Thomas Gase Guide: An emotional sports week with soccer, golf, baseball

"To me, there are three things we all should do every day. Number one is laugh. Number two is think. And number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears ... If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day."

- Former Iona and N.C. State head basketball coach Jim Valvano in 1993, two months before he died of cancer.

If you've been watching the World Cup, there is a good chance you've laughed, engaged yourself in deep thought, or cried. But fans of four teams - England, Argentina, Spain and France - have also done a lot of celebrating.

But only one team will get the last and best laugh this weekend.

Will Argentina become the first team to repeat since Brazil pulled off the trick in 1962?

Will France win for the first time since 2018? Will Spain win for the first time since 2010? Can England win for the first time since 1966?

With the layoff from Major League Baseball and football, basketball, and hockey idle, this is usually one of the most boring sports weeks of the year. However, this week's agenda is amazing. Not only do we get the MLB All-Star Game and Home-Run Derby to start this week, but we get the British Open (otherwise just known as The Open) and the World Cup final to end the week.

There are also some great baseball matchups during the weekend, like the Los Angeles Dodgers visiting Yankee Stadium for the first time since the 2024 World Series, and the red-hot Miami Marlins at the Milwaukee Brewers.

There's also the ESPYs, where Valvano's legendary speech ranks up there with Herb Brooks, Lou Gehrig, and Knute Rockne. If you watch the ESPYs, just remember what the late Norm Macdonald once said about them.

"If you win, nobody can ever take that award away from you. Unless you kill your wife and a waiter, in which case, all bets are off."

So instead of killing two people, let's sit down and watch a great week of sports. Here's how you should prepare ... (for the games, not the white Bronco).

Tuesday

You might want to call in sick today - what with a World Cup semifinal game followed by the MLB All-Star game in Philadelphia.

At noon, it's France and Spain in the first semifinal contest. France may win. Spain may win. France ... might also surrender. Don't rule those odds out in Vegas. Both defenses are great, with each team allowing just one goal throughout the tournament.

At 5 p.m., the MLB All-Star game takes place. I think this is the only all-star game worth watching, although the television broadcasts are doing their best to change that. Seriously, I don't need interviews with every player while they're playing the game. One or two, OK, fine. But David Ortiz talking to players during the game always comes off terrible. Ever see the underrated film, "Death to Smoochy"? Ortiz reminds me of Michael Rispoli as Lawrence "Spinner" Dunn/Moochy the Rhino, a retired boxer with brain damage.

However, I love that the game has gone back to the players wearing their respective teams' uniforms, instead of one uniform that says National or American. I try to watch the start of the All-Star Game when the players are introduced down each baseline. If you have time, it's kind of fun to go on YouTube and pick a random year and see who was in that year's All-Star Game.

I will admit that it stinks that Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, and several solid pitchers won't be playing in the game. It's almost as if the players want to get selected for the contest so they can get those extra millions in incentives, but then won't play. Now each team has nearly 40 players on the roster. We should call it the Kind-of-a-Star Game.

Wednesday

World Cup action continues with England and Argentina playing at noon. England has a drought to take care of, while Argentina is just two wins away from repeating. It should be a great matchup, and it's always nice to watch Lionel Messi play while you still can.

Later in the afternoon are the ESPYs. Sans the epic speeches from Valvano and Macdonald, this event is kind of pointless to me. The winner of the best NFL team? They decided that in February. It was the Seahawks. They battled for six months for it. Although it would be funny if the award went to the Patriots and they held a street parade. If the Knicks win best NBA team are fans going to destroy Manhattan once again?

In the WNBA, Golden State is at Indiana at 5 p.m. on USA Network. Check it out and see if Caitlin Clark gets a triple-double or gets knocked out by an opposing player because they are jealous of (checks notes) making money.

Thursday

The Open starts early this morning at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Unlike Carnoustie, this course isn't quite as challenging and doesn't have as many sand dunes or difficult holes. Scottie Scheffler is once again the favorite after winning last year, although Masters champion Rory McIlroy has a great shot as well. Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood are other frontrunners.

There are no soccer games on Thursday and just one baseball game, with the struggling New York Mets taking on the Philadelphia Phillies, who are right on the heels of taking over the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East. The Miami Marlins and even the Washington Nationals are just a few games out, so that will make for a good race in the second half.

Friday

The second day of the British Open takes place today, while the majority of Major League Baseball returns as well. The Athletics start the second half in Sacramento by taking on the Washington Nationals in the first of a three-game series. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Giants are on the road, taking on the Seattle Mariners, who are in the midst of a pennant race with the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros.

In other baseball action, don't look now, but the Boston Red Sox are making a playoff push. They play a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway on Friday.

The weekend

If you're a real big soccer fan, you might want to watch the Loser Bowl, also known as the third vs. fourth place game. Seriously, why do they play this game? Oh yeah ... money.

No, the real game to watch is Sunday at noon. That's the championship, to be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Take it all in, soccer fans - especially fans in this country. It may be another 32 years before the country hosts the tournament again, although I hope not. It's been a blast. The Women's World Cup is next year in Brazil.

The British Open also concludes on Sunday, with the finale coming sometime around 10 and 11 a.m., courtesy of the eight-hour time difference.

While the A's game on Saturday is at night, the Sunday game is a matinee. The same deal with the Giants playing in Seattle. The Sunday night baseball game is between the Dodgers and Yankees, with the two teams having met up 12 times in the World Series. The Yankees have won eight of those series, but the Dodgers have won the last two in 1981 and 2024.

Read

"Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby (to read during the last weekend of the World Cup)

"The Baseball 100" by Joe Posnanski (to read during the All-Star Game and debate the all-time best)

"Electric October" by Kevin Cook (to read during the Yankees/Dodgers weekend series)

"The Majors" by John Feinstein (to read during the British Open)

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.