U.S. player Sam Querrey today lost to Milos Raonic in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, but THE RINGER's Claire McNear asks if it is "finally time to get excited about an American men's tennis player again?" Aside from the success of Serena Williams, or the Bryan brothers in doubles, it has "been a while since there was a male U.S. singles player to rally around." Querrey is playing in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, and the "first for any American man" since the '11 U.S. Open. However, Querrey will "almost certainly not be the one to lead U.S. men's tennis back to the land of plenty" (THERINGER.com, 7/5).
SOMETHING'S DIFFERENT: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale wrote MLB is on "pace to produce the second-most home runs in history," trailing only the '00 season. Teams are averaging 1.15 home runs per game this year, up 14% from a year ago. There are 49 players "on pace to hit 30 or more home runs." Pitchers and pitching coaches "have talked about the baseballs having wider seams." Royals pitching coach Dave Eiland said, "The seams seem different, but I don't know if they're making them different or what." However, the league insists that there is "absolutely no difference in the way baseballs are made today" (USA TODAY, 7/5).
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? Former NFLer Jake Plummer in a special to THE MMQB wrote it is "incredible how the NFL has convinced fans everywhere that the combine is entertaining enough to sit and watch." Plummer: "How they pulled this off baffles me. The last thing I want to watch in April is grown men running, jumping, benching and throwing in spandex. It's unnecessary hype for skills that do not transfer to the actual field of play, yet fans keep tuning in for hours just to see someone run a 4.3-second 40-yard dash" (MMQB.SI.com, 7/4).
