The Win Column: Hey, it’s match day
Surprise!
It’s me. In your inbox. On a Monday.
We’re trying something new for a while, giving you not one but two weekly editions of the Win Column: the regular Wednesday edition, plus a bonus to start your week (and recap the weekend) in proper fashion.
Let me know what you think …
‘WE’VE GOT A VERY GOOD TEAM’
Michael Parkhurst is an Atlanta United hero (and MLS Cup champion). He also played for the U.S. national team during the 2008 Olympics and other international tournaments.
Impressive resume, but he quickly points out he never played in a World Cup — and no one on the current U.S. squad is asking him for advice.
If, uh, they were though?
Play free. Play to win, not to not lose. Just do your thing, dudes.
“Yes, we want to be safe in the back, and secure … but we also want to perform and show out because we’ve got the players to do it. We’ve got a very good team.
“So I hope that they play with the confidence and swagger and know that they’ve got millions of people behind them and rooting for them, not waiting for them to fail, right? We’re waiting on them to have great success so that we can celebrate them.”
Check.
The Win Column caught up with Parkhurst late last week, before the World Cup action started … and before the USMNT took the pitch against Paraguay and did pretty much exactly what he described.
“My minimum expectation is for them to get to the round of 16,” Parkhurst said. “I think that a very good tournament would be getting to the quarterfinal or better.”
The former would require winning at least one knockout round match — after advancing out of the ongoing group stage. Parkhurst dubbed the U.S. draw, which includes Australia on Friday afternoon and Turkey next week, very favorable on that front.
Saturday’s result — and the way it was delivered — certainly suggests the more optimistic part of Parkhurst’s wish-casting is possible.
France and Spain (which opens Atlanta’s World Cup action at noon today against Cape Verde) are generally thought of as favorites. But you never know.
“I do think there’s a lot of other dark horses that could make runs,” Parkhurst said, “and hopefully the U.S. is one of them.”
MORE ON THE WORLD CUP IN ATLANTA
Pretournament doubts aside, the vibes at local World Cup watch parties and fan fests have been off the charts … and now we get to the actual matches.
- As mentioned, Spain (a top team led by a teenager) takes on Cape Verde (an ultimate underdog) at noon today at the venue temporarily known as Atlanta Stadium.
- Czechia vs. South Africa (noon Friday) and Spain vs. Saudi Arabia (noon Sunday) are up after that.
Keep up with everything via the AJC’s World Cup guide, live updates and the free Kick It newsletter.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON THIS WEEK?
🏆 College World Series: After Saturday’s heroics against Texas, Georgia baseball takes on Oklahoma at 7 p.m. Monday on ESPN. Winner is in plum position to make the championship series; loser will have an uphill battle.
It’s the same Sooner squad that rudely ousted Georgia Tech from its own regional, so surely all the Jacket fans will be cheering for the Bulldogs to avenge them. (Or, uh, not.)
- The Jell-O shots at Rocco’s Pizza in Omaha are no longer a true barometer of on-the-ground fan fervor, but if you’re wondering: Georgia’s down big time.
🏈 Falcons: Three-day mandatory minicamp runs Tuesday through Thursday. Will the quarterback competition actually start? Will James Pearce Jr. make an appearance?
- Our guy Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) has you covered on those storylines and more.
⚾ Braves: A rough road trip (more on that momentarily) begets a home stand against the Giants and Brewers. Keep an eye on out for catcher Drake Baldwin possibly returning to the lineup for Tuesday’s opener … and a possible Chris Sale-Jacob Misiorowski pitching matchup on Friday.
🏀 Dream: Rebounding machine Angel Reese and 9-4 Atlanta take on the Indiana Fever twice this week — in Indy on Thursday, then at State Farm Arena on Saturday.
⛳ U.S. Open golf: The action starts at Long Island’s historically unkind Shinnecock Hills on Thursday. Scottie Scheffler will look to complete a career grand slam.
ANOTHER UNWELCOME SETBACK
The Braves still have the best record in baseball and a sizable eight-game lead in the National League East.
But things are sure starting to feel a little toothpick-and-duct-tape-y.
The worst news from a 1-4 road trip? Spender Strider. Rapidly dropping velocity. Elbow inflammation. “Further evaluation” on tap.
As columnist Michael Cunningham wrote in his Weekend Reflections (which you should read):
- “The Braves bought low on Strider in October 2022 with a six-year, $75 million extension. He’d made a very successful move from the bullpen that year. The contract looked like a bargain when Strider had his breakout season in 2023. Sadly, we may never see that version of Strider again.”
The fireballer, of course, already had one Tommy John surgery in college, plus an internal brace procedure in 2024.
We’ll see what Dr. Keith Meister, who performed that most recent surgery, has to say. But the relative lack of details provided by the Braves thus far isn’t encouraging … nor is the history of pitchers bouncing back after spending so much time under the knife.
JR Ritchie is slated to fill Strider’s spot for now. Hurston Waldrep could return to the bigs. But with Chris Sale failing to get run support and Bryce Elder and Grant Holmes scuffling a bit, the outlook’s a little dicey all around.
BASKETBALL THOUGHTS
😬 While short king Jalen Brunson was winning a title for the Knicks, similarly statured former Hawk Trae Young was on a podcast lamenting his own decision not to try and play through an ankle sprain in the 2021 Eastern Conference finals against the Bucks (he stepped on a ref’s foot, remember?).
“That’s one thing that breaks me,” Young said. “I wish I would’ve just triple taped it, put the ankle brace on on top of it, and then went out there and tried to play through that pain. But, yeah, you just can’t go back.”
He said his agents told him not to risk making it worse. Lovely.
🐝 Speaking of the Knicks: Former Georgia Tech star Jose Alvarado became the fourth former Yellow Jacket to get a ring in the NBA (but probably the only one whose celebration included going tarps off while accompanying the mayor on a Puerto Rico Day float).
- The other champs, per Tech: Iman Shumpert (Cleveland), Chris Bosh (Miami) and John Salley (Detroit, Chicago, LA Lakers).
🤔 Jaylen Brown to the Hawks? We’ll believe it when we see it, but the Celtics superstar and Wheeler High grad’s name keeps popping up. Insiders like Marc Stein have suggested Atlanta could be a player in a three-way deal that also sends Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo to Boston.
If nothing else, a little intrigue until the NBA draft arrives next week.
FOR REAL, TELL US WHAT YOU THINK
Tweaks will come but ... do you like an additional edition of the Win Column? Is it too much? Is it too little? What could we do better?
Hit me up at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of the Win Column. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.