5-at-10: Stephan and Steph — a golden Web.com Tour opportunity, baseball observations, NFL is here, Rushmore of ice cream products

Stephan Jaeger walks to the 18th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
Stephan Jaeger walks to the 18th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament Thursday, June 15, 2017, at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
photo FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2016, file photo, Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry follows his shot from the 14th fairway of the Silverado Resort North Course during the pro-am event of the Safeway Open PGA golf tournament, in Napa, Calif. Two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry is set to test his golf game against the pros. The Web.com Tour announced Wednesday, June 28, 2017, that Curry, who recently won his second NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors, will play in the Ellie Mae Classic. The event at TPC Stonebrae runs from Aug. 3-6.(AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Jaegar and Curry

Man, what a cool deal for Baylor School grad and Web.com Tour money-leader Stephan Jaegar this week.

He returns to the site of his first Web.com victory at the Ellie Mae Classic, when he shot a 58 at this event last year on his way to a runaway victory. He got all the way to 30-under at this event last year, matching the all-time low score in relation to par in Web.com Tour history.

He returns ranked No. 3 on the money list with $252,871 in earnings this year. It's a number that, with seven events on the schedule after this one, is all-but assuredly going to allow Jaegar to finish in the top 25 and secure his PGA Tour card for the 2017-18 season. (That would mean there would be three Baylor School grads on Tour next year, which is pretty awesome.)

News came Tuesday evening that come 8:55 California time, teeing off the 10th tee will be the group of Sam Ryder, Jaegar and some dude named Stephen Curry. (The threesome will tee off at 5:15 Eastern on Friday, so there will be a lot of Jaegar on The Golf Channel come Friday evening for sure.)

Yes, that Stephen Curry, the two-time NBA MVP who is close to a scratch golfer but will get an up-close look at the difference between the best guy in your Saturday low ball and being on the circuit where guys are trying to make their living.

Jaegar discussed playing Curry when he joined Paschall and me on Press Row in late June. Here's the replay via espnchattanooga.com, and let's just say that Jaegar is quite confident about the pairing.

This has been a live-changing summer for Jaegar, who qualified for the U.S. Open as well as notching two wins on the Web.com Tour - a third win before the end of the season would earn an immediate promotion to the PGA Tour. Now he gets a chance to play in the most watched and attention grabbing group of the entire Web.com season. Think of it this way. Jaegar got a little national exposure for shooting a 58 at this event last year.

If dude even goes 66-66 with Curry in his group - and let's be honest if we had to put an over-under on Curry, we'd start at 76-76, considering the course played at more than 7,000 yards last year - he will be one of the lead pieces of one of the lead stories on SportCenter.

Curry has the right attitude going into this. He's humble and thankful and his goal is to just make the cut - and to get off the first tee without shanking one.

Curry, to ESPN.com golf writer Michael Collins: "These guys dedicate their life to the game and are grinding every week to make it to the PGA Tour, so I understand how hard it is out here. Myself as a casual professional golfer in my head, not in real life, I just want to have fun, make some birdies. The cut would be -- if I can just give myself a chance, like go into Friday with a realistic chance to make it -- that would be amazing. I want to know what that adrenaline rush is like, because for me, that would be like winning the tourney."

What a cool opportunity - for both Steph and Stephan.

photo Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts (30),center, celebrates with his players after defeating the Atlanta Braves in a baseball game Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2017, in Atlanta. The Dodgers won 3-2. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Baseball turns and twists

We watched a fair amount of the Braves-Dodgers game last night.

Good game between the best team in baseball and a team hoping to contend with the best teams in baseball sooner rather than later.

There were a lot of discussion-worthy points in terms of the National League - now, in the months to come, and potentially the years to come - from the action on last night's first day of August. Yes, we have long held the position that we do not get overly analytical in baseball until the 'er' months, as in Septemb-ER and Octob-ER. But a couple of things occurred to us last night:

First, as the Dodgers continued their torrid run. They are now 1-0 in August, after going 20-3 in July, and are 40-6 in the last 46 games. Every other major league team has at least 18 losses in that span. L.A. has won nine straight and became just the third team in the last 70 years to get to 75 wins by their 106th game of the season. L.A.

Second, Cody Bellinger is winning at a 1920s Yankees clip. This is staggering. The Dodgers rookie left-handed slugger has played 86 games this season. He has 29 homers and 70 RBIs in that time, but the most impressive stat on his impressive resume may be wins and winning percentage. The Dodgers are 75-31 (.708 winning percentage) overall, but they are 66-20 (.767 winning percentage) since Bellinger made his debut in late April.

Third, speaking of rookies, the Braves had three in the lineup Tuesday and all acquitted themselves quite famously.

Lucas Sims was solid in his big-league pitching debut, allowing three earned (although the last one scored on a throwing error on catcher Tyler Flowers) in six innings. Yes, Bellinger took Sims deep - a problem that has plagued Sims all year - but Sims did not walk anyone and kept the Braves in the game against the best team in baseball.

Ozzie Albies made his big-league debut Tuesday as well, drawing a walk in three plate-appearances and scoring a run. That run came when Johan Camargo - another Braves rookie infielder - homered. In truth, in what was supposed to be the summer of Dansby Swanson, Camargo has been a great surprise and has forced management to find a place for him in the lineup and in their future plans. He's versatile defensively. He's been right around .300 all year. He has an infectious energy that carries throughout the dugout.

Finally, as the Dodgers added Yu Darvish before the trading deadline - something that TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer covers here as he caught up with local-boy turned MLB great Rick Honeycutt - the Dodgers' chief hurdle in the N.L. suffered a potentially devastating injury. Maz Scherzer, the second-best pitcher in baseball, left the Nationals' game last night with a neck injury.

That will be one to watch moving forward - as will all these young Braves contributors.

photo Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott (21) and quarterback Dak Prescott (4) run down the field during calisthenics and looks for a throw during NFL football training camp in Oxnard, Calif., Wednesday, July 26, 2017. (AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

Check the schedule

It's here, it's happening.

Yep, there will be a football game on your TV tomorrow night.

Yes, it's a preseason game. Yes, the ultimate meter of a gambling problem is whether you bet on preseason games. And that's OK.

And no we're not going to break down what can be gleaned when the Cowboys and Cardinals play.

We all already know the answer. Nothing. Nothing whatsoever meaningful will be learned on Thursday. (Yes, injuries are the most important outcome of every preseason game, scrimmage and practice. So if your team's story in the local paper is "So-and-so looks for whatever" or "This guy knows the time is now" then practice is progressing swimmingly for your team. The crime-and-pain stories are the ones that carry the most merit in August, and that merit is almost always bad.)

But, the hallmark that new football is on the TV is reasons to smile.

It also is reason to remember that this NFL Hall of Fame class will be inducted this weekend.

The Class of 2017 consists of kicker Morten Andersen; running back Terrell Davis; safety Kenny Easley; owner, president and general manager Jerry Jones; defensive end Jason Taylor; running back LaDainian Tomlinson; and quarterback Kurt Warner.

Hard to quibble with any of those names. Of the names left out, well, the fact that Terrell Owens is still waiting to hear his name called is an out-and-out travesty. Period.

Either way, football is back. Almost.

This and that

- Here's the photo of a Texas calf that looks a lot like Gene Simmons. Enjoy.

- Here's a story on Peyton Manning enjoying the life of being Peyton Manning. Yep, he spent a lot of time in Ireland - more than likely playing a lot of golf - then shows up in a pub and starts singing Johnny Cash's Folsom Prison Blues. It's good to be the King.

- We'd be remiss if we did not remind you good people that, now that we are in August, if you have any interest in area high school football, the TFP does high school football right. Here's the web locale for the excellent TFP high school stuff, but better yet, if you are a high school football fan, get a subscription this fall, and you will not be disappointed.

- Longtime Notre Dame legendary coach Ara Parseghian died Wednesday morning. He was 94.

Today's question

On this day in 1776, the Declaration of Independence was signed.

On this day in 1790, the first U.S. census was conducted. There were 3,939,214 people in the country and that included 697,624 slaves.

On this day 80 years ago, the Marihuana Tax Act was passed, making marijuana and its by-products illegal.

A few famous three-named folks died on this day through history: Wild Bill Hickok (1876), Alexander Graham Bell (1922), Paul von Hindenburg (1934).

As for birthdays, Carroll O'Connor - aka Archie Bunker - was born on this day in 1924. Wes Craven was born on this day in 1939. Charlie Strong was born on this day in 1960. Kevin Smith, the director and "Silent Bob," was born on this day in 1970.

Also, on this day in 1979, Thurman Munson died in a plane crash. Man, we remember that day vividly.

As for the Rushmore, did you know today was National Ice Cream sandwich day?

What makes the Rushmore of ice-cream products and treats? Go, and be creative.

And remember the mailbag.

Upcoming Events