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Bar Chat

06/12/2023

Go DEACS!

Add-on…Monday night, June 19, from K.C now…Go Deacs!

U.S. Open

For the archives…Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele shot U.S. Open record 62s in Round One and we had the following Thursday leaderboard….

Fowler -8…62
Schauffele -8…62
Wyndham Clark-6
Dustin Johnson -6
Brian Harman -5
Rory McIlroy -5

Round Two….

Fowler -10
Clark -9
Rory -8
Schauffele -8

Missing the cut were Phil Mickelson, Justin Thomas (whose miserable season continues), Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, local favorite Max Homa and Jason Day.

Round Three….

Clark -10
Fowler -10
Rory -9
Scottie Scheffler -7

Well, Sunday was a day off from the College World Series for Gregg and I so we hit the famous Henry Doorly Zoo, which I had been to about 15 years ago.  It really is very well done, terrific areas for the animals, a great Gorilla exhibit, the Lions came out of hiding and were most impressive, but goodness gracious, we walked nonstop for over two hours.  Too old for that.

Afterwards, hit a good barbecue joint, Oklahoma Joe’s, and headed back to Wahoo to watch the final round in the Acapulco Mexican Bar and Grill and then back at the hotel. So, pleasantly, didn’t miss any of the action and Wyndham Clark was a most deserving winner with clutch play down the stretch, a solid par-70 on a Sunday that so often is all you need to win an Open.

Clark’s second win in a month, after bagging his initial PGA Tour title at the Wells Fargo.

We all now know his back-story, and the tragic death of his mother from breast cancer, Mom providing great inspiration for her son.  Yes, this was no fluke.

Clark -10
Rory -9
Scheffler -7
Cam Smith -6
Tommy Fleetwood -5…after a 63
Min Woo Lee -5
Fowler -5…a disappointing 75 playing in the final group.

Among the LIV players, aside from Cam Smith, DJ finished T10, Brooks Koepka, who dissed the course (which is stupid to do so), finished T17 and DeChambeau T20.  But now this is all basically irrelevant, even as the PGA Tour and the Saudi PIF have yet to reach a final agreement on all the details of the merger.

Meanwhile, poor Rory McIlroy.  Since his last major title in 2014, he has 19 top 10s in his last 33 majors in his quest for that fifth major.  Next up Royal Liverpool (Hoylake) for The Open Championship, with Rory having a win on the course.

College World Series

As I noted, my college buddy, Gregg R., and I took a flyer…buying CWS tickets on April 15, and Wake Forest did the job…won its regional and super regional to advance to Omaha.

We had to buy the first four games, not knowing when Wake would play, but of course all eight qualifiers would be in the initial contests.

The first day’s games were both super exciting, after getting off to dull starts, Oral Roberts (the real Cinderella story here) defeated TCU in Game One, 6-5, after the Horned Frogs had taken a 5-2 lead with 3 in the bottom of the 8th.  The Golden Eagles then responded with 4 in the top of the 9th and held on.  It doesn’t get any more exciting than that.

In Game Two, Florida led Virginia 1-0 after six, but UVA scored 4 in the top of the 7th, Florida cut it to 4-3, UVA got a run to make it 5-3 Cavaliers, and then the Gators scored 3 in the bottom of the 9th to pull it out 6-5.

I mean seriously…terrific stuff.  The Gators had 3 late home runs in cavernous Charles Schwab Field.

So Saturday afternoon, Game 3 was Wake Forest and Stanford, the Cardinal in their third consecutive CWS, the Deacs in their first since 1955, but deserving of their No. 1 overall seed.

But it was 2-1 Stanford after six innings, the listless Deacs with but three hits, though one was a massive homer off the bat of soon-to-be major leaguer Brock Wilkin.

And then we had an hour and 25 minute weather delay.  With lightning eight miles away the rule said they had to stop the game and even though it never rained, we had to leave the stadium (or stay under the concourse), but with some comfortable hotels across the street, we hung out in one of them until we saw a restart time and just walked back over.

So Gregg and I are thinking, it’s a new day, a 3-inning contest.  We’re the better team, so we thought.

Our starter, All-American Rhett Lowder, he of the 15-0 record this season, was so-so, given his standards, 2 earned in 5 1/3, but the bullpen slammed the door from there and in the bottom of the 8th, Danny Corona got the biggest hit in modern Wake baseball history, a clutch 2-run single, lefty on lefty, and the Deacs pulled it out, 3-2.  We were pumped, as you would have seen on TV.  We didn’t deserve to win the game…until we did.

The rest of the day, Gregg and I kept saying “[Freakin’] Danny Corona…”

In Saturday’s nightcap, Game Four, LSU’s Paul Skenes was the starter, the projected 2nd pick in the upcoming MLB Draft behind teammate Dylan Crews, the centerfielder who is a consensus No. 1.

Crews went 2-for-5, but it was Skenes who starred, 7 2/3, 2 earned 12 strikeouts, 123 pitches, as the Tigers beat Tennessee 6-3.

Sunday, TCU eliminated Virginia, 4-3, in a losers bracket contest, and Florida handed Oral Roberts a loss, 5-4.

So five of the first six games were one-run affairs.

Monday, Tennessee eliminated Stanford 6-4, and then in the biggie, LSU-Wake Forest, once again, the Deacs’ offense was non-existent while Wake’s defense was leaky and going to the bottom of the sixth, Wake trailed 2-0.

But the Deacs scratched out two runs in the bottom of the sixth, 2-2.  Wake had another opportunity in the seventh, but failed.

Meanwhile, the Deacs’ bullpen was flawless, though it was catcher Bennett Lee who saved the day for Wake in the top of the eighth with a super play on a grounder to third, Lee picking up the low through from Wilkin and laying down the tag on the runner from third, a bang bang play.  The next batter hit into a DP, reliever Cam Minnaci getting the job done on one pitch.

So in the bottom of the eighth, once again it was Danny [Freakin’] Corona with a big hit, a double, and he would score on a single from the player of the game, Bennett Lee, 3-2 Deacs; Minacci closing it out in the ninth.

Wake is 2-0 and has not looked great at all, but the pitching has yielded just four runs, and the bullpen is terrific.  Amazing.

MLB Bits

--Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck suffered facial fractures after being struck just under the right eye by a line drive from the Yankees’ Kyle Higashioka on Friday night.

The Yanks lost the game 15-5, and then were swept in a doubleheader Sunday, 6-2, 4-1, as Giancarlo Stanton, needing to step up in Aaron Judge’s absence, has gone 5-for-41, .122 with 2 RBIs, since his return from an injury that kept him out for six weeks.

Thru Sunday’s games…the Yankees (39-33) trailed Tampa Bay (51-24) by 10 ½.

--The Mets suffered another brutal defeat Sunday at Citi Field, 8-7 to the Cardinals to fall to 33-38, 12 ½ games back of the red-hot Braves, 46-26.

Twelve and a half freakin’ games!  Geezuz, we suck.

--Shohei Ohtani has been hot at the plate, hitting home run No. 24 Sunday in a 5-2 win over the Royals in Kansas City, the Angels suddenly a solid 41-33.  Mike Trout, who’s been slumping, did hit No. 15.

--White Sox hurler Lance Lynn has had a miserable season, but Sunday, in a 5-1 loss to Seattle in which Lynn gave up 3 earned in seven innings, he struck out a franchise tying 16 hitters, though his record fell to 4-8, 6.51 ERA. 

Wahoo, Nebraska

Gregg and I stayed at a comfortable hotel in Wahoo, about 50 minutes from the ballpark, to save major amounts of money and we’re glad we did it.  Two nice restaurant/bars a 5-minute walk from the hotel, supermarket across the street, ditto liquor store (not that there is a recurring theme here)…but everything you need right there.

And what a quaint little Midwestern town Wahoo is, population 4,800…settled by Czechs, Germans and Scandinavians, according to Wikipedia.  Johnny Mac reminded me that Baseball Hall of Famer Sam Crawford was born here, and I asked if his birthplace was marked in any way and there was a site with his name on a plaque, but it was the birthplace of Howard Harold Hanson, a famous composer and conductor.

And Wahoo produced legendary Hollywood film producer Daryl Zanuck, who won three Best Picture Oscars for “All About Eve,” “How Green Was My Valley,” and “Gentleman’s Agreement.”  He was also nominated in the Best Picture category for the likes of “Twelve O’Clock High,” “The King and I” and “The Longest Day.”

Anyway, we didn’t get a chance to go to the county museum (Wahoo being the County seat), but as for Crawford, he played from 1899-1917 with Cincinnati and Detroit, batting .309, with 2,961 hits.  But ‘Wahoo Sam’ still holds the all-time record for career triples with 309! [Ty Cobb is next at 295.]

Stuff

--The Washington Wizards traded three-time All-Star guard Bradley Beal to the Suns, where Beal, who turns 30 on June 28, joins Kevin Durant and Devin Booker.  Pretty good trio.

In return, Phoenix sent Washington Chris Paul, Landrey Shamet and scores of second-round draft picks.  As everyone around the league is saying, Washington got fleeced…as in nothing back.

Paul, after all, will be waived, ditto Shamet, to create more cap room, and not too many second-round picks turn into Nikola Jokic. 

--West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins resigned after a DUI in Pittsburgh the other day, about a month after he received a suspension for an anti-gay slur.  What a sad, stupid ending to a great career, and in his apologetic resignation, he said he “has to do better.”

Which is what he said last time!

--Gregg Berhalter is back after a six-month absence as coach of the USMNT.

Without Berhalter, this weekend the United States wrapped up its second consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title with a 2-0 win over Canada, after defeating Mexico 3-0. We appear to have found a striker, Folarin Balogun, and now expectations are already growing anew ahead of World Cup 2026 here in the States (Canada and Mexico).

--A Black Bear killed an Arizona man outside his property over the weekend.  The bear dragged the poor guy 75 feet and then mauled him.  By the time neighbors arrived, after hearing the victim’s screams, it was too late.  One of the neighbors had a shot gun and took out the bear.  Officials said the bear might have been diseased in order for it to act so aggressively.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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Add-on posted 6:15 a.m., ET, Wed.  See message below on future Bar Chats.

Denver Wins!

I watched the second half of the Denver-Miami clincher, Game 5, a real brawl, the Heat falling short 94-89, Miami up 51-44 at the half, and 71-70 after three.

It was just too much Nikola Jokic in the second half, finishing with 28 points, 16 rebounds, 4 assists, as he was named Finals MVP and Denver won its first title in franchise history.

The Nuggets were 16-4 in the playoffs, with only the 2017 Warriors (16-1) losing fewer games.  Jokic, the two-time MVP is the first to ever lead the playoffs in points, rebounds and assists.  Not Jordan, LeBron, Magic or Kareem.

It’s also amazing to think that Jokic was the 41st pick in the 2014 draft, 2nd round, 11th pick, the lowest-drafted player to win Finals MVP.

And with the top six in the rotation likely to be back for next season, no reason to believe Denver won’t repeat, especially with the West having all kinds of issues on the Lakers, Warriors and Suns.

Vegas Golden Knights Win!

The Golden Knights, in just their sixth season, captured their first Stanley Cup by annihilating Florida 9-3 in Game 5 in Las Vegas last night, taking the series 4-1.

The Knights made the Cup Finals in their first season and have made the playoffs in five of their six seasons.  Rather spectacular.  For good reason the fans were delirious.

College World Series

The two brackets are set….

1 Wake Forest, 8 Stanford, 5 LSU, Tennessee

2 Florida, TCU, 7 Virginia, Oral Roberts

Three SEC teams and two ACC clubs

Wake’s first game is Saturday vs. Stanford, double elimination.  I can’t help but add that Stanford advanced when in its super regional final against Texas, the Cardinal’s Drew Bowser hit a routine fly ball that the Texas outfielders lost in the twilight, the ball falling in safety, the game-winning run scoring from second in the bottom of the ninth.

The winners of the two brackets then face-off in a best-of-three finale.

My college buddy and I have tickets to the first four games and then we’ll see where we go from there.

U.S. Open

Unfortunately, I am not likely to catch a lot of the U.S. Open, as in potentially very little.    I hope to catch some of round four, but it depends on the CWS schedule, and whether we want to shell out ‘large’ for another game.  Some of the ticket prices online are outrageous.  I just smartly got mine on April 15 so wasn’t mauled.

L.A. Country Club is hosting its first major championship – the first time the U.S. Open has come to this city in 75 years – and it will be an eye-opener for the golf world.

Heck, untold droves of Angelenos have no idea where LACC is located.

You do have some notable threesomes….

11:13 a.m. (Eastern) – Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler

11:24 a.m. – Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm

4:43 p.m. – Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay

4:54 p.m. – Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Hideki Matsuyama

And we learned overnight that Jay Monahan was “recuperating from a medical situation.”

A joint statement from Monahan and the PGA Tour’s policy board read: “Jay Monahan informed the PGA Tour Policy Board that he is recuperating from a medical situation.  The Board fully supports Jay and appreciates everyone respecting his privacy.”

Ron Price, the tour’s chief operating officer, and Tyler Dennis, executive vice president & president, PGA Tour, will lead the day-to-day operations of the tour.

Let’s pray this isn’t serious.  I hesitate to comment further.

--Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn), chairman of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, has opened a review of the PGA Tour’s planned alliance with the DP World Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund.  Blumenthal sent a nearly identical letter to LIV Golf CEO and commissioner Greg Norman.

“While few details about the agreement are known, PIF’s role as an arm of the Saudi government and PGA Tour’s sudden and drastic reversal of position concerning LIV golf raise serious questions regarding the reasons for and terms behind the announced agreement,” Blumenthal wrote in a letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan.

“PGA Tour’s agreement with PIF regarding LIV Golf raises concerns about the Saudi government’s role in influencing this effort and the risks posed by a foreign government entity assuming control over a cherished American institution,” Blumenthal wrote.  “PIF has announced that it intends to use investments in sports to further the Saudi government’s strategic objectives.”

Blumenthal told Monahan that the tour’s alliance with the Saudis might put its tax-exempt status at risk.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also expressed concerns about the proposed alliance and said she’ll be watching its structure closely.  In a statement to Time, Warren said the PGA was “selling out to the Saudi regime to draw attention from its atrocious human rights record with a new golf monopoly.”

Well, all of us are waiting for details, and in this case, I don’t blame Congress at all for wanting answers as well.

MLB Bits

--The Oakland A’s defeated Tampa Bay for a second night, Tuesday, 2-1, to stretch their winning streak to seven!  The A’s are 19-50, Tampa Bay 48-22.  [The Royals are 18-49.]

--The Mets and Yankees staged the latest edition of their Subway Series at Citi Field last night and the Mets took a 5-1 lead after three innings, shelling Yankees starter Luis Severino.

But then Max Scherzer gave up five runs in the top of the fourth and the Yanks went on to win 7-6, the Mets’ ninth loss in ten to fall to a putrid 31-36, the Yanks 39-29, eight games back of Tampa Bay.

The Mets were 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

--Shohei Ohtani suddenly has 20 home runs to lead the A.L.  He also has 50 RBIs.

Ohtani homered twice in a 9-6 Angles win over Texas in 12 innings, Monday night.

--Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto hit for the cycle Monday night against the Diamondbacks, the first Philly to do it since David Bell in 2004, and first catcher in MLB to hit for the cycle since George Kottaras back in 2011.

Boy, I had to look up Kottaras, not remembering him at all.  Now I don’t feel so bad. While he played from 2008-2014, he never had more than 211 at-bats in a season.

Stuff

--The New York Giants have been holding minicamp along with 20 other teams this week, and running back Saquon Barkley is skipping it as he’s yet to sign his franchise tender, and he’s considering holding out if things don’t head in a more positive direction.

The Giants franchise tagged Barkley, 26, for just over $10 million for 2023 in March, around the same time Daniel Jones got a four-year, $160 million deal.

The deadline for tagged players to agree to a contract extension is July 17.  If there’s no deal by that date, they can either sign the tag or hold out.

Barkley added “it’s all about respect,” when it comes to potentially holding out.

--We note the passing of New York Jets legend Jim Turner, the kicker for the 1968 Super Bowl champions.  Turner died of heart failure at the age of 82.

Turner was out of Utah State, then playing from 1964-79 with the Jets and Denver.

Selected to the Pro Bowl twice with the Jets, he made field goals of 32, 30 and 9 yards in SB III.  The last field goal was the shortest in Super Bowl history, the field goal crossbars on the goal line back then.

“(The Colts) didn’t realize how tough and how good Joe Namath was.  How stout Matt Snell was,” Turner said.  “We were led by Al Atkinson and a bunch of no-name guys on defense. We had a very good defense that was quick. And our kicking game was better than anybody.”

Turner nailed 34 of 46 field goal attempts that season (which was excellent for those days), leading the AFL in scoring with 145 points.  He led the AFL again in 1969 with 129.

He was traded to Denver in 1971 and kicked for the Broncos in Super Bowl XII, and he was chosen to the Broncos’ Ring of Fame in 1988.  Turner retired with a streak of 228 consecutive games played.  When he retired, his 304 field goals were the most in NFL history.

--Rick Pitino has been, as you would have expected, a busy beaver since taking the job at St. John’s.  Former North Carolina signee Simeon Wilcher, who requested his release from the Tar Heels program earlier in June, committed to St. John’s on Monday, giving Pitino his highest-ranked signee for 2023; Wilcher the No. 46 overall prospect in the class, picking the Red Storm over the likes of UConn, UCLA and Kansas.

Wilcher, a 6-foot-4 guard out of Roselle Catholic in Roselle, New Jersey (so he remains close to home), is Pitino’s 12th addition to the roster since he was hired away from Iona.

--Wayne Gretzky’s last NHL jersey he ever wore, as a member of the New York Rangers, April 18, 1999, sold for $715,120 with Grey Flannel Auctions on Sunday night, the highest sale price for a U.S.-based hockey jersey, eclipsing Mike Eruzione’s 1980 “Miracle on Ice” jersey that sold for $657,250 in 2013.

The jersey was displayed in Madison Square Garden’s “Defining Moments” Museum from 2016 to 2019, and was authenticated by various parties.

Two Canadian-based jerseys went for more money. Gretzky’s final Edmonton Oilers jersey ($1.452 million, also with Grey Flannel Auctions) and Paul Henderson’s Canada national team jersey worn during the 1972 Summit Series against the USSR ($1.275 million in 2010).

Gretzky remains only the third athlete to have his number retired leaguewide, preceded by Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 in MLB and joined by Bill Russell’s No. 6 in the NBA after his death last July.

--The other day I talked about how Taylor Swift drew a record 210,000+ over three nights at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.  Well, this past weekend, Ed Sheeran broke the single-night stadium record with 89,100!  How did he do that?  His layout was much simpler and allowed for far more fans in the field area.

Next Bar Chat not until Sunday p.m., June 26.  There is a slim chance I’ll write a little something for Monday morning, June 20, but knowing what we are going to be doing this weekend, and all the travel, not likely, having to go through Kansas City.

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Very brief Add-on up top early Wed. a.m.

College Football Quiz: Lot going on with your editor and totally forgot to do a quiz, until the last minute.  So to get you excited about CFB, just 10 weeks away, name the five schools with the longest current bowl streaks…the top one at 26 years.  Answer below.

NBA Finals

--The Denver Nuggets should wrap up the NBA title tomorrow night, Monday in Denver, after handily defeating the Heat twice in Miami, Wednesday and Friday, to take a 3-1 series lead.

So much for Miami’s inspired effort in Game 2 in Denver.  That seems like a long time ago.

In Game 3, the Nuggets prevailed 109-94, as Nikola Jokic, 32 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists, and Jamal Murray, 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, became the first teammates in NBA Finals history to both record triple-doubles.

Friday night, Denver won easily again, 108-95, as Aaron Gordon poured in 27 points, reserve Bruce Brown with 21, the Nuggets overcoming Jokic’s foul trouble, the superstar held to 23 points and 12 rebounds.

Like there’s nothing more to say.

Stanley Cup Finals

The Florida Panthers finally won a Stanley Cup Finals game Thursday night, 3-2 over the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime, of course. The Panthers are 7-0 in overtime games this postseason.

Once again it was Matthew Tkachuk who came up big for the Panthers, scoring at the 17:47 mark of the third period to tie it at 2-2, and then Carter Verhaeghe won it in OT.

So it was on to Game 4 Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla., and after building a 3-0 lead, the Golden Knights held on, just barely, in a scintillating finish, 3-2, both teams brawling at the end,   Vegas up 3-1, heading home for Game 5 on Tuesday.

MLB

--The godawful Mets lost slugger Pete Alonso to a bone bruise and sprain of his left wrist after being hit by a pitch from Charlie Morton* in Wednesday’s game against Atlanta. At first X-rays revealed no fracture and the major league’s home run leader (22), with an NL-leading 49 RBIs, was listed day-to-day.  But then the Mets examined him more closely and he’s out 3-4 weeks.

*Mets fans waited for retaliation and none was forthcoming.  It better be next time we play Atlanta.  But Alonso was intentionally hit for talking smack after hitting a home run the night before, and that was stupid on his part.

The Mets were swept in Atlanta, three crushing defeats – 6-4, 7-5, 13-10 – which represented the first time in franchise history that they lost three straight when leading by three runs or more!

The Mets then lost 14-7 to the Pirates in Pittsburgh on Friday night. 

But they snapped the losing streak Saturday, 5-1, behind Kodai Senga’s 7 strong innings, zero earned runs.  This came after manager Buck Showalter finally held a closed-door meeting.  Senga, for all the talk of his inconsistency, is 6-3, 3.34.  Nothing wrong with that.

The Metsies then got all of three hits today against Mitch Keller and Co., falling 2-1, Keller 8-2, 3.41. Andrew McCutchen got his 2,000th career hit.

--The Yankees have a major injury issue of their own, as Aaron Judge would appear to be out for possibly the rest of June with his bad big toe suffered in making that terrific crash into the bullpen fence in Los Angeles.  The other day he said, “it still really hurts.”

The Yanks also lost outfielder Greg Allen, who was going to be a key cog, for 6-8 weeks with a right hip flexor strain.

The Yankees thus need others to step up, like Anthony Rizzo, and after a 3-2 loss at the Stadium to the Red Sox on Friday, Rizzo was 1-for-27 his last seven games.

New York (38-28) rebounded Saturday, 3-1, Domingo German with six strong.  Rizzo was given the day off.

The Yanks are in the Sunday night game, of course, which blows.

--Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez, who leads the majors with 55 RBIs, was placed on the 10-day IL with right oblique discomfort.  You know how these injuries go…it could be a lot longer.

--The Angels won their fifth straight to move to 35-30 on Friday night against Seattle (30-32), 5-4 in L.A., as Shohei Ohtani had three hits and his 17th home run.

But on the mound, Ohtani was again ineffective, 5 innings, 3 earned, 5 walks, a no-decision, his ERA up to 3.32.

What’s worrisome is that in his first five starts of the season, Ohtani looked like a surefire Cy Young candidate, with a 0.64 ERA.  In his last eight starts, however, his ERA is 5.06.

It could be the pitch clock. Ohtani said that could be affecting how tired he gets but, overall, he feels healthy.

Meanwhile, Mike Trout is in a deep slump, 3-for-28 in June, his average down to .258.

Trout then went 0-for-4 Saturday, BA now .253, as Seattle won 6-2.

--Cincinnati’s 18-tool rookie Elly De La Cruz got off to quite a major league debut this week.  The No. 1-ranked prospect in baseball had two walks and a scorching double in his first game, and then had a 458-foot home run and triple in his second.  The homer landed at the back row of the right-field bleachers at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday night.

De La Cruz, a 6’5”, 200-pound shortstop, came back to earth a bit with back-to-back 1-for-4 performances Thursday and Friday, but coupled with some other terrific young talent, the Reds have a good future.

Another example of that talent stepped forward Saturday, as Andrew Abbott threw 5 2/3 of shutout ball in his second start, now 11 2/3 scoreless, as the Reds (30-35) defeated the Cardinals (27-38) 8-4.  De La Cruz went 1-for-4 again, but with an RBI single and a stolen base.

Today, the Reds beat the Cards 4-3, De La Cruz with two hits and another RBI.

--Speaking of young talent, the Dodgers’ Bobby Miller has also burst onto the scene, Miller going six scoreless in L.A.’s 9-0 win over the Phils in Philadelphia Saturday.  In four starts, Miller is 3-0, just 2 earned in 23 innings, his last 16 scoreless, ERA 0.78.

--Don’t look now, but with a 2-1 win in Milwaukee on Saturday, the Oakland A’s had won four straight…record now 16-50!  With Baltimore’s 6-1 win over Kansas City Saturday, the Royals are 18-46.

And the A’s won again today, 8-6!  17-50.  K.C. lost to the Orioles, 11-3, 18-47!  Holy Toledo!

--The Rangers (41-22) beat the Rays (47-20) Saturday in St. Pete, 8-4.  Nate Eovaldi got the win for Texas, now 9-2, 2.49.  Corey Seager went 5-for-5, a home run, double, and 4 RBIs.  For the record, I should note Marcus Semien’s hitting streak ended Thursday at 25 games.

But Tampa Bay won today, 7-3, as Shane McClanahan became the first 10-game winner in baseball (10-1, 2.18), with seven strong.

--Surprising Miami is now 36-29 after a 5-1 win over the White Sox in Chicago Saturday, Luis Arraez 2-for-4, batting average .402.  This is great stuff.  Sandy Alcantera went another seven innings for the Marlins but it was a no-decision for him, as Miami scored all five runs in the top of the ninth.

Make that 37-29, the Marlins 6-5 winners today over the ChiSox, Arraez 1-for-5, .397.

--In College Baseball, the super regionals were this weekend to decide the eight teams that will go to Omaha for the College World Series.

All about Wake Forest for your editor, and we won our opener against Alabama Saturday, a real nail-biter, 5-4.  Major MLB prospect Rhett Lowder was on the mound for the Deacs and he struggled early, yielding two long home runs, Bama coming from down 3-0 to tie it at 3-3 after four.

But Lowder settled down, ended up going 6 1/3, and reliever Sean Sullivan did the rest, though not before allowing another homer, Sullivan striking out the side in the ninth, seven Ks in just 2 2/3.  Lowder is now 15-0, 1.93 ERA.

A good sign for Wake was that we won despite our two big sluggers, Nick Kurtz and Brock Wilken, going a combined 0-for-8.

I wrote the above Sunday morning.  Kurtz and Wilken then went yard, back-to-back in the first inning and Wake was off and running.  An NCAA tournament record-tying nine home runs, three by Wilken* (who had a double and five runs scored), the Deacs romping 22-5 and Omaha bound for the first time since 1955, when they won it all.

*Wilken’s last HR was No. 30 on the season and 70 for his ACC career, breaking the conference record.

The No. 1 overall seed (now 52-10) came through.  While us fans obviously want to win it all, to me, everything from here on is gravy.  And I’ll be in Omaha next weekend.  [Having taken a big gamble and purchased tickets back on April 15.]

I am slightly worried about first baseman Nick Kurtz, who got drilled in the ribs late in the game, stayed in, but was hurting.  Hoping we don’t receive bad news tomorrow upon further examination.

--Florida and TCU advanced to the CWS on Saturday.  Virginia today with a win over Duke.  So two ACC teams remaining.

--Shu passed on a piece concerning Division III Misericordia University, who has taken the art of getting hit by a pitch to the extreme, 153 times in 52 games for a rate of 2.94 hit batters per game, an all-time NCAA record.  Misericordia played in the D-III World Series but was eliminated.  Lynchburg defeated Johns Hopkins for the title last Thursday.

For Lynchburg their first appearance in the CWS and first title, which I was surprised to see.

--Barry Svrluga of the Washington Post had a piece on the expected No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming college draft, LSU pitcher Paul Skenes.  [LSU outfielder Dylan Crews is the consensus No. 1 selection, who will go to Pittsburgh.]

The issue is that Skenes, who has a 100-mph fastball and a 1.90 ERA, a 6-foot-6, 247 pounds hulk with an otherworldly 179-17 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 99 1/3 innings, threw 124 pitches in LSU’s regional victory over Tulane.

Svrluga notes that not a single major league pitcher has thrown 124 pitches this season.  The most is 117 by the Mets’ Justin Verlander, who has thrown 115 pitches 122 times in his 18-year career.  As in he’s trained to do it.

Washington has the No. 2 pick and it will be a concern.  What could be upsetting to the Nationals is that Skenes had a 6-0 lead in the Tulane game after five innings and 7-2 after eight.  I know Wake Forest doesn’t treat its starters that way.  Of course there is no incentive for LSU coach Jay Johnson to protect Skenes.  According to his contract, Johnson has earned $90,000 in bonuses for reaching the NCAA tournament and steering the Tigers to host a super regional.  He would make another $50,000 for reaching the CWS, $50,000 more for making the final and $100,000 more for winning the championship.

So, Saturday, Skenes was on the mound against Kentucky in the super regional and he went 7 2/3, 101 pitches, as the Tigers blasted the Wildcats 14-0.  The thing is, here again, LSU was up 12-0 after six.

--Back to Wake, beating Alabama was extra sweet.  I was in school when Steely Dan’s “Deacon Blues” was released.

They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues…

We all thought it was about us…because our football team was godawful, though one year away from a special 1979 under John Mackovic.

It certainly made sense…the lyrics fit perfectly.

But it really wasn’t until 2015 and a Wall Street Journal interview with Donald Fagan and Walter Becker on the genesis of the song, when they said it had zero to do with Wake (and Demon Deacons), and that instead they were thinking of football player Deacon Jones, because the name ‘Deacon’ fit perfectly (two syllables like Crimson); the song about a loser going through a midlife crisis.

Nonetheless, beating Alabama in anything is awesome for a small school like us.

And how good a guy is Wake Forest coach Tom Walter?  He donated a kidney to one of his players, Kevin Jordan, back in 2011.  [As I chronicled at the time.]

--Oklahoma won the Women’s College World Series after a 3-1 win over Florida State the other night. The Sooners finished the season at a staggering 61-1 with 53 straight Ws.  It’s the program’s third national title in a row, its fifth in the last seven seasons and sixth in the last 10.

But a three-peat puts the Lady Sooners in rather exclusive company.  Only UCLA (1988-90) achieved the same feat in softball.  In women’s Division I history you have UConn hoops and that’s it…the Lady Huskies with a 3-peat and a 4-peat.

Golf Balls

--We had a fascinating leaderboard heading into the final round of the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto…

C.T. Pan -14
Rory McIlroy -12…seeking his third straight Canadian Open title
Tommy Fleetwood -12…still looking for that first PGA Tour win
Mark Hubbard -12
Justin Rose -12
Harry Higgs -12
Andrew Novak -12

Canadians Nick Taylor and Corey Conners were at -11 and -10, respectively.

And in the end, Taylor and Fleetwood were in a playoff, Fleetwood playing the short par-5 18th in brutal fashion, when he should have birdied for the win.

Taylor is attempting to become the first Canadian to win the tournament since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

And on the first hole of the playoff, back at 18, Fleetwood and Taylor hit clutch birdie putts.

And they played 18 again…and we move on…and I have to as well, not knowing how much further this will go.

OK…I’ll stay for one more…the short par-3 9th hole.  Fleetwood with the advantage.  Great scene behind the green…Rose, Lowry, Hatton in support of Fleetwood; Hadwin, Connors and Weir for Taylor.

Both par…back to 18.  I have to close.

Not yet...Taylor nailed a 72-foot putt for the win!!!

--There is so much yet to be announced when it comes to the details of golf’s big “merger,” some saying the term isn’t accurate since the PGA Tour emerges as the single entity for golf, with LIV possibly disappearing in 2024, but as Clara Peller once asked, “Where’s the beef?”

PGA Tour players remain pissed for being so blindsided, and in the end, the agreement still has to be approved by the tour’s policy board.

LIV players got their money, but if their league doesn’t survive, and they can’t immediately rejoin the PGA Tour, which seems likely, as in they’ll have to wait awhile, then that’s a year of their careers, many in their prime, largely wasted [save for those who qualify for the majors]…at least that’s how I would look at it.

No one knows what the PGA Tour is receiving from the Saudis.  I’ve seen a figure of $2-3 billion bandied about, but nothing is official, and maybe we’ll never know on that end.

As for why the deal quickly came together, last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California denied the PGA Tour’s motion to dismiss LIV Golf’s appeal over sovereign immunity.  The case would have likely dragged on for several months, if not a couple more years.  Neither side wanted to share its secrets via required discovery, and neither wanted to keep spending money on lawyers.  The legal fees in this case were massive.  Both sides, sources told ESPN, spent tens of millions of dollars defending themselves in the federal antitrust lawsuit that LIV (and initially 11 of its players) filed against the PGA Tour back in August.  The PGA Tour had filed a countersuit, claiming LIV interfered with its contracts with players.

And at the end of the day, when you read between the lines, the PGA Tour’s finances were no longer as buoyant as we were led to believe.  The Tour, according to various reports, was doling out $100 million to its most popular players via its Player Impact Program, for example, as part of the effort to keep them.  This could actually be part of the hammer if LIV players want to return, telling them they can’t participate in the PIP for X years, assuring the money goes to players who stay.

But add in all the increased purses in the attempt to compete with LIV and you can see how the Tour’s coffers could be depleted rather quickly.

As for the federal antitrust suit, and any congressional action, I’m not as concerned with that.  Any action would take years and years.

The following sums up other particulars rather well.

Joel Beall / Golf Digest

“We don’t know. That’s the boring answer. The answer that leaves us unfulfilled, the answer you’re not supposed to have in this immediate hot-take culture.  But it’s the right answer to what to make of this week’s seemingly paradigm-shifting announcement in professional golf and where this is ultimately going to go: We just don’t know.

“We’ve talked to folks inside the PGA Tour regarding the pending partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and heard from those at LIV Golf and folks that have advised the fledgling circuit. We’ve listened to everyone’s thoughts and definitely their opinions.  The one hard, unassailable and incontrovertible takeaway is this: Four individuals changed the sport’s civil war on the fly, and those four people don’t seem to know what any of this will ultimately look like. So anyone who says with any authority that they know what will happen is, well, full of it.

“Does that sound unenlightened?  Jimmy Dunne, one of the four* who orchestrated the partnership, has given the version of the events to the Associated Press, USA TODAY and Sports Illustrated, and those answers are not exactly copacetic.  His interview Thursday on Golf Channel about golf’s Treaty of Versailles was emotional, passionate and, occasionally, bizarre.  Dunne is a smart man and was under no obligation to talk, so although he could be obfuscating, it’s more likely his responses speak to the fact this remains a work in progress.  PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said he can’t envision LIV Golf events running concurrently next year, and LIV Golf says it most definitely will.  Confused?  So are we.

*Aside from Yasir Al-Rumayyan and Jay Monahan, the fourth who brokered the deal was PGA Tour policy board chair Ed Herlihy, who is partner and co-chair of the prestigious New York law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

“Why did the PGA Tour agree to this partnership?  (Multiple sources) have told us the tour had burned anywhere from $150 million to $200 million in legal fees, new bonus pools and designated event purses.  Yet Dunne and Monahan have said the tour was in a good financial position until 2027.  Both could be true, although the truth is probably somewhere in between.  But, and we cannot stress this enough, no one really knows.

“What about who control’s golf’s future? Dunne, Monahan and those with the tour assert they have total control, citing the new structure and the amount of board votes they maintain.  Those with LIV Golf point to PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan as the new entity’s chairman and the not-so-insignificant fact that if PIF is pumping in billions, you better believe they’re in control.  Use whatever ‘Succession’ meme or quote you want to explain what you believe is right, and you’ll be right because no one is wrong.  You can’t be wrong if there’s no answer.

“Put money and power aside, why did the tour capitulate – out of worry with the lawsuits?  That’s certainly a consideration except for the fact that the tour and the DP World tour have won almost all of the early court battles against LIV and Saudi Arabia, and to this point PIF and Al-Rumayyan have not complied to discovery requests, which would have given the tour an almost assured victory. But did the tour worry about what could be found in its own discovery?  It’s a fair question.

“There are so, so many more questions. Why did the tour keep Rory McIlroy in the dark about the future that McIlroy almost single-handedly worked to save?  What punishments will the defectors face who want to return to their respective former tours? Are we sure they want to return? How will the tours make its loyalists financially whole for not jumping at the Saudi money?  Even by acquisition standards, why were so few people brought into a decision that essentially affects everyone?  Could antitrust laws squash the merger?  Do both sides secretly hope the merger is squashed, with PIF deciding to end LIV Golf and instead funnel its funds to the tour?  It’s all a true ‘Who’s to say?’….

“(If) there’s a lesson to be had from this incredibly bananas schism that has swallowed the game whole, the only thing we know is this entire damn story has been cloaked in smoke, and the haze isn’t clearing anytime soon.”

The PGA Tour will still be called the PGA Tour, with Jay Monahan also overseeing LIV Golf, and the PGA Tour remains a partner of the DP World Golf Tour.  Monahan has told Al-Rumayyan they will evaluate LIV at the end of the year.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Michael Rosenberg:

“If Monahan wants to disband LIV, he can. If LIV golfers want to play on the Tour, Monahan and the current PGA Tour leaders have to approve the terms.  Monahan has banned them; it is presumed that penalties to return to the Tour will be significant.

“PIF is not actually contributing anything directly to the PGA Tour or its players. PIF will instead get ‘right of first refusal’ to be the Tour’s investment partner, through a new company the Tour is creating. What does that mean? Well, let’s say the Tour wants to buy Pebble Beach. PIF has the right to be its partner. The Tour will be the controlling partner in any investments.

“PIF has not promised a single dollar in investments, and the Tour has not promised the Saudis anything other than that right of first refusal: No guarantee of tournament sites or sponsorships or anything else.  It is presumed, however, that Saudis will want to be as involved financially as they can be – and that the Tour will welcome sponsorship opportunities with its new investment partner.

“ ‘We don’t know, is the honest answer,’ Dunne said.  ‘It is not like an iron-clad ‘this is how it’s gonna be’ kind of thing…the lowest they (will likely) do is billions. They have a $720 billion fund.’”

Dunne was highly critical of LIV Golf and previously denounced the Saudi-backed league over its ties to the terrorist attacks on 9/11.  Last year, Dunne said he wouldn’t want his paycheck signed by a Saudi bank and “I would not want to work for them.”

But he told Golf Channel in an emotional appearance: “I am quite certain – and I have had conversations with a lot of very knowledgeable people – that the people I’m dealing with had nothing to do with it.  If someone can find someone who unequivocally was involved with it, I’ll kill them myself.”

Dunne told USA TODAY Sports that he had reached out to Al-Rumayyan, the governor of Saudi Arabia’s PIF, “to understand who he was and what he was trying to do, and what his view was for the game of golf.”  The meeting that followed would lead to the merger.

Dunne has a personal connection with the 9/11 terrorist attacks.  The Long Island native co-founded the investment banking firm Sandler O’Neill & Partners in 1988. The firm later took up residence on the 104th floor of the south tower of the World Trade Center, where 83 of its employees reported to work on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001.  Sixty-six died in the attack.  Dunne wasn’t there, as he was in a qualifier for the U.S. Mid-Am Championship.

Despite the new deal, Dunne said the victims of 9/11 are on the forefront of his mind every day.  “The first thing that I think about is (September 11)…and the last thing I think about at night is that,” he told USA TODAY.

Rory McIlroy, at his press conference Wednesday, was terrific and said he’s resigned to the fact that the PGA Tour will have to accept money from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, but he’s satisfied that LIV Golf won’t be part of the alliance after this season.

“I still hate LIV,” McIlroy said.  “Like, I hate LIV.  I hope it goes away, and I would fully expect that it does. I think that’s where the distinction here is.  This is the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour and the PIF – very different from LIV.”

When asked if he still has confidence in Monahan, Rory said, “I do.  And, look, I’ve dealt with Jay a lot closer than a lot of those guys have.  From where we were a couple of weeks ago to where we are today, I think the future of the PGA Tour looks brighter as a whole, as an entity.”

McIlroy said Monahan’s meeting with more than 100 PGA Tour players Tuesday was heated.  Rory added much of the frustration came from players who are trying to get their PGA Tour cards and fear that they’ll lose spots in fields of future tournaments if LIV Golf players are allowed to return to the PGA Tour.

“There still have to be consequences to actions,” Rory said.  “The people that left the PGA Tour irreparably harmed this tour, started litigation against it.  Like, we can’t just welcome them back in.  That’s not going to happen.”

“I told Jay you have galvanized everyone against something and now they are our partners,” McIlroy said. “The Saudis want to spend money in golf and it’s not going to stop.  How can we get that money into golf and use it the right way? …It’s hard to keep up with people who have more money than anyone else.”

“I think ultimately when I try to remove myself from the situation and I look at the bigger picture, and I look at 10 years down the line, I think ultimately it’s going to be good for the game of professional golf,” McIlroy said.  “I think it unifies it and it secures its financial future.”

Greg Norman held a conference call with employees on Wednesday to assure them LIV is alive and well.  I don’t see how it will be come 2024.

Michael Rosenberg / SI.com

“It’s a big, soulless bet. The Saudis are not pouring billions into golf because they are fascinated with swing theories and greens complexes. They want a seat at the table of respected global elites, and they want people to ignore the government’s deplorable human-rights record and alleged connection to 9/11.

“Monahan has claimed the moral high ground regularly in the past year, a stance of convenience that makes it hard for anybody with a conscience to look at him the same way again. He was desperate. He grossly underestimated the LIV threat until several stars bolted last year, then used every possible weapon and argument to save his tour and job.  Now he is counting on players who backed him to ignore his shameless public fraudulence.

“I have criticized the Saudi royal family’s attempts to buy a cleaner image many times. I expect to do so again. I would have much preferred that the PGA Tour win its fight with LIV without cutting this deal, and I believe the Tour was well on its way to doing so.

“But Monahan is betting that his players prefer this route – that they want a guaranteed triumph now and bundles of Saudi money later. And yes, relative to where things stood for the past year, this is a win for the Tour over LIV.  Ignore the talk of a ‘merger.’ If this deal goes through as Monahan plans, there will be a single dominant entity overseeing men’s golf, it will probably look like the current PGA Tour, and Monahan will run it.  But there are still those moral questions.”

Among the other bits and pieces of this story, Commissioner Monahan said he regrets not communicating with families of 9/11 victims prior to the organization’s merger with LIV, he said in an interview Wednesday with Golf Channel.

Monahan said he “did not communicate to very important constituents, including the families of 9/11” before Tuesday’s announcement.  He was rightly excoriated on social media for this comment.

Monahan also said Wednesday that top-tier golfers who declined major money to join LIV, such as Rory and Tiger Woods, “will be rewarded.”

Stuff

--In the French Open, Friday, Novak Djokovic won his big semifinal with No. 1-ranked 20-year-old phenom Carlos Alcaraz, when leg cramps overcame Alcaraz, giving Djokovic an easy route to Sunday’s final (6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1), where he was playing for a record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam singles title against 4-seed Casper Ruud.  Ruud took out 22 Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the other semi.

And Djokovic did it…Grand Slam No. 23, breaking his tie with Rafael Nadal, and at 36, the oldest French Open champion, taking out Ruud in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 7-5. 

Djokovic started out slowly and looked weary in the first set but roared back to take it with a 7-1 tiebreaker and then cruised from there.  Ruud has never won a set against the Serb.

In the women’s final Saturday, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek took on Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova, who beat 2-seed Aryna Sabalenka in her semifinal.

And the 22-year-old from Poland won her second straight French Open title and third in four years with a gripping, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory, which brings her major trophy count to four, along with last year’s U.S. Open.

Muchova, while unseeded, entered the match with a 5-0 record against women ranked in the top 3 and after a timid first set, she played like it.

--Arcangelo won the Belmont Stakes, taking the lead at the top of the stretch, and making Jena Antonucci the first female trainer to win the race in its 155 years, and first female trainer to win any Triple Crown race.

Arcangelo, with jockey Javier Castellano up, won by 1 ½ lengths over favored Forte, with Tapit Trice third.

Castellano’s win was his first in 14 tries at the Belmont, five weeks after winning the Kentucky Derby with Mage.  He now has a lifetime Triple Crown, having won the Preakness twice.

Forte got a bad ride and clearly had a lot left, but he was also coming off a 10-week layoff so who knows.

Back to Antonucci, the 47-year-old started riding show horses as a preschooler and later held a plethora of jobs in racing, becoming a trainer in 2010, running a modest stable. She had sent less than 2,000 horses to the post in her 13 years.

“Never give up,” she said after.  “And if you can’t find a seat at the table, make your own table and build your team and never give up.  You’re seen.  People see you. Just keep working your butt off.”

Ordinarily this would be an even greater story than it is, except for racing’s severe problems.  As an example, they always hold a final race after the Triple Crown event, or any big race at a track, and a horse had to be euthanized, which meant that at least one horse died the day of each of this year’s Triple Crown races.  There’s no easy explanation, but the sport is in deep jeopardy.

--Manchester City did it, winning the treble with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul Saturday for the European / Champions League championship.  City becomes just the second English club to win Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League titles in the same season, joining Manchester United, back in 1999.  Rodri’s 68th-minute goal secured the title.

City has long established itself as English soccer’s dominant force, winning five of the last six Premier League titles, but the Champions League crown had eluded it.  Now they’ve finally broken through.

Of course, City is not a real popular club, like the Manchester United squads under legend Sir Alex Ferguson, because of its Saudi ownership and highly-questionable ‘books’.  FIFA has had the club under investigation for years.  Shockingly, Sheikh Mansour, the deputy prime minister of the UAE who is principal owner of City, was in physical attendance for just the second time.  His brother, Sheikh al Nahyan, ruler of the UAE, was also there.

Fifteen years ago, Abu Dhabi acquired City, a middling club, and set out to make it a titan.  Mission officially accomplished.  But was it all on the up and up?

--Lionel Messi’s move to Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami continues to kick up interest.

Inter Miami’s ticket prices are soaring and its social media following keeps growing after Messi confirmed his plan to join the U.S. club co-owned and run by fellow soccer great David Beckham.

Messi’s move this summer follows 17 seasons with Barcelona and two with Paris Saint-Germain.  Last year, the 35-year-old forward led his native Argentina to its first World Cup title since 1986.

While Messi and the MLS both acknowledged there’s still work to be done to finalize his contract, there’s no doubt it will big.

The deal is expected to be valued between $125 million and $150 million, according to the Miami Herald, though it’s unclear how it will be broken down.  It’s reportedly a 2.5-year contract with an option year, with the deal including team equity and bonuses in addition to the base salary.

Messi is also said to be working on terms with Apple, which owns MLS streaming rights, and Adidas, which has partnerships with the MLS and Messi.

Messi’s debut is possibly July 21, a home match against the Mexican club Cruz Azul.

The team’s schedule runs through mid-October and notably includes an Aug. 26 match in New Jersey against the New York Red Bulls.

Ticket prices surged shortly after the announcement, with standing-room admission for the Cruz Azul match now starting at nearly $900 on Ticketmaster before fees.  The cheapest seat on StubHub was listed at $700.

The Red Bulls match costs more than $400 on Ticketmaster, $350 StubHub.

In an interview, it was clear Messi wanted to return to Barcelona, but that club has all kinds of financial issues and it would have required the team selling players or lowering salaries to accommodate him and he didn’t want to held responsible for what would have been a real shitshow.

By the way, David Beckham owns Inter Miami due to a clause in his initial MLS contract (2007, LA Galaxy) that allowed him to purchase a franchise after retirement for just $25 million.  In February, Forbes valued Inter at $600 million.

--We had a big track meet this week, the Paris Diamond League meeting, with Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon setting the world record in the women’s 5,000 meters in her first race at the distance in eight years just a week after breaking the world mark in the 1,500m.  Kipyegon finished in 14 minutes 5.2 seconds after pulling away from Letesenbet Gidey over the final 400 meters to break the Ethiopian’s record of 14:06.62 set on Oct. 7, 2020, in Valencia.

But the big story was in the women’s 400 meters.  Paulino Marileidy of the Dominican Republic raced to victory in 49.12, beating Olympic and world 400 hurdles champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (49.71).  This was McLaughlin-Levrone’s, pride of nearby Union Catholic High School, first 400 in a big meet.

She is just 23, and under the tutelage of the great coach Bobby Kersee for two years, it seems McLauhlin-Levrone is ready to broaden her act.  We’ll see what happens at the U.S. championships on July 6-9.

--From the BBC: Parkeru Ntereka lost almost half of his goat herd to hungry lions that wandered into his pen located near Kenya’s iconic Amboseli national park.

The 56-year-old’s loss made headlines in the east African country as it led to the spearing to death of six lions in retaliation by the Maasai people, who have co-existed with wild animals for centuries.

All part of the growing human-wildlife conflict in parts of east Africa that conservationists say has been exacerbated by a yearslong drought.

At the same time, the predator population within the parks has increased.

Ntereka said losing 12 goats is a huge loss for his large family.

“I sell these livestock in order to afford school fees,” said the father of eight.

Now discuss amongst yourselves.

--What a tale in the Amazon, the 4 children, oldest 13, who survived a plane crash, and the jungle, for 40 days before being rescued by the Colombian military and volunteers from Indigenous communities.

The children are members of the Huitoto Indigenous group and had familiarity with the area.

The children’s maternal grandmother told Agence France-Presse that the eldest, the 13-year-old, had a “warrior”-like nature and “always took care” of her younger siblings (ages 9, 4 and 1), including by giving them fruit from the forest.

One expert on tropical forest ecology, Carlos Peres, who has worked with ethnic groups in the Amazon, said that the children’s knowledge of the forest would have helped them to survive.

“Four Western kids of the same age would have died” there, he said, but many children from Indigenous communities in the Amazon “mature very early” and at an early age learn basic skills for surviving in the forest, including how to find food and how to avoid predators.

They apparently ate fruit, and obtaining water isn’t a problem in the jungle, with streams and creeks.

As for the obvious question, what about snakes, Peres said: “In that part of the Amazon, there will be about 80 different species of snakes, but only five of those are venomous and they [Indigenous people] can distinguish poisonous from nonpoisonous snakes.”

“The four minors who survived the plane crash in Guaviare are the light of life and hope that illuminates Colombia,” the U.S. Embassy in Bogota said as it thanked the Colombian armed forces “for the heroic search and rescue mission in such difficult terrain and for giving us this immense joy.”

Top 3 songs for the week 6/14/75:  #1 “Sister Golden Hair” (America)  #2 “Love Will Keep Us Together” (The Captain & Tennille)  #3 “When Will I Be Loved” (Linda Ronstadt)…and…#4 “Bad Time” (Grand Funk)  #5 “Old Days” (Chicago)  #6 “I’m Not Lisa” (Jessi Colter)  #7 “Love Won’t Let Me Wait” (Major Harris…uh uhh…) #8 “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” (John Denver…still miss the guy…) #9 “Philadelphia Freedom” (The Elton John Band)  #10 “Get Down, Get Down (Get On The Floor” (Joe Simon…B week…)

College Football Quiz Answer: Longest current bowl streaks….

Georgia 26
Oklahoma 24
Wisconsin 21
Alabama 19
Clemson 18

Oklahoma State 17
Mississippi State 13
Iowa 10
Ohio State 10

Wake Forest 7

***I will be posting a very brief Add-on Wednesday morning.  And then I’m taking a break, because I’ll be in Omaha with a college buddy, and it’s not like I’ll be sitting alone in my hotel room, slaving away, as I used to do when I was traveling to Moscow, Hong Kong, Singapore, Lebanon, Turkey and Paraguay.

I’ll try to write something, the timing not being great with the U.S. Open, but so be it.

---