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Weekend winners
Harris English. The Baylor School grad finished second — and first in a golfing world without Scottie (more on him shortly) — at the British Open. Yeah, that’s four rounds of golf and a $1.759 million check.
Golf. All the world’s best playing the game. Well, other Joaquin Neiman, I guess. The weather was perfectly subtle yet present. And the course. WOW. I’ve always thought my bucket list course to play across the pine would be St. Andrews — and it still is — but Royal Portrush looked immaculate all weekend long. And the R&A used the topography perfectly. It was the perfect balance between penal — stop it, Spy — and playable.
Ronald Acuña Jr. IFYKYK. That was right there with Dave Parker in the ’79 All-Star Game and Bo Jackson from the wall to get Harold Reynolds at home among the all-time best MLB throws ever. EVER. Shohei is a unicorn, but God made Ronald Acuña Jr. to be arguably the perfect baseball specimen. What can’t he do?
Brysen Wright. This is another ‘if you know you know’ but oh my, what a catch. Here’s the clip. Enjoy. Did we mention he’s only 14?
LSU football recruiting. It may have been expected, but when the nation’s No. 1 defensive lineman grows up in Red Stick, not getting him to say “Geaux Tigers” would have been the biggest loss of the season for Brian Kelly.
Weekend losers
Every Baylor School QB from grades 7-thru-11. Yeah, Marshall Manning is the next HIM, and he did not enroll at the elite campus next to the Tennessee River to study river trends. Here’s more from Hargis and here are some clips.
Golf drama. Yep, that was an amazingly forgettable Sunday of a major, no? More on this in a moment.
WNBA. First, without Caitlin Clark, did anyone watch? Thought not. Second, if anyone thinks WNBA players deserve anything close to NBA players, then they need to take a Business 101 class at their local junior college. Bargain for all you can get, ladies, but the league has been subsidized for years and, according to Forbes, has never turned a profit. Yes, the future looks bright, but wearing “Pay us what you owe us” T-shirts and a looming lockout do not help. And y’all best start treating Caitlin Clark with the “Golden Goose” kid gloves she deserves.
America. Dang, Donald, what the bleep, man? There are not enough wars or natural disasters or real issues more deserving of your time? The leader of the free world went on a social media diatribe, calling for the Washington Commanders and the Cleveland Guardians to change their mascots back to Redskins and Indians. He even threatened funding for the Commanders’ new stadium.
The Braves. What could have been — should have been — a series win over the Yankees imploded with the bullpen meltdown Saturday. Despite Acuña’s highlight, this team feels flawed, and now the third base coach is fighting with opposing players.
Tour de France. Am I the only one who used to pay attention to this, yet was surprised to learn this week that this year’s Super Bowl of bicycling is not only ongoing but almost done?
Tiger-like or Tiger-lite
The comps were the conversation all day Sunday as Scottie Scheffler made the 153rd British Open as dramatically intriguing as “Caddyshack 2.”
The most entertaining part of the weekend round of the Scottie Invitational was one golfer’s answer to the question, “What will you have to shoot today to win?”
His answer: “Scottie Scheffler.”
Look, that’s 10 consecutive wins for Scottie when he has had the 54-hole lead. Yes, Tiger had a streak that got to 36 wins in a row when he led going into the final round, but still.
Scottie is just the fourth player to win the Masters, the U.S. Open and now the British Open before the age 30. The others are Tiger, Jack and Gary Player.
Yes, the symmetry is there — according to The Athletic, it took Scottie 1,197 days after winning his first major to winning his fourth; it took Tiger 1,197 days to go from 1-to-4, too — but that’s not the biggest comp.
Yes, Tiger started younger, and yes, Tiger was magical in his pursuit of all-time status.
Scottie is not, but maybe that serves him even more in this: He has balance. He does not chase the image or the rewards.
But here’s the greatest comp you can make between the current best player on the planet and Tiger at his apex:
We have 100% entered the realm of “Are you taking Scottie or the field,” and you feel foolish taking the field.
This and that
› Scary weekend in softball. The Lil Miss 5-at-10 pitched her ponytail off but got hit in the left leg with a 63-mph fastball, and we thought it broke her shin. She went for X-rays, but it was just a deep bone bruise. Came back Saturday morning in bracket play and pitched four innings of two-hit scoreless ball for the win and took a tough-luck loss in the semifinals against a 16-U team from Ohio. Super proud of her.
› You know the rules. Here’s Paschall with some SEC football goodness, and we will spend some time on this later this week, but if Arch Manning — the Heisman favorite, according to Vegas — is barely in the top-five of SEC QB1 rankings, then yeah, there are some dudes at the most important position in the league where it just means more.
› We are 10 days from the trading deadline, and the Braves are cooked.
› Rough weekend for golf analysts. First, Kevin Eisner says that Wyndham Clark deserved better than having his locker room tantrum at Oakmont publicized. Say what? Then Smylie Kaufman got caught on a hot mic he thought was dead, dropping the F-bomb during the British Open. That said, Mike Tirico may be the best to ever call sports.
Today’s questions
Weekend winners (other than Scottie) and losers. Go.
As for Multiple Choice Monday, how many majors will Scottie Scheffler claim?
> Be concerned Jack, who has 18;
> Be concerned Tiger, who has 15;
> Scottie will get to double digits;
> 1-to-3 more?
Thoughts?
As for today, July 21, let’s review:
“The Daily Show” premiered on this day in 1996. Its first host was former ESPN anchor Craig Kilborn, who was very funny.
Robin Williams would have been 74 today.
Does Mark make the Rushmore of TV aliens — and that would be outer space aliens, friends. Let’s not get into immigration today.
Go