Happy Thursday, everyone! Hope you’re well.
Let’s get right to it.
Good morning to everyone but especially to…
AROUND-THE-CLOCK SPORTS!
Hope you have a comfortable couch, a bunch of screens and caffeinated drinks and delicious snacks aplenty: There are sports around the clock with The Open Championship and the Women’s World Cup burning the midnight oil and then some.
Let’s start with The Open, where our live blog is up and running and 6-foot-8 South African amateur Christo Lamprecht posted a 5-under 66 for a first-round clubhouse lead. 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink (3-under 68) and 2017 Open champion Jordan Speith (2-under 69) are in the mix early as well. You can check out the full leaderboard here, and here are some more stories to peruse as you settle in for the rest of the day:
Here are tee times and viewing information.
If you’ve been up, though, you may have caught the opening of the Women’s World Cup, with co-hosts New Zealand and Australia getting us underway. Here were those results.
- New Zealand 1, Norway 0
- Australia 1, Ireland 0
You can keep up with everything here and read Pardeep Cattry’s full preview here.
Honorable mentions
And not such a good morning for…
Getty Images
ZACK MARTIN AND THE DALLAS COWBOYS
One of the Cowboys‘ most important players — and perhaps their best player — is considering holding out. No, it’s not Dak Prescott or CeeDee Lamb or Micah Parson or Trevon Diggs.
Zack Martin is unhappy with his contract and weighing not reporting to training camp, which begins Wednesday.
- Martin, 32, is entering the fifth year of a six-year, $84 million extension he signed in 2018. The $14 million annually is ninth-highest among guards.
- Martin has received six first-team All-Pro nods in his nine years as a pro. Only Randy White and Bob Lilly (both Hall of Famers) have more in Cowboys history with seven, and only Randall McDaniel and John Hannah (also both Hall of Famers) have more among guards in NFL history, also with seven.
- Martin has missed just nine games in his career.
It’s sometimes hard to quantify just how good offensive linemen are with numbers, but how about these: Historically, when Martin is on the field, Prescott has been pressured on 33.1% of his dropbacks. When Martin isn’t on the field, Prescott has been pressured on 38% of his dropbacks.
Long story short, the Cowboys need to figure this out, and quickly.
Not so honorable mentions
🏈 50 questions and 50 under-the-radar players ahead of NFL season
Getty Images
Wednesday marked 50 days until the NFL season opens, and we here at CBS Sports celebrated appropriately. Let’s start with 50 facts to know ahead of the season from Doug Clawson and Ryan Satsky. Here are some of my favorites:
- An emerging historic rivalry? “The Chiefs have company in the AFC as the Chiefs and Bengals have met in the past two AFC Championship games. They could be the third matchup to meet in three straight conference championship games (1974-76 Steelers/Raiders, 1992-94 Cowboys/49ers).”
- Bad omen for Philadelphia? “The last 17 QBs to lose their Super Bowl debut have not made it back to the Super Bowl. That’s bad news if you’re Jalen Hurts (among others).”
- New faces… again. “Every NFC South team will have a different starting QB to begin this season compared with Week 1 of 2022. It’ll be the second division in NFL history where every team had a different season-opening starting QB from the previous season (1973 AFC West).”
My thoughts on these? The Chiefs and Bengals won’t meet in the AFC Championship Game, and the Eagles will return to the Super Bowl with Hurts as quarterback (this year, in fact).
Those aren’t my only thoughts. I also wrote about 50 under-the-radar players who could shape the 2023 season. Here are three I’ll have my eye on in particular.
- “Kadarius Toney, Chiefs: In the lone game Toney played at least 40% of the snaps for the Chiefs offense last year, he turned six touches into 80 yards and a touchdown. In the Super Bowl, he caught a touchdown and nearly returned a punt for another.”
- “Joe Tippmann, Jets: Aaron Rodgers has had plenty of solid centers throughout his career, and the Jets hope Tippmann, a second-round rookie from Wisconsin, can be the next. Given Rodgers’ propensity to call his own plays and improvise after the ball is snapped, Tippmann has a big ask in a year the Jets have big expectations.”
- “Jaelan Phillips, Dolphins: Last season, 50 different players took at least 400 pass rush snaps. The fastest average time to apply pressure among those 50? Phillips at a blazing 2.29 seconds. … Phillips has 15.5 sacks through his first two seasons, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes close to that this season alone.”
Every team gets at least one player on this list.
🏈 Ranking throwback NFL uniforms for 2023
Getty Images
Teams across the NFL are going back to the future this season with throwback uniforms aplenty. The Seahawks were the latest team to reveal theirs, one day after the Vikings unveiled their blasts from the past.
Our Jeff Kerr ranked all of the throwbacks currently in rotation, and I have no qualms about his top spot.
- Kerr: “1. Miami Dolphins — 1972 home and road jersey: There isn’t a throwback uniform in the NFL that can top the Dolphins, who don the uniforms of the only perfect season in NFL history. … If any uniform combination defines a franchise, it’s the Dolphins’ uniforms they wore during their glory years. Miami needs to make these throwbacks permanent.”
But to me, Seattle’s throwbacks deserve some love. I mean, look at these beauts! This brings me back to Steve Largent behind the defense and Cortez Kennedy in opponents’ backfields… and I wasn’t even born yet! The Seahawks were one of the most pleasant surprises in the NFL last year, and these uniforms make me like them even more this season.
You can see Jeff’s full rankings here.
🏈 SEC Media Days: Nick Saban on quarterback battle, new coordinators
Getty Images
For the last seven seasons, Alabama‘s quarterbacks have ranged from superstar to Heisman winner. Jalen Hurts to Tua Tagovailoa to Mac Jones to Bryce Young isn’t a bad run. But with *gasp* two straight seasons without a title, Nick Saban is only focused on who can restore the Crimson Tide’s spot atop the sport. Speaking at SEC Media Days, Saban said “I don’t think anybody has actually separated themselves yet to this point, and I don’t think it’s something that we’re trying to rush …”
- Jalen Milroe — who started in place of an injured Young last year in a win over Texas A&M — and Ty Simpson battled it out in the spring, though neither impressed in the Spring Game.
- Then Alabama added former Notre Dame starter Tyler Buchner from the transfer portal, reuniting him with offensive coordinator Tommy Rees. Saban praised Rees and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele — both new additions this season — Wednesday.
As for the team Alabama and everyone else is looking up at, Georgia was also at SEC Media Days, and Dennis Dodd wrote on how the Bulldogs’ “COVID babies” 2021 recruiting class has vaulted the program to consecutive titles.
- Dodd: “Of the 20 high school players that signed with Georgia that year, 17 remain on the roster. That’s an 85% retention rate during arguably the most challenging recruiting window in history. … ‘It’s only that hard if you don’t recruit the right people,’ Kirby Smart said. … ‘We’ve retained those guys because we’ve invested in them as freshmen. We’ve invested in them as sophomores. They’ve seen kind of return on investment for older players that stuck around.'”
📺 What we’re watching Thursday
⛳ We’re watching The Open. Here’s how.
⚽ We’re also watching the Women’s World Cup. Here’s how.
🏀 Dream at Sun, 11:30 a.m. on NBA TV