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Bar Chat

06/10/2024

Scottie Scheffler Wins Again

Add-on posted early Tuesday morning....

NBA Playoffs

--Sunday night, Boston took Game 2 to go up 2-0 over the Mavs, 105-98, as the series shifts to Dallas for Game 3, Wednesday.

The Mavs got a big game from Luka Doncic, 32 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, but he’s beaten up, playing with multiple injuries including a sore left ankle, sprained right knee and was questionable for Game 2 after adding a bruised chest to his maladies (an injury he said he suffered taking a charge in Game 1).  Doncic had only 9 of his 32 points in the second half.

But Dallas isn’t winning a game unless Kyrie Irving steps up.  He has 12 and 16 points in the first two, 0 for 8 from 3, and he needs to score 30+.

For Boston, veteran point guard Jrue Holiday was outstanding, 26 points on 11 of 14 shooting, 11 rebounds.  It’s why the Celtics picked him up in a trade last offseason...for moments like these.  And Derrick White, 18 points, had a huge block with under a minute left.

Kristaps Porzingis, 12 points in 23 minutes Sunday after a sterling Game 1, said his leg/calf will be fine for Game 3, Wednesday.

Boston won despite horrid shooting from three, 10 for 39, with Jayson Tatum 6 for 22 from the field, just 18 points.

--Meanwhile, Danny Hurley decided Monday to remain at UConn and not take the Los Angeles Lakers’ open job as next head coach despite a six-year, $70 million contract offer, according to ESPN, down from a first-reported eight years, $100 million.

Hurley met with the Lakers last Friday in L.A., and then Saturday, attended the Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden with his wife and UConn assistant Luke Murray.

“I am humbled by this entire experience,” Hurley said in a statement.  “At the end of the day, I am extremely proud of the championship culture we have built at Connecticut. We met as a team before today’s workout and our focus right now is getting better this summer and connecting as a team as we continue to pursue championships.”

“As swept away as Hurley became by the Lakers courtship and vision for him, he ultimately couldn’t walk away from a chance to make history and pursue a third straight NCAA title,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski wrote on X on Monday.  “Even before Lakers talks, Hurley already had a UConn offer to become one of highest-paid NCAA coaches and those talks will continue, per sources.”

So Hurley is returning to a school and team he will now attempt to guide to a third straight national championship, a feat that has only been accomplished once in NCAA men’s basketball history, when UCLA under John Wooden won seven consecutive titles from 1967 to 1973.

Hurley’s challenge is to once again win a title with a vastly different lineup from the year before, though Alex Karaban, Hassan Diarra and Jaylin Stewart return, along with the now usual assortment of portal transfers and recruits.

--In the WNBA Monday night, Caitlin Clark had just 10 points in 22 minutes as the Indiana Fever (3-10) fell to the Connecticut Sun (10-1) 89-72.

Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Florida Panthers went up on Edmonton 2-0 with a 4-1 win in Game 2, Monday night, getting two goals from their hottest scorer, Evan Rodriguez.

But the Panthers lost captain Aleksander Barkov, their best two-way player, in the third period on a hit by Oilers star Leon Draisaitl.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice said after he had no update on how long Barkov could be out.

Game 3 in Edmonton, Thursday.

MLB

--Sunday night, the Yankees (46-21) salvaged the final game against the Dodgers, 6-4, despite no Juan Soto for a third straight game and a subpar effort from Luis Gil, 5 2/3, 3 earned, ERA up to 2.04 in a no-decision.  For the Dodgers, Tyler Glasnow had great stuff, 12 strikeouts in six innings, but he yielded 5 earned (including a huge 3-run homer to Trent Grisham, who is 5-for-50), Glasnow’s record now 6-5, 3.24.

Aaron Judge had another big game, three hits, home run No. 24, double No. 21, and he now has 46 extra-base hits in the Yankees’ first 67 games, a pace of 114 for the season.  Rather strong.

Teoscar Hernandez homered again for the Dodgers (41-26), completing the series with 3 homers, 9 RBIs.

Back to Gil, while I missed maybe a half inning while he was pitching, I didn’t hear anyone talk about inning restrictions despite coming off Tommy John surgery.  It’s a big deal.

For his part, recall that Glasnow hasn’t pitched more than 120 innings in a season (which they did discuss Sunday night) and he’s now up to 86 already in 2024.  This will be interesting.

But there was a fascinating stat about Gil that the ESPN folks talked about pre-game...he had made seven straight starts of six innings, 1 earned run or less, which was second to Christy Mathewson’s eight!  No longer, but just the pairing of the two is something Gil should be proud of.  [Assuming he knows who “Matty” is...out of Factoryville, PA, and Bucknell University, where he’s buried.]

Monday night in Kansas City, Juan Soto returned to the lineup, though at DH, and went 1-for-3 with a walk.  Aaron Judge got a day off.

The Yanks won anyway, 4-2, as Carlos Rodon, 7 innings, one earned, continued his amazing comeback from a miserable 2023 (6.85 ERA in 14 starts), moving to 9-2, 2.93.

K.C.’s Seth Lugo fell to 9-2, 2.36, after yielding 4 earned in 7.

Michael Tonkin had the save for New York. Tonkin, DFA’d early this season by both the Mets and Twins, has found a home in the Bronx, giving up just 2 earned in 20 1/3.

College World Series

The stage is set.  But first, going back to Sunday night after I posted, Texas A&M eliminated Oregon, 15-9; Kentucky sent Oregon State’s Beavers packing, 3-2; and Tennessee ended Evansville’s Cinderella story, 12-1.

Monday, N.C. State and Georgia squared off in their elimination game, and the Wolfpack took it 8-5.

The CWS now starts off on Friday in Omaha, Nebraska with the following initial matchups in this double-elimination tournament.

No. 1 Tennessee vs. Florida State
North Carolina vs. Virginia
Kentucky vs. N.C. State
Texas A&M vs. Florida

4 SEC teams, 4 ACC.

ACC! ACC!

Tennessee, Florida and Virginia were also in the 2023 CWS, won by LSU.

Let the fun begin!

U.S. Open

How tough is the USGA going to set up Pinehurst No. 2 this weekend?  That’s the question many want to know.  Already, defending champion Wyndham Clark is saying the notorious greens are “borderline.”  Look for lots of complaining.

It’s funny how there is zero buzz about Tiger Woods being in the field.  That’s the first time I can remember that.

These days...all about Scottie Scheffler.

There are 12 LIV golfers teeing it up, though no Carlos Ortiz, who won Sunday’s LIV event in Houston.  No word on Jon Rahm’s status after he withdrew Saturday with an infected left foot.

The weather forecast is good...if you like it hot, which Tiger does.

Stuff

--Kyle Larson won the NASCAR Cup Series race Sunday at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., a road course, notching his third win of 2024 and 26th of his career by passing Martin Truex Jr. with nine laps to go. Truex would end up running out of gas on the final lap.

Michael McDowell finished second.

The win capped off a great week for Larson, who earlier had been granted a waiver by NASCAR to remain eligible for the Cup Series playoffs after not starting the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, the same day as the Indy 500.

Because rain delayed the start of the 500, in which Larson would end up finishing 18th, he got down to Charlotte at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET and was preparing to get into the car when the race was red-flagged because of rain and then went into a lightning hold.  NASCAR deemed the race official nearly two hours later due to the weather.

The waiver was necessary for Larson because the NASCAR Rule Book states, “Unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR, driver(s) and Team Owner(s) must start all Championship Events of the current season to be eligible for The Playoffs.”

--Eight-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt suffered a ruptured Achilles after he needed to be stretchered off the field of a charity soccer match he was playing in in London.

Alas, Bolt has been retired since 2017

Next Bar Chat Sunday p.m., after the U.S. Open.

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[Posted Sunday p.m. before late sports action...]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

MLB Draft Quiz: The 1989 MLB Draft produced four future Hall of Famers...Frank Thomas (1st round), Jeff Bagwell (4th), Trevor Hoffman (11th) and Jim Thome (13th).  Only two other drafts featured four future HOFers, 1976 and 1977.  Name the eight...two were shortstops, one was a third baseman, one started out as 2B/3B, three were outfielders, and one was a pitcher.  Answer below.

NBA Playoffs

--Game 1, Thursday night, was a blowout, Celtics over the Mavericks 107-89, as Kristaps Porzingis made his return from his calf injury and he was terrific...20 points on 8 of 13 shooting in 21 minutes.  He was the difference.  And his presence could spell sweep for Boston.

Game 2 Sunday night...a strong Sunday sports lineup with Dodgers-Yankees as well.

--The Lakers were said to be preparing an offer for JJ Redick to be LeBron’s next head coach, Redick an OK commentator with Mike Breen and Doris Burke, a podcast partner with LeBron, but zero coaching experience, which would be a massive gamble for the organization.

But then ESPN reported Thursday that L.A. was preparing to offer UConn coach Dan Hurley a mammoth long-term deal, like $12.5 million per over 8 years.

Boy, the money is obviously tempting, but as Coach Rick Pitino said this week, Hurley already has enough money*, and long-term security, and for now, why leave?  Hurley is young, 51.  Yes, the NBA will no doubt entice him at some point, but is today the right time?

And Hurley is different, a quirky personality, to say the least.  He’d have to change a few things to adapt to the NBA game, namely how the players want to be treated. Some of Hurley’s schtick wouldn’t necessarily go down well with these ‘entitled,’ ‘pampered’ titans of the game and business (in their own minds).

*Hurley, after winning his first NCAA title last year, signed a new six-year contract worth more than $32 million.  With bonuses he’s making north of $7 million, though it’s capped.

On the other hand, most people agree that JJ would be dodging a bullet if Hurley took the job.

--The NBA is closing in on television deals with NBC, ESPN and Amazon worth $76 billion in media revenue over 11 years, according to the Wall Street Journal.

NBC, which would re-gain the rights to air NBA games for the first time since 2002, is expected to pay $2.5 billion per year with 100 games per season, half on the Peacock streaming service, with games set to air Tuesday and Sunday when there aren’t ‘Sunday Night Football’ commitments.

Amazon will pay $1.8 billion for its package, including regular-season and playoff games.

Disney, which already airs games, will retain its rights for $2.6 billion per year, per the report, an increase from the previous $1.5 billion per year deal.  Its network of channels will air the NBA Finals but will have less games than its current package.

Warner Bros. Discover, which owns TNT and “Inside the NBA,” can match the packages, or the NBA could create a new package, though those options would be limited.

All the deals would be instituted after the 2024-25 season.

--In the WNBA Friday night, Caitlin Clark finally exploded for 30 points, with a career-best seven 3-pointers against the Mystics in an 85-83 Fever victory, Indiana 3-9, the Mystics (Washington) 0-11!

The game did draw 20,000 at the Capital One Center and the fans were rewarded.

Meanwhile, much is being made of Clark being “snubbed” from the 12-man U.S. Women’s Olympic team, but I agree with the Star-Ledger’s (NJ.com’s) Steve Politi:

“(Clark’s) worthiness as a player on what might be the most difficult U.S. team to make is a fair debate.  But if you’re telling me Clark must be on that team because more people would watch the women’s basketball competition in Paris as a result?  Because Team USA has some nebulous responsibility to ‘grow the game?’

“Sorry.  That isn’t the mission here.

“Look, we all know what Clark has done for basketball.  We saw it here in New Jersey in January when she filled Jersey Mike’s Arena, then stood in a tunnel of humanity signing autographs after an easy Iowa victory over Rutgers. I was struck with how easily she seemed to carry the responsibility of giving back to the fans who came to see her.

“ ‘It just takes a second out of my day to make someone else’s day,’ she said then.  ‘That’s how I was raised.  Also, I was that young girl.  I remember going to games just like this.”.....

“But Team USA has one job – and it isn’t making people happy.  It’s winning the gold medal. ...just like it’s not the basketball team’s duty to improve its competition, it is certainly not its responsibility to make sure anybody is watching....

“If eyeballs matter so much, just let NBC pick all the teams....

“Team USA opted for a roster stacked with veterans and loaded with international experience.  It decided to build the best team, which means it made choices based on chemistry and fit. It was extremely likely that Clark, had she made the team, would have been a bench warmer....

“There was a time, not long ago, when the U.S. men’s team faced enormous criticism because it had the audacity to lose in the Olympics. The U.S. women haven’t done that in 55 straight games – clearly, they know what they’re doing.  The argument that they need to do more for the sport than this almost unparalleled level of excellence is unfair and, frankly, a little insulting.”

Sunday afternoon Clark took the high road, though, again, she had zero claim to being on the team.

“I’m excited for the girls that are on the team,” Clark said.  “I know it’s the most competitive team in the world and I know it could’ve gone either way, me being on the team or me not being on the team.  I’m excited for them, gonna be rooting for them to win gold. I was a kid that grew up watching the Olympics, it’ll be fun to watch them.”

While Clark didn’t complain, Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides said that Clark told her “they woke a monster” with the decision.

“Honestly, no disappointment,” said Clark.  “I think it just gives you something to work for.  It’s a dream, hopefully one day I can be there.  I think it’s just a little bit more motivation.  You remember that and hopefully when four years comes back around, I can be there.”

--We note the passing of Basketball Hall of Famer, seven-time All-Star and NBA champion with the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers, Chet (“The Jet”) Walker.  He was 84.

Walker’s NBA career spanned 13 seasons from 1962-75, the first seven with Philadelphia, the last six with Chicago.  A 6’7” small forward, he averaged 18.2 points per game, 7.1 rebounds for his career.

Walker’s best offensive seasons were with the Bulls, teaming with fellow forward Bob Love.

But Walker did score 19.3 per game for the champion 1966-67 Sixers, a team featuring quite a six-man rotation of Wilt Chamberlain (24.1 points, 24.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists), Hal Greer, Luke Jackson, Wali Jones, Billy Cunningham and The Jet...a team that ended the eight-year championship run of the Boston Celtics.

Stanley Cup

Game 1 was Saturday night in Sunrise, Fla., and the Panthers took it 3-0 behind a stellar performance from goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, aka “Bob,” who turned back all 32 Oilers shots, including six from Connor McDavid and four from the other big star, Leon Draisaitl. 

Game 2 Monday night in Florida.  Will McDavid and Draisaitl break through?

MLB

--The Yankees won their eighth game in a row on Thursday night, sweeping the Twins at the Stadium, and advancing to 45-19.

But the Yankees’ clubhouse wasn’t its usual boisterous self following a win, as superstar Juan Soto had exited during a late rain delay with discomfort in his left forearm, an MRI scheduled.  Soto said he had been dealing with some pain for a while.

But Friday, the Yankees could breathe a sigh of relief.  Soto was dealing with inflammation and was day-to-day.

Los Angeles then came to town, Shohei Ohtani and Co., and sans Soto, the Yanks’ winning streak ended, 2-1 in 11 innings, with Yoshinobu Yamamoto lowering his ERA to 3.00 with seven scoreless for L.A.  Ohtani was 0-for-5, Aaron Judge 2-for-3 with the lone Yankee ribby.

Saturday, without Soto a second game, the Yankees were embarrassed, 11-3, as Teoscar Hernandez slammed two home runs, including a grand slam, 6 RBIs in all.  Aaron Judge hit Nos. 22 and 23, but that wasn’t nearly enough.

Sunday night, it’s Tyler Glasnow vs. Luis Gil.

Gil, who had that historic month of May (38 2/3, 0.70 ERA), continued his dominance last Tuesday night at the Stadium, with six innings of one-hit ball, earning his seventh in a row, now 8-1, 1.82.

BUT...Gil has now pitched 69 1/3 and he’s coming off Tommy John surgery, missing all of 2023 (save for four innings in the minors late in the season, and 2/3s of 2022).  He obviously has an innings limit, but the Yanks have been keeping mum on the topic (which no doubt will be addressed on Sunday Night Baseball).

Gerrit Cole, who had a successful rehab start this week, is returning soon.  Gil was Cole’s replacement.  You can easily rest him for a spell, or reduce him to a 5-inning pitcher until late September if you want.

--The Mets played the Phillies in London Saturday and Sunday.

Saturday, the Mets lost 7-2 in a game that by the end, I was watching HBO/MAX’s “House of the Dragon” season finale (on the PC with the game on the TV) from years ago to prepare me for the new season starting next Sunday.  The New York Post had a spectacular review of Season 2, by the way.

Anyway, the 45-19 Phillies just continue to operate on all cylinders.  Here’s their top four in the starting staff....

Ranger Suarez (Saturday’s winner) ...10-1, 1.81
Aaron Nola...8-2, 2.77
Zack Wheeler...7-3, 2.23
Cristopher Sanchez...3-3, 2.71

Sunday, with former Met Taijuan Walker on the mound for the Phils, the Mets fell behind 3-0, came back to tie it, 3-3, but fell behind again 4-3 on a David Dahl pinch-hit homer in the bottom of the seventh.

And then we had a super exciting ninth inning.  The Mets scored three in the top of the frame, but could have had many more, so it was 6-4 heading to the bottom of the ninth, the Phils loaded the bases, got a run in, 6-5, just one out, and reliever Drew Smith got what he needed, a 2-3 double play on a spectacular play by catcher Luis Torrens, the recent acquisition from the Yankees for $100,000.

The Mets get a badly needed split.

As Pete Alonso said after, though, it’s a shame the teams travel all that way to just play two games.  They are there such a short period of time.  It should be 3 or 4 games.

--The White Sox broke a franchise-record 14-game losing streak Friday night, 7-2 over the Red Sox in Chicago, the ChiSox 16-48.  [After 64, the 40-120 1962 Mets were 17-47.]

What a dreadful season it’s been for South Side fans.  They started out the season losing 22 of their first 25 games, then went 12-12, appearing to right the ship a bit, and then disaster all over again.

Well, whaddya know?  Chicago won again on Saturday, 6-1, as former Wake Forest player Gavin Sheets was 3-for-4, with a grand slam.

But they lost 6-4 in 10 innings, Sunday.  [Sheets singled in the potential game-winning RBI in the seventh, but it wasn’t to be.]

--In other games of note, Sunday....

Baltimore, 42-22, is just 2 games back of the Yankees heading into Sunday night, after a 9-2 win over the Rays (31-34).

Detroit’s Tarik Skubal is 8-1, 1.92, following the Tigers’ 10-2 win over the Brewers, Skubal 6 2/3, 1 earned, 10 Ks.

The Nationals (30-35) took 3 of 4 this weekend against the Braves (35-28), including today’s 8-5 win. The Braves have serious issues, and injuries.

--Last Tuesday morning, in my Add-on, I wrote of the pending lifetime ban for San Diego infielder Tucupita Marcano, and for the record, hours later MLB then permanently banned him for placing hundreds of bets on baseball, including wagers on the Pittsburgh Pirates when he was a member of the team last season.

MLB’s Department of Investigations found Marcano placed 387 baseball bets, through a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.  He bet more than $150,000 on baseball.  Additionally, he placed 25 bets on Pirates games last season while he was on the team, but all of the wagers occurred after he suffered a season-ending knee injury in July 2023.

He is the first major leaguer to receive a permanent ban for gambling on baseball since MLB career hits leader Pete Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 for betting on games as a Cincinnati Reds player and manager from 1985 to 1987.

MLB also suspended four other players for one year, all placing bets while in the minors.

“The strict enforcement of Major League Baseball’s rules and policies governing gambling conduct is a critical component of upholding our most important priority: protecting the integrity of our games for the fans.”

But baseball is obviously very conflicted on the topic, with non-stop talk and commercials on gambling and alliances with the likes of Fan Duel and Draft Kings, whether at the MLB level or through the individual club’s networks.

--In College Baseball...in super-regional play, best-of-3, the ACC started off well Friday night.

Virginia beat Kansas State, 7-4; Florida State destroyed UConn, 24-4; and North Carolina bested West Virginia, 8-6.

All three then won their second games, Saturday, to advance to the College World Series.

Would Clemson and North Carolina State make it five teams in the CWS?

Clemson lost Saturday to Florida, 10-7, while NC State walloped Georgia 18-1.

Sunday...Georgia turned the tables on NC State, 11-2, they will have an elimination game.

And Clemson and Florida are tied in the bottom of the tenth as I go to post.

Meanwhile, Evansville was squaring off against No. 1 overall Tennessee in an elimination game!  The “Aces” were a 4-seed in their regional and 4-seeds were 0-30 against No. 1 overall seeds in the history of this event...but Saturday, in Game 2, Evansville beat the Vols 10-8 to set up Sunday’s finale, which is after I post, ditto Texas A&M-Oregon, and Kentucky-Oregon State.  Go Beavers!  [Or as us old folks say in the ‘burbs... “And Jerry Mathers as the Beav...”]

--In the College Softball Championship, Oklahoma swept Texas, 8-3 and 8-4, to become the first school to win four consecutive softball national titles.  Pretty, pretty good.

French Open

--The Grand Slam at Roland Garos lost a lot of juice when on Tuesday, Novak Djokovic withdrew with a right knee injury, especially after Rafael Nadal went out in a first-round match.

Djokovic had gutted out a five-set marathon over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo on Monday and was to have played Casper Ruud in a quarterfinal Wednesday.

But Monday’s match proved to be too much (and an earlier Saturday all-nighter) and tournament organizers said Djokovic had a torn right medial meniscus.  The knee had been bothering him for some time.

In his win, Monday, Djokovic did pass Roger Federer as the record holder for Slam match wins with 370.

No word as yet on Djokovic’s status for Wimbledon, and then the U.S. Open.

So, we advanced to the semis on Friday and the No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz defeated 2 Jannik Skinner (winner of the Australian Open) in a classic 5-set match, while 4 Alexander Zverev beat 7 Ruud in four sets, setting up a powerful final on Sunday.

And Alcaraz is the new man on top, making history with a 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Germany’s Zverev, a 4+ hour affair with wild swings in momentum.

The win made Alcaraz, a Spaniard ranked No. 3 in the world but the new and future king of the sport in my eyes, the first male player to win his first three Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces...his other Grand Slams coming at Wimbledon in 2023 and the U.S. Open in 2022.

Just six other men have won Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces: Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Djokovic, Roger Federer, Nadal and Mats Wilander. Alcaraz is the only one to do so before turning 22.

--On the women’s side, Coco Gauff ran into a familiar foe in one semifinal, No. 1 Iga Swiatek.

Swiatek had been 10-1 in head-to-head matches vs. Gauff and made it 11-1, with a 6-2, 6-4 win. Swiatek had eliminated Gauff from the French Open the last two years, including the 2022 final.

Swiatek thus headed to Saturday’s final against No. 12 Jasmine Paolini seeking her fourth title on the clay.

And Swiatek did it...6-2, 6-1 over Italy’s Paolini.

For the 23-year-old from Poland, it was Swiatek’s third straight, joining Monica Seles (1990-92) and Justine Henin (2005-07) as the only women to accomplish this in the open era that began in 1968.  And she joined Chris Evert (7 wins at Roland Garros), Steffi Graf (6) and Henin (4) as the only 4-time champs.

Golf Balls

--They played The Memorial at Jack’s Place, Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, this week, a signature event, and heading into the weekend, after 36 holes, look who was No. 1....

Scottie Scheffler -9
Adam Hadwin -6
Viktor Hovland -6...ever since he went back to his former coach, he’s his old self...

Rory McIlroy -3
Xander Schauffele -4

[Rickie Fowler with a stunningly awful 76-82, +14, to miss the cut by ten strokes.  He’s not injured. He was on the practice range right away after Friday’s blow-up.]

And after three rounds....

Scheffler -10
Collin Morikawa -6
Hadwin -6
Sepp Straka -6
Schauffele -4
Ludvig Aberg -4

It was up and down for so many golfers, including Scheffler, who had a triple-bogey on the par-4 ninth.

So we had an intriguing final pairing for Sunday...Scheffler and Morikawa.

And we pick up the action on the 12th, and Morikawa hits a difficult bomb of a putt, going to -8, while Scheffler misses a far easier birdie opportunity to stay at -9.  Adam Hadwin -7.

On the 15th, a par-5, Morikawa misses a birdie putt for a tie for the lead.

And Scheffler then pars the brutal par-3 16th while Morikawa bogeys it...lead two shots.

But Scheffler bogeys 17, Morikawa pars it....

Scheffler -8
Morikawa -7

And on the final hole, a par-4...Scheffler finds fairway, Morikawa finds trouble...

But both Scheffler and Morikawa airmail their approach shots over the green into the rough. Oh boy.  It’s a terrific finish between two awesome golfers...Jack looking on....

Morikawa’s third is solid but a few feet past. Scheffler’s is short...both with tension-filled par putts.  Scheffler goes first and for the win...AND IT’S GOOD!  Win No. 11...No. 5 this year!

First player to win five times before the U.S. Open since Tom Watson in 1980!

Morikawa solo second, Adam Hadwin solo third (huge for him).

[I’m like, Scottie, be careful with the one-month-old baby!]

--The PGA Tour issued a brief statement Saturday morning, reporting progress without giving details from a face-to-face meeting between its negotiating committee and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia as it tries to work toward a deal.

“We want to get this right, and we are approaching discussions with careful consideration for our players, our fans, our partners and the game’s future,” the tour said.

Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund that pays for LIV Golf,  was in attendance.

Rory McIlroy, who is on the negotiating committee, said he was encouraged by the progress, referring to the three-hour meeting as “very productive, very constructive, very collaborative.”

“Definitely things are heading in the right direction,” McIlroy said after Saturday’s third round at the Memorial.  “A lot of progress was made.  I can’t really say much more than that, but it was really positive.”

It seems there has been more ongoing discussion to bring PIF in as a minority investor than previously believed.  McIlroy said the transaction committee, which includes Tiger and Adam Scott, has been meeting with PIF representatives every Monday, Wednesday and Friday over the lats couple of weeks.

--Speaking of LIV, I didn’t even know they were having a tournament this week in Houston until I saw that Jon Rahm withdrew with an infection in his left foot, with the U.S. Open next week.  There were no immediate details, but Rahm was seen wincing after one shot in the opening round at the Golf Club of Houston, and he withdrew after six holes on Saturday.

--I have to note that Webb Simpson qualified for Pinehurst by grinding his way through a 36-hole qualifier this week at Duke Golf Club...87 golfers competing for seven spots.

Among those surviving a six-man playoff for the final two spots was Harry Higgs, who has been white-hot on the Korn Ferry Tour and could be a dark horse.

College Football

--They announced the schedule for the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff and there will be four first-round games Dec. 20 and 21, three on the 21st.  Two of the Saturday afternoon games will go up against the NFL (Houston-Kansas City, Baltimore-Pittsburgh), so there will be some wild channel flipping going on.

The four first-round games will be played on college campuses, the matchups announced Dec. 8.

The top four conference champions receive first-round byes.

New Year’s Eve will see one quarterfinal, and then there will be three on New Year’s Day, so that will be fun, except the last one, the Sugar Bowl, won’t begin until about 9:00 p.m. because, you know, we have to have that sunset at the Rose Bowl over the mountains, which doesn’t start until its normal 5:00 p.m. eastern slot.   Drat!

The semis are Jan. 10, a Friday night, and the championship game is Mon. Jan. 20.

I’m going to start taking my naps now so I can attempt to stay up for the Sugar Bowl and the second semifinal...I suggest you do the same.

[Pssst....Wake Forest fans needn’t worry about being one of the 12...we’re going 2-10.]

Belmont Stakes

--We had an upset at beautiful Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., subbing for Belmont Park, which is undergoing a massive renovation...17-1 Dornoch, trained by Danny Gargan, his first win in a Triple Crown race, and ridden by Luis Saez, his second Belmont winner.

Dornoch hugged the rail to hold off Mindframe, with Kentucky Derby runner-up Sierra Leone third.

It’s the sixth consecutive year a different horse won each of the three Triple Crown races.  Derby winner Mystik Dan wasn’t a factor Saturday.

The race was also significant in that a co-owner of Dornoch is former MLB star Jayson Werth.

“I would put it right up there with winning on the biggest stage.  Horse racing is the most underrated sport in the world, bar none,” said Werth.  “It’s the biggest game: You get the Derby, the Preakness, the Belmont. We just won the Belmont. This is as good as it gets in horse racing.  It’s as good as it gets in sports.”

It’s terrific that Werth is so involved and now successful.  He’ll bring more former athletes with their big bucks into the sport, just like Michael Jordan’s investment in NASCAR has helped get others involved in that sport.  All good!  First and foremost, it could help the sport of horse racing survive.

Stuff

--We note the passing of legendary racer and 1963 Indianapolis 500 champion Parnelli Jones, 90.

Jones dominated the Indy 500 in ’63, winning by 33 seconds over Jimmy Clark.  The victory came with controversy, however.  Jones’ car had leaked oil and begun smoking.  Race officials considered black flagging him but were talked out of it.

Fellow drivers Eddie Sachs and Roger McCluskey claimed they had spun in Jones’ spilt oil. At a luncheon the next day, Sachs complained bitterly, and Jones punched him.

[Sachs and Indy rookie Dave MacDonald died in a fiery crash the next year at Indy.]

Jones finished second at Indy in 1965.  He also had victory in hand in 1961 and ’62 before being derailed by mechanical issues.

Jones had four wins in the NASCAR Cup Series.

After retiring from Indy 500 driving, he co-owned the cars that Al Unser won the race with in 1970 and ’71.  He also fielded a Formula One car that Mario Andretti drove in 1974-76.

--The New York Giants saved about $9 million net in cap space (if I’m reading it right) with the retirement today of enigmatic, and mostly underperforming tight end Darren Waller.  A huge sigh of relief was felt across Giants Nation.

--Not a good day to be swimming in the waters off the Florida panhandle, Friday.  A woman had part of her arm amputated and two other teens were hospitalized after back-to-back shark attacks, according to local officials.

The woman, 45, was swimming at Watersound Beach in Walton County around 1:20 p.m. when a shark bit her while she and her husband were just beyond the sandbar, South Walton Fire District Chief Ryan Crawford told reporters.

The shark bite caused “significant trauma” to her midsection, and she had to have part of her left arm amputated, Crawford said, according to ABC News.  She was in critical condition.

Just 90 minutes later, about four miles down the beach, two girls, 15 and 17, were also attacked while swimming with their group of friends in waist-deep water, officials said.

One of the girls suffered “significant injuries” to her upper leg and hand and was airlifted to a hospital in Pensacola in critical condition.

The other teen had minor injuries to her foot and was taken to a local hospital.

Officials closed the ocean to swimmers after both incidents.

The last shark attack in the county was back in 2021. The last fatal attack was in 2005.

And then also Friday, off the waters of Oahu in Hawaii (the north shore), a woman was seriously injured in an apparent shark attack at about 2 p.m., paramedics treating the 25-year-old with multiple injuries and took her to a trauma hospital in serious condition.  I have yet to see further details on this one.

Pray for the victims...just awful.

Top 3 songs for the week 6/11/88: #1 “One More Try” (George Michael)  #2 “Together Forever” (Rick Astley)  #3 “Everything Your Heart Desires” (Darryl Hall / John Oates)...and...#4 “Shattered Dreams” (Johnny Hates Jazz) #5 “Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)” (Samantha Fox...a naughty girl indeed, sports fans...)  #6 “Foolish Beat” (Debbie Gibson)  #7 “Make It Real” (The Jets)  #8 “Dirty Diana” (Michael Jackson)  #9 “Circle In The Sand” (Belinda Carlisle)  #10 “The Valley Road” (Bruce Hornsby and The Range...this is the latest I’ve gone into the 80s in 25 years...for good reason...back to the 60s...)

MLB Draft Quiz Answer: 1976 Draft future Hall of Famers: Alan Trammell (round 2), Rickey Henderson (4), Jack Morris (5), Wade Boggs (7).  1977: Harold Baines (1st overall), Paul Molitor (1st), Ozzie Smith (4), Tim Raines (5).

Smith was actually a 7th-rounder in 1976 but opted not to sign and only improved his position three rounds by holding off.

While baseball fans have no problem with Trammell being in the Hall, mentioning him brings up the age-old question asked at local watering holes...if he’s in, why isn’t Lou Whitaker?!

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

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