Mixed bag for rookie QBs, plus more Week 1 preseason takeaways. Plus, where do James Harden, 76ers go now?
76ers #76ers
Happy Monday, everyone! Hope you had a good, sports-filled weekend.
Let’s get right to it.
😎 Good morning to everyone, but especially …
LUCAS GLOVER
They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you can give him a new putter and nerves of steel. Behind another lights-out performance on the greens, Lucas Glover claimed his second straight PGA Tour victory, winning the FedEx St. Jude Championship over Patrick Cantlay in a playoff. It was the opening leg of this year’s FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Patrick McDonald broke down the leaderboard from a thrilling weekend.
👍 Honorable mentions 😬 And not such a good morning for … Getty Images
JAMES HARDEN AND THE PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
One year, the 76ers will have a normal offseason. It won’t be this year, though.
The 76ers ended talks with the Clippers regarding a James Harden trade and plan to bring the star guard to training camp. The only issue? Harden reportedly doesn’t plan on showing up and has slammed Sixers president Daryl Morey: “Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of.” Let’s rewind …
The upcoming standoff could get ugly, and Brad Botkin is not a fan:
👎 Not so honorable mentions
🏈 Preseason Week 1 winners & losers, rookie QB rankings
The first full week of the preseason is in the books, and what a weekend it turned out to be. It was filled with emotion — welcome back, Damar Hamlin, and quite literally, welcome to football, CJ Okoye — and plenty of highlights, which we rounded up for you here.
With the NFL finally (kind of) back, we have winners and losers as well. Among the standouts? A quarterback with high hopes in Year 3, writes Cody Benjamin:
Sure, Fields himself didn’t have to do much to accrue those impressive stats. A couple of short throws was all it took. But that’s the point. Fields, who had more on his plate than any quarterback last year, can finally rely on others.
As for even younger QBs, we got our first look at 14 rookies, and Cody ranked those performances 1-14. I won’t spoil too much, but the none of Cody’s top four were from first-rounders.
🏈 Jonathan Taylor expected back at Colts practice Getty Images
Moving from some notable performances to a notable guy nowhere near a football field, Jonathan Taylor has been training away from the Colts but is expected to return to practice this week, according to coach Shane Steichen.
There remain a lot of questions, including the exact date of Taylor’s return. Taylor’s trade request remains in place, too. For now, though, it’s at least a slightly positive development in an offseason full of negative ones for both player and team.
🏀 2023 Hall of Fame inductees … and who’s next? USATSI
We often remember Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer inductees for their great careers on the court. On Saturday, the honorees showed they’re legends behind the microphone, too. Here’s who went into the Hall of Fame on Saturday:
Wade’s emotional tribute to his father was one of the best moments of the night, as was Gasol’s honoring of the late Kobe Bryant. You can see highlights from all of the speeches here.
While some of the game’s greats looked back, Colin Ward-Henninger looked forward, examining each team’s most likely next inductee. Some, like the Lakers (LeBron James) were pretty easy. Others, like the Celtics, were tough calls.
⚾ MLB Power Rankings, weekend recap: Yankees melt down Getty Images
If I wanted to be nice, I’d say the Yankees have had better summers. If I wanted to be realistic, I’d say this summer has been an utter disaster for the Bronx Bombers. Roughly two weeks after a quiet trade deadline, the Yanks suffered arguably their worst loss of the year as they blew a four-run, ninth-inning lead in an 8-7 loss to the Marlins.
The Yankees are now 5-7 in August and 26-34 over their last 60 games. At 60-58 on the season, they’re five games back of the third AL Wild Card spot.
As Mike Axisa points out, the Yankees’ decline over the past six years can be broken down into several poor decisions from the front office. This is a really good, informational piece.
The Yankees sit 17th in Matt Snyder’s latest MLB Power Rankings, but we like to focus on the teams having a better time. Here’s the top five:
As for everything else …
📺 What we’re watching Monday (and early Tuesday)
⚾ Diamondbacks at Rockies, 8:40 p.m. on FS1⚽ Spain vs. Sweden, 4 a.m. Tuesday on Fox