Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. I think my favorite part of the Home Run Derby was how excited Jordan Walker’s family was. In today’s SI:AM: ⚾ Drama-filled Derby ⚽ World Cup NFL equivalents ⭐ Verducci’s ASG previewIf you’re reading this on SI.com, click here to subscribe and receive SI:AM directly in your inbox each morning.A uniquely Philly DerbyI think it’s safe to say the new format for the Home Run Derby will be sticking around. MLB overhauled the Derby this year, ditching the timed format that had been in place for the past decade and replacing it with a swing limit. I’ve complained before about how the frenetic pace of the timed format made it impossible to follow, but I was somewhat concerned that the new rules might lead to a dull, methodical pace. I was wrong. The event had its issues, to be sure. Netflix is still a lousy sports broadcaster, awkwardly shoehorning cross-promotion opportunities into any event it airs, and I found the announcers lacking energy at times. Most annoyingly, Netflix used some unnecessarily avant-garde camera angles that made my head spin. I walked away from the TV briefly during the first round to do the dishes. But the event hit its stride when it reached the knockout stages, as the home crowd in Philadelphia put its full energy behind Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber. It was fascinating to hear the usual Derby crowd reactions inverted during Schwarber’s semifinal matchup with Willson Contreras. When Contreras hit one short of the wall, the crowd erupted. When he hit one over the fence, they went silent. In the moments between swings, they booed heartily.The boos and cheers were even louder when Schwarber advanced to the final against Jordan Walker. Schwarber went first and hit 11 homers on his 15 swings and appeared to be in position to win—until Walker homered on his final six swings to snatch the trophy from Schwarber’s hands.That was where the new format really shined. A “walk-off” victory in the Derby is nothing new, but replacing the timer with a swing limit created space for the moment to breathe as Walker attempted to eclipse the hometown favorite. You couldn’t have asked for a better finish to the event. The tension of waiting to see if Walker would vanquish the local hero was thrilling, and the chorus of boos added to the drama. “What they kept telling us is, ‘A boo in Philadelphia is a sign of respect,’” Walker’s father, Derek, said on the broadcast. “They booed very loudly. They respected us very well.”The WNBA Rookie of the Year race is already overOlivia Miles just did something no player in WNBA history ever has. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters ConnectIf you were watching the Derby, you missed another spectacular performance from Lynx rookie Olivia Miles. She finished with 33 points on 10-for-16 shooting in Minnesota’s 104–100 win over the Mercury.That was nothing new for Miles, though, as she continues to put up one of the best rookie seasons in WNBA history.Miles has totaled 426 points, 126 assists and 104 rebounds in the first 22 games of her career. (That’s 19.4 points, 5.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.) No other player in WNBA history has had at least 400 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists at this point in their rookie season, and only 19 other players have put up those numbers in the first 22 games of any season. Miles is the only player in the league to reach those benchmarks this season. The Lynx took Miles with the second pick in the draft after a brilliant five-season college career with Notre Dame and TCU. The pick Minnesota used to select her had originally belonged to the Sky, who traded it away in 2024. I bet they wish they had held onto it.Crunch time at the World CupKylian Mbappé and France face their toughest test yet against Spain. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports IllustratedThe first of two star-studded World Cup semifinals is this afternoon as France will take on Spain at 3 p.m. ET. After a somewhat chaotic start to the knockout stage that saw Germany and Brazil suffer early upsets (and Argentina narrowly escape three upset bids), the bracket has given us a quartet of superpowers in the final four. (Argentina and England will play in the other semifinal tomorrow afternoon.)Both games should be excellent, but my expectations are higher for today’s game than for tomorrow’s. Spain and France have been the two best teams at this tournament. Aside from Spain’s opening draw against Cabo Verde, they haven’t had the same scares against inferior opponents like England and Argentina. Spain didn’t allow its first goal of the tournament until late in the first half of the quarterfinal against Belgium. France, meanwhile, has been humming on offense, with a tournament-best 16 goals. It’s strength vs. strength in a meeting of excellent teams from neighboring countries. It doesn’t get much better than that. The best of Sports IllustratedCourtesy of GatoradeThe top five…… things I saw last night: 5. Jacob Misiorowski’s glove for the All-Star Game that has a Pokémon card in it. 4. Junior Caminero’s 491-foot blast, the longest of the Home Run Derby. 3. A nasty step-back three by Olivia Miles. 2. Miles’s no-look, behind-the-back assist to Kayla McBride. (McBride finished with 37 points.) 1. Jordan Walker’s towering homer to win the Derby.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow