• After the NBA Board of Governors meeting Tuesday, Adam Silver told the media he expects a ruling on Clippers–Kawhi Leonard before next season. Read the story.
• First at FOS: A group led by former NBA owner Jerry Colangelo has been preparing the Las Vegas Jacks for over a year, trademark filings show. Read the story.
• Leaders of Michigan’s athletic department knew of the rumors of Sherrone Moore’s affair with an executive assistant, an investigation found. Read the story.
• With the MLB All-Star Game done, the focus turns to other big issues, including labor talks and the health of big stars. Read the story.

Tuesday was a good day for Las Vegas.

France’s 2–0 semifinal loss to Spain eliminated one of the most bet-on teams in the World Cup from the tournament.

DraftKings and BetMGM told Front Office Sports that France was their biggest remaining liability on outright World Cup winner bets. For the same bet on FanDuel, wagers on France totaled the highest handle of any team left in the tournament.

The public’s investment in France was seen in the betting activity for the semifinal; 94% of money was on France to qualify for the World Cup final at BetMGM, making Spain’s win a huge win for the sportsbook. 

Spain’s shutout also had major implications for player prop bets. Kylian Mbappé has been the most-bet “anytime goalscorer” in the tournament on DraftKings and BetMGM. The star attacker was far and away the most bet-on player for Tuesday’s match at BetMGM, with Mbappé to score being bet on five times more than any other player. 

France’s elimination has also shifted the odds for the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the player who scores the most goals in the tournament. Lionel Messi is now the favorite at -175 on DraftKings, with Mbappé (+200) and Harry Kane (+900) having the next best odds. If Mbappé opts out of the third-place game, his World Cup would be over, meaning Messi would need only one goal to take sole possession of first place. That would be good news for the sportsbooks, with Mbappé having the most bets to win the award on DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM. 

France had strong backing on prediction markets as well. On Polymarket, traders had $132 million in volume on France to win the World Cup. As prediction markets make money on transaction fees, they don’t specifically benefit from an individual team winning or losing. That said, the World Cup has clearly been a success for them, with Polymarket’s World Cup winner market having more than $4 billion in volume, while Kalshi’s has $1.1 billion.   

Despite Tuesday’s result, bettors have won big during this year’s World Cup. A parlay featuring Mbappé, Messi, and Erling Haaland to score two-plus goals cashed two separate times during the group stage. The parlays, which had odds ranging from +8000 to +13000 on various sportsbooks, cost the sportsbooks millions. 

Read more about how sportsbooks are faring in the World Cup.

1.9 million

Viewers of the Wimbledon women’s final Saturday between Linda Nosková and Karolína Muchová on ESPN, the network’s most-watched women’s final in the Grand Slam’s history and up 48% from last year. While the match was a three-set thriller won by Nosková, the viewership number is a surprise given it pitted two first-time Wimbledon finalists, both from Czechia, compared to last year’s final between established star Iga Świątek and American Amanda Anisimova.

The entire tournament averaged 853,000 viewers on ESPN networks, the second-most-watched Wimbledon in history. But the men’s final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev saw a 16% dip in viewership, drawing 2.4 million viewers. Last year’s final saw Sinner defeat Carlos Alcaraz in four sets.

“I think that it’s just a determination of people not really understanding the rules.”

—Comedian Adam Friedland, who’s been hosting The Beautiful Pod with Chris Ryan for The Ringer and Spotify during the World Cup, about the theory that Argentina has been given favorable treatment during the tournament. Argentina beat Egypt 3–2 in a round-of-16 match on July 7, after which Egypt alleged the referees were biased toward Argentina—and its star player, Lionel Messi, in particular. Argentina also benefited from a controversial red card against Switzerland in Saturday’s quarterfinal. 

Friedland, who is an Arsenal fan, added: “There is a tendency now to view any result that you don’t like [as a conspiracy]. It’s like a January 6th kind of thing.” Read the story. 

Macklin Celebrini ⬆ The Sharks forward was announced as the cover athlete for EA’s NHL 27 video game. The 20-year-old, who is the youngest player to grace the cover of the game, is eligible to sign a contract extension this offseason. His new contract could exceed Leo Carlsson’s record average annual value of $18 million, but Celebrini told ESPN he’s considering taking a hometown discount to help San Jose win.

All-Star auction ⬆ A set of 21 autographed baseballs signed by every U.S. president since Theodore Roosevelt sold for more than $3 million at Hunt Auctions’s MLB All-Star live auction. It took the unnamed collector 30 years to amass the collection, which includes one of only two known balls signed by Roosevelt.

Gianni Infantino ⬇ FairSquare, a human rights nonprofit, has filed a complaint with the International Olympic Committee alleging the FIFA president breached rules on political neutrality through his ties with U.S. President Donald Trump, including the decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s red-card ban ahead of the USA-Belgium match. The complaint comes as dozens of European lawmakers push to launch a separate investigation into the European Parliament.  

Bundesliga ⬆ The German league announced a multiyear U.S. rights deal with USA Sports. The deal, which is reportedly worth $100 million over five years, will see more than 300 games either broadcast on USA Network or streamed on Fandango. Bundesliga’s previous television deal was with ESPN, with the network paying $30 million per year for the rights.