Welcome to the roundup of must-see sports headlines from Saturday. It was a day which was highlighted by the Los Angeles Lakers making a few interesting moves to fill out their roster in response to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George teaming up with the Los Angeles Clippers.
We’ll also take a look at the action from Wimbledon — including Serena Williams and Andy Murray teaming up on a star-studded mixed doubles team — as well as a busy night in the UFC with a pair of title belts on the line. Beyond that, Argentinian soccer star Lionel Messi accused referees of “corruption” following a rare red card.
All this and more as we get you up to speed with the sports world on this Sunday!
Lakers Sign DeMarcus Cousins as Clippers Blockbuster Triggers Flurry of Moves Around NBA
GettyDeMarcus Cousins signed with the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George landing with the Los Angeles Clippers sent shockwaves through the NBA and other teams did what they could to salvage their plans to fill out rosters on Saturday. The most notable among those squads was the Lakers, who will share a building with Leonard but won’t be in the same locker room.
After failing to sign Leonard, the Lakers quickly made moves to build around LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The team agreed to a $3.5 million deal with big man DeMarcus Cousins and also decided to bring back guard Rajon Rondo on a two-year deal. Cousins previously played with Davis in New Orleans.
Injuries limited the free agent market for Cousins, who was once considered a max-contract candidate. He’s is coming off of a torn quadriceps in the NBA Finals and suffered a torn Achilles in 2018. Cousins played in 30 regular season games last season with the Golden State Warriors, scoring 16.3 points and grabbing 8.2 rebounds. He also added 3.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks.
Rondo will reportedly make $2.6 million and holds a player option for the second year. Rondo is entering his 14th NBA season and has career averages of 10.4 points, 8.5 assists, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game.
BOOGIE to LA.
Cousins agrees to a one-year deal with the Lakers, per @wojespn
The San Antonio Spurs were another team making moves. The team acquired forward DeMarre Carroll from the Brooklyn Nets in a trade that sent forward Davis Bertans to the Washington Wizards. The Spurs also agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with Marcus Morris, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Serena Williams Teams up With Andy Murray in Mixed Doubles at Wimbledon
GettySerena Williams laughs during a mixed doubles match at Wimbledon with her partner, Andy Murray.
Andy Murray and Serena Williams teamed up to create one of the most decorated mixed doubles teams in history at Wimbledon on Saturday. Williams owns 23 Grand Slam titles in singles, 14 in women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles. Murray has three major singles championships on his resume, as well as two Olympic singles gold medals.
The pair swiftly took care of their competition, winning 6-4, 6-1 over Alexa Guarachi and Andreas Mies. Despite the big win, the duo are still working on some of the logistics, as The Guardian revealed.
“I always play the forehand side. If you want to play with me, I play forehand. It’s just the only rule I have,” said Williams, who earlier in the day won singles match, beating Julia Görges, 6-3, 6-4.
Well that was fun… 😄😄 #SerAndy
“We were saying before the match, we’re both the younger sibling, so we’re used to being bossed by our older brother and sister. So we’re sort of taking turns, I guess,” Murray added.
On the men’s side, Roger Federer broke a Wimbledon record by reaching the fourth round for the 17th time. He beat Lucas Pouille 7-5, 6-2, 7-6 (4).
Rafael Nadal also made a bit of history, notching his 51st victory at Wimbledon, moving him into a tie for eighth on the men’s all-time list with Bjorn Borg. He beat two-time Wimbledon semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
Lionel Messi Gets Rare Red Card in Argentina’s Victory Over Chile at Copa América
GettyArgentina’s Lionel Messi is given a red card during at the Copa America
Lionel Messi usually keeps to himself. However, the Argentinian soccer wonder simply had enough on Saturday when he was issued a first-half red card as his team defeated Chile 2-1 to finish third in the Copa América on Saturday.
After Messi tried to sneak up veteran Chile midfielder Gary Medel to gain possession, the two got into it, getting into a shoving match.
DOUBLE RED CARD 🔴 🔴
Lionel Messi and Gary Medel are both sent off after an altercation!
Furious after the incident, Messi skipped the medal ceremony and spoke out against the officials.
“We shouldn’t take part in this corruption,” Messi said following the match. “There was lack of respect toward us during this Copa América. We could have done better, but they didn’t let us make it to the final. Corruption and the referees are not letting the fans enjoy football. This is ruining football.”
Jon Jones, Amanda Nunes Defend Titles at UFC 239
GettyUFC fighter Jon Jones
Jon Jones retained his light heavyweight title via a split decision over Thiago Santos and Amanda Nunes defended her bantamweight belt by knocking out Holly Holm at UFC 239 in Las Vegas on Saturday.
Jones — regarded as one of the best fighters the UFC has ever seen — survived a bit of a scare against Santos. Two judges scored the bout 48-47 for Jones, while a third judge had it 48-47 for Santos. It his 13th victory in a UFC championship bout, tying Georges St-Pierre for the UFC record, according to ESPN.
Both fighters appeared to suffer leg injuries and had to helped backstage by their corners following the fight.
Both Jon Jones and Thiago Santos carried backstage by their corners. I don’t envy the pain in either of their legs right now, and can’t even imagine how they’ll feel tomorrow. #UFC239
Nunes had little to no trouble with Holm, knocking her out near the end of the first round with a violent head kick. Holm fell to 2-5 since the 2015 upset of then undefeated Ronda Rousey that thrust her into the spotlight.
“[This is] amazing,” Nunes said. “A lot of people say whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. But this belt will always stay with me.”
The highlight of the night belonged to Jorge Masvidal, who knocked out previously undefeated Ben Askren in just five seconds — a UFC record.
OH MY GOD MASVIDAL STARCHES ASKREN IN 5 SECONDS!!!
The two had engaged in a war of words leading up to the fight, which made the knockout extra sweet for Masvidal.
“He’s a bum,” Masvidal said. “That dude was talking wild, man. I had to show him that there’s consequences sometimes. There’s some bad motherf—ers out there, you don’t want to wake them up.”
DON’T MISS THESE STORIES: Rounding Up the Top Sports Headlines
GettyZion Williamson during an NBA Summer League game.
- No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson shut down for the remainder of NBA Summer League with bruised knee
- Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka surprised to be replacing Stroman in All-Star Game
- Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook discussing future, possible trade following Paul George deal
- Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen threw a chair following a heated meeting with manager Mickey Callaway
- Sweden beats England 2-1 to take third place at Women’s World Cup
- Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco diagnosed with Leukemia
WHAT’S ON TAP IN THE SPORTS WORLD
GettyAlex Morgan celebrated one of her goals in the World Cup semifinal by trolling England with tea.
FIFA Women’s World Cup Final: U.S. vs. Netherlands
The defending World Cup champion U.S. Women’s Soccer Team will face the reigning European champion Netherlands in the World Cup Final in France on Sunday.
When: Sunday, July 7, 11 a.m. ET
TV: FOX
Gold Cup Final: Mexico vs. U.S.
The U.S. men will also be competing for a title on Sunday, taking on rival Mexico in the Gold Cup final. The two national teams have combined for 13 of the last 14 titles at the event — the U.S. with six and Mexico with seven.
When: Sunday, July 7, 9 p.m. ET
TV: FS1
MLB Home Run Derby
The biggest sluggers in the MLB are set to come out for the Home Run Derby at Progressive Field in Cleveland. The derby field includes Houston’s Alex Bregman, L.A. Dodgers’ Joc Pederson, Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr., the New York Mets’ Pete Alonso, Pittsburgh’s Josh Bell, Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Cleveland’s Carlos Santana and Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich.
When: Monday, July 8, 8 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
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Your Must-See Sports Headlines for Today, July 7