Ten things to know from what happened in the world of sport. July 13-19. NBA Finals, X-Games, Morikawa, F1 crash controversy...
  1. Bucks’ Comeback. The Milwaukee Bucks achieved a great comeback in the NBA Finals. After the Phoenix Suns won the first two games, Bucks came back to win the other four and be crowned NBA Champions (July 20th). Giannis Antetokounmpo (GRC) was named ‘Most Valuable Player’ of the season for a second time. He was key in the Championship with 13 ’30-pointer’ games in the playoffs.
  2. Morikawa wins The Open. As we have said other times, Collin Morikawa (USA) doesn’t always win but when he does it is usually a big tournament. After winning the 2020 PGA Championship, he now won his second Major, in just his very first Open Championship participation, held at Royal St George’s Golf Club, England. The 24 year-old became the first golfer to win two Majors in his debut. He beat Jordan Spieth (USA) by two.
  3. Chapeau, Pogačar! Tadej Pogačar (SVN) won the Tour de France for a second time in a row. This time he was very dominant: he beat Jonas Vingegaard (DNK) by over 5 minutes. He also won the Mountain and the Young Riders Classifications.
  4. F1 crash controversy. Lewis Hamilton (ENG) won his 8th British Grand Prix, which matches the record of most wins at a single event (he has one of the other two records) but not without controversy. Max Verstappen (NED, Red Bull) won the first ever qualifying sprint -a short race- and was leading the race when Hamilton attempted a bold pass in the inside of the fast Combes Corner, which ended with Verstappen on the wall. Hamilton received a 10-second penalty but was able to come back and pass Charles Leclerc (MCO, Ferrari) for the win with two laps to go. Valtteri Bottas (FIN, Mercedes) was third. Verstappen and Red Bull are still Championship leaders.
  5. X Games moments. There were very meaningful moments in this years X Games, which were held in backyards and a training center. Probably the most special was the Skateboard Vert Best Trick, where legend Tony Hawk (USA) came back to compete for the first time since 2013. Hawk, the first person to land a 900°. He witnessed 12 year-old Gui Khury (BRA) fall down six times before a successful seventh and last try at landing the first-ever fakie 1080° mute landed in the X Games. Another Brazilian, Leticia Bufoni, won her fifth gold in Women’s Skateboard Street, a record. Jimmy Wilkins (USA) won his third straight gold medal in Skateboard Vert. Mike Varga (CAN) won the BMX Park Best Trick with a 1260°, the first one landed in competition. Another young gold medal winner was Sky Brown (ENG), who took the honors in Women’s Skateboard Park at just 13 years of age. Colby Raha (USA) won the Moto X QuarterPipe High Air with a record height of 40’9″.
  6. …And more X Games records. Garrett Reynolds (USA) won the X Games’ BMX Street for a fourth consecutive time. This is his 14th X-Games gold medal. This medal puts him joint second for most X-Games gold medals of all time in any sport and joint first in Summer X-Games. He is also the winningest BMX Street rider of all time at the event. Rob Adelberg (AUS) won X-Games Moto X Best Trick with no-handed frontflip, which gave him a 5th X-Games gold medal and 14th medal overall. He also won bronze in the Freestyle competition earlier in the day.
  7. A duel for the ages. Hakuhō Shō (JPN) continued to increase his legacy as the greatest sumo wrestler of all time in a match for the ages at the Grand Sumo Tournament in Nagoya (Emperor’s Cup). Hakuho has overcome an injury and did not expect to be in contention to win. He and Terunofuji (JPN) – who has been the force to beat this season- squared off with a 14-0 record and Hakuho won in a very good match. This win is his 45th Emperor’s Cup and is his 16th perfect championship, both all-time records.
  8. No undisputed Champion. Jermell Castaño (USA) and Brian Castaño (ARG) did not unify Boxing’s male Super Welterweight, as they came to a draw after 12 rounds. Castaño dominated the earlier part of the fight and won for several experts but it was not an outright robbery. They are likely going to fight someone else before a rematch, if they are successful in their next bouts.
  9. The Lions slept. The British & Irish Lions rugby union team -which plays every four years- was surprised by the South Africa ‘A’ team, composed of younger players that are not in the main South African team. The score was 17-13. They have won their other four matches in South Africa by an ample margin. They play the main team from South Africa on July 24.
  10. Home Run Derby redemption. Pete Alonso (USA) repeated his 2020 Home Run Derby win by Trey Mancini (USA) with 23 homers. Star Shohei Ohtani (JPN) lost in Quarter-Finals but then went on to be the winning pitcher of the All-Star Game, where he was also the American League’s designated hitter.