Star receiver Samuel asks 49ers to trade himStar receiver Samuel asks 49ers to trade him
Star wide receiver Deebo Samuel told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington that he has asked the 49ers to trade him.
Day: April 20, 2022
In your face mask: NFL VR game coming in fallIn your face mask: NFL VR game coming in fall
NFL Pro Era — the league’s first officially licensed game for virtual reality platforms — is set for release in the fall on Meta Quest and PlayStation VR.
Sources: Suns’ Booker likely out next 2 gamesSources: Suns’ Booker likely out next 2 games
Suns star Devin Booker is likely to miss Games 3 and 4 in New Orleans with a mild right hamstring strain, but hasn’t been ruled out for the rest of the first-round Western Conference series, sources told ESPN.
Pebble Beach becomes 3rd U.S. Open anchor sitePebble Beach becomes 3rd U.S. Open anchor site
Pebble Beach is joining Pinehurst No. 2 and Oakmont Country Club as anchor sites, a strategy that allows the USGA to return to its most famous courses more frequently for the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women’s Open.
Sources: Game 4 realistic target for SimmonsSources: Game 4 realistic target for Simmons
The progress of Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons in practices this week — and the anticipation that it will further accelerate in the coming days — has turned Game 4 on Monday into a realistic target for his season debut, sources told ESPN.
Nash: Up to Simmons to tell us when he’s readyNash: Up to Simmons to tell us when he’s ready
Nets coach Steve Nash said he will not push Ben Simmons to return during this playoff series against the Celtics and that it’s up to the All-Star swingman to say if he’s ready to make his debut for the team after not playing since last May.
Scottie Scheffler returns after Masters triumphScottie Scheffler returns after Masters triumph
NEW ORLEANS – Scottie Scheffler says wearing the Green Jacket hasn’t gotten him out of any chores at home and that his incredible run of four wins in six starts, including his Masters triumph two weeks ago, still hasn’t sunk in. The world No. 1 returns to PGA TOUR competition at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this week, partnering with fellow Texan Ryan Palmer in the team event while looking to continue his sensational purple patch of form. Since claiming his maiden TOUR win at the WM Phoenix Open in February, Scheffler has added the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, World Golf Championships–Dell Technologies Match Play and the Masters. Not since Jason Day’s similar run in 2015 where he claimed the RBC Canadian Open, PGA Championship and two FedExCup Playoff events has a player dominated with four wins in such a short stretch. After a week off at home with family, Scheffler is back and ready to ride the wave some more. While he admits to having a bit of fun at wife Meredith’s expense, the 25-year-old is adamant he will remain the humble man he has always tried to be. There will be no viral videos of chaos or wild celebrations with the coveted clothing he picked up just over a week ago. “When my wife asks me to do stuff at home, sometimes I’ll grab it out of the closet and look at her, ‘Huh, really?’ It hasn’t worked yet,” Scheffler joked about his time with the Green Jacket. “I’ve just had some fun with it at home. I haven’t really done anything special. I haven’t taken it out of the house … I want to do a good job of representing Augusta National, and I have to bring it back at the end of next year. Since I’m almost the representation of the Green Jacket outside of the club, I’m treating it with respect. I’m not going to do anything crazy with it.” Scheffler revealed he’d been contacted by former President George W. Bush via mail and was also chuffed to get love from former Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott amongst hundreds of congratulatory messages. It all still feels like a dream. “I wouldn’t say it’s really sunk in,” he said. “I’ve had a good stretch recently, but I took a little bit of time at home last week to just relax. I was a bit drained. So I did not do much last week at all. I just chilled at home. “To have someone like President Bush reach out just to congratulate me is pretty special … Michael Phelps posted me in one of his stories, and then Zeke from the Cowboys sent me a message. Michael Phelps is just insane. The guy is one of the greatest athletes ever. For him to reach out and post something about me or whatever is pretty cool. “Those are probably kind of the only moments I’ve had where I kind of sit and reflect on what’s happened the past month and a half, two months. Just getting some messages like that from people I’ve looked up to for so long is really special.” In Palmer, Scheffler has a proven performer at TPC Louisiana. The veteran teamed up with Jon Rahm to win the tournament in 2019. Justin Thomas was one to poke a little fun at Palmer, who has now boasted Jordan Spieth, Rahm and Scheffler as partners in New Orleans. “The joke became he had to win twice. After he won twice, we firmed it up. You’ve got to be a multiple winner for me to come to you,” Palmer laughed about getting his newest top-ranked star partner. “The thing that really sealed it was (that) I sent a picture of me and Jon with the trophy, but I imposed his face on it.” In reality, Palmer has been a guy all three stars wanted to play with. “I’ve known Ryan since he’s been working with Randy Smith,” Scheffler said. “We have the same coach at home. We work out together in the off-season. Same trainer and we play a lot of games at home. So, it was a pretty seamless decision. We’ll have some fun. “This is his 19th year on TOUR. It’s not like my older brother I brought in off the street. Ryan is one of the best ball strikers out here. Nineteen years on TOUR, and that speaks for itself. Four wins? Yeah, the guy’s got the resume.”
From ‘Sweet Caroline’ to … K-pop? Inside the new soundtrack rocking Fenway ParkFrom ‘Sweet Caroline’ to … K-pop? Inside the new soundtrack rocking Fenway Park
To reflect a changing city, the Boston Red Sox hired not one but three new DJs to remix the sounds of summer.
Inside Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland’s gear tweaks ahead of the Zurich ClassicInside Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland’s gear tweaks ahead of the Zurich Classic
Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland have teamed up this week at the 2022 Zurich Classic in New Orleans. The young superstars combine for only 49 total years of age (Morikawa is 25 years old, and Hovland is 24 years old), but they already have eight PGA TOUR victories between them (Morikawa has five, and Hovland has three). With Morikawa currently ranked No. 2 in the Official World Golf Rankings, and Hovland ranked No. 5, the Morikawa-Hovland duo is sure to be both a fan favorite — and a betting favorite to win the event, too. While neither player has made any major changes to their equipment setups in the last few months, each have recently made one minor tweak: Hovland has changed into a modified Ping G425 LST driver, and Morikawa changed the weight of his TaylorMade TP Collection Juno putter. Ahead of the 2022 Zurich Classic, GolfWRX.com spoke to both players to gain further insight about why they made their respective gear changes. Viktor Hovland Leading up to the Masters, Hovland was using a Ping G425 LST 9-degree driver head, which has a relatively flat lie angle to influence a fade bias. Hovland, however, who already plays a natural cut shot, noticed he was struggling to draw the ball. To help combat the issue, Hovland and Ping Tour rep Kenton Oates experimented with different loft and lie angle settings. The two eventually settled on a setting in his Ping G425 LST 9-degree head that shifted the lie angle upright by 2 degrees. All things being equal, a more upright lie angle will typically help golfers draw the ball, whereas a flat lie angle will influence a fade. According to Hovland, the upright driver setting also matched up better with the lie angles on his Ping i210 irons, helping him achieve more consistency throughout the set. ”We had a hard time drawing the driver, because it was too flat,” Hovland told GolfWRX.com at the 2022 Zurich Classic on Tuesday. “I have pretty low hands at impact, so we figured it’d be easier to make it more upright so I didn’t have to work as hard to draw it. When I do draw it, with that current setting, I tend to draw my irons too much. We just kind of matched it up to the rest of the set.” While many PGA TOUR players would be concerned using an upright driver, since they tend to guard against a left miss, Hovland doesn’t worry as much about missing to the left. “Most of the time when I’m playing well, it’s not going left too much,” Hovland said. Collin Morikawa You may not think five grams is a lot of weight, but for Morikawa, it can make a huge difference in feel on the greens. Typically, Morikawa uses a TaylorMade TP Collection Juno putter with 2.5-gram weights in the heel and toe portions of the sole. When he plays on relatively slower green complexes, however, he says he wants something a bit heavier. Ahead of The 2021 Open Championship, which Morikawa won, he replaced the 2.5-gram weights on his putter with 7.5-gram weights. Ahead of the Zurich Classic, he’s doing something similar by replacing the 2.5-gram weights with 5-gram weights. Although the change only equates to 5 grams of additional overall head weight, it’s significant for Morikawa, who’s going from the lightning fast Augusta National greens to the relatively slower TPC Louisiana surfaces. “I just added a little more weight to the putter,” Morikawa said on Monday at the 2022 Zurich Classic. “For me, it’s what I do on slower greens, like what I did at The Open. Instead of trying to hit it harder, or do something different, it just matches my feel a little better, and helps me work my way from fast greens to slow greens.” For amateur golfers, take this as a lesson to not underestimate the power of just a few grams. Adding or subtracting weight, especially in certain areas, can drastically change both performance and feel. If you’re using a putter that has interchangeable weights, we recommend messing around with different configurations to see what feels best for you, or consult with a professional fitter to get dialed in.
Tiger Woods-designed putting courses to open in FloridaTiger Woods-designed putting courses to open in Florida
Tiger Woods has displayed an affinity for short courses in the early stages of his design career, with projects including The Hay at Pebble Beach and the Oasis Short Course at Diamante (Cabo San Lucas, Mexico), both par-3 layouts. The 82-time PGA TOUR winner has embraced golf’s early access points, and continues to do so. Woods announced on Twitter Wednesday that he will design two 18-hole putting courses in Sarasota, Florida. In conjunction with TGR Design, Woods designed 36 putting holes for the PopStroke Sarasota entertainment center, which is set to open April 28. According to the release, the Tiger Red Course “challenges even the most experienced putters with strong contouring and tricky hole locations,” while the Tiger Black Course “has softened contours to create an ideal course for families and anyone new to golf.” Woods, who made his return to TOUR competition at the Masters after suffering severe injuries to both legs in a single-car accident in February 2021, was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in March, and in his induction speech he spoke fondly of putting contests as an 8-year-old at Heartwell Golf Course, a par-3 layout in Long Beach, California. “My mom … would give me 75 cents,” he said. “So 75 cents would allow me to buy a hot dog, and that 25 cents would be used to use the pay phone to call her to come pick me up. If the pay phone swallowed it, I had a backup. “Well, that backup turned into putting contests … I ended up pocketing a few more quarters.” He’s made a few more since then. PopStroke Sarasota will also include a restaurant, bar, playground and more, according to the release. The joint venture of TGR Ventures and Greg Bartoli is slated to open locations in Orlando, Houston and Tampa later this year. Additionally, there are redesigns of existing PopStroke locations, plus other planned venues, in the works.