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🚨 Headlines
💔 Shooting at NFL HQ: Four people were killed by a gunman on Monday in the midtown Manhattan skyscraper that houses the NFL’s corporate offices, as well as top financial firms. The gunman then shot and killed himself.
⚾️ Betting scandal expands: Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, one of the top arms on the trade market, has been placed on paid leave in connection with MLB’s ongoing sports betting investigation, joining teammate Luis Ortiz.
🏈 Coach Prime’s diagnosis: Deion Sanders announced that he was diagnosed with bladder cancer earlier this year, but has since been “cured” after having his bladder surgically removed. He said he’ll likely have a portable toilet on the Colorado sidelines this fall.
⚾️ Harper gets heated: Bryce Harper reportedly told Rob Manfred to “get the f*** out of our clubhouse” when the commissioner brought up the potential implementation of a salary cap as part of the next CBA. The current labor deal expires at the end of next season.
🏀 New-look Luka: Luka Dončić showed off his new physique on the cover on Men’s Health. “My whole body looks better,” said the Lakers star, who’s adopted a gluten-free, low-sugar diet.
💵 Exclusive: GameStop, PSA launching digital “Power Packs”
GameStop’s collectibles business has boomed since partnering with trading card grading and authentication company Professional Sports Authenticators (PSA) last fall to turn its storefronts into grading submission centers. Now, the two companies are expanding their partnership with a digital collectibles experience called “Power Packs,” Yahoo Sports has learned.
What’s new? Power Packs is a new GameStop trading card platform that “bridges the thrill of card collecting with the convenience of the digital world,” says Nat Turner, who is the CEO of Collectors Universe (which owns PSA) and sits on the GameStop board. Invites to the beta version of the platform go live today, according to GameStop.
How it works: The experience begins with a collector purchasing a virtual Power Pack, revealing a PSA-graded trading card securely stored in the PSA Vault. From there, they have three options:
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Sell the card back instantly (with values powered by Card Ladder’s dynamic pricing)
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Keep it in the PSA Vault (with options to store it there, sell directly on eBay or potentially receive a PSA Instant Offer)
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Ship the card home (for a fee)
More details: Power Packs have five price tiers ($25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000) that offer varying chances of pulling cards of certain values. Football and Pokémon cards will be available at launch, with plans to add more categories in the future. Acquired cards are managed through the Power Packs website (powerpacks.gamestop.com when it goes live) and payouts can be sent via direct deposit or added to the user’s Power Packs balance.
Hot new trend: Repacks have emerged as a popular offering recently, allowing collectors to buy packs curated by individuals or hobby-related businesses rather than sealed boxes directly from the manufacturer. They typically contain a number of lower-value cards worth less than the price of the repack but offer the chance at “chases” worth much more, per cllct. PSA sees Power Packs as a way to bring more transparency to the space.
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“The existing repack landscape is full of individuals who are creating these things on their own. They’re not thinking about the end consumer. They’re thinking about how much money they can generate,” says Tommy Paderes, GM of Power Packs at PSA.
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“This is our foray into creating a fun experience while utilizing the trust and transparency that comes with PSA grading. GameStop really wanted to bring this to life, and it was a natural fit knowing that we could build the technology and they could deliver it to the mass market.”
A shift in strategy: GameStop played a starring role in the 2021 “meme stock” frenzy and has undergone a dramatic transformation since then, pivoting from a video game retailer to a hybrid entity with an increased focus on collectibles (sales jumped 55% YoY in the first quarter to $211.5 million) and cryptocurrency (they bought $500 million of Bitcoin in May).
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“We’ve moved the business from a big reliance on hardware and software to collectibles,” said CEO Ryan Cohen during a recent interview on Fox Business Network. “We’re selling a ton of trading cards, both sports and TCG. It’s a much more durable business.”
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Since partnering up nine months ago, GameStop stores have facilitated grading of over 1 million cards by PSA. That partnership is now going digital as PSA embraces the future of the hobby (virtual experiences) and GameStop embraces the future of its business (fewer brick-and-mortar locations).
What’s GameStop up to? The company declined comment for this story but did post a video last night teasing this announcement as part of something called “Push Start Arcade,” which could hint at a larger initiative around digital gaming and virtual wallets. The company’s cult-like following is already speculating about what this all could mean.
🏀 The oldest team in NBA history
With 40-year-old Chris Paul officially in the fold, the 2025-26 Clippers are on track to be the oldest team in NBA history with an average age of 33.2 years old, as noted by Yahoo Sports’ Tom Haberstroh on the latest episode of “The Big Number” NBA podcast.
Oldest teams since the merger:
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2025-26 Clippers: 33.2 (weighted for playing time)
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2000-01 Jazz: 32.0
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1997-98 Rockets: 32.0
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1997-98 Bulls: 31.7
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1999-00 Jazz: 31.5
What they’re saying: “The Hakeem Rockets, the Jordan Bulls, the Stockton and Malone Jazz … these were the most ancient NBA teams ever … and they look like children compared to this Clippers team,” said Haberstroh.
Roster breakdown: Paul is expected to be part of a core Clippers rotation that also includes James Harden (who will be 37 by the start of next season), Brook Lopez (37), Nicolas Batum (36), Kawhi Leonard (34), Bogdan Bogdanović (33), Bradley Beal (32) and Kris Dunn (31).
Zigging when others are zagging: The Clippers plan to trot out a historically old squad during a time when the NBA is getting younger and more athletic. Look no further than the 2025 NBA Finals, which featured the lowest average age on record (25.5 years old) and crowned the youngest champion (24.7) in a half-century. It’s a bold strategy, to say the least. Here’s Tom:
“It’s such a different roster than where the league seems to be headed. … If you look at age trends over the last decade or so, older teams are winning more in the regular season, but the further you go into the postseason, it gets younger and younger than in previous generations. So I feel like this Clippers team is built for the No. 1 or No. 2 seed … but not necessarily for winning the title.”
Watch:Full episode (YouTube)
⚾️ Is this the worst call in baseball history?
Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin threw a pitch right down the middle of the plate… and umpire Brian Walsh called it a ball. I was watching this live and couldn’t believe my eyes. Never been more confused by a call in my life.
📊 By the numbers
🏀 23 minutes
Seattle’s Skylar Diggins recorded her first career triple-double (11 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) on Monday in less than 23 minutes of game action, the lowest minutes total ever in a WNBA triple-double.
⛳️ $21.94 million
LIV Golf’s Joaquin Niemann, who won his fifth event of the season this past weekend in the U.K., has now made more in on-course earnings this year ($21.94 million) than PGA Tour money leader Scottie Scheffler ($19.2 million).
🌭 9-9-9
J.J. Watt dominated the viral “9-9-9 Challenge,” eating nine hot dogs and drinking nine beers during a nine-inning Brewers game. In fact, he finished with 3.5 innings to spare… and still had room for a postgame meal. Built different.
🌎 The world in photos
🇺🇸 Foxborough, Massachusetts — All 32 NFL teams have reported to training camp, and there’s no shortage of intrigue and storylines so far.
🇫🇷 La Gacilly, France — The fourth edition of Le Tour Femmes (Women’s Tour de France) is underway. Current leader: Marianne Vos of the Netherlands.
🏴 Bridgend, Wales — The Women’s Open tees off this week at Royal Porthcawl, which comes in at No. 65 on the World’s Top 100 Golf Courses list.
📺 Watchlist: Tuesday, July 29
⚾️ Rays at Yankees | 7pm ET, TBS
The AL East takes center stage today, with the Yankees hosting the Rays in primetime and the Orioles hosting the Blue Jays in a split doubleheader (12:35pm ET, MLB; 6:35pm). Watch out for Toronto, whose lead atop the division has grown to 5.5 games — their highest since 1993, when they went on to win the World Series.
More to watch:
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🏀 WNBA: Aces at Sparks (10pm, NBA) … Los Angeles has the league’s longest active winning streak at five games.
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⚽️ Leagues Cup: Six matches (7-11pm, Apple/FS1) … 18 MLS clubs and 18 Liga MX clubs battle it out in the fifth edition of the tournament.
Today’s full slate →
⚾️ MLB trivia
Cal Raleigh is the betting favorite to win AL MVP (-135 at BetMGM) for the first time this year, leapfrogging an injured Aaron Judge.
Question: Raleigh would be just the third catcher this century to win MVP. Who were the other two?
Hint: AL Central, NL West.
Answer at the bottom.
💔 Remembering Ryno
Cubs legend Ryne “Ryno” Sandberg, one of the best second basemen and humblest superstars in MLB history, passed away Monday at age 65 after a battle with cancer.
Immortal words: From Sandberg’s Hall of Fame induction speech in 2005…
“The reason I am here, they tell me, is that I played the game a certain way, that I played the game the way it was supposed to be played. I don’t know about that, but I do know this: I had too much respect for the game to play it any other way. And if there is a single reason I am here today, it is because of one word: ‘Respect.'”
“I was taught you never, ever disrespect your opponent or your teammates or your organization or your manager. Make a great play — act like you’ve done it before. … Hit a home run — put your head down, drop the bat, run around the bases. Because the name on the front is a lot more important than the name on the back.”
“A lot of people say this honor validates my career, but I didn’t work hard for validation. I didn’t play the game right because I saw a reward at the end of the tunnel. I played it right because that’s what you’re supposed to do — play it right and with respect. If this validates anything, it’s that learning how to bunt, and hit and run, and turn two is more important than knowing where to find the little red light on the dugout camera.”
No. 23 forever: The Cubs unveiled a Sandberg statue outside Wrigley Field last year and will honor him the rest of this season by wearing a jersey patch with his No. 23 and signature.
Trivia answer: Joe Mauer (2009 AL MVP with the Twins) and Buster Posey (2012 NL MVP with the Giants)
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