Gameplan
• MONITOR
MLB trading deadline
Let's hope Indians G.M. Mark Shapiro has rollover minutes from last month, because his cellphone should be busy this week. With his team out of the playoff race, Shapiro had two chips to play as the Friday deadline neared: ace Cliff Lee and slugger Victor Martinez. The MLB Network's Trade Deadline Special will run down all the deals—made and not made.
• WATCH
MLS All-Star Game
Who says MLS lags behind the rest of the world? In five all-star games against international opponents—this year's stars will play English club Everton in Sandy, Utah, on Wednesday (ESPN2)—MLS is 5--0. The league's biggest name (David Beckham) won't be there, but five members of the first-place Houston Dynamo will, including keeper Pat Onstad.
• FOLLOW
NFL training camps
Stay cool too. As players start sweating through drills, the NFL and Gatorade are raising awareness of dehydration and heat stroke. With every download of a Beat the Heat Safety Kit at nfl.com/trainingcamp, Gatorade will donate $1 to the Kendrick Fincher Foundation, in memory of the 13-year-old Arkansas football player who died of heat stroke in 1995.
• READ
Young Woman & the Sea
Even before she swam the English Channel in 1926, Gertrude Ederle was a Roaring 20s celebrity: Olympic gold medalist, world-record holder and renowned distance swimmer. But becoming the first woman to conquer the Channel made her an icon, and Glenn Stout brings the women's sports pioneer back to life with an engaging, deeply researched account.
• ENDURE
The dog days
It's that time already for some teams—they're playing out the string. None more so than the Nationals (a big-league-worst 30--68 through Sunday) and the Pirates (43--55), who just traded their fourth everyday player (first baseman Adam LaRoche) in the last two months. If you watch these teams usher in August with a four-game series in Pittsburgh, you're a baseball diehard.
• DECODE
The ramblings of Stephon Marbury
Last Friday and Saturday the free-agent point guard held court in a bizarre 24-hour live video blog, discussing religion, hoops and health care, answering questions from viewers and dispensing shout-outs to pals across the U.S. (See it at ustream.tv/channel/have-at-it.) "I dare you to leave my chat!" he screamed to the camera at one point. You won't.
The Pop Culture Grid
Athletes in the mix | If I were Harry Potter I'd ... | Video game I've spent the most time on | Shaq should go head to head with ... | Weirdest autograph request I ever had | My advice to Tony Romo is ... |
NICKY ANOSIKE Lynx C | Build a huge house for myself | Tetris | (Gymnast) Shawn Johnson | A guy asked me to sign his car | Don't go back on that decision |
THOMAS JONES Jets RB | Fast forward to a Jets Super Bowl win | Tecmo Bowl | Usain Bolt | To sign someone's girlfriend's butt | Ask for a trade |
ERIKA DE SOUZA Dream C-F | Create a door to my room in Brazil | Pitfall | Barack Obama | To sign an Italian passport | Listen to Beyonce's Irreplaceable |
JOSH JOHNSON Marlins P | Be invisible | FIFA Soccer 09 | (MMA's) Kimbo Slice | A kid asked me to sign a cellphone | Just worry about playing football |
Inside the Grid
The decision Anosike refers to, of course, is Romo's ending his two-year relationship with Jessica Simpson (above). Jones thinks Romo could use a change: "Dallas fans are rough," he said. "All of the attention and ribbing he gets down there is too much. He needs a fresh start."
PHOTO
GREG NELSON (MARTINEZ)
PHOTO
THOMAS B. SHEA/MLS/GETTY IMAGES (ONSTAD)
PHOTO
MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (NFL PLAYER)
PHOTO
TOM MIHALEK/AP (PIRATES PITCHER)
PHOTO
JOHN BIEVER (MARBURY)
PHOTO
JEFFREY MAYER/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES (SIMPSON)
PHOTO
SIMON BRUTY (JOHNSON)
PHOTO
ICON SMI (DE SOUZA)
PHOTO
MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (JONES)
PHOTO
DAVID SHERMAN/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (ANOSIKE)
PHOTO
WARNER BROS./EVERETT COLLECTION (HARRY POTTER)
PHOTO
BILL FRAKES (OBAMA)
PHOTO
C SQUARED STUDIOS/PHOTODISC/GETTY IMAGES (PASSPORT)
PHOTO