Coach Ron Rivera viewed the Buffalo game as a measuring stick. The next measuring stick for his team is how it responds after getting thumped.
Ruggs wouldn’t go into detail on what was said prior to Sunday’s win over the Dolphins, but the Raiders’ second-year receiver was big when needed.
DETROIT – The PGA TOUR and Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, today announced an extension of the title sponsorship for the Rocket Mortgage Classic through 2027. Detroit’s PGA TOUR event will continue to benefit local residents through its commitment to bridging the digital divide in the community. “From the very beginning, Dan Gilbert’s vision was to bring a world-class golf event to Detroit, shining a light on the city and raising money for partners doing amazing work in our community. Since then, Rocket Mortgage, the tournament team and the PGA TOUR have all worked tirelessly to establish an event that has a lasting impact on golf fans as well as neighborhoods throughout Detroit,” said Jay Farner, CEO of Rocket Mortgage and Rocket Companies. “We have built tremendous momentum and won multiple awards for our event from the PGA TOUR. But, more importantly, we have been able to take on very important initiatives, like helping to bridge the digital divide in Detroit. We are looking forward to seeing the impacts of this tremendous event for many more years to come.” The Rocket Mortgage Classic, which saw Cameron Davis win his first PGA TOUR event in 2021, will continue to focus on its Changing the Course initiative. This program aims to end the digital divide in Detroit by making data-driven investments into the city and philanthropic partners that assist in providing technology, internet access and digital literacy training to residents. The goal is to ensure residents have access to these tools within a 15-minute walk of their home. Charitable proceeds raised from the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic totaled over $2.7 million, surpassing the $1.2 million that was raised from the 2019 Rocket Mortgage Classic. More than $3.5 million of these proceeds were invested directly into Detroit and Southeast Michigan-based organizations. Funds are disbursed by the Rocket Giving Fund, the 501(c)(3) host organization that manages the Rocket Mortgage Classic. One of the primary initiatives of the Rocket Giving Fund is EBB 313, which is operated by Connect 313 Fund. This program subsidizes the cost of internet and technological devices for eligible households in Detroit. EBB 313 is the first and only campaign in the country that has streamlined and systemized access to the federal government’s Emergency Broadband Benefit. This significantly reduces the cost to digital access and opportunity, one of the primary barriers for those who currently do not have the necessary materials needed to be connected. Connect 313 Fund is a collaborative organization founded by the City of Detroit, the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Rocket Companies, Microsoft and the United Way of Southeastern Michigan. “The Rocket Mortgage Classic is an unparalleled opportunity to highlight all the great work taking place in Detroit, one of the great sports towns in America, and we’re excited to continue our partnership with Rocket Mortgage and the Rocket Mortgage Classic through 2027,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “Thanks to today’s extension, the Rocket Giving Fund will continue to provide significant technological benefits for the citizens of Detroit through the Connect 313 Fund. We are proud that the Rocket Mortgage Classic has been a leader from day one in ensuring – through its work with local businesses and community leaders – that the tournament represents the diversity of the community.” The inaugural Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2019 won the PGA TOUR’s “Fair Way Award,” recognizing it as the leader in diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and setting the bar for all PGA TOUR events by hiring Michigan-based, Detroit-based and minority owned businesses. The goal of the Rocket Mortgage Classic is to be reflective of and benefit the businesses and entrepreneurs that serve as the backbone of the local community. “The Rocket Mortgage Classic continues to get better by the year, and we expect this incredible momentum to maintain as we build the preeminent event on the PGA TOUR,” said Jason Langwell, Executive Director of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. “Our roster of the world’s best players continues to grow, the Detroit Golf Club’s classic layout is becoming a player favorite and our tournament has become the must-attend event of the summer.” Rocket Mortgage has been a PGA TOUR partner since 2014. The Rocket Mortgage Classic debuted in Detroit in 2019, following the Quicken Loans National in the Metro Washington D.C. area where the company was title sponsor from 2014-18. Rocket Mortgage will also continue its multifaceted partnership with the PGA TOUR and PGA TOUR Champions as its Official Mortgage Sponsor. Rocket Mortgage is a prominent advertiser on PGA TOUR telecasts and across PGA TOUR social and digital channels. Additionally, Rocket Mortgage golf brand ambassadors include Bryson DeChambeau, Rickie Fowler and Lexi Thompson.
The odd marriage of a 76-year-old manager and one of MLB’s most dynamic rosters led to the first division title on the South Side since 2008. But how will they fare in October?
Exorcising decades worth of Ryder Cup demons, the younger U.S. Team run away with it and post a gaudy, historic final score of 19-9, perhaps signaling a change in the balance of power. Where do the Americans go from here? For more on that, click here. As for Whistling Straits, one might have guessed a blowout was coming. The U.S. Team had 11 of the top 16 players in the Official World Golf Ranking; the European Team had just three. With so many highlights for the Americans, the only question is which ones stood out most. Was it Dustin Johnson, the oldest member of the U.S. Team at 37, going 5-0-0? How about Tony Finau holing putts from all over as he and Harris English beat Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy in Four-ball on Saturday? The did-I-just-see-that Brooks/Bryson hug? Here are the superlatives from the week in Wisconsin. BEST PLAYER Dustin Johnson became just the fourth U.S. player to go 5-0-0 in a Ryder Cup. He joined Arnold Palmer (1967), Gardner Dickinson (1967) and Larry Nelson (1979). Meanwhile, five Europeans didn’t win a single match. MOST UNFORGETTABLE SHOTS Bryson DeChambeau’s 417-yard drive at the par-5 fifth on Friday afternoon, setting up a 72-yard pitch and an eagle as he and Scottie Scheffler tied super-duo Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm. “Well, I knew if it was a little downwind, I could take a unique line, and I luckily was able to have that wind today,” said DeChambeau, who went 2-0-1. It was 20-plus, and I said to myself, all right, I have to aim at the green, so I did. I just aimed at the green and bombs away.” DeChambeau driving the first green Sunday, a poke of 354 yards – and making the eagle putt. Jordan Spieth’s moon shot from below the 17th green, the trajectory of which looked like a rocket, after which he did well not to break an ankle or fall in Lake Michigan. “Once I started moving, I was like, I’ve got to keep moving until I find a flat spot,” he said. “Yeah, it’s kind of one of those shots that you practice as a kid for fun, and you don’t ultimately want to have it.” Tyrrell Hatton’s seven-foot birdie putt on 18 as he and Jon Rahm salvaged a tie against Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler in a Four-ball match Friday afternoon. Shane Lowry’s 11-footer for par as he and Tyrrell Hatton preserved a 1-up victory over Harris English and Tony Finau in a Four-ball match Saturday afternoon. BEST VISUAL Paul Casey climbing into the stands behind the first tee to dance and sing with European fans. The two teams lined up to shake hands after the match had been decided Sunday. Lake Michigan. WORST 360-DEGREE LIP-OUT Viktor Hovland at the 10th hole as he tied his match against Collin Morikawa. Shane Lowry at the ninth hole in his 4-and-2 singles loss to Patrick Cantlay. Jordan Spieth at the 13th hole in his and Brooks Koepka’s Four-ball loss to Garcia and Rahm. BEST START Captain’s pick Scottie Scheffler, ranked 21st in the world, making birdies on five of his first six holes on the way to a 4-and-3 win over world No. 1 Jon Rahm. “Definitely nice to get off to that start,” said Scheffler, who went 2-0-1. “You know, Jon has had a really good week so far, so to get off to that start and put him down early was big.” Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, U.S. anchor team for the Friday morning Foursomes, went 5 up through five in their 5-and-3 victory over Rory McIlroy and Ian Poulter. “I don’t know if anyone could have beat Xander and Patrick today,” McIlroy said. BEST TEAM Sergio Garcia and Jon Rahm went 3-0-1. “To be able to win those matches with him the way we did it, that is undoubtedly the most fun I’ve had on a golf course by far,” Rahm said. Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa went 3-0-0. (They were split up Friday afternoon.) Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele went 2-0-0 in Foursomes. BEST NEW NICKNAME “Patty Ice” Cantlay became “No Hat Pat” as he went 3-0-1 for the U.S. BEST TEAM WITHIN A TEAM Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia, the new Spanish Armada, went 3-0-1 Daniel Berger and Brooks Koepka, Florida State products, went 1-1-0 MOST SPORTSMANLIKE GESTURE Harris English, after losing his ball in the hazard, conceded his singles match to Lee Westwood, after which they laughingly helped each other climb the steep bank to the 18th green. MOST HEARTFELT MOMENT Rory McIlroy, who had gone 0-3 and been benched the first two days before winning his singles match over Xander Schauffele, crying at the end of a long and difficult week. BEST INDICATION OF FUTURE U.S. SUCCESS U.S. Captain Steve Stricker’s U.S. Team featured six rookies and eight players under 30. What’s more, all 12 American players won at least one match going into the Sunday singles. All of which would seem to portend good things for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, and beyond. QUOTES OF THE WEEK “We wanted to send a message.” – Patrick Cantlay “I think it’s the fastest I ever got over losing something.” – Xander Schauffele, upon seeing the heavily red leaderboards, signifying a U.S. rout, after Rory McIlroy beat him 2 and 1 on Sunday. “I think I’m emotional, as well, because I wanted to do this for Padraig, too.” – Rory McIlroy COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.
Chesson Hadley needed golf’s version of a Hail Mary to keep his PGA TOUR card last season. He hopes he won’t need it this time around. “Last season was not a great ball-striking year, unfortunately,” said Hadley, 34, who will make his second start of the new season at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi. While he probably won’t start in earnest until after Thanksgiving, the 2014 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year is embarking on some changes to shore up those tee-to-green deficiencies. He began working with a new swing coach, Raleigh-based Chase Duncan, 37, in early August. “I like to try to keep it as simple as possible,” Duncan said. “Initially I’ll help him understand his current pattern, and we’ll work on the takeaway, getting a good feel for the clubface coming back. Not big changes. I’ve been impressed how much he likes to eat for such a skinny guy.” Indeed, Hadley’s feast-or-famine 2021 suggests he’s not far away. Although he ranked 169th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green last season, he was 11th in SG: Putting and very nearly won. At the Palmetto Championship at Congaree in June, he was the 54-hole leader by four but bogeyed the last three holes to lose to young South African Garrick Higgo by a shot. “I can only imagine what it looked like on TV because it looked freakin’ awful from my view,” he said afterward. “I mean, I could barely keep it on the planet. That 8 iron from the fairway on that last hole is inexcusable. I just didn’t have it today.” He redeemed himself with a T15 at the Wyndham Championship in August. Having begun the tournament languishing at 132nd in the FedExCup, and tied for 51st place going into Sunday, he looked destined to miss the Playoffs and lose his TOUR card. The rest is flying-giraffe history: Hadley got off to a hot start, made his first-ever hole-in-one – leaping into the air with the grace of “a flying baby giraffe,” he said later – birdied his last hole, and shot a final-round 62. Would it be enough? All he could do now was wait. He was at a Bojangles drive-through (very on-brand) with his father, Russell, on their way back to Raleigh when the TOUR’s Tom Alter gave him the news. With Justin Rose’s three-putt bogey on 18, Hadley had slipped into the 125th spot to keep his card and get into the Playoffs lid-lifter, THE NORTHERN TRUST, by one FedExCup point. “I’ll remember everything about that day,” Hadley said. “I had my food in my lap and was waiting to eat until I had the full run-down. There was some screaming, some crying. It was great to have something to celebrate with my family because it didn’t feel like there was a lot to celebrate the last 18 months or so. We just opened a bottle of wine. “We have a couple that we’re really close with,” he continued, “and we had them over for a small celebration because I had to get on a plane for New York the next day.” He missed THE NORTHERN TRUST cut, ending his season, but he had spared himself a trip to Boise for the start of the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. He felt relief for himself, but also for his wife, Amanda. “And she was certainly emotional because she feels like she’s been all by herself while I’ve been trying to do all this,” he said. “I did not want to go to Boise for lots of reasons. That’s a long way away from home. My family wasn’t going to be able to come. My kids are starting school. “So Sunday was huge professionally,” he continued, “but it was also really big personally just because I could be with my family more. It was just such a relief.” Given some time to reflect, Hadley believes Congaree, in South Carolina, and Sedgefield, in North Carolina, were connected by more than a common state border. “I think one of the reasons why I did so well the Sunday at Wyndham is because of the Sunday at Congaree,” he said. “It had been a while since I had been in that position, and I didn’t handle Congaree the way I wanted to, but I learned a lot.” Specifically, Hadley was able to find a way to close even as he felt his command wobbling at the Wyndham. He was in the fifth fairway at Sedgefield when he told his caddie, David Cooke, that he was starting to see some squirrely shots and they needed to make a quick fix. “I was kind of hitting it a little bit loose,” Hadley said. “I told him, ‘I feel like we need to make an adjustment.’ Which is something I didn’t do at Congaree when it was getting crooked. So I just kind of did that, I put a little more left lean, a little more weight left, so that I wouldn’t fall back on it. It was the right adjustment because I hit some really good shots coming in.” Like the ace at the 160-yard, par-3 16th hole, with a 9-iron. Amazingly, it wasn’t just his first hole-in-one on TOUR, it was his first anywhere despite being an 11th-year pro. The trails of his previous few years were apparent during Hadley’s tearful post-round interview with CBS’s Amanda Balionis. “I’m not just out here for fun,” he said. “This is my job and I love it and I care very deeply about it.” Then he made fun of himself for crying, and his giraffe jump. This week he returns to one of his favorite places on TOUR, the Country Club of Jackson, where he finished second behind Ryan Armour in 2017. That result that was sandwiched between a T3 at the Fortinet Championship and a T4 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas. When he’s on top of his game, Hadley is very, very good. He’s working on it.
Where do the Bucks, Nets, Lakers and every contender stand? We’re breaking down all 30 teams as training camps begin this week, less than one month from the start of the 2021-22 NBA season.
Devin Booker will miss the start of Suns training camp after being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
The NBA said in a release Friday that Andrew Wiggins will not be able to play Warriors home games at Chase Center unless he gets vaccinated against COVID-19.
Forward Rui Hachimura, who played for Team Japan at the Olympics in Tokyo last month, will miss the start of Washington Wizards training camp because of personal reasons, the team announced on Saturday.
