PGA Championship
We're underway at Baltusrol, and someone likely has the lead. (We started pretty early this morning; we got a lot on our plate.)
We have believed for years that the PGA was the fifth, red-headed stepsister of the major championships. A kissing cousin of the Australian Open.
Well, when the PGA comes to a place like this - Baltusrol is an absolute American gem and one of the 10 or 12 best venues in the country for a major championship like this - and has a field like this, it has more of a major championship field. Then, doing a little digging, you look back at the name horses who have won here, and you start to realize this may be the most true golf test of all the major championships, at least it plays out that way over the last 10 or so years. Look at the winners and the runners-up for the last decade:
2015 - Jason Day wins; Jordan Spieth second
2014 - Rory McILroy; Phil Mickelson
2013 - Jason Dufner; Jim Furyk
2012 - McIlroy destroys the field
2011 - Keegan Bradley beats Dufner in a playoff
2010 - Martin Kaymer beats Bubba Watson in a playoff
2009 - Y.E. Yang shocks the planet and topples Tiger Woods
2008 - Padraig Harrington over several folks
2007 - Tiger Woods
2006 - Tiger Woods
2005 - Phil Mickelson
2004 - Vijay Singh
That's a lot of guys at the height of their powers and playing as well as anyone. Plus, if you examine the demands of the major championships in golf, they all are something different.
The Masters is about being able to win and handle the pressure. Yes, all major championships have pressure - lots of it in fact - but the Masters and what it means and what it represents and the history that swirls the grounds alongside Washington Road are all-encompassing. As for the way to victory, it's the major that you have to be prepared to grab and go get as the birdies generate the roars come Sunday afternoon.
The U.S. Open is about putting and survival. The USGA would rather allow the bird flue than birdies, and it sets up its event as such. Yes, the old saying puts the real value on the putter, but winning the U.S. Open is almost entirely determined by how well a player uses the blade.
The Open Championship all too often is about surviving the conditions, and too often that can mean a beneficial tee time on a Thursday or a Friday can make all the difference.
Yes, given his preference, any player would almost certainly select any of the other three as more meaningful for one reason or 12. But when the PGA comes to a place like this, it certainly will test the field.
And either way, come Sunday evening if everything stays on schedule, someone will be celebrating a major accomplishment. Side note: All of that pomp and circumstance aside, can we say God Bless You John Daly for remembering that sports are supposed to be fun. Spalding, get your foot off the boat.
FILE - In this Jan. 3, 2016, file photo, New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick runs away from the Buffalo Bills pass rush during an NFL football game in Orchard Park, N.Y. The Jets have made an offer that Fitzpatrick–so far–has refused. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday night, May 27, that the Jets made a three-year offer to the quarterback in March that includes $12 million guaranteed in the first year. That has since remained on the table for Fitzpatrick, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither side is commenting publicly on the negotiations. (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert, File) NFL camp opens
There are a lot of semi-important stories around the NFL.
The Jets agree to a one-year deal with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick for a guaranteed $12 million. (Good move for the Jets. Fitzpatrick is not a longterm solution, no matter the numbers for a year ago.)
The Rams cut Nick Foles. As we discussed on Press Row on Wednesday, if you are Nick Foles do you go to a place where there's quarterback competition, knowing that if you do not win it, you are likely going to be cut or do you call Atlanta or Seattle and sign on to be the for sure back-up behind a settled starter? Discuss.
The other tidbit to keep an eye on is the names popping up that will hold out as deals and contracts and franchise tags become talking points.
We're flabbergasted about much more money the NBA players and the MLB players make than the NFL players, considering the various success levels and profitability of each league.
It's staggering really.
And here's betting it's a major deal when the next collective bargaining agreement is discussed.
FILE - In a Sunday, Nov. 1, 2015 file photo, Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch (24) breaks through a tackle-attempt by Dallas Cowboys' Sean Lee (50) as Cowboys Byron Jones, left, comes over to help on the running play in the second half of an NFL football game, in Arlington, Texas. Lynch, the mercurial Seattle Seahawks running back, sent a tweet during the fourth quarter of Sunday's Super Bowl with a pair of cleats hanging from a power or telephone line, along with an emoji depicting a peace sign. It certainly wasn't a definitive statement that Lynch is ready to call it a career, but it would fit with a mounting stack of evidence that the bruising running back is ready to move on from football. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade, File) NFL all-retirement team
ESPN.com posted this as a look at a potential starting lineup for an NFL team of players who retired after last year. And you know what? It's pretty doggone stout.
Yes, the big names of Calvin Johnson and Peyton Manning and Marshawn Lynch are noteworthy at the higher-profile spots. But look through the entire list and three things kind of jumped out:
First, the wealth of talent on that list. Guys like a Jon Beason or a Peanut Tillman or a handful of others that were very good pros, even if they weren't all-pro-type of guys.
Second, man, be it injuries or indifference, who knew that Jarod Mayo and Percy Harvin are now done. Harvin, who battled migraines and a handful of personal issues that kind of made him burn his bridges in a couple of different spots, is only 28 for Pete's sake.
Finally, that's going to be a crowded Hall of Fame ballot in five years. Consider this: Only eight people can be inducted in one class, and two of those come from the veterans committee, so with the traffic jam of the current guys already on the ballot or waiting to get on the ballot, when you add this class, well, wow.
Manning is a must. Charles Woodson is a no-doubt guy. Defensive end Jared Allen is ninth all-time with 136 sacks. Logan Mankins was a All-Pro pillar on the championship offensive line of the Patriots.
Now go on to the guys definitely in the conversation. Calvin Johnson's career numbers will not measure kindly since he walked away from the game at 30 with several productive years in front of him. Lynch will get a hard look, so too with D'Brickashaw Ferguson, the former Jets tackle who played 10 years, made three All-Pro teams and never missed a start.
FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2013, file photo, former Tampa Bay Buccaneers player Warren Sapp smiles after being inducted in the Ring of Honor ceremony during halftime in an NFL football game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins in Tampa, Fla. Sapp was bitten by a shark during a fishing trip off the Florida Keys on Wednesday, July 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File) This and that
- Former NFL All-Pro Warren Sapp tells a story that he survived a shark attack this summer. Egad. Besides burning to death, a shark or alligator attack may be right there on the short list of worst ways to go for us. Thoughts?
- Man, want to know how tough things are out there? Layoffs and recasting have even found Sesame Street. The actors who play Bob, Gordon and Luis are being replaced, and for what it's worth, Bob - played by actor Bob McGrath - has been on the show since 1969.
- Braves win. A 9-7 win over the Twins fueled by Freddie Freeman's monster four-hit, five-RBI game, gives the Braves back-to-back wins.
- Aroldis Chapman made his debut with the Cubs on Wednesday. And dude throws absolute bullets.
- Thought this was interesting: Tim Lee, the Cobb County commissioner chairman who was the leader to get the Atlanta Braves' new stadium deal done in Cobb, was whipped in a runoff election this week.
Today's question
On this day in 1999, Barry Sanders retired. Just said, "Thanks. I'm good." And walked off. That's on the short list of most surprising retirements no? Who else is out there in that class?
If you need an abstract Rushmore, let's go here: Jim Davis is 71 today and many of you may wonder if that's our uncle or something.
Well, we wish. Mr. Davis created Garfield. What's the Rushmore of fictional cats?
Go, and we have a spot open for the mailbag.