Sports Illustrated Kids July/August 2022

HOW MANY PEOPLE does it take to make a decent baseball? This isn’t the set-up for a joke—I’m really asking! Major League Baseball has used basically the same pill for 100 years: white leather and red seams, rubbed with a little mud. And since 2018, the league has owned a major stake in Rawlings, the company that manufactures its balls at a factory in Costa Rica. Given that level of control, you’d expect a pretty stable product. The official baseball, however, isn’t just inconsistent. It’s inconsistently inconsistent. “The MLB has a very big problem with the baseballs—they are bad,” Mets pitcher Chris Bassitt said after an April game this season in which three of his teammates got hit by wild pitches (and New York plunked two Cardinals). “There is no common ground…

THE OILERS BRING OUT the worst in opposing defenses—and their own. In this year’s playoffs, Edmonton found itself in several preposterous—but entertaining—shootouts (not that kind). It beat the Kings 8–2 in one game. The Flames topped the Oilers 9–6. Then the Avalanche edged them 8–6 en route to a sweep of the Western Conference finals. “I wish I could’ve played this kind of playoff hockey in my day,” Wayne Gretzky said during the TNT broadcast of that 8–6 game in Colorado. “I was the most offensive player maybe that ever lived …. You gotta play defense, man.” The Great One isn’t wrong, but he may have a selective memory. He was involved in the highest-scoring playoff game in NHL history, when his Oilers lost 10–8 to the Kings in 1982. But he…

July 5 Angels RHP/DH Shohei Ohtani turns 28 years old. 13 Yadier Molina of the St. Louis Cardinals is 40. 22 Minnesota Wild left wing Kevin Fiala celebrates his 26th birthday. 28 LPGA tour golfer Nelly Korda turns 24. 29 Dallas Cowboy Dak Prescott celebrates his 29th birthday. August 1 Raptors forward Scottie Barnes celebrates his 21st birthday. 7 Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan is 33 years old. 10 Michaela Onyenwere of the New York Liberty turns 23. 28 Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur is 28. 30 Molina’s longtime batterymate Adam Wainwright is turning 41 years old. ERICK W. RASCO (OHTANI); MICHAEL REAVES/GETTY IMAGES (KORDA); DAVID E. KLUTHO (BARNES); PAMELA COSTELLO/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES (ONYENWERE); GREGORY FISHER/USA TODAY SPORTS (WAINWRIGHT)…

BIRTHPLACE: PROVIDENCE, RI BIRTH DATE: JUNE 20, 2005 SPORTS: LACROSSE AND TRACK If her opponent sees her on the lacrosse field or on the track, chances are Sophia Gorriaran has already sprinted past them. The Moses Brown High junior clocked a 1:25.22 600-meter dash at the Penn Relays in April—the national high school, U-18, and U-20 top times in the outdoor event. In between setting records, Sophia scored 27 goals as the Quakers reached their eighth straight lacross state final. So will Sophia, a two-sport All-American, pick one over the other? “It’s hard to imagine giving up one of them just yet,” she says. Are YOU a SportsKid? If you think you have what it takes to be a SportsKid of the Month, have an adult submit your nomination at SportsKid@si.com…

Anonymous writes: Kip, can you write about rules that should be changed in each major sports league? Dear Anonymous, I’m a little concerned why you’ve chosen to hide your identity. I recently wrote a column titled “Get Rid of the Refs,” and I’m worried your letter is part of a sting operation on behalf of the referees’ union. First, someone writes an anonymous letter asking me to suggest some rule changes. Next thing you know, this page is attached to a lawsuit. Assuming you’re not working for them, however, I will give you some rule changes for each major men’s sports league, rapid-fire: Ban the shift (MLB), no draws (MLS), four-point line (NBA), fifth down (NFL), erase the trapezoid (NHL). West writes: I was wondering why U.S. pro teams only play other U.S. teams,…

THE WILLIAMS SISTERS GAME CHANGERS Their résumés are amazing. Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles. Her older sister, Venus, has won seven. Together, they captured 14 Grand Slam doubles championships. They’ve got four gold medals apiece. But what makes the Compton, California, natives so cool is that they altered the perception of the sport. They didn’t just bring fire and swagger to a staid game. They showed that no matter your racial, economic, or demographic background, you can play tennis. And dominate it. IN: KLAY’S HEADBAND OUT: JAMES HARDEN’S BEARD A signature look is only as cool as what the person does wearing it. Batman’s pointy-eared cowl looks intimidating when fighting crime, less so when watering the Wayne Manor tulip garden. James Harden’s beard made him look like a basketball wizard when…