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The North American hardcourt swing is a go after a short stint on clay post-Wimbledon. Three majors are in the books, with Rafael Nadal winning both the 2022 Australian Open and French Open to break the record with 22 major titles won. Former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic won his seventh Wimbledon title to sit one major title behind Nadal. That leaves ATPs fourth major of the year, the US Open, on deck in late August.

Transitioning from clay to grass back to hardcourt makes for an interesting dynamic on tour, one that bettors could benefit from. Heres what you need to know to prepare for the North American hardcourt swing leading up to the US Open in New York.

Novak Djokovic +160

Daniil Medvedev +240

Carlos Alcaraz +335

Rafael Nadal +550

Stefanos Tsitsipas +1000

Daniil Medvedev returns a ball against Aslan Karatsev in his second round match during day five of the Mallorca Championships on June 22. (Cristian Trujillo/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Clay brings volatility because of the inconsistency of the surface. The players who excel on the red dirt are good with both physical and mental stamina as the rallies are long and grueling. Grass is about big serves and quick points. Those who can serve and volley or play well at the net typically have a good grass season. Action is back to hardcourt where the player pool of who can win opens up. Those who play well from the baseline will contend, and the ATP has a lot of baseliners nowadays.

Wimbledon put a ban on this group of players from participating in the third major of the year, leaving Daniil Medvedev (No. 1), Andrey Rublev (No. 8), Karen Khachanov (No. 26), Aslan Karatsev (No. 37) and Ilya Ivashka (No. 53) sidelined. Most have made an appearance during the clay break, with the exception of Medvedev. That leads me to the start of my list of players to watch in the lead-up events to the US Open.

Daniil Medvedev

Its easy to forget Medvedev because it feels like its been so long since weve seen him. Clay is not particularly his best surface, but he spent most of the clay season recovering from an injury anyway. He then had a couple of deep runs on grass, losing back-to-back finals in the Libema Open and the Halle Open. Meddy has 13 tour titles, six won on outdoor hard, including 2018 Winston-Salem Open, 2019 ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati, 2021 ATP Masters 1000 Canada, and of course, the 2021 US Open, where he defeated Djokovic in straight sets in the final.

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That makes four of his six outdoor hardcourt titles won during the later part of the year. Djokovic is the best returner in the world but you could definitely put Medvedev up there right next to him. His length and wingspan makes it really difficult to get anything past him. My only gripe is that Medvedev lacks the variety I would expect to see from someone holding the World No. 1 title, but what he is good at, the baseline game, hes really good at. This is Medvedevs time to shine.

Taylor Fritz

Im still waiting for that breakthrough. Its coming. The 24-year-old American is so close to having that big-time win. Im not talking about defeating an injured Nadal in the Indian Wells final, I'm talking about breaking through that big-time moment in a major. Could this be the season it happens? Fritz pushed Djokovic to five sets in the 2021 Australian Open third round, pushed Tsitsipas to five sets in the 2022 Australian Open fourth round, and nearly picked off Nadal losing in a fifth-set tiebreak in the quarterfinals of last months Wimbledon.

Fritz has the weapons to excel in not only these lead-up events but also in New York. He has the serve, power strokes both on the forehand and backhand, and is now gaining the confidence of contending in these marquee matchups. Fritz doesnt hold a good record, 16-16 in the five prelim events to the US Open, but hes evolving. His best record is in Los Cabos, a 9-4 win/loss record that perhaps he could look to expand on.

Dominic Thiem

Is Thiem back? It has been a rough couple of years for the 2020 US Open champ. The Austrian, who peaked as World No. 3 in the rankings from March 2020 through February 2021, has since dropped all the way down to No. 352 and currently sits at No. 274. Why? Surgery from a wrist injury. After winning the 2020 US Open, Thiem delivered one of the greatest comebacks, defeating Nick Kyrgios in five sets of the third round of the 2021 Australian Open after going down two sets to love. I always mark that match as the one that broke him. Thiem went 5-7 after, playing his last match of the year in June 2021 and not making his tour return until April 2022.

Including last year, Thiem was on a 10-match losing streak but has now won six of his last eight matches since early July. The one-handed backhand is still a thing of beauty and his power forehand is making its way back to full force. What Thiem needed was confidence and it looks like hes finding it just in time for a new hardcourt season. Its unclear which events hell be playing prior to the next major but backing him is something to consider again as hes only getting stronger, more confident and more in form with each match.

Carlos Alcaraz

How far can the Spaniard go? Were about to find out. Alcaraz is sixth in the rankings and is still only 19 years old. At the time of writing, Carlitos holds a 38-5 record in 2022, is 13-0 in ATP 500 events, has reached the quarterfinal in seven events, the semifinal in six and has won four titles. Hes played in only 10 tournaments. It was the 2021 US Open where he started to show glimpses of his future progression, defeating Tsitsipas in a fifth-set tiebreak in the third round. He followed that up with another five-set win over Peter Gojowczyk, but by the time he reached the quarterfinal, he did not have the health to continue and retired early in the second set against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

He certainly has health and fitness now. Itll be interesting to see what Alcaraz can produce the rest of the year. He has all the weapons to contend for a major the slice, drop shot, kick serve, power strokes, the court sense. And now he has the experience of running deep in tournaments and winning.

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Tennis betting: Players to watch leading up to the US Open - Yahoo Sports

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, have arrested 18 suspected internet fraudsters in Abuja.

The suspects were identified as Innocent Samson, Obiora Eze, Ifeanyi Joseph, Isidore Chinedu, Badaki Linus, Ameh Nick, Kelvin Chima, Akwa Iwu Promise Ifeanyi, Adekunle Samuel.

Others are Abutu John, Testimony Mathiew, Omale Mary Ochanya (female), Afam Darlington Edwin, Henry John, Urochukwu Abel, Ogieto Gift, Innocent Gideon, Ojimini Maduemyi Raymond, Mathiew Timothy, and Kingsley Chukwuemeka.

A statement issued on the Commissions Twitter page said the suspects were arrested on July 19, 2022, at Army Estate Phase Five, Kurudu, Abuja, following intelligence reports received by the Commission about their alleged involvement in internet-related fraud.

Items recovered from the suspects include three cars: a Lexus RX 350, Lexus ES 350, and Peugeot 306, a motorbike, six laptop computers, and mobile phones.

The anti-graft agency added that the suspects will be charged to court after investigations are concluded.

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EFCC arrests 18 suspected Yahoo boys in Abuja - Daily Post Nigeria

For the last several months, Americans have nervously anticipated a recession as the market has fallen more than 20% since the beginning of the year.

According to one longtime tech investor, the market could still recover but will likely face "systemic obstacles" on that journey.

"None of us has a crystal ball, but it feels to me as though what's going on now is the beginning, the middle, or something of a generational bear market," Roger McNamee, an early Facebook and Google investor, told Yahoo Finance Editor-in-Chief Andy Serwer during an episode of Influencers (video above).

"Every 20 years or so," McNamee continued, "the market shakes a lot of extreme ideas out. And it feels to me as though that's what's going on here, that we're down far enough that a lot of things reasonably should be able to come back.

At the same time, he added, there are barriers that stand in the way of a full economic recovery. These include inflation, supply chain disruptions, the coronavirus pandemic, and volatility with oil prices amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Inflation in the U.S. recently reached 9.1%, the highest since November 1981, and the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates multiple times in response. The combination of high interest rates and inflation could make the economy difficult for many to navigate, though, McNamee said.

The rise in interest rates, the rise in inflation are things we haven't had to deal with inside the professional experience of 99% of the people are active in the markets, he said. And when you have something that new, the probability that people will not handle it, cleanly, I think is very high.

Aides to US Democratic Senator from New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen bring Kodak the Bear to her office as part of the annual Experience New Hampshire event at the US Senate in Washington, DC, on June 7, 2022. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP)

Americans are by and large pessimistic about the markets. A recent survey by GOBankingRates found that a whopping 97% are anxious about where the economy is headed.

That is a stew of uncertainty that the market's going to have to work its way through here, and it doesn't look to me as though we can avoid some period of higher interest rates," McNamee said. "There is certainly a very high risk of the economy having at least a period of recession."

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Economists are split over whether or not the U.S. will enter a recession, and even whether the U.S. is in one right now. BNP Paribas Chief Market Strategist Daniel Morris told Yahoo Finance that he doesn't expect a recession until next year. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs economists have said there's only a 30% chance of one developing in 2023.

"I think if you're an equity investor, this is going to be a really challenging period of time," McNamee said.

Dylan Croll is a reporter and researcher at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @CrollonPatrol.

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Legendary tech investor: Were in a generational bear market - Yahoo Finance

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is often imitated, rarely duplicated and never surpassed ... until now. Curry showed some love to a young basketball player who took Curry's "night night" celebration to the next level during a game.

After hitting a jump shot, the kid actually drops to the floor and mimics sleeping in his bed. It was an elevated form of Curry pretending to sleep after sinking a big shot against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals.

Curry liked what he saw from the kid.

He wasn't the only one. Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James also weighed in, blaming Curry for starting a new trend. James tweeted, "You see what you started" at Curry.

At least one NBA player was not happy about the kid's celebration. Curry's teammate, Andre Iguodala, said he would make the kid run laps for taunting the opponent.

Well, two out of three ain't bad, especially when the two players on the kid's side are two of the best players in the NBA. No disrespect to Iguodala, but if Curry and James are on board with the kid's celebration, that's probably all that matters.

Stephen Curry started a trend with his night night celebration. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)(Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

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Stephen Curry, LeBron James react to kid who took 'night night' taunt to next level: 'See what you started' - Yahoo Sports

Pete Alonso is a natural at MLB's Home Run Derby.

The New York Mets' first baseman has won the derby twice in a row and is the favorite at BetMGM to make it a three-peat. He is +155, the shortest odds on the board. No player has ever won three in a row. Ken Griffey Jr., who won in 1994, 1998 and 1999, is the only three-time winner.

There are a few reasons Alonso is good at the event. First, he's a tremendous power hitter. Go figure. He has a repeatable swing that's perfect for the event. Timing and being able to reset quickly is important, and Alonso is masterful at it. He also never seems to tire. He hit 57 homers to win the derby in 2019 and 74 last year (there was no Home Run Derby in 2020), including an incredible 35 in the first round. He basically turns into a home-run hitting metronome.

Another factor is that Alonso really wants to win. It's just a fun exhibition, but it's obvious Alonso really wants the trophy.

There was no point where I thought I was going to lose. Ever, Alonso said last year, according to MLB.com.

While Alonso is seemingly made for Home Run Derby, it's not like he's unbeatable. Right? Maybe we can find a decent value bet on a slow sports betting day.

Here are the odds for the Home Run Derby:

Pete Alonso +155

Kyle Schwarber +325

Juan Soto +600

Ronald Acuna Jr. +700

Julio Rodriguez +900

Corey Seager +1000

Jose Ramirez +1600

Albert Pujols +2200

There are also props on head-to-head matchups, who will hit the longest home run and over/under totals for each player. Gotta get the most out of the one sporting event on Monday's calendar.

I wouldn't mind a bet on any of the three young stars right in the middle: Soto, Acuna or Rodriguez. Rodriguez is having a monster rookie season for the Seattle Mariners and has plenty of power, and has the youthful energy to maintain a winning pace for the entire event. Soto and Acuna also have endless power and youthful enthusiasm.

I'll take a shot on Schwarber at a little longer than 3-to-1 odds. He was on fire for most of June, has tremendous power and came up just short in 2018, losing by one homer to future Philadelphia Phillies teammate Bryce Harper in the final round. He has ridiculous power and can match Alonso homer for homer.

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Or maybe he can't. Maybe nobody can. Alonso might become a one-man dynasty in Home Run Derby. it seems he'd like that.

Pete Alonso of the New York Mets is going for his third Home Run Derby title in a row. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

Here's a first look at the sports betting slate for Monday:

Yeah. I know.

Nope.

The beauty of BetMGM's menu is there's always something to bet on. You can bet tennis, international soccer, get on the table tennis bandwagon ... you just might not be able to watch any of it. And you might know nothing about what you're betting on. It's the driest week of betting in the entire year. Thanks a lot for that November/December World Cup, FIFA.

Unless I'm taking Montenegro as a 1.5-point favorite in that under-20 European Championship basketball game against Germany, let's say Schwarber. Hurry up, football.

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The Daily Sweat: Can anyone knock off Pete Alonso in the Home Run Derby? - Yahoo Sports

Russian President Vladimir Putin championed domestic reform and international integration when he first took power in 2000.Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images

Russia once had ambitions for Moscow to be an international financial center.

But its annexation of Crimea in 2014 unleashed a rash of sanctions and curbed foreign investments.

Russia's now cut off from the international community, which is crucial in building a knowledge economy.

It was only a decade or so ago that Russia was working towards its grand ambition of making Moscow a global financial hub.

At a 2010 conference in St. Petersburg, then-President Dmitry Medvedev said the country's interest in becoming a global financial center was "obvious," the BBC reported at the time. Russia needs "a developed and globally competitive national financial system" to modernize the economy, Medvedev said.

"The Kremlin was advancing a lot of efforts to make Moscow an international financial center," said Hassan Malik, a senior sovereign analyst at Loomis Sayles, a Boston-based investment management consultancy.

"Various Russian politicians, including Putin, talked about making Russia an international financial center for years," Malik, who lived in Russia from 2005 to 2008, added to Insider.

Over the next 10 years, Russia started to lay the groundwork for its vision. There were official efforts to elevate the profiles of Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the Kremlin pushed to make the ruble a global reserve currency, Malik said.

As a large and resource-rich economy, Russia despite its risks was an attractive investment destination. Global financial powerhouses such Goldman Sachs and Citibank set up shop in Moscow. The Big 4 accounting firms PwC, KPMG, EY, and Deloitte were also in the country.

But Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 have thrown its financial hub ambitions into peril.

In the months since the invasion, countries have slapped Russia with sweeping sanctions. Major banks and international financial institutions have pulled out of the country en masse. The big 4 accounting firms have all pulled out of Russia or begun the steps to do so, as have Goldman and Citibank. What's more, the war has not only jeopardized Moscow's standing as a finance hub: It also marks a reversal from Russian President Vladimir Putin's efforts early in his reign to modernize the economy.

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Russia's economy wasn't always moving backward.

When Putin first came to power as Russia's president from 2000 to 2008, he advocated for reforms and modernization, wrote Anders slund, an economist and a senior fellow at the Stockholm Free World Forum, a think tank. At the time, Putin "often championed sensible reforms while promoting initiatives to modernize and diversify the Russian economy," slund wrote on the Atlantic Council's blog on June 13. Among his major reforms were tax reform and cutting red tape for the setup of small and medium enterprises.

Putin managed to complete all the progressive economic reforms started in the 1990s by the administration of Boris Yeltsin, who served as Russia's first president after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, slund added. Putin also championed far-reaching international integration of Russia, pushing for the country's membership into the World Trade Organization, slund noted.

"These policies paid dividends. Russia enjoyed a period of uniquely strong economic expansion during the early years of the Putin era, with annual growth rates of around seven percent from 1999 to 2008," wrote slund.

Foreign direct investments, or FDI, into Russia rose steadily in the 2000s up until the Global Financial Crisis, when they slumped, according to World Bank data. After the recession, FDI into the country resumed a general trend upwards from 2009 until Russia illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, prompting a raft of US and EU sanctions.

Even after the annexation of Crimea, Russia continued to push ahead with its financial ambitions: The Moscow Exchange that was set up in 2011 continues trading today. The country's top central banker, Elvira Nabiullina who has been helming the institution since 2013 was well-respected by her peers and named by several trade publications, including Euromoney in 2015, as the world's best monetary policymaker.

By the time Putin began his second presidency in 2012, he had "already begun embracing isolationist policies, protectionism, and import substitution," slund said.

Today, Russia is all but an international pariah, with global financial institutions withdrawing from the market left, right, and center due to sanctions.

In March, just days after the invasion, TheCityUK a prominent industry group tore up a memorandum of understanding with Russia that supported Moscow's path to becoming an international financial center.

In the 100 days since it was founded, a US-backed global task force has blocked and frozen more than $330 billion in assets belonging to sanctioned Russians and the country's central banks.

At least tens of thousands of jobs have been impacted the Big Four accounting firms employ about 15,000 staff collectively, while Western banks employ about 40,000 staff, according to the Financial Times.

Despite the exits, unemployment in Russia has been steady as foreign companies are leaving in an orderly fashion, and as the Kremlin has been trying to preserve employment through implicit pressure on employers a tactic Putin's regime has been using throughout the years, said Malik. This has contributed to a flurry of deals involving foreign companies selling their businesses and stakes in their Russian operations to local buyers who would continue running them under a different brand.

Russia is seeking to turn inward to weather current sanctions, but it'll be challenging for the country to make inroads into the big league of knowledge economies, experts say.

"A knowledge economy depends on interacting with the cutting edge of whatever field you're in which means international interactions," Malik said.

Russia's economyis expected to shrink 8.5% in 2022, with a further decline of 2.3% in 2023, theInternational Monetary Fund projected in an April report. That would be the economy's largest decline since the years following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

"The 2014 invasion of Ukraine dealt a serious blow to even what equivocal progress there had been until then, and after the events of recent months, it is difficult for me to see how Russia will emerge as a global financial center in the foreseeable future," said Malik.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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Russia once had ambitions of making Moscow an international finance hub. Putin's war has crushed the dream. - Yahoo Finance

The final round of the final men's major of 2022 is here, and it promises to be a spectacular one. Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland are tied for the lead at the British Open, both standing at -16 as Sunday begins at St. Andrews. Four strokes behind them are Cam Smith and Cameron Young, the leaders on Saturday who suffered through similar struggles as the rest of the field was surging. Si Woo Kim, Scottie Scheffler and Dustin Johnson are lurking, but no one else is within six strokes of the leaders.

McIlroy is aiming to break an eight-year major drought, and a victory this week at St. Andrews would be one of the most popular in recent golf history. Hovland, one of the game's best young stars, would ascend to the next level with his first major, but the crowd in Scotland is firmly behind McIlroy. The challenge, and the opportunity, of a lifetime awaits.

To check out the current leaderboard, go here.

Follow along with Yahoo Sports as we bring you all the action from the final day of the Open Championship.

Further British Open reading:

The Claret Jug awaits the winner of the British Open. (Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)

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2022 British Open live updates: Cam Smith captures the Claret Jug - Yahoo Sports

Weeks after Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said 23-year-old megastar Juan Soto would not be dealt amid a rebuild, word leaked out that the trade winds had changed. The reasoning? Soto reportedly rejected a 15-year, $440 million extension offer.

The number is undoubtedly large at first glance, but it shrinks the longer you look at it.

For one, Soto is two-and-a-half years from needing to make this decision. The earliest he can become a free agent is after the 2024 season. Hes making $17.1 million through arbitration in 2022, and that number will escalate as he continues racking up stellar seasons, to the point where he could make $40 million to $50 million total in his remaining two years under team control. Think about why a 31-63 team is so eager to commit $440 million. Its not because they need to shore up a championship run.

What theyre offering him is 13 years and $400 million, roughly, to forfeit his chance to spark a bidding war that would likely take him closer to $500 million or even over it. Theyre offering him an average annual salary of less than $30 million, less than what Nolan Arenado, Francisco Lindor and Corey Seager signed for when they were both older and less productive than Soto.

Theyre also asking him to forfeit the information he would gain over the next two-and-a-half years namely, whether the Nationals steep decline after the 2019 World Series triumph is going to produce a similar upswing.

The news that a Soto deal was possible propelled a daydream hypothetical out into the world as real, if not realistic, conversations. Fans started ticking off the prospects they would be willing to deal for a player whose offensive prowess since he debuted at age 19 has been bested only by Mike Trout and Yordan Alvarez and Soto has played hundreds more games than either of them over that span.

Between Tuesdays All-Star Game and the Aug. 2 trade deadline, the question will be posted over and over: What could make trading Soto worth it?

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The Nationals apparent pivot smacks of a team that is now willing to answer that question with a dollar figure instead of the prospect packages floating around Twitter. The Lerner family, the owners of the Nationals, has said it is exploring a sale. Rizzo, the GM, is not signed long term. That this news came out right before Soto faced a horde of reporters at the Midsummer Classic is certainly suspicious, a move to try to frame him as the bad guy in all this. His agent, Scott Boras, said Monday afternoon that the uncertainty makes it harder for Soto to commit to the team two-and-a-half seasons before the decision is required.

You have no idea of their intentions, Boras said of the future ownership group. Are they going to be in a rebuild for five years or are they going to immediately win? You have no way of knowing. The Lerners are a respected, winning ownership family. It was very easy to always deal with them because you knew who they were and what their intentions were. And now that they're passing that baton on to another ownership group, you really don't know until you find out and obviously that has a big impact on decision making.

But Sotos posture betrayal and confusion over why this needed to happen now would be a good one for fans to take, too.

Washington Nationals' Juan Soto takes batting practice a day before the 2022 MLB All-Star baseball game, Monday, July 18, 2022, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Between 2019 and 2020, the Nationals committed $385 million to a duo of pitchers Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin who have barely pitched and pitched poorly, respectively. In that same window, the team let Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon walk away. At last years trade deadline it dealt Max Scherzer and a year-and-a-half of Trea Turner for prospects good prospects, but prospects.

When players as good as Juan Soto have been dealt in recent years, they have never changed teams alone. They have left town alongside expensive players, almost always pitchers, whose contracts no longer feel worth it to the teams. Any Soto deal would almost inevitably begin with a teams willingness to take on Corbin or Strasburg. Thats a lot of money to commit to, which means the talks wont be driven by finding the most talented possible group of young players to return the Nationals to prominence, but by finding a team that can handle the financials.

Really, if the Nationals envision winning any time in the next decade, Juan Soto is just about the most surefire player in baseball to help with that. Moving him now two whole years ahead of the timeline where the Boston Red Sox pulled the trigger on a money-driven Mookie Betts deal, a year-and-a-half before Cleveland did the same on the Francisco Lindor trade is to get a whole bunch of money off the books.

So what would make a Soto trade worth it? Well, it depends on whether you sign checks for the Washington Nationals or buy tickets from them.

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What sort of Juan Soto trade would be worth it? - Yahoo Sports

Following Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's wedding over the weekend, a vintage clip of the Marry Me actress who is now officially Jennifer Affleck in which she reveals plans to change her name to that during their first engagement, has resurfaced.

In the 2003 footage, when Access Hollywood's Pat O'Brien asks Lopez what her name will be a week after her then-planned wedding, she doesn't hesitate.

"Jennifer Lopez," she says, confirming that she planned to keep her name professionally. "But my name will be Jennifer Affleck, obviously."

The new moniker would also be on her personal stationery, she said.

Still, she joked, "J. Aff... doesn't have quite the same ring to it."

The couple nicknamed Bennifer famously ended up postponing their wedding back then because of "excessive media attention," before calling it off altogether in 2004. They, of course, reunited last year and announced in April that they were engaged for the second time.

Following their ceremony Saturday at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Lopez shared an announcement in the latest edition of her On the JLo newsletter, which she signed "Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck." Their marriage license, listed on the Clark County Clerk's Office website, confirms that her new name is "Jennifer Affleck."

In the same note, she gave details about the nuptials, including the fact that her kids Max and Emme, the 14-year-old twins she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony were there to watch as she and the Argo director and star exchanged vows.

"We barely made it to the little white wedding chapel by midnight," she wrote. "They graciously stayed open late a few minutes, let us take pictures in a pink Cadillac convertible, evidently once used by the king himself (but if we wanted Elvis himself to show, that cost extra and he was in bed)."

Lopez was ecstatic about the no-frills ceremony.

"They were right when they said, 'all you need is love,' We are so grateful to have that in abundance, a new wonderful family of five amazing children and a life that we have never had more reason to look forward to," she wrote, referring to Affleck's three children 16-year-old Violet, 13-year-old Seraphina and Samuel, 10 with ex-wife Jennifer Garner. "Stick around long enough and maybe you'll find the best moment of your life in a drive-through in Las Vegas at 12:30 in the morning in the Tunnel of Love drive-through, with your kids and the one you'll spend forever with. Love is a great thing, maybe the best of things-and worth waiting for."

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Jennifer Lopez says she'll take Ben Affleck's name in resurfaced 2003 clip and it's finally happened - Yahoo Entertainment

Chris Sale returned to the mound last week for his first start since 2021. Now he's headed for another injury layoff.

The Boston Red Sox pitcher left Sunday's game against the New York Yankees after getting hit with a line drive on his pitching hand. The injury took place in the bottom of the first inning with New York leading, 2-0. Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks hit a comebacker off a changeup that hit Sale on his left hand and bounced into shallow right field.

Sale immediately walked off the mound and held up his hand to show a mangled pinky. He walked into the dugout and didn't return to the game. The Red Sox later announced that he fractured his finger. They didn't offer a timeline for his return. Sale told reporters that he believes that he'll pitch again this season. He's scheduled to see a specialist in Boston.

Sale, a seven-time All-Star, made his first start of the season on July 12 after being sidelined with a stress fracture in his right rib cage that was diagnosed in March. He pitched five scoreless innings against the Tampa Bay Rays in his return before being charged with two earned runs in 2/3 of an inning in Sunday's 13-2 loss.

Prior to his rib injury, Sale missed the entire 2020 season and most of 2021 following Tommy John surgery. The 33-year-old has been Boston's ace when healthy and helped the Red Sox to victory in the 2018 World Series, where he recorded the final outs of the decisive Game 5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He's in the third year of a five-year, $145 million contract extension he signed in 2019. Injuries have limited him to 11 starts during the extension that runs through 2024.

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Chris Sale walks off the mound after a hand injury during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Sunday, July 17, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

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Chris Sale hit by line drive, fractures pinky on pitching hand in second game back from injury - Yahoo Sports