LEADING OFF

PHOTO

Photograph by Matt West/BPI/Icon SMI

POPS-A-SHOT Kobe Bryant found the driving a little bumpy against Pops Mensah-Bonsu in Team USA's pre-Olympic exhibition against Great Britain last Thursday. It was a rare act of resistance by the hosts in the U.S.'s 118--78 rout.

PHOTO

Photograph by Charles Platiau/Reuters

AT BRIT'S END A Union-Jacked Bradley Wiggins accepted the congratulations of a nation in Paris on Sunday after becoming the first Briton to win the Tour de France (page 19). The British bounty went well beyond Wiggins's triomphe: Christopher Froome finished second overall and Mark Cavendish won three of the race's 20 stages.

PHOTO

Photograph by Chris Lee/MCT/ABACAUSA.com

FOURTH-INNING STRETCH Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina and a fan found themselves in a meshy situation on this Darwin Barney foul ball in the fourth frame of St. Louis's 4--1 victory over the Cubs last Friday night. The Redbirds would go on to sweep their archrivals, outscoring them 23--1 in the three games.