Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh was not pleased the NFL moved Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals from 1 p.m. to 4:25 p.m. ET. “I don’t think the NFL did us any favors by moving it back. But they don’t care about us,” he said on Tuesday.
Who had the hardest outfield throws, or the best pop time to second, or the weakest throw that still nabbed a runner trying to steal? We can use Statcast to answer all those questions, and more.
THE OVERVIEW By Ben Everill, PGATOUR.COM Timing can be critical in sports. Hideki Matsuyama had a sensational season in 2016-17, but his timing was just a little off. He hopes to get things more on point this season. He opened last season with a runner-up finish at the CIMB Classic, won the World Golf Championships–HSBC Champions, was runner-up at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and soon after won the Waste Management Phoenix Open. TOP 30 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2018: We’ll countdown our list with one new player each day in December. Click here for the published players. MORE: Top 30 explanation and schedule He was also a winner in Japan (and also won the 2016 Hero World Challenge during the holiday break). It had him as one of the men to beat in the race for the FedExCup all season long — despite the fact he cooled off for a section of time. He fired back up again for the U.S. Open where he was second before a T14 at the Open Championship and then a third win of the season at the World Golf Championships–Bridgestone Invitational had him well and truly primed for the final major of the year. Come Sunday at the PGA Championship, Matsuyama appeared headed to becoming Japan’s first ever major winner, but instead it was American and eventual FedExCup winner Justin Thomas who claimed his first. In a case of bad timing, the loss hit Matsuyama hard and he became a virtual passenger in the FedExCup Playoffs despite opening the series as the top seed. By the end of the TOUR Championship, he had dropped to eighth. Why are we dragging the past back up? Because this season Matsuyama is focused on maximizing his energy. Can he maintain his peaks longer throughout the year or if not, can he time his peaks and valleys to coincide with the big events and the Playoffs? That’s his hope. We easily forget he is part of the youth brigade at just 25 because he’s been playing majors since he was 19. His ongoing battles with Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Co. should be enthralling stuff. BY THE NUMBERS How Hideki Matsuyama ranked in Strokes Gained statistics during his last full season on the PGA TOUR. FEDEXCUP Current 2017-18 position: 66th Playoff appearances: 4 TOUR Championship appearances: 4 Best result: 8th (2017) INSIGHTS FROM THE INSIDERS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Hideki Matsuyama in 2018. TOUR INSIDER by Cameron Morfit If he putts well, Matsuyama is close to unbeatable. Consider his 3-and-1 takedown of Justin Thomas at the Presidents Cup at Liberty National, where despite a deflating week for the International Team, Matsuyama had eight made or conceded birdies and an eagle. Who’s going to beat that? But that putter comes and goes, and Matsuyama can look strangely ordinary, as when he followed up opening rounds of 70-64 with rounds of 73-72 at the PGA Championship. No Japanese male player has won a major, and it will be interesting to watch Matsuyama take on that mental hurdle the next time around. Click here to follow Cameron on Twitter FANTASY INSIDER by Rob Bolton Despite three wins and as many runner-up finishes last season, the 25-year-old from Japan evolved into an enigma of sorts. It became comical at how often he duped television viewers with pessimistic body language as his ball flew to one terrific result after another. We can’t rule out a level of expectation with which we are not familiar and we’re not going to complain about it. However, when he cited in November that “there’s a huge gap between” Dunlop Phoenix champion Brooks Koepka and himself (after finishing a distant fifth), it’s fair to consider that rhetoric similarly as a visceral reaction to one of his flagstick-covering approaches. Yet, Matsuyama’s results accurately portrayed fatigue that he cited during a lackluster FedExCup Playoffs. All told, full-season salary gamers weren’t buying at $8.38 million, anyway, and the rest of us will assume that he’ll be just fine even though components of his self-doubt seem strange. Click here to follow Rob on Twitter EQUIPMENT INSIDER by Jonathan Wall Matsuyama alternates between a TaylorMade M2 Tour 3-iron and Honma TW727 U19 hybrid depending on course conditions. Recorded wins last season with Srixon’s Z945 and Z965 irons. Swapped his “ace” Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS Timeless putter for a TaylorMade TP Collection Mullen at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational; he eventually went back to the Cameron (also used a Cameron mallet along the way). Click here to follow Jonathan on Twitter STYLE INSIDER by Greg Monteforte Matsuyama isn’t afraid of making a statement with bold color blocking, modern geometric prints, and bright colors. When executed well, he is one of the eye-catching dressers on TOUR. When his colors and patterns fall out of balance, though, his outfits can look confusing. A less is more approach will serve Hideki well in 2018. Click here to follow Greg on Twitter
Warriors star: People took passing-the-torch quote out of context
DALLAS — Returning home after a winless two-game trip, the Dallas Mavericks hope to get on trip in front of their own fans before venturing back out on the road. Suffering a 113-101 loss Friday in Miami, the Mavericks (9-25) tried failed to rebound the following night at Atlanta while falling to a 112
This year was an extraordinary one for highlight-reel goals. From buzzer-beaters to end-to-end rushes that undressed defenders, we ranked the top tallies, including one from the world’s best player and one from a guy who hasn’t spent a minute in the NHL.
Kevin Durant has dismissed LeBron James’ claims that he was fouled by the Warriors forward in the final seconds of Monday’s game. With the Cavaliers down 95-92 in their Christmas Day clash, James looked to take center stage with a driving run to the hoop. Durant was an obstacle in his way, though
With one more loss, the Browns will finish 0-16 and join a dubious group of historically bad teams.
The 1980 ‘Aints. The 2000 Cardinals and Chargers. And, of course, the 2008 Lions, who didn’t win a game. We have every team’s worst season of all time — and the 2017 Browns could join the list soon.
Philadelphia 76ers guard J.J. Redick returned to his team’s lineup on Monday after a two-game absence, and his 24 points — in the form of clutch three-point shooting — helped the Sixers defeat the New York Knicks on the road at Madison Square Garden to snap a five-game losing streak. After the game
