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Latest twist in Andretti-Cadillac F1 saga includes tension at Miami GP, per report
The latest twist in the ongoing controversy surrounding Andretti-Cadillac’s bid to join Formula 1 might be the most explosive yet, according to a report from Sahil Kapur of NBC News. According to Kapur, it is alleged that Mario Andretti and Greg Maffei, the CEO of Liberty Media, “clashed” at a private breakfast reception on the Saturday prior to the Miami Grand Prix. Liberty Media is the ownership group of F1. Andretti told Kapur that when he arrived at the reception, he began speaking with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about Andretti’s visit to Capitol Hill ahead of the Miami Grand Prix. On the Wednesday prior to the race Andretti appeared at a press conference with members of Congress regarding the proposed Andretti-Cadillac team. In the days since various Congressional leaders have written to Liberty Media and F1 regarding the bid, including most recently a group of Senators including Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) who requested the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission investigate the “exclusion” of Andretti-Cadillac from F1. Returning to the invitation-only event ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Andretti told Kapur that when he was speaking with Domenicali, Maffei intervened. “I was asked to go [to Washington],” Andretti recalled telling Domenicali when speaking with Kapur. “And just as I was trying to explain that to Stefano, Greg Maffei, Mr. Maffei broke in the conversation and he said: ‘Mario, I want to tell you that I will do everything in my power to see that Michael never enters Formula 1.’” Kapur reached out to both Maffei and Liberty Media, who declined to comment. According to Kapur “[a] source close to Liberty Media, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a private conversation, said the event occurred differently than Andretti described it.” Furthermore, “‘Andretti approached Greg at the breakfast to have a discussion with him,’ the source told NBC News, adding that during the conversation Maffei indicated to Andretti that their application to join the grid in 2025 or 2026 was rejected for good business reasons.” The reporting is just the latest twist in an ongoing saga surrounding the proposed Andretti-Cadillac F1 team. Last year the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), motorsport’s governing body, invited prospective teams seeking a spot on the F1 grid to apply for membership. A number of potential teams submitted bids, including Andretti-Cadillac, and the proposed Andretti-Cadillac partnership was the only team approved at by the FIA at this initial stage. The next step, however, involved consideration by Formula One Management (FOM), the sport’s commercial rights holders. This is where the Andretti-Cadillac bid stalled at the end of January. In a statement from FOM that was released to the media, including SB Nation, the sport’s commercial rights holders found that the Andretti-Cadillac team would not be “competitive:” “Our assessment process has established that the presence of an 11th team would not, on its own, provide value to the Championship. The most significant way in which a new entrant would bring value is by being competitive. We do not believe that the Applicant would be a competitive participant. “The need for any new team to take a compulsory power unit supply, potentially over a period of several seasons, would be damaging to the prestige and standing of the Championship. “While the Andretti name carries some recognition for F1 fans, our research indicates that F1 would bring value to the Andretti brand rather than the other way around.” That decision has, if anything, only seen the Andretti-Cadillac operation pick up their pace. The prospective team recently opened a facility in Silverstone, near Silverstone Circuit, the site of the British Grand Prix. And in perhaps their biggest move yet the team announced earlier this week that Pat Symonds, who has a wealth of experience in F1 and is coming off a seven-year stint as the Chief Technical Officer for F1, will join Andretti-Cadillac following a “gardening period.” As Andretti told NBC News, he believes the proposed Andretti-Cadillac bid has done everything right, and would bring “value” to F1. “We’re bringing something of value. It’s a big investment in the sport that we love or sport that’s our job and our passion,” he said to Kapur. “It’s a long-term commitment. We’ve done everything that needs to be accomplished, needs to be done to earn a spot in Formula 1. What else do you want us to do?”
Trump allies face skepticism as they try appealing to disaffected Arab Americans in Michigan
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Britney Spears claims she suffers from ‘serious nerve damage’: I ‘can’t even think sometimes’
Britney Spears is getting candid about her health issues once again. The “Toxic” singer, 42, said in a since-deleted Instagram post on Wednesday she wants to forgive the people who allegedly gave her “serious nerve damage” she’s experiencing on the right side of her body that’s so bad she “can’t even think sometimes.” “There was a time when I was held in a spot against my will for a very long time,” she wrote, potentially referencing her time under her conservatorship which was terminated in November 2021. Britney Spears revealed via Instagram she has some “serious nerve damage” that’s so bad she “can’t think straight sometimes.” Britney Spears/Instagram In a lengthy since-deleted post, the singer admitted she hasn’t “been the same” since she was forced to stay “in a spot against [her] will for a very long time.” Britney Spears/Instagram Explore More “I haven’t been the same since,” Spears continued. She also posted a photo by Abagail Catania of a Black man wearing a mask and holding a sign that read “White people have generational wealth. Black people have generational trauma.” In her message, she went on to say, “I portray myself as very together on IG but there are a lot of people who don’t know what my body physically went through!!!” “I portray myself as very together on IG but there are a lot of people who don’t know what my body physically went through!!!” Spears wrote alongside a cryptic photo. The singer also opened up about the “extremely deep” trauma she’s still experiencing. Want more celebrity and pop culture news? Start your day with Page Six Daily. Thanks for signing up! Despite writing about her troubled past in her memoir “The Woman in Me,” Spears said her “extremely deep” trauma is “still there and probably will always be.” It’s something she said she’s learned to deal with by doing “the best I can” and knowing “its okay to be upset some days or not be okay” but “that’s something I don’t feel like the world has allowed me to do.” “I feel bullied and it’s not fair to me,” she claimed. “I have to be the bigger person and forgive my own parents… but that’s extremely hard!!! I will do my best to let it go and not let others down by my anger,” Spears added. Britney Spears/Instagram Spears opened up about her nerve damage just weeks after she revealed she had broken her foot earlier this month. Instagram/@britneyspears “I have to be the bigger person and forgive my own parents… but that’s extremely hard!!! I will do my best to let it go and not let others down by my anger,” Spears closed. The news of the singer’s nerve damage comes shortly after she revealed she broke her foot during a highly publicized incident at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles on May 2. The singer told her fans online she fell while dancing inside the Hollywood hotel. “It’s so bad. F–king idiot here tries to do a leap in the living room of the Chateau, and I fell — embarrassed myself — and that’s it,” she said of her injury at the time. On May 2, the singer told her followers online that she had injured herself while dancing at the Chateau Marmont. Britney Spears/Instagram Spears went online to tell her followers one week later that her foot was healed and she “did it [her] way.” Britney Spears/Instagram She told her fans the following week that she was “walking on a broken foot.” By May 18, the singer told her fans her foot was healed. “Well I was stubborn and did it my way !!!” she shared along with a video of her swollen, bruised foot. “I didn’t listen to a motherf–king soul !! I even wore heels at night and danced with the saints !!!” ...
Mary Lou Retton gives update on her health: ‘They still don’t know what’s wrong with me’
Alex Portée and Anna KaplanMay 22, 2024 at 9:20 PMSeven months after she was hospitalized with a serious illness, Olympic gymnastics legend Mary Lou Retton said her doctors "still don't know" exactly what illness continues to affect her lungs.Retton, 56, told "Entertainment Tonight" that she still needs to breathe from oxygen tubes in her nose every day as she continues her recovery.“They still don’t know what’s wrong with me,” she said. “They’re calling it a rare form of pneumonia.”The retired gymnast spent about a month in the intensive care unit in October 2023 and said she suffered lasting damage."My lungs are pretty scarred up and they're gonna stay that way forever," she said."I'm not a really depressed person, but this experience really changed me (mentally), and I've been struggling with that," she said.However, she has tried to keep a positive mindset."I have a lot to look forward to, and I know that," she said.Mary Lou Retton's daughters have been crucial in her recoveryAfter Retton left the hospital, her daughters shared updates about life with their mom.In an update on her condition on Thanksgiving in 2023, Retton wrote on Instagram that her heart was "overflowing with profound gratitude" that she'd been "slowly improving."About a month earlier, on Oct. 30, she shared her first statement on Instagram since being hospitalized for pneumonia.“I’m beyond blessed to have the opportunity to make this statement,” she wrote in her post shared to her personal account. “I am overwhelmed with all the love and support from the world as I fight. I am forever grateful to you all!”“I’m with family continuing to slowly recover and staying very positive as I know this recovery is a long and slow process,” Retton continued her post.“I appreciate everyone’s respect of my privacy at this time. When the time is right, I will be sharing more information about my health issues and hope I can help others who may face the same battle as me. I love you all. — MLR.”The update came nearly three weeks after Retton — who became a tour de force in the world of '80s gymnastics as a teen — was first reported by her daughters to be in crisis.Retton’s daughters revealed that she was in the ICU “fighting for her life” with pneumonia on Oct. 10, 2023. At the time, Retton’s daughters asked for financial support in a crowd-funding page, explaining that Retton didn't have health insurance.In the weeks after, Retton's daughters kept followers up to date on her continuing fight and thanked them for their continued support.Read on for information about Retton and her health.How is Mary Lou Retton doing?Retton told "Entertainment Tonight" in story published May 22 that her health challenges have "been hard.""Give me a hip to rehab, give me a shoulder," she said. "The lungs are a different beast."She previously wrote that she was "slowly improving" in a Thanksgiving update. About a month earlier, in an Oct. 23 Instagram post, her daughter McKenna Kelley shared that she was home after spending about a month in the hospital."Mom is HOME & in recovery mode," McKenna Kelley wrote at the time. "We still have a long road ahead of us, but baby steps. We are overwhelmed with the love and support from everyone. Grateful doesn't scrape the surface of the posture of our hearts.""Thank you Jesus, thank you doctors & nurses, thank you to this loving community of support," she concluded.Retton is also mother to daughters Shayla Schrepfer, Skyla Kelley and Emma Jean Kelley. She shares all four daughters with former University of Texas quarterback Shannon Kelley, whom she divorced in 2018, according to People.The news of her being discharged from the hospital came just four days after Schrepfer said in an Instagram video that Retton had experienced "a scary setback" as she continued to recover from pneumonia in the hospital."At the beginning of this week, we were going on the up and up," she said. "We were so excited, seeing so much progress, and then yesterday we had a pretty scary setback. She is still in ICU, and we’re just working through some things as far as her setback goes.”"She had a better day today, which is great," Schrepfer continued, adding that her mother was "just really, really exhausted."She ended her video message by thanking her followers and her mother's fans for their support. "I'm getting so many messages and emails and it's so great to see people love on her," she added.Earlier in the week, Schrepfer had shared “uplifting news” about her mother.“Although she remains in the ICU, her path to recovery is steadily unfolding,” she said. “Her fighting spirit is truly shining! Her breathing is becoming stronger, and her reliance on machines is diminishing. Though it’s a lengthy journey, witnessing these improvements is incredibly heartening!”Schrepfer said that her mother has been responding “so well” to treatments and thanked her followers for “overwhelming love and support.”Three days prior, Schrepfer let fans know that Retton was "still fighting" in a video posted to Instagram.“It’s going to be a day-by-day process, and we hope that you got to respect her boundaries as we want to keep the details between her and our family right now," Schrepfer said. "She’s been treated with the best of the best professionals here, and it has been such a blessing to have their hands on her. So please continue the prayers and we cannot thank you enough for the love and support that you guys have shown.”She also thanked everyone "for all the love and support that you’ve given to my mom. My sisters and I are overwhelmed. We’re overwhelmed."“We didn’t even realize that so many people out there love her just as much as we do," Schrepfer continued. "It’s been a really hard time for our family. And so just seeing that people love her like that and showing her that support has just meant the world to us and to her. So thank you.”A day after first announcing their mother's illness, Skyla Kelley and McKenna Kelley thanked fans for their support on Oct. 11.Skyla Kelley wrote: "Thank y’all for all of the love and support. God is good! She’s the strongest woman we know, and He is resilient and has His hands around during time of battle."McKenna Lane Kelley added: “My sisters Skyla, Shayla and Emma and I would like to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support for our Mom. Mom is in ICU and continues to fight. She is getting incredible medical care! Thank you to all the doctors and nurses! We ask for continued prayers and positive thoughts for our Mom.”TODAY's Morgan Chesky reported on Oct. 12 that Retton was able to text earlier in the week, corresponding with her former "Dancing With the Stars" partner, Sasha Farber.What is Mary Lou Retton's illness?Mary Lou Retton's condition is a rare form of pneumonia, and she was receiving treatment in the ICU, daughters Emma Jean Kelley and McKenna Kelley shared on Oct. 10, 2023, asking social media users for support.The two sisters shared a link to the crowdfunding site Spotfund on their Instagram stories, and one of her daughters confirmed her illness to NBC News.1984 Summer Olympics - Games of the XXIV Olympiad (Focus On Sport / Getty Images file)“Please help my mom continue to fight,” Emma Jean Kelley’s story read. “Anything helps.”The link to the Spotfund page read in part: "My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her life. She is not able to breathe on her own. She’s been in the ICU for over a week now. Out of respect for her and her privacy, I will not disclose all details."The campaign amassed more than $500,000.Mary Lou Retton does not have medical insuranceThe Spotfund page created for Mary Lou Retton noted that she does not have medical insurance."We ask that if you could help in any way, that 1) you PRAY! and 2) if you could help us with finances for the hospital bill," the post continued. "ANYTHING, absolutely anything, would be so helpful for my family and my mom. Thank y’all so very much!"The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it is working to provide assistance to Retton's family through its relief fund.“Please know that our hearts are with Mary Lou,” the committee said in a statement to NBC News.Retton represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics at the age of 16Mary Lou Retton At Women's Gymnastics Medal Ceremony At The 1984 Summer Olympics (Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images file)Retton won five medals at the 1984 Olympics, which was held in Los Angeles that year, including a gold for her performance in the individual all-around competition.At the Games, Retton became the first woman in U.S. history to win the Olympic all-around gold medal, and she was later featured on the front of the Wheaties cereal box.She would appear on the box three times, according to the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Hall of Fame, a feat which the organization once noted put her in an “elite group of athletes.”Though she retired in 1986, Retton was pulled back into the spotlight of competitive gymnastics due to the 2016 USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal. Although they were not implicated, her former coaches, Bela Karolyi and Márta Károlyi, were criticized for their role in fostering an environment for convicted sex offender Larry Nassar to operate.Who are Mary Lou Retton's daughters?Mary Lou Retton and McKenna Kelley (TODAY)Shayla Kelley Schrepfer is a bodybuilder and alumna of Baylor University in Waco, Texas. According to her Instagram profile, she is a National Physique Committee competitor. McKenna Lane Kelley previously practiced gymnastics at Louisiana State University. Skyla Kelley attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Emma Jean Kelley is currently a gymnast at the University of Arkansas.In 2019, McKenna appeared on TODAY to speak about growing up with a history-making mom.“I don’t think I understood the enormity of what she did and the groundbreaking gymnastics that she did at the time,” Kelley said at the time. “To me, she’s just Mom.”Retton also appeared during the interview and offered advice to girls eager to become gymnasts too.“They absolutely need to start at the ground level and build back up,” she said. “A culture of acceptance, a culture of safety. These girls have to feel safe.”This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Grieving chimpanzee carries her dead baby for months at zoo in Spain
A chimpanzee has been carrying around her dead baby for months, a heartbreaking sight for visitors at a zoo in Spain.The grieving chimp, named Natalia, gave birth to an infant ape about three months ago at Bioparc Valencia, but the baby died just days later, Miguel Casares, director general of the zoo, told Reuters. "She has been carrying her ever since," Casares said. "This behavior has been described in chimpanzees, not only in zoos, but also in the wild." Natalia, a chimpanzee that has carried her dead baby for months, looks on as she sits on a rock at Valencia's Bioparc in Spain. Nacho Doce/REUTERS The ape has been seen hanging on to her child's body as she sits among the other chimpanzees. The sight of the dead animal can initially come as a shock to visitors, zoo officials said. "As soon as we explain to them why we have left it and why we are keeping it under observation, they understand it," Casares said. According to Reuters, Natalia also lost a baby in 2018. Zoo officials are closely monitoring her, saying that her grieving process must be respected. Natalia, a chimpanzee that has carried her dead baby for months, is comforted by Cala, the baby of Noelia (L), a chimpanzee at Valencia's Bioparc, Spain. Nacho Doce/REUTERS Chimps grieve in similar ways to humans, who share about 98% of their genes with primates. Research published in 2010 found that the apes exhibit a "highly developed awareness of death." In one study, scientists observed chimpanzee mothers whose babies died continuing to carry and groom their children's lifeless bodies for nearly 70 days. Chimpanzees are considered to be an "endangered" species by the World Wildlife Foundation. Their population is estimated to be between 170,000 and 300,000, according to the wildlife organization. Poaching, loss of habitat and infants sold to wildlife traffickers are among the biggest threats to their existence.
Spongy moth caterpillars feast on oak trees
MARTIN, Mich. (WOOD) — Oak trees can be the perfect meal for the hairy spongy moth caterpillars. The Morse family has taped off their oak trees, but the leaves are still being eaten by the furry caterpillars, making them worry about the trees’ health. “They are getting thinner by the day,” Pam Morse said. Scientists replace controversial name for moth Pam and Terry Morse spend two hours each morning tending to the more than 50 oak trees on their Martin property. “I come out at 5 o clock in the morning,” Terry Morse said. “He is sweeping down the trees,” Pam Morse said. Duct tape creates a barrier to trap the spongy moths from worming up their trees and eating the leaves. “We have to clean everything every day. We have to spray the cement, spray off our cars, spray off everything. Spray off our decks morning and night. It’s just getting to be like a job,” Pam Morse said. Spongy moth caterpillars at the Morse family property in Martin. (May 22, 2024) Spongy moth caterpillars at the Morse family property in Martin. (May 22, 2024) Spongy moth caterpillars at the Morse family property in Martin. (May 22, 2024) The invasive spongy moths caterpillars are common in Barry, Kalamazoo and Calhoun counties, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The caterpillars eat thousands of acres of leaves and are a nuisance for the Morse family and others. “They start to go up around 4 or 5 o’clock (in the afternoon). Start to go up to feed for the night,” Pam Morse said. “They come down on their webs during the day and morning.” Online: The spongy moth in Grand Rapids It may be too late in the season to spray for spongy moth caterpillars, which not only get on trees, but also furniture, homes and even on you. “Just be aware this isn’t going to last forever,” Joanne Foreman, a DNR invasive species communication specialist, said. The DNR said a disease or fungus should start to kill off the spongy moth caterpillars. “It’s important to know that if your tree leaves do get eaten by spongy moth, your trees, if they are healthy, they are going to get relief yet this summer. So it won’t kill your trees. But what you want to do is be super nice to those trees though. Make sure you are getting water on them,” Foreman said. “That is excellent news. Then we can enjoy outside again,” Pam Morse said.
Scottie Scheffler PGA Championship arrest video to be released by Louisville Police
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel will provide an update related to Scottie Scheffler’s PGA Championship arrest on Thursday. A press conference is set for 11:30 a.m. ET, in which Chief Gwinn-Villaroel will provide her completed findings related to the incident involving Scheffler and Officer Bryan Gillis. Furthermore, the Chief and the Mayor will release “all currently available video footage regarding the incident.” Adam Stanley of Sportsnet first reported the news. From the Louisville Metro PD: Update on Scottie Scheffler incident to come tomorrow (May 23) at 11:30 a.m. ET. More from LMPD... pic.twitter.com/8dPtzL0Wjm— Adam Stanley (@adam_stanley) May 22, 2024 Scheffler’s arrest sent shockwaves around the sporting world on the early morning of May 17. The two-time Masters winner tried maneuvering around traffic and entering Valhalla’s front gates. Other PGA Tour players admitted to doing the same thing, but Scheffler had a “big miscommunication” with police. Given the time of day and the rainy conditions, eyewitnesses on the scene, namely ESPN’s Jeff Darlington, who broke the story, also reported how difficult it was to see. But all of this transpired due to an unfortunate tragedy early Friday morning. John Mills, a security guard hired by the PGA of America, lost his life in a horrible accident involving a shuttle bus around 5:00 a.m. This led to an increased police presence, mile-long traffic jams, and widespread confusion among players trying to get into the course for their second rounds. Police arrested Scheffler roughly an hour later, around 6:00 a.m., with Darlington breaking the news shortly after. Then, the Department of Corrections snapped a mugshot of Scheffler wearing a jumpsuit, which immediately went viral. The Police subsequently released a police report, which charged Scheffler with four crimes, one of which was assaulting a police officer to the second degree—a felony. Yet, that same report stated, "Detective Gillis’ pants, valued at approximately $80, were damaged beyond repair.” That detail went viral, pouring gasoline on the fire online. Police then released Scheffler at 8:40 a.m. ET, and he returned to Valhalla 57 minutes before his second-round tee time. He went to shoot a 5-under 66 on Friday and ultimately tied for 8th at the PGA Championship. This week, Scheffler is teeing it up at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas. He will join Keegan Bradley and Billy Horschel on the 1st tee Thursday at 1:45 p.m. ET, two hours after the scheduled press conference with Louisville officials. Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
PGA Tour pros rave about Colonial’s “refresh” ahead of Charles Schwab Challenge
The day after Emiliano Grillo defeated Adam Schenk in a playoff at the Charles Schwab Challenge a year ago, renowned golf architect Gil Hanse and his team got right to work. Their mission: revitalize Colonial Country Club to how it played during the 1941 U.S. Open, which saw Craig Wood win his second career major after he had won The Masters a few months earlier. Ben Hogan, who went on to win five times at Colonial, finished in a tie for third that year. Nevertheless, Hanse and his team wanted to re-establish the rugged landscape that Colonial offered then. They also wished to incorporate more tributaries from the Trinity River, which runs alongside the property. Hanse also wanted to eliminate the ‘cookie-cutter’ sand traps and greens, emphasizing a more ‘natural’ look for each hole. In addition to that, Hanse and his team felt it necessary to incorporate modern technology into the course to make it more sustainable for the future. That involved revamping all of the interrogation systems and the greens. [embedded content] However, to accomplish these goals, Hanse wanted 18 months. But he only had 11 since Colonial planned to host the Charles Schwab Challenge again in 2024. Alas, they achieved their objectives on time, thanks to their hard work throughout the summer Texas heat. To top it all off, the revitalized course has received rave reviews from PGA Tour pros who will tee it up this week. “I think [Hanse] did a really, really good job from what I can tell playing it once,” explained Jordan Spieth on Wednesday. “I imagine it’s tough for a course designer to bring a course back in time, but accommodating the modern game, making it maybe more playable for an average member 51 weeks of the year, but still a championship golf course making it as or more difficult for us. I guess time will tell over the next four days, but it really seems like he’s somehow done that, and that’s really cool.” One of the significant changes Hanse made was to the par-3 13th. The green used to sit directly adjacent to the water, but Hanse and his team pushed the putting surface back a bit. In doing so, they added rugged sand traps between the green and the pond, thus taking the water more or less out of play for the pros. “The only one that stood out and wasn’t like the others was 13. As long as the right tee box is played, I think it’s a fantastic par-3. But it could be the best hole on the course or the worst hole on the course depending upon where the tees are, given the hole locations and the wind,” Spieth explained. The old 13th hole at Colonial during the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge. Photo by Aric Becker/Getty Images “The firmness of the greens, it doesn’t seem like they would be able to yield holding 5-irons, but if it’s a mid-iron in, a good shot gets really rewarded. Then, if you miss in the wrong spot, you can be in big trouble. You could have over 10 feet for par, even hitting a good chip. So it’s a good risk/reward par-3 from the right tee box now. It was probably the most shocking of any hole that I walked up to the green that I saw yesterday.” Spieth made a great point about the firmness of the greens. Because they are so new, they will have more bounce to them throughout the week. We saw this extensively two weeks ago at the Wells Fargo Championship, as Quail Hollow re-did its greens in advance of next year’s PGA Championship. “Super excited about the greens this week,” added Tom Hoge, one of the best ball-strikers on the PGA Tour. “Feel like they’re probably the best greens we’ll play on all year. They’re firm and will present a great Colonial and a great challenge this week.” Adam Scott, who won at Colonial in 2014, returned to the course for the first time since 2018 this week. He called this revitalization process a “refresh.” “I think some of the classic old golf courses, you know, certainly on the PGA Tour, but at a lot of the great clubs, the agronomy is such at a high standard now, and sometimes when you’ve had grass on the course for 30 and 40 years, it gets old and a bit tired. Now they have all new grass, and it feels fresh, and it’s going to play very well, whether you’re a member or playing this tournament this week,” Scott explained. Adam Scott hits an approach on the 18th hole during the final round of the 2014 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images “There’s a difference between hitting off a nice tight new fairway or a 40-year-old, thatchy, matted fairway, and I’m not saying it was thatchy and matted here, but a freshen-up is nice. I think [Hanse] is incredibly experienced, and when you go to these great historical clubs, you don’t want to lose the character. I think he’s very aware of that and was very gentle with his approach here.” Hanse has worked on dozens of major championship courses, including the Los Angeles Country Club, which hosted last year’s U.S. Open, won by Wyndham Clark. Other projects of his include Winged Foot, Southern Hills, and most recently, Oakmont, which the world will see next year when the U.S. Open visits Western Pennsylvania for a record 10th time. “It’s been a crazy year for Colonial, obviously, with the restoration, but what Gil Hanse and his team did, I mean, it’s unbelievable how fast it came together,” said Ryan Palmer, who doubles as a PGA Tour and Colonial member. “To finally see it, and for the guys on Tour to be here playing it, I heard a lot of great positive comments, so that’s good to know. I was a little nervous, to be honest with you, for the course and the club, but I just spoke with [Hanse] outside a few minutes ago, and he said he’d heard a lot of great things. So I’m excited to see how it all unfolds this week.” Indeed, a few rough patches still exist out on the course, but that is the nature of completely overhauling a property in an 11-month span. Yet, despite that, Hanse and his team, along with Palmer, have received overwhelmingly positive feedback, meaning Colonial—the longest-tenured stop on the PGA Tour outside of Augusta National—will continue to be a staple in pro golf for years to come. Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
Aaron Rodgers knows the stakes for him and the New York Jets this NFL season
Aaron Rodgers’ first season as the starting quarterback for the New York Jets lasted just a handful of plays. Speaking before what he hopes will be a much more productive 2024 NFL season, the veteran quarterback shared some bitter truth: If he does not live up to the standards he has set for himself, he and probably everyone else in the building will be out of work. Rodgers addressed the media during OTAs on Wednesday, and the quarterback did not pull any punches when it came to the expectations that he has for himself, and the potential ramifications if he falls short of those expectations. “Well, I think if if I don’t do what I know I’m capable of doing, then we’re all probably gonna be out of here,” said Rodgers on Wednesday. “So I like that kind of pressure though.” Rodgers made his highly-anticipated debut for the Jets on Monday Night Football in Week 1 last season, but suffered an Achilles injury after just three plays, ending his season before it even had a chance to really begin. Now Rodgers is back, and expectations are high for the Jets, including in league offices. The Jets again open on Monday Night Football this year, against the San Francisco 49ers. All told the Jets have six prime time games, as well as a game in London, before their bye week. Returning to his comments Wednesday, Rodgers indicated that he relishes the opportunity to play in the New York media market, and with those expectations. “It’s a tough market to play [in]. It’s not for everybody. I relish that opportunity and that’s the way the NFL is,” continued Rodgers, before bringing up the end of his run in Green Bay with the Packers. “This is how it is every single year. I might, you might not say it, but as you get older in the league, if you don’t perform, they’re gonna get rid of you or bring in the next guy to take over. “I mean, it happened in Green Bay. And I’m, you know, a few years older than I was back then. Still, Rodgers expected to live up to those expectations. “So I expect to play at a high level. I expect us to be productive and competitive, and all that stuff to take care of itself.” You can see his full comments here: Rodgers believes in himself and the Jets heading into 2024. However, if he does not live up to those expectations, Rodgers knows that he, and a lot of other people in the building, will likely be looking for work this winter.
The Royals are reaping the benefits of an offseason spending spree
As I mentioned in my most recent article here on the SB Nation mothership, my personal rule of thumb when it comes to baseball standings early in the season is that it’s not worth it to stress over results until Memorial Day at the earliest. With that being said, that day is right around the corner and there’s one story in particular that needs to be discussed. Folks, the Kansas City Royals are good. They’re currently the owners of the fourth-best record in the American League and there’s a decent amount of room between them and the team that’s in fifth at the moment. This is their best start to a season since 2015, which was a very special year for the Royals that saw them win the AL Pennant for a second season in a row before winning the World Series. Yes, that was a real thing that actually happened! It was filmed in 4K and everything! You can still find the Blu-Ray online if you look hard enough! Anyways, the Royals are on a roll to start the season and have already put some distance between themselves and the Twins who are barely over .500 at this point in the season. Meanwhile, the Royals are 31-19, they’re only 1.5 games behind the Guardians for first place in the AL Central, and this great start has done wonders for the outlook for the rest of their season. Heading into the campaign, FanGraphs gave the Royals just a 7.5 percent chance of winning the division and a 13.2 percent chance of getting into the Postseason. Now, their chance of winning the division has shot up to just about 30 percent and their Postseason chances are now up to 57.4 percent. For comparisons’ sake, the Astros have been given a 34.1 percent chance of winning the AL West and are on a 53 percent chance of getting into the Postseason. Yep, you read that correctly: As of right now the Kansas City Royals have a better chance of getting into the playoffs than the team that’s made it to the ALCS for seven-straight years. With that being said, I’d imagine that the least surprised group of people at this turn of events is, in fact, the Kansas City Royals organization, themselves. They were certainly spending money like a team that expected to be in the mix of things for this current campaign, as they were uncharacteristically one of the top-five spenders in all of baseball over this past offseason. They also committed a significant amount of money to paying Bobby Witt Jr. and making sure that the cornerstone of this franchise remained as such for the next eleven seasons. It’s safe to say that the superstar has been repaying the Royals for their faith in him so far by delivering some fantastic production for Kansas City here in 2024. Witt has been hitting .304/.362/.546 with a wOBA of .345, an xwOBA of .428 and a wRC+ of 147 with seven home runs and 16 stolen bases. He’s been doing it all for the Royals and that includes on defense as well — Witt is currently in the 100th percentile when it comes to Outs Above Average and he’s in the same position when it comes to sprint speed and base running value as well. Witt looks set to blow through all of the projections that he had coming into this season, which is saying something considering that those were lofty projections, indeed. The Royals believed that Witt was the real deal after his breakout season in 2023 and now he’s set out on a mission to prove it. It’s not just Witt who’s been balling out, either. Salvador Perez is having a bounce-back season and is currently on track to have the best season of his career — and at 34-years-old, no less! While Perez’s BABIP for this season of .378 is definitely an outlier when compared to his career BABIP of .291, it’s still not completely out of the realm of possibility that a hitter of Perez’s caliber would be able to return to form like Perez has here in 2024. Additionally, it also helps that Perez is currently on track to smash his career high for walk percentage (4.2 percent in 2021) as he’s currently walking at a rate of 7.3 percent. It’s been a renaissance of a season for Salvador Perez so far and the Royals are surely hoping that he can keep this up and eventually deliver the finest season that he’s had so far. While Witt and Perez have been the standout performers at the plate and in the field for the Royals, a lot of their offseason investments have been paying off on the mound. The Royals spent a ton of money on bolstering their pitching staff and it's looking like it was money well spent so far. Kansas City as a pitching staff currently has an ERA- of 84 (3.41 ERA) and a FIP- of 93 (3.68 FIP) — both of those numbers are good for placing them just inside of the top 5 in all of baseball when it comes to pitching. Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha were the two marquee signings this past offseason for Kansas City's rotation and so far they've delivered exactly what was expected of them. Lugo is currently running neck-and-neck with Cole Ragans in terms of fWAR — Ragans has an ERA- of 91 (3.70 ERA) and a FIP- of 64 (2.57 FIP) for 1.6 fWAR over 10 starts, while Lugo is sitting on an ERA- of 44 (1.79 ERA) and a FIP- of 81 (3.20 FIP) which has been good for 1.5 fWAR over his first 10 starts as well. While Michael Wacha hasn't been as spectacular (as evidenced by his average-looking ERA- of 110 and FIP- of 99), they haven't needed him to be that. Instead, Wacha has been a steadying presence in the rotation in order to make sure that there isn't a huge dropoff from what the young guns like Ragans, Brady Singer and Alec Marsh have been doing on the mound so far. Both Wacha and Lugo have given this Kansas City rotation exactly what they needed heading into this season and now suddenly the Royals have gone from pitching being a liability for them to having one of the most formidable rotations in all of baseball. Now, you would also think that due to KC's record that this wasn't a case of the pitching staff doing all the heavy lifting here. This is where you've got to delve deeper into Kansas City's hitting stats as their slightly below-average team wRC+ of 99 might fool you into thinking that this team can't hit consistently. As Jon Becker of FanGraphs pointed out back on May 15, this is a team that has figured out how to come through in the clutch. That 94 wRC+ overall? Forget it. Their wRC+ was 132 with runners in scoring position, 131 with runners on, and 137 in their few dozen bases plate appearances with the bases loaded. They weren’t as excellent in high-leverage spots (101 wRC+), but that’s still notably better than their wRC+ in all other situations (94). Becker made sure to note that clutch hitting isn't something that should be relied upon for the long haul but as long as it's a thing for the Royals, they may as well keep it going for as long as they possibly can. Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez are the real deal and if they can get some more consistent production from the likes of Maikel Garcia, Michael Massey and Vinnie Pasquqntino, then it would be easy to see the Royals keep on cooking well into this marathon of a regular season. To sum it all up, if you're a Royals fan and you're feeling good about how this season has gone so far then you have every right to feel optimistic. The pitching is definitely there, the hitting has been opportunistic enough to make an impact and the stars who needed to perform are indeed doing their job. I wouldn't exactly start planning the parade for Kansas City or anything like that but it at least seems like the Royals are going to be relevant in this season's race to the Postseason. Considering how all but a couple of seasons have gone for Kansas City since the turn of the century, that's about all you can ask for as a fan.
