"The Stack" 8-10-17
The Stack is back on this Thursday and while there isn’t a whole lot that is going on, I didn’t even realize that the PGA Championship was this week. For whatever reason I thought we were a week or two away from the final major tournament of the golf season. UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen said some stuff about football and school and how they don’t really go together and then brought up Alabama. I get what he is saying to a point, but it isn’t just football that would fit into that category. It’s really all sports like basketball, baseball, swimming, etc. that have to do both their respective sport and school too. Anyway, let’s see what is in “the stack” for today, Thursday, August 10th:
PGA Championship tees off today
The final leg of golf’s majors tees off today from Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina. I can’t tell you a whole lot about this golf course. Jordan Spieth is coming off of an Open Championship victory. Of course he should be considered a favorite. This is the only major championship he has not won yet. He has turned the corner it would appear. Rory McIlroy certainly will have something to say about that, but parting ways with his caddie so close to the tournament I think will have unfortunate consequences this week. There are the other usual suspects like Dustin Johnson who can bomb it a country mile (did you see his 439 yard drive from the other week) and maybe even Phil Mickelson. Hideki Matsuyama and Ricky Fowler are both seeking their first major. Maybe one of them can win it. I’ll take Spieth for this one, but I don’t feel the most confident about it. I would love to see either him or McIlroy win it and keep going back and forth in terms of who is winning the majors. Coverage is on TNT and CBS.
In other golf news, the PGA is going to move the PGA Championship to May starting in 2019 and will try and get TPC Sawgrass moved to March so the five biggest tournaments of the season happen in consecutive months. This will also help shorten the golf season meaning the FedEx Cup Playoffs start sooner and don't go into the college football and NFL season. The Players Championship will be in March, The Masters in April, PGA Championship in May, the U.S. Open in June and the Open Championship in July. I like this decision by golf.
NFL preseason week one
The NFL preseason started last night with the Carolina Panthers taking down the Houston Texans 27-17. Panthers wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin looked impressive as did rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson for the Houston Texans. Cam Newton did not play. A lot of games are tonight. Here is the schedule:
· Atlanta Falcons @ Miami Dolphins 7 PM ET
· Minnesota Vikings @ Buffalo Bills 7 PM ET
· Jacksonville Jaguars @ New England Patriots 7:30 PM ET
· Washington @ Baltimore Ravens 7:30 PM ET
· Denver Broncos @ Chicago Bears 8 PM ET NFL Network
· Philadelphia Eagles @ Green Bay Packers 8 PM ET
· New Orleans Saints @ Cleveland Browns 8 PM ET
Biggest thing tonight is to not have anyone get injured. The Browns quarterback situation tonight I think is the biggest storyline to watch…if you are really interested in preseason football that is. I don’t think Jay Cutler will play tonight. Enjoy the games if you want to.
Indians land Jay Bruce
Though the MLB trade deadline has come and gone, there are still deals being made. The Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics made a deal the other day that sent Yonder Alonso to the Mariners. Another deal was made last night with the Cleveland Indians landing outfielder Jay Bruce from the New York Mets for a minor league pitcher. They will also pay the remaining portion of his salary this season. He will help bolster the outfield for the Indians and his 29 homeruns this season aren’t bad to add either. The Indians are leading the AL Central right now and should win the division, but they want to put more distance between themselves and the Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins. Good move by the club.
Coming up either Friday or next week: Reaction to top stories and headlines in sports
