In the first 24 hours of free agency, the Cleveland Cavaliers committed $150 million Kevin Love and Iman Shumpert. Assuming they eventually re-sign Tristan Thompson, they'll have spent $230 million to keep their 2014-15 team together, and that doesn't include a new contract for LeBron James. While those contracts will put the Cavs in luxury tax hell, there is a good reason why it was so important to make sure they keep most of the same pieces from their Eastern Conference championship team.

Of the money the Cavs have already committed to re-sign players, Kevin Love agreed to a five-year, $110 million contract, Iman Shumpert got $40 million over four years, and Tristan Thompson is expected to receive a five-year deal worth $80 million, although Brian Windhorst reports that the latter of those is currently “stalled.”

While much of the focus had been on Love and whether or not he would return to the Cavs, the re-signing of Thompson may be just as important.

If we look at every combination in the NBA of four players playing together on the floor at the same time (with the 5th player being interchangeable), the unit of LeBron-Love-Thompson-Kyrie Irving was the second-best offensive group in the league last season, averaging 119.4 points per 100 possessions (via reddit):

This is a very promising sign for the Cavs, especially since it didn't seem like Love really clicked with his teammates until late in the year and there is almost certainly room for improvement as the group gets more experience together.

If we take it a step further, it is also worth noting that this particular foursome was also a good defensive unit, giving up just 98.5 points per 100 possessions. That translates to a NetRtg of 21.0, meaning this group outscores their opposition by 21.0 points for every 100 possessions, the second-best rate in the NBA last season.

And the success wasn't just limited to the presence of LeBron, Love, and Irving, the Cavs' so-called "Big 3." Thompson was a key component of this group.

If we sub in other players as the fourth piece, we see that the combo that includes Thompson is 4.8 points better per 100 possessions offensively and outscores its opponents by 3.8 more points per 100 possessions than any other Cavs unit.

In other words the Cavs' Big 3 is at their best when Thompson is on the floor with them.

Re-signing LeBron is just a formality in the eyes of most. But according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN it was not going to happen until James makes sure his key teammates are coming back. The two most important pieces are Love and Thompson. Those two are close to being back in the fold and the numbers above show why.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 12 awesome facts about WWE superstar Brock Lesnar

Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier didn't make the American League All-Star team in what many are calling one of the biggest snubs of the season.

Shortly after the teams were announced on Monday evening, Dozier responded to the snub by hitting a two-run walk-off home run to beat the Orioles 4-2.

With the game tied 2-2 in the 10th inning, Dozier ended it:

Dozier leads all second basemen in home runs (17), RBIs (42), and is tied for second in wins above replacement (3.1). While some believe he is the best second baseman in MLB, he wasn't even close to being voted in by fans as a starter. Jose Altuve led the way with more than 9.6 million votes, Dozier didn't even receive enough votes to crack the top five.

Dozier was then snubbed by his fellow peers as he failed to be named as one of the 16 reserves voted in by players around the league. And Ned Yost elected not to choose him as one of his eight manager-selections.

Dozier's All-Star hopes aren't necessarily dead just yet. Yost did name him as one of the five "final vote players" fans can vote for to decide who receives the last remaining roster spot. But, while Dozier certainly helped his case with his recent walk-off home run, the chances fans will vote him in are slim.

The other four candidates are Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas, Tigers outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts, and Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner. During the initial fan voting round, Moustakas received more than 12 million votes, Cespedes received nearly 9 million, Bogaerts received 2.4 million, and Gardner received nearly 2 million.

Since Dozier's numbers aren't posted because he failed to finish within the top-five at his position, it's not clear how many votes he exactly received. But, he couldn't have had more than 3.4 million because that's how many votes Blue Jays Devon Travis received, and he finished fifth in AL second basemen voting.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Someone figured out the purpose of the extra shoelace hole on your running shoes — and it will blow your mind

Martin Glenn, the chief executive of the English Football Association, has responded to criticism of a tweet the FA sent out earlier this week welcoming home its womens' team from the Women's World Cup, which many Twitter users derided as "sexist" and "patronizing."

The tweet read: "Our #Lionesses go back to being mothers, partners and daughters today, but they have taken on another title — heroes: the-fa.com/wqavCo." It was soon deleted, but not before many people had taken screenshots, and criticized the football body for belittling the team.

Speaking at advertising trade body ISBA's annual lunch in London on Tuesday, Glenn responded to a question from the audience about the football association's Twitter practices.

Echoing the Football Association's official statement about the tweet, he said it had been "taken out of context."

Glenn said: "To me, it's ... a classic first lesson. It was taken out of context. I don't know if you saw the scandal around it, but we did a nice press release for the team coming home. They were all desperate to get back to, you know, their homes and families  — they had been in hotel beds for the last couple of weeks — and the tweet of that summary, 140 characters, says ... basically, the girls can't wait to get back to being mum. That was perceived as being sexist."

He went on to say: "The defense from the 'Twit' of ours: They said it was taken out of context. Even I know the context of 140 characters, so it was just a mistake."

But Glenn said the outrage about the tweet in question told the FA that it was dealing with a bigger perception problem.

"When you think FA, you think of an old man, reactionary, [wearing a] blue blazer ... The FA has been a reactionary organization ... so you're conditioned to cut no slack [when it makes a mistake,]" Glenn said.

"Had Apple said it, had Google said it, had Sainsbury's said it, they might have been [saying] 'well it was pretty unfortunate, but I know what it meant'," he added.

Glenn, a marketer by trade, who only joined the FA in May — from United Biscuits, where he was previously CEO — is clearly seen by the board as the man to help rid the football association of its dusty reputation.

Much of Glenn's speech ahead of the Q&A section had been focused on the success of the England Ladies Football team, who surpassed expectations to come third at the Women's World Cup in Vancouver.

Glenn was appealing to the marketers and advertising agency executives in the audience to think about lending their support to the women's game, saying that the ROI [return on investment] for every £1 spent on women's football is higher than that for men's football. 

"2.6 million viewers watched the semi-final [of the Women's World Cup] at 1am. That tells you something," Glenn said.

Martin Glenn on FIFA's image problem

He also responded to a question about how potential sponsors may have been put off the wider game of football owing to the FIFA corruption scandal that erupted earlier this summer. He was asked whether the World Cup sponsors should have responded sooner, putting more pressure on FIFA to get its house in order.

Glenn said: "I would say I think they belatedly did, in my impression. We don't know what it was that triggered Sepp Blatter, after he was re-coronated [as president,] to a week after saying he was about to stand down. There [were] rumors that some of the big brands had been instrumental in saying there had been a lack of confidence."

He went on to describe the Women's World Cup Final, where the "whole stadium" of 55,000 people booed when the announcer said representatives from FIFA were about to present the trophy.

"I guess the question for the big sponsors is: How much do you want to be associated with that? Because certainly in the western European and North American markets, FIFA has a bad name," Glenn said, although he added that in certain African and Asian markets this is less of a problem, and people appreciate the governing body as a "fantastically good, successful machine for redistributing wealth."

However, he ended his response by saying that the good news he took from being at the Women's World Cup was that "football is so powerful a product" that the agenda quickly gets back to the right thing — the game — rather than a focus on governance issues.

SEE ALSO: Nike, the Brazilian national football team, and $40 million paid into a Swiss bank account

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Do these simple exercises at your desk to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome

Germany's Tony Martin took the lead in the Tour de France on Tuesday by attacking late on stage four on an ill-fitting bike that he borrowed on the fly from one of his teammates.

On the last of several cobblestoned sections, Martin got a flat tire. Normally he'd just grab his spare bike from his team's car, but the car was stuck in traffic behind the select group of about 35 riders he was racing with.

Martin's teammate Matteo Trentin was with him at the time of the puncture and told him to just take his bike.

Trentin's bike is a few centimeters larger than Martin's and the brakes are reversed — the rear brake is on the left side of the handlebar and the front on the right.

But it didn't matter as Martin pulled out one of the biggest wins of his career after attacking with 3.3 kilometers to go to the finish line, just holding off Paris-Roubaix winner John Degenkolb by 3 seconds.

With the win he donned his first yellow jersey, one of cycling's most coveted prizes.

He said it was "super difficult" to pull it off as he was trying to deal with the borrowed bike and his rivals for stage victory.

"I think I put out more watts than I ever did," said an exhausted and emotional Martin.

Martin, a three-time world time-trial champion, now leads the Tour by 12 seconds over previous leader Chris Froome, the Kenyan-born UK rider who won the 2013 Tour.

"Pure happiness! All the pressure and all the sadness from the last days has come off now," said the Etixx-Quick-Step rider, AFP reported. "It's a really emotional day and stage for me, I'm super happy for that. Everything went well and I'm super happy for this team."

The Tour started on July 4 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and finishes in Paris on July 26.

You can watch the finish in the video clip below:

Join the conversation about this story »

Australian swimming legend Dawn Fraser is under heavy criticism after suggesting 20-year-old Aussie tennis player Nick Kyrgios should go back to where his parents came from after his antics in a fourth-round loss at Wimbledon.

Kyrgios lost to Richard Gasquet in four sets after bizarrely tanking a game in the second set.

In an interview on the morning TV show Today, Fraser was asked about Kyrgios and fellow tennis Australian star Bernard Tomic, both of whom are the sons of immigrants.

"They should be setting a better example for the younger generation of this country. This great country of ours," Fraser said. "If they don't like it, go back to where their fathers or their parents came from. We don't need them in this country to act like that."

That "go back to where their parents came from" line was immediately decried as racist. Kyrgios himself called it "blatantly racist" in a Facebook post.

In it, he compares the words used to describe him at Wimbledon ("brat," "disrespectful," "spoilt," "arrogant") with the words used to describe Fraser ("Australian legend"). Here's the full post:

Kyrgios describes himself as a "proud Australian tennis player with a strong Greek and Malaysian heritage" on his Facebook. His mom also condemned the comment:

Fraser later apologized in a statement (via the Guardian):

“I want to unreservedly apologise for any comments that I made this morning which may have caused offence to my fellow Australians, including Nick and his family. The live-to-air clip was part of a larger un-broadcasted interview however this does not condone what was said.

“My intended message, which was not delivered as articulately as it could have been – was on a purely sporting level rather than meant as an attack on Nick’s ethnicity. Nick’s representing Australia and I want to see him representing Australian tennis in the best possible light."

But before she released that statement she told Fairfax Media that her comments weren't actually racist.

"I said, 'If they don't want to be Australians then maybe they should go back to the country where their parents come from'. That's not being racist," she said.

Fraser, 77, won four Olympic gold medals during her swimming career.

Her comments on Kyrgios are now the talk of the Australian sports world. Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane commented:

NBA player Andrew Bogut, one of the country's most successful athletes, called it unacceptable:

Kyrgios is one of the best young players in the world. He's also the most divisive because of his emotional on-court demeanor.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? The historic 1996 Chicago Bulls championship team

Cristiano Ronaldo stars in a bizarre ad for his Japanese ab machine, Training Gear Six Pad.  The machine promises to get you ripped without even lifting a finger by providing electric shocks to your muscles. The company recommends wearing it under your clothes while commuting to work, reading a book, or doing housework. Take a look at the bizarre contraption above. 

Video courtesy of MTG

Follow BI Video: On Facebook

Join the conversation about this story »

Dutch cyclist Laurens ten Dam suffered a dislocated shoulder in a massive crash during the third stage of the Tour de France on Monday. Rather than quit the race — as some riders were forced to do — Ten Dam told his team to pop his shoulder back into place and finished the stage.

"I said that they had to pop my shoulder back in," Ten Dam told Cyclingnews. "I have trained very hard, so I don't want to abandon the race even before we enter France."

The crash occurred while the peloton was traveling at about 26 mph on a slight downhill, according to the event's Twitter account. One cyclist clipped the wheel of another in front him, which caused a ripple effect:

The crash was so devastating that at least six riders were forced to pull out of the race, including race leader Fabian Cancellara and third-placed rider Tom Dumoulin. Ten Dam's team director, Nico Verhoeven, said he initially thought the Dutch cyclist was going to have to quit as well.

"His bike was already on top of the car," Verhoeven said. "We thought that he was out of the race, but he said that he didn't want to leave the Tour and that his shoulder had to be popped back in. When we knew that the race was neutralized, he was able to return quietly. He was chatting quickly afterwards. Laurens is a tough one."

Ten Dam's team uploaded a video to YouTube capturing the aftermath of the crash through the eyes of their mechanic. In the video, Ten Dam's team initially finds him curled up on the ground in serious pain:

After switching out the damaged bike for a new one, the mechanic returns to find Ten Dam sitting up talking to a medic, but still clutching his injured shoulder:

Here's what he tweeted before stage four:

After stage four, Ten Dam sits in 186th place, 36 minutes off the lead. His teammate Robert Gesink is in 13th place, less than two minutes off the lead.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The cycling world can't stop talking about this new superfast bike going into the Tour de France

The Los Angeles Clippers were dealt a huge blow this offseason when center DeAndre Jordan left them to sign with the Dallas Mavericks on a four-year, $80 million deal.

The Clippers are left with a huge hole up front and have no money to find a replacement because they're already above the salary cap.

While the Clippers could try and figure out sign-and-trades to get a center from another team, they have few assets to send away. 

In light of the gigantic loss, Clippers guard J.J. Redick criticized his team in an interview with Nicole Zaloumis on Bleacher Report Radio, saying the Clippers get an "F" this offseason.

"Listen, we had one priority this summer, and that was to re-sign DJ," Redick said. "And we missed out on that." 

In referring to the Clippers' lack of resources to find a replacement, Redick said, "Barring some miracle, the make-up of our team is completely different now."

Redick also described Jordan's importance to the Clippers, noting some of the subtle ways he helped the team:

"He was such an integral part of what we did, not just defensively, but offensively with the screening, his rolling, his offensive rebounds. His presence down low essentially made teams either commit to the three-point line when Blake [Griffin] or Chris [Paul] penetrated, or commit to him, and that either opened up lobs to him or threes for guys like me and Jamal [Crawford] and Matt [Barnes].

"So he was a huge part of what we did and missing out and having him leave for Dallas gives us a failing grade."

When Jordan left the Clippers for the Mavericks, ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz reported that Jordan had grown "tired of Chris Paul's constant barking and petty gestures" and during free agency felt the Mavs had done more to make him feel wanted. 

In a summer where the Clippers have also traded for Lance Stephenson and signed Paul Pierce, it's interesting to see Redick react so candidly about losing Jordan. The Clippers have certainly taken a step back, but Redick is under contract for two more seasons and doesn't have an easy out if he's that displeased with the direction of the team.

Redick isn't wrong in his analysis, but it doesn't set a positive tone for what could be a trying year. 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: WWE superstar John Cena just posted a video of himself squatting 396 pounds

The John Deere Classic has sentimental value for Jordan Spieth. In 2012 the tournament let Spieth, then a 18-year-old amateur, into the field on an exemption. A year later he won the whole thing, becoming the youngest PGA tournament champion in 82 years. 

Going into next week's British Open at St. Andrews, Spieth has a chance to become the first player to win the year's first three majors since 1953.

But rather than heading to Scotland early to get a feel for the course — as top players typically do — he decided to go to Illinois and stand by his long-standing commitment to play this year's John Deere.

He'll take a charter plane after the tournament, land on Monday, and have around 72 hours on the ground to prepare for St. Andrews. Beyond Zach Johnson and a few other stranglers, he's the only one doing this.

Some in the golf world think it's a bad idea.

Geoff Shackleford wrote that St. Andrews is a unique course the requires experience to master:

This means the reigning Masters and U.S. Open Champion will arrive to the most complicated course on the planet having played it once, with only the opportunity to play two, maybe three practice rounds. Not to mention the whirlwind nonsense that comes with being an in-demand superstar and nice guy.

He added in an earlier post:

I understand his preference for playing in weeks leading into a tournament. I understand he has a sense of karma and routine he does not want to upset. And he's said the numbers show he peaks on week three.

However, just as he had a local knowledge advantage at Chambers Bay thanks to his caddy and play there in the U.S. Amateur, St. Andrews demands even more preparation and insight.

If nothing else, for the sake of knowing you gave it your all Jordan, pass on the Deere and get to St. Andrews early.

The John Deere Classic tournament director even told Golf Digest he would have been fine with it if Spieth had called out a few weeks in advance. But Spieth didn't do that.

In lieu of first-hand preparation, he told the Golf Channel he has played St. Andrews on the simulator in his house.

In the same interview, he was asked if it was a hard decision, and had this response:

"It wasn't hard. It was harder for other people to realize. For me I had committed a long time ago. It's a tournament that's very close to my heart. Not only was it my first win and it launched my career forward, but it was also a place that gave me an exemption when I was in amateur, when I was in college and looking for starts to test my game and find out if I was ready."

Fox Sports' Shane Bacon wrote that Spieth's decision was an admirable one, but with such a golden opportunity at history he should get all the practice he can possibly get at St. Andrews:

But . . . this is a chance at history. Two legs of the Grand Slam are done, and he is rolling into a British Open course that sets up as well as any on the Open rotation for Spieth. He can win at St. Andrews. He really can. Hopefully, the John Deere committee will be behind him 100 percent in his decision to get to Scotland early and to get acclimated to the time change, the style of play and the haggis.

Others in the golf world disagree. Tiger Woods said he supported it, for what that's worth. SI's Michael Bamberger may have put it best when he wrote, "Since that's what Spieth wants to do, it is almost by definition the best thing for him to do."

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: WWE superstar John Cena just posted a video of himself squatting 396 pounds

The Americans’ dominant Women’s World Cup win over the weekend spurred outrage after people found out just how little the women got paid compared to their male counterparts. The problem is, their pay is totally fair. 

In fact, most of the people who are complaining about the prize money are actually part of the problem. How many of them have actually been to a women's professional soccer game outside of the World Cup?

The total prize pool for the women’s tournament was $15 million. Of that, the US women’s national team took home $2 million for their victory. That’s less than a quarter of the $9 million the US men’s team got last year for getting knocked out in the round of 16. The total prize pool for the men’s tournament was a whopping $576 million — 40 times the women’s haul.

This brings me to an important question: What separates men’s sports and women’s?

There's one big difference — revenue. Female soccer players are paid less because their sport makes less. According to the Wall Street Journal, there was $17 million in sponsor revenue for this year's women's World Cup compared to $529 million for the 2014 men's tournament. America's winning women earned a larger share, about 11%, of the money their tournament made this year from sponsors than the victorious German team, who got just 6.6% of the sponsor revenue from last year's men's World Cup as their prize. 

The real question is not why female athletes are paid less. People should be asking why fans and sponsors are less interested in supporting women's sports — and this is what they should be outraged about.  

I’m sure there are all sorts of technical details that could be used to explain just how the men’s game differs from the women’s, and they vary from sport to sport. The one answer that doesn’t hold up is that men’s sports are somehow inherently more interesting to watch than women’s. They are certainly not 40 times more interesting to watch.

Exhibit 1, the third goal of Carli Lloyd's offensive explosion in the final game, which she scored from midfield: 

Most of us have been socialized to accept men’s sports as dominant, and somehow automatically more interesting. The problem is that once society has internalized this falsehood — and let’s face it, it’s a falsehood that’s millennia in the making — it’s not so easy to correct it. Women have been fighting for decades, centuries, to be seen as equals to men both on the playing field and off of it.

We’ve made a lot of progress, but we’re nowhere near the end of the fight. Women may deserve to be treated equally, but they are not. And that has direct consequences for a business run on sponsorships. It’s morally outrageous that Carli Lloyd doesn’t get paid as much as Lionel Messi, but in the current economic environment, it seems pretty fair.

When the US National Women's Soccer League started up in 2013, Julie Foudy wrote for ESPN that “professional sports, for men and women, are not about who deserves them or who has earned the right to play professionally; professional sports leagues are governed by one simple principle -- what the market will bear.”

That market for women’s soccer in the US, home of many of the best players in the world, is apparently salaries of $6,000-30,000 per player.

But why is the market so small? For one thing, the entire market for professional soccer in the US is small — male players have minimum salaries of $36,500, and about a quarter of the MLS league makes less than $50,000 (though the top players make millions). For another, no one goes to games. Perhaps related, there’s very little sponsorship. In other words, if more people were actually paying to watch women's sports, the situation might be different.

The lack of attendance and sponsorships contribute to a chicken-or-the-egg problem when it comes to getting women’s sports up off the ground.

“Absent deep-pocketed investors who can commit for several years, women’s professional teams and leagues find themselves scrambling to survive almost from the moment they launch,” Shira Springer writes in the Boston Globe.

And this is the real outrage. So many professional women’s sports initiatives are set up to fail because they don’t have enough support from the beginning. Sponsors set up shop for a year or two, then bolt when they don’t see immediate returns, which sends teams and leagues into survival mode almost from the beginning.

In women’s cycling, to use another example, (where, to be fair, changing sponsors every year isn’t uncommon even on the men’s side) one of the world’s top-ranked teams, with 10 Olympians on the roaster, turned to crowd funding going into the 2015 season. It raised about $100,000, out of its stated $700,000 goal. [Disclosure: I donated.]

Yet with this year’s women's World Cup, there is perhaps some hope.

In the US, the 2015 women's World Cup had nearly 50% more viewers (in English) than the men’s version. 

World Cup final viewership: 2014: 17.3m in English, 9.2m in Spanish. 2015: 25.4m in English, 1.3m in Spanish.

— Felix Salmon (@felixsalmon) July 6, 2015

It’s becoming clear that there is a market there, if someone is willing to figure out how to take advantage of it. But it's still unclear how that will translate to the NWSL until the next World Cup.

However, you, dear reader, can do only one thing and it's not complaining about prize money on social media. If you want to fix the income disparity in women's sports, go buy a jersey or tickets for a game.

SEE ALSO: Here’s what happened when Colorado offered free birth control

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Do these simple exercises at your desk to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome

Vanuatu's men's national soccer team defeated Micronesia 46-0 in a Pacific Games match Tuesday. Vanuatu – which is ranked 200th in the world – was up 24-0 at halftime, and scored 22 more goals after the break.

The match would be considered one of the most lopsided results in international soccer history if Micronesia were affiliated with FIFA.

While this may seem like one team disrespectfully running up the score against a much lesser opponent, Vanuatu actually had a good excuse for scoring 46 goals. Because of how the tiebreaker rules worked, in order to have any shot to advance to the semifinals, Vanuatu needed to score as many goals as possible.

Vanuatu and Micronesia were both in Pool A of the Pacific Games, along with Fiji and Tahiti. Prior to their match, Vanuatu lost 2-1 to Tahiti and a drew 2-2 with Fiji — giving them only one point heading into their final group stage game.

Since both Tahiti and Fiji had each already clobbered Micronesia 30-0 and 36-0, to give them six and four points respectively after two games, Vanuatu's only hope was to finish in a second place tie with Fiji, and advance by way of a tiebreaker (goal differential). In order for Vanuatu to do so, they needed to beat Micronesia by enough goals to surpass Fiji's +38 goal differential, and hope Fiji lost to Tahiti.

Because the Vanuatu-Micronesia game happened before the Tahiti-Fiji game, Vanuatu had no way of knowing how the other game would play out, so they were forced to score as many goals as possible and hope for the best. 

After the game, Micronesia coach Stan Foster said it was "boys against men," telling the Guardian his squad was over-matched, to say the least.

"It’s just so hard at this early stage — this is kindergarten for us," Foster said. "We have to learn and to know that we go back we have to train harder and learn more skills."

He said that before the tournament, most of his players never had any real exposure to the larger world, let alone playing in a competitive international soccer match:

"Most of these have never been out of their villages let alone on to another island. I took them to Guam the other day [and it was] the first time they’ve been on an elevator or an escalator. It’s been a huge step-up for these guys and they’ve just been overawed really."

According to the Guardian, many players on Micronesia never played an 11-on-11 game before.

If it's any consolation to Foster, it doesn't appear that his opponents take pleasure in these outlandish games either. After their 38-0 thrashing of Micronesia Sunday, Fiji coach Carlos Buzzetti explained to the team's website how the frustrating tie-breaking rules forced him to run-up the score:

"I’m happy for the boys because we’ve done something good for the country, but at the same time I feel very bad about that. We had a benchmark set by Tahiti and as we’re playing them next we didn’t have any other options. After the game I apologized and they understand. You still feel bad though. They are young kids, they’re coming for the first time and if it wasn’t for the 30 goals Tahiti scored we would never have done that."

Ironically, even though Vanuatu outdid Fiji in their own demolishing of Micronesia, their 46 goals were all for naught — Tahiti and Fiji finished with a scoreless draw. With seven and five points each, Tahiti and Fiji finished first and second atop of Pool A respectively. Vanuatu finished in third with four points, and didn't make it into the semifinals of the Pacific Games.

Watch some of the highlights of the Vanuatu – Micronesia game here, via ESPN:

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch Cristiano Ronaldo star in a bizarre ad for his Japanese ab machine

The NBA world gave the New York Knicks mixed reviews for picking Kristaps Porzingis with the No. 4 pick in the draft.

While some people believe Porzingis is worth the risk for the Knicks, others have criticized them for taking a player who's a project with their highest draft pick in decades.

Porzingis is something of an unknown to many because so few people have actually seen him play.

There are some who believe Porzingis might have the highest ceiling in the draft. At over seven feet, he can shoot three-pointers, take the ball off the dribble, shoot on the move, and his long, athletic frame could make him a great defender.

In a profile of Porzingis' time playing in Sevilla from the New York Times' Harvey Araton, former teammates and coaches who've been around Porzngis rave about his potential.

Derrick Byars, a teammate of Porzingis' last season in Spain who has also played in the NBA D-League, Germany, Greece, France, and Belgium, told Araton:

"I don’t want to go on the record predicting the Hall of Fame, but he’s as seasoned and mature as any 19-year-old in Europe I’ve been around. He’s thin, but it’s a strong thin frame... Kris has endless potential given the right situation, the right opportunity."

Dane Watts, a 6'8" forward who also played in Sevilla with Porzingis, described Porzingis' tantalizing length.

"I’ve been in Europe a long time and never had my shot blocked that many times in practice. I mean, he’s got that length," he said.

Watts also told Araton about one particular game where Porzingis dominated both ends of the floor and later noted the "sky is the limit" for him.

Additionally, Scott Roth, a former NBA assistant coach who worked with Porzingis while in Spain, added:

"Kris is a tough kid with passion, a worker, and he’s not going to back down from anyone. He’s going to get knocked around a bit the first couple of years, but by the time he’s 23, you could have a monster on your hands."

Porzingis does have his work cut out for him. Though he's got raw, natural talent, he needs to bulk up to play with other seven-footers in the NBA. He may be able to produce right away on offense, given that he can stretch the floor and is likely quicker than most players at his size. On defense, he is likely to struggle where he'll get out-muscled by opponents and may have a hard time keeping up with NBA offenses.

It may take a few years, but people are going to be anxiously watching Porzingis, looking for this monster potential.

The NBA's Summer League kicks off in Las Vegas in less than a week, and the NBA world will finally get a chance to see Porzingis in action.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A BMX star bikes through the abandoned Silverdome 13 years after the Detroit Lions left — and the scene is pretty apocalyptic

Andrew McCutchen and Sean Rodriguez of the Pittsburgh Pirates came the aid of a grounds crew member who got trapped in a field tarp during a rain delay on Tuesday night.

The incident came during the third inning against the San Diego Padres when a storm with high winds hit the field very quickly. It was clear early on that the wind was going to play havoc with the tarp as the grounds crew attempted to cover the field.

McCutchen and Rodriguez were standing close by. The announcers speculated that they might be waiting to see if their help would be needed.

You can see just how strong the winds were at the time by the flags in the background. But also notice that Rodriguez' hair is blowing in the opposite direction. The wind was swirling all over the place.

Sure enough, not far from where Cutch and Rodriguez were standing, the tarp got loose and a grounds crew member got swallowed alive. That's when the Pirates players jumped to action.

Eventually, the tarp got put in place with the players continuing to help out. By this point, several other players had come to assist.

Here is the full video.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's how Cristiano Ronaldo spends his money

Italian wingsuit flier Uli Emanuele pulled off what GoPro is calling "possibly the most technical and difficult BASE jump ever" in the Swiss Alps.

In a video of the flight from GoPro, Emanuele identified a rock formation that's about two meters (6.5 feet) across at its widest point:

He said on Facebook that he trained for the flight for three years, and hiked for 45 hours to get to the launching point that gave him the best angle.

At the start of his jump, his target was a tiny dot on the horizon:

At the moment of truth, he squeezed through it:

Look how fast he's going:

Wingsuit legend Jeb Corliss congratulated Emanuele on Facebook, writing, "Super impressive bro, you have been doing some truly amazing jumps and are pushing things farther than I could ever have imagined. Good work but please be careful, we don't usually know where that line is until after we have crossed it. With what we do crossing the line usually means game over..."

The entire GoPro video of the flight is nuts:

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A famous surfer is trying to revolutionize the sport of golf with a new gadget

Tottenham's new stadium will host at least two NFL games per season for 10 years when it opens in 2018, the team and the league announced on Wednesday.

The stadium will feature a retractable-grass field with an artificial-turf field underneath it that will be used for NFL games.

"It's the first of its kind in the world," club chairman Daniel Levy said in an interview on SpursTV.

The deal deepens the NFL's commitment to raising the profile of the league in the UK and bolsters the possibility that there will eventually be a London-based franchise. During this period the league still might play additional games at Wembley Stadium, which hosted three regular-season games in 2014.

The deal is significant because it gives the league an obvious destination if it wanted to put a franchise in the UK full-time. The stadium is being designed with the NFL in mind, with a retractable field (which allows them to play soccer and football there on the same weekend), separate NFL-specific facilities, and a seating design that's conducive to NFL football, unlike Wembley. Its capacity (61,000 seats) is more in line with typical NFL stadiums than the mammoth 90,000-seat Wembley. The architecture firm Tottenham is using, Populous, has designed 14 NFL stadiums.

Basically, if the new Spurs stadium is really as NFL-ready as it's cracked up to be, the league has its stadium in London. And if we know anything about the NFL, it's that stadiums are everything.

Andrew Brandt of the MMQB, who worked for the Green Bay Packers for years, said before this announcement he could see a team moving there:

I know, I know: There are logistical concerns of travel, taxes, food, etc. But as someone who ran an NFL international league team with substandard lodging, insufficient food and homesick players, I think things would be a bit different. NFL teams have charter travel, stay in luxury hotels and could have two- or three-game road trips to balance out travel. As to player concerns on exchange rates and taxes, that would be collectively bargained to give a potential London team proper competitive balance.

Whether a team is coming or not, the NFL in London is “a thing” and only becoming a bigger one.

Others agree:

At the very least, the 10-year deal will give the league a trial period during which they can test out the Spurs venue and see if a full-time franchise is feasible. It also hints at a possible time frame (2028) for when we might see a franchise there.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: EA Sports just showed off the new Madden NFL game and it looks unbelievably realistic

In 2013, Gareth Bale set the record for the highest transfer fee ever paid when Real Madrid spent $132 million (€100 million) on the Welsh footballer. Now there are reports that Real Madrid has rejected an offer that would have destroyed the old record.

Manchester United has been rumored to be interested in acquiring the 25-year-old Bale, and, according to COPE in Spain, the Premier League side offered Real Madrid $154 million (€140 million) only to have it rejected.

A second report, from Mundo Deportivo, puts the record offer at $166 million (€150 million), although it appears a second player, Raphaël Varane, would have been part of that deal.

All European transfer rumors are to be taken with a grain of salt, especially ones that have to do with Madrid and Bale, but, as Eurosport points out, COPE has a "decent track record" and isn't one of the publications known for making stuff up, so maybe there's something to this one.

According to one estimate from Football-Observatory.com, Bale has a transfer value of $57.8-$63.6 million, making him the 16th most valuable player in the world. However, very few of the top players in the world are actually obtainable, which could up the price for one on the open market.

Bale is considered one of the best wingers in the world, having scored 28 goals in two seasons since moving from the English Premier League to La Liga. So it is easy to see why Real Madrid would want to hold on to their young star, especially since Cristiano Ronaldo is now on the north side of 30 years old will likely only have a few years left as one of the world's best players.

However, at the same time, Bale has been a controversial figure among fans of the Spanish club and the team has yet to win a league title with Bale on board, although they did win the 2014 Champions League. Either offer would have produced a tidy profit in the range of $22 to $34 million for the player and a chance for Real Madrid to refocus their efforts in other areas.

Instead, it appears Bale is staying in Spain.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's how soccer superstars Ronaldo and Messi match up

The Los Angeles Clippers are trying to get free agent DeAndre Jordan to have a last-second change-of-heart and return to the Clippers this season instead of joining the Dallas Mavericks, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

On July 5, multiple reports said that Jordan had agreed to sign a four-year, $80 million deal with the Mavericks.

With the NBA's moratorium period ending Thursday, July 9, free agents can officially begin signing contracts for their new deals.

It was assumed that Jordan was gone, but now he's reportedly having second thoughts and the Clippers will get to make a final push not to lose their biggest free agent at a meeting on Wednesday.

Stein reports:

Free agents are traditionally considered off limits once they strike a verbal agreement with a team during the NBA's annual moratorium period, but sources said that the Clippers have pushed to secure a meeting Wednesday in Houston for coach/team president Doc Rivers and possibly owner Steve Ballmer to make one last face-to-face pitch to Jordan in an attempt to convince him to walk away from the four-year, $80-plus million max deal he committed to with the Mavericks and instead stay with L.A.

Sources say that some Clippers players have been in contact in recent days as well with Jordan, who informed both teams of his decision last Friday and then flew to his offseason home in Houston.

ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz reported at the time of the initial agreement that there were tensions between Jordan and Chris Paul and that Jordan yearned for a bigger role on offense. Additionally, during their meetings, Jordan felt the Mavericks made him feel more wanted.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers now appears to be offering Jordan more of what he wants:

And the Clippers may have a shot if Jordan is second-guessing himself:

This is a borderline unprecedented move in the NBA. Bobby Marks, a former assistant GM for the Brooklyn Nets, tweeted that this would create chaos among front offices:

Both Blake Griffin and Chris Paul will reportedly be at the meeting:

The Clippers are in a desperate spot. They can offer Jordan a max contract because they have his Bird Rights. If Jordan leaves, however, the Clippers are over the salary cap and can't offer a big contract to any centers near Jordan's level as a replacement. They could try to trade for a center, but they have very few assets that would appeal to other teams.

Clippers players are aware of the sizeable hole Jordan would leave on the team. J.J. Redick said yesterday that the Clippers would get an 'F' this offseason for failing to re-sign Jordan, their biggest priority.

While it may seem petty for the Clippers to beg Jordan last minute after he agreed to a deal with the Mavs, Jordan could be the difference between championship contention and a bottom-four playoff seed for the Clippers. Championship windows are extremely tight, so if the Clippers feel they have a squad ready to compete for one if they bring back Jordan — beg away!

On the other hand, this would be disastrous for the Mavericks. Jordan was their prized pick-up this summer, a younger, more nimble version of Tyson Chandler, who they let go in free agency. If Jordan goes back to L.A., the Mavericks would virtually have no good options at center, as this late in free agency, the best players have all agreed to terms with other teams.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: WWE superstar John Cena just posted a video of himself squatting 396 pounds

After winning a unanimous decision in his historic bout against Manny Pacquiao in May, Floyd Mayweather (48-0, 26 knockouts) has yet to name who his opponent will be for his final fight in September. Several names have been mentioned and there have been plenty of rumors, but with just a few months before the expected fight no one knows who will get the last opportunity to try to take down the undefeated Mayweather before he retires.

Here are six of his potential opponents ranked in order by likelihood:

The Favorites

1. Andre Berto (30-3, 23 knockouts): Berto is one of two names Mayweather mentioned as his preferred potential opponent. While some thought he was joking, Mayweather reiterated the fact he was "100% serious" in an interview with Fight Hype's Ben Thompson. While Berto may not be the most deserving, he could still pose serious problems to Mayweather. Berto's a two-time welterweight champion who — as his former trainer Tony Morgan said — has "natural speed" and "natural power." While all three of his losses have come within his past six fights, Berto has won his last two bouts by way of unanimous decision and technical knockout respectively. Berto gets the slight nod over the number two fighter on this list based purely on his record and quality of past opponents.

2. Karim Mayfield (19-2, 11 knockouts): The second of the two fighters Mayweather named as the favorite to have a chance at him in September, Mayfield is relatively unknown compared to Berto. While Berto is a former welterweight champion and has fought big-name fighters — such as Freddy Hernandez, Victor Ortiz, and Robert Guerrero — Mayfield has yet to face the same level of competition. However, he has sparred some of the top fighters in the world as many high-level boxers like to use Mayfield as one of their frequent sparring partners. In fact, Mayfield told GMA News' JM Siasat he "whooped [Manny] Pacquiao and [Amir] Khan" in past sparring sessions and would "give Floyd his first loss in a highly explosive fight."

Still Possible

3. Amir Khan (31-3, 19 knockouts): Khan, another former Pacquiao sparring partner, has been a frequent name mentioned as a possible opponent for Mayweather throughout the years. And after a unanimous decision over Chris Algieri in May he seemed poised to finally get his chance at the undefeated boxing king. In early June, Khan even went as far as saying "the fight could be confirmed within the next two weeks." Yet, Mayweather reportedly responded "no" when asked if he was planning on fighting Khan in September. Known for his speed and having "some of the fastest hands in boxing," Khan would arguably give Mayweather the most trouble out of all of his potential opponents. He's won his last five fights by four unanimous decisions and one referee technical decision.

Unlikely

4. Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 knockouts): Porter recently dominated Mayweather's prodigy, and "little brother," Adrian Broner in a lopsided unanimous decision win (one judge had it as 118-108 for Porter), and called out Mayweather in the process, so it's possible Mayweather may want a little payback. It wouldn't be the first time such a scenario took place, Mayweather fought Marcus Maidana after the Argentinian fighter won a unanimous decision over Broner — and, with unanimous decision wins over Broner, Devon Alexander, and Julio Diaz, most would agree that Porter is in the same class as Maidana. Mayweather has said he wants Porter to fight in the same ring as him in September, but, not as his opponent, as an undercard in a rematch against Broner. 

5. Timothy Bradley (31-1-1): While Bradley is the most-recognized name on this list, he's ranked third on ESPN's welterweight division rankings (behind only Mayweather and Pacquiao), he's also one the least-likely opponents. Bradley shares the same promoter as Pacquiao, Top Rank's Bob Arum. Mayweather and Arum have publicly feuded ever since Mayweather left Top Rank in 2006. The two despised each other so much it took them five years to finally come to terms for the historic Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown. Thus, it's very unlikely they'll be able to work out a contract for Bradley to fight Mayweather in just a few months.

6. Kell Brook (35-0, 24 knockouts): A week ago, Brook – the IBF welterweight title-holder – would have been placed into the "Still Possible" category, but his entire pitch for a bout against Mayweather went up in smokes when the WBO stripped Mayweather of his title and named Timothy Bradley the new champion. Brook's promoter Eddie Hearn had been hyping up the potential fight as a chance for Mayweather – who at the time was the WBO, WBC, and WBA title-holder – to unify the four welterweight belts. But, with Mayweather no longer considered the WBO welterweight champion, that's no longer possible. It appears that Brook has accepted the fact Mayweather won't face him, and it's now believed he'll fight Brandon Rios instead.

As of now, the most likely candidate to fight Mayweather in September is Andre Berto. However, keep in mind this is the same man who originally said he'd give Pacquiao a rematch, and just a few weeks ago Amir Khan was believed to be the clear-cut favorite. With Mayweather, until the contract is signed, nothing is set in stone.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why Floyd Mayweather is impossible to beat

The Milwaukee Bucks have said the team will be moved if they don't get public funding for a new arena, and there's a financial reason to think this is not just an idle threat.

Bucks president Peter Feigin recently spoke about the arena situation at an informational hearing held by the Wisconsin state Legislature's Joint Finance Committee, according to Mark Kass of Milwaukee Business Journal. Feigin told the committee construction on a new arena must begin in the next three-to-five months or the NBA will buy the team and move it to Seattle or Las Vegas.

Feigin confirmed that when Wesley Edens and Marc Lasry purchased the Bucks in early 2014 for $550 million, there was a provision placed in the purchase agreement that allowed the NBA to buy back the team for $575 million if the city did not meet a certain deadline for a new arena.

An earlier report said the NBA could buy the team if a deal was not in place for a new arena by November 2017. However, according to Feigin, construction of the arena must be completed in time for the 2017-18 season and the contract requires a new arena to be approved and construction started by the end of 2015.

“The window is closing. We can't wait months, even weeks to start the public process,” Feigin said. “The NBA does not want the Bucks to extend the lease in an inadequate facility.” The Bucks' current lease expires after the 2016-17 season.

This did not seem like that big of a deal when the Bucks were sold in 2014 because there was time to build the arena and there would have been little to gain for the NBA by purchasing the franchise.

But then the Donald Sterling fiasco in Los Angeles happened and Steve Ballmer bought the Clippers for $2 billion. Now, with the deadline looming, the Bucks have yet to get approval for $250 million in public funding for a $500 million arena, and the team is now worth more than $575 million.

Forbes' most recent valuations say the average NBA franchise is now worth $1.1 billion. The Bucks would likely go for more than that if they were sold with the promise of moving the team to a new city with a new arena generating much higher revenues.

Now, what originally looked like a conspiracy theory proposed by Bill Simmons is looking more plausible.

It goes like this: If the Bucks fail to get a new arena approved, the NBA will buy back the Bucks and then turn around and sell it to the highest bidder in either Seattle or Las Vegas for as much as $1.6 billion. That would be a cool $1 billion profit for the other 29 NBA owners.

Another scenario would allow Edens and Lasry to keep the team and move it to Seattle (or Las Vegas) after paying the NBA a relocation fee, likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Under this scenario, the other NBA owners still get a hefty pay day and Bucks owners get to keep an NBA team in a new arena that is still worth more than the total amount they paid in 2014.

At the same time the NBA could potentially solve another league problem, The Curious Case of the Missing Seattle Franchise, something that has become a league priority in recent years.

More importantly, both scenarios have the city of Milwaukee losing their NBA franchise in much the same way Seattle lost the Supersonics in 2008, and the NBA owners could make a lot of money if it happens.

The clock is indeed ticking.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Here's how Cristiano Ronaldo spends his money

Novak Djokovic is the current king of tennis.

Djokovic claimed the title of the world's No. 1 player in 2011, and he has rarely relinquished it, falling no lower than No. 2 in the world since then.

Despite the money he's accrued from winnings and his numerous sponsorships, Djokovic isn't as lavish a spender as some big-time athletes. Nonetheless, Djokovic enjoys a sweet lifestyle with numerous hobbies and off-the-court interests.

Here's a look at some of the ways Djokovic makes and spends his money.

Last year he made $48 million, making him the 2nd highest-earning tennis player in the world and the 13th highest-earning athlete.

Source: Forbes

On the court, Djokovic has made over $79 million in career winnings, including $6.9 million in 2015 alone.

Source: ATP World Tour

He makes the real money in endorsements. Last year he made $31 million off the court.

Source: Forbes