July 2004 in sports
2004 in sports : June - July - August - September - October - November - Other events in July 2004
- Rugby union: In the third match of the Tri Nations Series, held in Perth, Australia, the Wallabies (Australia) celebrate the 100th Test appearance for captain George Gregan with a hard-fought 30-26 win over the Springboks (South Africa).
- Asian Cup 2004: Two quarter final matches were held. The Republic of Korea is defeated by Iran 4-3 after two Korean own goals in the second half, Iran advances to the semi-finals to face China. In the other game, Japan ties Oman after extra time 1-1 and a penalty shootout proceeds; after the first five rounds of shootout, the teams were tied 3-3, but Japan wins the 7th round to advance to the other semi-final match against Bahrain.
- Baseball: The Boston Red Sox trade star shortstop Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs as part of a blockbuster 4-team trade. In addition to Nomar, the deal sees Montreal Expos shortstop Orlando Cabrera and Minnesota Twins first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz move to the Red Sox, while shortstop Alex Gonzalez, the previous starter for the Cubs, joins the Expos. Four minor leaguers are also included. The deal is completed just before the trading deadline of 4 PM EDT.
- Boxing: Erik Morales decisions Carlos Hernandez in twelve rounds to unify his WBC world Jr. Lightweight title with the IBF one, and Ivan Calderon defeats former world champion Roberto Leyva by unanimous twelve round decision to retain his WBO world Minimunweight title.
- MLS all star game: The Eastern conference defeats the Western conference, 3 goals to 2.
- Basketball: The United States Dream Team defeats the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team, 96-71, in a friendly game that forms part of both teams' preparation toward the Olympic Games.
- Asian Cup 2004: China defeats Iraq 3:0 in the first quarter final match to advance to the semi-finals stage for the first time since 1984. In the other match Uzbekistan is defeated by Bahrain in penalties 4:3, after an aet result of 2:2; This ends Uzbekistan's hopeful run at the Asian Cup.
- Boxing: In a major upset, Mike Tyson gets knocked out in four rounds by journeyman Danny Williams. In the same undercard, Nelson Dieppa defends his WBO world Jr. Flyweight title with a twelve round majority decision over Ulises Solis, and Laila Ali defeats July 29, 2004
- UEFA Cup 2004-05 First qualifying round, second leg (Team progressing to next round in bold):
- Basketball: Lisa Leslie reaches her 4,000th WNBA carrer points, and Mwadi Mabika makes a 60 foot long shot with one second to go before halftime, as the Los Angeles Sparks defeat the Sacramento Monarchs, 85-80, in double overtime, at Sacramento.
- Women's boxing: Mia St. John defeats July 28, 2004
- UEFA Champions League 2004-05 Second qualifying round, first leg:
- UEFA Cup 2004-05 First qualifying round, second leg (Team progressing to next round in bold):
- Canoe polo: During the weekend of 24 to 25 July, the Netherlands defeated Germany 5-4 in the final of the canoe polo 2004 world championships held in Miyoshi, Japan. In the first half of the final the Dutch dominated and this resulted in a score of 3-1 by half time. The perseverance of the German team was strong and they fought back to a score of 3-3. Just ten seconds before half time Jeroen Dieperink scored for the Dutch. Because of this setback Germany had to play a more offensive game in the second half. Two minutes before the end of the match Wouter Ottjes scored the winning goal for the Netherlands.
- Tour de France: In a dominating performance in the last individual time trial in and around Besançon, Lance Armstrong scores his fifth stage win of the 2004 Tour, putting an exclamation point on a virtually certain sixth consecutive Tour win. Jan Ullrich finishes second in the stage, 1:01 behind. Andreas Klöden moves up to second overall and Ivan Basso stays ahead of Ullrich for third; this will be the first time that Ullrich has finished off the podium in seven Tours.
- Rugby Union: The All Blacks (New Zealand) defeat the Springboks (South Africa) 23-21 in the second match of the Tri Nations Series in Christchurch, New Zealand.
- Horse racing: Frankie Dettori rides Doyen to victory in the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes at Ascot. It's Dettori's fourth win in the race, and the fifth for Godolphin trainer Baseball: After a bench clearing brawl provoked by an altercation between Alex Rodriguez and Jason Varitek, the Boston Red Sox defeat the New York Yankees, 11-10, at Fenway Park, Boston.
- Boxing: In a longly awaited matchup, Arturo Gatti beats Leonard Dorin by a second round knockout, at Atlantic City, New Jersey.
- Basketball: Former Phoenix Suns coach Cotton Fitzsimmons dies at the age of 72.
- NBA: In a key development involving the upcoming trial of Kobe Bryant on sexual assault charges, Colorado District Judge Terry Ruckriegle has ruled that details of the sex life of Bryant's accuser in the three days before her July 1, 2003 hospital examination can be admitted as evidence in the trial.
- Tour de France: Lance Armstrong wins Stage 17 at Le Grand Bornand, the first time anyone has won three successive mountain stages since Gino Bartali in 1948, and now looks unbeatable barring a major accident before next Sunday's finish in Paris. Richard Virenque amasses an unbeatable points total for his seventh King of the Mountains title.
- An unnamed high-ranking official of the Tour de France states that American cyclist Lance Armstrong will not compete in the 2005 Tour preferring to ride in either Italy's or Spain's national tour. Bill Stapleton, Armstrong's agent, and Dan Osipow, communication director, deny the report.
- Asian Cup 2004: Three-time Asian champions Saudi Arabia suffers a 1-0 loss to Uzbekistan by an early goal on the 13th minute.
- Baseball: Cleveland Indians catcher Víctor Martínez hit 3 home runs, singled twice, drew a walk, and drove in a career-high seven runs in a perfect 5-for-5 game, recorded his first career multi-homer game, as the Indians belted eight homers-21 hits in an 18-6 rout of the Seattle Mariners. Matt Lawton, Casey Blake, Ben Broussard, Travis Hafner and Jody Gerut added shots. Lawton, Martinez and Blake homered in consecutive at-bats in the third inning. It was the first time Cleveland had hit three consecutive homers since Jim Thome, Albert Belle, and Julio Franco accomplished the feat on September 12, 1996. Broussard, Martinez, Hafner and Gerut all homered in the ninth inning as the Indians matched their team record for home runs in one game, previously accomplished at Milwaukee on April 25, 1997. Cleveland also set a new Safeco Field HR record, surpassing the six homers hit by the Kansas City Royals in 2003. The major league record for home runs in a game is 10, set by the Toronto Blue Jays in 1987.
- MLB All-Star Game: In the Home Run Derby, the Baltimore Orioles' Miguel Tejada defeats the Houston Astros' Lance Berkman 5-4 in the finals. Tejada sets a record for a single competition with 27 total home runs.
- Copa America: Mexico's player July 11, 2004
- Track and field:
- Copa America: Venezuela is named host of the 2007 tournament.
- Centrobasket: The Dominican Republic defeats the two time defending champion, the Puerto Rican National Basketball Team, 75 to 74, to conquer the gold medal, at the Dominican Republic.
- Formula One: Michael Schumacher wins the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
- NASCAR: Tony Stewart wins the Tropicana 400 at Chicagoland Speedway that was marred by a fight between the pit crews of Stewart and Kasey Kahne stemming from a crash involving the two on lap 127. Kahne's crew chief, Tommy Baldwin, was later fined US $10,000 for his role in the altercation.
- Champcar: Sebastien Bourdais wins the PGA TOUR: Mark Hensby wins the John Deere Classic at TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, defeating July 10, 2004
- Football (soccer): Otto Rehhagel, who coached Greece to an astonishing victory at Euro 2004, officially turns down an offer to return to his homeland as Germany national team coach.
- Copa America: Mexico beats Argentina 1-0. This is the first win by Mexico over Argentina at any international football event in history.
- NBA:
- Track and field: At the United States Olympic track and field qualifying in Sacramento, California, Marion Jones finishes fifth in the 100 meter dash and therefore fails to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in that event. ()
- Major League Baseball: Barry Bonds is intentionally walked three times in a 3-1 San Francisco Giants win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. This gives him 71 intentional walks before the All-Star break, surpassing his own single-season record of 68, set in 2002.
- Tour de France: Early in Stage 6, Lance Armstrong crashes along with several other riders. Armstrong suffered a minor scrape of one leg, but was not otherwise hurt, and soon rejoined the peleton. He and major rival Jan Ullrich completely avoided a second crash near the finish that involved all but about 30 riders. There were no major changes to the overall classification.
- NBA: Rudy Tomjanovich, who coached the Houston Rockets to NBA titles in 1994 and 1995, agrees to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. The team will officially announce the signing in a July 10 press conference.
- Tour de France: Lance Armstrong relinquishes the overall lead after a wind- and rain-swept Stage 5. The peleton, which included Armstrong and all his key competitors, gave up over 12 minutes to a five-man breakaway. The riders in the breakaway are not considered to be threats to win the Tour.
- The Minnesota Twins win three straight shutouts, a first for the ball club and only the fourth time it has occurred for a Major League Baseball team. The games were against the Kansas City Royals.
