As Drue Nicholas approached the tee box of hole No. 1 at Merion Golf Club early Monday morning, he felt jittery.
“[I was] just shaky,” Nicholas said. “It’s like I had a lot of caffeine, but I didn’t have any caffeine.”
The Egg Harbor Township native took the first drive of the U.S. Amateur Championship at his home club, marking the return of the nation’s premier amateur tournament to Merion for the first time since 2005.
Nicholas overcame some early-round nerves to shoot a 71, leaving him tied for 46th at 1-over in the 312-player field Monday afternoon, with many of them still on the course.
Nicholas was a four-time all-Coastal Athletic Association golfer at Drexel before graduating in 2025. He won the Philadelphia Open in July and qualified for the U.S. Amateur with a two-under round during U.S. Amateur Final Qualifying at Llanerch Country Club in Haverford Township.
That qualification opened the door for the Merion member to compete at his home course in his second U.S. Amateur. He finished stroke play 9-over par in the 2025 tournament at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
Nicholas became a member at Merion in April and estimated he’s played the course 20 times since joining.
He had some trouble through the front nine, with bogeys on Nos. 1 and 6 and a double bogey on hole No. 5, but back-to-back birdies on Nos. 11 and 12, plus an early birdie on No. 3, kept him in contention to make the 64-player match play bracket on Wednesday.
“The back five here are obviously very difficult, but I think I plotted my way around them pretty well,” Nicholas said. “I was thinking they’re hard, but if you hit it in the fairway, there are opportunities. Once I got through the first six holes — granted, I was 3-over and a little disappointed — but I knew I could do something on the back stretch.”
Nicholas had a sizable crowd cheering him on Monday that included family, friends, former Drexel teammates, and Merion members.
After he tapped in a putt on the 18th green to finish his round, he took a moment to pose for a photo with the group that had come out to support him.
Caleb Taylor, Nicholas’ former teammate and roommate at Drexel, said seeing Nicholas compete on this course was a “proud moment.”
“Everybody that loves golf knows Drue,” Taylor said. “He really embraces the golf culture of Philadelphia. As a former Drexel teammate of his, we’re proud as teammates and alumni. He represents Drexel really well. He represents amazingly. He’s a great guy.”
Nicholas will spend Tuesday fighting to make the match play cut at Philadelphia Country Club, which is cohosting the qualifying stroke play with Merion. He’s much less familiar with the course at Philadelphia Country Club, but playing a round away from his home course may relieve some pressure.
While the cut line for match play will be set after Tuesday’s rounds, Nicholas is hoping he could make it with a 1-under round at Philadelphia Country Club on Tuesday.
“If I miss out shooting even, I can sleep at night,” Nicholas said.
Philly roundup
Joshua Ryan missed out on the Philadelphia Open championship in a playoff with Nicholas, but the Norristown native got off to a hot start at Philadelphia Country Club on Monday.
Ryan shot a 67 with six birdies and sat two strokes back of the lead. Ryan, a former golfer at Liberty University, will try to shield his place in the match play bracket at Merion on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be a different test tomorrow,” Ryan said. “You could very easily shoot a high number over there. I’m just going to keep playing. It’s nice to have a little bit of a cushion, but we’ll see where the field sits at the end of the day and just keep playing good golf.”
Downingtown’s Nicholas Gross finished his round at Merion 3-over, and Newtown Square’s Hunter Stetson was 6-over at Philadelphia Country Club.
Charlie Barrickman, 18, of West Chester, tees off on the sixth hole during the U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club.Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Some players, including three locals, were delayed by a thunderstorm that led to play being suspended at 5:02 p.m. Players were able to return to the course shortly before 6 p.m.
At Merion, Charlie Barrickman (West Chester) and Michael Lugiano (Jackson Township) both finished the day at 1-over.
Patrick Isztwan (Huntingdon Valley) shot 8-over in his opening round at Philadelphia Country Club.
ST. LOUIS — The overburdened Phillies bullpen has been dealt another blow.
Right-handed reliever Caleb Kilian was placed on the 15-day injured list with a left oblique strain, the Phillies announced ahead of Monday’s series opener against the Cardinals.
Kilian felt a grab in his left side during his second-to-last pitch in the 12th inning of Sunday’s home win over Toronto. Interim manager Don Mattingly said afterward it “didn’t look good,” and Kilian remained back in Philadelphia to get imaging, which revealed a moderate strain.
“Disappointing for us, disappointing for him, I believe too,” Mattingly told reporters. “Guys don’t want to get hurt not being there, but we got to move on and next guy up type thing, and we’ll go from there.”
The Phillies’ bullpen has been extremely taxed in the last week. The club is in the midst of a stretch of 14 consecutive games before a day off Friday, and played three extra-inning games during its just-completed homestand. Kilian suffered his injury while making his fourth appearance since arriving in Philadelphia on Aug. 4.
To fill Kilian’s spot, the Phillies recalled right-hander Chase Shugart. He had previously been optioned to triple-A Lehigh Valley on Sunday to open a spot for Alan Rangel as emergency relief depth. Since Shugart is replacing a player on the injured list, he does not have to stay in the minor leagues for the typical 15-day minimum.
“We didn’t really want to send [Shugart] out in the first place,” Mattingly said. “We like what he does for us, and just give us an opportunity to bring him back.”
Shugart has a 4.93 ERA in 38⅓ innings this season. He pitched the 10th and 11th innings on Saturday and took the loss against Toronto after giving up a two-run homer to Nathan Lukes.
Harper ‘sore’, back at DH
Bryce Harper was back at designated hitter Monday against the Cardinals, and Kyle Schwarber started at first for the second time in the last three games.
Mattingly said that Harper has been dealing with “general soreness,” which the Phillies are trying to manage. He fouled a ball off his knee sometime before the All-Star break, which the Phillies have been managing.
“That’s kind of been there, but we figured him getting out [in right field] was going to kind of push some things,” Mattingly said. “Stay on top of it. Him and I talked. Making sure that we’re not going to run him into the ground.”
Alec Bohm was out of the lineup against Cardinals right-hander Hunter Dobbins to allow Schwarber to move to first base. But Mattingly said that he’d rather not have Schwarber mix in at first too much, adding that he was still “absolutely” committed to Bohm as his first baseman.
Mattingly acknowledged the play on Saturday against Toronto when Bohm’s indecision prevented him from getting an out on a ground ball hit to him, but said that there were several other plays that Bohm has made “look easy” at first.
“I think he’s been really good over there,” Mattingly said. “His wingspan is so big, and it’s just a great target for guys. It think you see Trea [Turner has] just kind of picked up since he’s been over there. [Bryson] Stott’s been good. I like Bohm over there a lot. I think he does a great job.”
Extra bases
Turner was out of the lineup on Monday for a day off, with Edmundo Sosa starting at shortstop. … Catcher J.T. Realmuto also had a day off, with Garrett Stubbs behind the plate for starter Andrew Painter. Mattingly said he wanted to pair Realmuto with Cristopher Sánchez on Tuesday and Zack Wheeler on Wednesday, and also wanted to give Realmuto a break from the heat in St. Louis. … Sánchez (15-4, 2.65 ERA) is scheduled to start Tuesday opposite Cardinals righty Andre Pallante (12-6, 3.63).
As the scandal around FIFA president Gianni Infantino continues to upend the soccer world, the U.S. Soccer Federation has finally offered the kind of strong words that fans have been waiting for.
In a joint statement Monday with Canada Soccer and regional entities in Central America and the Caribbean, U.S. Soccer said they all “stand together, along with our colleagues around the world, in calling for meaningful change that strengthens FIFA’s governance, transparency and accountability.”
It wasn’t a direct call for Infantino’s head, but it was as close as one could come politely. And it came on the heels of another fiery statement from Concacaf early Monday morning, this time offered jointly with the Asian and European confederations.
“When trust is broken through deception, when an individual places himself above the collective that entrusted him with authority, that duty has been abandoned,” the statement said.
Concacaf president Victor Montagliani (second from left) with Asian soccer leader Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa (center) and FIFA president Gianni Infantino (right) at the FIFA Congress in Vancouver in April.Verity Griffin
While Infantino again was not named directly, the words were clearly aimed at him. One source with knowledge of the matter framed the statement in the political terms of an invitation to resign peacefully before things get any hotter.
The statement was notably signed not just by the confederations, but with the names of all three bodies’ presidents and general secretaries. That will sting Infantino’s pride, as the three regional presidents are also FIFA vice presidents: Concacaf’s Victor Montagliani of Canada, Asia’s Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim al-Khalifa of Bahrain, and Europe’s Aleksander Čeferin of Slovenia.
They took further aim at Infantino’s desire to privatize the World Cup by creating a company within FIFA — a non-profit — and selling shares to investors including Josh Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin (left) with Gianni Infantino at a game in 2024.Matthias Schrader
“It did not acknowledge that the proposal itself was inherently wrong,” Monday’s statement said. “There remains no recognition that attempting to sell an interest in the FIFA World Cup was a profound failure of judgment — not just a procedural misstep, but a fundamental breach of trust with the very institutions FIFA exists to serve.”
The statement also pointed at Infantino’s crisis meeting at FIFA’s satellite office in Rabat, Morocco, last Wednesday — instead of the real headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland — and how no members of FIFA’s official governing council were invited to attend.
Instead, there were just a few members of FIFA’s “Management Committee,” an entity few people even knew existed before now. Some of those members who did not attend included chief operating officer Kevin Lamour, who a few days before then slammed Infantino in a statement by saying the president “deceived” FIFA staff, “and if that means I lose my job, then so be it.”
FIFA’s chief football officer, former U.S. women’s national team coach Jill Ellis, also was not at that meeting. Nor was another coaching legend who’s now a FIFA executive, Arsène Wenger, who had said it was “absolutely necessary” to ditch the privatization idea.
Jill Ellis (top row, center) in Gianni Infantino’s suite at the U.S.-Belgium World Cup game with other big names including longtime U.S. star Alex Morgan (top left) and U.S. Soccer president Cindy Cone (bottom left).Nick Didlick
But while much of the world has turned against Infantino, it’s far from unanimous. The South American and African confederations have given him strong backing.
There also is not unanimity within Concacaf. Mexico’s federation publicly backed Infantino on Friday, which raised a lot of eyebrows.
Still, the signers of Monday’s statement cover the entire rest of Concacaf: the U.S., Canada, the 31 members of the Caribbean Football Union, and the seven in the Central American Football Union.
A source with knowledge of the matter said Mexico is allowed to have its own opinion, but currently stands alone within the region.
There are still lots of questions about the whole situation, and a long way to go for everything to play out. For now, though, it’s safe to say two issues stand above the rest.
The first is whether, if Infantino doesn’t resign, someone will run against him for the presidency next year. Montagliani has been floated as a candidate, but he hasn’t yet said if he’s going to do it. A candidate must have five nominations from FIFA member nations, and the deadline is Nov. 18.
Coincidentally, that’s five days before the long-planned FIFA Congress to confirm the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica, and Jamaica as hosts of the 2031 women’s World Cup. It will be interesting to see how that goes, especially if Montagliani is in the race.
The second question could require an answer soonest. UEFA is still threatening to boycott all FIFA competitions. It said last Thursday that “assurances have to be made that such attempts to disfigure the game in this way will never be made again,” and those haven’t come.
Mexican soccer federation president Mikel Arriola (left) with his counterparts from Jamaica, Costa Rica, and the U.S. at last year’s announcement of their joint bid to host the 2031 women’s World Cup.Ron Blum
That puts next month’s under-20 World Cup in Poland in the spotlight. Right now, Concacaf is not threatening to join the boycott threat. But since the tournament will take place in Europe, fans will naturally wonder if Poland will refuse not only to play in it, but to host it.
None of the sources The Inquirer has spoken with have wished that on the players, but there’s a widespread understanding that it might have to happen in order to keep hitting Infantino hard.
There have also been questions behind the scenes about whether Concacaf, UEFA, and the AFC could organize something among themselves, but the discussions have been very preliminary.
Eagles special teams coach Michael Clay doesn’t think Jake Elliott fell out of love with football, but he did see a kicker last season whose body language was that of a player who was being hard on himself.
It is an isolating position. The snap and hold need to go well, sure, but so much rests on the swing of an NFL kicker’s leg, and the precision with which his foot hits the ball, that any decrease of their confidence level can lead to poor results.
Elliott, the team’s primary kicker since 2017, had one of his worst seasons in 2025. He went 20-for-27 on field goal attempts. That 74.1% conversion rate was his second-worst season-long performance, barely edging out his 73.7% (14-for-19) effort in 2020. Elliott converted 93.8% of his field goals in 2023, which included a 7-for-8 mark on kicks of 50-plus yards. But the two seasons that followed have not been particularly good. Elliott is 48-for-63 over his last two regular seasons, and that 76.2% clip rates as one of the worst marks for a primary kicker in the league.
Elliott may have lost confidence in himself, according to Clay, but the Eagles maintained confidence in their kicker. Elliott, 31, is the only kicker in camp and, barring an injury or the unforeseen, will enter his 10th season as the team’s kicker.
Asked Monday his reaction to the team sticking by him, Elliott said he loves playing for the Eagles and is happy to still be in Philadelphia, but …
“You’re always competing,” he said. “There’s 32 of these jobs in the world, so you’re always competing with everybody.”
Jake Elliott (right) is trying to shake off a 2025 season that was below his usual standard. Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
The competition is mostly with himself. Elliott said he took his normal approach to the offseason despite coming off one of his worst seasons. He looked back at what happened in 2025 — “We played in a lot of really windy games last year,” he said — and tried to learn from it.
He spent his offseason here. The deep dive into 2025 results found issues with kicking in the wind, so Elliott would do his best to replicate the wind whenever he could. Lincoln Financial Field presents winds that tend to blow into the kicker and left to right, Elliott said, so if he could find that wind, he would. He kicked on high school fields that were particularly open and susceptible to higher winds. He kicked at Penn’s Franklin Field, where the wind swirls.
Elliott showed up at training camp feeling good, and Clay said he noticed.
“You never want to see them kind of get out of sorts in terms of their body language,” Clay said last week. “So, for me and him to have our own personal talks, I think he’s done a really good job since then in terms of his body language, being better and not necessarily getting down on himself on things he can’t control. Control what you can control. If you’re able to be on top of that, there’s going to be things in life you can’t control. You’re not going to be able to control mother nature. You’re not going to be able to control the distance we put you out there.”
Jake Elliott remarked on the impact of windy conditions on his 2025 season, but also missed kicks in better weather like in Los Angeles. Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Elliott didn’t lose his love for football, he said Monday. It was a fair question considering Clay remarked in May that Elliott had to “fall in love with the game again,” but the crux of the coach’s comments were about Elliott finding his confidence again.
“A confident kicker is a dangerous kicker,” Clay said in May.
Said Elliott: “I’ve always loved the game. I always will love the game. I don’t think that’s necessarily in question. It’s just, how can you be better?”
That’s what the offseason was about, refining his contact and dialing in on his ball flight.
The result?
“I’m extremely confident in myself right now,” Elliott said. “I feel like I’ve had a great offseason, I’m putting together a good camp, I feel like I’m striking it best I have in a while. Every day is a new day. Just trying to build on it.”
The Flyers announced on Monday that they loaned forward Jack Berglund to Färjestad BK of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) for the duration of Färjestad BK’s 2026-27 season.
A second-round pick in 2024 and one of the Flyers’ top center prospects, Berglund played 40 games with Färjestad BK last season, netting seven goals and adding five assists.
The 6-foot-4, 217-pound left-hander also captained Sweden’s World Juniors team in January, leading to a gold medal while scoring 10 points in seven games, three of which were goals.
The 20-year-old forward signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Flyers on April 9, making his AHL debut with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms two days later.
Berglund scored one goal in his five games in the AHL.
“It was a great experience,” Berglund said about his AHL experience during the Flyers Development Camp in June. “It’s a different type of game with the small rink, for example, and different type of systems, and all of that… So I think it was, it was fun to like to get to play those games and get to know how it is over here.”
Berglund will continue his development overseas with the Färjestad BK season slated to start on September 19, while the Flyers will be in the midst of their training camp.
Flyers rookie camp will begin Sept. 11, with main camp beginning Sept. 17.
The top four teams from the MLS after three Liga MX vs. MLS matches will go on to the knockouts alongside the top four Liga MX performers.
Sitting on three points after two matches, the Union are not mathematically eliminated from advancing, but they would need a lot of help to jump from tied for 10th to inside the top four on the final match day.
Next is the Union’s assumed Cup finale against Santos Laguna at Subaru Park on Thursday (7 p.m., Apple TV). If the Union aren’t going to advance or hoist a trophy from their Leagues Cup run, what can they bring back with them into the MLS schedule?
The most obvious answer is rest. While interim head coach Ryan Richter said the team plays to win, the selection for Sunday’s match allowed for some rotation.
With qualification to the knockout stage already a long shot, Milan Iloski was able to sit with the substitutes for the second time this season before playing the final 30 minutes.
Frankie Westfield did the same, coming off the bench for the third time this season.
If the Union are mathematically eliminated by Thursday’s match against Santos Laguna, Richter could use that game as an opportunity to dig into his expanded 30-man Leagues Cup roster and rest some key players.
Union’s Kai Wagner kicks the soccer ball against Necaxa during a Leagues Cup group stage game on Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The top candidates for a night off includes Kai Wagner, who’s played 420 of a possible 450 minutes since returning from Birmingham City in July, Danley Jean Jacques, Jovan Lukić, and Nathan Harriel.
“We probably will know exactly where we’re at by [Thursday],” Richter said after Sunday’s match. “You have to take your decision on how to approach the game. And it will be a little different. That’s the reality of it.”
Richter will also hope to have gathered more information about his personnel and how it fits together by the time the Leagues Cup ends.
With the Union on a solid stretch since their return from the FIFA World Cup, it would be easy to forget that Richter has only coached five matches at the professional level.
The Leagues Cup has allowed Richter to see how his players perform in competitive, physical matches.
“We can try different things,” Richter said. “Try some players that you might not use in a league game to see exactly where they’re at, and see if they have a role that they can play in the first team.”
The Cup has allowed Richter to continue to tinker with his tactics, too. When the Union were in need of a goal late against Cruz Azul, Richter shifted his team to the same formation that sparked its three-goal comeback against Atlanta United in MLS play.
“Even though we didn’t get the goal, I think it was a tactic we could use again if we’re chasing a goal at the end of the game,” Richter said. “It’s trying some new things. I don’t know the team [perfectly].
“I don’t know the players, everything about them yet, so it’s still trying to learn a little bit about what the best fit is, in what moment of a game, and who you can rely on for a role, and what role guys can carve out for themselves.”
Union interim head coach Ryan Richter greets player Cavan Sullivan during a second half substitution on Sunday.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
If the Union are lucky, their performances might hold up once they get back to league play. While the goal never came, Richter’s squad played an impressive second half against Cruz Azul.
The Union never looked back after jumping out to an early lead over Necaxa, something the club has struggled to do for much of the first half of the season.
It’s also a good sign that three different Union players other than Iloski scored. Sunday’s win was the Union’s eighth outing with three or more goals scored, and the third without Iloski on the scoresheet.
Cavan Sullivan and Bruno Damiani both broke scoreless streaks, with the latter punching in his second goal of the season.
As the team tries to pull itself back into the playoff picture, Damiani is hoping that the club’s Leagues Cup run will give it a boost once it returns to league play.
“We need to focus now on the Leagues Cup, but then when it’s over, let’s go back to MLS and let’s go back to the things we did well,” Damiani said. “Most of the principles are the same. It changed the competition, but not us.”
Former Phillies left fielder Gary Matthews will be part of the Class of 2026 inductees into the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum’s Hall of Game.
Matthews, 76, will be joined by Ralph Garr, Reggie Smith, and Andre Thornton in the Class of 2026, which will be inducted in a ceremony on Sept. 26 at the Gem Theater in Kansas City.
Matthews played 16 major league seasons, including three with the Phillies, from 1981-83.
Matthews was the National League Championship Series MVP in 1983, after helping the Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers with a .429 batting average, three home runs, and eight RBIs in the series. In his more than 400 games with the Phillies, Matthews had a .279 batting average (.281 for his career).
Nicknamed “Sarge,” Matthews was a first-round draft pick in 1968 by the San Francisco Giants. He also played for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, and Seattle Mariners. He won National League Rookie of the Year in 1973.
Matthews served as a color analyst for the Phillies broadcast team from 2007 to 2013, alongside Harry Kalas and Chris Wheeler during some of his career.
His son, Del Matthews, who works as the Senior Vice President of Baseball Development for MLB, said his family made the trip to Kansas City to see his father’s best friend, Dusty Baker, receive the honor, which was an “unforgettable experience.” Now, to see his father enshrined alongside Baker and Jerry Manuel, Cito Gaston, and Willie Randolph, Del Matthews said is “profoundly meaningful to [their] entire family.”
“My father loved this game, but more than that, he believed in opening doors for those who came after him,” Del Matthews said. “We are forever grateful to [President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum] Bob Kendrick, who has worked with us at Major League Baseball to teach our young development players about the legacy, grace, and history of the Negro Leagues. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum ensures that the sacrifices, brilliance, and stories of these men continue to inspire generations to come.”
Garr played 13 seasons with the Braves, Chicago White Sox and California Angels. Smith played 17 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and Giants. Thornton had a 14-season career with the Cubs, Montreal Expos and Cleveland.
The second annual JL Wilkinson “Innovator” Award is being presented to longtime sports journalist Rob Parker.
The Hall of Game, established by the museum in 2014, honors former major league greats who embodied the spirit and signature style of the Negro Leagues.
The Las Vegas Aces are owned by Mark Davis and Tom Brady, who also own the Las Vegas Raiders, where pass rusher Maxx Crosby twice hit quarterback Kirk Cousins during plays at a training camp practice Saturday, which led to a fight between them, which led to them being suspended from Sunday’s practice … which was the second-dumbest thing that happened involving a Davis-Brady team this weekend.
On Thursday night, “Point Gawd” Chelsea Gray hit buzzer-beater 3-pointers at the end of regulation and at the end of overtime to upset Caitlin Clark in Indiana.
On Saturday afternoon, the Aces went cold after the first quarter and lost to the Lynx in Minnesota. Three-time league MVP A’ja Wilson looked flat.
This all happened while I was on vacation, but I know this because my family watches the WNBA like Donald Trump watches the stock market.
So imagine, then, our dismay when, on Sunday, we tuned in to the afternoon game between the Aces and the New York Liberty — a game we considered attending — and discovered that Wilson, Gray, and five-time All-Star Jackie Young would not play. At. All.
This would be like the Bulls showing up to face the Knicks in 1995 and sitting Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman because they’d played in Dallas three days prior and in Houston the night before.
You might recall the Bulls’ stars suiting up for marquee games. NUCCIO DINUZZO / MCT
This was fraud. This was theft. This was a Becky Hammon tantrum, and fans in the arena and around the country suffered for it.
The outrageous nature of this clear act of rebellion cannot be overstated.
But I will try.
This was a nationally televised Sunday afternoon game that led off the eighth of ABC/ESPN’s nine “Women’s Sports Sundays.” It also was the “Legends Weekend” game for the Liberty, where they recognized former stars. This was a must-see game as the season enters its homestretch, with both rivals squarely in the playoff hunt.
Imagine, then, the dismay of the 17,082 fans who paid about $150 to watch Dana Evans, bless her heart, start her second game in two years with the Aces, and score two points, and turn the ball over three times.
The Aces never led, trailed by 23 after the third quarter, and lost by 40.
It should not be surprising that Hammon employed this disingenuous line of reasoning. After all, these shenanigans were pioneered by her NBA mentor, Gregg Popovich, on whose Spurs staff she learned a lot more about pro basketball than just the high screen-and-roll.
From pitch counts to minute restrictions to scheduled losses, load management has become a distasteful aspect of professional sports. This was far more than load management.
This more likely was Hammon — a spunky sort who in 2023 dissed Jalen Brunson and whose handling of a player’s pregnancy got her suspended for two games in the same year— making a statement of defiance at the league’s challenging scheduling of Aces games during this stretch.
Why was it more than load management? Simple.
Because Hammon didn’t have to sit all three players for the same game. She could have sat Wilson on Saturday, then sat the other two Sunday. Or vice versa. Or, more logically, she could have sat all three Saturday, against the Lynx, the league’s top team in a lower-profile game, then played all three Sunday with more of the world watching.
Instead, she sat three of the league’s better players against a rival that plays in the league’s biggest media market.
Unlike the NBA, the WNBA does not have a player participation policy with guidelines and mandates regarding not playing star players. Clearly, it needs one.
We already knew what Phillies president Dave Dombrowski was about, and what he wasn’t. Elizabeth Robertson / Staff Photographer
Phillies complaints are silly
Maybe it’s the malaise of the dog days of summer, but it’s become tiresome hearing complaints that a team knowingly built to be deficient defensively, with scant resources given to the bullpen, keeps losing games because it can’t catch the ball and it can’t pitch past the sixth inning.
In 2022 and 2023, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski told anyone who would listen that, when he added Trea Turner to a team that already had Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, and Alec Bohm, said team would not steal games with leather; rather, they would win them with wood. The Phillies are, by most metrics, a mediocre defensive team. By observation, after their defensive realignment as a result of the trade for Luis Arraez, they are easily bottom-five.
Further, Dombrowski’s consistent legacy in Florida, Detroit, Boston, and Philadelphia, where he combined to win five pennants and two World Series, included his haphazard construction and maintenance of bullpen talent. The Phillies’ bullpen, plagued by both injury and ineptness, is second-worst in baseball.
They are as advertised.
Deal with it.
LIV stud consigned to obscurity?
The peculiar path of Joaquin Niemann, the best golfer in the history of Chile, proves both the overall weakness and the hidden strength of LIV Golf’s existence.
Niemann joined LIV in August 2022 for a reported $100 million. He’s won nearly $80 million more, including a total of $4.3 million when he won his ninth LIV event Sunday at Trump Bedminster. That’s not only the most wins in the league’s brief history, it’s as many as Bryson DeChambeau’s five wins and Jon Rahm’s four wins combined. DeChambeau is tied for second with Brooks Koepka, but Koepka won’t win on LIV again since, like a rat aboard a sinking ship, he abandoned LIV in December to return to the PGA Tour.
Earlier this year Koepka, DeChambeau, Rahm, and Cameron Smith were courted by PGA Tour czar Brian Rolapp to return.
Each had won a major title, and, from DeChambeau’s social media superstardom to Smith’s magnificent mullet, each has created an international brand that would enhance a PGA Tour that utterly lacks charisma.
Cameron Smith, who wears a magnificent mullet, tees off at hole 2 during the final round of the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Only Koepka accepted the offer, but, with LIV foundering, there will be other offers. Rolapp should court Niemann, too.
He is, without question, not only the most successful golfer in the history of Chile, but also the most successful golfer in the history of LIV. Considering he has competed against fields that included Pat Perez, Yubin Jang, and Frederik Kjettrup, this is a dead, cold fish of a compliment, but Niemann has made that bed for himself.
As accomplished as he has been on LIV, no one can sanely argue that Niemann has been as good a player as DeChambeau, Rahm, or Koepka. In the 16 majors since the beginning of the 2023 season, Niemann has just three top-20s and two top-10s. Koepka, meanwhile, has five top-20s, two top-10s, and a win; Rahm has eight top-20s, seven top-10s, and a win; and DeChambeau has nine top-20s, seven top-10s, and a win.
However, one can reasonably argue that no golfer sabotaged his legacy more than Niemann by going to LIV. I believed this would be the case when he left, and I believe that’s how it has played out.
When he defected, Niemann had just won nearly $1 million by tying for ninth at the Tour Championship, the capstone event on the PGA Tour. He had won the Genesis Invitational and had spent most of the year ranked inside the top 20 in the world, peaking at No. 15.
Niemann left the Tour at the top of his game. He was tracking to become the next … Collin Morikawa? Matt Fitzpatrick? Justin Thomas?
We may never know.
Or maybe we will.
Joaquin Niemann stunted his growth by defecting to LIV. George Walker IV
Niemann won on the DP World Tour in 2023 but had fallen to 182nd this past March. Now, LIV’s product and personnel generally stinks, but Niemann hasn’t really been the 182nd best golfer on the planet since he was a teenager. He quickly proved that when LIV this year began awarding ranking points for top-10 finishes.
Niemann has won twice on LIV and he’s earned seven total top-10 finishes worldwide, one of them a tie for seventh at the U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. He also tied for 18th at the PGA Championship at Aronimink.
Rolapp can invite anyone back any way he likes. Niemann has said he would return to the PGA Tour if LIV collapses, but, unlike Koepka and Patrick Reed, who returns later this month, Niemann doesn’t seem particularly eager.
Maybe he likes beating up on the Harold Varners of the world. Maybe he’d rather compete on mediocre courses in member-guest condition. Maybe he just prefers playing in shorts.
At any rate, it is unfortunate. Niemann’s absence is the golf world’s loss.
There is time.
Niemann turns 28 in November. That’s how old Arnold Palmer was when he won the first of his seven majors and is just one year older than Koepka was when he won the first of his five.
But just imagine what Niemann might have accomplished in the last four seasons during partial absences of Koepka, Rahm, and DeChambeau.
Just consider what Scottie Scheffler has done in the absence of the big LIV quartet. Does that sound far-fetched? Well then, consider also that, like Niemann, at one point in 2022, Scottie was ranked No. 15 in the world.
Drexel’s Daskalakis Athletic Center was filled with laughter, hugs, reunions, and lots of stellar basketball on Sunday.
The 21st annual Danny Rumph Classic hosted its fourth women’s championship game Sunday, and though the competition was intense, players and fans were there to support the Daniel E. RumphII Foundation, and many described Sunday as a “homecoming.”
“This is just one big happy family,” Delaware County native Joy Morton said of Team Harper. “That’s the only way I can put it. You see people that you grew up with, that you played basketball with, all coming out for a good cause.”
The five-day pro-am tournament raises awareness and donations in support of research into hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the heart condition that caused Danny Rumph to die unexpectedly in 2005 while playing the game he loved.
Ashley Jones is a Philly native who graduated from Neumann Goretti.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
Since then, the Rumph Foundation has been committed to providing defibrillators and CPR training at recreation centers and Boys & Girls Clubs in the area. The pinnacle event of the year is the annual men’s classic, which over the years has welcomed NBA stars, including Jalen Brunson, Jayson Tatum, Tyrese Maxey, and more. On Friday, Jaylen Brown made an appearance to watch from the sideline.
Team Copper and Team Harper faced off Sunday in the final, where Team Copper secured a 62-61 overtime victory. The final point was scored by Ashley Jones, a graduate of Neumann Goretti. She was named co-MVP alongside Azana Davis.
“That’s what excites me,” said Rumph’s mother, Viola Owens, after the game. “We get all these young kids here, and look at her [pointing to Jones] — her mother was carrying her when we first started. I had to go hug her, because her father and Danny were friends, and I remember when she was just a little kid, and now she’s MVP.”
Generations of players were on the court and in the stands. Kids ran around shooting hoops between games, and conversations constantly paused to watch the women dunk or to greet old friends.
“I’ve been coming since they were still holding this at Mallery [Recreation Center],” said Kristen Hart, an assistant principal at Mastery Charter School. “I’m real excited for this game, because I know all these people, some of them were my students, and there’s a lot of good basketball in Philadelphia, and it’s competitive on every level.”
Molly Masciantonio played four years at La Salle and was named an assistant coach for the Explorers in May.Steven M. Falk / For The Inquirer
Team Harper held a narrow lead for much of the game, with Taylor O’Brien scoring 27 of the team’s 61 points, until Team Copper shut down O’Brien. That strategy worked, allowing Team Harper — named after Philadelphia basketball legend Laura Harper — to take home the trophy.
“When I got asked to play [for Team Harper], I was honored, of course I’m going to play,” said Molly Masciantonio, who played at La Salle and is now an assistant coach there. “Especially with the women having this sports culture in Philly, all coming together and showing little girls that they can play this game and make a life doing it. I’m really proud of this team and this event.”
The women’s championship is followed by the men’s championship on Monday night, where in years past the gymnasium has sold out, and the excitement for the final was already brewing.
The best amateur golfers in the country are coming to the Philadelphia area this week for the 126th U.S. Amateur Championship from Monday to Sunday.
The tournament will be held at the historic Merion Golf Club in Ardmore for the first time since 2005. Philadelphia Country Club in Gladwyne will serve as the co-host for the first two days of stroke play.
Here’s what to know before the competition begins.
What is the U.S. Amateur?
The U.S. Amateur is the oldest tournament held by the United States Golf Association, starting in 1895. It is one of the most prestigious events in amateur golf and has produced a long list of golf’s best, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Bobby Jones, who won the amateur at Merion in 1930 and won the Grand Slam.
The tournament is open to amateur golfers with a Handicap Index of 0.4 or better. There are 312 players competing for the Havemeyer Trophy this year, with the field determined through a two-stage qualifying process with 5,111 entries.
Forty-seven of the top 50 in the Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking are in the field this week. No. 1 Preston Stout, the current Division I NCAA individual champion with Oklahoma State, No. 3 Tyler Watts, and No. 4 Miles Russell, who finished runner-up at the U.S. Junior Amateur at Saucon Valley Country Club, will play together at 1:30 p.m. on Monday at Merion and 7:33 a.m. on Tuesday at Philadelphia Country Club.
Mason Howell, the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, will look to defend his title. Howell was 18 years old when he won at The Olympic Club in San Francisco. He defeated University of Tennessee’s Jackson Herrington in the 36-hole final to become the third-youngest champion in tournament history.
Forty-five states and 36 countries are represented in the field. There are 12 past USGA champions and 13 runners-up.
Mike McCoy, 63, is the only player in the field to have competed in the 2005 U.S. Amateur at Merion.
How many locals are in the field?
Ten players from Pennsylvania will compete in the championship, with many from the Philly area. Drue Nicholas, 23, of Egg Harbor Township is the only Merion member competing in the field this week.
Nicholas, who graduated from Drexel, recently won his second straight Philadelphia Open, becoming the second player in history to sweep the Philadelphia Open and the Philadelphia Amateur in the same year.
Nicholas Gross, 19, of Downingtown; Hunter Stetson, 20, of Newtown Square; Charlie Barrickman, 18, of West Chester; Michael Lugiano, 20, of Jackson Township; Patrick Isztwan, 23, of Huntingdon Valley, and Joshua Ryan, 22, of Norristown are all competing.
How does the tournament work?
The U.S. Amateur is decided through both stroke and match play.
The first two days, Monday and Tuesday, are stroke play. Every player will play 18 holes each day, with one round at Merion’s East Course and one at Philadelphia Country Club.
After 36 holes, only the 64 lowest scores will advance to match play.
The Round of 64 begins Wednesday, the Round of 32 and 16 on Thursday, followed by the quarterfinals Friday, the semifinals Saturday, and the championship match Sunday.
The final match is 36 holes and the eventual champion will have to win six consecutive match-play rounds to claim the title.
The event will air live on Peacock and NBC. Here’s the television schedule:
Wednesday
Round of 64: Peacock/NBCSN, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Thursday
Round of 16: Peacock/NBCSN, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Friday
Quarterfinals: Peacock/NBCSN, 3 p.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday
Semifinals: Peacock, 3 p.m.-4 p.m.
Semifinals: NBC, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Sunday
Championship Match (Afternoon 18), Peacock, 3 p.m.-4 p.m.
Championship Match (Afternoon 18): NBC, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.
Tickets to attend the tournament are available on the USGA’s website.
What does the champion receive?
The championship comes with significant benefits.
Along with a gold medal and the Havemeyer Trophy, the winner will receive exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Amateurs, the 2027 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and the 2027 Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland, as long as one remains an amateur. The winner is also likely to receive an invitation to the 2027 Masters.
No. 9 on the East Course at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore.(Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
What’s the history behind Merion?
Merion’s East Course opened in 1912 and was designed by Hugh Wilson. It has hosted some of the most important tournaments in golf history, including 20 USGA championships.
Ben Hogan won the 1950 U.S. Open at Merion and Justin Rose won in 2013.
The U.S. Amateur has been played at Merion five previous times. In 2005, Italy’s Edoardo Molinari defeated Dillon Dougherty in the championship match.
Merion will host the U.S. Open in 2030 and the U.S. Women’s Open in 2034.
