Digital Sports Desk

Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports

Jaguars Ready to Rock with Lawrence

by

CLEVELAND – The Jacksonville Jaguars made it official last night when the 2021 NFL Draft started to Rock n’ Roll in the City of the Rock Hall of Fame. The Jags selected Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick of the annual college draft.

Embed from Getty Images

The 6-foot-6 Lawrence is the team’s first choice under new head coach Urban Meyer and immediately is expected to make an impact as a starter.

Lawrence, the Heisman Trophy runner-up went (34-2) as a starter at Clemson and led the Tigers to the national championship as a freshman in 2018. He passed for 10,098 yards, 90 touchdowns with only 17 interceptions. He also ran for 18 touchdowns.

Lawrence was the first of five quarterbacks selected in Round 1. Immediately following his selection at No. 1 overall, the New York Jets – after their dismal 2-14 2020 season – picked BYU QB Zach Wilson with the No. 2 overall choice. The San Francisco 49ers moved up to No. 3 via trade and selected QB Trey Lance of North Dakota State while the Chicago Bears grabbed Ohio State QB Justin Fields at No. 11 overall, four picks before New England closed-out the rush on quarterback selections when they picked Mac Jones of Alabama.

PGA Tour: Second Round Action Underway at Valspar Championship

by

PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of the The Valspar After 18-Holes

Keegan Bradley holds a two-stroke lead, the eighth 18-hole lead/co-lead of his PGA Tour career and second at the Valspar Championship (T1/2016; MC). The lead marks Bradley’s fifth straight 18-hole position of T-6 or better at the event but he has not finished better than T-31 in his previous four outings at Valspar.

Embed from Getty Images

Two-time defending champion Paul Casey opened with 3-under (68) as he tried to earn a third consecutive title at the Valspar Championship.

Emiliano Grillo (T-2) at (-5) hit 12 of 13 fairways, and is tied with Tom Lewisfor the most of any player in the field.

After receiving widespread attention ahead of his PGA Tour debut, Monday qualifier Michael Visacki (T-129) made birdie on No. 1 before carding a 3-over (74) in opening round.

2021 Valspar Championship – Round 1 Leaderboard

Keegan Bradley 64 (-7)

Emiliano Grillo 66 (-5)

Ryan Moore 66 (-5)

Hank Lebioda 66 (-5)

Max Homa 66 (-5)

Patton Kizzire 66 (-5)

Full Leaderboard: (link)

Last Chance for April Showers PGA Tour Brunch Special Discount:

Get 20% off for 1 year

NFL Draft: A Return to Normalcy & Uncertainty

by

CLEVELAND – Although it seems like a century ago, it was just a year back when we were welcomed into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s basement man-cave to watch the NFL Draft unfold pick-by-pick. The surreal feeling of disconnection to the normal man-hugs and NFL Draft-niks reaction was lost to the pandemic we were just beginning to understand.

Tonight?

It’ll be like Mardi Gras in Cleveland, if that would ever be a thing.

NFL Draft pundits are predicting a quarterback class like none other. The focus on the more well-known position of QB could shift a more deserved spotlight away from the amazing Alabama Crimson Tide football program when the 2021 NFL Draft begins tonight.

The defending national champion Alabama Crimson Tide Class of 2021 (and their young peers) will challenge the record for first-round picks in a single year. ‘Bama Quarterback Mac Jones, Heisman Trophy winner in WR DeVonta Smith,  his fellow WR Jaylen Waddle and RB Najee Harris lead the talented departing crew of Alabama Coach Nick Saban‘s vast resourced expected to be gobbled-up by NFL player personnel departments from Miami to Seattle.  All will be among the first-rounders.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have the No. 1 overall pick and awaiting for selection are five quarterbacks projected to be selected in the top half of the first round. The Jags seem set on Trevor Lawrence of Clemson, but Zach Wilson (BYU), Alabama’s Jones, Trey Lance (North Dakota State) and Justin Fields (Ohio State) are likely to be part of a record QB haul in Round one.

If the Jaguars select Lawrence first overall, he’ll be the 26th quarterback to go No. 1 since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. Quarterbacks have gone first each of the past three drafts and Lawrence is listed as a -10000 favorite to go No. 1 and make it four in a row. Only twice in NFL draft history quarterbacks have gone 1-2-3, most recently in 1999 when Tim Couch (Browns), Donovan McNabb (Eagles) and Akili Smith (Bengals) were the top players drafted.

Only one time in draft history (2018), were four quarterbacks selected in the top 10, and never with picks 1-4. The Falcons hold the fourth overall pick and choosing an heir apparent to Matt Ryan is under consideration. That No. 4 overall pick is the crossroad of the 2021 NFL Draft as Atlanta could trade down and gather additional picks by dealing the No. 4 pick to a QB-needy team such as the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos or Chicago Bears.

The Patriots lost Tom Brady and his Super Bowl winning ways to reigning NFL champion Tampa Bay and Brady’s replacement in New England, Cam Newton, didn’t pan-out to be a playoff-bound QB for Bill Belichick and the Pats.

The record for quarterbacks drafted in the first round is six, set in 1983 with a class of John Elway, Jim Kelly, Dan Marino, Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien. Of course, the poor New York Jets came away with O’Brien that year.

Those same J-E-T-S will be selecting at No. 2 this season and they recently dealt their “franchise QB” of the 2018 NFL Draft, Sam Darnold, to the Carolina Panthers who are coming off a QB trade of their own, having dealt Teddy Bridgewater to Denver on April 28.

To say uncertainty is the name of the NFL Draft in 2021 is an understatement for all draft.

 

Red Sox Take Two from Mets

by

FLUSHING – Boston Red Sox starter Nick Pivetta out-pitched Mets Cy Young Award winner and MVP candidate Jacob deGrom Wednesday night, when the Boston pitching staff combined for a two-hit shut-out and earned the win as the visiting Red Sox edged the New York Mets, 1-0.

Embed from Getty Images

Sox Backstop Christian Vazquez had an RBI double in the second inning for the Red Sox, who swept the two-game interleague series against the National League New Yorkers.

Three runs in two games were enough for the Boston Red Sox to defeat the Mets often-anemic offense but the Red Sox will need to generate more offense when they continue their short six-game road trip, visiting Arlington, Texas and the Texas Rangers Thursday night in the opener of a four-game series.

Left-hander Martin Perez (0-1, 5.71 ERA) is scheduled to take the mound for the Red Sox against right-hander Kyle Gibson (2-0, 2.30).

The Sox two wins over the Mets improved Boston’s surprising record to an AL East-leading, 16-9. The Sox started the season 0-3, but have now won three straight and four of their last five games. Boston next 11 games against a combination of Texas (10-15, .400), Detroit (8-16, .333) and Baltimore (10-14, .417) will be a key indicator for the rest of their 2021 season.

Boston, AL East last place finishers a season ago, recorded a disappointing (24-36, .400) record and finished 16 games back of Tampa Bay in the COVID-19 shortened 60-game 2020 season.

Bruins Notch Key Win vs. Penguins

by

PITTSBURGH – The Boston Bruins bought another ticket for their roller coaster ride and used it to get back in the win column with a key, 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Boston goals by David Krejci, Brad Marchand and newly-acquired Taylor Hall helped the Bruins bounce back from a shutout loss to Pittsburgh last Sunday.

YouTube player

Bruins goalkeeper Tuukka Rask made 25 saves as Boston crept within six points of NHL East-leading Washington and one point of the New York Islanders who stand at No. 3 in a competitive the playoff race in the East Division. The Bruins’ win followed a two-game losing streak which was preceded by six-game win streak (April 13-22).

Boston has eight games remaining in the NHL regular season and their next two games – starting tonight – are against the cellar-dwelling Buffalo Sabres. The following two games are against the New Jersey Devils, a team only two wins ahead of the lowly Sabres.

 

Celtics Back in Win Column

by

BOSTON – Boston’s All-Star forward Jaylen Brown scored 38 points and his fellow All-Star Jayson Tatum added 35 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Celtics bounced back from a three-game losing streak with a 120-111 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Brown has scored 30 points or more in three of his last five games for the Celtics.

YouTube player

Boston is currently teetering between the fourth Eastern Conference Playoff slot and home court advantage and the seventh slot which would force the Celtics into a new NBA Play-In” tournament to begin the postseason. The NBA regular season ends May 16th for Boston.

The coming weekend schedule pits the Celtics against the San Antonio Spurs (31-30, .508) and the Portland Trail Blazers (34-28, .548) in two tough home games against Western Conference competition. After the weekend, the Celtics play Eastern opponents in six of their remaining seven games.

Boston is a mediocre (20-12) at home this season.

 

 

This Week on the PGA Tour: Valspar

by

COURSE: Innisbrook Resort (Copperhead), Palm Harbor, Florida

ARCHITECT: Larry Packard

YARDS/PAR: 7,340 yards/Par 71

PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $6,900,000/$1,242,000

DEFENDING Champion (March 2019) – Paul Casey – (Leaderboard link)

PAST RESULTS: (link)

PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)

FEDEx CUP Points Winner: 500

SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @ValsparChamp

OFFICIAL SITE: (Valspar Championship) – (Official Tournament Site)

TV COVERAGE: Today, April 29 and Friday, April 30: 2:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. On Saturday, May 1 and Sunday, May 2 – Golf Channel’s TV coverage goes from 1:00pm to 3:00pm (EDT), then CBS takes over coverage from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

STREAMING: PGA Tour Live will offer streaming coverage of Featured Groups Today and Friday from 7:00am to 6:00pm (EDT). On Saturday and Sunday, PGA Live Featured Groups runs from 8:00am to 3:00pm (EDT) with Featured Holes goes from 3:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT).

PGA TOUR RADIO COVERAGE: Streaming Radio coverage on Today and Friday from 12:00pm Noon to 6:00pm (EDT); then Saturday and Sunday, 1:00pm to 6:00pm (EDT) on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. PGA Tour Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92) or online on PGATour.com.

Notebook:

Paul Casey, the 2018 and 2019 champion, the only player in tournament history to win back-to-back, will attempt for a very rare three-peat at The Valspar Championship at Innisbrook Resort.

The Valspar Championship is the 31st of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season. It’s the first time in tournament history the Valspar Championship will be played in April/May instead of its usual place in March.

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson finished T-6 at the 2019 Valspar Championship and missed the cut at his other starts at the event (2008, 2010).

Among players making their tournament debut is two-time PGA Tour winner Viktor Hovland who enters the week in the Top 15 in both the FedExCup (No. 7) and World Golf rankings (No. 15).

The 2016 Valspar Championship winner – Charl Schwartzel – lost in a playoff at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Schwartzel and partner Louis Oosthuizen fell to Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman in the only team/match play event on Tour.

In the last two weeks, Peter Uihlein won on the Korn Ferry Tour (MGM Resorts Championship at Paiute) and earned a career-best result on the PGA Tour (3rd/Zurich Classic of New Orleans with partner Richy Werenski).

Uihlein earned a spot in this field via the top-five at the Zurich Classic.

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 6:55am (EDT) through 2:15pm (EDT).

Weather: A high pressure system will begin to slowly shift East allowing more humid conditions to return today and into Friday. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies can be expected each day with highs in the mid-80s to upper 80s. The models have slowed down the approaching cold front and it’s looking more likely that the front will stall across the northern gulf this weekend. This will keep Central Florida mainly dry with only a slight chance for a shower or thunderstorm developing during the afternoon hours (winds 10-15 mph).

PGATourBrunch will be posting before the 6:55am (EDT) tee times on Friday.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

Field Updates:

Tom Hoge (commit) / Grayson Murray (out)
Anirban Lahiri (out) / Grayson Murray (back in)
Nate Lashley (out) / D.J. Trahan (in)
Carlos Ortiz (out) / Peter Uihlein (commit)

Steve Stricker (out) / Ryan Brehm (in)
Cameron Champ (out) / Sebastian Cappelen (in)
Will Gordon (out) / J.J. Spaun (in)
Brice Garnett (out) / Tim Wilkinson (in)

Sepp Straka (out) / Nelson Ledesma (in)
Tyrrell Hatton (out) / Kiradech Aphibarnrat (in)

PGA Tour This Week – The Valspar

by

Welcome to PGA Tour Brunch Coverage – The Valspar Championship

This is the first time in tournament history the Valspar Championship will be played in April/May. Paul Casey, the 2018 and 2019 champion, is the only player in tournament history to win back-to-back. He’s returning in search of a third consecutive victory at the event.

YouTube player

The top-two players in the Official World Golf Ranking, Dustin Johnson (1) and Justin Thomas (2), are both in the strong field.

To that end, 11 of the Top 30 in the FedExCup standings are competing at Copperhead this week, led by No. 2 Justin Thomas and No. 7 Viktor Hovland while 18 of the Top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, as previously noted with No. 1 Johnson and No. 2, Thomas.

Overall, 97 PGA Tour winners, the second-most of any tournament to date during the 2020-21 season are in the field. The most was the 110 at The PLAYERS Championship.

Lastly, 17 major championship winners combining for 24 major victories are playing in the Tampa Bay Area this week, led by Phil Mickelson (5).

The Valspar Championship is the 31st of 50 events in the 2020-21 PGA Tour season.

Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 6:55am (EDT) through 2:15pm (EDT).

Weather: A high pressure system will begin to slowly shift East allowing more humid conditions to return Thursday into Friday. Mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies can be expected each day with highs in the mid-80s to upper 80s. The models have slowed down the approaching cold front and it’s looking more likely that the front will stall across the northern gulf this weekend. This will keep Central Florida mainly dry with only a slight chance for a shower or thunderstorm developing during the afternoon hours (winds 10-15 mph).

PGATourBrunch will be posting before 6:55am (EDT) early tee times Thursday and Friday.

Next Week: Wells Fargo Championship (Charlotte, NC)

PGA Tour: Wrap-Up at Zurich Classic

by

PGA Tour Brunch Coverage of Zurich Classic

NEW ORLEANS  – Australians Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith defeated 54-hole leaders Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzelof South Africa with a par on the first hole of sudden death playoff to mark the first playoff in the event since 2017 when Smith and Jonas Blixt defeated Scott Brown and Kevin Kisner. With the win, Smith becomes the first player to win the event twice in the team format.

Embed from Getty Images

Partnering together for the first time, the Australian natives overcame a 1-shot deficit beginning the final round to close with a 2-under (70) and then win with a par on the first extra hole, the par-5 18th.

Runner-up Louis Oosthuizen was seeking his second career PGA Tour win more than 10 years after his 2010 The Open Championship title.

Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay combined for eight birdies in the final round to tie the record for most par-breakers in a Foursomes round since the Zurich Classic of New Orleans became a team event in 2017.

Defending champions Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer finished seventh at 17-under (271).

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans switched from individual stroke play to the two-man team format in 2017 and is the only official FedExCup team event on Tour.

Zurich Classic Final Leaderboard

Marc Leishman/Cameron Smith 63-72-63-70—268 (-20)*

Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel 63-71-63-71—268 (-20)

Richy Werenski/Peter Uihlein 65-69-68-67—269 (-19)

Billy Horschel/Sam Burns 63-73-65-69—270 (-18)

Keith Mitchell/Brandt Snedeker 66-71-64-69—270 (-18)

Keegan Bradley/Brendan Steele 63-73-64-70—270 (-18)

*Won with a par on the first extra hole, the par-5 18th

Red Sox End Home-stand with a “W”

by

BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox concluded their season-long 10-game home stand with a 5-3 victory over the Seattle Mariners Sunday at Fenway Park. Boston finished a season-long 10 game stretch at Fenway with a disappointing 5-5 record but are 14-6 in their last 20 games and 3-0-3 in their last six series.

Embed from Getty Images

Trailing 1-0 after the first half of the 1st inning, utility man Marwin Gonzalez and right fielder Hunter Renfroe each worked bases-loaded walks in the Sox’ half of the 1st inning and 2B Christian Arroyo was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. It marked the time the Red Sox have scored four (or more) runs on two hits or fewer in the 1st inning since August 11, 2018 vs. TB (4 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 1 E).

Boston starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez (7.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R) struck-out a season-high eight over his season-high 7.0 innings. Rodriguez retired his final nine batters faced on 29 pitches after allowing 3 straight hits and two runs to begin the 5th inning. It was Rodriguez third career start with no walks over 7.0+ innings pitched.

Boston begins a six-game road trip in New York on Tuesday when they face the Mets in a pair of night games before heading to Arlington, Texas to take-on the Texas Rangers in a four-game set. The Sox return to Fenway Park on May 4th to start a three-game series against Detroit.