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[Posted Sunday PM]
Brief Add-on up top Tues. AM.
College Football Quiz: Name the eleven national champions since 2015. Answer below.
MLB
—The amazing, incredible Boston Red Sox (64-51) won their ninth in a row Friday night at Fenway, 13-1 over the pathetic A’s (45-71). Patrick Tolle (7-6, 3.20) had a career night, 14 strikeouts in six innings.
[The A’s were 38-38 on June 19 and have gone 7-33 since! Yuck…]
Thursday, Boston had a scintillating 12-11 win in 13 innings over the White Sox; a game in which 17 pitchers were used, nine by the Red Sox.
It’s worth repeating over and over again. Boston was 32-46 on June 24 and through Friday was 32-5 since; one of the greatest stretches in baseball history. They had also won 10 consecutive series.
But Saturday, the A’s flipped the script, ending Boston’s streak at nine with a 7-3 win.
And then today, the A’s won again, 4-3, as the Red Sox’ pen blew it late.
–On the flip side we have the two-time defending champion Dodgers, who lost their seventh straight Friday night in Phoenix, falling to the Diamondback (62-55) 4-3 on a two-run, walk-off homer against closer Edwin Diaz.
Diaz, who missed 85 games this year after undergoing arthroscopic elbow surgery in April, has come back and pitched four times, and hardly looks like the same All-Star pitcher L.A. signed to a $69 million, three-year deal during the offseason. [One of the Mets’ better non-moves in not re-signing Diaz.]
In fact, he has an 11.00 ERA in 11 outings this season.
And while the Dodgers (69-47) are still firmly ahead in the NL West, 7 ½ over Arizona, they now have just the third-best record in the NL, trailing Milwaukee and Atlanta.
Which means that if the season ended Friday, the Dodgers would be facing the Phillies in the wild-card round.
The Dodgers then won Saturday, 2-1 in 10 innings, Shohei Ohtani with an infield single to drive in the winning run.
But Edwin Diaz blew the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the ninth.
Going back to Wednesday, in the Cubs 7-6 win over the Dodgers, both Shohei Ohtani and Pete Crow-Armstrong hit two homers, probably the two leading candidates for NL MVP.
—The Yankees have literally been good game, bad game, good game, bad game. They beat the Braves (70-46) at the Stadium Friday night, 3-2 in 10 innings, in a game that was delayed at the start by heavy rain and thunderstorms for 1 hour, 55 minutes.
The Yanks did get 6 1/3 scoreless innings from Max Fried in his first outing against his former team, but Tyler Mahle matched him with six shutout innings in his Atlanta debut.
After Friday’s play, New York was just ½-game ahead of Boston in the wild-card race, Tampa Bay 4 ½ over the Yanks in the AL East.
Tuesday, the Yankees called up highly touted prospect, and shortstop, George Lombard, and all he did was homer in his debut, as well as play terrific in the field. [Anthony Volpe was sent down.]
Meanwhile, Aaron Judge spoke up about his broken rib injury status and said he was finally cleared for light activity, including outdoor running and upper-body resistance.
“Oh, I’ll be back this season. I don’t know why I wouldn’t be,” Judge told reporters. “That was always the plan to come back – sooner than later, definitely – but I never had a thought of not playing this year.”
Judge has been out since May 31. New York was 36-23 at the time. They are 65-51 after Friday’s win. As in 29-28 without Judge.
The Yankees then won again Saturday, 5-4, as Gerrit Cole (7 innings, 2 runs, 9 Ks) outdueled Chris Sale (6 innings, 3 runs).
Ben Rice and George Lombard Jr. homered for New York; Lombard off to a 5-for-13 start, the two home runs and three walks.
But Sunday, the Braves avoided the sweep, 2-1 in 10 innings, Michael Harris II with the game-winning hit in the tenth, the Yankees held to four hits.
Cam Schlittler threw seven innings, one run, 11 strikeouts for a no-decision for New York, the lone run on Matt Olson’s 34th home run in the 7th.
—The Mets (51-66) had suddenly won four straight after Friday’s 6-4 win in Pittsburgh, 4-0 since the trade deadline. Interim manager Andy Green is 17-19 since taking over for Carlos Mendoza.
Alas, the good vibes were extinguished Saturday, the Pirates with a much-needed 9-0 win snapping their 4-game losing streak. Pittsburgh has lost 9 of 12 and has fallen 4 ½ back in the wild card race.
Make that 10 of 13 losses for the Pirates, as the Mets returned the favor by blowing them out 11-1, Sean Manaea with a terrific seven innings, one run, zero walks, 11 strikeouts, his fourth straight great start. Bo Bichette was 5-for-5, two doubles, a walk, 3 RBIs.
Golf Balls
In the final event before the FedEx Cup Playoffs, the Wyndham Championship, Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, N.C., the last chance to get into the field of 70, after 36 holes….
Beau Hossler -12
Ben James -11
Jordan Smith -11
There were ten players at -9, including Wake Forest’s Michael Brennan, whose name has been showing up on the leaderboard quite frequently, but he’s had miserable Sundays.
21-year-old phenom Jackson Koivun made the cut and was T38 at -5. He entered the weekend No. 70 on the points list, “Bubble Boy,” and after Friday had slid to 71. Pretty amazing as it’s just his fifth event as a pro this year.
You have the other goal for the field, and that is to be among the top 100 to secure their 2027 PGA Tour card, but you still have the Fall Season for that.
After 54 holes….
Michael Brennan -16
Hossler -16
Tom Kim -15
Alex Smalley -14
Alex Noren -14
Davis Thompson -13
There could be a lot of drama. Hossler needs to win it to move on to the playoffs. Brennan can do so with a three-way tie for second. As in, he can’t chance that.
Jackson Koivun (T15, -9) moved to 67 on the points list, so he needs another solid round to secure his berth in the playoffs.
44-year-old Alex Noren is still looking for his first PGA Tour title.
So in today’s final round, Michael Brennan birdied five holes in a row, Nos. 4-8, to take a 3-shot lead, but on the back nine, he struggled with his drives, the putting wasn’t as good, and we had….
Brennan -20 thru 12
Ben James -18…61!
Hossler -17…12
And Brennan settles down, birdies No. 13. Lead back to three.
Hossler birdie 17…-19.
Brennan has five feet to stay two shots clear…clutch par putt…-21.
On to 18, Brennan’s tee shot on the par-4 is solid, approach is perfect…and a final birdie!!
And 24-year-old Brennan wins his second, and biggest, Tour title. No Sunday issues today.
Hossler gets solo second…but is still winless.
Go Deacs!
Koivun finished No. 70…he’s on to the playoffs as well.
—LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil confirmed reports that the league has secured a lead investor and has garnered interest from “dozens” of other potential financial backers.
“LIV Golf has an agreement in place with a lead investor, signed by the investor and approved by the Board, to anchor the transaction and play a key role in supporting the path forward for the League’s next era, driven by and for the players,” O’Neil said. “We’re also seeing strong interest from more than a dozen additional parties to potentially serve as minority investors, creating a multi-partner model built for long-term stability and growth.”
A deal has also been formulated that will make LIV Golf’s players equity holders in the league itself.
O’Neil said in his statement: “We anticipate finalizing terms in the coming weeks, with the goal of entering a transaction in September. In the meantime, our focus is on delivering a great week for fans and players at Bedminster and finishing the 2026 season strong.”
The new LIV schedule will feature just 10 events, instead of 14, with five taking place in the U.S. and five international.
What a yawner.
O’Neil’s statement came a day after a players-only meeting on Tuesday, led by Bryson DeChambeau, which followed a meeting with O’Neil and other executives. Players were still uncertain whether the LIV Team Championship, set for late August in Plymouth, Mich., would be played. Reporters visiting the site at The Cardinal say no preparations at the course seem to be in the works; as in the build-out, including grandstands and other infrastructure – had yet to begin.
It’s unclear if players who have expiring contracts – most notably DeChambeau – will stick around for 2027, though DeChambeau said later in the week he was all in on the new potential structure.
Players exiting the meeting said little to reporters, but some, including Richard Bland, pointed to DeChambeau’s role in the meeting and cited a lack of definitive updates.
“Bryson just ran through what he knows, and obviously, we’re trying to do it as a group, but we’re individuals as well,” Bland said. “We’re in this together; we’re fully backing Scott. I think probably in the next two to three weeks we’ll have a bigger picture.”
Stuff
–They had the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony Saturday…Adam Vinatieri, Larry Fitzgerald Jr., Drew Brees, Luke Kuechly and Roger Craig.
The ceremony hit a somber not when former 49ers running back Craig – who finally made it in his 28th year of eligibility – revealed in a prerecorded video that he’s been diagnosed with dementia that doctors believe could be related to his playing career. Craig said he came forward to help others spot the gradual changes he’s experienced.
On a lighter side, Vinatieri joked that his long-time coach, Bill Belichick, missed the ceremony because he was judging his girlfriend’s cheerleading competition.
–We note the passing of NBA Hall of Famer Don Nelson, 86. Nelson won five NBA titles in his 11 seasons with the Celtics, a key sixth man who saw about 22-25 minutes per game and scored 10 points and pulled down five rebounds as a 6’6” small forward. He played 14 seasons overall in the league.
And then he got into coaching, from 1976-77 to 2009-2010, racking up 1,335 regular season wins (1,335-1,063…557 winning percentage) with Milwaukee, Golden State and Dallas (and a single abbreviated season with the Knicks in the mid-1990s).
He never won an NBA title as a coach, but he was a three-time Coach of the Year and his win total ranks second only to Gregg Popovich’s 1,390.
Nelson was the pioneer of “Nellie Ball,” a fast-paced offense employing smaller, more athletic players to seek mismatches and outrun opponents on the court, an approach used by many teams today.
—The Knicks can afford to have a quiet offseason after winning the NBA title, but there is an elephant in the room…what to do with center Karl-Antony Towns’ contract. He is eligible for a four-year, $272 million contract extension. That is the most that the soon-to-be 31-year-old can receive from the Knicks. Towns was extension eligible last offseason.
But nothing has come to fruition between the two sides. Towns will make just over $57 million this coming season and has a player option worth just over $61 million the following year before his contract expires.
If I’m the Knicks, it’s a no-brainer. Keep the existing contract. I wouldn’t give him the four-year max.
–The other day my long-time neighbor and friend, Michael C., who I’ve noted in the past was connected to the great 1970-71 Fordham Rams team that was coached by Digger Phelps, brought up a game from that season, Fordham ending up 26-3, No. 9 in the final AP poll.
Michael was talking to a leading New York sportswriter and the topic of the East Regional consolation game that year came up (yes, they played regional consolation games back then), Fordham beating South Carolina, 100-90.
I mention this only because if you’re old like me, and a long-time college hoops fan, the box score is fun. The top four starters for the Gamecocks all played in the ABA/NBA after. And look at the minutes played by the starters on both teams; Fordham also hitting 22 of 22 from the free throw line.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/boxscores/1971-03-20-fordham.html
–Portions of a major Maryland state park, Cunningham Falls in Frederick County, remained closed after two people were attacked by rabid beavers in the past two weeks.
A 13-year-old boy was attacked July 26 while swimming in the lake, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. More than a week later, another beaver bit a 19-year-old man fishing from the park’s shoreline on Wednesday.
Staff found the beavers responsible for the attacks in the lake’s vicinity and euthanized them, with tests revealing both had rabies.
An infectious diseases physician who specializes in rabies said it is “very rare” for a beaver to contract the virus.
Both victims were treated, but that poor kid, who sustained injuries to his hands and chest, will have nightmares for a long time to come.
This was the first rabies-positive beaver reported in the county since November 2009.
As for the video of the hippo charging and chasing the tourist boat in Botswana that most of you have no doubt seen, it is indeed horrifying.
Hippos kill 500 people a year in Africa on average, while Lions kill 250.
Top 3 songs for the week 8/5/64: #1 “A Hard Day’s Night” (The Beatles) #2 “Everybody Loves Somebody” (Dean Martin…would become #1 the next week…) #3 “Where Did Our Love Go” (The Supremes)…and…#4 “The Little Old Lady (From Pasadena)” (Jan & Dean) #5 “Rag Doll” (The 4 Seasons) #6 “Wishin’ And Hopin’” (Dusty Springfield) #7 “Under The Boardwalk” (The Drifters) #8 “Dang Me” (Roger Miller) #9 “I Wanna Love Him So Bad” (The Jelly Beans) #10 “I Get Around” (The Beach Boys…A week…)
College Football Quiz Answer: Eleven national champions since 2015….
2015 – Alabama
2016 – Clemson
2017 – Alabama
2018 – Clemson
2019 – LSU
2020 – Alabama
2021 – Georgia
2022 – Georgia
2023 – Michigan
2024 – Ohio State
2025 – Indiana
Kind of funny how the South dominated for eight years, and then the Big Ten took over.
Ohio State won in 2014.
Brief Add-on up top Tues. AM….
