Red Sox's historic win streak ends | LeBron's free agency drags on

Happy Thursday, sports fans! Brent Brookhouse here to guide you through all the sports news you need to know this Thursday morning.

Life comes at you fast, something I was reminded of when my kids' school sent out school supply lists on Wednesday evening. We're really heading into the final days of July, which means the summer will be over before we know it. While that's sad, the idea of the sports schedule picking up with football and MLB hitting the final stretch of the playoff race is always exciting.

With thoughts of the future and hopes of clinging on to the remains of summer, let's get into the news from around the world of sports.

1. Red Sox tie franchise winning streak, see it end on the same day. With a 6-3 win over Baltimore in the first game of a Wednesday doubleheader, Boston picked up its 15th straight victory, tying a franchise record that dates all the way back to 1946. In the second game of the day, Baltimore took a 5-1 victory to bring that streak to an end.
2. Bold predictions for the MLB trade deadline. With the MLB trade deadline less than two weeks away, teams could begin wheeling and dealing in big ways very soon. We take a look at bold predictions for the MLB trade deadline, including whether the Tigers decide to move two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.
3. Scotty Scheffler favored at the 3M Open. Scheffler will be playing in the tournament for the first time in his career, but he's the favorite to take home the trophy. You can check out how to watch the action across all four rounds, including Saturday and Sunday on CBS and Paramount+.
4. How the Lone Star State developed two flagship programs. Chris Hummer took a look at how Texas and Texas A&M proved the football-crazed state can have two flagship college football programs.
5. Napheesa Collier dominates in WNBA return.   Collier made her season debut for the Lynx  on Wednesday, putting up 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Free agency periods of epic length are nothing new for LeBron James. And, no, we're not talking about "The Decision." As the world waits to find out James' next team -- and as the Miami Heat accidentally post videos for introductory press conferences -- Sam Quinn reminds us all how rare a lengthy "NBA star free agency" actually is.

Defining a star free agency as a player who made an All-Star team: the player needs to have made the All-Star team in the same calendar year in which he became a free agent, and they must be an unrestricted free agent. By those criteria, James holds the current record for length of a star free agency post-1999 with 42 days in 2016. His current free agency period is about to cross the 25-day mark, which already has him in fourth place all-time, behind himself (in 2016), Reggie Miller (in 2000) and Eddie Jones (also 2000).

• Quinn: "By the 2020s, the timeframe shrunk even more. Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard took their time, but did so while re-signing with their original team on practically preordained deals. It's been a decade since a star free agent took more than a week to change teams. The last serious, suspenseful wait we had before James came from Leonard in 2019, when he took six days to join the Clippers."

There have been 191 first-round picks in the NFL Draft since 2020. That's a pretty big number, but not so big that Mike Renner couldn't rank each and every one. Unsurprisingly, given the importance and franchise-changing impact hitting on the right quarterback can have, QBs occupied five of the top 10 spots in the rankings. Quarterback was followed by wide receiver (three), with one tackle and one linebacker (the only defensive player in the top 10).

Renner also looked at each team's performance. There are certainly some teams hitting on their first-round picks more than others, such as the Dallas Cowboys, who had four picks in the top third of the rankings, and were the only team with two picks ranked in the top 10.

• Renner: "The Cowboys get the first round right more often than not. That's partly because they are one of the NFL's most willing franchises to take offensive linemen, specifically on the interior, that highly. It wasn't their offensive line picks, however, that earned them the distinction of being the only team with two of the top 10 decisions on this list. The CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons selections were easily two of the best non-top-10 picks this decade."

Check out the full rankings of all 191 first-round NFL draft picks since 2020 to find out how well your team has handled their selections.

• With NFL training camps opening soon, Deebo Samuel remains on the market. We took a look at the top potential landing spots for the wideout.
• Florida coach Jon Sumrall was blunt on the team's need to improve quickly, saying, "If we don't improve, we're going to get our ass beat."
• After watching Khamzat Chimaev suffer his first career loss, Jon Jones offered the now-former middleweight champion some advice.
• Also in UFC news, CEO Dana White responded to Josh Hokit's "gross, inappropriate" comments about Michelle Obama at UFC Freedom 250.
• The World Cup dominated soccer headlines, but now that the tournament is over, it's time to look at all the big moves that were happening outside of the event.
• The noise from a spectator's camera cost Charlie Woods a chance at qualifying for match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur.
• Awa Fam has turned in a spectacular WNBA rookie season. Fam said her transition from playing in Spain to Seattle was "easy, really."
• Ole Miss' Pete Golding fired back at tampering critics amid Dabo Swinney's portal allegations.
• Ahead of UFC 320, then-light heavyweight champion Magomed Ankalaev's team urged him to pull out of his rematch with Alex Pereira due to a lingering injury. Ankalaev now says he has to learn from that mistake after dropping the belt back to Pereira.
• Martin Kaymer says the LIV Golf Team Championships are "highly unlikely" to happen.

⚾ Padres at Braves, 12:15 p.m. on MLB.tv
⚾ Twins at Guardians, 1:10 p.m. on MLB.tv
⚾ Rays at Blue Jays, 3:07 p.m. on MLB.tv
⛳ 3M Open, 4 p.m. on Golf Channel
⚾ Diamondbacks at Cardinals, 5:15 p.m. on MLB.tv
⚾ Royals at Tigers, 6:40 p.m. on MLB Network