June 24th update

Cavs select Irving with #1 pick in NBA Draft

- Derrick Williams went #2 as expected to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Turkish big man Enes Kanter went #3 to the Utah Jazz. See the complete results here.
- Kanter led a procession of international players as players #3-7 were all born outside of the United States (only Tristan Thompson, a Canadian, played NCAA basketball).
- Multiple trades were made, including one between the Sacramento Kings, Milwaukee Bucks, and Charlotte Bobcats that landed Sportico favorite Bismack Biyombo in Charlotte and Jimmer Fredette in Sacramento among others.
- The kids came to play! Washington State's Klay Thompson who was taken #11 by Golden State, is the son of 1978 #1 overall pick Mychal Thompson. A son of a former NBA player has been drafted for 9 straight seasons now.


Women's World Cup Begins Sunday in Germany

- The 16-country quadrennial soccer tournament is being held in Germany this time, as the US looks to win their first title since 1999. The German team has won the last two tournaments and is the odds-on favorite to win this tournament as well.
- The United States team is confident heading into the World Cup having won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics. They also have one of the most prolific goal scorers in the game, in Abby Wambach, and arguably the best goaltender in Hope Solo. The US team has finished 3rd in the last 2 World Cups.
- Brazilian superstar Marta is looking to cement her billing as the best female soccer player active, and make a run at the best ever. Leading soccer-crazed Brazil to a World Cup victory would go a long way toward helping her claim that title.


NFL Lockout: What's going on?

- Late June/Early July should be a time when NFL teams are signing their newly drafted players, and looking for free agent to fill out their rosters. Instead, due to labor disagreements, team owners have locked out and cut off all contact with their players, making a delayed start to the 2011 season possible.
- The disagreement largely comes down to... get ready for this... money! The NFL earns approximately $9 billion in annual revenues. The disagreement is over what percentage of that revenue should go to owners (who have taken risks in buying their teams and are looking for a return) or the players (who are the workers, and are more and more realizing the physical toll the game takes on their bodies in the long run).
- Owners claim the cut they had previously been receiving (approximately $5B of the $9 billion) was not enough to cover expenses and grow the game. Players have demanded to see financial records to prove these points, but have been denied access to these records by the owners.
- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is the main negotiator for the owners, he is joined by owners Jerry Jones, Jerry Richardson, and Robert Kraft (Owners of the Dallas Cowboys, Carolina Panthers and New England Patriots respectively). NFL Players Association head DeMaurice Smith is the lead negotiator for the players, and is joined by players Mike Vrabel, Jeff Saturday, and Tony Richardson.