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Hello, and welcome to Tuesday in sports! We can’t blame you if you were still recovering from the hangover of one of the best sports weekends in a long time, but things are not exactly letting up as we head into the new week. Monday had a number of shocking ties — yes, that’s a thing — at the World Cup, which we’ll dissect below, and the baseball world lit up with Pete Crow-Armstrong hitting for the cycle and Dustin May nearly throwing a perfect game (the second flirtation with perfection in just the past few days). Plus, the tennis world has a star-powered comeback in the works — more on that later as well. Along with all that, here’s what we’re watching out for today:
🗓️ TONIGHT’S DANCE
The Main Events
All listed times are Eastern. 🚨= Elimination game
Soccer:
⚽ World Cup: France (68%) vs. Senegal (15%) - 3 p.m. (FOX/Tele/Peacock)
⚽ World Cup: Iraq (8%) vs. Norway (82%) - 6 p.m. (FOX/Tele/Peacock)
⚽ World Cup: Argentina (68%) vs. Algeria (13%) - 9 p.m. (FOX/Tele/Peacock)
⚽ World Cup: Austria (72%) vs. Jordan (12%) - 12 a.m. (FOX/Tele/Peacock)
⚽ World Cup odds: France 20% to win
MLB:
⚾ White Sox (43%) at Yankees (57%) - 7:05 p.m. (MLB.tv)
⚾ Padres (48%) at Cardinals (52%) - 7:45 p.m. (TBS)
⚾ Rays (41%) at Dodgers (59%) - 10:10 p.m. (MLB.tv)
⚾ Championship check-in: Dodgers 31% to win World Series
NCAA:
⚾ College World Series: West Virginia (65%) vs. Troy (35%) - 2 p.m. (ESPN) 🚨
⚾ College World Series: Georgia (53%) vs. Texas (47%) - 8 p.m. (ESPN) 🚨
⚾ Championship check-in: UNC 46% to win CWS
WNBA:
🏀 Tempo (25%) at Fever (75%) - 7 p.m. (USA Network)
🏀 Championship check-in: Lynx 30% to win WNBA title
🔍 FIND THE EDGE
The ties that bind
Do you like tie games? (I mean, who doesn’t?) If so, you were in luck on Monday, as the World Cup featured a quartet of draws: Spain-Cape Verde (0-0), Belgium-Egypt (1-1), Saudi Arabia-Uruguay (1-1), and Iran-New Zealand (2-2). It was the first time since 1958 that a single day at the tournament contained four different tied results, and only the second time it’s ever happened. In an expanded World Cup that was already looking a bit less top-heavy than usual, early parity has been the theme of the 2026 tournament so far.
Some of the draws had more of an effect than others. Spain’s draw with Cape Verde, aka No. 2 in the pre-tournament FIFA rankings tying with No. 67, literally changed the favorite status of the World Cup itself. With the shocking result, Spain went from 16% to win the title in my Polymarket odds tracker to 14%, losing 6 percentage points from their odds to make the round of 16 as well, while other cofavorite France (which didn’t even play) saw their odds as outright favorite rise from 16% to 17% with Spain weakened.
Belgium’s draw with Egypt also had big implications. It knocked the Belgians’ odds of winning Group G down by nearly 10 points, thrusting the rest of the group into the conversation to potentially contend for the No. 1 spot, and Egypt’s odds of making the knockouts (and round of 16) went up significantly as well.
In the same group, Iran was (along with Spain) maybe the biggest loser in the action — their draw with 85th-ranked New Zealand shaved 17 points off their knockout odds, since everyone else will be expected to beat the weakest team in the group, leaving the Iranians to play catch-up elsewhere. A similar case played out with Uruguay in Group H; a draw with 61st-ranked Saudi Arabia hurt their knockout potential as the group became less predictable overall.
And then, the draws also helped underdogs gain ground, since tying a better team can sort of be like a de facto win for lower-rated squads. Tiny Cabo Verde, a nation with a population of 491,233, shut out the World Cup favorites (!) and gained across the board in their odds to make the rounds of 32 and 16. Saudi Arabia saw a 6-point boost to its knockout chances as well.
Building on earlier surprises like Morocco’s draw with Brazil, Japan coming back to earn a draw with the Dutch, Türkiye falling 2-0 to Australia, Qatar tying Switzerland, Bosnia and Herzegovina tying the host Canadians, and South Korea rallying to beat Czechia, this tournament has been wide open so far, even as the overall odds still have a tier of clear favorites at the top.
📊 CHART OF THE DAY
Sister act
Arguably the greatest duo in their sport’s history is coming back for another go-around. On Tuesday, it was reported that Serena Williams and her sister, Venus, had received a wild-card entry for the women’s doubles tournament at Wimbledon, meaning the iconic pair will play together at the iconic tournament for the first time in four years. Together, they’ve won doubles at Wimbledon six times before, which is a record in the Open Era, as part of a run that saw them win 14 total doubles Grand Slams — tied for second-most ever — and go a perfect 14-0 in Grand Slam doubles finals, the only modern partnership to go undefeated when playing for a major trophy. (By comparison, Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver won a record 20 doubles Slams together, but also lost seven times in major finals.)
❄️ STAY FROSTY
What else we’re reading
Smart, short reads we liked while building today’s odds.
🏀 “They won, Dad: A Knicks championship, grief, and the search for meaning” by Molly Morrison
⚾ “5 Players that Should be Traded at the MLB Deadline” by Baseball Scoops
🏒 “How to win a Stanley Cup: Comparing Carolina & Florida’s evolution” by Jack Han
🏀 “San Antonio Missed a Golden Opportunity” by Shyam Maddukuri
🏀 “Betting on the Youth: Allison’s Weekly WNBA Games Predictions” by Allison Turner
👀 EYES UP
Next on deck…
Wednesday (6/17)
⚽ World Cup: Portugal vs. DR Congo / England vs. Croatia / Ghana vs. Panama / Uzbekistan vs. Colombia
⚾ MLB: Rays at Dodgers
⚾ NCAA: College World Series
🏀 WNBA: Wings at Valkyries
Thursday (6/18)
⚽ World Cup: Czech Republic vs. South Africa / Switzerland vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina / Canada vs. Qatar / Mexico vs. South Korea
⚾ MLB: Mets at Phillies
⚾ NCAA: College World Series
🏀 WNBA: Dream at Fever
⛳ Golf: US Open, Round 1
Friday (6/19)
⚽ World Cup: US vs. Australia / Scotland vs. Morocco / Brazil vs. Haiti / Türkiye vs. Paraguay
⚾ MLB: Brewers at Braves
⚾ NCAA: College World Series, no games (off day)
🏀 WNBA: Lynx at Valkyries
⛳ Golf: US Open, Round 2
🧠 Looking ahead
Stay tuned for more updates and in-depth analysis of these events and more as they unfold. We’ll be bringing you all the scores, highlights, and expert commentary.
Got a favorite team or sport you want us to cover more? Let us know!
All data current as of time of send.
— by Neil Paine
*Event contracts are offered through Robinhood Derivatives, LLC — probabilities referenced or sourced from KalshiEx LLC or ForecastEx LLC.