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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
  2. <feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
  3.  <title>SBNation.com -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <icon>https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/46737/sbn-fave.png</icon>
  5.  <updated>2024-10-04T16:29:00-04:00</updated>
  6.  <id>http://feeds.sbnation.com/rss/current/</id>
  7.  <link type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/" rel="alternate"/>
  8.  <entry>
  9.    <published>2024-10-04T16:29:00-04:00</published>
  10.    <updated>2024-10-04T16:29:00-04:00</updated>
  11.    <title>Davante Adams forces NFL fans to recall their poetry</title>
  12.    <content type="html">  
  13.  
  14.    &lt;figure&gt;
  15.      &lt;img alt="NFL: Carolina Panthers at Las Vegas Raiders" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eIXZlkqMfLfjfJlGhH1-0-aIk0A=/0x0:8001x5334/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73632631/usa_today_24304204.0.jpg" /&gt;
  16.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Kirby Lee-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  17.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  18.  
  19.  &lt;p&gt;Las Vegas Raiders receiver Davante Adams has NFL fans and media members alike reaching for old poetry textbooks this Friday afternoon&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="BJvi3P"&gt;The Davante Adams drama in the NFL has taken a poetic turn.&lt;/p&gt;
  20. &lt;p id="N5aKZq"&gt;Literally.&lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="zDsz5b"&gt;When reports emerged that the star wide receiver had requested a trade from the &lt;a href="https://www.silverandblackpride.com/"&gt;Las Vegas Raiders&lt;/a&gt;, every media outlet under the sun kicked speculation over potential landing spots into overdrive. We here at &lt;em&gt;SB Nation &lt;/em&gt;were absolutely not immune, posting a story regarding &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2024/10/1/24259520/davante-adams-trade-rumors-packers-49ers-jets-commanders"&gt;six potential trade destinations&lt;/a&gt; before taking the matter to the critically-acclaimed* series “&lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/2024/10/2/24260416/davante-adams-trade-rumors-jets-saints-nfl"&gt;Football Court&lt;/a&gt;.”&lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;p id="Q17bf9"&gt;*Who are those critics? Family members, mostly. But we digress ...&lt;/p&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="qy4iMX"&gt;However, the latest twist to the tale has every member of the sports media world reaching back to their high school days, and remembering their poetry. Or trying to, that is.&lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;p id="Smjx77"&gt;On Friday Adams posted an image of none other than Edgar Allan Poe, the famous American poet and author of numerous works of mystery and macabre. Including, of course, “&lt;a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/48860/the-raven"&gt;The Raven&lt;/a&gt;,” a work that tells the story of a mournful student lamenting the loss of his lover, and a visit from a talking raven:&lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;div id="gEsVYx"&gt;
  26. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  27. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Oh nothing, just Davante Adams posting a pic of Edgar Allen Poe… &lt;a href="https://t.co/7Usp4HbHfl"&gt;pic.twitter.com/7Usp4HbHfl&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MikeGarafolo/status/1842262580531789855?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 4, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  28. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  29. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  30.  
  31. &lt;/div&gt;
  32. &lt;p id="VmsSCs"&gt;That work from the Baltimore native also &lt;a href="https://www.profootballhof.com/teams/baltimore-ravens/team-history"&gt;inspired the nickname&lt;/a&gt; utilized when pro football returned to Maryland, with the &lt;a href="https://www.baltimorebeatdown.com/"&gt;Baltimore Ravens&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  33. &lt;p id="wPqiCV"&gt;As you might expect, that post prompted many to conclude that Adams would be heading to Baltimore. Although some, at least around the water coolers at &lt;em&gt;SB Nation’s &lt;/em&gt;offices, believed it was merely an indication that Adams wanted to pay for the Raiders “nevermore,” as the often-quoted line from “The Raven” reads. In the poem only word the raven would say was “nevermore.”&lt;/p&gt;
  34. &lt;p id="eHOzQe"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night’s Plutonian shore!”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  35. &lt;p id="j2On1Z"&gt;&lt;em&gt;       Quoth the Raven “Nevermore.”&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  36. &lt;p id="KnaU7s"&gt;So, you can see why NFL fans and media members alike are trying to recall their high school literature classes ... &lt;/p&gt;
  37. &lt;p id="j0SOE9"&gt;Of course, there is a simple explanation here.&lt;/p&gt;
  38. &lt;p id="NOa4O4"&gt;Adams just really likes Poe’s work.&lt;/p&gt;
  39. &lt;p id="dMYVvy"&gt;(We will ignore the fact that Poe is also the name of the Ravens mascot).&lt;/p&gt;
  40.  
  41. </content>
  42.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2024/10/4/24262419/davante-adams-nfl-ravens-raiders"/>
  43.    <id>https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2024/10/4/24262419/davante-adams-nfl-ravens-raiders</id>
  44.    <author>
  45.      <name>Mark Schofield</name>
  46.    </author>
  47.  </entry>
  48.  <entry>
  49.    <published>2024-10-04T16:07:18-04:00</published>
  50.    <updated>2024-10-04T16:07:18-04:00</updated>
  51.    <title>Former Ryder Cup star Daniel Berger finally feeling 100%, back to contending on PGA Tour </title>
  52.    <content type="html">  
  53.  
  54.    &lt;figure&gt;
  55.      &lt;img alt="Daniel Berger, PGA Tour, Sanderson Farms Championship" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wtTgdyrv_ODIzh-7riRTZEXeDbk=/0x2:6165x4112/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73632593/2176721932.0.jpg" /&gt;
  56.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Daniel Berger during the second round of the Sanderson Farms Championship. | Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  57.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  58.  
  59.  &lt;p&gt;Daniel Berger, a former top-20 player in the world, is back to feeling healthy after a lengthy battle with injuries.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="x3rJat"&gt;This week’s &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/10/3/24261391/pga-tour-david-skinns-59-sanderson-farms-championship"&gt;Sanderson Farms Championship&lt;/a&gt; in Mississippi marks &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/1/12/24035151/pga-news-ryder-cup-star-daniel-berger-return-injury"&gt;Daniel Berger’s 22nd start on the PGA Tour&lt;/a&gt; in 2024. But it has not been an easy season for the former &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ryder-cup-golf"&gt;Ryder Cup&lt;/a&gt; star.&lt;/p&gt;
  60. &lt;p id="QmrRxO"&gt;He missed 11 cuts and has posted zero top-10s to date. His best finish came at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May, when he tied for 13th. Yet, Berger feels fortunate enough just to be playing after a back injury troubled him for nearly 18 months. The 2022 &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/us-open-golf"&gt;U.S. Open&lt;/a&gt; at Brookline was his last professional start until this past January, when he teed it up at The American Express.&lt;/p&gt;
  61. &lt;p id="nF9Fe2"&gt;Now, at the Country Club of Jackson, Berger is back where he belongs: contending at a PGA Tour event through 36 holes. He fired a 7-under 65 on Thursday and followed that up with another 65 on Friday to sit at 14-under at the midway point. &lt;a href="https://x.com/jack_milko/status/1842244149208346757"&gt;Berger briefly held the lead&lt;/a&gt; at one point but now trails Beau Hossler by a stroke. &lt;/p&gt;
  62. &lt;p id="EbpvW8"&gt;After his second round, the four-time PGA Tour winner provided a sensational admission. &lt;/p&gt;
  63. &lt;p id="aGzM0C"&gt;“This is probably the first time I can say I’m 100%,” Berger said after his round.&lt;/p&gt;
  64. &lt;p id="FGATux"&gt;“The last couple weeks, I felt my best and played a bunch of golf at home with the guys, and I am hitting it further and just feeling like myself more. That’s translating into what I’m seeing now.”&lt;/p&gt;
  65. &lt;p id="NnIAE1"&gt;What he is seeing is tremendous. He is currently second among the field in overall strokes gained and has yet to record a bogey.&lt;/p&gt;
  66. &lt;p id="qr5DqX"&gt;“I’m just trying to have some fun and enjoy myself,” Berger added.&lt;/p&gt;
  67. &lt;div id="MxeenW"&gt;
  68. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  69. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Daniel Berger has the lead in Jackson.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;LFG!!!!&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;A win for Danny would be an INCREDIBLE story of redemption and one of THE stories of the year. &lt;a href="https://t.co/1pgOvDhPfB"&gt;pic.twitter.com/1pgOvDhPfB&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Jack Milko (@jack_milko) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/jack_milko/status/1842244149208346757?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 4, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  70. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  71. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  72.  
  73. &lt;/div&gt;
  74. &lt;p id="nZk5d7"&gt;“Seems to be working so far. My dad was out here earlier with me this week, so it has felt like a normal week at home. That’s usually when I play my best.”&lt;/p&gt;
  75. &lt;p id="gdeRVw"&gt;If you have followed golf over the past few years, you know the sport has been turned upside down. The rise of &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/10/2/24260274/pga-tour-liv-golf-split-not-settled-st-andrews"&gt;LIV Golf has splintered the sport&lt;/a&gt; while forcing the PGA Tour to make some changes, such as &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/8/29/24231265/pga-tour-justin-thomas-laud-aon-next-10-swing-5"&gt;creating Signature Events&lt;/a&gt; to ensure top golfers play alongside each other.  &lt;/p&gt;
  76. &lt;p id="YrQf5l"&gt;But Berger has not played in a Signature Event because he missed nearly two years. That forced him to play in some unfamiliar tournaments; then again, at least he is healthy enough to do so.&lt;/p&gt;
  77. &lt;p id="ASYJeJ"&gt;“In the beginning, it was extremely difficult,” Berger said.&lt;/p&gt;
  78. &lt;p id="WbD9hl"&gt;“The landscape of the golf world has changed from when I took time off to where I am now. The tournaments that I’m in—I wasn’t in this year, but I would’ve been in before. So I’m playing new events I never played before, going places I never had on my schedule, changing golf coaches, and having new caddies. You add all this change, and it just becomes challenging. I’ve just tried to dig in, be patient, and enjoy the process.”&lt;/p&gt;
  79. &lt;p id="VO6ric"&gt;Perhaps that explains why Berger struggled during the first half of 2024.&lt;/p&gt;
  80. &lt;p id="ZH5SFY"&gt;“When you miss nearly two years, you don’t come back and see immediate success, it can be challenging,” Berger added.&lt;/p&gt;
  81. &lt;p id="vOSH3o"&gt;“Now I’m just having fun, and that’s when I play my best.”&lt;/p&gt;
  82. &lt;p id="YlWRzN"&gt;Hopefully, the best for Berger has yet to come.&lt;/p&gt;
  83. &lt;p id="5CGHSf"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/_PlayingThrough"&gt;&lt;em&gt;@_PlayingThrough&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/jack_milko"&gt;&lt;em&gt;@jack_milko&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; as well.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  84.  
  85. </content>
  86.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/10/4/24262342/pga-tour-daniel-berger-100-percent-sanderson-farms"/>
  87.    <id>https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/10/4/24262342/pga-tour-daniel-berger-100-percent-sanderson-farms</id>
  88.    <author>
  89.      <name>Jack Milko</name>
  90.    </author>
  91.  </entry>
  92.  <entry>
  93.    <published>2024-10-04T14:42:56-04:00</published>
  94.    <updated>2024-10-04T14:42:56-04:00</updated>
  95.    <title>Courtney Williams might just be the best trash talker in the WNBA </title>
  96.    <content type="html">  
  97.  
  98.    &lt;figure&gt;
  99.      &lt;img alt="Connecticut Sun v Minnesota Lynx" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1vdPDhwPzgUYDEygf37N6N-0czg=/0x0:2508x1672/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73632392/2174768554.0.jpg" /&gt;
  100.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  101.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  102.  
  103.  &lt;p&gt;Williams went back-and-forth with Marina Mabrey in Tuesday’s game between the Minnesota Lynx and Connecticut Sun. But, for her, trash talking is never that deep: “That’s my dawg.” &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="Hj2bgO"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;UNCASVILLE, Conn&lt;/strong&gt;. —  On Tuesday night, when the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx faced off in Game 2 of the &lt;a href="https://www.swishappeal.com"&gt;WNBA&lt;/a&gt; semi-finals, Courtney Williams and Marina Mabrey made headlines for some third-quarter trash talk. &lt;/p&gt;
  104. &lt;p id="oH86HV"&gt;“Told her she couldn’t guard me,” Williams said matter-of-factly after Minnesota’s 77-70 win, in which she helped lead the way with 17 points.&lt;/p&gt;
  105. &lt;p id="u9llnn"&gt;On Friday morning at shootaround, Williams grinned when asked about where she ranked among the league’s best trash-talkers. &lt;/p&gt;
  106. &lt;p id="uvpdeg"&gt;“I’m up there,” Williams said. “I ain’t gonna say I’m the best, but I’m like a smooth trash talker.”&lt;/p&gt;
  107. &lt;p id="vQPDEc"&gt;The key for Williams? Keeping things light, she said. Some players get personal, others get emotional. But Williams stays happy when she goes at other team’s competitors. &lt;/p&gt;
  108. &lt;p id="cov8NJ"&gt;“Like, I don’t really get mad when I trash talk,” Williams said. “Some people trash talking — they be mad, out there playing mad. I trash talk, I’m still smiling and happy, so there’s different levels. Some people take themselves out of games when they start trash talking.”&lt;/p&gt;
  109. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  110.        &lt;img alt="Minnesota Lynx v Connecticut Sun" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nYfgBVdtxAFYGxDwmYHJVvkZb5o=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25658607/2172257208.jpg"&gt;
  111.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Khoi Ton/NBAE via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  112.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  113. &lt;p id="5Iza2N"&gt;Williams and Mabrey very well could go after it again tonight when the Sun and Lynx run it back tonight in Game 3 at the Mohegan Sun Arena. The duo goes way back: before they were fiery competitors battling in the WNBA semifinals, they were teammates and friends on the Chicago Sky. &lt;/p&gt;
  114. &lt;p id="Xi15Hl"&gt;“That’s my dawg now,” Williams said. &lt;/p&gt;
  115. &lt;p id="rPoo8K"&gt;But, when the two teams face off at Mohegan Sun Arena tonight, that friendship will be put aside — and all Mabrey and Williams will be is competitors. Mabrey can &lt;em&gt;sometimes&lt;/em&gt; handle her trash talk, Williams said jokingly, while making clear that for her it’s never a distraction. &lt;/p&gt;
  116. &lt;p id="K8ZbSB"&gt;“I know how to control my trash talk.” &lt;/p&gt;
  117. &lt;p id="GbtG4r"&gt;Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman attested at shootaround that there are few trash-talkers in the WNBA who rival Courtney Williams. &lt;/p&gt;
  118. &lt;p id="I97Q3b"&gt;“Courtney’s probably the most confident person I’ve done ever met,” Hiedeman said. “I’m not gonna lie, she could be 0 for 10. She’s still gonna talk, she’s still gonna pop it. But I think that just goes to show who she is as a person. She’s very, very confident.”&lt;/p&gt;
  119. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  120.        &lt;img alt="Los Angeles Sparks v Minnesota Lynx" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LtA4EA34_4jO1h2p9ns3U_vrcK0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25658605/2172275661.jpg"&gt;
  121.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  122.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  123. &lt;p id="uZBd6S"&gt;Hiedeman’s said that Williams’ trash talk has been contagious for the Lynx, in a positive way. &lt;/p&gt;
  124. &lt;p id="6xgHTy"&gt;“She instills that confidence in in everybody,” Hiedeman said. “So, man, I’m happy we on the same team, you know what I’m saying, because when she get to talking... but nah, she’s definitely a top five for sure.”&lt;/p&gt;
  125. &lt;p id="wVWXDP"&gt;And, she attested that Williams’ back-and-forth never gets too heavy. &lt;/p&gt;
  126. &lt;p id="JuWjZn"&gt;“To her, it’s a basketball game,” Hiedeman said. “So, everything that happens on this court stays on the court. Hers is more like — she’s going to talk, she’s going to let you know she’s here, but it’s nothing crazy.”&lt;/p&gt;
  127. &lt;p id="9SEEfZ"&gt;It’s important to note that Williams’ trash-talk isn’t limited to games — it comes out in practice, too. &lt;/p&gt;
  128. &lt;p id="k9Uz8r"&gt;And, when the Lynx are just hanging out. &lt;/p&gt;
  129. &lt;p id="bDXb70"&gt;“She talks &lt;em&gt;all&lt;/em&gt; the time,” Hiedeman said. “She’ll probably talk when we go to breakfast. No matter to who.”&lt;/p&gt;
  130. &lt;p id="Jeyi4C"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  131. &lt;p id="UGRzk8"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  132. &lt;p id="pAsF0T"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  133. &lt;p id="vI20Ep"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  134.  
  135. </content>
  136.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2024/10/4/24262227/courtney-williams-minnesota-lynx-marina-mabrey-connecticut-sun-wnba-playoffs-natisha-hiedeman"/>
  137.    <id>https://www.sbnation.com/wnba/2024/10/4/24262227/courtney-williams-minnesota-lynx-marina-mabrey-connecticut-sun-wnba-playoffs-natisha-hiedeman</id>
  138.    <author>
  139.      <name>Noa Dalzell</name>
  140.    </author>
  141.  </entry>
  142.  <entry>
  143.    <published>2024-10-04T14:32:02-04:00</published>
  144.    <updated>2024-10-04T14:32:02-04:00</updated>
  145.    <title>PGA Tour winner Smylie Kaufman discusses NBC Sports stardom, Augusta National, in exclusive Q&amp;A</title>
  146.    <content type="html">  
  147.  
  148.    &lt;figure&gt;
  149.      &lt;img alt="Smylie Kaufman, PGA Tour, The Players" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/H4Pdt--cpDUSbzSjvChX5DGN9Vg=/0x387:3578x2772/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73632356/2089630453.0.jpg" /&gt;
  150.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Smylie Kaufman reports from the course during the third round of The Players Championship. | Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  151.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  152.  
  153.  &lt;p&gt;SB Nation sat down with Smylie Kaufman to talk about numerous topics, including his rise to broadcasting prominence at NBC Sports.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="1VOGqW"&gt;Thirty-two-year-old Smylie Kaufman has quickly become one of the most popular individuals in all of golf. &lt;/p&gt;
  154. &lt;p id="9XY3Ro"&gt;He has his own podcast, The Smylie Show, where he interviews players and anyone within the golf world, discussing various subjects, from golf tips to trips he has taken. He is also a stalwart on &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/8/31/24232391/pga-tour-nbc-sports-curt-byrum-busy-season"&gt;NBC Sports&lt;/a&gt; broadcasts, walking with marquee groups and providing tremendous intel on what is actually happening on the course. His easy-going demeanor, charming sense of humor, and ability to relate to so many different types of people have turned him into a star.&lt;/p&gt;
  155. &lt;p id="bNyAty"&gt;But Kaufman spent a few years battling it out on the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/10/3/24261391/pga-tour-david-skinns-59-sanderson-farms-championship"&gt;PGA Tour&lt;/a&gt; before becoming a staple on your screens. He even won the 2015 &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2023/10/13/23915660/shriners-childrens-open-pga-tour-events-kids-live-best-life"&gt;Shriners Children’s Open&lt;/a&gt;, coming from six strokes back on Sunday to win by one. He shot a 61 that day at TPC Summerlin. &lt;/p&gt;
  156. &lt;p id="65tlvq"&gt;Six months later, he found himself in the final group at the 2016 Masters, paired with &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/4/12/24128335/jordan-spieth-masters-history-no-one-wants-augusta-national"&gt;Jordan Spieth&lt;/a&gt;. If you are reading this, you likely know what happened to Spieth on that fateful Sunday—Kaufman touches on that in our conversation below.&lt;/p&gt;
  157. &lt;p id="QpGXvv"&gt;A week later, though, his wrist became an issue. That injury would plague him for years to come as he struggled to tee it up in PGA Tour events, let alone contend in them. He then missed 32 cuts during the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and by that point, his mental health began to trouble him. He lost his confidence in his swing and himself. &lt;/p&gt;
  158. &lt;p id="fF6894"&gt;Kaufman made five starts on the PGA Tour in 2019, missing four cuts. He then took a quick trip to the Korn Ferry Tour, making seven starts but missing the cut in six. He withdrew from the other event he played in after an opening-round 81. &lt;/p&gt;
  159. &lt;p id="gCdrj5"&gt;That briefly explains why he eventually decided to do something else in golf. So, luckily, ESPN invited him to join its ESPN+ broadcast during the 2022 PGA Championship, and well, the rest is history. &lt;/p&gt;
  160. &lt;h2 id="cTfn26"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;One on One with Smylie Kaufman, the former PGA Tour pro who is now an NBC Sports star:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
  161. &lt;p id="1EuRNc"&gt;&lt;em&gt;(Editor’s Note: This conversation has been slightly edited and modified for readability and clarity.)&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  162. &lt;h4 id="H43T4G"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB Nation: Did you ever envision that you’d become a broadcaster after your playing career?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  163. &lt;p id="MPiQL3"&gt;Smylie Kaufman: No. I tell people all the time it’s the dream job I didn’t know I had dreams of having.&lt;/p&gt;
  164. &lt;p id="nAXSTY"&gt;So, I’ve been very fortunate to land on my feet, and it’s something that, in the game of golf, and to be involved at the highest level of the sport, it really has become a dream job.&lt;/p&gt;
  165. &lt;p id="5ZYxz0"&gt;People ask me all the time, ‘Are you gonna turn pro again?’&lt;/p&gt;
  166. &lt;p id="IGGOQ3"&gt;To which I say, ‘Why would I ever leave this?’&lt;/p&gt;
  167. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  168.        &lt;img alt="Smylie Kaufman, PGA Tour, The Players Championship" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/veBIAD_sSKQzk_7EOf9eRcJN7Vs=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25658454/2079443275.jpg"&gt;
  169.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  170.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Keith Mitchell and Smylie Kaufman at The 2024 Players Championship.&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  171.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  172. &lt;p id="BYcBFB"&gt;This is one of the coolest things ever. I get to travel on the PGA Tour during the best weeks of the year. I’ve gotten to experience a &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/ryder-cup-golf"&gt;Ryder Cup&lt;/a&gt; now, a &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/9/29/24257756/presidents-cup-usa-win-keegan-bradley-clinches-10th-straight"&gt;Presidents Cup&lt;/a&gt;, two Open Championships, two U.S. Opens, and, of course, the incredible PGA tour calendar that NBC has. It’s just been very rewarding and very fun, and it’s a totally different level of busy than before.&lt;/p&gt;
  173. &lt;p id="4N2TAz"&gt;I have a lot more going on now than I did. I think back to when I was still playing, how much I really practiced and worked a routine to the point that when I show up now and play golf, my expectations are, you know, still high. But then I got to remind myself, ‘Dude, you don’t practice or play. So, let’s chill out a little bit here on your expectations.’&lt;/p&gt;
  174. &lt;p id="W0RZGN"&gt;But just to put a bow on your question, yeah. I would have never dreamed of it, but it’s been a lot of fun.&lt;/p&gt;
  175. &lt;h4 id="8V40hs"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: My understanding is that ESPN took a shot on you at Southern Hills, right?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  176. &lt;p id="j4AMkt"&gt;Kaufman: That’s where it all started. I was at Southern Hills for the &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/pga-championship"&gt;PGA Championship&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  177. &lt;p id="Fl7fYo"&gt;It was kind of scary because I had no training. It was just, ‘Go put on your headset and go out there.’ The only advice I got wasn’t even good advice. It was actually scary advice.&lt;/p&gt;
  178. &lt;p id="9ovpE7"&gt;They said, ‘This is kind of a sink or swim type of thing. You either can do it or you can’t.” And I was like, ‘Huh. Okay. Well, I don’t know if I should be nervous or should I try too hard.’&lt;/p&gt;
  179. &lt;p id="zx82u3"&gt;So I started on the back nine, put on my headset, and got to the bottom of the hill. But it was a tough week for our headsets, and I wouldn’t have known this. It was my first time ever having a headset on, and the static was just so bad. And now I know that if that happens, I just talk to my producer and say, ‘Hey, I can’t hear anything. Don’t bring me in. I’ve got static in my ear.’ &lt;/p&gt;
  180. &lt;p id="JsDuSN"&gt;But anyway, at Southern Hills, I’m just trying to do my job. So Will Zalatoris is there and I’ll never forget this. He’s in the right rough, behind a small tree, and in a buried Bermuda lie. He’s going to a front pin, and so my golf brain and PGA Tour brain are thinking, ‘He can’t hit this inside of 30 feet.’ So that’s what I said. That was my first setup of a shot. Then Willy Z whacked his wedge out of there and hit it to about four feet. So I’m thinking, ‘Man, this is a tough start, and I still can’t hear anything.’&lt;/p&gt;
  181. &lt;p id="xVNHyx"&gt;Luckily, the day got better as the day went on. But you have to learn this job on the fly. And I’m glad I’ve been able to learn from a lot of really talented people in this industry.&lt;/p&gt;
  182. &lt;h4 id="oN6V2y"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: What would you consider the most important broadcasting lesson you’ve learned over the past few years? To add to that, who did you get that lesson from?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  183. &lt;p id="xcD1XJ"&gt;Kaufman: I have received a couple of good lessons. The first one was from Trevor Immelman. I worked with him before he got the CBS lead analyst role.&lt;/p&gt;
  184. &lt;p id="f99zWj"&gt;He was doing some Golf Channel work in the fall, I guess, maybe two years ago. He was the analyst, but he has also been an on-course walker, which is what I was doing. So, he just tried to stretch my boundaries a bit: ‘Explain why a player is thinking this. Tell me more than it’s 157 yards to the pin.’&lt;/p&gt;
  185. &lt;p id="WtgcGY"&gt;He even said, ‘Just go a whole day, don’t even give me a number, and just give me anything that you find interesting.’ That just expanded the role for me. It’s very easy to get into, you know, 157 yards to the pin and give all these numbers.&lt;/p&gt;
  186. &lt;p id="2WLOgM"&gt;So that was a valuable lesson Trevor gave me there.&lt;/p&gt;
  187. &lt;p id="Go1t5t"&gt;And there are other lessons, too, like understanding time. How much time do you have on the air?&lt;/p&gt;
  188. &lt;p id="ueyyaZ"&gt;Some days, you’re not in rhythm because the broadcast is going to other groups, and your guy—it depends on how your guy is playing because I only call live golf shots—I don’t call any tape shots—so if we’re there live, you hear me, if you’re with my group and we’re not live, you don’t hear me.&lt;/p&gt;
  189. &lt;p id="aexwFv"&gt;Understanding time has been a valuable lesson. There have been some other things that aren’t quite as important, but those are the top two.&lt;/p&gt;
  190. &lt;h4 id="faR0TN"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: How did the Friday Happy Hour come about?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  191. &lt;p id="Yzphxt"&gt;Kaufman: It’s funny. So in Phoenix, I knew they wanted to do something at the &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/2/5/24062608/phoenix-open-5-most-memorable-moments-tpc-scottsdale"&gt;16th hole at TPC Scottsdale&lt;/a&gt;, and I found this out because they were trying to get, I think, Travis Kelce, they were trying to get maybe Jimmy Fallon. I guess they had Kevin Kisner locked up to do it, so they went through the list of trying to get somebody and couldn’t find anybody to do it.&lt;/p&gt;
  192. &lt;p id="rHAiHV"&gt;And so they said, ‘We couldn’t find anybody to do this. Do you want to do it?’&lt;/p&gt;
  193. &lt;p id="F9uaWo"&gt;So I said, ‘Hell yeah, I wanna do it.’ And so this is before happy hour really started.&lt;/p&gt;
  194. &lt;p id="W02oBU"&gt;But the idea was to be there on Saturday afternoon with all the big groups coming through.&lt;/p&gt;
  195. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  196.        &lt;img alt="Smylie Kaufman, Kevin Kisner, PGA Tour, WM Phoenix Open" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mioudGnt9sQbUMp5Le3jc-ml5T4=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25658453/1993697998.jpg"&gt;
  197.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty&lt;/cite&gt;
  198.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Smylie Kaufman and Kevin Kisner during the third round of the WM Phoenix Open.&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  199.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  200. &lt;p id="2BHrk5"&gt;And the WM Phoenix Open just happened to have the worst weather ever this year. It was cold, windy, rainy. So, unfortunately for us, because of the restarts and them not being on time because of the schedule, we had the back half of the wave come through that evening, so we didn’t have all of the leaders on our side. So we got the back half of the wave, and then Kisner and I went full tilt. We really leaned all the way in and just said, ‘You know what, we’re going to have a good time with this—it would be just like if Kis and I were sitting there at a bar watching the golf, saying exactly what comes to our mind. Granted, not everything came out that pops into our brains, or we probably wouldn’t be working anymore. But it was a lot of fun, and I think NBC and our executives realized that, whether it was Kis being there or not, they just felt like we needed to keep doing this. &lt;/p&gt;
  201. &lt;p id="Qmusa2"&gt;So, Friday seemed to be the round early enough in the week to where we’re not taking away from the golf experience on the weekend. You can have guys who just got off the course come on the show and tell us about how the course is playing and their rounds, and personalize the player. So it’s really helped, I think. First off, from my standpoint, the players, I have a lot to thank them for because they gave their time up, but it’s also given us an opportunity to get to know these players a little bit more.&lt;/p&gt;
  202. &lt;p id="qCtULP"&gt;I feel like I can open these guys up, and we’re having a conversation, and it’s not quite media-based. It’s much more like, ‘Hey, we’re just talking shop,’ and that’s what I want it to be. Of course, we’ll throw in some fun production elements they’ll have to react to. They don’t know what’s coming. And if we have enough time, we can really nail it.&lt;/p&gt;
  203. &lt;p id="KvLrkv"&gt;For instance, at the U.S. Open this year, I didn’t know &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/6/17/24179879/bryson-dechambeau-us-open-wins-5-takeaways-pinehurst"&gt;Bryson DeChambeau&lt;/a&gt; would be the &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/us-open-tennis"&gt;US Open&lt;/a&gt; Happy Hour guest until 20 minutes before.&lt;/p&gt;
  204. &lt;p id="djqote"&gt;I’d done all the planning as if he was going to do it, but I didn’t know if he was actually gonna say, ‘Hey, actually, yeah, I’m in.’&lt;/p&gt;
  205. &lt;p id="tkyR18"&gt;So, Happy Hour can be very stressful getting guests, but when they do show up, it’s gone really well. I have gotten a lot of really good feedback from the fans just walking on the grounds, people who just really enjoy watching it. I would have never dreamed at the beginning of the year that this would have been part of my calendar year, but it’s been great.&lt;/p&gt;
  206. &lt;h4 id="mTEMr3"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: Who do you look up to for inspiration in the broadcasting space? Do you have any favorite announcers or producers that you admire?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  207. &lt;p id="Nc5Fee"&gt;Kaufman: You know, that’s a great question. That’s probably a question that not many people ask because I think you hear people talk on the TV, and you probably don’t think about us leaning on people. But I feel that Curt Byrum and I have a really good relationship, and he’s not afraid to tell me, ‘Great job,’ but he is also the first person to say, ‘Hey, we need to work on this,’ or, ‘We probably could have done more of this.’&lt;/p&gt;
  208. &lt;p id="boO7e7"&gt;He’s been in this business for a very long time and is very good at anything he does. I have leaned on Curt, and we have a really good relationship.&lt;/p&gt;
  209. &lt;p id="yc6qSq"&gt;And then &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/9/24/24252523/presidents-cup-dan-hicks-underdog-internationals"&gt;Dan Hicks has been somebody&lt;/a&gt; that I’ve always been able to go to for anything. You know, getting with NBC, I’ve had some very big groups in some very big moments, and it’s different when you get to 16, 17, and 18, at big, big events about how you set the stage, how the traffic should be—and just understanding how we’re going to set this all up.&lt;/p&gt;
  210. &lt;p id="L9YIEj"&gt;So that’s been a bit of a learning curve because sometimes you want to let those moments breathe, let them just unfold, and have Dan, the great play-by-play guy he is, set up the scene in that moment. I think I’ve had to learn when to step in and when to step out in those instances.&lt;/p&gt;
  211. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  212.        &lt;img alt="Smylie Kaufman, PGA Tour, FedEx St. Jude Championship" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/VStC9l4yKNV3NImAwsfidKE6T8Q=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25658449/2166472388.jpg"&gt;
  213.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by James Gilbert/PGA Tour via Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  214.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Smylie Kaufman during the third round of the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship.&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  215.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  216. &lt;h4 id="UQZwic"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: You have the Smiley Show, too. How does podcasting compare to broadcasting? And what’s your favorite moment thus far from the Smiley Show?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  217. &lt;p id="LiIscQ"&gt;Kaufman: The show has helped me grow as an interviewer. As easy as I assumed it would be, I feel it’s a challenge. It’s something that I feel like I’ve had to grow in. I’ve had to learn what I do well and what I don’t do well and try to improve in those areas.&lt;/p&gt;
  218. &lt;p id="cjpdRz"&gt;And I feel like the show has been great for me to do that. Honestly, it was a seamless transition into the Happy Hour stuff because of the show. I’m already having these conversations with these guys on the podcast.&lt;/p&gt;
  219. &lt;p id="rsutjr"&gt;And that’s where I think NBC was thinking, ‘All right, he kind of already does this. Let’s throw him on TV and have him do it.’&lt;/p&gt;
  220. &lt;p id="MMm18X"&gt;But I think my favorite episodes… Gosh, I mean, I’ve had so many great guests, and honestly, it’s hard to pick just one. But my favorite one would probably be Viktor Holand, who was fun because he had such a great year in 2023.&lt;/p&gt;
  221. &lt;p id="ZtFdUR"&gt;I had some really interesting and funny moments with him at the Ryder Cup, but then we also broke down his golf swing and chipping. So we kind of golf-nerded it out.&lt;/p&gt;
  222. &lt;p id="jsVoJf"&gt;We talked about what a great year he had.&lt;/p&gt;
  223. &lt;p id="KCf8BS"&gt;Viktor Holland was probably one of the most interesting episodes we have had. We have him on the books to do it again, and we’re going to have him back on, which I think will be really interesting to hear, ‘Okay, last year was unbelievable. Now, tell us about this year because it was such a roller coaster.’ So, I’m looking forward to that next conversation.&lt;/p&gt;
  224. &lt;h4 id="9nLRxt"&gt;
  225. &lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: Me too, and I love your podcast. Selfishly, my favorite moment on your show was when you guys &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://youtu.be/4Bax9Mdzwzo?si=-acrquy6XWbMHKqb"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;talked about your Ireland trip&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;
  226. &lt;/h4&gt;
  227. &lt;div id="LeRUf4"&gt;&lt;div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"&gt;&lt;iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4Bax9Mdzwzo?rel=0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share;"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  228. &lt;p id="GsxzEd"&gt;Kaufman: Yeah, that’s not surprising. I think a lot of people enjoy boys’ golf trips, and if you throw them in Ireland, it’s like, ‘Okay, give me the scoop.’&lt;/p&gt;
  229. &lt;h4 id="87qGKa"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: What was hilarious, at least for me, was you played County Louth two days after I did.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  230. &lt;p id="9WODEj"&gt;Kaufman: Oh, no way! That place is epic and very much underrated.&lt;/p&gt;
  231. &lt;h4 id="xvvRvF"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: It’s so underrated. I actually wrote an article about how I think it’s the most underrated course in Ireland. I loved it, and I can’t wait to go back.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  232. &lt;p id="UTKuIj"&gt;Kaufman&lt;em&gt;: &lt;/em&gt;It had a perfect mix of Irish scenery, the dunes that frame the holes, proper links, you know, really good tests, and just the layout. I just felt like it was incredible.&lt;/p&gt;
  233. &lt;p id="serDp9"&gt;It was probably my favorite course of the whole bunch because it just combined everything.&lt;/p&gt;
  234. &lt;p id="MTavk8"&gt;We did everything, too. We went scenic, then very dunesy, then straight links style with Portmarnock, but when you get to &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/9/2/24224345/ireland-golf-county-louth-underrated-course"&gt;County Louth&lt;/a&gt;, it’s a combination of them all.&lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;h4 id="CDkxti"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: It’s so cool, and nobody really knows about it here in the States.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  236. &lt;p id="yoNGl2"&gt;Kaufman&lt;em&gt;: &lt;/em&gt;It’s just so crazy. We showed up, and about 40 or 50 people were on the tee. It was great.&lt;/p&gt;
  237. &lt;h4 id="ZVJMh5"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: It was funny because the club captain sent me a picture of you guys literally two days after I played with him. Too funny. I love hearing about how much you love County Louth, which leads me to my next question: what’s your favorite course in the world?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="f8z4Yv"&gt;Kaufman: That’s a great question. There’s something special about stepping on the grounds at &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/the-masters-golf-augusta-national"&gt;Augusta National&lt;/a&gt; that I think will always be such a fun experience for me. Knowing that I’ve stepped on that first tee, with an opportunity to win a green jacket, brings back memories of not only playing but also my childhood of watching this place. It’s a golf course that I enjoy playing, too.&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;p id="EhGarQ"&gt;So that’s the one that comes to mind. I know it’s such a whatever answer. But it would have to be there. &lt;/p&gt;
  240. &lt;h4 id="VhFYjF"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: Understandable! And that is a perfect segue to my next question: The 2016 Masters. You’re in the final group. You didn’t have the day you wanted, but you witnessed one of the most unfortunate tragedies in Masters history. What’s going through your mind there?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  241. &lt;p id="YndDcS"&gt;Kaufman: Honestly, I wasn’t even calculating it at all because I still had Jordan Spieth winning. He makes the bogies at 10 and 11, but they were just so whatever that I didn’t even think he was making bogeys because he had played so well and made so many putts on the front.&lt;/p&gt;
  242. &lt;p id="RoVwEE"&gt;Then, I think walking to the 13th tee is when I started doing the math because I made a birdie.&lt;/p&gt;
  243. &lt;p id="vPxT9m"&gt;And then I was like, ‘Wait, he did what?’ I’m trying to figure out what he made, and I was like, holy crap. It’s a seven. So now I’m trying to figure out how close I am to the lead because I’m thinking, ‘Do I have a chance now?’&lt;/p&gt;
  244. &lt;p id="MZU9rL"&gt;You really don’t know until you get around the corner on 13. We both hit good three woods and then walked up to the green. Then I could see that Danny Willett was well out in front and that I needed to do some work, which I unfortunately didn’t.&lt;/p&gt;
  245. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  246.        &lt;img alt="Jordan Spieth, Smylie Kaufman, The Masters" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/frsY2Gn3m655cd1YYtyQWRvXkMo=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25658447/520308980.jpg"&gt;
  247.      &lt;cite&gt;Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images&lt;/cite&gt;
  248.      &lt;figcaption&gt;Jordan Spieth hits from the bunker on the 12th hole while Smylie Kaufman waits his turn during the final round of the 2016 Masters.&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  249.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  250. &lt;p id="aO5nHx"&gt;I actually played well that day. It was the best 81 I’ve ever shot. I just gave away so many strokes on the greens and had multiple three-putts. I’m not a three-putter who struggles with the speed. &lt;/p&gt;
  251. &lt;p id="cdEJpC"&gt;It’s just hard to get below the hole at Augusta National on a Sunday, and I was a foot away from having tap-in birdies, and I was ending up in some weird spots, but I’m proud of the way I played that week, and it was a great memory. If you’re going to do it once, you might as well play in the final group, give yourself a chance, and have a pretty good seat on the 12th hole.&lt;/p&gt;
  252. &lt;h4 id="9llJuG"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: What’s one part of the game that you believe amateurs should work on the most?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  253. &lt;p id="YOWNZ4"&gt;Gosh, you know, I believe you should start at the hole and work yourself back.&lt;/p&gt;
  254. &lt;p id="44Xqyu"&gt;I honestly believe simplicity in this game is important. I could easily say, ‘Always take more club.’ I think that is important, always to take more club, but I would start with developing a short game because if you have a good short game, even with poor players that I play with, I just feel like those players can get away with more—whether it’s a scramble or you’re just able to be a little bit more competitive in this game. Hitting the long ball is great, and chasing speed is fun, but starting at the hole and working yourself back is more important for improving your game.&lt;/p&gt;
  255. &lt;p id="V7dALt"&gt;Now, I wouldn’t say that for everybody, but I would probably put that as a general word of advice: start the whole thing, learn how not to three-putt, and learn how to hit out of bunkers so that you are not throwing shots away.&lt;/p&gt;
  256. &lt;p id="6lqNbp"&gt;I think that’s where you see the biggest jump for golfers with handicaps: ‘Why did I jump from a seven to a three?’ Most of the time, it’s not because they got a new driver and they’re hitting it as well as they ever have. It’s likely because their short game has improved. There are plenty of answers to go with, but that’s probably where I’m going.&lt;/p&gt;
  257. &lt;h4 id="4w1Tj1"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: And finally, what excites you about your new relationship with Swag Golf?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  258. &lt;p id="ktPwmM"&gt;Kaufman: I’m really excited that it’s an innovative, young, and different type of golf company that’s entered the space with such a great organic audience. And in this day and age, especially with me being in media, I have a lot of respect for companies that can just put out really good stuff and develop a cult following. Swag Golf has done that to a T. They have done an incredible job, from the apparel to the head covers to the putter I love to use. I actually did pretty well with it today.&lt;/p&gt;
  259. &lt;p id="3g5Hga"&gt;They’ve really checked off a lot of boxes and developed such a great audience, and I just happened to be one of them. As soon as I realized how great they were doing and that this aligned exactly with how I would say my career went when I tried to pick sponsors. I like to do things that are different than other people, and luckily, there are a lot of other people who share the same sentiment as &lt;a href="https://x.com/swaggolfco/status/1840768944761610324"&gt;me when it comes to Swag Golf&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
  260. &lt;div id="H6g1jl"&gt;
  261. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  262. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Please join us in welcoming Smylie Kaufman to the SWAG Team ⛳️&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;From professional golfer to on-course broadcaster to Team SWAG, you can trust that &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/SmylieKaufman10?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@SmylieKaufman10&lt;/a&gt; knows a thing or two about golf equipment. Smylie’s bag is decked out in his personal picks from the SWAG Starter… &lt;a href="https://t.co/gXRcR4UWzO"&gt;pic.twitter.com/gXRcR4UWzO&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Swag Golf (@swaggolfco) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/swaggolfco/status/1840768944761610324?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;September 30, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  263. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  264. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  265.  
  266. &lt;/div&gt;
  267. &lt;h4 id="3LxsPu"&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;SB: What’s your favorite product of theirs?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  268. &lt;p id="tGpg8i"&gt;Smylie: It’s the Boss Putter.&lt;/p&gt;
  269. &lt;p id="kBHl1I"&gt;Then, honestly, there’s a bunch of head covers. The list goes on. Scrolling down their feed, you’ll say, ‘Oh, yeah, I like that one. Oh, I like this one.’ You end up doing this on just about every other post. I am a creative guy, so when I see really cool head covers, they catch my eye. I have always collected head covers, especially the cool ones I used to get on tour. Swag Golf has really taken that to the next level.&lt;/p&gt;
  270. &lt;p id="EoWcvB"&gt;But the putter, though—it’s called The Boss, and I have the 2.0 now.&lt;/p&gt;
  271. &lt;p id="YtsxFL"&gt;I’ve always considered myself a really good putter, and I wouldn’t have switched to something if I felt like, ‘Ah, I’m not going to use something that wasn’t going to help me because I still wanted to play good golf.’&lt;/p&gt;
  272. &lt;p id="yesh7h"&gt;But I feel like I’ve been putting as well as I ever have, and I am just shocked at how good it is.&lt;/p&gt;
  273. &lt;p id="wyqNdS"&gt;The sight lines are so clean. I find it really easy to line up, and this is for someone who doesn’t get to get on a chalk line like I normally do and do all my drills. It’s nice to put something down that feels comfortable in my hands.&lt;/p&gt;
  274. &lt;p id="szGvdv"&gt;The eyeline is easy for me to line up, so I don’t feel I need to practice that much. I feel comfortable where I want to show up, like today, and I feel like I can still make putts from just about everywhere.&lt;/p&gt;
  275. &lt;p id="ymsU7u"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/_PlayingThrough"&gt;&lt;em&gt;@_PlayingThrough&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt; &lt;em&gt;for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/jack_milko"&gt;&lt;em&gt;@jack_milko&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; as well.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  276.  
  277. </content>
  278.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/10/4/24262018/pga-tour-smylie-kaufman-augusta-national-nbc-sports-q-a"/>
  279.    <id>https://www.sbnation.com/golf/2024/10/4/24262018/pga-tour-smylie-kaufman-augusta-national-nbc-sports-q-a</id>
  280.    <author>
  281.      <name>Jack Milko</name>
  282.    </author>
  283.  </entry>
  284.  <entry>
  285.    <published>2024-10-04T13:53:32-04:00</published>
  286.    <updated>2024-10-04T13:53:32-04:00</updated>
  287.    <title>Auburn flipped top 2025 quarterback recruit Deuce Knight. What could be next for its recruiting class?</title>
  288.    <content type="html">  
  289.  
  290.    &lt;figure&gt;
  291.      &lt;img alt="Syndication: The Clarion-Ledger" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/xAq328YHkvqt7w7jD9xEflNS7uw=/0x0:2058x1372/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73632262/usa_today_23985877.0.jpg" /&gt;
  292.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Barbara Gauntt/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  293.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  294.  
  295.  &lt;p&gt;Knight now is at the forefront of a Top 3 class in the cycle, with the Tigers looking to push for the overall No. 1 class in 2025.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="vsdENE"&gt;The Auburn Tigers made the headlines this week when they finally were able to flip high four-star quarterback Deuce Knight from the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, getting the headliner of their 2025 recruiting class well before National Signing Day.&lt;/p&gt;
  296. &lt;p id="GF1CYu"&gt;This move had been flirted around for a while, but Knight finally shut down the rumors with the announcement that he had flipped to Auburn, providing the Tigers with their lone quarterback in the Class of 2025.&lt;/p&gt;
  297. &lt;p id="gQTl2X"&gt;Knight now is at the forefront of a Top 3 class in the cycle, with the Tigers looking to push for the overall No. 1 class in 2025 with a number of major recruitments still open.&lt;/p&gt;
  298. &lt;p id="orKwlg"&gt;How did we get here and what type of player is the four-star quarterback?&lt;/p&gt;
  299. &lt;h2 id="3s6LJ0"&gt;Knight’s recruitment&lt;/h2&gt;
  300. &lt;p id="BQ33Hr"&gt;Boasting 25 scholarship offers, Knight initially got an offer from Auburn back in January of 2023 and Notre Dame back in March of 2023 during the time when his recruitment really started to take off.&lt;/p&gt;
  301. &lt;p id="2d5e3M"&gt;Ahead of his junior season, both schools seemed to be a part of the focus for the four-star quarterback, as he took a late summer visit to Notre Dame before ultimately pledging to the Fighting Irish in September of 2023.&lt;/p&gt;
  302. &lt;p id="RY9H1G"&gt;Knight provided Notre Dame with an elite quarterback commit in the 2025 class after they landed four-star C.J. Carr in the 2024 class, cementing the future at the position.&lt;/p&gt;
  303. &lt;div id="ax81bK"&gt;
  304. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  305. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;4⭐️ George County QB Deuce Knight (&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/DeuceKnight?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@DeuceKnight&lt;/a&gt;) has flipped his commitment from Notre Dame to Auburn. &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Hear what Knight said current Tiger and former Picayune star Jamonta Waller (&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/JamontaWaller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@JamontaWaller&lt;/a&gt;) said when he found out about Knight's decision &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WarEagle?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#WarEagle&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/25Sports?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#25Sports&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/su7qOxxjmI"&gt;pic.twitter.com/su7qOxxjmI&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Jevan McCoskey (@JevanWXXV) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/JevanWXXV/status/1841625471978782956?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 2, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  306. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  307. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  308.  
  309. &lt;/div&gt;
  310. &lt;p id="N9XLGV"&gt;But, the Auburn buzz never died down and Knight didn’t shy away from his connection to the school, as the quarterback took multiple unofficial visits to Auburn to start the season before finally taking an official visit with the Tigers last weekend.&lt;/p&gt;
  311. &lt;p id="bn71wQ"&gt;Shortly after, the four-star pulled the trigger on his decision, de-committing from Notre Dame and verbally committing to Auburn in a massive recruiting win for head coach Hugh Freeze.&lt;/p&gt;
  312. &lt;h2 id="Gyimkd"&gt;What type of player is Deuce Knight?&lt;/h2&gt;
  313. &lt;p id="t9ERDo"&gt;Knight has been one of the more heralded quarterback recruits in the Class of 2025, earning a consensus high four-star star status from a number of recruiting sites.&lt;/p&gt;
  314. &lt;p id="HP0RRh"&gt;Knight is one of the top dual-threat options in the nation, standing at 6’5”, 205 pounds, while having the ability to take off with his feet on any given play. A left-handed quarterback, Knight is an elite athlete, which gives him a high ceiling if he can continue growing into his physical frame, while refining his skills as a quarterback.&lt;/p&gt;
  315. &lt;p id="btYhRl"&gt;The George County quarterback started the season off well, having an efficient performance in a blowout win over East Central before tossing for five touchdowns in Week 2. While a recent injury has hampered him, he’s shown flashes of the potential that has made him such a high recruit already in 2024.&lt;/p&gt;
  316. &lt;p id="q6b9Up"&gt;He’s coming off a 2023 season where he threw for 2,047 yards, 17 touchdowns and two interceptions through the air, while also contributing nearly 500 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.&lt;/p&gt;
  317. &lt;h2 id="zHct4R"&gt;What’s next for Auburn?&lt;/h2&gt;
  318. &lt;p id="Bzg7Zl"&gt;Knight’s commitment is a major recruiting win for Hugh Freeze’s staff, as they’ve locked up a top player at the most important position in football.&lt;/p&gt;
  319. &lt;p id="QQUiYi"&gt;Currently holding the No. 3 class in the nation, Auburn isn’t close to done, and are looking to flip a number of players or rise to the top with some open commitments.&lt;/p&gt;
  320. &lt;div id="gKuOAf"&gt;
  321. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  322. &lt;p lang="qme" dir="ltr"&gt;    &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/therealkwat?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;@therealkwat&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/Jfe0GXk1oS"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Jfe0GXk1oS&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Deuce Knight (@DeuceKnight) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/DeuceKnight/status/1841633181809643586?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 3, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  323. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  324. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  325.  
  326. &lt;/div&gt;
  327. &lt;p id="QaRghg"&gt;A name that has been floated out there is fellow Mississippi recruit five-star wide receiver Caleb Cunningham, who is seen as the top player in the state, and is currently committed to Alabama.&lt;/p&gt;
  328. &lt;p id="TtGLxW"&gt;But, Auburn has other targets on their board as well, with five-star offensive lineman Andrew Babalola remaining as one of the top uncommitted recruits in the class, and the Tigers seem to be firmly in the mix there, with Knight’s commitment likely helping their efforts to land some of these top players.&lt;/p&gt;
  329. &lt;p id="hRBkWJ"&gt;Four-star running back Ousmane Kromah’s decision will come this weekend, with the Tigers being a finalist there as well in search of another back for their 2025 class.&lt;/p&gt;
  330. &lt;p id="HQdso2"&gt;Overall, despite their current record, Auburn is primed for success in the future, with their 2025 class potentially leading the charge, thanks to a big commitment from Deuce Knight.&lt;/p&gt;
  331. &lt;p id="tIyVvF"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  332.  
  333. </content>
  334.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/2024/10/4/24262238/auburn-flipped-top-2025-quarterback-recruit-deuce-knight-what-could-be-next-for-its-recruiting-class"/>
  335.    <id>https://www.sbnation.com/2024/10/4/24262238/auburn-flipped-top-2025-quarterback-recruit-deuce-knight-what-could-be-next-for-its-recruiting-class</id>
  336.    <author>
  337.      <name>Rohan Chakravarthi</name>
  338.    </author>
  339.  </entry>
  340.  <entry>
  341.    <published>2024-10-04T12:37:38-04:00</published>
  342.    <updated>2024-10-04T12:37:38-04:00</updated>
  343.    <title>Kirk Cousins got his swagger back</title>
  344.    <content type="html">  
  345.  
  346.    &lt;figure&gt;
  347.      &lt;img alt="NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hUO-f81LcALkC2947mmEkS4JH_8=/0x0:3174x2116/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73632065/usa_today_24396588.0.jpg" /&gt;
  348.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Dale Zanine-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  349.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  350.  
  351.  &lt;p&gt;Against Tampa Bay, Kirk Cousins unveiled a new form, that would help Atlanta reach new heights.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="73OE3Z"&gt;If you’re as chronically online as me, you’ll know the TikTok trend of someone saying “Me at my son’s X birthday party throwing absolute piss missiles in the backyard (I’m hammered and think I’m &lt;strong&gt;insert QB here&lt;/strong&gt;)”. &lt;/p&gt;
  352. &lt;div id="dSNWcN"&gt;
  353. &lt;blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@atlwill/video/7299215180733467946" data-video-id="7299215180733467946" data-embed-from="oembed" style="max-width:605px; min-width:325px;"&gt; &lt;section&gt; &lt;a target="_blank" title="@atlwill" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@atlwill?refer=embed"&gt;@atlwill&lt;/a&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;a title="nfl" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nfl?refer=embed"&gt;#nfl&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="viral" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/viral?refer=embed"&gt;#viral&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="trending" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/trending?refer=embed"&gt;#trending&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="meme" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/meme?refer=embed"&gt;#meme&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="funny" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funny?refer=embed"&gt;#funny&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="dad" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/dad?refer=embed"&gt;#dad&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="dadhumour" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/dadhumour?refer=embed"&gt;#dadhumour&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="football" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/football?refer=embed"&gt;#football&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="falcons" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/falcons?refer=embed"&gt;#falcons&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="mattryan" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/mattryan?refer=embed"&gt;#mattryan&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a title="nflhighlights" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nflhighlights?refer=embed"&gt;#nflhighlights&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/p&gt; &lt;a target="_blank" title="♬ When I'm Gone - 3 Doors Down" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/When-I'm-Gone-6930925435987462145?refer=embed"&gt;♬ When I'm Gone - 3 Doors Down&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/section&gt; &lt;/blockquote&gt; &lt;script async="" src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  354. &lt;/div&gt;
  355. &lt;p id="B3Hfe8"&gt;Well, the best way to describe Kirk Cousins night last night was that we’ll make TikToks about this specific performance soon. Cousins was on fire from the moment he stepped on the field, going 42/58 for 509 yards and four TDs as the Falcons came back to upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in overtime. On a night where Falcons legend Matt Ryan was honored at halftime, Cousins broke the single game passing record Ryan set in 2016. Cousins night was so impressive by almost all advanced stats as well. His total EPA of 22.4 was the highest total EPA a QB has accumulated against a Todd Bowles-coached Tampa Bay defense EVER.&lt;/p&gt;
  356. &lt;div id="qoh0df"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="table:12444253"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  357. &lt;p id="ZTpxES"&gt;It was incredible quarterbacking, while also showcasing the growth that Cousins has made and is still making at age 36.&lt;/p&gt;
  358. &lt;p id="2MeyH3"&gt;In a lot of ways, this game reminded me a lot of the times Matthew Stafford faced a Bowles-led defense as a member of the Los Angeles Rams. Both are aging pocket passers, who ultimately didn’t really need the movement associated with play action or too many RPOs against this defense. Of Cousins’ 58 dropbacks, only five used play action. In that 2021 game Stafford played, only four of those dropbacks had play action. Atlanta’s current offensive coordinator, Zac Robinson, was the assistant QBs coach during Stafford’s bonanza, and he called the game like he had a guy of Stafford’s caliber back there.&lt;/p&gt;
  359. &lt;p id="Xa4seh"&gt;It was evident early on that the Bucs would try to heat up and hit Cousins using both simulated pressures and creeper pressures. Simulated pressures are when the defense shows the blitz and then may drop people from the line of scrimmage, while creepers look like any normal play and then they bring the heat. However, Tampa came into this game hurting. All-world safety Antione Winfield Jr didn’t play in this game, along with pass rusher Calijah Kancey and coverage linebacker SirVocea Dennis. All this comes up the spine of the defense, where Cousins and Atlanta hunted for the ENTIRE GAME. &lt;/p&gt;
  360. &lt;p id="EzSN7O"&gt;This was the first offensive play of the game for Atlanta. Tampa brings a simulated pressure where they have five people at the line of scrimmage, but drop LB Lavonte David and bring both slot defenders. Cousins is unfazed by this, because his answers are already built in. Blitz gets picked up and Cousins hits TE Kyle Pitts running down the seam against David.&lt;/p&gt;
  361. &lt;div id="9Lofd2"&gt;
  362. &lt;blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/YNWkTNm"&gt;&lt;a href="https://imgur.com/a/YNWkTNm"&gt;View post on imgur.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  363. &lt;script async="" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  364. &lt;/div&gt;
  365. &lt;p id="TU0EUK"&gt;Now, the seams and the spine of the defense were huge in this game, because Atlanta attacked those second level defenders with various motions and high-low concepts. This puts that underneath defender (a LB, nickel or dropping EDGE) in a bind because they have to make a split second decision to take away the deep route or give up YAC on the shorter route. This was a staple with the Stafford Rams, something Robinson brought to Atlanta. He also brought WR Drake London inside to the slot, where now you can play matchup ball and isolate him on those poorer defenders. London painted a masterpiece from the slot on Thursday, going for eight of his 12 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown from the slot. London is lined up as the inside receiver to the right, and Tampa again runs a creeper pressure where EDGE Yaya Diaby  is dropping into the hook lane. However, there’s not much that can fool Kirk Cousins coverage wise. He looks Diaby off and hits London on a dig that moves the chains. Those dig routes are important, put a pin in that.&lt;/p&gt;
  366. &lt;div id="CnfU4h"&gt;
  367. &lt;blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/HQsmKX2"&gt;&lt;a href="https://imgur.com/a/HQsmKX2"&gt;View post on imgur.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  368. &lt;script async="" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  369. &lt;/div&gt;
  370. &lt;p id="UG1J4S"&gt;London’s touchdown was a perfect example of using motion to create favorable situations and matchups for Atlanta’s stars. Short motion by WR Darnell Mooney at the snap gets London isolated on rookie nickel defender Tykee Smith, and that’s a matchup London wins a  large majority of the time. Atlanta gave London all the choice routes Cooper Kupp ran in LA, and on Thursday he was cooking with them. Look at all the space London is given, especially with the running back releasing to the right.&lt;/p&gt;
  371. &lt;div id="Fmgyyc"&gt;
  372. &lt;blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/4IkHCQS"&gt;&lt;a href="https://imgur.com/a/4IkHCQS"&gt;View post on imgur.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  373. &lt;script async="" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  374. &lt;/div&gt;
  375. &lt;p id="pVSdTM"&gt;This play comes off the same formation and the same motion, but different design. Tampa brings David on a blitz and drops DE Anthony Nelson, but Nelson has no shot of getting out to London on this dig to make this throw difficult. Again, the short motion by Mooney gives London more room to work and Cousins fires a strike.&lt;/p&gt;
  376. &lt;div id="QIhUBN"&gt;
  377. &lt;blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/I4iydCq"&gt;&lt;a href="https://imgur.com/a/I4iydCq"&gt;View post on imgur.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  378. &lt;script async="" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  379. &lt;/div&gt;
  380. &lt;p id="OexBRg"&gt;This play came later in the game, but it shows how confident Cousins is in these pure dropback situations and how much his game has grown. Watch Cousins go to work here on backup LB KJ Britt. Atlanta is in a 3x1 formation with London as the slot, and get London working on a dig again with TE Kyle Pitts vacating space for him with an out route. Return motion by WR Ray-Ray McCloud confirms zone coverage, and look at Cousins pump fake to nobody and get Britt leaning before he zips in a London in-breaker. As Kirk has gotten older, his game has actually gotten stronger, and on Thursday he showed off what he and this offense can be in the dropback game.&lt;/p&gt;
  381. &lt;div id="hGeJmY"&gt;
  382. &lt;blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/6C85Ql5"&gt;&lt;a href="https://imgur.com/a/6C85Ql5"&gt;View post on imgur.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  383. &lt;script async="" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  384. &lt;/div&gt;
  385. &lt;p id="Zw15Lq"&gt;Eventually, Tampa got tired of being hit over the head with dig routes by Atlanta. In order to insulate their injured linebacker group, Tampa adjusted to having better coverage guys playing the role of the middle running in Tampa 2 or having their safeties trigger hard on any in-breakers Atlanta would throw. Kirk’s second TD of the game was an incredible throw where he beat Tampa on the former. Zyon McCollum is in the slot on this one, but he’s going to turn into the middle runner in Tampa 2. Atlanta is running Dagger, which asks the inside receiver to run a go route for the love of the game and a Dig coming behind it. The go route is supposed to clear out the lane, but rarely is thrown. Except if you’re Kirk Cousins. McCollum turns his head and Kirk rips a touchdown to Mooney, who makes an incredible grab. Watch the anticipation, and when Kirk releases this ball. Top tier QBing at its’ finest.&lt;/p&gt;
  386. &lt;div id="J5Ogqf"&gt;
  387. &lt;blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/2UWORPB"&gt;&lt;a href="https://imgur.com/a/2UWORPB"&gt;View post on imgur.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  388. &lt;script async="" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  389. &lt;/div&gt;
  390. &lt;p id="KCOPfO"&gt;Now, Tampa has safety Jordan Whitehead hammering hard on every dig route. He almost picked off a dig to end the first half, look at how flat-footed he is! He barely drops into his quarter of the field.&lt;/p&gt;
  391. &lt;div id="RmrUC0"&gt;
  392. &lt;blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/CDPZdmV"&gt;&lt;a href="https://imgur.com/a/CDPZdmV"&gt;View post on imgur.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  393. &lt;script async="" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  394. &lt;/div&gt;
  395. &lt;p id="r1b3w1"&gt;To open the second half, Atlanta played off that tendency, and threw it right where Whitehead was supposed to be. London is once again in the slot, and they punish Whitehead for being flat footed. London runs right past him and Cousins puts it on the back shoulder. You’ll notice a trend here: motion opening up London for more slot usage. Intentional motion to win space and leverage was a staple of the Rams offense, and Robinson brought that to Atlanta with him.&lt;/p&gt;
  396. &lt;div id="XaTymx"&gt;
  397. &lt;blockquote class="imgur-embed-pub" lang="en" data-id="a/qhHGdPy"&gt;&lt;a href="https://imgur.com/a/qhHGdPy"&gt;View post on imgur.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/blockquote&gt;
  398. &lt;script async="" src="//s.imgur.com/min/embed.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  399. &lt;/div&gt;
  400. &lt;p id="6EZ2I8"&gt;This is the Falcons dropback game at its’ best, and it’s led by a confident and on fire Kirk Cousins. You play a dangerous game with how volatile Cousins can be as a passer, but at his age he can operate this style of passing game. Cousins manipulating underneath defenders without the use of play action, while also standing in and firing strikes under pressure is exactly what Falcons fans wanted this season—an adult at QB. With Robinson giving him the Stafford diet of passes, there’s only hope that this offense can get even better, which is exciting for Atlanta’s hopes this season. The defense still has question marks, but if the offense can feast on Cousins-to-London in the slot and get a few bangers from Kirk, they’ll go far.&lt;/p&gt;
  401.  
  402. </content>
  403.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/2024/10/4/24262100/kirk-cousins-got-his-swagger-back"/>
  404.    <id>https://www.sbnation.com/2024/10/4/24262100/kirk-cousins-got-his-swagger-back</id>
  405.    <author>
  406.      <name>Joseph Acosta</name>
  407.    </author>
  408.  </entry>
  409.  <entry>
  410.    <published>2024-10-04T10:21:59-04:00</published>
  411.    <updated>2024-10-04T10:21:59-04:00</updated>
  412.    <title>Jared Goff’s advanced stats on NFL ‘perfect game’ are mind-blowing</title>
  413.    <content type="html">  
  414.  
  415.    &lt;figure&gt;
  416.      &lt;img alt="NFL: Seattle Seahawks at Detroit Lions" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MmLpDdVWnYaaUSw9n-zB0h6TbgQ=/0x0:3600x2400/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73631715/usa_today_24375563.0.jpg" /&gt;
  417.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Eamon Horwedel-Imagn Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  418.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  419.  
  420.  &lt;p&gt;Jared Goff isn’t overrated or underrated; he’s just the perfect QB for Lions,&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="8fgp3A"&gt;If you can’t win quarterback of the week after making history on &lt;em&gt;Monday Night Football&lt;/em&gt;, there’s literally nothing left to do to get recognition. And Jared Goff knows a lot about what it’s like to &lt;em&gt;not &lt;/em&gt;get credit for wins, something that’s usually very hard to do as a quarterback, let alone one who was the No. 1 pick in the draft.&lt;/p&gt;
  421. &lt;p id="bV6G6u"&gt;Goff could be the first No. 1 pick quarterback in history who has avoided being overrated.&lt;/p&gt;
  422. &lt;p id="kUTUKT"&gt;Completion Percentage Over Expectation, of CPOE for short, is a stat that measures how much higher or lower than an expected completion percentage that a quarterback manages to complete based on the expected difficulty of each pass. So if the NFL’s analytics department at Next Gen Stats thinks that the expected completion percentage of a game is 60% and the quarterback ends up completing 70%, he has a CPOE of +10%.&lt;/p&gt;
  423. &lt;p id="ClTDjI"&gt;Well, in going 18-of-18 against the &lt;a href="https://www.fieldgulls.com/"&gt;Seattle Seahawks&lt;/a&gt; on Monday night, Goff has set the 2024 season-best mark at a CPOE of +21.9%, the first game this season over 21%. Not totally surprising for a player who completed 100% of his passes, not all of which were gimmes when you look at Goff’s pass chart from Next Gen Stats:&lt;/p&gt;
  424. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  425.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/iiemd1_ncLBb_EcLBrPq5x3N1_w=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25657203/66fb6db82dc83a71ca1d8eeb_Wk4_Goff_Passing.png"&gt;
  426.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  427. &lt;p id="Tj45ME"&gt;In fact, according to Next Gen Stats, the chances that a quarterback would go 18-of-18 on these throws is 0.69%, or 1-in-145.&lt;/p&gt;
  428. &lt;p id="KIAh13"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;In other words, if you ran this game 144 times (a quarterback would need to start for eight and a half years to make that many starts!) there’s no guarantee that he’d go 18-of-18.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  429. &lt;p id="EexgrI"&gt;Not only did Goff complete all 18 attempts, the Lions gained 292 yards on those passes—&lt;em&gt;Goff’s 16.2 yards per attempt is also the highest mark in the NFL for any game by a QB this season&lt;/em&gt;—with two touchdowns, and Amon-Ra St. Brown capped off the perfect night with a sweet little touchdown pass of his own to Goff.&lt;/p&gt;
  430. &lt;div id="XslQmj"&gt;
  431. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  432. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;AMON-RA ST. BROWN TD PASS TO JARED GOFF.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; : &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SEAvsDET?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#SEAvsDET&lt;/a&gt; on ABC&lt;br&gt; : Stream on &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLPlus?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#NFLPlus&lt;/a&gt; and ESPN+ &lt;a href="https://t.co/wuVveVDDHw"&gt;pic.twitter.com/wuVveVDDHw&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— NFL (@NFL) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1840936267145756911?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 1, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  433. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  434. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  435.  
  436. &lt;/div&gt;
  437. &lt;p id="iCLoUF"&gt;Goff gained 0.88 EPA per dropback, the highest mark for any QB in any game this season. And the Lions ran play action 62% of the time, which again, is the most that any team has done that in any game this season.&lt;/p&gt;
  438. &lt;p id="txYnfx"&gt;And the history of the NFL’s games with a 100% completion rate is basically over once you talk about Jared Goff.&lt;/p&gt;
  439. &lt;p id="zj9FVt"&gt;Kurt Warner, about six predecessors to Jared Goff in the Rams organization, once went 10-of-10 for 115 yards with the Cardinals in 2005. There isn’t a modern day example that makes sense to compete to Goff as far as 100% completion games go, because it’s just that rare.&lt;/p&gt;
  440. &lt;p id="DzHFtV"&gt;But if you set the mark down to one incompletion, Jared Goff doesn’t really even come that close to the best game in history.&lt;/p&gt;
  441. &lt;p id="ESHKrf"&gt;In 2019, Drew Brees went 29-of-30 for 307 yards and four touchdowns in a win over the Colts. In 2018, &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2019/4/16/18295462/eli-manning-philip-rivers-trade-2004-nfl-draft-giants-chargers-aj-smith-ernie-accorsi"&gt;Philip Rivers&lt;/a&gt; went 28-of-29 for 259 yards and three touchdowns in a win over the Cardinals. Marcus Mariota once went 22-of-23; Brock Purdy once went 20-of-21; and Gardner Minshew once went 19-of-20.&lt;/p&gt;
  442. &lt;p id="ICTZq7"&gt;Perhaps the only real difference is that Jared Goff did throw an incompletion in the game, but it was called off due to offsetting penalties. That’s why Goff’s completion percentage is perfect. It didn’t hurt that the Lions ran so much play action, or that Goff went 8-of-8 against the blitz for 203 yards and 12-of-12 on play action for 229 yards. When he had at least 2.5 seconds to throw (Goff had the 10th-best single-game time to throw of any QB this season), Goff went 15-of-15 for 250 yards and both of his passing touchdowns.&lt;/p&gt;
  443. &lt;p id="rFFi4T"&gt;So was it the most accurate game in history? In a way, maybe. But what’s really impressive about Goff’s night is that facing Seahawks head coach and defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald, arguably the best in the business as of the last two years, he had an answer for everything that Seattle tried to use to stop him and nothing worked. Spinning him in the wrong direction didn’t even work:&lt;/p&gt;
  444. &lt;div id="35BiYs"&gt;
  445. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  446. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;&lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Lions?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#Lions&lt;/a&gt;’ Jared Goff made this look about 100 times easier than it really is. Wow. &lt;a href="https://t.co/ds3OIIuGQF"&gt;pic.twitter.com/ds3OIIuGQF&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/CharlesRobinson/status/1840911715816357904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 1, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  447. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  448. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  449.  
  450. &lt;/div&gt;
  451. &lt;p id="cX3hYn"&gt;It helped that Goff has an elite offensive line, play caller, and weapons around him.&lt;/p&gt;
  452. &lt;p id="CRapjt"&gt;It helped that the Seahawks were shorthanded, sitting five starters out of their front seven, and then losing &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl-pro-bowl"&gt;Pro Bowl&lt;/a&gt; safety Julian Love in the first half of the game.&lt;/p&gt;
  453. &lt;p id="VeK5LC"&gt;It helped that DK Metcalf fumbled the ball back to the Lions in the first quarter and set Goff up with a drive at Seattle’s 14, allowing for a quick and easy 14-0 lead at home.&lt;/p&gt;
  454. &lt;p id="jsaD6Y"&gt;But no quarterback has success without help, luck, and opportunity. Goff had seemingly started to lose a grip on opportunity around the time he was traded to Detroit in 2021, and then it slipped further out of his hands when the Lions won three games in his first season there, but through perseverance—and yes, help—Goff’s doing so well this season that he might finally start to get...&lt;strong&gt;Overrated.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  455. &lt;p id="yf3tvp"&gt;Finally!&lt;/p&gt;
  456. &lt;div id="YPTcsy"&gt;
  457. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  458. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Reporter: “Can you talk about Jared Goff’s performance? He was a perfect 18-for-18.”&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;Dan Campbell: “Well, I just gave the game ball to somebody else - so I feel awful right now.”    &lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/kqGcgP5RMx"&gt;pic.twitter.com/kqGcgP5RMx&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1840967736345702616?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 1, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  459. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  460. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  461.  
  462. &lt;/div&gt;
  463. &lt;p id="T0UyC1"&gt;As the managing editor at &lt;a href="https://www.turfshowtimes.com/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Turf Show Times&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, I saw the fan reaction to trading Goff for Matthew Stafford in 2021, and without discrediting the small contingent of people left at the time who still loved Goff, the majority of folks were expecting the Lions to simply cut him and absorb the cap hit.&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt; That’s how low Jared Goff’s stock was three years ago&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/em&gt;: Even the fans who knew him the best and watched him play for the Rams&lt;em&gt; in the &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/super-bowl"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Super Bowl&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;thought he had become a camp body.&lt;/p&gt;
  464. &lt;p id="9hEJmy"&gt;So much so, that &lt;a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/NFLNoobs/comments/18c4f5u/why_did_the_rams_give_up_so_much_for_stafford/"&gt;the popular narrative than and now was that the Rams had to give the Lions an extra first-round pick&lt;/a&gt; just so that they’d take Jared Goff off of their hands.&lt;/p&gt;
  465. &lt;p id="MqFacu"&gt;It’s nothing short of miraculous that the Rams won a Super Bowl with Stafford so that they never have to re-visit that question. But there will still always be people, including that small contingent of fans who never wanted Goff to be replaced in the first place, who will say that L.A.’s biggest mistake was putting the blame on the quarterback.&lt;/p&gt;
  466. &lt;p id="11XKJv"&gt;Three years later, Goff is richer than he’s ever been, having signed a new extension that pays $53 million per season, and he’s starting for the team that most people now call the best in the NFC. It’s about as far away from the Rams as you could be, and I’m guessing Goff wouldn’t have it any other way.&lt;/p&gt;
  467. &lt;div id="vEeIO9"&gt;
  468. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  469. &lt;p lang="tl" dir="ltr"&gt;Wowsa. &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OnePride?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#OnePride&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/BAW12NQxMM"&gt;pic.twitter.com/BAW12NQxMM&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Natalie Sparbeck (@NatSparbeck) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/NatSparbeck/status/1841114193115656549?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 1, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  470. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  471. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  472.  
  473. &lt;/div&gt;
  474. &lt;p id="Wx8B45"&gt;He’s been overrated. He’s been underrated. If Jared Goff can just consistently be called a really good starting quarterback, the player who just completed every pass will have finally &lt;em&gt;COMPLETED&lt;/em&gt; the cycle.&lt;/p&gt;
  475. &lt;p id="kLjHBv"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  476.  
  477. </content>
  478.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2024/10/4/24259876/jared-goff-detroit-lions-perfect-game-quarterback-of-week-4"/>
  479.    <id>https://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2024/10/4/24259876/jared-goff-detroit-lions-perfect-game-quarterback-of-week-4</id>
  480.    <author>
  481.      <name>Kenneth Arthur</name>
  482.    </author>
  483.  </entry>
  484.  <entry>
  485.    <published>2024-10-04T10:18:27-04:00</published>
  486.    <updated>2024-10-04T10:18:27-04:00</updated>
  487.    <title>Brewers fans mocked Pete Alonso RIGHT before he destroyed their world</title>
  488.    <content type="html">  
  489.  
  490.    &lt;figure&gt;
  491.      &lt;img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SijOEFypgFog71p5ZTjXFX-qwuM=/375x0:2625x1500/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73631710/alonso.0.png" /&gt;
  492.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  493.  
  494.  &lt;p&gt;Karma.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="wI4GdQ"&gt;There are just some moments in sports that result in pure karmic perfection. On Thursday night Pete Alonso of the Mets was on the right side of that cosmic energy. &lt;/p&gt;
  495. &lt;p id="RYh37m"&gt;Everything looked bleak for New York’s season. Down 2-0 in the 8th inning of their Wild Card game against the Brewers, with seemingly nothing going their way, Alonso dropped a routine popup in foul territory at the worst possible time.&lt;/p&gt;
  496. &lt;div id="ojDD2e"&gt;
  497. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  498. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;This Pete Alonso misplay would've been INFAMOUS if Diaz didn't get out of the inning &lt;a href="https://t.co/JFzGRRU6dH"&gt;pic.twitter.com/JFzGRRU6dH&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TalkinBaseball_/status/1842011203826077777?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 4, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  499. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  500. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  501.  
  502. &lt;/div&gt;
  503. &lt;p id="OsGz0i"&gt;It was a jaw-dropping moment that encapsulated the Mets’ night up to that point. Alonso was 0-for-3, there was no offense to speak of, and with runners on second and third it set the table for the Brewers to run away with the game. Fans near Alonso were awestruck by the botched catch, and mercilessly mocked the Mets’ player for it.&lt;/p&gt;
  504. &lt;div id="EzDUdV"&gt;
  505. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  506. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Brewers fans were laughing in Pete Alonso’s face   &lt;a href="https://t.co/Oknw9qLhE0"&gt;pic.twitter.com/Oknw9qLhE0&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/JomboyMedia/status/1842011806237176295?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 4, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  507. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  508. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  509.  
  510. &lt;/div&gt;
  511. &lt;p id="f93XQf"&gt;There’s just one problem with letting a player have it in the 8th inning: There’s still a 9th. &lt;/p&gt;
  512. &lt;p id="D84vWp"&gt;Alonso took the plate with runners on 1st and 3rd, the in-game graphic had the Brewers with an 83% chance of winning. Then this happened.&lt;/p&gt;
  513. &lt;div id="e7qdAO"&gt;
  514. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  515. &lt;p lang="es" dir="ltr"&gt;PETE ALONSO!!!!!!!!!!!!! &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/POSTSEASON?src=hash&amp;amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;#POSTSEASON&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href="https://t.co/LzgpxTWUzN"&gt;pic.twitter.com/LzgpxTWUzN&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— MLB (@MLB) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1842017998443331905?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;October 4, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  516. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  517. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  518.  
  519. &lt;/div&gt;
  520. &lt;p id="7Wjb7T"&gt;The three-run homer led to a 4-2 Mets win, and I swear after watching this clip a few dozen times it sounds a lot like a fan cries in anguish “OH MY GOD!” as soon as the ball leaves Alonso’s bat. As if it was a realization that the Mets player would have the last laugh, and there was &lt;em&gt;nothing&lt;/em&gt; they could do about it. &lt;/p&gt;
  521. &lt;p id="cT6GT4"&gt;Make no mistake: Alonso &lt;em&gt;really&lt;/em&gt; relished that last laugh, directing a chef’s kiss right at the fans who laughed at him minutes earlier as he rounded the bases.&lt;/p&gt;
  522. &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  523.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/pczWpPLlvcLTk7msejUB-h7936I=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25658026/Screenshot_2024_10_04_at_10.00.31_AM.png"&gt;
  524.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  525. &lt;p id="g4kqG5"&gt;Does this mean fans shouldn’t mock opposing players when they screw up? Absolutely not. It is an inherent responsibility of the home fan to make fun of a visiting player when they both something as easy as a routine popup. That said, if you’re going to dish it out then you better have thick enough skin to take it on the back-end.&lt;/p&gt;
  526. &lt;p id="zd1FEW"&gt;Simply a stunning moment of sports karma. &lt;/p&gt;
  527.  
  528. </content>
  529.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2024/10/4/24261999/pete-alonso-mets-home-run-brewers-fans-foul-ball-mlb-playoffs"/>
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  531.    <author>
  532.      <name>James Dator</name>
  533.    </author>
  534.  </entry>
  535. </feed>
  536.  

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