Day 480

• In a "Karma, Biotch!" moment:  ESPN had it's streaming feed cut out from the Nathan's Hot Dog Binge n Purge as Joey Chestnut ate 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes.  I hate that contest.  I do -- and I used to be known to pack in more than a few things of food in my day.   
• And at least one professional athlete has died due to fireworks:  Columbus Blue Jackets backup goalie Matiss Kivlenieks passed away after a fireworks-related blast to his chest (updated from earlier reports of a fall) last night.
• Trevor Lawrence has signed his rookie deal in the NFL.
• College football coach Terry Donahue passed at 77.
• The bad news:  MLB is "hoping to" talk to Trevor Bauer and his accuser about the sexual assault allegations.
• The good news:  Dave Roberts notes that it does appear that the situation is serious enough that at least an extension to the paid administrative leave will be in place before the deadline later this week.  Yardbarker, for one, is speculating at least through the All-Star Break next week.
• But even that is too late to mend the fence with former Dodger World Champion Dave Stewart, who has declined his invitation to attend the 40th anniversary of the 1981 championship due to the Trevor Bauer situation.
• But an ironic twist in that, as my anonymous baseball historian and Deadspin (almost ten years ago) noted:  Stewart, himself, was arrested in January of 1985 for solicitation.
• The Reds' Nick Castellanos cannot catch a break for anything.  Last year, he became the subject of the Thom Brennaman meme when he hit a long fly to left for a home run while Brennaman was saying goodbye to FOX after a homophobic slur caught on hit mic during a commercial, for which he was fired.
• Tonight, Castellanos hit a home run (to left-center) during a period in which the home team (not the Reds) was eulogizing George Gorman, the father of one of the equipment managers for the team.
• Both years, Castellanos was playing Kansas City!
• To give an idea of how far we appear to be away from getting this all under control:  The annual Cincinnati Reds fan festival, Redsfest, has been cancelled for 2021 and is now slated to return after (and if it takes place at all!) the 2022 season.
• The Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix and MotoGP have been cancelled for the second straight year due to COVID concerns.