Gonzaga star guard Suggs to enter NBA draftGonzaga star guard Suggs to enter NBA draft
Gonzaga freshman guard Jalen Suggs is declaring for the NBA draft.
Day: April 20, 2021
Holmgren, No. 1 HS recruit, commits to GonzagaHolmgren, No. 1 HS recruit, commits to Gonzaga
Chet Holmgren, the No. 1-ranked senior in the Class of 2021 rankings, committed to Gonzaga on Monday during an appearance on SportsCenter.
‘It’s almost mind-boggling’: Scouts, opposing pitchers on why the Cubs can’t hit‘It’s almost mind-boggling’: Scouts, opposing pitchers on why the Cubs can’t hit
With Chicago’s hitters off to a historically bad start, we asked around the game — and found one simple thing bringing them down.
Expert Picks: Zurich Classic of New OrleansExpert Picks: Zurich Classic of New Orleans
How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments. The first fantasy golf game to utilize live ShotLink data, PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf allows you to see scores update live during competition. Aside from the experts below, Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at this year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans in this week’s edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out Rookie Watch, Qualifiers and Reshuffle. THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create your team, click the “Leagues” tab and search for “PGA TOUR Experts.” After that? Pick your players and start talking smack. Want to represent the fans against our experts? SEASON SEGMENT
NASCAR Power Rankings: Denny Hamlin climbs back to No. 1 spotNASCAR Power Rankings: Denny Hamlin climbs back to No. 1 spot
Denny Hamlin’s chances at a win slipped away late at Richmond, but his runner-up finish was good enough to vault him to No. 1 this week.
APGA Tour: Ryan Alford takes first-round lead in ScottsdaleAPGA Tour: Ryan Alford takes first-round lead in Scottsdale
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Ryan Alford of Shreveport, Louisiana, shot a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over Marcus Byrd of Nashville, Tennessee, in the first round of APGA Tour Scottsdale on the TPC Champions Course Monday. Alford delivered five birdies and an eagle with a 30-footer on the ninth hole to fashion the best score of the day in perfect conditions at the PGA TOUR-owned, 7,115-yard par 71 layout. Byrd shot a 32 on the back nine that included an eagle on the dogleg par 4 15th hole. He drove the green with a 2-iron that traveled an estimated 290 yards and dropped a 35-footer for the unusual 2 but then made bogey on No. 18 to drop out of a tie for the lead. “I hit everything well and putted the way I wanted to,” said Alford, who played college golf at Louisiana Tech and was a teammate of PGA TOUR player Sam Burns at Calvary Baptist High School in Shreveport. “Hopefully, I’ll be ready and tomorrow will be another day at the office” It will be a crowded leaderboard for the final 18 holes Tuesday. Nyasha Mauchaza of Port St. Lucie, Florida, is another stroke back at 4 under, Tommy Schaff of Ridgeland, South Carolina, and Trey Valentine of Melbourne, Florida are both at 3 under and a group of four players at 2 under is led by APGA Tour 2020 Lexus Cup Player of the Year Tim O’Neal of Savannah, Georgia. APGA Tour Scottsdale is the sixth tournament of the year for the 13-event circuit whose mission is to bring greater diversity to the sport of golf. The players are competing for a $25,000 purse with all activities conducted under social-distancing and health/safety guidelines in conjunction with regional authorities. APGA Tour standout Willie Mack shot 1-under 70 as he prepares for his sponsor exemption opportunity into the Korn Ferry Tour’s Huntsville Championship April 29-May 2 in Huntsville, Alabama. The field also includes Kamaiu Johnson, who shot an even-par 71, after winning APGA Tour Las Vegas last week at the TPC course there. Kirk Triplett, the longtime PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions professional, spoke to the players after the round and provided words of encouragement centered on understanding the challenge that lies ahead in trying to make the top levels of professional golf. “Finding consistency is the key. What you’re doing is like competing in a marathon,” offered the Scottsdale resident who displayed a BLACK LIVES MATTER sticker on his golf bag at the Senior PLAYERS Championship in Akron, Ohio, last year. Triplett has two adopted children who are minorities and told the media that he wanted to start a conversation. The APGA Tour 2021 season reaches its midpoint May 23-25 when APGA Tour Louisville is contested at famed Valhalla Country Club, which is owned and operated by PGA of America.
DraftKings preview: Zurich Classic of New OrleansDraftKings preview: Zurich Classic of New Orleans
The PGA TOUR takes a break from stroke play for the Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana. The course is a par 72, measuring 7,425 yards and continues on Bermuda grass this week. Last year, the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19, but this will be the fourth year of the team format. There are 80 teams of two in the field this week, and the top 35 teams and ties will make the cut. Teams will play best ball during the first and third rounds, while the second and fourth rounds will be alternate shot. This week will be a touch different when it comes to DraftKings scoring. In a team event like this, every golfer in the field will be available to roster, similar to a stroke-play event, but only one player from that team can be in your lineup. Each player from that team will receive the same points for each round this week, no matter the format. The defending champions are Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer. STRATEGY TPC Louisiana will be the second Pete Dye course in a row, which means Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green will be a priority this week. With that said, there are minimal stats when it comes to team events other than how players/teams played in this event over the past three years, and how well teams potentially played in events like the QBE Shootout. The issue with trying to parse through the data mentioned above is the efficacy and accuracy of the stats and which golfers from those teams were playing well or not playing well. All of this is a long-winded way of saying stats might not help us as much as they usually do every week. Even though the format is different, players and teams will still need to be great with their ball-striking and ride a hot putter, similar to all Dye courses. They’ll also need to stay aggressive on the best-ball rounds when scores should be going low. Players don’t necessarily have to come into this week with great form; we’ve seen Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown do well here, finishing T5 in 2019 and T15 the previous year and not come in with great form. Past finishes at TPC Louisiana when it was a stroke-play event, past Pete Dye success and, of course, current form are other ways to help us decide which teams to chase this week. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $600K Resurgence [$200K to 1st] GOLFERS TO CONSIDER Billy Horschel/Sam Burns +2200 to Win ($10,500 on DraftKings) Both players were positive in Tee-to-Green last week at the RBC Heritage, a Pete Dye course. Horschel recorded a top 25 at Harbour Town and just won the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play at Austin Country Club, another Dye course. Burns is starting to look like how he played leading into the Genesis Invitational earlier this season when he finished third. Last week, Burns gained 6.36 strokes Tee-to-Green (12th in the field), 3.1 of which came from his irons. Burns is also returning to New Orleans, where he played his college golf at Louisiana State University. Both guys are excellent Bermuda putters, and Horschel has already won this event in 2018 with Scott Piercy. Jason Kokrak/Pat Perez +6600 to Win ($8,300 on DraftKings) It wasn’t long ago that we saw Perez and Kokrak dominate the charity challenge at Sedgefield CC, beating Charl Schwartzel and Brendan Grace. All kidding aside, these two are good friends and could be great partners this week given how well their games match up. Kokrak is playing unbelievable, with three top 10s in his past four events, and ranks sixth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over his previous 12 rounds. Although Perez isn’t playing like his teammate, he finished runner-up here in 2018 with Jason Dufner. Perez can help out his teammate on the greens, where he’s much better than Kokrak on Bermuda. Perez has gained Off-the-Tee in six of his past seven measured tournaments and can get scorching hot with his putter when he (or his team) is playing well. Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $600K Resurgence [$200K to 1st] Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA/MI), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (NH/CO), 1-800-BETS OFF(IA), 1-888-532-3500 (VA) or call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN). 21+ (18+ NH). CO/IL/IN/IA/NH/NJ/PA/TN/VA/WV/MI only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions. I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is reidtfowler) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
‘Mind-boggling’: Dubs in awe of latest Curry feat‘Mind-boggling’: Dubs in awe of latest Curry feat
Curry’s record-breaking shooting streak has left teammates and coach at a loss for words
Rockets’ Sterling Brown recovering from assaultRockets’ Sterling Brown recovering from assault
In a statement, the Rockets said Sterling Brown “had no prior knowledge of or interaction with the assailants.” Brown suffered facial lacerations but is expected to make a full recovery.
Vanessa Bryant, Kobe estate end run with NikeVanessa Bryant, Kobe estate end run with Nike
Vanessa Bryant and the Kobe Bryant estate have elected not to renew their partnership with Nike. “My hope will always be to allow Kobe’s fans to get and wear his products. I will continue to fight for that,” she told ESPN.