In the span of just 120 hours, from June 29 to July 3, we witnessed a cultural occurrence so unprecedented it was almost uncanny: all of the planets in the sports universe aligned. Four-time World Cup-winner Germany lost to Paraguay (Paraguay!). The Netherlands, so often the nearly men of international soccer, fell to Morocco, and the United States won its first World Cup knockout match in 24 years. Meanwhile, in the world of professional basketball, Kawhi Leonard returned to the Toronto Raptors — mere weeks after my New York Knicks won the NBA Championship for the first time in 53 years.