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For The Love of the Game(s): All eyes on Me(gan Rapinoe) and much more

Evan Hilbert   | Paste BN

Welcome to For The Love of the Game(s). It's a simple concept. There's a plethora of sports stories worth reading and discussing every week. And  maybe you miss one (or two) amid your hectic schedule.That's where we come in. 

From the Women's World Cup to NBA free agency to the MVP capital of the world (maybe), let's get right to it:  

All eyes on Me(gan Rapinoe) 

With the world watching, Megan Rapinoe owned the biggest of stages and led the U.S. Women's National Team past host France in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. 

Meanwhile, on the other end of the world, Rapinoe was getting trashed by the president of her home country. Donald Trump, angry that Rapinoe had said she wouldn't visit the White House, fired up the ol' Twitter machine and went after Rapinoe. For her part, Rapinoe was nonplussed, and teammate Ali Krieger had an explanation as to why Trump directed his rage at her in the first place.

ANYWAY, the women are headed to the semifinals, where they will face England on Tuesday. And if they do bring home the trophy, congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez invited the team to the House of Representatives.  

On the move 

It's here! NBA free agency is here! Oh, that's not something people celebrate? Well, rest assured SOMEBODY will be celebrating this week. With Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, and many more stars on the open market, we could see a major shift in NBA superiority this week. Or there may not be. In any event, you'll want to track every rumor and all the buzz and, wouldn't ya know it, we got it all for ya right here. And here's a ranking of the top available players.

Free agency opens Sunday at 6 p.m. ET, though that didn't prevent news of some soon-to-be completed signings from leaking Saturday. Perhaps the least surprising, Klay Thompson is returning to the Warriors on a max deal worth $189.6 million over five years. And in the East, Kemba Walker is planning to leave the Hornets for the Celtics via a four-year, $140.6 million deal. The deal officially shuts the door on the Irving era in Boston. Which 

30-second timeout

OK, sorry about all the words. Here's a quick breeze through some more of our top stories this week:

Congrats, Wisconsin. Sort of ...

With Giannis Antetokounmpo taking home the NBA MVP award – and delivering an emotional speech about his late father – Wisconsin can now stake its claim as the MVP capital of the world. Well, sort of. Between Brewers OFs Christian Yelich and Ryan Braun, Antetokounmpo, and Packers QBs Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, the Milwaukee-Green Bay market has captured eight MVPs in the past 25 years. Only the Bay Area, which includes Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, has more, with 12. But, c'mon, that's a much bigger market. You've earned this, Wisconsin. Enjoy it. 

Pay, no play 

If you thought the NCAA was moving toward compensating athletes, well, you were wrong. A proposed bill in California would pave the way for athletes to earn money in 2023. That's great! The NCAA, however, says it will take its ball and go home. President Mark Emmert insinuated that, if signed into law as is, California schools wouldn't be allowed to participate in NCAA championships. So much for that, it seems.

Best of the rest

More of the best you might have missed this week:

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For more great sports stories from across the Paste BN Network, check out sports.usatoday.com daily. And don't forget to follow Paste BN Sports on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. 

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