Productive failure is the point for the Rams
Two days into camp at Loyola Marymount, Sean McVay’s $100 million defense made Matthew Stafford look human — and that’s exactly the plan.
Good morning! Matthew Stafford took his first live snaps of camp Monday and found out what $100 million in defensive upgrades feels like. Down the road, WWE closed out Intuit Dome with the last Raw before SummerSlam, and our travel desk already mapped out the whole Minneapolis weekend. The Angels led for 26 outs against the Astros and lost anyway. The Lakers added a two-time All-Defensive wing. And out in Las Vegas and San Diego, the summer keeps moving. Let’s get into it.
🚨 HEADLINES
🏈 Productive failure. Myles Garrett and Trent McDuffie made the reigning MVP earn every rep in Day 2 of Rams camp. — Eric Lambkins II has the column
🤼 Heat before the Cell. Reigns-Rollins, a title change and a boxer crashing the party at Intuit Dome — WWE’s last stop before Minneapolis. — the full recap
⚾ Nightmare ninth. The Angels blew a two-run lead in the ninth and fell 6-4 to the Astros. — Jack Haslett from Angel Stadium
🏀 Thybulle is a Laker. L.A. adds a two-time All-Defensive Team wing to the rotation. — Carlos Yakimowich has the details
✈️ Fly to Minneapolis. Where to stay, eat and drink for SummerSlam weekend — our complete city guide. — read the travel guide
See what else is trending at The Sporting Tribune.
📋 SCOREBOARD — MONDAY
⚾ Astros 6, Angels 4 — Houston scored four unearned runs in the ninth to erase a two-run Angels lead.
Coming up: the Dodgers open a series with Seattle and the Padres host Colorado starting tonight; SummerSlam Takeover opens Friday in Minneapolis.
🏈 THE PRICE OF ADMISSION
Sean McVay has a phrase for what happened at Loyola Marymount on Monday: productive failure. Matthew Stafford took his first live snaps of the summer and immediately felt what $100 million in defensive additions buys you, getting bent backward by Myles Garrett before Trent McDuffie erased the exact route he’d lost to Puka Nacua two plays earlier.
Eric Lambkins II was at Loyola Marymount for the whole exchange — Byron Young’s read on Garrett’s first step, a rookie receiver quietly stealing the day from the backups, and a coach who insists the point isn’t winning the drill in July. “We want to see good, high-caliber ball,” McVay said. The Rams, in other words, aren’t building for September.
GO DEEPER
› Eric Lambkins II: Inside the Rams’ Day 2 practice where failure has purpose (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Rams Training Camp, Monday, July 27 (The Sporting Tribune)
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🤼 THE ROAD TO MINNEAPOLIS RUNS THROUGH INGLEWOOD
WWE closed out its run at Intuit Dome with the last Raw before SummerSlam, and the go-home show delivered: a title change for Raquel Rodriguez, a boxer named Ryan Garcia crashing a musical number to join The Judgment Day, and a Reigns-Rollins staredown that needed security to break up.
Now the whole operation packs for Minneapolis, where U.S. Bank Stadium hosts its first WWE stadium show in history this weekend. We built the full guide — where to stay near the gates, which bar actually invented the Juicy Lucy, and why a sitting governor once reffed a world title match twenty minutes from where Brock Lesnar trained.
GO DEEPER
› WWE turns up the heat at Intuit Dome as final Raw before SummerSlam delivers major moments (The Sporting Tribune)
› SummerSlam 2026 Minneapolis: Where to Stay, Eat and Drink (The Sporting Tribune)
⚾ TWENTY-SIX OUTS OF LEAD, ONE OUT OF DISASTER
The Angels led the Astros for 26 outs. It was the 27th that got them. Jack Haslett was at Angel Stadium as a hit batter, a should-have-been double play, an intentional walk that backfired and a bases-loaded walk turned a two-run lead into a 6-4 Houston win — with Vaughn Grissom, who’d homered earlier in the night, at the center of both the meltdown and the final out.
Kurt Suzuki had one line for it: “Tough way to lose.”
GO DEEPER
› Jack Haslett: Nightmare ninth inning spells defeat for Angels against Astros (The Sporting Tribune)
› TST Images: Astros defeat Angels, 6-4, at Angels Stadium (The Sporting Tribune)
🎰 FROM THE VEGAS DESK
🏀 Aces keep restocking. Las Vegas is sending another player off to the FIBA World Cup. — Derek Hegna has the details
🏆 A’ja gets the last laugh. Team Spoon topped Team Coop at All-Star Weekend, and Wilson made sure her teammates heard about it. — Derek Hegna in Chicago
🏈 Raiders camp questions. Five burning questions for Las Vegas heading into training camp. — Derek Hegna previews camp
✍️ Mendoza is locked in. The Raiders’ top pick is set for camp after his $57.27 million deal became official. — Steve Carp has the terms
🌊 FROM THE SAN DIEGO DESK
⚾ Padres sweep the Marlins. Manny Machado and Jackson Merrill powered a sweep in Miami. — Brady Charette from loanDepot Park
⚽ Wave falls to Seattle. The Reign scored twice in three minutes to hand San Diego a loss at Snapdragon Stadium. — Sebastian Sanchez has the recap
🌊 FROM THE HAWAII DESK
🏈 Warriors are ready for battle. Hawaii football is ready to go deep, survive and stay far away from straight fairways — Emily Van Buskirk from Mountain West Media Day
📺 WATCHLIST — TUESDAY, JULY 28
⚾ MLB: Astros at Angels — ABTV — 6:30 p.m.
⚾ MLB: Rockies at Padres — Padres TV — 6:40 p.m.
⚾ MLB: Mariners at Dodgers — SNLA — 7:00 p.m.
🏀 WNBA: Liberty at Sparks — Spectrum SN — 7:00 p.m.
🏀 WNBA: Fire at Aces — Prime Video — 7:00 p.m.
🎟️ GOING TO A GAME THIS WEEK?
Get-in prices across Southern California and Las Vegas — brought to you by TickPick, the no-hidden-fee ticket marketplace.
⚾ MLB: Mariners at Dodgers — Dodger Stadium — $100
⚾ MLB: Rockies at Padres — Petco Park — $40
⚾ MLB: Astros at Angels — Angel Stadium — $3
🏀 WNBA: Liberty at Sparks — Crypto.com Arena — $7
🏀 WNBA: Fire at Aces — Prime Video — $20
🌴 TST TRIVIA
Minneapolis last hosted SummerSlam in 1999, when the sitting governor of Minnesota refereed the main event and counted the fall himself. Name him.
Answer at the bottom.
🎧 THE SPORTING TRIBUNE TODAY
Today’s episode opens with Stafford’s first live reps against L.A.’s new-look defense, runs through the final Raw before SummerSlam and the Minneapolis travel guide, and closes with the Angels’ blown ninth and the Lakers’ newest addition. Hear it on the radio across Southern California, Las Vegas and Hawaii via Westwood One Sports, The Bet Las Vegas, the Hawaii Sports Radio Network and KIRN in Los Angeles.
› Listen to the latest episode
Trivia answer: Jesse Ventura — the pro wrestler turned Minnesota governor refereed Mankind’s title win over Steve Austin and Triple H at SummerSlam 1999.
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