Hamlin’s coaches, friends and current and former teammates paint a consistent picture of a man relentlessly committed to giving back.
The 16-year veteran weighs in on how the Brooklyn Nets turned their season around, the NBA’s evolution, losing for Victor Wembanyama and more.
The Jets and Rangers are rising, while the Penguins fall. Plus, how is each team doing against preseason expectations?
Your favorite team hasn’t had a good shortstop since your older brother was in diapers. Is this the year it finally finds one?
Round 2 of the Sentry Tournament of Champions takes place Friday from the Kapalua Resort’s Plantation Course on Maui. Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun, and Jon Rahm are tied for the lead at 9-under par. A strong field and even stronger views are part of what make the Sentry Tournament of Champions a special week on the schedule. This year’s Sentry, which features 17 of the top 20 players in the world, also boasts an increased purse of $15 million and 550 FedExCup points to the winner. And now, the final hour of one of the year’s top events will be shown uninterrupted on Golf Channel and Peacock. It is the first time an NBC Sports primetime PGA TOUR broadcast will feature uninterrupted coverage. The uninterrupted hour, which is presented by Callaway, will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE and expanded coverage on ESPN+. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 6-10 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 4-6 p.m. (NBC), 6-8 p.m. (Golf Channel). Note: The final hour of Sunday’s final round (7-8 p.m. ET) on GOLF Channel and Peacock will be broadcast with no commercial interruptions and will be sponsored by Callaway. PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 2:15 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). 6 p.m.-10 p.m. (Featured Holes). Saturday-Sunday, 12:45 p.m.-4 p.m. (Featured Groups), 4 p.m.-8 p.m. (Featured Holes). PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+ Radio: Friday, 4:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m. – 8 p.m. ET (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) FEATURED GROUPS Justin Thomas / Adam Svensson Jon Rahm / Tom Kim MUST READS Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun share lead at Sentry Tournament of Champions Justin Thomas is using a Scotty Cameron that he’s owned since … high school Tom Kim joins Spieth family Christmas dinner before Sentry January promises star-studded fields across Hawaii and California
Tom Kim and Jordan Spieth share a current hometown, Dallas. They share a swing coach, Cameron McCormick. Last month, they shared Christmas dinner. Spieth and Kim have grown close in recent months, as Kim has taken the golf world by storm with two PGA TOUR wins since August and a role as International Team sparkplug at the Presidents Cup. Kim is still new to the Dallas area, and Spieth shot him a text on Dec. 23 with an invite for a Christmas meal at Spieth’s home. Kim gratefully obliged, and he certainly enjoyed the prime rib-based spread. “I thought Tom, when he got up first, was going to put the plate away,” Spieth laughed after Thursday’s opening round at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. “And he went and got seconds pretty quickly. And I’m pretty sure he got fourths at one point. And I eat a lot. And (wife) Annie was like, ‘I think he just put you to shame.’ And I was like, baffled, that he ate more than I did. We cleaned everything dry.” The meal was first reported by Smylie Kaufman on Golf Channel. Kim and Spieth played together Thursday at the Plantation Course at Kapalua, in the PGA TOUR’s return to competition after the holiday break. Neither showed much sign of rust, as Kim carded 8-under 65 – one off the lead of Collin Morikawa, J.J. Spaun and Jon Rahm – and Spieth wasn’t far behind with a 6-under 67, shaking off a missed 2-footer at No. 13 with three birdies in his final five holes. Kim’s round was highlighted by two eagles, a hole-out from 116 yards at the par-4 sixth followed by a 253-yard approach to 6 feet at the par-5 15th. Spieth, 29, is nine years Kim’s elder, but the two share a youthful spirit and have become fast friends. After competing at last month’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Spieth offered Kim a ride home to Dallas – “I took the Jordan Air,” Kim joked post-round Thursday in Hawaii. Kim’s parents have also moved to Dallas, but after the trio flew to their native South Korea for a couple weddings this fall, Kim returned to Texas while his parents stayed in South Korea for the holidays. The arrangement was discussed on the flight back from the Bahamas, and the wheels for Christmas dinner were in motion. “Annie was like, ‘You’re going to be alone on Christmas,’ and he was like, ‘Yeah but it’s fine. My trainer will be in town. It’s OK. I’ll figure out something to do,’” Spieth said. “And Annie was like, ‘No, no, no. Nobody’s going to be alone on Christmas.’” In addition to the Christmas feast, the gathering included a domino game called trains – apropos, with Kim’s first name a nod to Thomas the Tank Engine. Kim enjoyed the company of the Spieths’ young son Sammy – “he’s like the Sammy-whisperer,” Spieth quipped. “I think they’re so close in age that it actually makes it nice.” Knowing Kim doesn’t drink, Annie offered him a non-alcoholic cocktail, but Kim was confused and declined – “I think he thought she was pressing him on a certain type of cocktail,” Spieth laughed. For Kim, a longtime admirer of Spieth’s skill and approach to the game, it was another lasting memory in a year full of them. And he didn’t depart the Spieth residence on an empty stomach. “The more time I’ve spent with Jordan, the more we’ve became closer friends,” Kim said. “He was really nice to invite me for Christmas; my family wasn’t home and I was kind of by myself, so I got to spend some time with the Spieths and kind of babysit Sammy, which was really cool. “It’s been amazing to build a friendship, and it was really cool to play with him today.” — Cameron Morfit contributed reporting from Maui
Lauri Markkanen scored 18 points in the first quarter en route to a career-high 49 as the Jazz downed the Rockets 131-114 to snap a five-game skid.
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Jon Rahm is starting to get used to low scoring on the Plantation Course at Kapalua. He can only hope this start leads to a better finish in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. One year after he was 33-under par and still finished second, Rahm birdied three of his last four holes for a 9-under 64 and shared the lead Thursday with Colin Morikawa and J.J. Spaun in an idyllic start to the year. Morikawa began the back nine with six straight birdies, his longest such streak on the PGA TOUR. Spaun, at Kapalua for the first time, had four straight birdies on the back. Last year’s 34 under winning score was a PGA TOUR record to par during a week of hardly any wind. Such was the case Thursday on a course that was firm and played even shorter because of severe slopes that can make shots roll much longer on the ground than they fly in the air. Billy Horschel was the only player in the 39-man field who failed to break par. shooting 76. Xander Schauffele scratched out a 70 while dealing with a back issue that has surfaced for the second time in a month.
Chris Beard was fired by Texas on Thursday, less than a month after he was arrested on a felony domestic family violence charge. We’ve tracked key dates of his career from his hiring to Thursday’s news.
The Week 17 game between the Bengals and Bills will not be continued, the NFL announced on Thursday.
