by Julian Spivey
The 2022 U.S. Open, golf’s third major tournament of the year, begins today at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. and it seems as if the biggest story of the weekend might not be the on course play itself but what’s going on in the world of golf at large.

The sport of golf is undergoing a massive schism with some of its biggest names leaving the PGA Tour for the off-shoot league LIV Golf, which offers fewer rounds, tournaments and a lot more money, but is primarily funded by a Saudi Arabian wealth fund controlled by the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the guy who played a major role in the death of The Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.  

There’s a multitude of controversies surrounding LIV Golf – some of it to do with players taking what is essentially blood money from a murderous group of bad dudes with terrible rights violations against its own people and some of it to do with the fact that the PGA Tour has been the bloodline of major golf for almost a century.

It truly feels for the first time in my life watching golf that there’s a group of good guys vs. bad guys. The good guys are the ones sticking with tradition and not leaving for greedy blood money. The bad guys are obviously the golfers who’ve opted to join LIV Golf. The hardest part of it for a longtime golf fan like me is some of the now bad guys are guys I’ve spent decades rooting and cheering for – like six-time major winner Phil Mickelson. Mickelson is probably one of the most irritating defectors from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf because he’s one of the only ones doing so who’s openly spoken of the horrible things the Saudis have done, but he’s still OK taking their money.

The LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour aspect of this year’s U.S. Open is one that definitely is playing out in the media, but I’m anticipating how the crowds at The Country Club are going to react – if the ushers and folks presiding over the tournament will even let them react to those players who have chosen LIV Golf. I suspect the crowds will be cordial because the tournament will probably require them to be so, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if the average fan doesn’t care as much whether these players choose to earn their living, as long as they’re continued to be allowed in the major tournaments.

A potentially more interesting aspect this weekend might be how golfers react to each other. Rory McIlroy, steadfast in his loyalty to the PGA Tour, has been taking shots at LIV Golf all week long. In a moment earlier this week during a practice round Jordan Spieth, also sticking with the PGA Tour, reportedly completely blew off fellow competitor Kevin Na, who was one of the first defectors to LIV Golf to resign his PGA Tour status.

There are 15 LIV Golf golfers competing in the U.S. Open this weekend – 13 of whom competed in the LIV Golf Invitational last weekend and Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed, who have pledged to make their LIV Golf debuts in a couple of weeks when the series has its first United States event. Among the LIVers in the major tourney this weekend are two former U.S. Open champs DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson. As well as major winners like Reed, Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Louis Oosthuizen.

I frankly hope all 15 of these golfers miss the cut (something they don’t have to worry about in their new series), though it might be better for TV ratings and dramatic storylines if one of them is neck-and-neck with say McIlroy, Spieth, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, etc. come Sunday.
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I know who I’ll be rooting for this weekend … any and every one of the good guys. 

The 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs has reached it final series and it features two teams that will either end a championship drought or officially call themselves a dynasty. Both the Colorado Avalanche and Tampa Bay Lightning have been the top teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) in recent years. The Avalanche have been an excellent regular season team the past couple of years, but have ran into tough luck in the playoffs getting eliminated in the second round the last two seasons.  For the Lightning, after being swept out of the playoffs as the number one overall seed in the first round in 2019, they have been on a mission to establish themselves as the next great dynasty in the NHL.

While Colorado and Tampa Bay have never met in the Stanley Cup Final, they do pose some similarities that could have the potential to make this year’s Stanley Cup Final an all-time classic. The Avalanche are playing in their first Stanley Cup Final since 2001 and are looking to win their third Stanley Cup since moving to Denver from Quebec, Canada in 1995. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay is looking at NHL immortality as they look to become the first team to win at least three straight Stanley Cups since the early 1980s New York Islanders, who won four straight titles. Let’s break down the matchup and see which team has the better forwards, defensemen, goalie and coaching.

Forwards: Colorado has a strong forward core led by captain Gabriel Landeskog and superstar Nathan McKinnon. Both players are participating in their first Stanley Cup Final. The Avalanche do have a player with Stanley Cup Final experience in Andre Burakovsky, who won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals in 2018. The duo of Landeskog (8 goals and 17 points in the 2022 playoffs) and McKinnon (11 goals and 18 points in the playoffs) will be key in leading the Avalanche to win. Outside of Burakovsky, another player who could be a wild card at forward for Colorado is Mikko Rantanen. Rantanen only has five goals in the playoffs but can dish out excellent passes as he has 12 assists in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay will counter with Steven Stamkos, who has 15 points (9 goals, 6 assists) in the 2022 playoffs. Also, former Hart Trophy (regular season MVP) winner Nikita Kucherov can be dangerous anytime he can touch the puck (7 goals + 16 assists = 23 points). The X factor for the Lightning is left winger Ondrej Palat, who scored two game-winning goals in the Lightning’s win over the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final.  

Advantage: I love both teams forward core. It is very tough to call. While Tampa Bay’s experience in these championship format is important, Colorado’s forwards can give Tampa Bay problems. Also, the Lightning could be without Brayden Point, another key forward for Tampa Bay. I will give the slight edge to the Avalanche.

Defensemen: Colorado has a mostly young defensive core led by Cale Makar, a former first round pick in 2017. He leads the team in scoring by a defensemen in the postseason (5 goals + 17 assists = 22 points).  At just 23 years of age, Makar is just getting started with a career with potential Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman) awards in sight.  Devon Toews is another key for the Avs’ D. He took on the Lightning in the 2020 Eastern Conference Final as a member of the New York Islanders.

The Lightning have two excellent defensemen in Victor Hedman and Ryan McDonagh. Another key defenseman to keep an eye out is Mikhail Sergachev, a young defenseman acquired by Tampa Bay in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens in 2017. All he has done is help the Lightning have one of the best defensive cores in the NHL.

Advantage: I have to take experience over mostly youth in this category. Makar and Toews are really good, but Tampa Bay’s experience is key.

Goaltending: The Avalanche have had to play multiple goalies during this playoff round. Even though they have played less games than the Lightning, they have had to use two goaltenders, Darcy Kuemper and Pavel Francousz. They have been really good, but neither have Stanley Cup Final experience.

On the other hand, some would consider Tampa Bay’s goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy the best goaltender on Earth and they might be right. Last year’s Conn Smthe Winner (MVP in the Stanley Cup Playoffs) has a chance to join some elite company as a starting goaltender to win three straight Stanley Cups. He would join New York Islander legend Billy Smith as the only goaltenders to win all their series for at least three years in a row.

Advantage: This one is not close. While Colorado is lucky two of their playoff series wins were sweeps, I do not see them match up very well against Vasilevskiy. Tampa Bay has a clear advantage in the goalie department.

Coaching: Jared Bednar is in his sixth season as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. The rise of the Avalanche and Bednar could not have been scripted any better. In Bednar’s first season, the Avalanche were the worst team in the NHL. But through major trades, the Avalanche were back in the playoffs two years later and now on the cusp of capturing hockey’s top prize.

Jon Cooper’s tenure as coach of the Lightning is currently the longest running in the NHL. Cooper has been head coach for Tampa Bay since 2013. He led the Lightning to a Stanley Cup Final in 2015, which they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games. More playoff failures would continue until 2020 when the Lightning hoisted the Stanley Cup for the second time ever and then repeat the feat in 2021. Cooper’s legacy in Tampa Bay is already sealed but it could be an even bigger legacy if Tampa Bay wins their third straight Stanley Cup.

Advantage: Jared Bednar and Jon Cooper are easily the two best coaches in the NHL today.  While I do think Bednar is a great coach and the right fit for the Avalanche, what Jon Cooper has done with the Lightning is truly special. I would give the slight edge to Cooper and the Lightning.

Prediction: As said earlier, I think this final series has the makings of an all-time classic. Colorado is looking to end a drought while Tampa Bay is seeking NHL history by trying to win a third straight title. I like Colorado especially at home where they play the first two games. However, watching a three-peat in the NHL today would be amazing for the Lightning and the sport of hockey.

Lightning will win in six games.

Game one of the NHL Stanley Cup Final starts tonight (June 15) in Denver on ABC at 7 p.m. (CST).  

by Julian Spivey
The NASCAR Cup Series held its inaugural race at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway in Madison, Ill., just outside of St. Louis, on Sunday, June 5 and it was certainly an exciting afternoon on track.

Joey Logano would go on to win the track’s first Cup Series race after a hard fought battle with Kyle Busch in the waning laps of the event, but perhaps the biggest story of the race was the on-track actions between Ross Chastain and Denny Hamlin and then later Chastain and Chase Elliott in the first half of the race and the reactions from the drivers postrace.

On Lap 64, Chastain after a hard multiple lap battle with Hamlin drove his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet hard into Turn 1 of the track behind Hamlin’s No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and contacted Hamlin’s bumper sending the No. 11 into the wall.

This might have been overdriving by Chastain or it might have been Chastain losing patience with Hamlin holding him up. It was hard to tell, but the replay didn’t look great on Chastain’s part.

Hamlin would show his displeasure with Chastain soon after by driving him down the track all the way to the track’s apron near the grass.

On Lap 101, Chastain tried to force his car into a three-wide position shortly after a restart and contacted the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Elliott spinning out the No. 9.

This incident felt like a racing deal to me, but it was less than halfway through the race and Chastain likely didn’t need to be that aggressive at that point.

On the subsequent restart Elliott showed his displeasure with Chastain by bumping the side of Chastain’s No. 1 and sending it up the track. Hamlin right behind this incident would do the exact same thing. Then Hamlin would essentially block Chastain for quite a while making it hard for Chastain, who had to meet minimum speed to remain in the race, to make that minimum speed (he would meet the speed though and wound up finishing the race in sixth position).

I felt like Elliott’s response and Hamlin’s initial response to Chastain’s aggressive driving was fine. The drivers police themselves and that’s the way it should be. If either had even spun out or wrecked Chastain I would’ve felt it the kind of payback you frequently see in NASCAR. It’s been part of the series as long as I’ve been a fan and almost certainly decades before.

I felt like Hamlin’s constant trolling of Chastain throughout the race after his initial move to run him down toward the apron was childish and unnecessary, but after nearly two decades of watching Hamlin compete it wasn’t surprising.

After the race Chastain was contrite and manned up about his poor driving during the race. He told Fox Sports’ pit reporter Jamie Little: “It was just terrible driving. At this level, I’m supposed to be better than that. I cannot believe I just made so many mistakes back-to-back. I just absolutely drove over my head today. It’s unacceptable.”

The admission of fault did little to appease Hamlin who’s promised retribution in the future. Payback is one thing. Payback is almost to be expected by Chastain and the entire field and sport. But in a postrace interview with Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass Hamlin said: “You gotta fence these guys hard to get their attention. It’s going to have to be meaningful.”

That “fence these guys hard” answer is completely out of line and it’s something NASCAR needs to focus on and proactive about with Hamlin.

I’ve always been a fan of the self-policing Hamlin speaks of and the “boys have at it” mentality of NASCAR racing, but in the past it’s mostly been something the drivers have handled well and as safely as possible. Saying you’ve got to “fence these guys hard” is pretty damn close to saying, “if he gets hurt I don’t care.”

We have to keep in mind that auto racing is a dangerous sport, and the governing body doesn’t need its drivers going around saying they’re going to put other drivers in potential harm’s way and “fence these guys hard” is potentially doing just that. Hamlin should know better than this as he’s one of the drivers who’s been hurt the most by over-aggressive driving by his competitors. Hamlin broke a vertebra in his back in a 2014 Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. and had to be airlifted to a local hospital after he and Logano essentially got into a pissing contest racing for the win at the end of the race. So, Hamlin knows firsthand the dangers of the sport. This makes his postrace comments at Gateway on Sunday even more infuriating.

If Hamlin wants to spin out Chastain at the Sonoma Raceway road course this upcoming weekend or at a short track in the future I think that’s fine. I think Chastain would probably admit it’s comeuppance for how he raced Hamlin this past weekend. I don’t think NASCAR should or would step in at that point either.

But I do believe NASCAR needs to speak to Hamlin and let him know his actions toward Chastain will be watched closely and if he does something severe like “fencing him hard” he should be punished severely, probably more severely than any driver has ever been punished for intentionally wrecking another competitor. The sport can’t take safety lightly and drivers threatening to “fence guys hard” should not be tolerated.

 
ESPN’s Basketball Power Index would have you believe the NBA Finals, beginning tonight (June 2) on ABC at 8 p.m., are going to be such a cake walk for the Boston Celtics that there’s truly no reason to even tune in (unless you’re a Celtics fan, of course). ESPN’s BPI gives the Celtics an 86 percent chance to win the NBA Finals, which seems ludicrous to me. I think the series is basically a toss-up with the seasoned Warriors veterans mixed in with some great young role players and the Celtics team that’s never had a single player play in a Finals game before matching up. Exactly where do the advantages lay with each team. Let’s try to figure that out.

Point Guard: Stephen Curry (Warriors) vs. Marcus Smart (Celtics)

So, here’s the key matchup of the NBA Finals in my opinion. You have the Warriors best player and shooter Steph Curry matching up against the current NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year in Marcus Smart. Best shooter in league history versus Defensive Player of the Year is tantalizing. I think Smart is going to hound Curry like we’ve never seen Curry hounded before and it’s going to be huge for the Celtics chances to win the title. Curry won the newly created Western Conference Finals MVP award scoring 24 points per game and 42 percent from three-point land against the Dallas Mavericks. I kind of doubt his numbers will be that good against Smart, who keep in mind injured Curry the last time they played toward the end of the regular season causing Curry to miss most of the final month of the season. But Curry will have some games where he likely goes full Curry too. If Smart can keep those Curry games to three or less the Celtics likely win this thing.

Advantage: Warriors – listen I know the praise I just heaped upon Marcus Smart, but I’ll have to see him actually do it before I can go against the greatest shooter I’ve ever seen play the game.

Shooting Guard: Klay Thompson (Warriors) vs. Jaylen Brown (Celtics)

The two-guard matchup between Klay Thompson and Jaylen Brown is probably the most equal positional matchup of the series. Both players are arguably their respective team’s second best player and scoring option – though the Warriors do have moments when Jordan Poole or Andrew Wiggins can be that instead of Thompson. The Celtics don’t really have that luxury. Thompson was so-so for most of the Western Conference Finals against Dallas until he went off for 32 points and eight 3-pointers in the clinching game five of the series. Brown has averaged 23 points per game this postseason, second on the team to Jayson Tatum’s 27 per game. At least half of the Celtics nightly offense comes from Brown and Tatum. Brown has had a better all-around postseason than Thompson, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Brown is the better of the two in the Finals, but I just can’t write off Thompson, especially if he plays more like game five of the WCF than the first four games of that series in the Finals. I hate pushes when doing position-by-position comparisons, but I feel I have no other choice here.

Advantage: Push

Small Forward: Andrew Wiggins (Warriors) vs. Jayson Tatum (Celtics)

Andrew Wiggins has been HUGE for the Golden State Warriors this postseason and his defense on Jayson Tatum in the Finals could be one of the major deciding factors on which team wins the championship, but if you’re ranking the best players in the Finals based on both regular season and postseason performance Tatum is the best player in this series and despite Wiggins great output for G.S. in the playoffs this one isn’t close.

Advantage: Celtics

Power Forward: Draymond Green (Warriors) vs. Al Horford (Celtics)

Al Horford is going to score more points in the NBA Finals than Draymond Green. I’d be confident in that. Horford has averaged 12 points per game this postseason. Green has averaged 8.7. Horford’s likely going to out rebound Green too. But as Green goes so do the Warriors and it’s hard to measure his intangibles and intensity on the court. Green also leads the Warriors roster in assists per game, as his part in the team’s amazing passing skills is crucial to their offensive flow. One thing that also can’t be measured is how badly will Horford want to win a title after playing in the most postseason games in NBA history of any players to previously have never reached the championship round. I think this matchup will be pretty close this series, but Green is more important to the overall play of the Warriors than I believe Horford to be for Boston.

Advantage: Warriors

Center: Kevon Looney (Warriors) vs. Robert Williams III (Celtics)

I have to be straight with you – I didn’t get to catch all that many Celtics games this season, so I don’t know a whole lot about their big man Robert Williams III. He’s been injured for part of the playoffs and has only started half of Boston’s games on their run to the Finals. He’s put up almost eight points per game, 5.5 boards per game and two blocks per game. Those numbers would’ve had him likely able to steal a push out of this matchup with Kevon Looney before I saw the way Looney absolutely dominated the boards and paint for the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals against the Mavericks. Looney was basically putting up a double-double in every game of the WCF and if he can bring that intensity and output to the Finals he’ll clearly have the advantage in this matchup.

Advantage: Warriors

Bench: Jordan Poole, Otto Porter, Gary Payton II, Andre Iguodala, Nemanja Bjelica, Jonathan Kuminga + more (Warriors) vs. Grant Williams, Derrick White, Daniel Theis, Payton Pritchard (Celtics)

The Warriors have the deepest bench in the entire league and it’s only getting deeper as it seems Otto Porter, Gary Payton II and Andre Iguodala are all returning from injury just in time for the Finals. I don’t know how much Iguodala will actually play, but Porter and Payton have been massive parts of the Warriors bench success all season. Jordan Poole is clearly the best player coming off the bench in this series for either team and at points in the playoffs – mostly in the earlier rounds he was the best player in a Warriors jersey for multiple games. He’s been the Dubs third leading scorer this postseason with 18.4 points per game. While the Warriors can run 12 different guys on the court the Celtics seem content playing about an 8-man rotation, so three guys coming off the bench. The Celtics best bench player this postseason, but especially in the Eastern Conference Finals has been Derrick White, who averaged over 14 points per game and shot 35 percent from behind the arc in the final four games of the ECF. The depth of the Warriors bench might provide huge dividends in the Finals as it’ll allow the starting five to rest, whereas Tatum and Brown are going to have to play almost every minute of every game. At least the Celtics have youth on their side.

Advantage: Warriors
 
Coach: Steve Kerr (Warriors) vs. Ime Udoka (Celtics)
Steve Kerr has now coached the Warriors to six of the last eight NBA Finals and already has three rings to his coaching resume. This is the very first season as the main guy on the sideline for Ime Udoka. There’s truly not much of a comparison here. It’ll ultimately be up to what the athletes do on the court, but how could I possibly go with Udoka over Kerr here?

Advantage: Warriors
 
Prediction: Warriors over Celtics in 7

So, ESPN’s BPI basically has the Celtics as a championship lock. My position-by-position breakdowns have the Warriors with an advantage at every single position with the exception of small forward and shooting guard (and I even gave G.S. a push there). So, why do I have the Celtics pushing this championship series to a game 7?

There are three key reasons:

1. I can’t completely get ESPN’s BPI out of my head. I don’t exactly understand why it has the Warriors as such massive underdogs, but there are numbers and formulas that go into deciding these things and ultimately I can’t completely disregard them just based on the Warriors experience and how things look to me on paper. There has to be something to this massive disparity. 

2. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are that good. The duo is averaging 60 points per game over the postseason. There’s not a whole lot needed from the rest of the team when your stars are carrying that much of a load. I need to see how the Warriors defense plays against these two before I have complete confidence in the Dubs. 
 
3. Marcus Smart on Steph Curry could be what this series comes down to and not only do I worry about Smart’s Defensive Player of the Year skills on Curry, I also somewhat worry about him getting into Curry’s head and just being an all-around nuisance.