By TERRY LYONS
VALLARTA, México – PGA Tour veteran Tony Finau won his sixth PGA Tour title and fourth in his last 18 starts. He earned multiple victories in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his career.
Online Destination for the Best in Boston Sports
By TERRY LYONS
VALLARTA, México – PGA Tour veteran Tony Finau won his sixth PGA Tour title and fourth in his last 18 starts. He earned multiple victories in back-to-back seasons for the first time in his career.
World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Jon Rahm posted his ninth career runner-up finish and, in doing so, set the new record for most official money earned in a single PGA Tour season.
Last year’s 2022 Mexico Open at Vidanta runner-up Brandon Wu finished solo third marking fact all three who finished inside the top three at the 2022 Mexico Open at Vidanta did so again this year.
Tony Finau 65-64-65-66—260 (-24)
Jon Rahm 67-68-61-67—263 (-21)
Brandon Wu 66-64-67-68—265 (-19)
Akshay Bhatia 68-65-63-70—266 (-18)
Full Leaderboard (link)
by Terry Lyons
By TERRY LYONS
BOSTON – Sports gambling has engulfed the Commonwealth and 36 other States in the Union lighting a fire of competition amongst licensed gambling houses (errr, call ‘em Bookies). Upon sports gambling Zero Hour (January 31), advertising rose to a fever pitch and then they upped the ante on March 10 as March Madness was upon us. That maneuvering will only be topped come August when preseason NFL football and the kickoff to college football dominate the sports calendar.
You think there’s a ton of commercials, billboards and ads now? Wait until Bill Belichick and the Patriots break-out the footballs. The States, the leagues/conferences/NCAA and the gaming outlets will battle it out, after all, it’s been a LONG time coming.
The Supreme Court struck down the Federal law prohibiting gambling on sports. After all, why should one State (Nevada) have a set of rules while the others operate under different law?
As Sportico explained in a guest column by Jed Corenthal, chief marketing officer at Phenix Real Time Solutions, who wrote, “On May 14, 2018, the world of sports betting changed forever. The U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992, also known as PASPA or the Bradley Act, arguing that the law violated the anti-commandeering principal. The Supreme Court clarified: “Congress can regulate sports gambling directly, but if it elects not to do so, each State is free to act on its own.”
Congress did not, so it has been left up to each individual State to decide how to regulate sports betting.
As of now, 37 states in the U.S. (plus Washington, D.C.) have some form of legalized sports betting, and another nine states are in various stages of legalization from proposed bills to legislative votes coming later this year (Maine and Minnesota have “Got Next”), proving there is undeniable interest in legalized sports betting. And it’s showing no signs of stopping or slowing down,” stated Corenthal.
The latest reports from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission show the Commonwealth collected over $9 million in taxes from sports betting just in the month of March. April reports will show the strength of mobile wagering, the start of Baseball and the NBA and NHL Playoffs.
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: People! Set your DVRs for CBS’ 60 Minutes! We have earlier start times for the NBA Finals. … For years, we jousted with the powers that be (various TV networks, network executives and NBA executives and even a Commissioner) to start NBA Finals games 30 minutes earlier and anywhere from 7:00pm (ET) to 8:00pm (ET) on Sundays, when viewers are usually home and enjoying some down time after dinner. … Recognizing it’s challenging for West Coast fans to be in their seats at their arena or in front of their home TVs at 5:30pm (PT) for week-day games, the fact of the matter is that much more of the sports-loving country would benefit from the extra 30 minutes.
NEW NBA FINALS START TIMES: (* = If necessary)
Game 1 — Thursday, June 1 at 8:30pm (ET)
Game 2 — Sunday, June 4 at 8pm (ET)
Game 3 — Wednesday, June 7 at 8:30pm (ET)
Game 4 — Friday, June 9 at 8:30pm (ET)
Game 5* — Monday, June 12 at 8:30pm (ET)
Game 6* — Thursday, June 15 at 8:30pm (ET)
Game 7* — Sunday, June 18 at 8pm (ET)
AARON RODGERS TO J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS: The New York/New Jersey Jets have long been rumored to have a Super Bowl champion and four-time NFL MVP join the club as its starting quarterback for the Fall of 2023. The deal went down on Monday as the Jets acquired QB Aaron Rodgers, along with the 15th pick in the NFL Draft and a fifth-rounder (No. 170). In return, the Green Bay Packers received the 13th and 42nd picks of the 2023 NFL Draft, a sixth-rounder (No. 207) for this year and a conditional second-round selection in 2024 that can become a first-rounder if Rodgers plays at least 65 percent of the NYJ snaps this coming season. … Former Utah State QB Jordan Love, 24 and the 26th overall pick of the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft, will be given the keys to the famed Packers franchise. … The acquisition of Rodgers by the NYJ might remind Jets’ followers of another Green Bay Hall of Fame QB in Brett Favre landing with New York after 16 seasons with the Packers. Favre won the 1997 Super Bowl and was chosen as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player three times (1995-97) with Green Bay. Favre’s No 4 was retired by Green Bay in 2015. Surely, Rodgers’ No. 12 will soon be retired by the Packers but until then, No. 12 will wear No. 8 – his college uniform number – as No. 12 with the Jets has been retired in honor of Joe Namath.
Aside from his play on the field, Page 6 in New York will have a challenging time keeping track of Rodgers’ off-the-field endeavors. The flirting footballer’s relationships are as far-flinging as Charlotte Brereton, a podcaster and social media influencer, known as Blu of Earth to race car driver Danica Patrick to actress Shailene Woodley to actress Olivia Munn and, most recently, to model Mallory Edens, daughter of Wes Edens who is one of the primary owners of the Milwaukee Bucks.
NFL DRAFT: Years before meeting the challenge of staging the NFL Draft in Commissioner Roger Goodell’s home basement because of the pandemic, the NFL took a bold move and took the show on the road. Looking back over the many years, the NFL Draft was held in New York City from 1965-2014, including runs at the Theater at Madison Square Garden (1995-2004) and Radio City Music Hall (2006-14). In 2015, the site moved to Chicago for a two-year run, and since then, the NFL has staged its event in Philadelphia (2017), Dallas (2018), Nashville (2019), Cleveland (2021), Las Vegas (2022), and then to Goodell’s lounge. … This week, the NFL took a bold move and held its annual player draft outdoors at Union Station and the adjacent National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri. … The league estimated a capacity of 60,000 fans at the site.
TIDBITS: The National Basketball Association and National Basketball Players Association finalized their new Collective Bargaining Agreement after formal ratification by the NBA Board of Governors and the rank and file of NBA players. The seven-year agreement will take effect on July 1, 2023 and run through the 2029-30 season. … Meanwhile, former chief legal officer for the NBA Jeffrey Mishkin will serve as arbitrator in the dispute between Arizona Cardinals team owner Michael Bidwill and the team’s former vice president of player personnel, Terry McDonough. Mishkin will decide if McDonough’s claim accusing Bidwill of gross misconduct, cheating, discrimination and harassment, in an arbitration claim sent to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on April 4. You can search the whole wide world and will never find a better man than Jeff Mishkin.
CHECK THE NCAA MANUAL, FORM A COMMITTEE: I dare the consumers and contributors to While We’re Young (Ideas) to read this twice: According to the incredible D-1 Ticker, “The NCAA Board of Governors encouraged the DI Board of Directors to move forward with the division’s holistic student-athlete model and recommended that President (Charlie) Baker – (we still call him Guv’nah) continue exploring how best to include DII and DIII in a post-eligibility health care model. The board also discussed a newly established executive committee to promote more effective and efficient governance and establish a competitive compensation program for NCAA executive staff. The committee can also conduct business in between regularly scheduled meetings of the full board and is authorized to initiate and settle litigation. Also, CMO Hainline provided an update on the work of the Mental Health Advisory Group, which is reviewing and recommending updates to the NCAA’s best practices documents and other relevant mental health materials. It is on track to submit recommendations to the Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports for review in June with a final document ready for board approval at its meeting during the 2024 Convention. … Reminds us of a time when the late David Stern was asked about the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement and the ruling of the 1968 Haywood Case and subsequent settling of Robertson v. NBA. The implication of the question was that Stern could wave a magic wand and change the legal history that was settled to allow players to enter the draft after their “high school class had graduated” or roughly 18 years of age. Stern and the NBA had bargain with the NBA Players Union to go to the ill-fated “one and done” system. The former Commissioner gave one of his patented, sarcastic answers when the innocent inquirer asked if the “NBA had sought insight from the NCAA” to help solve the problems. “Yes, said Stern, setting the reporter up with his timing, “but they sent it to a committee who sent it to a committee who sent it to a sub-committee and we’ve yet to hear back.”
The Boston Celtics issued the following statement: There is no better way to say it.
“Heather Walker was a boundlessly charismatic, giving, and selfless soul. Every room she entered was brighter for her presence. As anyone who knew her could attest, her abundant positive energy and kindness should not be mistaken for any lack of fortitude or determination when such qualities were required. She thrived in chaos, always able to recognize the humor that the adventures of her life brought her. Each of these attributes were on display through the best days of her life, and remained intact, sharpened even, when she encountered her cruel diagnosis.
Displaying exceptional courage, she made a point of raising awareness for glioblastoma through the Move4Heather movement, wanting to use her situation to help the lives of others, which was entirely consistent with her character. Through her illness, she was resolute and extraordinary in boosting the spirits of those around her, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and essential awareness in hopes of easing the suffering and saving the lives of others.
We will miss her for her energy, the joy and laughter that followed her everywhere she went, and we are grateful for everything she provided her Celtics family and the countless people that she positively impacted along the way. Our hearts and sympathy are with Heather’s loving family and friends, whom she cherished. She will remain part of our fabric for as long as the Celtics go on.”
By TERRY LYONS
VALLARTA, México – PGA Tour veteran Tony Finau is seeking his sixth title and fourth since finishing runner-up at the 2022 Mexico Open at Vidanta. Finau’s score of 18-under (194) set the 54-hole tournament record.
Meanwhile, World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Jon Rahm tied his career-low score on Tour with a bogey-free 10-under (61) to set the 18-hole tournament record.
Defending champion Rahm sits two strokes back in bid to successfully defend on Tour for the first time in seven tries.
Special temporary PGA Tour member Akshay Bhatia seeks to become the first Special Temporary Member to win on Tour since Tom Kim at the 2022 Wyndham Championship.
Brandon Wu (4th at -16) owns two runner-up results in 56 starts on the Tour, including T-2 at this event last year when he posted a final-round (63) to T-2 and at the 2023 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. With a win, Wu would become the eighth first-time winner on Tour this season.
Making his PGA Tour debut as a sponsor exemption, Raul Pereda (T17/-8) would qualify for this week’s Wells Fargo Championship with a T-10 or better.
Tony Finau 65-64-65—194 (-19)
Jon Rahm 67-68-61—196 (-17)
Akshay Bhatia 68-65-63—196 (-17)
Brandon Wu 66-64-67—197 (-16)
Will Gordon 67-66-67—200 (-13)
Full Leaderboard (link)
BOSTON – (Staff Report from Official Team Announcements) – The Boston Red Sox placed right-handed pitcher Garrett Whitlock on the 15-Day Injured List (retroactive to April 25) due to right elbow ulnar neuritis. To fill Whitlock’s spot on the active Major League roster, the club recalled right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello from Triple-A Worcester. Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom made the announcement on the transactions.
Whitlock, 26, last started on Saturday in Milwaukee, allowing five runs in 4.0 innings. The right-hander is 1-2 with a 6.19 ERA (11 ER/16.0 IP) in three Major League starts this season. Selected by Boston in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft, he is 13-8 with a 3.06 ERA (57 ER/167.2 IP) in 80 career appearances (12 starts) with the Red Sox (2021-23).
Bello, 23, was optioned to Worcester on Monday. The right-hander last pitched on Sunday in Milwaukee, allowing three runs over 4.2 innings in Boston’s 12-5 win. The Dominican native owns a 5.29 ERA (38 ER/64.2 IP) in 15 career Major League outings (13 starts) with the Red Sox (2022-23).
In addition, infielder Yu Chang yesterday underwent a successful left hamate excision. The procedure was performed by Dr. Matthew Leibman at Newton-Wellesley Hospital.
Typical return from the surgery is a relatively quick six weeks.
Lastly, the Sox claimed right-handed pitcher Justin Garza off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels and optioned him to Triple-A Worcester.
Garza, 29, has pitched in 21 Major League games, all with Cleveland in 2021 when he posted a 4.71 ERA (15 ER/28.2 IP) with 29 strikeouts. This season, he has made six appearances with Triple-A Salt Lake, allowing four runs on six hits in 8.1 innings (4.32 ERA). Selected by Cleveland in the eighth round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal State Fullerton, the right-hander has pitched in 137 minor league games (50 starts), going 18-27 with 14 saves, a 4.65 ERA (193 ER/373.1 IP), and 367 strikeouts.
by Terry Lyons
ATLANTA – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – It was ‘winning time” in Atlanta in Game 6 and the veteran NBA Playoff team in the Boston proved their worth in the final minutes with a dominant display of offense and defense.
With the score tied at 113 with 3:50 remaining in the final quarter, Boston’s center Al Horford secured a defense rebound, then hit a corner three-pointer to put Boston ahead for good. With 3:00 left, Horford grabbed another rebound and forward Jayson Tatum hit from three-point land to extend the lead to six.
Tatum took over from there, as he grabbed a defensive rebound, fed Horford who missed a three-pointer but Tatum grabbed the rebound and dunked for two points all in one motion to make the score 121-113.
With 1:30 remaining, guard Marcus Smart hit a three-pointer and then scored on a driving lay-up to give Boston a 126-119 lead with a minute remaining. Smart made a pair of free throws with :15 seconds to finish the job, 128-120.
All-Star swingman Jaylen Brown led Boston with 32 points and Tatum added 30 to give the visiting Celtics an impressive win over the Hawks on Thursday, ending their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
The second-seeded Celtics will play the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the playoffs, with Game 1 on Monday in Boston.
VALLARTA, México – World No. 1 and current FedEx Cup leader Jon Rahm returns to the Mexico Open at Vidanta after winning the inaugural event in 2022. Rahm has four wins this season, including the Masters, and with a win, would become the first player to win five times in a PGA Tour season since Justin Thomas in 2016-17.
With $13,623,540 in Official Money this season, Rahm is the second player in PGA Tour history to earn $13 million or more in a single season. In 2021-22, Scottie Scheffler set the Tour record for most Official Money earned in a single season with $14,046,910.
Rahm has made six prior starts as the defending champion on Tour. He has not successfully defended a title, but led by six strokes after the third round of the 2021 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday before being forced to withdraw (COVID-19). Rahm has successfully defended one title on the DP World Tour, winning the Open de España in 2018 and 2019.
Tony Finau finished T-2 at the 2022 Mexico Open, which was his first Top-10 of that season. That runner-up result began a stretch of 15 starts for Finau that included three wins (3M Open, Rocket Mortgage Classic, Cadence Bank Houston Open) and three other top-five finishes. With his win at the Cadence Bank Houston Open, Finau is one of four players in the field that has won on Tour this season.
COURSE: Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, México
ARCHITECT: Greg Norman (2015)
YARDS/PAR: 7,456 yards/Par 71
PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $7,700,000/$1,386,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Jon Rahm
FEDEx CUP Points to Winner: 500
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @MexicoOpenGolf 🇲🇽
BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk scored at 6:05 of overtime to lift the visiting Panthers to a season-saving, 4-3 win over the NHL Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series. The Panthers cut their deficit in the best-of-seven series to 3-2 heading to Game 6 tonight in Sunrise.
After Carter Verhaeghe picked off Boston goaltender Linus Ullmark’s attempt to clear from behind the net, the puck bounced off Ullmark’s pads and onto the stick of Tkachuk for a backhanded, game-winning tally.
Tkachuk finished with a goal and an assist, and Anthony Duclair, Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart scored in regulation for Florida. Verhaeghe logged three assists. Bennett has recorded points in all four of his games in the series, scoring a goal in three of them.
Panthers goal-keeper Sergei Bobrovsky made 44 saves in his second consecutive start.
Boston forward Brad Marchand had a goal and an assist while returning centerman Patrice Bergeron and Taylor Hall each scored for the Bruins, who had a 47-25 shot advantage and finished 2-for-5 on the power play.
Boston’s Charlie McAvoy had two assists, and Ullmark made 21 saves.
Florida led 2-1 through two periods before the teams traded power-play goals in the first 5:14 of the third.
Hall scored his fifth goal in as many playoff games at 9:16, pulling a rebound out of traffic in the slot and ripping it off the crossbar to tie the game 3-3.
The Panthers also killed a too-many-men penalty in the last four minutes of regulation. Bobrovsky denied a Marchand breakaway attempt before the third-period buzzer.
Florida’s strong start included holding Boston without a shot on its first power play and taking the lead at 8:26 of the opening period. Off a Tyler Bertuzzi turnover, Duclair batted Verhaeghe’s pass to score out of the air.
The Bruins tied the game with a man advantage 2:27 into the second. McAvoy made an incredible feed from the right point to Marchand, who corralled his own initial shot that sat loose.
Boston had a dominant 18-8 shots edge in the second, but a late lapse allowed the visitors to take a 2-1 lead with 1:08 left. Bennett whipped home a shot from the slot after Verhaeghe won a puck battle and slipped the puck out of the corner.
The home team’s onslaught continued with seven shots to begin the third, and Bergeron needed just six seconds of a power play to make it 2-2. At 4:33, the Boston captain deflected home Marchand’s shot from above the left dot for his 50th career postseason goal.
Florida’s power-play unit went to work and got the lead back when Reinhart buried a wrister in the slot off Tkachuk’s feed at 5:14.
–Field Level Media
BALTIMORE – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Baltimore’s starting pitcher Tyler Wells spotted the Orioles with a strong pitching performance in a 6-2 victory against the visiting Boston Red Sox in the rubber game of a three-game series Wednesday afternoon.
Ramon Urias went 4-for-4, scored three runs and had one RBI and Anthony Santander had a pair of sacrifice flies as the Orioles won for the eighth time in their last nine games and 10th in their past 12 outings. They completed a 5-1 homestand.
Wells (1-1) worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Masataka Yoshida homered for the Red Sox. Starting pitcher Tanner Houck (3-1) took the loss, allowing four runs (three earned) and seven hits in five innings.
NEW YORK – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – The National Hockey League announced its NHL Global Series will feature four teams playing four games in Stockholm, Sweden, from Nov. 16-19, 2023 The Toronto Maple Leafs will play regular season games outside of North America for the first time.
It will be the second trip overseas for both the Detroit Red Wings and Minnesota Wild and the third for the Ottawa Senators.
There have been 38 NHL regular season games played outside of North America to date, including 13 in Sweden.
The full schedule with all games played at Avicii Arena, and the local starting times:
–Nov. 16: Red Wings vs. Senators, 8pm
–Nov. 17: Maple Leafs vs. Red Wings, 8pm
–Nov. 18: Wild vs. Senators, 5pm
–Nov. 19: Maple Leafs vs. Wild, 2pm
–Field Level Media
by Terry Lyons
BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Report) – Atlanta guard Trae Young’s step-back three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in regulation capped his 38-point performance as the Atlanta Hawks stayed alive in the NBA Playoffs by rallying to beat the host Boston Celtics 119-117 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series Tuesday. Boston now has a 3-2 lead in the series. Game 6 will be played tonight in Atlanta.
Young scored the final 14 points of the game for Atlanta, which was playing without the suspended Dejounte Murray who was docked a game by the NBA after he made contact with an official at the end of Game 4. Young added 13 assists and a pair of steals. Swingman John Collins contributed 22 points and reserve guard Bogdan Bogdanovic had 18 for the visiting Hawks.
Boston’s all-star forward Jaylen Brown (35 points) posted his second straight 30-plus-point game and teammate Jayson Tatum had 19 points, eight rebounds and eight assists on a seemingly off-night for the MVP candidate.