David White

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The 126th U.S. Open commences Thursday; Preview/Prediction

June 17, 2026

Rory goes for Major Number 6 and his second U.S. Open Championship. (Photo courtesy of The Independent–London).



The 2026 U. S. Open, the 126th edition, returns to the iconic Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southhampton, New York, 100 miles east of New York City on Long Island, a 2 to 2 1/2 hour drive, unless it’s the summer or the weekend, then it becomes a 3 1/2 hour drive.

With the New York Knicks celebrating their historic NBA Championship Thursday with a respective victory parade, and with the FIFA World Cup transpiring presently, with one of the venues being Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, 12 miles from the city, New York is busy. However, the Open is an elite sporting event, one of the best of the year, and it will get plenty of attention.

The defending champion of the Open is J.J. Spaun, a blue collar player, which is what is required to win an Open. He’s the ultimate warrior and sank a 64 foot birdie putt on 18 at Oakmont in 2025 to win the 125th Open. I like Spaun’s chances here. I had a text exchange with the Fellas, my commenters on the Blog, last week, and Brombey is real high on Spaun. I agree with him. J.J. is a serious factor at Shinnecock.

The course is a 7,440 yard, Par 70 that was designed by William Flynn and opened in 1891. It has hosted five Opens with the most recent in 2018 in which Brooks Kopeka captured the championship, one of his five majors. Tommy Fleetwood shot 63 on Sunday to make it interesting, but missed a six foot birdie putt on 18 that would have most likely gotten him into a playoff with Koepka. Koepka was a blue collar player then, those were his roots, though he’s a very wealthy guy now, so you’re not sure if the drive is still there. But he is doing pretty well now on tour, so the drive could be back. He’s got a wrist injury he’s battling, but he’s won two U.S. Opens, so he could be a factor.

Of course, Scottie Scheffler will attempt to obtain the career Grand Slam with a victory at Shinnecock. He’s been real low key about this achievement if it happens; too low key in my opinion. He said that if he wins the Open, people will ask him what’s next.

Maybe so, but winning a U. S. Open is monumental, and completing the career Grand Slam at 30 years old, he turns 30 on Sunday, 6/21, would be a any professional golfers lifetime dream. I would be a little more passionate about it if I were Scheffler.

Rory is playing better than ever and has figured out how to handle the pressure as he has earned the career Grand Slam and now owns 6 majors. If he putts well, he’s got a real shot.

There are 172 bunkers on Shinnecock, four less than Oakmont (176). The greens are Poa Annua and will be stimping at 10 because they’ve lost the greens before at there and the wind will more than compensate for the slower greens. They’ll be faster and firmer than that with no rain forecasted this Thursday/weekend.

Weather

Windy.

Thursday. 74. Very little chance of rain, but wind gusting 20 to 30. It was hard at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philly with strong winds. The players will see that again Thursday.

Friday-79. Wind 10-20.

Saturday- 81. Wind 10-20.

Sunday, mostly sunny. 77. Wind 10-15.

The 156 player field will be fiercely challenged by this formidable course along with the windy conditions that will come with it. As of today, rain looks unlikely this week/weekend.

TV

Thursday: 5:30 A.M.-4 P.M. CT/6:30 A.M.-5 P.M. East, USA. 4-7 P.M. CT/5-8 ET, NBC Sports, Peacock.

Friday: 5:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. CT/6:30-1:30 ET, NBC Sports Network, Peacock. 12:30-6:30 P.M. CT/1:30-7:30 ET, NBC. 6:30-7:30 P.M. CT/7:30-8:30 ET-NBC Sports Network, Peacock.

Saturday-9-11 A.M.CT /10 A.M.-12 P.M. ET, USA. 11 A.M.-7 P.M. CT/12-8 ET, NBC.

Sunday, 8-11 A.M. CT/9 A.M.-12 P.M. ET, USA. 11 A.M.-6 P.M. CT/12-7 P.M. East, NBC.

Odds-Scheffler, 5/1; Rory, 10/1; Jon Rahm, 10/1; Xander Schauffele, 19/1; Cam Young, 20/1; Matt Fitzpatrick, 22/1; Tommy Fleetwood, 25/1; Ludvig Aberg, 26/1; DeChambois, 27/1; Koepka, 33/1; Collin Morikawa, 35/1; Russell Henley, 37/1; Wyndham Clark, 37/1; Sam Burns, 38/1; Chris Gotterup, 44/1; Justin Thomas, 44/1; Tyrrell Hatton, 46/1; Patrick Cantlay, 46/1; Patrick Reed, 49/1; Justin Rose, 52/1; Vik Hovland, 54/1; Spaun, 61/1; Hideki, 65/1; Bob Mc, 66/1; Spieth, 69/1; Maverick McNealy, 76/1.

Those are several key players who are capable of surviving and winning at one of golf’s sternest tests.

Winner

You gotta like the Blue Collar player on this course. It was between this guy and Spaun for me. Brombey appreciates the blue collar work ethic and battle it out type player, and I do too. It’s a tough call between this 26 year old Easton, Maryland native, by way of Rutgers University and the University of Oklahoma, and the 35 year old stud Spaun, who’s from LA, by way of San Diego State University. But I’ll slightly take this workhorse to capture his first major on this historic and difficult course. All the tougher with the blustery conditions Thursday and through the weekend.

Chris Gotterup

I’ll take the young stallion Gotterup to capture the 126th edition of the U.S. Open. (Photo courtesy of Golf Channel).

Major contender with a real shot to win

J.J. Spaun

Talk about toughness. Spaun plays golf while dealing with Type 1 diabetes. I have personal experience with the Type 1 illness as my sister, nephew and a great friend have Type 1. Dealing with that every day is grueling, and I care deeply about all three of them. Let’s hope and pray there is an ultimate cure soon. Breakthrough T1D is making good progress.

Give me the great Spaun to make a serious run at the national championship.

J.J. has a real shot of capturing back to back U.S. Opens. (Photo courtesy of T1D Strong).

The 158th Belmont Stakes

June 6, 2026

The great trainer Todd Pletcher goes for his fifth Belmont Stakes victory with Arkansas Derby winner and second place Derby finisher Renegade. (Photo courtesy of Thoroughbred Daily News).

The third crown jewel of American Classic Horse Racing transpires today at 6:04 P.M. CT/ 7:04 Eastern Post time as the 158th Belmont Stakes unfolds at Saratoga Springs, New York, in upstate New York. Saratoga Springs is hosting its second straight Belmont as Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., on Long Island, is going through a massive renovation and will re-open for the 2027 Belmont. Belmont Park is a 1 1/2 mile track and called “the Test of the Champion.” Saratoga Springs is a 1 1/4 mile track, so it favors more speed. The forecast is for rain today, not guaranteed, but good chances of rain and maybe a t storm, over 50% in the afternoon leading up to the race.

Trainer Todd Pletcher and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. have the favorite in 2/1 Renegade, which finished second at the Kentucky Derby and won the Arkansas Derby. It’s a nine horse field with good talent. Here are Post positions, horses, odds, trainers and jockeys for the 158th edition of the Belmont.

FOX will Televise with coverage starting around 2 P.M. CT/3 ET

1. Vitruvian Man, 30/1, Doug O’Neill, Antonio Fresu

2. Powershift, 12/1, Todd Pletcher, Luis Saez

3. Chief Wallabee, 3/1, Bill Mott, Junior Alvarado

4.Renegade, 2/1, Todd Pletcher, Irad Ortiz Jr.

5. Ottinho, 20/1, Chad Brown, Dylan Davis

6. Growth Equity, 12/1, Chad Brown, Manny Franco

7. Commandment, 6/1, Brad Cox, John Velazquez

8. Emerging Market, 6/1, Chad Brown, Flavien Prat

9. Golden Tempo, 9/2, Cherie DeVaux, Jose Ortiz

Winner/ Predictions

There is excellent talent in this field including Derby winner Golden Tempo, trainer Cherie DeVaux’s horse. The great Todd Pletcher, winning trainer in the Belmont in 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2022, has the favorite, Renegade, at 2/1. A lot of people are high on Chief Wallabee at 3/1. Trainer Bill Mott has won the Belmont in 2010 and in 2025 with Sovereignty. Mott also won the Derby in 2019 and 2025 also with Sovereignty. Others like Florida Derby winner Commandment with the terrific tandem of trainer Brad Cox and jockey John Velazquez. Velazquez is a three time winner at the Derby (2011, ’17, 2020), a two time Belmont winner (2007, 2012) and a Preakness winner in 2023.

But I’m going to take a different thoroughbred. I like trainer Chad Brown, who has three horses entered in the Belmont, the great jockey Flavien Prat, who finished second to Napoleon Solo in the Preakness aboard Iron Honor, and the horse that won the Louisiana Derby. I like this pony to capture the third leg of the Triple Crown. Brown has won two Preaknesses, 2017 and 2022. And Prat won the Derby in 2019 and the Preakness in 2021. This could be a wetter track with rain predicted, which favors horses like this one and Golden Tempo, known as good wet track racers. Give me, 6/1:

Emerging Market

Emerging Market is White’s World’s pick to win the Belmont. (Photo courtesy of Daily Racing Form).

Win: Emerging Market

Place: Chief Wallabee

Show: Commandment

Predictions for the NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Finals and the 50th Memorial Tournament, the seventh Signature Event on the PGA Tour this season

June 2, 2026

Stephon Castle, the stellar 21 year old player for the San Antonio Spurs from UConn, where he won a national championship in 2024, leads a young, hungry San Antonio Spurs team into the NBA Finals versus the New York Knicks. (Photo courtesy of NBA.com).



It’s down to the Eastern Conference champions, the New York Knicks, and the Western Conference champions, the San Antonio Spurs, competing for the NBA Championship and the Larry O’Brien Trophy as World Champions.

The Spurs, led by seven foot, three inch phenom center Victory Wembanyama, from Le Chesney, France, he does that Bo Jackson France thing, leads a talented, elite group of young players. They will square off with the talented former Villanova trio of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges, all winners of a national championship at ‘Nova, along with superb big man 7’0″, 245 Karl Anthony Towns, from the University of Kentucky, and an 11 year veteran.

The Spurs have the home court advantage as they finished with the better regular season record. The Spurs average 23 to 24 year olds on their team, while the Knicks are led by 30 year old Karl Anthony, the 29 year old Brunson, the 31 year old Hart, and the 29 year old Bridges.

The Knicks haven’t won an NBA Championship since 1973, when the great Willis Reed, Walt “Clyde” Frazier, Earl “the Pearl” Monroe, Bill Bradley, a future senator from New Jersey, the great Dave DeBusschere, one of the greatest NBA names of all time and a heckuva player, and their elite sixth man, Phil Jackson, an 11 time winner as a coach for the Chicago Bulls and the LA Lakers, as well as his championship with New York as a player played in Madison Squeeh Gaaden. Dick Barnett was another terrific player for the Knicks as was Jerry Lucas in their heyday in the early ’70’s. Just a classic team coached by a classic coach in Red Holzman. Those guys were vintage New York. Tough, scrappy, unflappable, incredible talents. Several have passed away, but they say that Walt “Clyde” Frazier is still one of the best dressed men in the City at 81 years old. He was stylish, and, and also scored 36 points and dished out 19 assists in their 1970 game seven championship victory over the Lakers, a game in which Reed played despite having a torn thigh muscle he suffered in game 5, which kept him out of the rest of that game and game 6. He hobbled onto the court at Madison Square Gaahden for game 7 in front of a raucous, passionate crowd, scored the first four points and made it through the game. It was an incredible inspiration to his teammates and the city. It will go down as one of the all time most courageous performances in NBA history. Don’t make’em like they used to.

The Spurs have quite a tradition as well. With “The Big Fundamental,” Tim Duncan, the amazing Tony Parker at point guard, and the exceptional Manu Ginobili, the Spurs won 5 titles, in Duncan’s case, and 4 with Parker and Ginobili. Duncan won it with the Admiral, David Robinson, in 1999, and the trio of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili won it all in 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2014. The Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich coached all of those teams. Duncan, Parker and Ginobili are all in the Hall of Fame, as are Reed, Frazier, Earl the Pearl, Senator Bradley, Dave D. and Coach Jackson from the Knicks. A lot of great memories, but it’s been a minute for these two teams to be in the spotlight. The Spurs defeated the Knicks in the 1999 NBA Championship in 5 games.

Here is the TV Schedule.

All games are at 7:30 P.M. CT/8:30 ET and all will be broadcast by ABC. Best 4 of 7

Game 1: Wednesday, June 3rd: Knicks @ Spurs

Game 2: Friday, June 5th: Knicks @ Spurs

Game 3: Monday, June 8th, Spurs @ Knicks

Game 4: Wednesday, June 10th, Spurs @ Knicks

Game 5: Saturday, June 13th, (if necessary), Knicks @ Spurs

Game 6: Tuesday, June 16th (if necessary) Spurs @ Knicks

Game 7: Friday, June 19th (if necessary) Knicks @ Spurs.

The Spurs are favored by 67-33% to win the series and the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

The Decision

My heart is with the Knicks. Both my daughters and my son in law live in New York, and I’ll be there seeing them the weekend of game 5 in San Antonio, so we’ll be going to dinner that Saturday night and then at a sports bar in the city watching the game with passionate New Yorkers at 8:30 P.M. ET/7:30 CT.

Friday Night, we’ll be at the Mets-Braves game at Citi Field. Friday morning we’ll be at the New York Metropolitan Museum, the Met. Saturday morning we’ll be at Rumble Boxing Studio, and at Hamilton Saturday afternoon. Pumped to see them and watch our New York Knickerbockers capture their third ever NBA Championship. Give me Brunson, KAT, Hart and Bridges, the veterans, to lead the Knicks to their first NBA Championship in 53 years (1973).

Knicks over Spurs in 6

MVP

Jalen Brunson

I’ll take the great Jalen Brunson and the Knicks. (Photo courtesy of Athlon Sports).

Stanley Cup Prediction

Carolina Hurricanes vs. Las Vegas Golden Knights

TV Schedule, All games at 7 P.M. CT/8 ET on ABC, Best 4 of 7

Game 1 Today, Vegas @ Carolina

Game 2, Thursday, 6/4, Vegas @ Carolina

Game 3, Saturday, 6/6, Carolina @ Vegas

Game 4, Tuesday, June 9th, Carolina @ Vegas

Game 5, (if necessary) Thursday, June 11th, Vegas @ Carolina

Game 6, (if necessary) Sunday, June 14th, Carolina @ Vegas

Game 7 (if necessary), Wednesday, 6/17, Vegas @ Carolina

Verdict

I’ll take my pre-playoffs pick to win it all before the Stanley Cup Playoffs commenced and take my pre-playoffs MVP, the Conn Smythe Award winner for most valuable player in the NHL Playoffs. I had Carolina over Colorado before the playoffs started. Here I’ll take:

Carolina over Vegas in 5

Conn Smythe Award winner

Sebastian Aho, center ‘Canes

Give me Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes to capture their second Stanley Cup. Their first came in 2006. (Photo courtesy of NBC Sports).

Winner at the 50th Memorial Tournament

It’s the seventh Signature Event on the PGA Tour, and the prolific Jack Nicklaus’s Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin Ohio as the 50th Memorial Tournament commences Thursday with an elite field playing for a $20 Million purse and a $4 Million first place paycheck. The course is a stock 72 and plays at 7,569 yards. No.18 is a beast of a par 4 to finish off the round, especially on Sunday. It’s 480 yards with bunkers on the right off the tee and a slope into the woods on the left hand side off the tee. The green is long, but not wide, with a deep sand trap on the left side. The greens will be stimping at 13, very quick, and the rough will be 4 inches high.

Jack’s there to greet the players on Sunday, so that’s always special. Always a thrill to shake hands with the greatest of all time with 18 major championships under his belt. 6 Masters, 1963, ’65, ’66, ’72, 75, and ’86 (at 46 years old), 4 U.S. Opens, 1962, ’67, ’72, ’80. Three Open Championships (British Opens), 1966, ’70, and ’78, and 5 PGA Championships, 1963, ’71, ’73, ’75, and ’80. That personifies the greatest of all time in golf. And he was and is the classiest ambassador of the game along with Arnie, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, Sam Sneed, Bobby Jones, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, those guys. Still don’t make’em like they used to.

Odds: Scheffler, 3/1; Rory, 10/1; Cam Young, 16/1; Xander Schauffele, 18/1; Ludvig Aberg, 18/1; Matt “Fitzie” Fitzpatrick, 22/1; Si Woo Kim, 22/1; Russell Henley, 30/1. He put on a clinic at the Charles Schwab at Colonial in Fort Worth last Sunday taming Hogan’s Alley with three straight birdies on 16-18 in regulation, and a birdie from 5 feet in the first playoff hole, number 18, versus Eric Cole. Henley hit his second shot to 5 feet and drained the putt to capture the title. Henley was iron. Tommy Fleetwood, 30/1; Patrick Cantlay, 30/1; Ben Griffin, 33/1; Bob McIntyre, 40/1; Sam Burns, 40/1; Min Woo Lee, 40/1; Rickie Fowler, 45/1; Justin Thomas, 45/1; Hideki, 45/1; Maverick McNealy, 50/1; Jordan Spieth, 55/1; J.J. Spaun, 55/1; Chris Gotterup, 60/1; Harris English, 60/1; Adam Scott, 60/1; Justin Rose, 65/1; PGA Championship Champion Aaron Rai, can’t get over that 68 foot birdie putt on 17 at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, PA. on Sunday to capture the 108th PGA in mid May. Rai is at 80/1. Seems like a good sleeper pick.

Weather

Thursday, 84, Sunny, winds SSW 8 MPH.

Friday: Partly sunny, 86, SW 12.

Saturday, 40% chance of t-storms in afternoon. 83. Wind SW 14.

Sunday, 30% chance of showers in the morning, then clearing up in the afternoon. 85, Winds, W 10.

TV

Thursday-Friday, 1-5 P.M. CT/2-6 East, Golf Channel

Saturday-Sunday, 11:30 A.M.-1:30 P.M. CT/12:30-2:30 East, GC; 1:30-5 P.M.CT /2:30-6 P.M. ET, CBS.

This is the seventh of the eight Signature Events in 2026. Collin Morikawa won the first, the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am (2/12-2/15), Jacob Bridgeman won the second, The Genesis Invitational (2/19-2/22), Akshay Bhatia won the third, the Arnie (3/5-3/8), Matt “Fitz” won the fourth, the RBC Heritage (4/16-4/19), Cam Young won the fifth, The Cadillac Championship (4/30-5/3), and Kristoffer Reitan? of Norway, won the sixth, The Truist Championship (5/7-5/10). The eighth Signature Event will be the Travelers Championship, 6/25-6/28 played at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT.

There are 72 players in the field at the Memorial as the field is smaller for the Signature Events than they are for regular tour events with most all of the elite players competing in the Signatures.

The cut is top 50 and ties, and anyone within 10 shots of the lead after the first 36 holes, Thursday-Friday. The purse is $20 million with $4 Million going to the winner as this is a player sponsored event like the Genesis was by Tiger Woods, and the Arnie was. The first place check for the other 5 is $3.6 Million. Second place at the Memorial gets $2.2 M, third gets $1.4 M, and 4th a mil, so a good week at the office for the top guys come late Sunday afternoon. Everybody also wants to win this tournament because it’s Jack’s event.

Winner

I’m going to take the 30 year old from Seoul, South Korea. He’s knocked on the door several times this season and I expect him to knock it down at Muirfueld Village.

Si Woo Kim

Give me Kim to win at Jack’s Tourney. (Photo courtesy of Golf.com).

Saturday

The 158th Belmont Stakes, Preview/Prediction

Onto the Elite Eight Quarterfinals for the Vanderbilt Men’s Golf Team

June 2, 2026

West Point Mississippi native and Vanderbilt senior golfer Senior Wells Williams led his team with a terrific round Monday in Round 4 of the NCAA Championships. (Photo courtesy of The Vanderbilt Hustler).

Our super senior leader, Wells Williams, shot a 2 under par 70 yesterday and Jon Ed, Ryan Downes and Will Hartman all birdied the par 5, 18th to lead our team to a third place finish at 12 under par, and put us in the Elite Eight Quarterfinals, where we are facing No.6 Arizona right now. More on that in a second.

Auburn finished first at -26, Texas was next at -23, we finished -12, OK State and Florida tied for 4th at -11, ‘Zona was sixth at -3, and UCLA and Stanford rounded out the field at -2.

We are now in the match play on the La Costa Resort and Spa North course and in our matches: 1. Chase Nevins is tied with Zona’s Taishi Moto after 5 holes. 2. Jon Ed is 1 up on Tianyi Xiong after 5 holes. 3. Will is 3 Up on Filip Jakubcik through 4 holes. 4. Ryan Downes is 2 Up on William Wistrand through 4 holes. 5.Wells is all tied with Zach Pollo through 3 holes.  So we have a 4-1 lead right now.

Got a long way to go, but our guys are playing superb, confident golf right now. Wells is so solid, and Will and Jon Ed are playing like seniors instead of freshmen. Ryan, a sophomore from Longview, Massachusetts, has been good throughout the Championships, and Chase, a junior from Great Falls, Virginia, is getting his first start today, and doing well.

Our guys have been through the wars this season, both in the high level tournaments we’ve played in and the SEC Championships. We’ve taken our lumps at times, but are playing our best golf right now.

I’ll keep you apprised. Thanks for reading.    

Will Hartman, Vanderbilt Men’s Golf moves into round 4 of the NCAA Championships Today; Luuuke

June 1, 2026

Our great freshman from Marvin, North Carolina, Will Hartman, is carrying his team on his back as we qualify for round 4 today at the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California (Photo courtesy of On3).

Freshman Will Hartman shot four under 68 for the second day in a row on Sunday and is now 10 under for the NCAA Championships and led our team  into the fourth round of the NCAA Championships today at La Costa Resort and Spa North Course in Carlsbad, Cali.

We are presently in third place at nine under par after day 3 after a 3 over par round Sunday. Auburn leads the field at 22 under and Texas is next at 19 under. Then we’re at -9, UCLA, ‘Zona, and OK State are at -8, Chapel Hill is at -6, Duke is -1, Oklahoma is Even, UVA and the Gators are at +1, while L-S-U, San Diego, Tennessee, and Stanford round out the top 15 teams that qualified for today’s fourth and final stroke round, as those four teams finished +2.

So, we’re right there heading into round 4. The goal today is to play outstanding golf, make the top 8 and qualify for the match play quarterfinals, which will commence Tuesday.

Coach Limbaugh is excellent at keeping his team locked in on the task at hand, so all we need to concentrate on a shot at a time. Pardon the triteness of that comment, but it’s a fact. 

Scott said we need to quickly get over any mistakes and move forward. We need very short term memories on the 7,538 yard, par 72 La Costa North Course.

Jon Ed and Wells are at -1, while Ryan Downes is at +4, and Michael Riebe is at +18.

Will is tied for 2nd individually at -10, with Flip Jakubcik? of ‘Zona and William Jennings of Alabama, who is competing as an individual, as Alabama didn’t make the team tournament, but Jennings was one of the top 6 individual qualifiers from his region to make it to the NCAA Championships. 

Preston Stout of Oklahoma State leads the individual competition at -11. The low medalist/individual National Champion will be decided after today’s final stroke round.

Gordon Sargent won the individual national championship for us in 2022.

We need Will to keep on truckin, as the Grateful Dead sang, and Jon Ed to get back to playing the type of golf he has been playing until yesterday. Wells needs to be good, and Ryan and Michael will HAVE to help us.

We need to be in the top 8 out of the 15 teams competing today to qualify for Tuesday’s quarterfinals match play.

We tee off today at 2:20 P.M. CT/3:20 East with Riebe for us playing with Auburn’s Cayden Pope and Texas’s Daniel Bennett. At 2:31/3:31- Ryan Downes for us, Logan Reilly for Auburn, and Matt Comegys for Texas. At 2:42/3:42-Jon Ed, Jake Albert for Auburn, and Christiaan Maas for UT. At 2:53-3:53-Wells for us, the great Jackson Koivun for Auburn, and Luke Potter for Hook’em. At 3:04/4:04- Will for us, Josiah Gilbert for Auburn, and Tommy Morrison for Texas.

Golf Channel will televise and stream today at 4:30-8:30 P.M. CT/5:30-9:30 East.

Will keep you very much apprised. 

Luuuke Kornet had a heckuva game changing block for the San Antonio Spurs in replacing the great Victor Wembanyama, who was saddled with five fouls, making the play of the game that led the Spurs to the NBA Championship as they defeated the defending NBA Champion OKC Thunder, 111-103, at Oklahoma City in game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.

Luke and the Spurs will square off with the New York Knicks starting this Wednesday at 7:30 P.M. CT/8:30 East for the NBA Championship. The Spurs, with the better regular season record than the Knicks, will host the first two games, the Knicks the next two, then @ the Spurs, @the Knicks and @ the Spurs if games 5,6 and 7 are necessary.

Luke, at 30 years old, is having a really nice NBA career and is a stellar backup to Wemby.

Anchor Down!

Jon Ed, Will, Wells lead the way in the Vanderbilt Men’s Golf charge at the NCAA Championships

May 31, 2026

Jon Ed cookin at the North Course of the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Cali. (Photo courtesy of x)

Hope everybody is having a nice weekend. Our Men’s Golf team sure is cookin’.

Jon Ed Steed is at -7 overall after a 67 yesterday on the par 72 North Course at La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, CA., near San Diego, and fellow freshman Will Hartman is at -6 after the first two rounds, as our frosh from Marvin, N.C., 20 miles southeast  of Charlotte, is playing exceptional golf as well.

Senior Wells Williams of West Point, Mississippi is at -2 under. And we are now 13 under as a team in the third round of the NCAA Championships.

We are tied with No.3 Texas in second place and are 8 back of Auburn, which sits at 21 under. All five of our players are now on the course. Sophomore Ryan Downes, from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, has two birdies already to get us to -13 overall. We came into today at -12.

Jon Ed dropped a shot on 1. Michael Riebe bogeyed one and Wells and Will are at even through one. Ryan just birdied the 383 yard, par 4 fourth. We are on holes one through four. The top 15 teams after today’s round will qualify to play Monday in an 18 hole event with the scores carrying over from today. 

Monday, the top 8 teams from the group of 15 will qualify for the quarterfinals of match play to be played Tuesday.

So, great stuff from the Fellas. Will keep you updated today.

Thanks. Enjoy your Sunday.   

Vanderbilt Sports with superb year, Vanderbilt Men’s Golf aims to break down that door

May 29, 2026

Our great freshman, Jon Ed Steed, and his teammates home in on capturing the NCAA Championship in Men’s Golf. (Photo courtesy of On3).

Super freshman Jon Ed Steed helps lead the Dores into La Costa Resort and Spa for the NCAA Championships (Photo courtesy of On3)

Our 11th ranked Vanderbilt Commodores are trying to augment what our 10-3 football almost did, our men’s and women’s basketball teams accomplished, our women’s soccer team accomplished, and our baseball team, though not what we wanted, played extremely hard and there is a lot of hope for 2027. When you have a coach in Tim Corbin, who has won national championships in 2014 and ’19, there is always room to be optimistic.

There’s a lot of optimism for all our teams. Clark has reloaded and brought back some studs in wide receiver Junior Sherrill, running back Seddy Alexander and company to go along with 99, 5 star frosh quarterback Jared Curtis, and some nice pieces out of recruiting and the portal. And we have excellent returnees. We’ll be good.

The SEC is always a battle of attrition, but we’re well equipped for 2026 and beyond. Clark is already assembling a solid 2027 class led by 94, four star linebacker Omarii Sanders, 6′ 3 1/2″, 210. Love what Clark did in his fifth season with the great Diego and company and love what the future holds.

Coach By just recruited a stellar freshmen class and also landed some major transfers. Chandler Bing is coming back for his sophomore season, and I like what Chandler brings to the table with his athletic ability, driving and scoring and improving ability from beyond the arc. He averaged 28 points his senior year in his school in Atlanta. He also plays lockdown defense.

And the news of the year in Vanderbilt Sports happened on Tuesday when the amazing Tyler Tanner decided to return for his junior season. That’s tremendous. Tyler averaged 19 points, almost 6 assists and 2.4 steals. He’s looking at an All American Wooden Award season in ’26-27.

Get your season tickets for football and men’s basketball as soon as possible. It’ll be a spectacle at First Bank and Memorial Gymnasium in 2026-27.

Not to be outdone, Coach Shea Ralph led her women’s basketball team to an awesome season. Love the future with Mikayla Blakes and company returning. Coach Ralph is tremendous.

Also, Coach Darren Ambrose took our soccer team to the Elite Eight and we have incredible prospects for 2026.

Those respective teams banged hard on the door, and now Coach Scott Limbaugh, players senior  Wells Williams, freshmen Jon Ed Steed and Will Hartman will home in on breaking it down at the NCAA Championships which commenced today and is being played at La Costa Resort and Spa North Course in the San Diego metro area.

Our great golf team, led by freshman Will Hartman’s tie for low medalist honors, won the Athens, GA. Regional defeating teams like No.1 Auburn to earn one of the 30 spots in this field. We tee off at 3:07 P.M. CT/ 4:07 ET/ 1:07 Pacific.

We’ll start senior Wells Williams, sophomore Ryan Downes, freshmen Jon Ed, Will and Michael Riebe. Jon Ed, Will and Michael were part of the No.1 recruiting class in the country in 2025. Coach Limbaugh also secured the No. 1 class in the country for 2026.

The North Course at La Costa will play over 7,500 yards with a couple of long par 5’s in the 616 yard 2nd hole, and the 609 yard 18th. No.6 is the No.1 handicap hole. It’s a par 5 at 576. Good bit of water on the backside. Greens will be a certain kind of  bentgrass that will be quick, stimping at 12 1/2 to 13.

Coach Limbaugh, in his 14th season, has led his teams to 50 tournament titles, with the most recent one being the Athens (GA.) Regional, we’ve had 37 low medalists (winners of tourneys), 12 NCAA Championship Appearances, 7 Match Play appearances, 3 Final Fours, 2017, ’19 and ’22, and Gordon Sargent won the NCAA individual title in 2022. It’s a laundry list of excellence. There’s more, players in the pros, etc.. 

The format for the major championship of college golf is a 30 team field with the field playing 3 rounds, 54 holes, today through Sunday, with a cut to 15 teams after the third round on Sunday.  On Monday, the field gets cut down to 8 teams after 18 holes, and those 8 will play match play starting Tuesday. The quarterfinals and semis will transpire Tuesday, and the Championship match is Wednesday. Golf Channel will stream the Championships over the weekend and televise  on the Golf Channel Monday through Wednesday, starting at approximately, 5-5:30 P.M. CT/ 6-6:30 East/ and 3-3:30 P.M. Pacific.

Coach Limbaugh said the teams that are favored are Auburn, Florida, Texas and UVA.

We’ll home in on breaking this door down this time. Regardless, we’ve had a heckuva season, and the future is through the roof bright.

And we could very well get over the hump and capture our first Golf National Championship over the next 6 days.

Will keep you apprised.

Anchor Down and have an awesome weekend. 

Dores in Hoover today at 1 P.M. CT/ 2 ET vs Kentucky, Preview; Men’s Golf do well in first round of Athens Regional

May 19, 2026
Our Warrior junior right hander Connor Fennell is on the hill today versus Kentucky. (Photo courtesy of The Tennessean).

Our 12th seeded Vanderbilt Commodores, who are 32-24 overall and finished 14-16 in the SEC after sweeping South Carolina over the weekend at the Hawk, are in the Hoover Met today for the first round of the SEC Baseball Tournament. We will face  Kentucky at approximately 1 P.M. CT/2 East for a shot at matriculating and keeping our NCAA hopes alive and having a shot at excelling in Hoover.

The SEC Network will televise. We need two victories in this tournament, and maybe even three, to solidify our NCAA Tournament chances. So it all starts today versus the Wildcats, who we took two of three from in the regular season in Lexington.

We’ll go with right hander and stellar Friday Night starter Connor Fennell, who is 4-2 with a 4.80 ERA, but has been terrific lately in his starts versus Alabama, Missouri and South Carolina, respectively. Connor has walked 19 and struck out 97, which is excellent. He has allowed 13 doubles, one triple and 15 homers. The opponents batting average against him is .252. Gotta keep it in the ball park. The Hoover Met is more of a pitcher’s park, but there are definitely long balls hit out of there.

Kentucky, which is 31-20, and 13-17 in the SEC and also playing for their NCAA Tournament chances, will go with junior left hander Ben Cleaver, I’m guessing. Cleaver is 2-3 with a 3.83 ERA, 25 walks, 44 K’s. He has given up 7 doubles, 0 triples and 5 homers. Opponents are  batting .250 against him.

In the Friday Night game in Lexington on April 17th, Fennell faced Jaxon Jelkin. Fennell went 6.1, gave up 5 hits, 1 earned with 2 walks and 3 K’s. 
Cleaver didn’t pitch, but Kentucky won, 5-2. Our bullpen got hit pretty hard that night. I’m not positive Cleaver is starting for them, so this is a guesstimate. I’ll update if I find out anything else before the game.

We’ve hit well this season at .291, and played really solid defense fielding at a .976 clip. Just gotta get  pitching in this tournament. We showed some good signs against South Carolina. Fennell was solid as always on Thursday and we got a solid start from Jacob Faulkner on Saturday. We’re just getting it done by committee right now. We’ve got a lot of young, talented arms who seem to be figuring it out right now. Alex Kranzler, our junior, has been pitching well lately.

We’ve just got to get through today. I picked us 5-4 on my All Sports Blog yesterday, so hopeful that comes to fruition. Will elaborate more Wednesday if we emerge victorious today. Come on Fellas. 

Golf tied for second after first day of NCAA Regionals in Athens.

Our Men’s Golf team is in second place tied with Auburn at -7 after the first round of the NCAA Regionals at University of Georgia Golf Club in Athens.

We are three back of Louisville, which is at -10, and we are tied with No.1 ranked Auburn. We got stellar performances from freshmen Jon Ed Steed and Will Hartman, who both shot 4 under par 67. Senior Wells Williams is at -1. The second round is underway and we’re on the course. Will keep you updated. There are 13 teams in this Regional with the top 5 teams after the third round advancing to the NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa North Course in Carlsbad, CA. starting Friday, May 29th. So, we’ve got a lot of work to do.

Luckily for both of our teams, we have Tim Corbin and Scott Limbaugh, respectively.

Will keep you apprised. Thanks and have a great day.  

The Bromberg duo continues to matriculate towards a Triple Crown; Aaron Rai; SEC Baseball Championship at the Hoover Met starts Tuesday. Predictions

May 18, 2026

Spike Me Up, John “Brombey” Bromberg, captured the second leg of the Triple Crown with his prediction of Napoleon Solo. (Photo Courtesy of JB&Co. Jewelry Boutique, Not the greatest “quality” photo. Sorry Spike-best I could do).


After Amy “Sweetie” Bromberg predicted Golden Tempo to successfully win the 152nd Kentucky Derby, her other half, the great “Spike Me Up” John “Brombey” Bromberg backed it up by successfully predicting Napoleon Solo to capture the 151st Preakness Stakes. It’s onto the Belmont as the Bromberg dynamic duo sets their sights on capturing the Triple Crown in the predictions and “earnings” departments in these American Classic races. Great stuff from the Bromberg family. White’s World, Derrick and Excedrin “Bill Gates” Bates went with Iron Honor. White’s World felt good about the pick, and Derrick, whose vintage O’Neal Steel company slogan was, “When you need steel, depend on O’Neal,” of course went with the Iron horse. Excedrin was in agreement. Iron Honor almost pulled it off, barely falling a length short of winning the mile and three sixteenths race. It was another electric Triple Crown race. Excited for Brombey, Joseph “Bama Golf”, WP, Excedrin, Derrick,Brownie, White’s World, etc.. to pick the ponies at the 158th Belmont Stakes, which will take place at Saratoga Park in Saratoga Springs, New Yawk, as Belmont Park, in Elmont, New York, is under construction and won’t be ready this year, but will host the 2027 Belmont, after a $455 million renovation. Should be fun with the Derby winner Golden Tempo along with Preakness winner Napoleon Solo and other Derby and Preakness contenders set for “The Test of the Champion.” The mile and a half race will transpire on Saturday, June 6th, with an approximate post time between 5:40-6 P.M. CT/6:40-7 P.M. East. Will have the accurate time on race week. FOX will broadcast. Should be another thrilluh.

Rai Captures the 108th PGA Championship

Aaron Rai dominated the field at Aronimink Golf Club on Sunday (Photo courtesy of The PGA Tour).

Aaron Rai, the 31 year old Englishman, whose parents are natives of India, was iron on Sunday at the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newton Square, PA., 15 miles west of downtown Philly. Rai shot 70, 69, 67, 65, to capture the second major of the season, finishing at nine under par. He won by three shots over LIV player Jon Rahm and PGA player Alex Smalley, who both finished at six under. The PGA Championship is famous for producing first time winners; Rich Beem, Y. E. Yang and Shaun Micheel being three of them. Rai’s electric 68 foot birdie conversion on 17 was the shot of the tournament. It brought back memories of J.J. Spaun’s 64 foot birdie putt he drained on 18 at Oakmont in 2025 to capture the 125th U.S. Open. Next up is the 126th U.S. Open at historic Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., on Long Island, June 18th-21st on NBC. That’ll be Father’s Day weekend. Spaun is the defending champion. Aronimink played extremely tough, but Rai found a way to lock in and dominate the field Sunday. Great stuff from the Englishman.

The S-E-C Baseball Tournament

Georgia junior catcher Daniel Jackson will lead his regular season winner Bulldogs team into the Hoover Met as the SEC Baseball Tournament commences at the Hoover Met Tuesday. (Photo courtesy of AJC.com).

The 2026 SEC Baseball Tournament gets underway at the Hoover Met in Birmingham with four games slated for Tuesday. The SEC Network will broadcast through the semifinals of what is a “single elimination” tournament, and ABC will broadcast the Championship Game on Sunday at 1 P.M. CT/ 2 P.M. East. The SEC went to single elimination games in 2025 when Texas and Oklahoma joined the league. Good move.

Georgia led the SEC and the country in home runs with 147. Junior catcher Daniel Jackson, a potential first round draft pick in June in the MLB draft if his defense keeps improving throughout the rest of the season, leads the conference in long ones with 27 along with a conference leading 77 Ribeyes. He also leads the SEC in batting average at .394. Georgia leads the SEC in hitting at .325. They are second in the conference in fielding percentage at .983. Tennessee leads at .984. That’s a wash. But their team ERA is 10th in the conference at 5.05. Auburn leads the conference in ERA at 3.60. Alabama is next at 4.13.

A very interesting development in this tournament is the SEC’s institution of the ABS system. The ABS is the Automated Balls and Strikes System, which Major League Baseball employs. In the Big Leagues, each team has two challenges per game, and only the pitcher, the catcher or the hitter can challenge a ball or a strike call by the home plate umpire. If the player gets it right, the team retains its’ challenge, i.e., if a team has two challenges and the batter challenges a strike call and is successful with the automated review overturning it to a ball, the team will still retain its’ two challenges left for the game. In this SEC Tournament each team will have three challenges and retains its’ challenge if it is successful with its’ respective challenge. Awesome move by Greg Sankey and the SEC. I watch a lot of SEC Baseball, at least Vanderbilt games, and these home plate umpires miss a lot of ball/strike calls. This will make the tournament much better. Love the move.

So who’s going to win this extravaganza in Hoover? Here are my predictions.

***All games will be televised by the SEC Network starting Tuesday until the Championship Game on Sunday, which will be televised by ABC***

Tuesday, First Round

9:30 AM CT/10:30 ET-No.9 Ole Miss 7, No. 16 Missouri 2

1 P.M. CT/2 East-No.12 Vanderbilt 5, No.13 Kentucky 4

4:30 CT/5:30 East-No.10 Tennessee 8, No.15 South Carolina 4

8 CT/9 East-No.14 LSU 7, No. 11 Oklahoma 4

Wednesday, Second Round

9:30 A.M. CT/10:30 ET–No.8 Mississippi State 7, Ole Miss 4

1 P.M. CT/2 East- Vandy 7, No. 5 Florida 6

4:30/5:30-Tennessee 6, No. 7 Arkansas 5

8 CT/9 ET- No. 6 Auburn 8, LSU 4

Thursday, Quarterfinals

3 P.M. CT-4 ET- No.1 Georgia 9, Mississippi State 7

7 CT-8 ET-No.4 Vanderbilt 6, Alabama 5

Friday, Quarterfinals

3 CT/4 ET- No.2 Texas 5, Tennessee 3

7 CT/8 ET-Auburn 4, No. 3 Texas A&M 3

Saturday- Semifinals

12 P.M. CT/1 ET-Georgia 7, Vanderbilt 6

4 P.M. CT/5 East- Texas 7, Auburn 5

Championship Sunday, 1 P.M. CT/2 East, ABC

Georgia 8, Texas 7

MVP

Daniel Jackson, Georgia

The 151st Preakness Stakes transpires today; Preview/Predictions

May 16, 2026

Emerging superstar jockey Jose Ortiz, the 32 year old from Puerto Rico, goes for the second leg of the Triple Crown, this time aboard 5/1 Chip Honcho. He won the 152nd Kentucky Derby aboard Golden Tempo. (Photo courtesy of Daily Racing Form).

Fourteen horses will compete in the 151st edition of the Preakness Stakes, which will take place at Laurel Park Racecourse in Maryland as Pimlico is under a $400 million renovation. Laurel Park, a 25 minute drive from Pimlico in Baltimore, has a capacity of 4,800, so there will be a lot less fans, but the electricity will still be high. Pimlico is expected to be back open in 2027. Post time today is 5:50 P.M. CT/ 6:50 East and NBC and Peacock will broadcast.

Golden Tempo, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, followed a trend that three of the last five Kentucky Derby winning trainers have employed, as his trainer, Cherie DeVaux, is sitting her horse out to prepare for the 158th Belmont Stakes on Saturday, June 6th at Saratoga Race course, which has been hosting it temporarily while Belmont Park is undergoing a major redevelopment.

There are a few horses in this field that ran in the Derby, but it looks like a wide open race, which makes prediciting this race even more dynamic.

Here are the thoroughbreds in this year’s Preakness, with, in order, their 1.post position, 2.their name, 3.their jockey, 4.their trainer, and 5.their odds.

1. Taj Mahal, Sheldon Russell, Brittany T. Russell, 5/1

2. Ocelli,Tyler Gaffalione, D. Whitworth Beckman, 6/1

3. Cropper,Junior Alvarado, Donnie K. Von Hemel, 20/1

4. Robusta, Rafael Bejarano, Doug F. O’Neill, 30/1

5.Talkin, Irad Ortiz Jr., Danny Gargan, 20/1

6. Chip Honcho, Jose Ortiz, Steve M. Asmussen, 5/1

7. The Hell We Did, Luis Saez, Todd Fincher, 15/1

8.Bull by the Horns, Micah J. Husbands, Saffie A. Joseph Jr., 30/1

9. Iron Honor, Flavien Prat, Chad Brown, 9/2

10. Napoleon Solo, Paco Lopez, Chad Summers, 8/1

11. Corona De Oro, John Velazquez, Dallas Stewart, 30/1

12. Incredibolt, Jaime A. Torres, Riley Mott, 5/1

13. Great White, Alex Achard, John Ennis, 15/1

14. Pretty Boy Miah, Ricardo “Carlos” Santana Jr., Jeremiah Englehart, 15/1

Winner

I had an economics teacher at my high school boarding school in Northern Virginia named Mike Miller. He was a phenomenal teacher. He was hard, but fair, and an excellent guy. We called him “Iron Mike.” He also coached the wrestling team. He was as tough as a Sherman Tank.

I gave a speech at the senior banquet and thought I’d have a little fun at Mr. Miller’s expense. I said when I started, “I hope everybody can hear me, this mic is made of Iron!” The next day, a Saturday, we had Saturday classes before football games, etc.., he was battering me with questions. “So, David, give me the micro definition of supply and demand.” I was a little flustered. “Now give me the macro version.” Getting more flustered. “Now tell me more about opportunity cost and economy of scales.” “Iron” had me totally out of sorts. It was pretty funny.

So in honor of my great teacher and leader, I’m going to take two time Preakness winning trainer (2017 and 2022), 47 year old New York state native Chad Brown, and 2019 Derby winner and 2021 Preakness winning jockey Flavien Prat, the 33 year old Frenchman, to have their horse well suited for the mile and three sixteenths race. Give me:

Iron Honor

I’ll take Iron Honor to capture the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes. (Photo courtesy of Thoroughbred Daily News).

Place- Incredibolt

Show-The Hell We Did

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