Thread: Sporting News

It will not be a sweep

I am surprised this forum does not have a dedicated NBA thread. Is the NBA not important enough?

Nah, nobody likes baseball that much.

• PGA Tour agrees to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf

The PGA Tour has agreed to merge with Saudi-backed rival LIV Golf in a deal that would see the competitors squash pending litigation and move forward as a larger golf enterprise.

The two entities signed an agreement that would combine the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s commercial businesses and rights into a new, yet-to-be-named for-profit company. The agreement includes DP World Tour, also known as the European PGA Tour.

LIV Golf is backed by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, an entity controlled by the Saudi crown prince and has been embroiled in antitrust lawsuits with the PGA Tour in the last year. The deal announced Tuesday would end all pending litigation.

PIF is prepared to invest billions of new capital into the new entity, CNBC’S David Faber reported on Tuesday. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. As part of the agreement, the three groups will establish “a fair and objective process for any players who want to re-apply for membership with the PGA Tour or DP World Tour” following the end of the 2023 season, according to a release.

The agreement will require the approval of the PGA Tour policy board, Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a memo to players that was obtained by CNBC.

“There is much work to do to get us from a framework agreement to a definitive agreement, but one
thing is obvious: through this transformational agreement and with PIF’s collaborative investment, the immeasurable strength of the PGA Tour’s history, legacy and pro-competitive model not only remains intact, but is supercharged for the future,” he wrote in the memo.

LIV Golf, which has been spending top dollar to lure golfers, has also been the subject of controversy, criticism and political intrigue in the U.S.

Family members of those that perished in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have protested the league, including outside of events. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers on Sept. 11 from Saudi Arabia, and Osama Bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attacks, was born in the country. It has been concluded by U.S. officials that Saudi nationals helped fund the terrorist group al-Qaida, although investigations didn’t find that the Saudi officials were complicit in the attacks.

Former President Donald Trump has hosted a number of LIV Golf events at his golf courses. He has defended being the host of events, falsely claiming that “nobody’s gotten to the bottom of 9/11.” Last year, Trump also said on Truth Social that a merger between LIV and The PGA Tour was inevitable.

On Tuesday, Trump weighed in on the merger on his Truth Social platform: “Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf. Congrats to all!!!”

Critics of LIV have also accused PIF of “sportswashing” by using the league to distract from the kingdom’s history of human rights violations.

The two organizations had filed a series of antitrust claims between the two of them in recent months. LIV Golf has sued The PGA Tour alleging anti-competitive practices for banning its players. The tour had countersued, claiming LIV was stifling competition. Disputes ensued regarding the discovery process for evidence.

The lawsuits were spurred as the upstart league had lured multiple high-profile players, such as Phil Mickelson, from the PGA Tour after the tour had banned the players from competing in LIV’s events.

On Tuesday, Mickelson tweeted “Awesome day today” as part of a retweet of the news of the merger.

The deal also comes soon after LIV golfer Brooks Koepka won the PGA Championship, one of four major titles in men’s golf.

Heat vs Nuggets: Game 3 this evening 8:30pm

A review of game 2

Not even close

The season opener finally got underway at the Institute of Contemporary Art in sports-crazed Boston, where the divers swooped from the museum's cantilever rooftop to perform their first official dives of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series 2023!

Boston Results

Men – top 5

Women – top 5

Watch for the Australian, Xantheia Pennisi at 1 : 23 : 00 into the video

Game 4 is tonight

Game 3 highlights

Not a good start to the weekend.

2023 RBC Canadian Open

The winner will collect $1.62 million, up from $1.566 million last year.

Win: $1,620,000
2: $981,000
3: $621,000
4: $441,000
5: $369,000

2023 Belmont Stakes - Post time is 7:02 p.m. ET.

Jena Antonucci can become the first female trainer to win a Triple Crown race when she sends out Peter Pan Stakes winner Arcangelo in the 2023 Belmont Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park. A trainer since 2010, Antonucci has won 160 races and her horses have earned more than $6.3 million in her career, but she has never started a horse in a Triple Crown race. That will change on Saturday in the Belmont Stakes 2023 when she saddles the improving Arcangelo, who is an 8-1 longshot in the 2023 Belmont Stakes odds. Forte (5-2) and Tapit Trice (3-1), who are both trained by Todd Pletcher, are the favorite and second choice, respectively, in the nine-horse 2023 Belmont Stakes field.

2023 Canadian Open leaderboard: Rory McIlroy among crowded group on chase as C.T. Pan leads after Round 3

A new chapter could be added to an already-historic week on the PGA Tour should any one of the likely conclusions to the 2023 Canadian Open come to fruition. Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy heads into the final round at 12 under alongside Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Harry Higgs, Andrew Novak and Mark Hubbard at Oakdale Golf & Country Club and in hot pursuit of 54-hole leader C.T. Pan at 14 under.

McIlroy eyes his third straight victory at the Canadian Open on a third different golf course spanning five years. He would join Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker and Stuart Appleby as the most recent players to successfully go back-to-back-to-back at a singular event. McIlroy got the better of big names like Justin Thomas, Tony Finau and Sam Burns en route to victory a season ago, and will need to not only leapfrog Pan but potentially an entire country this time around.

2023 Belmont Stakes: Arcangelo sprints by National Treasure on the stretch run for the victory

Arcangelo (7-1) has won the 2023 Belmont Stakes, passing Preakness Stakes winner National Treasure heading into the final furlong the race and holding off a late challenge from betting favorite Forte. Jena Antonucci is now the first female trainer to win the Belmont Stakes, while jockey Javier Castellano captured two jewels of the Triple Crown this season after riding Mage to victory in the Kentucky Derby.

After the race, Antonucci praised her horse as an "amazing gift" with a "heart of a champion." Antonucci also gave advice to those hoping to break boundaries like she did.

"Never give up," Antonucci told Fox Sports. "And if you can't find a seat at the table, make your own table. And build your team and never give up. You are seen, people see you, just keep working your butt off."

Arcangelo won the race in 2:29.23, finishing 1 1/2 lengths ahead of Forte with Tapit Trice behind in third. The Belmont Stakes is the longest Triple Crown race at 1 1/2 miles, but if it were any longer the result could've been different as Forte really found his stride down the stretch.

2023 Canadian Open leaderboard

A tumultuous week on the PGA Tour will end with drama as the 2023 RBC Canadian Open comes down to a playoff between countryman Nick Taylor and Tommy Fleetwood. The latter was short of the 54-hole lead alongside five other golfers, including Rory McIlroy, who fell off with an even-par finish Sunday to end just inside the top 10 but five strokes behind Taylor and Fleetwood.

C.T. Pan, the Olympic bronze medalist, held that three-day lead. has clawed back from a wrist injury that sidelined him for five months and has been rewarded with his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour. Unfortunately for Pan, he saw it dissipative over the final 18 holes and appropriately picked up a third-place finish alongside Tyrell Hatton and Aaron Rai.

Taylor is seeking to become the first Canadian to win his national open in 69 years.

starts at 6:00

Nick Taylor wins 2023 RBC Canadian Open in four-hole playoff

Nick Taylor makes history with 72-foot putt to win 2023 RBC Canadian Open in fourth playoff hole

Nick Taylor will never have to buy a Molson at a 19th hole in Canada for the rest of his life.

The 35-year-old from Winnipeg claimed his third PGA Tour win on Sunday at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in North York, Ontario, after a marathon four-hole playoff with Tommy Fleetwood and made a little history on the side as the first Canadian to win his national open since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Taylor ended the 69-year drought and tournament in style with a 72-foot prayer of a putt that was answered by the golf gods and produced a miraculous moment for the tens of thousands of Canadian fans who weathered the rain to witness it.

“It feels, I can’t even describe it. This is the most incredible feeling,” said Taylor. “The fans were unbelievable all day. Every green, every tee box I was getting ovations and to make those last two putts to give myself a chance to do that, I’m speechless.”

Nice moment for Nick and the fans here. So it’s great to be a part of that Sunday and that playoff. I had my chances, really. It wasn’t to be this time. But, yeah, congratulations to him,” said Fleetwood, who is still chasing that elusive first PGA Tour win. “I had my chances and didn’t take ’em.”

US Open - June 15^th – 18^th

Schedule: Viewing Schedule

Prize Money

1^St – $3,150,000.00

2^nd – $1,890,000.00

3^rd – $1,225,374.00

And on and on. 25 million total

Might end this evening

Oh well

Denver Nuggets win first NBA title after beating Miami Heat in Game 5

The 47-year wait is over.

Driving the news: The Denver Nuggets are NBA champions for the first time in team history after winning 94-89 Monday night, beating the Miami Heat in five games to clinch the title.

• It's the team's only title since moving to the NBA in 1976.

How we got here: In the end, it wasn't close: Denver won three of their four games in the Finals by double digits.

• They suffered their first home loss in the postseason in Game 2 but rebounded by winning two games in Miami.
• Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić cemented themselves as arguably the best duo in the NBA when they each recorded a 30 point triple double in Game 3. Something that had never been done before in NBA history.
• The Nuggets were the number one seed in the West for the first time winning 53 games in the regular season. They finished the postseason with a 16-3 record going 10-1 at home.

The intrigue: Don't forget the role players. Aaron Gordon dropped 27 points to lead all scorers in Game 4. With Jokić in foul trouble in the 4th quarter, Bruce Brown contributed 21 points off the bench.

• In Game 5, Michael Porter Jr. chipped in 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Between the lines: The victory secures the Mile High City's second major sports title in as many years.

• It's the seventh championship for Denver in the four major leagues. The Broncos have won three Super Bowls (most recently in 2015-16) and the Avalanche have won three Stanley Cups, with their third coming last year.

• It also gives Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke his third championship in just 16 months.

The other side: The Heat defied expectations by making a historic postseason run after nearly missing the playoffs, but in the end, had no miracles left.

• It's what it would've taken to find an answer for Jokić, our Axios Miami colleagues write.

What's next: Celebration time. A spokesperson for Mayor Michael Hancock's office said Kroenke Sports & Entertainment is expected to announce parade details shortly after the win.

2023 U.S. Open picks, odds, field, date: Surprising PGA predictions from golf model that nailed nine majors

SportsLine's proven model simulated the U.S. Open 2023 10,000 times and revealed its surprising golf picks

Scottie Scheffler +650
Jon Rahm +800
Brooks Koepka +850
Viktor Hovland +1000
Rory McIlroy +1100
Patrick Cantlay +1400
Max Homa +1600
Xander Schauffele +1800
Justin Thomas +2500
Jordan Spieth +2500

Horse For The Course - U.S. Open 2023

ntpapull.com/pullresults/Schedule/ScheduleDynamic.php

US Open 2023: Full list of groupings and tee times for opening round at Los Angeles Country Club

Starting at Hole One

1445 Omar Morales (x) (Mex), Deon Germishuys (Rsa), Jacob Solomon

1456 Ryan Gerard, Yuto Katsuragawa (Jpn), Michael Brennan (x)

1507 Hayden Buckley, Adam Svensson (Can), Pablo Larrazabal (Esp)

1518 Carson Young, Dylan Wu, Roger Sloan (Can)

1529 Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), Kevin Streelman, Matthieu Pavon (Fra)

1540 Shane Lowry (Irl), Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)

1551 Sungjae Im (Kor), K.H Lee (Kor), J.T Poston

1602 Gary Woodland, Adam Scott (Aus), Corey Conners (Can)

1613 Collin Morikawa, Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler

1624 Denny McCarthy, Joel Dahmen, Adam Hadwin (Can)

1635 Matthew McClean (x) (NIrl), Seamus Power (Irl), Ryan Fox (Nzl)

1646 Mac Meissner, Barclay Brown (x) (Eng), Gunn Charoenkul (Tha)

1657 Alexander Yang (x) (Hgk), Jesse Schutte, Andy Svoboda

2015 Brent Grant, Vincent Norrman (Swe), Charley Hoffman

2026 Simon Forsstrom (Swe), Carlos Ortiz (Mex), Maxwell Moldovan (x)

2037 Eric Cole, Thriston Lawrence (Rsa), Adam Schenk

2048 Luke List, Wilco Nienaber (Rsa), Alejandro Del Rey (Esp)

2059 Adrian Meronk (Pol), Harris English, Joaquin Niemann (Chi)

2110 Alex Noren (Swe), Wyndham Clark, Austin Eckroat

2121 Kurt Kitayama, Cam Davis (Aus), Russell Henley

2132 Cameron Smith (Aus), Sam Bennett, Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng)

2143 Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk, Brian Harman

2154 Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Rory McIlroy (NIrl)

2205 Sebastian Munoz (Col), Nick Taylor (Can), Taylor Montgomery

2216 Olin Browne Jr, David Puig (Esp), Kar Vilips (x) (Aus)

2227 Corey Pereira, Isaac Simmons (x), J.J Grey (Eng)

Starting at Hole 10

1445 Berry Henson, Ryutaro Nagano (Jpn), Hank Lebioda

1456 Michael Kim, Jordan Smith (Eng), Wenyi Ding (x) (Chn)

1507 Scott Stallings, Preston Summerhays (x), Lucas Herbert (Aus)

1518 Jens Dantorp (Swe), Patrick Rodgers, Ryan Armour

1529 Thomas Pieters (Bel), Aaron Wise, Gordon Sargent (x)

1540 Bryson DeChambeau, Francesco Molinari (Ita), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)

1551 Tom Hoge, Sergio Garcia (Esp), Sepp Straka (Aut)

1602 Justin Rose (Eng), Rickie Fowler, Jason Day (Aus)

1613 Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar, Si Woo Kim (Kor)

1624 Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland (Nor), Jon Rahm (Esp)

1635 Martin Kaymer (Ger), Stewart Cink, Michael Thorbjornsen (x)

1646 David Horsey (Eng), Brendan Valdes (x), Paul Barjon (Fra)

1657 Jordan Gumberg, Kyle Mueller, Bastien Amat (x)

2015 Ross Fisher (Eng), Nico Echavarria (Col), Paul Haley II

2026 Nick Dunlap (x), Nick Hardy, Sam Stevens

2037 Taylor Pendrith (Can), Aldrich Potgieter (x) (Rsa), Romain Langasque (Fra)

2048 Andrew Putnam, Victor Perez (Fra), Abraham Ancer (Mex)

2059 Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington (Irl), Keegan Bradley

2110 Mito Pereira (Chi), Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (x) (Arg)

2121 Tom Kim (Kor), Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young

2132 Sam Burns, Dustin Johnson, Keith Mitchell

2143 Tony Finau, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay

2154 Davis Thompson, Min Woo Lee (Aus), Justin Suh

2205 Taylor Moore, Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Ben Carr (x)

2216 Patrick Cover, David Nyfjall (Swe), Frankie Capan III

US Open Round 1: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele match record for lowest scores in major

A record-setting opening round is complete at the 123rd U.S. Open, which is taking place at the Los Angeles Country Club in California. It's the first time the venue has hosted the championship.

It's also the first major tournament since the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and the Saudi-backed LIV Golf announced a partnership, and it is sure to be a topic of conversation throughout the weekend. One of the more intriguing storylines is the groupings, one of which features PGA Championship winner and LIV golfer Brooks Koepka with Rory McIlroy, who has been one of the most vocal critics of LIV.

First round of US Open wraps up

Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele sit atop the leaderboard at 8-under after each matched a major record by shooting 62. Despite their historic performances, they don't have a ton of breathing room; scores were low throughout the day and Wyndham Clark and two-time major champion Dustin Johnson both went 6-under to sit just two strokes back. Four-time major champ Rory McIlroy is one shot back of Johnson and Clark after shooting 5-under. He's in a tie with Brian Harman.

Rory McIlroy's stellar round falls apart on final hole

Rory McIlroy shot a bogey-free opening round up until he got to the 18th and final hole of the day.

He landed in the rough and whiffed the ball on his next swing, counting as a stroke. He chipped the ball onto the green and saved bogey with a 15-foot putt to capture a little momentum back that he built up during the round.

It marked McIlroy’s first bogey of the day to finish the round at 5-under, tied in fifth place with Brian Harman. McIlroy started the round on fire, scoring five of his six birdies on the day in the first nine holes, but he slowed down a little on the back nine.

Dustin Johnson tied for third after finishing with bogey
Dustin Johnson was one putt away from a bogey-free round for the second time in his U.S. Open career. He had the opportunity to save par on the ninth hole, his last of the day. His putt was lined up and looked like it was headed in until the ball skimmed the edge of the hole and spun out. It marked Johnson’s first bogey of the day and dropped him to 6-under, tied for third place with Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and American Wyndham Clark.

The first and only time Johnson hit a bogey-free round at the U.S. Open was in 2016, when he won his first major title. He also won the 2020 Masters.

Johnson said this tournament is the first time he's ever played or even seen the Los Angeles Country Club course. "The first time I saw it was Monday. It was the first time I ever player here," he said after his round.

Past US Open winning scores

• 2022: Matt Fitzpatrick: -6, 274 (The Country Club, Brookline, Mass.)
• 2021: Jon Rahm: -6, 278 (Torry Pines Golf Course, La Jolla, Calif.)
• 2020: Bryson DeChambeau: -6, 274 (Winged Foot Golf Club, Mamaroneck, N.Y.)
• 2019: Gary Woodland: -13, 271 (Pebble Beach Golf Links, Pebble Beach, Calif.)
• 2018: Brooks Koepka: +1, 281 (Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Shinnecock Hills, N.Y.)
• 2017: Brooks Koepka: -16, 272 (Erin Hills, Erin, Wis.)
• 2016: Dustin Johnson: -4, 276 (Oakmont Country Club, Oakmont, Pa.)
• 2015: Jordan Spieth: -5, 275 (Chambers Bay, University Place, Wash.)
• 2014: Martin Kaymer: -9, 271 (Pinehurst Resort, Pinehurst, N.C.)
• 2013: Justin Rose: +1, 281 (Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa.)
• 2012: Webb Simpson: +1, 281 (The Olympic Club, Daly City, Calif.)
• 2011: Rory McIlroy: -16, 272 (Congressional Country Club, Bethesda, Md.)