Bobby Bonilla Day

In November 1998, the New York Mets traded Mel Rojas to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bobby Bonilla. Bonilla was under contract for the 1999 and 2000 seasons for $5.9M a year. Bonilla struggled mightily in 1999 with the Mets batting just .160 (19/119) in 60 games so the Mets released him in January of 2000 despite still owing him $5.9M for the 2000 season. HOWEVER, instead of paying him the money then, they opted to defer payments until 2011. Bonilla's agent secured an 8% interest rate during the negotiations so now every year on July 1st starting in 2011 and running through 2035, the New York Mets cut Bobby Bo a check for $1.19M. Hence, Bobby Bonilla Day.

While it's somewhat comical that Bonilla - now 56 - is getting more money from the Mets this year than their slugging rookie first baseman Pete Alonso, it's easy to forget that once upon a time Bobby Bonilla was REALLY good. Bonilla was an All Star Six Times, won three Silver Sluggers, won a World Series title with the Marlins in 1997, led the NL in doubles in 1991 with 44, and finished second for the NL MVP race in 1990.

Here's to you Bobby Bonilla. Best Contract Ever.

Gold Cup Goal Scorers by League - Quarterfinal Edition

The semifinal match-ups are set in the Gold Cup as Haiti will take on tournament favorites Mexico, and Jamaica will take on the United States. Here's a look at your goal scorers from the quarterfinals.

HAITI 3 CANADA 2

Haiti - Duckens Nazon (2) - Sint-Truiden (Belgium)
Haiti - Hervé Bazile (1) - Le Havre (France)
Haiti - Wilde-Donald Guerrier (1) - Qarabağ FK (Azerbaijan)
Canada - Jonathan David (6) - Gent (Belgium)
Canada - Lucas Cavallini (5) - Puebla (Mexico)

MEXICO 1 COSTA RICA 1

Mexico - Raúl Jiménez (4) - Wolverhampton Wanderers (England)
Costa Rica - Bryan Ruiz (1) - Santos (Brazil)

JAMAICA 1 PANAMA 0

Jamaica - Darren Mattocks (1) - FC Cincinnati (MLS)

USA 1 CURACAO 0

USA - Weston McKennie (1) - Schalke 04 (Germany)

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AZERBAIJAN (1)

Wilde-Donald Guerrier (Haiti) - Qarabağ FK - 1

BELGIUM (10)

Jonathan David (Canada) - Gent - 6
Duckens Nazon (Haiti) - Sint-Truiden - 2
Frantzdy Pierrot (Haiti) - Royal Excel Mouscron - 2

BRAZIL (1)

Bryan Ruiz (Costa Rica) - Santos - 1

BERMUDA (1)

Lejuan Simmons (Bermuda) - Robin Hood F.C. - 1

CHILE (1)

Gabriel Torres (Panama) - Universidad de Chile - 1

COSTA RICA (2)

Rubilio Castillo (Honduras) - Deportivo Saprissa - 2

DENMARK (1)

Mayron George (Costa Rica) - FC Midtjylland - 1

ENGLAND/WALES (14)

Leandro Bacuna (Curacao) - Cardiff City - 1
Neil Danns (Guyana) - Bury - 3
Junior Hoilett (Canada) - Cardiff City - 2
Raúl Jiménez (Mexico) - Wolverhampton Wanderers - 4
Bryan Oviedo (Costa Rica) - Sunderland - 1
Christian Pulisic (USA) - Chelsea - 1
Nahki Wells (Bermuda) - Burnley - 2

FRANCE (3)

Hervé Bazile (Haiti) - Le Havre - 1Kévin Fortuné (Martinique) - Troyes AC - 1
Joris Marveaux (Martinique) - Gazélec Ajaccio - 1

GERMANY (1)

Weston McKennie (USA) - Schalke 04 - 1

HAITI (2)

Djimy Alexis (Haiti) - AS Capoise - 1
Steeven Saba (Haiti) - Violette AC - 1

HONDURAS (1)

Jorge Daniel Álvarez (Honduras) - Club Deportivo Olimpia - 1

IRELAND (1)

Dante Leverock (Bermuda) - Sligo Rovers - 1

ISRAEL (1)

Armando Cooper (Panama) - Maccabi Petah Tikva - 1

MARTINIQUE (2)

Stéphane Abaul (Martinique) - Club Franciscain - 1
Kévin Parsemain (Martinique) - Golden Lion - 1

MEXICO (9)

Roberto Alvarado (Mexico) - Cruz Azul - 1
Édgar Yoel Bárcenas (Panama) - Cafetaleros de Tapachula - 1
Lucas Cavallini (Canada) - Puebla - 5
Fernando Navarro (Mexico) - Leon - 1
Alexis Vega (Mexico) - Guadalajara - 1

NETHERLANDS (1)

Juriën Gaari (Curacao) - RKC Waalwijk - 1

NORWAY (1)

Damian Lowe (Jamaica) - Start - 1

PANAMA (1)

Abdiel Arroyo (Panama) - Árabe Unido - 1

SCOTLAND (2)

Scott Arfield (Canada) - Rangers - 1
Emilio Izaguirre (Honduras) - Celtic - 1

SLOVAKIA (1)

Erick Davis (Panama) - FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda - 1

SLOVENIA (1)

Shamar Nicholson (Jamaica) - Domžale - 1

SOUTH KOREA (2)

Elías Fernando Aguilar (Costa Rica) - Jeju United - 2

SPAIN (4)

Andrés Guardado (Mexico) - Real Betis - 2
Anthony Lozano (Honduras) - Girona - 1
Diego Reyes (Mexico) - CD Leganés - 1 

THAILAND (1)

Nelson Bonilla (El Salvador) - Bangkok United - 1

TURKEY (5)

Celso Borges (Costa Rica) - Göztepe - 1
Tyler Boyd (USA) - Ankaragücü - 2
Dever Orgill (Jamaica) - Ankaragücü - 2

USA/CANADA (17)

Bryan Acosta (Honduras) - FC Dallas - 1
Jozy Altidore (USA) - Toronto FC - 1
Uriel Antuna (Mexico) - LA Galaxy - 4
Paul Arriola (USA) - DC United - 2
Allan Cruz (Costa Rica) - FC Cincinnati - 1
Jordy Delem (Martinique) - Seattle Sounders - 1
Aaron Long (USA) - New York Red Bulls - 2
Darren Mattocks (Jamaica) - FC Cincinnati - 1
Kevin Molino (Trinidad and Tobago) - Minnesota United - 1
Gyasi Zardes (USA) - Columbus Crew - 3

Red Sox - Yankees Tidbits

Here are some crazy tidbits from the Yankees-Redsox two-game series across the pond:

*Yankees starting pitchers combined to throw just 1 2/3 innings allowing 10 runs on 8 hits, good for an ERA of 54.00.

Each team used 7 relievers in Game 1 of the series and then 6 more in Game 2. Boston's bullpen logged 12 1/3 innings and gave up 23 hits and 21 runs while walking 10. New York's bullpen wasn't much better as they logged 16 1/3 innings while allowing 11 runs on 25 hits.

*In Boston's Mike Shawaryn's first seven appearances, he only allowed four runs. He gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings in the opener.

*There were five different innings in which a team scored at least six runs in the series and two additional innings when a team scored at least four.

*DJ LeMahieu tallied seven hits in the two-game series raising his league leading average from .336 to .345.

*Edwin Encarnacion struck out five times in a row in the first game of the series after doubling in the first inning. He finished the series 1 for 10.

*Each team saw every starter except one get a hit in each game:

Game 1 New York - Gary Sanchez 0/4
Game 1 Boston - Andrew Benintendi 0/3
Game 2 New York - Edwin Encarnacion 0/4
Game 2 Boston - Michael Chavis 0/5

*The Final Score for the two-game series was Yankees 29 Red Sox 21

*Adam Ottavino (1 2/3 IP), Zack Britton (1 IP) and Aroldis Chapman (2 IP) each logged a pair of scoreless appearances for the Yankees. Colten Brewer (1 2/3 IP) was the only pitcher to log a pair of scoreless outings for Boston.

*Stephen Tarpley's start in Game 2 was the first start of his Major League career. His first 20 appearances had all come out of the bullpen. Tarpley surrendered three homers in his one inning of work.

*Boston is now 1-6 against the Yankees this year and sits 11 games out of first place in the AL East.

*The loss was Boston's 40th of the season. Boston didn't lose their 40th game last year until August 24th.

Copa America Quarterfinal Wrap-Up

Three of the four quarterfinal matches at the 2019 Copa America ended 0-0 and went to a shootout. Brazil-Paraguay, Chile-Colombia and Peru-Uruguay all went goal-less and needed penalty kicks. Only Argentina's 2-0 win over Venezuela broke the trend. This sets up semifinal matches between Brazil and Argentina, and Peru and Chile. Here's a quick look at the matches:

BRAZIL (FIFA #3) vs ARGENTINA (FIFA #11)

Brazil hasn't won the Copa America since 2007, but they did defeat Argentina in the 2018 Superclásico de las Américas 1-0 on a late goal from João Miranda. Brazil hasn't yet conceded a goal in this tournament outscoring their opponents 8-0, and they're on a run of six consecutive shutouts across all competitions/friendlies.

Argentina hasn't won a Copa America since 1993, but they've been runners up in four of the last five tournaments. Led by Lionel Messi, Argentina stumbled out of the gates in this year's tournament losing to Colombia 2-0 and drawing 1-1 with Paraguay before defeating Qatar and sneaking into the knockout round. 

CHILE (FIFA #16) vs PERU (FIFA #21)

Chile won the 2016 Copa America when they went on an impressive run through the knockout round by dispatching Mexico 7-0, Colombia 2-0 and playing Argentina to a scoreless draw and then knocking them out on penalties 4-2. Chile suffered a 1-0 loss in group play to Uruguay, but only conceded one goal in their other three matches. Chile lost 3-0 to Peru in a friendly last October. 

Peru's appearance in the 2018 World Cup was their first since 1982, and their last Copa America win came in 1975. In the 2016 edition of Copa America, Peru lost to Colombia in a shootout in the quarterfinals, but their luck turned this year when they edged out Uruguay 5-4 on penalties to advance. Peru is vulnerable at the back having lost 5-0 to Brazil during the group stage. 

Breaking Down the Women's World Cup Semifinals

ENGLAND vs UNITED STATES (JULY 2)

England has outscored its World Cup opponents 11-1 including 6-0 in the knockout round. The English are making their second consecutive appearance in the semifinals and are looking to improve upon their third place finish in 2015. England and the U.S. have met in all four SheBelieves Cups with the U.S. winning 1-0 in 2016, England winning 1-0 in 2017, the U.S. winning 1-0 in 2018 and the teams drawing 2-2 in March of this year. Ellen White leads England with five goals.

The United States has never finished worse than third in the Women's World Cup and has reached four of seven World Cup Finals. After rolling through the Group Stage with 18 goals for and 0 goals against, the U.S. has managed a pair of 2-1 wins in the knockout round. Megan Rapinoe has scored all four of the U.S.'s goals in the knockout round, and is tied with Alex Morgan with a team-best five goals so far in the tournament.


NETHERLANDS vs SWEDEN (JULY 3)

The Netherlands have quietly won all five of their matches in this World Cup outscoring their opponents 10-3, and are making their first ever appearance in the World Cup semifinals. It's no fluke though as the Netherlands ended Germany's streak of 6-straight UEFA Women's Championships by winning the the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 Tournament and had wins over both Sweden (in the quarterfinals) and England (in the semifinals) on their way to the title. The Dutch have been led in this World Cup by 22 year old Vivianne Miedema's three goals.

Of the four teams remaining, Sweden is the only one that didn't win their group as they had the misfortune of needing to take on the U.S. in group play. Sweden has otherwise been perfect winning their four remaining matches by a score of 10-2. In dispatching Germany in the semifinals, Sweden was able to exact revenge on the team that eliminated them from the 2015 World Cup, and now they get a shot at the team that knocked them out of the 2017 UEFA Women's Championship. Eight different players have scored for Sweden so far in the World Cup.

The 5-Goal Gals

After England's Ellen White scored in yesterday's quarterfinal match against Norway, she became the third player to score five goals in this World Cup. Here's a closer look at each of the three women currently atop the goal leaderboard:

Sam Kerr - Australia - Kerr has won back-to-back NWSL Golden Boots after netting 17 goals for Sky Blue FC in 2017 and then 16 goals for the Chicago Red Stars in 2018. She also currently sits atop the leaderboard in 2019 with six more goals for the Red Stars. Despite only being 25 years old, she already has 80 CAPS for Australia and now has 36 career international goals. In the 2019 World Cup Kerr scored once against Italy, and four times against Jamaica during the Group Stage.

Ellen White - England - White plays professionally in England with her career taking her from Chelsea to Leeds Carnegie to Arsenal to Notts County to Birmingham City and most recently Manchester City. She's been CAP'd 85 times by England (and four more times for Great Britain during the 2012 Olympics) and now has 32 international goals. Now 30 years old, White has scored in every one of England's matches during this Wold Cup with the exception of their 1-0 win over Argentina, and she scored twice against Japan. 

Alex Morgan - USA - Unquestionably soccer royalty in America, the 29 year old Morgan eclipsed the 100 goal plateau this year, and following her five-goal outburst against Thailand in the U.S.'s World Cup Opener, Morgan now sits at 106 goals in her career spanning 166 appearances. Morgan has been the CONCACAF player of the year four times (including each of the last three years) and plays professionally in the NWSL for the Orlando Pride.

Copa America Goal Scorers By League

It's a great time to be a soccer fan right now. You've got the Women's World Cup, the Gold Cup, AND down in South America, the Copa America tournament. If you haven't been following, here's a rundown of how the tourney's shaped up thus far.

GROUP A

Brazil 3 Bolivia 0
Venezuela 0 Peru 0
Peru 3 Bolivia 1
Venezuela 0 Brazil 0
Brazil 5 Peru 0
Venezuela 3 Bolivia 1

GROUP B

Colombia 2 Argentina 0
Paraguay 2 Qatar 2
Colombia 1 Qatar 0
Argentina 1 Paraguay 1
Argentina 2 Qatar 0
Colombia 1 Paraguay 0

GROUP C

Uruguay 4 Ecuador 0
Chile 4 Japan 0
Uruguay 2 Japan 2
Chile 2 Ecuador 1
Uruguay 1 Chile 0
Japan 1 Ecuador 1

And similar to what we just put together for the Gold Cup goal scorers, here's where your Copa America goal scorers play their club ball through the conclusion of the Group Stage:

BOLIVIA (1)

Leonel Justiniano (Bolivia) - Bolivar - 1

BRAZIL (4)

Gustavo Cuéllar (Colombia) - Flamengo - 1
Everton (Brazil) - Grêmio - 2
Paolo Guerrero (Peru) - Internacional - 1

CHILE (1)

José Pedro Fuenzalida (Chile) - Universidad Católica - 1

CHINA (1)

Marcelo Martins (Bolivia) - Shijiazhuang Ever Bright - 1

ENGLAND (5)

Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 1
Roberto Firmino (Brazil) - Liverpool - 1
Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Manchester United - 2
Willian (Brazil) - Chelsea - 1

FRANCE (3)

Dani Alves (Brazil) - Paris Saint-Germain - 1
Edinson Cavani (Uruguay) - Paris Saint-Germain - 2

ITALY (4)

Lautaro Martínez (Argentina) - Internazionale - 1
Erick Pulgar (Chile) - Bologna - 1
Duván Zapata (Colombia) - Atalanta - 2

JAPAN (2)

Koji Miyoshi (Japan) - Yokohama F. Marinos - 2

MEXICO (6)

Edison Flores (Peru) - Morelia - 1
Roger Martínez (Colombia) - Club América - 1
Ángel Mena (Ecuador) - León - 1
Enner Valencia (Ecuador) - Tigres UANL - 1
Eduardo Vargas (Chile) - Tigres UANL - 2

PARAGUAY (2)

Óscar Cardozo (Paraguay) - Club Libertad - 1
Richard Sánchez (Paraguay) - Club Olimpia - 1

QATAR (2)

Almoez Ali (Qatar) - Al-Duhail - 1
Shoya Nakajima (Japan) - Al-Duhail - 1

RUSSIA (1)

Jefferson Farfán (Peru) - Lokomotiv Moscow - 1

SPAIN (9)

Casemiro (Brazil) - Real Madrid - 1
Philippe Coutinho (Brazil) - Barcelona - 2
José Giménez (Uruguay) - Atlético Madrid - 1
Darwin Machís (Venezuela) - Cádiz CF - 2
Lionel Messi (Argentina) - Barcelona - 1
Luis Suárez (Uruguay) - Barcelona - 2

UKRAINE (1)

Derlis González (Paraguay) - Dynamo Kyiv - 1

USA/CANADA (2)

Nicolás Lodeiro (Uruguay) - Seattle Sounders - 1
Josef Martínez (Venezuela) - Atlanta United - 1