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Good morning! Does this newsletter count for Official World Golf Ranking points? Asking for a friend.
While You Were Sleeping
An electric night in the Bronx
The vibes were bad entering the bottom of the ninth Tuesday at Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers, division leaders, were down four to the lowly Pirates, heading for another disappointing loss down the stretch.
Then Aaron Judge came up. Pop. Home run No. 60, another milestone for the future AL MVP. A cool note in a loss.
Then the Yanks loaded the bases. The other menacing bat in the lineup — Giancarlo Stanton, remember him? — arrived at the plate. Thwack. A line-drive, grand slam walk-off left the field of play in a hurry. Yankees 9, Pirates 8.
It was a great reminder that we have some great baseball ahead of us with just two weeks left in the season — and plenty to watch before we hit the playoffs.
Check Swing
MLB playoff cheat sheet
About those playoffs. Snuck up on us, right? Some standings and storylines to catch up on before playoff talk hits your local water cooler:
Division titles clinched: Astros, Dodgers
Playoff berths secured: Mets, Braves
Other division leaders: Yankees, Guardians, Cardinals
Wild-card leaders: Blue Jays, Rays and Mariners (AL); Braves, Padres and Phillies (NL)
Narratives to follow:
- Aaron Judge’s box scores — He’s one home run away from tying the American League record. He is the sixth player to ever hit 60 home runs in a season. Find a TV and watch his at-bats down the stretch.
- NL East drama — The Mets and Braves are separated by just one game in the division and figure to be the only real race in question as we near Game 162 — unless someone collapses.
- Did you say collapse? Not likely, but Judge’s Yankees (5 1/2 games up) or the Guardians (five games up) are candidates. (Cleveland dropped the surging Sox last night.)
- Wild-card lurkers — The Orioles, White Sox and Brewers are hanging around in wild-card contention outside the teams listed above. The race to watch is Phillies vs. Brewers, teams separated by just 2 1/2 games for that last NL wild-card spot.
Beef, Reheated
LIV asks for validation
The LIV Golf Tour hasn’t gone away, although the rancor surrounding the upstart league has faded — until Tuesday.
Fifty LIV golfers sent a letter to the chairman of the Official World Golf Ranking asking for LIV events to earn points towards a player’s OWGR. It seems simple, right? Hardly. Quick breakdown:
- The OWGR has 23 participating tours in which players can earn OWGR points. There are different values for each tour, of course, but they all count. It’s a shared golf universe with different runs. Why it matters: Ranking points offer eligibility to play in majors.
- Thus it makes sense for the LIV golfers, who cannot participate in PGA Tour events at the moment, to ask for inclusion. Their argument: We have some of the best golfers on the planet. Your rankings are bogus if you don’t count us.
- There’s also a simple answer: The current LIV format does not meet the criteria for inclusion. LIV tournaments are 54 holes and don’t have a cut. Normal OWGR standards: 72 holes and a 36-hole cut. Tours also normally have to hold qualifiers for the tour itself and individual tournaments. LIV does neither.
Unless the OWGR makes a unique exception, this beef is at a stalemate, and LIV golfers will continue to slide down the rankings.
Briefs
Chara, Subban, Yandle all retire from NHL
Three of hockey’s biggest names over the last decade-plus — Zdeno Chara, PK Subban and Keith Yandle — all announced their retirement within hours of each other Tuesday. Chara, a 24-year veteran, retired as a Bruin. Subban retired after 13 years. Yandle, a 16-year veteran who played the most consecutive games in NHL history (989), said he was “at ease” with his decision.
Jackson released from hospital
Bills cornerback Dane Jackson avoided “major injury to his neck or spinal cord” after a scary hit in Buffalo’s win Monday, the team announced Tuesday. He was released from the hospital and will undergo further tests. Always good to hear.
Great Expectations
Micah Parsons wants everyone to chill with the comparisons. He’s too good for the noise to go away, though.
Parsons, in just his second year as a pro, has been unblockable through two games this season. His four sacks lead the league. He’s the early favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year. Scouts, commentators and coaches are in awe. Lawrence Taylor gets brought up. So does Von Miller.
Jon Machota has a great look at what made Parsons so special early in his career. Some eye-popping stats:
- Parsons has 17 sacks through 18 career games, the most any NFL player has recorded in that stretch since the league started counting the stat in 1982. Miller had 14 1/2. Reggie White had 14. Parsons is already in that conversation.
- He either leads the league or is tied for the lead in sacks (four), tackles for loss (four) and pressures (13).
It’s early, yes, but if you haven’t paid attention to Parsons yet, fix that. Check out the full story for more.
Pulse Picks
・Dane Brugler never sleeps. He has a look at the 10 college players who impressed him in Week 3.
・Make time for this one: True stories about Dusty Baker, the “second-most interesting man in the world.”
・The Oakland Roots are so in right now. Rapper G-Eazy is the latest investor in the burgeoning soccer club.
・Tim Graham pens an excellent perspective from Buffalo’s bittersweet win Monday: nothing is guaranteed.
・Women’s basketball legend Tina Thompson is the Portland Trail Blazers’ newest scout.
・Bill Shea is back with Sports on TV: WNBA Finals ratings dipped — thanks to NFL competition — but stayed solid.
・Team USA is heading to the women’s basketball World Cup in Australia, but Brittney Griner’s absence is weighing heavily on players’ minds.
・A timely story amid Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols’ record chases: What’s it like to be the pitcher who gives up a history-making hit?
(Photo: Brad Penner / USA Today)
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