Today is Sunday, July 7, the 189th day of 2024. There are 177 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan announced he was nominating Arizona Judge Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Also on this date:

In 1865, four people were hanged in Washington, D.C. for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln: Lewis Powell, David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt, the first woman to be executed by the federal government.

In 1898, President William McKinley signed the Newlands Resolution, approving the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii.

In 1930, construction began on Boulder Dam (known today as Hoover Dam).

In 1976, the United States Military Academy at West Point included female cadets for the first time as 119 women joined the Class of 1980.

In 1990, the first “Three Tenors” concert took place as opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose Carreras performed amid the brick ruins of Rome’s Baths of Caracalla on the eve of the FIFA World Cup final.

In 2005, terrorist bombings in three Underground stations and a double-decker bus killed 52 people and four bombers in the worst attack on London since World War II.

In 2010, Los Angeles police arrested and charged Lonnie Franklin Jr. in the city’s “Grim Sleeper” serial killings. (Franklin, who was sentenced to death for the killings of nine women and a teenage girl, died in prison in March 2020 at the age of 67.)

In 2013, Andy Murray became the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

In 2016, Micah Johnson, a Black Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, opened fire on Dallas police, killing five officers in an act of vengeance for the fatal police shootings of Black men; the attack ended with Johnson being killed by a bomb delivered by a police robot.

In 2021, a squad of gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and wounded his wife in an overnight raid on their home.

Today’s Birthdays: Musician-conductor Doc Severinsen is 97. Former Beatle Ringo Starr is 84. World Golf Hall of Famer Tony Jacklin is 80. Actor Joe Spano is 78. Actor Shelley Duvall is 75. Actor Roz Ryan is 73. Actor Billy Campbell is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Ralph Sampson is 64. Singer-songwriter Vonda Shepard is 61. Actor-comedian Jim Gaffigan is 58. Actor Amy Carlson is 56. Actor Jorja Fox is 56. Actor Robin Weigert is 54. Basketball Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie is 52. Actor Kirsten Vangsness (“Criminal Minds”) is 52. Actor Berenice Bejo (BEH’-ruh-nees BAY’-hoh) (Film: “The Artist”) is 48. Actor Hamish Linklater is 48. Olympic figure skating medalist and current US Ambassador to Belize Michelle Kwan is 44. Guitarist Synyster Gates (Avenged Sevenfold) is 43. Pop singer Ally Brooke (Fifth Harmony) (TV: “The X Factor”) is 31. Pop musician Ashton Irwin (5 Seconds to Summer) is 30. Country singer Maddie Font (Maddie and Tae) is 29.

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It was far from a pretty win for the Lynx.

Minnesota defeated the Washington Mystics 74-67 on Saturday at Target Center without its MVP and defensive player of the year candidate Napheesa Collier, but Courtney Williams stepped up in her absence.

Williams nearly matched her 10-point scoring average with a nine-point first quarter and ended the game with 17 points, seven assists and six rebounds, and a game-high plus-minus of 16. Kayla McBride added 17 points and Bridget Carleton had 13 points and six rebounds.

“We had to give this a little bit more missing [Collier], that’s 20 [points] and 10 [rebounds],” Williams said. “And that’s just the stats alone. She does so much more for our team. So, we got to be able to come in and just give a little bit more, whatever that looks like.”

Collier reaggravated a foot injury Thursday against Connecticut. She leads the Lynx (15-6) with averages of 20 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.2 steals and is averaging 3.7 assists and 1.5 blocks.

Minnesota, one of the best first-quarter scoring teams in the WNBA and the league’s top-ranked defense, owned a 25-14 lead after the opening quarter in which it forced the Mystics into seven turnovers.

But the Lynx followed with one of their lowest-scoring quarters this season, scoring nine points on 5-of-21 shooting from the field and 1 of 10 on 3-pointers. The Mystics put up 22 points to tie the game at 36 heading into halftime.

“We were settling for open shots,” Bridget Carleton said. “We had good looks, it’s not like we can’t knock those shots down. But we know when things aren’t going, we have to be aggressive in the paint… Finding the balance between both things, not just settling.”

Despite the absence of their leading rebounder, the Lynx outrebounded Washington 38-32. Lynx forward Dorka Juhasz led all players with 11 rebounds in 23 minutes and Alanna Smith had eight rebounds.

Smith came into the matchup making 47.7% of her 3-pointers, second-best in the league. She shot an uncharacteristic 2 of 11 from the field and 0 of 3 from distance and finished with seven points.

“I told her I appreciated her playing and getting it out the way that she did because she wasn’t [shooting] well,” head coach Cheryl Reeve said. “And the two blocks that she had were huge. She’s a competitor, and didn’t hang her head.”

Smith made a difference with her defense in the fourth quarter, however. WIth the Lynx leading 65-60 with 6:48 to play, Smith blocked Ariel Atkins’ short jumper. With 3:44 left and the Lynx up 70-64, she rejected Stefanie Dolson’s layup attempt.

Carleton came through with seven timely points in the third. But she picked up four fouls within seven minutes, taking her out of the game just as she began to find her rhythm. Carleton picked up her final foul early in the fourth.

“I thought she gave us an aggression about us and the third quarter that we were lacking earlier,” Reeve said. “She made some big shots like she’s been doing all season.”

Playing a career-high 10 minutes in her first appearance since June 22, rookie forward Alissa Pili’s 3-pointer early in the fourth gave the Lynx a 58-57 lead.

Minnesota scored 19 points to Washington’s 10 points on 4-of-18 shooting in the fourth.

Minnesota shot 38.6% on 27-of-70 shooting from the field for the game. Washington ended the game hitting 41.7% of its shots after shooting 52% in the first half — a significant decrease due to the Lynx’s added pressure in the second half.

Briefly

Smith was named to the Australian women’s national team that will compete in the Paris Olympics on Saturday. She was also a member of the team for the 2020 Tokyo Games. Smith is averaging career-highs in points (12.1), rebounds (5.0) and assists (3.2) and is second in the WNBA in 3-point shooting at 47.7% (31 of 65).

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One would assume that after being traded by the Twins on May 2 that Matt Bowman was more than a little surprised to find himself in a Saints uniform over Fourth of July weekend.

Not so, the veteran reliever said on Saturday prior to the Saints’ 4-1 loss to the Gwinnett Stripers at CHS Field.

“I really enjoyed my time here,” Bowman said, “and when they jettisoned me, they made it clear that they’d love to have me back. So it was always in the back of my mind. I left my car here, I left a bunch of my stuff here.

“So somewhere in my mind I knew maybe I would come back.”

The 33-year-old Bowman has pitched for six major league teams since breaking in with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016. The Twins signed him to a minor league contract in January and he began the season with the Saints.

He was called up by the Twins on April 13 and made five appearances before being designated for assignment on April 30. Bowman was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks, only to be designated for assignment again three weeks later. After clearing waivers, he declined joining Arizona’s Triple-A team and became a free agent.

Bowman signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners on June 4 and was called up to the majors five days later. Two days after that, he was designated for assignment once again and opted for free agency.

This time, however, he elected to sign a new minor league deal with the Mariners. On July 1, he elected to use his opt-out clause and became a free agent.

“Definitely different,” Bowman said of the past couple eventful months. “Different obstacles than I’ve experienced before. But after the first time switching, going to the Diamondbacks, and realizing what it’s like switching organizations in midseason, I felt like, OK, I understand this.”

While it’s true that Bowman has been living out of a suitcase, he said that’s not unusual for him.

“Mostly, it’s so many names to learn,” he said. “I let like I was playing catch-up coming to the Twins — I always like to know everyone’s names and be respectful that way. Eventually I had to give up and give every organization 10-12 names, and that’s all I’ve got.”

Bowman said he is happy to be back in the Twins organization.

“You go through spring training and you sort of learn the ways of an organization,” he said. “You try to tailor yourself to do that. And I felt there was synergy between the way I wanted to pitch and the way the Twins like people to pitch.

“I feel comfortable with their process.”

Bowman missed 2021 and 2022 seasons following Tommy John surgery, so a case can be made that he is a “young” 33, with a lot left to offer.

“I’ve never been a hard thrower,” he said, “but in terms of how my stuff is moving and how hard I’m throwing and how comfortable I’m feeling, I’m old for this game, but I don’t feel old.”

And with two months remaining in the major league season, the possibility remains that Bowman could again wear a Twins uniform in 2024.

“I think it’s the same as before,” Bowman said. “As they see a need, as you perform well, as you plug in to the bullpen up there. In addition to liking the process they have for pitchers here, they did call me up very quickly at the start of the season.

“So there is that aspect of trust.”

Briefly

The Saints managed only two hits in Saturday’s loss, their only run coming on four walks in the first inning. … Jordan Balazovic, once one of the top pitching prospects in the Twins organization, is no longer with Saints after he signed with Doosan of the KBO League.

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