With Dion Waiters in the early stages …

With Dion Waiters in the early stages of a 10-game Heat suspension, there have been conflicting reports about his future with the team. Two South Florida reporters have speculated that he has played his last game for the Heat, whereas The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that “the Heat are going to welcome him back after this 10-game absence.” Charania said: “The Heat has let Dion Waiters know we need you back in this rotation. We want you to come back and earn your stripes.”

Mayakoba Golf Classic: Round 2 tee times, TV info

Here are the tee times and viewing information for the first and second rounds of the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

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The Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club started on Friday, a day late, due to inclement weather that delayed the start of the tournament.

Saturday will feature second-round action starting at 7 a.m.

Mayakoba: Leaderboard | Updates | Photos

The second round tee times can be seen below.

All times listed in Eastern Standard Time.

Round 2

1st tee

Tee time Players
7 a.m. Jhonattan Vegas, Joel Dahmen, Beau Hossler
7:10 a.m. Russell Henley, Nick Taylor, Talor Gooch
7:20 a.m. Harris English, Zac Blair, Bronson Burgoon
7:30 a.m. Ryan Armour, D.A. Points, Kevin Stadler
7:40 a.m. Charles Howell III, Michael Kim, Andrew Landry
7:50 a.m. Chez Reavie, Austin Cook, Zach Johnson
8 a.m. Chris Stroud, Peter Malnati, Bo Van Pelt
8:10 a.m. Matt Jones, Nick Watney, Graham DeLaet
8:20 a.m. Rhein Gibson, Tyler McCumber, Brandon Wu
8:30 a.m. Rafael Campos, Ben Taylor, Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra (a)
8:40 a.m. Wes Roach, Scott Harrington, Bo Hoag
11:30 a.m. Charley Hoffman, Vaughn Taylor, Scott Stallings
11:40 a.m. Aaron Baddeley, Brian Stuard, Emiliano Grillo
11:50 a.m. Ben Martin, Kevin Streelman, Martin Laird
12 p.m. Keegan Bradley, Satoshi Kodaira, Brendan Steele
12:10 p.m. Kevin Kisner, Graeme McDowell, Billy Horschel
12:20 p.m. Matt Kuchar, Tony Finau, Abraham Ancer
12:30 p.m. Aaron Wise, Pat Perez, Luke Donald
12:40 p.m. Robert Streb, Roger Sloan, Scottie Scheffler
12:50 p.m. Xinjun Zhang, Robby Shelton, Efren Serna, Jr.
1 p.m. Kramer Hickok, Sebastian Cappelen, Sebastián Vázquez
1:10 p.m. Tyler Duncan, Maverick McNealy, Jimmy Stanger

Round 2 – 10th tee

Tee time Players
7 a.m. James Hahn, Shawn Stefani, Mark Hubbard
7:10 a.m. Chris Kirk, Scott Brown, Adam Schenk
7:20 a.m. Brian Harman, Mackenzie Hughes, Patrick Rodgers
7:30 a.m. Jim Herman, Patton Kizzire, Rob Oppenheim
7:40 a.m. Lanto Griffin, Cameron Champ, Sebastián Muñoz
7:50 a.m. Joaquin Niemann, C.T. Pan, Jason Day
8 a.m. Harold Varner III, J.J. Spaun, Carlos Ortiz
8:10 a.m. David Hearn, Tom Hoge, Sepp Straka
8:20 a.m. Viktor Hovland, Kristoffer Ventura, Alvaro Ortiz
8:30 a.m. Michael Gligic, Chris Baker, Roberto Díaz
8:40 a.m. Hank Lebioda, Ryan Brehm, José de Jesús Rodríguez
11:30 a.m. Danny Lee, Wyndham Clark, Doc Redman
11:40 a.m. Kyle Stanley, Sam Ryder, Denny McCarthy
11:50 a.m. Brian Gay, Rory Sabbatini, Luke List
12 p.m. Keith Mitchell, Si Woo Kim, Davis Love III
12:10 p.m. J.T. Poston, Dylan Frittelli, Hudson Swafford
12:20 p.m. Scott Piercy, Brice Garnett, Russell Knox
12:30 p.m. Brendon Todd, Adam Long, Kevin Chappell
12:40 p.m. Fabián Gómez, Cameron Tringale, Kyoung-Hoon Lee
12:50 p.m. Henrik Norlander, Chase Seiffert, Ben Silverman
1 p.m. Mark Anderson, Matthew NeSmith, Will Gordon
1:10 p.m. Harry Higgs, Nelson Ledesma, Calum Hill

How to watch

All times listed in Eastern Standard Time.

Friday
Golf Channel: 1-5 p.m.
PGA Tour Radio: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday
Golf Channel: 2-5 p.m.
PGA Tour Radio: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sunday
Golf Channel: 2-5 p.m.
PGA Tour Radio: 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

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Sean McVay admits he should’ve used Todd Gurley more vs. Steelers

Sean McVay tried to explain why Todd Gurley didn’t get in the game in the fourth quarter, saying Malcolm Brown was making plays.

The Los Angeles Rams could do very little offensively against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, picking up only 16 first downs, 306 total yards and scoring zero touchdowns. What they did do well was run the ball with Todd Gurley.

He had 12 carries for 73 yards in what was his most productive game since Week 1 when he had 97 yards on just 14 rushes. Yet, Gurley didn’t touch the ball in the fourth quarter and wasn’t even on the field for the first two drives.

It’s hard to imagine why the Rams abandoned their most effective player on Sunday, and Sean McVay didn’t have a good explanation. On Monday, he did admit that he should’ve done a better job getting him involved more throughout the game, which hardly grants him a pass for that decision.

“Getting a guy like Todd Gurley more involved and more a part of it is definitely something that yesterday benefitted,” he said. “That’s where you say in hindsight, I should have done a better of doing that consistently throughout the game.”

The real reason Gurley was on the bench for most of the fourth quarter has to do with two things: Malcolm Brown and the Rams defense’s inability to get off the field. The former is something McVay can control. The latter is not.

When asked Monday why Gurley wasn’t part of the fourth-quarter game plan, McVay pointed toward Brown’s ability to “make some plays.”

“I think it really just had to do with that we had kind of gone into it and just feeling it out, we feel like he is doing really well, he’s playing at a high level. Malcolm made some tough hard-earned runs too. He’s been a guy that’s demonstrated he can make some plays,” he said. “It’s nothing really other than that. I think like anything else, when you want to be reflective as a coach, you say, ‘Could there have been some things that you wish you had done to maybe keep him in that rhythm?’ I wouldn’t argue with that. I would say, ‘You probably should have done that.’ Those are things that I’ll never claim to make all the right decisions. I think yesterday was something where you probably could have given him an opportunity to continue with that rhythm that he did have going there.”

The second part of the equation was that the Rams didn’t have the ball very much in the fourth quarter. They had it for less than two minutes in each of their first two drives to open the fourth quarter. They gave it up with 10:46 left to play and didn’t get it back until 2:46 – a span of 10 minutes without the ball.

McVay said that obviously played a role in Gurley’s lack of involvement, but there’s little reason to pull him from the game in favor of Brown, who only had 6 yards on two carries entering the fourth quarter.

“(Gurley) did a good job,” McVay said. “You really look at it, the two drives that he did miss, that second drive that Malcolm was in was at 12 and a half minutes left in the game. Then, the next drive starts at two and a half minutes. I think there was a little bit longer time in between drives that typically you usually see. It wasn’t necessarily like that was the true crunch time. Todd had been running really well, but that was the beginning of the fourth quarter in those drives that Malcolm was in there. Then, when you do get the ball back offensively, you’re in two-minute mode, playing down where you’re playing for a touchdown with 2:39 – I want to say – left in the game.”

He continued, admitting he would’ve gotten Gurley the ball if he knew the Rams would go 10 minutes without being back on offense.

“I think there’s always things that you look at as a coach and say, ‘Would you do it differently?’ I think – not to take anything away from Malcolm – but if you knew that that was going to be the last possession you get until two and a half (minutes) left, you probably would say, ‘I would’ve preferred to have Todd get into more of a rhythm and maybe get some touches there.’ There’s nobody to blame there but me,” he said.

Gurley said after the game that he’s “used to” not getting the ball in the fourth quarter. He also said “not really” when asked if he wants it more in crunch time.

McVay said didn’t seem too concerned about Gurley’s answers, saying “anytime that you’re a playmaker like him, you’re going to want that ball and you’re going to want more.”

This situation doesn’t seem to be sorting itself out, but McVay has to find a way to get Gurley more involved – even if it means abandoning the plan to conserve him for the end of the season. The Rams are reaching desperation time and they can’t afford to lose many more games.

Better Job: Florida State or USC?

On this week’s episode of the College Football News Podcast with myself and Pete Fiutak we recap the LSU/Alabama slug-fest from Saturday while getting into what the playoff rankings will look like tonight when the new top-25 is released. Listen to …

On this week’s episode of the College Football News Podcast with myself and Pete Fiutak we recap the LSU/Alabama slug-fest from Saturday while getting into what the playoff rankings will look like tonight when the new top-25 is released.

Listen to the episode RIGHT HERE!

Is Alabama now out of the CFP and if so, who will be the team with the best case to replace them?  Pac-12 champion, perhaps?  Or maybe Georgia or even Oklahoma, assuming Baylor doesn’t go unbeaten?

Finally the guys look ahead to the weekend of games while also finding time to remember Charles Rogers.

The conversation also discusses current and potential head coach openings at Florida State and USC as the guys discuss where each of those jobs currently rank.  Check it out and subscribe and rate if you’re a college football fan and haven’t already.

As always thanks for listening and go Irish!

NBA Rumors: Could Portland be interested in trade for Danilo Gallinari?

Gallinari has shown himself to be a capable stretch four, which is what the Trail Blazers need to complement their explosive back court.

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Surprise, surprise. Danilo Gallinari’s name has come up in trade rumors again.

Every since Gallo came to Oklahoma City as part of the blockbuster deal for Paul George in July, his tenure with the Thunder has had an expected expiration date.

It’s not really surprising, to be honest. The better he plays during the early part of the season, the more his name is going to get tossed around as a potential player on the move.

And Gallinari has been really good as of late.

He’s second on the team in scoring at 18.6 points per game. His three-point play has been a huge boost to a Thunder team that hasn’t shot three’s well in recent years. Gallinari is hitting 43.7% of his shots from the perimeter, which is sixth-best in the NBA.

Which makes it reasonable to believe that the Portland Trailblazers would be interested in acquiring him.

Per The Ringer’s Paolo Uggetti, Portland may be on the lookout for a big man they can bring in after suffering roster turnovers and inconvenient injuries. Gallo could be the perfect fit.

“Danilo Gallinari is another trade candidate who could fit in well with this team. He would be the perfect stretch 4 to play with Portland’s deadly backcourt. And while it’s unclear what Oklahoma City’s ultimate goals are for this season, Gallinari and his expiring contract could be a tasty asset for Sam Presti to try to swap for another first-round pick.”

Inquisitor’s JB Baruelo likewise believes that Portland could be a good landing spot for Gallinari, should the Thunder still be committed to an overhaul.

“Gallinari would be an incredible addition to the Trail Blazers, giving them an All-Star-caliber power forward who could serve as their third-best scoring option behind Lillard and McCollum. Having a floor-spacing big man like Gallinari would further improve the Trail Blazers’ offensive efficiency, which currently ranks 10th in the league.”

The question is, would a first-round pick being enough to entice Presti to move a guy that has been so integral so far this season. It might have to be.

As Baruelo points out, ‘trading him for future draft assets before the 2020 February NBA trade deadline would be their best option, rather than letting him walk away in the 2020 NBA free agency as an unrestricted free agent without getting anything in return.”

Mayakoba Golf Classic odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets

Here are the odds, predictions, picks and PGA Tour best bets for the Mayakoba Golf Classic beginning Thursday.

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The PGA Tour returns to North America this week for the Mayakoba Golf Classic at El Camaleon Golf Club in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The course measures 6,987 yards and plays as a par 71 under tournament conditions.

Courtesy of historical data from Fantasy National, the stats best associated with success at this venue are:

  • Strokes Gained: Approach
  • Strokes Gained: Ball Striking
  • Opportunities Gained
  • Greens in Regulation Gained

My model looks at the most recent 36 rounds for each golfer in the field.

Mayakoba Golf Classic: Tee times | Fantasy power rankings
Field update:
 Rickie Fowler withdraws due to sickness

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Tier 1

Photo Credit: Rob Kinnan – USA TODAY Sports

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Viktor Hovland +2000

Hovland, 22, is tied with Jason DayMatt Kuchar and Tony Finau as the tournament favorite, according to the sportsbooks. He is ranked 97th by the Official World Golf Ranking and is still looking for his first career win after turning pro in the summer. Hovland leads the field in each of the four key stats.

Emiliano Grillo +3300

Grillo is a course horse. He finished 15th last year, T-9 in 2018 and T-10 in 2017. He’s coming off a T-30 in a much stronger field at the Zozo Championship in Japan, and he placed T-26 at The CJ Cup the week before. He ranks second to Hovland in most key stats and shares the lead in SG: Approach.

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Tier 2

Photo Credit: Butch Dill – USA TODAY Sports

Chez Reavie +5000

Reavie participated in all three events the PGA Tour just played in Asia. His best result was a T-46 at The CJ Cup in South Korea. The 33rd-ranked golfer by the OWGR ranks sixth by the stat model and is in the top five of the field in SG: Ball Striking, SG: Approach and Opportunities Gained.


Looking to place a bet on this tournament? Get some action on it at BetMGM.  Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!


Kyle Stanley +8000

Stanley plummeted down the OWGR last season while missing the cut in 10 of 25 events and picking up just one top-10 finish with a T-8 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He was ranked as high as 26th at the conclusion of the 2018 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Mayakoba Golf Classic – Longshots

Photo Credit: Ray Carlin – USA TODAY Sports

Charley Hoffman +10000

Hoffman was the 2015 champion at El Camaleon. This number is too great for a winner from just five years ago as a $10 bet returns a $1,000 profit. He hasn’t made the cut in his last four appearances at this event, but he finished T-36 at The CJ Cup and certainly has experience on the course, even with the poor recent results.

Keith Mitchell +12500

Mitchell ranks just 73rd by the stat model, but he’s an excellent value as he has typically been priced much lower than this in more competitive fields. He made the cut here in each of his last two tries.

Get some action on this tournament by signing up and betting at BetMGM. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com.

Odds

Golfer Odds
Jason Day 20/1
Matt Kuchar 20/1
Tony Finau 20/1
Viktor Hovland 20/1
Billy Horschel 22/1
Charles Howell III 28/1
Joaquin Niemann 28/1
Abraham Ancer 30/1
Denny McCarthy 33/1
Emiliano Grillo 33/1
Russell Knox 33/1
Scottie Scheffler 33/1
Kevin Kisner 35/1
Aaron Wise 40/1
Cameron Champ 40/1
Harris English 40/1
Keegan Bradley 40/1
Lanto Griffin 40/1
Carlos Ortiz 50/1
Chez Reavie 50/1
Danny Lee 50/1
Dylan Frittelli 50/1
Harold Varner III 50/1
J.T. Poston 50/1
Pat Perez 50/1
Rory Sabbatini 55/1
Brian Gay 60/1
Brian Harman 60/1
Beau Hossler 66/1
Brice Garnett 66/1
Cameron Tringale 66/1
Graeme McDowell 66/1
Harry Higgs 66/1
Kevin Streelman 66/1
Nick Taylor 66/1
Scott Piercy 66/1
Sebastián Muñoz 66/1
Xinjun Zhang 66/1
Bronson Burgoon 80/1
Kevin Stanley 80/1
Mark Hubbard 80/1
Martin Laird 80/1
Ryan Armour 80/1
Scott Harrington 80/1
Si Woo Kim 80/1
Whyndham Clark 80/1
Zach Johnson 80/1
Austin Cook 90/1
Brian Stuard 90/1
Doc Redman 90/1
Kramer Hickok 90/1
Luke List 90/1
Nick Watney 90/1
Sam Ryder 90/1
Vaughn Taylor 90/1
Adam Schenk 100/1
Brendon Todd 100/1
Charley Hoffman 100/1
Fabián Gómez 100/1
Hank Lebioda 100/1
Jhonattan Vegas 100/1
Matt Jones 100/1
Roger Sloan 100/1
Scott Stallings 100/1
Straka Straka 100/1
Shawn Stefani 100/1
Talor Gooch 100/1
Aaron Baddeley 125/1
Adam Long 125/1
Bo Hoag 125/1
Brandon Wu 125/1
Brendan Steele 125/1
C.T. Pan 125/1
Calum Hill 125/1
David Hearn 125/1
J.J. Spaun 125/1
James Hahn 125/1
Jiel Dahmen 125/1
Keith Mitchell 125/1
Kevin Chappell 125/1
Maverick McNealy 125/1
Patton Kizzire 125/1
Peter Malnati 125/1
Robert Streb 125/1
Tyler Duncan 125/1
Andrew Landry 150/1
Henrik Norlander 150/1
Jason Dufner 150/1
Kyoung-Hoon Lee 150/1
Luke Donald 150/1
Patrick Rodgers 150/1
Robby Shelton 150/1
Scott Brown 150/1
Wes Roach 150/1
Zac Blair 150/1
Kristoffer Ventura 175/1
Chris Kirk 200/1
Hudson Swafford 200/1
Mac Hughes 200/1
Matthew NeSmith 200/1
Rafael Campos 200/1
Rhein Gibson 200/1
Roberto Diaz 200/1
Rylan Brehm 200/1
Chis Baker 250/1
Chris Stroud 250/1
Graham DeLaet 250/1
José de Jesús Rodriguez 250/1
Michael Gligic 250/1
Sebastian Cappelen 250/1
Ben Martin 300/1
Ben Taylor 300/1
Chase Seiffert 300/1
Jim Herman 300/1
Mark Anderson 300/1
Satoshi Kodaira 300/1
Nelson Ledesma 400/1
Sebastián Vazquez 400/1
Will Gordon 400/1
Bo Van Pelt 500/1
D.A. Points 500/1
Davis Love III 500/1
Kevin Stadler 500/1
Michael Kim 500/1
Alvaro Ortiz 1000/1
Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra 2500/1

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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