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Happy Monday! And we are officially on the other side of a monumental weekend that transformed the 2026 sports calendar. After dominating our screens (and spreadsheets) all summer, the World Cup finally crowned its champion Sunday, with Spain both dominating and outlasting Argentina in extra-time at MetLife Stadium. (We also got a 6-4 Scorigami in the Third-Place Game Saturday, but that’s neither here nor there.) Golf’s major season wrapped after a dramatic final round at Royal Birkdale; we’ll have notes on both championships below. And for good measure, NBA Summer League closed its residency in Las Vegas with the Warriors coming back to claim the title over the Grizzlies. With those big events all off the board, we’re stepping into a new phase of the summer sports grind — the chess-match of the MLB trade deadline, a crucial stretch of the WNBA regular season, and the brutal final week of the Tour de France. With all of that in mind, here’s what we’re tracking as we reset for the week ahead:
🗓️ TONIGHT’S DANCE
The Main Events
All listed times are Eastern. 🚨= Elimination game
MLB:
⚾ Dodgers (45%) at Phillies (55%) - 7:10 p.m. (ESPN) - Cristopher Sánchez start for PHI
⚾ Pirates (48%) at Yankees (52%) - 7:05 p.m. (MLB.tv)
⚾ Cardinals (48%) at Angels (52%) - 10:10 p.m. (ESPN)
⚾ Championship check-in: Dodgers 31% to win World Series
WNBA:
🏀 Aces (83%) at Tempo (17%) - 8 p.m. (Peacock/NBCSN)
🏀 Liberty (59%) at Wings (41%) - 8 p.m.
🏀 Lynx (81%) at Storm (19%) - 10 p.m.
🏀 Championship check-in: Lynx 36% to win WNBA title
NBA:
🏀 LeBron James’ next team - Heat favored at 44%
Cycling:
🚲 Tour de France, Rest Day (Haute-Savoie) - Tadej Pogacar 98% to win
Soccer:
⚽ Allsvenskan: Malmö FF (40%) at Kalmar FF (36%) - 1 p.m.
⚽ Allsvenskan: Örgryte IS (12%) at Djurgårdens IF (72%) - 1 p.m.
🔍 FIND THE EDGE
¡Viva España!
After a month-plus of comebacks, plot-twists and the best teams rising to the top, the World Cup finally has its end result: Spain is the champion, and maybe the best champion the tournament has ever seen. That is, if the world football Elo ratings are to be believed — where Spain finished with the highest end-of-tournament rating for a champ in World Cup history:
Along the way, La Roja made all kinds of other history, including conceding the fewest total goals of any champion in World Cup history and breaking the record for the longest unbeaten streak in the history of international men’s soccer (at 38 games).
But the strange duality of Sunday’s Final is that Spain somehow both looked completely dominant and still had to sweat until the very end. Argentina was badly overmatched for long stretches of the match — outshot 20-2 without ever getting a shot on target, pinned back by Spain’s possession, and mostly reduced to survival-mode after Enzo Fernández went off with a red card — and yet, the match stayed scoreless deep into extra time, close enough for one stray Lionel Messi touch (in what was assumed to be his World Cup swan-song) or one set-piece to set up another impossible Argentine escape act.
Instead, though, Ferran Torres finally broke through in the 106th minute, and Argentina’s high-wire routine ran out of magic against a team that suffocated opponents into submission all tournament. (Never once did they trail on the scoreboard in eight matches.) The right outcome eventually arrived, even if it took a lot longer than the run of play suggested it should.
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And the market does not think this was a one-off. Spain has already opened as the early 31% favorite to win Euro 2028 on Kalshi, ahead of England (28%) and France (26%). The logic is pretty simple: If the most reliable thing in soccer is controlling the ball while never allowing opponents to get a shot in edgewise, and Spain has the next generation of players — including Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Nico Williams and Pedri — to keep the system humming, then La Roja’s historic run might not be finished yet. That’s especially true if Yamal and Williams (both of whom were dealing with injuries this World Cup) can be fully fit for an entire tournament.
📊 CHART OF THE DAY
Fox pounces
Before the World Cup action played out at the Meadowlands, another championship was awarded across the Atlantic in England, where New Zealander Ryan Fox was clutch and overcame a crowded field of contenders to win the 154th Open Championship. According to Data Golf, Fox went into the final six holes with just a 4.4% chance of winning, trailing by 2 strokes with some of the hardest holes on the course remaining to play. All he did from there was record four birdies (versus 1 bogey — itself even fortunate to not be worse — and 1 par), including a near-perfect drive/approach/putt at 18 to seal the win with a 12-footer for the Claret Jug.
❄️ STAY FROSTY
What else we’re reading
Smart, short reads we liked while building today’s odds.
⚽ “World Cup: Spain 1-0 Argentina” by Grace Robertson
⚽ “Spain Annihilates Argentina 1-0 in Extra Time to Win 2026 World Cup!” by Jeff Fogle
⚾ “Will the 2026 MLB Draft Be the Last?” by Benjamin Chase
🏁 “Antonelli Holds Off Leclerc to Win 2026 Belgian Grand Prix” by Formula Reports
🏀 “Assessing FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2026” by Ersin Demir
👀 EYES UP
Next on deck…
Tuesday (7/21)
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Phillies
🏀 WNBA: No games.
⚽ Soccer: Pumas UNAM at Toluca FC (Mexican Liga BBVA MX)
🚲 Cycling: Tour de France, Stage 16 (Évian-les-Bains to Thonon-les-Bains)
Wednesday (7/22)
⚾ MLB: Dodgers at Phillies
🏀 WNBA: Sun at Fever
⚽ Soccer: Chicago Fire at Inter Miami CF (MLS)
🚲 Cycling: Tour de France, Stage 17 (Chambéry to Voiron)
Thursday (7/23)
⚾ MLB: Padres at Braves
🏀 WNBA: No games. (All-Star break)
⚽ Soccer: Boca Juniors vs. O’Higgins (Copa Sudamericana)
🚲 Cycling: Tour de France, Stage 18
⛳ Golf: 3M Open, Round 1
🧠 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.