Watch: Doug Ghim has ‘better than most’ moment on 17, celebrates with Tiger-like fist pump

Even the celebration mimic’d Tiger.

Tiger Woods sinking the long birdie putt on the par-3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass gave us one of the best golf calls of all-time, courtesy of Gary Koch.

“Better than most,” is what Koch said as Woods drilled a triple-breaking, 60-foot putt for birdie on the famous island green.

Well, on Saturday during the 2024 Players Championship, Doug Ghim had his own “better than most” moment.

With the pin on the front left of the green and Ghim’s ball on the back edge, he hit a chip shot that landed on top of the slope before gaining speed and going toward the cup. And of course, it went in.

The celebration was a Tiger-esque fist pump, and it was shades of what Woods did in the third round of the 2001 Players.

Players: Leaderboard, tee times, hole-by-hole

The birdie moved Ghim to 6 under for the day and 9 under for the tournament.

What is the largest 36-hole lead in Players Championship history?

Wyndham Clark could be on the verge of history heading into the weekend.

Wyndham Clark is off to one of the best starts in Players Championship history.

He shot matching rounds of 7-under 65 and sits on top of the leaderboard at 14 under heading into the weekend as he seeks his second win in 2024.

After two days, Clark’s lead is four shots over Xander Schauffele and Nick Taylor, who each got to 10 under Friday afternoon.

But what is the biggest 36-hole lead in Players history?

That would be five shots, which happened in 2018 courtesy of Webb Simpson.

Simpson is tied with Jason Day for the low mark after 36 holes at 15 under,  but the former led by five shots entering the weekend during his victory in 2018, and he increased that margin to seven after the third round.

Players: Leaderboard, tee times, hole-by-hole

Day won the Players in 2016, his seventh title in a 10-month span.

Saints’ projected depth chart before the start of free agency

The New Orleans Saints’ projected depth chart before the start of free agency reveals some obvious areas of need for the 2024 season:

Free agency is fast approaching and the New Orleans Saints have some important decisions to make surrounding their roster.

To understand how they make decisions like who to draft in the first round or whether or not to trade a veteran like Marshon Laittmore, the team will need to take a look at who they have under contract for 2024. They also must choose whether to release players in complicated contract situations like Jameis Winston and Michael Thomas.

Before any moves get made this offseaosn, here is how the depth chart currently sits with players that are officially under contract:

17 ex-Saints will compete in AFC, NFC Championship Games

17 ex-Saints players and coaches will compete in the AFC, NFC Championship Games for a shot at advancing to Super Bowl LVIII:

The New Orleans Saints won’t be competing in this weekend’s AFC and NFC Championship Games, but many of their former players and coaches will be fighting for the chance to advance to Super Bowl LVIII.

By our count, 17 former Saints have a shot at moving on to the final stage — here’s a quick look at the list suiting up for the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

All 30 of the former Saints players competing in the playoffs

All 30 of the former Saints players competing in the playoffs, from Terron Armstead and Teddy Bridgewater to Sheldon Rankins and Willie Snead:

Who should New Orleans Saints fans pull for in the playoffs? A lot of fans may have already checked out now that the black and gold were eliminated, and some may be choosing their own personal favorites to win it all. But if you’re interested in keeping up with the former Saints on new teams, we’ve got everything you need.

There are plenty of players who suited up for New Orleans competing in the postseason, as are former Saints coaches like Frank Smith and Vic Fangio (with the Miami Dolphins) as well as former scouts like Omar Khan (the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager). To say nothing of former Saints assistant coaches Dan Campbell and Aaron Glenn doing big things with the Detroit Lions. The division-rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the only team in the playoffs without a single former Saints player on their roster.

Here’s a quick look at the former Saints players on each playoff team going into the wild-card round:

Saints report card: How New Orleans graded in Week 12 loss vs. Falcons

Safeties receive the highest grade on the team, while the defensive line and linebackers graded poorly in our Week 12 Saints report card:

The New Orleans Saints lost to the Atlanta Falcons and many things went wrong. It wasn’t all bad, though, as some positions performed well on Sunday.

Here’s a letter grade for each position group after reviewing their performance:

These Saints players are on the 2024 Pro Bowl Games ballot

Voting has opened for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games. Here are the New Orleans Saints players on the ballot:

Voting has opened for the 2024 Pro Bowl Games, and a number of New Orleans Saints players are on the ballot. Who will make the trip to Orlando for this season’s festivities?

Last year, the Saints were represented by linebacker Demario Davis (in his first-ever Pro Bowl appearance) and defensive end Cameron Jordan (in his eighth). Derek Carr was also in attendance, though he was repping the Las Vegas Raiders on the AFC roster.

Here are the Saints players you can vote for:

Saints announce inactive players for Week 12 vs. Falcons

The Saints announced their list of inactive players for Week 12’s game with the Falcons. Jimmy Graham is benched for his fourth straight game:

The New Orleans Saints’ list of inactive players in Week 12 isn’t much different from the list we saw earlier this season — with the exception of two injured rookie draft picks. Here is who will not be suiting up for Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons:

  • RB Kendre Miller (injury)
  • DE Isaiah Foskey (injury)
  • QB Jake Haener
  • OL Nick Saldiveri
  • TE Jimmy Graham
  • DE Kyle Phillips

And here are the inactive players for Atlanta:

  • WR Mack Hollins (inactive)
  • QB Logan Woodside (3rd QB)
  • CB Clark Phillips III
  • OL Jovaughn Gwyn
  • DL Travis Bell
  • TE John FitzPatrick
  • DL Joe Gaziano

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Eagles’ linebacker Nakobe Dean expected to land on injured reserve with a foot injury

Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean suffered a Lisfranc sprain and the 2nd-year defender will likely go on injured reserve according to Mike Garafalo

The Eagles are set to be without second-year linebacker Nakobe Dean for an extended period after the former Georgia All-American suffered a Lisfranc sprain.

It’s the second time Dean will miss an extended period of action after he suffered a foot injury against New England that placed him on injured reserve for four weeks.

Dean, 22, started on Sunday afternoon and has been a part of a three-man rotation with Nicholas Morrow and Zach Cunningham.

After not missing a game with an injury in college, Dean has struggled to stay on the field this season, his first as an NFL starter, and he’s been a critical figure in the success of Sean Desai’s defense.

According to PFF, Dean has 26 tackles, 11 stops, and one sack, with an 80.2 grade against the run.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5 category=15489]

NBA players who never came off the bench

It is fairly uncommon to see players come into the league and start right away – let alone play their entire careers without coming off the bench. Kobe Bryant spent most of his rookie year for the Lakers as a reserve for Eddie Jones. Even LeBron …

It is fairly uncommon to see players come into the league and start right away – let alone play their entire careers without coming off the bench. Kobe Bryant spent most of his rookie year for the Lakers as a reserve for Eddie Jones. Even LeBron James came off the bench for the Cavaliers once. During the 2007-08 season, James returned after missing five games with a sprained index finger in what would be his only game not starting.

HoopsHype used statistics and data from Basketball-Reference dating back to the 1981-82 season to put together a list of the Top 7 players who we know for sure have not come off the bench at any point of their NBA careers. That list had Chris Paul at No. 1 coming into this season, but that top spot belongs now to Damian Lillard.