The Sportsletter - From Mets to Nets

BY JEFF YODER

AUG. 9, 2022  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  REFER  |  WEB VIEW

Good Morning,

A New York news night owned the headlines with another Mets win and Kevin Durant's Nets ultimatum. There's a new development in the golf wars between the PGA and LIV, and our first college football poll is out. Guess what team is number one...

Letter Rip!

MLB

Mets On A Mission

Photo: Adam Hunger / Getty Images

Mets Win 4th Straight (8 of Last 10) to Keep Post-Trade Deadline Boom Rolling

The Dodgers may own the best record and the longest active win streak, but New York baseball’s historic season continued on Monday with the Mets’ fourth straight win. The Mets won four of five against the Braves to put distance between them in the NL East before beating the Reds last night (5-1). Starling Marte led things off with a two-run homer while new acquisitions Daniel Vogelbach and Tyler Naquin punched in the remaining RBIs. Ace Chris Bassitt was throwing heat (8IP, 8H, 1R, 8Ks), and the stellar pitching has been a trend for New York in the last month. Since early July, the Mets rank 1st or 2nd in the majors in ERA (2.21), WHIP (1.03), strikeouts per nine innings (9.7) and total wins (21).

And after last night, both New York teams are 71-39, trailing only the Dodgers (75-35) for the top spot in baseball.

Watch: Mets Ride Marte & Bassitt to 4th Straight

MLB Quick-Hitters

Oh My, Orioles: The surprise of the season has been the turnaround in Baltimore where the Orioles just keep winning games. The O’s beat the Blue Jays last night in Camden Yards (7-4) thanks to back-to-back jacks from Anthony Santander and Ryan Mountcastle. They’re just 1.5 games back in the AL Wild Card race.

Donaldson Delivers for Yanks: The Yankees buried the Mariners (9-4) behind Josh Donaldson’s hot start. He hit a solo home run after a two-RBI single to tally the Yankees’ first three runs of the games. Aaron Judge also hit his league-leading 44th homer.

NBA

Durant Doubles Down

Photo: Sarah Stier / Getty Images

Kevin Durant Tells Nets Owner to Trade Him or Fire Steve Nash and Sean Marks

Kevin Durant made his bed in Brooklyn back in 2019, and now he’s laying in it. The Nets have failed to live up to expectations last season despite boasting an all-time Big 3 of Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Durant requested a trade in June, then went quiet. On Monday, reports surfaced that Durant gave team owner Joe Tsai an ultimatum — to trade him or fire head coach Steve Nash and GM Sean Marks. Tsai backed the Nets brass, which means KD remains in limbo.

What Happens Next?

More of the same, likely. The Nets’ asking price for Durant was too pricey for just about anyone in the league. The Celtics made a run at him a few weeks ago, but the Nets declined. At 33 years old, Durant is still as dangerous as any player in the NBA. He has four years and nearly $200 million left on his current deal.

Kevin Durant's 2021-22 Season Stats

29.9 PPG | 7.4 RPG | 6.4 APG | 51% FG

Additional Storylines

The Athletic: Why Kevin Durant’s Trade Ultimatum Raises More Questions Than Answers

NY Post: Kevin Durant’s Demands Leave Nets Looking Like NBA Joke Once Again

SI: Three Teams Seen as Frontrunners for Kevin Durant Trade, Per Report

GOLF

The Golf War Rages On

Photo: Aitor Alcalde / Getty Images

PGA Tour Responds to LIV’s Antitrust Lawsuit by Blocking Players From FedEx Cup Playoffs

The battle for golf continues as the PGA Tour nears the beginning of the FedEx Cup Playoffs next weekend. One by one, golfers have ditched the PGA Tour for LIV Golf’s massive paychecks, but the war is far from over. A group of 11 LIV golfers, headlined by Phil Mickelson, filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA for excluding those players from joining the playoffs, and the PGA fired back yesterday.

PGA’s Response: ”Despite knowing full well that they would breach Tour Regulations and be suspended for doing so… Plaintiffs have joined competing golf league LIV Golf, which has paid them tens and hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed money supplied by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund to procure their breaches. [The PGA Tour] has no duty to provide Plaintiffs and LIV a platform to freeride off the TOUR’s investments.”

It appears the “emergency” action filed by the LIV for entrance in the FedEx Cup Playoffs will be denied. The lawsuit emerged last week after LIV executive Greg Norman said Tiger Woods turned down an offer between $700-$800 million.

Additional Storylines

SI: The Legal Fight Between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is Here, And It’s Ugly

NY Post: ’S—ting Their Pants’: LIV Golf Texts Between Greg Norman & Sergio Garcia Revealed

B/R: PGA Tour Files Federal Court Motion to Keep 3 LIV Golfers Out of FedEx Cup Playoffs

CFB

Top-25: Preseason Coaches Poll

Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Alabama, Ohio State & Georgia Lead 1st Coaches Poll of College Football Season

The first coaches poll of the 2022 college football season is officially out, and familiar programs reside at the top. Alabama received nearly all of the first-place votes in the inaugural poll after losing to Georgia in last year's National Championship. Ohio state and Georgia raked in a few first-place votes as well. It’s a blend of the traditional powerhouses that round out the top-10. The season is just 18 days away.

Coaches Poll (Top-10)

1. Alabama (54)

2. Ohio State (5)

3. Georgia (6)

4. Clemson

5. Notre Dame

6. Michigan

7. Texas A&M

8. Utah

9. Oklahoma

10. Baylor

Full Top-25 (Coaches Poll)

Additional Storylines

USA Today: Five Teams That Are Overrated in the Coaches Poll

The Athletic: Clemson, Oklahoma & Texas Overrated; Utah, NC State & USC Underrated in Coaches Poll

🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

🏀 WNBA: Dallas Wings Clinch Playoff Berth

The Dallas Wings outlasted the New York Liberty on Monday night (86-77) behind a career-high 31 points from Marina Mabrey. The win gave secured a playoff spot for the Wings with three games to play. The Liberty (13-20), Lynx (13-20), Mercury (14-19) and Dream (14-19) are battling for the final two spots.

🎾 TENNIS: Serena Sighting in Toronto

The National Bank Open (Canadian Open) kicked off this week, and tennis fans got a treat with Serena Williams capturing his first win since returning this season. Williams defeated Nuria Parrizas-Diaz in straight sets (6-3, 6-4).

THE STORYLINES

🏈 College Football’s 25 Most Talented Transfers

College football's 2022 season begins later this month and with the arrival of openers comes much-anticipated debuts of top-end transfers for their respective teams. (247 Sports)

⛳️ Nick Faldo’s Emotional Farewell

After 16 years wearing the headset for the network, Sir Nick Faldo said goodbye from the booth during the final round of the 2022 Wyndham Championship on Sunday. (USA Today)

⚽️ 10 Things From Premier League Matchday 1

What did we learn on Week 1 of the 2022-23 Premier League season? We’ll try to avoid sweeping generalizations from this terribly small sample size… but we learned quite a bit. (NBC Sports)

📰 THE HEADLINES

• Los Angeles Sparks Players Sleep in Airport After Flight Canceled (SI)
• NFL Referees to Target “Illegal Contact” Penalties in 2022 (B/R)
• Pete Rose Dismisses Statutory Rape Questions at Phillies Event (ESPN)
• Ravens Make Justin Tucker Highest-Paid Kicker With $24 Million Extension (Yahoo! Sports)
• Oklahoma WR Coach Cale Gundy Resigns After Inappropriate Language in Film Session (CBS Sports)

• Jets OL Mekhi Becton Suffers Serious Injury to Right Knee (NBC Sports)

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