Yusei Kikuchi made his mound debut at Mariners camp on Wednesday with a 10-minute bullpen session that provided the Mariners a glimpse into what their new free agent has to offer.
Charlie Sifford was a bit out of sorts when he teed it up in the first round of in the 1969 Los Angeles Open. He had been battling the flu. Or maybe it was just a bad, bad cold. Whatever had him under the weather, though, Sifford’s lungs rebelled, and he couldn’t bear to light up one of his trademark stogies. “I hate playing golf without a cigar,â€� Sifford later recalled in his autobiography, “Just Let Me Play.â€� “I get nervous and uncomfortable without that stogie in my mouth. “But every time I tried to smoke one that week, I started coughing my head off.â€� The break in his 25-year tobacco habit didn’t seem to bother Sifford that week 50 years ago as he played in the tournament now known as the Genesis Open. He opened with a 63 at Rancho Park that included a six-hole stretch on the back nine that Sifford played in 7 under, giving him a three-stroke lead. “It was one of those magic rounds where it all comes together, and you start thinking about shooting at the pin on every single hole,â€� Sifford wrote in 1992. The then-42-year-old Sifford, the first African-American to play on the PGA TOUR, led by two after shooting even par in the second round, then three again heading into the final 18 holes after another 71. He was paired with South African Harold Henning in the last round. Sifford had quite the partisan cheering section that day. A native North Carolinian who learned the game by caddying for 60 cents a day in Charlotte, he made his home in Los Angeles at the time. His wife Rose and their two sons, Craig, a toddler, and Charles Jr., a student at Cal State Long Beach, were also in the gallery. “There’s nothing like being ahead on the last day in your hometown,â€� Sifford wrote. He needed that support, too. When Sifford bogeyed the 12th hole, he was tied with Henning and Dave Hill, who was in the penultimate group. A 20-footer for birdie at the 14th then gave Henning sole possession of the lead. Sifford birdied the 16th hole to pull even with the South African. After saving par from 6 feet at No. 17, Sifford had to two-putt from 40 feet at the 18th to force a playoff with Henning, whose birdie putt had stopped inches from the hole. Unlike two years earlier, when Sifford won what is now known as the Travelers Championship, he said he was more “exhilaratedâ€� than nervous as he battled Henning down the stretch. But there was something missing. “Man, how I ever made it through that tense day without a cigar, I’ll never know,â€� Sifford wrote. Sifford ended up sealing the victory on the first playoff hole with a pinpoint 9-iron that settled 3 feet from the hole for birdie. He wrote in his autobiography that his heart was beating so loudly he thought he’d drown out the cheers of the partisan crowd. “This time I didn’t cry when they handed me that big, oversized check for TV,â€� Sifford wrote. “I laughed. Rose was at my side and she laughed, too. It was one of the best times I’ve ever had.â€� Sifford celebrated that night at Willie Davis’s Center Field Lounge. Among the attendees were other African-American golfers who were looking for places to play, men like Lee Elder, Rafe Botts, Pete Brown and Bill Spiller. A month later, the golfing pioneer was honored with a parade in L.A.’s Watts neighborhood on Feb. 3, which had been proclaimed as Charlie Sifford Day. There was a party that evening at a nightclub called the Black Fox. “It’s just so wonderful to think that a black man can take a golf club and be so famous,â€� he told the crowd at the nightclub. “I just wish I could call back 10 years.â€� A decade earlier, of course, he would have been in his prime. But the PGA’s Caucasian-only clause wasn’t lifted until 1961 and even after it was, Sifford and other black golfers still battled to find places to play the game they loved. Even prior to Sifford’s victory in Los Angeles that week, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote this about the man: Before Charlie Sifford, if a Negro walked on a golf green in this country, chances are he was carrying somebody else’s clubs or a wet towel to wipe somebody else’s ball. If he was in the grille room, he was carrying somebody else’s coffee. He came to fix a shower, not take one. Golf was not a game for the ghetto. Neither did it leave any time for carrying picket signs, joining demonstrations or running for office. Charlie birdied, not talked, his way through racial prejudice. He broke barriers by breaking par. His weapon was a 9-iron, not a microphone. Charlie stands as a social pioneer not because he could play politics but because he could play golf. In 2004, Sifford became the first African-American inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Five years later, the Genesis Open began offering the Charles Sifford Memorial Exemption to a deserving minority golfer. This year’s winner is long-time pro Tim O’Neal. Two of the past recipients – J.J. Spaun and Harold Varner III — are now playing the PGA TOUR. Tiger Woods, who calls Sifford calls the “grandpa that I never had,â€� now hosts the Genesis Open, which benefits his foundation. He is keenly aware of the importance of Sifford’s win 50 years ago. “It meant a lot to all of us who are participating in the game who are nonwhite to have Charlie have had the success he had, to have him go through the struggles that he went through to win here,â€� Woods says. “It’s such a historic site, and against some of the best players that ever lived, was something that was very special. “If it wasn’t for Charlie and others who paved the way, I don’t think my dad would have ever played the game of golf and hence, I probably wouldn’t be here doing this press conference and be involved in the game like I am.â€�
Russell Westbrook says he doesn’t pay critics any mind — and never has. “I’ve been blessed with the talent to not give a f—,” Westbrook said. “And I don’t, regardless of what happens.”
PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. – If Tiger Woods breaks through to finally win at Riviera Country Club, he might owe a small part of it to Phil Mickelson. For decades on the PGA TOUR, Woods and Mickelson have driven each other to great heights. Call it a rivalry or don’t – but the fact is Woods loves to beat his fellow Californian and Mickelson wants nothing more than to beat Woods. And having Mickelson win last week at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am might be the extra boost Woods needs at the venue he made his PGA TOUR debut as a 16-year-old but has yet to tame. Woods hosts the Genesis Open these days, but it is Mickelson who has two titles here. In fact, Woods was part of an announcement Wednesday that will see the event become elevated in status from next season on, becoming his own invitational much like the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard and Jack Nicklaus’ the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Despite seven top-20 results, three of them top 10s, Woods has never won at Riviera Country Club. He’d love to rectify that before his place in the field becomes less competitive and more ceremonial. “It is certainly a love-hate relationship (with Riviera),â€� Woods said. “I love playing this golf course. I always have, I enjoyed playing up here when I was young with my dad. For some reason I’ve only played well here one time in the tournament. “It’s just one of those courses that you have to hit the golf ball well. There’s no faking it around this golf course, especially if the greens are up to speed like they are right now. It puts such a premium on putting the golf ball in play and hitting the ball high. “You’ve got to hit the ball high into any of these greens and really control your spin and put the ball in the right spots because getting up and down here, as we’ve all seen, kikuyu grass is not easy to do. It’s sticky, catches a lot, and now with it wet, some of the bump and runs are actually skipping so that makes an added little challenge.â€� Woods feels up to that challenge. And Mickelson’s win last week lights the fire again. “It has always pushed me,â€� Woods admitted of Phil’s success. “Each win by the other person always motivated the other. “My entire career, Phil will probably attest to this, we’ve always looked at the board to figure out where one another’s at. So we’ve always had that type of enjoyment of competing against one another. “And to see what he did last year in Mexico at 47 years old gave me confidence that I could somehow do it last year, and I was able to finally end my season with a win.â€� Woods has 80 PGA TOUR wins in his glittering career, just two short of Sam Snead’s record. In that context Mickelson’s 44 wins can sometimes lose some luster… but it shouldn’t. Consider the fact Mickelson won his events inside the time of Tiger’s dominance and sits ninth on the all-time win list (He had nine wins before Woods won his first, having started on TOUR four years earlier). The now 48-year-old’s win last week moves him just one behind Walter Hagen (45) with just Billy Casper (51), Byron Nelson (52), Arnold Palmer (62), Ben Hogan (64), Jack Nicklaus (73), Woods (80) and Snead (82) above him. As the youth brigade continues to excite the PGA TOUR, these old guys are proof you don’t have to fade away post 40. Woods proved he still has what it takes when winning the TOUR Championship last year. “It just shows how incredible they are. In their 40s and they’re still winning, and you’ve got a bunch of 20-year-olds out here that are now winning events. It just shows their golf games have stood the test of time,â€� five-time winner Bryson DeChambeau says. “Because of that, I have an incredible amount of respect for both of them, a level that I can’t even express through words.â€� After his second title inside 12 months, Mickelson revealed the reasons why he believed he was able to capture success again. While generally always competitive, the veteran had failed to win after his 2013 Open Championship triumph until February last year. Most figured his time might be up, but Mickelson rededicated himself to hard work in specific areas. “Historically guys when they get in their 40s two things decline, their putting and their swing speed,â€� Mickelson said after his win. “My putting has increased in the last three years and the best it’s been in my 25-, 28-year career, and my swing speed is as fast as it’s ever been.â€� Mickelson ranked ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting in the 2015-16 season and was 13th last season. Two years ago, he ranked 91st in clubhead speed at 114.24 mph. Last year, he was 54th in 116.49. He arrives at Riviera ranked 17th at 120.92. “For him to… trust me, I recognize this, it’s not easy to pick up clubhead speed, which he has done, as he’s gotten older. That’s been extraordinary. That’s what’s allowed him to stay out here with some of these longer guys, he’s been able to hit the ball further,â€� Woods marveled. Mickelson said it was the benefit of nine months of hard work with biometric swing studies and time in the gym. Woods is a marvel himself, coming back from back fusion surgery to average 120.24 mph swing speed last season (ranked 17th). If he can also remain healthy then we can all be optimistic of highlight reels being filled for some time to come. And while the pair is certainly on the back nine of their careers, here’s hoping we can get a few old-fashioned duels before it’s over. There’s no better time to start than this week.
Veteran center Enes Kanter, who was released by the Knicks last week after averaging 14 points and 10.5 rebounds this season, has signed with the Trail Blazers.
Lauri Markkanen has been delivering elite levels of production on the new-look Bulls. He’s a clear riser in Dalton Del Don’s fantasy basketball stock watch this week.
Boston — The Pistons head will head into the All-Star break in playoff position, holding the eighth spot. In the final 26 games, they’ll be within striking distance — within three games — of reaching the Charlotte Hornets, who are currently in seventh, and the Nets, who are in sixth. It’s a position
Sports Betting News’ Nick Bromberg and Amanda Borges look ahead to this Sunday’s race, including an under-the-radar name to watch.
Those hoping to watch Ronald Acuna Jr. extend last season’s incredible post-All-Star break production should remember that his pace would have equated to 45 homers and 33 stolen bases over 162 games.
It’s another week on top of the rankings for the Lightning. Plus, in honor of Valentine’s Day, these are the players each team loves this season.
