In today’s SportSense Entertainment Newsletter…

There were plenty of predictions to go around yesterday across the MLB, with our model focusing in on one of those predictions and making it a 3-star play. That prediction went 1-0 overall, and you can see how the rest of the model performed below.

Money Line Predictions: 6-5

Over/Under Predictions: 5-5-1

Run Line Predictions: 6-5

3-star Predictions: 1-0

🤔 Is Isaiah Thomas making an NBA comeback? Isaiah Thomas is reportedly tossing his hat in the ring for an NBA comeback, with his good friend Jamal Crawford reporting that the free agent guard has a private workout set up in Las Vegas on Monday. The 34-year-old and two-time All-Star most recently played for the Charlotte Hornets in 2022, and has played for an additional nine teams across 11 NBA seasons. Thomas joins John Wall and Dion Waiters as guards who have participated in workouts the last few days, showing that there is some interest in bringing veteran experience onto multiple NBA rosters.

💪 Victor Wembanyama bounces back in Game 2 of Summer League. Victor Wembanyama came up short of expectations in his Summer League debut on Friday night, scoring just nine points. However, the French phenom silenced any doubt that may have surfaced after that performance with a stellar game on Sunday, putting up 27 points, 12 rebounds, and three blocks in the Spurs’ loss to the Trail Blazers. Wemby also shot 64.2% overall and 50% from behind the arc, showing that his size and versatility are going to cause problems for many years to come.

🔒 Dillon Brooks speaks highly of his defense in Q&A. You can always count on Dillon Brooks to fill in some space when the NBA headlines start to get slow. In a Q&A with The Athletic’s Kelly Iko, Brooks stated that he is “in opposing players heads every game”, further saying that his defense is a factor that other teams have to pay attention to. To be honest, the former Memphis Grizzlies forward has a point. Brooks was named to the All-Defensive second team at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season, a big reason why he landed a four-year, $86 million deal with the Rockets via sign-and-trade with the Grizzlies.

🔄 Ottawa trades DeBrincat to Detroit. The Detroit Red Wings made a huge move on Sunday, trading for Ottawa Senators winger Alex DeBrincat. Detroit then immediately signed DeBrincat to a four-year extension, one that reportedly carries an average annual value of $7.875 million. In return, the Senators received forward Dominik Kubalik, defenseman Donovan Sebrango, and a conditional first-round pick and fourth-round pick in 2024. DeBrincat landed in Ottawa following a trade from the Blackhawks at the 2022 draft, and just one season after tallying 66 points is heading to another city.

✍️ Canucks sign Nils Hoglander to two-year deal. The Vancouver Canucks and Nils Hoglander have reportedly come to terms on a two-year, $2.2 million contract, per the Canucks’ team Twitter account. Hoglander was selected by Vancouver with the 40th pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, tallying 13 goals and 14 assists during his rookie season. However, his numbers have not reached those levels since, part of the reason why the 22-year-old spent some time in the AHL with the Abbotsford Canucks last season, where he collected 14 goals and 18 assists in 45 appearances.

MLB All-Star weekend is officially upon us, and the highly anticipated Home Run Derby will kick things off. Here is some information regarding the event.

• Venue- T-Mobile Park (Seattle, Washington)

• Date- Monday, July 10, 2023

• Time- 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT)

• Weather- 70 degrees, partly cloudy, winds SSW @ 7 mph

Derby Format

• The 2023 Home Run Derby is a single-elimination bracket system with three rounds of matchups. The better seed will hit second in each matchup.

• Batters will have three minutes to hit as many home runs as possible in Round 1 and Round 2. Once two hitters remain, each will have two minutes to hit home runs.

The Contestants

Luis Robert Jr.

If it wasn’t for Shohei Ohtani, Luis Robert Jr. would lead the American League in home runs. His performance in the first half of the season has been rather remarkable, especially since his previous career-high for home runs was just 13.

There has been a direct correlation between the amount of home runs and Robert’s consistency in terms of sizing up the baseball compared to year’s past. Baseball Savant has him listed with a 15.6% Barrel Rate in 2023, 6.7% higher than last season.

A 16.1 degree launch angle is also a huge factor, once again a significant improvement from a season ago (10.0).

Adley Rutschman

Adley Rutschman enters the Home Run derby with just 12 home runs on the season, the fewest of anyone in the field. He hit his 12th homer in yesterday’s slaughter of the Minnesota Twins, and it was a nuke too (461 feet).

Rutschman is capable of hitting some deep balls, but it doesn’t appear that his swing is prime for a home run derby. He doesn’t catch the barrel often (6.4%), and his average exit velocity comes in at just 87.8 mph.

Rutchsman is one of the most disciplined hitters we have in this league, but that doesn’t help when it comes to launching as many balls as possible over a fence in three minutes.

Pete Alonso

Pete Alonso. A.K.A ‘Ole Reliable.

Alonso is a Home Run Derby legend. He won the event in 2019 and 2021, and it took 31 home runs from Julio Rodriguez last season to prevent the Polar Bear from getting the opportunity to three-peat.

Despite his 26 homers, Alonso has seen some regression in important areas. His launch angle is down to 15.7 degrees in 2023 from 18.2 in 2022, and his average exit velocity (89.3 mph) has remained relatively flat when compared to last season.

However, Alonso is catching the barrel at a great clip (15.7%), up from 12.3% a season ago. That helped him hit the furthest home run of anyone in the derby field (489 feet) this season.

Julio Rodríguez

Julio Rodríguez took the Home Run Derby by storm last season as a rookie, eventually losing in the final to Juan Soto. He will also have the hometown crowd cheering him on, so a similar performance is not out of the question.

Rodríguez’s Barrel rate is rather solid at 10.0%, but he is far more impressive in other areas. His 92.9 mph average exit velocity ranks him within the top 7% of the majors in 2023, and his 51.2% Hard Hit rate puts him in the top 8%.

Simply put, this dude clobbers baseballs.

However, his 9.1 degree launch angle is a small concern. He hits a lot of line drives, a big reason why he has one of the lowest home run totals of anyone in the field. His swing path isn’t exactly made for a Home Run Derby, but that was also the case last year and look what happened.

Mookie Betts

Mookie Betts is tied with Alonso and Robert for home runs this season, yet he is nowhere close to having the same odds to win the event.

He does have a bit of a tough path to the finals, having to defeat Vlad Jr. and then the winner of Alonso/Rodriguez. However, the odds make him hard to ignore.

This guy is doing everything right at the plate this season. His Barrel rate sits at 12.8%, up from 9.7% a season ago. His average exit velocity (92.5 mph) is up from 90.5 mph a year ago, and his hard Hit rate (49.6%) is up from 44.9% a season ago.

In addition, his launch angle comes in at 19.7 degrees. That’s the highest of anyone in the field by a mile.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladdy Jr. may only have 13 home runs to his name, but his power makes him an instant threat to win it all.

His Hard Hit Rate comes in 56.5%, putting him in the top 2% of the MLB. His 94.5 mph average exit velocity ranks him just as high. He is absolutely crushing balls this season.

His poor launch angle (9.5 degrees) shows why he hasn’t gotten the ball over the fence much. However, the last time he was in the derby (2019) his launch angle was 6.7 degrees. He finished as the runner-up that year.

Adolis García

Texas Rangers slugger Adolis García has the chance to make some noise on Monday night.

The 30-year-old is knocking the leather off baseball’s this year. His Barrel rate comes in at an incredible 16.2%, putting him in the top 6% of the majors. That combined with an average exit velocity of 92.3 mph and 15.5 degree launch angle make hitting home runs rather easy.

This dude has the swing to make things happen, and his path on this side of the bracket is much easier than anyone on the other side.

Randy Arozarena

Randy Arozarena is very similar to García. His average exit velocity comes in at 92.7 mph, and his Barrel rate sits at 14.8%.

The difference in this matchup, and thus the season home run variance, is the launch angle. Arozarena’s sits at 12.1 degrees, ranking him fifth in the field.

Ordinarily, Arozarena could be a steal at odds that nearly touch +1000, but he gets a tough draw with García.

What’s the Play?

We are going to go with two plays here, each for half a unit.

The first is Mookie Betts. His 5-foot-9 frame isn’t exactly the prototypical build for a heavy home run hitter, but his 19.7 degree launch angle and 92.5 mph average exit velocity prove why he is in this event. This guy is a slugger, and the long odds of +1000 provide great value despite a difficult path.

The next is Adolis García. He is one of the most powerful guys in this field, so much so that his highest exit velocity this season came in at 115.1 mph. His 15.5 degree launch angle is excellent as well.

Hitters tend to change their swings during the home run derby, so a metric like launch angle may not mean much. However, both of these guys have the right swing path and amount of power needed to win this event.

We’ll attack both sides of the bracket here with Betts and García.

The Plays- Mookie Betts (+1000), Adolis García (+650)

🐯 Two LSU Tigers get selected first and second overall in the MLB Draft. The LSU Tigers won the College World Series a short time ago, and it appears that many MLB teams want to get their hands on that talented roster. The Pittsburgh Pirates got things going by selecting LSU ace Paul Skenes with the first overall pick in last night’s draft, which was followed by the Nationals taking LSU outfielder Dylan Crews second overall. It was the first time that college teammates were taken with the first two picks in the draft, and both Pittsburgh and Washington hope that the young guns can be the catalyst’s that turn their respective franchise’s around.

🧹 Orioles sweep Twins in Minnesota, enter All-Star break on five-game win streak. The Baltimore Orioles had everything clicking at the plate on Sunday, piling on 15 runs in yet another dominant win over the Minnesota Twins. Baltimore went down 1-0 after the first inning, but immediately responded with one run in the second before piling on 13 runs in the fifth and sixth innings to blow the game open. The win was the fifth in a row for the O’s, a stretch in which Baltimore outscored their opponents 44-9 in an effort to close the gap in the highly competitive AL East.

🙌 Rays snap seven-game losing skid with win over Braves. The Tampa Bay Rays were the best team in baseball for a majority of the last few months, but a seven-game losing streak that began on July 1st allowed many teams to close the gap in the standings. However, the Rays got back in the win column with a 10-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, providing a positive boost heading into the All-Star break. Zach Eflin led the way on the mound, allowing just two runs on four hits in 5.0 innings, and Yandy Díaz provided a spark at the plate with three hits, one of which was a home run, and four RBIs. Tampa Bay now enters the break with a 58-35 record and a two-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East.

🏆 Sepp Straka wins John Deere Classic despite rough start. Austrian golfer Sepp Straka pulled off an improbable comeback to win the John Deere Classic by two strokes on Sunday. Things weren’t going the former Georgia Bulldog’s way to begin the tournament, with Straka shooting 2-over par on Thursday. However, he would go on to shoot 23-under par across the final three rounds to secure his second career PGA Tour victory. He tallied nine birdies and one eagle on the first 14 holes on Saturday afternoon, putting him within striking distance of the elusive sub-60 round. He would go on to sink three pars and one double bogey on the final four holes to put that dream out of reach, but we’re sure he’s fine with just taking home the $1.332 million grand prize.

💪 Javonte Williams close to returning after tearing ACL in 2022. Denver Broncos running back Javonte Williams missed the majority of the 2022 season after tearing his ACL and LCL, but it appears the 23-year-old is close to full strength. Per Jeff Legwood of ESPN, Williams said that he hopes to be medically cleared for training camp, putting the running back on track to make his return in Week 1. Williams was selected in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of North Carolina, and averaged 4.3 yards per carry through four weeks last season.

🏎 Max Verstappen wins British Grand Prix. Max Verstappen has dominated the F1 circuit all season long, and that dominance continued with yet another victory at the British Grand Prix on Sunday. The win was Verstappen’s sixth straight victory, and it marked the first time in his career that he won the British Grand Prix. Verstappen also gave Red Bull it’s 11th straight victory, tying McLaren’s record.

Today’s trivia requires you to dig into multiple pockets of your brain, testing your knowledge of recent events as well as those that happened decades ago.

See how many of the below questions you can get correct. Answers are provided at the end of the newsletter.

Question #1- The 2019 Home Run Derby was a special one, seeing one player set the record for most home runs in a single derby. Who was that player?

Question #2- Brett Favre is best known for his time with the Green Bay Packers, but the Hall of Fame quarterback actually began his NFL career with another franchise. What team did Favre play for in his rookie year?

Question #3- The Miami Heat have had several all-time greats wear the franchise’s uniform, but one player stands out amongst the rest when it comes to scoring the basketball. Who is the Heat’s all-time leading scorer?

Anyone know what has happened on July 10th throughout history? We didn’t have a clue either, but it appears that it has been a busy day.

On July 10th…

1936- Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Chuck Klein becomes the fourth player in MLB history to hit four home runs in a single game. Klein’s performance came in a 9-6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the four homers pushed his season total to 14. Klein, who is a one-time NL MVP, played for the Phillies three different times in his career, with his first stint lasting from 1928-1933, second lasting from 1936-1939, and third lasting from 1940-1944. He would play for the Cubs and Pirates in between.

2016- Andy Murray defeats Milos Raonic to win his second Wimbledon and third Grand Slam title. Murray was born in Glagow, Scotland in 1987, essentially playing tennis his whole life before turning pro in 2005 at the age of 18. Murray’s presence was immediately felt in the tennis world, resulting in the star being ranked in the top 10 for all but one month from July 2008 through October 2017. Murray’s most recent appearance came at Wimbledon last week, defeating Ryan Peniston in Round 1 but losing to Stefanos Tsitsias in Round 2.

2018- Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo joins Italian champions Juventus in a deal that made the star one of the four most expensive players of all time. The move was also the most expensive transfer for an Italian club and for any player over 30 years old. Ronaldo played for the club until 2021, becoming the first player to finish as the top scorer in the English, Spanish, and Italian leagues. He would return to Machester United, where played from 2003-2009, for one season in 2021-22, and most recently signed with Al Nassr in 2023.

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1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

2. Atlanta Falcons

3. Dwyane Wade