How great was it watching Tri-Village’s Clayton Murphy once again becoming an Olympian, winning the 800 meter run in the US Olympic Trials with a time of 1:43.17? The 2016 Bronze Medalist in Rio displayed his usual strong finishing kick over the last 100 meters to overcome a strong field and earn the trip to Tokyo next month. Darke County Proud!!
Golf’s US Open Championship at Torrey Pines featured a star-studded leaderboard heading into the final nine holes Sunday. Big names everywhere, eight players bunched within a stroke of the lead, a trophy up for grabs. And then, one by one, they started to fall to the treacheries of the San Diego course until only one remained. Jon Rahm stayed in control of his game, sinking 24 and 18 foot putts on the last two holes to claim the prize as the 26-year-old Spaniard became only the fourth of his countrymen to win a major title.
Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau became Bryson DeShambles, blowing up after the turn including a quadruple bogey on the par four seventeenth! By the way, did you enjoy watching all of the paragliders over the ocean near the course? Almost reminded me of the annual International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque!
Conference finals in the NBA began over the weekend with the Suns hosting the Clippers. Meanwhile the 76ers imploded as the Hawks won three games in Philly earning the right to face the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Have you ever seen so many teams post such large comeback wins over the past week or so, headlined by the Clippers coming from 25 down to beat the Jazz by 12? No lead is ever safe in the days of the three-point shot!
Isn’t it great to go most places now and not have to worry about wearing a mask? Those of you still debating getting vaccinated, read the science again, look at the latest data regarding hospitalizations and deaths over the past few months. It’s your choice, but at least make an informed decision!
I see the powers that be in the college football playoff system have proposed a twelve-team tourney that could begin as early as 2023. The six highest-ranked conference champions would be participants along with the six remaining highest-ranked teams as determined by the selection committee.
The idea was presented Tuesday to eleven university presidents and chancellors who have the final say about the format at a meeting in Dallas. Sounds interesting unless your team is number 13! As always, money will talk as television rights and traditional bowl games will have to be considered in any decision.
The Bengals’ Joe Burrow and the Browns’ Odell Beckham, Jr. are both ahead of schedule coming off knee surgeries and should be ready for the opening of the NFL’s regular season. The Stripes hope to improve from last year’s 4-11-1 record while the Clevelanders hope to build on an 11-5 mark, with a playoff win over the Steelers. Training camps open in less than five weeks!
The Reds continue to confound their fans, pulling off a sweep of the Brewers before being swept by the Padres to fall back to an even .500 mark. I’ve got a feeling it will be a few more months of ups and downs for David Bell’s team; consistency is hard to achieve!
Finally, it’s been said that pro golfers miss putts to the high side of the cup where there is at least a chance for the ball to tumble in as it breaks while amateurs usually miss below the hole with no such possibility.
What happened at the US Open showed that pros are just as bad on fast, treacherous greens as my golfing buddies are on local courses, consistently missing to the low side. Of course there’s a big difference between putts worth many thousands of dollars and a cold beer at Turtle Creek!
Until next time, stay healthy and active!
