The NFL offseason hasn’t quite hit full swing yet, but we’re well on the way and that includes meetings about the way the game will be played in 2019 and beyond. The NFL Competition Committee plays a big role on that front and they are getting to work this week at league headquarters. NFL executive [
USA TODAY Sports’ A.J. Perez looks to the Daytona 500 and the five drivers that racing fans should keep their eye on this Sunday.
Sports Betting News’ Nick Bromberg and Amanda Borges break down key storylines entering the 61st edition of the Great American Race.
Sports Betting News’ Nick Bromberg and Amanda Borges look ahead to this Sunday’s race, including an under-the-radar name to watch.
Get ready for U.S. Presidents Cup playing captain Tiger Woods. So said Fred Couples and Steve Stricker in a conference call with reporters Tuesday, when they along with Zach Johnson were named as three of Woods’ captain’s assistants for the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club, Dec. 9-15. Oh, and Phil Mickelson, who just won again at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at 48? Yeah, he’ll play, too. “He’ll be on the team and so will Tiger,â€� said Couples, the captain of the winning U.S. Team in 2009, 2011 and 2013. “And to have those two be down there in Australia playing will just make our lives, Steve’s and mine and Zach’s, so much easier because they’re both great, great players.â€� Stricker, who captained the U.S. to a 19-11 win at the 2017 Presidents Cup at Liberty National, also said he fully expects Woods to make his 10th team as a player and first since 2015. “Like Freddie says, we all expect him to be a part of the team as a player,â€� Stricker said. “It will add another dimension for all of us to take probably some of the responsibility off of his plate.â€� Mickelson, who vaulted to 6th in the FedExCup with his fifth victory at Pebble Beach, has played on all 12 U.S. Presidents Cup teams since the event began in ’94. Woods, 43, notched his 80th PGA TOUR win at the TOUR Championship last season. He was briefly tied with Mickelson for the all-time lead in Presidents Cup wins (24) until Mickelson ran his total all the way to 26 at Liberty National two years ago, when Woods was an assistant. Royal Melbourne was the site of Woods’ first-ever match in ’98, when he and Couples beat Ernie Els and Vijay Singh 5 and 4. Ultimately, though, the International Team won 20.5-11.5. That remains the only loss for the Americans, who have gone 10-1-1 since the event began in ’94. Hale Irwin, who was the U.S. captain in that inaugural event, also played for the American side, going 2-1-0. He’s the only playing captain in the history of the Presidents Cup. Woods could change all that come December. “Hopefully, he can delegate some of that (responsibility as captain),â€� Stricker said, “even though I find that he probably would have a hard time delegating some of that away because he’s one of those guys that wants to do it and do it right and put his stamp on it. “But we’ll be there to help him and serve him, like Zach said,â€� Stricker added. “If he makes the team as a player, we’re going to have to probably do some more things to take some of that off his plate so he can concentrate on playing and getting those points, which we all know are so vital and so important. Every point is.â€�
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – THE PLAYERS Championship’s return to March has just one negative impact on Webb Simpson. It shortens his reign as THE PLAYERS champion by a couple months. Simpson had endured 4 ½ years without a win before last May’s triumph at TPC Sawgrass. He’ll return to THE PLAYERS Stadium Course in March to defend his title. He’ll be playing for a new trophy, as well. The crystal that he hoisted last year has been replaced by a sterling silver trophy dipped in 24-karat gold vermeil. No one has gone back-to-back at TPC Sawgrass. And Tiger Woods is the only man to win THE PLAYERS in both May and March. Simpson has never played the tournament in March – he was still in college when the tournament first changed dates – but he thinks he’ll be up to the challenge. He got a sneak peek of the conditions when he visited TPC Sawgrass on Monday for THE PLAYERS Championship’s media day. He also donated a sand wedge to the display of past champions’ clubs. He used that club to hole out from a bunker for eagle on the par-5 11th hole in the third round. A barbecue sandwich, inspired by his North Carolina roots, was also unveiled. The brisket sandwich—named Simpson’s Sandy—will be served at the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse now through tournament week and will also be available at select venues during tournament week. “The course is in phenomenal shape,â€� Simpson said Monday. “I’ve been living at Quail Hollow since 2010, so I’m familiar with the overseeding process and how tricky it can be, and how you need a lot of things helping you, weather and rain and all that kind of stuff. It looks like they’ve done a phenomenal job here.â€� March has provided a much larger range of winning scores at THE PLAYERS. Greg Norman set the tournament scoring record with a 24-under 264 total in 1994. Five years later, David Duval shot 3-under 285 to win the hardest PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass. By contrast, Simpson’s 18-under 270 was the 10th consecutive winning score that was double-digits under par. From 2009-16, there was only a four-stroke range in the winning scores, from 12 under to 16 under. Thirteen under par was the winning score for four consecutive years. “I think the new date is actually going to make the event even bigger and more special, and I think more attention will be on it because … this is the first really big tournament of the year,â€� Simpson said. “I think that’s special knowing that when the guys come here, they know that the best players in the world are going to be here for the first time maybe all season competing for the trophy.â€� Cooler weather and softer fairways will make the Stadium Course play longer and force players to hit driver more often. The final two holes, which usually played downwind in May, are more likely to play into the wind during the earlier date, making one of golf’s most famous finishing stretches even tougher. Simpson hit hybrid off the 18th tee in last year’s final round. He estimated he’d need to hit driver or 3-wood off the tee next month. Simpson said a par on 18 was one of the underrated moments from last year’s victory. He was on course-record pace in the second round, going 11 under par on his first 16 holes. He was caught between clubs on 17, though, and pushed his tee shot into the water surrounding the Island Green. Making par on water-lined 18th, where the threat of another double-bogey lurked, not only allowed Simpson to tie the course record of 63. It also allowed him to erase the memories from the 17th. “I just kind of said to myself, walking to 18, I said, it happens,â€� he said. “Plenty of guys are going to hit it in the water this week. Got to refocus. Par here is going to be big. And I end up two-putting and making par. “I quickly forgot about 17 after parring 18. I think that gave me a lot of confidence going into Saturday. I think if I had slipped up again on 18 and made bogey, that would have been tough, so that hole for me was the biggest hole of the week.â€� Simpson shot 68 in the third round to take a seven-shot lead and ended up winning by four shots. The rest, as they say, is history. And next month Webb Simpson has the chance to make some more.
Manny Machado has been one of the game’s best players since debuting in 2012, and he is set to cash in as a first-time free agent this offseason. Here, you will find a list of the latest news and rumors surrounding the infielder.
The slugging first baseman has become an endangered species, but there’s still some pop at the top of our list.
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks have addressed their goaltending shortage in a trade with the New York Rangers. The Canucks dealt a seventh-round pick in the 2020 draft to the Rangers on Tuesday in exchange for netminder Marek Mazanec. The 27-year-old native of Pisek, Czech Republic, has played 31
