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John Deere Classic: Davis Thompson’s attractive fits lead best dressed john,deere,classic,davis,thompson,s,attractive,fits,lead,best,dressed,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-opinions

John Deere Classic Davis Thompsons attractive fits lead best dressed
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Golf fashion continues to be one of the major discussions of the 2024 PGA Tour season. The players brought it at the John Deere Classic.

That said, fashion is a subjective topic with no right answer.

Not everyone likes risks and prefers traditional outfits, but there are ways to be trendy and traditional. This week saw a mixture of those two things as the young guys control the best-dressed list.

Only one of the veterans made the list. The young guys continue to show how versatile golf fashion can be.

Let’s break down the five best-dressed players from the John Deere Classic.

5. Ben Griffin

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Ben Griffin’s different-colored pants put him on the list this week. The blue pants and white shirt were trendy but not too loud on Sunday. Griffin’s Lord Abbett logo matched his pants, and that is the attention to detail we love to see. He also wore pink pants earlier in the week, which were fabulous.

A bright pair of pants with a neutral top is on trend and something anyone can pull off.

Rating: 8/10

4. Michael Thorbjornsen

John Deere Classic, Michael Thorbjornsen, Davis Thompson

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

PGA Tour rookie Michael Thorbjornsen had four days of solid outfits. His computer glitch polo with the gray pants on Sunday was a favorite. His green moment earlier in the week was also lovely. Adidas continues to put their younger players in these fun outfits, and boy, are they pulling them off.

Thorbjornsen looks cool without trying too hard, and I like the different gray for his hat. It works and does not clash.

Rating: 8.5/10

3. Jordan Speith

John Deere Classic, Jordan Spieth, Davis Thompson

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

Jordan Spieth finally made the best-dressed list for this green-and-black moment. He won the John Deere Classic in a green polo, and this outfit feels like a reimagination. The small pattern makes it trendy but different. Spieth’s Sunday outfit looked good as well. Even when he wore orange, it was a better choice than the former Texas Longhorn has worn in recent weeks.

He is the only PGA Tour veteran to make the best-dressed list as the youngsters show off. However, I’ll give it to Spieth — his outfits for the John Deere Classic were probably the best he has looked all season.

Rating: 9/10

2. Luke Clanton (a)

John Deere Classic, Luke Clanton, Davis Thompson

Photo by Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Luke Clanton, a rising junior at Florida State University, brought the vibes to Illinois. His pink, black and white polo looked incredible, especially with the black hat. Clanton’s all-black look for Sunday was also sharp.

He may still be in college, but the 20-year-old knows how to dress.

Rating: 9.5/10

1. Davis Thompson

John Deere Classic, Davis Thompson

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Davis Thompson’s first PGA Tour victory saw him run away with it to win by four shots. He was red hot on the golf course and stayed in his world. The former Georgia Bulldog could not be phased. His fashion choices this week were more on the traditional side, as Nike tends to lean toward, but there were still moments that pushed him to the top spot.

The pants from Saturday’s round were blue-gray. They looked almost baby blue in some lighting, while they were grayer at other times. The black on that light pant looked so good, especially when the blue tones popped. It was a memorable outfit because those pants are not generally paired with an all-black shirt. However, it works.

Thompson is among the only Nike athletes who look good in the confetti shirt. He wore the blue one on Sunday, which looked fantastic on his skin tone.

It was a solid week for the 25-year-old on the course and with his fashion choices.

Rating: 10/10

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.

John Deere Classic: Davis Thompson’s sensational, historic 1st victory john,deere,classic,davis,thompson,s,sensational,historic,st,victory,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour

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In his 63rd start, Davis Thompson can officially call himself a PGA Tour winner.

He carded a final round 7-under 64 to post a 28-under total and win the John Deere Classic by four shots over Michael Thorbjornsen, amateur Luke Clanton and C.T. Pan, who tied for second place at 24-under.

Thompson became the 24th first-time tournament winner at this event. He did it in grand fashion by setting the John Deere Classic’s 72-hole scoring record. Michael Kim initially set it at 27-under in 2018.

He stayed stoic all week long, but Thompson let the emotions flow once he saw his wife.

“Just seeing my wife means a lot,” Thompson said to CBS Sports analyst Amanda Balionis after his win. “I love her so much and so thankful she was able to make it. I tried to stay present all day. When that putt finally went in, it was a big sigh of relief.”

Throughout his interview with Balionis, Thompson could not hold back the tears. He wiped them away multiple times.

All that hard work finally paid off for the 25-year-old.

“I’ve been working hard this year. It was okay for a while then I got going this last month and played well last week,” he said. “Tried to keep it rolling this week; was able to get the win.”

The former Georgia Bulldog set the tone from his opening tee shot. He went five-under through his first six holes and added his sixth birdie on the ninth to go out in 29 shots. Through nine holes, Thompson made 120 feet of putts, and by the end of the round, he recorded 139 feet of putts.

His first birdie was over 44 feet, and at the par-4 5th, he made a 29-footer. The flat stick was on fire for him, as Thompson could not miss.

The Sea Island resident made an 8-footer on 10 for his seventh birdie. His one hiccup came at the 12th when he bogeyed the hole. However, that slip-up would not stay with the youngster. Thompson returned to 7-under at 14 when he made his final birdie and came home with four straight pars.

Throughout four days of play, he gained +18.694 in strokes gained total. He picked up at least two strokes on the field in all five main categories. Thompson led the field with 30 birdies.

In short, the former Bulldog put on a clinic.

He replaced the 2023 John Deere Classic champion Sepp Straka’s place in the Champions House and became the third straight player to win the event while staying there.

J.T. Poston won while staying there in 2022, Straka won last year and Thompson has now been added to the lore.

“No, definitely not,” Thompson said about not letting the tradition go, “I think I have to pay for the whole house now, which is unfortunate, but I’ll gladly write the check for that.”

Thompson became the 12th Georgia golfer coached under head coach Chris Haack and the 17th in the program’s history to win on the PGA Tour. This victory also gets him into the Open Championship later this month and next year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National. It also vaulted him from No. 51 to No. 22 in the FedEx Cup standings.

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.

British Grand Prix: Lando Norris, and Oscar Piastri flex McLaren’s muscles on Friday british,grand,prix,lando,norris,and,oscar,piastri,flex,mclaren,s,muscles,on,friday,sbnation,com,front-page,formula-one

British Grand Prix Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri flex McLarens
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A major story this Formula 1 season centers on how the chasing pack behind Red Bull has caught the 2023 Constructors’ Champions, setting up a vision of a title fight as the season enters its second half. Chief among that group? McLaren, as the darlings of last year’s second half have shown tremendous pace this year.

And if Friday is any indication at the British Grand Prix, that will continue this weekend.

Lando Norris topped the timing sheets in both FP1 and FP2, with teammate Oscar Piastri on his heels in both sessions as the Australian driver was third-fastest in FP1, and second-fastest in FP2. While practice results often tell a fraction of the full story, what should give McLaren comfort is that all teams — including Red Bull — used the softest compound available in FP2.

Both drivers, as well as Team Principal Andrea Stella, viewed Friday as a “solid” first day.

“It’s been a solid day. We’ve done a good amount of running and some nice laps, so I feel reasonably comfortable. We’ve made some changes over the morning which helped me get into a good rhythm, which is super important around such a high-speed track like this,” said Norris in the team’s post-practice report.

“I think we’ve got a few more to tweaks to make, but it’s difficult with the challenges of wind and rain. It’s been a clean two sessions, and that’s a good start to the weekend, so I’m happy with that.”

Piastri, who capitalized on the late-race incident between Norris and Max Verstappen to score a podium finish in the Austrian Grand Prix, hailed the results on Friday while cautioning that weather could throw teams a curveball the rest of the weekend.

“That’s Friday done. It’s been a decent day for the team, especially in FP2. We’ve got a few things to sort out overnight to make it a bit better on my side, but I think it’s been a solid first day at Silverstone,” said Piastri.

“Going into tomorrow, I think we’re in a reasonable position, however we’re probably going to get very wet which can change things. I’m looking forward to getting back on track.”

The McLaren boss took a similar approach.

“Today at Silverstone we had two productive sessions. There was an ever-present risk of rain, but it only materialised towards the end of the second session, which gave us enough time to go through our run plan and set-up work,” said Stella. “In general, we got encouraging information – but conditions were very particular today, so we’re not looking too much at the lap times themselves. We’re now just focusing on tomorrow, when we need to be ready for whatever the weather brings.”

Diving into some of the telemetry data, courtesy of F1-Tempo highlights Norris’ strength on Friday when compared with Verstappen. Here is a look at both driver’s fastest lap in FP2, with both drivers on the softest compound:

Whether this is a matter of setup or engine mode, of course, remains to be seen.

But certainly, this was a strong first day for McLaren at the British Grand Prix.

John Deere Classic: Hayden Springer’s epic sub-60 round looked easy john,deere,classic,hayden,springer,s,epic,sub,round,looked,easy,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour

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PGA Tour rookie Hayden Springer made quite the debut at the John Deere Classic as he fired off a 12-under 59 to make TPC Deere Run look easy. His putter was red hot.

He made eight birdies and two eagles to mark the second sub-60 round of the year on the PGA Tour. Just two weeks ago, Cameron Young recorded a 59 during the third round of the Travelers Championship.

“It’s pretty special to be able to do that,” Springer said after his round on Thursday.

“I played well last week, but it’s been tough to get stuff going and go low — So, it is special. It feels good to be standing here and to have shot a good round of golf.”

The 27-year-old made par on the first hole, then went nuclear. He made a 13-footer for eagle on the par-5, 2nd followed by four straight birdies. Those were not easy birdies either.

He chipped in from around 62 feet off the green on the third. Springer’s touch was nearly perfect, as the ball only had eyes for the hole. His birdie at the par-4 4th was a little over 10 feet. The birdie at 5 was over 20 feet long, and his fourth straight birdie at 6th was over 16 feet.

At this point, Springer felt like today, he could see him shoot a low score.

“I had come up just short of the green on the fringe and probably had a 20-footer, and I made that,” he said. “I was like, okay, ‘I feel like I’m not missing today. I’m pretty much holing any putt I look at.’ So probably that putt going in was kind of the trigger, like we might be able to go super low.”

Springer made two more birdies on 8 and 9 to turn in 27 strokes.

After the turn, he made five straight pars before his seventh birdie came at 15. The former Texas Christian Horned Frog sank an 18-footer to move to 9-under. He explained that he got frustrated, but his caddie kept him balanced.

Springer did not think a 59 was on the table going into the par-5 17th, but he holed out from 55 yards for his second eagle.

“I had a really good lie over there,” he said. “I hit it nice. It landed right where we were looking, just short left, and happened to go in. I didn’t ever think I would make that shot, but it changed the momentum to be able to go shoot 59.”

To record a sub-60 round, he needed a birdie on the 18th, and the rookie sank a 12-footer to do so.

Springer earned every bit of this 59, making 111 feet of putts on Thursday. He hit 14-of-18 greens in regulation, 10-of-14 fairways and went 4-of-4 scrambling.

In the strokes gained categories, he is No. 5 off the tee, No. 4 in approach to the green, No. 1 around the green, No. 3 in putting and No. 1 in strokes gained total, picking up +10.110 on the field.

Springer had a nearly perfect round of golf and showed Thursday. He became the 14th PGA Tour player to record a sub-60 round and the second at the John Deere Classic after Paul Goydos shot his own 59 in round 1 of the 2010 event.

His last year has not been an easy one. It was full of heartache but also determination. He tragically lost his three-year-old daughter Sage to Trisomy 18 last November, and a month later, Springer earned his PGA Tour card.

The rookie currently leads by four shots over Harry Hall, who shot an impressive 8-under 63. There are 12 players at 65 or lower on the day, as another birdie fest seems to be on the horizon.

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.

NBA’s 11 best free agents still available on 2024 market, ranked nba,s,best,free,agents,still,available,on,market,ranked,sbnation,com,front-page,nba,nba-free-agency

NBAs 11 best free agents still available on 2024 market
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Almost all of the big names in NBA free agency are off the board, but DeMar DeRozan still lingers. The Chicago Bulls star is the best player left on the open market on the brink of his 35th birthday, and there doesn’t seem to be an obvious fit for him out there. With the Bulls seemingly ready to commit to a rebuild, DeRozan is out there for the taking as a veteran wing who can still perform at a near All-Star level.

There’s already been so much action in free agency. Paul George signed with the 76ers, Isaiah Hartenstein joined the Thunder, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope inked a deal with the Magic at the start of the free agency period. Even second tier free agents like Naji Marshall (Mavericks), Derrick Jones Jr. (Clippers), Tobias Harris (Pistons), and Jonas Valanciunas (Wizards) have found new homes. When Klay Thompson agreed to a three-year deal with the Dallas Mavericks, another big name in free agency came off the board.

While the headline stars of this year’s free agency class are almost all gone, there are still some good values to be had. Who’s still left on the NBA free agent market? Glad you asked. Here are the 11 best players still unsigned in 2024 NBA free agency right now. Also read our instant grades for NBA free agency, and check out our live NBA free agency tracker.

This list has been updated following the Warriors’ sign-and-trade for Buddy Hield.

11. Saddiq Bey

Bey tore his ACL on March 11 and could be sidelined for the entire season. It’s awful luck for a player who could have seen a nice payday on the open market this summer. The 25-year-old wing has always been a good shooter, but his outside shot mostly abandoned him last season with the Hawks, making only 31 percent of his threes. It might make sense for a team to sign him to a cheap multi-year deal so he can rehab his knee and see if he can get back to his pre-injury levels in the 2025-26 season.

10. Kyle Lowry

Lowry can still be effective at 38 years old even if his play is rapidly declining. The veteran point guard somewhere played nearly 30 minutes per game for the Philadelphia 76ers in their first round series against the New York Knicks. He hit 39 percent of his threes on the season between Miami and Philadelphia, and is still an irritant on defense. Lowry will be a nice buy-low veteran addition for a team chasing a ring.

9. Markelle Fultz

The former No. 1 overall pick has still never figured out his broken jump shot, but he’s had some good seasons as a downhill guard who can compete defensively. Unfortunately, Fultz had a terrible year for the Magic just before entering free agency, and now likely won’t have much of a market despite being only 26 years old. Fultz needs to figure out a way to start finishing at the rim again if he’s going to save his NBA career. He can still be a solid playmaker, but his passing doesn’t hit the same without the threat of his own scoring.

8. Spencer Dinwiddie

Dinwiddie’s three-point shot and rim finishing fell off a cliff this past year in stops with Brooklyn and the Lakers, but that might make him a good buy low candidate for a contender. The 31-year-old is a big guard with pull-up shooting ability and some playmaking skill, but he failed to score efficiently from any part of the floor last season that wasn’t the free throw line. Guards who shoot under 40 percent from the field aren’t going to have a big market, but there’s still some value in Dinwiddie’s foul baiting and shooting.

Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

7. Malik Beasley

Beasley is a knockdown shooter who doesn’t provide much else. Still, there’s also a home for a player who hit 41.3 percent of his three-pointers on 542 attempts on the season. He’d be a welcome addition back for the Bucks, but his lack of defense and playmaking means he’s better in a smaller role.

6. Gary Trent Jr.

Trent can really shoot it from deep. He hit 39.3 percent of his three-pointers on 6.4 attempts per game with the Toronto Raptors last season. He’s decent defensively at generating steals, but has a bad habit of finding himself out of position on that end. Trent is kind of a one-trick pony, but every team needs shooting. Stil only 25 years old, Trent will find a home somewhere eventually even if he doesn’t get the big payday he was looking for.

5. Isaac Okoro

Okoro developed slowly as the former No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, but he showed real improvement in his fourth pro season with the Cleveland Cavaliers last year. The 6’5 wing is a tenacious backcourt defender quick enough to stick with speedy guards and strong enough to handle bigger assignments. The gaping hole in Okoro’s game has always been his jump shot, but last season he hit 39 percent of his threes on low volume. Okoro needs to keep upping his volume from three because teams still refuse to guard him from the outside, but his point-of-attack defense is so valuable that he should land a nice deal from Cleveland eventually.

Philadelphia 76ers v Washington Wizards

Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images

4. Tyus Jones

Jones is a classic point guard who consistently posts a high assist rate and a low turnover rate. He made a major leap as a shooter last season for a terrible Washington Wizards team by knocking down 41.4 percent of the 256 three-pointers he attempted. Jones is a smaller guard without top-end athleticism, and that limits his effectiveness as a driver and defender. Still only 28 years old, Jones is a solid caretaker point guard who can set up teammates but won’t have as much of an impact as his numbers might indicate.

3. Caleb Martin

Martin was one of the breakout stars of the Heat’s shocking 2023 NBA Finals run, but he had trouble sustaining his momentum last season. The 28-year-old forward is still tough defensively and has a 35 percent three-point stroke on low volume. It’s too bad he didn’t hit free agency a year earlier, or he’d be looking at a much bigger deal.

2. Miles Bridges

No team should want Bridges after the horrifying domestic violence allegations he faced in 2022 and beyond. The Hornets brought him back last season, and were smoked in his minutes on the floor despite the 26-year-old putting up career-best scoring numbers. Read our James Dator on how keeping Bridges killed his Hornets fandom.

Chicago Bulls v Memphis Grizzlies

Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images

1. DeMar DeRozan

DeRozan is still incredibly productive as he enters his age-35 season. He’s a hyper-efficient mid-range scorer, he rarely turns the ball over, and he’s consistently amazing in crunch-time. DeRozan just requires a very particular fit due to his weaknesses as a shoot three-point shooter and defender. The Chicago Bulls appear ready to move on from DeRozan after three tremendous seasons so the team can rebuild in a loaded 2025 draft class. That’s a wise move for Chicago, but it leaves DeRozan without a home despite some good years left in his career. It feels like DeRozan could get squeezed in free agency due to the lack of money available. While that’s unfortunate for him, some team is going to end up with a great bargain.

Golf Talk Today: The simple do’s and don’ts of July 4th golf fashion golf,talk,today,the,simple,do,s,and,don,ts,of,july,th,golf,fashion,sbnation,com,front-page,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-opinions

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

Each morning will feature a Golf Talk Today, where the crew will discuss various elements throughout the PGA Tour, LPGA, LIV Golf, and more.

First off, Happy Fourth of July!

As we all celebrate our patriotic freedom today, today’s topic is Fourth of July golf fashion. With the John Deere Classic starting today, we wanted to give a July 4th fashion guide — the Do’s and Do not’s.

A patriotic outfit can quickly go from trendy to loud, so let’s examine what works and does not for your Fourth of July golf round.

The Do’s of Patriotic Golf Fashion

Stick to the basics

Solid-color pants or polos are a great choice. Red, White and Blue are three great primary colors for building outfits.

Patterns are still fine; I’m not saying to avoid them, but just be smart about it.

Many pieces from the J. Lindeberg Team USA line are perfect options for the Fourth of July.

Before everyone freaks out about the bright pattern, the red polo is the classic approach I am talking about. The navy pants are also great.

Let the Pattern be the moment

If an American flag or any kind of pattern is what you want to wear, let it be the moment. Wear a more neutral pair of pants and shoes to match. Try to tie it together by matching the hat to the pants or to one of the colors in the pattern.

Don’t be so predictable

Yes, it is America’s Day of Freedom, but that does not mean American flags must be all over the clothing. Red, White, and Blue are iconic colors that people recognize as patriotic. There are some nice patterns out there that are great for the holiday, but remember, less can be more for days like the Fourth of July.

The Do not’s of Patriotic Golf Fashion

There is only one thing to avoid for golf fashion on the Fourth of July.

Please do not wear the American flag pattern all over

Less is more, especially when it comes to patriotic patterns. Wearing an American flag top and bottoms is way too much. Opt for the flag shirt and solid bottom or vice versa.

Most patriotic pants are too tacky, so avoid those at all costs.

John Daly is likely the only person who can wear those pants and pull them off because he is that confident.

That does not mean you can purchase one American flag item instead of the entire outfit.

ICYMI: Top stories across professional golf

Check out these stories:

Jordan Spieth reflects on history at John Deere Classic, making first start in 9 years

TaylorMade and other brands give fans amazing patriotic golf equipment

Bernhard Langer to play final DP World Tour event in native Germany 50 years after debut

John Deere Classic changed everything for Sepp Straka in 2023, propelled him to Ryder Cup

Justin Rose qualifies for The Open; see who else made it to Royal Troon

LIV Golf’s Sergio Garcia falls short of The Open, frustrated by slow play warning

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.

Gregg Berhalter facing renewed pressure to keep his spot after USMNT’s dismal Copa showing gregg,berhalter,facing,renewed,pressure,to,keep,his,spot,after,usmnt,s,dismal,copa,showing,sbnation,com,front-page,soccer,usmnt

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The U.S. men’s soccer team just endured a dismal performance in Copa América. With a chance to play at least three group games at home against some top-flight competition, and with a favorable draw in the group stage, this was a chance for the USMNT to advance to the knockout round in what is their only major tuneup before hosting the 2026 World Cup, along with Canada and Mexico

It went worse than you might have imagined.

Their run of group play got off to a positive start, with a 2-0 win over Bolivia that could have easily seen the USMNT add another goal or two. But then everything went downhill in the 18th minute against Panama when Tim Weah punched an opponent and earned himself a red card and a quick trip to the showers.

While the US rebounded from that to take a 1-0 lead, Panama countered with two goals to hand the Americans a brutal 2-1 loss.

Needing a win against Uruguay to somehow keep their chances of advancing alive, the USMNT fought hard, only to come up short 1-0. Yes, there were some calls and non-calls that went against them, but having put themselves in a difficult position with the loss to Panama, it was an uphill fight from the start.

Now the American soccer world is wondering what comes next, and the American Outlaws — the biggest group of supporters of American soccer — have made their feelings known.

It is time for Gregg Berhalter to go.

In a post on social media to over 180,000 followers, the group called for a new head coach in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. “There needs to be accountability and a plan to move forward for the USMNT. It’s time to make a change in the head coaching position,” read the statement in part.

You can view the full statement here:

The Outlaws are not the only ones calling for a change, but in truth, American soccer might not have many great options at the moment. It was something of a surprise that Berhalter was brought back following the 2022 World Cup, not for the team’s performance but a combination of history, and scandal. While the USMNT put in a solid performance in Qatar — advancing out of Group B before being eliminated by The Netherlands — second go-rounds have not usually been kind to USMNT coaches following a first run at the World Cup.

For example, after a solid showing in 2002 when Bruce Arena’s squad advanced to the quarter-finals, the 2006 squad under his leadership was bounced in the group stages after two losses and a draw. Both Bob Bradley and Jürgen Klinsmann were not around for a second run.

Add in the scandal that emerged following the World Cup involving Berhalter and Claudio Reyna which was kicked off due to questions about the coach’s usage of Gio Reyna, and there were legitimate questions at the time whether Berhalter would be given another opportunity. As our friends at Stars and Stripes FC wrote at the time:

While Berhalter has had some success, the biggest victories the team can claim are wins against Mexico in the Gold Cup and Nations League and draws against Mexico at the Azteca and England in the World Cup. This was far from Berhalter’s goal to “change the way the world looks at American soccer.” The players may like him, but the team needs a manager who can reach a higher level.

The federation must not waste this scandal by once again enabling mediocrity and ignoring toxic behavior by having decision-makers who base their actions on allegiances to an old boy network. Sadly, if history gives any indication to what the future may hold, it’s more likely that choices that favor networks and mediocrity rather than merit will continue to guide the US Soccer Federation.

However, the US Soccer Federation went in a different direction, bringing Berhalter back for this run. And other options were passed over such as Jesse Marsch, who was viewed as perhaps the “obvious” candidate to take over. Marsch then took the reins at Canada … and promptly guided that squad to the knockout round at Copa.

While American soccer wonders what happens form here.

At least one group of supporters — and an influential one at that — has made their feelings quite clear.

John Deere Classic: Sepp Straka’s 2023 win changed everything john,deere,classic,sepp,straka,s,win,changed,everything,sbnation,com,golf,golf-pga-tour,golf-news

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Sepp Straka fired off a final-round 62 at last year’s John Deere Classic to win his second PGA Tour victory.

A few weeks after his win at TPC Deere Run, he went on to post a runner-up finish at the Open Championship. He then went on to make his Ryder Cup debut later that fall, helping the Europeans trounce the Americans in Italy.

His impressive come-from-behind victory at the John Deere Classic changed everything for the Austrian golfer.

“It was an incredible part of last year,” Straka said on Wednesday.

“I was playing some pretty good golf but wasn’t getting much out of it, and that all flipped here. I went to the Open and had another really great week, my best finish in a major. Ended up making it to Atlanta. Playing on the Ryder Cup was definitely the highlight of the year, but that wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t get hot here at the John Deere.”

Straka has played in 17 events so far this season, recording four top 10s and nine top 25s. He has made 12 of 17 cuts.

The former Georgia Bulldog finished T-5 back-to-back weeks at the Charles Schwab Challenge and The Memorial. A tie for 56th at the U.S. Open was sandwiched between those starts, although Straka made an incredible hole-in-one on Friday at Pinehurst No. 2.

He most recently played at the Travelers Championship, tying for 23rd. Yet, he has not won since triumphing at this event last year.

Straka felt his putter cooperated better a year ago, so perhaps TPC Deere Run will boost his momentum. He is currently 90th in strokes gained putting, 30 spots worse than where he finished last year in this metric.

“I made pretty good changes and am trending with the putter nicely,” he said.

“I think that’s helped. I’ve been hitting the ball well, hitting a lot of fairways, and giving myself a lot of opportunities. It’s been nice to have a lot of good events in the summer months. This is kind of the time you want to be playing well.”

Last year, the Austrian was the last player in the Tour Championship field.

Straka now sits 17th in the FedEx Cup standings this time around and is 24th in the world. The 31-year-old is trying to return to Atlanta and keep his hot streak going.

To get to Atlanta, a player must finish inside the Top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings. Straka is safely in right now, but playing well could help him out even more. The PGA Tour staggers the starting scores in Atlanta. First place starts at 10-under. Second place is at 8-under, third sits at 7-under, fourth is 6-under, and fifth is 5-under.

Players ranked 6-10th will begin the tournament at 4-under. Those ranked 11-15th start a 3-under, a 2-under start goes to the players ranked 16-20th, the 21-25th players are at 1-under, and the final four players start at even par.

If the Tour Championship started next week, Straka would start at 2-under, so if he played well in the next few weeks, he could earn a better starting score.

“You always want to finish the year in Atlanta,” Straka said.

“Don’t want to miss out on the last tournament. I feel like the last couple of months, I’ve given myself a pretty good chance to get there. Few more tournaments left, one major, and then the points ramp up for the playoffs. There is a lot of movement this late in the season, and if you can play, it’s really nice to be in Memphis in a good position.”

Straka will attempt to become the first repeat champion at the John Deere Classic since Steve Stricker won three in a row from 2009 to 2011.

He is paired with 2021 John Deere Classic winner Lucas Glover and 2015 PGA Championship winner Jason Day on Thursday and Friday. They tee off at 1:49 p.m. ET for Round 1 and 8:29 a.m. ET for the second round.

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.

Joey Chestnut’s exit from Nathan’s Hot Dog contest opens up spotlight for a new star joey,chestnut,s,exit,from,nathan,s,hot,dog,contest,opens,up,spotlight,for,a,new,star,sbnation,com,front-page,everything-is-sports,draftkings

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The news that Joey Chestnut was out of the 2024 Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest rocked the world of competitive eating. Chestnut, who has claimed victory at the eight previous Nathan’s contests, still holds the record with 76 hot dogs eaten at the event and won the contest in 2020 by a whopping 33-hot dog margin.

But due to his partnership with Impossible Foods, Chestnut is out this year.

Who can emerge from the rest of the field to pick up the mantle?

It might be none other than Geoffrey Esper.

Esper has finished second to Chestnut in the last three years, including in 2023 when he finished second with 49 hot dogs consumed, 13 behind Chestnut. That was an improvement from his performance in 2022 when he finished second to Chestnut with 47 hot dogs consumed.

Esper, who teaches electronics at Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton, Massachusetts, is the second-ranked competitive eater in the world. His list of records and accomplishments in the world of competitive eating includes some incredible feats, including eating:

  • 9.75 pounds of SPAM at “SPAMARAMA at the Circuit of the Americas during the 2021 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in eight minutes;
  • 95 two-ounce Market Street Tamales at the Lewisville Western Days Festival in ten minutes;
  • 17.75 bagels with cream cheese in eight minutes, and;
  • 23.75 pounds of strawberry shortcake at the Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival in eight minutes, which he accomplished last month.

Esper remains the world record holder in the strawberry shortcake category but in his mind, the Nathan’s contest is a much bigger challenge because it takes more than just a big stomach. “This isn’t as easy as other races like strawberry shortcakes where whoever has the biggest stomach wins,” he said recently. “You have to concentrate on what you are doing to eat so much.”

With Chestnut sidelined, Esper believes he finally has a shot at the title.“I definitely have a shot this year,” said Esper recently. But he knows the field is wide open without the returning champion.

“[With Chesnut] not there, it changes the dynamics of everything. It’s going to be a tight battle for first,” said Esper.

Perhaps finally the bridesmaid will get a chance to be the bride on Thursday.

NFL teams don’t need a No. 1 receiver and here’s why nfl,teams,don,t,need,a,no,receiver,and,here,s,why,sbnation,com,front-page,nfl,dot-com-grid-coverage

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Jordan Love of the Green Bay Packers is one of the NFL’s most highly-regarded young quarterbacks, and that’s in part because of the performance he put on in the second half of the 2023 season. From Week 10 through the Packers’ 24-21 divisional round loss to the San Francisco 49ers, Love completed 254 of 374 passes (67.9%) for 2,904 yards (7.8 yards per attempt), 25 touchdowns, five interceptions, and a passer rating of 107.7.

Moreover, Love did all of that without the benefit of what most people would consider a true No. 1 receiver. The Packers did have estimable targets in Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Tucker Kraft, and Dontayvion Wicks, but there’s nobody in that receiver/tight end group who scares opposing defenses to the point where defenses will be automatically arrayed against them.

And furthermore, that’s the way Love wants it.

“I think you don’t have to have a No. 1 receiver,” Love said on June 4. “I think it works out well when you can spread the ball out and you’ve got different guys making different plays and you can put them in different areas.

“I think it puts a lot more stress on the defense and the calls that they can get in, so I think in the long run it helps us not having a No. 1 guy, a true No. 1 guy, but I think all those guys can step up and be the one any given day.”

For Love, it gives him the freedom to hit the guy who’s open in the progression, as opposed to leaning too often on the alpha dog.

“I can just play the play.”

During an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s show on July 19, Tom Brady presented the hypothetical alternative: What if you have a No. 1 receiver, and you have to throttle your entire passing game around him?

“You always felt like you had to do something to get them the ball,” Brady said about the specter of a true No. 1 guy. “I want him to keep running hard. I want him to be ready for when the ball does come.”

“The last thing you want is your No. 1 receiver to go two-and-a-half quarters into a game and not see a ball… ‘cause he’s going to get discouraged.”

“He’s got to go out there and break the huddle, run out 25 yards to his alignment, run down the field as fast as he can and try to get open, then back to the huddle. It’s a lot of effort that he’s putting in to not getting the ball… reward that guy earlier in the game.”

It’s interesting that for the most part, Brady got his thing done at a GOAT level without the benefit of a true No.1 receiver. Yes, he had Randy Moss for a few seasons, and there was Rob Gronkowski at his best, but the best quarterback ever to play the position had as many seasons without those force multipliers as he did with them.

Brady’s comments about how that true alpha receiver affects the quarterback’s mindset are interesting in that the NFL seems to be trending away from the No. 1 receiver as a must.

How do we define a ‘No. 1 receiver’?

True No. 1 receivers aren’t always aligned outside in isolated situations, but there needs to be enough of that to make it obvious that this is the guy. They must be able to beat press coverage at the line of scrimmage, and they need to be able to run away from tight match coverage against the NFL’s best cornerbacks. If they’re bracketed by an opposing defense, they must have answers against it. And whether it’s through demon speed or incredible route acumen (ideally both), they need to be the one guy their quarterback can always go to.

Here’s the problem: It doesn’t always work. And even if it does, how many true top guys are there at any given point in the league? Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings. Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals. Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins. Mike Evans of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders. Depending on how broad you want to be with the definition, there are at most maybe 10-15 receivers in the league at any time who are true field-tilters in that sense.

NFL teams are realizing this, and instead of going all in on one guy in the hope that he’s The Guy, they’re moving their resources around, and relying more on advanced schemes and concerts to get it done.

Making No. 1 receivers out of the aggregate

“It’s more about the collective unit of all those guys and just the rapport that they’re building with Jordan throughout the course of the offseason,” Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said of his receiver group, right around the time Love made his interesting proclamation. “I’m excited to get to training camp with them.

“All those guys had their moments where they were the leading receiver in a game. I feel really good about the collective unit. The hardest part is we feel so good about them, it’s hard to get everybody the amount of touches that you’d like to get, but that’s a good problem to have.”

It’s a good problem to have when you’re not dependent on one receiver, and you can scheme your receivers open to their best abilities. Last season, Jayden Reed and Romeo Doubs tied for the Packers’ lead in receptions on passes of 20 or more air yards – nine each, and on 19 targets each. LaFleur used Reed’s sneaky get-up speed to exploit opposing defenses in motion concepts, as shown on this 32-yard catch against the Bears in the regular-season finale.

Doubs got more outside targets than Reed did, and his ability to leverage his route precision against cornerbacks and safeties made him an ideal foil in that regard. Here against the Dallas Cowboys in last season’s wild-card win, the Packers ran a similar concept with Reed running motion. But in this case, Doubs ran the out-cut at 15 yards while Reed and Bo Melton ran the vertical routes. It was a great beater for the Cover-3 defense the Cowboys were running, and it resulted in a 39-yard gain. Is the lack of a No. 1 receiver a freeing component for the Packers’ offense? The tape seems to back it up.

You can win a Super Bowl (several, actually) without an alpha dog

The Kansas City Chiefs just won their third Super Bowl in the last five seasons, and without Steve Spagnuolo’s defense, they might not have even made the playoffs. Patrick Mahomes had to make a lot of chicken salad out of other things in the 2023 campaign, because outside of Travis Kelce, it could be argued that the Chiefs didn’t even have a consistent No. 2 receiver. The Chiefs tried to bring more to that equation in free agency with Marquise “Hollywood” Brown, and in the draft with Texas’ Xavier Worthy, but it remains to be seen whether either Brown or Worthy can be an alpha dog in Andy Reid’s offense.

It also remains to be seen whether Reid sees it as a priority.

Last season, per Sports Info Solutions, the Chiefs led the NFL in dropbacks with pre-snap motion with 546. Mahomes completed 336 passes in 489 attempts with motion for 3,389 yards, 1,219 air yards, 23 touchdowns, eight interceptions, and a passer rating of 109.9. Without motion, Mahomes completed 169 of 257 passes for 1,845 yards, 850 air yards, 10 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 88.4. The Chiefs knew they didn’t have the kinds of receivers who could consistently separate without schematic help, so they gave them as much schematic help as possible.

Mahomes also had the NFL’s most passing attempts with three tight ends on the field – 46, of which he completed 30 for 391 yards, 115 air yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and a passer rating of 88.2. Not the best numbers, but the point remains: If the Chiefs didn’t have ideal targets, they were going to do their level best to transcend that with deployment and scheme.

How else do coaches work around a lack of alpha receivers?

San Francisco 49ers fans might argue the point that their team doesn’t have a true No. 1 receiver, but unless you think that Brandon Aiyuk is one, it’s a tough point to contend. I think that Aiyuk is an ideal 1A receiver – he does a ton in Kyle Shanahan’s concepts, and one of those concepts is condensed splits that allow receivers to find more room on the outside of the formation. Per Pro Football Focus, the 49ers led the league with 829 snaps in formations where receivers were tighter to the formation. The Los Angeles Rams ranked second with 730, and that’s another team where the No. 1 receiver argument becomes complicated.

285 of San Francisco’s passing plays came out of condensed formations last season, and the reasoning was clear. Brock Purdy had 20 explosive completions out of those tighter splits in the 2023 season.

Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been turning down head coaching jobs of late – perhaps because he realizes that as much as he’s done with his playbook to amplify Detroit’s offense, he’ll be able to pick his spot in a relative sense. Now, some might say that Amon-Ra St. Brown is a No. 1 receiver. The Lions certainly paid him that way with the four-year, $120.01-million contract extension with $77 million guaranteed St. Brown got in April, but St. Brown presents an Aiyuk-like case of a very good receiver whose efforts are amplified by scheme. That’s not to denigrate Brown at all – it’s more a realistic analysis of his attributes.

In Johnson’s offense, the Lions ran a lot of 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) and 12 personnel (one running back, two tight ends, two receivers). They ranked third in 3×1 formation snaps behind the Chiefs and the Washington Commanders with 515, and they ranked third in 2×2 formation snaps behind the Philadelphia Eagles and the Indianapolis Colts with 627. Factor in Johnson’s multi-faceted run game, and there isn’t one book on the Lions’ offense – making everything more difficult to read.

And in the end, maybe that’s the whole point in today’s NFL. More than ever, the league is about spacing and matchups more than this set of routes versus that kind of coverage. NFL offensive coordinators are trying everything possible to win those particular battles, and without a true No. 1 receiver, and all the advantages and limitations therein, maybe it’s that much more difficult for defenses to understand what a passing game is trying to accomplish.

In a game where milliseconds play out like minutes, any kind of hesitation is a big deal.

So yes, it’s great to have a No. 1 receiver if you can identify, develop, and keep one. But more and more, the NFL’s best offensive minds are looking for workarounds to that formerly incontrovertible ideal.