BASKETBALL

After signing Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso to their roster, the Bulls again signaled they are gearing up for a big season by agreeing to sign DeMar DeRozan (from the San Antonio Spurs) to a 3-yr $85 million.

FOOTBALL

The former quarterback for the San Diego Chargers (16 years) and Indianapolis Colts (1 year) Philip Rivers (who is now a head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama) is considering a comeback. At 39 years old, Rivers said, “I’m not quite there. I’m getting back there. I wouldn’t have made weight if I had to report last week, that’s for sure. But I am getting back into the lifting and running, and shoot, I occasionally throw a ball around out here in this heat. It’s not too hard to get a good lather going.”

In other NFL news, the first pre-season game is tonight featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Dallas Cowboys.

OLYMPICS

The U.S. men’s basketball team defeated the Australians to gain a berth in the finals and a shot at the gold (facing either France or Slovenia).

U.S. Women’s soccer overcame a disappointing loss to Canada in the semifinal and beat Australia to claim a bronze medal.

NBA free agency is underway and some big deals have been announced. Kyle Lowry signed with the Miami Heat for three years ($90 million), Lonzo Ball signed a four year ($85 million) with the Chicago Bulls, while Evan Fournier signed a four year ($78 million) deal with the Knicks. Rounding out the night, a few stars signed big contract extensions to stay with their teams: Chris Paul (4 yrs $120M Phoenix), Jarrett Allen (5 yrs $100M Cleveland), Mike Conley (3 yrs $73M Utah), Stephen Curry (4 yrs $215M Golden State), Jimmy Butler (4 yrs $182M Miami), and Trae Young (5 yrs $207M Atlanta)

FOOTBALL

Seventy-year-old Coach Nick Saban will stay in Alabama through 2028 after signing a massive contract extension worth an average of $10.6 million per year.

BASKETBALL

The NBA Draft is over, and the top five players chosen were not a surprise. The Detroit Pistons took Cade Cunningham with the #1 pick, then the Rockets took Jalen Green, the Cavaliers grabbed Evan Mobley, the Raptors chose Scottie Barnes, and rounding out the top five, the Magic took Jalen Suggs.

In other NBA news, the Washington Wizards traded Russell Westbrook to the La Lakers along with second-round picks in 2024 and 2028. In return, the Wizards got Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, and the #22 overall pick.

BASEBALL

There was a flurry of activity last week in baseball with major stars switching teams. Click here for a ranking of all the best and worst trades.  In one of the biggest moves, the LA Dodgers grabbed Max Scherzer and Trea Turner from the Washington Nationals.

OLYMPICS

For all the Olympic news, including Simone Biles deciding to compete in the balance beam finals, click here. Currently, China leads in gold medals with 28, while the US has 21. The US slightly edges out China in total medals however with 61 to 58.

In one of the most heart-warming Olympic moments, friends Mataz Barshim from Qatar and Gianmarco Tamberi from Italy decided to share the gold medal in the high jump instead of competing in a jump-off. When the Olympic official mentioned the jump-off, Barshim asked, “Can we have two golds?” When the official nodded, they both went wild celebrating.