Day 857

• Finally, a bit of a slow period...
• The July sumo tournament is becoming a shambles due to Omicron Ba.5 COVID.  One heya (group of wrestlers under a headmaster's tutelage) was out just before the tournament began.  kadoban Ozeki Mitakeumi now faces provisional demotion to Sekiwake for the September tournament when his heya had a positive.  And now the beginnings of Day 9 have a third group (including one of the 6-2 leaders) out due to COVID.
• Six other 6-2s lead the tournament going into the second week.
• All-Star Break has hit, with the game in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

AL Standings:

• Yankees are 13 up in the AL East at 64-28, 4 1/2 up on Houston for best record in the AL, and 3 up on the Dodgers for the best record in baseball.
• Houston is 9 up on Seattle at 59-32, but Seattle has won it's last 14!
• Minnesota is 2 up on Cleveland at 50-44.
• Wildcards:  Tampa Bay (51-41), Seattle (51-42), Toronto (50-43)
• So the AL playoffs right now would be Seattle at Tampa Bay, Toronto at Minnesota for the 3-gamers.
• And FUCK YOU BALTIMORE!  (heh):  Baltimore, due to a smoking late June and July, is last place in the AL East, but at .500 at 46-46 while being so!  3 1/2 out of the third wildcard!

NL:

• Dodgers at 60-30 after, what, a 25-5 last 30 to get to the break?  10 up on San Diego in the West, 3 1/2 up on the Mets for the best record in the NL.
• Mets at 58-35, 2 1/2 up on the streaking Barfs.
• Milwaukee at 50-43, 1/2 game up on St. Louis.
• Wildcards:  Cobb County at 56-38, San Diego at 52-42, Philadelphia and St. Louis are both six over .500 for the last spot.
• So:  Philadelphia/St. Louis at Milwaukee, San Diego at Cobb County.

Other stuff:

• Devon Allen's dream of becoming a hurdling world champion came to a crash-out end in the finals in Eugene, OR tonight -- he false-started out of the 110 hurdles.  He heads to Eagles training camp.  
• He actually had timed the start to .099 -- anything faster than a .1 reaction time to the gun is a red card!
• Hunter Pence had some fun with the Dodger fans at the celebrity softball game on Saturday -- after getting a brushback (slow-)pitch from Dodger Andre Ethier, Pence jacked one nearly over the real fence at Dodger Stadium (the softball game had a far shorter temporary fence), and produced a Giants T-shirt to revel in the boos as he rounded the bases.
• Knotts Berry Farm was closed early Saturday night -- teenage fights.