good odds

Toto Wolff rips ‘conspiracy theorists and lunatics’ at F1 Spanish Grand Prix toto,wolff,rips,conspiracy,theorists,and,lunatics,at,f,spanish,grand,prix,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

It is rare to find a dull moment in Formula 1.

With the grid in Barcelona for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, reports emerged Friday of an email blast to numerous F1 journalists from an insider purporting to have information regarding Mercedes sabotaging Lewis Hamilton, ahead of his move to Ferrari for the 2025 F1 season. That email was sent following the Canadian Grand Prix, which saw George Russell finish third, and Hamilton fourth.

In the interest of full disclosure, SB Nation has not received this email and is therefore unable to independently verify the content contained therein. According to this report from Reuters, the email “[h]eadlined ‘a potential death warrant for Lewis’, it accused Mercedes of ‘systematic sabotaging’ of Hamilton, his car, tyre and race strategy and mental health.”

Speaking at the FIA Press Conference Friday, Mercedes Team Principal indicated he was given clearance to “go in full force,” and the team boss did just that.

“Yeah, so it’s not from a member of the team. When we are getting these kind of emails, and we’re getting tons of them, it is upsetting, particularly when somebody is talking about death and all these things,” began Wolff. “So, on this particular one, I have instructed to go in full force.

“We have the police inquiring it. We are researching the IP address. We are researching the phone, all of that, because online abuse in that way needs to stop. People can’t hide behind their phones or their computers and abuse teams or drivers in a way like this,” continued Wolff. “I don’t know what some of the conspiracy theorists and lunatics think out there. Lewis was part of the team for 12 years. We have a friendship. We trust each other. We want to win this. We want to end this on a high. We want to celebrate the relationship.”

Wolff then made it clear that even if you did not trust him on that point, the team is still trying to win a Constructors’ Championship, which requires both Hamilton and George Russell performing well.

“And if you don’t believe all of that, then you can believe that we want to win the Constructors’ World Championship. And part of the Constructors’ World Championship is making both cars win. So to all of these mad people out there… take a shrink.”

The Mercedes boss also received backing during the FIA Press Conference from long-time friend — and Hamilton’s next boss — Frederic Vasseur. The Ferrari Team Principal called such allegations “irrational” given Mercedes’ quest for a title.

“Yeah just on this one, and I’m putting my relationship with Toto aside, how you could imagine that a company with 1,500 people working night and day, pushing like hell to bring upgrades, and for you it’s not enough, but bringing upgrades each races, we could kill one of our cars or damage one of our cars? This is completely irrational and nobody in the paddock could do something like this,” declared Vasseur. “We are fighting for the championship. Each weekend we are trying to score one point more than the other one. How you could imagine that we say ‘OK, that Lewis, we don’t want to score points anymore with him’. For me it’s completely irrational and completely out of the scope of the person who are doing my business.”

Wolff also addressed recent comments on social media that have turned largely negative regarding the relationship between the two Mercedes drivers.

“So first of all, I’m not reading any comments. I don’t have social media. And I think it’s important to protect oneself by doing so. And I’ve commented about this many times before, there will always be people that have their laptop on the chest in their bedroom and just typing away.,” started Wolff. “And if people feel like they’re abusing, want to abuse and hit out and hide behind a made-up Instagram account or anything else, that for me is… Come up, say who you are, and we’ll take the criticism and discuss, but don’t hide.

“And there seems to be lots of irrationality also, because we want to be successful. We want to be successful with the most iconic driver the sport has ever had. The privilege that we had to work with Lewis as an incredible driver, a great personality, that goes through the ups and downs like any other like any other sports person. I totally respect the reasons for him going to Ferrari. There is no grudge. There is no bad feeling.”

The Mercedes boss then outlined how the matter is being handled internally.

“The interaction we have in the team is positive. And so every comment from the outside of what is going in the team is just simply wrong. But there’s always a limit. I mean, if emails are being sent or telephone numbers are being used for these messages, then for me, the joking stops,” outlined Wolff. “And we will pursue it, whether that is successful or not. But there are limits to certain things. And obviously, online abuse is not only something that happens to us or to the team or to the people, it happens badly to Lewis, badly to Lewis, and to George.

“And therefore, people should, and we’ve seen Max [Verstappen] speaking out about it and Kelly [Piquet, Verstappen’s partner]. People that abuse are cowards, because they hide. So whatever is going on out there with social media, with all the good things that it provides, and all those people that have been given a platform, that’s just the negatives that come with it. I have no feelings to someone that abuses for the reasons I just said before.”

Both Hamilton and Russell addressed some of the social media commentary on Thursday, with the seven-time champion declaring the team needs “support not negativity” from fans. Verstappen and his partner Piquet also took to social media in recent weeks to blast rumors about their relationship, with the F1 driver calling the “falsehoods” on social media “insane and ridiculous.”

Returning to Mercedes, the team addressed some of the social media rumors during Thursday’s media session at the Spanish Grand Prix. “I think they know if you look over the years, we’ve always been a strong team. We’ve always worked really hard together,” said Hamilton at the team’s Thursday media session in Barcelona. “I think we need support, not negativity, and I wasn’t actually aware that George was experiencing negativity.

“George has done nothing but his best every single weekend and is delivering for the team, so he can’t be faulted at all,” continued Hamilton. “Of course, there can always be things done better within the team, and that comes through conversation, through communication, and that’s something that we are consistently working on. But we’re all in the same boat. We’re all working hard together. We want to finish on a high and feel that we owe that to our long-term relationship that we’ve had.”

Gardner Minshew’s chaotic Raiders photoshoot keeps getting better with every picture gardner,minshew,s,chaotic,raiders,photoshoot,keeps,getting,better,with,every,picture,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,draftkings

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

It’s been a long, long time since the Raiders had swagger at their quarterback position — but no fans expected this kind of swag from Gardner Minshew. It’s photo week around the NFL, and when the studio lights came on the QB didn’t disappoint.

This shoot had a little of everything. Well, it’s more like it had a lot of one, specific, dirtbag (but in a charming way) kind of thing.

Superhero Gardner Minshew ready to save the Las Vegas Raiders from mediocrity

Uncle Rico Gardner Minshew, who I’m pretty sure can throw a football over a mountain if he wanted to

Pro Wrestler Garnder Minshew who is ready to go one-on-one with The Undertaker in a steel cage

The Gardner Minshew who got called to school for a conference with the principal because you and your friends got caught smoking cigarettes under the bleachers during fourth period

Is it just me or does the entire NFL just feel more fun this year? Around the league teams are letting players be themselves more, and throwing aside the stuffy, boring sanitized normality and letting players be their brilliant, weird selves.

Don’t touch Bills players’ hair don,t,touch,bills,players,hair,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

The Buffalo Bills seem like they’re having fun this offseason. Despite entering a 2024 season filled with question marks, you could convince me that they’re the Super Bowl favorites just based off the vibes coming from the content they put out on social media.

However, if you learn one thing from watching the Bills’ social media content, it’s to never touch someone’s hair with some clippers and act like you gonna actually cut it.

See I feel the same way as Keon Coleman here. You’ll lose a finger trying to cut my hair and you’re not my barber. That’s disrespectful right there, because someone later also says something that I agree with: You let someone else cut your hair then you cheating on your barber. We don’t cheat around here, so that’s just not going to happen.

I appreciate everyone’s swift and decisive answers, because I absolutely agree with all of them. Don’t come near me with those clippers, man.

Travelers: Wyndham Clark battles back, contending after bad stretch travelers,wyndham,clark,battles,back,contending,after,bad,stretch,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Before Thursday’s first round at the Travelers Championship, Wyndham Clark had not recorded a round in the 60s since the RBC Heritage concluded two months ago.

He has had a tough stretch, missing the cut at the PGA Championship and the Memorial. Then, at last week’s U.S. Open, Clark posted a final round 77, which plummeted him down the leaderboard and into a tie for 56th.

Yet Clark has been laboring in recent months, hoping to recreate the magic he had earlier in the year at Pebble Beach, when he set a new course record and won the second Signature Event of the season.

“To be honest, it’s some of the hardest I’ve worked in a long time,” Clark said.

“First, we’re really trying to work on the short game and feel like we’ve gotten that to where it’s in a great spot—same thing with the putting. Then, unfortunately, you do that, and then you lose your swing. So then I was working on my swing, and the last two weeks have been a lot of grinding on the swing. I feel like we made some good headway, and I hit it pretty well today.”

Clark posted a solid round on Thursday. He posted a 4-under 66 to put himself in contention after day one. The 2023 U.S. Open champion now sits four strokes behind Tom Kim, who shot a marvelous 8-under 62 to set the pace.

“I played great. I just didn’t make the putts on the back nine,” Clark added.

“So I felt like it was a complete round, and one blemish on this golf course is pretty good.”

His one mistake came on the par-4 17th, which has water all up the right side and in front of the green. It’s a tricky hole, and finding the fairway is imperative. But Clark pulled his tee shot left and had to settle for a bogey-five.

Despite that, Clark got off to a roaring start, making three birdies over his first five holes. He even made a par-breaker at the challenging par-3 5th, where Clark produced his best shot of the day.

“Just because I’ve been working so hard on my swing and hitting cuts, the iron shot I hit on hole 5, I hit a cut 5-iron in there to about 12 feet,” Clark said.

“That was probably the best shot for me.”

But he hit plenty of terrific shots all day, although the putter abandoned him somewhat on the back nine. Yet, he would much rather miss birdie putts than par tries, which has recently been the case. Surely, Clark would not trade his position on the leaderboard Thursday for what he had to endure since mid-April.

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.

Travelers: Tom Kim leads, celebrates 22nd birthday in style travelers,tom,kim,leads,celebrates,nd,birthday,in,style,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 21, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — Tom Kim produced some magic on his last day as a 21-year-old.

He blistered TPC River Highlands, posting an 8-under 62 to take control of the Travelers Championship after round one. Kim leads Akshay Bhatia, Rickie Fowler, Kurt Kitayama, and Will Zalatoris by two strokes after day one.

“I hit the ball in the fairway a lot. Obviously, this course, if you start hitting the ball in the fairway, you can go at some pins and have some good opportunities,” Kim explained.

“Obviously, I putted well. When you shoot 62s or 64s, you have to putt well, and I took care of those opportunities.”

Kim made eight birdies to zero bogies, showing no blemishes in his game on day one. He ranked fourth in strokes gained putting and first in strokes gained overall.

The Seoul, South Korea native plotted his way around the course beautifully, easily picking and attacking his targets.

“I picked really good targets out there with my approach shots,” Kim added.

“When you have 8-irons in, sometimes you want to go for the pin a lot, but at the same time, you just go into this headspace where, okay, this is where I need to pick my target, I don’t feel like I need to push or anything and just sticking to that game plan.”

He played beautifully from tee to green, but the most remarkable aspect of Kim’s play Thursday is that this week marks his eighth straight event on the PGA Tour.

“I felt like my game was there, but it wasn’t really showing in tournaments. I feel like I’m playing well, but for some reason, I can’t show it off in golf tournaments,” Kim said.

“I think that’s why I’m playing a lot more than I normally ever would because if you keep getting reps in tournaments, you keep sharpening, sharpening, sharpening, and that’s what’s happening. So I’m glad to see it actually come out though.”

Kim’s eight-week stretch began at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he tied for 52nd despite shooting rounds in the 60s all four days.

In the six events since, his best finish came north of the border, where he tied for fourth at the RBC Canadian Open. He did not miss any cuts, but his average order of finish over the last seven weeks is 31.7—greatly exaggerated by that solid performance in Canada.

“It wasn’t like I was playing terribly; it was just a few things that didn’t go my way, and I couldn’t adapt to it and score well,” Kim added.

“It’s not like it was a bad week, but a bad round cost me that week. But at least it’s a 26th or 25th finish; it’s not like I’m finishing 50th or missing the cut. It shows me that my bad weeks are close, which gives me the confidence to go out and know that I actually am playing well and just trying to keep riding this momentum.”

Kim will celebrate his 22nd birthday riding a big wave of momentum, hoping to fend off the top players in the world, including Scottie Scheffler. Funny enough, Kim and Scheffler share the same birthday, and these two players have developed a friendly rapport and celebrate together each year.

So earlier this week, Kim and Scheffler went to Sally’s Apizza in New Haven, Connecticut, which has world-famous pies. Kim added that he would not indulge like that during a tournament, but it is his birthday, so he had to celebrate somehow.

But he also gets to celebrate his marvelous 62 as an early birthday present, which likely tastes better than Sally’s, something hard to do.

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.

Travelers: Scottie Scheffler rebounds after frustrating U.S. Open travelers,scottie,scheffler,rebounds,after,frustrating,u,s,open,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

CROMWELL, Conn. — The World No. 1 looked like the best player on the planet again at the Travelers Championship on Thursday.

Scottie Scheffler, fresh off a surprising T-41 at the U.S. Open, carded a 5-under 65 during the first round of the final Signature Event of the season. He had control of his swing once again and holed plenty of putts, much like he did during his five wins.

“I feel like I hit it nice,” Scheffler assessed.

“Found some swings, or found some stuff in my swing at the beginning of the week, and definitely feel like I’m swinging a lot better than I did last week.”

Scheffler did not record a single under-par round at Pinehurst No. 2, a week he called “frustrating.” Thursday’s 65 in Connecticut is his first-under-par score since the third round of the Memorial Tournament when he shot a 1-under 71.

“I struggled to see the break on the greens last week. I had a hard time finding the right line,” Scheffler explained.

“I felt like I hit a lot of good putts that came off the way I wanted to, and I looked up, but they were just not even really close to going in at times. So that can always be a bit frustrating, but it’s nice to get here on some familiar surfaces and hit some good putts and see some balls go in.”

Scheffler gained two strokes on the greens on Thursday, ranking 9th in the field. Meanwhile, Scheffler lost 1.51 strokes to the field last week with his putter, which was good for 70th of 74 players who made the cut.

Of course, Scheffler switched to a mallet putter ahead of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, which he then won. Since that change, Scheffler has added four more victories, and his putting has improved immensely since the beginning of the season.

Wooooo boy what a shot from Scottie here at 13. Went on to make eagle here, and has a stretch of birdie holes upcoming.

He’s -4 now, two back. pic.twitter.com/xfLoOCRi7U

— Jack Milko (@jack_milko) June 20, 2024

Look no further than early Thursday, when the top-ranked player in the world poured in three straight birdies over his first four holes. He made a 19-footer at the par-4 2nd, a 13-footer at the 3rd, and then, at the challenging par-4 4th, Scheffler drained a birdie try from 16 feet. He also made an eagle on the par-5 13th, thanks to a spectacular approach from 256 yards out that landed eight feet away.

“I hit two really great shots in there to give myself a look,” Scheffler said of the 13th.

“Then I got a nice read off Max [Homa’s] putt and was able to knock that in.”

Scheffler added another birdie at the par-4 14th, which got him to 5-under for the day. He failed to capitalize on a good tee shot at the drivable par-4 15th, finishing with four straight pars.

The reigning Masters champion struggled to save par last week in North Carolina, but now he has no issues making par this week. That should intimidate the rest of the field, as Scheffler looks back to being the best after an off week at the U.S. Open.

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.

2024 Summer Olympics: Team USA track and field qualifiers, explained summer,olympics,team,usa,track,and,field,qualifiers,explained,sbnation,com,front-page,olympics,summer-olympics,olympic-track-and-field,draftkings,dot-com-grid-coverage

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

The United States track and field team is often described as the world’s toughest to make, and for good reason. No country has amassed more Olympic track and field medals (827), and the US outpaces the next six countries on the all-time list combined (819).

There are so many talented athletes, but only a select few are allowed to compete at major global championships. For the fifth consecutive time, Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon will host the unforgiving USA Olympic Track and Field Trials. Let’s take a closer look at the qualification and selection process for Paris 2024.

How many athletes can qualify in each discipline?

A maximum of only three athletes are allowed per country. Unlike the World Athletics Championships, which offers “wild card” berths to incumbent world champions (creating a fourth slot for countries), there are no byes into the Olympics.

World and Olympic champions and prohibitive gold medal favorites are not spared if they have an off-day at the worst possible time. In 2021, 800-meter world champion Donavan Brazier finished last in the USA finals and did not make the trip to Tokyo. Women’s 100 meters hurdles star Keni Harrison, widely expected to win the 2016 Rio Olympic trials, only finished sixth and missed the team. Two weeks later, she would set a new world record, but it was a mere consolation.

This is also as good a time as any to remind casual track followers that for sprints (100-400 meters), it only takes one false start for a runner to be disqualified from the race.

How many qualifying rounds are there?

All sprint and middle distance (800-1,500 meters) races have three rounds of qualification (Round 1, semifinals, final), whereas long distance (3,000-10,000 meters and race walks) have either two rounds or a direct final.

Olympic qualifying rounds by discipline

Round 1, Semifinals, Final	Round 1, Final	Final Only
Round 1, Semifinals, Final	Round 1, Final	Final Only
100 meters*	3,000 meters steeplechase	10,000 meters
100 meter hurdles (women)*	5,000 meters	20 km race walk
110 meter hurdles (men)*		50 km race walk
200 meters
400 meters
400 meter hurdles
800 meters
1,500 meters

* – Semifinals and final are contested on the same day.

All field events have one qualifying round and a final, the decathlon and heptathlon don’t have qualifying rounds, and marathon runners already had separate qualifiers in February.

Is it possible to still finish in the top-3 and not qualify?

Yes. This is where it gets a little complicated for a small percentage of American athletes. Similar to swimming, there are minimum times (or distances for field athletes) that must be met within an Olympic qualifying window. The window for athletes competing in any individual event (except the 10,000 meters, marathon, and race walks) is July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

For example, the women’s 5,000 meters Olympic standard is 14:52.00. NCAA champion Parker Valby narrowly missed the standard by 0.2 seconds at this month’s NCAA Outdoor Championships. Not only must Valby finish in the top-3 at trials, she also must run at least 14:52.00 to guarantee her spot on the team. And unlike regular track meets, championship competitions do not have pacemakers and wave-light technology to help guide runners to a specific time.

Without the qualifying standard, the last-ditch effort is placing high enough in the World Athletics rankings system, which is too complicated to explain even in an explainer post. The final rankings list will be published on July 7.

Here’s the simplified way to clinch a Team USA Olympic berth:

AND

Have the Olympic qualifying standard

Achieve a high enough world rankings placement

This will most likely only affect competitors in disciplines where the Americans have traditionally weaker depth, such as the long-distance races and a handful of field events. Otherwise this won’t be a storyline for, say, any of the sprints.

What happens if someone finishes in a qualifying position but isn’t selected for the Olympics?

The next highest-placed athlete goes in their place, provided they also have the qualifying standard or a high enough world ranking.

When Sha’Carri Richardson was controversially suspended following a positive marijuana test ahead of the 2020 Olympics, fourth-placed Jenna Prandini replaced her. In the women’s high jump, neither Inika McPherson nor Nicole Green achieved the qualifying standard and didn’t have a high enough world ranking. They were replaced by fourth-placed Rachel McCoy and Tynita Butts-Townsend, who had the requisite ranking despite not making the final.

The 2016 men’s 20 km race walk team, however, sent no entrants to Rio after none of the top three finishers met the standard or ranking.

How do the relay teams qualify?

New to the Olympics is the use of the World Athletics Relays as a qualifying competition for major championships. At this year’s championship in The Bahamas, the American men’s and women’s 4×100 and 4×400 teams all qualified, as did the mixed (two men, two women) 4×400 meters squad. A total of 14 countries in each discipline needed to finish in the top-2 in either the qualifying heats or the repechage rounds to qualify for Paris.

How are the relay participants decided?

Per USA Track and Field guidelines, three of the five competitors for each relay team must be athletes who are entered in their corresponding individual event (e.g. Noah Lyles is entered in the individual 100 meters and therefore will be part of the 4×100 relay team). One reserve/alternate athlete can also be named. The other two selections are made at the discretion of the USATF committee, which includes “medical or exceptional circumstances” for a waiver request to be granted.

This is why it’s common (at least for Team USA) to have relay runners who did not compete in the individual event. Athing Mu, who won the 800 meters in Tokyo, joined the women’s 4x400m relay team and picked up another gold.

It’s worth keeping an eye on the relay selection pool this year for the men’s 4×400 meters, as there’s a possibility that Noah Lyles could be picked despite not being entered in the 400 at Olympic trials and scarcely running the 400 throughout his career. His indoor relay inclusion was already meant with some divided opinion.

Team USA trials run from Friday, June 21 through Sunday, June 30 on NBC, USA, and Peacock. The track and field portion of the Olympics commences on August 1 and ends on August 11.

NBA players joining Kendrick Lamar to dance to Drake diss track is probably the worst moment of Aubrey’s life nba,players,joining,kendrick,lamar,to,dance,to,drake,diss,track,is,probably,the,worst,moment,of,aubrey,s,life,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,draftkings

On: June 20, 2024 By: admin

Drake may never recover from this.

Kendrick Lamar through one of the greatest televised concerts of all-time on Wednesday night during Juneteenth in a show that featured so many West Coast icons. Los Angeles natives Russell Westbrook and DeMar Derozan came out on stage singing and dancing to all FIVE renditions of Lamar’s ~~lyrical Kamehameha~~ diss track ‘Not Like Us,’ directed at Drake.

‘The Pop Out’, hosted by Kendrick Lamar and every West Coast rapper seemingly on Earth, was less a concert and more a victory lap, putting people on to West Coast rappers while giving Lamar the time to go through his entire setlist of songs that include direct or shaded shots at Drake. It was a moment, an event that put the West Coast right in front of everyone in the world.

It was also a chance for West Coast icons such as Westbrook and Derozan to show up and show out in their home. Getting DeRozan there felt like a given, because of Lamar’s line in ‘Not Like Us’: “I’m glad DeRoz came home, y’all didn’t deserve him neither, from Alondra down to Central n**** better not speak on Serena.” DeRoz is obviously DeRozan, who was traded out of Toronto in the Kawhi Leonard deal, but is known as an icon with the Raptors. However, he’s even more known for being from Compton, a West Coast dude at heart. Getting him up on the stage when Lamar called all of the West Coast icons and rappers up to the stage was an awesome moment, as well as getting Westbrook up there.

Russ looked like he was having the time of his life. He looked like he was having more fun up on stage than he was at any time with the Clippers this season.

While Westbrook and DeRozan are obviously big hits to Drake’s rep in the NBA (which he very deeply cares about), neither of them will equal the final NBA player spotted at The Pop Out on Wednesday.

Take the L out of Certified Lover Boy, it’s Certified OVER Boy.

This is the greatest victory lap of all time, and getting all the NBA players out there was just another chance to dance on the grave.

Tiger Woods’ son Charlie qualifies for U.S. Junior Amateur tiger,woods,son,charlie,qualifies,for,u,s,junior,amateur,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 19, 2024 By: admin

After helping his father, Tiger Woods, prep for the 124th U.S. Open, Charlie Woods now has another USGA Championship to get ready for. He has qualified for the 76th U.S. Junior Amateur, which Oakland Hills Country Club in Detroit, Michigan, will host in late July.

The 15-year-old Woods carded a 1-under 71 at the Eagle Trace Golf Club in Coral Springs, Florida, as 86 players vied for four qualifying spots. Woods bested them all, winning medalist honors with the only under-par score of the day.

He made three birdies over his final six holes—an impressive accomplishment on any stretch, let alone after he dropped three shots on the 11th and 12th holes combined.

But now he will have an opportunity to win a U.S. Junior Amateur title, something his father did three years in a row, from 1991 to 1993. Tiger won his first at Bay Hill in Orland and then triumphed at Wollaston Golf Club in Massachusetts before winning again at Waverley Country Club in Oregon in 1993. The now 15-time major champion went on to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles after that, meaning he won six straight USGA Championships—an accomplishment likely never to happen again.

Meanwhile, the younger Woods has had an impressive stretch over recent months. In November, he helped his high school team win the Florida High School Golf Championship. Then, a month later, he and his father tied for fifth at the PNC Championship. He recently tried to qualify for the U.S. Open but fell short. Yet, that did not set him back, as he rebounded with an exceptional performance in U.S. Junior Amateur qualifying.

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.

Bronny James is rejecting NBA Draft workouts, and it makes sense bronny,james,is,rejecting,nba,draft,workouts,and,it,makes,sense,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-draft

On: June 19, 2024 By: admin

The 2024 NBA Draft’s lack of superstar talent has helped make the biggest name in the class a player who might not even be selected. Bronny James, the oldest son of LeBron James, entered the draft after one season at USC. James’ freshman year started with a terrifying heart scare when he collapsed at practice in July, and he never really found his footing after returning to the lineup.

USC was disappointing, finishing under .500 and missing the NCAA tournament despite having another top freshman guard in Isaiah Collier. James made his debut in Dec., mostly coming off the bench to space the floor and defend. He ended up averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on 36.6 percent shooting from the floor and 26.7 percent shooting from three-point range.

It’s rare that a freshman who scores less than five points per game gets drafted into the NBA, but of course James isn’t a normal freshman. With NBA Draft approaching on June 26-27, James and his agency Klutch Sports appear to be keeping teams away from James so they can steer him to a particular destination.

NBA teams have been unable to bring James in for workouts, according to ESPN’s Jon Givony, with two big exceptions. James had a workout for his father’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers (who own the No. 17 and No. 55 pick), and is scheduled to have a second workout with the Phoenix Suns (who own the No. 22 pick). Here’s Givony’s latest reporting:

“NBA teams that I talk to say they cannot get Bronny James into the building,” Givony said. “The sense among teams is that his agent, Rich Paul, does not want him on a two-way contract. […] It’s looking like Bronny James is going to slide to No. 55. I don’t think any NBA team wants to pick him and deal with the repercussions of that.”

This may feel like James is getting special treatment as the son of an all-time legend, but it’s really not. Players and their agencies try to push their way to a certain destination all the time, especially those projected to go in the second round. One recent example is Lakers guard Austin Reaves, who bypassed a chance to go No. 42 to the Pistons so he could be undrafted and sign with LA.

Fred VanVleet is another example of a player who turned down second round opportunities to go undrafted so he could choose his team.

ESPN’s latest mock draft has Bronny James going to the Lakers at No. 55. The Suns don’t currently have a second round pick, though they could acquire one on draft night. Playing with a veteran Phoenix team led by Kevin Durant would be a nice outcome for James, but it sure feels like he’s destined to fulfill his father’s dream by being drafted by the Lakers.

SB Nation’s latest mock draft had the Lakers taking G League Ignite forward Tyler Smith at No. 17.

The real question is what does Bronny want? He shouldn’t be a pawn in his father’s legacy dreams. His career deserves to be taken seriously on its terms. Playing with his famous dad will only bring more pressure, and it’s fair to wonder what happens once LeBron Sr. finally retires.

Everything that’s happened to Bronny over the last year has been kind of sad. We scouted him extensively in high school and believed he was good enough to NBA consideration without his father’s help. The heart issue and the pressure put on by his father have made Bronny’s career seem like a sideshow. Pretty soon, it will be time to sink or swim.