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Sunday, 4 August 2024

Scottie Scheffler gets Olympic gold medal in thriller with a 62

August 04, 2024  ,  No comments

SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES, France — Scottie Scheffler delivered the best performance of his greatest year by rallying from four shots behind on Sunday with a 9-under 62 to win the Olympic gold medal in men’s golf in a thriller at Le Golf National.

Already a six-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, including his second Masters title, Scheffler added Olympic gold to an astonishing season with a round that kept some 30,000 fans on edge for a wild final two hours.

The world’s No. 1 player matched the course record at Le Golf National and he still needed plenty of help.

Jon Rahm of Spain had a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood of England when he stepped on the 11th tee. Fleetwood caught him in two holes as Rahm had a stunning collapse, starting with a three-putt bogey from 30 feet.

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That opened the door for six players — including Victor Perez of France, who came within one shot of the podium and had the French crowd delirious as he played a five-hole stretch in 6 under to bolt into the mix.

But it was Scheffler who charged to the front with four straight birdies down the stretch, none bigger than gouging an 8-iron shot out of deep rough on the 17th hole and making the 18-foot birdie putt to take the lead for the first time all day.

He set an Olympic record for 72 holes at 19-under 265.

Fleetwood, who fell out of the lead with a bogey from the rough on the 17th, got up-and-down for par on the final hole for a 66 to win the silver medal. The bronze went to Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, in the mix on the back nine until closing with six straight pars for a 65.

Scheffler becomes the second straight American to win gold in men’s golf, following Xander Schauffele in the Tokyo Games.

Schauffele was tied for the 54-hole lead with Rahm until he had a collapse of his own, falling back with a bogey on the 12th from deep rough and another on the 13th when another shot out of the high grass went into the water. He shot 73 and tied for ninth.

“He’s been piling up trophies left and right and he keeps moving away from what is the pack of people chasing him in the world,” Schauffele said. “When I take my competitive hat off and put my USA patriot hat on, I’m very happy that we won another gold medal.”

Rory McIlroy of Ireland, who ended his 10th straight year without a major, entered the mix when he began the back nine with five straight birdies. He was one off the lead, in the middle of the 15th fairway with a wedge in his hand. That’s where it all went wrong.

He came up short and into the water, taking double bogey and ending his hopes. He had to settle for three pars and a 66 to tie for fifth with Rahm.

But it was the Spaniard who had gold for the taking and now he heads back to Saudi-funded LIV Golf with no medal at all. He missed a 4-foot par putt on the 11th. He missed the fairway on the 12th. And then he really came undone on the par-5 14th.

Rahm missed the fairway left and had to lay up. He hit 8-iron and missed the one place he couldn’t afford, to the left of the green in more rough. His pitch up the slope was short and rolled back down. He chipped that one about 4 feet by the hole and then missed the bogey putt.

Just like that, he was was two shots behind and never caught up. Rahm shot 31 on the front and 39 on the back, finishing with two bogeys.

“The second you miss a golf shot, this golf course is going to make you pay the price,” he said.

Scheffler was sheer brilliance with his best score of the year, a 62 that matched the best closing round of his career. He opened with three straight birdies to get his name on the board. He had a pair of 12-foot birdies early on the back nine.

And then Scheffler soared — a tough up-and-down for birdie on the 14th, a wedge to a foot for a tap-in birdie on the 15th, a tee shot to 8 feet on the par-3 16th to tie for the lead. And then a rare show of emotion when his 18-foot birdie putt fell on the 17th.

That proved to be the winner when Fleetwood, who birdied the 16th to tie for the lead, put his tee shot in the same thick rough Scheffler had found earlier. Fleetwood’s shot came out hot and over the green, and the best he could do was pitch 20 feet by the hole.

The consolation was the silver, the second men’s golf medal for Britain since golf returned to the Olympics in 2016. Justin Rose won the gold in Rio de Janeiro.



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Saturday, 3 August 2024

Rams OC Mike LaFleur speaks about new coaching methods Rams OC Mike LaFleur speaks about new coaching methods

August 03, 2024  ,  No comments

It was the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who once stated “he who moves not forward, goes backward” and that adage could not more true when it comes to coaching.

The Rams since hiring Sean McVay have been at the forefront of football evolution. From training methods to schemes to everything in between, it’s always about constant improvement and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur spoke about this on Wednesday.

LaFleur was asked about the benefit of watching replays of reps on the video boards during practice and the benefits of it. This is what he had to say.

“You take pride and to be able to obviously see it in real time so that you can go coach these guys, but whatever you miss, there’s 22 guys out there,” he said. “I’m not going to act like I can see everything at all times. Sometimes I’m focusing on one or two things. To be able to get that and really get that video, that picture, that play in your head so you can go coach whoever you got to coach. It’s one thing to go into a meeting room,  but even coaches after 10, 15 minutes sitting there, if you’re in the back of the room, not the one coaching, those can be long days. Those players, you don’t know exactly what they’re always hearing at that moment, but if you can do it on the sideline in real time, I think that’s big.”

When asked if LaFleur had used or employed video boards during his other coaching stops, he stated that this was the first time he has used such a tool.



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Cooper Kupp's 2024 outlook is filled with positivity and excitment Cooper Kupp's 2024 outlook is filled with positivity and excitment

August 03, 2024  ,  No comments

To say Cooper Kupp has had a rough couple of years since his record-breaking 2021 season would be an understatement. Injuries combined with the standard wear and tear of football have severely hindered the star receiver’s abilities.

However, recent statements made by Kupp, who is a full participant in training camp, should give Rams fans hope that the All-Pro will find the same form he’s displayed time and time again.

When asked about his offseason routine and if he’s done anything different, Kupp had this to say.

“No, it has been a few years since I’ve been able to have a full offseason. That’s a big part of it,” he said. “It was all the way back since the offseason going into ‘21 that I was able to be healthy and go through everything. Super Bowl, you’re recovering for so long after that season. Obviously, injured that next year and missed that whole offseason. Being able to have a full offseason is a big piece of that. The focus, the intentional mindset that goes into every single day of the offseason. I do feel like I’m in a really good place.”

Not only is his body feeling good but mentally, Kupp is as sharp as ever. He had this to say when asked about his improvements goals in training camp.

“There’s always stuff. I think defenses in this league are always changing the contours of the defense, whatever you’re seeing,” Kupp said. “Being able to ID some of that stuff, then just have plans to be able to – whatever we did last year, have a counter to it. Show some different ways to do things. Being able to have some guys, even just defensively, I have played this game for so long, I bounce ideas off of them. It’s been fine. I can’t give – I don’t want to give too many specifics here, but it just has been nice to kind of get into some of the stuff with guys that just love ball and love talking about the nuances of the game.”

It seems that Kupp is ready to go and perhaps with less responsibilities on his shoulders, he might have a career year at 31.



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Team USA, Booker and Durant calmly advance to Olympic quarterfinals

August 03, 2024  ,  No comments

Team USA did its job, keeping pool play boring with a 3-0 finish in Group C after beating Puerto Rico 104-83 on Saturday.

Puerto Rico has been the worst team in Group C, and that combined with the Americans having already clinched a quarterfinal berth formed a recipe for some potential lulls. That came in a first quarter Team USA lost by four before a 28-10 close to the first half led by LeBron James’ sublime playmaking got it back in front by 19. It was nearly an assist per minute for the United States, with 19 across the first two quarters.

The advantage was extended to 28 after a 23-14 third period.

Devin Booker finished with nine points, four rebounds and two assists while Kevin Durant had 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and a steal. The only real standout performances came from Anthony Edwards’ 26 points off the bench in 17 minutes and a balanced 10 points, six rebounds and eight assists out of James. Jrue Holiday did not play after rolling his ankle against South Sudan but was a decision defined as highly precautionary and he will play on Tuesday.

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Team USA will face Brazil in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, the weakest team to advance that has a handful of solid players but no one with the headlining power to go blow for blow with the red, white and blue’s stars.

It is led by Bruno Caboclo, the former 2014 first-round pick of the Toronto Raptors who you might remember from the “he is two years away from being two years away” line on draft night via ESPN draft analyst Fran Fraschilla. Caboclo had 33 points (13-for-19) and 17 rebounds in a vital win over Japan, a big-time flash of the athletic frame that made him a tantalizing prospect.

Keep an eye on the backcourt. Former Los Angeles Lakers guard and 41-year-old Marcelo Huertas is a crafty floor general and Yago Santos’ shifty agility in a smaller frame off the bench has made the point guard duo a really fun watch. The trio of Gui Santos, Leo Meindl and Vitor Benite offers some reliability on the wing as well.

Perhaps Brazil’s lack of real oomph gives Kerr one last chance to feed all the mouths he has to but he would be wise to play his best guys and forget the rest, building up any extra needed cohesion before two more games against high-level competition to finish the job.

Team USA’s combination of ridiculous star power and today’s world of discourse has spawned daily conversations about the lineup choices by head coach Steve Kerr. The spotlight on it has undoubtedly led to some badgering behind the scenes from interested onlookers back on this side of the globe. Kerr is mixing and matching at the moment to keep everyone happy, an unavoidable part of the dynamic.

He has been complimentary of Booker with this in mind, via ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.

“Devin is probably the guy who’s been most adaptable to go from a different role in the NBA to a new one here,” Kerr said. “The offense clicks when he’s out there. The defense is really good. That’s why he’s started every game and seems to be good with any combination.”

Over the last month, the best five is clearly Anthony Davis, Booker, Durant, Holiday and James. After that, it would be a lot of Bam Adebayo and Edwards, with some bits of Stephen Curry and Derrick White sprinkled in.

When the stakes are high, it will be fascinating to see what Kerr chooses to do (or not do).

Curry, as an example, has been constantly hunted defensively and hasn’t been enough of a supernova offensively to offset that on a team with more well-rounded two-way guards that doesn’t need one-of-a-kind scorers like Curry. He will still play, but will Kerr still give him big minutes if that trade-off still isn’t yielding great results?

Booker held a starting spot alongside Curry and James for all three pool games. That won’t change. Durant should join them but has also played well off the bench, so if Kerr feels like he can get away with it, he will keep that up in order to find starting time for another guy. If that’s the case, it should easily be Holiday. And in that vein, Davis and Adebayo have definitively performed better than Joel Embiid. Either guy should start over him if it was based on just that. It rarely is, so we’ll see.

Jayson Tatum has also started now in the last two games after getting a DNP in the win over Serbia, far and away the best opponent Team USA has faced so far. He’s done a solid job as a ball-mover and slasher but it still looks a little clunky for him to mesh out there in FIBA play, like Embiid.

Germany and Canada both look good enough to take down the Americans on the right night. France hasn’t found its form but has the talent too as well. Ditto for Australia and Serbia. Team USA does not have a margin of error to appease underperforming stars (or their NBA teams) later on when any of those matchups could prove to be volatile. The risk is there and how much the Americans play with fire could determine their fate.



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Phoenix gymnast Jade Carey wins bronze medal in Olympic vault finals

August 03, 2024  ,  No comments

U.S. gymnast Jade Carey took home her second Olympic medal of the Paris Olympics, earning bronze in vault on Saturday.

Carey, who attended Mountain Ridge High School, finished third behind USA’s Simone Biles and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade.

She finished with a score of 14.733 after hitting a Cheng. She then landed a double-twisting Yurchenko with her second attempt to propel herself past An Chan-ok of North Korea — who finished fourth — with a score of 14.466.

Although Carey was a part of the U.S. team that won gold on Tuesday, this was the only individual final for which the 24-year-old qualified.

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Carey said she had been dealing with an illness but was able to qualify for the vault finals last Sunday.

Carey’s bronze was the third Olympic medal of her career. She won gold in the women’s individual floor exercise final at the 2021 Tokyo Games.

Simone Biles takes gold once again

Biles won her second Olympic title on vault Saturday, adding another gold medal in addition to her 2016 victory.

It’s already her third gold medal at the Paris Olympics, totaling 10 career Olympic medals, seven of which are gold.

Two vaults, including her signature Yurchenko double pike, gave her a combined score of 15.3, more than 0.300 ahead of Andrade, who took silver.

Biles can still add to her collection, as she is set to compete in the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Monday.



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Friday, 2 August 2024

Suns CEO: Recruitment of Tyus Jones is evidence of winning on margins

August 02, 2024  ,  No comments

Willingness to spend money only goes so far, especially for the Phoenix Suns under the NBA’s second tax apron.

It’s been well-covered that the Suns without any massive moves this offseason could only fill out the roster with minimum contracts that only increase in pay depending on NBA service time.

For 28-year-old Tyus Jones, who was coming off a two-year, $29 million contract, the amount is just $2.1 million.

But as the market for his services dried up, with backup roles behind Memphis’ Ja Morant and Atlanta’s Trae Young reportedly out there, he opted for a prove-it year with Phoenix on the minimum.

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The main draw: Starting alongside Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal.

Suns and Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Thursday that he believes landing Jones for less than market value is also evidence that Phoenix is doing the right things to help attract players in ways that go beyond the basketball product.

“There’s really no negotiations for a minimum,” he said. “On the periphery, we can offer all these other things like the experience here, how we treat your family, the role. If someone would have offered a multi-year huge contract, we’re not kidding ourselves. Of course that’s not going to happen (here). But once he gets into a range where you’re looking to reestablish your market maybe next summer, I believe we have incredible things to offer here. Our view is we can win a lot of ties and things that are close.”

What helped Phoenix win on the margins to sign Tyus Jones?

Bartelstein said the Suns and Mercury spent $2 million on family space in the arena. The franchises have added staffing for concierge services to help new hires and their partners look for houses and schools. It gets down to something as simple as helping them with a dinner reservation, Bartelstein said.

On Wednesday, Jones spoke at length about his fit on the court.

But he also mentioned that Phoenix’s resources made his family feel at home.

“Big family man, so you’re going to see my kids running around, you’re going to see my wife at every game, you’re going to see my mom in town,” he said. “But again, that was the feel that I got again, from Josh, from James, from Coach Bud and that’s why it was such an easy decision for me.”

Ultimately, luck played a part in Phoenix adding Jones.

Bartelstein was surprised the five-time league-leader in assist-to-turnover ratio coming off a career year with the Washington Wizards didn’t find a multi-year deal to start somewhere.

Bartelstein told Burns & Gambo that Phoenix initially showed interest in Jones knowing the long odds.

And at some point, they determined they had a real shot.

“Kevin Bradbury, his agent, and I are close, so (Suns vice president of basketball operations and GM) James Jones and myself had been kind of checking in with Kevin in the last two weeks and just kind of seeing what (Jones’) market was and understanding we offer something very unique to go compete for a championship, the ability to start, to play in Phoenix to be with Bud and to be with really, really good players,” Bartelstein said.

“So as we kinda kept checking in … you could kind of see the excitement and change in the talks with Tyus. And then we recruited him. We made a plan of, hey, we’re going to treat this like a college recruit and go all out and talk to his wife and be able to show why his kids would love being here. It was a two-week process that every day we kind of had different touch-points. We got that call and he said he was in, we were ecstatic.”



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Matthew Stafford is the 12th-best quarterback in Madden 25 Matthew Stafford is the 12th-best quarterback in Madden 25

August 02, 2024  ,  No comments

NFL coaches, executives and scouts voted Matthew Stafford the fifth-best quarterback in the league entering the 2024 season, a clear indication of how highly viewed he is despite being so late in his career. His peers voted him the 42nd-best player in all of football on the Top 100 Players of 2024 list, which is also quite impressive.

But the folks at EA Sports don’t see Stafford in the top tier at his position.

EA released ratings for every quarterback in “Madden NFL 25” and Stafford was given an 83 overall – tied with Aaron Rodgers. It puts him 12th among all quarterbacks, one rating higher than Jared Goff and two above C.J. Stroud and Jordan Love.

As disappointing as his 83 overall rating is for some fans, it’s a huge improvement compared to where he was this time last year in Madden 24. Last year, he had a 75 overall rating, which was tied with Daniel Jones for 21st at his position in the game. For comparison, Jimmy Garoppolo (77) was rated higher than Stafford in Madden 24, but Garoppolo is just a 67 overall in this year’s game.

Below are the top 32 quarterbacks in Madden 25 based on their overall ratings.



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