MLB Rumors: Eddie Rosario, reported Giants target, nearing Indians contractMLB Rumors: Eddie Rosario, reported Giants target, nearing Indians contract
Giants reported target Eddie Rosario is reportedly nearing a deal with the Cleveland Indians.
Day: January 30, 2021
Report: Cardinals land Arenado in mega-dealReport: Cardinals land Arenado in mega-deal
The star third baseman is joining St. Louis in a trade after his relationship with the Rockies soured just two years after he signed a massive 8-year deal.
Willie Mack III builds experience ahead of The Genesis InvitationalWillie Mack III builds experience ahead of The Genesis Invitational
SAN DIEGO - A few days back Willie Mack III was expecting to play Torrey Pines North on Saturday as part of the APGA (Advocates Professional Golf Association) schedule - instead he finished up his Farmers Insurance Open quest there on Friday. Mack III stepped in at the 11th hour for Kamaiu Johnson - his fellow APGA professional - as a sponsors invite into the PGA TOUR event after Johnson tested positive for COVID-19. Thankfully Johnson has only suffered mild symptoms and a scare that saw Johnson's mother rushed to hospital earlier in the week has somewhat abated. Mack acquitted himself well and actually sat 1 under through 14 holes on the tough South Course in Thursday's opening round before dropping three shots late to card a 2-over 74. On Friday, in tough weather conditions, Mack battled his way to a 75 to ultimately miss the cut. But with another start upcoming at The Genesis Invitational via the Charlie Sifford Memorial exemption, Mack III gained plenty of valuable experience at Torrey Pines. "It was exciting. It was a good week. I think I hit four fairways, so other than that, every other part of my game was pretty good," Mack said. "I can’t thank Jeff Dailey, the CEO or Farmers, enough for just letting me and Kamaiu have an opportunity to get out here. It’s our dream to be out here and I can’t wait for the Genesis in three weeks." Johnson will - health permitting - get his first TOUR chance at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in two weeks' time and has also been offered an invite to The Honda Classic. In March 2020, Mack became a Farmers Insurance brand ambassador. He is a former Michigan Amateur champion and was the 2019 APGA Player of the Year, winning two of the seven events he entered. Mack currently leads the Florida Professional Golf Tour and will continue playing their events in addition to a full APGA Tour season in 2021. Removing the financial burden associated with the game is a top priority for both Farmers and the APGA Tour. Ensuring players have access to the tools and support they need allows them to better focus on competing. For players like Johnson and Mack, the support Farmers provides APGA Tour athletes can be invaluable. Mack's exemption was the latest example of Farmers support for the APGA Tour and its players in recent years. The national insurer has provided funding for APGA Tour events and the organization's athletes, sponsored players including Johnson and Mack, and for the second consecutive year will host an APGA Tour event on the North Course on Saturday. The 27-hole contest has an elevated $55,000 purse and begins at 7 a.m. local time. While Johnson and Mack are not in the mix others involved include Mulbe Dillard, a senior at Florida A&M. Dillard debuts at No. 1 in the newly formed APGA Collegiate Ranking created by the PGA TOUR and the APGA Tour aimed to help top Black college golfers' transition to the professional ranks by easing the financial burden of playing developmental tours and Korn Ferry Tour Q-School. Dillard leads the APGA Collegiate Ranking for Black golfers in NCAA Division I, II and III, with the top five seniors each year receiving summer status on the APGA Tour and an exemption into the pre-qualifying stage for Korn Ferry Tour Q-School. Kevin Hall, 37, is deaf and trying to pave the way for both the deaf community and African Americans. He played high school golf for Winton Woods (Ohio) while he attended St. Rita School for the Deaf. He went on to play at Ohio State, where he won the Big Ten Conference individual championship in 2004 by 11 shots and turned pro the following year. Hall has played several PGA TOUR and Korn Ferry Tour events over the course of his career and was a former recipient of the Charlie Sifford Memorial Exemption at The Genesis Invitational. In recent years, he has won three times on the APGA Tour. His father, Percy Hall, caddies and signs for him, and will be joining Kevin at the 2021 Farmers Insurance Open Invitational.
Wacky weather bites at Torrey PinesWacky weather bites at Torrey Pines
SAN DIEGO - Rain, hail and shine. And add wind too. Torrey Pines showcased it all in Friday's second round of the Farmers Insurance Open. When Lanto Griffin buried a 15-foot eagle putt to take the outright lead late in his round, the sun was trying to break through some scattered cloud around the cliffs of the iconic coastal venue. Twenty minutes later he was trying to pick pieces of hail off the par-3 8th green that were interfering with his line and as such could be forgiven for a three-putt that saw him drop a shot. Schizophrenic weather conditions certainly played their part as Viktor Hovland - a Norwegian who is used to the cold - forged his way to the 36-hole lead in "sunny" Southern California. Initial forecasts had set a bleak tone for Friday's second round, but heavy overnight rain actually let up at sunrise. Play began as scheduled with bright sunshine and picturesque views of the Pacific Ocean with hang gliders soaring overhead. But while there was some sun, there was no warmth, as temperatures settled in the low 50s. And as play continued the winds started to lift and squalls found their way onto the course, particularly the coastal adjacent holes. "The last couple weeks I’ve been in Oklahoma and it’s been really cold, so I’ve had probably three, four layers on practicing and I think that’s helped me for this week," the young Hovland said with his now trademark wide grin after he capped off a brilliant 7-under 65 on the tougher South Course. "It got really cold and obviously raining and hail, so being Norwegian, I think that also helps." Coupled with his 2-under 70 from Thursday on the North Course, Hovland sits out front at 9-under par. But there are a bevy of big names ready for a weekend chase after they also survived the wacky weather. Griffin is one of those at 8-under (66-70). "It was every type of weather, we had it all today. Started out like kind of windy and chilly and then it got warm and then it started hailing and then stopped hailing and then started hailing," Griffin said. "It was one of those days you kind of just have to embrace it." Australian Adam Scott - at home amongst the eucalyptus trees but certainly not in the chilly temps – ripped his 9-iron hard into the breeze from 136 yards on the par-4 2nd hole. It only went 125 yards and spun back off the green such was the power of the mini storm he encountered during that portion of his 3-under 69 on the South that also had him at 8-under. "The wind wasn’t violent, but the temperature going down just makes that wind so heavy and the ball goes so short. It’s really hard to adjust perfectly to that on the fly," Scott said as he looks to go one better than his only other Farmers Insurance Open appearance - a runner up in 2019. He found himself humming the Australian classic song - Four Seasons in One Day - by Crowded House at times. "You’ve already played nine holes, then the temperature drops and all of a sudden trying to gauge that a 9‑iron’s only going to go 125 is a hard call to make. You're just doing your best and trying not to make a big error, but it’s hard to all of a sudden see that the ball’s going 30 yards shorter than normal." When Jordan Spieth tried to line up his putt on the 17th hole caddie Michael Greller huddled over him with an umbrella to deflect the hail, and seemingly get as close to another body as possible for some warmth. After making eagle on the par-5 6th early in his round Spieth was in good shape to buck the trend of poor results he's suffered of late. But as things got tougher, he started to leak shots. When he returned after a near one hour suspension of play, he faced needing to birdie the par-5 18th to make the weekend. But par was all he could muster. His Texan buddy Ryan Palmer had no such trouble. For the fourth year running Palmer set himself up through 36 holes. He led at this stage in 2018 and 2020, was T3 in 2019 and T2 this week. Now he needs to arrest the trend that has seen him fade on weekends at the venue. "It was beautiful this morning, I couldn’t believe it when we got out here," Palmer said. "The first five, six holes we had to go out and try to get something going … then I realized you could feel the winds coming up, you could see the rain out in the distance, and I knew it was going to get tougher and tougher, so I just kind of told myself, let’s just stay steady and shoot a couple under par and we’ll be in a good position." Palmer's mate Jon Rahm - with whom he combined to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2019 - joined him at 8-under after also getting the benefit of playing the easier North Course Friday. He wasn't a fan of getting hit by sideways stinging rain at times. "Those fairways are narrow enough as it is. When you start adding the side wind, it’s just not fun. I can’t really stress how hard it can get," Rahm said after a 67. "North is easier. South today is brutal, I mean absolutely brutal. Every shot counts out there. Even being on the fairway some shots are not easy and with this wind and rain coming in and out, for those who played the North today, we should feel really fortunate." Fortune, they say, favors the brave. Robby Shelton was brave. He played without extra layers. A jacket-free 8-under 64 on the North featured nine birdies and puts the two-time Korn Ferry Tour winning 25-year-old just two shots back. "I just don’t swing well in a jacket. I tried to stay a little freer today even though I was a little cold, but I was fine." Lucky for him the sun is set to return for a weekend shootout.
Win probabilities: Farmers Insurance OpenWin probabilities: Farmers Insurance Open
2021 Farmers Insurance Open, Round 2 Top 10 win probabilities: 1. Jon Rahm (T2, -8, 24.0%) 2. Viktor Hovland (1, -9, 15.6%) 3. Tony Finau (T2, -8, 13.8%) 4. Patrick Reed (T2, -8, 9.9%) 5. Adam Scott (T2, -8, 6.5%) 6. Ryan Palmer (T2, -8, 6.3%) 7. Rory McIlroy (T14, -5, 5.4%) 8. Lanto Griffin (T2, -8, 4.0%) 9. Sam Burns (T11, -6, 1.7%) 10. Peter Malnati (T8, -7, 1.4%) Top Strokes-Gained Performers from Round 2: Putting: Will Gordon +4.3 Around the Green: Jason Kokrak +2.7 Approach the Green: Viktor Hovland +4.7 Off-the-tee: Brandon Hagy +1.8 Total: Viktor Hovland +9.8 NOTE: These reports are based off of the live predictive model run by @DataGolf. The model provides live "Make Cut", "Top 20", "Top 5", and "Win" probabilities every 5 minutes from the opening tee shot to the final putt of every PGA TOUR event. Briefly, the model takes account of the current form of each golfer as well as the difficulty of their remaining holes, and probabilities are calculated from 20K simulations. To follow live finish probabilities throughout the remainder of the Farmers Insurance Open, or to see how each golfer's probabilities have evolved from the start of the event to the current time, click here for the model's home page.
Rooney II: ‘Still work to be done’ on Rooney RuleRooney II: ‘Still work to be done’ on Rooney Rule
Pittsburgh Steelers president Art Rooney II said there’s “no question” the NFL has more work to do with the Rooney Rule as it seeks to give more minority candidates opportunities to become a head coach.
Sources: Rams explore Stafford trade scenariosSources: Rams explore Stafford trade scenarios
Lions QB Matthew Stafford considers the Rams a viable contender in his trade market, and the Rams have explored what it would take to get something done with Detroit, sources said.
New Eagles coach Nick Sirianni values connecting, competingNew Eagles coach Nick Sirianni values connecting, competing
PHILADELPHIA (AP) Nick Sirianni outlined his core principles, explained his coaching philosophy and dodged questions he can’t answer yet about a quarterback controversy. Eight days after the Philadelphia Eagles picked him to replace Doug Pederson, Sirianni stood in an empty auditorium and talked to a camera for more than 40 minutes during a virtual news conference Friday. ”That’s so important to me that we have a building here where everyone is connecting,” Sirianni said.
Alex Smith sounds as if he wants to play in 2021Alex Smith sounds as if he wants to play in 2021
The NFL Honors Show on Saturday will reveal the award winners from 2020. The favorites for some of the awards are Aaron Rodgers as MVP, Derrick Henry as offensive player of the year, Chase Young as defensive rookie of the year, Justin Herbert as offensive rookie of the year and Kevin Stefanski as coach of [more]
Brady, productive drafts fuel Tampa Bay’s run to Super BowlBrady, productive drafts fuel Tampa Bay’s run to Super Bowl
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Construction of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers began long before Tom Brady decided the once-downtrodden team had most of what he needed to have an opportunity to build on his legacy of championships. The 43-year-old quarterback is back in the Super Bowl for a record 10th time, surrounded by an All-Star cast of playmakers he helped assemble and a young defense that has played its best ball of the season during a playoff run to the NFL title game. General manager Jason Licht laid the foundation with a series of drafts that landed receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, offensive linemen Donovan Smith and Ali Marpet, running back Ronald Jones and tight end O.J. Howard.