Who won the weekend? Who lost it?
Yep, it's Monday and from the "Talks too much" studios, let's do this.
Miami's Stanley Guirand (14) pulls the jersey of Chattanooga's Chrispin Ochieng (10). Chattanooga got a free kick on the play. Chattanooga FC hosted the Miami Fusion in soccer playoff action at Finley Stadium Saturday night, July 18, 2015Weekend winners
Zach Grienke. OK, coming into the year we all could agree that Clayton Kershaw was the best pitcher on the planet. Now, he's not even the best pitcher on the Dodgers. Grienke's scoreless streak is at 43.2. In that stretch he has allowed 19 hits and four walks against 152 batters and his ERA is down to a eye-popping 1.30.
Chattanooga FC. The local futbol club had more than 6,000 at Finley in what sounded like a fun scene. They bested Miami 1-0 and will play at Myrtle Beach in the semifinals. War Kickers.
Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning looks to pass during an NFL football minicamp at the team's headquarters on June 11, 2015, in Englewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)Peyton Manning. Here's a great column from TFP ace Mark Wiedmer about how Manning visited with some local police officers after last week's tragic terrorist attack here.
Paul Dunne in particular and the British Open in general. We'll cover more on this below, but sweet buckets, the 80th-ranked amateur in the world leads the British Open after 54 holes. That's why you tee it up; you never know when the magic happens. Yes, a Monday finish for a major feels strange, but the story lines made for gripping viewing Sunday.
Kyle Busch. After missing the season's first 11 races, Busch now has three NASCAR wins in the last four races. (Edited at 11:30 a.m. - thanks correctionplease.)
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Weekend losers
Dustin Johnson. Ouch-standing. Nobody on the planet hits the ball better. And we are inching to the point that nobody on the planet has less confidence in a big moment. Dude's 75 Sunday was awful in its awfulness.
Tiger Woods. Yes, he struggled on the course. And then he got zinged off it. Last week, when he pshawed possible retirement, he said he's not in the AARP. The AARP over the weekend reminded Tiger that "it's better to be over 50 than over par." Now get off our porch.
Atlanta Braves' Eury Perez watches a two-run single the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, July 17, 2015, in Atlanta.The Braves. Losers of seven of their last eight, now the next nine are at home against the Dodgers, at St. Louis and at Baltimore. That trio is a combined 38 over .500, but on the bright side, at least they will not see Grienke or Kershaw. In fact, they will face former Braves pitcher Brandon Beachey tonight.
Bryce Haprer. C'mon man. Harper says Grienke was the beneficiary of a wide strike zone. That's bush league bro.
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British Open
We never get a chance to have Monday major championship golf.
The last time this happened in a major, it was Tiger Woods topping Rocco Mediate in the playoff of the 2008 U.S. Open. The last time it happened at the British Open, it was 1988 and Seve Ballesteros won.
Yep, it's been a while considering Ballesteros is dead, as is Tiger's career.
So a fireworks-filled Sunday had the feel of a major stage and a major championship, but it was only the third round. Brutal weather - torrential rains on Friday and wind that made marking a golf ball problematic on Saturday - forced the delay.
United States’ Jordan Spieth drives the ball from the 18th tee during the third round of the British Open Golf Championship at the Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland, Sunday, July 19, 2015. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) The conditions may have forced the extra day, but there were enough story lines to fill up an extra week.
There was Dunne, the amateur from Ireland via UAB who stole the show Sunday.
There was Johnson, who looked ready and capable for his first major championship before turning the third round into a nightmare that changes his narrative. Johnson, who three-jacked the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open last month to lose by a shot, not will have helicopter-sized butterflies in major championship weekends. His story becomes more about can he win one mentally, because there's few who hit the ball better.
There was Jordan Spieth, the Texas kid who moved into position - he was a shot back going into Monday - for an unthinkable three-for-three in majors.
There was David Duvall, the former No. 1 ranked player in the world, shooting 67 on Sunday to get into the highlights for doing something other than talking.
United States’ Tiger Woods speaks during a news conference ahead of a practice round at the British Open Golf Championship at the Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland, Tuesday, July 14, 2015. (AP Photo/Jon Super) It was a glorious Sunday that sets the stage for what could be an already special and potentially extraordinary Monday.
And a tip of the tam o'shanter to the R&A, the group that runs the Open championship. Since a host of the folks who traveled to the tournament had to catch flights and head out, the R&A allowed locals to enter for 10 pounds - with free parking and free admission for kids - to help the crowd and give it a major championship feel.
Well-played indeed.
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This and that
- This is an interesting social experiment. A Maryland professor offered his class extra credit, asking them if they wanted 2 points or 6 points added to their final grade, with the caveat that of more than 10 percent of the class says 6 percent, they get nothing.
- This would cause us to change our swimsuit. Yep, surfer battles shark. Film at 11.
- Denver dealt point guard Ty Lawson to Houston.
In this image made from video and released by WRCB-TV, authorities work an active shooting scene on Amincola Highway near the Naval Reserve Center, in Chattanooga, Tenn. on Thursday, July 16, 2015. Counterterrorism investigators are trying to figure out why a 24-year-old Kuwait-born man, who by accounts lived a typical life in suburban America, attacked the career center and a Navy-Marine training center a few miles away in a shooting rampage that killed four Marines.
- Here is my column from Saturday on the horrific acts of the terrorist that I will never name.
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Today's question
Of course we want your winners and losers from the weekend.
If you need another question to ponder, we'll go here: Today is Dean Winters' 51st birthday. Who's Dean Winters you ask? Well, he's the "Mayhem" guy on the Allstate commercials.
We are fascinated with big-time marketing folks, and what your take on the Rushmore of best collection of TV commercials. Allstate, with Mayhem and with Pedro Cerrano's voice-over stuff is consistently good. So is Budweiser, which is a true statement on a lot of levels.
Whatcha' got?