Spain’s Glory & Ryan Fox’s Moment
Spain wins their second World Cup Title against the defending champions, and Ryan Fox makes his name known on the PGA Tour at the last Major of the year.
Whiskey’s Garage
Sports Talk
22/07/26
Volume 7
Spain’s Glory & Ryan Fox’s Moment
FIFA World Cup
Spain has won the World Cup title, defeating the 2022 reigning champions, Argentina, 1-0 AET. A goal by Ferran Torres in the 106th minute was enough to claim victory this year after a dominant match. Argentina remained without a shot on target through the entire game, and Spain had 11. The total shots were 20-3, with possession time being 68% for Spain. Spain suffocated Argentina’s offence the entire match, shutting down the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi. What will surely be Messi’s last World Cup of his career was no doubt a disappointing note to end on. A lacklustre performance in the final, not even registering a shot on target. Although they may have lost, Argentina still had one hell of a tournament, including multiple comeback wins, one of which came in the Semi-Finals against England, scoring in the 85th minute and 90’+2’ to seal the comeback win. Lionel Messi ended his last World Cup with 8 goals, coming in second place for the Golden Boot, losing only to Kylian Mbappe, who scored 10 goals, claiming his second Golden Boot, and becoming the only player to ever win the award twice. It will be interesting to see how Argentina shapes up in 2030, in Portugal, Spain, and Morocco, without their star player being in the lineup this time around. Spain, however, entered this tournament as the favourites and did not disappoint, now taking the trophy back and defending the title as a host country in 2030. Spain's road to the finals wasn’t easy, having to defeat Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, Morocco, and a powerhouse team, France, to punch their ticket to the World Cup Finals. Spain clearly proved throughout this tournament they deserved to win and are the best team, allowing only 1 goal through 8 matches played, and scoring 14. England also went on to beat France in the Third-Place-Playoff match, a match that I’m sure neither team truly cared about playing in.
This wraps up the 2026 World Cup, a month full of world-class football, beginning June 11th and ending on July 19th. The most popular sporting event in the world will only continue to grow bigger and bigger every year. Canada, USA, and Mexico all felt great success in their hosting privileges this year, and each did a very good job in presentation.
Top 3 finishers:
1st: Spain
2nd: Argentina
3rd: England
Until 2030, World Cup.
PGA
The final Major of the season for the PGA Tour has wrapped up, and it was a thriller. 39-year-old New Zealander Ryan Fox was victorious on Sunday, claiming his first Major championship and only his 3rd ever win on Tour. Not to mention taking home a life-changing 3.2 million dollar payout along with 1st place. Fox had a R1 of 72, starting the tournament even Par for the day, then a R2 of 68, -4 under, a R3 of 62, -8 under, tying the record for the lowest round recorded in a Men’s Major championship, R4 of 68 on Sunday, birdieing 18 to beat Cameron Young by one stroke. Fox took just 22 seconds to line up and sink the 12-foot birdie putt.
Fox finished at -10 for the weekend; Cameron Young finished in 2nd place at -9 under after a Sunday round of 64 (-6). Sam Burns came in 3rd place and also had a round of 62 during the tournament, tying the record on Friday before Fox tied it on Saturday, and Scottie Scheffler and Tommy Fleetwood tied for fifth place. Bryson DeChambeau made news headlines everywhere this weekend after making his first major cut this year, but not doing so without controversy. After Friday’s round was complete, Bryson was assessed a 2-stroke penalty on the 5th hole, after improving the lie of his 2nd shot. This dropped DeChambeau from a R2 of 66, to a round of 68, pushing him from solo second place to tied for fifth place. Bryson was seen stomping around near his ball, flattening the long fescue in his backswing. In the post-round media, Bryson was so angered with the call that he claimed he may withdraw from Saturday and Sunday. He went on to play, finishing tied for 14th, with rounds of 73 (+3) on Saturday and 72 (+2) on Sunday.
NHL
The Chicago Blackhawks have locked up their future face-of-the-franchise, Connor Bedard, for 5 more years. Bedard inked a 5-year, $15 M AAV deal with the Blackhawks, taking 14.4% of the cap space. With the cap rising again next year, to $113.5 million, this will then equate to 13.2% of the team's cap space. For reference, Sidney Crosby signed his first major contract for 15.3% of the Penguins' cap space, back in 2007. Not an outrageous number for Bedard, and still leaves the Blackhawks with room to bring guys in around him. In comparison, Leo Carlsson currently takes the most cap space up for any time, taking 17.3% of the Anaheim Ducks' cap space with his $18 M AAV deal he recently signed. Jason Robertson and the Dallas Stars have finally come to terms, signing a 1-year $12 million deal. Earlier, Robertson turned down the Seattle Kraken’s offer of an 8-year $15 M AAV deal. Robertson will be an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) after this contract expires in the Summer of 2027.
