Friday was another positive session, with more evidence of progress, for Alpine.
Amidst the picturesque backdrop provided by the Styrian mountains, 20 Formula 1 cars roared to life on Friday at Red Bull Ring, as qualifying for tomorrow’s F1 Sprint Race was on the schedule. Once again Alpine saw both Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon advance into the third and final segment of qualifying, as both drivers moved out of SQ2 and into SQ3.
While thoughts of an even bigger surprise were quashed there, as Ocon qualified eighth and Gasly ninth, the result was hailed by the team as even more evidence that they are making progress this F1 season.
“I’m happy to have reached SQ3 today and starting in eighth place for tomorrow,” said Ocon in the team’s post-session media report. “Again, we reached the top ten in Qualifying as a team, which is another good performance. SQ3 was far from straightforward as we were at the back of the queue.
“We probably got a little fortunate with Charles [Leclerc] missing the flag at the end and gained a position as a result,” added Ocon. “Even so, the positive is we performed well and we are in a good position in the Sprint Race. We still have work to do and things to understand but it’s pleasing to be heading in a good direction.”
Leclerc’s SF-24 stopped on pit lane with just minutes remaining in SQ3 and while the Ferrari driver was able to get it started and onto the track, he could not post a time during SQ3 and will start the F1 Sprint Race in P10.
On the other side of the garage, Gasly pointed to the improved pace from the A524 as a “good sign” for tomorrow.
“It was a good Sprint Qualifying for the team overall today with both cars reaching SQ3,” described Gasly, who earlier this week announced a new “multi-year” deal with Alpine. “We managed SQ1 and SQ2 well, showed good pace and we progressed through both sessions. We certainly did not [maximize] SQ3. It was a messy one and I did not get a proper push lap. These are things we will review as we always aim to [maximize] all sessions and get the most from it.
“Even so, we had good pace again today – that is pleasing – and again we are inside the top ten. Those cars ahead of us are quick and only the top eight score in the Sprint Race tomorrow. It will not be easy to pick up points but we will try our best and see what we can achieve.”
Thanks to their recent form — Alpine has picked up six points over the last two race weekends — the team has climbed to seventh in the Constructors’ Championship. Coming into the Austrian Grand Prix one of the major storylines was whether Alpine could keep that recent run of form going.
Following the checkered flag in SQ3, it looked as if McLaren had locked out the front row. Oscar Piastri put his MCL38 on provisional pole with a banger of a lap, only to see Lando Norris nip him with a thunderous lap of his own.
But on the track, Max Verstappen was looming.
The Dutch driver was screaming around Red Bull Ring, pushing his RB20 to the ultimate edge. And as he cut the line with his own final push lap in SQ3, you did not need to look at the timing boards to see the result.
You just needed to hear the crowd.
The Red Bull-friendly crowd roared to life as Verstappen’s lap rocketed him to the top of the timing sheets, securing yet another pole position for one of the sport’s greatest drivers. The sea of orange in the crowd roared to life, and the orange flares overcame the mass of humanity watching on.
Their hero had done it yet again.
”Everything has been working really well. Good start to the weekend, I’m happy with today,” said Verstappen to Davide Valsecchi trackside.
Asked about the threat Norris could pose, Verstappen was his usual calm, cool, and collected self.
“I mean, we’ll find out tomorrow,” began Verstappen. “I’m not really too stressed about it. I’m gonna enjoy my eventing and we’ll try it again tomorrow.”
And if today’s performance from Verstappen is any indication, he might enjoy his day tomorrow as well.
Here are more winners and losers from F1 Sprint Qualifying at the Austrian Grand Prix, as well as the full results:
Winner: Logan Sargeant
Logan Sargeant was eventually eliminated in SQ2 and will start the F1 Sprint Race in P15. In addition, what might have been a lap that put him into SQ3 was deleted due to exceeding track limits. “I didn’t get T1 and T3 right,” admitted Sargeant after SQ2.
But this was still a win for the American driver, who is facing a very uncertain future in the sport.
Sargeant advanced into SQ2, ahead of teammate Alexander Albon. It was the first time in his F1 career that he qualified ahead of Albon, marking a personal achievement for the Williams driver.
This might not be enough to save Sargeant’s spot at Williams, given the speculation about options such as Carlos Sainz Jr. for the team starting in 2025, but this could be a sign that Sargeant is continuing to improve his racecraft. Performances such as this could see Sargeant emerge as an option elsewhere if Williams truly moves in a different direction for 2025 as is expected.
Loser: Daniel Ricciardo
Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
With the caveat that this is just F1 Sprint Qualifying and the big points are still to come this weekend, if you are Daniel Ricciardo this is not how you want the week to start.
The Austrian Grand Prix began with rumors swirling regarding Ricciardo’s future in the sport, with Dr. Helmut Marko outlining how the command could come from on high to put Liam Lawson into a seat at Visa Cash App RB F1 Team and noted F1 journalist Joe Saward speculating that such a move could happen this summer. That led to Ricciardo himself addressing his uncertain future during media day Thursday, with an acknowledgment that he needed improved performance to solidify his spot at VCARB.
Being eliminated in SQ1 — and seeing Yuki Tsunoda advance into SQ2 — is not the start to the weekend you want if you are Ricciardo.
Again, there is a lot of time left on the track this weekend, and the big points start coming on Saturday with qualifying for the Grand Prix. But Ricciardo needs to step up his game if he is going to keep his spot, something the driver himself admitted on Thursday.
Winners: Alpine
The progress continues over at Alpine.
Yet again both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly advanced into the final segment of qualifying, with both drivers moving into SQ3 on Friday. While both Alpine drivers finished at the back of that group — with Ocon set to start the F1 Sprint Race in P8 and Gasly back in P9 — it is another sign that the team is moving in the right direction.
Sure, you can point to the fact that the only driver they beat in SQ3 was Charles Leclerc, who did not post a time due to a stall on pit lane shortly before the session ended, but you can also point to how close Ocon was to Sergio Pérez on merit. The Red Bull driver posted a 1:06.008 in SQ3, while Ocon posted a 1:06.101.
That is not a large margin at all.
Alpine has been talking about progress for weeks now, starting with their first point of the season at the Miami Grand Prix. But the progress is truly taking shape with their recent results, as they scored double-points finishes in each of the last two weekends. Given where Ocon and Gasly start tomorrow, they have a chance to keep that streak alive.
Something unimaginable when the season began, given how they started the 2024 campaign.
Loser: Charles Leclerc
Generally speaking, you want to put in your best push lap at the absolute end of a session, because the track will have “rubbered in” as much as possible, leading to the best possible time.
That led to an amusing situation during SQ3 as the session began, and the final ten waited in their respective garages. As the clock ticked down, some drivers, such as George Russell, started to get impatient, with Russell saying to his team “we need to get on with it” before the session came to a close.
Eventually the ten drivers lumbered out of the garage, but unfortunately for Charles Leclerc, his SF-24 went through an anti-stall as he rode down pit lane. While Leclerc was able to get his car going again, he could not get his push lap started before the checkered flag flew, and he ended up not posting a time.
That means he will start the F1 Sprint Race down in P10.
Leclerc can still make up some spots on the grid in the F1 Sprint Race itself, and perhaps salvage a result on Saturday. But he will be fighting at the back end of the points to start, and not up front where he wanted to be.
Winners: McLaren
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
Following the Monaco Grand Prix, it looked as if the potential fight at the top of the Constructors’ Championship was a two-way fight between Red Bull and Ferrari.
Since then, McLaren has crashed the party.
And then some.
Friday’s F1 Sprint Qualifying session showed again that McLaren has true pace this season, and for a moment it looked as if the front row would be all orange when the F1 Sprint Race began tomorrow. Lando Norris was on provisional pole, with Oscar Piastri right beside him.
As he has done so many times before Max Verstappen answered that challenge, rocketing to the top of the timing sheets, but when the lights go out tomorrow two McLarens will be at the front once more, with a chance to bring home some critical points in that three-way fight.
Furthermore, given where Ferrari finds themselves on the grid for tomorrow’s Sprint Race, McLaren has a chance to pull even closer to the Scuderia in the standings.
Zooming out for a moment, the pace from the MCL38 we have seen today illustrates that yet again, Norris could be primed to challenge Verstappen in the Austrian Grand Prix itself. That story has yet to be told, and tomorrow’s Qualifying session could provide more twists and turns, but McLaren has certainly put themselves in the mix given their recent form, and today’s F1 Sprint Qualifying session is just the latest evidence of that fact.
Losers: Sauber
The tough times roll on for Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu.
Both drivers were eliminated in SQ1 on Friday, with Bottas finishing P18 and Zhou at the back of the field, in P20.
Sauber is still seeking their first point of the 2024 F1 season, and given where they are set to start the F1 Sprint Race on Saturday, it seems apparent that the first result will not come in that event.
More worrisome might be the lack of pace they showed in both SQ1 as well as Friday’s only practice session, which saw Zhou in P14 and Bottas in P15. That was not enough to get them into SQ2, and that pace could see them struggle again in qualifying for the Grand Prix itself.
A jury in federal court in California decided on Thursday that the NFL and its member teams violated federal antitrust laws with the “Sunday Ticket” package. Following Thursday’s historic jury verdict against the NFL and its member teams — that could have the league on the hook for over $14 billion in damages to plaintiffs, including individual fans and commercial establishments who bought “Sunday Ticket” — many are wondering when individual team packages could hit the airwaves, as well as when they might see a check.
To quote the great Lee Corso, “not so fast my friend.”
Keeping this in football terms, the verdict is akin to the league getting sacked for a huge loss. You might even say they are facing third and long.
But they might not be punting anytime soon, and we are in the first quarter of a game that likely comes down to the final play.
And maybe even overtime.
So let’s take a moment to talk about what could happen next, and where this might all ultimately end up. But before we dive in it is important to note that while I was not the world’s greatest attorney — the fact that I’m now a sports writer and no longer practicing law speaks to that point — I did spend a decade practicing civil litigation. While I never practiced in the Ninth Circuit, I do have some appellate experience on my resume, which is lying around here somewhere …
What happens next?
NFL fans are about to get a crash course in complex civil litigation, and the associated calendar and scheduling issues associated with such matters.
At the outset, it seems worth mentioning that this case was originally filed in 2015. That’s right, it took almost a decade to get to this point.
And we might still be in the first quarter.
The next step following this verdict comes at the end of July. That is when Judge Philip Gutierrez, who was the trial judge in this matter, will hear post-trial motions. That hearing is set for July 31.
The NFL will likely file motions along various lines, including a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV). Simply put, this is a motion arguing that no reasonable jury could have found what the jury in this case did, given all the facts that were elicited at trial.
In football terms, this is probably on par with a Hail Mary, but it is important to note that at certain points in this trial Judge Gutierrez expressed some skepticism — if not downright frustration — with the case set forth by the plaintiffs. At one point Judge Gutierrez went as far as telling plaintiffs’ counsel “[y]ou really have nothing” regarding their case, and at another point chastised plaintiffs’ counsel for overcomplicating the trial. “The way you have tried this case is far from simple,” Gutierrez told attorneys representing the subscribers. “This case has turned into 25 hours of depositions and gobbledygook. … This case has gone in a direction it shouldn’t have gone.”
Still, that does not mean that Judge Gutierrez will be inclined to completely set aside the verdict, and there are other pathways the league can explore at the post-trial hearing. They can file a motion seeking remittitur, arguing that the damages award in this case rendered by the jury is excessive.
Finally, as set forth by Michael McCann in his analysis of where the case stands, the NFL could seek to have Judge Gutierrez table any potential changes to the “Sunday Ticket” structure until the case reaches its full resolution.
Regardless of what Judge Gutierrez decides to do — whether on July 31 or sometime after if he takes matters under advisement to render decisions on a later date — the league is likely going to appeal this matter to the Ninth Circuit. In a statement following the verdict, the league indicated that they would “ … certainly contest this decision as we believe that the class action claims in this case are baseless and without merit.”
Again, they are not punting anytime soon.
Should they appeal this matter to the Ninth Circuit, we are then talking about months, if not longer, for the Ninth Circuit to weigh in on the case. As noted by McCann in his above analysis, “ … Ninth Circuit appeals often take in the ballpark of a year-and-half to nearly three years.” And the league would simply wait on making any changes to their “Sunday Ticket” structure until, as they would likely argue, the case “reaches a full-and-final resolution.”
But we might not get that from the Ninth Circuit.
Yes, this could go to the Supreme Court.
Could this really go to the Supreme Court?
An often-used joke in everyday life, when someone endures the slightest of grievances, is the line “I’m taking this to the Supreme Court.”
That might actually happen here.
The reason? As my own Constitutional Law professor Michael Gerhardt drilled into my brain the first semester of law school, the Supreme Court is the final arbiter of questions of federal law. And while the case against the league is fascinating concerning what it could mean for the NFL and its fans, there is actually a fairly interesting — if dry — federal question at issue here.
That is the current applicability of the Sports Broadcasting Act, found in 15 US Code Sections 1291-1295.
Passed in 1961 and signed into law by President John F. Kennedy, the SBA adjusted federal antitrust law to allow sports leagues to pool broadcasting rights of all their teams and sign exclusive league-wide deals with networks.
In the case at hand, Plaintiffs argued that the SBA does not apply to the “Sunday Ticket” package because the SBA applies to “over-the-air” broadcasts, and not cable or satellite packages. In contrast, the league asserted that the SBA barred the Plaintiffs’ claims, arguing that the language of the SBA enables the league to set up a service such as “Sunday Ticket.”
Judge Gutierrez previously brushed this claim by the league aside. In his earlier decision denying the NFL’s Motion for Summary Judgement, Judge Gutierrez cited earlier decisions by the Ninth Circuit in doing so:
“And the Ninth Circuit expressly distinguished between “the NFL’s collective sale of telecast rights to free, over-the-air television networks [which] was squarely covered by the SBA” with “league contracts with cable or satellite television services, for which subscribers are charged a fee,” which the SBA does not exempt from antitrust liability.”
This is the kind of federal law question that the Supreme Court might want to weigh in on, given the direction sports broadcasting is moving right now, toward more cable and satellite television services.
Which would mean an even longer delay to a final resolution.
What happens in the interim?
What happens in the interim, you might ask?
We wait.
Because the wheels of civil litigation grind slowly, there is likely a post-trial process that will play out over months if not years.
So if you are a previous subscriber to “Sunday Ticket” on DirecTV, you might not want to be running to the mailbox every day waiting for a check.
Kyle Filipowski should have been a Top 20 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, especially this NBA Draft. When you’re a seven-foot stretch four from Duke who averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds, when most of the 2024 class is full of Hail Mary picks and “what ifs,” it doesn’t matter that there are concerns about your athleticism or shot creation — you get picked early.
Instead, we saw one of the more puzzling draft drops in recent memory. In the span of 24 hours, Filipowski went from being mocked as high as the early teens to falling out of the first round altogether — earning the unfortunate “reward” of turning up to the NBA Draft green room for likely first-round draft picks, then waiting all night without hearing his name called without getting picked (he was eventually taken in the second round, on Day 2 of the Draft, with the Utah Jazz selecting him 32nd overall).
Obviously, something had teams spooked about Filipowski, but nobody could have predicted how this saga would unfold over the internet on Thursday.
Concerns of an older “girlfriend”
The first reports of something being off in the Filipowski camp came on Thursday morning as ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony explained on The Lowe Post Podcastwhat he’d heard from teams in regards to the Duke big man.
“NBA teams are talking about the fact that they had questions about his girlfriend being so much older than him, why was he estranged from his family because of this whole situation. It’s a very, very odd situation. I personally don’t understand why it would cause him to drop like this into the second round.”
Just to establish things: Caitlin Hutchinson is being referred to as Filipowski’s “girlfriend,” however the couple are engaged as of April 18 — with the intent of getting married in August.
As it pertains to draft stock: Filipowski is 20 years old, and Givony said his fiancee is 25 — sure, the age difference is a little unusual, but it’s hardly the kind of earth-shattering revelation that would normally tank a draft stock. Similarly, there have been plenty of prospective rookies who have been estranged from their parents, and it didn’t cause them to fall like Filipowski was.
There was a missing piece to this puzzle, and it wasn’t long before the internet began to try and work out what was going on here.
What we know about Caitlin Hutchinson
An Alabama native, there is little concrete information on who exactly Filipowski’s fiancee is. Most information can be gleaned from past social media posts, which as of writing are still public.
Trying to ascertain Hutchinson’s age is critical here, and that will become very apparent in a moment. A Facebook post from December 23, 2018 shows Hutchinson graduating from Alabama.
Another post Hutchinson is tagged in from Instagram shows her in a high school graduation gown in May of 2015.
While it’s possible she graduated from high school or college early, if she stayed on a standard track she is either 27 or 28 years old, with her now being 6 years removed from college. Again, that’s not really an issue. As we’ve established, a 20-year-old dating someone in their late-20s might be odd — but it’s not exactly a major red flag.
But this is.
The prom photo
As people combed through social media on Thursday morning a photo of Filipowski and Hutchinson from his high school prom began catching everyone’s eye. It shows the couple together and is dated May 21, 2022.
Filipowski was born in November of 2003. At the time of this photo he was 17 years old, and Hutchinson was (probably) 25 or 26. Even if we assume the first time they met was at this prom, that’s still an adult dating a minor. However, a now-deleted comment on the Filipowski prom photo from Hutchinson read: “one year with my favorite person.”
This would mean that they started their relationship when he was 16 years old and she was likely 24 or 25.
The Filipowski family weighs in
A critical component of this story, in addition to the relationship, were reports Filipowski had become estranged from his family over dating Hutchinson.
It wasn’t long before people claiming to be Kyle’s older brother Daniel, and his mom Becky were on Twitter explaining their side of things — and trying to track down Jonathan Givony to tell their side of the story.
If we combine the accounts of the Filipowski family, they appear to be alleging that Caitlin Hutchinson began a relationship with Filipowski as a high schooler with the intent of grooming him and converting him to the mormon religion. According to their allegations, that includes a long-term play to become engaged to him shortly after he left Duke, and with the NBA on the horizon. This appears to have caused friction between Filipowski and his family, with Kyle seemingly choosing his relationship with Caitlin over his family, and — again, according to their tweets and Givony’s accounting of what NBA executives are saying — severing a relationship with them.
What can we make of all this?
If everything outlined above is to be believed, Filipowski could be viewed as a victim. Again, if the facts outlined above are actually what happened, it would appear an adult entered a relationship with a high school basketball player, one who was highly touted and seemed destined for the NBA.
Then, the same relationship reportedly damaged his draft stock by making Filipowski either too uncomfortable to talk about in interviews, which scared off teams — or by raising red flags about Hutchinson’s influence on his life.
As of right now, it does not appear there is anything illegal going on. Filipowski is 20, his fiancee is in her late-20s, so they can do what they want. However, this story isn’t going away, and it may be only a matter of time before more information comes to light about the nature of this relationship and how it’s damaged the Filipowski family. At the very least, given how much this has blown up on the internet and appears to have damaged his draft stock enough to drop a likely lottery pick out of the first round entirely, it seems probable that Filipowski will get asked about it by NBA media at some point, when maybe we will get his and Hutchinson’s side of the story.
Excluding a pair of rest days, the Tour de France is a 21-day event. We recommend you watch as much of it as possible, but also understand that spending three weeks in the middle of summer watching men in lycra pants riding a bike through towns with names like Gignac, Minot, or Chorges — yes, these are all real — might prove to be a challenge.
But, worry not, friend! We are here to help.
We took a close look at this year’s route, and out of the 21 stages picked seven that definitively fall in the must-watch category. What criteria did we use? Mainly the course itself, and what we expect to see on each individual stage.
So, without further ado, let’s dive right in.
Stage 1: Florence > Rimini (Sat 6/29)
A.S.O.
For the first time in its 111-year history, the Tour de France is set to start in Italy. And it is about to kick off with a bang: the first of three-and-a-half stages on Italian soil covers 206 kilometers while featuring over 3,800 meters of elevation gain.
Arguably the hardest opening stage in recent memory, we might already see some general classification action on Day 1. Due to the relentless nature especially over the final 75 kilometers, the big race favorite, Slovenian Tadej Pogačar, might already try to test his competitors led by two-time defending champion Jonas Vingegaard — a similar tactic he employed during his dominant Giro d’Italia showing earlier this year.
Pogačar, who himself is a two-time Tour winner, recently mentioned his shape would be “even better than what I expected.” Given this and the fact that Vingegaard was among several GC contenders to crash hard back in April, the 25-year-old might try to put his early mark on the stage.
Stage 4: Pinerolo > Valloire (Tue 7/2)
A.S.O.
Whether or not Pogačar enters Day 4 as wearer of the yellow jersey remains to be seen. Regardless of his status relative to the rest of the general classification field, however, the 140-kilometer border-crossing stage from Pinerolo to Valloire is the first high-mountain test of this week’s Tour.
The 3,900 meters of elevation gain might be a bit misleading — the first two classified climbs are not particularly difficult — but the ascent to the legendary Col du Galibier could be the perfect GC battle ground. Never before has the Tour reached such heights this early in a race, which might just prompt Pogačar and his climber-heavy UAE Team Emirates squad to try to light some fireworks.
If Vingegaard in particular shows any weakness on the hilly first two stages of the race, the fourth could prove a challenge. He and his Visma | Lease a Bike team need to be on high alert over the last 40 kilometers.
Stage 9: Troyes > Troyes (Sun 7/7)
A.S.O.
A vast majority of this year’s Tour de France takes place on asphalt roads, but there is one notable exception. On July 7, the cyclists will hit the gravel roads around the city of Troyes. The stage itself is not the hardest in terms of elevation gain — only around 2,000 — but the surface below the wheels could lead to some chaos.
In total, there are 14 gravel sectors totaling 32 kilometers. That does not sound like a lot, but a puncture or crash at the wrong time on what will be a nervous day for the entire peloton could spell doom for general classification contenders. You won’t be able to win the Tour on Stage 9, but you very well could lose it.
Stage 15: Loudenvielle > Plateau de Beille (Sun 7/14)
A.S.O.
When it comes to vertical meters gained, this is the hardest stage of the entire 2024 Tour de France. This 198-kilometer monster will see riders climb more than 5,000 meters in the French Pyrenees between Loudenvielle and Plateau de Beille.
While it seems unlikely there will be much general classification action before what looks to be a brutal mountaintop finish, the built up fatigue up until that point could lead to some serious cracks. Every single GC rider, even if they are named Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič, Remco Evenepoel, or Carlos Rodriguez, needs to bring their A-game to Stage 15.
All eyes will naturally be on those and other riders atop the standings at this point, but we will also closely follow the race against the so-called broom wagon: with some serious climbing to be done and a 7-kilometer test right out of the gate, every rider making the time cut is not a foregone conclusion.
Stage 19: Embrun > Isola 2000 (Fri 7/19)
A.S.O.
Stage 19 is comparatively short at only 145 kilometers, but it will see over 4,500 meters of climbing split between three challenging peaks. Tops among those is the highest point ever reached by the Tour de France: at 2,802 meters, the Cime de la Bonette will be crossed for just the fifth time in race history and the first since 2008.
Despite being the highest paved road in France, however, it is merely an appetizer for what projects to be a high-octane finish to Isola 2000. Differences will be made on the 16-kilometer ascent, and riders will get dropped. The question is: who, and by whom?
If Jonas Vingegaard wants to win his third straight maillot jaune, this is where the hyper-talented climber needs to go on the offensive. Likewise, if Tadej Pogačar wants to regain his Tour de France supremacy, he might try to use this stage as either a launching pad or a final dagger to his competition.
Stage 20: Nice > Col de la Couillole (Sat 7/20)
A.S.O.
The mountains may not be quite as high as on the previous day, and 133 kilometers is a quite moderate distance. Stage 20 will nonetheless be an entertaining affair on difficult terrain. In fact, in terms of vertical gain per kilometer, this is the toughest stage in the Tour.
The riders will go up and down throughout the day before finishing on the Col de la Couillole. Given the nature of the stage, and the fact that it is the final mountain test before a closing-day individual time trial, action is guaranteed — especially if the GC battle is still somewhat close at this point in the race.
Stage 21: Monaco > Nice (Sun 7/21)
A.S.O.
For the first time since 1989, when American Greg LeMond stole the yellow jersey from Frenchmen Laurent Fignon by just 8 seconds, the Tour de France will end with an individual time trial. This one will take the riders from the world’s second-smallest nation to the French city of Nice over a hilly 34-kilometer parcours.
The big four participating in this race — Pogačar, Vingegaard, Roglič, and Evenepoel — are all strong against the clock and capable of gaining just enough time on a good day. And even though a repeat of the LeMond-Fignon scenario might seem unlikely, 20 days of racing and the riders participating means that anything can happen on Day 21.
Lee Westwood opened the U.S. Senior Open at Newport Country Club with an impressive 4-under 66, but nobody could have guessed that he felt bothered by a longstanding policy out on the course.
And no, it is not the fact that this championship is 72 holes, unlike LIV Golf events and tournaments on the PGA Tour Champions, which are 54 holes.
“I think I can manage it,” Westwood said of the 72-hole competition.
“It’s playing in trousers that’s bothering me more.”
Unlike other top men’s circuits, LIV Golf allows players to wear shorts. The PGA Tour and major championships, meanwhile, do not let men dress in anything but pants during competition.
“72 holes won’t be a problem,” Westwood continued.
“It’s looking down and seeing me legs in trousers. I prefer to get me legs out.”
With his legs out last week, Westwood posted his best finish in a LIV Golf event since joining the Saudi-backed circuit in the summer of 2022. He parlayed that T-3 finish with a strong start at Newport Country Club, where he sits in a tie for third with Padraig Harrington, Jeff Maggert, Alex Cejka, and Bob Estes at 4-under. This group is three strokes behind leaders Richard Green and Hiroyuki Fujita, who carded 7-under 63s on Thursday morning.
Lee Westwood hits a shot during the first round of the 2024 U.S. Senior Open.Photo by Jonathan Ernst/USGA
“Playing a bit more, I think, and just having a run of a few weeks where I’ve not put the golf clubs down altogether. This is a good time of year to play a few tournaments. When I’m not at tournaments, keep my eye in, do a bit of practice. Weather is getting a bit better in England so green conditions are a bit better and that makes me want to practice. Yeah, that’s basically it. Just that sharpens me up,” Westwood said of his recent stretch of strong play.
“Always played well and been sharper when I’ve not gone home and put the clubs away. It’s a balancing act. I don’t want to play all the time now, and I can’t play all the time. It’s just not good for my body. I try and do what I can when I’m away from the golf course. I focus more on the gym work and staying flexible and strong. Injury prevention more than anything.”
Westwood began the championship with an eagle on the par-5 1st hole after sticking his second shot to 10 feet away. He made the putt and went on to play his final 17 holes in 2-under, highlighted by four birdies but beset by a pair of bogies on the par-4 8th and par-4 15th.
Not bad for a guy who wishes he could play in shorts.
“You notice most of the guys wear shorts in practice,” Westwood added.
“You can see how many people are comfortable, especially when it gets a bit warm putting a pair the shorts on.”
Maybe that will be another change the professional game adopts soon. But for now, Westwood and every other player at Newport this week will have to continue to don trousers, whether he likes them or not.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
Forty-one-year-old Nate Lashley, who won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2019, started this year’s tournament with a bang.
He aced his second hole of the day, the par-3 11th, which measures 217 yards and is typically known as one of the more difficult holes at Detroit Golf Club. It also marked the first hole-in-one of his PGA Tour career.
“It was one of those shots, just a little right of the pin. I hoped it would carry the bunker, but it must have just taken a perfect bounce and gone in the hole,” Lashley said after his 2-under 70 on Thursday.
“Pretty decent shot, but also a lot of luck involved there.”
Lashley pushed his 4-iron a tad, but it caught the side-hill perfectly and rolled right into the hole. After his round, the former Arizona Wildcat revealed that he had previously posted an ace in a Korn Ferry Tour event. He also said he had a hole-in-one on Pebble Beach’s 7th hole, perhaps the most famous par-3 in the world, during an AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am practice round three years ago. Lashley said he had 11 holes-in-one before Thursday’s ace, marking his first during a PGA Tour competition.
“Something I’ll always remember,” Lashley added.
“This golf course has a lot of memories, so just another one right there. Having a hole-in-one, being my first on Tour will be another fun thing for me here in Detroit.”
The highlight of Lashley’s career came at Detroit Golf Club in 2019, when he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in wire-to-wire fashion. He opened with a 9-under 63 that year and never looked back, winning his first PGA Tour event by six strokes.
He has not won another PGA Tour title since, but he did tie for third at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this season. His next best finish came at The Players Championship, where he tied for 13th. On the flip side, Lashley has missed nine cuts in 15 events he has played, as he has made plenty of bogeys this season.
More bogies followed after his ace on Thursday.
“A little disappointed with my round today, a lot of bogeys really,” Lashley said.
“I hit it okay, missed a few fairways, and got in some bad spots, but can’t make five bogeys around this golf course. It’s a lot of birdies out there, so hopefully something to improve on [Friday].”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
Tom Brady, from the University of Michigan, is hoping to clinch a spot on the United States Olympic Track and Field this week, competing in the men’s 5000 meters.
Of course, we are not talking about THAT Tom Brady.
No, we are talking about Tom Brady, the member of the Michigan Track and Field Team who is the school’s record-holder in both the indoor 5000 meters, as well as the outdoor 10,000 meters. That Tom Brady gets his Olympic quest underway later today, in the opening heat of the men’s 5000 meters.
However, there are some eerie similarities between the two athletes, beyond the University of Michigan. Consider this: Brady’s personal best in this event, the 5000 meters, came at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational back in February.
That event was held at Boston University.
Brady’s other focus is the 10,000 meters, and as indicated above he holds the Michigan record in that event. Where did he set that record?
Stanford University, in the San Francisco Bay area, near where the other Tom Brady grew up.
One thing the two do not share, however? Their NFL allegiances. Obviously Tom Brady the NFL quarterback has his ties to the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But Tom Brady the Olympic hopeful?
He is a Chicago Bears fan, through and through.
“Growing up in Chicago, for some reason there’s some kind of rivalry with Tom Brady there. I don’t know why but I think it’s because he destroys us every time we play him,” Brady said in a profile of him back in 2023. “Except for the last time, that was a good time.”
Included in that profile was this bit: “Brady will never root for the 20-year NFL veteran because of his “unhealthy” Chicago Bears obsession, but he respects Brady’s work ethic, and for that, he admits Tom Brady is the greatest NFL player of all time.”
But that Tom Brady never made an Olympic team, even though his mom once said he was the fastest player in the NFL.
The other Tom Brady might do just that this weekend.
The decision by the Memphis Grizzlies to take Zach Edey with the No. 9 pick in the NBA Draft was easily the most divisive decision of the top-10. To some, Edey is a prolific college powerhouse, a dominant talent who was a no-brainer, others see a physically-limited, low-upside center who will be eaten alive by the NBA’s athleticism. But no matter which side of the fence you fall on, there’s no debating that Edey is a genuinely great dude.
This shined through on Thursday night, when instead of accepting an invite to The Barclay’s Center to be a part of the pomp and circumstance of the draft, instead Edey spent the evening with his former Purdue teammates and watched it all unfold on TV.
Edey informed the NBA last week that he wouldn’t be attending the draft in person, turning down his green room invite. He told league officials that he was going to stay and watch with his coaches, teammates, family and friends at Purdue — which included Mason Gillis, who transferred to Duke last month, but was still there to celebrate Edey’s big moment.
It’s aspects like this of Edey’s personality which will make him a fan-favorite in Memphis. A true throwback center in an era of stretch players, time will tell whether the experiment will work — but there’s no doubt that this kid has his priorities in the right place. Let’s be honest for a second too: Staying home was exceedingly smart.
Speculation on where Edey might land ranged from the late teens, all the way out of the first round. Obviously the story ended well for the Purdue big man, but by staying away from the green room he dodged the embarrassment of waiting all night to hear his name called only to be met with silence, as Duke center Kyle Filipowski did on Wednesday night when he fell out of the first round.
The new locale also allowed for Edey to get the full “Art but Sports” treatment, something he wouldn’t have likely gotten in NYC.
It’s difficult not to root for this kid, and all the players who got selected on Wednesday night. Memphis got a good one.
The 2023 NBA Draft certainly lacked intrigue, at least when it came to the first-overall selection. For months Victor Wembayama was locked into the top spot on every draft board, and when the San Antonio Spurs won the 2023 NBA Draft lottery it was clear: Wembymania was headed to the Lone Star State, and the draft began in earnest at No. 2.
That is not the case this year.
The 2024 NBA Draft begins later tonight, as the league shifts to a two-day event for this season. And who will go first overall is anyone’s guess. Will it be athletic big man Alex Sarr from France, whose massive wingspan and defensive skills have seen him fly up draft boards? Will it be one of the Kentucky guards? Reed Sheppard might not offer a ton of creativity and upside, but his shooting skills are elite and he showed a knack for creating turnovers on the defensive end for the Wildcats. Rob Dillingham is undersized by NBA standards — perhaps historically so — but pairs elite ball-handling skills with tremendous potential as a shooter.
Two more options for that first-overall selection? Nikola Topic from Serbia and Ron Holland out of the G League. Holland looked like a potential first-overall selection months ago, but a losing season with the Ignite has seen his draft stock fall a bit. Then there is Topic, who got off to a slow start with Mega in the Adriatic League and then suffered a pair of injuries, the second a partially-torn ACL.
But the upside, especially combined with his age (Topic will not turn 19 until August) is immense.
Oh and before we forget, Bronny James is waiting to hear where he lands, along with the rest of us … and his father.
Ahead of the draft check out SB Nation’s Top 60 Big Board, as well as deep dives into Holland, and Zach Edey. You can also check out our most recent NBA mock draft here, as well as this previous installment. In addition, our SB Nation NBA site managers got together for this mock draft which is also worth your time.
If you are looking for pick-by-pick grades, we have you covered here.
Then check back early and often as the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft gets underway Wednesday night. The draft will conclude with the second round starting on Thursday afternoon.
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