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    Dutch forward Vivianne Miedema and England’s Leah Williamson are among the stars of women's soccer who won’t be playing in the World Cup. Both players have been ruled out because of ACL injuries. And they’re not the only ones. 

      The Women's World Cup will be played with new programs in place to help protect players and other participants. The attention on player safety comes after a series of sexual abuse scandals rocked the game in recent years, and brought greater awareness. 

      Elias Díaz hit a two-run homer off Félix Bautista in the eighth inning, and the National League snapped a nine-game losing streak in the All-Star Game with a 3-2 win over the American League.

      The Los Angeles Angels drafted one of the Joyce brothers in 2022. They grabbed the other one on the final day of this year's draft. The Angels selected Zach Joyce in the 14th round after they took his twin brother, Ben, in the third round of last year's amateur draft. Zach Joyce helped the University of Tennessee reach the College World Series this season, going 1-0 with a 4.35 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings over 13 appearances.

       Paolo Banchero saw the picture every day at his family home. It was a team photo of a USA Basketball squad from the 1990s, one that included his mother. Red, white and blue seeds were planted. And in the end, that picture was the biggest factor in why he'll be playing for USA Basketball this summer and likely beyond. 

      A Hawaii surfer known for shooting awe-inspiring photos and videos from the inside of massive, curling waves has died after a surfing accident in Indonesia. Mikala Jones was 44. His father Dr. John Jones, a Honolulu dentist, says Jones had gone out Sunday morning during a trip to the Mentawai Islands off the western coast of Sumatra when his surfboard fin cut his femoral artery. The femoral artery is a large blood vessel in the thigh that delivers blood to lower limbs. Jones' Instagram account shows images of waves curling around him from above while he crouches on his board with a sunset or sunrise visible in the distance.

      The World Cup always draws attention to the inequities between men's and women's soccer. But it also highlights the inequity within the women's game itself. Teams like the United States and England, with greater support from their federations, enjoy the best that money can buy: Things like sports psychologists, massage therapists and team chefs. Other teams, like Jamaica and South Africa, are uncertain they'll even get paid. So they're using social media and collective action to draw attention to their plight.

      Breanna Stewart has already won one Commissioner's Cup championship. She hopes to get New York to this year's in-season tournament title game to have a chance at another one. The Aces have already clinched a spot in the final which will be played in Las Vegas on Aug. 15. The Aces won the Cup last year and are looking to defend their title. The Liberty need a victory over Indiana on Wednesday or a loss by Connecticut in Chicago to earn a trip to Las Vegas to play the Aces in the championship game. New York and Connecticut are tied with one game to play and hold the tiebreaker over the Sun.

      Elina Svitolina is back in her first Grand Slam semifinal since 2019. She got there at Wimbledon by beating No. 1 Iga Swiatek in three sets Tuesday. Things are much different for Svitolina now than they were the last time she made it to the final four at a major tournament. She is a mother who gave birth to a daughter nine months ago and returned to the tour three months ago. And she is now concerned about the war in her native Ukraine, which was invaded by Russia in February 2022. Svitolina will face Marketa Vondrouva for a berth in Saturday's semifinals. Jannik Sinner advanced to the men's semifinals.

      A PGA Tour executive has told Congress that Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund agreed to invest more than $1 billion in a new commercial entity controlled by the tour. Ron Price, the tour's chief operating officer, also said at a hearing Tuesday that Greg Norman will be ousted as the CEO of LIV Golf if the business deal between the Saudis and the tour is finalized. The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations is looking into the negotiations between the tour and the Saudis and the geopolitical implications of Saudi investment in American sports. However, there was no indication that Congress would block the tour from going into business with the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

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      Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr, joined Vladimir Sr. to become the first father-son duo to win the All-Star Home Run Derby, beating Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena 25-23 in the final round. Guerrero defeated Julio Rodríguez 21-20 in the semifinals after the Mariners star hit a record 41 in the first round in front of his hometown fans. Batting against Blue Jays manager John Schneider, Guerrero was the last of the four semifinalists to swing and the first of the finalists, setting a final round record for homers to top Pete Alonso's 23 two years ago. Vladimir Sr. won the 2007 derby.

      Baseball's amateur draft has been a fitting conclusion to a historic season at Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons had six players drafted Monday. That brings their two-day total to nine. That's three more than the LSU team that knocked Wake Forest out of the College World Series and went on to win the national title. LSU had the top two picks in the draft Friday in Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews. But the Deacons showed off their depth on day two, when rounds 3-10 took place.

      Morocco's national women's team will make its debut this month at the FIFA Women's World Cup, the first to qualify from an Arab world where many are crazy for the men's game. After years of being largely in the margins, Moroccan women's soccer is gaining new ground at home and beyond. It's starting to capture the imagination of more girls, win the hearts and minds of more parents and chip away at a traditional view by many of soccer as a men's game. Moroccan soccer officials and players say their country's 2022 hosting of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations which led to its World Cup qualification marked a watershed moment in perceptions.

      A'ja Wilson is all too happy to show off her coveted corner locker. in the Las Vegas' new practice facility. The two-time league MVP isn't the only Aces player receiving preferential treatment these days. Their locker room includes a TV and mini computer in each stall and is part of a $40 million, 64,000-square-foot facility the Aces opened before this season. Several NBA teams have inquired about using the facility during summer league play. It is the first practice facility built specifically for a WNBA team in the league's 27-year history. But it won't be the only one long, the Seattle Storm have a $64 million, 50,000-square-foot facility in the works.

      Wimbledon is staying out of the politics of handshakes. Elina Svitolina of Ukraine had urged tennis authorities to publicize that Ukrainians won't be shaking hands with Russian and Belarusian players after matches so that fans don't boo because they think some players are being snubbed. Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton says that's not going to happen. Fans on No. 1 Court booed Belarusian player Victoria Azarenka after she didn't go to the net to shake hands with Svitolina after the Ukrainian player's victory on Sunday. Azarenka knew that Svitolina doesn't shake hands with Russians and Belarusians in protest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

      Damian Lillard wants to be traded to the Miami Heat. The Portland Trail Blazers know this yet haven't abandoned hope that the seven-time All-Star changes his mind. And whether he does or not, the Blazers insist that they're in no hurry. At a news conference where the team formally unveiled its new five-year, $160 million contract with Jerami Grant, general manager Joe Cronin spoke at length about the impasse with Lillard. Grant offered no specifics on talks and revealed that he hasn't spoken with Lillard since the franchise cornerstone asked to be traded.

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