J.J. Spaun's U.S. Open win is the best Father's Day gift
Heartbreak was the name of the game for J.J. Spaun just a few months ago. He'd come so close to winning the Player's Championship.
At the time, Spaun was the 57th-ranked golfer in the world. He hadn't won an event on the PGA Tour since 2022. He'd come into the tournament with absolutely no expectations. No one expected him to be there in the end — let alone have a shot actually to win the thing. Yet, there he was. Spaun reached the 18th hole with victory essentially in hand. All he had to do was sink one last putt for birdie on the 72nd hole and he'd win it all.
But he came up short — literally. The putt stopped just a few inches away from the hole. The next day, he lost to Rory McIlroy in a 3-hole aggregate playoff and had to settle for second place.
Here we are, months later, and Spaun needed another clutch putt to win the U.S. Open. This time, it'd be much harder. The rain pouring. The wind blowing. The elements attacking. The angle he had to putt from seemed so unfavorable.
But Spaun was unfazed. He absolutely nailed it.
What a long time coming for Spaun. After his tragic Player's Championship finish, you just had the feeling that the guy would be in the conversation more often than not this summer. He was playing far too well not to give himself a shot in one of these major tournaments. But for it to be the U.S. Open on such a difficult course during such a difficult time makes it all the more special. Spaun is truly playing the best golf of his life right now. The man was the only player to break par in the end, following his pair of birdie putts to close things out. That's astounding considering how rough he started at +5 through the first six holes.
These are the moments that make golf such a tough sport. It looks easy, but really, it's just you out there. There's no team. There are no real timeouts. It's you and the ball against the course and all of its conditions. Spaun had to overcome a lot to get this one.
Real life got in the way a bit, too. Spaun said his daughter got sick overnight with a stomachache and no one slept because of it. He had to make a late night/early morning CVS trip to get her medicine for relief.
Little did he know, the very next day on no sleep, she'd see him win the U.S. Open.
What a Father's Day for that guy. Congrats, J.J.
Back on the mound
It's hard to imagine a dude who won the National League MVP for his team last season having the opportunity to do more. He hit 50 home runs and stole 50 bases in a single season.
But here we are. Shohei Ohtani has more to do.
Ohtani will pitch for the first time in two years since having elbow surgery, the Dodgers announced on Sunday. He'll be facing the Padres in a limited capacity for his first outing.
The Dodgers' two-way star last pitched in 2023 for the Angels. He'd tossed 132 innings and had 167 strikeouts with a 3.14 ERA. He finished with a 10-5 record before going down with his elbow injury.
Ohtani's return to the mound comes at a good time for the Dodgers. LA's starting rotation has been plagued by injury this season. Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell haven't pitched since April. Roki Sasaki might miss the rest of the season. Tony Gonsolin has an elbow injury that might keep him out for a bit, too.
Ohtani probably won't see an extensive night on the mound. The Dodgers will likely try to ease him in and rely heavily on their bullpen after a few innings. But, regardless, whatever contributions the two-way star can make will surely be more than welcome.
A fresh start?
The Grizzlies trading Desmond Bane to the Magic was the first shocker of the NBA offseason, but it definitely won't be the last. All eyes should be on Memphis this offseason after the team fleeced Orlando for four unprotected first-round picks.
THE NEW LOOK MAGIC: Orlando might have sacrificed its future, but this team's present definitely got a lot better.
Trading Bane is the first sign that Memphis is, at the very least, retooling this team. Do the Grizzlies plan on remaining competitive in a tough Western Conference? ESPN's Brian Windhorst seems to be skeptical.
"What this means is the next question is what about Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. And I don't know the answer to this. This is something that we're just starting to try to figure out with this trade," Windhorst said. "The whole league is now going to investigate this. We haven't heard from the Grizzlies yet...I'd be asking, 'Do you intend to extend Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., both of whom are extension-eligible this summer?' To me, that's the big story emanating out of this trade."
That's a great point from Windhorst. Jackson is eligible for a $146 million extension, which is about $200 million less than what he could've made had he received third-team All-NBA honors this season.
It seems that the Bane move was to clear cap space to ensure Memphis could keep both of its All-Stars. ESPN's Tim Bontemps reports the team has no intention of moving either Jackson or Morant at this point. But still, this feels like a situation worthy of keeping our eyes on. Not just for this summer, but once the season begins, too.
Quick hits: Shoutout to Bob McIntyre ... The Rafael Devers trade, explained ... and more
— Robert McIntyre had the classiest response to J.J. Spaun absolutely crushing his dreams. Charles Curtis has details.
— Here's the timeline of discontent that ultimately led to the Rafael Devers trade.
— Here's Andrew Joseph on why we're not seeing Christian Pulisic and other USMNT stars in the Gold Cup.
— The Pentagon Pizza Report, explained.
— Here's Meg Hall with the 10 best outfits this week from the WNBA.
— "Best shape of his life" season has arrived, folks. The spotlight is Travis Kelce's this time.
That's a wrap. Thanks for reading, folks. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️
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