is that once the players get in, the owners will lock them out repeatedly until they get the player share further down. In football, players started at 64% (of revenue). Now, it’s 48%. Basketball and hockey were at 57%. Now, they’re at 50%.”
Manfred countered with the ineffectiveness of revenue sharing and luxury taxes to allay payroll disparity and bring more competitive balance to the field.
“I believe that in order for this game to reach its full potential, we need to continue to address the concerns our fans have, particularly the concerns that go to the core of what we’re about, which is competitive balance,” Manfred said. “It defies human experience to ask a fan to think that the bottom end of that (payroll) gap has the same opportunity to win as the top.”
Both leaders did add, however, that a deal will eventually be struck.
“We will do a deal eventually. We’re still in the early stages, and I remain hopeful and optimistic that we will get there sooner rather than later,” Meyer said.
“I am still an optimist when it comes to collective bargaining,” Manfred said. “I truly believe that if people engage in the process, you find ways to do things.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Biggest NFL Free Agents Still Available Ahead of 2026 Training Camps
Sep 18, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills in the fourth quarter at Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images With training camps across the NFL getting underway over the next few weeks, something interesting is happening.
There are a lot of high profile, big-named free agents in the NFL yet to be signed.
Sure, every season the NFL has several veterans that will wait it out to sign new contracts. It’s an easy excuse for long-tenured players who don’t necessarily want to or need to participate in voluntary OTAs or veteran minicamps. Just wait to sign the contract, and you don’t have to worry about anything other than enjoying your offseason.
For example, for years, Jadeveon Clowney waits until late into the summer to sign with a new team. He’s currently a free agent, but so are an unusual number of high-profile NFL players.
Maybe we get a super late free agency wave. It’s happened before. But it’ll be really interesting to see where these names eventually wind up.
Tyreek Hill, WR
The NFL is treating Tyreek Hill like his better days are behind him.
The 32-year-old suffered a devastating dislocated knee and multiple torn ligaments (including his ACL, MCL, PCL, and meniscus) during Week 4 of the 2025 season. There’s some doubt if he’ll even play this season.
Even though Hill has had his own share of off the field drama, he had 1,799 receiving yards just two seasons ago. In 2024, he was just 41 yards shy of eclipsing 1,000 receiving yards.
Stefon Diggs, WR
Even though he’s no longer a top-flight receiver, Diggs eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards and helped lead the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl last season.
In a recent video uploaded to his YouTube channel, Diggs claimed there isn’t a single No. 2 wide receiver better than him in the entire NFL. Even though that might be a reach, and he’s had some off the field headlines this offseason, he definitely deserves to be on a roster and has a bit of juice left.
Joey Bosa, EDGE
Jan 30, 2025; Orlando, FL, USA; AFC linebacker Joey Bosa of the Los Angeles Chargers during the Pro Bowl Skills Challenge at Nicholson Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Once one of the most dominant pass rushers in football, Bosa is another player over 30 who is getting overlooked.
He’s not the player he once was, and is perhaps holding out to try and cash in on what once was, but he had 29 tackles and five sacks in 15 games last year with the Buffalo Bills and a career-high five forced fumbles.
Deebo Samuel, WR
Once one of the NFL’s best players, Samuel feels forgotten after moving on from Kyle Shanahan’s unique role for him with the San Francisco 49ers.
Last year with the Washington Commanders, Samuel caught 72 passes for 727 yards and five touchdowns. He rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown, also.
Taylor Decker, LT
Detroit Lions offensive tackle Taylor Decker (68) takes the field during introduction before the between Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers at Ford Field in Detroit on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023. It was a big surprise when the Detroit Lions released their longtime left tackle in Decker. He spent 10 years with the Lions and made his first Pro Bowl appearance in 2024 – not too long ago.
At 32, it’s safe to say Decker’s better days are behind him, but he’d be a good veteran somewhere.
Mekhi Becton, iOL
This one is a bit strange, as Becton is still just 27 and was a former first-round draft pick.
After transitioning from tackle to guard, Becton was able to revive his career. He started 14 games for the Los Angeles Chargers last year and would be a viable depth option or spot starter elsewhere next season.
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