Good Morning, Stumpers!

There’s glue guys, and then there’s Cal Raleigh. Do not sleep on the catcher from Seattle. Oh, and we have pretty exciting action going down in Cromwell, CT (who’s said that before?) at the Travelers. And while we’re at it, we dove into another WILD upset in the world of soccer. Don’t wait around here, get readin’!  

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The Rundown

🍖 Meat and Potatoes Glue Guy Today

⛳️ Travelers has an absolutely LOADED leaderboard

🥳 Chelsea loses a SHOCKER to a veteran squad from Brazil

On This Day

♟️ Morphy Arrives in Europe to Kick Ass and Win Chess Matches

Put yourself in the shoes of someone living in the 1850’s for me real quick. Imagine that chess is the biggest sport in the world. Okay, now you’re ready for this.

On this day in 1858, American chess prodigy Paul Morphy arrived in Europe at the ripe age of 20 to face Western Europe’s best. This kind of fires me up. Morphy was THAT DUDE in the chess world, literally crossing the ocean to kick Europe’s bests ass. America sent this dude over to win the second American Revolution, and he did. GOAT activity.

Today’s Trivia

Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: B. 1! Jerry West is the only man in NBA history to win the Finals MVP but not win the NBA Finals.

Glue Guy of the Day

💥Cal Raleigh is a Wagon

Glue Guy OTD: Cal Raleigh, Catcher, Seattle Mariners

There aren’t many catchers in Major League Baseball who hit with power quite like Cal Raleigh does. In fact, there’s not another catcher in MLB history who has hit with power as well as he has thus far this season. Raleigh hit two homers in yesterday’s 9-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs, pushing him to 29 home runs already this year. With that number, he passes Johnny Bench’s 1970 record for most home runs by a catcher before the All-Star break.

If that wasn’t enough to prove that this guys a wagon, think about how good of a year Aaron Judge is having. Raleigh has two more homers than he does. He’s also only 6 home runs away from tying Ken Griffey Jr. for the most by a Mariner before the All-Star Break. So he’s not just putting up good numbers, he’s putting up historic numbers.

So why haven’t I heard as much about Raleigh as I have about other guys like Judge, Devers, and others? Maybe it’s because he doesn’t play in a huge market, maybe because the Mariners are struggling a little, or maybe because he’s not a household name. Well, I want to change that.

What’s he’s doing is even more impressive because he plays behind the plate. He has to put on the gear and grind out nine innings back there, constantly thinking about pitch framework and sequence, things that obviously take away from thinking about hitting. And yet, he still mashes. He’s also a pretty good catcher in his own right, a meat and potatoes type of ball player.

Give me this guy in the middle of my lineup any day of the week. Meat and potatoes. Cal Raleigh. GLUE!

Yesterday’s Moments

⛳️ Loaded Leaderboard in CT

The Stump Short Story: As we head into moving day, theirs some absolutely massive names at the top of this leaderboard. In a three way tie for first we have Scottie Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, and Justin Thomas all at -9. Jason Day is in solo fourth with -8. Keegan Bradley in three-back at -6. While Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, and Harris English (who’s won here before) are four-back and round out the Top 10 at -5. I hate just reading the scoreboard to ya, but boy, that’s a crowded group. Some guys benefited with afternoon tee times, as the morning guys battled some pretty intense winds that were moving the ball all over the fairway and green. Today should be ideal temperature and conditions for scoring, so get ready for some fireworks.

Why it Matters: This weekend’s tournament is a PGA Signature Event, which means the stakes are higher, financially speaking. A $20M pot is at stake here, and all 72 players who qualify for this event make the cut. So really, every shot matters. Even when you may think you’re out of it, and you may be, but every place you move up the leaderboard means some real money. So while those guys teeing off early today may have some ugly scores, their bank accounts may thank them.

Read More: Here’s the Leaderboard

⚽️ Another CWC Shocker

The Stump Short Story: In the battle of youth versus experience, in this case, experience won. Chelsea took on Flamengo (Brazil) in the first round of the Club World Cup yesterday, and many thought this would be a cake walk for Chelsea due to their elite athleticism and talent. It sure looked like it early, and then the hour marker hit, and things went downhill quick. Chelsea led from the 13th minute on, but a 62nd minute strike from Bruno Henrique knotted up the match for Flamengo. 3 minutes later, Danilo put one in the net again, Flamengo leads 2-1. 3 minutes after that, Chelsea lost Nicolas Jackson to a red card and was forced to play from behind with only 10 men. They couldn’t handle the pressure from the Brazilian club, who added a third goal in the 83rd minute. This puts Chelsea’s ambitions to move into the next round into some serious doubt.

Why it Matters: Like we talked about yesterday, it’s not often an Eastern Hemisphere team beats a European squad. In the case of Flamengo, who hail from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, they have some serious European flair. This team is full of veteran players who have experience on the massive stage, including two who have worn the captain sleeve for clubs like Chelsea and Juventus. On paper, Chelsea has all the talent in the world, but they just didn’t mesh yesterday. It’s hard when you play such a well-traveled squad, those guys just know how to make it difficult for the young bucks.

Read More: Flamengo stun Chelsea in another big Club World Cup upset (ESPN)

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🔗 Quick Links

😡 MLB suspends some Padres and Dodgers following blow up

💼 Wisconsin sues Miami for tampering with football transfer

🇸🇳 Senegalese women’s basketball team members denied US visas

Today’s Top Three

🏆️ Game 1 of the Men’s College World Series Championship: Coastal Carolina vs LSU (7:00 PM on ESPN)

⛳️ Day 3 of The Travelers Championship! Live from Cromwell, Connecticut! There was a lot of wind yesterday, let’s hope for clear skies and low scoring!

⚽️ NWSL Slate: Gotham vs FC (7:30 PM on ION), Portland @ Chicago (10:00 PM on ION)

Of! The! Day’s!

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