1st Down: The Boston Celtics are surprise contenders in the race to land Kevin Durant. The latest sources indicate that the C’s have spoken to the Brooklyn Nets about a move for the big man, with Jaylen Brown, coming off his first All-Star appearance, being a part of a potential deal. It is being reported that Jayson Tatum is considered a no-go for Brooklyn, but they are willing, it would appear, to move a lot of pieces in order to land the 12 time All-Star. It has been nearly a month since Durant’s request to be traded, so watch this space: there is bound to be more news soon.
2nd Down: Chase Elliott didn’t know he would have a chance to go to victory lane late in the day on Sunday at Pocono when he narrowly avoided a huge crash. He was fighting for a top-five spot then, and he would come across the line and see the checkered flag in third. However, thanks to disqualifications on both Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, the #9 was awarded the win by NASCAR. Busch had led the most laps and Hamlin had won his seventh race at the track, but instead it was Elliott, who didn’t lead a lap all day, that got his fourth Cup ‘W’ of the season. This is the first time in the ‘modern era’ that a win has been stripped, so it is a pretty big deal and precedent to be set.
3rd Down: Tony Finau had to wait quite a while to get a win on the PGA Tour. On Sunday, he collected his second win in less than a year by taking the 3M Open following a comeback. Scott Piercy led big going into the final round, but he faltered, allowing a final-round 67 from Finau to launch him to his third PGA Tour win by three strokes over Emiliano Grillo and Im Sung-Jae. Finau had been the betting favorite coming into the week, so he ended up showing someone was right in their thinking.
4th Down: Jonas Vingegaard officially won the Tour de France on Sunday, doing so after the customary ride around Paris to complete a long, arduous journey that lasted three weeks. Vingegaard had a lead of over 3 minutes heading into the final stage, and he would hold that advantage as he finished the stage with the peloton to hold off Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas, both former winners. The Dane was second to Pogacar last year, but this year he took the top step from him, completing an amazing rise from obscurity.
