The American League sent out a parade of lesser known pitchers and totally shut down the NL bats in Philly

The LeBron James free agency saga continues, and it is anyone's guess which team he will sign with in free agency or even when he will officially make a decision.The Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves are considered the biggest contenders for James' services. A strong argument could be made that James' best chance of winning his fifth NBA championship would come with the 76ers.The 76ers recently traded for five-time All-Star wing Jaylen Brown, and they should be legitimate contenders even without James. According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Brown, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, Philly's three main stars, have all talked to James."As LeBron James' free agency decision extends into its second week, the Philadelphia 76ers have kept up their pursuit of the four-time NBA champion through three of their players, league sources told ESPN."Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown have all been in communication with James, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, with Maxey leading the charge."All three stars have some sort of connection with the NBA's all-time leading scorer."The 25-year-old Maxey, a fellow Klutch Sports client who also has trained with James in the offseason for the past several years, has referred to the 41-year-old star as a "big brother" in the past."Embiid, the 2022-23 league MVP, teamed with James to win a gold medal for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris."And Brown, whom James had playoff battles with in the past when he was on the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brown was with the Boston Celtics, received an MVP endorsement from James in February."The Sixers went 45-37, which was the seventh-best record in the Eastern Conference, this past season and headed to the playoffs, where they upset the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs before getting swept by the Knicks in the second round. As a whole, the East will be stronger with Giannis Antetokounmpo joining the Miami Heat and the pending trade that would send Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors.James, who will turn 42 years of age in late December, averaged 20.9 points on 51.5% field-goal shooting, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists a game last season with the Los Angeles Lakers. He spent eight years with the Lakers and led them to their most recent NBA title in 2020.He notified them on June 30 that he would not be re-signing with them in free agency. They have remodeled their roster around Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves by adding notable players such as center Walker Kessler, guards Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton and big men Sandro Mamukelashvili and Kevon Looney.This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: ESPN: 76ers' top three stars have talked to LeBron James

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ATLANTA STADIUM Perhaps Marc Guhi simply refuses to think past Wednesdays monster FIFA World Cup semifinal between his England and Lionel Messis Argentina. Maybe Guhi, as a devout Christian, just doesnt want to tempt fate. Or maybe the Three Lions center backgenuinely has no idea if this star-studded England squad can do in the next five days what none before it has in almost 60 years: reach a World Cup final and take that sparkling golden trophy back home to the country that invented the planets most popular sport. "I don't know its in God's hands," Guhi said when asked by a reporter on Tuesday if this might finally be Englands moment."All I know is that we're here right now, and we're going to give everything that we have." Its going to take all theyve got to beat the defending World Cup champs. Not only does La Albiceleste boast the incomparable Messi, who, at 39, leads the tournament with eight goals along with France's Kylian Mbapp. (Les Bleus lost the other semifinal to Spain on Tuesday.) They also own the all-time series against England in the knockout stage of the World Cup, having knocked out their cross-Atlantic nemesis at both the 1986 and 1998 events. Thats ancient history, of course. None of the 26 men on Thomas Tuchels World Cup roster were born before the former; only a few were old enough to remember the latter. Yet every English soccer player and every Argentine, too grew up hearing about those games. Depending on their persuasion, they learned about how Diego Maradona scored either the greatest goal in World Cup history (his 60-yard slalom through what felt like Englands entire team) or the most infamous (the one he punched, undetected, into the English net and later dubbed the "Hand of God"). About how Diego Simeone, whose son is on this current Argentina squad, got David Beckham sent off en route to Argentinas shootout win in the quarterfinals at France '98. The history is there, whether either side wants to admit it. "That was before my time," England defender Ezri Konsa said on Tuesday. "We just have to focus on ourselves, try and forget about the history." Which makes sense. Still, Tuchel understands that when two of the most soccer-crazy nations on Earth meet, their shared history will always add a little extra spice even in a match with so much at stake already. Or perhaps because of it. "I would say it's irrelevant, but I'm not sure," Tuchel said when asked if the history between the nations matters. "The players are very aware of both countries what it means to them. "You cannot just say its just another football match. "But as a coach, we do exactly that," he continued. "We don't speak about the historic events, but yeah, the magnitude of the match is just what it is. I think it does not help if we engage emotionally." That said, Tuchel and his team "expect an emotional match, an intense match" on Wednesday, he said. "I expect a match with a lot of momentum swings." And the wild card, naturally, is Messi. "How he carries that team is just absolutely incredible," Tuchel said of the GOAT. "He is the key player in any team. "You see that they love to play in the middle of the pitch," he added. "They're playing through gaps, and once Leo Messi has the ball, the movement starts. If you analyze the matches, you feel like he sees stuff just earlier than anyone else on the field. It's like the ball just drops to him, he finds the gap, he makes two meters space for his left foot, and then executes on the very highest level." "So there's a lot to take care of," Tuchel concluded. "But we are here to play our way." "It's not just him on the field," Guhi said of Messi. "Hes got other really good players on the team." England understands the assignment. To be the best, they have to beat the best. Theyve earned this opportunity. So will they crumble under the pressure, like each of their predecessors has over the last six decades? Or is this group of players truly different? "There's so much to love about this England squad," Tuchel said. "What I really like is, I feel in the last few days that the players are very excited, and they are hungry to play this match. We will be prepared for the best version of Argentina. We expect and hope and demand the best of ourselves. "Every team in the world is beatable," the England manager said. "And so is Argentina."

Cody Bellinger drove in two runs in the top of the first inning off Cristopher Snchez

This was not what baseball fans were expecting.Before the 96th MLB All-Star Game on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, fans were talking about how "The Bank" was a hitter's park.Those thoughts were only validated by the Home Run Derby on July 13. However, the All-Star Game was a pitching showcase, as the American League defeated the National League 4-0.The American League pitchers combined to throw a three-hitter and limited the National League to just five baserunners. Overall, the NL went 3-for-30. It was the first All-Star Game shutout since the AL defeated the NL 3-0 at Citi Field in 2013.The American League has won 11 of the last 13 All-Star Games.The NL's three-hit performance almost tied an All-Star Game record for fewest hits in a game. The record is still held by the 1990 NL squad with two hits at another hitter's ballpark Wrigley Field.The American League pitchers also set a record, striking out 15 NL hitters."It's the game now. Guys' stuff is unbelievable," AL manager John Schneider said. "To see Luis Arraez strike out and Yandy Diaz strike out a couple of times is kind of like a you never see it. So, it speaks volumes to how good these guys are."The National League was held hitless until the bottom of the fourth inning, when New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto singled. Chicago Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (single in the eighth inning) and Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez (single in the ninth) kept the NL from tying the record.The National League wasn't alone in its offensive struggles. The American League was limited to just seven hits and nine baserunners. The AL also struck out 12 times.The game featured only one extra-base hit a homer in the eighth inning by Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas.Vargas' homer was the first scoring since the first inning, when New York Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single, followed by New York Yankees first baseman Ben Rice's RBI single."The pitching today was nasty," said Bellinger, who was named the game's MVP. "It was hard to score runs."Bellinger watched the end of the game in the clubhouse and, around the fifth or sixth inning, decided to keep his jersey on because he thought he might be the MVP with just an RBI single.This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: AL pitchers overpower NL, break All-Star Game strikeout record