MLB's best and worst teams are as far apart as ever, but the parity in the middle sets the stage for a thrilling second half, Axios' Jeff Tracy and I write.

State of play: Entering today, 22 of 30 teams are either division leaders or within 10 games of a wild card spot. That's nearly 75% of the league.

• Three divisions — the AL East, AL West and NL West — are all but locked up, per FiveThirtyEight's forecast model, but the other three are basically toss-ups.
• With so many teams in the hunt, and with the playoffs expanding to 12 teams this year, the days leading up to the trade deadline (Aug. 2) should be fascinating.

The other side: While most of the league battles it out in the messy middle, a record-tying number of teams are on pace for both 100 wins and 100 losses (four each):

• 100 wins: Yankees (113-win pace), Dodgers (108), Astros (105), Mets (101)
• 100 losses: Nationals (109), Athletics (105), Reds (101), Cubs (100)

Between the lines: This extreme polarization has come almost exclusively in the past few years.

• 2019 was the only season with four 100-win teams, and three of the eight seasons with three 100-win teams have come since 2017.
• There have been three seasons with four 100-loss teams, including each of the last two full seasons (2019, 2021). It first happened in 2002.

Awards races: Here are our picks…

• AL MVP: Shohei Ohtani, LAA (apologies to Aaron Judge, Rafael Devers, José Ramírez, Mike Trout and Yordan Álvarez)
• AL Cy Young: Shane McClanahan, TB (Justin Verlander, Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Ohtani and Dylan Cease)
• AL ROY: Julio Rodríguez, SEA (Jeremy Peña, Bobby Witt Jr., Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran and Adley Rutschman)
• NL MVP: Paul Goldschmidt, STL (Manny Machado, Nolan Arenado, Sandy Alcántara, Freddie Freeman and Austin Riley)
• NL Cy Young: Alcántara, MIA (Tony Gonsolin, Corbin Burnes, Carlos Rodón, Max Fried and Aaron Nola)
• NL ROY: Spencer Strider, ATL (Michael Harris II, Christopher Morel, Seiya Suzuki, Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman)

Fun fact to go ... If the season ended today, the two longest active playoff droughts would end. The Mariners (20 years) and Phillies (10) both currently hold wild card spots.

Go deeper: Midseason power rankings (The Ringer)

Dick Vitale delivered an emotional speech after being honored with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance at the 2022 ESPYS on Wednesday night.

"If you know someone battling cancer, extend that message, extend that prayer. So many times I laid in the hospital and it was those messages that picked me up in the darkest moment. It gave me such a lift to say, you know what I got to beat this. I hear Jimmy's words in my head, 'Don't give up, don't ever give up.'"

Full speech … video segment … "Dickie V" ESPN+ documentary

Go deeper: Full list of award winners (ESPN)

The best restaurant in the world is in a soccer stadium.

Driving the news: Copenhagen's Geranium, located on the eighth floor of Denmark's national soccer stadium, topped the annual list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants, unveiled this week.

• Geranium follows in the footsteps of fellow Danish eatery, Noma, which claimed the title last year.
• Its full-length windows offer stunning views of the 38,000-seat stadium and surrounding gardens.

In case you're wondering … Geranium's current menu, ''The Summer Universe,' costs $440 per person and lasts for a minimum of three hours.

♟ Carlsen giving up title: Lacking motivation, Magnus Carlsen will not defend his world chess championship next year, surrendering the title he's held since 2013.

🏟 New Philly arena: The 76ers are planning to build a privately-funded arena in the heart of downtown Philadelphia that would open in 2031, the team announced this morning.

🏀 Sky clinch: The defending champion Chicago Sky (20-6) won their fifth straight game on Wednesday to become the first WNBA team to clinch a playoff spot.

⛳️ Stenson to LIV: Europe's Ryder Cup team has dropped its captain, Henrik Stenson of Sweden, after he joined LIV Golf.

🏈 Jimmy G update: The 49ers have given Jimmy Garoppolo permission to seek a trade. The 30-year-old QB is entering the final season of his contract.

After 'The Last Dance" aired in 2020, sales of Michael Jordan-related memorabilia soared. Could "The Captain" have the same effect on Derek Jeter collectibles?

State of play: The collectibles industry broadly, and Jeter memorabilia specifically, suggest it could happen, Jeff writes.

• Despite economic uncertainty, the collectibles market has held up quite well, especially at the high end. Q2 six-figure sales across tracked auction houses were up 5.1% year-over-year, per Altan Insights.
• The all-time record for a Jeter card was set in April, when Goldin Auctions sold a PSA 10 rookie for $600,000 — more than 19 times as much as the exact same card sold for in 2015 ($31,100).

Reality check: The Jordan boom came during a perfect storm, when the country was in full lockdown and "The Last Dance" had no sports — or plans of any kind — competing for viewers' attention. MJ is also, well, MJ.

What to watch: Numerous high-profile Jeter items will be auctioned off in the next month or so, including the Yankees' first scouting report on him (estimated at $50,000) and the fan's glove that caught his controversial 1996 ALCS homer ($50,000).

Episode 2 of "The Captain" airs tonight (9pm ET, ESPN).

Quidditch, the real-life game based on the fictional sport from "Harry Potter," has a new name: Quadball, Jeff writes.

Driving the news: U.S. Quadball and Major League Quadball, the sport's national governing body and semi-professional league, announced the change on Tuesday.

• Warner Bros. owns the trademark to the name "quidditch," which has limited the sport's sponsorship and broadcasting opportunities.
• The groups also want to distance themselves from "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling, who's made headlines for what they call "her anti-trans positions."

How it works: Quidditch is played on flying brooms with 14 players, six goals and four balls — one quaffle (used to score), two bludgers (for defense) and the Golden Snitch (catching it ends the game).

• Quadball is more or less the same: Players must have a broom between their legs while shooting quaffles (volleyballs) through vertical hoops, throwing bludgers (dodgeballs) at the other team, and catching the snitch (a tennis ball attached to a person).
• The new name refers to both the number of balls and the four positions on the field: chaser (offense), beater (defense), keeper (goalie) and seeker (catches the snitch).

The last word: "[F]or me personally there is definitely some nostalgia to the original name," Alex Benepe, who co-founded the sport in 2005 at Middlebury College, told NYT. "But from a long-term development perspective I feel confident this is a smart decision."

🎥 Watch: Quidditch vs. Quadball (YouTube)

EUGENE, Ore. — The steeplechase is easily the wackiest event in track. It's like a kid designed it at recess: "Okay, so everybody runs in a circle and then you come to the thing and there's a water pit full of lava!"

• 🎥 Watch: The history of the steeplechase (YouTube)

BRIGHTON, England — Georgia Stanway's sensational strike in extra time lifted England past Spain, 2-1, and into the semifinals of the Women's Euros.

• Go deeper: England's win showed new side of special team (ESPN)

PEYRAGUDES, France — Defending champ Tadej Pogačar won Stage 17 of the Tour de France but still trails Jonas Vingegaard — who finished right behind him — by 2 minutes, 18 seconds entering today's final mountain stage.

• Go deeper: Young Americans step into Tour de France spotlight (Defector)

The Evian Championship, the fourth of five women's majors, tees off today in Évian-les-Bains, France (9:30am ET, Golf).

• The field: 45 of the world's top 50 players are in France, including No. 13 Inbee Park, who's missing only the Evian in her pursuit of the "Super Career Grand Slam" (five different majors).
• Prize money: The purse is $6.5 million, $2 million more than 2021. That's been a theme across the LPGA Tour this year, with a record $90 million up for grabs.

More to watch:

• 🚲 Tour de France: Stage 18 (8am, USA/Peacock)
• 🥇 Track & Field: World Championships (8pm, USA/Peacock) … The men's and women's 200m headline Day 7.
• 🍿 "The Captain": Episode 2 (9pm, ESPN) … Jeter's struggles en route to stardom.
• ⚾️ MLB: Giants at Dodgers (10pm, ESPN)
• 🏀 WNBA: Liberty at Mystics (11:30am, NBA); Dream at Sparks (3:30pm, NBA); Fever at Aces (10pm, NBA)
• ⚽️ Women's Euro: Germany vs. Austria (3pm, ESPN2) … Quarterfinal.
• ⛳️ PGA Tour: 3M Open (7:45am, ESPN+; 2pm, Golf)

James Harden, who just signed a new two-year deal with the 76ers, is one of five active NBA players with a career scoring average of at least 24 points per game (24.9).

• Question: Name the other four.
• Hint: Two guards, two forwards.

Answer at the bottom.

Miami football is ditching the "turnover chain" for the 2022 season.

• "It's not part of our culture," said new head coach Mario Cristobal, who won two national titles (1989, 1991) as a player at Miami.
• The gold chain had been worn by defensive players on the sideline after forcing a turnover since 2017.

Fear not, oversized jewelry fans … The Orioles will carry on the tradition with their orange home run chain. Go Birds.