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Rocket Mortgage Classic: betting odds, predictions, insight, more rocket,mortgage,classic,betting,odds,predictions,insight,more,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 24, 2024 By: admin

After three straight weeks of non-stop action at the Memorial, the U.S. Open, and the Travelers Championship, the PGA Tour heads to the Midwest for the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Rickie Fowler prevailed in a playoff over Adam Hadwin and Collin Morikawa a year ago, as all three players finished at 24-under-par at the end of the final round. Expect a birdie barrage again this year at Detroit Golf Club, a Donald Ross design that PGA Tour pros seem to attack year in and year out.

Since the tournament’s inception in 2019, the average winner has been 23.2 strokes under par, with only one player finishing higher than 20 under: Cameron Davis, who, in 2021, won in a playoff at 18 under.

Like TPC River Highlands in Connecticut, this golf course plays into ball-strikers’ hands. That said, unlike what we saw at the Travelers Championship, this course does not have many lateral hazards and penalty areas. Bombers can bomb and gouge it around the property without hesitation, using their length to set up better opportunities. That helps explain why Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, and Davis have all won here.

But at the end of the day, this event will come down to putting. You need to putt well to post a low score, and whoever can consistently do that over four days will win in Detroit.

Rocket Mortgage Classic Odds

Here are the current odds for players to win in Michigan this week, provided by DraftKings.

Tom Kim +1200
Cameron Young +1400
Min Woo Lee +2000
Akshay Bhatia +2000
Will Zalatoris +3000
Stephan Jaeger +3000
Maverick McNealy +3000
Keith Mitchell +3000
Alex Noren +3000
Taylor Pendrith +4000
Robert MacIntyre +4000
Davis Thompson +4000
Aaron Rai +4000
Rickie Fowler +4500
Michael Thorbjornsen +4500
Erik van Rooyen +4500
Taylor Moore +5000
Ryan Fox +5000
Chris Kirk +5000
Nicolai Højgaard +5000

PGA Tour, Rocket Mortgage Classic — The clubhouse at Detroit Golf Club during the 2023 Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Rocket Mortgage Classic Insight, Predictions

Tom Kim continues to shine

Fresh off a solid performance at the Travelers Championship, where he fell just short to World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in a playoff, Tom Kim arrives in Michigan for his ninth straight start on the PGA Tour.

He also arrives as the favorite, an exciting development for the young man who recently turned 22. But he deserves to have odds this low at +1200 to win. This golf course is not long by tour standards, and Kim does not have the length many of his peers possess. Instead, he relies heavily on his short-to-mid irons, an attribute that was on full display in Connecticut. He ranked third in strokes gained on approach in Cromwell.

Of course, ball-striking is meaningless if you cannot convert those birdie opportunities. He will have to hole some putts to give himself a chance again, but Kim’s putter worked well for him last week, ranking 20th in strokes gained with the putter. Sure, he could have made a few more, but overall, his game is in solid form. He has not missed a cut since the Valero Texas Open and has two top-five finishes in the past month.

We like him to post his third top-five this week in Detroit at +320.

Cameron Young continues to rise from slump, and contend

Before Friday’s second round at the Travelers Championship, where he shot a 4-under 66, Cameron Young had 10 straight rounds in the 70s dating back to his missed cut at the RBC Canadian Open. Of those 10, Young posted only one score of even par or better, a second-round 72 at the Memorial.

But something clicked for him in Connecticut. After his Friday 66, Young fired a historic 59, vaulting himself into contention going into the final day. He then began Sunday’s round with four straight birdies, leading many to ask if he could shoot another sub-60 score on back-to-back days. Alas, that mantra was short-lived, as he wound up with another 66 on Sunday.

Cameron Young, PGA Tour, Travelers Championship — Cameron Young at the 2024 Travelers Championship.

Still, Young recorded a tie for ninth, his best finish since the Masters.

Now, he heads to Michigan with some confidence, as he will compete in the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the first time since 2022, when he tied for second. He has the length to bomb it all over Detroit Golf Club, and we like his short-iron play and wedge game to show up again. Give us Young to finish in the top five at +360.

Young Gun Lurks

Michael Thorbjornsen got a taste of the big stage last week in New England in his professional debut. The former Stanford Cardinal, who earned his PGA Tour card via the PGA Tour University rankings, played well, all things considered. The Wellesley, Massachusetts native tied for 39th as he fired a 6-under 64 during round two and a 4-under 66 on day three to post a respectable finish.

But we like him to play even better this week. Thorbjornsen oozes confidence, much like Ludvig Åberg this time a year ago. If you recall, Åberg played alongside Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald at last year’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. The young Swede impressed the European captain, as Donald compared him to a young Rory McIlroy. Of course, only a few months later, Donald selected Åberg to join the team, a testament to his meteoric rise into the top 10 of the world.

Granted, this is not to say that Thorbjornsen will have a similar experience, but he does boast a ton of talent. He can hit the ball a mile and has a nifty short game. So we believe that he will post his first top-10 finish as a pro, doing so at a +500 price.

2024 Rocket Mortgage Classic Champion is…

In my U.S. Open Dark Horses piece, I selected Alex Noren as one of my picks. At the time, his game was trending in the right direction, fresh off a tie for 12th at the PGA Championship. He had missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open, his first of the year, but rebounded with a tie for 22nd at the Memorial. Hence, I figured Noren’s ball-striking acumen would serve him well at Pinehurst No. 2.

I was wrong. Noren missed the cut, as he could not garner any momentum at the U.S. Open. But he has not played anywhere since then.

Now, Noren, who ranks ninth on the PGA Tour in overall strokes gained, will show up in Michigan well-rested and ready to go. He also plays well at Detroit Golf Club, recording a T-4 in 2021 and a T-9 in 2023, with six of those eight rounds being in the 60s.

Noren may not make many birdies, which could hinder his chances this week, but the 41-year-old Swede rarely makes mistakes—a much more critical factor. He ranks third on the PGA Tour in bogey avoidance and third in overall scrambling, two facets that help at any golf tournament.

So, give me Noren to win this week at +3000, as Sweden will have its first winner on the PGA Tour in 2024.

For all other sports betting content, check out SB Nation’s DraftKings site.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Travis Kelce joined Taylor Swift in London for ‘I Can Do It With a Broken Heart’ travis,kelce,joined,taylor,swift,in,london,for,i,can,do,it,with,a,broken,heart,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,dot-com-grid-coverage

On: June 24, 2024 By: admin

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour hit London over the weekend, and it’s no surprise that her boyfriend of nearly one year, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, was there. But what was unexpected was Kelce joining Swift on stage.

The European tour kicked off in May and saw the Eras setlist rearranged a bit. Taylor’s three-hour set opens with songs from her album Lover, then goes to Fearless, Red, Speak Now, Reputation, and she’s condensed and combined the set from Evermore and Folklore, which is a switch from the previous leg of the tour. The iconic 1989 is up next, and then comes Taylor’s new section from her latest, The Tortured Poets Department. That’s where Kelce comes in.

The song Kelce joined Taylor on stage for is one of my favorites from TTPD. It’s called ‘I Can Do It with a Broken Heart’ and it’s about how Taylor’s had to keep performing no matter what personal and professional heartbreak she’s experiencing. It’s a bop with incredibly honest lyrics:

I’m so depressed, I act like it’s my birthday
Every day
I’m so obsessed with him, but he avoids me
Like the plague
I cry a lot, but I am so productive
It’s an art
You know you’re good when you can even do it
With a broken heart

The intro to this one about broke the internet — even without Kelce involved — when Swift performed it during the Paris show that kicked off the European tour.

The coolest thing about this is just how much fun Kelce appears to be having being a part of it.

And Kelce seems to be having the time of his life cheering on Taylor whether he’s on stage or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L96vYJ3oiYU

Especially when she changed the lyrics to her song ‘Karma’ to, “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me.”

The Tortured Poets Department is the first Taylor Swift album that features songs written about Travis Kelce. My personal favorite is called ‘So High School,’ a sweet song about how fun and easy their relationship feels. There’s also speculation that the last verse of ‘But Daddy I Love Him,’ a song that’s otherwise assumed to be about Taylor’s ex, The 1975 front man Matty Healy (aka ‘The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,’ another song off of TTPD) is about Travis. Those lyrics:

And I’m dancin’ in my dress in the sun and
Even my daddy just loves him
I’m his lady, and oh my God you should see your faces
Doesn’t it give some perspective
And no, you can’t come to the wedding
I know he’s crazy, but he’s the one I want

As a matter of fact, Taylor goes straight from the end of that song into a snippet of ‘So High School’ in the current version of her Eras show, which is helping fuel that speculation. And she and her backup dancers even swag surf during it — which has got to be a nod to Chiefs fans.

Taylor Swift has performed with former flame John Mayer, but it was way back in 2009. She brought Taylor Lautner of Twilight fame — who she dated in 2009 — onstage at Arrowhead Stadium last July and introduced him, but he didn’t perform with her and it was more than a decade after they’d dated. As far as I can tell (from Google and polling every Swiftie I know), this marks the first time Taylor Swift has had a love interest come onto stage and perform with her in any way.

Swift has been criticized endlessly for her relationships in ways men aren’t — something she addresses on her song ‘The Man’ off of Lover:

They’d say I played the ﬁeld before I found someone to commit to
And that would be OK
For me to do
Every conquest I had made would make me more of a boss to you

But this relationship with Kelce seems very healthy, happy and mutually supportive. Here’s hoping they keep having this much fun together.

Travelers Championship: Fans’ sensational trolling after protest on 18 travelers,championship,fans,sensational,trolling,after,protest,on,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-fan-reactions

On: June 24, 2024 By: admin

The Travelers Championship saw another playoff finish, but before Scottie Scheffler could earn his sixth PGA Tour win, a distraction happened on the 18th green.

A group of protestors from the Extinction Rebellion interrupted Scheffler, Tom Kim and Akshay Bhatia’s group to run onto the course with colored smoke and powder substances.

Police tackled them and quickly put the group into custody. However, they still were able to cause some damage on the 18th green. The protestors did not stop once in handcuffs, though; they challenged officers all the way off the course.

As the agronomy team cleaned up the 18th green, fans chanted USA-USA-USA, sang the Star-Spangled Banner, and chanted profanities at the disrupters. The situation caused the agronomy team and officials to change the hole location for the playoff.

While things settled and the crew made the changes, golf fans on social media took the incident and ran with it. They were quick to make jokes about the situation at hand and even made a dig at the expense of Scheffler.

Check out some of the top-notch reactions to the protest at the Travelers Championship.

The Scheffler tracker gave a live look at the whole incident.

No Laying Up made jokes at Kim for playing slow and blamed the protest on him. Kim seemed to slow things down as the round continued, and watching him over the ball was brutal.

Another hilarious tweet was directed at Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin. Nick Taylor won last year’s RBC Canadian Open. Hadwin tried to celebrate by running onto the green, but instead, a policeman tackled him.

A reaction to this protest would not be the same without Kyle Porter’s “normal sport” joke. There are so many moments in golf that make fans scratch their head, and this protest was one of them.

Thankfully it does not seem anyone in attendance was harmed. The golf course took most of the blow, but nonetheless, fans got a good laugh as the Travelers Championship ended.

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.

Spanish Grand Prix: Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 hail team’s ‘best race of the season’ spanish,grand,prix,pierre,gasly,alpine,f,hail,team,s,best,race,of,the,season,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 23, 2024 By: admin

McLaren delivered a stunning turnaround throughout the 2023 Formula 1 season. A slow start saw the Woking-based operation limp out of the starting gate, and when the grid left the 2023 Spanish Grand Prix they were mired in sixth place with just 17 points on the season, 23 points behind fifth-place Alpine. But a series of upgrades to the MCL60 saw McLaren storm up the table passing several teams along the way, including Alpine.

Is the French team putting together a shocking turnaround of their own?

Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon finished inside the points for the second straight race, with Gasly scoring a P9 finish and Ocon adding a P10, as the team added three more points to their account with a double-points result at Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix. After beginning the season with five straight races without a point, Alpine has now scored in four out of the last five race weekends to climb out of the F1 cellar, and into seventh place in the 2024 F1 Constructors’ Championship.

Gasly hailed the week as the team’s “best race of the season,” following the race.

“That was our best race of the season so far as a team, so on that front, I am very happy with today,” declared Gasly in the team’s post-race report. “We had a strong Qualifying on Saturday, which set us up for a good result in ninth place today. We executed the race well with the two-stop strategy and managed each stint well.”

The driver highlighted just how close he was to their best single result of the year, as he finished just seconds behind eighth-place finisher Sergio Pérez.

“We almost had eighth place and only missed out on the last lap but I gave it my all. Even so, I’m happy with such a strong race where we battled two fast cars – the McLaren early on and then the Red Bull at the end – so that’s positive for us,” continued Gasly. “We must understand why the package was strong here and take these learnings going forward. We are progressing in a good direction, that’s three points scoring finishes in a row, and we have to keep that going!”

On the other side of the garage, Ocon outlined that it was a “challenging” race, but one that saw a “satisifying” conclusion for the team.

“It was good to get both cars in the points for a second consecutive Grand Prix. It was a challenging race for us with car balance and some tricky stints but nevertheless we managed to bring the car home inside the top ten again and that’s satisfying,” described Ocon.

“It was close with Nico [Hülkenberg] at the end but we were able to maintain pace and grab the final point on merit on track. We have things to analyse such as why the car felt harder to drive in race conditions as I was sliding quite a lot,” continued the Alpine driver. “Even so, we were much more competitive this weekend and we’ve come out of it with a good reward. We will aim to continue our points run in Austria next weekend where we have two opportunities to score points with the Sprint.”

Team Principal Bruno Famin — who faced some questions earlier in the week with the news that Alpine was bringing Flavio Briatore aboard in an executive role — hailed the “positive trend” from the team in recent weeks.

“It’s pleasing to have again both cars in the points here in Spain and to score at the last three Grands Prix as a team. It’s a positive trend, which we must keep continuing. We were better at this track and we must analyse the reasons why in order to keep improving our overall package. The race was a tough two-stop for both cars,” described Famin. “The two drivers did a good job, especially in [tire], energy, and fuel management. Next up is the Sprint weekend in Austria where we aim to continue our positive run inside the points.”

Last year at the Red Bull Ring Alpine banked three points, with Ocon securing a pair of points with a P7 in the F1 Sprint, and Gasly adding one more with a tenth-place finish in the Grand Prix. A similar result next weekend would see Alpine creep into double digits on the season, and a few more points closer to sixth-place VCARB.

Perhaps not enough to truly mirror last year’s McLaren rise, but certainly an improvement given where they started the year.

Abbi Pulling dominates first F1 Academy race at the Spanish Grand Prix abbi,pulling,dominates,first,f,academy,race,at,the,spanish,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 23, 2024 By: admin

Abbi Pulling swept the weekend the last time the F1 Academy was in action, capturing both races at the Miami Grand Prix.

And the Alpine driver is picking up right where she left off.

Pulling is well on her way to another sweep after capturing the first of two races for F1 Academy at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. Pulling began the race in pole position, and fended off a tremendous start from Nerea Martí to secure the lead over the first lap. Martí took advantage of a stall off the line from Doriane Pin and jumped to the inside, getting a slipstream from Pulling into Turn 1.

Martí then jumped to the outside and looked to have the edge on Pulling around the outer racing line, but the Alpine driver soon slammed the door shut, leading the opening lap.

However, the safety car came out at the end of the first lap due to an incident involving Maya Weug, Amna Al Qubaisi, and Lola Lovinfosse. Weug and Al Qubaisi ended up in the gravel following contact between the three cars.

That meant Pulling needed to survive a restart but the British driver built a lead over Marti of nearly a second off the rolling restart, and began to pull away from the field. By the time the checkered flag flew, the Alpine driver was nearly five seconds clear of Martí, who held on for P2.

Haas driver Chloe Chambers, who secured the first-ever podium finish for the team with a P3 in the first race in Miami, notched her second podium with another P3. McLaren’s Bianca Bustamante came across the line fourth, and Hamda Al Qubaisi finished in fifth.

Pin managed to recover from her slow start which shuffled her back in the field, salvaging a seventh-place finish.

But Pulling was the story, as she now has four-straight victories and remains atop the F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship standings. Pulling even captured the fastest lap over the session, picking up a bonus point for her incredible effort. She will look for another weekend sweep tomorrow, when she starts up front for F1 Academy’s second race at the Spanish Grand Prix.

F1 Spanish Grand Prix qualifying results: Lando Norris snatches pole from Max Verstappen f,spanish,grand,prix,qualifying,results,lando,norris,snatches,pole,from,max,verstappen,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

“Lando Norris with perhaps one of the finest laps he’s turned in a Formula 1 car.”

That was the description from Alex Jacques in the commentary box on F1TV after the checkered flag flew at the end of qualifying. And if Saturday’s qualifying session at the Spanish Grand Prix is any indication, the rest of this F1 season may be filled with tremendous drama.

Max Verstappen threw down the gauntlet throughout qualifying, and as the seconds ticked down it looked as if the Red Bull driver was going to fend off the challengers in the field. Verstappen was on provisional pole position, but there were still a few drivers on the track.

Including Norris.

The McLaren driver delivered what he described as a “perfect” lap, a thunderous performance that snatched P1 away from his friend and rival Verstappen at the death. While Verstappen was denied pole last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix despite setting the same time as George Russell, Norris finished two hundreds ahead of his friend.

It is the second pole position of the McLaren driver’s career.

Can he translate that into a victory?

Norris said that is the “plan.”

“Of course, I can,” said Norris trackside when asked he he can translate pole position into a victory. “That’s our target. But I know it’s gonna be tough against Max, against Lewis, anyone behind. But we’re to win now.

“So, that’s my plan.”

Norris and McLaren kick off our list of winners and losers during qualifying at the Spanish Grand Prix. Here are the full results, as well as some more winners and losers from a thrilling Saturday in Barcelona.

Losers: Williams

The last time Williams finished in the points at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya? That came back at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix when both Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa came across the line in the top ten. Since then, Barcelona has been a points desert for the team.

That looks to continue this weekend.

Williams has been on the back foot all week, and that continued with qualifying on Saturday. Both Alexander Albon and Logan Sargeant were eliminated in Q1, and the team will face an uphill climb to try and secure points in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

With their two drivers set to start alongside each other on the back row of the grid.

When the team launched their challenger for the 2024 season in New York City in February, the talk from the team was that the FW46 was going to be a more well-rounded car than last season’s challenger. A year ago you knew where the FW45 was going to be strong, particularly at high-speed circuits with lots of straights. Entering 2024, the team was hoping to find a more complete challenger.

While they may have achieved that goal, Barcelona remains tough sledding for the team.

“It’s been a painful weekend guys … I’ll keep trying my best,” reported Sargeant following Q1.

Williams will need something even better than that on Sunday if they are going to break their points-less Barcelona streak.

Winners: Sauber

Finally.

For the first time all season long, Sauber had a reason to work on both sides of the garage in Q2. Both Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu advanced out of Q1, for the first time this year. Bottas was 13th-fastest in Q1, with Zhou right behind him in P14.

While their days ended in Q2, as both Bottas and Zhou failed to advance, it was certainly a step forward for the team during a year that has seen Sauber struggle. The year began with frustration in the pits, as races where the team demonstrated good pace were undone by lengthy pit stops and a problem with cross-threading issues on the wheel nuts of the C44.

Those issues were finally resolved, and now they have their first weekend with both cars in Q2.

Can they translate that into points? With both drivers starting just on the outside of the top ten — with Bottas in P12 and Zhou in P15 — they certainly have a shot.

Losers: VCARB

Both Daniel Ricciardo and Yuki Tsunoda described Friday as a struggle for the Visa Cash App RB F1 Team.

Saturday was not much better.

Ricciardo and Tsunoda were both eliminated in Q1, and are set to start alongside each other on the penultimate row of the grid. Ricciardo posted the 18th-fastest time in Q1, with Tsunoda just ahead of him in P17.

VCARB brought a set of upgrades to Barcelona, like many teams, and the word from the team after Friday’s session was that the upgrades were working as expected. “The main upgrade we brought here is the floor, and with these cars, it’s such a big part of development,” reported Ricciardo in the team’s post-practice report Friday. “There’s still some optimism and once we dive into it tonight, we’ll find how it’s working and better ways to set up the car around it.”

“We’re happy with the numbers coming from the upgrade, all is working well and no issues there,” described Sporting Director Alan Permane. “The focus will be on the mechanical side of the car and improving the suspension setup.”

But judging by the results Saturday, the team is still looking for answers on the setup.

Winners: Alpine

Following Friday’s two practice sessions both Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly seemed surprised with the performance from Alpine. With both drivers finishing FP2 inside the top ten — and Gasly in P4 — the Alpine duo wondered if that result offered a true picture of how things stood. “To end the day with both cars in the top-10 is a little bit unexpected from where we thought we would be entering the weekend on this particular track,” said Ocon. “Obviously, we do not know what the others are doing but overall, it is a positive start to the weekend.”

Gasly described it as a bit of flattery.

“It’s been a positive Friday for us, especially Free Practice 2,” added Gasly. “The end result, finishing in fourth place, probably flatters us and it was certainly a surprise, but a pleasant surprise, and one that brings a smile to my face!”

Those pleasant surprises continued into Saturday.

Both Ocon and Gasly advanced into Q3, marking just the second time this season that both drivers lasted into the third segment of qualifying.

Gasly ended Q3 in P7, with Ocon in P9. But with Sergio Pérez between them in P8 — and facing a grid drop for a penalty handed down following the Canadian Grand Prix — Alpine enters Sunday’s Grand Prix in position for big points this weekend.

Along with perhaps some more flattery.

Losers: Aston Martin

“We do not know what we’re going to get at the start of every weekend,” reported Fernando Alonso at the start of the week, as relayed by Alex Jacques during the F1TV broadcast.

That seems to be the case at the moment with Aston Martin.

While Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll advanced out of Q2, both drivers saw their Saturday sessions end there. Alonso just missed out on Q3 and will start the Spanish Grand Prix in P11. As for Stroll, after avoiding a penalty for an incident with Lewis Hamilton in FP3 he could not avoid the drop at the end of Q2 and will start Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix in P15.

Returning to Alonso, speaking at the FIA Press Conference on Thursday the veteran driver outlined his current thoughts on the AMR24.

“About the car and the understanding: I think we have clear ideas of what we have to improve. Obviously I will not share here with everyone. I think it is quite obvious for everyone that qualifying has been our strength this year and race pace has been a little bit weak,” described Alonso on Thursday. “The straight-line speed and the DRS effect is quite strong also this year in our car but there are a lot of weaknesses as well that we are identifying now with the new package as well, so yeah I think we’re in a good place.”

That might not exactly be the case, given what we saw Saturday. Is this a track-specific issue for the team, or is something else happening at Aston Martin with their 2024 challenger?

Winners: Mercedes

With all the accolades he has earned over a tremendous F1 career, Lewis Hamilton was seeking something on Saturday that was a bit outside the norm.

A start inside the top six.

Despite all the success he has enjoyed over his career, Hamilton had yet to qualify inside the top six this season. His best starting spot in a Grand Prix this year was seventh, something he had done three times: Japan, Monaco, and Canada.

Hamilton will start Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix not just inside the top six, but on the second row. A thunderous lap of his own late in Q3 saw the Mercedes driver secure P3, and with teammate George Russell qualifying fourth, the Silver Arrows have locked out the second row, putting them in position for another huge points weekend.

“I’m really happy,” shared Hamilton trackside after qualifying. “Firstly, thank you everyone. So, so happy to be here and super grateful to be up in the top three. It’s been quite a difficult year so [a] huge amount of work for me going back to the factory.

“And finally, we’re starting to see those incremental steps moving closer to the guys ahead. I didn’t expect us to be fighting for pole necessarily, but every now and then [it looks like with] little bits there and maybe we’ll be close. And so to be there, I’m just grateful.”

Hamilton also praised his teammate and believes that given their starting position, he and Russell can put some pressure on Verstappen and Norris up front.

“Yeah, we’ve made [a] huge step forwards and it’s really just down to every single individual back to the factory who’s pushing in design, pushing and making the new parts that we get to bring as early as possible to these races,” added Hamilton. “And slowly the car is crafting into a racing machine that we can hopefully fight the guys at the front.

“So, George did a great job as well today. So hopefully tomorrow we can apply pressure on the two cars ahead.”

The tremendous result for Mercedes comes at a fascinating time for the team. Not only are they on the cusp of Hamilton’s impending departure to Ferrari at the end of the season, but reports surfaced this week of an anonymous email sent to F1 journalists after the Canadian Grand Prix alleging disparate treatment between Hamilton and Russell by Mercedes. Team Principal Toto Wolff blasted that email during Friday’s FIA Press Conference, indicating that the matter had been referred to police and dismissing “conspiracy theorists and lunatics,” but this is a strange season for the team. One that began with Hamilton’s shocking announcement, and saw Mercedes begin the year on the back foot.

But recent upgrades, including a new front wing, have seen them move to the front the past few races. They are coming off their best result of the season in Montreal, and look primed for something even bigger tomorrow.

Winners: All of us

I honestly yelled.

Watching on my couch as Norris pipped Verstappen for pole position, I let out a shout in my living room … and regretted not making the trek across the pond to see this in person. But if you feel like we are witnessing a season that may go down in F1 history, you are not alone.

“This season is just delivering time and time again … this is the finest season of Formula 1 I can remember.”

Those were the words of David Coulthard in the F1TV commentary box, as Saturday’s qualifying session drew to a close. And the former F1 champion is not alone in this assessment. Take a spin through social media — a huge shoutout to my friends on F1 Threads — and you will see comment after comment about how exciting this season is, and what kind of finish we may be in store for.

When I spoke with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri following his tremendous second-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix, the Australian driver informed me in no uncertain terms that neither championship — the Constructors’ Championship nor the Drivers’ Championship — was “done and dusted.” Yes, Red Bull remains the favorite in the Constructors’ title, and certainly Verstappen remains the favorite in the Drivers’ Championship. But neither title race has been put to bed.

Read that again, because we truly have a pair of title races upon us this season.

And while last year’s winners remain the favorites, if Red Bull and Verstappen are going to repeat as champions they will truly have earned it, as the field is throwing everything at them at the moment. Perhaps the biggest challenge to Red Bull and Verstappen came at last year’s Monaco Grand Prix when the Saturday qualifying session saw the driver pushed to the absolute limit. He answered the call that day, and throughout the rest of the season, similar challenges were few and far between.

Now? The challenges to Red Bull and Verstappen are not just happening week-to-week, they are almost happening on a lap-to-lap basis. There is almost no margin for error for Red Bull and Verstappen, and how they respond is going to be a tremendous story to follow throughout this campaign.

Whether they answer the call, or another team and/or driver delivers a stunning run to a title, will be fascinating to watch.

Buckle up.

Joe Mazzulla jumping off a duck boat roof on a torn meniscus is most unhinged moment of Celtics’ parade joe,mazzulla,jumping,off,a,duck,boat,roof,on,a,torn,meniscus,is,most,unhinged,moment,of,celtics,parade,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-playoffs,nba-playoffs-powerhouse-2024,dot-com-grid-coverage

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

Anyone unfamiliar with Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla has certainly become more aware of one of the NBA’s strangest characters in the wake of Boston’s championship celebrations.

Mazzulla, likely the only head coach in the league who had to be told by his bosses to stop trying to block opposing player’s shots this year, has taken over the internet in the wake of the Celtics’ title celebrations. In addition to carrying the championship trophy around the city to various restaurants, Mazzulla went on an absolutely bonkers celebratory podcast tour that included him breaking down how he would plan to rob a bank, among other wild anecdotes.

Mazzulla has done it all, including coaching the Celtics to banner No. 18, on a meniscus he has apparently needed surgery on since tearing it in March during a loss to the Hawks, because of course he did. After all, this is a man who once tried to turn down health insurance while working in the G League because he “didn’t have time to get hurt.”

Well, he certainly put that mindset to the test during the Celtics’ championship parade, jumping both off the roof and out the window of the duck boat carrying him multiple times — again, on A TORN MENISCUS THAT WILL REQUIRE SURGERY — to celebrate with fans:

Joe Mazzulla jumped out the window of his duck boat, ran through the streets hyping everyone up, then somehow jumped back into the duck boat even on a torn meniscus pic.twitter.com/3MBSKZ5wGU

— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) June 21, 2024

Mazzulla’s son even got in on the fun, showing he’s well on track to matching his father’s delightfully chaotic energy:

Perhaps fittingly, all this comes on a day the governor of Mazzulla’s native Rhode Island has officially dubbed “Joe Mazzulla Day.” That was obviously in the works before Friday, but after watching Joe Mazz at the parade, it would be hard to call the day anything else.

Grading Bulls-Thunder trade for Alex Caruso and Josh Giddey from both sides grading,bulls,thunder,trade,for,alex,caruso,and,josh,giddey,from,both,sides,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-trade-rumors

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls have completed the first trade of the new NBA offseason, and it’s sending one of the best role players in the NBA to the Western Conference. The Thunder are acquiring Alex Caruso from the Chicago Bulls for guard Josh Giddey, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Caruso is coming off to back-to-back All-Defense seasons for the Bulls. The 30-year-old is a genius defender with incredible point of attack chops, brilliant awareness as a help defender, and elite communication skills. He also just made a career-best 40.8 percent of his three-pointers on a career-high 4.8 attempts per game with Chicago. He’s entering the final year of his contract.

It’s shocking that the Thunder recouped such great value for Giddey without attaching a draft pick to him. The former No. 6 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Giddey was routinely ignored by defenses for his inability to shoot from the perimeter. Giddey hit 33.7 percent of his threes on three attempts per game last season. He’s a good rebounder and a good passer, but it’s an odd fit for a Bulls team that’s already one of the worst shooting teams in the NBA. Giddey is also entering the last season of his rookie contract.

Giddey was investigated by local police and the NBA for an alleged inappropriate relationship with a minor last season. The minor’s family would not cooperate in the investigation, and ultimately there were no charges or discipline from the league.

Let’s grade this trade for both sides.

Grading the Alex Caruso trade for the Thunder

Caruso is the type of role player who does all the little things teams need to win big in the playoffs. This is an amazing pickup for the Thunder at almost any cost. Getting him for only Giddey and nothing else is highway robbery.

Caruso led the NBA with 3.7 deflections per game last season. His 1.7 steals finished four in the league. He recovered 73 loose balls, which ranked No. 7 in the league. It’s possible that no role player in the NBA makes more hustle plays than Caruso. His combination of effort and intelligence is just about unmatched.

Caruso’s defensive communication is harder to quantify, but it’s extremely evident on tape. He was constantly coaching his teammates on where to be and how to help each other out.

The advanced stats back up his impact: Caruso ranked as the NBA’s fifth best defender by EPM last season with a +3.4 rating. Caruso was the only regular rotation player who finished with a positive net-rating on a 39-win Bulls team last year. When he was on the floor, the Bulls outscored their opponents by 0.3 points per 100 possessions. When he was off the floor, the Bulls were out outscored by 3.2 points per 100.

Caruso’s offense has always been a mixed bag, but his improved willingness and touch from three-point range makes him a viable option for big minutes. He shot the ball more confidently than ever before last season, and it paid off all over the floor. His 61.3 true shooting percentage was a career-high.

Caruso will be an outstanding fit next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams. He’ll be a great mentor for Cason Wallace and the rest of the young Thunder, too. This is a grand slam for Sam Presti given the cost.

Thunder grade: A+

Bulls grade for Josh Giddey trade

Giddey has been productive on a per-game basis for the Thunder at a young age, but there are some fatal flaws in his game that he just hasn’t been able to overcome. When the games got important in the playoffs, Giddey consistently saw his minutes get cut, and even got benched in the last two games of Oklahoma City’s second round loss to the Dallas Mavericks.

Giddey has an excellent combination of size (6’8) and passing vision. He hits the glass hard as a rebounder, and has some skill in transition. The problem with Giddey is that he simply doesn’t threaten the defense much as a scorer whether he’s on or off the ball. He’s not just a bad outside shooter — he’s a reluctant one, too. Giddey often turned down open shots last season. Eventually, teams just stopped covering him in the halfcourt.

Giddey also just doesn’t offer much power as a driver. He averaged only 2.2 free throw attempts per-36 minutes last season, a stunningly low number for a tall guard. His lack of speed and strength has always been a handicap, and the lack of improvement in his jump shot has made him almost unplayable in high leverage situations.

The Bulls would have been wise to get off Caruso since he appeared to be the team’s most valuable trade asset. Instead of targeting future draft picks or trying to shed bad salary (hello, Zach LaVine), the Bulls went for a young player who had fallen out of a favor with a great organization. It’s inconceivable the Bulls could do this deal without getting any draft picks back. The allegations against Giddey from last season makes this even harder to stomach.

Giddey has the size and defensive ability to play next to Coby White, but his lack of speed, strength, and shooting will be hard to overcome. He doesn’t turn 22 years old until Oct., but Chicago already has to give him a new contract if they want to retain him beyond this season. The Bulls look like the worst run franchise in the NBA right now.

Grade: F

Men’s College World Series: Zander Sechrist and Tennessee advance to the Finals men,s,college,world,series,zander,sechrist,and,tennessee,advance,to,the,finals,sbnation,com,front-page,college-baseball,college-world-series,ncaa-baseball-tournament

On: June 19, 2024 By: admin

Wednesday was the kind of outing you dream about as a pitcher for Tennessee’s Zander Sechrist. The senior left-hander got the call for the Volunteers and was tasked with slowing down Florida State with a spot in the Men’s College World Series Final on the line.

For six innings, Sechrist did exactly that.

Facing a Seminoles lineup that hung 11 runs on the Volunteers earlier this week and had mashed all season long — Florida State posted a Slugging Percentage of .559 this season (seventh in the nation) and an OPS of .974 (sixth in the country) — the left-hander kept Florida State scoreless through six innings of work. Sechrist showed complete command of the strike zone, placing an array of fastballs and sharp-breaking balls almost anywhere he wanted to. With some of those breaking balls topping out in the low 80s and even upper 70s, the Florida State hitters were kept off-balance for the first six innings of the game.

By the time the Seminoles finally got to Sechrist for a pair of solo home runs in the seventh inning, the Volunteers’ potent offense had put six runs on the board, spurred on by a three-run first inning. Tennessee added another run in the second, and one more in the third when Christian Moore — who made MCWS history earlier in the week when he became just the second player ever to hit for the cycle — ripped a triple down the right-field line, bringing catcher Cal Stark around to score from first:

And while the Seminoles made it interesting with the two solo home runs in the seventh, Blake Burke added an insurance run for Tennessee with this absolute bomb to right-center:

But the headlines belong to Sechrist, who finished the day giving the Volunteers 6.1 innings of solid work, allowing just a pair of runs while striking out three.

Earlier this week Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello talked about Sechrist getting this opportunity, and how Vitello was “excited” to see the left-hander on the bump.

“We’re really excited,” Vitello said. “This is the guy that has the ability to pitch on the weekend, which he’s accomplished that and helped pitch our team to Omaha, which he did last year as well. I mean, it’s so crucial every game that you play. And he’s logged a ton of innings for us in his career with us and just been a good leader and a good teammate as well.

“I don’t want to call it gravy or anything like that, but now it’s time to enjoy the opportunity for him to compete and then for us to enjoy the opportunity to watch him compete while at the same time just kind of managing the game as best we see fit.”

Sechrist made managing the game easier for Vitello, thanks to his outing on Wednesday.

Now the Volunteers will wait to see who they will face in the Men’s College World Series Finals, between the winner of the Texas A&M-Florida matchup. The Aggies just need one win to advance, while the Gators need two straight wins to make a return appearance in the Finals.

Ranking the best Copa América jerseys ranking,the,best,copa,am,rica,jerseys,sbnation,com,front-page,soccer,united-states-mens-national-team,copa-america,usmnt

On: June 19, 2024 By: admin

Copa América is almost here! By the time you read this, we’ll be less than 24 hours from the South American tournament kicking off on our borders.

The opening match starts off this Thursday between defending Copa champions Argentina and Canada. When the teams step out onto the field, they will be doing so in their new jerseys that were released earlier this year. In fact, each of the 16 teams in the tournament enter Copa América with fresh jerseys

In any competition, you’ll have some fantastic jersey combinations. And, you will also have some hideous ones. Whenever a team takes the field for a major competition, their fans hope they are doing so looking good.

Unfortunately, some teams look better than others. And that’s what we’re here to discuss.

Across 16 teams, there are 32 jerseys. Let’s go through the list from worst to best team jersey sets at Copa América.

16. Panama

Panama has a new crest, but unfortunately it looks like they opted for Reebok’s plain templates. A plain red home jersey and plain white road jersey just doesn’t generate excitement.

15. Chile

Chile’s red home jersey has a sublimated design that makes it look better than a plain offering, but it isn’t enough to combat an away jersey that looks phoned in. They normally look good on the field, but right now they will get lost amongst the sea of red and white jerseys out there.

14. Uruguay

Uruguay left Puma for Nike, but their first offering leaves a ton to be desired. The small pinstripes on both jerseys don’t pop on TV, so you’re left with a jersey that just looks plain. For a team that expects to contend for the Copa América title, they should have done better on the jersey front.

13. Venezuela

The home Venezuela jersey boasts the Vinotinto color that they’re known for, but another jersey element would have helped here. The away jersey is interesting, but the design could have flowed better into the rest of the jersey. If the jersey had more yellow, it would have looked more distinctive.

12. Canada

Canada finally got some new jerseys after skipping out on some before the 2022 World Cup. While the old school Nike logo and pinstripes gives the away jersey a nice vintage feel, the home jersey seems like they needed another few years to design something a lot better. That’s a huge disappointment, especially given the wait.

11. Mexico

Objectively, Mexico’s away jersey might be one of the best in the tournament. That home jersey, however, might be one of the worst. It’s a controversial pick, but red is not their color and it should not be their home jersey. And the design just doesn’t work at all. Some may like it, but Mexico has a traditional look and this is a terrible departure from it.

10. Colombia

Colombia’s yellow jerseys are really nice, and so are the away black jerseys. There’s not a lot of design here, which is why they are in the bottom 6.

9. Bolivia

Bolivia has a nice home jersey, going with the light green as a departure from their normal forest green. Pairing that with a deep red away jersey makes for a pretty good look. Outside of the home jersey’s sleeves, there isn’t much in the way of design here, opting to focus on the color.

8. Costa Rica

Costa Rica really went for it here, and they did a decent job with it. The home jersey’s design is interesting, but the jury’s still out on whether it’s elite or a dud. They get some points for add some design to their away jersey as well to give it some pop, and the new crest looks great on the home.

7. Paraguay

Paraguay rarely has to do much with their traditional vertical red and white stripes, and still they are able to make it look good. Adding some elements within the red stripes and the royal blue trim ties in so well with their traditional them and looks great. There’s a cool Hawaiian vibe with their away jersey, and the light blue paired with the other blues makes for a very nice look.

6. USA

The away jersey may have mixed reviews, but it’s one of the best jerseys in this tournament and gets the USMNT barely into the top six. The home jersey has the flag elements on the collar and sleeve, but the mismatched royal blue on the collar and the navy blue numbers knock them down a bit. Conjuring the feels of the 2014 Bomb Pops, the away jersey does look really good with the red shorts.

5. Ecuador

Ecuador’s jerseys since their jersey rebrand have been really well done and they stick within a theme. Here, they have the navy sash on the yellow home jersey, and that blue sash becomes horizontal on the away jersey to give it some added pop. They will look great on the field as well, and hopefully they pair the white jersey with navy shorts for even more pop.

4. Brazil

Brazil’s home jerseys are iconic, and this year’s edition is really nice. The sleeve trim gives a nice touch of zing to the jersey. The away jersey is one of the better ones they’ve had with the horizontal pinstripes and the light green trim. The center crest is the only reason these aren’t ranked higher.

3. Argentina

Speaking of iconic jerseys, the home Argentina jersey is one of those that doesn’t need to do much to look good. What really sets them off is pairing it with an away jersey that has royal blue with their light blue as trim. Of course, the World Cup champions badge is unbeatable and really looks good on both the home and away.

2. Peru

Peru’s white jersey with a red sash is always amazing, and this might be one of the best versions of that. There’s a red trip across the bottom that flows into the sash on one side, and the gold trim makes it look elegant. The road jersey is a cool one, with the black torso and the maroon tiger stripes on the sleeves and shoulders. Once again, the gold trim makes it pop.

1. Jamaica

Jamaica has the best jersey set in this competition, full stop. The home jersey combines all their elements so well with the yellow jersey, the green sleeves and shoulders, and the black trim. The away jersey? Epic. The bespoke design is up there among some of the best national team jerseys on the planet, and they will always look good when they step on the field. They understood the assignment, and that’s why their jerseys are the best in this competition.