Matt Kemp hit a double and then took a selfie with Manny Machado at second baseMatt Kemp hit a double and then took a selfie with Manny Machado at second base
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Day: July 18, 2018
Contreras’ homer gets NL on the boardContreras’ homer gets NL on the board
Willson Contreras homered on the first pitch he saw in an All-Star Game to put the National League on the board.
Report: Raptors have made compelling offer for Kawhi LeonardReport: Raptors have made compelling offer for Kawhi Leonard
The Toronto Raptors’ surprising pursuit of Kawhi Leonard seems like it’s continuing to gain traction.
Trout makes presence known in ASG with HRTrout makes presence known in ASG with HR
Mike Trout, arguably the best player in the game, went deep off Jacob deGrom in the third inning of the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard to give the American League a 2-0 lead.
Judge opens ASG scoring with HR off ScherzerJudge opens ASG scoring with HR off Scherzer
The American League’s Aaron Judge led off the second inning of the All-Star Game with a home run against Max Scherzer, giving the AL an early 1-0 lead.
Scherzer fires serious heat to open ASGScherzer fires serious heat to open ASG
Starting the All-Star Game presented by Mastercard for the second straight year, and this time in front of his home fans at Nationals Park, Max Scherzer threw four of his hardest pitches this season while working a scoreless first inning.
Hall of Fame jockey Manny Ycaza dies at 80Hall of Fame jockey Manny Ycaza dies at 80
Hall of Fame jockey Manny Ycaza, who won the 1964 Belmont Stakes to spoil Northern Dancer’s Triple Crown bid, died Monday at the age of 80.
Lakers’ Hart named summer league MVPLakers’ Hart named summer league MVP
Lakers guard Josh Hart, averaging 24.2 points over six games, was named Las Vegas Summer League MVP. He played so well that Lakers president Magic Johnson said he is forcing his way into the conversation for a starting spot this fall.
Mark Hayes, 1977 PLAYERS champion, passes away at age 69Mark Hayes, 1977 PLAYERS champion, passes away at age 69
In weather conditions so ferocious that one competitor shot 91 and 47 others posted second-round scores in the 80s, it was only fitting that one of the PGA TOUR’s quietest and calmest players, Mark Hayes, stepped into the spotlight to win the 1977 PLAYERS Championship. “That was him, such a quiet star,â€� said Doug Tewell, who grew up in Oklahoma with Hayes, traveled the PGA TOUR with him, and considered him one of his closest friends. “I asked him once how he didn’t show his nerves, how he kept so calm, and he told me, pointing to his gut, ‘You’ve got to keep (the nerves) in here and not let them percolate to your hands.’ â€� Hayes, whose win at the 1977 PLAYERS was the last of three PGA TOUR wins in a solid 19-year career, died Monday at the age of 69 in Edmond, Oklahoma. Hayes’ death was confirmed by his oldest brother, Larry Hayes, the General Manager at TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney, Texas. He was 69 and had been ill for more than a year. “He had a great career and was a big influence on me,â€� said Tewell, a four-time PGA TOUR winner who was inducted along with Hayes into the Oklahoma Golf Hall of Fame in October 2017. Tewell told John Rhode of the golfoklahoma.org website that Hayes was the junior golfer everyone was chasing back in the 1960s, but no one, not even Tewell, could catch him. “Yet, we were friends. I’m not even sure we really knew we were rivals.â€� Having been a star player for famed Oklahoma State golf coach Labron Harris, Hayes made it onto the PGA TOUR and had four top 10s in 34 starts during his rookie year, 1974. In 1976 he won twice, at the Byron Nelson Golf Classic and Pensacola Open, but besides his notable bucket hat, what put Hayes in the spotlight was the first PLAYERS Championship to be played in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Mark Hayes won three times on the PGA TOUR, which includes his win at the 1977 PLAYERS Championship. (Michael O’Bryon/PGA TOUR) More than the brutal second-round conditions at Sawgrass Country Club, what then PGA TOUR Commissioner Deane Beman vividly remembers was the way Hayes sealed his win. “He hit his (approach) shot over the green on the last hole, into a bunker,â€� said Beman, “and he hit absolutely one of the best bunker shots I’ve ever seen.â€� Trying to hold off Mike McCullough, Hayes stood over his ball, which had run through a flat bunker to the back but stayed on the downslope up against the rough. Calmly, as was his nature, Hayes, choked down on a mid-iron and played a shot-maker’s shot, a bump-and-run through the sand. The ball hopped across a small strip of rough down to about 4 or 5 feet and with a round of 72, Hayes finished at 9-over 289 to win by two over McCullough, who had started the fourth round tied with Tom Watson, one ahead of Hayes. And just where did Tewell find Hayes, to finally offer congratulations? “He was in his work shop at home, changing his shafts in his irons,â€� said Tewell. “I said, ‘Are you nuts? You just won THE PLAYERS Championship.’ But that was Mark. He was a perfectionist.â€� There’s a special place in Beman’s heart for Hayes, for the 1977 PLAYERS was the first to be played where the PGA TOUR is headquartered. “The conditions were tough,â€� said Beman of 40-mph winds that caused havoc in Round 2 and produced the highest aggregate score by a winner in the 45 years of THE PLAYERS. “But he was calm, and he played well.â€� Later in 1977, Hayes had a memorable second-round 63 at Turnberry – then an Open Championship record – to get within two of Roger Maltbie’s lead. But he closed 72-73 as that championship morphed into Watson’s unforgettable “Duel in the Sunâ€� win over Jack Nicklaus. Hayes likely would have qualified for the 1977 Ryder Cup, only rules at the time mandated that players had to have five years of service, which precluded his selection. But when Watson withdrew from the 1979 team, Hayes replaced him and was part of the Americans’ 17-11 win over the first European Team at The Greenbrier. Hayes lost both his team matches, but won, 1 up, in singles over Spain’s Antonio Garrido. Though he never won again after the 1977 PLAYERS, Hayes had a productive career. He was easily within the top 125 on the money list for 14 straight years. By 1993 he was a part-time player on the PGA TOUR and focused on his golf course design and construction business. Hayes returned to play two seasons on the PGA TOUR Champions, 2000 and 2001, but was more committed to his business ventures. “He was just a good man, who provided well for his family (wife Jana, sons Ryan and Kelly) and was a dear friend,â€� said Tewell. “I’m going to miss him dearly.â€� Besides his wife and two sons, Hayes is survived by a grandchild.
Fiery Hall of Fame jockey Manny Ycaza dies at 80Fiery Hall of Fame jockey Manny Ycaza dies at 80
Manny Ycaza, a Hall of Fame jockey who won the 1964 Belmont Stakes and paved the way for generations of Latin Americans to ride in North America, has died. Ycaza died Monday of pneumonia and sepsis at a hospital in Forest Hills, New York, according to his wife, Jeanne De Ycaza.
