Good morning and welcome back, sports fans! After a short hiatus, The Sportsletter is making an epic comeback to your inbox. Some of you may remember me from earlier editions of The Sportsletter, when I wrote alongside Jeff. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Marissa Kasch. I just graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), and I’m excited to bring sports news to your inbox every Tuesday and Thursday morning.

As crazy as it sounds, the return of The Sportsletter wasn’t the only great comeback story of the weekend. On Friday, we got to watch Joey Chestnut’s comeback (and domination) after a yearlong ban. He downed 70.5 hot dogs, beating the runner-up by 24 dogs and claiming his 17th Mustard Belt. For the third straight year, we got to watch all 30 MLB teams play on Independence Day to celebrate America’s favorite pastime. We also got to watch the U.S. Men’s National Team in action, a playoff at the John Deere Classic and plenty of contested matches at Wimbledon.

Letter Rip!

< THE STARTERS >

Top Stories

< SOCCER >

Mexico Captures 10th Gold Cup Title⚽

Mexico beats U.S. 2-1 to secure 10th Gold Cup title after controlling possession, shots, shots on goal and corner kicks

It was a weekend of patriotism in America, but Mexico emerged victorious in the Concacaf Gold Cup Final on Sunday. Though the USMNT started with a bang, they didn’t end the night with the fireworks they were after. Chris Richards scored an early goal for the U.S. with a header that deflected off the crossbar in the 4th minute. The U.S. was off to a strong start until Raul Jimenez pushed past Matthew Freese to even the score before halftime. 

After Jimenez scored, he honored Diogo Jota by laying No. 20’s jersey across his lap and replicating his signature video game celebration. Jimenez and Jota were teammates at Wolverhampton for two seasons. Last Thursday, Jota was tragically killed in a car accident with his brother, Andre Silva. 

After halftime, Mexico continued to dominate both possession and shots on goal. Mexico finished with 8 shots on goal to the USMNT’s 3. Mexico also had the clear advantage in corner kicks, beating the U.S. 12-0. Edson Alvarez was able to capitalize on Mexico’s strong possession in the 77th minute, putting a header past Freese to secure a 2-1 lead. Initially, it was ruled that Mexico was offside, so the goal did not count. However, the ruling was overturned after VAR review, and the U.S. was unable to respond in the remaining 13 minutes. 

Alvarez’s decisive second-half goal brought home Mexico’s 10th Concacaf Gold Cup title. Despite missing many starters and being the No. 16 team, the USMNT reached its first Gold Cup Final since 2021. Mexico and the U.S. will have the opportunity to face off again during next year’s World Cup.

< MLB >

Pre-ASG Drama and Sweep City🧹

The Nationals clean house the week before the All-Star Game and MLB Draft, and sweeps shake up standings

It’s that time of year again: The All-Star rosters have been set, the Home Run Derby is on Monday and the big game is only one week away. Now that we’re about halfway through baseball season, things are starting to get interesting. Some teams are making runs and closing their divisional gaps, while others are on a freefall to the bottom. 

Nationals Fire GM and Manager

In case you missed it, the last-place Nationals dismissed manager Dave Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo. The news came after the Red Sox completed their sweep of the Nationals at home on Sunday. Senior vice president and assistant general manager Mike DeBartolo will assume Rizzo’s duties while the team searches for a permanent GM. Bench coach Miguel Cairo will take over as Washington’s manager on an interim basis as well. With the MLB Draft approaching in less than a week, DeBartolo has a big decision to make with Washington’s No. 1 overall pick. 

Isn’t it Sweep?

Like I said, the drama is ramping up as we approach the All-Star break, and we saw no shortage of it last weekend. With all 30 teams playing over the weekend, we saw a whopping six sweeps. 

The Red Sox sweeping the Nationals came as no surprise, but the Astros sweep of the Dodgers was a different story. Houston came into Dodger Stadium hot on Friday, securing a comfortable 18-1 win to set up its first sweep of L.A. since 2008.

In less surprising news, the Guardians lost their 10th straight game and got swept by the Tigers. Detroit finished the job in extra innings on Sunday and maintained a commanding 13.5 game lead in the AL Central. 

The Pirates got a taste of their own medicine over the weekend. Last week, Pittsburgh was able to hold the Cardinals scoreless for the duration of the series. This time, however, the Pirates were the ones getting shut out by the Mariners for three straight games.

The Blue Jays stayed red hot at home this weekend against the Angels. Toronto secured its 8th straight win and second consecutive sweep after completing a 4-game sweep of the Yankees last week. 

Trevor Rogers finally beat the Braves – a feat that took him his entire career to pull off. Despite the Orioles’ sweep of Atlanta this weekend, they remain in last place in the AL East. 

< GOLF >

A New Face Joins The Open Championship

< NEWS >

The Headlines 📰

• Miguel Cairo to Serve as Interim Manager of Nationals (ESPN)

• British Open 2025: Here’s Every Player in the Field (So Far) at Royal Portrush (Golf Digest)

• New York Knicks Officially Hire Mike Brown as Head Coach (ESPN)

• Georgia Native Buxton Becomes 4th Member of '25 HR Derby Field (MLB)

• Powell to Heat, Collins to Clippers in Three-Team Trade (ESPN)

< SCHEDULE >

The Watch Party 🍿