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Bar Chat

09/02/2024

College Football, MLB, Scottie Scheffler....

Add-on posted very early Tuesday a.m.

MLB

--Let’s Go Mets!  Let’s Go Mets!  New York won their fifth straight last night, 4-1, over the Red Sox (70-68).  Luis Severino was solid, 7 strong, one earned, now 10-6, 3.84 ERA.  Like Sean Manaea, everything the Mets wanted when they signed them...and, frankly, more.

This is a Mets team that was 24-35 on June 2nd and is now 74-64...50-29.  Pretty, pretty good.

And with the Braves idle, just a ½-game back of the last wild card spot.

--Baltimore (80-59) beat the White Sox, now 31-108, 13-3 on Monday afternoon, so it was up to the Yankees, at Texas, to win and stay in front in the AL East.

New York sent Gerrit Cole to the mound and they beat the Rangers, 8-4, Cole 6 innings, one earned, 9 strikeouts, now 6-3, 3.65, so the Yanks (80-58) stay a half-game in front of the Orioles.

Aaron Judge didn’t homer again...stuck on 51.

But Cole left the game while warming up in the seventh with a right calf cramp...or so they hope it was just a cramp.

Back to the White Sox, the team set yet another record of futility as it was the 20th straight loss in games in which starter Chris Flexen (2-14, 5.36) took the mound.

Flexen is 0-11, 5.73 in 20 starts since winning May 8 at Tampa Bay. The old record was held by Washington’s Bob Groom back in 1909!  [Groom went 7-26 that season but was 24-13 in 1912.]

--Milwaukee beat St. Louis Monday, 9-3, and Willy Adames did something rather shocking.  Aside from homering for a fifth straight game, Adames equaled Ken Griffey Jr.’s record for three-run homers in a season...13.

Golf Balls

--To add more meat to Scottie Scheffler’s win in the Tour Championship, with the $25 million FedEx Cup prize, and the $8 million from the “Comcast Business Top 10” for leading the regular season, Scheffler took home $62.2 million.

But his official tour earnings were $29,228,357, the $33 million in bonus money not part of that calculation.

ESPN had an interesting little tidbit.  Scheffler’s $29.228 million represented about 9.2% of the $317.4 million total purse from tournaments he played.  Tiger Woods won $10,867,052 in 2007, about 9.7% of $112.5 million in total prize money, Tiger winning eight times, including six in a row and two majors, all while dealing with the death of his father.

Woods won about 11.6% of the total prize money in tournaments he played during 2000, still regarded as one of the greatest seasons ever.

No. 2 on the official money list was Xander Schauffele...$18,355,910
3. Hideki Matsuyama...$11,237,611
4. Wyndham Clark...$10,901,416
5. Rory McIlroy...$10,893,790

As for the bonus money Sunday, Collin Morikawa won $12.5 million for finishing second, and Sahith Theegala $7.5 million.  All golf fans are particularly happy for him.  Very likable, great for the game.  He’d make for a cool Masters champion (and an interesting Champions Dinner the following year!).

Three finished T9 (Rory, Matsuyama, and Shane Lowry) and they all picked up $1,608,333.

Yup, it’s not only important to finish in the top 30 to make the final, but also important to keep your head in the game, even if you start out not having a chance to win it.

Scheffler won seven tournaments in all (the most since Woods in 2007), plus the gold medal...no one else won more than two.  As he said after finishing things up Sunday, “It’s been a very eventful year, but it’s been really fun.”

Some will bitch about the format, but remember, Scheffler came to East Lakes as the top seed the prior two years and didn’t close the deal.  It’s a far better format, starting with a 2-shot lead for being No. 1 until the final event, then the initial highly complicated formula based on points, and wildly changing standings over the course of a round that no one could follow.

I thought Golf Channel’s Rich Lerner had a great comment on Scheffler after concerning his character, his humility, a man of faith, and a champion.  Lerner said it was like Tim Duncan and Pete Sampras (and then he added Roger Federer).

You didn’t see Duncan playing the social media game, in particular, and you never saw him or Sampras on Page Six of the New York Post.  They were just dedicated to their job...and were champions.  And that’s what Scheffler is.  I love it.

I noted during the year that I’d have no problem with Scottie Scheffler winning everything he entered...I love watching greatness.  Granted, the networks might not like that.

As an aside, it’s why Aaron Judge needs to lead the Yankees to a world championship before he can truly be considered amongst the elite.

U.S. Open

--Sunday, after I posted, defending champion No. 3 seed Coco Gauff fell to nemesis 13 Emma Navarro in a fourth-round match.  Navarro also beat Gauff in the fourth round at Wimbledon, this time 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Gauff has only herself to blame, as she had a staggering 19 double faults, leading the tournament overall with 38.  She only had 14 winners against Navarro.

Navarro plays 26 Paula Badosa on Tuesday.

--20-seed American Frances Tiafoe gets a lot of press considering he hasn’t done anything.  He’s not the kind of ‘colorful’ player I’m into, but obviously he’s a big fan favorite at the Open each year.

And so he advanced to the quarterfinals Sunday night, defeating Alexei Popyrin, who had upset No. 2 Novak Djokovic, doing so in four sets.

Tiafoe failed to make it out of the third round of seven of the last eight majors, that being last year when he lost in the quarterfinals to Ben Shelton, who he then defeated last week in round three.

Tiafoe has advanced to the semifinals just once, losing in 2022 at the Open to Carlos Alcaraz.  He now faces 9 Grigor Dimitrov Tuesday.

--Back to the women...No. 1 Iga Swiatek and 6-seed American Jessica Pegula advanced to the quarterfinals Monday, the two meeting Wednesday.

--Separately, the New York Times had a big story Monday on the crowds at the Open...historically large crowds...like last week, Monday through Friday, a combined day and night attendance of 75,012 fans per day, making them the top five best-attended days ever at the tournament.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?  But not if you are one of those 75,000.  Understand, the grounds at Flushing Meadows in Queens are rather confined and the lines for concessions and restrooms, for example, are huge...ditto the price of the former. Like beer is $14.50, and a bottle of water is $6 or $8, depending on the size.  Freakin’ water.  [They do have water stations where you can refill your bottle, but there can be big lines for that, too.]

When I was on Wall Street, I was invited to the Open every year by someone, but only went once. I’d much rather go to a golf tournament where you at least have the option of getting away from the crowd.  At the Open, you don’t have that choice.

College Football

--Sunday night, 23 USC had a huge win against 13 LSU in Las Vegas, 27-20, as new Trojans quarterback Miller Moss engineered a 75-yard drive in the final two minutes, Woody Marks running it in from 13 yards out for the deciding score with 0:08, breaking a 20-20 tie.

Afterwards, LSU coach Brian Kelly slammed his fist down on the news conference table, furious that once again the Tigers came up short in a biggie.

“We had some guys play their butts off tonight and we’re sitting here again, we’re sitting here again talking about the same things!” Kelly said as he slammed the table.  “About not finishing when you have an opponent in a position to put them away. But what we’re doing on the sideline is feeling like the game is over.”

Kelly, in his third season in Baton Rouge, said it was the first time during his tenure there that he has been “angry” at his team and that it lacked a “killer instinct.”

“I’ve got to coach them better because it’s unacceptable for us not to have found a way to win this football game.  It’s ridiculous.  It’s crazy.”

The Tigers had 10 penalties for 99 yards and of course a few of them were in crucial moments, like a targeting penalty on the game-winning drive.

--Meanwhile, back to Clemson’s beatdown from Georgia on Saturday, I forgot to mention a topic I’ve brought up before, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s refusal to play the transfer portal game.  His lack of activity in this realm is well documented, but this was his response when queried again on it following the 34-3 loss.

“People say whatever they are going to say,” Dabo said.  “Doesn’t matter what I say. We do what’s best for Clemson. When you lose like this, they’ve got every right to say whatever they want and write whatever you want.”

Thing is, on offense, it goes beyond the portal.  Cade Klubnick is the second consecutive five-star quarterback recruit to not pan out at Clemson, following DJ Uiagalelei.  And over the last three years, Clemson has had just three offensive players drafted, none higher than the fourth round.

A lot of folks are tired, though, of Dabo’s attitude and how he walks around like he has a giant chip on his shoulder when look what the school has given him!  The best resources in the country (which everyone else is scrambling to catch up to), and not only a massive salary for himself, but the school hasn’t balked at some of the humongous contracts for his top assistants.

--Florida State, after getting upset by Georgia Tech in Ireland, hosted Boston College Monday night and what a terrific debut for B.C. coach Bill O’Brien, 28-13, the Eagles outgaining the Seminoles 263-21 on the ground.

Coach Mike Norvell is in trouble...from a 13-0 season, but dissed from the playoffs and then losing the bowl game, to an 0-2 start.

If I were an FSU freshman student, I’d immediately transfer.  No reason to stay there.  Or just drop out and learn a trade...you’ll do far better in life anyway.

--The new AP poll comes out later Tuesday, after I posted.  Now that the NFL is underway, and no college games on Sundays and Mondays...the poll will be released every Sunday PM after today.

--Using the old rankings, Week 2 is dullsville, with 4 Texas at 9 Michigan the marquee game, and it could be a good one.

Otherwise, 15 Tennessee at 24 North Carolina State is the only other contest featuring ranked opponents.

You know what is an intriguing game, however? ...Boise State at 23 USC.  Boise was the preseason pick to be the Group of Five playoff selection, and you saw what their running back, Ashton Jeanty, did in Week One.  USC cannot afford a letdown after their big win in Vegas.

And for us Wake Forest fans, our game at home against Virginia could kind of be the season, in actuality.  If we win it, Demon Deacon fans can at least harbor dreams of a .500 season for a few weeks, even with a blowout at the hands of Ole Miss looming the following week.

If you live in Iowa, it’s all about Iowa-Iowa State.

Others might point to Texas A&M-Commerce at UC Davis...just sayin’.

Just in....

New AP Poll...released Tuesday p.m.

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Alabama
5. Notre Dame
6. Ole Miss
7. Oregon...down 4
8. Penn State
9. Missouri
10. Michigan
11. Utah
12. Miami...up 7
13. USC...up 10
14. Tennessee
15. Oklahoma
16. Oklahoma State
17. Kansas State
18. LSU
19. Kansas
20. Arizona
21. Iowa
22. Louisville
23. Georgia Tech
24. North Carolina State
25. Clemson...down 11

Boston College No. 27 if you carry out the votes.

Florida State doesn’t receive a single vote after being ranked No. 10.

Stuff

--In Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway, Chase Briscoe punched his ticket into the playoffs for Stewart-Haas Racing, a final chance for the team to add to its championship legacy before it shuts down after the season.

Ty Gibbs and Martin Truex Jr. earned the final two postseason spots on points, while Bubba Watson and Ross Chastain were the last two out as we now commence the 10-race playoff series...Watkins Glen and then Bristol the first two.

For Briscoe it was career win No. 2.

--Chicago rookie Angel Reese broke the WNBA single-season rebounding record Sunday, as she also had her 24th double-double in the Sky’s 79-74 loss at Minnesota.

Reese broke the record of another former LSU star, retired center Sylvia Fowles.  Fowles played at LSU from 2004 to 2008, then spent 15 seasons in the WNBA with Chicago and Minnesota.  She is the WNBA’s career rebounding leader with 4,006 in 408 regular-season games.

Reese has 418 through 32 games, while Fowles set her mark of 404 when the WNBA had a 34-game schedule. It is now 40.

--San Francisco 49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall, shot Saturday in a brazen broad daylight robbery attempt, was released from the hospital on Sunday, “extremely lucky” to be alive, as his mother and the team said on social media.

On Monday, the NFL added Pearsall to the reserve/non-football injury list, meaning he will miss at least four games of the season.

By the grace of God....

--Monday, Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi settled their longstanding beef in a Netflix special in Las Vegas, Chestnut setting a new record – 83 hot dogs – besting his own world record of 76 set in 2022 – to Kobayashi’s 66 in 10 minutes.

Next Bar Chat, noonish, Sunday...abbreviated.  I’ll explain later.

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[Posted early Sunday p.m.]

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

College Football Quiz: Entering this season, who are the five longest-tenured active head coaches in Division I?  [Hint: 16+ seasons.]  Answer below.

MLB

--The Mets finished their big 10-game stretch against Baltimore at home, and then San Diego and Arizona on the road, 6-4, so on the surface job well done.

But it could have easily been 8-2 as Edwin Diaz had two brutal blown saves, last Sunday in San Diego and then Wednesday in Phoenix.

New York then traveled to Chicago to face the 31-104 White Sox, needing a sweep in the worst way, and the Mets started out Friday with a solid 5-1 win.

They then won Saturday, 5-3, with the Braves falling to the Phillies in 2 of the first 3 in their 4-game series in Philadelphia, and suddenly after Saturday’s play, for all the sturm and drang, the Metsies trailed the Braves by just two in the wild card race.

NL WC race...

Arizona 76-60...+2
San Diego 77-61...+2
Atlanta 74-62...--
Mets 72-64...2
Chicago 70-66...4

As for Saturday’s 3-0 win for the Phillies, Zack Wheeler helped his former team with 7 shutout innings, moving to 13-6, 2.63, and staying in the Cy Young Award race with Chris Sale (15-3, 2.58).  We’ll see who performs better down the stretch.

The Braves and Phillies square off tonight in the ESPN game.

And should Aaron Nola get the job done for Philadelphia, the Mets will be only one game back of Atlanta...the Mets completing the sweep today, 2-0, Sean Manaea with another 7 superb innings, 2 hits, Edwin Diaz closing it out, Francisco Lindor with home run No. 29.

[Chicago starter Garrett Crochet struck out the first seven Mets hitters, but he is severely pitch-limited and he was out after 57 pitches in the fourth.  It’s his first year as a starting pitcher and he is destined for superstardom.]

A 7-3 road trip for the Metropolitans.

As for the White Sox, it’s a franchise-record-worst 107 losses.  Eegads.

The Cubs beat the Nationals today, 14-1...making it four times in the last eight games that Chicago has scored 14 or more!  Holy Peoria! So they remain two back of the Mets, and they are rooting big time for Aaron Nola as well.

--The Yankees faced the Cardinals at home this weekend (cool sounding series), New York taking the opener Friday night, 6-3, as rising star, catcher Austin Wells, hit two home runs, while Marcus Stroman (10-6, 3.81) pitched 7 strong, 2 earned.

But a late comeback came up short Saturday, the Yanks falling 6-5, Austin Wells failing to come through in the bottom of the ninth, two outs, tying and winning runs on base.

Aaron Judge has gone five games without a home run.

Sunday, the Yanks lost their fourth in five games, 14-7, Judge homerless again.

--The Dodgers lost Clayton Kershaw to a bone spur in his left big toe, which has been causing rather excruciating pain, Kershaw going just one inning, 3 earned in a 10-9 L.A. win over the Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Friday.

But Shohei Ohtani became the first 43-43 man...hitting his 43rd home run and stealing his 43rd base; the quest to become the first to reach 50-50 very much alive.

Ohtani then hit No. 44 Saturday night, as L.A. won again over the D’Backs, 8-6, increasing their lead in the NL West to six games over both Arizona and San Diego.

--The Royals suffered a big blow when first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino broke his right thumb in a game against the Astros, Thursday.  He is batting .262 with 19 home runs and 97 RBIs, a breakout season.  He’s out 6-8 weeks, so a possible return for the playoffs.

--Last Wednesday, the Cubs beat the Pirates 14-10, as Paul Skenes had another no-decision, 5 innings, 3 earned, 6 strikeouts.

The same night, his LSU teammate and No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, Dylan Crews, hit his first major-league home run for the Nationals, against the Yankees in a 5-2 Washington win, the Nats taking 2 of 3 at home.

[Thru Saturday, in his first five games, Crews has two doubles and two home runs, a .985 OPS. What a terrific young outfield the Nats have...the future is good, Washington fans.]

--Friday, the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 draft, Cincinnati righthander Rhett Lowder, made his MLB debut, 4 innings, one earned, but 4 walks, 6 strikeouts, in what would be a 14-0 laugher for Milwaukee, sweeping a doubleheader.  So former Demon Deacon Lowder took the loss but a solid first outing...and sooner then us fans expected.  I thought Lowder might make the team next spring.

Because it was a doubleheader, the Reds were allowed a 27th player – and it was assumed Lowder would be sent back down.

--Thursday, in a 10-9 loss to the Reds, Oakland’s Lawrence Butler slammed three home runs for the second time this season, joining Mookie Betts and Ralph Kiner as the only players aged 24 or younger with multiple 3-HR games in a single season.

--Milwaukee’s Christan Yelich commented after his season-ending back surgery.

“Once I got surgery, once that decision was made, it was to the point where daily living sucked,” he said. “I was really uncomfortable. There was a lot of pain.”

Yelich underwent a diskectomy to remove the damaged part of a disk in his spine.

Yelich said he feels encouraged by how his body has responded to the surgery thus far.

“I feel great right now... I should have a pretty good recovery and feel really good going forward, so that’s exciting.  It’s almost two weeks out, I’m walking around pretty normal, so everything on that end is pretty good.”

It will be interesting to see if he’s able to finally play pain-free, after dealing with back issues for years that limited his production.

College Football

--So I wrote last week about what a terrific opening college football game we had in Dublin, Ireland, of all place, as Georgia Tech upset Florida State.

And then yesterday, No. 1 Georgia vs. 14 Clemson in Atlanta could not have been more the reverse; an absolutely hideous contest, Georgia up 6-0 at the half and humiliating Clemson after the intermission for a 34-3 win, the Bulldogs outgaining the Tigers 447-188.  It’s not like Georgia looked that good...Clemson’s offense was atrocious.

But Dabo Swinney has his money.

--This one set the tone for the day, as 8 Penn State then easily handled West Virginia in Morgantown, 34-12, with a mega rain delay tossed in.

--2 Ohio State blasted Akron 52-6; while 4 Texas had its way with Colorado State, 52-0.  Heisman candidate Quinn Ewers was 20/27, 260, 3-1, for the Longhorns, while Arch Manning saw some snaps and threw his first collegiate touchdown pass, 5/6, 95, 1-0, and running it in for another score.

--3 Oregon had a shockingly tough time with Idaho, winning just 24-14 when they were favored by 45!  Sixth-year quarterback Dillon Gabriel was 41 of 49, but for a rather meager 380, two touchdowns.  He also lost a fumble and the Ducks missed a field goal.

Not exactly what coach Dan Lanning was looking for, Oregon’s longest pass play just 24 yards.

--6 Ole Miss destroyed Furman, 76-0, as Jaxson Dart was a cool 22/27, 418, 5-0, and receiver Tre Harris, 8-179-2, in just a half of football...it being 52-0 at the intermission.  [Uh oh, Demon Deacon fans...see Sept. 14 against the Rebels.]

--I went to bed with 7 Notre Dame tied with 20 Texas A&M, 13-13, after three in College Station, but the Fighting Irish pulled away for 23-13 win.  Former Duke QB Riley Leonard was less than scintillating in his ND debut, 18/30, 158, 0-0, but had 63 yards on the ground.

That said, an important road win for Notre Dame.

--Vanderbilt, a 13.5-point underdog, upset Virginia Tech, 34-27 in overtime.

--At least 19 Miami defeated Florida in Gainesville, 41-17, in terms of the ACC keeping some dignity, Washington State transfer Cam Ward shredding the Gator defense for 385 yards and three touchdowns.

--Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty had a rather spectacular day against Georgia Southern in a 56-45 win.  Jeanty had 267 yards and six touchdowns (including TD runs of 75- and 77-yards) on just 20 carries.

--Colorado barely beat FCS powerhouse North Dakota State in their opener Thursday, 31-26.  Shedeur Sanders was terrific, 26/34, 445, 4-1, with two-way star Travis Hunter catching seven passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns (while making three tackles).

Hunter could conceivably be the first overall pick in the draft next spring.

But it could be the same old, same old for coach Deion Sanders as the Buffaloes offensive line looked awful and the defense is porous.

--After a slow start, Wake Forest ran away from North Carolina A&T on Thursday night in Winston-Salem, transfer QB Hank Bachmeier (via La. Tech and Boise State) entering the game in the second quarter and igniting the offense, Bachmeier 18/28, 263, 3-0.

But it was A&T, not one of the big boys, and while I still say Wake is a 4-8 team, at best, we do have four weapons on offense, three receivers and running back Demond Claiborne, who is good, 17-135-1 in the game.

Receiver Donavon Greene should be in the NFL, but has literally missed two full seasons (2021, 2023) due to injury.  If he stays healthy, we can at least put some points on the board and maybe stay in a few games where we are heavy underdogs.

Let’s see how the Deacs do against Virginia next weekend, prior to the biggie vs. Ole Miss.

--North Carolina quarterback Max Johnson will miss the remainder of the season with a broken right leg suffered in the team’s 19-17 season-opening win at Minnesota on Thursday.

The school said Friday that Johnson underwent surgery on his leg in Minneapolis.

Johnson, who transferred to the Tar Heels from Texas A&M this past offseason, won the starting job after a competition with Conner Harrell that went down to the wire.

--Rutgers is conducting an investigation into a possible “inappropriate, consensual relationship” involving former athletic director Pat Hobbs, the investigation believed to have spurred his abrupt resignation on Aug. 16, according to NJ Advance Media.

When Hobbs resigned, he blamed his departure on health issues, but an NJ Advance Media investigation revealed that the gymnastics program recently had been riddled with complaints.

The gymnasts described a program in chaos, plagued by accusations of favoritism, bullying and revenge by head coach Umme Salim-Beasley.

The gymnasts said Hobbs rebuffed their complaints, and they believed it was at least partially because Hobbs and Salim-Beasley had an unusual relationship for an AD and a coach of an unsuccessful minor sports program.

NFL

--San Francisco 49ers rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall was shot Saturday afternoon in an attempted robbery in the Union Square area.

The 49ers confirmed that Pearsall had sustained “a bullet wound to his chest” and was in “serious but stable condition.”

Pearsall and the suspect – a 17-year-old who is in custody with charges pending – were injured in a physical altercation that was part of the attempted robbery, San Francisco Police said. 

--New England head coach Jerod Mayo named Jacoby Brissett the starting quarterback over rookie, and No. 3 overall pick, Drake Maye.

--The Steelers are riding with Russell Wilson in Week 1, over Justin Fields, head coach Mike Tomlin announced Wednesday. This will be interesting.  Wilson can’t afford to stumble early.  The fans will demand Fields.

--The NFL plans to restrict Tom Brady’s access to teams in his broadcasting role for Fox, while his proposed deal for part ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders moves toward possible approval by the league’s team owners as soon as October.

The league will prohibit Brady, who will be Fox’s lead analyst on NFL game broadcasts beginning this season, from participating in broadcast production meetings with NFL teams and from being in teams’ facilities to watch their practices or perform other activities.

The restrictions arise from conflict-of-interest concerns about a part owner of a franchise having access to other teams.  Network broadcasters typically speak to coaches and players from the two participating teams ahead of the game they’re about to call, in addition to potentially attending the home team’s practice at its training facility.

Not a good situation for Brady and Fox.

--The San Francisco 49ers and receiver Brandon Aiyuk buried the hatchet and ended a contract squabble that had dragged on for months and led to trade possibilities involving several teams.

Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million extension, $76 million in guaranteed money.

Golf Balls

--The final 30...The Tour Championship at vastly redesigned East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Georgia.

Xander Schauffele said after playing it in practice: “I mean, it’s just a new golf course.  Kind of a glass half full guy, so I’ve played a lot of new courses this year that I’ve done okay at them. And this is a brand new property.”

“It’s definitely interesting.  It’s basically a new golf course from what it was before. It’s not really at all the same,” Scottie Scheffler said.

But from the following, Scheffler and Schauffele liked the course well enough.

I told you in my Add-on how the leaderboard stacked up heading into the first round, Scheffler with a 2-stroke lead over Schauffele; Scheffler at -10, Schauffele -8.

But with the field needing Scottie to get off to a poor start, instead, he had the best round of the day, 6-under on the par-71 course.  He then followed that up with a 66, and after 36 holes....

Scheffler -21...65-66
Collin Morikawa -17...66-63
Schauffele -16...70-64

Then you have to go down to -12 for the T4 boys.

Not exactly what NBC wanted for the weekend, but would Scheffler fall back to the field on Saturday?

Nope...after three rounds....

Scheffler -26...another 66
Morikawa -21
Sahith Theegala -17

Theegala gained some new fans when he did the right thing...called a two-shot penalty on himself for touching the sand on his back swing in a trap on No. 3.  He nonetheless fired a 66, finishing with five straight birdies to put himself in position for one helluva pay day, and an increased Q rating for Madison Avenue.

So today, Scottie closed the deal, despite a rough start, he righted himself and ended up with 4-shot win over Morikawa, Theegala solo third by a whopping five shots.

Scheffler -30
Morikawa -26
Theegala -24 after a 66-64 finish, despite the 2-stroke penalty.

Win No. 7 this year for the amazing Scheffler (plus an Olympic gold medal), his 13th career PGA Tour title, all in the last three years.

I’ll get into more specifics in the Add-on Tuesday, but as Dan Hicks mentioned at the end, Scheffler’s season-long stroke average of 68.0 is the lowest in PGA Tour history.

There is your Player of the Year.

As Ronald Reagan would have told Nancy, while reading the Monday morning sports pages...Nancy watching the “Today Show” while making her Ronnie his favorite blueberry pancakes... ‘Not bad, not bad at all.’

--Jordan Spieth confirmed he had surgery on his left wrist, which has been bothering him for 16 months.  He posted on X: “Focused on rest and rehab, and I look forward to returning to golf healthy and prepared for 2025!”

U.S. Open

--In back-to-back nights, No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 2 Novak Djokovic exited the tournament, a stunning development.

Thursday night, Alcaraz had his 15-match Grand Slam winning streak snapped at the hands of unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp...in the second round!

“I don’t know what to say right now. I mean, first of all, I think he played great,” Alcaraz said after his straight set loss.  He became the first top-3 seed to lose in the first two rounds of the Open since 2006.

Friday night, reigning U.S. Open champion Djokovic said after his 4-set loss to 28-seed Alexei Popyrin of Australia in the third round, “I have played some of the worst tennis I have ever played, honestly.  Serving – by far – the worst ever.”

Popyrin advanced to the fourth round of the Open for the first time in his career.

It’s only the third time in the Open era that two of the top three men’s seeds at the U.S. Open are gone before the fourth round.

--Daniil Medvedev, the 5-seed, is the last former U.S. Open champion remaining on the men’s side, the 2021 Open winner defeating No. 31 Flavo Cobolli in straight sets Saturday night in the third round.

No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner advanced to the fourth round easily.

Today, 12 Taylor Fritz moved on to the quarterfinals with a 4-set win over 8 Casper Ruud.

--On the women’s side, 3-seed Coco Gauff moved on to the fourth round and is playing 13 Emma Navarro as I go to post.

Remembering Johnny Gaudreau

I opened that other column I do this week talking about the tragic, immensely sad death of NHL star Gaudreau, the New Jersey kid who helped Boston College to a national title, and then became an All-Star in the NHL with Calgary and Columbus, scoring 743 points in 763 regular season games.

Gaudreau, 31, and his younger brother, Matthew, 29, also a B.C. hockey player with years in hockey’s minor leagues, were killed Thursday night by a suspected drunk driver while riding their bicycles in Salem County, N.J.  It was the lead on some national newscasts Friday night, a horrible event made all the worse by the fact the two brothers were going to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding in Philadelphia on Friday.

“The National Hockey League family is shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.  “While Johnny’s infectious spirit for the game and show-stopping skills on the ice earned him the nickname ‘Johnny Hockey,’ he was more than just a dazzling hockey player; he was a doting father and beloved husband, son, brother and teammate who endeared himself to every person fortunate enough to have crossed his path.”

Longtime NHL executive Brian Burke, in a statement said in part: “First and foremost, Johnny was always the first to raise his hand to give back to his community. When we had any charity requests, we always knew he would say yes, without hesitation.  His love of his family, friends and alma mater was always apparent and was clearly the driving force in his life.”

The family issued a statement Friday that is heart-wrenching:

“Last night we lost two husbands, two fathers, two sons, and brothers-in-law, two nephews, two cousins, two family members, two teammates, two friends but truly two amazing humans.”

Goudreau’s widow, Meredith, posted a moving tribute Saturday:

“Thank you for the best years of my life.  Despite losing you, I am still the luckiest girl in the world to have been yours,” Meredith wrote on Instagram.  “I love you so much.  You were perfect.  Some days it felt too good to be true. I love every single thing about you.  You are my forever and I can’t wait to be with you again.  I love you so much forever and ever.”

RIP, Johnny and Matthew.  And God, embrace their wives, their children, and their families.

Premier League

--Last week I mentioned that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland was fully healthy and how that spelled trouble for City’s opponents, Haaland with a hat-trick and four goals in his first two games.

Make that seven in three, the first to ever do this, another hat-trick in City’s 3-1 win Saturday over West Ham.  Extraordinary.

Haaland has led the PL in goals scored his first two seasons with City, 36 in 2022 (a record league high), and 27 in just 31 games last year.  Understand a season with 25 goals is going to have you in the top 3 in the league virtually every campaign.

And now this.  Haaland has 70 goals in 69 games for Man City.

Also Saturday, Arsenal laid an egg and this early in the season, they may look back with disgust on it...just a 1-1 draw at home vs. Brighton.

Today, Liverpool easily handled Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford.

Stuff

--NASCAR made a big announcement...they are returning to Rockingham Speedway after a 10-year hiatus.  Once known as North Carolina Motor Speedway and nicknamed “The Rock,” the speedway will host a series of races on April 18-20, 2025, which is Easter weekend.

NASCAR has vowed to take its product back to its roots.  Earlier this month, the governing body announced that it would run “The Clash,” its season-opener, at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, a venue that was once a regular stop on the premier tour.

It was two years ago NASCAR returned to North Wilkesboro Speedway for its All-Star Weekend.

Back in the day, I went to Rockingham twice, and as Phil W. knows, just like at North Wilkesboro, it’s all about how many Carolina barbecue sandwiches you can eat...as well as the racing.  I once took my brother to Rockingham when I was living in Raleigh (as part of a two-year period where I was transferred six times up and down the east coast) and, of course, I got a speeding ticket heading to the track.

But The Rock has quite a history. Richard Petty won there 11 times.

--Caitlin Clark, broke the WNBA rookie record for three-pointers in a season Wednesday, already holding a single-season rookie record for assists.

And Friday night in a 100-81 win over the Chicago Sky, Clark had a season-high 31 points and 12 assists, as Indiana improved to 16-16 after a 1-8 start.

--Stephen Curry agreed to a one-year, $62.6 million extension, keeping him under contract with Golden State through the 2026-27 season and pass $500 million in career earnings in the process, joining LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Curry had two years remaining on the four-year, $215.4 million contract he signed in August 2021.  He was eligible to sign only a one-year extension this offseason due to the NBA’s over-38 rule, which prevents teams from offering contracts of four years or more to players who are or will be 38 years old during the deal.

Curry, 36, has been vocal about his desire to remain with the Warriors – and retire with them.

Top 3 songs for the week 9/1/73:  #1 “Brother Louie” (Stories)  #2 “Let’s Get It On” (Marvin Gaye)  #3 “Delta Dawn” (Helen Reddy)...and...#4 “Touch Me In The Morning” (Diana Ross)  #5 “Live And Let Die” (Wings)  #6 “Say, Has Anybody Seen My Sweet Gypsy Rose” (Dawn featuring Tony Orlando)  #7 “The Morning After” (Maureen McGovern...from “The Poseidon Adventure”...)  #8 “Get Down” (Gilbert O’Sullivan)  #9 “Loves Me Like A Rock” (Paul Simon)  #10 “Feelin’ Stronger Every Day” (Chicago...B week...)

College Football Quiz Answer: Five longest-tenured active head coaches in Division I....

5. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)...17th season including interim in 2008 (7 games).
4. Troy Calhoun (Air Force)...entering 18th season.
3. Kyle Whittingham (Utah)...20th full season...one game in 2004.
2. Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)...20th season in 2024.
1. Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)...entering 26th season.

Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.

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