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[Posted Sunday PM after Golf]
Brief Add-on up top Tues. AM…
College Football Quiz: Name the seven coaches to win 250 games or more at major schools, outside of Pop Warner and Amos Alonzo Stagg. Answer below.
MLB
–The season is winding down to a precious few weeks, less than 30 games remaining in the regular season.
The Yankees (76-58) hosted the Red Sox (73-61) this weekend at the Stadium and took the opener 1-0, the lone run the result of a Paul Goldschmidt 3rd-inning home run; Cam Schlittler with 5 2/3 scoreless for New York, 8 strikeouts but 5 walks, as he moves to 12-6, 2.09 ERA.
But the Yanks are four games behind the first-place Rays in the AL East, while New York and Boston are heading to the playoffs, Boston 5 ½ ahead of Cleveland (and the Guardians’ pursuers).
[Yankee top prospect George Lombard Jr. did not commit an error at shortstop Friday, breaking a nightmarish streak of committing an error in six straight games. He was the first Yankees shortstop to do this since Roger Peckinpaugh in 1915!]
Saturday, the two teams played a day-night doubleheader, Boston taking the first 6-0, New York the nightcap, 9-2, as Lombard Jr. left the game with what’s described as a minor knee injury that has him day-to-day.
And Sunday, the Yanks demolished the BoSox 16-1, with Austin Wells hitting two home runs in a 9-run 8th inning.
–After giving their fans a little hope that they could at least be mildly entertaining in September, the Mets (60-75) lost three straight, including Friday’s 3-1 loss to the Astros (68-67) at Citi Field.
But they rebounded for a clean 6-2 win Saturday as rookie Nolan McLean continued his sterling stretch, 7 innings, zero earned, in moving to 10-8, 3.06. Had Cincinnati’s Sal Stewart not been around (Stewart with 30 homers, 104 RBIs), McLean would be a favorite for Rookie of the Year; fellow Met Carson Benge receiving some votes as well.
Speaking of Stewart, his Reds fell to the Cubs, Saturday, 17-5, as Pete Crow-Armstrong perhaps wrapped up the NL MVP Award with a 3-homer, 6 RBI performance for Chicago…Armstrong with 36 home runs and 89 RBIs. [And also with a .944 OPS, 32 steals, 7 triples, and 97 runs scored, plus terrific defense.]
Back to the Mets, Saturday marked the return of Juan Soto after being out 31 games with his second calf injury of the season, the first time missing 15 games.
It was just the 27th game this season that the Mets’ top three hitters, Soto, Francisco Lindor and Bo Bichette, have been in the lineup together. Not exactly how management drew it up heading into spring training. [After Saturday, the team is 14-13 with the three playing together.]
—During the week, the Braves (80-55) swept the Dodgers (81-54) in Atlanta, including Chris Sale’s first complete-game victory in more than 7 years, Thursday, 1-0, Sale improving to 13-9, 2.06, as he remains a strong Cy Young Award contender.
Friday, the Dodgers traveled to Detroit and beat the Tigers 2-1, as Tarik Skubal made his emotional return, six innings, one run, in a solid effort for his new club, but it was a no-decision for him.
Atlanta beat the Rockies 6-4.
Saturday, the Dodgers lost to the Tigers 2-1, despite Blake Snell’s strong effort, 5 innings, one run, 10 strikeouts for L.A. Snell has now made four solid starts after a 3-month injury absence as he solidifies his spot in the playoff rotation.
But Atlanta beat the Rockies 2-1, so Atlanta and L.A. are tied at 81-55 for second-best record in the NL, behind Milwaukee (85-51). This is huge…the race to avoid a wild-card playoff series.
Sunday, the Braves beat the Rockies a third time, 3-2 in 10, to extend their winning streak to seven.
And then the Dodgers kept pace, 6-1 over Detroit; as Tyler Glasnow, like Snell, returning from a long injury absence, went 7 innings for the win. He’s saying, ‘Hey Editor, I can be in the playoff rotation!’
To which I’d say, ‘Tyler, you’re the dream long man.’ [I don’t see Ohtani in this mix.]
Milwaukee lost to the Rangers 7-4 today.
—Philadelphia (76-60) is solidly in the second wild-card slot (behind the Cubs) after Friday night’s dramatic 5-3 win against the Angels in Anaheim, Edmundo Sosa with a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the ninth.
The Phillies then won Saturday, 4-2 in 10 innings.
–Going back to Tuesday and the ongoing drama surrounding Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, Skenes went six scoreless, no walks, 4 strikeouts in Pittsburgh’s 1-0 win over the Padres in San Diego. Skenes again hit 98 mph, which was encouraging.
Tour Championship
At the season-finale at East Lake Golf Club, the final 30 golfers playing for the FedEx Cup title and the $10 million first-place prize, at the end of the first round….
Min Woo Lee -8
ViktorHovland -6
Collin Morikawa -6
Christ Gotterup -6
Scottie Scheffler was in a group at -5.
Rory McIlroy was at -2.
And then the tournament really began to take shape as after 36….
Ryan Gerard -10
Hovland -10
Morikawa -9
Gotterup -9
Cameron Young -8…after a 62
Scheffler -8
And then a terrific group at -7…Justin Rose, Matt Fitzpatrick, Adam Scott and Ludvig Aberg.
It’s game on, Gerard the only exception to what is otherwise a stellar leaderboard, though he’s had a great season himself.
Rory was back at -3, hurt by a brutal double-bogey on the third hole, Friday.
But Saturday, ‘moving day,’ Rory made his big move with a terrific 63 to vault into a tie for the lead at one point, before Hovland and Gerard pulled away.
After 54….
Hovland -15
Gerard -14
Scott -12
Aberg -12
Scheffler -12
Gotterup -12
Rory -10
Young -10
It certainly is set up to be a great Sunday. Scott, 46, will receive a lot of fan adulation if he’s still there on the back nine.
Well, after the first few holes, let’s just say that while a lot of people diss East Lake for being boring and not memorable, and it’s true, there isn’t one hole that really jumps out at you, like so many of the holes at Augusta, The Players, or Pebble…just to offer some other courses we see regularly.
But East Lake certainly has opportunities for both great stuff, and total disaster, and early on, that’s what we saw Sunday.
Scheffler -14 thru 8
Hovland -14…6
Gotterup -12…8
Scott -12…7
Gerard -12…6
Young -11…9
Aberg -11…7
Henley -11…10
Rory, for example, was at -8 after 4 bogeys and an eagle thru 9.
Ryan Gerard doubled the first hole.
But Justin Rose jarred (aced) the par-3 9th…the fourth career ace of his PGA Tour career.
In the end, it wasn’t that dramatic, but Scottie Scheffler had, by far, the best round in the last three pairings and clinched Player of the Year honors in capturing the big prize, career win No. 22, the third of the season.
[More on what everyone won in my Add-on, Tues. AM]
—PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp announced an exciting new format for the Tour Championship beginning in 2028, when all the other big changes are coming into play.
The playoffs will still be over three weeks, but while the first event will be a 90-person, 72-hole stroke-play event to determine the season’s points winner, the top 32 finishers then advance to a match-play competition at rotating “prestigious” venues – including courses “the modern PGA Tour has not traditionally been able to feature,” the next two weeks.
Everyone is thinking courses like Cypress Point and Pine Valley, as two prime examples.
The final 32 will then be divided into a World Cup-style group stage in week two, with the top 16 (two from each of the eight groups) advancing to the finale, where it becomes single elimination, each match carrying the clarity and tension the postseason has long been missing, until a champion is crowned.
–Rolapp, in his annual news conference, also made it clear that he and the organization have no plans to welcome back LIV golfers any time soon – not even reopening the Brooks Koepka multistep “returning members program” that involved a sizable charitable donation – with the rogue tour’s future hanging by a thread.
LIV informed employees their jobs will end this coming week as the league begins life without Saudi funding, downsizing operations as it pursues an agreement with a lead investor to reshape the league for next year.
LIV Golf had its shortest season since the year it launched in 2022, losing events in New Orleans and the team championship in Michigan, with the team title merged into the finale last week in Indianapolis (with reduced purses).
Jon Rahm is still under contract while Bryson DeChambeau started the year negotiating for a renewal. That was before the Saudis pulled the plug on the funding when the Iran war led them to reshape their investment priorities.
Tyrrell Hatton entered the British Masters this week once he learned the team championship in Michigan had been canceled and even though he said he has “multiple years” on his contract with LIV, Hatton plans to play five of the next seven weeks on the European tour.
—Next weekend is the Walker Cup, the premier competition between amateur golfers…the U.S. vs. Great Britain and Ireland.
I mention this because it is being held at a club I’m most familiar with…Lahinch Golf Club in County Clare, Ireland…as in I’m a Lifetime Overseas Member and been to IRL 21 times. But not since 2019, which I hope to remedy for one final visit.
For golf fanatics, 17-year-old phenom Miles Russell will be there for the U.S. [Russell already has some PGA Tour stops on his resume. Like T39 at this year’s U.S. Open.]
It will be on Golf Channel, Sat. and Sun. Check it out.
But the weather forecast is not good, though as they say over there, it can change in 15 minutes and that’s really true. You can take your rain gear on and off 3 or 4 times during some rounds. However, the 19th hole is always special.
College Football
—In the FBS 2026 opener, Bill Belichick got his biggest win at North Carolina, 15-10 over TCU (a 9.5-point favorite) in rainy Dublin, Ireland (not what the Irish Tourism Bureau ordered).
I watched much of this one…a real yawner, though the slippery conditions didn’t help the quality of play.
But it was sweet revenge for Belichick, as the Tar Heels suffered through a miserable 4-8 season in his first year at the helm, including last season’s opening 48-14 humiliation by TCU at Chapel Hill.
—Virginia had an impressive 34-8 win at home over North Carolina State, outgaining the Wolfpack 413-168, as quarterback Beau Pribula (formerly at Penn State and Mizzou) was 9/11, 155, 2-0 through the air, while picking up 110 yards on 15 carries.
NFL
–After this weekend, we now await Week One of the NFL season, commencing with New England at Seattle, Sept. 9.
—The NFL made a great move…ditching the Pro Bowl. But it will still select AFC and NFC rosters which will be constructed with 44 players apiece.
What makes this significant is that this will be far more meaningful. Long-time readers know that it’s been one of my pet peeves…the Pro Bowl designation was meaningless, heavily diluted, because of all the last-minute replacements that then picked up the designation, often without deserving it.
As in when you looked at a player’s page on football-reference.com, I always argued the only thing that mattered was whether a player made the AP first- or second-team, especially in determining whether a player was Hall of Fame worthy.
But now saying you made a Pro Bowl will be meaningful…many players with contract escalators for being named one as well.
–Speaking of Hall of Fame and AP All-Pro honors, eight-time 1st-team All-Pro defensive tackle, and future Hall of Famer, Aaron Donald has decided to come out of retirement to play one last season with the Super Bowl favorite Rams.
Donald wants to play with fellow future Hall of Famer Myles Garrett, after retiring in 2023. He’s looked good in training camp. The Rams are must-watch TV and the networks are praying they have a dream season.
I kind of hope they do, too.
—John Branch of the New York Times/Athletic, had a depressing piece on the degenerative brain disease, C.T.E., and the sport of football.
New data reveals that at least one in four of all the people who have played in the NFL might expect to end up with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, according to a study of hundreds of cases over a recent six-year period.
Researchers considered every former NFL player who died from 2016 to 2021. There were 878. Some died in their 20s, some in their 80s, most in between.
The study’s main finding was simple math: At least 215 of those 878 former players – 24.5 percent – had C.T.E.
The actual prevalence could be far higher. The roughly 25 percent rate does not consider the 643 brains that were not examined. Some of those, maybe many of them, likely had C.T.E. too.
C.T.E. has also been found in the brains of other athletes who sustained repetitive blows to the head, including hockey, rugby and soccer players, as well as wrestlers and bobsledders. Those in the military who work with artillery also seem susceptible to the disease.
Premier League
—Week Two…Friday, Manchester City whipped Crystal Palace 4-1, Erling Haaland with his first two tallies of the season.
Saturday, Liverpool only managed a draw at home against Nottingham Forest, 2-2.
Newbie Hull City is 2-0 with a 1-0 win at Coventry City.
And my freakin’ Tottenham Spurs are 0-2, and goalless, after their first two, falling at home 2-0 to Newcastle. Drat!
Today, Chelsea edged Brighton 4-3 at home, while Manchester United beat visiting Ipswich 5-2.
Monday, Arsenal is at Aston Villa. Just take the day off, your boss won’t mind. It’s the last day of meteorological summer, after all.
“Boss, taking the day off to drink Guinness and watch Arsenal-AV.”
He or she will respond, “You go ahead and do that. Don’t worry about coming back Tuesday.”
Doh!
Dolly Parton, RIP
—Taylor Swift paid her respects to the Queen of Country:
“A world without Dolly doesn’t feel possible, real, or right. But because of the eternally generous way she spent her time on this earth and the countless lives she changed for the better, her legacy will be an everlasting one,” Swift wrote in a statement.
“Somehow she was able to give us her lessons about the world gently and honestly, simultaneously, and oftentimes hilariously,” she added. “She managed to give the world the ultimate mystery and fantasy in some corners of her life, but to give full transparency in the ways that counted.”
Early in Swift’s country music career, she reportedly distributed a cover of Parton’s 1977 track “Here You Come Again” to record labels.
In her statement, Swift said she was grateful for everything Parton gave her fans including the “melodies and lyrics she wrote that thawed even the coldest hearts.”
“For the millions of books she provided children all over the world so that they might fall in love with stories the way she did. For the tightropes she walked so that young girls like me could grow up dreaming of joining the circus too,” she wrote. “Dolly, I’ll think of you each step of the way.”
Parton’s most lasting legacy might be her generosity and broad appeal.
When a deadly wildfire swept through the Smokies in 2016, she held an all-star telethon and set up a foundation that sent monthly checks to residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
She opened up her Dollywood theme park in East Tennessee, a major economic driver in Appalachia that draws tourists from around the country, and established the Dollywood Foundation. She wrote books and memoirs, was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and was given a lifetime achievement award by the Recording Academy. She was selected for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2025.
With 55 Grammy nominations and 10 wins, Parton is the third-most nominated woman in Grammy history, only behind Beyonce and Taylor Swift.
Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal
“She was born in the hills of Tennessee, the fourth of 12 children of a sharecropper and his wife who lived in a shack without electricity or running water. She went on to become an icon, legend, goddess and what they were calling her all over social media, the earth angel. What a stupendous life.
“TV anchors always lead into the story of a celebrity who’s died, ‘The nation mourns today.’ It’s almost never true; it takes a lot to make a nation mourn. But it’s true this time. Things feel lonelier without that girl….
“She was a believing Christian and spoke often and believably of prayer, and of her prayers. The day she died her longtime friend Kathie Lee Gifford said on Fox News, ‘She loved people because she knew God did.’ If you think there really is a God, and he really made you and everyone else, then you have to infer that you should be exactly as charitable toward others as you hope God, the day you die, will be to you. That kind of thought will soften your edges. Dolly wasn’t hard-edged….
“The first advice of all show business is, ‘Always leave them wanting more.’ Did she ever.
“Goodbye, li’l darlin’. We will always love you.”
Stuff
—Saturday night at Daytona, Ryan Preece won the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season finale to secure the final playoff spot for Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing.
Preece a ferociously flipped cars at Daytona in 2023 and again in 2025. It was his first official Cup Series victory.
The 10-race playoff series starts next week at Darlington.
–They held the 157th running of the mid-summer derby Saturday, the $1.25 million Travers Stakes at Saratoga, and what a field we had.
Golden Tempo, winner of this year’s Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes, Preakness winner Napoleon Solo and Jim Dandy victor Renegade, who finished second to Golden Tempo in the Derby and was third in the Belmont.
Golden Tempo trainer Cherie DeVaux, the first female trainer to win a Kentucky Derby and two Triple Crown races, said “He seems fit. He seems really happy…and he’s not overly exerted, so I think he’s in a really good place.
Jose Ortiz has the ride on Golden Tempo as usual.
But in the end, we had an upset, Leading Change (12-1) ran down Napoleon Solo in the final yards to win by a half-length, with jockey Manny Franco having a terrific ride on the winner (trained by Brad Cox).
Golden Tempo rallied from ninth to finish third.
Renegade, owned by Mike Repole’s group (Repole single-handedly keeping St. John’s basketball near the top, i.e., his funds), finished eighth as its regular jockey was out with an injury and the replacement didn’t get the job done.
–You probably saw there was a massive beer heist in California, one of the largest in state history.
We’re talking nearly 34,000 cans…most of it Pabst Blue Ribbon.
The breakdown was 860 15-packs of 25-ounce cans of PBR; 546 30-packs of 12-oz. PBR; and 196 24-packs of 12-ounce Old Milwaukee.
The estimated value was $70,000, according to Montclair police, who also say the trail has gone cold.
Top 3 songs for the week of 9/2/67: #1 “Ode To Billie Joe” (Bobbie Gentry) #2 “All You Need Is Love” (The Beatles) #3 “Reflections” (Diana Ross and The Supremes)…and…#4 “Light My Fire” (The Doors) #5 “Baby I Love You” (Aretha Franklin) #6 “Come Back When You Grow Up” (Bobby Vee) #7 “Cold Sweat – Part I” (James Brown) #8 “Pleasant Valley Sunday” (The Monkees) #9 “You’re My Everything” (The Temptations) #10 “I Was Made To Love Her” (Stevie Wonder…B+ week…)
College Football Quiz Answer: Seven coaches with 250 wins….
Joe Paterno 409
Bobby Bowden 357
Bear Bryant 323
Nick Saban 297
Mack Brown 282
LaVell Edwards 257
Tom Osborne 255
Lou Holtz 249
Frank Beamer 238
Bo Schembechler 234
Hayden Fry 230
Pop Warner won 314, Amos Alonzo Stagg 282.
Paterno, Edwards, and Osborne got all their wins at one school.
Brief Add-on up top Tues. AM….
