Explaining Kristaps Porzingis’ leg injury; U.S. Open expert picks

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Good morning everyone, but especially…

THE US OPEN FIELD

Golf’s toughest test returns tomorrow to one of the sport’s most iconic courses, with No. 2 Pinehurst hosting the 124th U.S. Open.

Things kick off a few hours before tomorrow’s newsletter launches – 6:45am to be precise, and see how to watch — so let’s do our full preview today. Let’s start with some notable times:

• 7:29 – Will Zalatoris, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tiger Woods
• 7:40 am – Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Brooks Koepka
• 7:51 am – Tony Finau, Ludvig Åberg, Dustin Johnson
• 1:14 pm – Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler (Note: These are the top three players in the Official World Golf Ranking.)
• 1:25 pm – Brian Harman, Nick Dunlap, Wyndham Clark
• 1:25 pm – Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Max Homa

You can see all match times here. Notably absent is Jon RahmWho Withdrew with a foot injury which included an infection.

If you’ve paid attention to golf, you know that Scheffler is the obvious favorite (here are the odds), having won five of his last eight tournaments, including the Masters in April and the Memorial last week. He is the first player to enter the US Open with five season wins, including a major, since Arnold Palmer in 1962.

And if you haven’t paid attention to golf yet, welcome aboard! We have lots of things to get you started, like top stories, for those who support It is what to know about the course.

No matter how much you know about the sport, Kyle Porter’s ranking of the top 24 players It’s a must-read. It’s the names you’d expect – Scheffler, Morikawa, McIlroy and Schauffele – at 1-4. (I love his call at five.)

• Concierge: 5. Ludvig Åberg – “It’s shocking to think that as good as Åberg was as an amateur, this is his first US Open. He has been almost inconceivably good in his first year on the PGA Tour, with six top 10s and nine top 25s in 12 starts. Wonder if you want to enter majors with experience (especially the US Open), but I’m confident in how great he was at the Masters… And this was his first major appearance!”

Scheffler is the easy choice to win. But in our expert picksPatrick McDonald follows another path.

• McDonalds: Winner – Hideki Matsuyama (50-1): “Scheffler is more or less out at this point, so let’s add a little more excitement to this topic. Matsuyama thrives in two areas that will be heavily tested at Pinehurst: on approach and around the green. He is No. 1 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained on the green and is among the leaders in terms of close calls over 200 yards and bogey avoidance. Memorial and has a solid resume at the US Open, with a runner-up finish in 2017 and a top five finish in 2022.”

Kyle and Patrick also chose sleepers, top 10 locks and more.

Honorable mentions

And it’s not such a good day for…

KRISTAPS PORZINGIS AND THE BOSTON CELTICS

O Celts haven’t encountered much trouble so far this postseason, whether on their adventure through the Eastern Conference or on the way to a 2-0 NBA Finals lead over the Independents.

That is no longer the case.

Kristaps Porzingis It is day to day with a torn medial retinaculum, allowing dislocation of the posterior tibial tendon in the left leg. In simpler language, it’s basically a tear of the tissue that holds a bunch of things together in the ankle, including the tibial tendon. The tibial tendon connects the calf to the foot. If that tendon dislocates… well, that’s bad. we have one full explanation of this extremely rare injury.

What you really need to know is…

1. Joe Mazzulla called it “serious injury” two days after telling the team I wasn’t worried.
2. Mazzulla isn’t sure if Porzingis will play in Game 3.
3. It is unrelated to the right calf injury Porzingis returned from in Game 1.
4. The Celtics say the injury happened late in the third quarter of Game 2, although it appears he also strained his right calf in the fourth quarter.

I don’t want to speculate too much. After all, Porzingis is officially a diary. I will say this: Losing him at any point would be a huge blow to Boston. After a magnificent Game 1, Porzingis also had a strong Game 2. Boston is outscoring Dallas by 25 points in this series with Porzingis on the floor. Teams die even when Porzingis isn’t on the floor.

Porzingis scores everywhere, defends the rim and presents unsolvable problem for the Mavericks, as Sam Quinn wrote after Game 1. If Porzingis misses time, Al Horford would see a greater role, with reservations Lucas Kornet and/or Xavier Tillman also potentially buying more time.

On the other hand, Luka Doncic It is fighting an injury too, and Jasmyn Wimbish looked at the five teams that overcame a 2-0 deficit in the finals.

Not so honorable mentions

• Sam classified All 30 NBA Head Coaching Jobsand the Lakers didn’t do well after being rejected by Dan Hurley.
• Aaron Rodgers lost Jets minicamp practice on Tuesday due to a personal event, but it was still considered an “unexcused” absence.
• JT Realmuto go waste about a month after knee surgery.
• After some small talk, Xander Schauffele lost to Michael Jordan straight… into golf.

Joey Chestnut ineligible for Nathan’s hot dog eating contest

The GOAT will not be grazing in Coney Island on the 4th of July. Joey Castanha it was banned from this year’s Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest by Major League Eating because it partnered with Impossible Foods, a company that makes plant-based hot dogs and is a competitor to Nathan’s.

This is devastating. Regardless of how you feel about competitive eating, there’s no doubt that Chestnut is in a class of its own when it comes to hot dogs. He has won the iconic Hot Dog Eating contest 16 of the last 17 years and each of the last eight years. He holds the all-time record with 76 hot dogs and buns consumed in 10 minutes at the 2021 event.

MLE says Chestnut would be eligible to compete if it abandoned its partnership with Impossible Foods. That statement also called Chestnut “an American hero.” Listen, I don’t know if I would go that far, but I’ve watched Chestnut in a silent stupor far more than I care to admit.

Last year, Chestnut ate “only” 62 hot dogs, but that was still 13 more than second place Geoffrey Esper.

Golazo 100 nº 20-11: Messi narrowly misses the top 10

Today is the day! We’re announcing the top 10 players from our Golazo 100 this morning on Golazo Networkcrowning a true labor of love from our football team, from writers to TV analysts, researchers and more.

Tuesday, we revealed #20-11which includes a player who was No. 1 for a long time, notes Roger Gonzalez.

• González: 12. Lionel Messi– “The greatest player of all time. About to turn 37, playing in MLS, and he’s still at the top of the list. If that doesn’t describe his greatness, do you need anything else? After leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title in Qatar, he ended his time with PSG and made this move to InterMiami where he, as expected, made the defenders look like children. He has scored 25 goals in 29 games for the Herons and needs just five more to become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer. … he continues to defend himself as the best player in the world.”

What will we watch on Wednesday

USMNT x Brazil7pm on TNT
NBA Finals – Game 3: Celtics vs. Mavericks8:30pm on ABC