I tried. In the final analysis, I never had a shot with Claire. I couldn’t compete with the varsity jacket wearing king of the school. In parlance not yet created, I should’ve just stayed in my lane.

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That brings us to the two residents of the stadiums within walking distance in downtown Baltimore in present day. One of the occupants expects to host a at least one giant contest a season in primetime that attracts viewers from around the world. They expect to not only make the postseason – but with the most electric player in the game and a defense that christened the preseason with six takeaways – there’s an expectation from spoiled fans to go as far as making the “Super Bowl or bust” declaration. It’s an expectation of greatness from a team achieving it twice in a relatively short period of time.

The other hopes to become relevant again at some point in the future.

The Baltimore Orioles aren’t a joke. They’ve gone past that moniker. They will do better than the New York Mets inaugural campaign that netted forty wins. As of the deadline for this article, the O’s have 38 wins on the season with a month and change to go. Baltimore has one win on the tote board for August. One. It’s August 20. They’ve lost 15 games in a row and the highlight of this season will become the guessing game if Adley comes up to the big boy club before the end of the year. At this point, I might become the 4th starter. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with bringing up the supposed future of the franchise to get his feet wet.

This town needs that. Many people will disagree with the following statement, but Baltimore’s a baseball team at heart. The really neat thing is that the Ravens act like Baltimore’s college and pro football team because – let’s face it – who can challenge the amount of interest in them. Back to the O’s and the nightly malaise – or worse – on Twitter. There’s a cacophony of fans who follow this team because they can’t quit them and genuinely love the Orioles. Journalists don’t count. First off, they should remain without a horse in the race. Secondly, they get paid. At this point in the season, there’s open bemoaning about the day-in and day-out nonsense of writing about a club without any direction except down.

In the late 00’s, when they were miserable, a turnover of managers became the order of the day. They’ve really let Brandon Hyde – and his 34% win percentage – hang around for the better part of three seasons. Unless they break the 21-game losing streak, I’m fairly certain Hyde survives to see 2022 in a dugout. Just how quickly can the Orioles turn around to become those teams in the early 10’s when postseason seemed possible every year. They even won the A.L. East. By a lot! Like everything in post-pandemic life, it seems so far away. It’s an extremely complicated goal for the Orioles to achieve in the short term. And I know the division is tough. If you want to be good, beat the tough teams.

Heaven knows the Ravens do that on a yearly basis. Tossing in one clunker of a season during John Harbaugh’s tenure with the Ravens, Baltimore almost always makes the playoffs and won a Super Bowl in New Orleans.

It’s kind of funny that in Harbaugh’s only down seasons (not making the postseason), he endures a public dressing down from own Steve Bisciotti in the end of the season press conference. That’s the standard of Baltimore Ravens football.

Led by the most electric player in football in Lamar Jackson, the Ravens again start the season on the short list to make the title game. They open on Monday Night Football in Las Vegas. Baltimore welcomes rival Kansas City the next week on Sunday Night Football to commence the home slate. These are prime stages for the best of the NFL to display its best talent. Baltimore will have five prime time games this season, among the most in football. They should win the AFC North.

If you had a chance to see how many people on social media absolutely lived and died with every play in preseason on Saturday night, you got a good idea that this baseball town flips its calendar to football season in the first preseason game of the year. Some folks will always root in the Orioles while the Ravens game acts as church for others. It’s the fans who drift toward the winning team that becomes fair game for fair weather fans. Right now, they occupy M&T Bank Stadium with no end in sight.

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And I didn’t even mention the man who won gold from the United States.

This is a safe space. I know you didn’t stay up overnight to watch one hell of a final round of the Olympic Golf Tournament. I know because for four hours of jaw-dropping, eye emoji moments, the only person tweeting about the tournament was myself. Quite frankly, that sucks. Read me tweets. You’ll agree.

We had the stars. We had full coverage (nearly 12 hours of the final round). Xander Schauffele, who ended up winning the golf tournament, lurks on the brink of a marquee name in the sport. He’s never won a major, but he’s always on the leaderboard. The biggest knock on him came true in the biggest win of his career – he can’t close. Remember when he rinsed one on 16 at The Masters this year and then Matsuyama went on to win the event? Xander wanted to add an extra layer of suspense by frittering away a four-shot lead around the turn. Matsuyama got super hot, as did Rory Sabbatini, and turned the leaderboard into a pylon scoreboard at Daytona.

They didn’t have a cut in the event. This sent golfers off in groups of three every day. Usually, this becomes a drawn out affair with no one batting an eyelash if 18 holes clock in over five hours. This didn’t happen at the Olympics. When the groups hit the course in full flush, it was golf shot after golf shot. And they were mostly great.

A number of reachable par fours gave the best in the world the opportunity to unleash it on the Olympic stage. Mix that with soft greens and you’ll get a number of bombs made by the pros. It’s still fun to watch a 40-footer drop.

Schauffele’s father, who tried to make an Olympic team in his prime, got to hang with the volunteers on the 18^th green as his son won the biggest tournament of his career. Schauffele’s grandparents live in Tokyo. You can’t write a script like this. In his biggest win of his career, Schauffele’s paycheck came in gold.

So, why did interest wane? Is golf too new for the Olympics? This is only the second time after a near century respite. There’s no Tiger or Phil. Golf will get the guys like me, who could wake up at 4 AM and stay on the couch all day and enjoy it. The end of the round came around 3 AM on Sunday, not exactly an ideal time for a television audience when it’s going against a farm report and re-air of local news. The PGA Tour needs to make these Olympic Games – with the biggest stars – a priority. In a backlogged year due to a pandemic, a number of players opted for the WGC event this upcoming week which pays serious bank. We also need to change the way the Olympic team comes together. There should be a points race – not a limit from the top countries. You should want to go to the Olympics. It’s neat to have people from countries I can’t identify on a map, but they can’t hold a candle to the best players. Also, and this a must, develop a cut. The best players go out last (usually) on the weekend. Only half the field finished in prime time. That needs to be addressed.

The 2016 gold medalist Justin Rose was thought to instantly catapult his career to major championships. It hasn’t. Here’s hoping Schauffele’s just starting his magical ride in golf.

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Now imagine that on the biggest stage in sports.

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The Olympic Games, already a year overdue thanks to the Covid pandemic, get started in late July in a country not vaccinated and a host of athletes from around the world in Tokyo. The country of Japan boasts a vaccination level of eight percent. That’s not even good enough for a bronze medal. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says postponement or cancellation is off the table. This goes if Japan continues to operate in a state of emergency. It’s more than a little odd to see Mike Tirico throw it to a premier swimming event or on gymnastics final night with a threat level the United States experienced last March. Absolutely no one in the world can unlock the magical time when we can put the pandemic behind us. It’s just not worth the loss of more lives or sickness for the majority of a country looking to display its Sunday best.

On the flip side, there’s hundreds of athletes looking to dazzle in their speciality in their only chance until 2024. We’re already seeing Olympic superstars (admittedly les this time around) drink beer and hawk laundry detergent. NBC already sold extremely precious ad time for a period of time languished in reality shows and re-runs. For better or worse, there appears to be no point of retreat. To think, the biggest controversy in the last fifty years in the Olympic Games came from the world of doping  – or a whack of Nancy’s leg. Take your pick.

The Opening Ceremony, packaged differently from the live telecast on Friday morning and the primetime re-air on Friday evening, actually came across quite well. It surprised me. The organizers of the event made the best of what they had to deal with during an avalanche of negative publicity and a country in a state of emergency. The parade of nations seemed lengthy (per usual) but carried the usual amount of culture and excitement we usually see from the event. The protests outside weren’t mentioned during the live broadcast, but journalists on Twitter said you could hear them inside Olympic Stadium.

It’s very weird in a decade full of odd moments that usually fill up a millennium worth of oddities. We’ve lost so much in such a short period of time. But the Games go on. No fans. Little fanfare. A metric ton of anger and an answer to the question of why we are doing this that frankly cannot be answered in black and white.

The Olympics are open. Let the Games begin.

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Oostie shot a final round over par – in the final game (or pairing) – to take himself out of contention for his second Claret Jug. He’s playing the best golf in his entire life, will make a ridiculous fortune just this year along and still doesn’t have the hardware to prove he’s a major champion in his late 30’s. That’s not to say that Louis hasn’t won a major title. He blitzed the field out of absolute nowhere in the 2010 Open Championship, winning the Jug by seven shots. It’s the singular Open I remember thinking that the round ended up boring – by a guy I’d never heard of since sometime on Thursday of that week.

And it wasn’t just me. Announcers either couldn’t pronounce his name or stood their ground that they knew how to pronounce “Oosthuizen.” It became comical just how many different versions of the same name some Tour announcers used verbal gymnastics to celebrate the Champion Golfer of the Year.

After that Open, a unique streak took place that only genuine golf aficionados could pick out of a lineup. Oostie couldn’t close. The man who lived at the top of the leaderboard for most of the weekend met his arch nemesis: Sunday. He lost a playoff in The Masters in 2012. He pulled a “two-fer” Open runner-up finish in the U.S. Open & Open Championship three years later, which included another playoff at The Open. In 2007, a second place finish in the PGA added to the narrative. But nothing – and I mean nothing – could prepare the South African from his record of heartbreak after the pandemic.

In less than a calendar year, Oosthuizen finished four majors on the podium. He gagged away late leads at the U.S. Open this year and last weekend’s Open Championship – both coming from the final game. He also finished miles behind Phil at the PGA – but the second place check still cashes in the same number. Same deal took place at the U.S. Open in September when Bryson outdrove everyone by a mile. There’s a definite pattern here and it’s only getting worse for people who like to analyze the sport. Personally, I think Louis couldn’t care about his place in the game. Some of golf’s stars don’t face the make or miss pressure of those who wagered on these guys. It’s not to say they don’t care – they wouldn’t make any Tour if they walked through it. It’s saying that Oostie knows he’s going to have a great time with his family after work. He genuinely enjoys the family aspect of his life and who would blame a man who takes pride in the best thing he’s ever created.

Louis can only boast one PGA Tour win (his bludgeoning of other golfers at the ’10 Open Championship) and 14 career Tour wins (including lesser ones like the Sunshine and Asian Tours). He’s never won a PLAYERS, a World Golf Championship event and he boasts a playoff record across all Tours of 3-6. Even though Collin Morikawa played like an absolute assassin down the stretch at Royal St. George’s, Louis Oosthuizen didn’t leave the property empty handed. He’s only 38 and playing the best golf of his entire life. Get the trophy room ready, Louis. Life begins at 40.

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This leads us to the Phoenix Suns. (Hang with me for a minute.) Phoenix went through more head coaches in the last decade than Taylor breezed through boyfriends. A grand total of seven men wore thousand dollar suits to stroll the court at Phoenix Suns Arena. (The arena itself changed building sponsorship during this period.) A perennial finish near the bottom of the division became commonplace for a once proud franchise. Starting with the 2010-11 season, the Suns didn’t make the playoffs the entire decade. Even Steve Nash left.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

A funny thing happened on the way to continued obscurity: the Suns found their mojo in Orlando. Needing to win eight games in almost as many days with help from other teams, it became an improbable achievement for Phoenix to make the postseason in the pandemic. They almost did. Phoenix got to the brink of the playoffs with eight straight wins. The Suns didn’t fluke themselves to these wins. Most were straight up blowouts. It didn’t stop there. Certain executive of the year James Jones traded for what became Phoenix’s vaccine last November: 36-year-old Christopher Emmanuel Paul.

Paul brought his extensive trophy collection to Phoenix looking for that one thing so many superstars yearn for in the winter of their career: a ring. The eleven time NBA All-Star (making the roster the last two seasons) possesses two gold medals with his version of the Dream Team, but hasn’t made it to the Finals in his career which began in 2005.

As quick as Phoenix slid into the postseason, they almost looked like a whale who lost too much money too quickly in Vegas. You’ll never believe this, but Chris Paul suffered an injury. Again. For the millionth time. The only different thing this time? Phoenix could actually win the Western Conference – if Paul remained healthy and as long as they avoided the Lakers. Gulp.

The Suns drew the defending World Champion Lakers (and LeBron James) for the opening round of the playoffs. This story is so good. It can’t end so early in the run. It turns out that the Lakers received a seed well earned at the number seven spot. LeBron James can’t pass it to LeBron James. At least, not legally. Anthony Davis helped even the series, but couldn’t provide any spark in the late games of the series. Speaking of those, Phoenix unleashed some aggression in Games Five and Six. The Suns won Game Five by thirty and held a thirty point lead for the media viewing portion of Game Six. Trust me, no one watched that disaster until the end.

That takes us to the West Semifinals where Phoenix faces newly minted Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic. The Joker will get the ovation from the Denver faithful on Thursday evening, but there’s a long history of MVP’s coming up short of a title run. The Suns win Game One with pure team basketball that provides a thrill with anyone in love with unselfish basketball. All of the Suns starters finished with double digits in points and a plus/minus figure that hovered around +13. All of them. Sprinkle in a few double-doubles and Phoenix no longer looks like the wise guy special at 8-1 that a guy heard about as a tip from a guy he knows.

It’s still a long series and it’s still only one game. Denver will get in it at some point during the series. Just look for the stellar teamwork to lead Phoenix to the next round and beyond. They’ve made the Finals twice as a franchise. They’ve won zero of those.

If you happen to believe in fate, consider this: Paul Westphal made both Finals series (one as a player, one in his first year as the Suns head coach). He’s in the Phoenix ring of honor with his number 44 up in the rafters. He didn’t spend a ton of time as a Sun, but man did he pick the right years. Westphal and Phoenix became synonymous with success. He lived on the All-Star team, landed on the postseason first or second teams and played the best basketball in his life as a member of the Phoenix Suns. As a coach with Phoenix, he took over for the great Cotton Fitzsimmons and made them better. He made the playoffs for three straight seasons and management didn’t believe in him after he tossed in a poor performance in his final year. He’s one three-pointer from John Paxson away from a seventh game in 1993. (That would also save hundreds for my brother and his therapy bills.)

Westphal died on January 2nd this year. In the midst of the pandemic, Westphal dealt with the beast of brain cancer. Not many beat that and Paul passed away at the age of 70. Sports can become so beautiful and poetic at times. This is one of them. Win it for Paul.

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Expect high scores, frustrated golfers and extensive coverage as we get ready for the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course in South Carolina. Rory McIlroy (see my previous story) will enter the tournament as the favorite and he won the whole darn thing back in 2012. It’s extremely difficult to go back-to-back in majors nearly a decade apart – and the key to the entire weekend is the tee times of the first two rounds.

If it’s windy early and not late, the fellas in the afternoon get a major advantage. You can’t win the golf tournament on Thursday, but you can play your way out of it. We will see scores in the 80’s. When you mix a Pete Dye golf course with 30 miles per hour winds, you will get a scorecard that needs a TI-81.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Let’s start with the most important piece of information for you and me this week: TV times. I hope you already have ESPN +. I’d you don’t and you love golf, I Implore you to remedy that as soon as possible. ESPN + starts coverage Thursday at 7 AM and runs all the way to 1 PM where ESPN picks up the coverage. The streaming channel also boasts eight featured groups they will follow on Thursday:

7:38 AM – Rickie Fowler, Adam Scott, Tyrrell Hatton

8:22 AM – Xander Schauffele, Viktor Hovland, Lee Westwood

8:33 AM – Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka

8:44 AM – Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama

1:14 PM – Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Paddy Harrington

1:25 PM – Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Reed

1:58 PM – Jordan Spieth, Webb Simpson, Will Zalatoris

2:09 PM – Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Shane Lowry

ESPN + will also offer featured holes of 16, 17 & 18 all day, which is exciting to see how far behind the actually mail telecast is! Over the weekend, CBS will pick up coverage from 1-7 PM after ESPN+ starts at 8 AM. Needless to say that you can’t complain that you didn’t get a chance to watch the golf based on available coverage. It’s out there and it’s fantastic.

If anyone can predict a winning score in golf, then they should reside in Las Vegas because it’s improbable. Any change in wind hurts the player and inflates the score. I’m guessing a handful of players will break even over four days, but I’d be a liar if I told you to expect a birdie bonanza or an Open Championship setup with a ton of bogeys. We’ll see.

Here’s a look at the Comcast Business Tour Top 10: (potential #ad, cable friends!)

1. Bryson DeChambeau
2. Justin Thomas
3. Viktor Hovland
4. Xander Schauffele
5. Sam Burns
6. Cam Smith
7. Stewart Cink (with two wins in 2021!)
8. Jordan Spieth
9. Patrick Cantlay
10. Hideki Matsuyama (Masters champion)

Here’s a handful of helpful stats for filling out your fantasy golf team this week:

Scoring Average:

1. Viktor Hovland (69.73)
2. Justin Thomas (69.74)
3. Xander Schauffele (69.77)
4. Joaquin Neimann (69.77)
5. Webb Simpson (69.78)

Just look how close the scoring average between spots one through five actually are. These guys? Yeah, they’re good.

Strokes Gained (Putting):

1. Louis Oosthuizen
2. Patrick Reed
3. Brendon Todd
4. J.T. Poston
5. Zach Johnson

Keep an eye on Oostie. He’s been playing well in the last few months. So has his countryman Charl Schwartzel. Both have won majors.

Driving Distance:

1. Bryson DeChambeau (322.0 average)
2. Rory McIlroy (318.8)
3. Cameron Champ (318.0)
4. Wyndham Clark (315.6)
5. Will Gordon (314.4)

Yeah, it’s nice to drive the ball for days like Bryson. You still have to putt as well.

So, where does this leave us? It’s a completely wide-open major at The Ocean Course. Rory will go off as the favorite and my pick, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see 30 guys win this thing. Not all at once – that’s not allowed by the rules. Keep this in mind: off all the majors, the PGA for some reason gives guys under the radar a chance to shine. John Daly, anyone? If I were to pick an under the radar selection, I’d take Luke List. I hope everyone enjoys the PGA Championship.

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Rory McIlroy’s serendipity comes this week at the PGA Championship down at The Ocean Course in glittering Kiawah Island in South Carolina. Rory likes this place so much that – with a win on Sunday – he might just relocate residence to the Carolinas. Two weeks ago, after a win at Quail Hallow in North Carolina, the Northern Irishman said the Carolina crowd became his favorite in the world. It also helps when you get a trophy, FedEx Cup points and oodles of money. Currency never expires. Rory must’ve felt like his game started on that path a few years ago.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Rory’s a slam dunk Hall of Fame golfer with 19 PGA Tour wins, 14 European Tour wins, a pair of FedEx Cup championships and Ryder Cup moments for days. He can slam his trunk from now until the end of time and go down as one of the more special golfers in golf’s greatest generation. McIlroy’s resume cannot drop to the level of one or two-hit wonders in the majors and beyond. Winning his first two majors of his career, McIlroy stepped on the accelerator and turned off cruise control. Rory became Tiger-like, winning the US Open and PGA Championship by eight. His infamous mop of curly hair acted as a warning shot to the rest of the field. If Rors went low, you had no chance. After his first Tour Championship win in 2016, something unthinkable happened to one of the most consistent performers of the game. He didn’t win.

Whispers became hot takes. Roy hadn’t won a major since late 2014. Still hasn’t. That’s an incredibly tough benchmark for anyone – especially since McIlroy won $20 Million in two tournaments at the end of the PGA season with his pair of FedEx Cups. Rory won The Players, the API and a WGC event over a scalding Xander Schauffele in late 2019. He got married and had a baby and started a life. Those things could alter dominance of professional athletes so accustomed to greatest and to transcend this unattainable level of success. You’d half expect Rory to snap and ask aloud what the people want from him. Even Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods went through immense valleys. Do you know how incredibly tough it is to just win one golf tournament?

That brings us to this week near the Atlantic Ocean in the second major of the season on Tour. Bouncing back in the season from August to May as they make room for the inevitable failed experiment of the “playoffs,” the date on the calendar might become the biggest difference between now and 2012. McIlroy exchanged youth and cockiness for wisdom and leadership. He’s a completely different person almost a decade removed from this Wanamaker win.

Still, the signs scream out louder than the sea breeze hitting where the Atlantic takes shape. McIlroy won at Quail Hollow (for the third time) two weeks ago with his wife and baby in attendance as he celebrated success as a champion for the first time since the pandemic. After plodding for a round and change, Rors found the second gear and levitated towards the top of the board. He only won by a shot, but they don’t ask how – only how many – to grant access to the champions club. His daughter Poppy celebrated by screaming her head off, something her father perfected in the early 10’s in Ryder Cup play.

I think a number of professional gamblers can and will finds holes in Rory’s resume to fade him and go after one of the usual suspects in DJ, Jordo, Rahm or others. That’s fair and taken without a picogram of emotion or fate. When those aspects start to flood on the weekend, there’s no stopping the story from coming to fruition. At least that’s what dreamers like myself hope to believe. After all, expect anything different?

Lost in the triumphs and low points of McIlroy’s professional career? His age. He’s still only 32, celebrating it in his now second home state of North Carolina a fortnight back. Remember when everyone wanted Sergio to punch at Tiger’s level? That’s Rory McIlroy.  Serg got his Masters and maybe sneak in another major before he retires to his Texas life. It’s arguable that McIlroy could rev up the engine for another decade plus that includes the actual prime of his career.

It’s not about the money for McIlroy anymore. I’m not quite sure it ever was as he consistently pocketed enough cash and endorsements for a small country to enjoy. All next level athletes want to reinvent themselves to prove they still belong and get in with a chance against the best in the game. Next on the tee, Poppy’s poppy. How cool could this decade become for this family?

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Kentucky Derby winner and focus of every human this week at Pimlico Race Course Medina Spirit went head to head with a game Midnight Bourbon down the stretch in the Preakness Stakes. They were fighting for tote board positioning only – Rombauer already beat them in the Maryland twilight.

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The 11-1 shot used dawdling times to hang behind four horses before making his move at the top of the stretch. And, oh boy, what a move. Jockey Flavien Prat, winner of the 2019 Kentucky Derby fiasco that elevated longshot Country House to the winners circle actually won the race on merit this time. He flew faster than a NetJets plane down the center of the track for the easy win.

A grand total of zero NBC analysts selected Rombauer to win the race. They had like a dozen people there. No one gave this horse a shot. They didn’t even talk with the connections of the horse until the number six horse crossed the finish line first.

You almost get the feeling the connections of Rombauer got a shock of electricity when their horse came in first. The owner of the horse thanked the mother of the horse. You don’t hear that one everyday. Until Saturday evening, Rombauer hadn’t won a graded stakes race in his career. All of a sudden, he’s one of the top handful of 3-year-olds in the country. That’s how crazy this game works.

“I’m so proud of this horse,” trainer Michael McCarthy said choking up with emotion. “Coming to the quarter pole, I started to get a little excited. It was like an out of body experience. Fantastic.”

Rombauer paid a shade under $26 dollars to win on a $2 bet.

McCarthy found enough to composure to deadpan that celebrity trainers like Todd Pletcher (who McCarthy trained under) and Wayne Lukas that he “didn’t want to leave them flat footed, so I had to surprise them.”  

Midnight Bourbon, the chic horse who became the favorite with the Derby winner for most of the weekend, ended up in second while Medina Spirit finished his quest for the Triple Crown a disappointment in third place.

The Belmont won’t draw much appeal from those who casually follow the sport, but this race at Pimlico changes the entire complexion of horse racing’s current landscape in its most important division.

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who won* the Kentucky Derby on the first day of this month, said he didn’t want to come to Baltimore this week and become a disturbance for the other horses in the Preakness Stakes. Baffert then proceeded to toss an entire Alibi Breakfast’s worth of excuses after a positive drug test at the Derby. He lost on Saturday and might lose again if the second sample comes back positive.

That takes place in the future. Right now, a horse enjoys a blanket of Black-Eyed Susans and a place in Pimlico lore. Sometimes the good guys win.

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On Sunday morning, Churchill Downs sent out a Mother’s Day memo for the ages. There’s a chance the horse that went wire-to-wire in the Derby won’t keep its title.

“It is our understanding that Kentucky Derby winner Medina Spirit’s post-race blood sample indicated a violation of the Commonwealth of Kentucky’s equine medication protocols,” the bulletin press release screamed to the horse racing world and beyond. Churchill Downs went on to say that the connections of Medina Spirit have a right to a split test from the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission – and will wait on the results of their findings to determine if the horse won the race or becomes disqualified from the May 1 jewel.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Betamethasone, an anti-inflammatory drug, becomes the most googled word by Baltimore sports journalists this week. Kentucky stewards informed Baffert of the positive test on Friday afternoon, according to Eric Crawford of WDRB-TV in Louisville, Kentucky. Baffert claims no foul. He not only says his barn doesn’t use the drug, but that he will fight this inquiry of sorts “tooth and nail.”

Baffert’s no stranger to these whispers. He’s faced more failed drug tests than Triple Crown winners. When he won the Derby, Preakness and Belmont with Justify in 2018, the horse failed a drug test after the Santa Anita Derby. Justify won that race, too. It actually became the springboard for the 3-year-old to collect enough points to even run in the Derby. The violation becomes an absolute rabbit hole that shows incompetence in California racing (check out Tim Layden’s very deep dive for more). The failed test, known before the Derby, hung over Baffert for months. All of this became public from The New York Times a year after the Triple Crown series.

But let’s not get too bogged down in the past. Here’s what we know: Medina Spirit finished first at the Kentucky Derby. The trainer is under scrutiny for use of a topical steroid. The next race in the series takes place on Saturday.

If Medina Spirit did break the rules, Mandaloun becomes the winner of the Kentucky Derby.

Some will look at this story and say that people target Baffert and others will claim where there’s smoke there’s fire. At this point, we just have questions. Why does this happen to Baffert as frequently as a pitching change in a baseball game? How many trainers actually participate in the sport of horse racing without some extra help from banned substances? Does Bob just like the attention?

The most intriguing question until the horses get in the gate at the Preakness usually takes place in an odd scrum on Wednesday afternoon when a gaggle of humans ask “which one is the Derby horse” as horses unload throughout the day. That question hits a little bit differently this year.

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Will Zalatoris, the 24-year-old lanky Wake Forest man, finished runner-up at The Masters. He pocketed more than a million dollars. He also finished in the top ten at the U.S. Open in September. (There’s actually two U.S. Opens this season due to the pandemic.) So why isn’t this kid a member of the PGA Tour? He’d actually land in the top 15 of the FedEx Cup points list, but he’s not qualified for the playoffs just yet. It’s basically a “perfect storm” situation and the Tour now finds itself caught in the middle of it.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

Let’s rewind. Zalatoris started to rack up solid finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour (think of this like AAA in Baseball or the XFINITY series in NASCAR) after the pandemic pause ended. Usually, the end of the Korn Ferry season gives its top talents a PGA Tour card. We aren’t in usually times. So, Zalatoris found himself with a shot in September’s U.S. Open at Winged Foot. He didn’t throw the opportunity away in the least. Zalatoris finished sixth in the event where the worlds best play – it’s a major after all.

This created a snowball effect modern golf hasn’t seen. Zalatoris started to click off top ten finishes with his sponsor exceptions into events during the fall. He started playing well enough to get into World Golf Championship events. Then came The Masters. Zalatoris found himself in the final pairing on Saturday afternoon at Augusta National. Are you kidding me? Convention wisdom says Zalatoris starts hitting tee balls in the water and throwing away his chance to win a major. Didn’t happen. Zalatoris finished the tournament as the only golfer under par for all four days. It wasn’t good enough to beat Hideki Matsuyama, but it’s good enough for $1.2 million payout and an invite next year to the one golf event everyone wants to play.

And he’s still not a PGA Tour member!

Zalatoris has two ways to become a member this season: win two more events on the Korn Ferry Tour or win one event on the PGA Tour. Since he does enjoy Special Temporary Membership, Zalatoris doesn’t have the pressure of a top ten finish to play the next event. He’s good for the rest of the season and odds are he will find the winners circle at some point this summer. There’s just no way he’s going back to the Korn Ferry Tour, unless he suddenly loses his swing.

After the second place finish in Augusta, Zalatoris said that two years ago he put together a plan and I’m thinking it’s coming together nicely and ahead of schedule. This kid is here to stay.

Chip Shots:

*Stewart Cink won The Heritage on Hilton Head Island on Sunday afternoon with his son on his bag as his caddy for the tournament and his family in the crowd. It actually resembles one of those Christmas cards where everyone dresses up in white or black and takes a picture on the beach. The 47-year-old Cink won the event in 2001 & ’04. He also beat Tom Watson in a memorable playoff at The Open Championship were seemingly everyone in the world was rooting for Watson. CBS actually interviewed the Cink family on the 18^th green as wife Lisa fought back tears, showing the emotion her family endured during her cancer process. The conversation between father and son waking up the 18^th hole brought a tear to my eye. That’s something that every kid dreams about – to enjoy the walk up the last hole with the tournament in hand and your Dad about to win the trophy. So cool.

*Showing how incredibly flush with money they are, the PGA Tour instituted a new bonus pool of money ($40 million total) that players would receive at the end of the season – and it doesn’t really matter how they play. According to Golfweek, the basis for the bonus money is based on Google search popularity, Nielsen brand exposure rating, appeal, engagement on socials and frequency of positive media coverage. Finally something to bring Rickie Fowler back in the winners circle! This is a really bad idea for a number of reasons, but mostly because it shows children that you don’t have to be good (Fowler didn’t qualify for The Masters!) to win a couple million bucks. I understand that clicks and social networking consumes many people – I want to thank you for clicking on this article – it just has zero to do with the product the Tour showcases. Actually, I have an idea. You want to start this new pool of money? Ok. I have a great idea who wins first place: Will Zalatoris.

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