Padres’ Dylan Cease throws first-career no-hitter; Team USA Men’s Basketball preview

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⚾ Good morning to everyone but especially …

DYLAN CEASE AND THE SAN DIEGO PADRES

Dylan Cease would not cease, no matter the weather nor the pitch count. And the Nationals had no answer. Cease threw just the second no-hitter in Padres history in San Diego’s 3-0 win in the nation’s capital.

• After waiting out a lengthy rain delay, Cease, on a career-high 114 pitches, struck out nine and walked three. He had to convince manager Mike Shildt to let him finish the job, and he rewarded his manager. He was still hitting 99 mph in the ninth inning.
• It’s his first career no-hitter and second career complete game. He joins Joe Musgrove as the only players in franchise history with a no-hitter.
• It’s also the second no-no in MLB this season; Ronel Blanco threw the other April 1.
• While the Nationals hardly applied much pressure, Cease did get a great play from his defense. In the fifth inning, a Juan Yepez bloop threatened to drop in after Xander Bogaerts bobbled an over-the-shoulder catch attempt, but Jackson Merrill was in perfect position and caught the ricochet.

This continues an absolutely incredible run for Cease, Mike Axisa notes.

• Axisa: “The Padres landed Cease in a spring-training trade with the Chicago White Sox and he has been one of the single best additions made by any team heading into the 2024 season. … Cease is the first pitcher to go at least six innings with no more than one hit allowed in three consecutive starts since 1901. Thursday was his sixth start of at least six innings with no more than one hit allowed this season. That is two more than any other pitcher in any season since 1901.”

The Padres have won five straight to move into the third NL Wild Card spot.

😁 Honorable mentions

• Who has the best nickname on Team USA men’s basketball? The players debated.
• Here’s what Olympic athletes brought with them to Paris.
• Here are the new Olympic events … including breakdancing!
• Randy Arozarena is heading to Seattle.
• Clayton Kershaw made his season debut.
• Kirk Cousins has been medically cleared but will have his reps managed.
• Shane Steichen won’t limit Anthony Richardson‘s running.
• In the aftermath of the NBA’s new TV deal, it’s time to shorten the season, Sam Quinn says.
• The Diamondbacks acquired A.J. Puk.
• Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal could meet in the second round of Olympic Men’s Tennis.
• Men’s college basketball fans will recognize these names in Olympic play.

😕 Not so honorable mentions

• Jerry Jones compared himself to Patrick Mahomes when it comes to contract negotiations. Uhh … not quite!
• Do the Bengals have contract trouble with Ja’Marr Chase?
• Our NFL injury tracker is, unfortunately, filling up quickly.
• Dabo Swinney is not a fan of proposed scholarship and roster changes.
• Dan Lanning fired back at Kirby Smart‘s NIL comment.
• Mason Miller is on the IL after he broke a finger pounding his fist in frustration.
• Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman was removed following a spying scandal.

⚽ USWNT cruises past Zambia in Olympic opener

The USWNT is off to a flying start at the 2024 Olympics after beating Zambia 3-0 in manager Emma Hayes‘ first competitive match in charge.

After two underwhelming matches in the lead up to the Games, the Americans wasted little time getting their talented attack going. Trinity Rodman opened the scoring in the 17th minute off a wonderful turn and a calm, cool, collected finish. Seven minutes later, Mallory Swanson found the back of the net, and a minute later, she did it again. Zambia went down a player in the 34th minute after Pauline Zulu‘s red card, and the match lost its bite thereafter.

It was a wonderful return for Swanson, who has dealt with significant injury issues but has a ton of talent. She earned top marks in Sandra Herrera’s player ratings.

• Herrera: “It’s been an eight-year journey back to the Olympics for Swanson. Back for the first time since Rio 2016 and after a left patellar injury last year, she re-introduced herself with two goals in the first half. The team losing her ahead of last year’s World Cup was absolutely the worst thing to happen to the program. Welcome back. Rating: 9“

The defense was strong against star Barbra Banda, making for a straightforward result. However, it wasn’t a completely stress-free night: Sophia Smith was subbed off shortly before halftime with an apparent injury, and Jaedyn Shaw was taken off the gameday roster before kickoff with a leg injury. The USWNT would love to have both against Germany on Sunday.

🏀 Team USA Men’s Basketball wild cards and ranking 30 most important players at Olympics

The United States has assembled one of the best men’s basketball teams the world has ever seen, and they’re going to need every bit of it against the toughest competition the world has ever produced.

This is not an overstatement. This year, 66 international players have NBA experience. That includes the NBA’s MVP (Nikola Jokic, Serbia), Rookie of the Year (Victor Wembanyama, France) and Defensive Player of the Year (Rudy Gobert, France).

The U.S. is still the favorite, but it’s going to take everyone. And one of the team’s biggest wild cards, according to Brad Botkin, hasn’t played in any warmup games.

• Botkin: “Kevin Durant — Not having played through the exhibitions and having to jump into the heat of Olympic battle, potentially off the bench, could make it tough for Durant to find his groove right away. … Then again, he’s Kevin Durant. Nobody will be surprised if he steps right into a starring role carrying the Americans with his isolation scoring. Durant is a cheat code in the international game with the shorter 3-point line. … My guess is that he becomes a vital source of offense for an American team that could struggle, relatively speaking, to find flow in the half court, but the injury and time off at least make it a question.”

I couldn’t agree more. It’s hard for any individual to truly raise Team USA’s ceiling considering how many superstars there are, but Durant is the exception.

Because he’s been hurt, Durant falls to 17th in Brad’s most important Olympic players rankings. Here’s the top five:

1. Nikola Jokic, Serbia
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greece
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Canada
4. LeBron James, USA
5. Anthony Davis, USA

🥊 UFC 304 features two title fights

Two belts are on the line tomorrow atop a loaded UFC 304 fight card in Manchester, England.

In the welterweight division, champion Leon Edwards defends his title against Belal Muhammad. Elsewhere, Tom Aspinall hopes to keep the interim heavyweight title against Curtis Blaydes.

As Shakiel Majouri writes, Aspinall is in an odd position. Normally, the interim champ would get a shot to unify the belts and crown an undisputed champ. But Dana White is set on preserving Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, a fight that was scheduled for November 2023 before Jones got hurt. So Aspinall is left on the outside looking in. Current and former UFC stars weighed in on the dilemma.

Like Aspinall, Edwards’ title fight comes in his home country. It’s been quite a rise for Edwards, Brian Campbell writes.

• Campbell: “Edwards is finally starting to receive the respect he deserves as one of the MMA’s best fighters. Maybe it was his quiet demeanor or the meandering journey he took to become champion that saw so many people sleep on him. Or maybe it was the fact that Edwards lacks one singular dominant skill and is, instead, one of the more well-rounded fighters at the elite level today. Either way, his current 13-fight unbeaten streak is nothing to scoff at.”

Here’s our full coverage:

• Best bets
• Bisping, “MVP” talk British MMA’s long road ahead
• Current, former champs weigh in on Aspinall’s unique situation
• Undercard fights to watch
• Biggest storylines

📺 What we’re watching this weekend

We’re watching the Olympics all weekend. Here’s how.

Friday

🏅 2024 Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony, 1:30 p.m. on NBC

Saturday

⚽ USMNT U23s vs. New Zealand, 1 p.m. on USA
⚾ Padres at Orioles, 4:05 p.m. on FS1
⚾ Yankees at Red Sox, 7:15 p.m. on Fox

Sunday

🏀 Team USA men vs. Serbia, 11:15 p.m. on NBC
⚾ Guardians at Phillies, 1:35 p.m. on MLB Network
⚽ USWNT vs. Germany, 3 p.m. on USA
⚾ Yankees at Red Sox, 7 p.m. on ESPN