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The 'Last 30 U.S. Open golf champions' quiz
Can you name the last 30 U.S. Open golf champions? Quiz clue: Year / Country. Good luck!
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Rickie Fowler Explains Black Ribbons At 3M Open
During the 3M Open in Minnesota, fans and players are still coming down from the excitement of The Open the previous week. Max Homa experienced a rush of excitement and pressure to win as he is about to be a father of two. However, during the tournament, there was a bit of a more solemn feeling. Some players were wearing black ribbons with the initials “KH” on them in plain view. Rickie Fowler has explained that the ribbons were to honor Kayla Hale, the wife of Oddessey representative Cody Hale, who passed recently after a long battle with cancer. The Hales And Their Pro Golf Relations Cody Hale, representing an equipment manufacturer, has numerous personal relationships with professional players. He would often get in touch with players to find them putters that best suit them, a task that can be difficult. Hale would often start a friendship around golf, sharing tips and the like. He may have represented a specific putter company, but the players didn’t always land on an Odyssey putter. The players just liked the company of Cody Hale and would bond over the sport. Many felt like the Hales were “part of the family,” as Fowler put it. Although he hasn’t played professionally since 2012, Cody Hale is often right behind the players, offering them help whenever possible. When Hale’s family is hurting, the players feel like it is their family too. Rickie Fowler On The Ribbons The players have a great amount of respect for the Hales. When they heard that Kayla Hale lost the battle to cancer, they felt like an important part of their lives was gone. They decided it was appropriate to honor her in some way during the tournament. They did so by donning the black ribbon. Rickie Fowler explained in an interview. “Great guy, and this is,” Fowler said, referring to the ribbon. “His wife was battling cancer for a while and was in remission, but it popped back up, and she unfortunately passed. I guess about a week and a half ago now. So he’s someone that’s… Cody’s part of the family out here, and when you’re part of the family, their family’s part of the family, too.” Like many who befriended the Hales, Fowler has used an Odyssey putter in the past. Although he hasn’t used it much, that didn’t change his feelings towards the Hales. Other players felt the same way, as many sported the ribbon to honor Kayla Hales. Cody Hales Going Forward Cody Hale couldn’t make it to the 3M Open this weekend for various reasons. He has taken time off to focus on his grieving family. Currently, Hale is spending time with his two kids, who are two and four years old. Players have also contributed to a GoFundMe for the family, as a way to ease the burden of having lost a loved one. With players like Rickie Fowler grieving and honoring Kayla with Cody Hale, he won’t need to feel alone in the process. The players will not forget about the Hales anytime soon.
Top moments from 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame inductions
The 2025 Baseball Hall of Fame class had its day in Cooperstown on Sunday. This year's class included Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner, who were elected by the eligible voters from the Baseball Writer's Association of America, and Dave Parker and Dick Allen, who were elected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee. Here are some of the top highlights from Sunday's induction speeches. Dave Parker's son reads poem written by Hall of Fame father Parker's induction into the Hall of Fame was long overdue, and he sadly did not have the opportunity to enjoy the moment of seeing his name in the Hall of Fame as he died June 28. That left his speech in the hands of his son, Dave Parker II, who read a poem written by his dad. Parker spent the majority of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates where he was an MVP winner, two-time batting champion and World Series champion with the 1979 "We Are Family" team. Dick Allen's wife remembers his kindness Allen was the other veterans committee inductee, and his widow, Willa Allen, spent the majority of her speech remember the kindness of Allen off the field as much as his ability on the field. Allen is going into the Hall of Fame as a Phillie but won the 1972 American League MVP with the Chicago White Sox. He led the league in OPS four times and was the 1964 National League Rookie of the Year. A reminder that Billy Wagner wasn't naturally left-handed Being left-handed is a huge advantage (and money-maker) for pitchers, and Wagner was one of the most dominant left-handed relief pitchers to ever step onto a mound in the big leagues. But he wasn't always left-handed. Wagner was a natural-born right-handed person but taught himself how to throw left-handed after fracturing his right arm twice as a kid. It led to quite a career. Wagner made a name for himself with the Houston Astros but also spent years with the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox. CC Sabathia takes playful dig at Ichiro Sabathia accomplished a ton in his 19-year big league career. He won 251 games, won the 2007 American League Cy Young Award, was the 2009 ALCS MVP and a World Series champion. He still has apparently not gotten over the one individual award he did not win — the 2001 American League Rookie of the Year Award, which went to fellow 2025 inductee Ichiro. Sabathia made sure to make a playful dig at that. Sabathia was the only American League rookie outside of Ichiro — who also won the American League MVP that year — to get a first-place vote. He received one. The others all went to Ichiro. Ichiro stole the show Ichiro stole 509 bases in his Hall of Fame career, and on Sunday, he added one more steal to his list of accomplishments by absolutely stealing the show at Cooperstown. He delivered two of the best lines of the day, first by calling out the one lone writer who did not vote for him, keeping him from being just the second unanimous Hall of Fame inductee ever (after Mariano Rivera). His best line of the day, however, might have been when he referenced his brief time as a member of the Miami Marlins toward the end of his career. Ichiro played 14 of his 19 seasons with the Seattle Mariners while also spending time with the Marlins and Yankees.
Three-time All-Star placed on administrative leave amid MLB's betting investigation
Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary administrative leave through Aug. 31 as part of Major League Baseball’s ongoing investigation into sports betting, per a league announcement. Clase’s teammate, Luis Ortiz, was the first (and thus far only other) player placed on leave under the ongoing investigation. Clase will continue to be paid while the league looks into any alleged wrongdoing. He will not count against the team’s 40-man roster while on leave. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Clase was being placed on leave shortly prior to MLB’s formal announcement. “The Guardians have been notified by Major League Baseball that as part of their sports betting investigation Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave per an agreement with the Players Association,” the team said Monday in a statement, per Mike Axisa of CBS Sports. “We have been informed that no additional players or Club personnel are expected to be impacted. The Guardians are not permitted to comment further at this time, and will respect the league’s confidential investigative process as we continue to fully cooperate.” Clase’s name had surfaced as a potential trade candidate this summer, as several contenders around the league have been weighing a run at impact relievers with multiple years of club control remaining. A trade wasn’t seen as likely, given Clase’s below-market contract and general track record of excellence. The 27-year-old has pitched 47 1/3 innings of 3.23 ERA ball this year — a “down” season relative to his lofty standards. The right-hander boasts a superlative 1.84 ERA in 336 2/3 innings over the past five seasons. He’s saved 181 games, fanned just under one-quarter of his opponents, issued walks at a tiny 4.8 percent clip and piled up grounders at an elite 58.5 percent rate. Clase signed a five-year, $20M extension in April 2022. He’s being paid just $4.5M this year and has a $6M guarantee for the 2026 season. His extension included a pair of $10M club options for the 2027 and 2028 seasons, though he’s already maxed out a series of escalators that have pushed the value of each of those options up to $13M apiece. The news comes as a notable blow to the Guardians’ already-thin postseason hopes. Cleveland is eight games back of the division-leading Tigers and 3.5 games out of an AL wild-card spot (with three teams to leapfrog). They were already without Ortiz, their fourth starter, due to this ongoing investigation and had lost another rotation member, Ben Lively, to Tommy John surgery. Former AL Cy Young winner Shane Bieber was targeting a June return but has yet to pitch in the majors after a setback in recovery from his own Tommy John procedure — though he’s on a rehab assignment and on the cusp of a return to the majors. Clase’s bullpen-mate, Cade Smith, figures to take over closing duties for the time being. He’s arguably an even better reliever at this point than Clase is, and Smith himself has received plenty of attention on the summer trade market. As with Clase, a deal has been seen as unlikely, given the 26-year-old righty’s four-plus seasons of remaining club control. Depending on how one chooses to view the Clase suspension, it could make a Smith trade more or less likely. Smith now becomes even more of a focal point in the bullpen and all the more critical to whatever playoff hopes Cleveland has left. At the same time, losing Clase further dampens those postseason odds and could make the Guards more willing to turn the page on the 2025 season and focus on the future. Smith should be an integral part of that future, but he could also net a legitimate prospect haul if moved in the next three days, potentially adding multiple long-term contributors to the Guards in 2026 and beyond.
Former Commanders quarterback already looks like a bust on his new team
The Washington Commanders' decision to start over with quarterback Jayden Daniels at No. 2 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft was the franchise-changing move that woke a sleeping giant. Unfortunately, there had to be some collateral damage along the way. That, of course, was Sam Howell. Adam Peters traded him to the Seattle Seahawks for a package that included a third-round selection. It was decent compensation for someone taken in the fifth round who'd been wildly inconsistent during his only season as a starter. That proved even more accurate after Howell was shipped off again this offseason. The Seahawks got far less from the Minnesota Vikings than they gave up for Howell. He was initially slotted into the backup role behind J.J. McCarthy, but reports suggest the North Carolina product has a lot of hard work ahead before this objective is achieved. Former Commanders QB Sam Howell is off to a rough start in Minnesota Alec Lewis from The Athletic didn't paint a glowing picture of Howell's training camp performance so far. The beat writer hinted that everything was moving fast for the signal-caller, and it didn't look like he had a full grasp of the offensive system as yet. There's a long way to go, but the first impression isn't especially promising. The best way to sum up [Sam] Howell’s performance is a beat too slow. Without the post-practice film, it’s impossible to assess each rep accurately. Is Howell taking a hitch because he’s not seeing the picture correctly, or is he waiting a split second extra because the receiver was rerouted by a cornerback? Whatever the case, it feels fair to say that Howell hasn’t consistently pulled the trigger promptly.Alec Lewis The Vikings aren't expecting Howell to be anything other than a backup. They've hitched their wagon to McCarthy, and confidence is growing with every outstanding practice he stacks up. But if standards don't improve, it's not hard to see where the complications could arise for the ex-Commanders starter. Minnesota has Brett Rypien and Max Brosmer behind Howell. Not exactly world-beaters, but enough to keep the pressure on in the coming weeks. These growing pains aren't entirely surprising. At the same time, Howell has been around the franchise for a few months now and is working with Kevin O'Connell, the ex-Washington coach who's widely regarded as one of the best quarterback developers in the game. The stakes are high for Howell. This also happens to be the final year of his rookie deal. If he wants to stick around in Minnesota or potentially get another opportunity elsewhere in 2026, he must respond positively. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe. More Commanders news and analysis
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