Some people are flabbergasted that a 31-year-old former MVP had to settle for a minimum contract with the Patriots. Compared to other QBs, it does seem ridiculous.
The NBA’s only Canadian team has already begun the isolation process in Florida as the defending champs get ready for next month’s season restart.
The Grizzlies’ Ja Morant apologized for reposting an image of his jersey with an anti-police slogan on the back, clarifying that it “didn’t clearly and accurately convey what I wanted to share.”
The Lakers are finalizing a deal with guard JR Smith, sources told ESPN.
NBA spreads were back on the board at sportsbooks for the first time in months.
Mark Byington has spent more than three months as the men’s basketball coach at James Madison without being able to take a recruiting trip or meet personally with the eight players joining his program during the coronavirus pandemic. “We wanted to get older,” said Byington, who left Georgia Southern for the Colonial Athletic Association program. Twenty Division I programs have changed coaches since March, when the pandemic shut down college and professional sports as well as in-person recruiting.
The Rocket Mortgage Classic’s AREA 313 Challenge provides this week’s field at Detroit Golf Club with arguably the toughest task on the PGA TOUR, but one that also will produce a significant charitable contribution for a great cause. Here are the details: THE CHALLENGE As part of Rocket Mortgage Classic’s Changing the Course initiative – a vision that every Detroit resident has access to the internet, technology and digital literacy training within 5 years – the AREA 313 Challenge centers on three holes at Detroit Golf Club. PGA TOUR golfers will compete to make an eagle (at the par-5 14th), an ace (at the par-3 15th) and a birdie (at the par-4 16th) during each round this week. The first golfer to go 3-1-3 (representing the Detroit area code) will have a $313,000 contribution made in his name towards the Rocket Giving Fund charities connected to digital access and Detroit’s digital divide. In addition, all golfers can also achieve other charitable money by Rocket Mortgage on those specific holes. • Each eagle at the par-5 14th results in a $5,000 donation • Each ace at the par-3 15th results in a $25,000 donation • Each birdie at the par-4 16th results in a $5,000 donation Even before the first shot is struck this week, the AREA 313 Challenge is off to a great start thanks to Rickie and Allison Fowler and their foundation, as they’re making an $100,000 donation to the cause. THE HOLES HOLE 14 (553 yards) A classic risk-reward par 5. The 14th will see a majority of players approaching it as a two-shot hole with long hitters only having a mid-to-long iron approach shot into this two-tiered green guarded by water in front. Those who elect to lay up on their second will need to control the spin on their shots due to a false front on the left side of the green. 2019 stats: 4.655 stroke average; 5 eagles, 186 birdies, 222 pars, 38 bogeys, 1 other Here’s a scatter chart of all second shots on or around the 14th green last year. HOLE 15 (154 yards) A classic Donald Ross designed par 3 that plays longer than the posted yardage. The 15th features large bunkers protecting the front, left and right sides of the green. 2019 stats: 2.969 stroke average; 0 aces, 76 birdies, 317 pars, 56 bogeys, 3 others Here’s a scatter chart of all tee shots toward the 15th green last year. HOLE 16 (454 yards) Players will need to place their tee shots on the 16th short of the fairway bunkers that guard the landing area, leaving them with a mid-iron approach to the green. Many will face challenging birdie putts on what is one of the more underrated putting surfaces at Detroit Golf Club. 2019 stats: 4.000 stroke average; 0 eagles, 60 birdies, 334 pars, 56 bogeys, 2 others Here’s a scatter chart of all second shots on or around the 16th green last year. THE NUMBERS So, how difficult will it be for a player to go 3-1-3 over those three holes in a single round to earn the $313,000 charity donation? Well, consider this … In the 319,104 rounds on the PGA TOUR captured by ShotLink since 2003, no player has recorded an eagle-ace-birdie (in that order) in any three-hole stretch. However, there have been 30 times in which a player has made a 3 (on both a par 4 and a par 5) and a 1 on a par 3 in the same round. Three of those times, the player did it in consecutive holes … just not in the 3-1-3 order. • At the 2019 Sony Open in Hawaii, Keith Mitchell went ace-birdie-eagle (1-3-3) on holes 7 through 9 in the second round at Waialae. • At the 2015 Memorial tournament presented by Nationwide, Jason Dufner went birdie-eagle-ace (3-3-1) on holes 14 through 16 in the second round at Muirfield Village • At the 2005 Michelin Championship (now Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) in Las Vegas, Kevin Stadler went ace-birdie-eagle (1-3-3) on holes 14 through 16 in the first round at TPC Summerlin. Even if no player produces the 3-1-3 stretch this week, expect to see lots of charity contributions based on the individual holes. A year ago at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, five players eagled the par-5 14th. If a similar number does that this year, that would produce $25,000 ($5,000 for each eagle) for Changing the Course. Meanwhile, 60 birdies were made at the par-4 16th. Again, a similar number this year would result in $300,000 ($5,000 for each birdie) for the initiative. Of the five players who made eagle at the 14th hole last year, J.J. Spaun came closest to reaching the second leg, as his tee shot at the 15th landed inside of 4 feet for an easy birdie (he eventually parred the 16th to go 3-2-4). Spaun is in the field again this week. So take notice of that stretch between holes 14 and 16 this week in Detroit. It should generate a lot of buzz — and a significant charitable donation towards closing Detroit’s digital divide.
The PGA TOUR announced today the four Featured Groups for Thursday-Friday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, to be contested at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan. Only seven weeks and eight events remain before the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, with the TOUR Championship crowning the FedExCup champion over Labor Day weekend. Full groupings and starting times for the first two rounds of the Rocket Mortgage Classic will be released officially at approximately noon ET on Tuesday, June 30. . HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups), Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama • DeChambeau is the only player to finish in the top 10 in each of the first three events since the season resumed; he is on a streak of six straight top-10s dating to The Genesis Invitational • Reed, who is No. 5 in the FedExCup standings, finished T5 at the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic • Five-time PGA TOUR winner Matsuyama seeks his first win since 2017 Bubba Watson, Jason Day, Brendon Todd • 12-time PGA TOUR winner Watson will team up with Harold Varner III on Wednesday for an exhibition match on the back nine of Detroit Golf Club against Jason Day and Wesley Bryan to raise funds toward ending the digital divide in Detroit • Day seeks his first top-10 since February (AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am/4th) as he makes his first start at the Rocket Mortgage Classic • A two-time winner this season, Todd held the 54-hole lead at last week’s Travelers Championship before finishing T11 Rickie Fowler, Nate Lashley, Webb Simpson • Rocket Mortgage ambassador Fowler, who owns five PGA TOUR wins including the 2015 PLAYERS Championship, will make his ninth start of the season • As the last man in the field, Lashley won the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic by six shots after holding the solo lead after each round • Simpson moved to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings with his win at the RBC Heritage two weeks ago and will make his first start at Detroit Golf Club Brandt Snedeker, Tyrrell Hatton, Sungjae Im • Snedeker, who owns nine TOUR wins and 77 total top-10s, looks for his second top-10 of the season • Hatton has four top-10s in five starts in 2019-20, including a win (Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard) and a T3 (RBC Heritage) in his last two starts • At No. 3 in the FedExCup standings, Im looks for his second top-10 since the season resumed at the Charles Schwab Challenge
The Lakers won’t have Avery Bradley for the NBA’s resumption at Disney World.
Former Cavaliers guard JR Smith, who played with LeBron James in Cleveland, will replace Avery Bradley on the Lakers’ roster.
