Spanish conquest
From Kevin Baxter: This summer’s World Cup was so good, nobody wanted it to end.
So Spain and Argentina played on and on in Sunday’s final, through 90 minutes of regulation time and then through a 15-minute extra period before Ferran Torres gave Spain the only goal it needed to claim the title with a 1-0 victory over the defending champion at a sold-out MetLife Stadium.
It was an epic finish to an epic tournament, one that set records for everything from attendance and TV viewers to games played and goals scored. And it was almost certainly the last World Cup for Argentine captain Lionel Messi, 39, who finished his record-setting sixth tournament as the all-time leader in games (34), assists (12) and goal contributions (33).
His parting gift was a silver medal, a handshake from President Trump and a hug from the King of Spain. But none of those were the prize he wanted most, so when he left the stage after receiving his medal, he broke down in tears.
A swarming Spanish defense made him little more than a spectator for most of the match. So while Argentina came into the final leading the tournament in goals per game, it also became the first team to go 90 minutes without a shot in a World Cup final. It was outshot 20-2 for the game, and Spanish keeper Unai Simón, who gave up just one goal in eight matches, was not forced to make a save in registering his seventh clean sheet.
He was named the outstanding keeper of the tournament.
That allowed Torres, who started just once in the tournament, to become the hero.
Swanson: LAFC star Son Heung-min proves life after the World Cup can offer hope and redemption
Great day for Eliezer Alfonzo
From Maddie Lee: Eliezer Alfonzo jumped on a first-pitch cutter, keeping his hands inside to send it into shallow center field.
Two weeks after making his major league debut under tragic circumstances, Alfonzo recorded his first hit.
“The guys have been supporting me, pushing me every day,” Alfonzo said. “And they told me, ‘You’re going to get it here at Yankee Stadium, it’s going to be really good.’”
It was a heartwarming moment early in the Dodgers’ 2-1 loss to the New York Yankees in the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader. By dropping the series finale after an 8-2 win in the opener, the Dodgers settled for a series win instead of sweep.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s third career complete game was the highlight of the win in Game 1 of a doubleheader on Sunday. It was his first complete game since Game 2 of the World Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Shaikin: Shohei Ohtani’s knee troubles creating a major pitching dilemma for Dodgers
Angels edge the Tigers
Ryan Johnson struck out five and gave up one run in five solid innings, Jorge Soler and Zach Neto delivered RBI hits and the Angels ended a four-game skid with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
Johnson (2-4) gave up two hits and walked three. The right-hander escaping a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the fifth when he struck out Dillon Dingler with an 82-mph sweeper. Samy Natera Jr., Chase Silseth and Sam Bachman worked scoreless innings of relief.
Ryan Zeferjahn, who gave up just two earned runs in 19 1/3 innings of his previous 18 games since June 1, gave up a homer to Riley Greene in the top of the ninth as Detroit closed within 3-2. But, Zeferjahn retired the next three batters and earned his third save.
Sparks lose fourth in a row
Paige Bueckers had 25 points before leaving the game following a scary collision, Arike Ogunbowale scored six of her 20 down the stretch and the Dallas Wings beat the Sparks 90-82 on Sunday to extend their winning streak to a franchise-record six games.
Bueckers hit a three-pointer that capped a 14-5 spurt and gave the Wings an eight-point lead with 9:12 left in the game.
Jessica Shepard had 11 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for the Wings (17-8) and Azzi Fudd also scored 11.
The Sparks (10-15) have lost four consecutive games, all on the road.
Nneka Ogwumike made seven of 12 from the field and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Sparks. Dearica Hamby added 16 points on eight-of-12 shooting, Cameron Brink scored 10 and Erica Wheeler had 10 assists to go with nine points for L.A.
Ryan Fox wins British Open
Ryan Fox of New Zealand survived a wild ride along the back nine of Royal Birkdale and delivered the biggest putt of his life Sunday, making a 12-foot birdie on the final hole to win the British Open for his first major title.
Four players had a share of the lead at some point Sunday. American Cameron Young was atop the leaderboard for two hours because he finished his astonishing six-under 64 when the leaders were on the front nine.
Fox never lost hope, even after a pair of bogeys on the back nine, and the 39-year-old son of an All Blacks rugby player delivered the goods when it counted. He birdied the 16th to tie Young for the lead, and then made birdie on the toughest hole to become the third Kiwi to win a major.
This day in sports history
1958 — The PGA championship calls for medal play for the first time and Dow Finsterwald beats Billy Casper.
1963 — Mary Mills wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship by three strokes over Sandra Palmer and Louise Suggs.
1974 — Carl Rosen’s Chris Evert beats Miss Musket by 50 lengths in the winner-take-all match race at Hollywood Park.
1975 — Sandra Palmer wins the U.S. Women’s Open golf championship by four strokes over Nancy Lopez, Joanne Carner and Sandra Post.
1980 — Tom Watson wins the British Open by four strokes over Lee Trevino. Watson shoots a 13-under 271 at Muirfield Golf Links at Gullane, Scotland. Watson becomes the fourth American to win three Open titles, joining Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones and Jack Nicklaus.
1997 — Justin Leonard closes with a 65 to win the British Open at 12-under 272 at Royal Troon. Leonard, whose closing round is one of the best in major championship history, takes the lead from Jesper Parnevik with a birdie on No. 17.
2002 — Tiger Woods, trying to win the third leg of the Grand Slam, shoots his worst round (81) as a pro, knocking himself out of contention.
2008 — Padraig Harrington is the first European in more than a century to win golf’s oldest championship two years in a row. Harrington pulls away from mistake-prone Greg Norman and holds off a late charge by Ian Poulter for a four-shot victory in the British Open.
2009 — Lauren Lappin homers to start a three-run rally in the third inning, and the United States beats Australia 3-1 in the World Cup of Softball championship game at Oklahoma City.
2013 — China’s Wu Minxia and Shi Tingmao wins the first diving gold medal at the world championships in Barcelona, Spain. Wu earns a record sixth world title in the women’s 3-meter synchronized springboard.
2014 — Rory McIlroy completes a wire-to-wire victory in the British Open to capture the third leg of the career Grand Slam. McIlroy closes with a 1-under 71 for a two-shot victory over Sergio Garcia and Rickie Fowler. McIlroy, winner of the 2011 U.S. Open and the 2012 PGA Championship, joins Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players with three different majors at age 25 or younger.
2015 — Zach Johnson rolls in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and outlasts Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a three-man playoff to win the British Open. Jordan Spieth, looking to win his third straight major, falls one shot short of joining the playoff.
2020 — Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first man to score 50 goals in Serie A, La Liga and the Premier League.
2021 — The Milwaukee Bucks defeat the Phoenix Suns 105-95 in game six of the NBA Finals to win their second NBA Championship. It was the fourth win in a row after falling behind 2-0 in the series. The Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1906 — Malcolm Eason of Brooklyn pitched a 2-0 no-hitter against the Cardinals in St. Louis.
1925 — Brooklyn’s Dazzy Vance struck out 17 batters as the Dodgers tripped the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in 10 innings.
1933 — Babe Herman hit three home runs, including a grand slam, to pace the Chicago Cubs in a 10-1 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field.
1941 — New York’s Joe DiMaggio had three doubles and a homer in a 12-6, 17-inning Yankee victory over the Tigers in Detroit.
1958 — Jim Bunning of the Detroit Tigers threw a no-hitter, beating the Boston Red Sox 3-0 in the first game of a doubleheader.
1970 — Bill Singer of the Dodgers pitched a no-hitter against the Philadelphia Phillies for a 5-0 victory in front of 12,454 at Los Angeles.
1973 — Wilbur Wood of the Chicago White Sox lost both ends of a doubleheader to the New York Yankees, 12-2 and 7-0.
1976 — Hank Aaron hit the 755th and final home run of his career to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 6-2 win over the Angels.
2008 — Francisco Rodriguez became the fastest pitcher to 40 saves in big league history when he closed out the Angels’ 5-3 victory over Boston. Rodriguez, who struck out the side in the ninth inning, reached 40 saves in 98 games — 10 faster than John Smoltz did five years ago.
2009 — Matt Holliday homered twice, including a tying grand slam in the seventh inning, and Jack Cust followed with another shot, helping the Athletics rally from a 10-run deficit — the largest comeback in Oakland history — and beat the Minnesota Twins 14-13.
2013 — The Seattle Mariners manage only one hit but defeat the Astros 4-2.
2015 — Women’s baseball is played in The Pan American Games for the first time.
2017 — Matt Carpenter hits three home runs and two doubles as the Cardinals defeat the Cubs 17-5.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.