Noah Lyles, Novak Djokovic, Scottie Scheffler win gold; Michigan football in trouble again

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🥇 Good morning to everyone, but especially to …

NOAH LYLES …

He talked the talk, and then he walked the walk — well, dashed the dash. Noah Lyles is the fastest man on Earth, and he earned the title in thrilling fashion edging out Jamaica‘s Kishane Thompson by five one-thousandths of a second — 9.784 to 9.789. American Fred Kerley took bronze with a 9.81.

Lyles is the first American to win the event since Justin Gatlin in 2004, and it came in the closest finish we’ve seen in the 100-meter since 1980. While the 200-meter race is Lyles’ specialty (his 2020 bronze is serving as motivation), he has never been shy about his immense talent, and he showed it all in a remarkable run to gold. He’ll go for the second half of the 100-200 double on Thursday.

… SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER …

There was a time, not long ago, when Olympic golf was looked down on, regarded as a side show. If you needed any evidence that’s no longer the case, watch Scottie Scheffler fist pump and roar as he holed the go-ahead birdie on the 17th hole. Scheffler shot a spectacular Sunday 62 to win gold, finishing atop an absolutely loaded leaderboard.

Scheffler tied the course record, fueled by a back-nine 29, and became the first world No. 1 to win Olympic gold. He birdied each of his first three holes and four of his final five. His ball striking was superb — three of his final four birdies were on putts inside eight feet — and his putting was arguably even better. Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama earned silver and bronze, respectively, with Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy among those just on the outside looking in.

… AND NOVAK DJOKOVIC

There’s something about the Olympics that makes triumph — no matter the heights one has reached elsewhere — truly special. Novak Djokovic, brought to his knees and openly weeping in the middle of the court, then in the crowd, and then wrapped in the Serbian flag, told you all you need to know.

Sixteen years after making his Olympic debut, Djokovic fended off the game’s brightest young star, father time itself and, perhaps, the feeling that he might never win another big one with a tremendous 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3) victory over Carlos Alcaraz.

• At 37, Djokovic is the oldest Olympic singles tennis champion ever. Alcaraz, 21, wasn’t even born when Djokovic played in his first professional match.
• Djokovic joins Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams as the only players with the “Golden Slam” — all four majors and an Olympic gold.
• Djokovic, a 24-time major champion, called this, “arguably the biggest success I’ve ever had.”

Years after his supposed “peak,” Djokovic reached those heights once again, gliding and sliding around the iconic Roland Garros clay, playing incredible defense and hitting seemingly impossible angles. It was a magnificent display, harkening back to times that weren’t supposed to return given age and injury. Yet here he is, good as gold for the first time. 

Here’s more from the Games:

• Live blog
• Medal tracker
• How to watch
• Let’s hear it for the distance swimmers! Bobby Finke won gold in the 1500-meter freestyle, and Katie Ledecky won her fourth straight gold in the 800-meter freestyle. Here’s our Sunday recap, and here’s our Saturday recap.
• Team USA beat Australia eight golds to seven in swimming, continuing its dominance in that “rivalry” — the Aussies haven’t won more Olympic swimming golds than the U.S. since 1956.
• In gymnastics, Simone Biles won gold on the vault and Jade Carey won bronze; Suni Lee won bronze on the uneven bars; and “Pommel Horse Guy” Stephen Nedoroscik won bronze on — you guessed it — the pommel horse.
• Trinity Rodman‘s stunning left-footed strike in extra time pushed the USWNT past Japan, 1-0. Germany is next.
• Ledecky, Biles and Rodman were Saturday’s standouts, Matt Norlander writes.
• Sha’Carri Richardson won silver in the women’s 100-meter race; Melissa Jefferson took bronze.
• Team USA men’s 5×5 basketball cruised past Puerto Rico to earn the No. 1 seed in the knockout rounds. The Americans will face Brazil tomorrow. Jrue Holiday (ankle) will return and Kevin Durant will continue coming off the bench.
• Team USA women’s 5×5 basketball beat Germany, its 58th consecutive Olympic win.
• We had some fun solutions to Team USA’s men’s 3×3 struggles. I ran through a hypothetical 3×3 team of college players, and Sam Quinn did the same for NBA players. We also discussed best hypothetical 3×3 teams by college. 
• Here’s how the USA can actually fix the problem.
• And even Ice Cube is getting in on the action. He challenged the eventual Olympic championship squad to play his BIG3 All-Stars in Boston later this month. 

😁 Honorable mentions

• It was a good weekend to be Tyreek Hill: The Dolphins star was voted the NFL’s best player by his peers and got a restructured deal that pays him $90 million over the next three seasons, with $65 million guaranteed.
• The Titans signed Quandre Diggs.
• The Cardinals extended Zaven Collins.
• Quarterback Faizon Brandon, the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2026 recruiting class, committed to Tennessee.
• Oregon added Trey McNutt, the top safety in the 2025 class.
• There’s a new name emerging in the USMNT coaching search.
• In boxing action, Terence “Bud” Crawford beat Israil Madrimov for the WBA junior middleweight crown, Jose Valenzuela upset Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz to take the WBA junior welterweight championship, and Martin Bakole TKOed Jared Anderson.
• Christian Moore is the latest Angels prospect zooming up the minor leagues.

🏈 And not such a good morning for …

SHERRONE MOORE AND THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES

Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore could face a suspension and a show-cause penalty from the NCAA stemming from the program’s alleged sign-stealing controversy, according to a draft of the NCAA’s notice of allegations. Moore is accused of deleting 52 text messages with former staffer Connor Stalions, who is at the center of the scandal.

• Moore is a “repeat violator” due to a separate investigation that found Michigan committed recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period.
• Because this is just a draft, the punishments are not final and could change significantly.
• Moore’s allegations constitute a Level 2 violation. Jim Harbaugh, Stalions, and former staffers Chris Partridge and Denard Robinson are accused of Level 1 violations, and the school faces a Level 1 violation charge for a “pattern of noncompliance.”

The national-champion Wolverines were without Harbaugh for six games last year due to two three-game suspensions, one self-imposed and one imposed by the Big Ten. This year’s new-look Michigan team opens its season against Fresno State before hosting Texas.

😔 Not so honorable mentions

• Kentucky football will vacate wins after the NCAA found players received impermissible benefits.
• Jonathan Brooks will miss the entire preseason and the beginning of the regular season as he works his way back from an ACL tear.

⚾ MLB roundup: Blake Snell’s no-no, White Sox’s (bad) history, new Power Rankings

There’s a first time for everything, and when finally given a chance, Blake Snell didn’t let it go to waste. The Giants lefty threw his first career no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the Reds.

• Snell had been pulled from three no-hit bids (through five innings once and through seven innings twice) before in his career, and he had never even pitched eight innings.
• He was undeniable this time around, though, mowing down the last 11 batters in order. He threw 114 pitches, striking out 11.
• Matt Snyder has more numbers on Snell going the distance, and R.J. Anderson broke down Snell’s absolute heater: a 0.55 ERA over his last five starts.

Going from the historically good to the historically bad, the White Sox have lost 20 games in a row. They’re the first team to do that since the 1988 Orioles. I feel like I’m not spoiling too much when I tell you the White Sox are last in Matt Snyder’s latest Power Rankings. On the happier end of things, here’s the top five:

1. Guardians (previous: 3)
2. Yankees (5)
3. Orioles (4)
4. Phillies (1)
5. Dodgers (2)

Here’s more from the weekend:

• Gleyber Torres got benched for baserunning blunders.
• The Phillies are slumping.
• Shohei Ohtani joined the 30-home run, 30-stolen base club.
• The Pirates have a plan to manage Paul Skenes‘ workload. Can he still win a Cy Young?
• Max Scherzer (shoulder fatigue) is back on the IL.
• Lance McCullers Jr. (arm) had a setback and is likely done for the year.

🏈 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class inducted; looking forward to 2025

Dwight Freeney, Randy Gradishar, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Steve McMichael, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday. The ceremony was in Canton per usual, but perhaps the most touching moment came from McMichael’s hospital room, where the Bears legend, battling ALS, received his gold jacket and saw his bust while surrounded by his family and former teammates.

While it was wonderful to see Gradishar and McMichael inducted after long waits, McMichael’s bittersweet moment was a prime example of one of the Hall of Fame’s biggest issues: a massive backlog resulting in waits that are far too long. Bryan DeArdo wrote about how to fix the flawed process.

Bryan also looked at the Class of 2025 candidates. Notable first-timers include …

• Eli Manning
• Luke Kuechly
• Marshall Yanda
• Marshawn Lynch
• Terrell Suggs
• Adam Vinatieri

📺 What we’re watching Monday

🥇 We’re watching the Olympics. Here’s how.
⚾ Phillies at Dodgers, 10:10 p.m. on MLB Network