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John Deere Classic Round 3 tee times for an exciting Moving Day john,deere,classic,round,tee,times,for,an,exciting,moving,day,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

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Welcome to Playing Through’s morning ritual — Golf Talk Today.

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, where the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.

It is Moving Day at the John Deere Classic.

CT Pan and Aaron Rai are tied for the lead at 14-under after they carded 8-under 63s.

TPC Deere Run is giving up so many birdies. The players have made 1,352 birdies and 35 eagles through 36 holes, more than 13 tournaments in total. If this pace remains, it could see the most birdies in a 2024 event.

Brew a pot of coffee, grab some breakfast, and settle in as we get you ready for the third round of the John Deere Classic.

Notable names who missed the cut at the John Deere Classic

The cut line for the John Deere Classic was 5-under. The top 60 and ties make the weekend in Illinois, but check out the biggest names headed home early.

Popular golfers who missed the cut at the John Deere
— Daniel Berger (-4; 68-70)
— Harry Higgs (-3; 72-67)
— Matt Kuchar: (-3; 69-70)
— Nick Dunlap: (-3; 69-70)
— Kevin Kisner: (-2; 68-72)
— Patton Kizzire: (-1; 71-70)
— Maverick McNealy: (E; 67-75)
— Nick Hardy: (E; 70-72)
— Neal Shipley: (+2; 70-74)

John Deere Classic Round 3 Tee Times (ET):

Everyone tees off the 1st tee

7:55 a.m. — Thorbjørn Olesen, Wilson Furr

8:06 a.m. — Stewart Cink, Justin Suh, Ryan Palmer

8:17 a.m. — Kevin Streelman, Jake Knapp, Nico Echavarria

8:28 a.m. — Blaine Hale Jr., Bud Cauley, Kevin Chappell

8:39 a.m. — James Hahn, Matt NeSmith, Pierceson Coody

8:50 a.m. — Henrik Norlander, Brice Garnett, Sepp Straka

9:01 a.m. — Kyle Westmoreland, Joel Dahmen, Bill Haas

9:17 a.m. — Hayden Buckley, Roger Sloan, David Lipsky

9:28 a.m. — Scott Gutschewski, Jordan Spieth, Sam Stevens

9:39 a.m. — Kevin Dougherty, Mark Hubbard, Sam Ryder

9:50 a.m. — Doug Ghim, Ben Kohles, Jason Day

10:01 a.m. — S.H. Kim, J.T. Poston, Zac Blair

10:12 a.m. — Dylan Frittelli, Mac Meissner, Ben Griffin

10:23 a.m. — Trace Crowe, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Ben Taylor

10:39 a.m. — Austin Smotherman, Ben Silverman, Patrick Rodgers

10:50 a.m. — Justin Lower, Ryo Hisatsune, Seamus Power

11:01 a.m. — Lee Hodge, Robby Shelton, Chesson Hadley

11:12 a.m. — J.J. Spaun, Carson Young, Sami Valimaki

11:23 a.m. — Keith Mitchell, Jhonattan Vegas, Zach Johnson

11:34 a.m. — Max Greyserman, Lucas Glover, Beau Hossler

11:45 a.m. — Andrew Novak, Michael Thorbjornsen, Chandler Phillips

12:01 p.m. — Rico Hoey, Chan Kim, Joshua Creel

12:12 p.m. — Adam Svensson, Brendon Todd, Kevin Yu

12:23 p.m. — Luke Clanton (a), Sungjae Im, Hayden Springer

12:34 p.m. — Eric Cole, Davis Thompson, Denny McCarthy

12:45 p.m. — C.T. Pan, Aaron Rai, Harry Hall

ICYMI: Top stories from the Rocket Mortgage Classic and across professional golf

Check out these stories:

Golfers must avoid these 10 mistakes during every round they play

John Deere Classic: Hayden Springer’s epic sub-60 round makes TPC Deere Run look easy

Thursday’s Golf Tips: The 5 best ways to remain cool, hydrated on the golf course

Golf Talk Today: A quick July 4th golf fashion guide to stay trendy but patriotic

All golfers should do these 10 things during every round they play

TaylorMade and other brands give fans amazing patriotic golf equipment

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

John Deere Classic: Kevin Kisner among popular names to miss the cut  john,deere,classic,kevin,kisner,among,popular,names,to,miss,the,cut,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour

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After two days of low scores, the John Deere Classic has cut its field in half. This week is a birdie marathon to see who can go the lowest.

Plenty of players found success, but many did not. They could not make enough birdies drop to stay in the hunt.

The lead is 14-under through 36 holes as C.T. Pan and Aaron Rai fired off 8-under 63s on Friday to follow up their 65s from Thursday.

Among the most popular names to play this weekend are two-time John Deere Classic winner Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Joel Dahmen, Keith Mitchell and Sungjae Im.

There are 24 players within four shots of Pan and Rai, which means the marathon will continue through the next 36 holes. Who will be able to prevent mistakes and make the most birdies?

Defending champion Sepp Straka made the cut on the number at 5-under. It does not seem like he will win back-to-back titles.

The cut line was 5-under, so anyone with 4-under or higher went home early. It is odd to see a cut that low, but that is how TPC Deere Run is playing this week.

Let’s take a look at the most popular names headed home.

The most popular name to MC at John Deere Classic

— Daniel Berger (-4; 68-70)
— Harry Higgs (-3; 72-67)
— Matt Kuchar: (-3; 69-70)
— Nick Dunlap: (-3; 69-70)
— Kevin Kisner: (-2; 68-72)
— Patton Kizzire: (-1; 71-70)
— Maverick McNealy: (E; 67-75)
— Nick Hardy: (E; 70-72)
— Neal Shipley: (+2; 70-74)

Higgs has been on quite the run on the Korn Ferry Tour and is on track to secure his PGA Tour card again. Most of the time, a 3-under total after 36 holes would see a guy play the weekend, but not this one.

The John Deere Classic has seen 1,352 birdies in two days of play. A 4-under and higher will not get a golfer paid. Many of these guys played well Thursday, but Friday’s wind caused problems for them and ultimately sent them home.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

Comparing PGA Tour Players To Their Ultimate John Deere Equivalent comparing,pga,tour,players,to,their,ultimate,john,deere,equivalent,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-opinions

Comparing PGA Tour Players To Their Ultimate John Deere Equivalent
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The John Deere Classic is one of the staples on the PGA Tour, as it has helped catapult many player’s careers.

Has anyone thought about what the PGA Tour players’ equipment equivalent would be? With some of the coolest tee markers, why not keep the fun going by comparing players and farm equipment?

Twitter user “Tweeth Mitchell,” asked the same question, which led to a collaboration to create six players and what John Deere equipment they would be.

While it is a niche topic, it is still fun to think about and come up with comparisons.

Let’s discuss which equipment matches the players at the John Deere Classic, as we introduced “The Farm Team.”

A graphic with Denny McCarthy and his John Deere equivalent.
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Frontier RC-20 Rotary Cutter: Denny McCarthy

The Frontier RC20 is known for mowing down the competition with precision, just like sharpshooter Denny McCarthy. Because of his accuracy, McCarthy is among the favorites this week. Look for him to go for flag sticks at every opportunity.

John Deere Classic, Sepp Straka

A graphic with Sepp Straka and his John Deere equivalent
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T6 800 Combine: Sepp Straka

The T6 Combine is a heavy-duty piece of machinery with a wide body and a lot of power, just like Sepp Straka, the 2023 John Deere Classic champion.

Straka usually plays well at TPC Deere Run, and there will be plenty of opportunities to harvest birdies this week. Like a heavy-duty machine, sometimes it takes Straka time to warm up, but once he does, he will go lower.

John Deere Classic, Neal Shipley

A graphic comparing Neal Shipley to his John Deere equivalent
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9500 Self-Propelled Forage Harvester: Neal Shipley

When you need to make hay while the sun shines, you need the 9500 Self-Propelled Forage Harvester and Neal Shipley. No one has done that better with limited opportunities than Shipley.

He became the first player since Viktor Hovland in 2019 to win low-amateur at both the Masters and US Open. The former Ohio State Buckeye recorded a T20 finish last week at Rocket Mortgage in his PGA Tour debut as a professional.

Jordan Spieth, John Deere Classic

A graphic comparing Jordan Spieth to his John Deere equivalent.
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R4023 Sprayer: Jordan Spieth

Two-time John Deere Classic winner Jordan Spieth is a player known for spraying the ball. He fits the bill to match perfectly with the R4023 Sprayer.

Spieth won his first Tour event here in 2013, but he will need to control his spray tendency if he wants to win the John Deere Classic for the third time in five starts. He fired a 2-under 69 in Round 1, but he will need to go low if he expects to make the cut.

John Deere Classic, J.T. Poston

A graphic comparing J.T. Poston and his John Deere equivalent.
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2230 Lift-Level Field Cultivator: J.T Poston

A player who can lift his own level in the right field and cultivate a win is the 2021 John Deere Classic champion, J.T. Poston. That ability makes his perfect equipment match the 2230 Lift-Level Field Cultivator.

He is poised for another huge week in the quad cities. Driving accuracy, approach play and clutch putting are all crucial skills at TPC Deere Run, so Poston should be able to leverage those areas for a high finish this week.

John Deere Classic, Joel Dahmen

A graphic comparing Joel Dahmen and his John Deere equivalent.
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X739 Riding Mower: Joel Dahmen

Joel Dahmen looks like he owns an X739 Riding Mower or something close to it. He gives off the dad vibe who drinks cold beer and takes care of his pristine lawn. With his bucket hat and laid-back style, no other piece of equipment would fit him better.

The Netflix star looks to get his way into the FedEx Cup playoffs, and a strong finish at the John Deere Classic will help him get closer to that goal.

Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.

Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda hoping to rebound after ‘tricky’ start to British Grand Prix daniel,ricciardo,and,yuki,tsunoda,hoping,to,rebound,after,tricky,start,to,british,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

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At the Austrian Grand Prix Daniel Ricciardo rebounded from a slow start in the first practice session to ultimately finish ninth in the main event, delivering two hard-earned points for Visa Cash App RB F1 Team and quelling — for the moment at least — rampant rumors about his F1 future.

After a “tricky” Friday at Silverstone, he will need a similar rebound to finish in the points at the British Grand Prix.

Ricciardo finished in P13 during Friday’s first practice session and was at the back of the grid in P19 in FP2. Things were not too much better on the other side of the garage, as teammate Yuki Tsunoda’s spin in FP1 cut his session short with him down in P20. Tsunoda came back for FP2 and improved a bit on his time, posting the 16th-fastest time of the session.

Both drivers are hoping for more on Saturday.

“It was a tricky day,” admitted Ricciardo in the team’s post-practice report. “We found some answers for that trickiness in FP2 due to a few issues on the car in terms of load. It was a bit of a bummer because obviously you still try to do what you can, but it was a bit inconclusive on what our true pace is. In general, we’ll be trying to work on a few weaknesses we’ve seen and getting it better for tomorrow.

“We’ll try to find the course once we look at the data, but I’m confident it’s nothing too weird,” Ricciardo added. “It’s going to be a tough circuit this year, but we should be able to clean that up and be further up the grid than we were today.”

Tsunoda referred to his spin in FP1 as a less than “ideal” way to start the weekend.

“I didn’t have the ideal start to the race weekend with FP1 and lost some valuable track time, but we managed to collect plenty of data in FP2. I think we know where we’re at now,” said Tsunoda. “We didn’t expect to struggle as much as we did in FP2, but there’s more time to come from us and I’m sure we can find a couple more tenths for tomorrow and fight for Q3. It doesn’t seem our car quite suits these track characteristics with the long high-speed corners, but others just seem to be stepping it up. They’re doing a good job, so we’ll continue working and fighting for more.”

VCARB Racing Director Alan Permane echoed the team’s drivers, calling Friday a “challenging” start.

“A challenging day for us, starting with Yuki’s spin, which cost him almost all of the first session. This meant he wasn’t as prepared as he could have been for FP2 and didn’t get the most out of things. He’s generally happy with the car though,” added Permane. Daniel struggled with some instability at the rear and it’s clear we’ve got work to do overnight to find some low-speed performance which is costing lap time. We will have one eye on the weather as rain is forecast for both days over the weekend and we will take this into account with our setup choices. We need to get everything perfect to give our drivers a shot at Q3 tomorrow.”

As with the Austrian Grand Prix, Friday brought even more wild rumors on the Ricciardo front. While Red Bull Ring was abuzz with talk that Ricciardo could be facing the drop at VCARB, Friday’s rumors included a wild swing in the opposite direction, with speculation that the recent run of poor form from Sergio Pérez — and Ricciardo’s upward trend in recent weeks — could open the door to a swap between the drivers.

German outlet Auto Motor und Sport reported on Friday that performance clauses in Pérez’s and Ricciardo’s contracts could make such a swap possible next season. Reportedly, Red Bull is hoping to see improvement from Pérez in Budapest and Spa.

As is often the case, Dr. Helmut Marko fanned the flames even more, telling Auto Moto und Sport “[w]e’ll know more by the summer break,” while not dismissing the reports.

Tricky, indeed.

Lewis Hamilton hails ‘encouraging’ start for Mercedes at F1 British Grand Prix lewis,hamilton,hails,encouraging,start,for,mercedes,at,f,british,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

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Mercedes tasted victory for the first time this Formula 1 season last week in Austria, as George Russell capitalized on a late-race incident between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen, storming to the front to take the checkered flag at the Austrian Grand Prix. Can the Silver Arrows make it two in a row with a win at home in the British Grand Prix?

While that might be a tall order given what we have seen from McLaren and Red Bull so far — more on that in a moment — the team got off to an “encouraging” start in Friday’s two practice sessions at the historic Silverstone circuit.

Lewis Hamilton finished seventh in FP1, running a mix of the hard and the medium compound, and then improved to P6 in the second session while running a mix of all three compounds, including some runs on the softs. Russell was on a similar program, placing fifth in the first session on a mix runs using the hards and the mediums, and then finished tenth in the second session while using all three compounds.

“P1 was a strong session with the car feeling great. FP2 was a slightly more challenging hour, and we need to pick through why that was,” reported Russell in the team’s post-practice media report. “It was much windier, and I don’t think we got the [tires] in the right window, so that could explain a chunk of it. The conditions are likely to change across the weekend, with more rain possible too, so we will have to be adaptive.”

“The car felt generally good today. We’re still a little bit behind the ultimate pace at the front but today was encouraging. I don’t think the times are fully representative of where our speed was, but nevertheless, we know we’ve got work to do tonight,” said Hamilton. “We will therefore do what we can to try and find more performance and hopefully that can get us a little closer to those ahead.”

As far as the pecking order after the first day, Russell put McLaren and Red Bull a bit ahead of Mercedes, indicating that it might be a battle with the Ferraris on tap this weekend for the Silver Arrows.

“After today’s running, I’d say that the competitive picture looks similar to the past few races. McLaren and Max [Verstappen] look a step ahead and it’s close between ourselves and Ferrari,” added Russell. “We will work hard overnight to try and take a step forward and see where that leaves us tomorrow.”

As has been argued here and elsewhere, over the past three race weekends no team has been hotter than Mercedes. The Silver Arrows have scored 100 points over that stretch, more than McLaren, Ferrari, and yes, Red Bull.

Can they extend that streak at Silverstone? It might be too early to tell, but the week did get off to an encouraging start for the team.

Top 5 WWE matches to watch this weekend top,wwe,matches,to,watch,this,weekend,sbnation,com,front-page,wrestling,all-womens-sports,womens-combat,dot-com-grid-coverage

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While a lot of folks will be trying to stretch the July 4 holiday out to another weekend here in the United States, WWE is sending its current and future stars to Canada for two major shows in Toronto.

The biggest pro wrestling company in the world will hold one of its most popular events of the year on Sat., July 7 when Money in the Bank hits Scotiabank Arena at 8 p.m. Eastern. Then the following night at the same time, the next generation of WWE superstars will look to make their mark when their NXT brand puts on Heatwave in the same building.

It should be a great weekend of pro wrestling, but of course we’re looking forward to some matches more than others.

Here are our top five recommendations from Money in the Bank and Heatwave, and why they’re our picks from those two shows:

Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso vs. LA Knight vs. Andrade vs. Chad Gable vs. Carmelo Hayes in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Who doesn’t love a ladder match? Alright the wrestlers probably don’t when they’re slammed and splashed into, onto, in between, or through them (and many of us watching wince every time thinking about how much that must hurt… which you have to acknowledge, even if you insist pro wrestling’s “fake”).

Almost all WWE fans love the ladder matches that give Money in the Bank its name, where their winner climb to grab a briefcase containing a guaranteed title shot that’s dangling above the ring. It’s a storytelling device that’s led to some amazing moments. And some that all involved would like to forget. But the game of “will they or won’t they cash in?” is usually a lot of fun, whether it lasts hours or months.

One hallmark of the so-called “Triple H Era” (named for WWE Hall of Famer and Chief Creative Officer Paul Levasque, who took over creative for the company when his father-in-law was ousted during his latest scandal) is that most of the wrestlers who appear on television have an established character and are involved in an angle (this seems straight-forward, but if you were watching WWE under the latter days of Vince McMahon, you know it wasn’t always).

This match has a couple of the best examples, as McIntyre is not only chasing a World title, but is engaged in one of the company’s hottest feuds with an injured CM Punk… who can’t be ruled out as a factor here, despited the big Scotsman beating him within an inch of his life after the last time Punk meddled in Drew’s business.

Former Olympian Gable at the center of an entirely different of story. He’s been a real jerk to his Alpha Academy team, which had made him a target of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks, a group led by the late Bray Wyatt’s brother Bo Dallas. The Sicks are carrying on Bray’s legacy by embodying his creepy creations and targeting those who’ve done their “family” wrong.

Plus, everyone in the match can go — especially Andrade, recent NXT call-up Hayes, and Gable. This one should be nuts, in that good pro wrestling way.

IYO SKY vs. Naomi vs. Tiffany Stratton vs. Chelsea Green vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Zoey Stark in a Money in the Bank Ladder Match

Much of the above applies her as well, although the women’s MitB match feels like it has a greater chance of delivering something else WWE watchers often mention when talking about the concept: elevating a performer.

Sure, we could see former champions like Naomi or SKY — who only recently lost the belt as her Damage CTRL stable has been falling apart around her since kicking out Bayley, the woman her took her title at WrestleMania. But it will be very interesting to see if WWE pulls the trigger and helps establish a new main event player.

Stratton and Valkyria are former NXT Women’s champs, both of whom WWE would clearly like to see reach the same heights on the main roster. Green’s been around a while, but she’s entertainingly been all in on her gimmick everywhere she’s been and has been making the most out of finally being able to do that on wrestling’s biggest stage. And Stark’s just a great wrestler (a proverbial workhorse) who Triple H has loved since he was running developmental and she was in NXT.

No bad choices here.

Cody Rhodes, Randy Orton & Kevin Owens vs. The Bloodline

If you thought the story of Rhodes and The Bloodline ended with Cody winning the WWE title from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40… think again.

The evil faction of Pacific Islanders’ has been refreshed with Reigns’ former enforcer Solo Sikoa taking over his position as Tribal Chief. Sikoa’s proved to considerable more unpredictable than his older cousin was, bringing in Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa from New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Jacob Fatu from MLW as his hit squad. It’s unclear which pair will team with Solo in Toronto; Fatu is the guy with the most upside, but he may also have issues getting into Canada due to a past arrest. And, yes, a possible criminal background has been alluded to in-story as proof of how dangerous Sikoa’s Bloodline is — not that we needed much proof after the group sent Roman’s “wiseman” Paul Heyman to the hospital last week.

So Rhodes has assembled a team of good guys to stop Bloodline 2.0 while fans chant for Roman to come back and deal with the problem he left behind after dropping the title back in April. They’ll all held WWE’s top prize, and the always dangerous Orton has shown signs he might have eyes on Cody’s belt. Be on the lookout for a heel turn from The Viper here, possibly setting up a SummerSlam main event with his former Legacy protege.

Damian Priest vs. Seth Rollins

Kinda weird to have the only World title match at Saturday’s event this far down the list, but it’s no shade to champion Priest or challenger Rollins. The former hasn’t really felt like the star of his own show during his reign, but Priest is involved in one of Raw’s hottest programs as Women’s World champ Liv Morgan attempts to take over his Judgment Day group as part of her revenge plot against Damian’s teammate, Rhea Ripley (who’s out with an injury Morgan gave her). Rollins has played into that strife, goading Priest into agreeing to leave Judgment Day if he loses. In exchange, Seth said if he loses, he’ll give up his pursuit of the belt for as long it’s around Priest’s waist.

Plus, Rollins has been out of action since April due to knee surgery. So this will be the first time we’ve seen the Visionary in action since he reminded the world he’s one of the best wrestlers alive at WrestleMania.

Roxanne Perez vs. Lola Vice

Only one NXT match makes the cut, as the Heatwave build has been a bit lackluster. That’s due in large part to the number of wrestlers who were promoted to Raw or SmackDown in this past spring’s WWE Draft, so the brand’s creative team — led by Triple H’s right-hand man Shawn Michaels — has been in reset mode.

That was evident in the build to this Women’s title clash. Champion Perez is still settling into the heel character she’s working for her second reign. Challenger Vice (former MMA pro Valerie Loureda) has been built up for this opportunity, but only recently turned babyface for this match. They’re both performers WWE has high hopes for, but we’re still waiting for them to really click while working together.

It might not be the best match of the weekend, but it should be interesting no matter what. And who knows? Maybe someone from TNA — an outside promotion NXT’s got an ongoing crossover going with, now that WWE’s become willing to play nice with (some) others in the wrestling world since Vince’s exit — will crash this or another Heatwave match to make it REALLY interesting on Sunday night.

Whichever matches you’re looking forward to this weekend, you can get all the information about them and follow all the action at CagesideSeats.com!

The Houston Astros are once again alive and well in the AL West the,houston,astros,are,once,again,alive,and,well,in,the,al,west,sbnation,com,front-page,mlb

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It wasn’t all that long ago when I was using this space to talk about how the Houston Astros had yet to really lift off this season and were spinning their wheels in the mud. With most of their rotation dropping left-and-right and their hitters underperforming while combined with the strong start from the Seattle Mariners, it was getting to the point where there were already rumors that the Astros could be considering selling once they got to the trade deadline. It was that rough.

Well, here we are a month later and all of a sudden the questions have changed. Instead of wondering whether or not the Astros are going to fall off and start selling, the question now is whether or not the Mariners can hang on to what was once the largest divisional lead in the AL West. Houston has gone 20-10 over their last 30 games and are now three games over .500 and right in the thick of things in the playoff race while Seattle has gone 16-14 in their last 30 and 3-7 in their last 10 to be specific.

As a result of this sudden change in fortune, the Astros are now only two games behind the Mariners in the AL West and FanGraphs’ Playoff Odds reflect this as well — Houston now has a 60 percent chance of making the Postseason with a 45 percent shot at winning the division again. This is after the Astros finished June 5 with a 40 percent chance of returning to the playoffs with only a 24 percent shot at winning the division. The Astros are even being given more of a shot to end up with a first-round bye (10 percent) than the Mariners currently are (8.3 percent). The boogeyman of this division is well and truly alive once again, to the point where the word “destiny” is being bandied about around here.

So what’s behind this sudden shift in form for both teams? Part of this can be attributed to the natural ebb-and-flow of the long marathon that is baseball’s regular season but at the same time, for things to change this quickly for both teams is still a bit whiplash-inducing. Usually it takes a while to see a shift like this and maybe it would warrant more attention had this shift happened in say, September instead of in June and July. With that being said, it’s still very fascinating to see just how quickly the Astros managed to turn things around and conversely it’s a bit concerning to see this getting away from the Mariners like it appears to be.

The fuel that’s been propelling the Astros back towards the top of the AL West has been the fact that their offense has stepped up their game. I mentioned that the offense wasn’t the reason why they were struggling last month but there was still room for improvement for Houston when it came to hitting the ball. Unsurprisingly, Houston’s lineup did eventually revitalize itself and has been hitting .274/.329/.445 as a collective since June 1. Additionally, they’ve put together a .335 wOBA and a team wRC+ of 119 since the start of June, which is tied for the seventh-best number in all of baseball during that period.

The main man pushing Houston’s revitalization has been Yordan Álvarez, who has absolutely unleashed fury upon opposing pitchers since the start of last month. For the season, Yordan has 2.8 fWAR — however, he’s produced 2.0 of that fWAR since June 1 alone. Álvarez has been hitting .366/.466/.796 since that aforementioned date with a wOBA of .513, 10 home runs over 118 plate appearances and a wRC+ of 240. Folks, that’s Gunnar Henderson territory. Shoot, that’s Aaron Judge territory. It also helps that the usual suspects like José Altuve (152 wRC+ since June 1) and Alex Bregman (128 wRC+ in that same span) have stepped up and are hitting like most baseball observers would expect them to do so. The Astros are a tough team to deal with at the plate but that’s always been the case since their rebuild from the mid-2010s started to pay off.

What makes this return to form for Houston’s offense so impressive is that it’s happening without Kyle Tucker. Tucker went on the IL with a shin contusion back in early June and to let you know just how rough things were going for the rest of the Astros, he’s missed every game since June 3 and he’s still Houston’s leader in On-Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, wOBA, xwOBA and wRC+ and he’s also still the joint leader in home runs and joint-second place in stolen bases.

Tucker has been the best player in the lineup for the Astros this season and losing him could’ve been a death knell for Houston’s lineup if the rest of the Astros continued to limp along at the plate. Instead, players have been stepping their game up left-and-right in Tucker’s absence and now Astros fans are surely dreaming of what this lineup will look like once Tucker returns and gets this offense working at full strength again.

Houston’s pitching during this span has been intriguing to say the least. This should definitely be the position that is weighing down the Astros since they’ve lost two of their starters for the season and have another one who is currently on the shelf and could potentially lose out on their vesting option in 2025. Instead, the Astros have kind of just kept it pushing in that regard and Hunter Brown’s performances since June 1 has somewhat reflected what the Astros have done on the mound during that span.

As a staff since the start of June, the Astros have an incredible ERA- of 85 — tied for the third-best in all of baseball! Weirdly enough, Houston’s FIP- during that same span has been 104, which is clearly middle-of-the-road. Then you look at what Hunter Brown has been doing during that time and suddenly his ERA- of 25 and a FIP- of 73 since June 1 suddenly makes a little more sense. Combine his performance with Framber Valdez and Ronel Blanco doing their best to keep the rotation afloat and Houston’s rotation is definitely coming together to produce something that’s greater than the sum of their parts at the moment. They’re making it happen and their return to the good side of .500 has made that clear.

While it’s not exactly time to say that the Astros are “back,” they’re absolutely alive and definitely kicking again. General Manager Dana Brown’s faith in his squad is being repaid and suddenly his confidence that Houston would be buying at the deadline is looking clairvoyant instead of simply being the right thing to say in GM-speak. While it’s never really wise to call time on any team’s season during the first half, this is also a bit of a reminder that when it comes to teams like the Astros, the time to count them out doesn’t come until they’ve actually been mathematically eliminated.

Speaking of GM’s, the onus is now on Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto to help revive the Mariners. While their pitching staff is doing just fine, it is plainly obvious that Seattle needs hitting. With guys like Julio Rodriguez, Jorge Polanco, J.P. Crawford, Mitch Haniger and even the “Big Dumper” himself Cal Raleigh all currently doing some serious underperforming at the plate, their lineup needs multiple sparks and they need it in the worst way. Seattle’s pitching should still be good enough to help keep them in the playoff conversation but if they keep struggling at the plate like they have, it won’t be long before the boogeyman from Space City catches them for good.

British Grand Prix: Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri flex McLaren’s muscles on Friday british,grand,prix,lando,norris,and,oscar,piastri,flex,mclaren,s,muscles,on,friday,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

British Grand Prix Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri flex McLarens
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A major story this Formula 1 season centers on how the chasing pack behind Red Bull has caught the 2023 Constructors’ Champions, setting up a vision of a title fight as the season enters its second half. Chief among that group? McLaren, as the darlings of last year’s second half have shown tremendous pace this year.

And if Friday is any indication at the British Grand Prix, that will continue this weekend.

Lando Norris topped the timing sheets in both FP1 and FP2, with teammate Oscar Piastri on his heels in both sessions as the Australian driver was third-fastest in FP1, and second-fastest in FP2. While practice results often tell a fraction of the full story, what should give McLaren comfort is that all teams — including Red Bull — used the softest compound available in FP2.

Both drivers, as well as Team Principal Andrea Stella, viewed Friday as a “solid” first day.

“It’s been a solid day. We’ve done a good amount of running and some nice laps, so I feel reasonably comfortable. We’ve made some changes over the morning which helped me get into a good rhythm, which is super important around such a high-speed track like this,” said Norris in the team’s post-practice report.

“I think we’ve got a few more to tweaks to make, but it’s difficult with the challenges of wind and rain. It’s been a clean two sessions, and that’s a good start to the weekend, so I’m happy with that.”

Piastri, who capitalized on the late-race incident between Norris and Max Verstappen to score a podium finish in the Austrian Grand Prix, hailed the results on Friday while cautioning that weather could throw teams a curveball the rest of the weekend.

“That’s Friday done. It’s been a decent day for the team, especially in FP2. We’ve got a few things to sort out overnight to make it a bit better on my side, but I think it’s been a solid first day at Silverstone,” said Piastri.

“Going into tomorrow, I think we’re in a reasonable position, however we’re probably going to get very wet which can change things. I’m looking forward to getting back on track.”

The McLaren boss took a similar approach.

“Today at Silverstone we had two productive sessions. There was an ever-present risk of rain, but it only materialised towards the end of the second session, which gave us enough time to go through our run plan and set-up work,” said Stella. “In general, we got encouraging information – but conditions were very particular today, so we’re not looking too much at the lap times themselves. We’re now just focusing on tomorrow, when we need to be ready for whatever the weather brings.”

Diving into some of the telemetry data, courtesy of F1-Tempo highlights Norris’ strength on Friday when compared with Verstappen. Here is a look at both driver’s fastest lap in FP2, with both drivers on the softest compound:

Whether this is a matter of setup or engine mode, of course, remains to be seen.

But certainly, this was a strong first day for McLaren at the British Grand Prix.

British Grand Prix: Ayao Komatsu hints at 2025 F1 driver choice alongside Oliver Bearman british,grand,prix,ayao,komatsu,hints,at,f,driver,choice,alongside,oliver,bearman,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

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Haas made Formula 1 news earlier this week, announcing on Thursday ahead of the British Grand Prix that young Oliver Bearman would be one of their two drivers for the 2025 F1 season.

That move made many wonder if Haas would aim to sign a more experienced driver for the spot alongside Bearman. Team Principal Ayao Komatsu admitted during Friday’s FIA Press Conference that this is the plan.

“Yeah, of course, especially for a team like us, we cannot have two rookies,” said Komatsu on Friday when asked if the Bearman promotion would influence Haas’ decision regarding their second seat. “So now that we’ve taken Ollie as a rookie, we will try to appoint somebody who’s got decent F1 experience.”

Addressing the decision to promote Bearman to a full-time F1 seat, Komatsu called the young driver a “perfect match” for Haas.

We are still pretty much a growing team. We are a relatively new team. And then we are restarting, let’s say, and improving our performance. And Ollie, obviously, is a very talented young driver with a very strong head on his shoulders,” said Komatsu. “And he’s very calm, but mature, got the speed, and very much a team player. So the things how we want to progress as a team, that’s what I mean by a very perfect match.”

The Haas team boss praised Bearman’s approach during the limited practice action he has seen at Haas as part of his reserve duties with the team, including his FP1 debut a year ago.

“[T]hat’s what was impressive before when we first put him in the car in Mexico, you know, very first time in a Formula 1 car, FP1 session. Of course, he was excited,” described Komatsu. “But then again, he understood the objective of the team what this session means to the team, what we need to achieve. And then, of course, he’s trying to drive as fast as possible. But within that bigger picture, he understands always the context very, very well.

“So that’s what was impressive before. And then, of course, you know, it’s not something he needed to change today. Of course, he was, I’m sure, very happy to drive in front of his home crowd after the announcement. So he was enjoying it. But fundamentally, the approach was exactly the same.”

Bearman made a stunning F1 debut earlier this season, finishing seventh in place of an ailing Carlos Sainz Jr. at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The young driver had only one hour of practice time ahead of qualifying at Jeddah Corniche Circuit and impressed the entire paddock by advancing to Q2 and qualifying 11th.

In the main event, Bearman held off Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton down the stretch, despite the veteran drivers pursuing him with fresher tires. It was a performance that turned heads throughout the sport and paved the way to a full-time seat.

While we still await news on who his teammate might be, we now know a bit more about the future at Haas, and how a veteran will be beside the rookie next season.

Will it be Kevin Magnussen returning to Haas? Or one of the other drivers looking for a seat, such as Esteban Ocon — who has been linked with Haas in recent weeks — or another driver such as Valtteri Bottas?

We should know more soon.

Brad Pitt, Lewis Hamilton F1 movie now has an official title brad,pitt,lewis,hamilton,f,movie,now,has,an,official,title,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

Brad Pitt Lewis Hamilton F1 movie now has an official
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Ahead of the British Grand Prix it was announced that the upcoming feature film focused on the world of Formula 1 starring Brad Pitt and produced in part by Lewis Hamilton now has an official title.

And it gets straight to the point.

F1 is that title, and the feature film will be released worldwide on June 25, 2025 and two days later in the United States. The film stars Pitt as a veteran driver for APXGP, a fictional team on the F1 grid. Damson Idris stars as Pitt’s teammate at APXGP:

Filming is still ongoing for the movie, with scenes being shot at this weekend’s British Grand Prix at the historic Silverstone circuit. During the 2023 F1 season scenes were filmed at a number of grands prix, including footage shot at Silverstone, Hungaroring, Spa Francorchamps, Circuit Zandvoort, Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

During the 2024 F1 season, scenes for F1 have been — or will be — shot at Suzuka Circuit, Silverstone, Hungaroring, Spa Francorchamps, Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez Mexico City, Las Vegas Strip Circuit, and again at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

It was also announced on Friday that ahead of Sunday’s British Grand Prix a teaser trailer for the film will be released.

Last season filming occurred during the British Grand Prix, with Pitt and Idris even participating in drivers’ meetings. Hamilton was asked a number of questions about the film during the FIA Press Conference, and talked about the cooperation from the sport, as well as the efforts made by the filmmakers to deliver an “authentic” experience.

“Yeah, I’ve been really incredibly grateful to [Formula 1]. I don’t know if this would have been possible 10 plus years ago, when the old management was in place. They wouldn’t have perhaps seen this as an important step in terms of the sport’s growth,” said Hamilton a year ago. “But we’ve already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show and I think this will take it to new heights beyond that. So yeah, I think there’s so many people around the world, as you’ve seen already, that are so excited about this sport, wanting to learn more. And the fact that we will have all the original characters that are actually on the grid, and then Brad, is pretty cool.

“I’m pretty certain, I mean, our cameras are a lot better than what you’re seeing when you’re watching TV. I’ve seen all the footage of the camera positions. I’ve spent time with Joe, trying to make sure we’ve got the best camera positions and the frame rate is different, it’s going to look fast. I think it’s going to look faster than it does on TV. Because I think it’s something to do with the frame rate that we have to have. But Joe is an incredible director, and I think you’re going to see him really… You’ve already seen what he’s done with fighter jets, what is what he did with [Top Gun:] Maverick. So just think about what he’s done with that in terms of the dogfights you saw from those jets, which was pretty epic. And bringing that technology and that viewpoint into our world,

“I think it’s going to be amazing.”

And now we know the title.