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While We’re Young (Ideas) – August 22

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By TERRY LYONS, Editor-in-Chief

BOSTON – “And, now a word from our sponsor.”

For any sports fan, those are the most cringeworthy words of a broadcast. Throughout the rise of commercialism in sports, newspapers and magazines printed advertisements with their coverage of the big games, big stories and bigger-than-life personalities. Radio ran its commercial spots and television crammed every second of downtime for commercials and promo spots to the point where “tonight on 60 Minutes” was just as much a part of the Sunday afternoon CBS Sports broadcast of the NFL as were the Pittsburgh Steelers or New England Patriots.

Game Day is “brought to you by Allstate” … Starting line-ups … “brought to you by Budweiser,” … Halftime “brought to you by American Express” … and “stay tuned for the postgame show, “brought to you by Geico.”

Yes, we’ve all become quite accustomed to the in-game promo reads and rolling graphics. We’ve chalked it all up $1 million ads at every break “to pay the bills.” The repetitive advertisements drive us to hit “mute” on the remote or even change the channel at times.

With all of that a fact of life for a television viewing sports fan, what’s my beef?

A CAPITAL OFFENSE.

What marketer thinks they have any right to ask us to write THE NORTHERN TRUST this weekend when we are covering the PGA TOUR? Why can’t we simply tell the stories of the Northern Trust as part of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs? Just a few years back, the same exact golf tournament was The Barclays and a year or two before that, it was the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Sponsors come and sponsors go. Banks merge and golf-loving CEO’s move on. It’s all a part of the game. But what in the name of the E. W. Scripps National Spelling Bee do marketers have with the ALL CAPS stuff?

Although it is hard to confirm in the Sports Marketing record books, the belief is that the Miami HEAT started this mess. Not long after, the STAPLES Center came along and editors around the country started to balk.

It’s one thing to do a “first mention” sponsor drop-in for a story on say, “The Rose Bowl, presented by Northwestern Mutual,” but it starts to get dicey when publishers of sports pages are asked to plug, the Poulan Weed Eater Independence Bowl or the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl or the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl presented by Bridgestone.

That brings us back to the CAPS.

The PGA TOUR is the main culprit. Aside from THE NORTHERN TRUST, the pro golfers also stage THE CJ CUP @ SHADOW CREEK and the ZOZOChampionship. They refuse to write PGA Tour in their news releases and opt for the PGA TOUR, instead.

Other brands, trying to be clever and stylish, have gone the other way with lower case company names and logos. adidas, yahoo, xerox, at&t and target have all gone small while NIKE, IKEA, VISA and the likes of IBM, BMW and CNN stay large. Some say the ALL CAPS seems a bit revolting in the TXT message world which depicts ALL CAPS as SCREAMING or a RANT.

Lastly, we the journalists are all too often subjected to the use of extremely poor grammar within many a company logo or advertising motto. Remember: got milk? (Dairy Farmers) Or, Think Different (Apple)? Leggo my Eggo (Eggo brand waffles, by Kellogg’s)?

Where’s the AP Style Book (or is it the Associated Press’ style book)?

Nevermind.

The lone exception for acceptable use of a grammatically incorrect slogan was the 1996-97 WNBA’s use of the marketing phrase “We Got Next” when the league was about to launch in the summer of ‘97. The universally-utilized term to call for the next game on the playground basketball courts fit perfectly for the then-brand new women’s pro basketball league. Of course, the WNBA will soon celebrate the 25th anniversary of the league and WNBA@25 was not cool enough. Instead, they messed with the proper use of Roman numerals and went with:

The WNBA logo, for most Roman numerologists would go down as WNBA XXV but the strike-through was approved by Pythagoras himself. … So Be It.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: Last week, the major injuries to Major League Baseball stars was underlined, noting that Ronald Acuna Jr., Mookie Bettsand Jacob deGrom to name a few. This week, it’s the U.S. Open tennis tournament that’s looking like M*A*S*H. … The great Rafael Nadal posted to his social media account(s) that he would miss the U.S. Open and the rest of the 2021 season due to a left foot injury. … Previously, Roger Federerannounced he had to skip The US Open due to the scheduled third surgery on his right knee. Add to the fact, defending men’s champion Dominic Thiemwithdrew due to a right wrist injury as the 2021 U.S. Open’s luster in the men’s draw has been defeated 6-0, 6-0, 6-0.

USA 3×3: Tokyo 2020ne was the inaugural 3×3 basketball tournament at the Olympic Games and was viewed as quite the success in the international basketball world as the the outdoor 3×3 vibes hope to duplicate for basketball what beach volleyball did for the traditional indoor volleyball game. On the homefront, there was an exception as the United States failed to qualify for the men’s basketball 3×3 competition at the just completed Tokyo Games. … Time to right the ship? … Nope.

San Juan (Puerto Rico) won their first-ever FIBA 3×3 World Tour event since t2012 when they won in Lausanne, Switzerland this weekend (August 20-21). … Just one day after losing their opener against Ub (Serbia) by nine points but winning their ticket to the knock-out stage with an overtime win, San Juan planted their flag on the 3×3 court with wins against the Riga (Latvia)) team that featured three Olympic gold medalists, and then the No. 1 ranked team in the world Liman (Serbia). San Juan then defeated the same Ub team in the final (21-13) to take honors. The USA? The two teams placed sixth and ninth. Here were the standings from this weekend:

LAUSANNE MASTERS STANDINGS

1. San Juan (PUR)

2. Ub (SRB)

3. Antwerp (BEL)

4. Liman (SRB)

5. Riga (LAT)

6. NY Harlem (USA)

7. Aachen Der Stamm (GER)

8. Graz (AUT)

9. Princeton (USA)

10. Novi Sad (SRB)

11. Lausanne Sport (SUI)

12. Gagarin (RUS)

13. Moscow Inanomo (RUS)

14. Alexandria (EGY)

For the FULL While we’re Young (Ideas) column, sign-up HERE

Red Sox vs Texas Rangers Postponed as Henri Approaches

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BOSTON – (Source: Official Red Sox News Release) – The Red Sox-Rangers game scheduled for today, Sunday, August 22, at Fenway Park has been postponed due to the potential impact of Hurricane Henri in New England. The current forecast calls for several bands of moderate to heavy rain throughout the day and sustained winds of 30-40 MPH in the Fenway area with more severe conditions including several inches of rain, flash flooding and hurricane force winds expected to the south and west. State and local officials are asking all residents to use caution throughout the day on Sunday and only travel if absolutely necessary.

Sunday’s game has been rescheduled for Monday, August 23, beginning at 1:10 p.m. Tickets for Sunday’s game will be good for admission to the rescheduled contest. Fenway Park gates will open 90 minutes before first pitch at 11:40 a.m.

There is rain in the forecast for Monday, so check listings and here on Digital Sports Desk.

Rahm Leads at Northern Trust

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JERSEY CITY – (PGA Tour Brunch) – Jon Rahm leads THE NORTHERN TRUST after recording the second-lowest 36-hole total of his PGA Tour career (130) while Tony Finau tied his career-best 36-hole total at (131) and sits in solo-second after 36 holes.

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Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth carded matching rounds of 9-under (62), both tying the course record at Liberty National G.C.

Defending champion and 2020 FedExCup Champion Dustin Johnson, FedExCup points leader Collin Morikawa both missed the cut.

Players currently projected to move inside the Top 70 (6): Keith Mitchell, Harold Varner III, Alex Noren, Tom Hoge, Erik van Rooyen, and Seamus Power.

Players currently projected to fall out of the Top 70 (6): Talor Gooch, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Martin Laird, Troy Merritt, and J.T. Poston.

Only the Top 70 advance to next week’s BMW Championship.

Leaderboard After First Round:

Jon Rahm – 63-67—130 (-12)

Tony Finau – 67-64—131 (-11)

Justin Thomas – 63-69—132 (-10)

Keith Mitchell – 68-64—132 (-10)

Xander Schauffele – 70-62—132 (-10)

Full Leaderboard (link)

Thomas, Rahm Lead Northern Trust

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JERSEY CITY – Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm share the 18-hole lead after matching 8-under (63)s, three strokes better than any other player. Thomas and Rahm both entered the week in the Top 10 in the FedExCup standings and Top Five in the Official World Golf Ranking.

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Harold Varner III (FedExCup No. 72 entering the week) finished T3 at the NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National in 2019, moving inside the top 70 to qualify for the BMW Championship.

Bryson DeChambeau (71) became the fourth player since the record was kept (1983) to make two or fewer pars and record a score of even-par.

Early Scoreboard Watching for Top 70 in FedEx Cup Points: Players currently projected to move inside the top 70 (6): Harold Varner III, Adam Scott, Andrew Putnam, Erik van Rooyen, Keith Mitchell, and Harry Higgs.

Players currently projected to fall out of the top 70 (6): Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton, Talor Gooch, Martin Laird, Troy Merritt, and J.T. Poston.

Leaderboard After First Round:

Justin Thomas 63 (-8)

Jon Rahm 63 (-8)

Harold Varner III 66 (-5)

Six players 67 (-4)

Alabama Crimson Tide Ranked No. 1

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NEW YORK – (Wire Service and Staff Report) – Defending national champion Alabama will open the 2021 season in the same position it ended last year – at No. 1.

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The Crimson Tide are the favorites to repeat, receiving 47 first-place votes in the Associated Press preseason college football poll. Oklahoma is No. 2 with six votes and Clemson is third, also with six first-places votes. No. 4 Ohio State (one vote) and Georgia (three) round out the top five.

Alabama opens the season Sept. 4 against No. 14 Miami in Atlanta as the Tide seek a seventh national championship under coach Nick Saban. Clemson and Georgia will meet that day, as well, in Charlotte, N.C.

Texas A&M, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and North Carolina round out the top 10. The Cyclones match their highest national ranking ever. The Aggies and Fighting Irish finished No. 4-5 in the final poll of 2020.

The poll features five teams each from the Southeastern Conference, Big Ten and Pac-12, three from the Atlantic Coast Conference and three from the Big 12.

The Sun Belt Conference has two teams in the AP Top 25: No. 22 Coastal Carolina and No. 23 Louisiana.

The rest of the list:
11. Oregon
12. Wisconsin
13. Florida
14. Miami
15. Southern Cal
16. LSU
17. Indiana
18. Iowa
19. Penn State
20. Washington
21. Texas
22. Coastal Carolina
23. Louisiana
24. Utah
25. Arizona St.

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes – August 15

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While We’re Young (Ideas)

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Playoffs start next weekend at The Northern Trust at Liberty National in New Jersey. The 2021 playoff will be the first since 2009 without popular golfer Rickie Fowler. Fowler missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship – as he shot (71-72) – and failed to qualify for postseason for the first time in his 12-year PGA Tour career. … Fowler endeared himself to the Boston faithful when he bought a dozen bottles of “Dom” after his 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship. We later thanked and then advised him, “We’d be happy with a case of Sam Summer, and you could’ve saved yourself $2,500.”

The FedEx Cup Playoffs are only three rounds:

  1. August 19-22: Northern Trust (New Jersey)
  2. August 26-29: BMW Championship (Maryland)
  3. Sept. 2-5: Tour Championship (Georgia)

After a brief break from the Tour, the United States and Team Europe will play for The Ryder Cup from September 21-26 at Whistling Straits at Kohler, Wisconsin. That’s only 35 days away. Kohler is a 9-iron from Sheboygan and an hour drive north of Milwaukee.

JUSTIN ROSE RECEIVES PAYNE STEWART AWARD: In recognition of his character, sportsmanship and commitment to charitable giving, Justin Rosewas named the 2021 recipient of the PGA Tour’s Payne Stewart Awardpresented by Southern Company. Rose will be honored on Tuesday, August 31, at the Payne Stewart Award Ceremony in conjunction with the TOUR Championship. The ceremony will be televised live on Golf Channel as part of a “Golf Central” special from 7-8 p.m. EDT at the Southern Exchange in downtown Atlanta. … The Payne Stewart Award is presented annually by the Tour to a professional golfer who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship. Stewart, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour and World Golf Hall of Fame member, died tragically 22 years ago during the week of the TOUR Championship in 1999. … On October 25, 1999, NTSB investigations found that Stewart’s private plane lost pressurization and back-up oxygen on a flight from Orlando to Dallas. The Learjet 35 eventually crashed near Aberdeen, South Dakota after military jets followed and attempted to examine the aircraft. The captain, first officer and four passengers (including Stewart) passed away.

“FORE” MORE YEARS (of eligibility): ESPN is reporting that former NBA Sixth Man of the Year (2013) JR Smith enrolled at North Carolina A&T and intends to join the historically Black university’s men’s golf team if he gets clearance from the NCAA. … North Carolina A&T athletics spokesman Brian Holloway told ESPN that Smith is officially enrolled in the school and has petitioned the NCAA to be eligible to play. Smith’s clock to compete as a collegiate athlete has not yet started because he went to the NBA after high school. Athletes, in most cases, get five years to complete four years of eligibility. … Smith played 16 NBA seasons since getting drafted by New Orleans out of St. Benedict’s Prep (NJ) in 2004. In a journeyman style, he made stops with Denver, New York and Cleveland but won an NBA title with the Lakers and LeBron James in the NBA Bubble of 2020, the Cavaliers and LeBron James in 2016 and was the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in 2013 with the Knicks.

STAY IN THE PRESENT: The list of Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement presenters was released this week and it always provides a little insight into how the new Hall of Famer made it to the corridors of immortality in Springfield, Massachusetts. A quick look at this year’s presenters shows that Rick Welts, an inductee in 2018, will have a busy night as he’s been asked to present both Val Ackerman (former NBA attorney, the WNBA’s first President and current Big East Conference Commissioner) and also NBA All-Time great and perhaps the Greatest NBA Player of All-Time in Bill Russell. Russell was inducted as a player in 1975 and this year will be enshrined as a head coach. Welts was a ballboy for the Sonics and met Russell at an early age.

Here’s the full list of inductees and presenters for the September 10-11th Induction ceremony to be held at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut with the formalities in Springfield.

  • Val Ackerman, presented by Russ Granik (’13), Rick Welts (’18)
  • Rick Adelman, presented by Vlade Divac (’19), Jack Sikma (’19)
  • Chris Bosh, presented by Ray Allen (’18), Pat Riley (’08)
  • Bob Dandridge, presented by Oscar Robertson (’80)
  • Cotton Fitzsimmons, presented by Charles Barkley (’06), Jerry Colangelo (’04), Phil Knight (’12)
  • Howard Garfinkel, presented by John Calipari (’15), Grant Hill (’18), Bobby Hurley (’10)
  • Yolanda Griffith, presented by Van Chancellor (’07)
  • Lauren Jackson, presented by Sheryl Swoopes (’16)
  • Clarence Jenkins, presented by Wayne Embry (’99)
  • Toni Kukoc, presented by Michael Jordan (’09), Jerry Reinsdorf (’16)
  • Pearl Moore, presented by Sylvia Hatchell (’13)
  • Paul Pierce, presented by Kevin Garnett (’20)
  • Bill Russell, presented by Charles Barkley (’06), Julius Erving (’93), Spencer Haywood (’15), Alonzo Mourning (’14), Bill Walton (’93), Rick Welts (’18)
  • Ben Wallace, presented by Larry Brown (’02)
  • Chris Webber, presented by Isiah Thomas (’00)
  • Jay Wright, presented by Charles Barkley (’06), Bill Cunningham (’86), Herb Magee (’11), George Raveling (’15)

BOSTON MARATHON: Instead of training in the dead of winter and in freezing cold conditions, the Boston marathoners are running up Heartbreak Hill in Newton in 90-degree heat as they prepare for the October 11th race day. Yes, instead of running on Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, they’ll be running on Indigenous Peoples’ Day (formerly Columbus Day) which is celebrated on the second Monday of October. In 56 days, 9,215 runners will truck out to Hopkinton, Mass to begin the race. … The 2022 Boston Marathon is scheduled for April 18, 2022, to be staged on the traditional Patriots’ Day in the Commonwealth.

A WHOLE NEW MEANING TO SALE: The return of starting pitcher and staff ace Chris Sale means the world to the Boston Red Sox. His 5.0 innings of six-hit, two earned run pitching earned a “W” on Saturday, anchoring Boston’s 16-2 thrashing of the hapless Baltimore Orioles. Sale struck out eight batters walked none but let up two homers in his first big league outing in 732 days, dating back to 2019. His recovery from surgery seems complete. … That should be enough for the fans of the Red Sox, but what about the people who bought their furniture at Jordan’s during the “No Hitter” promotion? … Remember? If the Red Sox “no hit” an opponent from now through October 3, all the furniture purchased would be free of cost. Certainly, the return of Chris Sale changed the odds for the furniture buyers of New England.

HURT LOCKERS: Unfortunately, the 2021 MLB season will also be remembered for the rash of injuries to Tier 1 star players such as Atlanta’s Ronald Acuna, Jr. (ACL), the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts (hip) or New York Mets ace Jacob deGrom (among many others). … If you remember, the NFL suffered a string of injuries to star-level talent last season with NY Giants’ RB Saquon Barkley, Charlotte’s RB Christian McCaffrey, Dallas’ QB Dak Prescott, SF 49ers’ defensive-end Nick Bosa, among many others.

CELTICS RE-LOADED: In the early part of the off-season, the Boston Celtics, under former head coach and new head of basketball ops Brad Stevens, by-passed any serious endeavors in free agency, unloaded oft-injured guard Kemba Walker and re-acquired C/PF Al Horford to solidify the rotation. … This week, Stevens worked around the edges and obtained some depth at the guard position with Dennis Schroder (1-year at $5.9m), while adding much-needed rebounding with the acquisition of C Enes Kanter, a member of the 2019-20 Celtics and signed rookie forward Sam Hauser to a two-way contract.

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PGA Tour: First Look at the Wyndham

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Preview of The Wyndham Championship

COURSE: Sedgefield Country Club – (Greensboro, NC)

ARCHITECT: Donald Ross

YARDS/PAR: 7,131 yards/Par 70

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $6,400,000/$1,157,000

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jim Herman (2020)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Total/Winner: 2,989/500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @WyndhamChamp

OFFICIAL SITE: (Wyndham Championship)

TV COVERAGE: Thursday, August 12 and Friday, August 13: Coverage from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel.

On Saturday, August 14, Round 3 coverage 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. Then, CBS takes over from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, August15: Golf Channel opens final round coverage 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT) and CBS wraps it up from 3:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR LIVE STREAMING: Streaming coverage on Thursday and Friday, from 7:00am (EDT) to 6:00pm (EDT) on PGA Tour Live. Twitter coverage from 7:00am-8am on Thursday and Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, PGA Tour Live will stream 8:00am (EDT) to 6:00pm (EDT). Twitter will stream 8:00am-9:15am (EDT) on Saturday and 8:30-9:45am (EDT) on Sunday.

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: SiriusXM Radio will have live radio coverage of the FedEx-St.Jude with Thursday and Friday broadcasts from 12:00pm Noon (EDT) to 6:00pm (EDT). Weekend coverage on Sirius XM Radio begins at 1:00pm (EDT) until 6:00pm (EDT) on Saturday and 1:00pm to 6:30pm (EDT) or conclusion on Sunday. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92)

How to Watch: In case of changes, visit: (PGATourCom)

 

The Wyndham Championship: Pre-Tourney Notebook

It’s the final week for PGA Tour pros to play their way to the Top 125 and qualify for the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs. Nine players have qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs in each season. Six of them in the field this week but four are on the bubble to qualify for the Playoffs: Adam Scott (121st), Matt Kuchar (124th), Justin Rose (138th) and Ryan Moore (142nd).

Charles Howell (137th) is not in the field and will miss the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time in the FedExCup era.

Notable players outside the Top 125 in the FedExCup standings include Rickie Fowler, who has not missed the Playoffs in his previous 11 seasons on Tour, World No. 35 Tommy Fleetwood and 2018 FedExCup championJustin Rose, noted above at No. 138.

The Basics:

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 6:50am (EDT) to 2:27pm (EDT).

Weather: Thursday’s forecast is for 82-degree temperatures, 66% humidity and a 40% chance of rain. Thundershowers likely in the afternoon.

PGATourBrunch will post at 7:00am (EDT) on Thursday.

Next Week: Northern Trust – the first round of FedEx Cup Playoffs (link)

Last Week: WGC-FedEx/St. Jude (link) and Barracuda (link)

Wyndham – Field and Tee Times:

The Field – (link)

Tee Times: (link)

Odds for the Wyndham Championship

(Odds by William Hill)

Webb Simpson 12-1
Hideki Matsuyama 14-1
Louis Oosthuizen 18-1
Patrick Reed 22-1
Brian Harman 28-1
Will Zalatoris 28-1
Jason Kokrak 28-1
Sungjae Im 30-1
Kevin Kisner 33-1
Tommy Fleetwood 33-1
Charl Schwartzel 33-1
Russell Henley 35-1
Matthew Wolff 40-1
Kevin Streelman 40-1
Seamus Power 40-1
Kevin Na 40-1
Si-Woo Kim 40-1
Gary Woodland 40-1
Bubba Watson 40-1
Adam Scott 40-1
Rickie Fowler 45-1
Justin Rose 45-1
Robert Macintyre 45-1
Brandt Snedeker 45-1
Sebastian Munoz 50-1
Branden Grace 50-1
Jhonattan Vegas 50-1
J.T. Poston 50-1
Erik Van Rooyen 50-1
Mito Pereira 50-1
Zach Johnson 55-1
Talor Gooch 55-1
Ryan Moore 60-1
Harold Varner 60-1
Patton Kizzire 66-1
Lucas Glover 66-1
Chez Reavie 66-1
Doug Ghim 66-1
Hank Lebioda 66-1
MacKenzie Hughes 70-1
Ryan Armour 80-1
Luke List 80-1
Doc Redman 80-1
Brendon Todd 80-1
Chris Kirk 80-1
Lanto Griffin 80-1
Rory Sabbatini 80-1
Adam Schenk 80-1
C.T. Pan 80-1
Joel Dahmen 80-1
Keith Mitchell 100-1
Patrick Rodgers 100-1
Kramer Hickok 100-1
Kyle Stanley 100-1
Adam Hadwin 100-1
Matt Jones 100-1
Jim Herman 100-1
Mark Hubbard 100-1
Dylan Frittelli 100-1
Andrew Putnam 100-1
Bo Hoag 100-1
Roger Sloan 100-1
Scott Piercy 100-1
Francesco Molinari 100-1
Tom Lewis 100-1
Brandon Hagy 100-1
Henrik Norlander 125-1
Adam Long 125-1
Scott Stallings 125-1
Matt Kuchar 125-1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 125-1
Michael Thompson 125-1
Sepp Straka 125-1
Brian Stuard 125-1
Aaron Wise 125-1
Sam Ryder 150-1
Byeong Hun An 150-1
Brice Garnett 150-1
Richy Werenski 150-1
Martin Laird 150-1
Joseph Bramlett 150-1
Jason Dufner 200-1
Camilo Villegas 200-1
Matthew NeSmith 200-1
Nick Taylor 200-1
Wyndham Clark 200-1
Vincent Whaley 200-1
James Hahn 200-1
Russell Knox 200-1
Beau Hossler 200-1
Anirban Lahiri 200-1
Satoshi Kodaira 200-1
Harry Higgs 250-1
Denny McCarthy 250-1
Nate Lashley 250-1
Will Gordon 250-1
Tom Hoge 250-1
Sean O’Hair 250-1
Chesson Hadley 250-1
Bo Van Pelt 250-1
Akshay Bhatia 250-1
Kevin Tway 250-1
Scott Brown 250-1
Chase Seiffert 300-1
Kiradech Aphibarnrat 300-1
Davis Thompson 300-1
Aaron Baddeley 300-1
Mark Anderson 300-1
Alex Smalley 300-1
Vaughn Taylor 300-1
Hudson Swafford 300-1
John Augenstein 300-1
Austin Cook 300-1
J.J. Spaun 300-1
Robby Shelton 300-1
Padraig Harrington 300-1
Tyler Duncan 300-1
Nick Watney 300-1
Cameron Percy 300-1

PGA Tour: WGC/FedEx/St. Jude Wrap

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WGC-FedEx St. Jude Wrap-Up

Abraham Ancer overcame a 4-stroke deficit in the final round to become the fourth player from Mexico to win on the PGA Tour. It was his first event “W” in his first playoff on Tour. Ancer became the seventh player to make a World Golf Championship his first career PGA Tour victory.

Sudden death playoff also-ran Sam Burns carded eight final-round birdies in bid to become the season’s seventh multiple winner, but settled for T-2 with Hideki Matsuyama.

After holding a two-stroke lead after each of the first three rounds, Harris English carded a 5-over (40) on the inward nine and missed the sudden death playoff with missed birdie putt on his final hole.

Playing in the final pairing with English, Bryson DeChambeau recorded three bogeys and a double bogey on the back nine to close in 6-over (41) on Back 9.

Twitter avatar for @PGATOURPGA TOUR @PGATOUR

Winning on TOUR with your people there to celebrate. 💯❤️ Image

August 8th 2021

95 Retweets

WGC FedEx St. Jude Final Leaderboard

*Abraham Ancer 67-62-67-68—264 (-16)

Sam Burns 66-64-70-64—264 (-16)

Hideki Matsuyama 68-69-64-63—264 (-16)

Harris English 62-65-65-73—265 (-15)

*won with a birdie on the second hole of sudden death

TL Sunday Sports Notebook – August 8

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By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – The PGA Tour took a break in their schedule for the Tokyo Olympics and Xander Schauffele enjoyed the trip to Japan the most, returning to the USA with a Gold medal for men’s golf while Rory Sabbatini (South Africa) played as a “ringer” for Slovakia and took home the Silver and C.T. Pan won the Bronze for his native country.

This week, the PGA Tour is going double barrel with the tour’s longest all-time title tourney in the World Golf Championship-FedEx St. Jude’s Invitationalin Memphis and the Barracuda Championship in Tahoe.

It’s all back to normal for the PGA Tour, except for ONE THING!

The players on the J.V. tournament in Tahoe are using the dreaded Modified Stableford scoring format, the first PGA Tour event to use the format since The International was staged out in Denver in 2006. Players are allocated points based on the number of strokes taken at each hole with the goal of achieving the highest overall score.

Points Scoring Method:

Albatross +8

Eagle +5

Birdie +2

Par 0

Bogey -1

Double bogey or worse -3

Confused? Nah. Just think of it as the “Elam Ending” of Golf, except it’s used for the whole tournament, not just the ending.

Speaking of Elam ending and changing the games we play, maybe we should say ‘Screw it’ to Dr. Naismith and his rules for the game of basketball – a la one point for a free throw, two points for a field goal and three points for taking a shitty shot from 26+ feet (ABA gimmick, not Dr. Naismith’s fault).

With that in mind, we introduce the Modified Stableford Scoring for Basketball, sponsored by Ford Motor Company, of course, would be the …

Basketball Scoring Method:

Great pass that leads directly to a bucket – (+3) + the basket

Blocked shot – (+3)

Steal – (+2)

Taking a charge – (+2)

Slam Dunk – (+3)

Successful free throw – (+1) or field goal – (+2)

Successful shot from “Downtown” – aka beyond the arc – (+1) except in last 2:59 of game when it counts for (+3)

Turnover – (-1)

Bitching to a ref – (-1)

Getting “posterized” – (-1)

Technical Foul – (-2)

Personal Foul – (0) until after player’s fifth PF, then (-1); In last 2:59, a team can choose to simply inbound ball rather than shoot FTs.

Team Fouls – (0) until after seventh in each quarter; then start to shoot.

Flopping – (-2)

Tapping hands or high-5 or fist-bump to teammates and leaving position in lane after a made free throw – (-2)

Tapping hands or high-5 or fist-bumps with teammates after missed free throw – (-3)

First team to 100 wins.

ONE SIDE CRACK: When we all get to the Pearly Gates, you just “gotta hope” we weren’t all playing by the Modified Stableford system instead of the 10 Commandments.

HERE NOW, SPORTS BIZ NEWS: A shareholder of the Chicago Bulls is currently shopping a 5% stake in the NBA franchise at a valuation of $3 billion. That is $300 million less than current Forbes listing of $3.3 billion for the entire franchise, one of the league’s most iconic. The minimum purchase, according to financial industry sources is a 1.25% stake.

Speaking of franchise values …

FORBES FOOTBALL VALUES: Forbes released its annual listing of NFL franchise valuations and the Dallas Cowboys lead the pack again. In fact, the publicly held “Pack” trails the NFL’s Star franchise by a whopping $3.025 billion. Keep in mind, these are guesstimates and the true value is in the number that a buyer i9s willing to pay. Since NFL franchises don’t go on sale very often, the numbers get ridiculous.

Currently, only the Denver Broncos ($3.75b) are on the market and they might draw some $5b on the open market.

NFL Franchise Valuations (Year-over-Year % Change)

Dallas Cowboys: $6.5 billion (+14%)

New England Patriots: $ 5 billion (+14%)

New York Giants: $4.85 billion (+13%)

Los Angeles Rams: $4.8 billion (+20%)

Washington Football Team: $4.2 billion (+20%)

San Francisco 49ers: $4.175 billion (+10%)

Chicago Bears: $4.075 billion (+16%)

New York Jets: $4.05 billion (+14%)

Philadelphia Eagles: $3.8 billion (+12%)

Denver Broncos: $3.75 billion (+17%)

Houston Texans: $3.7 billion (+12%)

Seattle Seahawks: $3.5 billion (+14%)

Green Bay Packers: $3.475 billion (+14%)

Pittsburgh Steelers: $3.43 billion (+14%)

Miami Dolphins: $3.42 billion (+18%)

Las Vegas Raiders: $3.415 billion (+10%)

Baltimore Ravens: $3.4 billion (+14%)

Minnesota Vikings: $3.35 billion (+14%)

Indianapolis Colts: $3.25 billion (+14%)

Atlanta Falcons: $3.2 billion (+11%)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $2.94 billion (+29%)

Kansas City Chiefs: $2.93 billion (+17%)

Los Angeles Chargers: $2.92 billion (+12%)

Carolina Panthers: $2.91 billion (+14%)

New Orleans Saints: $2.825 billion (+14%)

Jacksonville Jaguars: $2.8 billion (+14%)

Arizona Cardinals: $2.65 billion (+14%)

Tennessee Titans: $2.625 billion (+14%)

Cleveland Browns: $2.6 billion (+11%)

Detroit Lions: $2.4 billion (+14%)

Cincinnati Bengals: $2.275 billion (+14%)

Buffalo Bills: $2.27 billion (+11%)

DRAFT KINGS and BBJ REPORT: The Boston Business Journal reported that Boston, Massachusetts-based Draft Kings Inc. “has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is investigating a report about DraftKings published by short-seller firm Hindenburg Research LLC.

Said the BBJ: “The online sports betting operator (Nasdaq: DKNG) disclosed the news in a public document filed Friday as part of its quarterly report. The SEC subpoena seeks documents concerning certain allegations over “black-market gaming” and money laundering raised by New York City-based Hindenburg in June.”

In an e-mailed statement to news outlets, Draft Kings said it is not uncommon for the SEC to investigate allegations in short-seller reports, according to the BBJ report online. “The SEC inquiry does not suggest any wrongdoing or agreement with the short-seller allegations, and we intend to cooperate with the SEC inquiry,” the company said. … In the quarterly report, Draft Kings said it received the SEC subpoena on July 9. “Despite the potential for significant damages, the Company does not believe, based on currently available information, that the outcome of this proceeding will have a material adverse effect on Draft Kings’ financial condition, although the outcome could be material to Draft Kings’ operating results for any particular period,” Draft Kings noted.

The Hindenburg report claimed, among many other negative points: “Draft Kings trades at a ~26x last twelve months (LTM) sales multiple and a ~20x estimated 2021 sales multiple despite (i) no expectation of earnings for years, (ii) intense competition, and (iii) regulatory risk. The company posted net losses of $844 million in 2020 and $346 million last quarter. … Insiders have dumped over $1.4 billion in stock since the company went public a little over a year ago, with SBTech’s founder leading the pack, having personally sold ~$568 million in shares.

Despite the SEC inquiry analysts were somewhat bullish on Draft Kings for the long haul, stating, “Recent legalization momentum is increasing the likelihood that more States will launch online sports betting around the start of the football season, including Arizona, Louisiana, and Maryland,” they said, also noting recent legislative progress in the company’s home state of Massachusetts.

This week, most of the mainstream sports business media focused on DK deal with Genius Sports. The two companies signed a new multi-year supplier agreement that will give Draft Kings a full range of data and live video content from Genius, including products it has built around its new pricey NFL rights. … Under the deal, DraftKings will gain access to official data and live feeds from more than 170,000 events per year. That covers major leagues like the NFL, NASCAR and English Premier League, but also Genius’ suite of smaller partners, like Argentine, Peruvian and Colombian futbol, which will expand DraftKings’ broad and international appeal, according to multiple media reports, including Sportico.

One thing is for sure with the history of Draft Kings and all Fantasy Sports companies going ‘all-in’ on sports gambling, the lawyers are the busiest guys in the industry and the only people making money.

ROW, ROW, HYDROW YOUR BOAT: The National Basketball Retired Players Association will collaborate with Boston-based Hydrow, and offer NBRPA members special access to the luxury, at-home rowing machine and private one-on-one virtual coaching sessions with Hydrow coaches. … Hydrow is a state-of-the-art interactive rowing machine that allows users to row on virtual waterways the world over from the comfort of their own homes through Live Outdoor Reality. Hydrow provides a low impact, full-body workout, engaging up to 86% of the body’s muscles. … “The ability to offer our Legends a one-of-a-kind, at-home workout option that exercises the whole body, is great for the heart and easy on the knees was a no-brainer,” said Scott Rochelle, NBRPA President & CEO. … “Working with Legends of Basketball is an incredibly special opportunity for us, as it allows us to support these elite athletes throughout the next chapter in their careers,” said Bruce Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Hydrow, Inc. “Hydrow offers a dynamic, low-impact cardiovascular workout, and the fact that you’re able to work out with others mimics the teamwork these athletes have known their entire lives. We’re proud to be able to work with these players who have given us so much joy throughout their illustrious careers.” … Earlier this year, WNBA Legend Ruth Riley and NBA Legend José Calderón of Spain were introduced as Hydrow influencers. Fans can follow along as Riley and Calderón document their Hydrow experiences on their Instagram pages. … Riley recently completed a Hydrow workout with the U.S. Rowing Team. “Nothing like a row with the U.S. Rowing Team to get you into the spirit for Tokyo 2021! I love how Hydrow makes you feel like you are in the boat training with them,” said Riley.

Note: For complete While We’re Young (Ideas) Sunday Sports Notes, visit and subscribe at While We’re Young (Ideas).

PGA Tour: WGC-FedEx St Jude Final

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MEMPHIS – Harris English tied Tiger Woods for the lowest 54-hole mark in tournament history with 18-under 192 and is seeking to become the third wire-to-wire winner in tournament history.

Bryson DeChambeau (T-2) birdied four of his last seven holes for a 7-under (63).

Cam Smith (T-2) birdied two of his final three holes to sit T2 in search of his fourth career PGA Tour victory.

Both English and DeChambeau are attempting to become the only three-time winner of the 2020-21 PGA Tour season

WGC-FedEx St. Jude Leaderboard After 54 Holes:

Harris English 62-65-65—192 (-18)

Bryson DeChambeau 65-66-63—194 (-16)

Cam Smith 67-62-65—194 (-16)

Abraham Ancer 67-62-67—196 (-14)

Scottie Scheffler 65-65-67—197 (-13)

Ian Poulter 64-66-67—197 (-13)