All-Star stage is set!

This is The Sports Reset for Tuesday July 14th

In MLB, Monday was less about a final score and more about setting the stage for the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia. The National League lineup now starts with Philadelphia Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber, stepping in at the top of the order with Shohei Ohtani skipping the game ahead of a knee procedure. Toronto Blue Jays fans get a real reason to lean in, too: Dylan Cease was named the American League starter, giving the Jays their first All-Star starting pitcher since Roy Halladay in 2009. On the other side, Philadelphia Phillies lefty Cristopher Sanchez gets the ball in his home park, becoming the Phillies’ first All-Star starter since Halladay in 2011. The player absences are part of the story, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. resting a bad back and Aaron Judge still out, but the showcase still has plenty of star power and a very Philly centre of gravity.

Looking ahead, the World Cup gets the biggest stage today with Spain at France in a semifinal at AT&T Stadium, and the winner moves into Sunday’s final. It’s a heavyweight soccer matchup: Spain has been built around control and technical play, while France brings the kind of attacking talent, led by Kylian Mbappe, that can change a match quickly. In MLB, the American All-Stars visit the National All-Stars at Citizens Bank Park, where the pitching story is unusually local and unusually Canadian, with Cease starting opposite Sanchez in front of the Philadelphia crowd. The week also keeps building toward Sunday’s World Cup final, with today’s winner waiting to see who comes through the other side of the bracket. Beyond the scoreboard, LeBron James’ Lakers exit is still shaping the NBA offseason, with Golden State and Cleveland both framed as serious possibilities for his 24th season.