The Little League World Series regionals begin Thursday, with all roads leading to the championship in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 29.
Why it matters: While the country begins its annual love affair with this ESPN-broadcast spotlight on youth sports, it misses the other side of the story: Little League participation has been dwindling for years.
Barcelona on Thursday announced that Lionel Messi is leaving the club.
State of play: Barcelona said that while the club and Messi had reached an agreement for a new contract, there were "financial and structural obstacles" that prevented Messi from staying.
A bilingual exhibit in Washington, D.C., is focusing on how Latinos transformed baseball in the U.S. and how the game allowed them to fight for civil rights.
The big picture: ¡Pleibol! In the Barrios and the Big Leagues, at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, opened last month and goes on until summer 2022. The exhibit comes as more than 30% of Major League players are Latino and the nation's pastime becomes more diverse.
The U.S. women's soccer team won the bronze medal on Thursday after beating ninth-ranked Australia 4-3.
Why it matters: Thursday's victory marks the U.S. team's first bronze in Olympic history, handing the team a medal after it failed to earn one during the Rio Games in 2016.
Day 13 of the Tokyo Olympic Games saw U.S. men's basketball team beat Australia 97-78 on Thursday to advance to the gold medal game.
The big picture: Kevin Durant led the charge with 23 points to help the U.S. secure a final spot against either France or Slovenia on Saturday local time. Elsewhere, the U.S. added to its gold medals count, with shot putter Ryan Crouser and canoeist Nevin Harrison both winning their events.
Nevin Harrison won gold for Team USA in the first-ever Olympic women's canoe single 200-meter sprint at the Tokyo Games on Thursday.
The big picture: The 19-year-old from Seattle is the only American canoe or kayak sprinter at the Tokyo Olympics. World record holder Vincent-Lapointe, of Canada, won silver and Ukraine's Liudmyla Luzan took bronze.
Ryan Crouser broke his own Olympic record to win gold in the shot put for Team USA on Thursday, with his best throw of 23.30 meters.
The big picture: The 28-year-old from Boring, Oregon, is the first American since 1956 to win back-to-back shot put Olympic events. U.S. teammate Joe Kovacs won the silver medal with a best throw of 22.65. New Zealand's Tom Walsh clinched bronze. Crouser is the current world record holder, throwing 23.37 at the U.S. trials.
