Howdy, I’m your host, Houston Mitchell. Let’s get right to the news.
From Chuck Schilken: Paul George didn’t want to leave Los Angeles. And the Clippers wanted to keep him here for life.
That’s all according to George, who relayed the information while wearing his new Philadelphia 76ers No. 8 jersey.
In Monday’s episode of “Podcast P with Paul George,” the nine-time All-Star revealed details from the failed contract negotiations that led to him leaving the Clippers after five seasons and signing a four-year, $212-million contract with Philadelphia last week.
He prefaced it all by saying there were “no hard feelings” toward the organization.
“Just to put it out there, I never wanted to leave L.A. Initially, I was not trying to leave L.A.,” said George, who grew up in Palmdale. “L.A. is home. This is where I wanted to finish at. I wanted to work as hard as possible to win one in L.A., like that was the goal, to be here and be committed to L.A.”
George’s most recent contract with the Clippers included a player option for the final year, which would have paid him $48.7 million for the 2024-25 season. Last fall, George said, the Clippers approached him with an extension offer for two years and $60 million, which the veteran player thought was “kind of disrespectful.”
“I’m like, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa. That’s crazy,’” George said. “So I’m like, ‘Naw, I’m not signing that.’”
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‘It ain’t really my thing’: Which Team USA members can spin a ball on their fingers?
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DODGERS
From Dylan Hernández: Everyone knows how this will play out — the way it plays out every year.
As the postseason approaches, the whispers will increase in volume. Eventually, they will become the story and all anyone will talk about is how Dave Roberts will be fired if the Dodgers don’t win the World Series.
The intensity of this speculation varies from season to season, depending on how much time Roberts has left on his contract.
In this case, Roberts has one year after this season. The conversations about his future will be louder than usual.
Which is a load of nonsense.
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Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández hopes to add Home Run Derby to his bounce-back season
Ex-Dodger Raúl Mondesi free after serving 7 years under house arrest for embezzling millions
ANGELS
Corey Seager extended his hitting streak to 13 games with a 457-foot, two-run homer, Nathaniel Lowe had three hits and the Texas Rangers’ offense remained hot in a 9-4 victory over the Angels on Monday night at Angel Stadium.
Wyatt Langford also went deep as the Rangers had 12 hits to extend their winning streak to four games. The defending World Series champions tied a season high Sunday with 19 hits in a 13-2 victory over Tampa Bay.
Texas trailed 3-2 before breaking it open with a five-run fourth inning, including an RBI single by Lowe that gave the Rangers the lead.
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Anthony Rendon was activated from the 10-day injured list and hit leadoff Monday night for the Angels, going one for four with an RBI.
“Long time coming. Ready to keep on going and finish the second half strong,” Rendon said before the game.
Rendon missed 68 games after he strained his left hamstring while running out an infield hit during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds on April 20.
He remained in Southern California last week while the Angels were on a six-game trip and faced live pitching Friday and Saturday at Angel Stadium.
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OLYMPICS IN L.A.
From David Wharton: How long until the start of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles? Casey Wasserman responds immediately — “1,487 days” — no need to think it over.
“It’s on my phone,” he says. “And I look at it every morning.”
As chairman of the private group in charge of staging the Games, Wasserman also knows there is much to do before then. He muses: “We can’t buy more time.”
The clock is very much ticking for LA28, which will reach a critical juncture next month. Gone is the initial blush of being named host. Gone are the years of brainstorming over how to give the Olympics a distinctly Southern California feel.
If every local organizing committee has three lives — bidding, planning, delivery — now comes the third and most-difficult one. As soon as the 2024 Paris Olympics conclude in mid-August, L.A. will be next up, meaning organizers must get serious about meeting deadlines, sticking to budget and making tough choices.
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OLYMPIC SOCCER
From Kevin Baxter: The U.S. will return to the men’s Olympic soccer tournament later this month with a roster featuring eight players off European clubs and 10 from MLS, making it the most international Olympic roster in U.S. history.
The U.S. will open against host France in Marseille on July 24, two days before the opening ceremonies. The U.S. will also face New Zealand and Guinea in group play, needing to finish in the top two to advance to the quarterfinals for just the second time since 1956.
Because the Olympics are an age-group tournament in men’s soccer, the 18-man roster was limited to players born on or after Jan. 1, 2001, with three overage exceptions. In addition, club teams are not required to release players to compete in age-group events, so players including Joe Scally, Gio Reyna, Johnny Cardoso, Yunus Musah, Malik Tillman, Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun, who were all on the U.S. team that bowed out of the Copa América last week, were not available for selection.
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THIS DATE IN SPORTS
1922 — Johnny Weissmuller is the first to swim the 100-meter freestyle under 1 minute as he breaks Duke Kahanamoku’s world record with a time of 58.6 seconds.
1932 — The NFL awards a franchise to Boston under the ownership of George Preston Marshall, Vincent Bendix, Jay O’Brien, and Dorland Doyle. The Boston Braves will change their nickname to Redskins in 1933 and move to Washington after the 1936 season.
1966 — Jack Nicklaus wins the British Open with a 282 at Muirfield to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player as the only men to win the four majors.
1968 — Wilt Chamberlain becomes the first reigning NBA MVP to be traded the next season when he moves from Philadelphia 76’ers to the Lakers.
1989 — Boris Becker and Steffi Graf claim a West German sweep of the Wimbledon singles crowns in the first double finals day in 16 years. Becker wins his third Wimbledon title in five years, rolling past defending champion Stefan Edberg 6-0, 7-6 (1), 6-4, while Graf takes her second straight championship over Martina Navratilova 6-2, 6-7 (1), 6-1.
1995 — Pete Sampras becomes the first American to win Wimbledon three straight years by beating Boris Becker 6-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2.
2000 — Pete Sampras passes Roy Emerson for the most Grand Slam championships and ties Willie Renshaw, a player in the 1880s, for the most Wimbledon titles with a four-set victory over Pat Rafter. Sampras, winner of seven Wimbledon titles, 13 Grand Slam championships, extends his mark at Wimbledon to 53-1 over the past eight years.
2001 — Goran Ivanisevic becomes one of Wimbledon’s most improbable champions, beating Patrick Rafter. Two points away from defeat, Ivanisevic rallies to beat Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 and becomes the second player to win a Wimbledon singles title without being seeded.
2006 — Roger Federer ends a five-match losing streak to Rafael Nadal, winning 6-0, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (2), 6-3 to earn his fourth straight Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam championship. Nadal had beaten Federer in four finals this year.
2006 — Italy wins its fourth World Cup title winning the shootout 5-3 against France, after a 1-1 draw. Outplayed for an hour and into extra time, the Italians win it after French captain Zinedine Zidane is ejected in the 107th for a vicious butt to the chest of Marco Materazzi.
2011 — Derek Jeter homers for his 3,000th hit, making him the first player to reach the mark with the New York Yankees.
2016 — Serena Williams wins her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title by beating Angelique Kerber 7-5, 6-3 in the Wimbledon final. Williams pulls even with Steffi Graf for the most major championships in the Open era, which began in 1968. This is Williams’ seventh singles trophy at the All England Club.