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Good morning! Squeeze in a Masters nap today.
Moving Day: McIlroy closing in on career Grand Slam
Rory McIlroy enters today in position to win a major. Yes, it’s a familiar story for the Northern Irishman, who hasn’t actually won one in 11 years. But this time feels different.
Today marks the first time he has had the lead entering a final round in a major since the 2014 PGA Championship, his last major win. The ghosts of years past? Nowhere to be found, currently.
He opened yesterday with a 371-yard drive before making an easy birdie putt. Another booming tee shot on No. 2 helped set up a textbook chip-in eagle.
🚨 RORY CHIP-IN EAGLE 🚨
SOLO LEADER AT THE MASTERS pic.twitter.com/hXie5CA0Hw
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 12, 2025
Same story on No. 3, where he walked in his birdie putt. Again … and again … and again. His six consecutive threes to start his round were a first in Masters history.
But Bryson DeChambeau would not go away. Yesterday, he carded a third straight sub-70 round, bookending the latest with a pair of birdie putts from outside 40 feet. It calls to mind his final-round duel with McIlroy at the 2024 U.S. Open, the one that slipped away from McIlroy.
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Entering today’s final round, McIlroy sits two shots clear of DeChambeau, who’s two ahead of the field. Today, however, will be about McIlroy versus McIlroy.
Anything can happen on Masters Sunday. This feels like McIlroy’s to lose and DeChambeau’s to steal. The duo tees off at 2:30 p.m. ET on CBS. Buckle up.
Chaos: A wild NBA regular season comes to a close
We’ve reached the final day of a season that was largely defined by one of the most confounding trades ever.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd even seemed to embrace a comparison to perhaps the only trade the Luka Dončić deal is unlikely to eclipse. “Someone compared it to Babe Ruth, which is kind of cool,” Kidd said after Dončić dropped 45 points days ago in his return to Dallas.
Does that mean Kidd has accepted the Mavericks are the Red Sox in that scenario? The same Red Sox who were then subject to the “Curse of the Bambino” and didn’t win a World Series for 86 years? 😬
It’s still all so incomprehensible. Somehow it feels like the whole NBA has simultaneously lost the plot:
- The Grizzlies, then in fourth place, fired head coach Taylor Jenkins with nine games to play. And then the Nuggets suddenly decided they’d had enough of 2023 championship coach Michael Malone and GM Calvin Booth with three (!) games left. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla summed up the current staying power of NBA head coaches: “I wake up every day saying this could be my last day.”
- Months before then, the 76ers created a big three by adding Paul George to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey … and finished 13th in the East. The trio played just 15 games together. George looked like a shell of himself, and Embiid’s MVP days may very well be behind him.
- Speaking of floundering superteams: What in the world happened to the Suns? Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal combined to form the most expensive roster in the league. Yet Phoenix couldn’t even make the Play-In Tournament. The Suns’ future looks bleak.
- And who could forget Jimmy Butler holding the Heat hostage and ending up on the very-much-contending Warriors?
How about the most overlooked storyline in the NBA this regular season? I asked The Bounce’s Zach Harper:
💬 If on the final day of last season, I told you a year from now the 47-win 76ers were going to sign George while the 14-win Pistons were signed Tobias Harris and Malik Beasley, and the Pistons were going to end up with 20 more wins than the Sixers, there’s not a single person who would have believed me.
The sixth-best single-season win improvement in NBA history! Next, entering the playoffs, let’s get to the contenders:
- The defending champion Celtics certainly look poised for a repeat. Reminder: This is more or less the same team that barely broke a sweat en route to Banner 18 a year ago.
- The betting favorite to win the title? The Thunder (+175, per BetMGM), who are 15 (!) games up in a stacked Western Conference and have more wins than any team since the 2016-17 Warriors. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has run away with the MVP race, but do the young Thunder have the experience to win a title?
- The Cavs, the No. 1 seed in the East, almost feel like an afterthought despite winning 64 games. Cleveland would be a sizable underdog to Boston in a potential ECF, but this team is a legit contender.
The Play-In Tournament starts Tuesday. For now, catch up on everything that’s at stake on the last day of the regular season.
News to Know
Tennessee, Iamaleava split after NFL-style holdout
So much for that. Tennessee is moving on from quarterback Nico Iamaleava after a possibly precedent-setting weekend. Iamaleava and his representation had attempted to renegotiate his NIL contract from an estimated $2.2 million toward $4 million. Instead, Iamaleava’s absence from practice Friday forced coach Josh Heupel’s hand. Vols fans, and most of the college football world, seemed to back Heupel’s decision. Did Tennessee’s move make future holdouts less likely? Stay tuned: We’ll have more on what the saga means in our free CFB newsletter.
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More news:
What to Watch (Besides Golf)
📺 Formula 1: Bahrain Grand Prix
11 a.m. ET on ESPN2
Last week’s race in Japan was boring, almost everyone agreed. The track layout in Bahrain suggests more action. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri is on pole. More from a pre-race mailbag with Luke Smith and Madeline Coleman here.
📺 NBA: Clippers at Warriors
3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
One of two national TV games on the last day of the regular season. The Warriors will be the No. 6 seed with a win. A loss, combined with a Timberwolves win over the Jazz, would send Golden State to the Play-In.
📺 MLB: Cubs at Dodgers
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
The Cubs look good. Kyle Tucker is setting himself up for an MVP run and a big contract next winter. There’s depth behind him, too. The Dodgers are doing what they do (winning), but the Padres and Giants haven’t let them run away with the NL West just yet.
Pulse Picks
Gabby Herzig’s very serious dispatch on the latest Masters fashion trends.
The book “Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco.” — Alex Kirshner
“The Rehearsal” on Max. Season 2 is starting on April 20, and I can’t even begin to explain how ridiculous the first season is. Catch up on the six episodes of Season 1 if you haven’t seen it. I promise, you’ve never seen television like this. — Zach Harper
I started watching “The Studio” because of Zach’s recommendation two weeks ago. Elite TV that also makes me want to bury myself under a blanket while watching. — Chris Branch
An end-of-season list you do not want to be on: Our writers picked every NHL team’s most disappointing player for 2024-25.
I look forward to this addicting Passover treat every year. — Torrey Hart
Basketball twins. My alma mater, Illinois, signed Zvonimir Ivišić — twin brother of Illinois center Tomislav Ivišić. Guess I’ll need to buy matching jerseys for my 2.5-year-old twin boys. — Alex Iniguez
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Michael Salfino‘s fun story on how a child conquered one of the greatest challenges for NFL collectors.
When Kenji Lopez-Alt gives detailed breakdowns of highly accessible food and identifies things you wouldn’t. I mean, Popeyes chicken at extreme volume is … better? Who knew?! It’s just great Instagram-ing. 🫡 — Chris Sprow
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on things announcers can and can’t say at the Masters, again.
Most-read on the website yesterday: The Masters live blog.
Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
(Top photo: Gary A. Vasquez / Imagn Images)
This news was originally published on this post .
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Poslední vystoupení Lvíčat. Se Slovinci chtějí odvrátit historický neúspěch
Naděje na postup ze skupiny už českému týmu zhasly. Po porážkách 1:3 s Anglií a 2:4 s Německem je duel se Slovinskem poslední příležitostí, jak napravit dojem a rozloučit se se vztyčenou hlavou.Zápas má navíc symbolický nádech – s reprezentací U21 se loučí nejen většina hráčů, s výjimkou Alberta Labíka, Jana Koutného, Jana Palusky a Ondřeje Kričfalušiho, ale také celý realizační tým v čele s trenérem Suchopárkem.„Na zápas se moc těšíme. Věřím, že se všichni chceme rozloučit vítězně,“ uvedl na předzápasové tiskové konferenci záložník Patrik Vydra.Slovinci na rozdíl od českého týmu stále živí naději na čtvrtfinále. Potřebují ale zvítězit a zároveň doufat, že Anglie neboduje v zápase s Německem.„Nejsou v téhle situaci náhodou. Remíza s Anglií je skvělý výsledek. Jsou houževnatí a víme, že nás nečeká nic jednoduchého,“ upozornil kmenový hráč Sparty.Vzhledem k definitivnímu konci nadějí na postup lze očekávat změny v české sestavě. Slovinci naopak pravděpodobně nastoupí v plné síle, s motivací dotáhnout skupinovou fázi do úspěšného konce.Historie vzájemných zápasů mírně favorizuje […]
Spektakulärer Transfer – Traditionsklub holt Star aus Portugal in die Bundesliga
Verstärkung für einen Traditionsklub der Handball-Bundesliga.Der VfL Gummersbach hat Rückraum-Linkshänder João Gomes verpflichtet. Der portugiesische Nationalspieler hat einen Vertrag bis 2028 unterzeichnet. SPORTBILD hatte bereits vorab über diese Personalie berichtet.Handball: Gummersbach holt Star aus Portugal„Mit João bekommen wir einen wirklich interessanten jungen Spieler, der vor allem durch seine Schnelligkeit überzeugt. Zudem kann er auch auf Rückraum Mitte spielen, was ihn für uns zu einem sehr vielseitig einsetzbaren Spieler macht“, freut sich VfL-Geschäftsführer Christoph Schindler. „Darüber hinaus hat er in seinen jungen Jahren schon viel internationale Erfahrung gesammelt.“Foto: BILD<!-->]-->Mit dem portugiesischen Hauptstadtclub Sporting Lissabon gewann Gomes in den beiden vergangenen Spielzeiten jeweils drei nationale Titel und erreichte in diesem Jahr das Viertelfinale der Champions League. Mit der Nationalmannschaft erreichte er in diesem Jahr bei der WM erstmals ein Halbfinale und wurde am Ende Vierter. Wobei im Viertelfinale sogar das deutsche Team […]
Spektakulärer Transfer – Traditionsklub holt Star aus Portugal in die Bundesliga
Verstärkung für einen Traditionsklub der Handball-Bundesliga.Der VfL Gummersbach hat Rückraum-Linkshänder João Gomes verpflichtet. Der portugiesische Nationalspieler hat einen Vertrag bis 2028 unterzeichnet. SPORTBILD hatte bereits vorab über diese Personalie berichtet.Handball: Gummersbach holt Star aus Portugal„Mit João bekommen wir einen wirklich interessanten jungen Spieler, der vor allem durch seine Schnelligkeit überzeugt. Zudem kann er auch auf Rückraum Mitte spielen, was ihn für uns zu einem sehr vielseitig einsetzbaren Spieler macht“, freut sich VfL-Geschäftsführer Christoph Schindler. „Darüber hinaus hat er in seinen jungen Jahren schon viel internationale Erfahrung gesammelt.“Foto: BILD<!-->]-->Mit dem portugiesischen Hauptstadtclub Sporting Lissabon gewann Gomes in den beiden vergangenen Spielzeiten jeweils drei nationale Titel und erreichte in diesem Jahr das Viertelfinale der Champions League. Mit der Nationalmannschaft erreichte er in diesem Jahr bei der WM erstmals ein Halbfinale und wurde am Ende Vierter. Wobei im Viertelfinale sogar das deutsche Team […]
What to expect from Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson as a rookie
Editor’s note: This is the second story in a 10-part series looking at the most intriguing New England Patriots players ahead of training camp.Previously: Efton ChismThe Patriots’ biggest needs entering the NFL Draft were well known. They needed a left tackle, which they got with No. 4 pick Will Campbell. They also needed a wide receiver, which many around the league assumed they’d take in the second round.AdvertisementBut the Pats threw a bit of a curveball with the 38th pick. Instead of a wideout for Drake Maye, they went with running back TreVeyon Henderson, even after signing veteran Rhamondre Stevenson to an extension less than one year earlier.Still, the message was clear. The Patriots’ decision-makers felt they needed to add juice to an offense that has been the NFL’s least explosive the last three years (defined by passes of more […]
Kanada na úvod Zlatého poháru deklasovala Honduras
Kanada stejně jako před dvěma lety pořádá Zlatý pohár společně se sousedními Spojenými státy. Účastník minulého mistrovství světa v Kataru regionální šampionát v minulosti dvakrát vyhrál, naposledy v roce 2000.V druhém utkání skupiny B v San Jose remizovaly Salvador a Curacao bez branek.Zlatý pohár, fotbalové mistrovství Severní a Střední Ameriky v USA a Kanadě:Skupina B:Curacao - Salvador 0:0Kanada - Honduras 6:0 (2:0)Branky: 48. a 65. Buchanan, 27. Sigur, 45.+2 Oluwaseyi, 75. David, 90. Saliba.1.Kanada11006:032.Curacao10100:013.Salvador10100:014.Honduras10010:60
Falcons offseason will include plenty of golf, including a QB working on a ‘horrible’ game
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has been “addicted” to golf since his father introduced him to the game as a 5-year-old. Now, he’s starting to see the same signs in his quarterback.“Mike (Penix Jr.) is at the point where it seems like he is addicted,” Robinson said.AdvertisementRobinson played for four NFL teams and spent five years as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Rams before coming to Atlanta in 2024, and no team he’s been on has more golfers — or wannabe golfers — than the Falcons, he said. Penix, who was drafted eighth in 2024 and took over Atlanta’s starting job at the end of last season, noticed the same thing when he arrived and decided he needed to pick up the game to fit in.His game is a work in progress.“I started about […]
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Poslední vystoupení Lvíčat. Se Slovinci chtějí odvrátit historický neúspěch
Naděje na postup ze skupiny už českému týmu zhasly. Po porážkách 1:3 s Anglií a 2:4 s Německem je duel se Slovinskem poslední příležitostí, jak napravit dojem a rozloučit se se vztyčenou hlavou.Zápas má navíc symbolický nádech – s reprezentací U21 se loučí nejen většina hráčů, s výjimkou Alberta Labíka, Jana Koutného, Jana Palusky a Ondřeje Kričfalušiho, ale také celý realizační tým v čele s trenérem Suchopárkem.„Na zápas se moc těšíme. Věřím, že se všichni chceme rozloučit vítězně,“ uvedl na předzápasové tiskové konferenci záložník Patrik Vydra.Slovinci na rozdíl od českého týmu stále živí naději na čtvrtfinále. Potřebují ale zvítězit a zároveň doufat, že Anglie neboduje v zápase s Německem.„Nejsou v téhle situaci náhodou. Remíza s Anglií je skvělý výsledek. Jsou houževnatí a víme, že nás nečeká nic jednoduchého,“ upozornil kmenový hráč Sparty.Vzhledem k definitivnímu konci nadějí na postup lze očekávat změny v české sestavě. Slovinci naopak pravděpodobně nastoupí v plné síle, s motivací dotáhnout skupinovou fázi do úspěšného konce.Historie vzájemných zápasů mírně favorizuje […]
Spektakulärer Transfer – Traditionsklub holt Star aus Portugal in die Bundesliga
Verstärkung für einen Traditionsklub der Handball-Bundesliga.Der VfL Gummersbach hat Rückraum-Linkshänder João Gomes verpflichtet. Der portugiesische Nationalspieler hat einen Vertrag bis 2028 unterzeichnet. SPORTBILD hatte bereits vorab über diese Personalie berichtet.Handball: Gummersbach holt Star aus Portugal„Mit João bekommen wir einen wirklich interessanten jungen Spieler, der vor allem durch seine Schnelligkeit überzeugt. Zudem kann er auch auf Rückraum Mitte spielen, was ihn für uns zu einem sehr vielseitig einsetzbaren Spieler macht“, freut sich VfL-Geschäftsführer Christoph Schindler. „Darüber hinaus hat er in seinen jungen Jahren schon viel internationale Erfahrung gesammelt.“Foto: BILD<!-->]-->Mit dem portugiesischen Hauptstadtclub Sporting Lissabon gewann Gomes in den beiden vergangenen Spielzeiten jeweils drei nationale Titel und erreichte in diesem Jahr das Viertelfinale der Champions League. Mit der Nationalmannschaft erreichte er in diesem Jahr bei der WM erstmals ein Halbfinale und wurde am Ende Vierter. Wobei im Viertelfinale sogar das deutsche Team […]
Spektakulärer Transfer – Traditionsklub holt Star aus Portugal in die Bundesliga
Verstärkung für einen Traditionsklub der Handball-Bundesliga.Der VfL Gummersbach hat Rückraum-Linkshänder João Gomes verpflichtet. Der portugiesische Nationalspieler hat einen Vertrag bis 2028 unterzeichnet. SPORTBILD hatte bereits vorab über diese Personalie berichtet.Handball: Gummersbach holt Star aus Portugal„Mit João bekommen wir einen wirklich interessanten jungen Spieler, der vor allem durch seine Schnelligkeit überzeugt. Zudem kann er auch auf Rückraum Mitte spielen, was ihn für uns zu einem sehr vielseitig einsetzbaren Spieler macht“, freut sich VfL-Geschäftsführer Christoph Schindler. „Darüber hinaus hat er in seinen jungen Jahren schon viel internationale Erfahrung gesammelt.“Foto: BILD<!-->]-->Mit dem portugiesischen Hauptstadtclub Sporting Lissabon gewann Gomes in den beiden vergangenen Spielzeiten jeweils drei nationale Titel und erreichte in diesem Jahr das Viertelfinale der Champions League. Mit der Nationalmannschaft erreichte er in diesem Jahr bei der WM erstmals ein Halbfinale und wurde am Ende Vierter. Wobei im Viertelfinale sogar das deutsche Team […]
What to expect from Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson as a rookie
Editor’s note: This is the second story in a 10-part series looking at the most intriguing New England Patriots players ahead of training camp.Previously: Efton ChismThe Patriots’ biggest needs entering the NFL Draft were well known. They needed a left tackle, which they got with No. 4 pick Will Campbell. They also needed a wide receiver, which many around the league assumed they’d take in the second round.AdvertisementBut the Pats threw a bit of a curveball with the 38th pick. Instead of a wideout for Drake Maye, they went with running back TreVeyon Henderson, even after signing veteran Rhamondre Stevenson to an extension less than one year earlier.Still, the message was clear. The Patriots’ decision-makers felt they needed to add juice to an offense that has been the NFL’s least explosive the last three years (defined by passes of more […]
Kanada na úvod Zlatého poháru deklasovala Honduras
Kanada stejně jako před dvěma lety pořádá Zlatý pohár společně se sousedními Spojenými státy. Účastník minulého mistrovství světa v Kataru regionální šampionát v minulosti dvakrát vyhrál, naposledy v roce 2000.V druhém utkání skupiny B v San Jose remizovaly Salvador a Curacao bez branek.Zlatý pohár, fotbalové mistrovství Severní a Střední Ameriky v USA a Kanadě:Skupina B:Curacao - Salvador 0:0Kanada - Honduras 6:0 (2:0)Branky: 48. a 65. Buchanan, 27. Sigur, 45.+2 Oluwaseyi, 75. David, 90. Saliba.1.Kanada11006:032.Curacao10100:013.Salvador10100:014.Honduras10010:60
Falcons offseason will include plenty of golf, including a QB working on a ‘horrible’ game
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Atlanta offensive coordinator Zac Robinson has been “addicted” to golf since his father introduced him to the game as a 5-year-old. Now, he’s starting to see the same signs in his quarterback.“Mike (Penix Jr.) is at the point where it seems like he is addicted,” Robinson said.AdvertisementRobinson played for four NFL teams and spent five years as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Rams before coming to Atlanta in 2024, and no team he’s been on has more golfers — or wannabe golfers — than the Falcons, he said. Penix, who was drafted eighth in 2024 and took over Atlanta’s starting job at the end of last season, noticed the same thing when he arrived and decided he needed to pick up the game to fit in.His game is a work in progress.“I started about […]
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