Weekend Sports Review: A Smorgasbord of Sports
- Jake Hunter
- Jul 13, 2021
- 3 min read
Sports fans around the world had a plethora of viewing options this past weekend. With soccer, tennis, basketball, and other sports presenting momentous games and finals, legacies were altered for athletes and lasting memories were altered for millions of fans on an almost hourly basis. Here's a quick rundown of what happened and what you may have missed.
England Misses Three Straight Penalties, Falls to Italy in Euro Final
The Three Lions missed three consecutive penalty kicks to close the match and fell 4-3 to Italy in the final of the Euros. Luke Shaw's finish at 2 minutes for the English was matched by Leonardo Bonnucci's putback in the 67th minute. Jordan Pickford provided a monumental save on Italy's Jorginho to give England life at the end of the penalty shootout, but Euro Player of the Tournament Gianluigi Donnarumma denied Bukayo Saka to seal the victory for the Italians. The Azzurri ("The Blues" in Italian) extend their unbeaten streak to 34 and likely seize control of the top spot in the world rankings after winning an international soccer tournament only exceeded in relevance by the World Cup itself.
Giannis Explodes, Bucks Take Game 3
Giannis Antetokounmpo largely replicated his legendary Game 2 performance in Game 3, posting 41 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists. What changed on a macro scale from Game 2, though, was the performance from his teammates. A balanced supporting cast led by Jrue Holiday (21 pts.) and Khris Middleton (18 pts.) bolstered their superstar, and the Suns simply could not survive a poor performance from Devin Booker without all-world performances from Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton. Giannis has found his groove, and his teammates seem reinvigorated by their home crowd. The series continues on Wednesday in Milwaukee, and the momentum seems to be decidedly in possession of the Bucks despite the Suns still holding a 2-1 lead.
Messi Finally Wins One for Argentina
Likely the greatest player the sport of soccer has ever seen added an elusive accomplishment to his resume this weekend. Lionel Messi's career has been unprecedented and extraordinary, but one of the few shortcomings he has been regularly criticized for (fair or not) has been his lack of team success at the international level. Argentina has come agonizingly close to Copa America (2015) and World Cup (2015) titles, but have routinely come up short. That changed on Saturday night, as Angel Di Maria's goal at 22 minutes proved to be enough for Argentina to seize the Copa America championship with a 1-0 victory. The win allowed Messi to avoid derision for a horrific missed opportunity late in the match that would have put the game away, but his reaction was pure joy when the whistle sounded. Despite not scoring a goal, Brazil's efforts are to be commended, as their continual pressure and attacking style of play made the game a nail-biter from start to finish. Congratulations to Messi, a man whose career was almost unassailable even before this, for getting this monkey off his back.
Djokovic Wins Wimbledon, Ties Federer and Nadal
Novak Djokovic secured his sixth title at tennis' most storied tournament on Sunday morning, defeating Matteo Berrettini in four sets. After dropping the opening set, the Djoker quickly established control for the remainder of the match, and Sunday morning felt more like a coronation by the end of the third set. Berrettini provided plenty of resistance, but Djokovic would not be denied in his quest for his 20th major title. This number equals that of both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most all-time, bringing the discussion to the forefront regarding the greatest tennis player of all time. While plenty of chapters are yet to be written, the momentum seems to be on Djokovic's side at the moment. Regardless, Sunday was yet another cornerstone moment in what has been an undeniably phenomenal career.
Other Stories This Week
Connor McGregor Breaks Ankle in Fight Against Poirier
The UFC's most recognizable fighter injured his leg on a misstep during his trilogy fight against Dustin Poirier. In all honesty, he was going to probably lose the fight, but its never enjoyable for a major star to be sidelined by injury for any extended period of time.
Some Stuff Happened in Baseball (Whatever)
The Home Run Derby happened and Pete Alonso (whoever that is) won. The All-Star game is coming up, and they had their draft this weekend. And that's this week's baseball report!
USA Basketball Drops Two Straight
While not the actual Olympics, the USA international men's team is looking abysmal so far. There are silver linings in the fact that three (Jrue Holiday, Khris Middleton, and Devin Booker) of the twelve members are currently absent due to their participation in the NBA Finals, but dropping games to Nigeria and Australia are concerning. This isn't the USA team from 1996 or 2008. That's for sure.
The ESPYs Were Lame Again
That's plenty of coverage for that too.
*too much focus on baseball.