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Bar Chat

07/31/2023

Ledecky Rules!

Add-on posted late Tues. p.m.

MLB

--After I posted Sunday, the Yankees played the Orioles in Baltimore and it was one of the more embarrassing performances in the last 50 years of Yankee baseball.  Baltimore scored seven runs in the first off Luis Severino, nine in all off the pathetic righthander whose record fell to 2-5, 7.49 ERA, having yielded 7 earned or more in three of his last five starts.

Final score: 9-3, the Yankees striking out 18 times, Anthony Rizzo with five of them in five at bats.

After his 4-for-4 supposed breakout performance a week earlier, Rizzo is 3-for-25, including Monday’s equally pathetic Yankee 5-1 loss at the Stadium to the Rays, 12 more strikeouts…30 in two games (a franchise record), just three hits.

I watched Aaron Boone’s post-game presser and he was both exasperated and irritated, the latter with the questions he was receiving…Boone just repeating over and over again, “we have to play better.”

Aaron Judge was very tentative on the basepaths, Monday, not a good sign, Judge having taken Sunday off after just two games in his return from the toe injury.

The Yankee faithful have had it.  Between Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton (batting .198), the boos were raining down Monday and I’m not even getting into the situation involving starter Domingo German, who mysteriously was ruled out around 5:00 p.m., then given the all-clear around 6:00 p.m., but he didn’t start, and his replacement, Jhony Britto, gave up four home runs.  German then came in and pitched five scoreless, leaving everyone after thinking the same thing, “WTF?!”  [For a 7:10 p.m. start time, a starting pitcher normally begins warming up at 6:30ish.]

Tonight, Tuesday, the Rays (66-44) prevailed again, 5-2, the Yanks’ Carlos Rodon 4 innings, 4 earned, now 1-4, 6.29.

--After trading closer David Robertson and future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer, the Mets traded outfielder Mark Canha to the Brewers for a Double A pitcher, Justin Jarvis, and then today, another future member of Cooperstown, Justin Verlander, who went back to the Astros for two of Houston’s top prospects, Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford.  [Plus outfielder Tommy Pham and a reliever from the band Kings of Leon, Dominic, with an ‘e’.]

If the contract details are accurate, our Uncle Stevie, Mets owner, ate $88 million between Scherzer and Verlander’s contracts to get the deals done they did, as they acquired three great prospects in doing so.  This is assuming Verlander goes 140 innings in 2024, which triggers further compensation for 2025.

And then the Mets just lost in the tenth inning at Kansas City, 7-6, on a balk.  Goodness gracious.

--Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette, leading the AL in hits and batting average (.318), suffered a right leg injury rounding first base Monday night and left with right knee discomfort.

With the Blue Jays in the midst of the wild card chase, 2 ½ games in front of Boston for the third and final wild card spot following Monday’s 4-2 loss to the Orioles, they can’t afford to lose Bichette for long.

The Blue Jays had just acquired St. Louis closer Jordan Hicks to replace Jordan Romano, who is out with a lower back injury.  And then, as insurance for Bichette, they acquired Cardinals veteran infielder Paul Dejong, though word is Bichette shouldn’t be out too long.

--The Angels continued in “all-in” mode, acquiring solid hitters C.J. Cron and Randall Grichuk from Colorado for two minor league pitchers.

Grichuk then homered for L.A. Monday night in a huge 4-1 win over the Braves in Atlanta.  Cron was 1-for-5 with an RBI as well.

The pickup of Grichuk, who can play all three outfield positions, was critical as the Angels moved Taylor Ward to the 60-day injured list after the trade was announced, Ward with facial fractures after getting hit by a pitch Saturday.

Mike Trout, last I saw, is due back in about two weeks.

--Texas, after acquiring Max Scherzer, added the Cardinals’ Jordan Montgomery, a consistent starter with a 3.42 ERA over 21 starts.

--The Cubs, 53-53 and 3 ½ back in the wild card as of Monday, went out and reacquired infielder Jeimer Candelario from the Nationals for prospects, Candelario a nice bat, 16 home runs, 53 ribbies.

--Houston’s Framber Valdez (9-7, 3.07) no-hit the Guardians tonight, 2-0.

--Steven Echavarria, a 2023 Millburn High School grad (12 minutes from here) was drafted in the third round of the MLB Draft by the Oakland A’s, though he had committed to Florida.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pound righthander normally would have received about $1,000,000 at the draft slot, but he signed with the A’s Monday for $3 million.  Pretty, pretty good.

I love that the kid went to a public school (a nationally known school for academic excellence), and didn’t feel the need to go the private school route, a la Anthony Volpe of the Yankees…but that’s just me.

--Steve Cohen bought full ownership of the New York Mets in 2020 for $2.4 billion, but with all the talk of how the team has fallen on its face this season despite a record-setting $364 million payroll, the Mets are already worth $500 million more than Cohen paid, according to Forbes.

[Dan Snyder paid $800 million for the Washington Commanders and its stadium in 1999, and sold the team for $6 billion.  Michael Jordan recently offloaded the Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion after buying the franchise in 2010 for just $275 million.]

NFL

--Damar Hamlin appeared in pads for the first time at Bills training camp on Monday, needless to say an emotional moment.

“This is just another milestone on the journey – might be one of the biggest ones,” Hamlin said after practice.

“I made the choice to play. But I’m processing a thousand emotions.  I’m not afraid to say that it crosses my mind of being a little scared here and there,” he added.  “My faith is stronger than any fear.  That’s what I want to preach up here.  And that’s the message I want to spread on to the world that as long as your faith is stronger than your fear, you can get through anything.”

The Bills’ safety is entering his third NFL season.  He opened last season as a backup before starting 13 games after Micah Hyde sustained a season-ending neck injury.

This year, Hamlin has competition for a backup role behind Hyde and Jordan Poyer.  His next hurdle will come Aug. 12, when the Bills open their preseason schedule at home against Indianapolis.

--You gotta love what running back Sony Michel just did…retire after five seasons.

Michel finishes his career with 3,243 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground while adding 56 receptions for 439 yards and two scores through the air.

But he has two Super Bowl rings!  2018 with the Patriots, when he starred in the postseason, and 2021 with the Rams.

Rams coach Sean McVay opened his press conference last Saturday with the totally unexpected announcement.

“It’s a bummer, but his body’s feeling like it’s talking to him, and I have nothing but respect and appreciation for the competitor that he is,” McVay said.

I’m happy for the guy. 

College Football

--Jerry Brewer / Washington Post

“For all of the plundering of college football conference realignment, it hadn’t fleeced an entire region. It was merely a matter of time, not a respectful nod to tradition. The latest phase of greedy mayhem left the Pac-12 dangling, jeopardizing the identity of football on the West Coast.

“Sadly, it’s hard to envision the conference stabilizing. The aftershocks continue 13 months after USC and UCLA made the seismic decision to bolt for the Big Ten in 2024.  Just last week, Colorado announced its intention to return to the Big 12.  When the worst football program in the conference is jumping out the window, it’s too late to call the fire department.

“With the conference down to nine members and still lacking a long-term media rights deal, every Pac-12 school is left to scramble on its own. No one can be firmly committed because survival doesn’t lend itself to loyalty.  Pac-12 Commissioner George Kliavkoff, who inherited a disaster when he replaced Larry Scott two years ago, seems to have been blindsided by the departures.  He projects genuine confidence about the future, but the conference may be unsalvageable. If so, a storied football region would be reduced to shards spread across competing leagues. For the first time, there wouldn’t be a dominant conference organized by and managed for the west.

“It would be a shame.  But let’s not stop with a single Pac-12 lament. Don’t underestimate the negative impact it would have on the very thing conference realignment seeks to do: add significant value to traditionally regional leagues by pursuing national interest.

“This is the strategy of shortsighted television interested in filling slots across multiple time zones with the most easily compelling matchups they can imagine.  On the surface, it makes sense to pay a premium to have a sprawling Big Ten slate on fall Saturdays, but visibility doesn’t guarantee passionate engagement.

“Sports have provincialism in their DNA. Their backyard is the priority. Rivalries with neighbors, recruiting battlegrounds and long histories fuel their emotional intrigue.  During the regular season, that’s the weekly draw – familiarity, not made-for-TV randomness.  Maryland men’s basketball fans feel it when they struggle to get up for Big Ten matchups with Michigan State and Indiana the way they anticipated ACC showdowns with Duke and North Carolina….

“Kliavkoff is dangerously close to letting his conference rot.  The inactivity and lack of urgency from Pac-12 university presidents have long been a recurring theme.  It’s easy to deride USC and UCLA as opportunists, but the painful fact is that neither would have had reason to leave if the conference had cared to keep up with the times.  They didn’t just exit; they evacuated a conference that cannot maximize its worth….

“To survive the uncertainty, the conference is tasked with defying its reputation and transforming into a forward thinking entity. It must start with saving face on the long-anticipated media rights deal and then come up with a creative financial model and overall plan that satisfies the interests of Oregon and Washington, the most valuable assets it has left.  Every move, including expansion, must be considered with a retention pecking order in mind. And it could be a moot point if the Big 12 covets Arizona and decides to make another quick move.

“No matter what happens, West Coast teams will continue to be a factor in college football.  But they’re not certain to have an influential league of their own to offer all the innovation and fireworks they have long produced.

“Right now, that makes the Pac-12 the joke of college football.  It wouldn’t be funny, though, if an entire region of a segmented sport felt it truly didn’t matter.”

Golf Balls

--Forty-one PGA Tour players, including Tiger Woods, sent a letter Monday to Commissioner Jay Monahan, saying the sport is now at a crossroads and demanding more say in the future of the tour.

The group, which also included Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, asked for Woods to be appointed to the policy board and for an immediate review of the tour’s governance structure.  The tour then swiftly responded, adding Woods to its board and saying the new arrangement will “ensure that the Tour lives up to its mission of being a player-driven organization, ‘for the players, by the players.’”

Despite playing sparingly since his near-fatal car crash in 2021, Woods has retained an unmatched influence in the sport and has been notably silent since Jay Monahan announced the deal in principle with the Saudi Public Investment Fund.

“This is a critical point for the Tour, and the players will do their best to make certain that any changes that are made in Tour operations are in the best interest of all Tour stakeholders, including fans, sponsors and players,” Woods said in a statement.  “The players thank Commissioner Monahan for agreeing to address our concerns, and we look forward to being at the table with him to make the right decisions for the future of the game that we all love.  He has my confidence moving forward with these changes.”

The letter from the players, with Woods serving as the primary signatory, does not address whether the players approve of the Saudi deal, and is focused on the tour’s leadership. Adding Woods to the policy board, though, will tilt the board’s numbers – which will include six players and five nongolfers as voting members – and effectively gives PGA Tour players final say on whether a deal with the Saudi investors gains approval.

“Accordingly, the Player Directors will have full transparency and the authority to approve – or to decline to approve – any potential changes to the Tour as part of the Framework Agreement discussions,” the tour said in its statement.

The five current player directors on the policy board are McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Webb Simpson, Charley Hoffman and Peter Malnati.  And now you have golfer Jason Gore as a new executive vice president with the tour, with an additional title of “chief player officer,” working directly with Monahan.

--Phil W. and I have two guys we are following on the Korn Ferry Tour, Thomas Walsh (son of Wake Forest classmates, both husband and wife), and Ryan McCormick (son of the head pro at Suburban Golf Club in New Jersey of which I was a member for about ten years).  Mark McCormick is a great guy, and I was still a member when he qualified for the 2012 U.S. Open at Olympic Club. 

Ryan, a St. John’s grad, has been grinding away for years on all manner of tours and is now 25th in the Korn Ferry points standings after a solo third this past weekend.  Walsh is 40th after a T10, following up the prior week’s T2.  Top 30 qualify for PGA Tour cards, but we have a ways to go in the season.

Bar Chat is pulling for both big time.

Stuff

--The USWNT was pathetic in a 0-0 draw against Portugal early Tuesday morning, eastern time, but it was enough to move on to the knockout stage, where on Sunday they will face Sweden.  Had Portugal snuck in a late shot that hit the post, it’s over for the U.S.

The Netherlands defeated Vietnam to advance out of Group E with the Americans, 7-0, after the U.S. had beaten Vietnam just 3-0 in their first match of the tournament.

--As I go to post, still no word on where superstar Kylian Mbappe will end up, after spurning a humongous deal to play in the Saudi Pro League with club Al-Hilai.

Mbappe’s current club, Paris Saint-Germain, is unlikely to re-sign him, and the latest is that Chelsea has contacted PSG, expressing their interest.

But, Mbappe is supposedly slated to go to Real Madrid (though not until next summer, if I’m reading things right), so he could go somewhere on a one-year loan in the interim.

--Harry Kane has told Tottenham he will stay with them once the season starts if he hasn’t moved on to Bayern Munich, as rumored.  In other words, he would play out the final year on his contract, rather than moving, say, mid-season.

But the Premier League season begins August 11, and the Spurs are refusing to set a deadline on transfer talks with Bayern, with the window not closing until Friday, September 1st, meaning Kane’s stance may be part of an effort to persuade the club to make a quick decision over his future.

Next Bar Chat, Sunday p.m.

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[Posted early Sunday p.m., before late sports action.]

Brief Add-on up top Tuesday evening

NFL Quiz: Name the eight to throw for over 400 career touchdown passes.  Answer below.

MLB

--It’s been all about Shohei Ohtani, and Angels management made it clear…they are all in, and not trading their superstar, acquiring pitchers Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez from the White Sox for a pair of minor-leaguers (but the No. 2 and 3 prospects in the Angels’ organization), after pulling Ohtani off the market.  Ohtani has consistently said he wanted to make the playoffs with the Angels, and ownership replied.

So Thursday, after a Wednesday rainout, the Angels played two in Detroit and in the first game, Ohtani pitched a complete-game one-hitter, 6-0, his first career complete game, his record now 9-5, 3.43.

In the second game, Ohtani hit two home runs, his MLB-leading 37th and 38th as L.A. rolled 11-4.

Friday, though, the Angels suffered a disappointing loss, 4-1 to Toronto, the lone run on Ohtani’s 39th home run.  Lucas Giolito went 5 1/3, 3 earned.

But Ohtani was replaced for a second consecutive game due to cramping in his calves, and the timing of Friday’s exit could not have been worse, bases loaded in the top of the ninth, the Angels forced to replace Ohtani with pinch-hitter Michael Stefanic, who struck out.

Manager Phil Nevin said, “We’ll evaluate it tomorrow when he gets up.  It’s just cramping right now.  It’s kind of in both legs.  He’s done a lot of work the last two days and wasn’t able to go.”

Saturday, the Angels lost 6-1, Ohtani back in the lineup, 1-for-2, 2 walks. 

L.A. outfielder Taylor Ward was hit in the face with a pitch from Blue Jays right-hander Alex Manoah and carted off the field.  It was ugly.  And we learned today that Ward suffered facial fractures, though he did not suffer vision damage and he was released from the hospital.  Surgery is an option, but no decision yet.  Ward was placed on the IL.

Back to management, owner Arte Moreno seems convinced he can make a run at re-signing Ohtani in the offseason.  But right now, they are five back in the wild card.

Today, in the Peacock game, the Angels picked up a must win, 3-2 in 10, Ohtani 1-for-3, 2 intentional walks for the second consecutive game.  Expect more of this the rest of the season, unfortunately.  Hunter Renfroe drove in all three runs, including a game-winning 2-run homer in the top of the tenth.

--Aaron Judge made his return Friday night in Baltimore and it made zero difference for the Yanks’ offense as five Orioles pitchers combined to shut out New York 1-0 on an Anthony Santander walk-off homer in the ninth off Tommy Kahnle.  The Yankees wasted another terrific effort from Gerrit Cole, seven scoreless, and he remains 9-2 in 22 starts with a 2.64 ERA.

As for Judge, he was 0-for-1, 3 walks.

New York was 19-23 without him as he recovered from a torn ligament in his big toe.

But Saturday, Judge went 3-for-5, with home run No. 20, and the Yanks won 8-3.

Yanks and Orioles are the Sunday night game.

--The Mets traded their best asset (that is on an expiring contract), closer David Robertson, to Miami for two very young prospects, aged 18 and 19, an infielder and catcher.  The kids, according to multiple reports, have potential, but are playing in the instructional league and IF they make it to the big stage, we’re talking 3-4 years at best.

So the trade was completed Thursday night, well before Tuesday’s trade deadline, and Mets fans are wondering why GM Billy Eppler didn’t get more, particularly minor league talent that maybe is a year away, rather than four.

And we didn’t address the organization’s biggest need, young pitching!  Robertson was the best closer on the market and this is what we got back?

Max Scherzer, who pitched seven strong, one run, in the Mets’ 5-1 win over Washington Friday night, was not happy, and demanded a meeting with Mets management for an explanation on why you’d throw up the white flag on the season by trading Robertson, who was terrific, 4-2, 2.05, 14 of 17 in save opportunities.  A real professional, highly liked in the clubhouse.

And then Saturday night, the Mets traded Scherzer to Texas for high-end prospect Luisangel Acuna, Ronald Acuna Jr.’s brother.  Scherzer, with a no-trade clause, had to approve the deal.  The Rangers picked up $22.5 million of his remaining salary through the end of 2024, while the Mets (read Uncle Stevie, owner Steve Cohen) are eating $35 million.

Unlike the two prospects the Mets received from the Marlins, Acuna, one hopes, could be on the big-league squad mid-2024, if he continues to progress.  But where he plays is anyone’s guess as he’s primarily a middle infielder, though he could be moved to the outfield.  He’s batting .315 in AA, 7 home runs, 42 stolen bases.

The shellshocked Mets didn’t have a chance on the field then Saturday night, falling to the Nationals 11-6, the surrender flag out, Mets players wondering who is next…Justin Verlander?  [He has a 1.46 ERA his last six starts.]

Verlander then started Sunday and gave the Metropolitans 5 1/3, 1 run, ERA down to 3.15, as the Mets defeated the Nats, 5-2, Verlander with career win No. 250 (250-138).

--Among the many moves the Dodgers made in the past few days was acquiring shortstop Amed Rosario from the Guardians for pitcher Noah Syndergaard, in a true head scratcher.  Rosario isn’t having a good year but he’s still just 27 and a dependable infielder.  Syndergaard blows.

The Dodgers hosted the Reds this weekend (that’s a cool sounding series), Cincy winning the first Friday, 6-5, L.A. taking Saturday’s game 3-2, as one of the Dodgers’ trade pickups, Joe Kelly, picked up the win in relief.  In this one, Max Muncy had L.A.’s only two hits, both home runs, accounting for all three runs.

--The Braves continue on their rampage at the plate, winning the first two against the Brewers in Atlanta, 10-7 and 11-5.

Atlanta thru Saturday was batting .270 as a team, 195 home runs, and an .833 OPS (Texas is second in MLB at .801).  Five Braves players already have 20 home runs, with Eddie Rosario (16) and Sean Murphy (17) soon to join them.

Ronald Acuna Jr. has 24 home runs and 50 stolen bases.

And today, the Braves completed the sweep, 8-6, Matt Olson with two home runs, 5 RBIs.  Olson now has 35 homers, and an MLB-leading 88 ribbies.  As my grandfather would have said, ‘Gee willickers.’  [A phrase not used in America since about 1965.]

--The Rays are in Houston to take on the Astros in another potential playoff preview, Tampa Bay winning 4-3 Friday, and then the Astros destroyed the Rays 17-4 Saturday.

But Tampa Bay prevailed today, 8-2.

Key races…thru Saturday…

AL East

Baltimore 63-41
Tampa Bay 63-44…1.5
Toronto 59-46…4.5

AL Central

Minnesota 54-53
Cleveland 52-53…1.5

AL West

Texas 60-45
Houston 59-46…1

AL Wild Card

Tampa Bay 63-44…+3
Toronto 59-46…--
Houston 59-46…--
Boston 59-48…2.5
Yankees 55-49…3.5
Los Angeles 54-51…5
Seattle 53-51…5.5

NL Central

Milwaukee 57-48
Cincinnati 57-49…0.5
Chicago 53-51…3.5

NL West

Los Angeles 59-44
San Francisco 57-48…3
Arizona 56-49…4

NL Wild Card

San Francisco 57-48…+0.5
Philadelphia 56-48…--
Cincinnati 57-49…--
Miami 56-49…0.5
Arizona 56-49…0.5
Chicago 53-51…3

--Major League Baseball’s owners voted to extend Rob Manfred as commissioner Wednesday, keeping him in place through January 2029.  The deal puts him in line to guide the owners through another round of collective bargaining, with the current CBA set to expire after the 2026 season.  He will be 70 on his probable final day, Jan. 25, 2029.

Manfred succeeded Bud Selig as commissioner in Jan. 2015.  His tenure has been marked by clear dissension from the players and, by extension, the MLB Players’ Association, which was exacerbated by his controversial handling of the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal and culminated in a bitter labor dispute in the winter of 2021, prompting a 99-day lockout.

The scaling down of the minor leagues and the Athletics’ impending move from Oakland to Las Vegas have also been unpopular with fans, but MLB has record revenue under Manfred’s watch.

And the new rule changes have been widely popular with fans.

NFL

--Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow went down with a non-contact leg injury and was carted off Thursday, scaring the hell out of Bengals Nation,

But it was revealed Burrow suffered a right calf strain, with coach Zac Taylor saying he’ll be out a few weeks.  Taylor wasn’t concerned.  The Bengals don’t open until Sept. 10 against Cleveland.

--Aaron Rodgers reworked his contract and voluntarily reduced his salary about $35 million over the next two seasons to allow the Jets to have a shot at adding further key pieces, including the likes of running back Dalvin Cook, who if he can’t go to Miami, seems fired up about the prospect of becoming a Jet.

Rodgers will receive a $35 million roster bonus, plus a $1.8 million salary.  In 2024, his salary is $38.2 million.  Originally, he signed a contract where he was due to make close to $110 million in guarantees.

--Justin Herbert agreed to terms with the Chargers on a five-year, $262.5 million contract extension.  He becomes the third quarterback this year to agree to a blockbuster extension following new deals between the Eagles and Jalen Hurts (five years, $255 million) and the Ravens and Lamar Jackson (five years, $260 million).

Herbert’s $52.5 million average annual salary is the highest in NFL history.  Not bad for a 25-year-old.

Only Herbert and Peyton Manning started out their careers with three consecutive seasons of at least 25 touchdown passes.

College Football

--Colorado is nearing a return to the Big 12, with Big 12 presidents and chancellors voting unanimously to accept Colorado as a new member, the Buffaloes in the conference for the 2024-25 season.

The Big 12 formally added BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF for this year, putting the conference at 14 teams before it loses Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC in 2024.

The Pac-12’s inability to land a television deal has been a killer.

Dennis Dodd / CBSSports.com: “The Pac-12’s failings bear repeating: The league likely had its choice of Big 12 schools – twice.  In 2010, then-commissioner Larry Scott’s bold move to raid the Big 12 of half its teams fell just short.  More than a decade later, when Texas and Oklahoma announced they were departing for the SEC in 2021, the opportunity existed to pick the bones of a wounded Big 12.  Instead, the Pac-12 stood pat…and the Big 12 retooled.  Two years later, the paradox can be felt from here to the Left (Behind) Coast.”

--It would appear that Jim Harbaugh is going to be suspended for four games for giving false-misleading statements to the NCAA.  Last year, the NCAA notified Michigan of four alleged Level II violations, including meeting with two recruits during the Covid-19 dead period and texting a recruit outside of a permitted window.

The NCAA alleges Harbaugh lied to investigators about said violations, a Level I offense.  Harbaugh has maintained he didn’t lie but rather didn’t remember the events that led to the recruiting violations.

Harbaugh also refused to sign a document admitting he was dishonest earlier this year.

Michigan’s first four games are all at home, against East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green and Rutgers.  Should this four-game suspension become official, Harbaugh’s first game on the sidelines would be at Nebraska.

Founding Father George Washington never lied…just sayin’.

Golf Balls

--Just two PGA Tour events to go to get into the FedExCup Playoffs and heading to the final round of the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota, we had the following leaderboard….

Lee Hodges -20 (63-64-66…seeking his first twin)
J.T. Poston -15 (having a surprisingly solid season)
Tony Finau -14
Aaron Baddeley -13

For Finau this event is critical.  He’s only 19th in the Ryder Cup points standings.

Speaking of which, Justin Thomas didn’t make the cut and barring a miracle at next week’s Wyndham Championship, he won’t make the FedEXCup playoffs, let alone be a member of the Ryder Cup team.

Among the others missing the cut were Cameron Young, Sepp Straka and Sungjae Im, all three no doubt a bit tired from the travel from England and The Open Championship.

And Lee Hodges closed the deal by seven, after Poston triple-bogeyed No. 18 to fall into a tie for second with Kevin Streelman and Martin Laird.

Finau was T7.  Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson will have some tough decisions.

--Alex Cjeka defeated Padraig Harrington on the second hole of a playoff at The Senior Open Championship, played at Royal Porthcawl in Wales.

The weather was rough all week, especially today, rain, wind…so bad that Colin Montgomerie shot an 88!

Cjecka and Harrington tied at +5, Vijay Singh was solo third at +7.

--I’ll have some comments on the Korn Ferry Tour in my late Tuesday “Add-on.”  We have two players we care about.

--PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan sent a memo to tour membership late Wednesday, outlining a number of efforts and updates as the tour proceeds with its planned partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Monahan has not publicly acknowledged the issues that sidelined him for roughly a month, but he told the players that he has fully recovered and is “committed to representing the best interests of the PGA Tour” after returning to his job last week.

Monahan announced that Colin Neville of the Raine Group will be brought in to help ensure a transparent, efficient and collaborative process and be a resource for the negotiations between the tour, PIF and the DP World Tour.  The Raine Group was behind the Premier Golf League, the tour that initially attempted to rival the PGA Tour before Saudi’s PIF investment diverted from the effort and instead founded LIV Golf. 

A task force will decide LIV Golf discipline and what type of penalties, if any, players who defected to LIV golf would face should they want to return to the tour.

Jason Gore, a former PGA Tour player, will be in a new role to improve the rapport between the governing body and the tour players as the membership comes to grips with tour leadership’s surprise partnership.  Gore has been promoted to executive vice president and chief player officer position.

Monahan also announced the tour would not abide by a proposed model local rule from the USGA and R&A that would roll back the ball if it were to go into effect as potentially scheduled  in 2026; the players overwhelmingly being against the motion.

On the issue of PGA Tour players who remained with the circuit being rewarded for their loyalty, Monahan agrees: “We have obtained player input that is helping to inform the potential structure, components and timeline.  This program, should we reach a definitive agreement, will be financially significant in total and incremental to our planned compensation package.”  Gore and two other executives will also have a hand in this.

Lastly, the schedule for the 2024 PGA Tour season has been delayed, but is now expected to be released to members during the first week of the FedExCup Playoffs in Memphis.

Monahan supposedly is gradually winning back some of the players, but there are still few details and there is no formal agreement.

Stuff

--The United States women’s national team was lucky to get a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands the other day and now must beat or draw with Portugal early Tuesday morning, eastern time (3:00 a.m.) to get to the knockout round.  It’s far from a done deal.

--I have to go back to Tuesday at the World Aquatic Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, where in winning the women’s 1,500-meter freestyle by more than 17 seconds, Katie Ledecky picked up her 15th individual career gold medal at the world championships, tying her with Michael Phelps for the most in history, and it was her 20th gold overall (including relays), leaving her behind only Phelps (26).

She then had one more race, Saturday, in the 800 freestyle, plus an earlier 4X200 freestyle relay.

And Ledecky won the 800, record gold No. 16, four seconds outside of her 2016 world record, to become the first swimmer to win a single worlds event six times.

The U.S. took silver in the 4X200 freestyle relay, Australia winning gold.

Ledecky is primed for Paris.

The rest of the team?  Not so much, in terms of gold medals.

--Bronny James went home Thursday after suffering cardiac arrest last Monday during practice at USC. 

LeBron said “everyone [is] doing great” and the family “will have more to say when we’re ready.”

--The principal owner of the Tottenham Hotspur Premier League team, British billionaire Joe Lewis, was charged by federal prosecutors in the U.S. of insider trading.  Lewis, whose family trust controls a majority stake in the Spurs, is accused of orchestrating a “brazen” insider trading scheme by passing tips about companies in which he invested to friends, personal assistants, private pilots and romantic partners.  The tips enabled Lewis’ associates to reap millions of dollars in profit, prosecutors said.

Lewis, 86 and worth $6.1 billion according to Forbes, founded the investment firm Tavistock Group.  But he is also known for taking a nearly 10% stake in Bear Stearns in 2007, shortly before the Wall Street bank narrowly avoided collapse and was bought by JPMorgan Chase at a fire-sale price. His losses were estimated at more than $1 billion.

--Good news on the tiger front.  Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan kingdom, completed its first survey of tigers in the country in years and found 131 – up 27% from the last count, held in 2015.

Experts also found evidence of tigers breeding at different altitudes in the country, suggesting Bhutan could help regional populations recover.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the global wild tiger population has dropped by around 95% over the past century.

Remind me not to go hiking alone in Bhutan.

--In a definitive study of great white sharks off Cape Cod, local shark researchers found that about 800 individual white sharks visited the waters off the Cape from 2015 to 2018.  This count of 800 is the first-ever estimate of white shark abundance in the North Atlantic Ocean. 

The key is the veritable plethora of seals in the area, as Howard Cosell might have averred.

--The remains of a German mountaineer who had been missing for almost four decades were discovered in the melting ice just off the Matterhorn mountain earlier this month, Swiss police said Friday.

The grisly discovery underscores the unforgiving nature of the world’s highest mountains and how climate change is warping the magnificent peaks.

“The bodies of mountaineers whose disappearance was reported decades ago are increasingly turning up due to the receding glaciers,” law enforcement said.

Having been to Zermatt, Switzerland, more or less a base for those climbing the Matterhorn, I was surprised to learn that as of 2011, at least 500 people are estimated to have died attempting to climb it, which is significantly higher than the death toll for Mount Everest (310 at last count).

Rising temperatures and melting glaciers have not only revealed more bodies on mountains like the Matterhorn, but makes the journey for other climbers even more dangerous, as melting permafrost increases the risk of landslides and rockfall.  The volume of alpine glaciers has shrunk by about 60 percent since the mid-19th century, according to the Swiss National Center for Climate Services, and annual snow days have also decreased since at least the 1970s.

--We note the passing of Irish singer-songwriter Sinead O’Connor, 56.  She clearly never recovered from the death by suicide of her teenage son Shane in January 2022, having publicly threatened to take her life.  Earlier this month, Ms. O’Connor tweeted that Shane “was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul,” adding that she was “lost…without him.”

It was back in 1990 that her single “Nothing Compares 2 U” turned O’Connor into a global sensation, but as she told it, she was dismayed and not delighted.  She saw herself as a punk musician, not a pop star.

O’Connor’s album “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” (1990) was nominated for four Grammy Awards, winning for best alternative music performance.  The ever-controversial singer then boycotted the ceremony, saying that the awards were based on “false and destructive materialistic values.”  She also made headlines for pulling out of a planned appearance on “Saturday Night Live” to protest guest host Andrew Dice Clay, a comedian who had been accused of sexism; and for refusing to play “The Star-Spangled Banner” before concerts, saying that national anthems “have nothing to do with music in general.”

But then O’Connor, appearing on “SNL” in 1992, shortly after the release of her album, “Am I Not Your Girl?” ended an a cappella performance of Bob Marley’s “War” by ripping a photo of Pope John Paul II into pieces as a stance against sexual abuse in the Roman Catholic Church.  “Fight the real enemy,” she said. 

That incident defined her career.  Two weeks later, she was loudly booed at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden.

--And Randy Meisner, a founding member and original bassist of the Eagles, died on Wednesday.  He was 77.  The cause was complications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the band said on its website.

“Randy was an integral part of the Eagles and instrumental in the early success of the band,” the group said.

“God, he had the most beautiful voice,” the singer Vince Gill, who joined the Eagles in 2017, said in a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times. Inheriting Mr. Meisner’s soaring vocal duties on “Take It to the Limit,” from 1975, in live performance is an unenviable task, he added: “Everybody to a man would say, ‘I’d sure rather hear Randy sing it,’ me included.”

Alex Williams / New York Times: “In a band of egos, where the internal power plays and boozy blowouts seemed as common as string changes, the soft-spoken Mr. Meisner, an introvert who grew up on a farm in Nebraska, was never one to jostle for the spotlight.

“There would not be much room for it on a stage that included, at various times, the band’s alpha dogs, Don Henley and Glenn Frey; the feisty guitarist Don Felder, who jointed the band in 1974; and, eventually, the gonzo guitarist Joe Walsh, a hedonist even by 1970s rock standards who replaced Bernie Leadon, an original member, in 1975.”

The Eagles’ first gig was backing Linda Ronstadt at Disneyland in 1971 – but they quickly grew into a colossus, with five Billboard No. 1 singles, starting with “Best of My Love” in 1974, and six No. 1 albums.

In 2018, with 38 million copies sold, “The Eagles: Their Greatest Hits” (1976) surpassed Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” to become the best-selling album of all time, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.  At that point, “Hotel California” (1976), with sales of 26 million, was third on the list.

Meisner left the band in September 1977, but rejoined his ex-bandmates when the Eagles were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

I didn’t realize Meisner was born in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, a favorite spot of mine (think Oregon Trail).

Top 3 songs for the week 7/28/62: #1 “Roses Are Red (My Love)” (Bobby Vinton) #2 “The Wah Watusi” (The Orlons)  #3 “Sealed With A Kiss” (Brian Hyland)…and…#4 “I Can’t Stop Loving You” (Ray Charles)  #5 “The Stripper” (David Rose)  #6 “Speedy Gonzales” (Pat Boone)  #7 “Wolverton Mountain” (Claude King) #8 “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” (Neil Sedaka)  #9 “Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)” (Dee Dee Sharp) #10 “Ahab, The Arab” (Ray Stevens…yes, we were waiting eagerly for the British Invasion…C- week…)

NFL Quiz Answer: 400 career touchdown passes….

1. Tom Brady 649
2. Drew Brees 571
3. Peyton Manning 539
4. Brett Favre 508
5. Aaron Rodgers 475
6. Philip Rivers 421
7. Dan Marino 420
8. Ben Roethlisberger 418

9. Matt Ryan 381
10. Eli Manning 366

Brief Add-on up top Tuesday p.m., assuming there are some further blockbusters ahead of the trade deadline.

 

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