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Austrian Grand Prix: Haas hoping to return to the points at Red Bull Ring austrian,grand,prix,haas,hoping,to,return,to,the,points,at,red,bull,ring,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 26, 2024 By: admin

Haas last added to their account in the F1 Sprint Race at the Miami Grand Prix, when Nico Hülkenberg parlayed a tenth-place finish in qualifying for the F1 Sprint Race into a seventh-place result in the F1 Sprint Race itself, earning two critical points for the team.

With Formula 1 returning to the F1 Sprint format this weekend at the Austrian Grand Prix, can Haas return to the points?

It has been a difficult stretch for the team since Miami, with their best chance for points coming in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola. That weekend saw Hülkenberg qualify tenth, but he finished in P11, one spot out of the points. Since then they have been left on the outside looking in, including a double DNF in Monaco due to an opening-lap collision involving Sergio Pérez.

Their recent struggles opened the door for Alpine, whose own success the past few weeks — with six points over two race weekends — has seen the French outfit climb above them in the Constructors’ Championship standings. Alpine now sits seventh in the table with eight points, one point — and place — ahead of Haas with seven points.

As Haas heads to Red Bull Ring along with the rest of the grid for this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, they are hopeful that recent success at that circuit will aid their quest for points.

“It’s a short track that packs in a lot of fun,” said Hülkenberg in the team’s media preview. “The length of the circuit means it bunches us all up over qualifying, which is a challenge, but we have two opportunities as it’s a Sprint. Last year I scored points around the Red Bull Ring, so I know it can be done, and we want to be back scoring points, so that’s the mission in Spielberg.”

On the other side of the garage Kevin Magnussen — who is hoping to have his F1 future resolved “soon” — is wary that the many high-speed corners in Austria could pose a problem for the team’s VF-24.

“It’s a fun track; I’ve got some good memories from the Red Bull Ring, that’s where we’ve had our best team result so I’m looking forward to going there again,” described Magnussen. “We have quite an efficient car so hopefully with our good straight-line speed we can be good there. There’s still a fair number of high-speed corners, which is perhaps not our strength, but we seem to be pretty consistently good at most tracks. I’m just looking forward to a fun Sprint weekend.”

Haas Race Engineer Mark Slade walked through the variety of corners Red Bull Ring offers, and how each may, or may not, suit the team’s challenger.

“One of the main things about the Red Bull Ring is that it’s a very short lap so it gets busy, particularly in practice and qualifying. It’s a nice mixture of low-, medium-, and high-speed corners, and obviously in a spectacular setting so it looks amazing, and it does provide quite a significant challenge for us when setting the car up,” described Slade. “We’ve had some issues with medium-speed corners, so we’re expecting to have to manage that, it’s going to be a challenge for us, but on the other hand in low-speed corners, we’ve generally been very good at them and we think we’ve taken a step forward in high-speed corners recently. We’ll see how we get on, but we’ve got a plan of course.”

While many teams have addressed the challenges a compressed F1 Sprint week puts in front of them, Slade outlined how for a team like Haas, there are added benefits to the condensed schedule.

“There is a lot of extra work for a Sprint, especially in amongst a triple-header, but it also makes it very interesting, it’s all a part of Formula 1,” said Slade. “You have to be realistic that you’re not going to be able to do everything you’d like to do with one practice session, so you have to pick the most important points that you think are relevant to getting the best out of the car in both the Sprint and the race and work to achieve those objectives – it’s a very compressed, highly edited run plan.

“The format of a Sprint is different from previous years, so you can afford to be a little bit more experimental in the Sprint race because points only go to eighth place, and realistically we’re chasing that last points-paying position so it means we can try things that we wouldn’t necessarily have tried, knowing we can change things for the race.”

Slade and the rest of the team get their first crack at Red Bull Ring this Friday.

Jason Kelce making a young fan’s life with a selfie is the most wholesome ‘Eras Tour’ content jason,kelce,making,a,young,fan,s,life,with,a,selfie,is,the,most,wholesome,eras,tour,content,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl

On: June 25, 2024 By: admin

Travis Kelce joining Taylor Swift on stage during her run of London shows for The Eras Tour made for an incredible NFL-related moment this week.

But it is not the only NFL-related moment the London portion of The Eras Tour has provided.

Joining Travis in London for these run of shows is his brother Jason, and Jason’s partner Kylie. The recently-retired NFL center has been spotted showing off his own armful of friendship bracelets, and waving to fans while walking back to their spot for the show while holding some … we’ll go with refreshments.

But this moment making the rounds on social media Tuesday certainly tops those. Watch as Jason comes across a young fan wearing one of the center’s throwback Philadelphia Eagles’ jerseys. Jason introduces himself to the young fan, leaving them bewildered and almost overwhelmed:

The young fan is left speechless as Jason surprises him.

Shortly thereafter, the photographs made it to social media as well:

The perfect NFL-related content to get us through to training camp.

NBA Mock Draft 2023: SB Nation writers project the first round nba,mock,draft,sb,nation,writers,project,the,first,round,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-draft,nba-mock-draft,dot-com-grid-coverage

On: June 25, 2024 By: admin

The 2024 NBA Draft isn’t seen as the strongest class in the league’s history, but between Alex Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher, Reed Sheppard, Nikola Topic, Ron Holland and the many other players who will be selected in the first round on Wednesday night, there will surely be a few more difference-makers than expected.

And in a continuation of an annual tradition, experts from around our NBA team communities and national writers tried to pick them out from the crowd by making a selection for their club in the first round of our annual SB Nation NBA mock draft.

Trades were not allowed.

For more draft coverage, check out the latest mock drafts from our own Ricky O’Donnell, who projected the entire first round and ranked the top 60 prospects here, and you can find complete draft coverage from our team communities at our NBA draft hub.

The Atlanta Hawks were on the clock first with the No. 1 pick, and made things interesting right off the bat.

1. Atlanta Hawks – Alex Sarr, C/F, Perth Wildcats

Wes Morton, Peachtree Hoops — With the first overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, I select for the Atlanta Hawks: Victor Wembanyama! …I’m not allowed to do that? Dang.

Well, this pick isn’t nearly as much of a surefire selection. Both Zaccharie Risacher and Donovan Clingan were heavily considered here, but Sarr’s defensive versatility, mobility skills, and (all too brief) offensive flashes just barely win out. With the way the NBA game is trending, banking on a bouncy, rangy, 7’1 marvel who can guard on the perimeter gives you a solid defensive floor.

There are some clear downsides to his game, more than most would like to admit: he’s slender, has inconsistent hands for catching passes, and can’t reliably set screens for a team that wants to pick-and-roll you to death with Trae Young. On top of that, his jumper and handle are much more theoretical than practical at this stage.

But the Hawks don’t have control of their next three first-round picks, so it may be wise to grab as much young talent as possible and hope for a spring forward in production by the third or fourth year. If he can commit to playing the 5 a good portion of time — given the presence of last year’s breakout star Jalen Johnson — it’s hard to pass up on Sarr here.

2. Washington Wizards – Zaccharie Risacher, F, JL Bourg

Gabe Ibrahim, Bullets Forever — Zaccharie Risacher’s high floor and positional value wins the day for the Wizards. His performance over 64 games for JL Bourg provides a good view of what he could do in the NBA. He put up 11 points and 4 rebounds while shooting 39% from three in 23 minutes a game. That’ll get the job done offensively for a 3-and-D player in the NBA, and he should be able to scale his production up as he grows.

Risacher also shines defensively with his length and feel for the game. He could turn into Mikal Bridges if everything goes perfectly, but, more importantly, he should be a good wing if everything goes just okay. Of course, there are risks. Richaser struggled to consistently hit threes as a junior and rode an early shooting hot streak to his stats this season. If his shooting isn’t real, he will struggle to do anything offensively due to his lack of shot creation. The Wizards take Risacher because he’s a solid bet to be solid and he can fit into whatever they build going forward.

The other players I considered for this pick — Stephon Castle, Donovan Clingan, and Reed Sheppard — simply didn’t have enough upside or versatility to pass on Risacher.

3. Houston Rockets – Reed Sheppard, G, Kentucky

Darren Yuvan, The Dream Shake — If I’m the Rockets, I trade this pick. Houston has a plethora of young talent all fighting for court time, and injecting another kid (he’s 19) might not be ideal. I’d prefer the Rockets move this pick either for a vet or, better yet, assets in a future draft.

But since we can’t trade for our purposes, Sheppard it is. He’s the best shooter in this draft, and Houston is short on them. Despite his size (6’3), he’s also an active defender and an adequate distributor, and could find playing time at backup point guard, with Amen Thompson sliding to forward. I’d also consider Donovan Clingan, Stephon Castle, and Matas Buzelis here, but Sheppard is the pick.

4. San Antonio Spurs – Stephon Castle, G, UConn

Jesus Gomez, Pounding the Rock — Castle’s rumored desire to be a point guard in the NBA could scare off a lot of teams, but probably not the one that trotted out Jeremy Sochan as initiator last season. The questionable shooting is a serious concern, but Castle’s defensive versatility and secondary playmaking should be useful no matter what position he ends up playing.

5. Detroit Pistons – Donovan Clingan, C, UConn

Sean Corp, Detroit Bad Boys — The Pistons need a lot of help, and they can’t really do better than having Clingan fall to them at 5. Not only does it allow them to draft a defensive anchor on a team desperately looking for consistency on that end of the floor, it opens up a world of trade down possibilities with teams looking to add the big man themselves.

Clingan also gives the team flexibility to consolidate some youth already on the roster like Jalen Duren into a multi-player package for a more established player to slot alongside Cade Cunningham. You keep him, it’s a win. You trade him to the highest bidder, it’s a win. Winning has been in short supply, so the Pistons would be thrilled to see the draft board shake out like this.

6. Charlotte Hornets – Matas Buzelis, F, G League Ignite

James Dator, SB Nation Writer and Hornets Fan — In a perfect world Charlotte would have access to someone like Donovan Clingan to strengthen their interior defense, or Stephon Castle to offer depth at the guard spot — but with both gone they pick the next-best option. The Hornets have myriad youth at multiple positions, but an athletic wing is something the team needs a future plan for.

It’s unclear whether Miles Bridges will remain with the Hornets long-term, so there’s a lot to like about imagining rotations with Buzelis alongside Brandon Miller. There’s work to be done for sure, as Buzelis’ 27% from three wont suffice in the NBA — but in a weak draft he’s the best long-term upside pick at this position.

7. Portland Trail Blazers – Cody Williams, F, Colorado

Steve Dewald, Blazer’s Edge — The Blazers’ Colorado brain trust lands one of their own by selecting Cody Williams. As a player, Williams is unproven with a small sample size of effective production, but he has frame made for the NBA. If Williams develops like his brother at the next level, he could be the steal of the draft. The stakes are low and this prospect pool leaves a lot to be desired. At least Williams is a high-ceiling player at a premium position. Williams will also take time to develop, which keeps the Blazers on track for the 2025 NBA Draft.

8. San Antonio Spurs – Tidjane Salaun, F, Cholet Basket

Jesus Gomez, Pounding the Rock — At this stage, Salaun seems too raw to contribute much as a rookie but his youth, size, motor and budding skillset make him a worthwhile project. If he reaches his ceiling, Salaun could be a do-it-all forward who offers shooting, passing and defense while also being able to play center for stretches on small lineups. The Spurs would need to be patient with him, but they could mold him into a uniquely valuable player.

9. Memphis Grizzlies – Ron Holland, F, G League Ignite

Clint Nielson, SLC Dunk Draft Expert — Ron Holland was once considered the top prospect for the 2024 draft, before the G-League Ignite’s abysmal season. His elite athleticism, measurements, defense both on the perimeter and in the paint, ability to get to the rim, and motor make him a great choice for the Grizzles. In a draft lacking star potential, Holland certainly has the potential to make multiple all-star games, though he needs to improve his 3-point percentage.

While some say the Grizzles need a starting center, Jaren Jackson Jr. could be a full-time starting center and Ron Holland could start at the power forward spot in today’s small-ball era. Morant and Holland on the fastbreak could be one of the most terrifying sights for opposing teams all season.

10. Utah Jazz – Nikola Topic, G, Red Stars

James Hansen, SLC Dunk: Danny Ainge in his postseason presser said that he’s not sure that Keyonte George is a point guard, and drafting Topic could potentially fill that need. Topic had some underwhelming recent measurements recently including a negative wingspan. He’s also recovering from a partial ACL tear. Those things combined are why it’s possible he’s there for the Jazz at 10.

But despite all that, he’s arguably the best point guard prospect in this draft, with good size and numbers while playing in a good league. Even if it takes time for Topic to come back from his injury, the Jazz aren’t under huge presssure to rush to any wins. With a fantastic 2025 draft coming, the Jazz can stand to give Topic plenty of time to recover and develop this season.

11. Chicago Bulls – Isaiah Collier, G, USC

Ricky O’Donnell, SB Nation Draft Expert — I made this pick before the Bulls traded Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey, and admittedly it doesn’t make much sense now. Giddey has to play on the ball because of his lack of shooting, and that makes it unlikely the Bulls draft another on-ball player with a shaky jumper in Collier. Chicago’s loss will be someone else’s gain: the USC freshman is one of the best creation bets in this class as a speedy guard who can consistently pressure the rim, and brings plus passing vision. Providence’s Devin Carter makes a lot more sense now if he’s still on the board at No. 11.

12. Oklahoma City Thunder – Rob Dillingham, G, Kentucky

Ricky O’Donnell, SB Nation Draft Expert — Dillingham is the best player available on the board, and the Thunder would have good reason to end his slide. Oklahoma City lost a little bit of shot creation in the Josh Giddey trade, and Dillingham would immediately fill that hole by adding shooting at the cost of size.

The Kentucky freshman is one of the best shooters in this class — whether he’s on or off the ball — with a quick trigger, deep range, and excellent relocation chops. He’s also one of the best ball handlers and passers in this class. Dillingham is just very small, but OKC has enough size and length to insulate him on the defensive end.

This would feel like something of a luxury pick for the Thunder, but they have cap space and so many potential draft picks to trade to fill bigger needs later this summer — starting with adding some more size and rebounding on the interior.

13. Sacramento Kings – Devin Carter, G, Providence

Ricky O’Donnell, SB Nation Draft Expert — There’s so much to like about Carter’s game: he’s a monster athlete, a lockdown defender, a fantastic rebounder, and an improved shooter who proved he can get up three-pointers with volume this past year at Providence. Though he only measured just over 6’2 barefoot at the combine, Carter plays so much bigger than his size with long arms, a strong chest, and explosive leaping ability. He can play next to either De’Aaron Fox or Malik Monk in the Kings’ backcourt, and add a tenacious defender and another shooter.

14. Portland Trail Blazers – Dalton Knecht, F, Tennessee

Steve Dewald, Blazer’s Edge — Ideally, the Blazers avoid making two lottery selections this year. If Portland is unable to trade out of this slot, Dalton Knecht is a serviceable option. Knecht is a proven scorer and would boost the Blazers’ floor spacing immediately.

Knecht was a subpar defender in college and that weakness could serve as an advantage for Portland next year. In order to increase their lottery odds for the loaded 2025 class, the Blazers could feature Knecht early and often.

15. Miami Heat – Jared McCain, G, Duke

JP Acosta, SB Nation Writer and Heat fan — The Heat need some more spacing and shooting from their guards, and with Terry Rozier missing the last stretch of the season due to injury and Tyler Herro being a bit of a problem defensively, I could see the Heat going with a sweet-shooting guard like McCain here. He would open the floor up a bit more for Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, while also having the upside of a second or third-option scorer.

16. Philadelphia 76ers – Ja’Kobe Walter, F, Baylor

Paul Hudrick, Liberty Ballers — If this scenario presents itself on draft night, expect Daryl Morey to trade back — maybe even out of the first round entirely to maximize cap space and collect more draft capital — but Walter is the pick here for me.

His floor is a high-level 3-and-D wing, something that is always coveted in the NBA. While the consensus seems to be that his ceiling isn’t that high, he’s only 19 years old. Some will suggest a plug-and-play prospect here, but Morey’s track record suggests he’ll take the best player available, regardless of age or position.

17. Los Angeles Lakers – Tristan da Silva, F, Colorado

Jacob Rude, Silver Screen and Roll — The Lakers have a handful of ways they could go in the draft, whether it be drafting a big or a wing. As has been their approach for quite some time, they’ll take the best player available, and that turned out to be da Silva in this draft.

He’s a wing that can step in and contribute from day one, whether through his 3-point shooting or his defense. And there is no such thing as too many 3-and-D wings, especially alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

18. Orlando Magic – Bub Carrington, G, Pitt

Sven Karabogovic, SLC Dunk draft expert — During their post-season run, the Orlando Magic displayed their most glaring needs: shot creation and playmaking. While the guard core of Jalen Suggs, Markelle Fultz, and Cole Anthony offered a valiant conglomerate effort at addressing these issues, their sub-par shooting led to their offense lacking enough torque to cut through the Cleveland Cavaliers’ defense.

Bub Carrington, while inefficiant at times, showed the ability to generate offense for the Pittsburgh Panthers through creative shot creation and solid court vision. With this pick, the Magic can hope that Carrington develops into a serviceable lead ball handler who decreases the pressure on Wagner and Banchero when the offense stalls.

19. Toronto Raptors – Kel’el Ware, C, Indiana

JD Quirante, Raptors HQ — The Toronto Raptors have been searching for the ideal center to pair with Siakam (failed), and now, not just with the soon-to-be-extended Scottie Barnes, but would also fit coach Darko Rajakovic’s offense.

Kel’el Ware’s a “modern big starter pack” with plenty of upside. He’s a lottery talent hidden outside of the lottery, as it would take the right team to bring out his upside into actuality. The Raptors have a solid developmental record, and given how they dropped the ball for the past two or three years, and how the NBA’s new salary cap rules are affecting roster construction, we have to believe that getting back into producing diamonds in the rough is something that was a mandate for President Masai Ujiri when he made a coaching change last year.

20. Cleveland Cavaliers – Johnny Furphy, F, Kansas

Jackson Flickinger, Fear the Sword — The Cavs lack of wing options was exposed in their series with the Celtics. They need wings that can stretch the floor and fit in alongside other high-usage players. Cleveland also needs team defenders who can guard opposing wings without being physically outmatched. Furphy isn’t the perfect solution, but he’s likely the best that can be found in the bottom third of the first round.

21. New Orleans Pelicans – Tyler Kolek, G, Marquette

Lake Hale, SLC Dunk Draft Expert — If Brandon Ingram leads your team in assists with just 5.7 a game, things could be better for you from a playmaking perspective. Tyler could be a true, pass-first point guard who can set up lobs with Zion Williamson, hit CJ McCollumn and Trey Murphy III coming off screens, and can shoot the ball well himself.

He might have some diet TJ McConnell in him, but his ability to push the pace and pass ahead feels more like Lonzo Ball to me.

22. Phoenix Suns – Yves Missi, C, Baylor

John Voita, Bright Side of the Sun — What do the Suns need (outside of an attitude adjustment)? Athleticism. Defense. Size. Yves Missi from Baylor gives Phoenix all three at the 22nd pick. While we had our eyes and hearts set on Tyler Kolek (we need a plug-and-play point guard, damn you Pelicans), drafting Missi gives Phoenix an upside play as Missi oozes with potential.

His affinity for offensive rebound — coupled with his rim-running ability — would be a welcome sight in the Valley of the Sun. He could replace Drew Eubanks by the end of training camp. Yay!

23. Milwaukee Bucks – Ryan Dunn, F, Virginia

Kyle Carr, Brew Hoop — The Bucks’ struggles for the entire season were on the defensive side, and their playoff series loss to the Indiana Pacers exposed how their lack of athleticism played a large role in that.

Ryan Dunn’s defensive ability has been highly praised by scouts, and he is someone who can come in and help Milwaukee immediately — especially if paired with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. There are concerns about his offensive abilities, but the potential defensive impact is too good to pass up.

24. New York Knicks – Zach Edey, C, Purdue

Russell Richardson, Posting and Toasting — Zach Edey, the reigning two-time Naismith College Player of the Year, fits Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau’s preference for traditional big men. Offensively, Edey excels in the post, although he needs improvement in passing and ball security. Defensively, he’s a strong rim protector but lumbers a bit and may struggle with the NBA’s pace and spacing.

But despite his limitations, Edey’s work ethic, durability, and offensive rebounding could make him a valuable asset for the Knicks, especially with the looming possibility of losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency.

25. New York Knicks – Tyler Smith, F, G League Ignite

Russell Richardson, Posting and Toasting — With Precious Achiuwa possibly departing this offseason, the Knicks may need another power forward in their stable.

Meet 19-year-old Tyler Smith of G League Ignite. Ranked No. 12 among 2024 prospects by our own Ricky O’Donnell, Smith is a 6’10 forward who averaged 13.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, shooting 36% on 3-pointers. Plus: A seven-foot-one wingspan! Gimmie those offensive boards!

Smith aims to emulate players like Jabari Smith, Kyle Kuzma, and Michael Porter Jr. — which might be a stretch (pun sort of intended) — but he does have promise. At best, he starts out giving Julius Randle 10-15 minutes of rest per night; at worst, he chops it up with the Westchester Knicks for a season.

26. Washington Wizards – KJ Simpson, G, Colorado

Renzo Salao, Bullets Forever — Picking Colorado point guard KJ Simpson this early may be a reach. But given the state of the Wizards’ backcourt, Simpson is worth the additional stretch. The 21-year-old junior was the top scorer on a team with projected top-20 picks Cody Williams and Tristan Da Silva.

Simpson averaged 19.7 points on stellar efficiency: 47.5% from the field, 43.4% from three, and 87.6% from the line. Standing under 6’1 without shoes, Simpson will be limited defensively at the next level. But he does possess NBA range, can shoot off the bounce, and is adept off the ball. He was also a top-15 rebounder in the Pac-12 averaging 5.8 per game – the only player on the list under 6’6”. Adding Simpson to arguably the worst guard rotation in the NBA is an easy call.

27. Minnesota Timberwolves – Baylor Scheierman, G, Creighton

Thilo Widder, Canis Hoopus — I don’t think it is physically possible for this draft to have gone worse for the Wolves’ needs.

Mike Conley is older than the internet and Nickeil Alexander Walker is entering 2025 on an expiring contract. Unfortunately for everyone involved (me), it seems that the rest of the league is looking at point guards as well. While it was certainly ambitious to hope for a Rob Dillingham to fall, seeing as KJ Simpson was the last draftable point guard on my board, I was forced to pivot.

That brings us to Creighton’s Baylor Scheierman. Before any amount of basketball analysis, before a discussion of skillset and fit, we need to talk about the numbers. Not the statistics, but about Scheierman’s preference for number 55. That’s right folks, I drafted a player to have him play against Luka Garza for a jersey number.

But Baylor is an excellent shooter and off-ball mover and would add a movement shooter to buoy the offense that the Wolves have lacked ever since the departure of Malik Beasley. While Conley’s successor may have been the clear need, Scheierman provides a different approach to solving the offensive problems that a young point guard would have been asked to fix.

28. Denver Nuggets – DaRon Holmes II, F/C, Dayton

Ricky O’Donnell, SB Nation Draft Expert — Holmes was one of the most productive players in the country as a junior for Dayton, packing the box score with blocks, rebounds, assists, free throw attempts, and consistent scoring all season long. At 6’8.75 barefoot with a 7’1 wingspan, Holmes knew he couldn’t bully opponents forever and needed to add more skill to his game.

He came back as a much improved 3-point shooter, ball handler, and passer. Holmes could play some minutes at the five backing up Nikola Jokic, and it’s possible he could also play with him at times if his shot continues to develop. Holmes has proven himself to be a very good basketball player, and those guys usually find a way to make it work.

29. Utah Jazz – Kyshawn George, F, Miami

James Hansen, SLC Dunk — The Utah Jazz need size and shooting and that’s what Kyshawn George brings. There’s some questions about his production, or at least the lack thereof, but he shot 40% from three and looks like he can likley get his shot off being 6’8, but he’s not explosive, and so there are some concerns about getting his own looks reliably.

That said, there are flashes of playmaking to his game as well as some high-IQ plays on the defensive end. If he’s crafty in the league, he could potentially be a secondary shooter/playmaker in the mold of former Jazzman Joe Ingles.

30. Boston Celtics – Kyle Filipowski, C, Duke

Jeff Clark, CelticsBlog — What do you get the team that has everything? Well, given how expensive this team is going to get, the answer is probably cap relief. So don’t be too surprised if the Celtics trade out of this spot in order to avoid locking into a guaranteed salary for someone that might not contribute next season.

However, if they keep the pick, they should look to add long-term, cost-controlled depth. There’s no Al Horford replacement in the draft (or in the whole world for that matter), but the Celtics could always use some more depth at the big man spot. Filipowski has the tools to be a stretch option with good offensive skills.

And he can swap Duke stories with Tatum on the bus, which might be as close to game action as he’ll get.

How close did we get to how this thing will actually shake out? Find out when the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft starts at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, June 26 on ABC, ESPN and ESPN+.

Oilers drop incredible hype video ahead of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final oilers,drop,incredible,hype,video,ahead,of,game,of,the,stanley,cup,final,sbnation,com,front-page,nhl,stanley-cup-finals,nhl-playoffs

On: June 24, 2024 By: admin

Social media hype videos are all the rages these days.

Over the years teams have made them the stuff of legend. During their run to a National Championship the social media department for the LSU Tigers crafted incredible videos, culminating in this appearance by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson for their finale against Clemson.

Just this summer alone we have seen Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes in dueling hype videos for the NBA Finals, with Brady narrating a video put together by the Boston Celtics while Mahomes supplied the voiceover for the corresponding video released by the Dallas Mavericks.

That leads us to the Edmonton Oilers.

The Oilers are on the verge of making NHL history, as they look to become the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup Final after dropping the first three games of the series. The Oilers already made some history earlier in the series, as they became the first team in league history to force a Game 6 after going down 3-0 to start a series, while winning Game 5 on the road.

As you might expect, the Oilers dropped a hype video of their own Monday ahead of Game 7, but they kept it simple. No celebrity voiceover, just some tremendous instrumental music along with the calls from various moments of the series.

And it is perfect:

ame 7 is tonight. You might want to watch.

Because you might witness history.

Did Don Draper invent Grimace in 1971 to help the Mets in 2024? An investigation did,don,draper,invent,grimace,in,to,help,the,mets,in,an,investigation,sbnation,com,front-page,mlb,draftkings

On: June 24, 2024 By: admin

The Mets were a hapless mess of an organization until Grimace came into their lives. The husky blob of unknown density arrived at Citi Field to throw out the first pitch on June 12, and since the team has gone 9-and-2 — now in legitimate striking distance of grabbing a wild card.

Everyone has wondered how the hell Grimace has been able to turn the Mets around. More importantly: Why Grimace? What if I told you that this was a plan 53-years in the making, all set into motion by Don Draper of Mad Men fame in an effort to help his beloved team win before his 100th birthday?

Don Draper is a die-hard Mets fan

This is established throughout Mad Men. The Mets are a fundamental piece of Don’s identity, which establishes him as a modern man who has no particular reverence for the past, which is why he supports the upstart Metropolitans over the historic and vaunted Yankees.

A Mets pennant is a proudly displayed part of Don’s office, and remains a feature of the show until late in the series. The last we see Don’s allegiance to the Mets he finds the pennant under an old desk, electing to throw it out — but as we’ll come to realize it’s a love that never dies.

There are some Mad Men spoilers coming up, but at this point the finale was in 2015. You’ve had more than enough time to watch Mad Men.

Don Draper, Coca-Cola, and Grimace

The series finale of Mad Men left with Don finally finding the inner-peace that alluded him throughout the series. More importantly to the tale of Grimace and the Mets, it establishes that Don came up with the groundbreaking “Buy the world a Coke” campaign, which reshaped advertising in 1971, and is one of the most influential commercials of all time.

This tells us that Don was back on top in 1971. He didn’t leave the ad game, but instead rose like a phoenix to deliver the best work of his life after getting his own like in order. Now, it’s not difficult to imagine that after reshaping Coca-Cola he wouldn’t have landed another massive account to guide them into the future: McDonald’s.

When was Grimace created? You guessed it… 1971. The same year as the Coca-Cola campaign. But this goes so much deeper.

Debuting as “The Evil Grimace,” the initial portrayal of Grimace was as an evil entity who stole all the cups from McDonald’s to prevent children from getting … you guessed it: Coke.

See, Grimace was the part of Don’s psyche he left behind. The negative energy that he jettisoned. If the new, enlightened Don Draper wants to buy the world a Coke, the old Draper wanted to horde all the cups to himself and prevent the world from having Coca-Cola.

Don created “The Evil Grimace” to be the precise counterpoint to the last image we have of him from Mad Men — smiling. Then, in 1972 Grimace is re-introduced as Ronald’s best friend, and not a bad guy anymore. This was Don telling the world that he had changed. That he was different. That he was a happy, contributing member of society.

There are more hints of Draper’s involvement in McDonald’s too

Draper creates Grimace in 1971 and continues to work on the McDonald’s account, pulling more and more examples from his own life into the ad campaigns.

Hamburglar is a manifestation of Peggy Olson, created in 1971. With red hair and prominent teeth, Draper posits that Hamburglar is both mischievous and lovable, while also stealing the literal heart of out McDonald’s by taking their hamburgers. This is a metaphor for how Peggy ripped Don’s heart out, and he never recovered.
The Fry Kids from 1972 represent Don’s children.
Birdie is introduced in 1980, named after Don’s nickname for his ex-wife Betty. The full name “Birdie, the early bird” is a scathing critique of Betty’s self-absorption and his resentment at how self-reliant his children needed to be to support their mother’s life of sloth.
Mayor McCheese represents Bert Cooper, while Officer Big Mac is Roger Sterling — for obvious reasons.

How do the Mets fit into all this?

The number 100 is key to all of this. Don, despite being such a die-hard Mets fan, endured four consecutive 100-loss seasons from 1962-to-1965. When Draper was in his prime, the Mets were disgustingly awful — and yet he remained a fan.

Draper’s beloved team finally managed to win in 1969, but at that point Don was too far in the depths of despair and alcoholism to truly enjoy it. By the time he got his life back on track (and created Grimace) in 1971, the Mets had firmly become a middling team, which was present for most of his life.

There was only one World Series that Don truly got to enjoy in 1986. This coincided with Grimace’s rise to popularity, in which Grimace’s universe was expanded to highlight his family. It’s here that Draper, now aged 61 is coming to terms with his own mortality and wanting to wind down his advertising career by showing that family is important.

The “Grimace Shake” unveiled by McDonald’s on June 12, 2023 to commemorate the character’s birthday means inherently that the shake is there to celebrate Don’s birthday. HE. IS. GRIMACE. The two are one in the same.

Fast-forward to 2024

It is established in Mad Men that Draper was born in 1925, and we now know his full birthday is June 12, 1925. This is significant because 2024 is the last season the Mets can win the World Series before Don turns 100, a chance to exorcise the memories of those horrible 100-loss season where it all began, a chance to experience some sporting joy before he shifts off this mortal coil.

Don calls in a favor. He tells McDonald’s to dispatch Grimace to the Mets. Don is too old and frail to make it to Queens in person, but Grimace will be his spiritual medium to help the team in their time of need.

Grimace throws out the pitch on June 12, 2024 — Don’s 99th birthday. He witnesses as the team begins to turn it around and become relevant once more. The man who bought the world a Coke has now thrown the Mets a bone.

As an inside joke both McDonald’s at the Mets poke fun at Don’s womanizing past by having Grimace hit on Mrs. Met, and post it on social media.

Don Draper created Grimace as an extension of himself, and now Grimace is helping the Mets achieve what was previously thought impossible. It’s all because of one advertising executive and his checkered past.

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.

Can Scottie Scheffler win staggering 6th victory at the Travelers can,scottie,scheffler,win,staggering,th,victory,at,the,travelers,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-opinions,golf-news,liv-golf

On: June 23, 2024 By: admin

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

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, in which the crew will discuss various elements of the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and other professional golf tournaments.

The final round of the Travelers Championship is here, and to no one’s surprise, Scottie Scheffler is in contention. His best friend, Tom Kim, continues to hold the lead by one stroke, but will he be able to hold off the two-time Masters winner?

Sunday will look different. The PGA Tour moved up tee times for the final round and put the guys into threesomes. With bad weather lurking in the afternoon, the leaders will tee off at 11:15 a.m. ET.

Kim, Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia are in the last group of the day. Let’s discuss Championship Sunday.

Travelers Championship’s final round will be wild:

Saturday saw Cameron Young shoot a historical 59, but his play quickly got overshadowed by Scheffler, Kim, and Bhatia’s play.

He finished tied with Kim at 13-under, but by the end of Saturday’s round, he trailed by five shots.

The afternoon wave fought another weather delay, but that did not matter as the conditions were so soft.

While Kim played well the first three days, Scheffler and Bhatia also did well. They all shot 65 or better in the first three rounds.

Determining a winner on Sunday will likely come down to who can limit mistakes and sign for the most birdies.

Scheffler already has five victories in 2024. He won three Signature Events, the most recent being The Memorial, the 2024 Masters, and The Players.

Can he earn his fourth Signature Event win? Scheffler is so hard to beat right now, so it will be interesting to see if two young bucks like Kim and Bhatia can keep up.

Not to mention, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Sungjae Im and Tony Finau lurk in the groups ahead.

Scheffler did not play well at the U.S. Open, but his game returned to normal on Thursday. Regardless, Championship Sunday will be wild for the Travelers as records could get broken.

ICYMI: Top stories from across professional golf

Proud Dad Moment: Brooks Koepka’s son gives Bryson DeChambeau an incredible slight

LIV Golf pro calls out South Africa Olympic team, PGA Tour players should step aside

Wyndham Clark’s unexpected hot take on the Olympics will make Ryder Cup fans shake their heads

KPMG Women’s PGA Championship: Nelly Korda among big LPGA names to stumble, miss cut

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.

Lando Norris’ anguish tells the story of both the F1 Spanish Grand Prix and the season lando,norris,anguish,tells,the,story,of,both,the,f,spanish,grand,prix,and,the,season,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one,2024-formula-one

On: June 23, 2024 By: admin

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya contains the longest run from the start-finish line to the first turn on the entire Formula 1 schedule. Measuring in at 579 meters from the pole position grid box to Turn 1, that is a lot of ground to cover at the start of a Grand Prix.

Saturday night those 579 meters must have been on Lando Norris’ mind.

Starting in P1, Norris knew he had to close the door on Max Verstappen at the start of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix. To beat Verstappen you need to be perfect, you need to be “balls out” as Norris rather eloquently described on Saturday after snaring pole position from his rival. That meant slamming the door on Verstappen — one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen — over those first 579 meters and holding on from there.

Try as he might after the lights went out, Norris could not fend him off. Verstappen was able to get by his friend and rival shortly after the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix began after a hard bit of racing between the two.

Their initial fight opened the door for George Russell, albeit for just a moment. Russell was able to overtake both drivers with a stunning double overtake at the start to take an early lead in the race.

But Verstappen was not behind the Mercedes for long. Prodded on by race engineer Gianpiero “GP” Lambiase, Verstappen stuck his own overtake of Russell on Lap 3 to get into the lead.

Where he would finish, capturing his seventh Grand Prix victory of the season.

Again, however, he needed to push. In the closing stages of the race, Norris was again trying to close the gap, extracting every last bit of rubber out of his tires, much as he did at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix a few weeks ago. At Imola, Norris just needed one more lap and he might have caught his friend, ultimately losing by less than a second. In Barcelona, Norris could only close the gap to around two seconds, and at the end of the race when informed by his team he had indeed finished second, the McLaren driver was distraught.

“Should have won,” started Norris. “I ******* up the start.”

But that anguish from Norris perhaps tells the bigger story of this Formula 1 season. A year ago a P2 finish, two seconds behind Verstappen, would have been considered a massive win for any team. At this track a year ago Verstappen won by over 24 seconds.

That gap is down to just two seconds this year.

Verstappen may go on to secure his fourth-straight Drivers’ Championship. He may carry Red Bull to their third-straight Constructors’ title.

But this year, he and Red Bull are going to have to work for it.

Here are the full results from the 2024 Spanish Grand Prix, as well as some more winners and losers.

Winners: McLaren

“Not could, should have.”

That is how Lando Norris described his effort at the Spanish Grand Prix to David Coulthard trackside after the race. Norris was emphatic that not only could he have won this race, but that he should have.

Again, that anguish highlights just how much the game has changed this F1 season.

Norris may rue the start to the Spanish Grand Prix, where as outlined above he faced one of the biggest challenges on the calendar, which is holding the lead over the long run into Turn 1 at Barcelona. Norris gave it everything he had, even forcing Verstappen hard to the inside in an incident that race officials investigated, but took no further action on as it was an opening-lap racing incident. But in the end, Verstappen was just too much.

On this day. Upcoming races, however, may be different.

“Austria and Silverstone are two of my favorite tracks,” added Norris to Coulthard. “I need to just tidy up a few little bits and I’ll be on top.”

Still, this was another strong day for McLaren. Norris kept his streak alive of being the only driver this season to secure points in every Grand Prix, and his 18 points — along with the bonus point for the fastest lap of the race — along with the six points from Oscar Piastri’s P7 saw McLaren bank 25 points on the day. That is seven more points than that 18 Ferrari took home thanks to a P5 from Charles Leclerc and a P6 from Carlos Sainz Jr.

Inching McLaren a few points closer to the Scuderia in their fight for second in the Constructors’ Championship.

Loser: C1 hard compound

In the game of F1 tire strategy, there was a clear loser this Sunday: The C1 compound, designated by Pirelli as the “hard” compound for this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

A two-stop strategy was highlighted throughout the buildup to the Spanish Grand Prix as the ideal path for teams, but those potential strategies often utilized some variation of soft and medium tires. As illustrated by the brilliant Ruth Buscombe on F1TV — whose move from Head of Race Strategy at Sauber to an analyst on F1TV has been a massive addition to the coverage — given the surface in Barcelona drivers want to be on as soft a compound as possible at the end of the race, otherwise the grip is just not there.

But two teams in contention rolled the dice on those C1 tires: Mercedes with George Russell and Ferrari with Carlos Sainz Jr.

Both drivers eventually saw their teammates overtake them on softer tires, with Charles Leclerc getting by Sainz for P5 and Lewis Hamilton overtaking Russell on a set of softs for the final podium position.

And further back in the field some teams that tried to extend longer runs on the hards in hopes of something breaking their way, only saw those tires fade down the stretch of those runs.

For those wondering, the C1 hard compound will not come into play at next weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, as Pirelli has already identified the three compounds for that race weekend. The C3, which was the softest compound in Barcelona, will be the hard compound at Red Bull Ring, with the C4 serving as the medium and the C5 as the soft.

Silverstone, however, will see the C1, the C2, and the C3 back in service.

That gives the C1 two weeks to think about what it’s done …

Winners: Mercedes

“It’s been a good day,” described Lewis Hamilton after the race to David Coulthard.

Sunday was indeed a good day for Mercedes. The Spanish Grand Prix began with the Silver Arrows having the second row all to themselves, with Lewis Hamilton in P3 and George Russell in P4.

And that is how they ended, bringing home 27 points on the weekend, another solid haul for the team.

Dating back to the Miami Grand Prix when Mercedes started rolling out a series of upgrades to their 2024 challenger, the W15, the talk from the team has been that of “progress.” But over the past two race weekends, that progress has been fully realized. Russell notched the team’s first Grand Prix podium of the season with his third-place finish in the Canadian Grand Prix, and Hamilton made it two in a row for the Brackley-based team with his first Grand Prix podium of the season in Barcelona. (Hamilton finished second in the F1 Sprint Race at the Chinese Grand Prix back in April).

Speaking with Coulthard the seven-time Drivers’ Champion hailed the effort from the team. “I have to say a big thank you to the team because they just, they’ve been training so hard,” described Hamilton. “The strategy and the pit stops were really on point.”

Sunday’s result pulled Mercedes two points closer to McLaren, and also nine points closer to Ferrari, in the Constructors’ Championship standings. With a long way to go in this season, there is reason to believe that Mercedes can truly turn this progress into performance and eventually, positions in the standings.

Losers: Aston Martin

Aston Martin has been downplaying expectations all week. Following Saturday’s qualifying session that saw both Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll end their days in Q2, Team Principal Mike Krack outlined how that was “ … the best we had in the car today.” That meant a podium finish was likely out of the cards, and points were their only achievable goal.

A goal that they could not accomplish on Sunday.

By the time the checkered flag flew both drivers were on the outside of the points looking in, with Stroll in 14th and hometown hero Alonso a few spots ahead, in P12.

Aston Martin is slowly finding themselves where Alpine was a season ago. Just quick enough that the teams at the back end of the midfield cannot pose a true threat, but stuck too far outside range of the teams ahead of them. As the field heads to Red Bull Ring Aston Martin find themselves now 93 points behind fourth-place Mercedes, and with the recent run of form from the Silver Arrows, that gap will likely only grow over the next two races.

Thankfully for Aston Martin their closest pursuers, VCARB, had some struggles of their own and could not chip away at the 30 points that separate those two teams.

Still, after a stunning start to the 2023 season that had Aston Martin the talk of the paddock, things have certainly changed for them this season.

Winners: Alpine

Speaking of Alpine …

The French team began the year with six straight races without a single point to show for their hard work.

But after breaking through with their first point of the year, a tenth-place finish from Esteban Ocon at the Miami Grand Prix the driver described as a sign they were “ … headed in the right direction,” the team has now scored in four of the last five race weekends. Not only did Alpine add to their tally again this weekend, but with both Ocon and Pierre Gasly finishing in the points (Ocon in tenth, Gasly in ninth) it marks the second-straight double-points finish for the team.

They still have a long way to go to catch VCARB ahead of them in the standings, as they trail Red Bull’s sister team by 20 points as the grid leaves Barcelona, but this graph from Formula1Points illustrates the upward trajectory we have seen from Alpine in recent weeks:

Can they keep that momentum into Austria, and throughout the rest of the season?

It would make for quite the comeback story.

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.

Wyndham Clark’s unexpected hot take on the Olympics over the Ryder Cup wyndham,clark,s,unexpected,hot,take,on,the,olympics,over,the,ryder,cup,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,olympics,ryder-cup-golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

On: June 22, 2024 By: admin

Wyndham Clark likes to give his opinion, even if the majority does not like it.

Last year, he attempted to call out Rory McIlroy and Team Europe before the Ryder Cup in Rome. He also missed the cut at The Masters earlier this year after calling out LIV Golf for its 54-hole tournaments.

However, his comment about the Olympics may be the hottest take ever.

Clark is one of the four Americans who will represent the United States in the Olympic golf tournament. He joins Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.

“The Ryder Cup in golf is kind of the biggest thing, but now that golf’s in the Olympics, it’s probably even bigger than that because you’re representing your country at such a bigger level,” Clark said.

“Hopefully, all four of us can try to snag some podium spots and give medals to the U.S. to win that total medal count. But, yeah, it’s pretty awesome. This probably ranks as the coolest team I’ve ever made, for sure.”

The 2023 U.S. Open winner is entitled to his opinion. However, to call the Olympics a bigger country representation than the Ryder Cup as a professional golfer is quite interesting.

Clark made his Ryder Cup debut last September. Team Europe embarrassed Team USA in Rome. He scored 1.5 points for the Americans at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

“It is a nice weight lifted off my shoulders knowing that I made the team versus feeling like if I was trying to hold on,” he said. “So now that I made it, it doesn’t matter if you’re the No.1 guy or the fourth guy, as long as you make the team. So, it’s pretty awesome that I finally made it.”

Becoming an Olympian is quite an honor, so it makes sense for him to be this excited. Clark could also just be enthusiastic about wearing those patriotic J. Lindeberg outfits.

It is still odd to see a professional golfer rank any team over the Ryder Cup because it is one of the only times a golfer can play for his country alongside teammates.

Maybe Clark is just different, and becoming an Olympian is that special to him.

Is the Olympics a bigger deal than the Ryder Cup? Let us know in the comments.