June 13, 2022
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The Warriors’ All-NBA trio of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green will look for their 20th Finals win tonight in Game 5 — a feat that hasn’t been seen in 50 seasons. More importantly, they could be one win from their fourth title together.
McIlroy Wins RBC, But LIV Players Make All The Money [[link removed]]
Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Rory McIlroy pocketed $1.6 million for winning the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open — but thanks to the upstart LIV league, the payout was far from the biggest this weekend.
McIlroy fired a final-round, 8-under 62 on Sunday to top Tony Finau by two shots for his second Tour win this season, raising his season earnings to $6.5 million and putting him fifth all-time on the money list ($64M).
But on Saturday in London, Charl Schwartzel received $4.75 million for winning the inaugural LIV Golf Invitational Series in London — the richest golf event in history. It was an epic flex for the controversial [[link removed]], Saudi-backed series that has convinced several big Tour players to defect.
The winner’s share was more than Schwartzel made the last four years combined on the PGA Tour ($3.2M).Hennie Du Plessis earned $2.1M for second-place in London, while Andy Ogletree won $120,000 for last.Meanwhile, Finau collected only $948,000 for second at the RBC, and last-place Dawie van der Walt earned $17,835.
Twenty PGA Tour pros have signed on with LIV so far, but some of the game’s biggest stars have refused, including McIlroy.
After his victory, he took a shot at LIV CEO Greg Norman, pointing out that his 21st career Tour win was “ one more [[link removed]] than someone else.” Norman won 20 in his career.
McIlroy will look to continue to turn the screws on LIV members at this week’s U.S. Open in Brookline, Massachusetts — he’s the favorite (+1000) to win his fifth major.
Matt Carpenter Finds Employment As Yankees’ Latest Bomber [[link removed]]
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
In the span of less than three weeks, Matt Carpenter went from being unemployed to setting hitting records for the best team in baseball.
Carpenter launched two home runs during the Yankees’ 18-4 demolition of the Cubs on Sunday — becoming [[link removed]] the first player in franchise history to belt six or more through his first 10 games.
The 36-year-old — who was released from a two-way deal with the Rangers on May 19 that saw him playing in the minors — is now a major contributor to the Yankees, who have won 11 of their last 12 for an MLB-best 44-16 record.
Carpenter is [[link removed]] only the second player since 1900 (Trevor Story, 2016) to homer on six of his first seven hits in a season.New York leads the majors with 27 [[link removed]] multi-HR games.The Yankees also top MLB with 98 homers — the Braves’ 84 are a distant second.
Carpenter’s deal with New York will reportedly [[link removed]] pay him $1 million for major league games and $200,000 in the minors.
The longtime Cardinal’s bargain contributions are certainly appreciated in the Bronx, especially since the biggest — and potentially most expensive — name in town is still Aaron Judge.
Judge’s 24 long balls lead MLB, but his long-awaited arbitration hearing is scheduled for June 22, putting pressure on the Yankees to lock him in before then.
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Kenny Atkinson Is The Right Coach For Jordan’s Young Hornets [[link removed]]
Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Michael Jordan’s on-court dominance has yet to translate to his career as an NBA owner, but hiring head coach Kenny Atkinson was a big step in the right direction.
Charlotte has missed the last six playoffs and hasn’t won a series for 18 straight seasons — tying the Kings and Timberwolves for longest active streak — but with potential superstar LaMelo Ball and plenty of cap room, Jordan has arguably never been in a better position to succeed.
Enter Atkinson, who brings 16 years of experience and a reputation for maximizing talent, most notably for a Nets team with few draft picks and a deceptively low payroll.
He improved the Nets’ record from 20 to 42 wins within two seasons, getting them back into the playoffs in 2019.The 42-win Nets had the 17th-highest payroll in the NBA ($118.9M) — but allotted $40M of it to players who played no more than 12 games.He’s credited with developing young players such as Jarrett Allen, Joe Harris, D’Angelo Russell, and Caris LeVert.
The Hornets have $109 million on the books for the 2022-23 season — 10th-lowest in the NBA — but Jordan isn’t known for big spending.
The 2016-17 campaign’s $103 million payroll was the only Jordan team to rank in the top 10 since he bought the team in 2010.
But if Atkinson can unleash the most out of Hornet cornerstones like Ball, Miles Bridges, and Terry Rozier, His Airness’ front-office career might finally take flight.
Making Headlines
Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports
WNBA: Sabrina Ionescu became the youngest player in league history with multiple career triple-doubles in the Liberty’s 88-86 loss to the Sky; the 24-year-old guard had 27 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists before the fourth quarter — the first WNBAer to triple-double in the first three quarters of a game.
Tennis: Daniil Medvedev vaulted to No. 1 in the world rankings, replacing Novak Djokovic, who dropped to third behind new No. 2 Alexander Zverev.
MLB: The Braves topped the Pirates for their 11th victory in a row, Atlanta’s longest winning streak since 2013.
NBA: Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, who finished second in COTY voting, agreed to a multiyear contract extension, per ESPN [[link removed]]. Also: the Nuggets traded [[link removed]] forward JaMychal Green and a future first-rounder to OKC for the 30th pick in this year’s draft; Denver now has Nos. 21 and 30 in the 2022 Draft.
NFL: Commanders WR Terry McLaurin is expected to miss mandatory minicamp this week; Adam Schefter reports [[link removed]] that McLaurin is seeking a large contract extension.
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Written by Chris Kuc [[link removed]], Doug Greenberg [[link removed]], Anthony Puccio [[link removed]] Edited by Brian Krikorian [[link removed]]
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