Axios Sports: DJ dominates — 247 days later — Hail Murray

1 big thing: ⛳️ DJ wins Masters in record fashion | Monday, November 16, 2020

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Eargo   Axios Sports By Kendall Baker ·Nov 16, 2020 👋 Good morning! Welcome to another week on planet Earth. Make it a good one. Today's word count: 2,103 words (8 minutes).     1 big thing: ⛳️ DJ wins Masters in record fashion Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images   Dustin Johnson ran away with the green jacket at the 2020 Masters, mixing power and consistency in a dominant performance fitting of the world No. 1. Entering the week, Johnson was 0-4 in majors when leading after the third round. He's now 1-4, and suddenly, those four losses don't carry the same weight they once did. Narrative, dispelled. By the numbers: Johnson finished at 20-under par, breaking the Masters scoring record and tying the major championship record. His five-shot win is the largest at the Masters since Tiger Woods' 12-shot victory in 1997. He had four bogeys, the fewest ever by a Masters champion. He's played 11 straight rounds under par at Augusta National, breaking the record Woods set from 2000 to 2002. What he's saying: Johnson, a man long described as devoid of emotion, broke character during an interview with CBS, choking back tears as he appeared to fully grasp what he'd just done: accomplished his childhood dream. "Growing up as a kid, being only about an hour away from here, hitting chips or putts, it was always to win the Masters," Johnson said this week. "It was what we dreamed about winning." The first hug went to his brother and caddie, Austin, who has come of age just as Dustin has in recent years. "I just love experiencing all these moments with him. I wouldn't want it any other way," said D.J. Dustin and Austin. Awesome. Photo: Jamie Squire/Getty Images Leaderboard: The top nine finishers were from seven different countries, with five continents represented. 🇺🇸 Johnson, USA (-20) 🇦🇺 Cameron Smith, Australia (-15) 🇰🇷 Sungjae Im, South Korea (-15) 🇺🇸 Justin Thomas, USA (-12) 🇿🇦 Dylan Frittelli, South Africa (-11) 🇬🇧 Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland (-11) 🇹🇼 C.T. Pan, Taiwan (-10) 🇪🇸 Jon Rahm, Spain (-10) 🇺🇸 Brooks Koepka, USA (-10) What's next: Johnson, who has won three of his last seven starts and hasn't finished lower than sixth, will be the favorite when the 2021 Masters is played in April. See you in five months. Go deeper: 🎧 Listen ... No Laying Up: Masters Sunday recap Read: Walking through the many misconceptions of Dustin Johnson, Masters champion (The Athletic)     2. 😷 247 days later Data: The COVID Tracking Project; Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios We've come full circle. March 10: The Ivy League becomes the first D-I conference to cancel its basketball tournaments. New COVID-19 cases in the U.S. that day: 270. Nov. 12: 247 days later, it becomes the first D-I conference to cancel winter sports for 2020-21. New COVID-19 cases in the U.S. that day: 163,402. What they're saying: With the pandemic raging, Rick Pitino, now at Iona, thinks college basketball needs to delay the season and embrace "May Madness." "Save the Season. Move the start back. Play league schedule and have May Madness. Spiking and protocols make it impossible to play right now." — Pitino The bottom line: The Ivy League's decision might not be the first domino like it was in March, but it's a stark reminder of how little progress we've made in containing the virus. "Pandemic fatigue" is real; we're all exhausted by our new way of life. But the reality is that this crisis just keeps getting worse, with the U.S. on track for its worst month yet. Related news ... Syracuse's Jim Boeheim tested positive.     3. 🏈 NFL Sunday: Winners and losers Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images Through 10 Sundays of NFL action, the AFC has a record nine teams with at least six wins, the 3-5-1 Eagles lead the NFC East and the MVP race is wide open, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes. Winners Hail Murray: Down four with 10 seconds left, Kyler Murray scrambled to his left, avoided the sack and threw a bomb to DeAndre Hopkins, who hauled in the Hail Mary to beat the Bills at the buzzer. Incredible. Alex Smith, starting QB: Yes, he was technically a loser (Lions 30, Washington 27). But in Smith's first start since his horrific leg injury, he threw for 390 yards and fell just shy of a 21-point, second-half comeback. Tom Brady, fantasy legend: The GOAT passed Jerry Rice as the all-time leader in fantasy points, needing just 9.28, but exploding for 31.84. Kickers: There were 10 made 50-yard field goals and four made 55-yard field goals on Sunday, both tied for the most in a single day in NFL history. Photo: Harry How/Getty Images Losers Russell Wilson's MVP campaign: Through seven games, Wilson was the clear MVP frontrunner. Since then, he's gone 0-2 with two TD, four INT and three lost fumbles as both he and his team look completely lost. Away teams: Through Week 9, home teams averaged 7.2 wins per week, while away teams averaged 7.4. On Sunday, away teams went 1-11. Big-play defense: Sunday featured four plays of at least 78 yards. Aaron Rodgers' 78-yard TD pass; Keelan Cole's 91-yard punt return TD; Trenton Cannon's 98-yard kick return; Ronald Jones' 98-yard rushing TD. Browns bettors: Leading 10-7 with a minute left, Browns RB Nick Chubb broke off a 59-yard run with nothing but green in front of him. Rather than scoring — and helping bettors cover the -4.5 spread — he stepped out at the one-yard line to ice the game. The lesson, as always: never bet on Cleveland! Photo: Jamie Sabau/Getty Images Sunday's scoreboard: Lions 30, Washington 27; Bucs 46, Panthers 23; Packers 24, Jaguars 20; Giants 27, Eagles 17; Browns 10, Texans 7; Dolphins 29, Chargers 21; Raiders 37, Broncos 12; Cardinals 32, Bills 30; Saints 27, Niners 13; Rams 23, Seahawks 16; Steelers 36, Bengals 10; Patriots 23, Ravens 17     A message from Eargo Hear life to the fullest with Eargo's huge Black Friday offer     Bring your world to life with Eargo--the virtually invisible, comfortable and rechargeable hearing aid with lifetime professional support. And now until Black Friday, Eargo Neo Hifi is $450 off. Buy now online or talk to a specialist to see if Eargo is the right fit for you.     4. ⚾️ Meet Kim Ng, baseball's first female GM Photo: Marcelo Maragni/MLB Photos via Getty Images   Kim Ng was hired as the Marlins general manager on Friday, making her the first female GM across the four major North American sports leagues. Her story: Ng (pronounced ANG) was born in Indianapolis to a Chinese-American father and Chinese-Thai mother. Her family moved to New York when she was young. She learned to love baseball playing stickball on the streets of Queens, then played softball at Ridgewood High School in New Jersey. She attended college at the University of Chicago, where she was a four-year softball star. Upon graduation in 1990, she interned for the White Sox before being hired full-time by the club. MLB career: 1991–95: White Sox special projects analyst 1995–96: White Sox assistant director of baseball operations, where she became the youngest person to win a salary arbitration case. 1997: American League director of waivers and Records (approved all transactions) 1998–01: Yankees assistant GM 2002–11: Dodgers assistant GM 2011–20: MLB's senior VP of baseball operations By the numbers: Ng's hiring is part of a hopeful trend, but also a reminder of how much work still remains to increase diversity in MLB's front offices. Women make up 40% of MLB's central office employees, and 21 women are in on-field coaching or player development roles — up from three in 2017. Yes, but: Ng is just the fourth non-white person in charge of baseball operations, joining Ken Williams (White Sox), Farhan Zaidi (Giants) and Al Avila (Tigers); and only 19 of the 500 (4%) team-level VPs are women. The bottom line: Ng, 51, has long been tied to GM openings, interviewing for the role at least six separate times. Finally, she'll get the chance to prove her mettle in an opportunity that's long overdue. Go deeper: "Unprecedented" becomes "possible" (WashPost)     5. 🏈 AP poll: IU moves up, set for top-10 clash Data: AP; Table: Axios Visuals This week's AP poll was mostly stagnant after four of the top five teams didn't play and numerous games were postponed or canceled due to the pandemic. Indiana moved up to ninth — the Hoosiers' best ranking since they were fourth in the 1967 poll — heading into a matchup with No. 3 Ohio State. Tulsa moved into the rankings for the first time in 10 years after beating SMU, knocking the Mustangs out of the top 25. Marshall honored the 50th anniversary of the worst disaster in U.S. sports history with a win, vaulting the Thundering Herd into the top 15. Field notes: Florida QB Kyle Trask tossed six TD against Arkansas and now has 28, tied for the most by any FBS player through six games over the last 20 seasons (Graham Harrell, 2007). New Heisman favorite? UNC QB Sam Howell became the second player in ACC history with six pass TD and one rush TD in a game, joining Lamar Jackson. Next up for the Tar Heels: No. 2 Notre Dame (Nov. 27). Penn State is the fourth team to start 0-4 after being ranked in the preseason top 10 (No. 7), and the first since Pitt in 1984. To make matters worse, standout RB Journey Brown had to retire from football due to a heart condition. Michigan lost 49-11 to Wisconsin (worst home loss since 1935) to fall to 1-3 on the season (worst start since 1967). Harbaugh's on the hot seat. South Carolina fired Will Muschamp, who went 28-30 at the helm. The Gamecocks (2-5) have lost 14 of their past 20 games. Saturday's slate: No. 9 Indiana at No. 3 Ohio State No. 10 Wisconsin at No. 19 Northwestern No. 14 Oklahoma State at No. 18 Oklahoma     6. 🇦🇹 Field trip: Austria Thanks for choosing Axios Airlines. We'll be traveling to a new destination each morning this month. Sit back and enjoy the flight. Screenshot: Google Maps Location: Stadion Wiener Neustadt Coordinates: 47.8413°N, 16.2592°E Welcome to Wiener Neustadt, Austria, which hosts today's CONCACAF friendly between the USMNT and Panama (2:45pm ET, FS1), Jeff writes. City history: Austrian armed forces are trained at the Theresian Military Academy, located in the city's castle. Founded by queen Maria Theresa in 1751, it's one of the oldest military academies in the world. Fun fact: The city and aforementioned castle were built largely with funds earned from the ransom of Richard the Lionheart, who was captured by Leopold V of Austria in 1192. Stadion Wiener Neustadt. Photo: Jon Buckle/PA Images via Getty Images Match preview: Friendlies don't count, but Gregg Berhalter will use today's match to get a better feel for his young squad (average age: 21), which played Wales to a 0-0 draw last Thursday in its first game since the pandemic began. The players, in turn, will get a feel for Panama, who they'll battle over the next couple years as they attempt to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Go deeper: Match preview (World Soccer Talk) Related news ... The USWNT will return from an eight-month layoff on Nov. 27 to play the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final.     7. 📊 By the numbers Note: HBO Max numbers include only the number of paid subscribers that have activated the app. Many pay for HBO via cable but have yet to activate the HBO Max app. Data: Company filings; Chart: Danielle Alberti/Axios 📈 73.7 million subs: Disney has added 73.7 million paid Disney+ subscribers in its first year, Axios' Sara Fischer reports. ... ICYMI: Friday's sports media deep dive. 🏀 18.9 ppg: The Lakers are set to acquire Dennis Schröder from the Thunder in exchange for Danny Green and the 28th pick in Wednesday's draft. Schröder (18.9 ppg) was last season's runner-up for Sixth Man of the Year. Photo: Peter Fox/Getty Images 🏎 7th title: Lewis Hamilton clinched a record-tying seventh Formula One title after winning a wet and gloomy Turkish Grand Prix for a record-extending 94th victory on Sunday. More on Hamilton and F1 later this week. 💵 $803.1 million: New Jersey's sports betting market set a national record for the third straight month, with bettors wagering over $803 million in October. Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc. via Getty Images 🥊 37-0: Terence Crawford (37-0, 28 KOs) knocked out Kell Brook to complete his fourth WBO welterweight title defense. What's next: A potential megafight in 2021 against either Errol Spence Jr. or Manny Pacquiao. 🏈 $105.5 million: Packers OT David Bakhtiari signed a four-year extension worth up to $105.5 million. At $23 million per season, it's the richest contract ever given to an offensive lineman. Photo: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images 💦 9 sites: This weekend's U.S. Open was the first major American swim meet in more than eight months. The field of 1,200 athletes — which included 30 Olympians — was spread across nine sites located in three time zones. 💪 1,188 pounds: Ukraine's Oleksii Novikov was named 2020 World's Strongest Man following his 1,188-pound partial deadlift.     8. Nov. 16, 2003: ⚽️ Messi's Barcelona debut Screenshot: @Copa90 (Twitter) 17 years ago today, a 16-year-old Lionel Messi made his Barcelona debut in a friendly against Porto, entering in the 75th minute of an eventual 2-0 loss. Timeline: 2000: Barcelona signs 13-year-old Messi to a youth contract. 2005: After quickly working his way up the ranks, Messi signs as a senior team player on his 18th birthday. His buyout clause is worth $177 million. 2007: Messi scores what some consider the goal of the century. 2012: Messi breaks César's club record with 233 goals. His current total? 633. 2015: Messi wins his fourth Champions League title with Barça. 2019: Messi wins his 10th La Liga title with Barça. 2020: Messi asks for release; Barça refuses. Where things stand: Barça is still the only club the now 33-year-old Messi has ever known, but the two sides are stuck in a loveless marriage. Still the reigning Ballon d'Or winner after claiming his record sixth last year, Messi's career is far from over. His time with Barcelona, however, could be nearing its end. Go deeper: That night in Porto (The Score)     9. ⚾️ MLB trivia Freddie Freeman. Photo: Todd Kirkland/Getty Images   Freddie Freeman and José Abreu are the first pair of first basemen to sweep the NL and AL MVP awards since 2006. Question: Who won the 2006 MVP awards? Hint: NL East and AL Central. Answer at the bottom.     10. 🎥 The weekend's top plays Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images 🏈 Hail Murray ⚽️ What a right foot 🏈 Shi Smith! 🏈 Jordan Reed! ⚽️ What a left foot 🏈 Perfect tackle 🏈 Pats trickery 🏒 Cawlidge hawkey 🏈 Cole Beasley! 🥊 Khaos KO Watch all 10.     A message from Eargo Federal employees and retirees get Eargo Hearing Aids at no cost     Did you know that active and retired federal employees may be eligible to receive Eargo's virtually invisible, rechargeable hearing loss solution at no cost through their FEHB insurance plan? If that's you, inquire today and we'll take care of everything – even the paperwork.   Talk tomorrow, Kendall "Imagine trading DeAndre Hopkins" Baker Trivia answer: Ryan Howard (Phillies) and Justin Morneau (Twins) Invite friends to follow Axios Sports Use your personal link to track how many readers you bring into the community You currently have 00 referrals. Share with a friend or use your personal referral link https://www.axios.com/referral/sports?code=BbTjEdwGLRoN For questions email referralsupport@axios.com. Participation in the Axios Sports Referral Program constitutes your acceptance of the Axios Terms and Conditions of Use, which can be viewed here.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? 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