Why the Cardinals had to give Kyler Murray whatever he wantedWhy the Cardinals had to give Kyler Murray whatever he wanted
One of the biggest liabilities in the NFL is looking behind door No. 2, especially when it comes to quarterbacks.
Day: July 21, 2022
Barkley ready for blowback amid LIV interestBarkley ready for blowback amid LIV interest
Charles Barkley could receive an offer from LIV Golf for a broadcasting role, telling the New York Post that he would need a highly lucrative offer to walk away from serving as an NBA broadcaster for TNT.
Why a half-dozen rivals campaigned 49ers’ Bryant Young into the Hall of FameWhy a half-dozen rivals campaigned 49ers’ Bryant Young into the Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame voters said the testimonials of so many opponents helped push Young into the Hall after nine years of waiting quietly.
Class of 2022: How each inductee forged a path to CantonClass of 2022: How each inductee forged a path to Canton
An in-depth look at each member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.
College basketball: What is the Jimmy V Classic?College basketball: What is the Jimmy V Classic?
Here’s what you need to know about the Jimmy V Classic, which is inspired by former North Carolina State basketball coach and ESPN commentator Jim Valvano and his fight against cancer.
Source: Cards, Murray agree to $230.5M dealSource: Cards, Murray agree to $230.5M deal
Cardinals star Kyler Murray has agreed to a five-year extension worth $230.5 million, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a deal that makes him one of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks.
3M lead shared by Im, smooth-putting Piercy after 1st round3M lead shared by Im, smooth-putting Piercy after 1st round
BLAINE, Minn. (AP) — Scott Piercy shot a 6-under 65 to share the 3M Open lead with Sungjae Im after the first round Thursday. Tony Finau was two strokes back, with three near misses of birdie putts over his last four holes, along with Brice Garnett, Doug Ghim, Emiliano Grillo and Tom Hoge. On a dry, windy, 86-degree day at the TPC Twin Cities in suburban Minneapolis, the course’s penchant for producing low scores held up once again. Playing in the second group of the day off the first tee, Piercy made 151 feet worth of putts. He birdied four of the first five holes on his back nine. The 43-year-old Piercy, who led the 3M Open in 2019 by two strokes after the first round, is one of several on-the-fringe players in the field this year seeking a late-season lift in the FedEx Cup race. Piercy arrived in Minnesota in 138th place, with the cut for the playoffs at 125 and two events left after this to qualify. In four of his last six starts, Piercy has failed to advance to the weekend. On TOUR since 2009, Piercy has four career wins. Just last week, he switched his caddie, his swing coach, his driver and his putter — an uncharacteristically drastic series of decisions for him. “Every shot counts, and it’s time to buckle down,” Piercy said. “Not that we don’t try to buckle down all the time, but there’s extra buckling down, I guess. To start off this way is really nice.” Im, who’s 19th in the FedEx Cup standings and 24th in the world, birdied four of his last six holes. The 24-year-old from South Korea tied for eighth at the Masters this year but tied for 81st last week at the British Open. Finau, the lone member of last year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team and the 17th-ranked player in the world, has two top-five finishes this summer. The Utah player missed a 3-foot birdie putt on 15 and left a 4-footer for birdie just short on 16. Then on the 18th, his tee and approach shots were spot on, but an 8-foot birdie putt lipped out and settled 4 inches from the cup. Making two of those three would’ve put him in the lead. The highest-ranked player in the field, Hideki Matsuyama, withdrew. He cited a sore wrist after shooting a 77 to match his worst round of the season, his Saturday at the Masters on April 9. Entering the week in eighth place in the FedEx Cup race and the world’s No. 14 player, Matsuyama hit into the water three times on the unforgiving and lakeside 18th hole and took a quadruple-bogey 9. Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters winner and a fourth-place finisher at the U.S. Open this summer, tied for seventh at the first edition of the 3M Open in 2019. Mardy Fish, the former tennis star who’s playing on a sponsor exemption, was tied for last at 81.
2021 NCAA bracket: Scores, stats, records for March Madness men’s tournament2021 NCAA bracket: Scores, stats, records for March Madness men’s tournament
Here’s a quick look at the 2021 NCAA DI men’s basketball tournament, including the bracket, stats and scores from Baylor’s first national championship.
Jeff Overton makes emotional return at 3M OpenJeff Overton makes emotional return at 3M Open
BLAINE, Minn. – Jeff Overton lives with a certain resolve. Not even a life-threatening infection could break it. In early 2017, the former Ryder Cupper was lying in a hospital bed in his living room. A nurse provided in-home care. Mobilizing for a trip to the bathroom proved difficult. A few steps in a walker meant a good day. Overton, known on the PGA TOUR for his ‘Boom baby!’ expression and full-speed practice swings, had developed an epidural abscess after an injection for a herniated disc in his back. The infection, which forms in the space between the skull bones and the brain lining, meant an uncertain future. Mere months removed from day-to-day life as a touring pro, he had accepted a new challenge. “It was an eye-opening experience,” Overton said, “going from living the dream to fighting for your life. But here I am, five-and-a-half-years later, after doing a whole lot of rehab and seeing a lot of great people. You never give up.” Thursday morning, Overton made his first TOUR-sanctioned start since February 2017, playing on a sponsor exemption at the 3M Open. He shed a tear upon hearing his name called on the opening tee. He felt a tinge of satisfaction upon seeing his name on the leaderboard after a birdie on his second hole, the par-4 11th at TPC Twin Cities. He carded 6-over 77, but was still upbeat upon signing his scorecard and meeting the media for approximately 15 minutes post-round. “You’re struggling for your life, and you’re just wanting to get through to where you’re somewhat OK,” Overton said. “Then after a year or two goes by, you’re just like, ‘I may never get to do my dream again.’ That was hard. You’re seeing different doctors, like, ‘Am I going to make a full recovery?’” Slowly but surely, Overton fought his way back. The Indiana native who came so close to a TOUR title – 32 top-10s in 293 career starts, including four runner-up finishes – was known for wearing his heart on his sleeve, and he channeled all that energy into an unlikely comeback. “He’s definitely fiery,” said Overton’s 2010 Ryder Cup teammate Rickie Fowler, “and that’s just how he operates. Everyone’s different, and it always seems he’s a bit on edge and fiery. That’s how he rolls. That’s how he needs to be, and that’s who he is.” Overton’s odyssey began at the 2016 RBC Canadian Open, where he injured a disc in his back. He took a few months off before resetting into the 2017 Korn Ferry Tour season (he had finished No. 160 in the 2015-16 FedExCup standings). He played in The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, finishing T21, then played The Honda Classic in February (MC) before having an injection a few days later. The injection went wrong, though, and the abscess required emergency surgery, a month in the hospital and acute rehab center, two months of IV antibiotics and home health care. “They were telling me to get up, and it was hard,” Overton said. “I couldn’t really roll out of bed to pee or any of that for a couple weeks. I was able to get in a walker and do a couple minutes a day, maybe, here and there.” Overton had made nine consecutive trips to the FedExCup Playoffs between 2007 and 2015. Now he questioned whether he would play another round of golf. He slowly regained his health and, after two years or so, attempted a return to golf. He’d play nine holes here and there, but reasons for optimism were sparse. “It wasn’t anywhere close to being competitive,” Overton said, “or feeling decent at all.” So the Indiana Hoosier regrouped. He reached out to Dr. Stuart McGill, a renowned professor of spine biomechanics, and developed a plan to “shut down for a year” and stabilize the area of his back that caused excruciating pain while bending over. He worked with trainer Shane Rye on building flexibility and endurance as it related to re-establishing his golf game. “Go 6-irons, drivers, and then a couple weeks later, try to play nine holes, six holes, see how much it wears you out and slowly build up,” Overton said. “I had a lesson with Craig Harmon and he showed me a Jimmy Ballard-style move with Rocco Mediate … standing a little taller, hitting a little closer to it, really making sure you’re moving through the ball and don’t let any of that hang-back ever happen.” The progression wasn’t always linear, but the drive remained consistent. Earlier this year, Fowler ran into Overton at The Grove XXIII in south Florida and was struck by his 2010 Ryder Cup teammate’s determination to make a return. “At that point, he was struggling just to get out and play nine holes every once in a while,” Fowler said. “It’s been a really long road; I know there are plenty of years in there where he wasn’t even able to play at all, let alone stand up and walk. “When I saw his name on the list (at the 3M Open), I was excited for him, and hopefully the start of him being able to come back and play a bit more regularly.” Six months ago, Overton began the ramp-up process to regaining TOUR-caliber form. He transitioned from a draw to a fade off the tee – “I feel like I hit it fairly straight and can still have a fairly complete game.” Six or eight weeks ago, he played Victoria National in his hometown of Evansville, Indiana – one of three Korn Ferry Tour Finals stops, in which he plans to compete next month in hopes of regaining TOUR status. For four consecutive days, he walked 18 holes from the back tees at Valhalla and kept it around par. He had built up the strength to practice putting for more than five or 10 minutes at a time, too. “I was like, ‘You know what, I’ll probably pick up a few yards when I get in competition,’” Overton said, “I think it’s maybe time to try to start playing.” He made his competitive return at the John Deere Classic’s Monday qualifier earlier this month, carding 1-over and failing to qualify. Still, he remained determined to move ahead, which meant a competitive return at this week’s Korn Ferry Tour event, the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. He was at the airport for a flight from Florida to Springfield, Missouri, when he received a call that he had received a sponsor exemption into the 3M Open. George McNeill had gained entry on his number, opening a spot that went to Overton. Overton’s wife Christina and two daughters, Paulina (3) and Valentina (9 months), accompanied him on the trip to Minnesota, and they came out to say hello at the turn. “When we had (Paulina) three years ago, I remember having an interview and (saying) … ‘I don’t know if my daughter will ever really see me play out here,’” Overton said. “That in itself, having her there for that one little moment waving at you … I’m excited to be back out here. It’s fun to compete again.” The fire remains. Overton grinded to the last putt Thursday, draining a 19-footer for par on his final hole. “When you have an injury, when you fight your butt off to try to come back, it takes five years, and you still want to keep playing, it just shows how much it means to be out here playing,” said Stewart Cink, another 2010 Ryder Cup teammate. “It’s really amazing to see Jeff overcoming what he’s overcome to get back out here and compete.”
Sources: Cards, Murray agree to $230.5M dealSources: Cards, Murray agree to $230.5M deal
Cardinals star Kyler Murray has agreed to a five-year extension worth $230.5 million, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a deal that makes him one of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks.