Why the NBA is better with KD off WarriorsWhy the NBA is better with KD off Warriors
The impact of Kevin Durant’s absence is twofold: Golden State is playing a more enjoyable brand of basketball, and it’s also more vulnerable.
Day: May 17, 2019
Owners still split on guaranteeing Indy 500 spotsOwners still split on guaranteeing Indy 500 spots
With 36 drivers vying for 33 Indianapolis 500 starting positions in a two-day qualifying format that begins Saturday, opinions are still divided whether IndyCar’s full-time drivers should be guaranteed a spot in the series’ biggest race.
Girardi feels strong pull to manage againGirardi feels strong pull to manage again
Ex-Yankees skipper Joe Girardi prepares for his appearances on MLB Network as if he was still managing, and wanting to return to the dugout is no secret.
Point guard RJ Cole to transfer to UConn from HowardPoint guard RJ Cole to transfer to UConn from Howard
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — The University of Connecticut says R.J. Cole will join its men’s basketball as a transfer from Howard University. The 6-1 point guard from Union, New Jersey, will sit out next season per NCAA transfer rules and will be eligible for competition with UConn beginning in the 2020
Tiger Woods misses cut at PGA ChampionshipTiger Woods misses cut at PGA Championship
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Tiger Woods has missed the cut at the PGA Championship. It’s just his ninth missed cut in a major as a pro. RELATED: Leaderboard | Tee times | Tiger’s up-and-down Round 1 | Rethinking Tiger’s future | Tiger ‘welcomes’ playing in Olympics Expectations were high when Woods arrived on Long Island after his victory in last month’s Masters, but he made too many unforced errors on Thursday and struggled to find fairways Friday. He finished 36 holes at 5-over 145 (72-73). ROUND 2: TIGER HOLE-BY-HOLE No. 18 (par 4, 411 yards): Tiger hits his third fairway of the day but he misses the green on Bethpage Black’s short par-4 finishing hole. He gives a valiant effort on his chip but it runs by the hole and he will be going home. He makes the 5-foot par putt but it won’t be enough. He finishes 5 over and will miss the cut in a major for the ninth time as a pro. Fairway: Missed (3 of 14) Green: Missed (9 of 18) Putts: 1 (30) Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall) No. 17 (par 3, 207 yards): It’s going to come down to the last hole. Woods needs to birdie 18 to make the cut. He hit his tee shot on this 193-yard hole to 39 feet, then two-putted for par. He holed a 4-foot par putt to keep his weekend chances alive. Fairway: N/A Green: Hit (9 of 17) Putts: 29 Score: 3 (+3, +5 overall) No. 16 (par 4, 490 yards): Another par for Tiger, but that’s not what he needs right now. He’ll have to birdie one of the last two holes to make the cut. Tiger’s tee shot and approach both landed in the fringe. He two-putted from 25 feet for par. Fairway: Missed (2 of 13) Green: Missed (8 of 16) Putts: 27 Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall) No. 15 (par 4, 484 yards): Tiger makes his first par since the eighth hole, but he needs another birdie to avoid a missed cut. He hit his second fairway of the day, then hit his 170-yard approach to 34 feet. He two-putted for par to keep his cut hopes alive. Fairway: Hit (2 of 12) Green: Hit (8 of 15) Putts: 2 (26) Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall) No. 14 (par 3, 161 yards): Tiger’s fourth three-putt of the week results in a bogey on the shortest hole on the course. A poor approach was the culprit. He hit it to 55 feet from just 160 yards. He’ll need to play the last four holes in 1 under to have a chance at the weekend. He hasn’t had a par since the eight hole, making four bogeys and two birdies in his last six holes. Fairway: N/A Green: Hit (7 of 14) Putts: 3 (24) Score: 4 (+3, +5 overall) No. 13 (par 5, 608 yards): A hard-earned birdie on the Black Course’s only par-5 on the back nine. He had to lay up after driving into a fairway bunker, but then hit his 160-yard approach to 9 feet. He’s sandwiched three bogeys between birdies on 9 and 13. Four over may be enough to make the cut but he can’t afford to drop another shot on the last five holes. Fairway: Missed (1 of 11) Green: Hit (6 of 13) Putts: 1 (21) Score: 4 (+2, +4 overall) No. 12 (par 4, 515 yards): Tiger was just inches from hitting his second fairway of the day. He hit the green from 213 yards, but three-putted for another bogey. It’s his third three-putt of the week. He needs some birdies coming in if he wants to be around for the weekend. Fairway: Missed (1 of 10) Green: Hit (5 of 12) Putts: 3 (20) Score: 5 (+3, +5 overall) No. 11 (par 4, 435 yards): Tiger is mixing things up a bit. He missed this fairway to the right. He’s still hit just one today. From 194 yards out, he tried to play a nifty shot from the rough, choking down on a fairway wood to punch it out of the rough. He squeezed his ball between the bunkers in front of the green, but it ran into the rough behind the green. A poor chip from there left Woods with a 12-foot par putt. He missed that to fall to 4 over for the first time this week. And now he’s on the wrong side of the cut line. Fairway: Missed (1 of 9) Green: Missed (4 of 11) Putts: 2 (17) Score: 5 (+2, +4 overall) No. 10 (par 4, 502 yards): Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Another miss to the left off the tee. This is becoming a theme. Just like Thursday, he has to lay up again on this long par-4. He wedges to 11 feet from 109 yards, but he misses the par putt. He’s back on the cut line with eight holes remaining. Fairway: Miss (1 of 8) Green: Miss (4 of 10) Putts: 2 (15) Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall) No. 9 (par 4, 460 yards): A strong finish to the front nine. Tiger hit the fairway and the green and rolled in his 40-foot birdie putt. That will provide a little breathing room on the back nine as Tiger hopes to stay inside the cut line. It looks like he’s playing for a cut with his tee shots but the ball just isn’t fading. That’s why all his misses have been left. His iron play has been solid when he’s had the opportunity to hit approaches from short stuff. Fairway: Hit (1 of 7) Green: Hit (4 of 9) Putts: 1 (13) Score: 3 (E, +2 overall) No. 8 (par 3, 210 yards): A straightforward par. And that’s a good thing at this point. Tiger hit his 201-yard tee shot to 22 feet, then two-putted for par. Fairway: N/A Green: Hit (3 of 8) Putts: 2 (12) Score: 3 (+1, +3 overall) No. 7 (par 4, 524 yards): Another fairway missed. This one was left, as well. He could only hack out on this brutish par-4. He hit a strong wedge shot to 6 feet but missed the putt for his second bogey of the day. Fairway: Missed (0 for 6) Green: Missed (2 for 7) Putts: 2 (10) Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall) No. 6 (par 4, 408 yards): Left. Again. He still hasn’t hit a fairway, but he collects his first birdie of the day after hitting his 133-yard approach to 18 feet. He holed the putt from the fringe to get back to even par for the day. Fairway: Missed (0 for 5) Green: Missed (2 for 6) Putts: 0 (8) Score: 3 (E, +2 overall) No. 5 (par 4, 478 yards): Left again with the driver. He’s missed the first four fairways today. The rough is no place to be at Bethpage Black. He’s able to advance it into a greenside bunker. He blasted his ball to 9 feet and made the putt to stay on the correct side of the cut line. Fairway: Missed (0 for 4) Green: Missed (2 for 5) Putts: 1 (8) Score: 4 (+1, +3 overall) No. 4 (par 5, 517 yards): We’ll have to wait another hole for Tiger to hit his first fairway. He’s missed left both times he’s unsheathed the big stick today. That necessitates a lay-up. His spotty wedge play continued on the third shot, though, as he hit the 75-yarder to 25 feet. He two-putts for par and fails to take advantage of another hole that offers the rare birdie opportunity at Bethpage Black. Nos. 1, 2 and 4 are three of the four easiest holes on the course. He played them in 1 over. Tiger is now 13 shots behind Brooks. Fairway: Missed (0 for 3) Green: Hit (2 for 4) Putts: 2 (7) Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall) No. 3 (par 3, 230 yards): Tiger gave himself a great birdie chance after lasering a long-iron to 11 feet on this 221-yard hole. Unfortunately, it’s the second consecutive day that he’s unable to convert on a strong tee shot on the course’s toughest par-3. He missed a 9-foot birdie putt here on Friday. Tiger had to work hard for par after racing the birdie putt by, but he holed his 4-foot par putt to avoid dropping another shot. Fairway: NA Green: Hit (1 for 3) Putts: 2 (5) Score: 3 (+1, +3 overall) No. 2 (par 4, 389 yards): The second hole is the shortest par-4 at Bethpage Black but Tiger missed the fairway with an iron off the tee. He could only hack out, leaving himself a 90-yard wedge shot for his third. That shot spun back, some 20 feet short of the hole. Bethpage’s first two holes are the second- and fourth-easiest on the course, but Tiger has played them in 1 over. Another Brooks birdie means Tiger is now 12 back and, more importantly, on the cut line. Fairway: Missed (0 for 2) Green: Missed (0 for 2) Putts: 2 (3) Score: 5 (+1, +3 overall) No. 1 (par 4, 430 yards): A sloppy start. Tiger missed both the fairway and the green on Bethpage’s opening hole, but he salvaged par with a strong sand shot. He pulled his opening tee shot into the fans, which was a thrill for the New Yorkers but a headache for security. It took several minutes for the rowdy gallery members to clear out and give Tiger enough room to gouge his ball out of the thick stuff. He bounced that shot into the bunker, but he left himself plenty of green to work with. He finished it off with a 4-foot birdie putt. Brooks made an easy birdie, though, and Tiger is now 10 back. Fairway: Missed (0 for 1) Green: Missed (0 for 1) Putts: 1 (1) Score: 4 (E, +2 overall)
From Brady’s Nightmare to Dallas Sucks, the best NFL-themed beersFrom Brady’s Nightmare to Dallas Sucks, the best NFL-themed beers
Breweries have been crafting beers to honor NFL and players and teams (or troll them) for years. Here are our favorites, plus five we want to see next.
Late birdie run saves Rory McIlroy’s day, week at PGA ChampionshipLate birdie run saves Rory McIlroy’s day, week at PGA Championship
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Rory McIlroy was 5 over for his first three holes and headed for a rare missed cut at the 101st PGA Championship at Bethpage Black. Then he found his range with the putter. After signing for a 40 on the tougher back nine, the reigning PLAYERS champion birdied holes 4, 5, 6 and 8 as he shot a front-nine 31 to almost certainly make the cut (71, 3 over total) with the afternoon wave still out on the course. “I was just glad to see one ball go in the hole and I got going from there,â€� said McIlroy, twice a winner of the PGA Championship. “I obviously had a very bad start. I didn’t feel like I hit any bad shots; maybe bad decisions more than bad shots.â€� McIlroy made putts of 13, 23, 22 and nearly 19 feet for his four late birdies. It was a welcome departure from his form the day before, when he tallied 35 putts, and a massive improvement from his atrocious start on the back nine early in his second round. As has been the story for many others this week, McIlroy struggled as he opened with the brutal, par-4 10th. He lost his tee shot right, and his second shot went just 91 yards into the trouble left. By the time he finally got to the green, he had 10 feet remaining to save bogey, and missed. Related: Tee times | Spieth sets up career Grand Slam chase | Koepka continues major dominance | Berger back in contention on Long Island “You go from the range and then you get in a car and you’re not hitting another shot for another 25 minutes,â€� he said, echoing what a handful of others have said this week. “So, feel like you could warm up again, basically, so that first tee shot is a little challenging for sure.â€� More right misses off the tee at 11 (bogey) and 12 (another double) completed the horrific start. “I tried over every shot,â€� he said. “And I didn’t let my head get down. I grinded.â€� With eight top-10 finishes in 10 starts coming in, McIlroy was among the pre-tournament picks to win this week. But until his last six holes Friday, he hadn’t looked comfortable at Bethpage. Part of that, he said, was the lies he’s gotten after his misses. Part has been the wind. “I though we got it pretty windy this morning, and we got it pretty windy yesterday afternoon,â€� he said. “So, I’d say that in terms of the scoring between the two sides of the draw, I’d say ours was maybe a shot tougher. We’ll see how that pans out at the end of the day.â€� He started his comeback with a 3-foot birdie putt at the par-5 13th hole, but bogeyed 15. He made the turn and managed only pars at 1 and 2, and was tied for 120th place. What was he playing for at that point? “Pride,â€� McIlroy said. “Just pride. Just trying to play a good round of golf and try to get something that’s close to the best out of myself. And, yeah, I don’t like missing cuts. It’s not something that I’m used to, fortunately, and I wanted to be around for the weekend.â€� McIlroy, 30, is third in the FedExCup and fourth in the world. “It’s just a matter of not pressing too much,â€� he said, “and staying patient and letting the good golf sort of come through. Took a while today, but it eventually got here.â€�
Pivotal hearing in Kraft case moved to MondayPivotal hearing in Kraft case moved to Monday
Keeping video permanently out of the public domain remains a top priority for Patriots owner Robert Kraft in his solicitation case.
Dale Jr. cherishes chance to drive Indy pace carDale Jr. cherishes chance to drive Indy pace car
Retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 in his first trip to the famed May race.