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The Open: Justin Rose headlines 16 players who made it to Troon the,open,justin,rose,headlines,players,who,made,it,to,troon,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-majors,golf-pga-tour,golf-dp-world-tour,liv-golf

The Open Justin Rose headlines 16 players who made it
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Englishman Justin Rose will head back to The Open Championship at Royal Troon after carding an 8-under 134 at Burnham and Berrow—one of the four qualifying sites scattered across the British Isles.

It will mark Rose’s 19th appearance in golf’s oldest major, with his best finish coming in 2018, when he tied for second at Carnoustie. The 2013 U.S. Open winner also played at Royal Troon in 2016, tying for 22nd.

“Sometimes you take it for granted—you’re exempt, you turn up and play for many years, but as you get older, things get a little harder, so in some ways, it’s good to have to qualify because it makes you appreciate The Open a little more and how special it is,” Rose said after.

“Coming back to Burnham and Berrow was also special—first time back here since 1997. I was grateful to be back here and walk down memory lane.”

Rose played spectacularly, tying fellow Englishman Dominic Clemmons—an amateur—atop the leaderboard. Mexican Abraham Ancer and Swede Charlie Lindh will join these two players in The Open from Southwest England.

The four players who qualified from Burnham and Berrow, from left to right: Dominic Clemons, Abraham Ancer, Charlie Lindh, and Justin Rose.
Photo by Luke Walker/R&A via Getty Images

Ancer, Lindh, and Indian Anirban Lahiri finished at 5-under, putting this trio in a 3-for-2 playoff to determine who would go to Royal Troon. But Lahiri failed to make par on the first extra hole, while the other two managed to do so, thus ending Lahiri’s bid of returning to The Open.

Miracles at Dundonald Links

Amateur Jack MacDonald, who grew up minutes from Royal Troon, drained a 25-footer for birdie on the first playoff hole to clinch a spot in the 152nd Open field. He defeated Swede Tim Widing, who has a pair of wins on the Korn Ferry Tour this season, and fellow Scotsman Daniel Young.

But that was not the only magic produced at Dundonald on Tuesday.

Ángel Hidalgo, who hails from Spain and has never played in a major championship, drained a 120-yard wedge shot for an eagle two on the par-4 9th—his final hole of the day—to leap up to 5-under overall and book a ticket to Troon. Talk about clutch.

At 26 years old, Hidalgo has never won on the DP World Tour, but he does have one victory to his name on the Challenge Tour—the European equivalent of the Korn Ferry Tour.

“I’m still shaking,” Hidalgo said of his miraculous shot.

Ángel Hidalgo, The Open

Ángel Hidalgo reacts to his miraculous final shot that got him into the 152nd Open.
Photo by Mark Runnacles/R&A via Getty Images

“The second shot was perfect distance. It was the first time all day I had a full club and at that type of moment. With nerves I prefer to have a full club. I didn’t see the ball go in but to be honest I don’t care. I just jumped and cried with my caddie, and we deserve it. We fight a lot. All this year we’ve not really had any luck so for it to finally take place in The Open would be a really good gift.”

Meanwhile, Englishman Sam Hutsby did not need any late miracles. He earned medalist honors at Dundonald thanks to a brilliant 8-under 136 over 36 holes. Hutsby finished three clear of Hidalgo and Irish amateur Liam Nolan, who hails from Galway on Ireland’s west coast. It will mark Hutsby and Nolan’s first major appearance.

“It’s hard to process the fact that I’m going to The Open,” Nolan said.

“I’m looking forward to everything: the crowds, it being in Scotland, the Home of Golf, and, yeah, I just can’t wait to go.”

Playoff at Royal Cinque Ports

Matthew Southgate set the pace and won medalist honors in Southeast England, fighting back tears after he made it to Royal Troon. But Royal Cinque Ports saw plenty of other drama unfold on Tuesday.

Australian Elvis Smylie and Spanish amateur Jaime Montojo finished at 3-under par, thus booking tickets to Ayrshire. But this serves as a full-circle moment for Smylie, the left-hander from the Gold Coast.

“Just saying that I’ve qualified for The Open gives me goosebumps,” Smylie said.

Elvis Smylie, The Open, Final Qualifying

Elvis Smylie poses with an Open flag after making it to Royal Troon.
Photo by Tom Dulat/R&A via Getty Images

“The last time I went to The Open was at Royal Troon in 2016, when I was 14 years old. Going there as a spectator eight years ago and now going back as a competitor—I don’t know what to say. I just can’t wait for the experience. I’ve already FaceTimed my dad, who’s back in Australia, and he said he will book a flight over. My mum is already over here commentating on Wimbledon, so everyone will come and watch me at Troon. I’m very excited.”

Both Smylie and Montojo will make their major debuts at Royal Troon.

A playoff between LIV Golf’s Branden Grace—the first man to shoot a 62 in a major championship—Jamie Rutherford and Spanish amateur Luis Masaveu determined the final spot from Royal Cinque Ports.

Masaveu won with a birdie on the second extra hole, becoming the 16th amateur to clinch a spot in this year’s Open field.

Nevertheless, a notable name did not qualify from Royal Cinque Ports: 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell. Thomas Detry also failed to finish among the top four.

West Lanchasire sends three Englishmen to Royal Troon

Sergio Garcia headlined the field at West Lancashire, and for the second year in a row, the 2017 Masters champion came up short. He will not make his 100th major championship start; he will do so at Augusta National next April instead.

So, with Garcia not making the cut, West Lanchasire saw two Englishmen finish atop the leaderboard instead: Sam Horsfield of LIV Golf and amateur Matthew Dodd-Berry.

Horsfield and Dodd-Berry finished at 6-under par.

“It’s the greatest moment of my career and everything that I’ve been working towards, even though I should have probably done it a year earlier and played at Royal Liverpool,” Dodd-Berry said.

The Open, Final Qualifying, West Lancashire

From left to right: Sam Horsfield, Matthew Dodd-Berry, Daniel Brown, and Masahiro Kawamura pose during Final Qualifying for The Open at West Lancashire.
Photo by Jan Kruger/R&A via Getty Images

“I’m really excited to get to Troon.”

Horsfield is also eager to head to Ayrshire for the 152nd Open.

“I always say to everyone that The Open is my favorite major,” Horsfield said.

“I’d never had that feeling before, the one when they call your name on the first tee—that was the coolest experience. I’m really looking forward to getting back and hopefully continuing to play well. These are the stages you want to play on.”

Englishman Daniel Brown and Japan’s Misahiro Kawamura finished their 36 holes one stroke behind Horsfield and Dodd-Berry at 5-under, thus rounding out the four spots awarded at West Lancashire.

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.

John Deere Classic: Luke Clanton knows professional golf can wait john,deere,classic,luke,clanton,knows,professional,golf,can,wait,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

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Luke Clanton played phenomenally, finishing tied for 10th at last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit. The Florida State golfer is back on the PGA Tour for the second consecutive event as he is in the field for the John Deere Classic.

Heading into the final day of play, Clanton sat two strokes off the lead. Many felt he could join Nick Dunlap and become the second amateur golfer in six months to win a PGA Tour event. Instead, he shot an even-par 72 on Sunday.

Despite that level of success against PGA Tour players, the rising junior is not worried about professional golf just yet.

“I want to win a national championship with the team,” Clanton said ahead of the John Deere Classic.

“That’s been my number one goal in college, and we came pretty close this year. All of us back home are very driven this year to do it. Again, I think whatever happens happens. I’m still 20 years old. I’m still learning the ropes as much as I can. I’m going to do what I do.”

Clanton finished as the second-lowest amateur to Neal Shipley at Pinehurst in the U.S. Open and kept the momentum going in Detroit with a 14-under total score. His driver was his best club, as he was No. 2 in strokes gained off the tee at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Clanton is a rising junior at Florida State University and helped the Seminoles get to the national title match against Auburn. He fell 2 & 1 in his final match to J.M. Butler.

However, the 20-year-old had one of the most impressive spring runs. He won three consecutive events, was runner-up in the NCAA Individual tournament, recorded 10 top 1s in 14 starts, and finished with the lowest single-season average in FSU history at 69.33.

He likes to keep it simple on the golf course. Regardless of what he has won in his young career, it is all about golf.

“I’m out here to play the best I can. Simple as that,” he said. “If I put four days together and it gets me more accelerated points, awesome. Number one goal is to play as good as I can.”

Even though he could have won over six figures last week, the youngster is determined to finish school. Clanton knows that professional golf will be there when he accomplishes the goals he set for himself in college.

“I would say I’m probably pretty close to where I wanted to be,” Clanton said. “I would say I think I had pretty big goals growing up, a lot of expectations for what I wanted to do. There is one thing I want. I think that’s pretty obvious of course. I think we’re just going to see what happens in the next couple of weeks.”

That goal is not a PGA Tour victory but an individual and team national championship with Florida State.

For the first two rounds of the John Deere Classic, Clanton is paired with Pierceson Coody and Joe Highsmith. They tee off at 2:44 p.m. ET on Thursday and at 9:24 a.m. ET on Friday.

The youngster’s next tournament will be the ISCO Championship in Nicholasville, Kentucky, from July 11 to 14. Clanton received a sponsor’s exemption. It is the opposite field event to the Genesis Scottish Open. He will also play in the 3M Open on an exemption at the end of July.

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.

Turkey advances at Euros thanks to stunning save from Mert Günok turkey,advances,at,euros,thanks,to,stunning,save,from,mert,g,nok,sbnation,com,front-page,soccer

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Turkey is moving on to the quarter-finals at Euro 2024.

And they can certainly point to keeper Mert Günok as well as Merih Demiral as huge reasons why.

In Tuesday’s knockout match between Austria and Turkey, Turkey enjoyed a 2-1 lead in the closing minutes, thanks to a brace from Merih Demiral. Demiral’s first goal came just 57 seconds into the match, making it the second-fastest goal in Euros history. Turkey took a 1-0 lead to the break, and Demiral’s second goal, which came in the 59th minute, gave Turkey the two-goal advantage.

Michael Gregoritsch netted for Austria on this well-designed set piece in the 66th minute as the Austrians cut Turkey’s advantage to 2-1:

Both sides pressed on in the rain, trying to find either the goal to ice the game or, in Austria’s case, the equalizer. In the 95th minute, Christoph Baumgartner thought he delivered the equalizer for Austria, but that is when Günok delivered his hero moment:

Somehow, some way, Günok turned Baumgartner’s point-blank header aside. The save is certainly worth another look, as Günok goes full stretch to deny Baumgartner:

Turkey held on for the 2-1 victory, advancing to the quarter-finals where they will face Netherlands.

The Open: Matthew Southgate fights back tears after qualifying the,open,matthew,southgate,fights,back,tears,after,qualifying,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-majors,golf-dp-world-tour,golf-news

The Open Matthew Southgate fights back tears after qualifying theopenmatthewsouthgatefightsbacktearsafterqualifyingsbnationcomfront pagegolfgolf majorsgolf dp world tourgolf news
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Englishman Matthew Southgate has been connected to the Open Championship for decades.

So it is no surprise that he displayed such emotion after qualifying for this year’s Open at Royal Troon, which will mark his sixth appearance in golf’s oldest major. Southgate carded a 6-under 136 over 36 holes at Royal Cinque Ports to take home medalist honors by three shots at the Southeast England qualifier.

“Sorry,” Southgate said, fighting back tears.

“Just reminds me of my Dad. The Open is the absolute best.”

His father, Ian, who sadly passed away in late 2020, loved The Open almost as much as his son. He grew fond of Tom Watson in the 1970s when the American began to dominate links-style golf in earnest. The elder Southgate also held a membership at Carnoustie, where Watson won his first Open in 1975. Ian Southgate knew everyone at the course and had for years, which explains why 10-year-old Matthew watched Jean van de Vedle’s infamous 1999 collapse play out from one of the most renowned places in golf.

“The marshalls called me and my friends over to sit on the Barry Burn bridge,” Southgate told the Global Golf Post at last year’s Open at Royal Liverpool.

“My legs were dangling over the water as I watched everything happen.”

Jean van de Velde stands in the Barry Burn in 1999.
Getty Images

His Open championship memories as a youngster do not end there.

A decade later, when Watson held the 54-hole lead at The Open, the Southgate father-son duo got in their car on Saturday night and drove up to Turnberry. They could not miss the chance to see their favorite player make history.

Alas, Watson fell just short of Stewart Cink in a playoff. But Southgate has gone on to make plenty of Open memories since then.

He first qualified for The Open in 2014 at Royal Liverpool, where he missed the cut. But two years later, he tied for 12th at Royal Troon. Then he tied for sixth at Royal Birkdale, which saw Jordan Spieth win the Claret Jug. He earned an invite back to The Open in 2018—held at Carnoustie—but tied for 67th. At least he made the cut.

But that would be the last Open his father would see him play.

Matthew Southgate, The Open

Matthew Southgate during 2024 Final Qualifying for The Open
Photo by Tom Dulat/R&A via Getty Images

Southgate did not qualify for The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019, and then, one year later, the R&A canceled their marquee event because of the pandemic. Southgate also missed out on 2021 and 2022, but he joined the Open radio commentary team for the 150th Open, lending his perspective about what played out at the Old Course.

Funny enough, this year, after qualifying, he joked about his broadcasting experience.

“That’s why I tried so hard over the last five holes; I didn’t want to work it again,” Southgate said, which drew plenty of laughs on The Open radio broadcast.

“No, I can’t wait to see everybody. Troon is a magical golf course.”

Southgate also qualified for The Open last year at Royal Liverpool and played well. He tied for 23rd.

But the Englishman has not been at his best throughout 2024. His best finish came at the ISPS Handa Championship in Japan in April, when he tied for 18th. He has not made a cut on the DP World Tour since then.

“I have had such a tough time the last couple of months, but I played really well today,” Southgate said.

“It has been disaster after disaster, so to finally get something to go right just means everything.”

Now, he will play in The Open at Royal Troon for the second time, the course where Watson won his fourth Claret Jug in 1982. So, perhaps Southgate—like Todd Hamilton and Ben Curtis earlier this Millenium—can continue to play as well as he did in qualifying, shock the world, and win The Open as an ultimate longshot.

Regardless of what happens, his father will smile down upon him with great pride, knowing that his son has already accomplished so much.

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.

DeMar DeRozan is getting squeezed on NBA free agent market, but Lakers still make sense demar,derozan,is,getting,squeezed,on,nba,free,agent,market,but,lakers,still,make,sense,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-free-agency,draftkings

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DeMar DeRozan is still performing at a near NBA All-Star level even after 15 seasons in the league. The veteran wing is coming off three fantastic seasons with the Chicago Bulls where he scored tons of points, produced so many brilliant moments in crunch-time, and rarely turned the ball over. DeRozan is now an unrestricted free agent on the brink of his 35th birthday, and with the Bulls seemingly pivoting to a long overdue rebuild, he’s in search of a new team. There’s only one problem: as almost all of the talent in free agency has already come off the board, there doesn’t seem to be an available fit for DeRozan at a salary slot commensurate with his talent.

There just doesn’t seem to be a market for DeRozan despite being the best unsigned player in the NBA right now. It’s looking like DeRozan may to accept a one-year deal and try to get more money in the summer of 2025, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

“The kind of contract that (DeRozan) might want just is not going to be available,” Woj reported on SportsCenter. “It’s not left out there in the market place. It may not be as appealing to him, but it may look like a one-year deal for him somewhere. Let the market reset next year.”

Woj mentioned the Los Angeles Lakers as a team that could be interested in DeRozan, but only at the right cost. The most the Lakers could offer is the $12.8 million Mid-Level Exception … and even that might require LeBron James to take a discount. That would be a big paycut for a player who clearly outperformed his $27 million average annual salary the last three seasons, but it might be the best offer out there.

For all of his talent, DeRozan remains a difficult player to fit into existing team structures because he needs the ball to be at his best. With the ball in his hands, DeRozan is a master at getting to his spots, knocking down mid-range shots, and drawing a high-volume of free throws. At the same time, a player has be an absolute superstar to demand a very on-ball role and still power team success. DeRozan is very good, but he’s no Luka Doncic or prime James Harden at this point.

In a starring role, DeRozan is good but not quite good enough. In a supporting role, he lacks two essential things that every great role player needs: spot-up shooting and defense.

DeRozan entered the league in 2009 just before the NBA’s three-point boom. It’s remarkable that he’s remained so good in this era despite never really developing a three-point shot. For his career, DeRozan has made 29.6 percent of his threes on only 1.6 attempts per game. He was a little better behind the arc in Chicago, hitting 33.8 percent of his threes on 1.9 attempts per game across his three seasons. At the end of the day, he’s still not a willing enough or good enough shooter to make defenses pay for cheating off him in the halfcourt.

DeRozan just also isn’t very good defensively. He often needs to be hidden on the opposing team’s weakest offensive player. He struggles to get around screens, he’s late on rotations, and he just doesn’t provide much resistance.

Despite his limitations, there’s a world where DeRozan to the Lakers works well on the court for both sides. LeBron James will still get a heavy on-ball diet as he prepares to turn 40 years old, but James has also become an incredible spot-up shooter late in his career. James hit 47.3 percent of his catch-and-shoot threes last season on 2.6 attempts per game, per NBA tracking data. When James gets tired, DeRozan can cook and LeBron can space the floor.

The Lakers need to add talent however they can in an improving Western Conference. This is a 47-win team that still only won one playoff game last year. He may not be a perfect fit, but DeRozan would still be a wise addition at this point in the offseason, especially at a discount.

LIV Golf’s Sergio Garcia will not play The Open, falls short liv,golf,s,sergio,garcia,will,not,play,the,open,falls,short,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-majors,golf-news,liv-golf

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Sergio Garcia has failed to qualify for The Open Championship.

The LIV Golf star headlined the final qualifying event at West Lancashire Golf Club in Liverpool—one of four final qualifiers across the United Kingdom—but Garcia shot a 3-under 141 over 36 holes, missing out on one of the four spots available by two strokes.

“I tried my hardest to get into The Open; it would have been nice to make The Open my 100th major,” Garcia said on the radio broadcast after his round.

“I love The Open, and I love playing majors. But it’s tough when you’re that close and finish right on the edge. But unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it.”

Garcia attempted to qualify for last year’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool by way of West Lancashire Golf Club as well. But he said the course played tougher this year, thanks to more challenging conditions. That said, Garcia felt comfortable making his way around these seaside links, thanks to his experience from a year ago. He knew his lines and where to miss shots, but the conditions—and other factors seemed to have got the best of him.

The Spaniard expressed frustration midway through his first 18 holes, when R&A officials put Garcia on the clock for slow play, per Ben Parsons of Bunkered.

Garcia said that all the fans following him disrupted the pace of play, not his routine and deliberations.

“The marshals were trying to do the best job they could do, but obviously, we had to stop pretty much on every tee for two to three minutes to hit our tee shots because people were walking in front of the tee and on the fairway,” Garcia said per Parsons.

“Unless we wanted to start hitting people, we couldn’t hit. I don’t think they took that into account, and that was unfortunate. It made us rush. On a day like today, when the conditions are so tricky, and you might need a little bit of extra time here and there, it doesn’t help out. Because of that, I made a couple of bogeys that might cost me getting to Troon.”

He tied for fifth at the 2016 Open Championship, the last time Royal Troon hosted golf’s oldest major. That year, Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson staged a duel for the ages, with the Swede fending off the American during an epic final round that saw Stenson win by three at 20-under-par. Stenson’s score of 264 remains the lowest aggregate score in Open history.

As for Garcia, the Spaniard could only make it back to Royal Troon via qualifying because of his LIV Golf affiliation, which has consequently plummeted his Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to 312th in the world. The R&A invites only the top 50 players to round out its 156-man field, meaning Garcia did not receive an automatic bid.

His exemption into this championship expired in 2022—five years after he won The Masters.

“You come out here, you play as hard as you can and hope it’s good enough,” Garcia added on the radio broadcast.

“If it’s not, then we’ll keep trying. Then, you know, The Masters will be my 100th major next April. That’s also a good choice.”

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.

Steph Curry shares heartfelt goodbye to Klay Thompson on social media steph,curry,shares,heartfelt,goodbye,to,klay,thompson,on,social,media,sbnation,com,front-page,nba

Steph Curry shares heartfelt goodbye to Klay Thompson on social
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The “Splash Brothers” Era has come to a close.

With the news that Klay Thompson is headed to the Dallas Mavericks for the upcoming NBA season, a run of over a decade for Steph Curry and Klay Thompson has ended. During that stretch Curry and Thompson combined for six appearances in the NBA Finals, winning four titles.

With their ability to shoot the three, the duo racked up triple after triple, earning the “Splash Brothers” moniker.

But after the news dropped that Thompson was headed to Dallas, Curry took to social media to say goodbye to his fellow Splash Brother. On his Instagram Stories, Curry posted a series of photos featuring himself and Thompson, as well as Draymond Green.

The series of photographs ended with a message from Curry that read in part “[e]ven though we won’t finish the journey together, what we did will never be done again … Changed the whole Bay Area. Changed the way the game is played … Go enjoy playing basketball and doing what you do.”

The NBA has not yet announced the schedule for the 2024-25 season. But that first game for Thompson at Golden State next year might be worth watching.

Christian Horner backs Max Verstappen after Austrian Grand Prix crash with Lando Norris christian,horner,backs,max,verstappen,after,austrian,grand,prix,crash,with,lando,norris,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

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One of the burning questions following the Austrian Grand Prix was whether Max Verstappen and/or Lando Norris would change their racing style following a dramatic late-race collision that ended both drivers’ chances of securing a victory.

According to Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner, Verstappen will not be changing a thing.

Speaking with Sky Sports ahead of the British Grand Prix the Red Bull boss backed his driver’s approach while noting that future incidents between Norris and Verstappen should be expected given how both drivers are performing at the moment.

“Certainly, from Max’s side, he’s not going to change,” said Horner.

“There’s an element, I think, of Lando learning how to race Max and they’re discovering that. Inevitably, there is going to be more close racing between the two of them as the cars look so close over the forthcoming races.

“Max is a hard racer – he’s probably one of the hardest racers on the circuit and everybody knows that if you’re going to race against Max, he’s going to give as good as he gets.”

Horner also addressed comments made by McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella immediately after the race. Speaking with Sky Sports F1 analyst Ted Kravitz, Stella outlined how the reluctance of race stewards to intervene in the past — such as during the 2021 season when Verstappen was battling with Lewis Hamilton — led to moments like the incident in Austria.

As you might expect, Horner had a different view.

“He raced incredibly hard in 2021, he’s a tough racer, and he hasn’t really been racing anyone for two years because he’s been out front so much,” Horner said.

“The conflict between the two of them has been building over two, three, four races where they’ve been racing each other closely and hard, and at some point that was always going to spill over – and it did at Turn 3,” began Horner. “He was punished in 2021 if he did something wrong just as Lewis, who he was racing so hard that year, was for things he did wrong.

“I think it’s wrong and unfair to label a driver like that and I’m sure in the heat of the moment it was frustrating for Andrea, but that’s just tough racing. He worked with Michael Schumacher [at Ferrari] for so many years – he of all people should know that.”

During his discussion with Sky Sports, Horner also addressed another burning question following the Austrian Grand Prix: Have Norris and Verstappen discussed the incident?

According to the Red Bull boss, that chat has already happened.

“I understand they’ve spoken already, I don’t think there is any issue,” added Horner.

How the two drivers handle similar battles going forward will be a major storyline throughout the rest of the 2024 campaign. But one thing is clear:

The FIA Press Conference schedules for this weekend’s British Grand Prix — which have yet to be announced — could be fascinating.

Shams Charania’s conflict of interest keeps swinging NBA gambling markets shams,charania,s,conflict,of,interest,keeps,swinging,nba,gambling,markets,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-free-agency

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Sports reporting has been irrevocably changed by insiders. Our 24-hour, social media-fueled society values being first over being right, and that necessitates a power dynamic in which insiders have agents on speed-dial, willing to share carefully crafted talking points over independent reporting.

It’s part of a job where insiders trade blows over scoops like a prize fight — constantly living in terror that missing a scoop will put them a step behind in the dominance race. The far too cozy relationship insiders have with agents and teams has led to them being classified in their own employment class, far away from the word “journalism.” That is even murkier now there’s significant financial stakes in their scoops, especially when the biggest names in news-breaking also have agreements with sports gambling companies.

NBA insider Shams Charania, who lists FanDuel as an employer on his LinkedIn, has been at the forefront of questions over his scoops — and this time it’s based on a tweet about Paul George ahead of the NBA Draft.

Only 11 days later, the Sixers signed George to a four-year, $212M deal. While it’s certainly possible the team just changed their mind, there’s strong reporting to the contrary. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne wrote a detailed account of Philadelphia’s pursuit of George, and at no point does it contain any of the “waning interest” that Shams tweeted out. In fact, Shelburne’s story indicates that the Sixers were so desperate for George that there was intense anxiety inside the organization that someone might jump them for his services, and their quest to land the All Star was “months” in the making.

“The LA Clippers star had always been Philadelphia’s No. 1 option, but before the Sixers could meet with him, they had to wait for him to actually become a free agent. For weeks they heard rumors that the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors would try to jump ahead of them by trading for George. For months they monitored the Clippers’ ongoing negotiations with George on an extension and wondered if they’d find a way to keep him in his hometown and continue his partnership with Kawhi Leonard.”

So, who are the “sources” that Shams spoke of when he reported that the Sixers were no longer interested? If he were a journalist we’d never ask him to divulge his sources because that’s one of the principles of journalism — but insiders have always been careful to never refer to themselves as “journalists” because of the grey area they operate in by being willing mouthpieces for those in power.

That makes it fair game to question who exactly told Shams the Sixers were cool on George? It speaks to the motivations of insider reporting, especially in light of the vast amount of money being wagered on sports betting, including futures bets on who will win the NBA title.

It’s also especially eyebrow-raising when the top reply to Shams’ tweet about the Sixers not being interested in Paul George is from FanDuel Sportsbook, bemoaning that we’ll never see Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey play together.

This report appears to have had a mammoth effect on gambling markets. As our own Liberty Ballers wrote, the futures odds on the Sixers to win the NBA Championship were impacted very heavily by the prospects of the team signing Paul George:

  • Sixers odds with Paul George rumors: +1000
  • Shams tweets the Sixers are “waning”: +1400
  • George signs with the Sixers: +800

So, in its most simple terms: Shams, who is partnered with a betting company, tweeted out something with no tangible source, it was parroted as fact by that betting company — causing futures odds to plummet, up until the point the team actually signed George.

The worst part is that it’s not the first time this has happened. Every shred of reporting from local and national journalists indicated that the Charlotte Hornets would select Brandon Miller with the No. 2 pick ahead of the 2023 NBA Draft — but hours before Shams had a “scoop” that nobody else did.

This led to massive shifts in betting markets, with so much money moving to Henderson as the No. 2 pick that he became the runaway favorite. After the draft it was apparent that Miller was always the Hornets’ guy, with there being very little debate over whether Henderson should be picked No. 2.

It led to major backlash from the sports betting community, who questioned whether Shams had an ulterior motive in trying to break the news, especially in light of his personal agreement with betting giant FanDuel. The company was also pressured to release a statement, saying FanDuel has no knowledge of Shams’ reports prior to him posting.

It doesn’t necessarily matter what the motivation for the tweet by Shams was when we know the effect. Whether it was manufactured to adjust betting lines or Shams was used by the Sixers to hide their intentions is immaterial, because people took his “reporting” as gospel, just as they did with the Scoot Henderson news last year.

If we look at this in the most positive light imaginable, that Shams was once again being used as a tool by a team, then it’s right to question a “first not best” style that rushes to parrot anything he’s told, whether or not it makes sense or contradicts previous reports. Even the most green reporter out of journalism school would get a tip like this and work to vet the info before sharing it, just to make sure they don’t mislead people.

Insiders continue to be happy to mislead people, however. After all, they’re very careful to ensure they don’t call themselves “journalists,” because that would open them up to annoying things like “standards” and “ethics.”

British Grand Prix: Williams to honor their entire organization with ‘Union Jack’ design british,grand,prix,williams,to,honor,their,entire,organization,with,union,jack,design,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

British Grand Prix Williams to honor their entire organization with
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This weekend’s Formula 1 British Grand Prix is a home race for many teams, given that several factories are located near the historic Silverstone circuit. Williams is among those teams, as their Grove factory is just 41 miles down the A43 from Silverstone.

As such, Williams is going all out for this week’s race.

Among several activations the team has planned for the week is a London Fan Zone, right in the heart of Piccadilly Circus. But the most stunning plan the team has for the week is their theme livery for the British Grand Prix itself, a one-off “Union Jack” design that features not only the iconic flag of the United Kingdom but also the names of “all 1,005 team members” on the car itself:

According to the team’s official announcement, the FW46 will be “ … transformed to fly the flag in thanks and appreciation to everyone at the team’s Grove HQ, New York and London bases and at races who are working tirelessly on our mission to return the team to the front of the grid.”

“Silverstone is always one of the highlights of the year and I’m delighted we are thanking our staff as the centrepiece of our home race celebrations. Williams is transforming from top to bottom so we can fight our way back to the front, and our people and culture will be key to that success,” said Team Principal James Vowles. “It takes extraordinary effort from every individual at the factory and at track to race in Formula 1, and I’m especially proud of the resilience whilst under pressure we have demonstrated so far this year.”

Driver Logan Sargeant praised the design as the “perfect” tribute.

“I’ve always loved racing at Silverstone. The track has everything a driver wants with its quick and flowing nature,” said Sargeant. “I have fond memories of this place throughout my career, and it’s always been one that I’ve performed well at. Racing with the names of every single team member on the car is the perfect way to mark everyone’s hard work and a home race for Williams.”