Sports ‘n Stuff 7/18/22

MLB Home Run Derby is tonight at 8PM at Dodger Stadium.
* For the first two rounds, each hitter gets three minutes—two minutes in the championship—during which time he is allowed one 45-second timeout while trying to hit as many home runs as possible. That initial two- or three-minute period will be followed by either a 30-second segment of bonus time or a 60-second segment, depending on whether the player hits a home run that travels at least 440 feet during the first two or three minutes. (They almost always do earn the full 60 seconds.) No timeouts during bonus time. Most home runs advances. And if at any point the second hitter pulls ahead of the first hitter, the round ends right then and there.
In the case of a tie, each hitter gets another 60 seconds (no timeouts). And if there’s still a tie after 60 seconds, they’ll do three-swing swing-offs until the tie is finally broken.
* The Mets’ Pete Alonzo will go for his 3rd consecutive title while Jose Ramirez will compete representing the Cleveland Guardians.

Fans that want to see it live and in person will need to hit the secondary market to get tickets and can expect to pay $140 for the cheap seats, all the way up to $8,054 for the prime ones. For Tuesday’s All-Star Game, you’re looking at a minimum of $238 to get in the door, all the way up to $17,500 for the best seats in the house.

Here are this weekend’s top five movies at the North American box office:
1. “Thor: Love and Thunder” – $46M
2. “Minions: The Rise of Gru” – $26M
3. “Where the Crawdads Sing” – $17M
4. “Top Gun: Maverick” – $12M
5. “Elvis” – $7.6M

A guy in Missouri is suing Bass Pro Shops for not honoring a lifetime warranty on some socks he bought that were supposed to be the, quote, “last socks you’ll ever need to buy.”
He filed the lawsuit this month.  He says the company used to replace the socks when they got worn out, but they stopped last year.
Starting in 2014, he bought around 12 pairs of wool socks called “Red Head All-Purpose” socks. He says the “lifetime guarantee” was a major reason he bought the socks.
Long story short, they wore out and they’re no longer replacing them. So… Now it looks like it could become a class-action thing, where anyone who ever bought the socks might be able to cash in.  So if that’s you, stay tuned!

Coming up later in todays date in sports history, on July 18, 2006, one of the most notorious moves in sports history was made official when the Seattle SuperSonics were sold to an Oklahoma City ownership group, and the Oklahoma City Thunder were born.
Which reminds us of a few other sports franchises that have moved
The Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984
The Browns moved to Baltimore in ’96
Montreal Expos moved to Washington in 2004 and eventually became the Nationals
The Rams and Raiders have moved so many time, we’d run out of ink and oh yeah, might as well throw in the Cardinals in the NFL too!

NASCAR New Hampshire Motor Speedway
30th annual Ambetter 301
1. Christopher Bell
2. Chase Elliot
3. Bubba Wallace
4. Martin Truex Jr.
5. Kevin Harvick
Cole Custer finished 27th

Sylvester Stallone, the famed actor who stars in the Rocky franchise, has recently ripped the film’s producer over ownership rights, saying that he’s being prevented from “leaving something of Rocky to his children.”
Released in 1976, Rocky — which Stallone also wrote in addition to starring in — was the highest-grossing film the year it was released and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Rocky was then followed by five direct sequels, Rocky II, Rocky III, Rocky IV, Rocky V, and Rocky Balboa. The film series made Stallone one of biggest stars in Hollywood and launched his career as an action hero.
Then, in 2015, Creed — a sequel franchise centered on Apollo Creed’s son — was launched and was followed by Creed II in 2018 and the upcoming Creed III, which will hit theaters later this year. The film is set to be directed by franchise star Michael B. Jordan, who will be making his directorial debut on the project.

Basketball fan were given a special treat over the weekend when LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan showed up to play in a Drew League game on Saturday.
King James did not disappoint either, dropping 42 points and grabbing 16 boards in a nail-biting 104-102 win for the MMV Cheaters over Black Pearl Elite.
During the game, James showed on numerous occasions why he is in the conversation for NBA GOAT. In fact, at one point during the day, basketball fans on social media made one of the players who guarded him, Dion Wright, the subject of numerous jokes and memes. Check one out @TheJTurk

It’s the All Star Break with The MLB Home Run Derby is tonight at 8pm on ESPN

Today is Monday July 18
Today in Sports and Pop Culture History

Todays date in 2006 the Seattle Supersonics moved to Oklahoma City.

30 years ago- In 1992, Whitney Houston married Bobby Brown.  They divorced in 2007 and she died in 2012.

19 years ago- In 2003, Kobe Bryant was charged with sexual assault after a hotel employee in Colorado made allegations against him.  She later refused to testify at his criminal trial and they settled out of court on her civil case.

Nine years ago- In 2013, Detroit became the largest city to ever file for Bankruptcy.  The city was $18 Billion in Debt.

Celebrity Birthdays today:

Vin Diesel is 55 (“Saving Private Ryan,” “The Fast and the Furious” franchise, “Guardians of the Galaxy”) (FAST FACT: His birth name in Mark Sinclair)

Billionaire Virgin Group founder Richard Branson is 72