The Columbus Crew beat the defending champion Seattle Sounders, 3-0, on Saturday night to win the club's second MLS Cup title.

The backdrop: Three years ago, the Crew nearly relocated to Texas. But a fan-driven campaign saved the team and yielded new ownership — and new hope.

• Winning a championship was something every Crew supporter dreamed of, so it's sad more of them couldn't have been there to see it in person.
• Only 1,500 socially distanced fans were permitted for the final game of MLS' 25th season — a campaign that began almost 10 months ago.

As the final whistle sounded and the celebration began, three men in the crowd commemorated an achievement of their own: 25 straight MLS Cups.

These are their stories...

• Names: Jamie Clary and Jamey Yawn
• Hometowns: Hendersonville, Tennessee; Fairview, Tennessee.

Jamie Clary and Jamey Yawn have attended every MLS championship game since the league launched in 1996.

• The streak nearly ended this weekend due to the pandemic, which would have halted them at 24 in a row.
• But thanks to a last-minute connection, the two longtime friends made it to Columbus — and created one of their best memories yet.

"We were very nervous a week ago," Clary told me on Sunday afternoon during the five-hour drive home. "But then I remembered Alex."

• Alex is Alex Fischer, CEO of the Columbus Partnership and an instrumental figure in the "Save The Crew" campaign.
• Turns out, he and Jamie grew up playing soccer together in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where Jamie is now the mayor.

After hearing about their streak, Alex invited Jamie and Jamey to watch Saturday's game from a suite full of the people who helped save the Crew.

• "When the team lifted the trophy, it was like the last scene in a '30 for 30' documentary," said Clary.
• "And we were with the people that were the most excited about it. This was their baby. You could feel the emotion."

• Name: Jeff Reeder
• Hometown: Laurel, Maryland

Clary and Yawn always wondered if they were the only ones who'd embarked on this quarter-century journey. On Friday, they discovered that they weren't.

• After writing about Jamie and Jamey, Washington Post sportswriter Steven Goff learned of Jeff Reeder, a 57-year-old from Laurel, Md. who had also been to every MLS championship.
• Goff connected both parties, and on Saturday night, Jamie, Jamey and Jeff — strangers up until that point — watched the game together in Alex's suite.

Reeder is a D.C. United fan, which is a big reason why his streak began in the first place (D.C. played in the first four MLS Cups). But on Saturday, he said he was jumping with joy for the Crew.

• As for meeting Jamie and Jamey, "it felt like triplets separated at birth reuniting for the first time," Reeder tells me.
• "We need to get together again and compare notes. Where were you sitting in '96? Were we in the same section in 2012? Maybe we bumped into each other at a concession stand."

Reeder traces his passion for soccer back to his childhood, when he'd play every Thursday under the lights on the field near his house.

• "You know 'Citizen Kane'? Playing soccer on Thursday nights as a kid — that's my rosebud," he tells me. "I still play in a co-ed league, and every time I'm out there, I feel like I'm 15 years old again."
• "My mother would come to my childhood games. And when I'm around soccer, I have these flashbacks of scoring a goal as a young boy, and looking over at her in the stands. ... It all comes rushing back. That's why I love soccer."

The Cleveland Indians will remove the nickname they've used for 105 years, NYT first reported Sunday.

Why it matters: Native Americans have long called the moniker offensive. Cleveland began removing the Chief Wahoo logo from uniforms last year and announced in July that the team was looking into changing its name.

The backdrop: The Washington Football Team dropped its "Redskins" nickname ahead of the NFL season.

• The Chicago Blackhawks said in July that the nickname honors a real life Native American, and that they have no plans to make any changes.
• The Atlanta Braves said in July that they would not be changing the name but would take a further look at the future of the tomahawk chop.

What they're saying: The Oneida Nation said in a statement to ESPN that the change was "the culmination of decades of work."

• President Trump tweeted, "Oh no! What is going on? This is not good news, even for 'Indians'. Cancel culture at work!"

What's next: Cleveland is expected to announce its plans as early as this week. It's still unclear whether the name change will happen straight away or following the 2021 season.

It's officially crunch time in the NFL. Following an action-packed Sunday, here's the playoff picture in each conference:

• AFC: 1. Chiefs (bye), 2. Steelers, 3. Bills, 4. Titans, 5. Browns, 6. Colts, 7. Dolphins
• NFC: 1. Packers (bye), 2. Saints, 3. Rams, 4. Washington, 5. Seahawks, 6. Buccaneers, 7. Cardinals

Notable games:

• Chiefs 33, Dolphins 27: Kansas City clinched its fifth straight AFC West title. Patrick Mahomes got off to an uncharacteristically ugly start, but he finished strong, setting an NFL record for most pass yards in a six-game span (2,309).
• Packers 31, Lions 24: Green Bay clinched the NFC North, and thanks to the Saints' loss, remains in position for the NFC's No. 1 overall seed.
• Washington 23, 49ers 15: Washington dropped its name, saw its head coach battle cancer, benched its QB after four weeks, and replaced him with a walking miracle. They are now in first place. Incredible.
• Bills 26, Steelers 15: With the Bills winning, the Patriots' streak of division titles officially ends at 11 straight. Across the four major sports leagues, only the Braves (14) have had a longer streak.
• Eagles 24, Saints 21: Jalen Hurts ran for 108 yards in his first NFL start, helping Philadelphia snap New Orleans' nine-game winning streak.
• Buccaneers 26, Vikings 14: Minnesota's kicking curse returned with a vengeance (Dan Bailey missed four kicks), and now the Vikings are on the outside of the postseason field looking in.

Elsewhere: Broncos 32, Panthers 27; Colts 44, Raiders 27; Titans 31, Jaguars 10; Chargers 20, Falcons 17; Cardinals 26, Giants 7; Seahawks 40, Jets 3; Bears 36, Texans 7; Cowboys 30, Bengals 7

Tonight: Ravens at Browns (8:15pm ET, ESPN)

Younger siblings have a significantly higher chance of becoming elite athletes, according to a new book titled, "The Best: How Elite Athletes Are Made."

• Case study No. 1: In a study of USWNT candidates, 75% had an older sibling, 20% were the oldest child and just 5% were only children.
• Case study No. 2: In a study of 700 pairs of brothers who played Major League Baseball, the younger brother outperformed the older brother in two-thirds of cases and played an average of 2.5 years longer.

What they're saying: "Playing with older siblings is better for skill acquisition because athletes learn at a faster rate when they fail regularly," co-author Tim Wigmore tells me. "Younger siblings can't use physical advantages so they need skills, tactics and resilience to compete."

"What helped Andy become that sort of uber-competitor was having an older brother who's a bit bigger and a bit stronger than him through most of his formative years. And all he ever wanted to do was to beat Jamie."

Another area that the book explores is the striking correlation between the amount of informal play an athlete engages in during childhood and how successful they are in sports later in life.

• Case study: This could explain why the working-class "banlieus" on the outskirts of Paris — where kids grow up playing informal street soccer from dawn to dusk — produce more talent than anywhere else in Europe.
• From the author: "A healthy amount of informal play cultivates creativity, freethinking and technical expertise," says Wigmore. "A diet of rigid and hyper-serious coaching alone can be detrimental."

Buy the book.

• 📸 Photo of the weekend: Disabled Yemeni women take part in a local wheelchair basketball tournament organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
• 👟 Costly shoe toss: Florida lost to LSU and saw its playoff hopes crushed thanks to a hilariously irresponsible penalty: throwing an opponent's shoe.

• 🏈 Wild finish: Western Michigan's 15-lateral, game-ending TD that sadly didn't count was absolute chaos. Stanford band vibes.
• 💉 Olympics doping: Michael Phelps says he suspects "four or five" out of 10 Olympians are doping. "I can honestly say that throughout my whole entire career, I don't know if I ever competed in a clean field," he added.
• 🎓 Sportico + The Intercollegiate: Sports business publication Sportico has acquired The Intercollegiate, which is known for its public record-driven reporting on college sports. The Intercollegiate co-founders Daniel Libit and Luke Cyphers will join Sportico as part of the deal.

Major League Baseball unveiled its restructured minor league system last week, with all 30 big league clubs extending invitations to four farm teams apiece.

How it works: Under the newly configured system, every franchise will have a Triple-A team, a Double-A team, a high-Class A team and a low-Class A team, along with a variety of developmental teams.

• In an effort to streamline geographical footprints, affiliations were also shifted among franchises.
• For example: The Nationals' Triple-A affiliate shifted from Fresno, California, to Rochester, New York, while the Twins' Triple-A affiliate shifted from Rochester, New York to just across the river in St. Paul.

Why it matters: The number of affiliated minor league teams has been reduced from 160 to 120, altering the fate of 40 clubs.

• Good news for some: After three decades as one of America's most successful independent teams, the St. Paul Saints are now the Twins' Triple-A affiliate. It's exciting news for the Saints, and the 10.6-mile drive between stadiums means the Twins can now call up and send down players with ease.
• Bad news for others: The Salem-Keizer (Oregon) Volcanoes found out via social media that they would no longer be the Giants' Class A affiliate. "For a partnership of 26 years to end that way feels like a slap in the face," said CEO Mickey Walker. "I think heartbreak is an appropriate term."

The big picture: On top of the minor league shakeup, MLB is also forming its own amateur leagues for college players — a decision that has sent a chill through wood-bat college summer circuits from Cape Cod to Alaska.

• Go deeper: Our May profile on the Cape Cod League

AL East:

• Blue Jays: Buffalo, N.Y. / New Hampshire / Vancouver / Dunedin, Fla.
• Orioles: Norfolk, Va. / Bowie, Md. / Aberdeen, Md. / Salisbury, Md.
• Rays: Durham, N.C. / Montgomery, Ala. / Bowling Green, Ky. / Charleston, S.C.
• Red Sox: Worcester, Mass. / Portland, Maine / Greenville, S.C. / Salem, Va.
• Yankees: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa. / Somerset, N.J. / Hudson Valley, N.Y. / Tampa, Fla.

AL Central:

• Indians: Columbus, Ohio / Akron, Ohio / Lake County, Ohio / Lynchburg, Va.
• Royals: Omaha, Neb./ NW Arkansas / Quad Cities, Iowa / Columbia, S.C.
• Tigers: Toledo, Ohio / Erie, Pa. / West Michigan / Lakeland, Fla.
• Twins: St. Paul, Minn. / Wichita, Kan. / Cedar Rapids, Iowa / Fort Myers, Fla.
• White Sox: Charlotte, N.C. / Birmingham, Ala. / Winston-Salem, N.C. / Kannapolis, N.C.

AL West:

• Angels: Salt Lake, Utah / Rocket City, Ala. / Tri-City, Wash. / Inland Empire, Calif.
• Astros: Sugar Land, Texas / Corpus Christi, Texas / Asheville, N.C. / Fayetteville, N.C.
• Athletics: Las Vegas / Midland, Texas / Lansing, Mich. / Stockton, Calif.
• Mariners: Tacoma, Wash. / Arkansas / Everett, Wash. / Modesto, Calif.
• Rangers: Round Rock, Texas / Frisco, Texas / Hickory, N.C. / Down East, N.C.

NL East:

• Braves: Gwinnett, Ga. / Mississippi / Rome, Ga. / Augusta, Ga.
• Marlins: Jacksonville, Fla. / Pensacola, Fla. / Beloit, Wis. / Jupiter, Fla.
• Mets: Syracuse, N.Y. / Binghamton, N.Y. / Brooklyn, N.Y. / St. Lucie, Fla.
• Nationals: Rochester, N.Y. / Harrisburg, Pa. / Wilmington, Del. / Fredericksburg, Va.
• Phillies: Lehigh Valley, Pa. / Reading, Pa. / Jersey Shore, N.J. / Clearwater, Fla.

NL Central:

• Brewers: Nashville, Tenn. / Biloxi, Miss. / Wisconsin / Carolina, N.C.
• Cardinals: Memphis, Tenn. / Springfield, Missouri / Peoria, Ill. / Palm Beach, Fla.
• Cubs: Iowa / Tennessee / South Bend, Id. / Myrtle Beach, S.C.
• Pirates: Indianapolis, Ind. / Altoona, Pa. / Greensboro, N.C. / Bradenton, Fla.
• Reds: Louisville, Ky. / Chattanooga, Tenn. / Dayton, Ohio / Daytona, Fla.

NL West:

• Diamondbacks: Reno, Nev. / Amarillo, Texas / Hillsboro, Ore. / Visalia, Calif.
• Dodgers: Oklahoma City / Tulsa, Okla. / Midland, Mich. / Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
• Giants: Sacramento, Calif. / Richmond, Va. / Eugene, Ore. / San Jose, Calif.
• Padres: El Paso, Texas / San Antonio, Texas / Fort Wayne, Ind. / Lake Elsinore, Calif.
• Rockies: Albuquerque, N.M. / Hartford, Conn. / Spokane, Wash. / Fresno, Calif.

Thanks for choosing Axios Airlines. We'll be traveling to a new destination each morning this month. Sit back and enjoy the flight.

• Location: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
• Coordinates: 38.8977°N, 77.0365°W

Welcome to the White House, where First Lady Melania Trump recently unveiled the newly-designed tennis pavilion on the South Grounds.

• The project also included the refurbishment of the tennis court (left of the fountain above), which was installed under President Theodore Roosevelt.
• President Obama had used it as a basketball court during his time in office, adding court lines and removable hoops.

Other sports amenities on the White House grounds include:

• Half-court basketball area: Just west of the tennis/basketball court is a half-court basketball area that doubles as a horseshoe pit.
• Swimming pool: The outdoor pool and cabana were installed in 1975 by President Gerald Ford, an avid swimmer. The original indoor pool was built in 1933 under FDR and later turned into a press briefing room by President Richard Nixon.
• Putting green: Installed in 1954 by President Dwight Eisenhower, removed by Nixon, reinstalled by President George H. W. Bush and moved to its current location just by President Bill Clinton. In 2019, President Trump added a room-size golf simulator.

120 years ago today, the world's first ping pong tournament concluded at London's Royal Aquarium.

The backdrop: Ping pong fever had overtaken Britain at the turn of the century. Some considered it a passing fad, but the hundreds of men and women who competed that day helped legitimize the infant sport.

What they said: A surprising number of drawings of the tournament have survived to the modern day. There's also this wonderful quote from an unnamed Scottish reporter, who was struck by what he called "the Ping Pong Face."

"Greater than any [face] in its sheer intensity is the white Ping Pong Face with the anxious eyes that move swiftly from side to side and are never still, the firmly-set mouth, and the lowering brow."

The big picture: The International Tennis Table Federation formed in 1926 and the first world championships were held that same year. 62 years later, ping pong made its Olympics debut at the 1988 Seoul Games.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis are one of four pairs of No. 1 picks that will be teammates this NBA season.

• Question: Who are the other three pairs?
• Hint: Two East, one West.

Answer at the bottom.

Giphy

1. 🏈 INT of the year
2. ⚽️ Gorgeous goal
3. 🏒 Lacrosse-style goal
4. 🏈 Wild pick
5. 🏈 Gimme that
6. 🏀 No-look nutmeg
7. 🏈 Beast mode
8. 🏀 Posterized
9. ⚾️ Vlad Jr. boomshot
10. 🏀 Ball to Bridges

Watch all 10.