1st Down: Despite all the talk about the LIV Series and the PGA Tour, the man that stole the headlines on Thursday at the US Open was Adam Hadwin. Only receiving his slot in the field at The Country Club last week as an alternate, he took full advantage of a mild day on the course to shoot a -4 66 and claim a one-stroke lead over Rory McIlroy, Callum Tarren, David Lingmerth, MJ Daffue, and Joel Dahmen. He made three birdies consecutively to close the front nine and only made one bogey over the course of the 18 holes. His round could end up being the lowest we see in the tournament, with the course expected to get even more difficult as the week progresses.
2nd Down: The New York Yankees just can’t seem to lose at home, even when they are being pushed hard by the Tampa Bay Rays. In their latest encounter on Thursday, the Bronx Bombers once again found a way to narrowly beat them, relying on Anthony Rizzo’s bat to win 2-1. He singled in the sixth inning to tie the game up before he then launched a walk-off winner in the bottom of the ninth with one out. With the win, the team in pinstripes has taken 14 in a row at home and seven overall. They are ten games up on Toronto in the AL East at present and 12 games up on the Rays.
3rd Down: Sources currently indicate that James Harden will be staying in Philadelphia for next season despite a potential contract dispute between the two sides. The 32-year-old forced his way out of Brooklyn during the middle of last season, and the Sixers moved heaven and earth to land him. Despite that, they do not want to give him a ‘max’ deal, so we could see him heading back to the 76ers in a shorter-term deal instead as the two parties look to get the best deal possible.
4th Down FIFA has officially announced the host cities for the 2026 World Cup to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. 11 cities in the USA were named (New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, The Bay Area, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Philadelphia, Kansas City, and Boston) while Guadalajara, Mexico City, and Monterrey will host for Mexico and Toronto and Vancouver will lead the way for the Canadians. This World Cup will be the first with three hosts involved but the second to have multiple hosts behind the 2002 World Cup that saw South Korea and Japan co-host. There is no indication on which city will host the opener or the final as of yet, with FIFA said to still be considering their options for the duties.
