Month: July 2020

Updated 49ers salary cap space heading into camp

The 49ers don’t have the salary cap space to make any big additions to their roster during training camp.

The 49ers aren’t likely to make any big free agent splashes as training camp gets set to open. They have just $12.1 million in available space for 2020 according to Over the Cap, which means any signings they do make leading up to the regular season will likely be smaller, depth-minded moves.

Some free agents like defensive end Jadeveon Clowney or cornerback Logan Ryan are enticing for a defense that’s already loaded, but those aren’t realistic targets unless they’re going to accept something well below market value. A game-wrecking pass rusher and a starting-caliber cornerback who can play outside or in the slot aren’t likely to come cheap in any scenario.

Where San Francisco could utilize some of that space is in the receiving corps if they feel the need to add more experience there. Players like Justin Hardy and Taylor Gabriel are two available receivers who know Kyle Shanahan’s offense. Defensive end Damontre Moore’s name has surfaced in rumors as well. He’s another cost-effective player with familiarity in San Francisco who could help the depth at a key spot.

Uncertainty on the cap moving into next season with George Kittle’s extension looming means the 49ers will probably aim to remain frugal until they know what Kittle’s deal is going to look like and the impact it’ll have on his cap number this season. Right now he’s scheduled for an extremely affordable $2.2 million cap hit.

There are ways the team can free up money either through cuts or contract restructures, but given the already limited roster space with COVID-19 forcing teams to prematurely trim their 90-man rosters, it’s hard to see the 49ers making any rash moves. Their offseason goal was continuity, and putting that in jeopardy with camp approaching wouldn’t make sense against their other offseason maneuvers.

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Grace Curran wins Golfweek Midwest Collegiate in extra holes; Charlie Pilon prevails after long offseason

Grace Curran needed extra holes to get it done in the women’s division while Charlie Pilon is returning from a long break in competition.

Grace Curran misses the familiar sights of college golf. It’s hard to believe that nearly five months have passed since she looked up her name on a Golfstat leaderboard or saw a group of college bags clustered by a putting green. And yet, the atmosphere at the Golfweek Midwest Collegiate was a reminder of all those things she has missed.

Curran played four extra holes at Purdue’s Kampen Course in West Lafayette, Indiana, on Friday afternoon to earn a victory in the women’s division. She eventually defeated incoming Purdue freshman Jocelyn Bruch with a 4-footer for par on No. 1.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous,” she said of standing over that putt.

Scores: Golfweek Midwest Collegiate

Curran, who will return to Minnesota for her sophomore season, was one of two Minnesota players in what turned out to be a heavily Big Ten field. Two players from the Gophers men’s team were also in the field. Mostly, it was just nice to all be together, Curran said.

“I thought it was fun to look around and see everybody’s college bag,” she said. “It really gave us a college event feel.”

Curran and her team were in California in March when college athletics were called off. The trip overlapped their spring break, but Coach Michele Redman thought it best to head home instead of continue on their golf itinerary.

In the unexpected off-season, Curran had about at two-week dead period with no golf. Other than that, when she was playing, she was on the course instead of grinding on the range.

“You can ask any of my coaches, I can sit on the range forever,” Curran joked. “I need to work my way to the putting green.”

Curran didn’t have a problem with that part at the Kampen course, knocking in birdies at Nos. 12 and 17 – plus an eagle at No. 6 – on her way to a closing 69. Her birdie on No. 17 came right after incoming Purdue freshman Jocelyn Bruch bogeyed the 16th and eventually sent the two to the playoff.

Curran now has won two events in a row after claiming the Minnesota Women’s Match Play Championship last month. She’ll team up with fellow Gopher Emma Carpenter for the Minnesota Women’s Four-Ball Championship.

From where Charlie Pilon is sitting, an abundance of tournament starts is a completely foreign feeling. Pilon, the rising Michigan senior who walked away with a one-shot victory over Purdue’s Cole Bradley in the men’s division, was making his first competitive start this week since March.

It also came shortly after spending 10 days on vacation in Montana, without touching a club.

Pilon grew up in Wagga Wagga Australia, a rural area between Melbourne and Sydney, and doesn’t like to return home in the summers because he’s actually returning to winter.

“I want to play all the summer events available,” he said.

Rounds of 1-under 71 at Kampen book-ended a second-round 68, which Pilon fired on arguably the toughest day, when a steady rain was falling.

“Fortunately it wasn’t too windy,” he said. “Didn’t hit the ball as well as I usually would. My short game, putting and chipping, was doing a lot of the heavy lifting.

“I made some really good putts at some crucial times.”

Pilon last won a tournament at the Baylor-hosted Royal Oaks Collegiate in October 2019. He knows the Kampen course well considering that Michigan often plays in Purdue’s home event here.

Most of the time, Pilon leans on his short game. This week was just the opposite from what he remembers all those months ago.

“It was a nice change of pace to have the short game come through this week

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As NBA season restarts, all Rockets kneel during national anthem

As a sign of peaceful protest, all members of the Houston Rockets kneeled during the U.S. national anthem before Friday’s game.

As a sign of peaceful protest, all players and coaches on the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks kneeled during the U.S. national anthem prior to Friday’s game at the NBA “bubble” in Florida.

The demonstrations are designed to call attention to concerns related to racial injustice and police brutality within the United States. Players for both teams wore “Black Lives Matter” shirts over their team jerseys during game warm-up activities and while kneeling. (Black Lives Matter is also inscribed on all of the basketball courts used at the NBA restart.)

NBA players are hoping that the platform and large television audience of the league’s restart will help further promote the growing U.S. social justice movement, which rapidly picked up steam after George Floyd’s death in late May. Eight members of the Rockets are also showing their support by wearing social justice messages on the backs of their jerseys.

Technically, the league has a long-standing rule prohibiting players from kneeling for the national anthem. However, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver confirmed Thursday that he will not enforce that rule, citing the “unique circumstances” of this moment in history.

Friday’s contest was the first regular-season game for both the Rockets (40-24) and Mavericks (40-27) since the NBA suspended its 2019-20 season in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Cardinals crack top 10 in pre-training camp power rankings

They move up from No. 12 to No. 10 as training camp begins.

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The NFL has begun its preparations for the 2020 regular season. All 32 teams have had their players report for training camp, although camp will look different this year in the middle of a pandemic.

But with camps kicking off, Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield released new power rankings.

The Arizona Cardinals, who are believed to be a much-improved team in 2020, moved up in to the top 10.

They rank 10th in the new rankings.

Kliff Kingsbury certainly looked relaxed in his James Bond-style living space, termed that by the brilliant Nora Princiotti of the Boston Globe, during the recent draft. But he had reason to be. The Arizona Cardinals became one of the most athletic and versatile defenses in the league when they added Isaiah Simmons to their roster. Listed as a linebacker for NFL purposes, the Clemson defender can play in a variety of roles and probably projects best as a safety. Then the Cardinals pounced and grabbed tackle Josh Jones in the third round, despite projections that had him coming off the board in the first.

Day Three of the draft was almost as productive. Utah’s Leki Fotu could be a player that will thrive in the NFL, as he was used primarily as a run stopper in college but he can get after the passer when given the chance. He’ll have more chances in the NFL, especially with players like Chandler Jones and potentially even Simmons coming off the outside. Eno Benjamin was a tremendous pick for them in the seventh round.

Oh, and remember when they added DeAndre Hopkins this offseason? Pepperidge Farms remembers.

There are reasons many expect the Cardinals to take a big step forward in 2020.

The Cardinals have had a very good offseason. They upgraded in every area they needed to upgrade and still maintained a lot of continuity on the roster.

Of course, ultimately, this team will go as far as Kyler Murray will take them in 2020.

In terms of the division, they are ranked only below the reigning division champs, the San Francisco 49ers.

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Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:

Previous shows:

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and

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Locked On Wolverines Podcast (Ep. 365): Digging the graves of your enemies

The Wolverines got a commitment from a perceived Spartans lean. Why it’s important beyond face value and much, much more.

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It seemed like Andrel Anthony was destined to stay in East Lansing, but nope — he flipped the script and committed to Michigan. That has implications beyond just the Wolverines getting a coveted target. We discuss that and a few of your questions on a late-Friday podcast.

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You can subscribe on iTunes, Google Podcasts, TuneIn Radio or Stitcher.

Or you can listen right here on WolverinesWire!

LISTEN below:

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New Matisse Thybulle vlog has Russell Westbrook-Tobias Harris gambling

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Matisse Thybulle has a new vlog that includes Tobias Harris and Russell Westbrook gambling.

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Matisse Thybulel continues to take fans inside the bubble and a look at how NBA players are living at Disney World in Orlando. They have included a look at practice, a look inside their hotel setup, and they even include looks at team meetings and practices.

In Friday’s episode, the sixth video of his series, there was a huge focus on a cornhole tournament that was going on inside the hotel. Thybulle participates in a few tournament games and then Tobias Harris and Houston Rockets guard Russell Westbrook got into a funny story about gambling from their past and it then spilled over into another cornhole tournament.

On top of that, the team has another huge dialogue on what to do to spread the social justice message as they heard from Furkan Korkmaz and Raul Neto as well with Harris leading the meeting. It was very powerful to watch.

The rookie is now up over 337,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel as his videos continue to grow and they continue to have a lot of interest. It has been impressive to see how he edits everything and keeps the interesting content rolling. [lawrence-related id=35896,35904,35884]