Aleksander Barkov gets a lot of justified press for being underrated, but Evgeni Dadonov might be the best player many NHL fans haven’t heard of.
The Carolina Panthers are not expected to play Cam Newton for the final two games because of a shoulder injury and the fact that the team is all but eliminated from playoff contention.
Roy Williams, who has led the Tar Heels to three national titles (2005, 2009, 2017) and five Final Fours, has signed an eight-year extension with the school.
Heat guard Goran Dragic is expected to miss eight weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Wednesday.
OVERVIEW What stands between Tommy Fleetwood winning for the first time on the PGA TOUR and becoming a bona fide star in 2019? Not much, and he seems to know it. There was Fleetwood, all by himself on the practice putting green, before the other 29 players had even shown their faces at the TOUR Championship at East Lake last season. There was Fleetwood, going 4-0 with partner Francesco Molinari at the Ryder Cup in France just a week later, leading the European rout. Oh, and don’t forget Fleetwood coming within a dimple or two of making birdie at the 18th hole at Shinnecock Hills, a birdie that would have given him a U.S. Open record 62 and tied him with eventual winner Brooks Koepka. (Fleetwood finished second.) Fleetwood, 27, stands on the precipice of stardom. He’s a four-time winner on the European Tour, has all the physical tools from driving to putting, and is fearless. Birdies? He makes a ton. In addition to his final-round 63 at the U.S. Open, he shot a third-round 62 at the BMW Championship at Aronimink. He had six top-10s in 19 starts and finished 19th in the FedExCup. Whether or not his terrific Ryder Cup performance fuels a bigger career leap remains to be seen; he finished T7 at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in his only TOUR start of the fall. — By Cameron Morfit Click here to see who else made the Top 30 list. BY THE NUMBERS FEDEXCUP UPDATE Current 2018-19 position: 82nd Playoff appearances: 1 TOUR Championship appearances: 1 Best FedExCup result: 19th in the 2017-18 season SHOTLINK FUN FACT Tommy Fleetwood led the PGA TOUR in Par 5 Birdie or Better Percentage last season at 56.32 percent (107 of 190). INSIDER INSIGHTS PGATOUR.COM’s Insiders offer their expert views on what to expect from Tommy Fleetwood in 2019. TOUR INSIDER: Fleetwood is one of those players who seems to be good at everything. His strength is probably driving, where he was 17th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee last season, but it’s a hard call because he was inside the top 50 in every major Strokes Gained category. A rare disappointment was his final-round 73 and T12 at The Open Championship, his national Open. If Fleetwood can come up with the big shot in the big moment in 2019, the way he did alongside Molinari at the Ryder Cup, it won’t be long before he’s raising his first TOUR trophy. — By Cameron Morfit    FANTASY INSIDER: It’s rare when an international non-member transitions seamlessly onto the PGA TOUR and generates as much value as he did in just 19 starts in 2017-18. It’s rarer still that he’s done nothing to deter us from investing confidently in every format despite his relative inexperience in the United States. Yet, gamers must continue to respect the Englishman’s curtailed schedule due to obligations on his home circuit, but he’s the strongest talent with a TOUR card and without a TOUR victory. Go with the flow. — By Rob Bolton EQUIPMENT INSIDER: Fleetwood’s irons were the topic of arguably the most interesting equipment story of 2018. Former Nike staffer Fleetwood uses VR Pro Blade irons, but the issue is, it’s the last set of the irons he has. That’s obviously a problem, in case something happens to one of the irons. That being the case, he offered to buy fellow ex-Nike staffer Paul Casey’s VR Pro Blade irons … but Casey wouldn’t give them up. Fleetwood’s irons are still going strong, however. While Fleetwood uses a new TaylorMade M3 driver and a Titleist 917F2 3 wood, he still games a Nike Vapor Fly 5 wood (the one with the blue crown). He fills out his bag with Callaway Mack Daddy wedges and an Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter. — By Andrew Tursky STYLE INSIDER: Fleetwood is one of the players who is bringing a modern streetwear vibe to the course. Nike’s Roshe shoe is one of the brand’s most iconic streetwear models, and Fleetwood has fully embraced the golf-specific version of the shoe. Expect the Ryder Cup star to lace up the 2019 version of the Roshe G Tour with a cleated outsole and waterproof upper next year. — By Greg Monteforte
Tre Jones makes it happen at Duke, but his fellow freshmen get much of the credit. Jones says let them have it — and don’t give him credit for not taking credit.
A combination of defensive efficiency, team chemistry and all-star play has caused Texas Tech to run out and storm into relevancy after a bottom-tier preseason ranking in the Big 12 poll.
Golfers on both the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour will have extra incentive to attack some of the most exciting holes during their respective seasons thanks to a stirring first-of-its-kind competition – the Aon Risk Reward Challenge. An age-old question in golf – does taking calculated risk provide a greater chance at reward over time? – will be put under the microscope, and ultimately a player from each tour will triumph. At select tournaments, holes that highlight a player’s strategic thinking will be designated as Aon Risk Reward Challenge holes. Throughout the year, a player’s best two scores on each hole will be tracked. On the PGA TOUR, 36 tournaments during the 2018-19 season will be included in the Aon Risk Reward Challenge, with one hole at each identified tournament included in the competition. The player from each Tour on top of the Aon leaderboard at the end of the regular season will each receive $1 million in prize money. So which holes are part of the Aon Risk Reward Challenge? Think the iconic short par-4 10th at Riviera Country Club or the sensational par-5 18th at Pebble Beach or the reachable par-5 16th at TPC Sawgrass. Go for it despite lurking hazards and maybe get yourself an eagle putt or even a rare albatross? Lay up to your number and back your wedge game to ensure birdie? Time to find out what works best. In order to be eligible, a player must be a member of their respective Tour and play a minimum of 40 rounds throughout the season at selected tournaments. The scoring system throughout the season will be a player’s average score to par calculated to three decimal places. (Reminder: Only the player’s two best scores on that hole in a given tournament are used for his average). The PGA TOUR fall series provided eight events for players to get their scoring underway but as yet of course no one has reached the 40-round minimum. Of those players with more than one tournament start in the fall, the top scorers are PGA TOUR Player of the Year Brooks Koepka and Kevin Chappell. Both have set themselves up to make a nice run once the season resumes. Koepka eagled the par-5 18th hole during THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES twice and birdied the par-4 16th twice at the World Golf Championships – HSBC Champions in his two fall starts. That cumulative 6-under average in four rounds played calculates to a -1.5 average. Chappell might be even more excited given he eagled the par-5 13th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic twice, had an eagle and a birdie at THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES and two birdies at the CIMB Classic’s par-4 16th. That’s a cumulative 9 under through six rounds for his -1.5 average. In 2019 the focus will first fall on the 305-yard par-4 14th at the Plantation Course in Kapalua during the Sentry Tournament of Champions – a short and drivable hole but one that plays uphill and is littered with bunkers and even a local house and garden down the right side. Last season it played to a 3.684 stroke average as players cranked up and went for it. Will the winds allow a similar strategy this season or will it be smarter to put a simple mid-iron in play and then go flag-hunting with a wedge? The 10th at Riviera always gives the players fits despite being just 315 yards. Last season there was one eagle, 87 birdies, 249 pars, 86 bogeys, 12 double bogeys and one other during the Genesis Open. Of the 436 times players teed it up over four rounds there were 317 attempts at going for the green. Will this continue in 2019 or will the fact it played to an over-par average (4.055) have players second-guessing their strategy? “I have done both, I’ve gone for it and laid up and I’ve been very unsuccessful both ways,â€� Tiger Woods famously said last season. “It’s a tossup, it really is.â€� And what of the picturesque finish to Pebble Beach? You’d assume most par 5s on TOUR get eaten up, but the 18th played to a stroke average of 5.017 last season – one of just seven par 5s on TOUR that played above par last season (out of a total of 163 par 5s). Do you dare take driver off the tee and risk hooking it into the ocean? Same could be said when thinking 3-wood as an approach option. At tournaments where more than one course is played, like at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the best one score from the specified course’s ARRC hole will count. That’s why Jason Gore is the current leader. His eagle at the par-5 15th during The RSM Classic gives him an average of -2.0 in his lone start in the fall. If a player withdraws from an event, their scores on the ARRC hole for that tournament will not be included in the year-to-date calculation — however players that MDF (made cut, didn’t finish) and play just three rounds for an event will still be included in the calculations. If there is a tie, then holes that have been played by both players will be compared based on their average score under par — and if there is still a tie, scores will be compared for the relevant holes in chronological order starting from the most recent. The winner for the PGA TOUR will be determined at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship and the Aon Trophy will be presented during THE NORTHERN TRUST. The winner for the LPGA will be determined at the conclusion of the Blue Bay LPGA and the Aon Trophy will be presented during the CME Group Tour Championship. Below are the holes selected for the PGA TOUR schedule. 2019 Aon Risk Reward Challenge Schedule
Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz had a separate stress fracture in his back that was discovered his freshman year at North Dakota State, according to a league source.
The NFL is full of evidence that playmakers such as Tennessee’s Kevin Byard and Kenny Vaccaro, often undervalued, are crucial to a successful defense.
