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Good morning! So long, Coyotes.
Hi, I’m Dominant: The legend of Nelly Korda
Nelly Korda finished the first round of Thursday’s Chevron Championship, one of the LPGA’s five majors, at 4-under par, two shots back of leader Lauren Coughlin. Solid, right? In contention. Nice.
There’s so much more to it, though. Two things you might not know about Korda:
- She has won FOUR straight LPGA tournaments, one shy of the tour record.
- She is the best golfer in the world right now not named Scottie Scheffler.
Golf fans know world No. 1 Korda well, but her streak is opening up a new lane of attention with the general sports public. I went to Gabby Herzig, our newest golf writer, for proper context on this ridiculous run of dominance:
I want to get some perspective first. Where does this four-win stretch for Korda rank in the history of women’s golf?
Gabby: It’s up there — Korda’s streak puts her next to some legendary names in the women’s game. Korda just became the first player to win four consecutive starts since Lorena Ochoa in 2008, and an American player has not gone on a run like this in 46 years, since Nancy Lopez’s five-win stretch in 1978. Lopez and Annika Sorenstam are the only players to go 5-for-5 (Sorenstam did it twice). Korda has the chance to match them.
You wrote in our roundtable discussion that a fifth straight win is certainly possible — but I want a prediction. Does she tie the record this weekend?
Gabby: I have faith that she’ll pull off her fifth win this week. Korda has proven she can win under a variety of circumstances. She’s come from behind and she’s blown away the field — she’s simply levels above everyone else right now.
If she does, she heads to the JM Eagle LA Championship with history on the line. She finished top-10 there last year. Would you favor her for six straight?
Gabby: Six consecutive wins sounds like a stretch to me. In her pre-tournament news conference, Korda talked about experiencing some extreme exhaustion last week after the LPGA’s match play event. I wonder if at a certain point, winning this much just isn’t sustainable from a recovery standpoint.
We’ll have more on Korda’s weekend Sunday.
News to Know
Coyotes officially head to Utah
The NHL Board of Governors officially approved the Arizona Coyotes’ sale to owner Ryan Smith for $1.2 billion, which clears the way for the team’s relocation to Salt Lake City. Zoom out and this is one of the stranger relocation sagas in modern pro sports: the NHL says it remains fully committed to having a team in Arizona (🤨), and now-former Coyotes owner Ryan Meruelo continues to search for a new arena deal. Yet staying in the 4,500-seat Mullett Arena was unfeasible for the league, so here we are. The full story helps make more sense of it all.
Deion scoffs at departures
Eleven Colorado players entered the transfer portal this week — including freshman Cormani McClain, a former five-star recruit — but Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders clearly has no worries about the exodus. In a news conference, Sanders simply asked “What are we losing?” He further indicated that none of the 26 players who have left since last season ended would be starters. Read his full comments here.
Rashada in the portal
Also leaving the state of Arizona: Jaden Rashada, the former Arizona State quarterback who started two games last season. Rashada made waves as a recruit after he signed a $13.85 million endorsement deal to play at Florida, then backed out after not receiving payment. His likely destination: Georgia.
More news
New Duds: The new Lions’ jerseys are ____
Pretty good? Frankly, if you take out the alternate uniform, the new Lions jerseys are as close to perfect as you can get.
Look at the number font vs. last year’s edition:
Stephen Maturen/Getty Images
I never realized how bad those weird, skinny “digital” numbers look. Bleh. I would like every team to go back to their early 1990s jerseys, please.
I hope they never wear the black jerseys and blue helmets. For their own good.
It’s not just me, though. Tell me I’m wrong in our latest Pulse Poll. The black jerseys and new helmets are:
- Gross. Can we at least delete the helmet?
- Awesome. Get some taste, Branch.
Make your voice heard here. We’ll share the results Monday.
Watch This Game
NBA: Bulls at Heat
7 p.m. on ESPN
Miami will likely be without Jimmy Butler here, which harms their Play-In Team of Destiny status going forward. If Butler sits, don’t be surprised if the Bulls pull out a tough one.
NBA: Kings at Pelicans
9:30 p.m. ET on TNT
Similarly, New Orleans will miss Zion Williamson in this game, which is good fortune for the visiting team. Sacramento is coming off a meaningful win and has been a solid road team this year. Visitors might go 2-0 in the Play-In desperation round.
Pulse Picks
There is angst surrounding what could be a deep playoff run for the Edmonton Oilers this year. The season has been described in “Cup or bust” or even “last dance” terms. Daniel Nugent-Bowman has a really insightful story on what could be the final stand for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisatl.
Keith Law’s top 50 2024 MLB Draft prospects is here. Keith is the best in the business at this stuff. Learn some of these names before they’re tearing up the College World Series, too.
Joe Vardon, meanwhile, ranks the top 50 USA Basketball players of all time in honor of the 2024 roster being announced. Michael Jordan is, uh, ninth on this list. You’re going to want to read this.
Why in the world was Usain Bolt at a Burnley U-21 match? Andy Jones has the scoop.
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The story on Jontay Porter’s lifetime NBA ban. Unsurprising.
Most-read on the website yesterday: That awkward exchange between a local columnist and Caitlin Clark at Clark’s introductory presser is still a big talker.
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