Weekend winners
Boston Celtics. Game 2 was tougher, but the Celtics survived what may have been Dallas’ best haymaker — a questionable Luka Doncic still posted a 32-point triple double — in Sunday’s seven-point Game 2 win. Brad Stephens has put together a legit crew that has balance and defined roles. And know this: We all thought the three-team trade that moved Damian Lillard to Milwaukee was going to be the catalyst for a title. Well it was, but not in the way we expected since in the Lillard deal, the Bucks sent Jrue Holiday to Portland, which sent him to Boston. And Jrue is dealing.
Scottie Scheffler. He won The Memorial by a shot Sunday. There will never be the “next Tiger,” if you ask me. It was the perfect time of hype and sports vacuum and the perfect blend of charisma and dominance. But Scottie Scheffler is doing a lot of very Tiger things, and even try this stat: According to The Athletic, Scheffler is the first player to head into the U.S. Open with five tournament wins including a major since some dude named Arnold Palmer in 1962. Or this one: Scottie has 11 consecutive top-10 finishes on Tour, the most since some cat named Eldrick in 2007-08, when Woods also had 11 in a row.
Scheffler’s accountant. Egad, Scottie’s made a staggering more than $24 million in tournament earnings in 2024. That’s a season record — already — and we still have two more majors and one PGA big-time event (and not to mention the FedEx Cup). So Scheffler in 2024 has made $24.02 million in golf earnings. Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson combined to win a little less than $23 million in tournament winnings during their PGA Tour careers.
Southern baseball. Wowser, four SEC teams punched their ticket to Omaha with Tennessee, Florida, Texas A&M and Kentucky booking passage to the College World Series. Three more ACC teams did the same with Virginia, UNC and FSU heading West. The final spot in the eight-team field will be decided today when, fittingly, Georgia and NC State play in the Athens Super Regional. Regional balance, huh?