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PGA Tour: Gotterup Ties Course Record

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NORTH BERWICK (Scotland) – Chris Gotterup tied the course record with a 9-under-par 61 to take a two-shot lead at the midway point of the Genesis Scottish Open on Friday in Scotland.

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The round included a 6-under 29 on the front nine of The Renaissance Club to move Gotterup to 11-under 129 for the tournament.

England’s Harry Hall was alone in second place at 9 under following a 6-under 64 in the second round.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (65) was in a group of three tied for third place at 8 under, along with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (63) and Marco Penge (67).

Gotterup, 25, is looking for his second career PGA victory. He won at Myrtle Beach last year.

Gotterup carded nine birdies in the bogey-free round, six coming during his dynamic front nine.

“I definitely played good today,” Gotterup said. “Not a lot of wind in the morning which was obviously beneficial. But yeah, it’s funny, when it flips you get some holes that you like and some holes that you don’t like and vice versa.

“I think there’s definitely certain holes that feel nice. Nice three pars to finish. You just take what you can get, what the course gives you with the wind.”

Gotterup is trying to play his way into next week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush. He currently has a flight to California scheduled for Monday.

Gotterup missed the cut in eight of his first 12 events this season but has rallied by making eight of the past nine cuts. He had four straight top-20 finishes in one stretch.

Hall, 27, had seven birdies and one bogey during his strong round. He followed that lone bogey with a stretch of four birdies in a row at Nos. 3-6.

“This wind position allows you to hold the green on a couple par-5s, and yeah, it made 5s drivable,” Hall said. “Definitely an easier wind.”

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy improved three shots in the second round to a 65 and is in a group of seven tied for sixth place at 7 under overall. McIlroy was the biggest mover in the group, jumping 27 spots.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” McIlroy said. “I did a lot of good things today. Still a couple of loose shots here and there but overall I thought it was a good day and obviously excited for the weekend right in the thick of things, in contention going into the last two days, and you know that’s where — if there is anything you need to work on in your game, that’s where it’s going to show when you’re under that sort of pressure trying to win a golf tournament.”

First-round leaders Sepp Straka of Austria and American Jake Knapp also were at 7 under after each shot a 1-under 69. Another first-round leader, Victor Perez of France, was at 6 under following an even-par 70, while Nico Echavarria of Colombia plummeted from a tie at the top to a tie for 27th at 4 under following a 72.

U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun failed to make the cut after a 72 that put him at 2 over par through two rounds. Scotland’s Calum Hill was just one shot off the lead after the opening round but failed to make the cut after shooting a 7-over 77 on Friday.

Collin Morikawa (4 over) also missed the cut.

–Field Level Media

Streaking Red Sox Face Tampa Test

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – The Boston Red Sox will try to stretch their winning streak to seven games Thursday night when they open a four-game series against the visiting Tampa Bay Rays.

Boston completed a three-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies with a 10-2 victory Wednesday. Masataka Yoshida collected three hits in the win after being activated from the 60-day injury list.

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“Glad to have Masa back,” Boston manager Alex Cora said of Yoshida, who had been out with a shoulder injury. “That’s a big bat for us. You saw the difference today, how long the lineup was. We have to figure it out, who’s going to play and all that stuff, but I think it’s the deepest lineup we’ve had in a while here.”

Boston collected 15 hits in the victory, including four home runs. The Red Sox have had at least 11 hits in each of their last seven games. Wednesday’s home runs came from Carlos Narvaez, Wilyer Abreu, Romy Gonzalez and Jarren Duran.

Boston scored 29 runs in the three-game sweep of the Rockies. The Red Sox are 9-2 since a six-game losing streak that included three losses against the Los Angeles Angels.

“We’ve been playing well,” Cora said. “The tough one was Anaheim (the Angels). Besides that, I think we’ve played competitive baseball. We’re in a good spot.”

Right-hander Walker Buehler (6-6, 6.25 ERA) is Boston’s probable starting pitcher for Thursday’s series opener. He is 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts against Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay is coming off Wednesday’s 7-3 triumph over Detroit. It was only the Rays’ fourth win in their past 12 games and came after back-to-back losses against the Tigers.

“A sweep going into a really tough series in Boston would not have been fun,” said starting pitcher Zack Littell, who gave up three runs over 5 2/3 innings Wednesday before four relievers held Detroit scoreless the rest of the way. “The bullpen … it hasn’t gone our way here lately, so for them to come in there, do it against one of the best lineups in the league and make pitches when we needed to make them and get us a win going into Boston is huge.”

Yoshi Back in Sox Lineup

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BOSTON – (Wire Service Report) – Masataka Yoshida is expected to be in the lineup when the Boston Red Sox try to complete a three-game sweep of the visiting Colorado Rockies on Wednesday.

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Before Boston’s 10-2 triumph over Colorado on Tuesday, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said Yoshida will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list and in the lineup as the team’s designated hitter tonight.

Yoshida and Rob Refsnyder are expected to platoon in Boston’s designated hitter spot, with Yoshida starting against right-handed pitchers.

“Mostly DH, but it’s not like last year where he’s not going to play the outfield,” Cora said. “He’s healthy, he is throwing the ball well and we’ll use him for whatever we need that day.”

Yoshida, 31, has not played for Boston this season. He had offseason shoulder surgery and completed a five-game minor league rehab assignment Monday. He played the first two games with Triple-A Worcester and the next three games with Double-A Portland.

Yoshida’s return creates a logjam in an outfield that includes Jarren Duran, Ceddane Rafaela, Roman Anthony, Rob Refsnyder and Wilyer Abreu.

“I know (Cora) has a plan, and I trust him full tilt,” Duran said. “So whatever he needs me to do, I’m going to do. … He’s a good manager and he’s been doing it, and I trust him for whatever we need to do for the team.”

Boston will be looking to extend its winning streak to six games Wednesday. The Red Sox won Monday’s game against Colorado 9-3.

Colorado’s Kyle Freeland pitched five scoreless innings Tuesday before surrendering three runs in the sixth. The loss dropped his record to 1-10.

“I thought it was one of his better outings of the year,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said. “All of his breaking stuff was working. He was putting the ball where he wanted to. He deserved to get through that sixth inning, I thought. There were two outs and he threw a good pitch to (Trevor Story), but he hit a jam shot out there.”

Boston right-hander Lucas Giolito (5-1, 3.66 ERA) is scheduled to start on the mound for Boston on Wednesday. Giolito is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA in two career appearances against the Rockies, both starts. He has allowed 12 hits, including three home runs, in 10 innings against Colorado.

Giolito has pitched at least six innings in each of his last five starts. He’s 4-0 with a 0.83 ERA during that five-game stretch.

Boston also has a rested bullpen since Brayan Bello pitched a complete game Tuesday.

“He was on point,” Cora said. “Some swing and misses, was on top of hitters, got ahead, stayed ahead, buried them. He was really good.”

Righty Antonio Senzatela (3-12, 6.57 ERA) is listed as Colorado’s probable starter. It will be Senzatela’s first career appearance against the Red Sox.

Senzatela will be facing a Boston team that has scored 86 runs in its last 10 games. Tuesday’s victory was the 15th time the Red Sox have scored at least 10 runs in a game this season, the most of any team in the American League.

–Field Level Media

Red Hot Sox Beat Rox

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BOSTON – The Boston Red Sox are facing a light portion of their schedule and taking advantage of it.

Alex Cora’s club has scored 76 runs and hit 16 home runs in the past nine games and will try for a fifth win in a row when a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies continues tonight.

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Boston’s recent offensive exploits include a three-hit game for rookie Roman Anthony, who kicked off the team’s three-homer night in the fifth inning. Ceddanne Rafaela and Romy Gonzalez both went deep in the eighth.

“It’s fun to win,” Anthony said.

And Anthony has been fun to watch, hitting .386 with six RBIs in his last 10 games. Six of his last nine have been multi-hit affairs.

“He’s a good player, a good hitter. That’s why he’s playing every day,” Cora said. “We’re going to push him out there, play the outfield … play the top of the lineup.”

The manager’s lineup soon will include reinforcements as the return of both Masataka Yoshida and All-Star Alex Bregman from the injured list is nearing.

Yoshida has been recovering from shoulder surgery all season and could be activated on Wednesday, while Bregman is potentially just days behind as he feels that he is “trending towards a return here really quickly.”

Boston righty Brayan Bello (4-3, 3.42 ERA) is coming off a unique relief appearance in the Wednesday restart of a suspended game against the Cincinnati Reds. Bello threw five innings of one-hit ball with three strikeouts en route to a 5-3 Red Sox win.

Excluding his last outing, which came after Richard Fitts threw the first three innings the previous night, Bello has thrown five consecutive quality starts but lost back-to-back.

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The 26-year-old will be making his first career start against Colorado.

The Rockies have now lost three of four. For the season, their 70 losses in their first 91 games are the second-most all-time.

Colorado gives the ball to left-hander Kyle Freeland (1-9, 5.49 ERA), who will be making his third start since returning from the 15-day injured list on June 27. He follows Austin Gomber, who allowed four earned runs in 4 2/3 innings Monday.

“Overall, I thought he pitched well and gave us a chance to win,” Colorado manager Warren Schaefer said. “He was one or two pitches away from getting out of that (big three-run second) inning. Obviously it didn’t work out tonight, but it could have.”

Freeland last pitched on Thursday against the Houston Astros, allowing three runs — including two in the first inning — on six hits in six innings. It was his eighth quality start of the season, despite a meager win-loss record to show for it.

“When you start a game with weak hits, frustration starts to build immediately,” Freeland said. “He struck out two and walked two. “It’s all about how quickly you can wash it, forget about it, and get back to work. I was able to do that, as best I could.”

Freeland has made just one career appearance against Boston, throwing six innings in a May 14, 2019 start. He gave up three solo home runs and received a no-decision.

Ryan McMahon and Tyler Freeman both went 2-for-4 on Monday. Freeman has a 21-game on-base streak, the longest in the majors at present.

 

Sports TV Biz: ESPN Extends Orlovsky

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BRISTOL – (Wire Service Report) – Dan Orlovsky, who has served as an NFL analyst with ESPN since 2018, has agreed to terms on a long-term contract, Front Office Sports reported.

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Per the report, the former NFL quarterback will remain as a game analyst for the second-string team on “Monday Night Football” with Chris Fowler, Louis Riddick and Laura Rutledge. Orlovsky, 41, will also continue to appear on “NFL Live,” “SportsCenter,” “Get Up” and “First Take.”

Orlovsky’s new contract is not final but he is apparently “at the 1-yard line” with the network, per the report.

Before the holiday weekend, the former Detroit Lions QB posted a picture on social media toasting himself and on his Instagram story, he wrote, “Here’s to what’s next.”

He wrote on his X account on Monday: “Gotta keep working. Gotta keep proving yourself. Gotta stay hungry. It’s always the journey.”

Orlovsky, whose NFL career began in 2005 and lasted until 2017, is a popular figure at ESPN who has apparently shown interest in becoming a coach in the NFL.

“Dan’s been talking to some teams and seeing if there’s something that interests him and is worthwhile for him,” ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter told Pat McAfee in an interview.

In February, Front Office Sports reported that Orlovsky was “exploring his options” regarding potential free agency. Last month, it was reported by The Athletic that Orlovsky would likely return to ESPN.

ESPN declined to comment on Monday’s report.

–Field Level Media

PGA Tour: Campbell Wins John Deere

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SILVIS – (Wire Service Report) – It was quite a golf anniversary for Brian Campbell. Ten years to the week since he made his PGA Tour debut, he won the John Deere Classic.

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Campbell’s par on the first playoff hole gave him his second career victory on the tour, winning Sunday at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.

“It all started here as an amateur, my first invite here,” Campbell said. “I’ve loved it ever since.”

He loves it even more now.

Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo scrambled on the extra hole, the par-4 18th, and Campbell’s steady approach was enough.

Campbell, who also won the Mexico Open at Vidanta World in a February playoff, and Grillo, bidding for his third PGA Tour triumph, both posted 4-under-par 67s to finish regulation at 18-under 266. Campbell is the sixth multiple winner on the tour this year.

“To be let alone in a playoff and to finish it off this way, it’s just been amazing,” Campbell said.

Campbell’s double bogey on No. 15 nearly cost him, but he rolled in a birdie two holes later.

As he waited to see if there would be a playoff, Campbell opted for rest instead of going through another warm-up. He figured he had hit enough shots during the tournament.

“It’s grueling out here. We’re sweating. It’s just hot,” he said. “I think we really needed to take a break, get some water, rather than go out and beat balls and putt for who knows how many minutes.”

Grillo’s tee shot on the playoff hole went into the right rough and he never fully recovered from that.

“I think I hit every fairway today, except for that first in the playoff,” he said.

David Lipsky, who was in the final pairing, hit his tee shot into the rough on No. 18 and missed a par-saving putt from 15 feet away, dropping out of a would-be spot in the playoff with his 68. He tied for third place with Kevin Roy (65).

“I’m just really happy how I had a really good mindset, kept plugging away and grinded it out,” Lipsky said.

Lipsky’s bogey on No. 15 put his title chances in jeopardy, but an eagle 3 on No. 17 — coming on a putt of less than 8 feet — pushed him into a share for the lead.

“I’m going to look at the positives and take that from this week,” he said.

Carson Young (64), Lucas Glover (64), Jacob Bridgeman (64), Matt Kuchar (66), Kurt Kitayama (67) and Max Homa (69) all ended at 16 under in a tie for fifth place.

Again, the leaderboard was full of contenders.

“The first scoreboard I saw everybody was going bananas, and you kind of knew that would happen,” Glover said. “No wind, soft conditions, the rain (Saturday) softened everything up.”

Seventeen golfers, including amateur Jackson Koivun, ended up within three shots of the lead. Koivun (67), a 20-year-old, was among seven golfers at 15 under.

Homa was 3 under for the day through four holes and held the lead at 16 under before an uneven finish.

Beau Hossler and Michael Thorbjornsen set the early pace with torrid 63s for the day’s best rounds.

Third-round leader Davis Thompson shot 72 and tied for 18th place at 14 under. His fourth bogey of the day came on the final hole.

First-round and 36-hole leader Doug Ghim dropped to a tie for 31st place at 11 under after his Sunday score of 69.

South Africa’s Aldrich Potgieter, who won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in a playoff a week earlier for his first tour victory, withdrew prior to the final round.

–Field Level Media

TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | July 6

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While We’re Young (Ideas) on the Caitlin Clark Effect

By TERRY LYONS, Editor of Digital Sports Desk

BOSTON – Aside from Olga Korbut’s phenomenal acrobatics in women’s gymnastics when the Belarusian pixie did a back flip off the uneven parallel bars at the 1972 Olympic Games, basketball’s Caitlin Clark has made more impact on a sport than any women’s athlete in history.

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Korbut’s three gold medals and a silver in ‘72 encouraged a generation of young female athletes to join gymnastics teams and clubs all around the world. Her impact, however, was limited to participation – which is not bad. Clark’s impact has a much wider ranging global effect on the sport of basketball, as it crosses previously perceived notions in place for casual vs core fans, gender, technology and ticket sales. Clark brings people to her games – in person or via television/streaming – and she does so in bigger numbers than any performer on earth.

“In my lifetime, we had Muhammad Ali, we had Michael Jordan, we had Tiger Woods, and to me, it’s early, but we have Caitlin Clark,” said John Kosner, a former ESPN, NBA and CBS Sports executive turned industry consultant, to The Athletic. “People who don’t care and don’t follow the sport that she plays (in) have been driven not just to watch, but to watch avidly.”

Since her collegiate basketball days at Iowa, Clark has drawn both male and female viewers to the screen like only Jordan did. But, consider the fact Jordan was “just another guy” on Dean Smith’s great North Carolina teams but was the fourth freshman to start his first college game for head coach Smith, following Phil Ford, Mike O’Koren and James Worthy. Jordan scored 12 points against Kansas in Charlotte on Nov. 28, 1981, in his first game as a Tar Heel and it was often joked that Coach Smith was the only guy to hold MJ under 20 points a game.

Jordan’s fame grew upon hitting the winning shot in the 1982 NCAA national championship game against Georgetown and blossomed when he led Team USA to a gold medal in the 1984 Summer Olympics after his junior season at Carolina. He led the USA in scoring with 137 points in eight games (17.1 ppg), including a game-high 20 points in the gold medal game against Spain.

He entered the pros as the No. 3 pick in the 1984 NBA Draft and gradually built his following and his game to now legendary status. It did take Jordan seven years to win his first NBA title.

Clark entered the WNBA on another stratosphere. She mirrored the career of the great Hall of Famer, shooter, scorer and showman Pete Maravich, and broke his record to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball history (men’s or women’s game). Although her Iowa team won three consecutive Big Ten championships, an NCAA title eluded her as her Iowa teams lost two consecutive national championship games, first to LSU (2022-23), then to South Carolina (2023-24).

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Not only did Clark put up record-breaking numbers in points, three-pointers and assists, she also was directly responsible for the 2023 national championship game becoming the most-viewed women’s college basketball game in history (9.9 million). In 2024, the number grew to 18.9 million viewers, more than the men’s Final Four.

Although she had a fifth year of eligibility remaining (because of the COVID-19 pandemic), Clark chose to enter the 2024 WNBA Draft and was the No. 1 overall pick by the Indiana Fever. The record-breaking numbers continued. The Fever set a franchise single-season attendance record, and their regular season finale set the league’s all-time attendance record (20,711), that coming after she drew 55,646 to a game against DePaul in college.

With that incredible but partial career in the history books, the more current narrative seems to be growing in scope and that is the fact Clark is playing under her collectively bargained WNBA rookie contract salary of $78,066 (part of a four-year contract worth $338,056). As recently as June 30th, The Athletic asked if Clark was worth $1 billion to the WNBA, and they made comparisons to a 1997 economic study of Jordan’s value to the NBA by MIT and Cambridge academics.

Sports business publications, such as Sportico, estimate that Clark earns as much as $11 million a year in off-court sponsorships. She awaits a signature shoe (2026) to be made and marketed by Nike and, until then, wears a Kobe Bryant Nike shoe. In addition, the WNBA and its players are working on a new collective bargaining agreement which will surely increase player salaries overall, but until the new deal is struck, Clark can only dream of the $249,244 supermax salary earned by only a handful of WNBA stars.

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The WNBA comparisons to the more established NBA league/player salaries become shockingly inadequate, but consider this fact: The WNBA is in its 28th season, starting in 1997. The NBA’s 28th season of 1974 produced salaries that were well under the WNBA numbers of today. Even if you spin the clock to 1983 when the NBA first introduced the maximum team salary concept, the league set the 1984-85 team limit at $3.6 million and had to grandfather five teams already over that cap. In the 1972-74 range, the average NBA salary was about $90,000 and the superstars, like Wilt Chamberlain or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar made $250,000. Of course, the average household income back then might’ve been about $6,500 and a gallon of gasoline was .36 cents, but I digress.

The larger point, which I made in this space once before when Clark was drafted, is that it’s not fair to draw comparisons in salaries, expansion, nor league health between the WNBA of 2025 with the NBA of 2025. In those comparison, pundits seem to forget about the growing pains the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the National Basketball League (NBL) plunged through in the ‘40s and ‘50s, never mind the 1960s when the likes of Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn fought for unionization of the players.

In 1974, there were three broadcast networks which aired sports programming primarily on weekend afternoons. Cable TV and regional sports networks were in their infancy. North American based sports leagues barely televised a minute of their programming internationally. The WNBA of 1997 entered the marketplace with a globally polished big brother quite advanced in the worldwide marketing of its stars.

The NBA of 1976 watched collegiate players compete for the USA in the Olympic Games of Montreal. The WNBA rode into existence on the cusp of the USA Basketball women’s national team winning the gold medal at the Atlanta Olympic Games while drawing sellout crowds of 32,997 at the Georgia Dome. The final game was the culmination of a 100,000 mile, 6-game world tour where the US went undefeated. In ‘96, the total attendance for men’s and women’s basketball games, 1,093,388, established an Olympic record. The 16 sessions of women’s basketball games attracted 478,061, an average of 29,879 – that’s with or without the United States playing.

The 1992 Olympics were all about the Dream Team. The ‘96 Olympics were all women’s sports, including athletics (track & field), basketball, gymnastics, softball, swimming, synchronized swimming, tennis and soccer.

Caitlin Clark, born January 22, 2002, might not’ve picked up a basketball if it weren’t for Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swooper, Theresa Edwards and the ‘96 USA Basketball women, in the same manner as Michael Jordan would never have been Michael Jordan if it weren’t for Julius Erving, Connie Hawkins and Elgin Baylor coming before his day.

The message?

  • Ease up – Let Caitlin be Caitlin and give her some time and space.
  • Lay off – Stop with the salary comparisons and the unfair weight being placed on Clark’s shoulders.
  • Understand the fact – The foundation for women’s sports is rock solid, established firmly by Title IX in 1972 but gradually built upon.
  • The future is bright – Clark will do her part, yes, but others will come along. Relish in the moment and look forward to the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles where women’s basketball might be the toughest ticket in town.

HERE NOW, THE NOTES: The world-famous Harlem Globetrotters will be hosting the club’s first-ever open tryouts to help select athletes for their Centennial season in 2026. The Globetrotters’ tryouts will take place in the early fall with the final team being assembled and announced in November. The organization’s goal is to expand and elevate the talent within its ranks and to act as competitive offering for men and women hoopers around the globe for 2026

The Globies continue to add athletic team members, which has been reflected in recent years in the signing of former LSU captain Alexis Morris and this past year with the addition of 6-5 rookie forward Asanti “Cash” Price (Columbia, SC), who signed a contract with the NBA G League’s Texas Legends, the affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks. Price was one of six rookies signed to the Globetrotters this past November and had the option to return to the club when his G League time ended, which he did.

“We are creating one of the most unique, once in a lifetime opportunities for talented athletes and entertainers,” said Keith Dawkins, President, Harlem Globetrotters & Herschend Entertainment Studios. “The (opportunity is) to be part of the Centennial of the most iconic global sports and entertainment property. The right athletes will have that special element of ‘showpersonship’ that the Globetrotters have been known for. It should make for a fun and exciting way to uncover our next group of stars.”

This past year, Globetrotter athletes set a high bar for excellence on and off the court, bringing their talents to 50 locations around the world and an additional 46 cities in North America. The Globetrotters anticipate bringing in approximately 30 athletes to the tryout. It will be the first step of a months-long process in selecting the athletes for the Centennial team. Over the many years, the Globetrotters legacy has seen athletes ranging from Wilt Chamberlain to Connie Hawkins to to Lynette Woodward create lasting memories in the basketball world.

TIDBITS & NUGGETS: Nothing says PAC-12 like Texas State … Novak Djokovic, who has won seven of his 24 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon, added another incredible milestone Saturday as he became just the third player in the history of the grass-court tournament to reach 100 victories, joining nine-time winner Martina Navratilova and eight-time champion Roger Federer as the only players to have reached the century mark in victories at Wimbledon.

AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE: As teased back in March, the NBA Melbourne Games 2025 will mark the first time an NBA team will play official exhibition games in Australia. The New Orleans Pelicans will open the 2025 preseason with two friendly games against the National Basketball League’s (NBL) Melbourne United and South East Melbourne Phoenix. The games will be played Friday, Oct. 3 and Saturday, Oct. 4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park, with the NBL serving as the official promoter and organizer of the NBA x NBL Melbourne Series. … In 2000, USA Basketball faced the Australian national team in a friendly at the Laver Arena before the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games.

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RED SOX STARTER: Lucas Giolito recorded his fifth consecutive outing of at least 6.0 innings pitched (IP) with two or fewer earned runs allowed. It’s the longest such streak of his career, and longest by a Red Sox pitcher since Brayan Bello also tossed five straight from 6/11-7/5/23 … Since June 10, Giolito’s gone 4-0 while posting a 0.83 ERA (3 ER/32.2 IP) with 31 strikeouts. The last Red Sox pitcher to throw 30.0+ IP with an ERA that low over a five game span was Chris Sale in 2018.

USA! USA! Care to spend your 4th of July in Switzerland? That’s what the USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team did and they’ll have one more game for the gold medal. The US advanced to the 2025 FIBA U19 Men’s World Cup Final after a 120-64 semifinals drubbing of New Zealand in Lausanne. The Americans will face Germany, winners over Slovenia, 84-72, in the other semifinal. The game for the Gold will be Sunday, July 6, at 2:00pm (ET). (See USAB.com)

WHAT WILL DAME DO? The Milwaukee Bucks waived injured guard Damian Lillard to pave the way to sign former Indiana Pacers bigman Myles Turner. The Bucks will be responsible for some $113 million owed to the injured sharpshooter. Once Lillard recuperates from his Achilles injury, he’s likely to play one or two more NBA seasons, as long as the rehabilitation goes well.

The oddsmakers at BetOnline.ag have opened lines for Lillard’s next team and they are as follows:

  • Miami Heat 4/1
  • Denver Nuggets 5/1
  • Portland Trail Blazers 6/1
  • Los Angeles Lakers 7/1
  • Minnesota Timberwolves 8/1
  • Boston Celtics 9/1
  • San Antonio Spurs 9/1
  • New York Knicks 12/1
  • Houston Rockets 14/1
  • Indiana Pacers 16/1
  • Sacramento Kings 16/1
  • Orlando Magic 22/1
  • Detroit Pistons 25/1
  • Golden State Warriors 25/1
  • Toronto Raptors 28/1
  • Dallas Mavericks 33/1
  • Los Angeles Clippers 33/1
  • Memphis Grizzlies 33/1
  • Oklahoma City Thunder 33/1
  • Phoenix Suns 33/1
  • Atlanta Hawks 40/1
  • Chicago Bulls 40/1
  • Cleveland Cavaliers 40/1
  • Brooklyn Nets 45/1
  • Charlotte Hornets 45/1
  • New Orleans Pelicans 45/1
  • Philadelphia 76ers 50/1
  • Utah Jazz 50/1
  • Washington Wizards 50/1

THIS JEST IN: The regular season DOES matter. The PGA Tour has restructured the distribution of playoff bonuses, including the FedEx Cup champion this season earning $10 million in prize money instead of $25 million as in the past two years.

The new payouts from the $100 million total in bonus money were revealed weeks after an announcement in May that the Tour Championship’s “starting strokes” format will be eliminated, according to the PGATourCom site. The season-ending tournament in August where the Top 30 players compete, following two previous playoff events, will be a standard 72-hole stroke-play tournament held at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

The new three-tier system will reward golfers based on the FedEx Cup points standings after the regular-season finale at the Wyndham Championship (the top 10 splitting $20 million, with No. 1 getting $10 million), and after the second playoff event, the BMW Championship (top 30 splitting $23.93 million, with No. 1 getting $5 million).

The Tour Championship winner will get $10 million of the remaining prize money ($57.08 million), with the rest will be paid out to the other 29 players based on their finishes. Players ranked Nos. 31-150, eliminated from the Tour Championship round, will divide $17.08 million.

The PGA Tour cited its reasoning, noting, “To account for the increased volatility of the final event, reward season-long performance and recognize the significance of the FedEx Cup, the FedEx Cup bonus distributions for the Top 30 positions were rebalanced,” the PGA Tour posted on its website.

It almost goes without stating, the TOUR needs to set its rules and stick to them. The constant changing and experimenting with the postseason, including eliminating the “quarterfinal” event in Boston, has cost the circuit incredibly. But, the decision to finish before the NFL regular season began was justification for the tightening of the overall schedule which begins each January.

Buehler and Sox Prep for Nationals

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WASH DC – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston right-hander Walker Buehler looks to put a horrid six-start stretch behind him when the Red Sox play the middle game of a three-game series against the host Washington Nationals today

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.The Red Sox beat the Nationals 11-2 in Washington’s traditional Independence Day game.

Buehler (5-6, 6.45 ERA) is 1-4 with a 10.37 ERA in his past six outings. He allowed 38 hits and walked 19 batters while striking out 23 in 26 innings during that span. In his latest start, he allowed four runs on four hits — two of them home runs — in four innings during a 5-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday.

On Saturday, Buehler could be pitching for his spot in the rotation.

“He’s scheduled to make his next (start),” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said earlier this week. “He’s healthy, eager to work and like I said … he feels like he’s getting close to finding it.”

Buehler is 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA in five career games (four starts) against Washington.

The Nationals will start Mitchell Parker (5-8, 4.63 ERA). The left-hander gave up three runs on six hits in five-plus innings of a no-decision against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday in his most recent start.

Parker has never faced the Red Sox.

Red Sox shortstop Trevor Story went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer, scored three runs and drove in four as Boston pounded out 16 hits on Friday for its fourth win in six games. The Red Sox snapped a five-game road losing streak.

Story tied his career high with four hits and extended his hitting streak to six games.

“Felt good. Kind of a tough 11 a.m. start, but just get the minimal routine (in) and just go compete,” Story said. “I think that was the main message. We have a chance to control our destiny here, so we got to set the tone here on the first game, and I think we did that today. Looking forward to the rest of the series.”

Boston’s Jarren Duran had two hits and three RBIs. Over his past five games, Duran is batting .300 (6-for-20) with a home run, four RBIs and five runs.

Washington trailed 2-0 entering the fifth, but Boston got to Nationals starter Michael Soroka and reliever Zach Brzykcy for seven runs. Soroka was lifted after Story’s base-loaded single made it 5-0.

“We had four guys down in our bullpen,” Washington manager Dave Martinez said. “We tried to stretch (Soroka) out as long as possible. We tried to have him get out of his own mess a little bit. But once he gave up that base hit with the bases loaded, I figured he was done.”

Daylen Lile extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a ninth-inning RBI double for Washington, which had won three of four. Lile is hitting .326 (14-for-43) during his streak.

Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz went 1-for-3 in his return from the injured list. He had been sidelined since getting hit in the head with a foul ball in the dugout and sustaining a concussion on June 24.

Washington placed starting pitcher Trevor Williams on the 15-day injured list due to a right elbow strain. Williams allowed seven runs on nine hits in three innings in a loss to the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday.

–Field Level Media

Ghim Holds On at John Deere

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SILVIS – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Doug Ghim shot a 3-under-par 68 and held onto a one-stroke lead over Max Homa and a group of contenders at the John Deere Classic on Friday in Illinois.

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Homa is part of a five-way tie for second after also posting a 68 late Friday afternoon at TPC Deere Run. He matched Ghim at 12 under with a birdie at the par-5 17th hole, but after finding a bunker off the 18th tee he failed to save par and dropped back a shot.

“They couldn’t make it today but I’m anticipating family coming (Saturday), and I’m excited about that,” Ghim said.

Ghim made an eagle for the second straight round, holing out from 179 yards away at the par-4 15th.

“I guess holing out two days in a row is always nice,” he said. “It’s been couple years since I think I holed out from the fairway. To get two back-to-back days is a great.”

He reached 13 under for the tournament with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 4-5, but Ghim bogeyed his closing hole, No. 9.

Homa entered the week an abysmal No. 122 in the FedEx Cup standings amid a disappointing season, but now he’s in the mix for his first win since 2023.

“I don’t think really much changes” on the weekend, Homa said. “I mean, just play the golf course. You’re going to have to shoot really low. If you went out there and tried to do something specific, I’m not so sure that is going to work. Somebody can go out there and shoot 11-under out there and jump everybody.

“So just go do what we did today and play another round of golf. Just keep waiting until the back nine on Sunday basically.”

The round of the day belonged to defending champion Davis Thompson, whose bogey-free 63 catapulted him to 11 under. Tied with Homa and Thompson are Brian Campbell (66), David Lipsky (67) and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo (66).

“(On Thursday) I hit a lot of great putts early but they were just burning the edges,” said Thompson, who made four birdies on each nine Friday. “Then I was able to make a few on the back nine (Thursday) and just ride that momentum into today.”

Colombia’s Camilo Villegas (66) and Si Woo Kim of South Korea (67) are part of a group at 10 under as the second round finished up late Friday.

Rickie Fowler dropped four shots in a four-hole span on his back nine, with two bogeys and a double bogey, but he birdied No. 17 to finish up a 1-over 72 and get to 5 under, which wound up being the cut line at the end of the day.

Notable names who missed the cut included Tom Kim of South Korea (4 under), Australian Jason Day (2 under), J.T. Poston (1 under) and Canadian Adam Hadwin (2 over).

–Field Level Media

Gio Gem

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WASH DC – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Boston’s Trevor Story homered among four hits, Lucas Giolito pitched into the eighth inning, and the visiting Red Sox routed the Washington Nationals 11-2 in a morning start on the 4th of July in The District.

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Story added three singles, drove in four runs and scored three for Boston, which won for the third time in four games. Jarren Duran had two hits and three RBIs for the Red Sox, who collected four hits on the day.

Giolito (5-1), facing the team that drafted him in 2012 for the first time, allowed a run on four hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out seven and walked three in his first Nationals Park appearance since his rookie season in 2016.

Michael Soroka (3-6) was charged with seven runs on nine hits in four-plus innings for the Nationals.

Washington’s Daylen Lile extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a ninth-inning RBI double. Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz went 1-for-4 in his return from the injured list after he was hit in the head with a foul ball while in the dugout on June 24.

Boston opened the scoring in the second inning, starting with a leadoff single from Story, who promptly stole second. Then, with one out, Ceddanne Rafaela doubled to plate Story. Raffaela advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Duran’s single.

The Red Sox broke it open with a seven-run fifth, which began with a Roman Anthony doubl, an Abraham Toro walk and a Carlos Narvaez single to load the bases.

After walking Wilyer Abreu to force in a run, Story singled to center to score two runs and put an end to Soroka’s day. Marcelo Mayer singled off Zach Brzykcy to score Abreu, making it 6-0. Brzykcy retired the next two batters, but Duran doubled in two runs and Toro later added an RBI single to boost the lead to 9-0.

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Washington got on the board when CJ Abrams singled to open the sixth, stole second and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Garcia Jr.

Story capped his day with a two-run home run, his 13th of the season, in the eighth inning to make it 11-1.

–Field Level Media