Back in April, an on-schedule U.S. Open simply did not seem possible. The coronavirus was at its peak in New York; a building on the tournament grounds housing indoor tennis courts was converted to a field hospital. The pandemic was locking down much of society, including sports. Wimbledon was canceled for the first time in 75 years, the French Open was postponed, and the U.S. Tennis Association said it was considering “the possibility” of changing its dates, too. On Monday, the last day of August, the 2020 U.S. Open will, indeed, begin — as scheduled, albeit without any spectators, and with one player dropped from the field because he tested positive for COVID-19.
Even with a pair of silver trophies in his possession, Jon Rahm still couldn’t believe what happened Sunday in the BMW Championship. And he only saw half of it. Rahm was on the range on the other side of the Olympia Fields clubhouse, preparing for a playoff that no one really expected, when Dustin Johnson rolled in a 45-foot birdie putt down the ridge for birdie to force a playoff. Moments later, Rahm faced a putt even longer and more difficult on the 18th — just outside 65 feet that he had to send at nearly a 90-degree angle to the top of the ridge. From there, it was a replay of Johnson’s putt as it headed down the slope, kissed off the pin and disappeared into the cup. “I still can’t believe what just happened,” he said.
Modified racers from around the West were busy last weekend with four races in three days with the Northern Nevada Modified Tour.
Dark clouds gathered. Thunder rumbled. Lightning flashed on the horizon. Just as unsettling was seeing Dustin Johnson in complete control of his game with a performance worthy of his return to No. 1 in the world. He was as close to unbeatable as he has ever been. Johnson capped off his dominant week at The Northern Trust with an 8-under 63, finishing with a tap-in birdie in the dark following a storm delay for an 11-shot victory at the TPC Boston.
Despite efforts from parents and other inquiries, the NIAA will not allow fall sports to be played until the spring of 2021. Emergency Directive 021 issued May 28, 2020, provides for the resumption of sporting events but requires that such events remain closed for public attendance. In allowing for the opening of school athletic facilities, the Governor’s office communicated clearly to the NIAA that this restriction applies to high school sports events.
Everyone was broke. It was the middle of the Great Depression, a global disaster. Thirty-seven nations struggled to send athletes to the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Some of the poorest countries sent their competitors with goods to trade instead of money. Sixty Brazilians arrived with bags of coffee beans. By the time they sold enough to make it to L.A., they almost missed the opening ceremony. The Cubans docked in Galveston with sacks of sugar, but found prices too low to pay their travel expenses, turned around and went home. Every day, gymnast George Roth snuck food from the Olympic Village to his wife and newborn daughter in East Hollywood. He was unemployed and nearly starving. After winning his gold medal before 60,000 spectators, he quietly hitchhiked home.
Marco Andretti was 2 months old the last time his venerable racing family led the field to green at the Indianapolis 500. In this strange pandemic-plagued season, he ended a 33-year Andretti drought by winning the pole. That darned “Andretti Curse” has haunted three generations of racers at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 1969, when Mario Andretti won his only Indy 500. Now his grandson, with a lightning-fast and fearful four laps around the speedway, has cleared the first hurdle toward an elusive victory. Mario Andretti was 1 for 29 in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing,” with just three career poles, his last in 1987. His son, Michael, never won a pole and his best finish in 16 tries was second in 1991. Jeff Andretti went 0 for 3. John Andretti was 0 for 12 and Marco currently is 0 for 14. In his 15th attempt, he will attempt to end that stupid family curse once and for all.
Chase Elliott was already NASCAR royalty. Now he’s also the sport’s road king. Elliott won the Cup Series’ first road course race at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, holding off hard-charging Denny Hamlin following a late restart and notching his third consecutive victory away from ovals.
There seem to be fewer players fishing at Walt Disney World these days. Getting a tee time or streaming video games might not be as much of a priority as it was a few weeks ago, either. Summer vacation is over. The restart gets real now.
As heat waves rose from the crackling grass next to a cotton field that stretched far into the distance, Rick Porter watched his young football players struggle through a preseason practice.
Joe Yanni Field just got a lot quieter. For the past several weeks, the volleyball girls met at the track on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. The rest of the week, they worked out at home. In mid-March, a virus one thousand times smaller than a speck of dust wreaked havoc in their young lives. Now the girls jump into a year like none they’ve experienced in their lifetimes.
The best shot of his life, the shot that made Collin Morikawa a major champion, was never supposed to happen. He knew the tee on the 16th at Harding Park would be moved forward at the PGA Championship. He said during practice rounds that wouldn’t tempt him to go for the green. But this was Sunday afternoon, right after Morikawa had chipped in for birdie to break out of a seven-way tie, and at this moment was tied again with Paul Casey. “I knew I had to hit a good one,” he said. The shot will be remembered as one of the best in a major that hardly anyone witnessed, not with spectators banned during the COVID-19 era for majors.
Zion Williamson’s rookie season is ending without a playoff berth. It’s not an uncommon stop on the NBA learning curve. Even for No. 1 draft picks, like Williamson was a year ago, winning takes time. The last player to go from being the top overall selection one year to a playoff-game starter the very next season was Derrick Rose -- more than a decade ago. LeBron James needed three years to make the playoffs. John Wall needed four seasons. So did Kyrie Irving, his wait ending in large part because James returned to Cleveland.
It’s now official: There will be a play-in series to determine the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Memphis’ 108-99 loss to Toronto on Sunday means that it’s no longer possible for more than a four-game difference in the standings between the eighth- and ninth-place finishers in the West when the seeding game schedule ends later this week. By the rules the NBA set for this season’s restart, there had to be more than a four-game cushion for the No. 8 team to get the final playoff spot outright. The league decided to add the play-in series option in an abundance of fairness, since about 14% of the regular season schedule was eliminated because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The longtime friends and rivals played hard. Brian Smokey, Tony Nelson and Jake Bohan delivered the home runs. Leah Holland, Colbey Wanner and Alyssa Smokey crushed the ball all night. The Lovelock Softball Association hosted its championship game at McDougal Memorial Park on Friday night. Ultimately, Thick N Wild, the defending league champs, beat the Swingers (18-14) in seven innings. Tony Nelson pitched for the Swingers. Tim Rhodes recorded the win for Thick N Wild.