USMNT suffers a (good?) Gold Cup loss, plus the Nats clean house

New York Times

14 hours ago

The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.
Good morning! Check your automated systems today.
The U.S. men's national soccer team lost to Mexico last night, 2-1, in a bummer of a match for any American fans. The USMNT scored four minutes into the contest and never found the net again. Mexico charged through with a late go-ahead goal in the 77th minute. El Tri has now won two straight Gold Cups.
But wait, is this a good thing for the U.S.? A quick mental investigation:
And yet you could see the result still stung, particularly due to this ghastly missed hand-ball call in the box:
Should this have been called a handball? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/nqlOWRI53F
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 7, 2025
That came in the 67th minute, when the match was still tied 1-1. We could be speaking differently if that's called correctly. Pochettino was very upset about it after the match, too.
The USMNT will regroup for a September international window soon. We'll have more takes then.
Let's keep moving:
Nats clean house
The Nationals fired both general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez, the team announced yesterday, in a move that's simultaneously expected and surprising. A team with a lot of young talent and promise is 37-53, with no shot at making any sort of run at the playoffs this year. And yet, this is an organization well-positioned for the future, especially with the haul from 2022's Juan Soto trade making an impact — and the No. 1 pick in this year's draft. Rizzo has been GM since 2009; Martinez has been manager since 2017. Ken Rosenthal argues that the logic is sound here, but the timing isn't.
Advertisement
Durant trade official
Yes, the Kevin Durant-to-Houston deal involved seven teams, the Rockets announced yesterday, which is an NBA record. Durant lands in Houston, six players and a pick go to Phoenix and five other teams — the Lakers, Hawks, Timberwolves, Warriors and Nets — left with some odds and ends. See the full breakdown here.
More news
📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters.
The fanciest of our tennis majors can't go a day without a controversy that seems silly. We've had plenty of rabble-rousing about the curfew rules, an arcane tradition that had some real effects over the last week. And yesterday, technology played the villain:
Pavlyuchenkova was livid. Look at this ball:
It turns out the (human) ELC operators had mistakenly deactivated the system. But Pavlyuchenkova ended up winning 7-6(4), 6-4, and will head to the quarterfinals to play 13th-seeded American Amanda Anisimova. Let's hope we see less tomfoolery going forward.
📺 Wimbledon: Sinner vs. Dimitrov
Noon ET on ESPN
There will, of course, be plenty of tennis broadcast this entire morning on various ESPN networks, but sign me up to watch the men's No. 1 play. Plenty have fallen early in this tournament already. Let's see if Jannik Sinner advances to the quarters.
📺 MLB: Rays at Tigers
6:40 p.m. ET on FS1
Detroit remains MLB's best team and Tampa sits just three games back in a crowded AL East race. This is a great game.
Get tickets to games like these here.
Corey Pronman already has a 2026 NHL mock draft up, of course. It's a top-heavy draft, but the top is particularly intriguing. See the picks.
I am still struck by the entire scene at the Club World Cup from Saturday, when Bayern star Jamal Musiala broke his fibula. Oliver Kay wrote a must-read column about the saga.
Advertisement
Chad Jennings has an MLB All-Star All-Snubs team, and plenty of its members have legitimate gripes with voters.
As he grows, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow longs for privacy. And yet he allowed Netflix's cameras into his life for the documentary series 'Quarterback.' Paul Dehner Jr. expertly explained why.
Cooper Flagg's work ethic does not specifically come from a thirst from within, a drive to be the best. It comes from a farm in Maine.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story about that Stefon Diggs boat ride in May. Catch up.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The report from that seven-team Kevin Durant trade.