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WEST BRANCH PASSES
BELOIT -- West Branch senior athletic passes can be purchased in the high school main office from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday in the month of August or at any varsity regular season contest held at the high school.
All other passes are online through Hometown Ticketing. Passes can be purchased using the tickets tab at the top of the website. Visit wbatheltics.org for more information.
Contact the athletic department with any questions.
DRIVE FOR FIVE
PARIS (AP) -- Tadej Pogacar confirmed his status as one of cycling’s all-time greats after winning a record-equaling fifth Tour de France title in emphatic style.
Daring mountain attacks from deep, multiple stage wins and an ice-cool temperament all helped the 27-year-old Slovenian seal his victory on Sunday. He joined Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indurain and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault as the only riders to win five Tours.
“I’m speechless. It’s an incredible day, there was an incredible atmosphere,” Pogacar said. “I’ve ridden seven Tours already and I’ve always finished on the podium. You might think this is a fairytale, it’s incredible for me too.”
After competing strongly in Sunday’s 21st and exciting final stage in Paris, Pogacar finished 6 minutes, 26 seconds ahead of Belgian rider Remco Evenepoel in the overall standings.
Two-time Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard was Pogacar’s main rival heading into the race but the Dane crashed out on the 15th stage.
“Shame that Jonas and others crashed out of this Tour,” Pogacar said. “I hope we can all fight again next year.”
Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates XRG teammate Isaac Del Toro, a 22-year-old Mexican making his Tour debut, was third at 9:42 back from Pogacar, who smiled and held up his hand to signify his wins. His teammates then joined him as they stood proudly on the Champs-Élysées.
Pogacar won five stages at this year’s race to take his impressive tally to 26 overall.
NEWEST 76ER
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope reached a buyout agreement with the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.
ESPN, citing sources, reported Saturday that Caldwell-Pope plans to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers after clearing waivers.
Caldwell-Pope averaged 8.4 points and 21.9 minutes in 51 games last season for Memphis. He had finger surgery in February and missed the final 31 games of the season.
The 33-year-old guard has a career 11-point average in 963 games in 13 seasons with Detroit, the Los Angeles Lakers, Washington, Denver, Orlando and the Grizzlies. He was part of championship teams with the Lakers in 2020 and the Nuggets in 2023.
REDS STREAKING
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Sal Stewart drove in the go-ahead run with a pinch-hit single in the 10th inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the St. Louis Cardinals 5-3 on Sunday.
The victory capped a 6-3 road trip for Cincinnati coming out of the All-Star break. Since the break, the Reds, in last place in the NL Central, have won two of three against Colorado, Seattle and St. Louis.
Stewart’s line drive to right field against Matt Svanson (2-3) scored automatic runner Tyler Stephenson and pushed Cincinnati to its third straight road series win for the first time since 2023.
MARLINS FLOUNDER
MIAMI (AP) -- The Miami Marlins lost a franchise-record 12th straight game on Sunday, and the record-breaker might have been the most painful of the skid.
Six outs from ending their slide, the Marlins unraveled. The San Diego Padres erased a two-run deficit with a four-run eighth inning and won 5-3.
“To come in here every day and cry about it and make excuses, I don’t know what that’s going to do,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “We have a very prideful group that is certainly upset, frustrated, angry about how things are going. We’re the only ones that can change that.”
Three previous times in franchise history the Marlins lost 11 straight before ending the slide. They did it twice, on two separate stretches, in 1998 when the club lost 108 games, and again in June 2011.
“Right now, it just feels a little bit like we’re playing roulette and somehow it hits red 12 times in a row,” Marlins slugger Kyle Stowers said. “I think what hurts the most is we can’t try any harder.”
UNCONVENTIONAL WIN
BALTIMORE (AP) -- After Ozzie Albies let a ball through his legs in the ninth inning, the Atlanta Braves spent the rest of the game on the ropes.
Somehow, they escaped with a victory -- thanks to their bullpen, their manager, their corner infielders and even Albies himself.
Braves manager Walt Weiss ordered an unusual intentional walk with men on first and second in the bottom of the 11th, and the move paid off when Atlanta held on for a 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
“I’m sure I would have got killed for that one,” Weiss said.
The error by Albies helped the Orioles tie the game in the ninth, and then the Braves had to escape a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam -- at one point deploying five infielders and two outfielders -- to keep the game deadlocked in the 10th.
BRISSETT STARTS
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) -- Now that Jacoby Brissett has his new contract with the Arizona Cardinals, the veteran quarterback is ready to go to work with first-year coach Mike LaFleur and help the team bounce back from last season’s 3-14 record.
But first, he’s looking forward to some quality rest.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll probably sleep more than three hours tonight,” Brissett said with a grin.
Brissett and the Cardinals agreed to a reworked one-year deal Sunday worth a reported $15.5 million and LaFleur confirmed that the veteran is the team’s likely starter for Week 1.
The 33-year-old Brissett was unhappy with his previous contract, which included just $1.5 million of guaranteed money for the upcoming season. He reported for training camp last week, but was limited during practices while he and the Cardinals worked on the deal.
The Cardinals open the preseason Aug. 6 against the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
SHANAHAN SHOWS
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- Coach Kyle Shanahan walked onto the practice field and stood next to general manager John Lynch, watching his San Francisco 49ers practice for about 30 minutes.
Shanahan’s presence that has been a constant the past decade was a welcome sight on Sunday for the first training camp practice, coming less than two weeks after he got into a car crash that left him with a concussion and other injuries.
“I know he can’t stay away,” star linebacker Fred Warner said. “I know he’s given up his duties for a little bit, but that guy’s obsessed with ball. I’m sure of course he’s going to be around.”
While Shanahan made a cameo appearance at practice on Sunday, the Niners began preparations for the 2026 season without their leader in charge. Shanahan has ceded responsibility over the team to assistant head coach/offensive line coach Chris Foerster temporarily as he recovers from the crash he got into on July 14 in nearby Palo Alto.
Shanahan suffered a concussion, broken ribs, a broken nose and broken hand in the crash and won’t be back running the team until the concussion symptoms subside.