Once again the Philadelphia 76ers have a new look, and once again it looks great on paper. Regardless of what Kawhi Leonard chooses to do in NBA free agency, the Sixers will enter next season as legitimate contenders in the Eastern Conference. Despite losing JJ Redick and Jimmy Butler, the quick acquisitions of Al Horford and Josh Richardson keep the Sixers in the conversation.

Still, the best NBA teams possess both strong offenses and defenses, and Philly is not there yet. Last season the Sixers ranked just 11th in net rating. The offense worked (No. 8 in the NBA), but the defense was just average (No. 14). That's not good enough.

The good news is that both new guys arrive with sterling reputations for getting stops. It's easy to imagine this new group becoming a top-10 defense soon.

During Horford's tenure in Boston, he was the centerpiece of one of the league's most dependable defenses. Out of the 15 NBA bigs who defended at least 2,000 pick-and-roll plays last season, Horford ranked second in efficiency, per Second Spectrum tracking. Opponents scored just 0.93 points per direct pick when Horford was defending the screener. Joel Embiid -- no slouch on defense either -- allowed 0.94.

Meanwhile, with the Miami Heat, Richardson built his brand by playing outstanding perimeter defense. He provides Philly with an active, versatile wing capable of frustrating even the world's best perimeter players. Just ask JJ Redick, or watch Richardson here:

Richardson is a top-notch 3-and-D wing who pairs that elite defense with above-average 3-point shooting. He's no Redick, but Richardson made 36% of his 3s last year, which is right at the league average. However, that 36% is a little misleading.

Drilling down a bit further, it's clear that Richardson is better at some kinds of 3s than others. In Philly, it's likely his 3-point activity will skew toward his strengths and away from his weaknesses.

Last year, Richardson hurt his overall 3-point efficiency by launching a bunch of off-the-dribble 3s. He made just 28% of them. As he moves from Miami's anemic offensive environment (which ranked No. 26 in efficiency last season) to Philly's star-studded lineup, his usage rate will dip and his shot quality will rise.

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Richardson is much better in catch-and-shoot situations than he is off the bounce. Last season, he hit 38% of his catch-and-shoot 3s (69th percentile, per Second Spectrum), and perhaps no young player in the world is as good at creating such shots than Ben Simmons, his new teammate. Last season, Simmons' passes led to 782 3-point shots for his teammates. Nobody in Miami had more than 312 ... and that was Richardson himself, who has developed into a much better playmaker over the course of his career. Unlike Butler, Richardson will be content to play off the ball and stretch the floor, making him an ideal wing alongside Simmons.

Richardson may not be as good as Redick as a shooter, but he's really good at hitting open catch-and-shoot 3s. His shooting percentage jumped to 42.4% (73rd percentile) when his defender was at least 6 feet away. Simmons created 452 such open looks last year, and it's fair to expect Richardson's 3-point activity to skew toward his strengths in Philly, where he'll play alongside higher-usage teammates who command a lot of defensive attention.

While Richardson seems like an ideal player alongside Simmons and Embiid, Horford's fit is a little more concerning. According to Basketball-Reference, Horford spent 92% of his time as a center last season. Philly already has a pretty good center. Can Horford and Embiid play together? In an era defined by smaller and smaller lineups, Philly is making a bet that they can.

It helps that both dudes are versatile two-way players. Horford is light-footed enough to guard smaller guys on defense and skilled enough to spread the floor on offense. He's a much better passer and floor general than Embiid, but it's still fair to question how these giants will space the floor in tandem. At least they'll have some time to experiment and figure it out during the regular season.

Horford doesn't clog up the paint or need to post up to thrive on offense. He's an efficient offensive player who does his best work in the paint and from downtown.

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He's another screener, another passer and another catch-and-shoot threat for head coach Brett Brown to play with on offense. Furthermore, he's an unselfish chameleon who already has demonstrated he'll do what it takes to fit in.

The challenge may be on defense. Will smaller, faster opponents be able to exploit the relative slowness featuring Horford and Embiid? Maybe, but Horford is no ordinary center. If he can effectively defend opposing 4s, Philly should be just fine, especially considering the fleet of help defenders who surround him. When Simmons is locked in, he can help clean up defensive miscues that arise.

And here's the thing: The Horford acquisition enables Brown to stagger his lineups (and his load managements) in ways that consistently will keep at least one great big on the floor. Embiid is likely to miss time, and Horford helps mitigate that. Similarly, the presence of Embiid helps Philly manage the minutes of its brand-new 33-year-old big man. Their combined presence means both can get more nights off while not needing to play more than 30 minutes per game.

Even if Kawhi returns to the Raptors, the East is wide-open. Toronto deserves to be the favorite to start the year, but Philly is right there with the Milwaukee Bucks threatening to dethrone the champs. And if Leonard leaves, the East looks like a two-team race between the Bucks and Sixers.

Last season, the Bucks logged the best record in the league because they paired a great offense with a great defense. With the arrival of Richardson and Horford, the Sixers are in the process of doing the same thing.

Manny Machado's appeal of his one-game suspension was denied, and the San Diego Padres star will serve it Tuesday night by sitting out against the San Francisco Giants, according to multiple reports.

Major League Baseball had issued the punishment to Machado for "aggressively arguing and making contact'' with plate umpire Bill Welke on June 15. Machado was ejected for arguing a called third strike, but denied that he made contact with Welke. His appeal was heard Friday, according to reports.

The MLB Umpires Association took exception to the one-game suspension, saying it was a "slap in the face."

"One game..one single game. What kind of precedent is that setting? It is NOT okay to throw a temper tantrum and physically touch someone of authority, just because you don't agree. Violence in all workplaces is not tolerated. Period," the MLBUA said in a Facebook post.

MLB called the response "inappropriate" in a statement. Machado is batting .276 with 20 home runs and 57 RBIs for the Padres after signing a $300 million, 10-year contract in spring training.

The New York Yankees have placed Luke Voit on the 10-day injured list after the first baseman suffered an abdominal strain during Saturday's game in London.

Voit felt tightness while running the bases in the fifth inning against the Boston Red Sox and was removed from the game.

He described the injury as "a little tightness, but nothing crazy," but did not play in the second game of the series. The IL move is retroactive to Sunday.

Voit, 28, is hitting .280 with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs. He was 4-for-4 with three doubles in Saturday's game prior to the injury.

In related moves, infielder Mike Ford and left-hander Nestor Cortes Jr. were recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, while right-hander Chance Adams was optioned to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In the tight-knit world of baseball in the Dominican Republic, the legend of the kid spread quickly. He was a switch-hitter with world-class speed, an arm nobody would challenge and the body of a man. Someone called him El Marciano, and the nickname stuck. The Martian, it meant. Because there was no way he was from this world.

The praise for Jasson Dominguez started when he was barely a teenager, and it abounds still. And come this Tuesday, when he is expected to formalize a deal with the New York Yankees that includes a $5 million signing bonus, the 16-year-old center fielder instantaneously will become the most fascinating prospect for the game's most storied team, his debut next year eagerly anticipated by those who haven't seen him as well as by those who have.

That latter group includes general managers, international scouting directors and other front-office personnel -- professional skeptics -- who still can't help but lavish Dominguez with the sort of compliments reserved for the top 1 percent of the top 1 percent. Nearly every description begins with a caveat that goes something like: "I know this sounds crazy, but ... "

"But," one general manger who has seen him said, "he's like [Mike] Trout. And Trout wasn't close to this good when he was 16."

"But," an international scouting director who tried and failed to sign Dominguez said, "it's like Mickey Mantle. He's not 6-foot. He's a switch-hitter. He's got crazy power. He's fast as s---. He loves playing."

"But," another general manager said, "he's like -- what's that running back's name? The short, strong one? Maurice Jones-Drew. He's all muscle. But it's not stiff. He's twitchy. Can move in all directions."

Another veteran international scouting director didn't offer a player comparison but did summarize Dominguez simply: "He's the best July 2 player I've ever seen."

July 2 is the annual signing day for international amateurs, and in recent years as technological advances and superior scouting practices have helped better identify the best Latin American players, Dominguez has distinguished himself on raw numbers. He regularly reaches upward of 110 mph exit velocities swinging from both sides of the plate. Only 28 major leaguers have hit a ball 110 mph at least 10 times this season. Dominguez, two scouts said, has clocked around 6.3 seconds in the 60-yard dash. That's faster than Mo Hampton, arguably the best athlete in the MLB draft class of 2019, who decided instead to play cornerback at LSU this year.

This is not like the days of Jackson Melian, a hyped Yankees prospect from Venezuela who never made the major leagues. The conviction is stronger, the signings seen less as gambles and more as investments. It's what invites the comparisons -- that they're not based on physique or some other intangible alone.

"Jasson has a game that's very much like Mike Trout -- except he's a switch-hitter," said Ivan Noboa, Dominguez's trainer in the Dominican Republic. "It's a hard name for me to say, because it's really high expectations for a 16-year-old. But what Jasson is we all know. I know it's a little bit unfair to put them next to each other. It's a heavy weight to carry. But if someone can do it, it's him."

Dominguez arrived at Noboa's academy around his 13th birthday. Even then, he cut a strong figure, different from the wiry boys Noboa had hoped would grow into something. Today, Dominguez is 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, the exact measurements Mantle was listed at during his playing days.

Every day at Noboa's academy, Dominguez woke up before the sun rose and started his training regimen. He was a natural left-handed hitter whose right-handed stroke caught up. He took reps at shortstop and even catcher, but his speed suited him best in center. At one point, Noboa said, he started to think about where Dominguez stood among those he had trained, including Texas Rangers outfielder Nomar Mazara. That answer was clear: the best.

"I've been doing this for a long time," Noboa said, "and it's not just the guys who train with me. He's the greatest talent I've seen."

It's a talent few have seen by design. Unlike the Dominican Prospect League and International Prospect League, organizations that showcase young Latin American players across a multitude of games, Noboa prefers private workouts. Dominguez rarely if ever played in games against teams comprised of non-Noboa-trained players. One international scout said it scared him off of Dominguez.

That didn't stop others. Among those who expressed significant interest in signing Dominguez, according to sources, were the Rangers, Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Angels. Each was fighting an uphill battle, considering the history of the Dominguez family.

"Jasson has a game that's very much like Mike Trout -- except he's a switch-hitter. It's a hard name for me to say, because it's really high expectations for a 16-year-old. I know it's a little bit unfair to put them next to each other. It's a heavy weight to carry. But if someone can do it, it's him." Ivan Noboa, Jasson Dominguez's trainer

Before Dominguez was born in February 2003, his father, Felix Dominguez, and his mother, Dorca Gonzalez, were trying to settle on a name. His dad had the perfect one: Jasson, like Jason Giambi. Yes, Felix Dominguez, an enormous Yankees fan, really did name his son after Jason Giambi, and, yes, that second "s" really is superfluous and it's pronounced like Jason.

The Yankees' affinity for Jasson Dominguez can be summed up by his cost. Rarely does a 16-year-old Latin American player demand $5 million, let alone get it. In an unrestricted market, a player like Dominguez, two international directors said, would receive at least a $10 million bonus. The league's collective bargaining agreement limits what teams can spend on international amateur talent. The largest bonus pool is $6.48 million. The Yankees' limit is slightly less than $5.4 million. Essentially, they believe Dominguez is worth more than 90 percent of their pool, which itself says something considering the Yankees' recent success in the Latin American market.

The reality: Every team knows how valuable a high-caliber prospect can be. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. project to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars each. Even though he's only 18, Wander Franco, now the game's No. 1 prospect, could well develop into a $100 million shortstop for the Rays. Before Dominguez, Franco had received the largest signing bonus since fixed pools were instituted: $3.825 million. Dominguez, multiple evaluators said, is that level of player -- "and he might be better," according to one.

Even his most ardent fans acknowledge that because Dominguez is so strong, so fully developed at 16, there might not be room for the sort of growth Tatis experienced as he filled out. Neither that nor the lack of outside game action gave two international scouts pause. What Dominguez possesses now, they said, is plenty.

He can't show it until next year, as 16-year-olds don't play the season they sign their contract. Which means Yankees fans must wait. The baseball world too. The good news is that now they have plenty of time to prepare themselves for something they'll believe only when they see. Orson Welles was right after all. The Martian is coming.

Australian Nick Kyrgios demonstrates the best and worst of his game as he beats Jordan Thompson in five sets to reach the second round at Wimbledon.

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MOORESVILLE, N.C. – Ron Jon Surf Shop, the iconic surfer style retailer, will sponsor Front Row Motorsports and Matt Tifft during the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona Int’l Speedway on July 6.

Ron Jon Surf Shop is celebrating the brand’s 60th anniversary in 2019.

Ron Jon Surf Shop is known for offering the surf, beach and active lifestyle to visitors from around the world. Ron Jon Surf Shop currently operates stores throughout Florida and in other locations along the eastern seaboard including Ocean City, Md., Orange Beach, Ala., two locations in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and its original location in Ship Bottom, N.J.

Ron Jon Surf Shop carries all of the beach essentials needed to have fun in the sun and features a wide assortment of surfwear, swimwear, sunglasses, hats, footwear and many other items perfectly suited for the casual beach lifestyle.

“NASCAR fans obviously like spending a lot of time outdoors,” said Heather Lewis, Marketing Director of Ron Jon Surf Shop. “There’s a natural correlation between their core fans and our customers. We’re excited to team up with Matt Tifft once again and help carry our message and values to a broader audience.”

“It’s so great to have Ron Jon Surf Shop on the car at Daytona,” said Tifft. “If you grew up going to beaches on the east coast, they’re a brand you instantly recognize. To have them with us, celebrating their 60th anniversary is a huge honor and I can’t wait to turn heads on track with this car.”

WELCOME, N.C. – Richard Childress Racing announced Tuesday that Gimme Country, Gimme Radio’s newest branch of its online music service, has joined its NASCAR Xfinity Series program as a primary sponsor of Tyler Reddick’s No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro.

The first immersive country music-focused radio service will first appear on Reddick’s Chevrolet Camaro for the upcoming July race at Daytona Int’l Speedway.

“We built Gimme Country to give a home to the millions of country fans that have been largely ignored by the other digital music services,” says Tyler Lenane, Gimme Radio CEO. “Seeing how Tyler Reddick and RCR have built a loyal following and how much they value their fans – it’s exactly what we want to do with Gimme Country, so this partnership was an absolute no-brainer. We are so excited to be working with such a great team.”

Similar to Gimme Radio’s first radio service, Gimme Metal, Gimme Country provides fans with an online radio and music community where they can listen to true country music 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Gimme Country promises to focus on more than just the handful of stars played on traditional radio, and instead give fans everything from legacy artists to outlaws, up-and-comers and women artists that they won’t hear anywhere else.

Gimme Country also offers fans the unique opportunity to interact with their celebrity DJs, including country music superstar Lee Ann Womack, Brandy Clark, Dillon Carmichael, Joshua Hedley, Jesse Dayton and more. Fans who download the Gimme Country app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store can chat directly with the DJs and other fans to learn more about the stories behind the music and life on the road.

Reddick will get the chance to DJ his own show, “RCR 50: Wheels of Country.” The show, airing on Friday, July 5, at 1 p.m. ET, will feature songs and artists that RCR has ties to or have been fans of throughout its 50 years of existence. Fans can download the Gimme Country app to listen to the show, as well as chat with Reddick when he logs in to the app’s chat room at 1:30 p.m. ET on July 5.

“Gimme Country is changing the way fans can listen and interact with the music they love through their app,” said Tyler Reddick. “It’s cool to see that country music fans can download the app and find some new music they’ll love or great songs they forgot about, but also learn more about the artists or songs while doing so. It’s similar to what we’re trying to do with fans in NASCAR and always trying to find new ways to engage with them. With NASCAR and country music fans having such a big overlap, this partnership seems like a perfect way to continue to reach new fans and engage with the loyal ones we already have. I’m excited to have a chance to DJ a show for them this week. That’s something entirely new for me.”

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. – Carlin has announced that Sage Karam will join the team for the NTT IndyCar Series Honda Indy Toronto.

Karam will have sponsorship from SmartStop Self Storage on the No. 31 Carlin Chevrolet on July 14.

“We are extremely excited to partner with SmartStop Self Storage and to be a part of their debut into the NTT IndyCar Series. The Honda Indy Toronto is such a great event and will be the perfect introduction for them into the series,” said Team Principal Trevor Carlin. “We’ve obviously been following Sage’s career closely since he won the Indy Lights Championship in 2013 and he’s done a really great job. I think he’ll be a great addition to the team and a good teammate for Max this weekend.”

SmartStop Self Storage currently operates 131 self storage facilities located throughout Toronto, Canada and the United States. While this will be the organization’s first time serving as a primary partner in the NTT IndyCar Series, SmartStop Self Storage has been an exclusive, personal partner of Karam’s.

“SmartStop is proud to be partnering with Carlin and Sage Karam for the upcoming NTT IndyCar Series race in Toronto,” said H. Michael Schwartz, executive chairman of SmartStop Self Storage REIT, Inc. “We feel that this is a great opportunity to expand our ever-growing brand presence throughout Toronto, a market in which we are planning continued growth throughout the future.”

Karam will make his second start of the NTT IndyCar Series season at the Honda Indy Toronto after an impressive 19th-place finish at the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 that saw him advance 12 positions throughout the race. Karam began karting at the age of four and worked his way up through the karting ranks until he joined the Road to Indy Series in 2010.

He competed in all levels of the Road to Indy Series winning both the USF2000 and Indy Lights Championships before joining the NTT IndyCar Series in 2014. Since his IndyCar debut, Karam has recorded 17 starts, including a ninth-place finish in his first Indianapolis 500 start and two top-five finishes, including a podium at Iowa Speedway.

“I want to thank everyone at Carlin for giving me the opportunity to compete in an Indy car again in the NTT IndyCar series. I’m extremely excited and grateful to get back behind the wheel on a road course again for the first time since 2015 and I’m thrilled to carry a great sponsor like Smartstop Self Storage on the side of the No. 31 Carlin Chevrolet,” said Karam. “I’m looking forward to the challenge and working closely with everyone on the team to achieve a successful result and take advantage of this incredible opportunity.”

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — You’d be forgiven if before Sunday you’d never heard of Robin Shute.

The 31-year-old native of England was effectively a no-name with very little on his racing résumé. Now Shute, who works as an automotive engineer for Faraday Future, is a Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb winner.

“It’s nice to add your name to some kind of history in motorsport,” said Shute, who moved to the United States eight years ago and resides in California. “To go and achieve that at the end of it, I think that is really, really cool.”

Shute joins a stunning list of competitors to win one of America’s longest running motorsports events. Among those to collect overall victories at Pikes Peak are Bobby Unser, Al Unser, Al Unser Jr., Rick Mears, Mario Andretti, Nobuhiro Tajima, Rhys Millen, Sebastien Loeb and Romain Dumas.

The chance for Shute to compete in the Pikes Peak Int’l Hill Climb was the culmination of a lifelong dream for the Englishman, who said a video game from his youth inspired him to pursue an opportunity to travel to Colorado to compete in the legendary event.

“It was something I grew up with as a kid. If you’re familiar with Gran Turismo 2, if you remember that game they had like a Suzuki car and they had a Pikes Peak track,” Shute recalled. “Obviously as a kid I loved rallying as well. The Group D cars and all that. It is pretty legendary and I was well aware of it, from single digits anyway.”

Three years ago, Shute got the opportunity to live his dream thanks to his job at Faraday Future. He made his debut in the event affectionately known as The Race to the Clouds in 2017, driving a 2016 Faraday Future FF91 to a time of 11:25.082, which placed him 40th overall.

“It wasn’t going to be competitive for the overall victory, but it was still a great way to get my feet wet,” Shute recalled. “I just wanted to go as fast as I could up the hill.”

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