Sources: Vogel out as Lakers HC after 3 seasonsSources: Vogel out as Lakers HC after 3 seasons
Frank Vogel has coached his final game with the Lakers, a decision expected to be shared with him as soon as Monday, sources told ESPN.
Day: April 11, 2022
Wolves sign coach Finch to multiyear extensionWolves sign coach Finch to multiyear extension
The Timberwolves have signed head coach Chris Finch and his coaching staff to multiyear extensions, the team announced Monday.
Rory McIlroy cards record-tying Sunday 64 in runner-up at Augusta NationalRory McIlroy cards record-tying Sunday 64 in runner-up at Augusta National
Rory McIlroy finished solo second at the Masters Tournament on Sunday, falling just short of a Green Jacket in his eighth attempt to complete the career Grand Slam at Augusta National. During his post-round interview in Butler Cabin, though, the four-time major championship winner expressed that he departed the 18th green feeling “as happy as I’ve ever been on a golf course right there.” The reason? McIlroy concluded his final round at the 86th Masters with a bunker hole-out for birdie on the 72nd hole, completing an 8-under 64 that marked the low round of the tournament by three strokes. McIlroy began the final round 10 strokes back of 54-hole leader Scottie Scheffler, and he eventually finished three shy of Scheffler’s winning mark of 10-under. With an effort that matched the low final round in Masters history, though, McIlroy rekindled the magic displayed at major championships in the early 2010s, when he captured four major titles in a 15-major span. The 32-year-old last won a major at the 2014 PGA Championship; in his eight Masters appearances since, he has recorded six top-10 finishes, including his career-best runner-up on Sunday. The 20-time PGA TOUR winner has displayed a penchant for going low on Masters Sunday. This marked his seventh sub-70 score in his last nine Sunday rounds at Augusta National. “I just think all the memories that are building up … I think I’ve had some really good Sundays here from a little further back, and it is about trying to channel whatever attitude that is,” McIlroy said. “The 66 that I shot with Tiger (Woods) in the final round in 2015; I’ve had a few other rounds where I haven’t been in contention and have shot good scores. “I think the more and more I can do it, the more memories I build up, and if I do put myself in a position closer to the lead into Sunday, I can delve into that memory bank and try to use those memories and my experience to my advantage.” There was magic Sunday in McIlroy’s final-round pairing with Collin Morikawa. The duo carded a best-ball 61, and Morikawa followed McIlroy’s closing bunker hole-out by doing the exact same thing. McIlroy raised his hands after Morikawa’s bunker birdie as if he had made it himself. “That’s what makes golf so cool,” McIlroy said. “We’re competitors out there, but at the same time we’re friends, and we travel around with each other every week. It was a great pairing for me today, and happy that we both played well.”
AD: LeBron and I can still be core of title teamAD: LeBron and I can still be core of title team
Anthony Davis said he still believes his pairing with LeBron James has the makings of a championship core but added they will need to talk about how this season got derailed.
Dolphins D: Same faces, new vibe after Xavien Howard, Emmanuel Ogbah dealsDolphins D: Same faces, new vibe after Xavien Howard, Emmanuel Ogbah deals
Howard and Ogbah say there is excitement and a ‘different’ energy since Miami hired coach Mike McDaniel and spent big to keep its defense intact.
NHL insiders on the big week for the Stars, playoff races, players to watchNHL insiders on the big week for the Stars, playoff races, players to watch
Can Dallas solidify its playoff chances? Will the Rangers make a run at the top of the Metropolitan? Here’s what will draw our attention most in the next seven days.
WiretoWire: Revisting a magical Masters weekWiretoWire: Revisting a magical Masters week
SCHEFFLER WINS MASTERS FOR FOURTH TOUR TITLE IN SIX STARTS Scottie Scheffler is currently the world’s best golfer, statistically and aesthetically, and a Green Jacket is now part of his all-world 2022 memorabilia collection. The New Jersey native took a five-stroke lead into the weekend at the 86th Masters Tournament, held steady in Saturday’s cold, windy conditions, and kept the pedal down in Sunday’s final round at Augusta National Golf Club. Scheffler, 25, finished with a 10-under total and three-stroke victory over Rory McIlroy, who matched the Masters final-round record with an 8-under 64, punctuated by a bunker hole-out birdie at the 72nd hole. Scheffler wasn’t fazed by McIlroy’s historic charge from five groups ahead, nor has he been fazed by much in the last two months. A selection of Scheffler superlatives: He becomes the first player since Jason Day in 2015 to earn four TOUR wins in six starts. He wins in his first start as world No. 1. With his first four TOUR wins occurring in a 57-day span, he even nudges Bobby Locke (1947, 59 days) for shortest span between first and fourth wins. Scheffler increases his lead in the season-long FedExCup standings, 600 points accrued, as well. After assuming the No. 1 spot on the Official World Golf Ranking with his win at last month’s WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, Scheffler said he “never really got that far in my dreams.” His dream season continues. TIGER WOODS ‘THANKFUL’ TO COMPETE AT MASTERS By golf terms, it wasn’t the result he wanted. In the big picture, it was a success. The record will show that Tiger Woods finished at 13-over 301 at the Masters, his highest 72-hole total at this event by eight shots. It also is the second-highest 72-hole total of his career. Score was secondary this week, though. Woods made the cut and was able to get through four rounds on the extremely hilly Augusta National Golf Club, just 14 months after a single-car accident nearly cost him his right leg. “I think it needs a couple more days to heal after this,” Woods said. “But we’ll get back after it, and we’ll get into it.” Next up? It will be up for plenty of debate, but Woods did say he plans to play The Open at St. Andrews in July. The only question will be what event, or events, he will play leading up to that major. STARS HIGHLIGHT HARBOUR TOWN Cameron Smith leads a stout field for the RBC Heritage, which includes five of the top 10 players in the world. Smith won THE PLAYERS Championship in March and was in Sunday’s final group at the Masters before finishing T3. Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa are all set to make the short trip from Augusta along with Jordan Spieth, who heads to Harbour Town off a missed cut at the Masters. Stewart Cink returns to defend his 2021 triumph. Cink, 48, is looking to become the first person to defend his title in Hilton Head since Boo Weekley in 2007-08. South Carolina residents in the field include Aiken’s Kevin Kisner, North Augusta’s Matthew NeSmith, Columbia’s Wesley Bryan and Greenville’s Lucas Glover. Including Cink, each of the last nine winners at the RBC Heritage is set to tee it up. The 2023 Ryder Cup captains, Zach Johnson and Henrik Stenson, will be in the field. Morgan Hoffmann, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, returns to the TOUR for the first time since 2019 with three starts left on his Major Medical Extension. The Pete Dye/Jack Nicklaus design will play as a 7,121-yard par 71 and has hosted the RBC Heritage since the 1960s. The winner receives 500 FedExCup points plus a new jacket to add to the wardrobe. VIDEO OF THE WEEK MIC CHECK “That’s as happy as I’ve ever been on a golf course right there.” – Rory McIlroy after carding a final-round, 8-under 64 to record a career-best finish at the Masters (solo second) BY THE NUMBERS 22 – Consecutive Masters cuts made by Tiger Woods. 24 – Holes-in-one at the 16th hole after Stewart Cink made another in Round 2 with an 8-iron from 166 yards. 100 – Rounds by Sungjae Im of 67 or better on TOUR (Round 1 of the Masters). He joins Justin Thomas and Webb Simpson as players with 100 or more rounds of 67 or better since 2018. 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.
Vogel out as coach of Lakers, sources sayVogel out as coach of Lakers, sources say
Frank Vogel has coached his final game for the Lakers, a decision that’s expected to be shared with him as soon as Monday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Doncic suffers calf strain in regular-season finaleDoncic suffers calf strain in regular-season finale
Luka Doncic suffered a left calf strain and left the Mavericks’ regular-season finale against the Spurs in the second half on Sunday, but there is initial optimism it is not a significant injury, a source told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Scottie Scheffler wins Masters with faith, resilienceScottie Scheffler wins Masters with faith, resilience
AUGUSTA, Ga. – David Piehler emphasizes the finer points of basketball to his players at Dallas’ Highland Park High School. Boxing out, setting screens and taking charges are all important to the winningest boys’ basketball coach in the school’s history. They aren’t skills that will fill up a stat sheet, go viral or even get noticed by college coaches, but they’re necessary for the Scots to compete in the second-largest division of Texas high school athletics. “We’re not always the quickest, strongest or jump the highest, so we have to play together in order to win,” said Piehler, who has won 75% of his games at Highland Park despite having just one player in his 16 years go on to earn a Division I scholarship. There was one player, however, who Piehler asked to be more prudent about sacrificing his body. The Scots’ sixth man in 2014 also was the No. 1 junior golfer in the country, Scottie Scheffler. “I had to pull him aside a few times and say, ‘If you see a big guy coming down the lane, you step aside,’” Piehler said Sunday morning, while his former player was waiting to tee off in the Masters with a three-shot lead. “He was unconcerned with his well-being. … My biggest fear was that he’d jeopardize his golf career.” Scheffler was willing to do the gritty deeds necessary to help his team win. That characteristic came in handy at the 86th Masters Tournament, where he overcame cold, windy conditions and the pressure inherent to holding a record-tying lead to win his first major championship. Five ahead after 36 holes and leading by three entering the final round, Scheffler went on to win by three shots after an inconsequential four-putt on the final green. He was the only player to break par in all four rounds, shooting 10-under 278 to finish three ahead of Rory McIlroy, who holed out from the greenside bunker on 18 to shoot 64. The Masters was Scheffler’s fourth win in his last six starts, cementing his position as the top player in the game right now. Scheffler, 25, arrived at Augusta National at No. 1 in both the FedExCup and Official World Golf Ranking. His lead in both rankings has only grown. Scheffler has seemed invincible over the last two months, but he admitted that he was in tears before the final round, overwhelmed by the magnitude of the moment. “I was so stressed out. I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I was sitting there telling (wife) Meredith, ‘I don’t think I’m ready for this. I’m not ready.’” Before they headed to the first tee Sunday, Scheffler’s caddie Ted Scott, whose arrival on the bag has coincided with Scheffler’s rapid rise, pulled down the zipper on his white jumpsuit and pointed to his chest, showing Scheffler the green shirt that read, “God is in control.” Meredith Scheffler had delivered the same message to her husband that morning. Once on the course, Scheffler showed the same toughness that made him unafraid to be slammed to the hardwood. It served him well Sunday. His short game allowed him to grind out crucial par-saves – and one improbable birdie that changed the course of the round. It started on the first hole, where he missed the fairway and his recovery shot rolled through the green. He chipped within inches to lose just one shot to the birdie by Cameron Smith, who started the day in second place. Then there was the chip-in on 3, where it appeared he might lose the solo lead for the first time since Friday. He banged his ball into a steep slope and watched it trickle into the hole. Smith has one of the world’s best short games – it was on full display in last month’s PLAYERS win – but it took him three shots to hole out from a similar position, allowing Scheffler to regain his three-shot lead. Scott said that birdie told Scheffler, “I’m ready to hit good golf shots.” Another par-save on the 11th hole kept Smith three behind after he birdied the same hole. Scheffler then got up-and-down on 12 to distance himself from Smith, who triple bogeyed the hole after hitting his tee shot into the water. And one more touchy chip on 15 led to the birdie that removed any question that Scheffler would become the newest Masters champion. “I never expected to be sitting where I am now,” he said from the champion’s press conference. “You don’t expect things to come to you in this life. You just do the best you can with the hand you’re dealt. … I never really thought I was that good at golf, so I just kept practicing and kept working hard, and that’s just what I’m going to keep doing.” Piehler knew Scheffler’s future was bright when two college coaches were seen in the stands at one of Highland Park’s junior varsity games on a cold, winter weekday night. He went up in the stands to ask why two men from the University of Texas and Texas A&M were scouting the JV squad. That’s when he found out they were golf coaches, there to show Scheffler they were serious about getting him to sign with their program. That summer, Scheffler would win the U.S. Junior and advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur. As a high school senior, he finished T22 in his PGA TOUR debut at the AT&T Byron Nelson. At that point, Scheffler’s legend had been growing around Royal Oaks Country Club for a decade. The Schefflers became members after moving to Texas from New Jersey when Scottie was 6 years old. He quickly became a fixture at the back of the range, where TOUR players congregated to work with the club’s legendary instructor, Randy Smith. Scheffler often could be found sitting on a range bucket, watching Smith teach the likes of Justin Leonard, Gary Woodland, Ryan Palmer, Harrison Frazar and Colt Knost. Smith recognized quickly that Scheffler was different than the other kids his age. “Everything he did was tied to a target,” Smith said. “That was something you just didn’t see in young, young kids. That has never changed.” Knost said Scheffler was “born to do this.” His was a natural gift that was nurtured by a unique environment. The pros at Royal Oaks welcomed the youngster in their midst who would quietly observe them as they worked. “He would hardly say anything unless he thought they weren’t performing like he thought they should,” said Smith, recalling the time one of his TOUR players was hitting wedges at a pole that sits 87 yards from the practice tee. After several unsuccessful attempts to hit it, a young Scheffler innocently asked, “Why don’t you hit it?” “That’s the kind of attitude he had. If that’s what you’re trying to do, go ahead and hit it,” Smith said. When Scheffler left to hit balls a few feet away, he hit the pole with his third shot. The metal pole rung out with the impact, an audible announcement of the kid’s talent. “He was always a sponge,” said Knost, who won both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links in 2007 before playing nearly 200 events on the PGA TOUR. Knost remembers working on his bunker shots while Scheffler, who was around 10 years old at the time, sat on the lip of the sand trap. Knost was shagging his balls when a ball landed on the green, took two hops and stopped near the hole. “How the hell did you do that?” Knost asked. “I was just watching,” Scheffler said. Knost laughs at the story of Frazar, who won once on TOUR, spending hours on the putting green, trying to complete a drill that Smith had invented. Scheffler completed it on his first try after arriving at the course from school. Scheffler would hold his own in putting and chipping contests, even when he was 10, and he’d play from the back tees at Royal Oaks even when he was too small to reach the par-4s in two. It taught him how to play strategically, and it developed the short game that served him so well at Augusta National. Scheffler wore pants and polos to emulate the pros, as well. “I think that’s where he learned to play golf,” Knost said. “In today’s world, all these young up-and-comers, everything is about being perfect, the perfect golf swing, on Trackman, grinding all the time. He’s always known how to play golf. It’s not always the prettiest looking thing but he just gets it done.” Studying under Smith’s old-school tutelage taught him how to work the ball and focus on his score, instead of his swing. It showed in Scheffler’s warm-up before the final round, where he alternated between hitting draws and fades, hitting high shots and low ones. “He is trying to hit shots,” said Bubba Watson, Scheffler’s teammate in last year’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans and a player who used creativity to win two Masters. “(Augusta National) is a perfect kind of setting for him to try to create.” Watson’s caddie in those two Masters triumphs may have been the final piece of the puzzle for Scheffler, the 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Player of the Year and 2020 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year. Scheffler and Scott have a close relationship as Christians, and Scheffler described him as humble, hard-working and honest. “He’s an amazing guy,” Scheffler said. “To be able to have him on the bag is so special.” Scheffler has won four of the 10 events they’ve worked together. Scheffler’s faith and a family that will make fun of him, even if he is a Masters champion, also are an asset. “My identity isn’t in a golf score,” he said. “Meredith always prays for peace because that’s what I want to feel on the golf course, is peace and have fun and just feel His presence.” Scheffler will enjoy his newfound standing. A week ago, he joked that, as the No. 1 player in the world, he shouldn’t have to take out the trash. He was told to do his chores. He still drives the 10-year-old SUV that his father bought in Augusta the day after the 2012 Masters, after the family car broke down during the family’s trip to the tournament. “Everyone else got a T-shirt and I got a car payment,” Scottie’s father, Scott, joked. That same car drove down Magnolia Lane on Sunday evening. It was carrying a Masters champion.