None of the executives doubted Morey’s …

None of the executives doubted Morey’s interest in the political issue in question, but almost all of them suggested that Morey would figure out how to leverage the ordeal into a net positive for himself. Several noted that, in recent years, Morey has immersed himself in so many disparate pursuits — the Sloan conference, theater production, Silicon Valley, techno-activism — that his impulses are best interpreted as groundwork for his next big thing.

Though a couple of NBA executives …

8 Reasons to visit Kohler before the 2020 Ryder Cup

Kohler: An unlikely Cup host Next September, the eyes of the golf world will focus on Kohler, Wisconsin when the Ryder Cup comes to town. The Straits course at Whistling Straits will be the first public track to host the biennial competition in …

Kohler: An unlikely Cup host

Next September, the eyes of the golf world will focus on Kohler, Wisconsin when the Ryder Cup comes to town. The Straits course at Whistling Straits will be the first public track to host the biennial competition in America since 1991, giving the 2020 Cup a different feel. In addition, the tiny village of Kohler, population 2,000, is situated 150 miles from Chicago. By contrast, recent and upcoming Cup sites are just 30 miles from major cosmopolitan cities—Paris (2018), Rome (2022), and New York (2024). While in Kohler, poke around the shops, experience its charming Midwestern vibe, visit an art gallery, take a tour of the factory, or swing by the Kohler Design Center.

Play at a major championship venue

The Straits course is primed for the bright lights of a global tournament. Again. It hosted the PGA Championship in 2004, 2010 and 2015, plus the 2007 U.S. Senior Open. With eight breathtaking holes stretched along Lake Michigan’s shoreline, the Straits provides a stout challenge for the U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams. Even better? The course will remain open for public play until two weeks prior to the event.  

Experience 4 highly ranked public courses 

Kohler’s a bucket-list destination for golfers. The Straits is the headliner among four wonderful daily-fee layouts—two at Whistling Straits and another pair down the road at Blackwolf Run, which hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 1998 and 2012. The four standouts are among Golfweek’s Top 200 Resort Courses in America: Whistling Straits, Straits Course (No. 5); Blackwolf Run, River (No. 24); Whistling Straits, Irish (No. 42); and Blackwolf Run, Meadow Valleys (No. 109).

Hall-of-Fame course architect Pete Dye built these gems

In 1998, Kohler Co. Chairman and CEO Herb Kohler, Jr. hired legendary designer, Pete Dye, to construct courses with the feel and playability of seaside golf in the British Isles. Besides the Straits, beautiful dunes, fescue grass and streams make the Irish Course a can’t-miss attraction. The two courses combined feature more than 1,000 bunkers. At Blackwolf Run, the inland tracks make golfers feel like they’re in a nature preserve, with tree-lined holes, mounding, and meandering water hazards.

Fun to play

All four layouts are challenging (particularly in the breeze), visually intimidating but fair. They’re fun to play, offer beautiful scenery, and require good course-management skills. They have some idiosyncrasies as well: A pair of bridges at Blackwolf Run was originally flatbed railroad cars, while a flock of Scottish Blackface sheep roams the Straits during golf season (they spend the winter at an off-site farm). Each course has a minimum of five tee boxes. Don’t be a hero and play the tips. Instead, try a set of markers forward from what you’re accustomed. You can always move back. Players must take caddies at The Straits. Caddies and carts are available at the other courses.

World-Class hotel and spa 

There’s more to terrific golf experiences than rounds played. At Kohler, guests can stay at The American Club, a AAA five-diamond hotel, and dine on scrumptious Midwestern beef and local cheeses. Golfers can also unwind and rejuvenate at the Forbes five-star Kohler Waters Spa, located steps from the hotel. Indulgences like massages, hydrotherapy treatments and bathing experiences get you feeling your best. 

Easy to get to 

Tucked along Lake Michigan in eastern Wisconsin, Kohler is accessible from larger ports of call. The resort property is situated two-and-a-half hours from Chicago, one hour north of Milwaukee and one hour south of Green Bay. 

Great deals

Kohler offers several attractive stay-and-play packages, including “Golf Kohler” (3-days/2-nights with three 18-hole rounds per person) and “Dye-Abolical” (4-days/3-nights, four rounds). Click HERE for 2020 rates. Consider a visit during “shoulder” season. The resort might be less busy than peak times, the courses are in good shape, and guests can save a few bucks. (Kohler’s next shoulder season is May 8-June 4, 2020). 

Heads or tails? Geno Smith calling the coin toss in the Seahawks’ overtime win is the new Laurel or Yanny

HMMMMMM!

The blue/gold dress. Laurel or Yanny. Brianstorm or green needle.

Those all pale in comparison to the new audio debate we’re all having on Tuesday morning.

On Monday night, in the eventual win over the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Geno Smith was called upon to call the overtime coin toss. He was standing right next to the referee, who asked him for a call.

What Smith said next? According to everyone (except for the referee, of course), it’s up for debate.

According to audio that I’ve listened to now about 157 times, it sure sounds like Smith called “tails.” Others at For The Win hear “heads,” which is what the official next to Smith heard.

Time for a good ol’ fashioned Internet debate:

Here we goooooo!

I hear “tails.” But listen to the clear audio that TMZ has. It sounds a lot more like “heads.” It didn’t end up mattering … but what if it did?

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Alpine Country Club responds to suit over wine spilled on $30K purse by suing its waiter

After wine was spilled on $30K purse at Alphine Country Club, the purse’s owner sued. The club is filing a cross-claim against the waiter.

After an Alpine woman sued a Bergen country club for $30,000 in damages when a waiter spilled wine on her ultra-expensive purse, the country club has responded by suing the waiter, records show.

In a response to the Oct. 29 lawsuit filed by Maryana Beyder against the Alpine Country Club, the country club denied almost every one of Beyder’s allegations — including that it was liable for the damage to her Hermès Kelly bag — and capped off the response by suing its own employee, according to court records.

The action is called a cross-claim, where one defendant sues another in the same proceeding.

“So basically what this is is that they’re asking the employee to pay whatever they owe under the law to my client,” said Alexandra Errico, Beyder’s attorney. “So they’re suing their own employee that they hired.”

Calls to Kenneth Merber, the attorney for the country club, were not immediately returned.

The response filed Thursday is the latest in a year-long tug-of-war between the club and Beyder after a dinner went awry, allegedly leaving a luxury handbag irreversibly damaged.

On Sept. 7, 2018, Beyder was having a meal at the Alpine Country Club in Demarest when a waiter spilled red wine on the pink handbag, according to the lawsuit. The handbag was rare — having been discontinued — and essentially irreplaceable. The bag was a 30th-birthday gift for Beyder from her husband, Errico said.

For nearly a year, Beyder tried to resolve the issue with the country club directly, the lawyer said. But the club dragged out the discussions and stopped being responsive, she said. Even the insurance company was dismissive, failing to understand why a bag would cost so much, she said.

While Errico acknowledged that the waiter’s spill was an accident, she clarified that any lawsuit needs to describe in detail what happened, in this case specifying who spilled the wine, causing the damages, she said. The waiter was not named in Beyder’s lawsuit, being called only “John Doe.”

“The way the story read is that somehow we’re blaming the employee,” Errico said. “We’re not. Not at all. You go to any restaurant. You have a leather jacket on. 100 dollars. 50 dollars. 20 dollars. If a waiter spills on it and it’s destroyed, you’re expecting the restaurant to compensate you for that particular item.”

Louis Pechman, an employment attorney who says he has handled at least 200 restaurant-pay lawsuits, said the waiter should not be liable.

“In general, the labor laws protect waiters from having deductions from their wages because of breakage, walkout or other issues that are really the responsibility of the restaurant or the catering hall,” said Pechman, who founded WaiterPay, a website that promotes awareness of restaurant employee rights.

For now, there is nothing for the waiter to do except wait until he’s identified and served, Pechman said. At that point, the waiter will likely have to hire a lawyer himself, he said.

But Pechman sees the cross-claim as unusual and flying in the face of human resources policy that should side with the employee.

“This type of a cross-claim is unheard of,” he said. “Good human resources policy would dictate that the restaurant has the employee’s back, rather than sticking the knife in his back.”

Hermès handbags are often priced in the tens of thousands. In 2017, a Hermès handbag sold at an auction in Hong Kong for $377,000, breaking the world record for most expensive bag sold at auction.

“They did not have to sue their own employee,” Errico said. “It basically shows that they really are acting in bad faith.”

Trail Blazers-Kings odds: Sacramento spotted a few points

Previewing Tuesday’s Portland Trail Blazers at Sacramento Kings sports betting odds and lines, with NBA matchup analysis and picks

The Portland Trail Blazers (4-6) visit the Sacramento Kings (3-6) Tuesday at the Golden 1 Center for a 10 p.m. ET start.

We analyze the Trail Blazers-Kings odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Trail Blazers at Kings: Key injuries

Trail Blazers:

  • PF Pau Gasol (foot) out

Kings

  • PG De’Aaron Fox (ankle) out
  • C Dewayne Dedmon (knee) probable

Trail Blazers at Kings: Odds, lines, picks, and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 10:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Trail Blazers 113, Kings 110

Moneyline (ML)

The -139 line for the visiting TRAIN BLAZERS is encouraging given they are 4-6 and yet 3-3 on the road. Also, Sacramento has won just one of its four home games.

Can Sacramento keep up with Portland? That answer seems to be yes as expectations of a close game are quite likely. This game opened up dead even and only slightly tilted toward Portland being a favorite.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Trail Blazers to win outright returns a profit of $7.19.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

The slightly better play for this game is taking the TRAIL BLAZERS with the -1.5 points at -121 odds. A Portland cover here (win by two or more points) returns a nicer profit of $8.26.

Portland is 4-2 on the road ATS (5-4-1 overall). Sacramento is 1-3 at home ATS and is 4.9 points off the projections due to a few bad performances. The Kings have improved their pace of play lately, however.

Over/Under (O/U)

The idea is to take the UNDER 221.5 (+105). There is a risk as the two teams combine to produce just 220 points per game. Sacramento yields a bit over 111 points a contest, while Portland gives up 114.6 points per game. Since those two numbers add up just about to 225.5, it makes us hesitant, so bet lightly on the under tonight.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Chris’s NBA betting record: 24-16

Follow @ChrisWasselDFS and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

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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Patience with Nathan Shepherd may pay off for Jets

After returning from a six-game suspension, Jets’ second-year defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd had a sack and three tackles for loss.

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A week ago, Nathan Shepherd returned to the Jets following a six-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

On Sunday, he turned in what was easily his best game as a pro. The second-year defensive lineman had a sack and three tackles for loss in the Jets’ 34-27 win over the Giants. Shepherd would have recorded another sack, too, had CB Nate Hariston — who was eventually benched — not erased the play with a holding penalty.

The sack was the first of Shepherd’s career. Playing in 16 games as a rookie last season, he recorded 15 tackles in five starts. Overall, he did little to show why former general manager Mike Maccagnan invested a third-round pick on a Division II product.

Shepherd flashed the potential that impressed NFL scouts on Sunday, though. He finished the game with a Pro Football Focus grade of 82.0, coming off a decent 68.7 grade in the Jets’ 26-18 loss to Miami in Week 9.

Since returning from his suspension, Shepherd has provided a much-needed boost for a Jets team that had been previously reeling.

“It’s good to have him back,” Adam Gase said following Sunday’s game. “His energy level, he’s so happy to be playing football again. That stuff’s contagious.”

It would have been easy for the Jets to dismiss Shepherd after he was suspended for two separate violations of the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy. He didn’t perform well as a rookie and New York’s new regime had no attachment to the Maccagnan holdover.

Instead, Gase and Joe Douglas stuck with the 26-year-old. The sample size has been small, but so far the decision has paid off.

“I feel like I used eight of my nine lives,” Shepherd told NFL Network following his suspension. “I kind of have to treat it like I have a peanut allergy — if I get one more, it’s going to be over for me. That’s just my reality and I accept that.”

A third violation of the NFL’s PED policy would equal a minimum of a two-year ban for Shepherd.

Shepherd’s two failed tests came on June 27 and July 25 while he was recovering from shoulder and groin injuries. The shoulder injury could eventually require surgery. He underwent an MRI on his groin that revealed he needed sports hernia surgery. In response to a change in posture, Shepherd had multiple herniated discs in his back.

Rehabilitating and coming back from suspension, the Leonard Williams trade allowed Shepherd the opportunity to prove that he was still worthy of a roster spot. With his NFL future in limbo, he rose to the occasion on Sunday.

He’s become an asset for the league’s No. 1 rushing defense and the Jets third-round pick from a year ago is finally coming around. It took some patience, but the investment in Shepherd may turn out to be worth it if he continues to play like he did Sunday.