and Spain’s Lamine Yamal is World Cup Champion.
World Cup Fever highlights smoking hot July in the US
Stevie Wonder sang that it’s Hotter Than July in his 1980 album (look it up, youngsters) and the World Cup brought that out this summer. Spread across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., the global sport crowned its champion on Sunday, July 19 in New York. Many of us in the U.S. were introduced to the glory of “the Beautiful Sport” after five weeks sorting through 48 contenders from all over the world.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup was played across 16 iconic North American cities. In the United States, eleven venues included Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), AT&T Stadium (Dallas—which hosted the most matches), MetLife Stadium (New York / New Jersey — site of the final), SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles), Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City), and others.
James Corden returned to US late night TV to host a really fun after Hours show nightly, breaking down the day’s action on the pitch.
Spain defeated Argentina by scoring one goal, the only goal scored, in the Final match. Most of my friends and I were happy to see the winning team featuring the 19-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal (Moroccan and Equatorial Guinean heritage) and winger Nico Williams (Ghanaian heritage), along with forward Samu Omorodion (Nigerian heritage) emerge victorious. Argentina has nil Black players, and we were happy to see that being their final score. Google “why were there no african descent players for argentina in world cup’ in AI Mode to find out why.
Speaking of racists, the US President was involved once again in ruining sports events. First, he interfered in the disciplinary proceedings of FIFA, getting a player’s banishment from the US team lifted, only to have that team suffer the third worst loss in the tournament, getting blown out 4-1 by Belgium in Seattle’s Lumen Field. Adding insult to injury, POTUS embarrassed the nation by staying out on stage while the Spain team celebrated their championship victory.
On a happy note, Kylian Mbappé officially won the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot with a record-breaking 10 goals in eight matches. He finished two goals ahead of Lionel Messi (8 goals) to become the first player in history to claim the prestigious tournament award twice.
Nashville Kats finish regular season on top
The Nashville Kats closed the regular season by winning nine games in row and swept the season series versus the Albany Firebirds in the regular season finale. The Kats finished 11-1 to sit atop the league standings, unbeaten (7-0) at home during the regular season, while the Albany Firebirds were 9-3 in second place and secured the No. 2 playoffs seed
The Kats will host a semifinal game on Sunday, Aug. 2 at 3 p.m. at F&M Bank Arena in Clarksville against the lowest remaining seed still alive in the playoffs. That winner advances to the Arena Crown championship game on Aug. 8 at the home of the highest seed remaining. The AF1 playoffs begin Saturday, July 25, with No. 4 seed Kentucky Barrels (7-5) playing at No. 5 seed Michigan Arsenal (6-6) at 3 p.m. CDT. On Sunday, July 26 at 6 p.m. CDT, the No. 3 seed Minnesota Monsters (8-4) play host to the No. 6 seed Washington Wolfpack (5-7).
