Ben and Donnie spend the final hour talking the NFL quarterback rankings, a preview of The Open this weekend with Keith Stewart, and some best bets for Wednesday’s WNBA slate with James Young!
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And I showed you the Heisman odds a week or two ago, and they had Garrett Nussmeier as the second favorite behid Manning. So Brian Kelly’s very excited to have Garrett back at school. He is no athlete in my opinion. You can quote me on that. Like he is a clumsy white dude and he sucked that like I’m being nice now. Now all of a sudden you’re talking about him being great. Whoa, slow down there, Coach Farrell. Coast to coast. Only on sports grid. Do you think that there’s a possibility that we could be looking at the board, wondering if he’s the long term answer at coach for the tide? I’m starting to feel like Alabama. I can’t believe I’m saying this. Craig is a sleeper. Fourth easiest schedule in the SEC this year. Ryan Williams is back. I think the friendly you know, these early season games against Florida State and Wisconsin that is friendly for Alabama Newswire only on sports grid. So you can have the uniforms the entire season with three games will give you with the best uniform. Those are the issues I have the powder Blues out for the Chargers. That should be every game. The Miami Dolphins old uniforms that they throw it back to. That should be your uniform, not the trash you wear. Now the Patriots you ever seen them throw back with the little football player on the helmet. It is beautiful. But let’s keep the trash uniforms. The early line only on sports grid. Obviously he didn’t do great in the last two majors. And you know we’re going home here. We’re going to Northern Ireland Royal Portrush this is this is Rory’s the reason why we’re going here. Got off to a rough start throwing his tee shot out of bounds back in 2019 I think he’ll be ready. Not yet ready to call him the winner. I still have a couple of days before I do that, but it is a home game for him. And as you saw based on this weekend, he is playing well in game live only on Sports Grid. Welcome to our number three live right here on this Wednesday on the Early line on Sports Grid. It is our third and final hour but plenty more in store. We will continue the NFC East edition of Buy or Sell, 50 days away from when the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, against their divisional foe and bitter rival, the Dallas Cowboys, kick off the 2025 NFL season on Thursday, September 4th. We’ll talk about the birds in their Super Bowl defense in just a matter of moments. We’ll hear from you. Of course, one of the hot button topics and debates this week doctors, scouts, executives, coaches around the NFL releasing a list of their top ten quarterbacks to ESPN. We talked about it yesterday. We’ll talk about it further here. To start off our number three. And then as we get you ready for The Open Championship for the 156 time golf’s oldest major. Our fourth and final this year in the major circuit in golf, we head over across the pond to Northern Ireland. Rory’s home course kind of Royal Portrush, where the Irishman Shane Lowry won it in 2019. Keith Stewart, our guy, will join us to get you set with everything you need to know. The storylines and the picks for The Open Championship in 2025. And then G. The coach joins us on the final day of action in the first half of the WNBA campaign, five games today, doctors and at the end of it, the all star break in Indianapolis starting tomorrow. Plenty and I mean plenty here in our number three. Yeah, we got to get those weather updates over there across the seas to see if we have any rain. Sideways rain, 50 degree temperatures, 40 degree temperatures at the Open Championship, which you see from time to time here and certainly be a test. And it’s nice to have a little reprieve from we’re talking about every other sport out here that’s really not doing much where you have a major championship in a profession like golf should be fun to watch it play out. And I do enjoy morning golf where it’s on Sunday. You’re not waiting. East Coast Time 645 715 745 to find out the winner. You find it out early in the day and that’s nice. So tomorrow morning when you wake up, there will be golf on Friday when you wake up golf on. Same thing with Saturday and Sunday. Love to see that. Yeah, no doubt about it. 153rd Open Championship by the way, but still by far the oldest major championship that we have in golf. Speaking of championships and trophies, certainly doctors, the Lombardi Trophy is one of the best prizes in all of sports. It is the one the Eagles were able to capture for a second time in franchise history. Adding to your bookshelf and your set behind you, that second replica Lombardi Trophy. And it has led doctors, of course, to some conversation around the guy at the helm of the offense. Jalen hurts, the quarterback in Philadelphia. He was listed by that straw poll. The survey of execs and scouts and coaches around the NFL as the ninth best quarterback in the NFL. Yet he is one of two active QBs to get the better of Patrick Mahomes ever in the postseason. He is one of a few active quarterbacks with a Lombardi Trophy. Jalen Hurts, the Super Bowl 59 MVP, has led the Eagles to two Super Bowl appearances and even in the defeat against Casey a few years ago in Phoenix, outplayed everybody and had a historic performance. You see how stellar the quarterback record is and what he does, not just through the air, but of course on the ground as well. Donnie, you and I both took umbrage with the idea that Jalen Hurts is the ninth best quarterback in the NFL. We both believe he deserves better recognition than that. But top five, that’s the question. Buy or sell. Jalen hurts is the fifth best quarterback in the National Football League coming into the season. Recency bias absolutely. He is a top five quarterback. I want to preface this because you don’t just measure quarterbacks understand by winning a Super Bowl because then we would say, okay, well Trent Dilfer is way ber than Dan Marino. And you know Jeff Hostetler the Giants in the early 1990s is better than Dan Marino Doug Williams of Washington, you know, back in the late 1980s better than Dan Marino. That’s not how things are judged. You have to sort of play it out. But also it’s not like, what have you done for me lately? Or is it what have you done for me over the past decade? Right now, you can’t argue that Jalen Hurts is not a top five quarterback, because what is your argument if we are looking at those top five players? For me, like Patrick Mahomes being number one, there’s no argument there. Josh Allen hasn’t been to a Super Bowl, let alone won a Super Bowl. But I would take Josh Allen over him. You take a look at Joe Burrow who’s been to a Super Bowl. The prototypical quarterback in the pocket. Yeah I would take Joe Burrow over over Jalen Hurts. But then comes into the Lamar Jackson debate which he hasn’t won at the biggest stage. Has blown games at the biggest stage, has played well in some of those games. But his team didn’t hold up his end of the bargain in those big stages here. But I still would take Lamar Jackson over Jalen Hurts. But that’s where the buck stops right there. There’s nobody in the rest of the NFL that I would take right now in his prime with the Philadelphia Eagles. Then Jalen Hurts because some people will play those well. Any one of those other quarterbacks could have won with the Philadelphia Eagles. No that’s not correct. I mean I’ve seen unbelievable Ravens teams get beat down in the playoffs because Lamar Jackson was absolutely horrendous in those playoff games. Lamar Jackson is a great quarterback in the regular season. But you still have to say in the biggest moments, sometimes players step up. And for Jalen Hurts in the playoffs, outside of what the first time he got to the playoffsI believe it was his second year against Tampa Bay on the road. Correct me if I’m wrong, Tampa Bay actually won the Super Bowl that year. That’s the game you’re going to hold against him after that. He’s been wonderful all the way through, including the Super Bowl, where you are judged on the biggest stage outside of that fumble against Kansas City, which resulted in a touchdown the other way. But if you remember the next drive, the Philadelphia Eagles punch the touchdown in to make up for that. And he outplayed Patrick Mahomes in that game, then thoroughly outplayed him in the most recent Super Bowl in New Orleans that we just watched. So for me Jalen Hurts is not the best quarterback in the NFL. Jalen hurts is absolutely the top five quarterback in the NFL and deservedly so. I will bye bye bye as well. Doctors. As we used to say here on this program, I think when you look at the top four in the top ten quarterback list, Patrick Mahomes is on a peg and a tier of his own. And I do agree with the rest of the top four in some form or fashion. If you wanted to argue Lamar Jackson based on individual production and two MVP awards, and what probably should have been his third last year. But the historic season for Josh Allen gives him that. You want to say Joe Burrow is the only guy to beat Mahomes out of those AFC QBs? I hear it. What I argue with is Jayden Daniels at five should not be the case. Jalen hurts is the fifth best quarterback in the National Football League. Again, it is all random criteria. I don’t know doctors. If the execs and the scouts and the coaches had the same standard, was it Super Bowl championships for them, MVP awards for them, individual production? To me, greatness in being the best is ultimately leading your team to the highest and significant stages. That’s a Super Bowl. Jalen hurts has done it twice in the last three years. And then not only getting there, but how do you perform in those most significant matchups where we have seen guys Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson certainly crumble in the spotlight, at least based on the historic performances they often deliver. Jalen Hurts, if your argument he is not one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL, they are. This is his regular season production. Then you look like an idiot when you watch him play in a Super Bowl in 2022, when he outdueled Patrick Mahomes in Phoenix in Super Bowl 57, he had one of the great Super Bowl performances. Individually we have ever seen 304 yards, a touchdown through the air, 70 yards on the ground, three rushing scores matching Terrell Davis. Terrell Davis was a running back for the most single rushing scores for a player in a Super Bowl ever, and last year, two passing touchdowns more than 270 or 222 through the air, 72 yards on the ground and a touchdown. And in the beatdown of the commanders in the NFC Championship game when it looked as though he was on one leg. Still three rushing scores. Jalen hurts is not only delivered Philadelphia to the brightest spots in franchise history, he has been at his best in those most significant of stages. Jalen hurts is the fifth best quarterback in the NFL, no doubt like the other participants there, they’re all good quarterbacks who we think are top ten Jayden Daniels after a rookie season. Come on now. That can’t be it. Jalen hurts top five. We’ll talk more about it by hearing from you up next. Enter into the magical world of Mekoryuk. Com where even the smallest of spins can win real cash prizes. Adventure into over a thousand of the best Vegas style slot games. So what are you waiting for? Unlock your free welcome offer today. Join the fun where winners play and players win. The two guys that can do it all. It’s too much electricity this morning. This is a good time. We’re having a lot of fun. I had to do a triple take. Ka ching. Why? Because of parody? I didn’t mean to offend. Yeah, it’s not going to happen. Road management is a dirty word. Let him rip. You know what circumstances provide the results? What? How do you do this one? Oh, Donnie, you got such a good show there. A network that is booming. The early line only on sports grid. We’re going to go through every single thing. And I’ve got a great team behind me that’s going to help me get the job done. I want this to be the place that people come to. There is going to be an energy to game time decisions that you will feel night in and night out. We are going to hit every single one of those markets that you need to know about. We will have everything at our disposal and we will use that to our advantage. There is not going to be a better place, I promise you, than game time decisions. I’m Kevin Walsh. Tune in to game time decisions weekdays on Sports Grid. The game is on. The stakes are high, but the action isn’t just on the field. Rearranging that rhythm. Get it inside sports grids in game Live, your ultimate second screen experience. Couple one and a half point live line. Every prop, every play, every day. Anything can happen. It’s complete chaos. Ha ha. It’s smarter to be on sports grid. Did you know sportsbooks tend to draw up tighter bet lines for events that get even more bettors, like championship games or major matchups? My tip? Try betting on less popular sports. You might have a better shot at beating those odds. Now go get lucky. See you in Las Vegas. Let’s get lucky. Live right here in our number three on the early line on sports grid. It is a Wednesday, a conversation doctors all around the National Football League. We highlighted the Philadelphia Eagles. But maybe the most pressing question about the reigning Super Bowl champions right now is why the NFL doesn’t give their quarterback a Super Bowl winner and a Super Bowl MVP. Jalen Hurts near the credit he deserves. Donny. That was what we wanted to hear from the people. If we disagree with the list of the top ten quarterbacks voted on by execs, coaches and scouts around the NFL released earlier this week to ESPN. And both you and I believe and are buying the Jalen Hurts is a top five quarterback. Are we alone? Does the public feel the same way? Let’s find out. Right now. It’s time for the public. So again the top four pretty much feels like the top four at this moment in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes first, Josh Allen Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson in some order or another based on how you define greatness based on the criteria you might use to select best quarterbacks in the NFL. But number five is where it gets interesting. Both you and I doctors believe it should be Jalen Hurts based on his performances and the most spectacular moments in the highest of stages as a Super Bowl champion and Super Bowl MVP, the options we listed for the Jalen Hurts Jayden Daniels, who was voted number five, Justin Herbert, who checks in at number seven, the quarterback of the Chargers and other. If you selected other. We asked for a reply. Most of the public 47% agreeing with yod I doctors that Jalen Hurts is the fifth best quarterback in the NFL. Yes. And he is the fifth best quarterback in the NFL. And there’s nothing that’s going to prove. Well, he runs the football in on short yardage situations. Well then every quarterback should be able to do the same exact thing as the Philadelphia Eagles. And they don’t do that. He also plays his best in some of the biggest moments. And also remember like Gutty performances, like the Rams game where he got his leg twisted off. Still finish that game with an Eagles victory, only to come back the next week and be dominant once again against Washington and then into the Super Bowl, where some people are still questioning if he had lingering effects of that ankle injury or knee injury. Excuse me, but if you also look into who that next player is capable of being, maybe it is Jayden Daniels who takes a step up here, but it didn’t show it last year. Yes, they won a playoff game on the road against Tampa. Yes, they went into Detroit and knocked at the first seed. And yes, they got blasted by Jalen Hurts and the Philadelphia Eagles. If you want to say it’s Justin Herbert all right. He has all the tools in the toolbox to be a fantastic quarterback and a great football team this year with a great head coach. But when he protects the football in the regular season, that gets to the playoffs and absolutely explodes in a bad direction. You have to take away points for his yes, I k he’s going to be a top five quarterback. You could do the same thing with Jared Goff. Great season last couple years. Put up monster numbers Ben Johnson you know I remember Jared Goff. Hey man made the Super Bowl against the Patriots. Yeah they scored like three points in that game. He was atrocious. And how about last year when they were the number one seed with an offense that couldn’t be stopped. You know you stopped that offense. Throw multiple interceptions in the biggest game of your season and go home after getting crushed by Washington Jared Goff did that. You look at Jalen Hurts. He didn’t do that. You have to get those bonus points for performing in the biggest games and not just handing the game to the other team because of your quarterback play. That’s why Jalen Hurts for me, is a top five quarterback in the NFL. Completely agree. Doctors again playing quarterback in the National Football League is a position that many desire, but it comes with criticism of how you individually perform in what it means for your team. Football is a team sport through and through both where the quarterback is playing on the offensive side of the ball, but certainly with the defense as well. And yet we define career legacies for quarterbacks more than most. Did your team win? What was the win loss record and do you have Super Bowl championships to boot to back up your individual performances with the highest and loftiest of team goals? It is why I give Jalen Hurts the nod. As a top five quarterback in the NFL. The rest of it is interesting. Is Matthew Stafford right now the sixth best quarterback in the NFL? If we’re moving Jayden Daniels down, how far does he go in the top ten? Are we even sure he is top ten? I would say yes, but it’s a one year sample size. I think if this was done in 2024, C.J. Stroud would have been top ten and now no longer is included in that list. Based on a historic rookie season but a slight sophomore slump, Baker Mayfield being top ten because he is reinvigorated. His career in Tampa feels fitting, but that would have not been the conversation a few years ago. Justin Herbert is the talent doctors and has some individual statistical accolades to back it up. 14,089 passing yards in his first three seasons in the NFL, the most by any QB ever in NFL history in his first three years in the league. Last year, he opened it up at the end of the year, leading the Chargers to 11 wins in that top wild card spot. And yet they were a two and a half point road favorite against Stroud in Houston, and he threw more interceptions in one game four than he did the entirety of the season. Herbert’s only played in two playoff games, and both have been disastrous. Not even like a hard fought game, Herbert was great. The Chargers were up 27 zero against the Jags many years ago. Jacksonville came all the way back to win. Herbert threw for four interceptions against the Texans this past year and a terrible individual performance. Where do you put Justin Herbert in this list? Do you think number seven is fair? Yeah, I do like Herbert’s up there because we give him at more credit than what he actually does on the football field, but understand this too. He’s in a program now in Los Angeles that it’s a shame because you might want to say, like, let’s just let this kid rip it, man, throw the ball deep downfield. He’s got an unbelievable, uncanny deep ball. Can throw rockets with the best of them in the NFL. But Harbaus you know, is like, hey you know what? We’re going to be a big physical fast football team. I need you to protect the football. He did everything his coach asked for in the regular season till it got to the playoffs, and he just couldn’t throw it to the same team. He just kept throwing it to the other team. But when you look at sometimes where what’s a top five quarterback or top ten quarterback coming into the season and the expectations, it absolutely is Herbert, because the expectations on the Chargers, probably to make the playoffs and a quarterback is certainly the big part of that. And the expectations and potential sometimes gets weighed a little bit more than the actual results on the football field. That’s why we’re enamored with Herbert, because if you take a look and say, hey, Gronk or hey, I make me a quarterback who’s ready for the NFL, like it would spit out Justin Herbert arm talent size, ready to go young player in his prime. That’s who it’s supposed to be. He deserves to be up there. But we do nd more performance on the field in big moments for us to elevate that spot for him. I would love not just a top ten, but a top 32. We didn’t get that. A preview of The Open Championship with Keith Stewart next. Like Montreal, like has a new coach. Like I might be the new coach in Montreal in two weeks. Like they have a new coach all the time and they always have. Oh yeah, we’re playing a new system. They’re like, they have a bunch of like 20 year old players and kids on the pitch. Anyone that’s good, they sell and they trade for money all the time, like it’s a real disaster. But they hit a new low tonight. Getting eliminated by the forge. Sports rage tonight only on Sports Grid. One that really sticks out to me the most. George. And he’s having a fantastic season is James Wood of the Washington Nationals. I mean yes, Cal Raleigh is fantastic. Don’t get me wrong. He’s like a candidate for MVP of the American League. But every time I look up George James Wood is either getting five hits or being walked four times in a game. What a season for this guy. And he’s so young. Was he 22? So what a future this kid has ahead of him. Fantasy sports today only on sports grid. The best white American prospect since Larry Bird. And think about how Larry Bird kind of came to magic and transcended the game. We’ve talked about for a long time. LeBron’s towards the end. You know towards the end Steph Curry’s towards the end. Who is going to be the American face of basketball betting. Above the rim only on sports grid. The game is on. The stakes are high. But the action isn’t just on the field. We’re raising that rhythm. Get it inside. Sports grids in game live. Your ultimate second screen experience. A couple of dozen and a half point lifeline. Every prop, every play, every day. Anything can happen. It’s complete chaos. Ha, ha. It’s smarter to be on sports grid. Live right here on this Wednesday morning on the early line on Sports Grid. We are only a few hours away from the start of our fourth and final major of this year in golf. It is The Open Championship, the 153rd playing of golf’s oldest major. This week in Northern Ireland at Royal Portrush, we are very pleased to be joined by Keith Stewart on this Wednesday. Not one but two segments, both to look at the storylines entering this week at the Open and of course, Keith’s keys in the early lines on the early line, but not that early. Keith, we’re getting going early on a Thursday morning, 1:35 a.m. Local time here in the East Coast, stateside, of course, as they get going across the pond bright and early on a Thursday morning for some links golf. Ben, I’m just going to do some late sports grid tonight and just run it right through 1:35 a.m. I’m locked and roasted. Coffee, golf. Let’s do some Red bull golf. Let’s roll with it. Never go to sleep during Open Championship week. And of course, Keith will look at the odds in just a moment. Scottie Scheffler enters this world number one and the short favorite. He has never been crowned the champion golfer year. He has not won the Open Championship just yet. But Scottie has won a ton. He gave a rather introspective answer. Keith, in getting ready for his pre-tournament press conference about the idea of glory and what winning means to him. Let’s hear from world number one Scottie Scheffler right now. I’m not here to inspire somebody else to be the best player in the world, because what’s the point? You know, this is not a fulfilling li. It’s fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it’s not fulfilling from a sense of like the deepest, you know, places of your heart. You know, there’s a lot of people that make it to what they thought was going to fulfill them in life. And then you get there and all of a sudden you get to number one in the world, and then they’re like, what’s the point? And, you know, I really do believe that because, you know, what is the point? Like, why do I want to win this tournament so bad? That’s something that I wrestle with on a daily basis. It’s like showing up at the Masters every year. It’s like, why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly? Why do I want to win The Open Championship so badly? I don’t know, because if I win, it’s going to be awesome for about two minutes, and then we’re going to get to the next week and it’s going be like, hey, you won two majors this year. How important is it for you to win the Fedex Cup playoffs? It’s just like we’re back here again, you know? So we really do. We work so hard for such little moments. And you know, I’m kind of a sicko. I love putting in the work. I love being able to practice. I love getting out to live out my dreams. But at the end of the day, sometimes I just don’t understand the point. Keith. It was a long five plus minute answer from Scheffler yesterday. He talked about that competitive fire and grind as you heard, but it is interesting to hear the most dominant golfer in world number one saying winning is not fulfilling. How did you read into Scottie Scheffler comments? Well, you know, a lot of this comes from perspective, Ben. You know, I’m not quite sure that Scottie Scheffler has ever slept in his car in order to make it on the mini tours or do anything else. He’s never really worried about the end game financially when it comes to the game of golf, and he’s been very blessed in that way. So I don’t know. Points of that conversation seem almost contradictory to me where he’s like, yeah, it’s not a big deal. I’m going to celebrate for two minutes, but then I’m going to turn around and I’m going to wake up every day at 530 in the morning, and I’m going to grind to make sure that I do win. I, I think at times he just kind of was like a little bit circular in what he was trying to say there that, yeah, I get it that his generation of golfer wants to be as good of a dad and wants to have a work life balance and wants to do all of these things, but at the same time, like, and yes, that’s much different than Tiger and what in what I would have grown up on like in in being a fan of golf, but like I don’t buy into all of it, to be honest with you. You know what I mean? I think it’s great. And I think that people that are publicizing that, you know, it makes the game more attractive at the highest level. But, I mean, the guy made like $80 million last year. He doesn’t have a care in the world. Of course, he could just go out and grind and do his thing and act any way he wants to. I don’t quite buy into it, and if I was the rest of the field, I’d be more worried than I would be like, hey, everything’s going to be okay. Scottie doesn’t care that much. I, I’d be worried this week. I got to tell you one thing on this, because I think it brings up some great points here. And if you have a PR machine for the PGA tour, what are some of these pros actually telling us right now? Scotte Scheffler, who’s got more money than anything, is like, I don’t even like this sport right now. Great. That’ll get me to buy in. Or even Xander Schauffele saying I win these awards in like throw them out the window. Gold medal. Proud of my country. No idea where that’s even at. Like what has gotten into the golfers in the water over there this week here? I mean, Donny, that’s exactly where I’m going with this, right? Like, I mean, at one point these guys are grinding on the range and 100 degree heat wherever they live in some warm climate. And then they’re going to tell us at the end of the day that that, you know, 22 minutes later that they don’t care. I just don’t buy it all. I think that a lot of it I it just doesn’t make any sense to me, to be honest with you. It is a really interesting, introspective look from Scottie Scheffler. The idea that winning is not fulfilling, but yet he grinds to win as often as he can, and he has won more than anybody we’ve seen as of late. Plenty more from the open with Keith next. Like Montreal, like has a new coach. Like I might be the new coach in Montreal in two weeks. Like they have a new coach all the time and they always have. Oh yeah, we’re playing a new system. They’re like, they have a bunch of like 20 year old players and kids on the pitch. Anyone that’s good, they sell and they trade for money all the time, like it’s a real disaster. But they hit a new low tonight. Getting eliminated by the forge. Sports rage tonight only on Sports Grid. One that really sticks out to me the most George. And he’s having a fantastic season is James Wood of the Washington Nationals. I mean, yes, Cal Raleigh’s fantastic. Don’t get me wrong. He’s like a candidate for MVP of the American League. But every time I look up George James Wood is either getting five hits or being walked four times in a game. What a season for this guy. And he’s so young. Was he 22? So what a future this kid has ahead of him. Fantasy sports today only on sports grid. The best white American prospect since Larry Bird. And think about how Larry Bird kind of came to magic and transcended the game. We’ve talked about for a long time. LeBron’s towards the end. You know towards the end Steph Curry’s towards the end. Who is going to be the American face of basketball betting. Above the rim. Only on sports grid. The game is on. The stakes are high. But the action isn’t just on the field. We’re raising that roof. Get it inside. Sports grids in game Live, your ultimate second screen experience. Couple one and a half point live line. Every prop, every play, every day. Anything can happen. It’s complete chaos. Ha ha! It’s smarter to be on sports grid. So we just played you the clip of about a five minute answer from Scottie Scheffler about winning being unfulfilling, but still appreciating the competitive grind in trying to win more than most a point he didn’t really hammer home that he still wants to beat the brakes off of everybody, which leads to the reactions that we just saw. But Keith, you mentioned something that I think the natural fan then takes, well, does this guy not want to win? Should I even think he’s going to end up hoisting the Claret Jug as the Champion golfer of the year at the end of Sunday in Northern Ireland? Keith, you had the opposite reaction. The field should be worried as Scotty almost seems too comfortable. Here are the odds on world number one Scottie Scheffler to finish top five plus 115 -175 top ten. Of course, the very short outright price at plus 450 as the tournament favorite entering the 153rd playing of The Open Championship. Keith, after the quote, what do you expect that is Scheffler this week in Northern Ireland. I expect Scheffler to do Scheffler things. Ben, Donny, you know this golf course is probably one of the more Americanized links venues. And I don’t mean that by the setting and the coastline and the weather and everything, but these are small target greens. And if we want to get into Keith’s keys for the week real quick, you have to be a great player here. And that’s Scottie superpower. The guy hits his targets. These greens are about half the size of what we saw last week in Scotland. They’re about half the size of what we see at Augusta National and places like Oakmont. You’ve got to hit precise places. You’re going to be out in the wind. You got to control your flight, your trajectory, your spin. With your iron game. Scottie will be involved. The biggest problem I see for Scottie is that when he gets in, he gets on the greens over there on these fescue grasses, very slow greens. He tends to get frustrated very easily in his four starts over there at the open. He’s never gained with the putter and he’s going to need to see some sort of a green light there in order to get past the top seven or top five. Is he get a top ten? Yes, smash that bet. But is he going to carry the Claret Jug home with him and then put it on the shelf next to, you know, or put it in the closet next to Zander’s gold medal? I just don’t see that happening. And I’m certainly not going to bet him pre tournament at a number that short. The Open Championship. The one thing we know Keith is that this these golf courses certainly at some times can be like hey is it unplayable. Not because the course itself but the weather that creeps in which makes it so much fun to wat. Tell us a little bit about Royal Portrush, but more importantly, the weather conditions that are expected here over The Open Championship this weekend. So, Donny, there’s no other week that you know, that blue screen pops up behind me any more than this week and I have to go into Al Roker mode. But the fact of the matter is, is that we it looks like there’s going to be rain all four days. The worst of the rain is going to come. Yeah, it’s going to come Thursday afternoon into Friday morning. The good news is, is that it doesn’t look very windy. And you are right there on the coast. So the wind could be an even bigger factor. These guys can play in the rain. There’s a bit of bounce over there. So my second Keith’s Key of the week is that you need some around the green acumen, some short game, you know. And when you look at the second favorite like Rory McIlroy, the kid grew up there, right? And speaking of kids, at 16 years old, he set the course record there by shooting 61. You’re going to miss some of these targets. Shane Lowry led the field when he won in 2019 there by hitting the most greens in regulation. You’re going to miss some this week. And when you do you’re going to need to be able to get the ball around. And you know it’s a huge key in all of this. And in order to hit more greens, the last key of the week is that you’re definitely going to have to hit some fairways. Look at that leaderboard Shane Fleetwood, Finau, Brooks Westwood back in 2019. Those guys are straight flushers of the golf ball. They hit fairways. They hit greens. That’s what you’re going to have to do. And you know this week with the weather it’s going to be wet. That will only help them score better. The wind doesn’t look that bad right there on the Emerald Isle in Northern Ireland. It is the beauty of links golf as we know it each and every year. On display at the open. The day might start with bright blue skies, still might be a little frigid, and within 30 minutes it’s a downpour. In. The winds are howling in a completely different direction. So, Keith, those are the keys. Now time for the early liens on the early line. Our fourth and final major championship of the year. Golf’s oldest major at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, who performs well this week at The Open and has a chance to be crowned the Champion Golfer of the year. I honestly think Jon Rahm sits at a decent number. There’s a lot of value for him at almost three times the price of Scottie Scheffler plus 1200. He is. He is my first early lean this morning. Rahm has been really, really good in this championship. He’s got a couple top fives in his last three in his last four British Opens. I mean look what he’s done in the majors this year a 14th and eighth a seventh. You know last year at Troon he finished seventh after he showed up at the US open. And he withdrew because he had a sandal on and his foot was hurt. I mean that was an impeccable performance last year he came out of the bad weather wave and then, you know, he’s back for more second last week in Liv, Spain. You know, I don’t I like the fact that he didn’t win. I love Jon Rahm this week. I think he gets the job done. He puts the ball in play. He’s a heavy ball striker in that wind and in the weather. And he was t-11 there in 2019. The second guy, he was good last week. We talked about him last week as one of our early leads, and I’m going to go back to Matt Fitzpatrick. And a big reason for that at plus 5500 is that I think there’s a ton of value there for a guy that can win a major championship in that middle tier. We start talking about all these guys that haven’t won before, right? Matt’s proven it and he did it on a small target classically designed golf course there at the country club back in 2022. In the US open he was fourth at the Scottish Open, eighth at the rocket. And in all of that the ball striking was really, really good. But the putter hadn’t popped. And last week I said when he gets back to the United Kingdom and the British Isles on those fescue greens, it was going to go crazy. He gained seven with the putter last week. I love me some Jon Rahm this week. Give me the Spanish bull. Give me Matty fits right over there from the UK. These guys are ready to handle this thing. I think a European wins the 153rd Open Championship. We take a look at the top of the leaderboard right now, particularly with the odds mark at a 7 to 1 price. On Rory McIlroy plus 450 on Scheffler. We already spoke about Scottie Scheffler here. Rory McIlroy in Ireland. What are the expectations and what do you expect out of Rory this weekend? I think he’s one of the most dangerous guys, you know, I don’t like to bet guys at single digits pre-tournament. But there’s a there’s no doubt that obviously Augusta helped him. But he’s back to being Rory McIlroy. The kind of like slide that we saw in there late April, early May, early June Rory is back to being fixed on this championship. And I tell you what, if you’re over there, everyone I’ve talked to over there, everything is all day, Rory. And, you know, it’s somewhat consumed him. Donnie, back in 2019 that it was the first time it came to Ireland, his home course, he had the course record there and he goes out, shoots 79 in the first round. That’s not going to happen again, right? The 65 in the first round is something more along the lines I expect. And if you want a really fun bet for tomorrow first round top five, you can get Rory at plus 500. He’s just got to finish in the top five places. He’s plus 700 to win after four rounds. You give me 18 holes, Rory’s going to come out strong. And I tell you what, the guys that have won this championship over the last five years have been very good in the first round, because it’s tough to catch up in the weather. They are going to go out strong tomorrow. So your rahm’s, your Scotty’s your Rory’s. I think they’re all going to attack because they have to. And I love the fact that Rory has that disappointment from last time. Didn’t even play the weekend plus 500 for top five plus 250. You could get a third of his winning odds for a top ten tomorrow. I’m absolutely smashing both those bets, and I think everyone else should too. A great way to approach Rory back at home in Northern Ireland. Of course, when Rory finally completed the career Grand Slam in the first major of the year at the Masters, it was his first major championship of any kind in 11 years. Can he round Not do. Last week at the Scottish Open was out last year. Family, your religion and Rutgers golf. Keith how about our guy from the Garden State? Chris got her up winning the Scottish Open and the emotion he displayed on 18 when he held on for that tournament crowd. Absolutely electric. The only thing I didn’t love about it is I had him on my betting card at the John Deere, and I didn’t keep him at the Genesis, so that was a little that that hurt the team. But you know what though? Great family, great junior golfer from new Jersey. And this kid, you know what? He was the college player of the year when he transferred to Oklahoma in his last year, when he had an extra year of eligibility. I mean, college player of the year, a lot of expectations on him. That was a huge field in that, you know, in that Genesis Scottish Open, almost a signature field. And he absolutely stared Rory down and did it. I love the all black. I love the chains. Give me more Chris got up Keith. We got to cut the part about that one year in Norman at O.u. It is the pride of Rutgers Chris Cotter. That is it. We appreciate the time more. Till next. Time for the sprint. Let’s go. Streaking here don’t mean streaking through the quad I mean streaking in Major League Baseball, which is what the Boston Red Sox actually are doing right now. Tom 911 912 on the rotation. You have to put some stock into them, especially with their hitters with the Red Sox are doing their scoring runs early. They’re scoring runs late. Doesn’t matter if it’s a walk off. They’re putting up runs consistently, hits consistently. Pro baseball today only on sports grid. One of six from beyond the arc yesterday. I think at best he’s a reserved player. But again that’s at best for the next few seasons. I don’t think he has a 7 to 10 year NBA career. Most kids are like, hey dad, play anor year in the NBA. Understanding that like, hey, we get dad home and it’s fun to watch him on TV, but this kid is actually like, dad, please play so I can play the early line only on Sports Grid. Obviously he didn’t do great in the last two majors. And you know we’re going home here. We’re going to Northern Ireland. Royal Portrush this is this is Rory’s the reason why we’re going here. Got off to a rough start throwing his tee shot out of bounds back in 2019 I think he’ll be ready. Not yet ready to call in the winner. I still have a couple of days before I do that, but it is a home game for him. And as you saw based on this weekend, he is playing well in game live only on Sports Grid. Aaron Judge is great, but if you want to talk about full contributions to a team, maybe I’m biased as a former catcher myself, but I think Cal Raleigh is working a little bit harder than everybody else, and I think Cal Raleigh should be right in this thing. If he sits that single season home run record for a catcher, I think that’s probably what it’s going to take for him to overtake judge. I don’t think it’s impossible for him to get there. I think it’s unlikely. Fantasy sports today only on sports grid. A five game slate in the WNBA on this Wednesday. It is our final day of action of games before the all star weekend in Indianapolis. The festivities begin on Friday. Three point contest. Skills challenge in the WNBA all star game, led by captain Caitlin Clark and captain Napheesa Collier on Saturday inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Jay white is here. That’s the coach James Young, to look back on a doubleheader last night in the W. And our final day of games on this Wednesday. Jay thanks for being here. Some reaction to the opening half of the season in the WNBA as well. We’re always glad for your time. Great to be on with you. And I don’t know if you call this kids day or camp day WNBA kind of like a women’s college basketball. Some early games starting at noon, Eastern Standard Time today, three of those games two Jay Wise point, camp day, Kids Day, whatever. You slice it, we’ve got some early afternoon basketball in the WNBA. One of the prime time games tonight is in Brooklyn, between the New York Liberty and the Indiana Fever. Of course, a marquee matchup. But now we have to ask the question again, Jay. Why? Well, Caitlin Clark, be out there a big all star weekend in her home of Indy is expected she will play or compete in the three point contest. She is one of the captains of the all star squads. But despite a fever win last night on the road in Boston against the Connecticut Sun, the worst team in the W, that being te sun 8577, Connecticut did cover as a 15 .5. Dog. Clark exited the game in the final minute as they said she could have re-aggravated the groin injury that held her out for five games already this year. Another poor shooting night for Clark, but a plus minus of a plus 21 eight boards and seven dimes j y. Let’s start with the injury. How concerned are you about Caitlin Clark’s health and her availability entering All Star weekend? I’m extremely concerned. Let’s be honest, Ben. This is the money ticket. This is the biggest player in the sport. And to see her go down with his injury possibly a second time, with about 35 seconds left to go in the game, I would be number one stunned if she played tonight versus the Liberty. The lines have already moved about a point and a half two points already, so it gives you an indication of what they’re thinking, even though it hasn’t been announced as as of yet. But also All Star weekend. This is a this is a there’s going to be a big meeting Ben over the course of all star break. And that’s negotiations with the WNBA which I fully expect a work stoppage. They need Caitlin Clark there. But the problem is if you’re Indiana I don’t think she plays in the game. If anything, maybe just a three point contest, but I wouldn’t even risk it there. At the end of the day, the best thing for this kid is to get some rest and try and do it for the playoff run. Kind of similar to what the Liberty has done with Jonquel Jones when she rolled her ankle again. You know what shelf? You just hope we get it to the final eight for the playoffs and then make our run exactly healthy or no healthy. She’s got to be there for the WNBA, but more important for her team there and a playoff stretch, even if they don’t make it, sometimes you just got to shut it down. If she keeps getting injured, what’s the point of that happening here? But as we talk about no rest for the weary coach, it is like a college basketball Saturday. Today, a noon tip off in Chicago. The dream and the sky get us started off in the right direction. A double digit favorite from the dream here. What are the expectations today from the sky at home? And more importantly, how many rebounds we getting out there with Angel Reese today? Well well done. Angel Richmond under her rebound prop last game. To me I’m looking at Camila Cardoso to go over points plus rebounds. I kind of look at the matchup inside with double big versus double big meanings Reese and Cardoso versus obviously a Brionna Jones and BG Brittney Griner. So I’m going to go to the Camila Cardoso, who put up some pretty good stats as of late, and I think with the size actually is the only one, I think, in the WNBA that can look at Brittney Griner basically at I68 versus six seven. So I look for Cardoso to go off. Meanwhile, I like the Atlanta Dream. This team played really good basketball as of late. You look at their play with Allisha Gray, we should talk about that top ten in the WNBA, which I thought was absolutely wild that I saw yesterday. I sent it to you guys. Well actually I only said it to Donny. He probably looked at it himself anyway. But to me looking at that, I like the dream minus a point here. I think this is a good way for them to go into the all star break. Struggling at seven and 14. I know the dream of not covered three of the last four, even more than I think. It’s like three out of the last ten they’ve covered. But I do like them in this spot today versus the Chicago sky, minus the points. Yeah, tough for Chicago G angel Reese not expected to play today in the final game for Chicago before the all star break. She’s been on a tear nine consecutive games of a double double in seven of in eight of those 915 plus points. Chicago. However, as a team seven and 14 this year j y when you look at the rest of our five game slate today, let’s hit on the marquee game that you mentioned, some line moveme. The Liberty, now a 9.5. Favorite at home. They’re not playing their best brand of basketball, but they have won a few in a row. Now entering the all star break, they desperately miss Jonquel Jones. But a nine and a half point spread even at home for the fever on a back to back. That’s probably an indication Caitlin Clark not expected to be out there. How does it change your view of the game tonight in Brooklyn? Yeah, I’m looking at the Liberty minus the points. I wouldn’t be risking it if I’m Indiana. So I look at Liberty minus a points. Look at Leona fever points plus rebounds. This kid was absolutely hot. Like fish grease eight of nine for her last game. People talk about missing jonquel but Leona missed some games. Two during that same stretch. They’ve starting to get her going six foot four guard shooting really well from three. And at six four is a you know you think about the liberty Ben. When they’re healthy they can go six, four, six, five, six, five across that front line. And all three of them with Stewy and Jonquel went healthy. They stretched it from three. That’s why obviously Liberty is still the favorite to win the WNBA championship. Quickly here. We’ll have a couple of minutes on the other side of the break as well. If you want to continue in the W. Really good one today early in the Twin Cities in Minneapolis, it’s the Lynx and the Mercury. A potential WNBA finals preview. The oddsmakers saying if it is Minnesota’s going to be a hefty favorite, they are perfect at regular season games at home this year. 11. And oh, and a ten point favorite today. How do you break it down? Well, obviously. Possibly no Satou Sabally and no Kahleah copper, so that’s why that line has moved up to about nine and a half, ten and a half shop around. But to me I would still take the points. Hope they keep it close. Liz Thomas should be able to keep them in the game. Watch out for Sami Whitcomb and her ability to knock down threes. Alyssa Thomas has been absolutely balling her fiance Dewanna Bonner, now with Phoenix, has also been really great as a reserve role as well. They’ve been an underdog and just keep winning because of the absences of Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper. Enjoy. Moneyline. On the early line. Change one out. And I showed you the Heisman odds a week or two ago, and they had Garrett Nussmeier s the second favorite behind Manning. So Brian Kelly’s very excited to have Garrett back at school. He is no athlete in my opinion. You can quote me on that. Like he is a clumsy white dude and he sucked that like I’m being nice now. Now all of a sudden you’re talking about him being great. Whoa, slow down there, Coach Farrell. Coast to coast. Only on sports grid. Do you think that there’s a possibility that we could be looking at the board, wondering if he’s the long term answer at coach for the tide? I’m starting to feel like Alabama. I can’t believe I’m saying this. Craig is a sleeper. Fourth easiest schedule in the SEC this year. Ryan Williams is back. I think the friendly you know, these early season games against Florida State and Wisconsin that is friendly for Alabama Newswire only on sports grid. So you’re gonna have the suck uniforms the entire season with three games will give you with the best uniform. Those are the issues I have the powder Blues out for the Chargers. That should be every game. The Miami Dolphins old uniforms that they throw back to. That should be your uniform, not the trash you wear. Now the Patriots you ever seen them throw back with the little football player in the helmet. It is beautiful. But let’s keep the trash uniforms. The early line only on sports grid. Obviously he didn’t do great in the last two majors. And you know we’re going home here. We’re going to Northern Ireland. Royal Portrush this is this is Rory’s. The reason why we’re going here. Got off to a rough start throwing his tee shot out of bounds back in 2019 I think he’ll be ready. Not yet ready to call him the winner. I still have a couple of days before I do that, but it is a home game for him. And as you saw based on this weekend, he is playing well in game live only on Sports Grid. We’ve hit on three of the five games on this final day of WNBA action before the all Star break. We’ll see about Caitlin Clark’s availability tonight for Indiana on the road in a marquee matchup against the reigning champs in the New York Liberty in Brooklyn, but the line is now nine and a half in favor of New York. Maybe an indication Jay White is still here. We’ve talked about a potential WNBA championship set preview between the Lynx, the best team in the league, and the Phoenix Mercury, who have that second best record as of this moment, G and have been one of the pleasant surprises this yean the WNBA. I think another team you could mention in that same vein, Golden State Valkyrie’s five and a half point road dog today in the northwest against Seattle. Not often do you see an expansion franchise come in and perform in the way that the Valkyries have. They’d be a playoff team if the first half of the season was the end of the season. What do you like in this matchup today out in Seattle? Well, listen, you got to look at the play of the Valkyries and really being the surprise team in the WNBA right now. So I’m actually going to take the points I it’s hard to go against Golden State people. Just make sure you know that the head coach of Golden State Valkyries, and you wonder why the aces are struggling a little bit. Remember, she was Becky Hammond’s top assistant right now? I know Phoenix is has been fantastic, but then you got to give this lady coach of the year. Their win total I think was eight and a half before the season. And they have far smashed that. And they look like right now I think they’re like a six seed to make the playoffs. Seattle’s been struggling a little bit as of late. Just lost a home game to the Washington Mystics a couple nights ago. So I’m going to take the points. Golden state really plays well. If you want to go a different way. Look under really two two teams that are really good defensively, particularly in the half court, ten and 11 is the record for Golden State. But even being a game below 500, we’ll see where they get at the halfway point tonight would put them in a playoff spot tied with the aces both at ten and 11. But taking the final two spots that you see there or battling for that final playoff spot, I should say Jay White has been a disappointing season for Vegas, a team that came up short in the semis last year of their two time title defense. But in the previous two seasons, the WNBA champions could enter the all star break at best even 500. That is the expectation. The aces a road favorite tonight in Dallas, Paige Bueckers has been sensational. She has already won. Not actually, but they are etching her name already into WNBA rookie of the year. Her wings team though struggling. They are six and 16, second worst record this season. Tonight in Dallas Paige Bueckers and her wings against A’ja Wilson and the aces. What do you like. Well I’m going to go with the aces minus the points I know the aces have been pretty poor as of late. Not covering Twitter the last three games, but Dallas is kind of limping their way in. Been not covering the last three games and losing by 1911 and 30. And it’s not been the play of Paige Beckers. Let’s be brutally honest, she’s been as good as advertised. It’s been a Rico Wiley who struggled a little bit with her game, and it’ll be interesting to watch as we get to the WNBA early. Second half is a pre-K someone that looks to be moved at the deadline, because that could be someone that could really help a team try to get over the hump. If they’re trying to win a championship. It is interesting as well. G Dallas has been dealing with injuries. Enrique hasn’t been fully healthy all year. Even Paige Beckers has missed a few games. But in the 17 that she has played, she has scored 20 plus in eight of the 17, including in the loss over the weekend against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever. But Jenny Carrington still not out there listed as questionable due to the rib injury today against Las Vegas. So we’re about to enter All Star weekend in the W. Let’s look at those WNBA championship odds and G plus 180 price on the Liberty as the reigning champs. Minnesota the best team in the WNBA. A 2 to 1 number. Those two teams separated by just two dimes. Is it a two team race to compete for that WNBA championship, or are there more contenders in the fold? Well, I think you have to look at really Phoenix if they get Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally with Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner, who got the check and got the hell up out of Indiana as quickly as possible. She is a six man is absolutely dangerous, but you still got to look at Indiana. Can they find a way to get it right? The issue that you have right now with Indiana is they have the third toughest schedule, strength of schedule. The rest of the way, the WNBA, I expect it to be New York versus Minnesota. But something tells me Phoenix will have something to say about it because they’re well balanced and they’re well coached, and they have enough veteran leadership, particularly with Thomas and obviously in Dewanna Bonner, that they can make a run at the title as well. The Mercury have won three straight eight of their last ten double digit dog today against the Lynx. Again in that potential finals preview the fever 7 to 1 fourth best price around the WNBA. G. We appreciate the time as always a fade away not just to the break, but to today’s show. We’ll see you tomorrow, 8 a.m. Eastern on Sports Grid.
