Jordan Spieth holds up the trophy after winning the U.S. Open golf tournament at Chambers Bay on Sunday, June 21, 2015 in University Place, Wash. (AP Photo/Matt York) Morning gang.
Hope you had a great Father's Day.
We are on the panhandle trying to find the ultimate sand castle and a few Co-Colas and avoid sun burns. Good times.
So that means we'll have a 5-at-10 everyday this week - hey, it's what we do - but they will be abbreviated. Today, we have our usual "who won the weekend/who lost it" but the rest of the week will be top-five lists with the occasional Rushmore mixed in. Deal? Deal.
From the satellite condo of the "Talks too much" studios, so anyone think this Spieth kid has a future in golf? He may work out some kinks and be pretty handy at this.
Weekend Winners
- Jordan Spieth. D'uh. More on that below. But Under Armour, which has long-term deals with Spieth and Stephen Curry is feeling pretty sporty about its future this month.
- Golf fans. Was there complaining and controversy? Yes. Did we get an exciting U.S. Open? Yes, we did. In that regard, the USGA won.
- The Atlanta Braves. As ace TFP columnist detailed here the Braves swept the Mets in three games over the weekend, and as we have been saying for the better part of a month, Atlanta is crafting a sweet collection go starting pitchers. Shelby Miller, Williams Perez and Alex Wood have been salty. Julio Teheran was great Sunday - and a different cat at home than on the road - and rookie Matt Wisler was aces in his debut Friday. That's a nice foundation.
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Weekend losers
Dustin Johnson watches his putt on the first hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Chambers Bay on Sunday, June 21, 2015 in University Place, Wash. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi) - Dustin Johnson. Ouch. Simply ouch. Ouch-standing in fact. DJ three-jacks the 72nd hole form inside 14 feet that went from a potential eagle for his first major to a miss that cost him a shot in a playoff. You have to wonder of Johnson, arguably the best ball striker on the planet, will break through the mental glass ceiling to win a major.
- Golf fans. OK, this may seem like a small quibble, but other than golf it was not the busiest of sports weekends (plus, we have spent a fair amount of time in cars and on beaches the last 48 hours). Still, an 18-hole playoff today between Johnson and Spieth would have been sweet.
- This kickball/soccer player from Jamaica, who snapped a selife with Lionel Messi after a loss. C'mon dude.
- Charlie Sheen. Name-calling with the exes in public is never a good idea. When it's on Father's Day and you are bashing the mother of your kids, well, c'mon dude.
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Golf's defining moment
Jordan Spieth survived and won the U.S. Open Sunday.
It was gripping theater that made for a real sports moment in a month of championship sports moments.
We have been spoiled this June.
Golden State closed a record-setting NBA season with its first championship in 40 years.
American Pharaoh won the horse racing Triple Crown.
Serena Williams won the French Open and is halfway to the Triple Crown in women's tennis.
Now Spieth is halfway to a triple crown, his U.S. Open trophy holding a spot next to the Green Jacket he won at the Masters in April.
He's the youngest U.S. Open champ since some guy named Bobby Jones in 1923 and the youngest player to win two majors in a season since some cat named Gene Sarazen in 1922.
He has become a true star in arguably the most star-needy sport across the landscape.
Golf needs names that are as big as the game, and those names are always forged in the major championship pressure that comes with the moments we witnessed last Sunday night on the coast of the Puget Sound in Washington.
Spieth grinds and shines in a Chambers Bay course that was as much the story as the players who walked - and chided - it for 72 holes.
Sure, the U.S. Open is al;ways the major players survive, but the reachable par 4s and 5s on Sunday gave the power hitters such as Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy a fighter's chance no matter what the scoreboard said.
But Spieth emerged on 18 - the hole he called the dumbest hole evert on Sunday - with a birdie and a three-putt par moments later from Johnson left Spieth minted as the next guy to be the next Tiger.
Let's just all agree to stop that now.
It's understandable why golf wants to find the next Tiger - dude brought the game to an all-time public high that not even Jack or Arnold could reach - but it's not fair to the greatest that was Tiger to start tossing around the "next" tag.
It also is not fair to Spieth, who is way ahead of any player - including Mr. Woods - considering he's halfway to a grand slam and he's not yet 22.
Jordan Spieth watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the final round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Chambers Bay on Sunday, June 21, 2015 in University Place, Wash. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) So Spieth emerges forward at a time the game needs him, and that's a great thing for golf.
You know what else is great for golf, the weekend that was an full-on action movie at Chambers Bay that was covered and described by a Fox bunch that was way better than expected in most ways.
The tracer tracking of golf shots could very well be the yellow first-down line of golf's future in that years from now we'll wonder how we did without them.
Sure, Fox did not invent this, but they used it way more frequently. They need to designate where the hole is more clearly, but the ability to follow the trajectory of the shots made the viewing experience more enjoyable.
Greg Norman's analysis was up and down - and he benefitted greatly from his personal relationship with Jason Day for some keen insights, but to be fair a big part of this business is relationships and contacts. Norman has potential to be good at this, and when he talks about collapses, you have to listen.
Plus, lead announcer Joe Buck had an understated and steady style that was suited for this.
It was not all aces for Fox, though. Charles Davis is an accomplished college football expert, and as an interviewer off the 18th green this week he looked like an accomplished college football expert.
But in the end, this will be remembered not as Fox's debut or even the ups and downs of Chambers Bay. And speaking of the course, there was a ton of discussion, even from the leaders and Spieth, but as the players are bellyaching mightily on a) playing a world-class golf course for a seven-figure living and b) sounding quite whiny in the process, they need to remember two things.
First, there is a certain amount of viewing pleasure from average folks watching the best in the world work for par and bogey at the U.S. Open. It makes the pros more connectable.
Second, there also is a ton of value in bringing major championships to courses the public can play.
But the side stories, while important in scope now and in the future, are just that, side stories, this morning.
The Open belonged to Spieth, and now his future is open for almost anything.
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This and that
- One final golf note: When Illinois sophomore Nick Hardy missed a par putt on 18 on Friday that extended the cut to 5 over, which meant an extra 15 pros got into the weekend and got to make upwards of at least $20 grand (the tag for last place). At least one of the pros tried to buy Hardy dinner, but Hardy had to decline - it would have been an NCAA violation.
- If this does not make it a little dusty where you are, then that's on you: Tony Gwynn Jr. hitting a walk-off single on Father's Day.
FILE - In this Wednesday, March 4, 2015 file photo, Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade (3) dribbles the ball against the Los Angeles Lakers during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Miami. A person with knowledge of contract negotiations between Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat says talks are at an impasse, and that Wade is considering all options, including potentially leaving the team that drafted him 12 years ago, Thursday, May 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Joel Auerbach, File) - Reports have Dwyane Wade interested in a free agent move to the Lakers. It would not be a stretch considering Wade's significant other is actress Gabrielle Union.
- Vandy and Virginia in the college world series tonight. We're in.
- U.S. women's soccer team plays in some tournament somewhere. We're paying attention, which is better than most of the time for us in regard to the kick-ball craze.
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Today's question
Beyond Jordan Spieth, who won the weekend? Who lost it?
As for a side Rushmore: Pistol Pete Maravich would have been 68 today. So we were thinking, "What's the Rushmore of white basketball players?"
Have at it.
But then we wondered if that at its core is a racist question. If we asked for the best black baseball players, would that be? Not to get to too deep, but the juxtaposition seemed odd.
Carry on and play nice in the comments. I will check back after lunch and will call in Press Row around 3:10 to talk about who won and lost the weekend.