IT’S AN UNSTOPPABLE force approaching an unbreakable object. Strikeout
totals are increasing, but so are injuries for pitchers. Will anyone have
the durability to challenge Nolan Ryan’s 5,714 punch-outs? Lately,
Max Scherzer has been striking out more hitters on a per-inning basis
than Ryan ever did. But he’s barely more than 50% of the way to the
record. More likely: Reggie Jackson’s hitter record of 2,597 Ks falls first.Chasing the Ryan Express
IT WOULD BE the ultimate
tortoise-and-hare story.
Stephen Curry shattered
Ray Allen’s career three-point
field goal record (2,973) this
season. He could easily reach
4,000 or even 5,000 treys
in his career. He’s the only
player in history to hit 400 in
a season. But James Harden
ranks third all-time with
2,593 threes. He’s more than
a year younger than Curry
and, with no NBA titles
under his belt, might have
the motivation to keep going
after Curry’s decided he’s
accomplished enough.
Also working in Harden’s
favor is his durability. Curry
has already missed most of
two seasons in his careerwith different injuries.
Harden has played in
115 more games than Curry
despite their debuting in the
same year.
Now the good news for
Curry fans: Harden’s three-
point attempts are way down
(6.7 per game in Philly) from
his Houston days (13.2 per
game in 2018–19). As long as
Steph Curry plays basketball,
he figures to have 10-plus
tries from behind the line in
most games.NBACareer Threes
JOHLARNS BAROIACONNO (RYA/FIFA /GET T Y N); GREG IMNAGEELSSO (UN (SWNCURRY AT); ERNDICK HAR^ W.D RAENSC)O (SCHERZER); SIKIDS.COM / 21USWNT
Goals
THE UNITED STATES women’s
national soccer team
functions like any other
American sports dynasty,
perpetuating itself by
handing down responsibility
from one generation of
superstars to the next.
Abby Wambach led the
USWNT to three straight
Olympic golds. Her 184 goals
are the most among U.S.
players. Alex Morgan is the
active goals leader for the U.S.
with 115. It’s doubtful she’ll
get enough caps to challenge
Wambach, however. She
didn’t play for the U.S. in this
year’s SheBelieves Cup. When
asked about the absence of
her and other veterans, coach
Vlatko Andonovski said,
“There’s a reason Mia Hamm
is not in camp,” suggesting
the team is focusing on a
youth movement.
Alexandra
The Great
Tortoise
And the
Facial Hair
MLB