Sports Roundup: Momentum Builds as Summer Competition Heats Up
From Kansas City and St. Louis to the soccer pitches of Europe and championship stages around the world, teams and athletes are finding momentum as the summer sports calendar pushes forward.
Kansas City Current Keep Adding Points
The Kansas City Current continued its recent stretch of points-over-wins with a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dash on the road. It's the Current's second straight draw, and while five-goal explosions are more fun to write about, stacking points on the road in a tough Western Conference is nothing to complain about. Kansas City will look to turn some of these draws back into wins as the season moves toward its stretch run.
Manchester City and Barcelona Wrap Up Preseason Preparations
Manchester City closed out their preseason tour of Asia with back-to-back 3-1 wins, first over the K-League All-Stars of South Korea and then over Spanish powerhouse Atlético Madrid.
It was exactly the kind of finish Enzo Maresca was looking for after his managerial debut ended in a 3-1 penalty shootout loss to Italian giant Inter Milan. City and Inter had played to a 1-1 draw in regulation before Inter came out on top from the spot. Bouncing back with two straight wins to close the tour is a nice confidence boost as Maresca continues settling into life at the Etihad.
City also kicked off preseason on the women's side, playing to a 1-1 draw with Italian side Fiorentina. It was a solid opening test for the reigning WSL and FA Cup champions, and a tougher one is already on the horizon. City's final preseason friendly will be a massive one, as they welcome Barcelona, winners of this year's Women's Champions League, to the Etihad Campus.
Barcelona's preseason on the men's side has been an eventful one. They were beaten in a penalty shootout by English side Birmingham City after playing to a 2-2 draw in normal time.
Barça also took part in the inaugural Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup, a unique preseason tournament in Udine, Italy, that pits three teams against each other across three 45-minute matches rather than the usual two-team, 90-minute format. In their two matches, Barcelona beat English side Nottingham Forest 1-0 before falling by the same 1-0 scoreline to Italian hosts Udinese, who claimed the inaugural title after winning both of their matches.
On the women's side, Barcelona are also opening up their preseason slate. They'll begin with a friendly against French side Montpellier before heading to Manchester to face Manchester City, as previously mentioned. They'll wrap up their preseason schedule against English side Brighton. It's a strong slate of preparation for the reigning European champions as they gear up for another title defense.
Cardinals Find Their Rhythm With Back-to-Back Series Wins
The St. Louis Cardinals have found some rhythm lately, starting with a statement series against the New York Yankees, the most storied franchise in baseball.
St. Louis took the opener 13-7 in an offensive showcase before dropping Game 2 by a 2-0 score. The Cardinals bounced back to close out the series the right way, winning Game 3 by a final of 3-1. Taking two of three from a club like the Yankees is the kind of series that can carry momentum into the next stretch of the schedule.
That momentum carried the Cardinals home to host the Colorado Rockies. St. Louis opened with a 3-2 win before Colorado answered with an 8-6 victory in Game 2. The Cardinals took the finale 7-4 to close out the series with another two-out-of-three showing.
Two series, two series wins. That's the kind of consistency the Cardinals have been chasing all season.
Hamburg Delivers Surprises at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16
It wasn't the tournament Team USA was hoping for at the Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 in Hamburg, Germany.
On the women's side, none of the American pairs made it to the podium. The gold medal instead went to Switzerland's Nina Brunner and Tanja Hüberli, who capped an impressive week with a hard-fought 21-19, 21-18 win over Latvia's Tina Graudiņa and Anastasija Samoilova in the final. It's Brunner and Hüberli's third Elite-level title together, and it came the hard way. They'd actually lost to the Latvians in pool play before turning the tables when it mattered most.
Brazil's Rebecca Cavalcanti and Carol Salgado took bronze, outlasting Italy's Valentina Gottardi and Reka Orsi Toth in a tense, nearly hour-long battle that went the distance.
The men's final delivered one of the bigger surprises of the season. Home favorites Nils Ehlers and Lui Wüst, who had to fight through qualifying just to reach the main draw, rode a wave of momentum all the way to the title. They knocked off the world's top-ranked team, Sweden's Jacob Hölting Nilsson and Elmer Andersson, in the quarterfinals, then survived a three-set battle with Latvia's Martins Plavins and Kristians Fokerots in the semifinal. In the final, Ehlers and Wüst stunned Norway's Olympic and world champions Anders Mol and Christian Sørum, taking the gold in straight sets. Plavins and Fokerots picked up the bronze after their scheduled opponents were unable to take the court.
It's a tournament German fans in Hamburg will be talking about for a while, even if it wasn't the week Team USA was looking for.
Beach Pro Tour Heads Next to Montreal
The Beach Pro Tour doesn't stay away for long. The tour heads to Montreal, Canada, for the next Elite 16 stop, running August 19-23 at Parc Jean-Drapeau.
With the reigning Hamburg champions coming off big wins and Team USA looking to bounce back from a tough week in Germany, Montreal should bring another loaded field to the sand. It's also a short turnaround for a lot of these teams, so expect some tired legs early and plenty of drama once the medal rounds arrive.
North Carolina Rolls Through the Little League Softball World Series
The Little League Softball World Series in Greenville, North Carolina delivered exactly the kind of championship run the host region was hoping for.
After Latin America's 7-2 win over Asia-Pacific, the tournament kept rolling. Southeast blew past Europe-Africa 15-0, while North Carolina survived a tight one against Southwest, 2-1. Canada topped Europe-Africa 2-1, and Northwest handled Southwest 7-3.
Mid-Atlantic put together a run of its own, cruising past New England 13-3, and Asia-Pacific edged West 1-0 before later shutting out Mid-Atlantic. Northwest kept pace with a 9-1 win over Canada, and North Carolina took down Southeast 5-2 to stay unbeaten.
Central quietly built one of the more dominant runs of the tournament, blanking Latin America 2-0, while Mid-Atlantic knocked out Latin America 4-0 in an elimination game. Southeast eliminated Northwest 5-0 to set up a bracket final against North Carolina.
By the time the bracket finals arrived, it was North Carolina and Central left standing. North Carolina blanked Southeast 4-0 to win the Orange Bracket, and Central edged Mid-Atlantic 2-1 to take the Purple Bracket, setting up a championship matchup between the two unbeaten regional powers.
North Carolina's Anna-Lynn Clark was the story of the tournament in the circle, and she delivered again in the championship. North Carolina shut out Central 2-0 to win the title, North Carolina's fourth Little League Softball World Series championship, joining previous title runs in 2015, 2019, and 2024. It's hard to find a more complete run than what this North Carolina team put together over the course of the tournament.
Team USA Closes Out the USA Softball International Cup in Style
The USA Softball International Cup wrapped up, and Team USA closed things out with a pair of statement wins.
The U.S. Elite Team took care of business against Canada, picking up a 4-0 win to finish the tournament strong. Meanwhile, the U.S. Women's National Team saved its best for last, knocking off the number one team in the world, Japan, by a score of 2-0.
Two dominant, shutout performances to close things out is about as good a way as any for Team USA to wrap up the tournament.
Ben Shelton Advances While Taylor Fritz Makes an Early Exit
The ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal is underway, and it's been a tale of two tournaments for the top Americans.
Ben Shelton opened with a straight-set win over Jenson Brooksby in the round of 64, then followed it up with another two-set victory over Belgium's Zizou Bergs to reach the round of 16. Shelton has looked sharp early, and he'll be a tough out as the tournament moves deeper into the draw.
Taylor Fritz didn't have the same luck. Fresh off a title run in Washington, Fritz ran into Argentina's Thiago Agustín Tirante in the round of 64 and was knocked out in straight sets. It's a tough turnaround for Fritz, who was playing just days after lifting a trophy, and Montreal ended up being a quick trip.
Coco Gauff Builds Momentum in Toronto
Coco Gauff has picked up right where she left off at Wimbledon, turning in a strong start to the WTA event in Toronto in her first tournament since reaching the semifinals there.
In singles, Gauff opened with a straight-set win over Kayla Day in the round of 64, then handled Maria Sakkari in straight sets to move on from the round of 32. She kept the momentum going with another straight-set win, this time over Alina Korneeva, to reach the quarterfinals.
Gauff also teamed up with fellow American Caty McNally in doubles. The pair opened with a gritty three-set win over Ekaterina Alexandrova and Gabriela Dabrowski in the round of 32. Their run came to an end in the round of 16 against the top-seeded team of Katerina Siniakova and Zhang Shuai, who advanced to the quarterfinals.
Between the singles run and the doubles push, it's been a strong week for Gauff in Toronto, and all eyes now turn to how far she can carry that momentum into the quarterfinals.