Grant, Vucevic, Beal, Barnes: Celtics trade target deep dive on HoopsHype podcastGrant, Vucevic, Beal, Barnes: Celtics trade target deep dive on HoopsHype podcast
How are analysts seeing the Celtics’ trade horizon right now?
Day: March 9, 2021
NFL franchise tag tracker: Who’s getting paid for 2021; what’s nextNFL franchise tag tracker: Who’s getting paid for 2021; what’s next
The Panthers, Washington, the Jets and the Broncos have locked down their stars with the franchise tag. Who’s next?
Jaguars expected to franchise tag OT Cam RobinsonJaguars expected to franchise tag OT Cam Robinson
The Jaguars are expected to franchise tag OT Cam Robinson, according to Ian Rapoport. Robinson allowed five sacks and committed five penalties last season, earning an overall grade of 61.7 from PFF. Robinson was a 2nd-round pick of the Jaguars in 2017 and has made 47 starts in four seasons
Pro Football Focus says this was the Bears' best NFL draft decision in the last five yearsPro Football Focus says this was the Bears' best NFL draft decision in the last five years
Pro Football Focus published its breakdown of every team's best draft decision over the last five years. According to PFF the Bears' best draft decision is a series of decisions that GM Ryan Pace has made on Day 3, not in the early rounds. All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson, Jordan Howard, Nick Kwiatkoski, Tarik Cohen, Bilal Nichols and Darnell Mooney were all Day 3 picks. Pace has done a fantastic job identifying talent in the later rounds who've outplayed their draft position
Steve Kerr must unleash Jordan Poole for Warriors’ present, futureSteve Kerr must unleash Jordan Poole for Warriors’ present, future
It’s time the Warriors figure out exactly what they have in Jordan Poole.
Kyle Lowry on trade rumours: ‘The lies people tell in the media are amazing’Kyle Lowry on trade rumours: ‘The lies people tell in the media are amazing’
Toronto’s star point guard is fed up with the constant rumours.
Internal OB added to THE PLAYERS’ 18th holeInternal OB added to THE PLAYERS’ 18th hole
PONTE VEDRA BEACH - PGA TOUR officials have added internal out-of-bounds to TPC Sawgrass' iconic 18th hole for THE PLAYERS Championship this week. Officials declared the left side of the lake that runs down the famous finishing hole will be declared OB after suggestions players might look to hit tee shots across the lake towards the ninth hole, before hitting back across water to the green. Players on the ninth hole are not affected, with balls lost into the water on that hole treated as a normal hazard. "In the interest of safety for spectators, volunteers and other personnel, The PLAYERS Championship Rules Committee has installed an internal out of bounds left of the lake for play of hole 18. Similar instances of internal out of bounds for safety purposes have occurred at The Open Championship (No. 9) in 2017, the 2021 Sony Open in Hawaii (Nos. 13, 18), and most recently, the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (No. 6)," the TOUR said via statement. Earlier on Tuesday, Bryson DeChambeau had indicated he might entertain the idea of bombing a drive or two over the lake despite not seeing a significant advantage. That choice has now been eliminated from his thinking. DeChambeau's significant length helped him win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard last week - his eighth TOUR win. "I’ll probably give it a try, but it’s most likely not going to happen. If there’s stands there, there’s really no reason to go for it, when I could just drive it 100 yards from the green if I get a good wind normally," DeChambeau indicated. "It’s not really that big of an advantage but taking the water out of play and having an easier second shot, it may be easier." PGA TOUR rules official Stephen Cox said while players actions can certainly be a driving factor in determining these sort of decisions, the main issue on this occasion was safety. "It's not the way the hole was designed to be played and when a player does choose that option it brings fairly significant safety concerns for us," Cox said. "As we saw at Birkdale in 2017, players tend to take obscure lines and locations to gain a strategic advantage but if it is placing others at risk and danger the committee needs to act on it quickly. "Just as we reintroduce fans the last thing we would want is to have someone walking back towards the tee at the ninth hole and get a ball in the face because someone hits it down there. Errant tee shots are errant tee shots but when someone deliberately takes it down there it is more of a concern for us."
These NBA prospects won’t be in the Big DanceThese NBA prospects won’t be in the Big Dance
It’s not just the stars on Kentucky and Duke that are on the outside looking in. Plenty more quality players won’t be taking part in March Madness.
Big-time playmakers headline free agent marketBig-time playmakers headline free agent market
Unlike the free agent quarterback crop, the group of skill position players poised to hit the market is filled with difference-makers.
Horses for Courses: THE PLAYERS ChampionshipHorses for Courses: THE PLAYERS Championship
Let’s try this again. One year ago the first round of the 2020 PLAYERS Championship was almost completed before the tournament and the PGA TOUR was completely shut down. COVID-19 arrived and was sweeping the country and the decision was made to be safe rather than sorry. RELATED: Power Rankings | Expert Picks | The First Look One year later, the TOUR returns to its flagship event on its most famous course to offer a prize pool of $15 million for the deepest field in golf. Of the top 50 players in the OWGR 48 are on the property this week with only Matthew Wolff (wrist) and Brooks Koepka (knee) unable to participate. From the field of 154, 112 are previous winners on TOUR. This year’s champion will take home $2.7 million and 600 FedExCup points plus a five year exemption on TOUR. THE PLAYERS Stadium Course designed by Pete Dye will serve as host as it has since 1982. The second full edition since the return to March will feature Rory McIlroy as the defending champion as last year’s tournament was cancelled after one round. The over-seeded conditions will apply on the 5,500 square foot greens, 2.5 inches of rough and 26 acres of Celebration Bermuda fairways. Water comes into play on 17 of the 18 holes and 88 bunkers will also gobble up loose shots. Pete Dye plays games with your eyes, head and feet. No lies are flat. Tee boxes are set at off angles. No two holes run in the consecutive direction. No bulkheads or mounds are nearly as close or far as they appear. Your brain, caddy and nervous system are always running at 10 trying to figure out where to attack. Dye’s tracks reward the boldest lines and punish those who don’t place it perfectly. Great shots are rewarded. Good shots can be salvaged. Safe shots will take some navigating to save par. We learned that March is different from May. There’s no chance of the course to be firm and fast this early in the season. The weather and the overseed don’t allow it so fairways get wider (no roll), greens are more receptive and the rough is easier to play from because of the extra grass. I think we should still look back to the last two editions from May because the routing of the course hasn’t changed and we can learn from those two events as well. Last year before the delay, this is what the scoreboard looked like for a point of reference: Hideki Matsuyama 63 – tied course record Si Woo Kim 65 – 2017 champion Christiaan Bezuidenhout 65 – debut round Harris English 65 – only his second round in the 60s from 21 Needless to say this should be a wide open event. The 31 first-time players from 2020 and 2021 combined won’t be at as much of a disadvantage because of the new March start. Eddie Pepperell (not entered) was T3 on his debut in 2019. TPC Sawgrass has catered to all styles over the years. Great ball-strikers, super short games and even recent bombers like McIlroy all have found their way around. Fred Funk hit 45 fairways to win at 48 years old. Si Woo Kim only needed eight rounds to figure it out to win at 21. Kim is the only player in the last 10 events to win with less than 5 previous visits. Experience pays on Pete Dye tracks and on TPC Sawgrass. Recent Event Winners Stats 2020: Event Cancelled After First Day (COVID-19) 2019: Rory McIlroy (-16, 272) Defeated Jim Furyk (not entered) by one shot to win in his 10th appearance. … Played in the penultimate group as he began Round 4 just one back. … Co-leader after 36 holes on 12-under. … Gained just over 13 shots Tee to Green. … Picked up his third victory on a Pete Dye track (Kiawah Island, Crooked Stick). … 15th TOUR victory. … 15th International winner. … Joins Tiger Woods and Henrik Stenson as major, WGC and FedExCup champions who have won THE PLAYERS. … Worst finish in five events leading into the week was T6. Notables: Jhonattan Vegas (T3) posted a bogey-free 66 for his best payday. … Tommy Fleetwood (T5) played in the final group for the first time on TOUR and posted 73. … Dustin Johnson (T5) became just the second player to post all four rounds in the 60s as he enjoyed his best finish in 11 tries. … Brandt Snedeker (T5) co-led the field with 23 birdies. … 2016 champion Jason Day (T8) hits the top 10 for the third time in four seasons. … Brian Harman (T8) only squared seven bogeys for the week. … Hideki Matsuyama (T8) closed 66-67 before opening with 63 in 2020. … Justin Rose (T8) played the final 54 holes in 14-under after opening with 74. … Abraham Ancer (T12) made 23 birdies on his debut to share the lead on the week. … Holding the 54 hole lead for the first time after firing 64, Jon Rahm (T12) closed with 76. … Adam Scott (T12) has 23 rounds in the 60s here. … 2008 winner Sergio Garcia has 24 rounds in the 60s, best all time. … Keegan Bradley (T16) shared the first round lead with Fleetwood with 65. … Webb Simpson (T16) keeps the streak alive of previous champions unable to defend. … Cut was 1-under 143. … Only 11 of the 24 who had played previously in March made the cut. 2018: Webb Simpson (-18, 270) Led by seven after 54 holes and won comfortably by four in the last May event. … Joins the major-PLAYERS-FedExCup Playoff event fraternity as the sixth to do so. … First top 10 in his ninth start at TPC Sawgrass. … Co wire-to-wire winner as he shared the 18 hole lead with five others. … Tied the course record of 63 in Round 2 to set the 36-hole mark on 15-under. … Led by five after 36, also a record. … Led by seven after 54, another record. … Tied Greg Norman on 19-under after 54 holes. … Became only second winner to shoot an over par score (73) and win. … Just third winner to lead in Driving Accuracy. … Loves Bermuda as his best finishes that season were T4 Sony, T5 The Honda Classic, T8 Valspar and T5 RBC Heritage; T21 week before at Wells Fargo. Notables: Charl Schwartzel (T2) picked up his only top 25 to date. … Debutant Xander Schauffele (T2) posted three rounds of 68 or better. … Jimmy Walker (P2) collected his best finish in his ninth start. … Jason Day (T5) bounced back from T60 in his title defense in 2017. … Jason Dufner (T5) grabbed his second top 10 in nine starts. … Keegan Bradley (T7) began his run of form here closing with 66. … Tommy Fleetwood (T7) closed 68-68 to suggest he was figuring it out. … Danny Lee (T7) opened 68-66 before playing the weekend 2-under. … Harold Varner III (T7) made 25 birdies and an eagle. … Brooks Koepka (T11) tied the course record on Sunday with 63 but will miss this year with a knee injury. … 2017 champ Si Woo Kim (T63) extended the streak of defending champions not to hit the top 10 (Adam Scott, 2007; T8). … Most eagles in event history and on TOUR for the season. … Warm temperatures and light wind. … Top 22 players 10-under or lower. … Cut 1-under 143. … Event followed the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. 2017: Si Woo Kim (-10, 278) Won by three shots to become the youngest champion in history at 21 years 10 months. … Began the final round two shots back. … Bogey-free 69 was the only bogey-free round on Sunday. … Highest winning total since 2008 (Garcia). … Won in only his second start. … Did not lead after any of the first three rounds. … Had seven MC and four WD on the season entering the week. … Becomes only second Korean winner (KJ Choi, 2011). Notables: Louis Oosthuizen (T2) co-led after 36 holes and was one back after 54. … Ian Poulter (T2) posted all four rounds at par or better. … Co-leader after 36 and 54 holes, Kyle Stanley (T4) hung on for his best finish at TPC Sawgrass. … Lucas Glover (T6) shot 32 going out on Sunday but made four bogeys on the back. … Francesco Molinari (T6) was one of five players to post both weekend numbers in the red. … Adam Scott (T6) posted all four rounds par or better. … Brendan Steele (T6) fired 68 on Sunday, tying the low round of the day with Dustin Johnson (T12). … Alex Noren (10th) was the best debutant in the field. … Jason Day (T60) couldn’t defend, but nobody does. … Emiliano Grillo (11th) matched Sergio Garcia (T30) for the round of the day on Saturday with 67. … Pat Perez (T22) shared the low round of the week, 66, with Oosthuizen and Stanley. … Cut was 2-over 146. … Wind picked up on the weekend as the 36-hole lead was 9-under. … Only two bogey-free rounds on the weekend. … Only 12 rounds in the 60s. Key stat leaders Top golfers in each statistic on the 2019-2020 PGA TOUR are listed only if they are scheduled to compete this week. * – Top 10 finish here since 2015 or past champion Horses for Courses