1st Down: The US Open still remains very much in the balance heading into Sunday’s fourth and final round at The Country Club, but Saturday’s wild Round 3 produced a pair of co-leaders that might have surprised a few. Will Zalatoris is one of them after he shot a -3 67 that included just one bogey as he kept up a run of being a factor in majors of late while Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the US Amateur at the same course in 2013, made three birdies on his last five to card a 68 and get to -4 along with Zalatoris. On a day where survival was the name of the game, Jon Rahm managed to do so, coming in at -3 when the dust had settled while Scottie Scheffler, Adam Hadwin, and Keegan Bradley all finished at -2. Three more players sit at -1, with one of them being Rory McIlroy, so the fate of the tournament is still very much in the air ahead of Sunday.
2nd Down: The New York Yankees looked virtually unbeatable at present, and they added to their winning streak on Saturday by defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 4-0 for their ninth straight victory. Jameson Taillon won his eighth game of the season, improving to 8-1 on the year, while Aaron Hicks doubled in three runs in the top of the fourth for the Bronx Bombers. With the win, they are now 12 games up on the Jays in the division, which is becoming more and more of a certainty every single day.
3rd Down: The Charlotte Hornets thought that they had their next man in charge, but that no longer appears to be the case as it was announced on Saturday that Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson would not be headed to North Carolina after all. The former Nets head coach had initially agreed to take on the job, but following a Finals victory has decided to stay put where he is. Sources indicate that this move- or lack thereof- comes as a result of Atkinson believing that this is the right thing for him both professionally and personally. It means the Hornets must go back to the drawing board now, as Atkinson had been the only candidate to meet with owner Michael Jordan.
4th Down: The second day of College Baseball World Series action took place on Saturday with a pair of games in Omaha, and one of the results was a historic one as Arkansas smashed #2 Stanford 17-2 in the opener. Connor Noland allowed just one run in nearly eight innings of work while Chris Lanzilli hammered a three-run homer to start the offensive onslaught and force another high seed into the loser’s bracket. Elsewhere, Ole Miss defeated SEC rival and #14 Auburn 5-1. Sunday will see one team eliminated as Texas and Texas A&M square off before Oklahoma and Notre Dame play for a spot in the bracket’s finals.
