Spain owns the stage, AL All-Stars blank NL, Argentina and England chase the final ... and more for July 15th
Spain owns the stage!
This is The Sports Reset for Wednesday July 15th
In the World Cup semifinals, Spain advanced and France was eliminated with a 2 to 0 win at AT&T Stadium, built on Mikel Oyarzabal’s first-half penalty and Pedro Porro’s 58th-minute finish. Spain held France’s star-heavy attack in check, kept Kylian Mbappe from finding open space, and turned the game into a midfield control exercise before booking a Sunday final in New Jersey. In MLB, the American League All-Stars beat the National League All-Stars 4 to 0 at Citizens Bank Park, with New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger driving in the first two runs and taking All-Star Game MVP. American League pitching carried the night, holding the National League to three hits and piling up 15 strikeouts. In WNBA play, the Connecticut Sun edged the Portland Fire 90 to 87, while the Washington Mystics beat the Toronto Tempo 79 to 62.
Looking ahead, the second World Cup semifinal is the matchup to watch: Argentina plays England on Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, with the winner moving on to face Spain on Sunday. Lionel Messi gets England for the first time in his career, while Harry Kane leads an England side trying to keep the Argentina rivalry from swallowing the actual soccer. In the WNBA, the Seattle Storm visit the Chicago Sky, the Los Angeles Sparks go to the Minnesota Lynx, and the Golden State Valkyries face the Indiana Fever, giving the league a three-game Wednesday run while the World Cup sets the top of the sports day. Beyond the scoreboard, MLB’s labor temperature is rising, with the current CBA expiring Dec. 1 and the league and players’ union publicly split over competitive-balance proposals and a salary-cap push.
