MidValleySports.Com

(“The TEN” is not a top ten but ten items worth being included in “The TEN”)

1—Week One of the NFL pre-season opens tonight with six games, including the Los Angeles Chargers at the Houston Texans.

2—Russell Westbrook retires after 18 NBA seasons. The 2017 MVP and career leader in triple-doubles (209) announced his retirement via a social media video narrated by Michael B. Jordan.

3—“Lakers -ESPN coalition may be difficult to stomach, just when they released themselves of LeBron”—MVS commenter, “Low Profile”

4—The Tampa Bay Rays won their ninth straight on Wednesday with an 8-4 victory over the (Las Vegas) Athletics. The Rays lead the American League East by six games, and currently have the best record in the MLB….Tampa Bay ranks 26th in payroll this season, two million less than the Athletics who own the 25th spot.

5—Jayden Daniels issues cease-and-desist to LSU over jersey number. The Washington Commanders QB and 2023 Heisman winner’s representatives told LSU it can no longer use his name, image, or likeness after the school gave his No. 5 to sophomore cornerback DJ Pickett (the first player to wear it since Daniels left). The number was never officially retired; Daniels’ camp expressed feeling “profoundly disrespected.”

6—MLB Field of Dreams Game tonight:The Philadelphia Phillies face the Minnesota Twins in the special game at the Field of Dreams site in Dyersville, Iowa (on Netflix).

7—“It starts with a whistle and ends with a gun. Sixty minutes of close-in action from kickoff to touchdown. This is pro football, the sport of our time. The men who play it are the best there are. Disciplined professionals who perform on a stage 100 yards long.”—John Facenda

8—Former El Monte National All Star/Rosemead football player Angelo Pettinato turns 38 today.

9—On this date in 1995 MLB Hall of Famer/Yankee legend Mickey Mantle dies of liver cancer at the age of 63.

10—“The reality is, with me, I will always lead with love. I will always lead with grace. I will always lead with humility, and I will always lead with integrity. It doesn’t mean I’ll always get it right. I’m also human. … When they go low, we go high. Love will win! Grace will win! Humility will win! And kindness will win!I stand by them. I will always stand by them. Everybody else can go to hell.”—Indiana Fever HC Stephanie White at her Tuesday, pre-game, press conference.