Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles withdraws from vault and uneven bars finals at Tokyo Olympics - CNN

Biles, arguably the world's greatest gymnast, has pulled back from Olympic competition in Tokyo to focus on her mental health. The 24-year-old explained in a series of Instagram posts that she has the twisties, a mental block in gymnastics in which competitors lose track of their positioning midair.

"After further consultation with medical staff, Simone Biles has decided to withdraw from the event finals for vault and the uneven bars," USA Gymnastics said in a statement on Twitter.

"She will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether to compete in the finals for floor exercise and balance beam."

The women's vault and bars finals are scheduled for Sunday, the women's floor final is Monday, and the beam final is Tuesday.

MyKayla Skinner, who had the fourth-highest score in vault during qualifications, will compete in the vault finals for the US alongside Jade Carey, who finished with the second-highest score, according to USA Gymnastics.

"We remain in awe of Simone, who continues to handle this situation with courage and grace, and all of the athletes who have stepped up during these unexpected circumstances," the statement added.

Biles first stepped away during the women's gymnastics team final on Tuesday, citing mental heath concerns as she attempts to protect "her body and mind."

A day later, she withdrew from the individual all-around final for Thursday. Biles was one of the favorites to win gold in that event, having won every individual all-around competition she had entered since 2013.

Following USA Gymnastics' announcement Saturday, Skinner said in a post on Instagram: "Looks like I get to put a competition Leo on just one more time. Can't wait to compete in vault finals."

Ranked behind Biles and Carey in the qualification round, Skinner initially didn't advance to the vault final because of the two-athlete-per-country limit. She had thought her career as a competitive gymnast was over.

Skinner said she was "doing this for us," tagging Biles in the Instagram post. "It's go time baby!" she added.

'It's honestly petrifying'

In a series of Instagram stories on Friday, Simone Biles shared videos -- which have since been deleted -- of herself struggling with her dismounts on the uneven bars and answering questions about having the twisties.

Biles said her recent bout of the twisties began the morning after the preliminary competition. She said she'd been affected by it before, saying in a post, "btw it's never transferred to bars & beam for me. It strictly likes floor & vault." Then she added, "but this time it's literally on every event. which sucks... really bad."

In two of those now-deleted videos, Biles could be seen struggling with dismounts on the uneven bars.

In the first video, she says she was supposed to perform one-and-a-half more twists on her dismount. Instead, the video shows her landing on her back on the mat.

A separate video shows another dismount, in which she said she still needed to complete another half twist, and she falls to the mat in apparent frustration.

She said the videos were taken Friday morning at practice. In another post she added, "it's honestly petrifying trying to do a skill but not having your mind & body in sync."

Biles said getting rid of the twisties "varies with time" and for her usually lasts two or more weeks, adding it's "something you have to take literally day by day, turn by turn."

'I have to focus on my mental health'

In an emotional interview after Tuesday's team final, Biles broke down in tears as she explained her decision, putting the issue of mental health front and center of the 2020 Olympics.

"Whenever you get in a high stress situation, you kind of freak out," Biles told reporters on Tuesday. "I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being.

"It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head."

Earlier that day, Naomi Osaka -- who has also talked openly about her own mental health struggles -- was knocked out of the Olympic women's tennis tournament.

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2021 MLB trade deadline winners, losers: A's, Marlins do well - NBC Sports Chicago

SAN FRANCISCO -- Among many things missing in 2020 was a regular trade deadline. The strange 60-game season didn't lend itself to a crazy stretch of deals, but executives across the league more than made up for it this week. 

The final flurry on Friday afternoon was so wild that Jon Lester, a potential Hall-of-Famer who spent the prime of his career with the Chicago Cubs, got traded to the rival St. Louis Cardinals and barely anyone noticed. 

It will take weeks to sort all of this out, and years to see how teams actually did, but it's always fun to take a quick look at the league after the deadline. Aside from the Giants, who found the perfect fit in Kris Bryant, here are our winners from a wild trade deadline, and some teams that didn't fare so well: 

Winner: Go-For-It Executives

The trade deadline can often be an exercise in prospect-hugging, but sometimes we forget the point of all of this. So a tip of the cap to the execs out there who saw an opportunity and decided to push their chips to the middle of the table.

The Los Angeles Dodgers dealt two top 100 prospects to get a much better chance at catching the Giants and going back-to-back. Toronto's front office parted with two very good prospects, including a top 20 guy, for Jose Berrios, making them a threat this season and next. T

he Braves lost Ronald Acuña Jr. for the year but have kept pushing for the playoffs. The White Sox traded a guy taken fourth overall three years ago. It went on and on. The deals shook up the playoff race, which is exactly what should happen this time of year. 

Loser: The Nationals

Look, give them credit for going all-in with their sale, and they did pretty well with the returns. But it's still a difficult time for fans of a team that won the World Series just two seasons ago, is entering a rebuild, and has watched Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and Max Scherzer head elsewhere in the last three years.

The Stephen Strasburg extension has been a disaster and Patrick Corbin's deal isn't looking much better. The hope in D.C. is that the Nationals rebuild around Juan Soto and hand him a mega-deal, but Soto is a Scott Boras client, so even that seems iffy. 

Winner: Adam Frazier 

Frazier gets to spend the next year and a half eating Tin Fish and trying all of the Gaslamp's best brunch spots, and he traded Pittsburgh's rainouts for 12 months of sunshine. PNC Park might actually be a top three ballpark, but Petco is right there with it and there isn't a park that's been more raucous this summer.

Yes, Frazier is living the good life, and that's before you even get to the fact that he traded a last-place team for a club that's in ring-chasing mode. 

Loser: The Padres

They did OK, getting Frazier and Daniel Hudson and making some other moves around the margins. But they were in on much bigger fish, including Scherzer, who ended up with the rival Dodgers a few hours after it seemed he was going to San Diego.

This was the team that was supposed to end the Dodgers' run atop the division but they're going to have a hard time catching them now, and they also watched the Giants -- a team they trail by 5 1/2 games -- make a blockbuster move.

The Padres should make the playoffs, but it's going to be really, really difficult for them to avoid the Wild Card Game. 

Winner: Marlins fans

To nobody's surprise, Kim Ng appears to be pretty good at this. Ng faces tremendous pressure as the first woman running a baseball ops department and she did well in her first deadline while shipping out pending free agents and bullpen pieces.

The big prize was Jesus Luzardo, a lefty who has struggled in Oakland but is still just 23 and was a top 10 prospect a year ago. It's extremely rare to see that kind of arm get moved for a rental. The Marlins already have three really good young starters in their rotation and next year can add Luzardo and Sixto Sanchez to the mix. They're on the way back to contention. 

Loser: Jerry Dipoto

The American League's most active exec went too far by dealing extremely popular closer Kendall Graveman to division rival Houston after a sweep of the A's and big win over the Astros. The deal decimated the clubhouse, with Mariners beat writer Ryan Divish getting incredible quotes in the aftermath.

"He sits up in his suite, playing fantasy baseball and rips apart our team without telling us anything," one player told Divish.

Were the Mariners making the playoffs? Probably not. But it was a fun team that was on a surprise run, and Dipoto forgot an important lesson: You're dealing with human beings, not names on a Yahoo fantasy roster. Dipoto has done a nice job overall in Seattle, but he might have lost that clubhouse for good. 

Winner: The White Sox

Whether it's Kimbrel to Hendriks or Hendriks to Kimbrel, there won't be a better bullpen duo this October. Liam Hendriks, an All-Star, leads the American League in saves. Craig Kimbrel, an All-Star, has a 0.49 ERA. Good luck to the rest of the American League. 

Winner: The A's

They might have won the deadline on this tweet alone:

Alright @Athletics fans I’ve got a challenge for y’all. I’m trying to find a boat to live on while I’m in Oakland. Something I can also take out fishing. Free tickets and a case of beer to anyone that can help me line something up!!!!

— andrew chafin (@BigCountry1739) July 29, 2021

Andrew Chafin is a huge boost to the bullpen, but the A's weren't done. They added Starling Marte to the heart of their lineup and bolstered the bench with Josh Harrison and Yan Gomes. All the headlines lately have been about the stadium talks, but their core deserved a real shot to try and win the AL West and make some October noise. Billy Beane and David Forst gave them that.

RELATED: MLB Twitter explodes with Bryant traded to Giants

Loser: Anyone Who Fell For The Fake Jeff Passan Tweet About Kris Bryant Going To The Yankees

Come on! How many times do we have to do this?! Maybe next year will be the year when everyone has finally learned their lesson ...

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US Navy says drone strike hit oil tanker off Oman, killing 2 - Yahoo News

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. Navy explosive experts believe a “drone strike” targeted an oil tanker that came under attack off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, killing two on board, the American military said Saturday.

The strike Thursday night on the oil tanker Mercer Street marks the first-known fatal attack after years of assaults on commercial shipping in the region linked to tensions with Iran over its tattered nuclear deal. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Israeli officials alleged Tehran launched the drone strike.

While Iran did not directly acknowledge the attack, the strike comes as Tehran now appears poised to take an even tougher approach with the West as the country prepares to inaugurate a hard-line protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as president.

The American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher were escorting the Mercer Street as it headed to a safe port, the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet said in a statement early Saturday.

“U.S. Navy explosives experts are aboard to ensure there is no additional danger to the crew, and are prepared to support an investigation into the attack,” the 5th Fleet said. “Initial indications clearly point to a (drone)-style attack."

The 5th Fleet statement did not explain how it determined a drone caused the damage, although it described its explosive experts finding “clear visual evidence that an attack had occurred” aboard the Mercer Street. The U.S. military's Central Command did not immediately respond to a questions on the evidence.

The Mercer Street is managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. The firm said the attack killed two crew members, one from the United Kingdom and the other from Romania. It did not name them, nor did it describe what happened in the assault. It said it believed no other crew members on board were harmed.

British maritime security firm Ambrey said the attack on Mercer Street had killed one of its team members on board the vessel.

The Mercer Street, empty of cargo, had been on its way from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, at the time of the attack, Zodiac Maritime said. The attack targeted the tanker just northeast of the Omani island of Masirah, over 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Oman’s capital, Muscat. Oman's state-run news agency late Friday described the area as “beyond Omani regional waters” and said its forces responded to the tanker's mayday call.

Zodiac Maritime described the Mercer Street’s owners as Japanese, without naming them. Shipping authority Lloyd’s List identified the vessel’s ultimate owner as Taihei Kaiun Co., which belongs to the Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen Group.

Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to talk to the media, blamed Tehran for the attack. They offered no evidence to support their claim.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted late Friday that he spoke with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab about the “need to respond severely” to the attack, although he stopped short of directly blaming Iran.

“Iran is not just an Israeli problem, but an exporter of terrorism, destruction and instability that affects the whole world,” Lapid wrote. "We can never remain silent in the face of Iranian terrorism, which also harms freedom of navigation.”

Other Israel-linked ships have been targeted in recent months as well amid a shadow war between the two nations, with Israeli officials blaming the Islamic Republic for the assaults.

Israel meanwhile has been suspected in a series of major attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear program. Also, Iran saw its largest warship recently sink under mysterious circumstances in the nearby Gulf of Oman.

Thursday’s attack comes amid heightened tensions over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal and as negotiations over restoring the accord have stalled in Vienna. The series of ship attacks suspected to have been carried out by Iran began a year after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018.

The attack on the Mercer Street also came the night after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from Kuwait, warned Iran that talks in Vienna over the nuclear deal “cannot go on indefinitely.”

This is the second time this month a ship tied to Ofer apparently has been targeted. In early July, the Liberian-flagged container ship CSAV Tyndall, once tied to Zodiac Maritime, suffered an unexplained explosion on board while in the northern Indian Ocean, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

___

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Fertility doctor accused of impregnating women with his sperm agrees to pay millions - NBC News

A fertility doctor in Canada who is accused of impregnating women with the wrong sperm — in many cases using his own — has agreed to a $10 million payout.

The large settlement was announced Wednesday at a virtual hearing, said a law firm representing at least one of the families. Nelligan Law said the settlement was "groundbreaking."

Seventeen people discovered through DNA testing that Dr. Norman Barwin is their biological father after their families sought his help, according to a press release from the law firm. More than 80 others "do not know the identity of their biological father" but learned that Barwin did not use the sperm he was supposed to in their conception.

"The settlement of the class action provides compensation to those patients and their children where the DNA of the children is not as was intended by the parents at the time of the artificial insemination performed by Barwin," the law firm said in a statement. "It also provides compensation to former patients who had entrusted their semen with Barwin either for safe-keeping or for a specific intended use, but which was used by Barwin in the insemination of another patient, and which resulted in offspring."

An attorney for Barwin declined to comment when contacted by NBC News on Friday. Barwin has denied the allegations against him and did not admit fault in the settlement. He agreed to the settlement because he wanted to avoid spending more time and money fighting the case, it states.

One family, Davina and Daniel Dixon, sued Barwin in 2016 after they discovered through a DNA test that Daniel was not their daughter's biological father.

According to court documents, the couple went to Barwin in 1989 because they needed help starting a family. After several sessions with Barwin, Davina became pregnant and gave birth to a girl named Rebecca in 1990.

For several decades, the family believed that Daniel was Rebecca's biological father, the documents state. It wasn't until 2016 that the family learned the truth.

The documents state that Davina was browsing on Facebook and saw a post that said it was unusual for two people with blue eyes to give birth to a child with brown eyes, which was the family's case. Davina became "concerned" and contacted their family doctor to request a DNA test, according to the court documents. The results showed there was a zero percent chance that Daniel was Rebecca's biological father.

The family started doing research and came across media reports about Barwin. They also began noticing the "uncanny physical resemblance" between Rebecca and the doctor, the documents state.

Rebecca connected with another woman on Facebook, Kat Palmer, who had already learned that Barwin was her biological father. The documents state that Palmer's parents went to Barwin and requested the use of an anonymous sperm donor.

"They specifically selected an anonymous sperm donor with certain traits and characteristics that were important to them," the documents state.

Instead, Barwin inseminated Janet Palmer with his sperm, the documents state.

The allegations against Barwin date back to 1970, during his time at Ottawa General Hospital and an Ottawa clinic. In other cases, a mother said she was given incorrect information about her sperm donor and could not get any information about the medical history of her son, who has learning disabilities.

Another woman said she believed Barwin was using her husband's sperm but later found out that he is not the biological father of their children.

In 2019, Barwin was declared "incompetent" by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. He resigned from the college in 2014, but it was later revoked and he was ordered to pay a fine. Barwin has not practiced since 2014.

The court still needs to approve the settlement, which totals $10.7 million U.S. dollars, and will review it in a November hearing.

Minyvonne Burke is a breaking news reporter for NBC News.

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US Navy says drone strike hit oil tanker off Oman, killing 2 - Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. Navy explosive experts believe a “drone strike” targeted an oil tanker that came under attack off the coast of Oman in the Arabian Sea, killing two on board, the American military said Saturday.

The strike Thursday night on the oil tanker Mercer Street marks the first-known fatal attack after years of assaults on commercial shipping in the region linked to tensions with Iran over its tattered nuclear deal. While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, Israeli officials alleged Tehran launched the drone strike.

While Iran did not directly acknowledge the attack, the strike comes as Tehran now appears poised to take an even tougher approach with the West as the country prepares to inaugurate a hard-line protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as president.

The American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher were escorting the Mercer Street as it headed to a safe port, the U.S. Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet said in a statement early Saturday.

“U.S. Navy explosives experts are aboard to ensure there is no additional danger to the crew, and are prepared to support an investigation into the attack,” the 5th Fleet said. “Initial indications clearly point to a (drone)-style attack.”

The 5th Fleet statement did not explain how it determined a drone caused the damage, although it described its explosive experts finding “clear visual evidence that an attack had occurred” aboard the Mercer Street. The U.S. military’s Central Command did not immediately respond to a questions on the evidence.

The Mercer Street is managed by London-based Zodiac Maritime, part of Israeli billionaire Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Group. The firm said the attack killed two crew members, one from the United Kingdom and the other from Romania. It did not name them, nor did it describe what happened in the assault. It said it believed no other crew members on board were harmed.

British maritime security firm Ambrey said the attack on Mercer Street had killed one of its team members on board the vessel.

The Mercer Street, empty of cargo, had been on its way from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, to Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, at the time of the attack, Zodiac Maritime said. The attack targeted the tanker just northeast of the Omani island of Masirah, over 300 kilometers (185 miles) southeast of Oman’s capital, Muscat. Oman’s state-run news agency late Friday described the area as “beyond Omani regional waters” and said its forces responded to the tanker’s mayday call.

Zodiac Maritime described the Mercer Street’s owners as Japanese, without naming them. Shipping authority Lloyd’s List identified the vessel’s ultimate owner as Taihei Kaiun Co., which belongs to the Tokyo-based Nippon Yusen Group.

Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to talk to the media, blamed Tehran for the attack. They offered no evidence to support their claim.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted late Friday that he spoke with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab about the “need to respond severely” to the attack, although he stopped short of directly blaming Iran.

“Iran is not just an Israeli problem, but an exporter of terrorism, destruction and instability that affects the whole world,” Lapid wrote. “We can never remain silent in the face of Iranian terrorism, which also harms freedom of navigation.”

Other Israel-linked ships have been targeted in recent months as well amid a shadow war between the two nations, with Israeli officials blaming the Islamic Republic for the assaults.

Israel meanwhile has been suspected in a series of major attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear program. Also, Iran saw its largest warship recently sink under mysterious circumstances in the nearby Gulf of Oman.

Thursday’s attack comes amid heightened tensions over Iran’s tattered nuclear deal and as negotiations over restoring the accord have stalled in Vienna. The series of ship attacks suspected to have been carried out by Iran began a year after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord in 2018.

The attack on the Mercer Street also came the night after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from Kuwait, warned Iran that talks in Vienna over the nuclear deal “cannot go on indefinitely.”

This is the second time this month a ship tied to Ofer apparently has been targeted. In early July, the Liberian-flagged container ship CSAV Tyndall, once tied to Zodiac Maritime, suffered an unexplained explosion on board while in the northern Indian Ocean, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

___

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Russell Westbrook met with LeBron James, Anthony Davis weeks ago to discuss playing for Lakers, per report - CBS Sports

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The 2021 NBA Draft was on Thursday, but perhaps the biggest news of the day wasn't about a pick. Ahead of the draft, the Washington Wizards agreed to trade Russell Westbrook and two future second-round picks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and the No. 22 overall pick. 

All of a sudden the Lakers, who were already a contender, became one of the most fascinating teams heading into next season. How will Westbrook, one of the most ball-dominant players the league has ever seen, fit in on a team with LeBron James and Anthony Davis? No one is quite sure, but everyone wants to find out. 

For what it's worth, the players have faith it will work out and agreed to put their egos aside in a meeting they had weeks ago about the possibility of Westbrook coming to Los Angeles. Via the Los Angeles Times:

About two weeks ago, Russell Westbrook went to LeBron James' home and together they and Anthony Davis had a conversation about the All-Star guard joining James and Davis on the Lakers.

They talked about putting their egos aside and playing as one in their quest to bring the Lakers another NBA championship. Westbrook talked about how his only intention was winning and coming back home to Los Angeles to become a champion.

James and Davis talked about the two of them changing positions if that was best for the team — James moving from small forward to power forward and Davis from power forward to center.

Westbrook let James and Davis know he doesn't mind playing off the ball when James initiates the offense, something he did while playing alongside James Harden with the Houston Rockets.

This all sounds great on paper, and obviously, the players are going to believe in their ability to make it work. For good reason as well considering LeBron and Davis are two of the 10 best players in the league, and Westbrook is still an All-Star and a former MVP. 

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The Lakers are at their best when Davis plays center -- though to be honest he probably shouldn't spend too much time there during the regular season in order to keep him healthy for the playoffs -- and we saw Westbrook have success as an off-ball menace with the Rockets just a few years ago. This is one of the most talented trios in the league, so it won't be some sort of miracle if they're able to make things work. 

At the same time, there are definitely some real questions. Assuming Westbrook will be off the ball most of the time when the big three are playing together, how does his lack of an outside shot affect the spacing around LeBron and Davis? How will the Lakers fill out the rest of their roster now that they have a whopping $110 million committed to just three players? If some of Westbrook's flaws start negatively impacting the team, how much patience will LeBron have in the experiment? 

Regardless of the answers that we get to these questions, it's going to be super interesting to watch it all play out. 

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MLB trade deadline winners and losers: Dodgers go for it all, Cubs make a hard decision - Yahoo Sports

For two days, Major League Baseball turned into a frenzied superstar swap meet. 

A record 10 All-Stars from earlier this month are on new teams all of a sudden, reflecting a wide open state of play that enticed a few teams to load up for high-stakes pennant races and two other recent champions to break the glass and slam the self-destruct button.

When the dust settled, it was the wildest trade deadline in recent memory. Here’s who came out ahead, and who didn’t.

Everyone expected the defending champs to be the best team in baseball. They haven’t been that so far, record-wise, as they trail the San Francisco Giants in the NL West. They were still an absolute force to be reckoned with, favored to win it all.

Then they added Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, the best pitcher and best position player who moved at the trade deadline. In the process, they fended off the San Diego Padres from snagging Scherzer.

With a system as deep as the Dodgers, trading pitcher Josiah Gray and backstop Keibert Ruiz to the Washington Nationals felt imminently reasonable for Scherzer and a year-and-a-half of Turner. When, a day later, the Toronto Blue Jays gave up a comparable prospect package for good-but-not-great Twins starter Jose Berrios, it hit home just how sweet a deal this was for general manager Andrew Friedman and company.

Dodgers catcher Will Smith will try to help a stacked team catch the San Francisco Giants. His presence allowed the team to part with a prospect who brought back Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Losers: Stressed out Mets, Phillies and Braves fans

The division that refuses to make anything easy continued apace. 

Atop the NL East, the New York Mets added the biggest name in Javier Baez. But on the same day they found out Jacob deGrom suffered a setback and won’t be back until September, they did little to substantively improve their pitching. Baez is exciting, and his eventual pairing with Francisco Lindor will be enjoyable, but it’s not clear he’s a difference-making hitter at the moment.

Down in Philadelphia, the second-place Phillies traded their best pitching prospect for a fine reliever and the starting pitcher no one is really sure will help.

The hobbled Atlanta Braves did the most at the deadline, but it consisted largely of turning gaping holes into competence. That is significant, if not thrilling.

The result will likely be a frustrating nail-biter of a race that earns the winners the right to stare down Walker Buehler, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer in the playoffs. Good luck.

Winners: Cubs fans born tomorrow

Look, this was a day of pain for Chicago Cubs fans who watched the three players most identified with their drought-ending 2016 World Series title get unceremoniously shipped out to contenders in a 24-hour span.

It was coming for a while. When Theo Epstein resigned over the offseason, a new era was clearly in the offing. It remains shocking, however, that not a single one of the Anthony Rizzo-Kris Bryant-Javier Baez triumvirate was spared or at least kept around in hopes of reaching a long-term deal. Cubs fans who savored 2016 and believed it would be the start of a long-lasting run may never get over the disappointment of the reality that ensued.

However, it’s also clear that Cubs fans who can compartmentalize, or who are picking up the team from a post-Billy Goat point of view may come to appreciate the day new president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer ripped off the Band-Aid.

The talent they extracted for in-demand players like Craig Kimbrel could quickly bring a new era of joy to Wrigley Field. Nick Madrigal, who is out for the year with a hamstring injury, will immediately be an exciting talent at second base in 2022. Outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who came over from the Mets in the Baez deal, is a player worth dreaming on.

It won’t be pretty for the rest of the season, but by setting sentimentality aside once they set the course, the Cubs likely made the future far, far brighter.

It's unclear what supporting cast Juan Soto can expect with the Nationals next year. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Losers: Washington Nationals

They will not be stressed out at least. Nationals fans suddenly have very little to watch except Juan Soto highlights.

Their dramatic teardown also netted intriguing talents — two of whom will likely debut with the team soon — but it felt far less thought out than the Cubs’ decision. Trading Scherzer became an obvious step given the team’s place in the standings. The call to toss in Trea Turner — who could help the team compete in 2022 — does not seem warranted based on the prospects who came back, and winds up feeling unnecessarily bleak.

A team that has one of the four or five crown jewels of the sport in Soto should not be kneecapping whole seasons because a tough extension decision might loom. Even when they recently won a World Series.

Winners: New York Yankees

You can’t say GM Brian Cashman didn’t go for it. A team that seemed to be sleepwalking toward disappointment got a huge infusion of talent and personality with Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo.

The AL wild-card race is going to be a barnburner, and the Yankees put themselves in a hole, but they have a great chance at bashing their way into October.

Losers: San Diego Padres

For a little while Thursday, it appeared A.J. Preller and the Padres were going to be the darlings of aggressive dealing once again. Then the Dodgers stole their thunder and Max Scherzer all at once. On Friday, the San Francisco Giants took the big swing and brought in former NL MVP Kris Bryant as the first explicit acknowledgment that yes, they think they can do this.

Stuck in third place, it’s difficult to envision the Padres avoiding the wild-card game. Now they have to hope they can escape it and get a proper showdown with the big, bad Dodgers.

Losers: Colorado Rockies

Shortstop Trevor Story is still on this dismal Colorado team for the last two months before he hits free agency, and he summed it up well to the Denver Post: “I’m confused and I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded.”

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