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Bar Chat

02/10/2025

Eagles Win the Super Bowl!

Add-on posted very early Tues. a.m.

Super Bowl...final thoughts....

To finish up on the Super Bowl, the statistics are kind of worthless in terms of Kansas City.  The game was 40-6 and Patrick Mahomes picked up the bulk of his yards in garbage time.

But Jalen Hurts was superb...17/22, 222, 2-1, 119.7, plus 72 yards rushing, most for a quarterback in Super Bowl history.  Philly didn’t need Saquon Barkley, who was held in check, 25 carries, 57 yards, but he did have six receptions for 40 yards.

The story was the Eagles defense, the work of the great coach Vic Fangio, who talked before the game of needing to blitz, and then the Eagles’ front line had six sacks without blitzing, the two interceptions, a pick-six, and a strip-sack. [The six sacks suffered by Mahomes was a career high.]

Jerry Brewer / Washington Post

“You could see the resignation on Andy Reid’s face.  It happened late in the third quarter as the Kansas City Chiefs coach watched a replay of the Philadelphia Eagles toppling his dynasty.

“Reid stared at the video board for one more look.  It wasn’t a mirage.  The evidence was undeniable: Philadelphia wide receiver DeVonta Smith raced past Kansas City cornerback Jaylen Watson and caught another picturesque pass from Jalen Hurts.  A staggering score flashed on the screen: 34-0.  Two minutes 40 seconds remained in the third quarter, but the Chiefs’ dream of becoming the first team to win three straight Super Bowls was already, amazingly over.  As Reid winced, his thick mustache couldn’t conceal his dismay.

“On Sunday night, Kansas City watched its historic bid succumb to disaster.  The Chiefs met a force that they could not outwit.  They were shoved into a fight that they couldn’t win with clever strategies and championship moxie. The Eagles weren’t here to play chess and hope to be the rare team to survive a close game against a team that has profited from narrow-margin drama....

“(The) Eagles overthrew the two-time defending champions with the kind of force that only they are powerful enough to marshal. The Chiefs hadn’t seen anything close to what the Eagles threw at them since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stomped them, 31-9, in the title game four years ago.  In many ways, Philadelphia is more dominant than those Bucs were. The Chiefs are wiser and healthier, more versatile and adorned with more jewelry than they had back then.  Still, the Eagles made them look like skittish novices.

“It was a merciless takedown.  And for those tired of watching the Chiefs roam about their kingdom unbothered, it was a long-awaited, balance-affirming whoopin’.

“The NFL is fair again, it seems.  Eventually, we will get around to realizing Philadelphia is a fearsome giant as well, one that has won two titles and made three Super Bowl appearances in the past eight seasons despite being sandwiched between the formidable regimes of the Chiefs and the New England Patriots.  To win their first title, the Eagles had to deny Tom Brady while starting a backup quarterback.  And now, with a vastly different core and quarterback, they have sent Patrick Mahomes searching for answers that we assumed he already had.

“Perhaps this was the only way the Chiefs, proprietors of one steely dynasty, could fall.  No opponent had shown itself capable of outfoxing them. So the Eagles smashed them until there was no hope.

“ ‘It’s something that’s going to stick with us the whole offseason,’ Chiefs center Creed Humphrey said.”

Tom Brady summed it up after the game...Kansas City’s O-line needs work.  He noted in the Chiefs’ loss to Brady’s Buccaneers it was the same issue, Mahomes sacked three times, hit nine times and intercepted twice in that one.

--I didn’t comment on the Super Bowl ads, but I thought the Seal bit was funny as hell.  In USA TODAY’s Ad Meter contest, viewers voted for “First Delivery,” a tale of a Clydesdale foal proving its mettle, No. 1.

It marks a return to the winner’s circle for Budweiser, which claimed its first Ad Meter title in 1999 yet hadn’t reached that No. 1 spot in 10 years.  It now has nine No. 1 spots overall.

Budweiser edged Lay’s “The Little Farmer,” which finished second on the strength of an authentic backstory of potatoes sourced to domestic farms.

Michelob Ultra placed third with its “Ultra Hustle” spot featuring actors Willem Dafoe and Catherine O’Hara as advanced-age pickleball paragons.  Stella Artois, with soccer star David Beckham and Matt Damon in a separated-at-birth saga followed in fourth.

College Basketball

--New AP Top 25 poll, records through Sunday....

1. Auburn 21-2 (34)
2. Alabama 20-3 (23)
T-3. Florida 20-3 (3)
T-3. Duke 20-3
5. Tennessee 20-4 (1)
6. Houston 19-4
7. Purdue 19-5
8. Texas A&M 18-5
9. St. John’s 21-3
10. Iowa State 18-5
11. Michigan State 19-4
12. Texas Tech 18-5
13. Arizona 17-6
14. Memphis 20-4
15. Kentucky 16-7
16. Wisconsin 19-5
17. Kansas 16-7
18. Marquette 18-6
19. Ole Miss 18-6
20. Michigan 18-5
21. Missouri 17-6
22. Mississippi State 17-6
23. Clemson 19-5
24. Creighton 18-6
25. Maryland 18-6

Wake Forest did not receive any votes, as I thought they would.

--23 Clemson (20-5, 12-2) then beat North Carolina (14-11, 7-6) 85-65 Monday night, Viktor Lakhin with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks.

NBA

--I didn’t realize in Anthony Davis’ big debut for Dallas on Saturday that he suffered an adductor strain (leg injury) that could see him miss weeks.

--Luka Doncic made his Lakers (32-19) debut Monday night, a 132-113 win over Utah (12-40), Doncic with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 24 minutes.

--Joel Embiid acknowledged Sunday that he might have to undergo another surgery on the left knee that has bothered him over the past year if it isn’t feeling any better by the end of the season.

Sunday, in the 76ers game against the Bucks, which I watched some of to catch Hubie Brown’s last game, Mike Breen and Hubie discussed the topic of Embiid’s health, and Breen suggested the center be shut down to address the knee so that he is fully ready for next season, and Hubie goes, “who’s going to tell him?”  As in, you tell him that, I’m sure not.

Golf Balls

--The weather for the first few rounds of the Genesis Invitational is not good and that could easily impact Tiger Woods’ participation. 

I wrote this Monday morning.  Tiger then pulled out due to the death of his mother.

The city of San Diego, with the move of the Genesis from Riviera due to the wildfires to Torrey Pines, is losing all kinds of income.  The Torrey Pines facility rivals New York’s Bethpage Black as the busiest golf facility in America, with both courses usually fully booked every day from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the winter.  I didn’t know that about Bethpage Black, on Long Island, which gets less snow than interior New York and New Jersey.

San Diego’s listed rate to buy out the South Course for a single day is $108,817, and for the 15 days it will be closed for the Genesis, that translates into $1.6 million in costs for the PGA Tour and Genesis.

However, San Diego, as it does for the Farmers Open, is renting the course at a heavy discount, in part because it counts the hours of television as essentially free advertising for Torrey Pines and the region.

Stuff

--Mikaela Shiffrin is not skiing in the giant slalom at the world championships on Thursday, saying she is dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder following her crash at Killington in Vermont in November.

“I’m mentally blocked in being able to get to the next level of pace and speed and putting power into the turns,” she said in an audio message shared with the Associated Press on Monday. “And that kind of mental, psychological like PTSD-esque struggle is more than I anticipated.

“I figured once we touched ground in Europe and we got a chance to get some repetitive training days, I would be able to improve step by step and sort of the passion and the longing for racing was going to outweigh any fear that I had,” she added.

Shiffrin has noted that the puncture wound she suffered was “a millimeter from pretty catastrophic.”

But Mikaela did enter the new team combined event at worlds to be held Tuesday.  This will involve her racing the slalom, which doesn’t have the speeds the giant slalom does and the danger level is not as high.

Her partner, downhill gold medalist Breezy Johnson, will do her thing, with the two times added up to determine the final results.

Next Bar Chat Sunday p.m.

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[Posted immediately after the Super Bowl]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

NFL Quiz: The AP MVP trophy was introduced in 1957.  1) From 1957-67, who are the two players to win the award three times each?  2) Who are the only two defensive players to win it? 3) Who is the only kicker to win the award?  Answers below.

Super Bowl

So I was watching the golf, as I always do Super Bowl Sunday, not interested in four hours of pregame, but thanks to the golf wrapping up before 6:00 p.m. ET, I caught the Brad Pitt bit on America and I thought that was awesome.  It would prove to be just about the best thing all night, unless you were a Philadelphia fan.

The Eagles got the opening kickoff and there was a bogus offensive pass interference call on A.J. Brown after he had a 32-yard reception from Jalen Hurts to the K.C. 18, so that was nullified, and then there was a bogus P.I. on K.C. and the Eagles converted this into a touchdown on a tush push, Hurts taking it in after a pass to Jahan Dotson took it to the one.

Philly’s defense was throttling Patrick Mahomes, Eagles got a 48-yard field goal from Jake Elliott, 10-0, and then Mahomes threw a pick-six, Cooper DeJean taking it in from 38...17-0.

7:03 left in the half and the Chiefs have 20 yards of offense. Twenty....

Mahomes gets picked off again, this time by Zack Braun on the K.C. 14, Hurts hooks up with Brown for 12 yards and a score, 24-0.  Incredible.  The ratings for this one will plummet after the halftime show.

At the half, Kansas City has 23 yards of offense, Mahomes with a passer rating of 10.7, nearly as bad as my GPA.

Speaking of the halftime show, actually, let’s not...it was, to be kind, forgettable. 

After the intermission, Philadelphia stretched it to 34-0 on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Hurts to DeVonta Smith...Mahomes and the Chiefs finally moved the ball, 90 yards in five plays, 34-6.

It ended up 40-22...no threepeat for the Chiefs...awesome championship for the Eagles, their second Super Bowl title.

--Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported Sunday that the Jets and Aaron Rodgers are parting ways, after Rodgers met with the team the other day in New Jersey.

New Jets GM Dareen Mougey and coach Aaron Glenn said little about Rodgers at their introductory press conference, which was telling.

It’s tough to tell a new coach that he has to build a program with a 41-year-old QB who has a big presence inside the organization. 

What the Jets do now at quarterback is anyone’s guess.  Some of us wouldn’t mind seeing Justin Fields brought in, draft a QB, despite the class not being a strong one at that position, and definitely re-sign Tyrod Taylor as a backup.

--Josh Allen captured the NFL’s Most Valuable Player trophy, receiving 27 first-place votes to Lamar Jackson’s 23.  Allen won for the first time in his career after finishing second to Aaron Rodgers in 2020 as well as third in 2022 and fifth in 2023.  He becomes Buffalo’s third winner following O.J. Simpson in 1973 and Thurman Thomas in 1991.

Jackson had beaten Allen out for first-team All-Pro.

Among the other notable honorees Thursday....

Offensive Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley
Defensive Player of the Year: Patrick Surtain II
Offensive Rookie of the Year: Jayden Daniels
Defensive Rookie of the Year: Jared Verse

Coach of the Year: Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell, who is acting like he wants Sam Darnold back.

--The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its 2025 class, to be inducted Aug. 2 in Canton, Ohio....tight end Antonio Gates, cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen and wide receiver Sterling Sharpe.

Giants QB Eli Manning was passed over.  Manning etched his name in NFL lore when he led the team to two Super Bowl victories after the 2007 and 2011 seasons, defeating Tom Brady and the Patriots twice.

But he finished his 16-year NFL career with an even .500 record (117-117), a touchdown-interception ratio of 366-244, zero All-Pro or All-Decade nods and just four Pro Bowl selections.

So, for now, the selection committee decided that his postseason dominance – 8-4 record with 18 touchdowns and nine interceptions – was not enough to overcome his underwhelming regular seasons.

And as some Hall of Fame voters in the room said after, Manning’s biggest obstacle was that he was never in the discussion as the best player at his position for a chunk of his career.

--We note the passing of former Miami Dolphins wide receiver Howard Twilley, 81.  No cause of death was announced.

Twilley was a member of the 1972 undefeated Dolphins Super Bowl team, catching a 28-yard touchdown pass in Miami’s 14-7 victory over Washington in Super Bowl VII.  He then earned a second ring in 1973.

Over 11 seasons in the NFL, all with Miami, Twilley had 212 receptions and 23 touchdowns, 1966-76.

Twilley was one of the greatest receivers in College Football history at Tulsa, setting numerous NCAA records.  In 1965, for example, he had 134 receptions for 1,779 yards and 16 touchdowns in just 10 games.  He finished second in the Heisman vote to USC’s Mike Garrett.  The 134 receptions is still in the top-10 all-time in NCAA history.

[Billy Guy Anderson was Twilley’s quarterback at Tulsa that season, passing for 3,464 yards, which was a massive total for that era, again, in just 10 games, leading the nation.]

--We note the passing of former NFL player and coach Dick Jauron, who led the Bears to the playoffs and was voted AP Coach of the Year in 2001.

Jauron was a two-sport star at Yale, 1970-72, getting drafted not only by the Lions in the 1973 NFL draft, but also the St. Louis Cardinals.  He chose football and played eight seasons as a defensive back with Detroit and Chicago, a fine player with 25 interceptions.

As a head coach in the NFL with Chicago, Detroit and Buffalo, Jauron was 60-82.

At Yale, Jauron was a star running back, 515 carries for 2,974 yards and 27 touchdowns in 27 games.

--In College Football, Ryan Day got a 7-year extension from Ohio state that pays roughly $12.5 million annually.  Only Georgia’s Kirby Smart has a higher yearly salary. 

College Basketball

--Friday night, in a game that wasn’t exactly an example of hoops artistry but was nonetheless highly entertaining, 12 St. John’s (21-3, 12-1) won its 10th straight up in Storrs, Conn., 68-62 over 19 UConn (16-7, 8-4).

The Johnnies were down by 14 in the first half, but Rick Pitino’s boys fought back.  This team’s success is great for the sport, especially in the New York area.

Tuesday, St. John’s had a big win against 11 Marquette, 70-64, despite shooting just 17 of 31 from the free throw line, and 3 of 16 from three.

--And then Saturday, No. 1 Auburn (21-2, 9-1) fell at home to 6 Florida (20-3, 7-3) 90-81, while 2 Duke (20-3, 12-1) lost on the road to Clemson (19-5, 11-2) 77-71.

Duke led at the half, 41-35, but a 12-0 run with just under 10 minutes to play gave Clemson a 56-49 lead and they held on...Cooper Flagg with 18 points and just 5 rebounds on 6 of 17 shooting for the Blue Devils.

My favorite player who is not on the Deacs, the Tigers’ Ian Schieffelin, had 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

The game also marked the return of Dick Vitale to the ESPN airwaves, after battling through several different forms of cancer and going nearly two full years without calling a game.  He’s 85 years old, 45 years with ESPN.

Meanwhile, with Auburn and Duke going down, 3 Alabama (20-3, 9-1) could move into the top spot after beating Arkansas (14-9, 3-7) on the road, 85-81.

4 Tennessee (20-4, 7-4) defeated Oklahoma (16-7, 3-7) in Norman, 70-52.

In other biggies, 10 Texas A&M (18-5, 7-3) had an important 67-64 win at 15 Missouri (17-6, 6-4).

And Creighton (18-6, 11-2) beat 11 Marquette (18-6, 9-4) 77-67.

If you’re thinking it’s automatic Creighton and Clemson move into the top 25 with Monday’s AP Poll, not necessarily...Nos. 21-25 all won their games Saturday.

--Indiana and coach Mike Woodson are going to be parting ways at the end of another disappointing season.

IU headed into its game with 24 Michigan Saturday at just 14-9, 5-7...tied for 10th in the conference standings.  The team just hasn’t lived up to the Indiana standard under Woodson, the players quitting on him.

Michigan (18-5, 10-2) then beat the Hoosiers 70-67.

--Wake Forest (17-6, 9-3) was out West this week for two games of Pacific Coast Conference play, and the Deacs had a good 79-73 win over Stanford (15-8, 7-5), Wednesday.

And then they took on Cal (12-12, 5-8) Saturday, winning it 76-66 with some terrific defense, 12 steals, five by Cameron Hildreth, who also led the way with 23 points.

At 18-6, 10-3 in the ACC (fourth), the Deacs are solidly on the bubble when I thought the season was essentially over just two weeks ago.

--Today, Sunday, 18 Maryland (18-6, 8-5) defeated Rutgers (12-12, 5-8) 90-81, the Terps freshman star, Derik Queen, with a monster game...29 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists.

They said there were like 50 NBA scouts at the game, looking at Queen, but also the Rutgers lottery pick duo of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper.

Harper had 20 points but was unimpressive, 0 for 4 from three, while Bailey had just four points and left the game in the second half, seemingly with an illness.  But it doesn’t matter.  The two will be among the top 3 or 4 taken this coming June 25.  And Queen is going to be in the mix.

NBA

--It was an active trade deadline...Jimmy Butler was sent to the Golden State Warriors in a five-team trade that sent Andrew Wiggins and a protected first-round pick to Miami.

Butler, who hoped to be traded to Phoenix, agreed to a 2-year, $112 million extension to stay with the Warriors.

As part of the trade bringing Butler to the Bay, Dennis Schroder is going to Utah.

So Steph Curry now has a co-star, though Golden State had to reluctantly part with Wiggins, a favorite, with hopes of raising the ceiling of what’s possible in Curry’s final years.

--The Hawks sent De’Andre Hunter to the East-leading Cavaliers.

--Milwaukee added Kyle Kuzma from Washington, but had to give up Khris Middleton, a former 3-time All-Star.

--The Lakers sent Dalton Knecht, Cam Reddish and draft picks to Charlotte for center Mark Williams.

Williams, just 23, is an up-and-coming big who averaged 15.6 points and 9.6 rebounds for the Hornets.

But hold on...Saturday night, the Lakers rescinded the trade after Williams, who has a lengthy injury history, failed his physical!  He has played in just 85 of a possible 212 NBA games over his three seasons due to back problems and other ailments.

“We are excited to welcome Mark back to our Hornets organization,” the Hornets wrote in a statement on social media.

The Lakers, best I’ve seen, did not make a public announcement of their reason for scrapping the deal.

--Luka Doncic is expected to make his Lakers debut Monday. 

Anthony Davis made his debut Saturday for the Mavs vs. the Rockets and it was an impressive one, 26 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks, Dallas (28-25) prevailing over Houston (32-20) 116-105.

--The Knicks (34-18), who didn’t make a big move at the deadline and desperately help in the frontcourt, got rolled by the Celtics (37-16) for a second time this season, this one at the Garden Saturday, 131-104.  The Knicks were blown out in Boston on opening night, 132-109.

Last night, the Knicks cut the lead to 70-67 in the third and celebrity row erupted with excitement, but then as quick as you can say Jayson Tatum, Boston led 89-70 and the rout was on, Tatum with 19 of his 40 points in the quarter.

Jalen Brunson had 36 points, but Karl-Anthony Towns had only 9 points, 9 rebounds, and the All-Star just hasn’t been the same since his thumb injury.

Payton Pritchard had 25 points (6 of 8 from three) off the bench for Boston.

If Mitchell Robinson doesn’t return soon from his season-long ankle injury, the Knicks just don’t have the horses to make a deep run in the playoffs.  They’re getting killed off the boards.

--The Nets and point guard Ben Simmons reached agreement on a buyout after he missed 207 out of a possible 297 games across his 2+ years in Brooklyn.  It seems he is going to sign with the Clippers.

Simmons was playing on the final season of his five-year, $177.2 million deal that he originally signed with the 76ers in July 2019, the Nets acquiring him in a deal that sent James Harden to Philadelphia at the 2022 trade deadline.

--LeBron James joined Michael Jordan  as the only 40-year-olds to score over 40 points, James with 42 and 17 rebounds in the Lakers’ 120-112 win over the Warriors on Thursday.

--Hubie Brown called his final NBA game on Sunday, age 91, alongside Mike Breen.

“He’s had as much of an impact for NBA fans as any player or coach,” Breen told USA TODAY Sports. “I really believe nobody who’s ever walked on this planet has taught basketball more than Hubie has.  He’s the foremost teacher of the game of basketball that’s ever been.”

Never any B.S., or lame attempts at showmanship from Hubie.  Just great analysis, which us fans love.

MLB

--The Mets and Pete Alonso finally reached an agreement and it was far less than Pete and agent Scott Boras were expecting, two years, $54 million, $30 million the first year and then an opt-out after the season.

Alonso and Boras were looking for a major long-term deal but no one was interested, and it seems it came down to Toronto and New York, and Pete is comfortable here.

As a fan, I’m happy with this development, given that the Mets couldn’t sign Christian Walker, or Paul Goldschmidt for one year like the Yankees smartly did.

With Juan Soto in the lineup, the Mets needed to protect him and Pete supplies that.

But Alonso better not sulk like he did through much of last year because he didn’t get the deal he expected, only last year, it was after he had turned down a seven-year, $158 million extension before hiring Boras and Boras blew it.  The Mets had offered a 3-year, $71 million contract but Pete and Boras opted for the shorter deal with a higher AAV and the opt-out.

--Commissioner Rob Manfred said he is getting emails from fans concerned over baseball’s lack of a salary cap following the Dodgers’ offseason spending spree.

“This is an issue that we need to be vigilant on,” Manfred said Thursday following the end of an owners meeting.

Yup, the current collective bargaining agreement expires in December 2026, but negotiations will  begin in the spring of 2026.  It’s going to get dicey, baseball fans.  Manfred noted that the issue of local media is the principal one at this moment.

--Ippei Mizuhara was sentenced Thursday to nearly five years in prison for stealing about $17 million from Shohei Ohtani to repay gambling debts.

U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb gave Ohtani’s former interpreter a 57-month sentence and three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Ohtani and $1.1 million to the IRS.

“I want to say I am truly sorry to Mr. Ohtani for what I have done,” Mizuhara said in court.

His attorney, Michael G. Freeman, said he expects Mizuhara, a Japanese citizen, to be deported.

Golf Balls

--At the WM Phoenix Open, TPC Scottsdale, after three rounds....

Thomas Detry -18
Rasmus Hojgaard -13
Daniel Berger -13
Jordan Spieth -13
Michael Kim -13

Detry, the 32-year-old from Belgium, is looking for his first win.

And Detry closes the deal in most impressive fashion, with a tee shot for the ages on the stadium par-3 16th, one foot, and then a terrific birdie on 17, and 18, and he’s the first winner from Belgium on the PGA Tour.  Dude has always had game...it’s been about the attitude, and whatever he did this week on that front worked.

Detry -24!
Berger -17
Kim -17
Spieth T4 -16...important for him coming off his surgery....

Important for all of these in the top four, but goodness gracious, Detry was a freakin’ machine down the stretch.

Because of the eyeballs on this event, he is now very much in the public consciousness of golf fans and he’ll be a fan favorite at The Masters...a tradition unlike any other...on CBS....

--Tiger Woods is going to make his 2025 debut at next week’s Genesis Invitational at Torrey Pines, the site of eight of his PGA Tour wins.  It will mark his first official Tour start since the Open Championship last July. 

Tiger’s mother, Kultida, passed away this week at the age of 80.

In announcing her death, Tiger wrote on social media: “She was my biggest fan, greatest supporter, without her none of my personal achievements would have been possible.”

Kultida, who was born in Thailand, was a frequent presence at Tiger’s tournaments. During his acceptance speech at the 2022 World Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Tiger credited his mother and his father with providing him an early start in the sport.

He said that when he was 6 years old, his mother took him to a golf course in Long Beach, Calif., and asked employees there: “Can my son play here and practice a little bit?”

He recalled that when he was 8 years old, she would drop him off at the entryway to the golf course and give him 75 cents to buy a hot dog and use the pay phone to call when he was ready for her to pick him up.

--The PGA Tour announced it has asked President Trump to help with the tour’s ongoing negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the financial backer of LIV Golf.  Commissioner Jay Monahan and PGA Tour player director Adam Scott met with Trump about the matter on Tuesday.

The tour and PIF announced the framework of an agreement on June 6, 2023, with the goal of finishing a deal by the end of that year, and here we are, Feb. 2025.

The major issue is the specter of U.S. antitrust regulations that are blocking the deal, as well as the hurt feelings on the tour side from Jon Rahm’s defection to LIV, both combining to stall negotiations.

For its part, PIF looked at the tour’s solicitation of other private equity groups as a betrayal of sorts to the June 6 framework agreement, as reports emerged that the PIF was looking at a separate deal with the DP World Tour.

But by the end of last year, there were reports the PGA Tour and PIF were back at the table and with the election of Donald Trump, who has business ties with the Saudi league, LIV hosting events at three of his clubs, it was time to get him involved.

Tiger and Trump played golf Sunday morning in South Florida, and no doubt the PGA-LIV situation was top of mind.

--Poland’s Adrian Meronk won the first known men’s professional golf tournament held completely under lights as he dominated LIV Golf Riyadh wire-to-wire, two shots ahead of Jon Rahm and Sebastian Munoz.  This was the LIV debut event for 2025.

Stuff

--No Premier League action this weekend as it was all about the FA Cup and Saturday, League One Leyton Orient (think AA, in my baseball analogy of English football’s league structure) put a scare in Manchester City, before City prevailed 2-1 on a late Kevin De Bruyne tally.

And then today, Plymouth Argyle, the bottom club in the Championship League (AAA), stunned Liverpool 1-0!  Goodness gracious.  Just another example of why the FA Cup is the coolest competition in all of sports.

What an embarrassment for Liverpool.

[Tottenham lost to Aston Villa today.]

--Alex Ovechkin notched goal No. 879 of his career on Thursday night in Philadelphia in the Capitals’ 4-3 win.  He has 26 goals in 38 games this season, at age 39.

Sunday, he had three assists, but no goals, in a 5-4 shootout loss to Utah Hockey Club.  [Who I know is going to change its name, but I love the way it is.]

--At the skiing world championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, local Stephanie Venier was a surprise winner in the women’s super-G on Thursday, Lindsey Vonn failing to finish after hooking a gate.  Austrians partied hard after Venier thrilled the home crowd.  “Nothing can beat this,” she said after.

American Lauren Macuga tied for the bronze.

And then Saturday, American Breezy Johnson won gold in the women’s downhill!

It was Johnson’s first win, and what a time to get it...the world championships.  Vonn finished 15th.

Mikaela Shiffrin will be racing later this coming week.

--NASCAR had its Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Friday in Charlotte, NC – Ricky Rudd, Carl Edwards and the late Ralph Moody.

In a 13-year career, Edwards won 28 races and was a two-time NASCAR Cup Series championship runner-up – losing out on the 2011 title in the closest title race in history – a tiebreaker with fellow NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart.

Rudd won 23 Cup Series races.  In 1983, at the age of 24, he became the youngest pole winner in Daytona 500 history.  He had 16 consecutive years (1983-98) with a victory and at one point had 788 straight starts, a record that lasted until 2015.  His 905 total starts in a career is second only to Richard Petty’s 1,185 starts.

--A teenage girl died on Monday after being bitten by a shark while swimming at a popular beach in Queensland on Australia’s eastern coast, according to authorities.

Paramedics rushed to treat the 17-year-old, who had sustained “life-threatening upper body injuries,” the Queensland Ambulance Service said in a statement.  She died on the beach from her injuries.

It was unclear what kind of shark attacked the girl.  [I’m leaving out her name because after reading her family’s statement and the terrific kid that she was, including musically, it is such a tragedy.]

Top 3 songs for the week of 2/10/73:  #1 “Crocodile Rock” (Elton John)  #2 “You’re So Vain” (Carly Simon)  #3 “Why Can’t We Live Together” (Timmy Thomas)...and...#4 “Oh, Babe, What Would You Say?” (Hurricane Smith...loved this tune...but was shocked when I first YouTubed it and saw who sang it....)  #5 “Superstition” (Stevie Wonder)  #6 “Do It Again” (Steely Dan)  #7 “The World Is A Ghetto” (War)  #8 “Trouble Man” (Marvin Gaye)  #9 “Don’t Expect Me To Your Friend” (Lobo)  #10 “Could It Be I’m Falling In Love” (Spinners...another good one...B+ week...)

NFL Quiz Answers: 1) From 1957-67, both Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas each won the AP MVP award three times.  2) The only two defensive players to win are Alan Page (1971, Minn.) and Lawrence Taylor (1986, NYG).  3) The only kicker was Mark Moseley (1982, WAS).

***I lost a great friend this week, Johnny Mac, (J. Mac), who graced these pages often since Day One in 1999.  George R. actually introduced us way back in 1982 when George and Johnny worked at Thomson McKinnon Securities on the metals desk and I was starting out with my Wall Street career.  Johnny and I then communicated literally every day, especially on horse racing, golf, college football and basketball, and our beloved Mets.

We went to Montreal for some of the final Expos games (just ‘because’ we had to go), the Baseball Hall of Fame, and a memorable day in upstate New York to go to the Woodstock museum and have some giggles at Monticello Raceway, when on a raw fall day, we were among the 5 or 6 patrons in the stands...really, that was it.  We swear we saw the same five horses (trotters) all four or five races we stayed for.

I received an awful call early in the morning this week from Johnny’s wife.  I was wondering why he hadn’t responded to an email on Pebble Beach and at that very time, he was in an ambulance and died in it.

God bless you, Johnny...and Ellen.  Love you.

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

 

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