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Good morning to everyone, but especially to …
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER
There’s good. There’s great. And then there’s whatever kind of heater you want to say that Scottie Scheffler has been on lately. With this weekend’s win at the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., Scheffler now has an eye-popping six victories in his last 10 starts.
For context, we’ll take a minute and run the names of all of the golfers who have ever amassed six wins in a PGA Tour season prior to July 1 since 1960 — Arnold Palmer (1960, 1962) and now Scheffler in 2024. Two. That’s the list.
But that’s not to say that Sunday’s triumph was drama-free. On the tournament’s final hole of regulation, protestors armed with smoke bombs breached the green while play was underway. The disruption was cleared up soon enough, but when play resumed Scheffler wound up missing the putt that would’ve won him the event in 72 holes. Tom Kim, the leader after 18, 36 and 54 holes, capitalized with a birdie, forcing the start of a sudden death playoff on the same hole. Scheffler shot par; Kim bogeyed. And there’s your tournament.
Scheffler pocketed $3.6 million for the win, extending his record-setting PGA Tour 2024 earnings to $28 million. As he does for us every week, our Kyle Porter explains the brilliance that is Scottie Scheffler.
- Porter: “The craziest realization (and best compliment) about Scottie is that this has become rote. Another week, another Scheffler win. Yawn. That has become a bit of the disposition of golf fans toward what is happening. The numbers belie the routine nature of what he is doing though because the numbers tell the following story: This simply never happens.”
😃 Honorable mentions
🏀 And not such a good morning for …
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THE INDIANA FEVER
Round 3 of Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever vs. Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky went to the Sky. It was a great game, although one would expect the Fever will find it particularly frustrating because they had a 15-point lead with 11:29 left to play. Then the roof caved in, as the Fever were outscored 31-15 the rest of the way en route to the 88-87 loss.
The Sky played a tremendous game — and we’ll have more to say about that later because Chicago deserves it — but from the Indiana perspective, the Fever couldn’t buy a basket late and were destroyed on the boards to the tune of 38-25, including 7-1 on the offensive glass.
Funny thing is, the Fever’s loss is the game’s gain as these two opponents are quickly becoming one of the best rivalries in sports. After three meetings over the last three weeks, it almost seems cruel that we have to wait another two months for their final meeting of the regular season back in Chicago on Aug. 30. Our Jack Maloney was in the building, and from his perspective during Chicago’s run, Reese just “flipped a switch and lit up Wintrust Arena.”
- Maloney: “First, an incredible catch and finish in transition for an and-one, then a pair of free throws to key a 7-0 in the final minute of the third cut the deficit to single digits … She carried that energy into the fourth quarter and was unstoppable in the paint. NaLyssa Smith and the Fever had no answer for Reese’s energy and physicality, and she scored time and again on drop-offs and putbacks. With less than a minute to play, she posted up Smith and maneuvered around her for the go-ahead bucket. ‘I’m a dawg, you can’t teach that,’ Reese said during her walk-off interview.”
😖 Not so honorable mentions
🥇 Sha’Carri Richardson is going to the Olympics
In a manner of speaking, it took Sha’Carri Richardson three years to run 100 meters. On Saturday night, Richardson tore up the Eugene, Ore., straightaway at the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials and finished first in 10.71 seconds, the fastest run by a woman on the planet this year. The win puts the 24-year-old Richardson on her first U.S. Olympic team.
Those who know Richardson’s story will recall her win at the trials for the Tokyo Games three years ago was nullified after testing positive for marijuana, a drug that she said she used to cope following the death of her biological mother.
“The message I would say now is believe in yourself, no matter what outside noise is going on, remain solid in yourself,” Richardson said after Saturday’s race. “Not just yourself, your faith. Those are two things that will never change, as long as you don’t change. Stay grounded in yourself and as well as your hard work every day that you go out.”
Richardson will joined by Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry, who took second and third in the 100 meters with times of 10.8 and 10.89, respectively.
“I feel honored,” Richardson said. “I feel every chapter I’ve been through in my life prepared me for this moment.”
In the men’s 100 meters, Noah Lyles ran a personal best of 9.83 Sunday night to punch his ticket to Paris. Kenny Bendarek (9.87) and Fred Kerley (9.88) finished second and third to also secure spots.
“[Winning was] part of the plan. Nothing changed,” the ever-confident Lyles told NBC Sports after the race. “Might be a shock to everybody else, but when you know the goal, you know the goal.”
🏀 Sky rookies do something not seen since 1998
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When the Chicago Sky drafted two bigs in Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso in April’s WNBA Draft there were some questions about how the two would play alongside one another. With a record of 6-9, and in eighth place, that part is still a work in progress, but the Sky’s rookies did combine to do something on Sunday the league hasn’t seen since 1998.
Reese and Cardoso each scored at least 15 points and collected at least 10 rebounds in Chicago’s thrilling 88-87 win, a feat not logged since the WNBA’s second year of existence. Reese (25 points, 16 rebounds) led the Sky’s comeback, which began late in the third quarter. Cardoso (16 points, 10 rebounds) gave this draft’s third overall pick her first career double-double.
But double-doubles are just becoming another day at the office for Reese, who — it’s worth reminding everyone — wasn’t drafted until seventh. She now has eight straight, extending her own WNBA rookie record. Additionally, Reese became the first rookie to tally at least 25 points and 15 rebounds in a game since Las Vegas Aces star A’ja Wilson in 2018.
⚾ Phillies overtake Yankees in latest MLB Power Rankings
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When you’re king of the hill one week, top of the heap the next, and then and you lose six of eight there’s only one conclusion for any responsible baseball writer to make — you’re no longer a number 1. So with that in mind, let’s have our Matt Snyder start spreadin’ the news with his latest MLB Power Rankings.
- Snyder: The Yankees have held down the top spot for a few weeks and just got Gerrit Cole back in the rotation, but they have now lost three straight series. Sure, the series came against tough competition, but the Top Dog shouldn’t be bothered by that. They’ve lost six of their last eight, so a drop is in order.
As for the Phillies, the argument to have them at No. 1 is easy even as they deal with a number of injuries.
- Snyder: They have the best record in baseball both by games (the Yankees are 0.5 games back) and winning percentage. Their +114 run differential is the best in baseball. They had a bit of a rough patch recently, but are coming off a 4-2 week with two series wins. In looking at the personnel, they certainly look the part. There isn’t a glaring weakness. They have the best ERA in baseball and are fourth in runs scored. They’ve dealt with some key injuries, too.
Here’s Matt’s top five:
- Phillies (previous: 3)
- Orioles (previous: 2)
- Yankees (previous: 1)
- Guardians (previous: 5)
- Dodgers (previous: 4)
📺 What we’re watching Monday
⚽ Euro 2024: Albania vs. Spain, 12 p.m. on FS1
⚽ Euro 2024: Croatia vs. Italy, 12 p.m. on Fox
⚽ Copa America: Colombia vs. Paraguay, 3 p.m. on FS1
⚽ Copa America: Brazil vs. Costa Rica, 6 p.m. on FS1
⚾ College World Series — Game 3: Tennessee vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m. on ESPN
🏒 Stanley Cup Final — Game 7: Oilers at Panthers, 8 p.m. on ABC
🏃 U.S. Track & Field Trials, 8 p.m. on NBC
