Another Olympic soccer controversy, plus new details on the NBA/TNT drama

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Don’t question it. Before we get into the madness, I want to emphasize a simple point: The opening ceremony of the Olympics has not even begun , yet we already have two mind-boggling stories from France. And both the Olympic drone scandal and the following happened in soccer.



Quickly: See our full explainer on the chaos here . I don’t know if we can possibly keep up with this pace of lunacy. (It has been a rough two weeks for Argentinian soccer, too.

) Remember the 2006 film “The Break-Up,” featuring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn? It centers around a couple that breaks up while living together, though neither wants to move out. That’s how I imagine the 2024-25 NBA season will be for the league and broadcast partner TNT, who’s set to be out of the basketball business after the NBA yesterday officially rejected the broadcaster’s claim to part of the TV package . The skinny: I really enjoyed our NBA crew’s memories of TNT’s NBA coverage , compiled this morning after yesterday’s news broke.

There’s plenty of stuff in there I missed at the time or just forgot about. Also on the money front: MLB is planning to redirect luxury tax money toward teams losing dollars on TV deals. That’s nice.

Yelich and Trout facing dreary outcomes Brewers star Christian Yelich will learn today if he needs season-ending back surgery, which, as Ken Rosenthal put it, would impact the entire outlook of Milwaukee’s season . Meanwhile, Angels center fielder Mike Trout — a bigger star than Yelich, but on a perpetually bad team — was pulled off a rehab assignment after suffering a setback in his recovery from knee surgery. It is unclear when he will play next .

Trout has played fewer than 100 games in two of the last three seasons, and will likely make that three out of four at this rate. Just such a bummer. Advertisement Opening ceremony strike called off Olympic organizers avoided a last-minute crisis after coming to an agreement with a dancers union yesterday, after hundreds of dancers threatened to strike during the opening ceremony due to “outrageous disparities” in pay.

Tensions boiled earlier this week, when a group of dancers rehearsing for tomorrow’s performance refused to continue in protest, instead raising their fists in unison along the River Seine for eight straight minutes. Read our full report here . More news All times Eastern Olympics: Canada vs.

New Zealand (women’s soccer) 11 a.m. on Peacock We have to, right? The Canadians sent two staffers home yesterday after multiple (!) drone-spying incidents at New Zealand practices .

Canada head coach Bev Priestman is also removing herself from this game. We have a full recap of the spy scandal here . Olympics: USA vs.

Zambia (women’s soccer) 3 p.m. on USA and Peacock We get our first look at Emma Hayes’ USWNT in a game that counts.

It should be an easy win for the Americans — Zambia is No. 64 in FIFA’s latest rankings — but that means little in the Olympics. Be sure to catch the Full Time podcast after every USWNT match during the Olympics and read the newsletter the next day.

We will have a full Olympics preview for you tomorrow, but here’s a great appetizer today: Suni Lee , the all-around gold medalist gymnast in Tokyo, is back at these Games. Her road here was harder than you can imagine . Important reading this time of year: Ken Rosenthal’s latest update on what he’s hearing as the MLB trade deadline approaches .

The Mariners are in a pickle. Who was the best golfer of the year: Xander Schauffele or Scottie Scheffler? Hugh Kellenberger and Gabby Herzig had a tough time picking . Scott Wheeler redrafted the 2021 NHL Draft .

Always a fun look back. Advertisement Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday : Yep, we’re referring yet again to the Canada women’s soccer spying scandal . Still wild.

Most-read on the website yesterday : Zak Keefer’s incredible story on Colts linebacker Grant Stuard, who emerged from a near suicide attempt to save his family. Read it if you missed it yesterday . Top podcast in The Athletic network : A full Team USA men’s basketball Olympics preview with Joe Vardon , who’s on the scene in France.

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