Happy Monday to all!

This weekend’s British Open (aka “The Open Championship”) was another runaway victory for the hottest golfer on the planet, Scottie Scheffler.

He took the lead on Friday afternoon at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland with a 7-under par 64.  Scheffler never relinquished the lead during Saturday and Sunday’s final rounds.

The Dallas, Texas native coasted to a 4-shot victory Sunday to secure his fourth major championship.

It was yet another of his patented “sleeper hold” final round performances.

Scottie Scheffler was already three-under par after the first seven holes on Sunday to lead the field by a whopping seven shots.  A rare double bogey (gasp!) on the eighth hole briefly gave the other golfers a slight chance to capitalize as the lead shrank to five shots.

Golf’s most consistent ballstriker in recent years bounced right back with a birdie on the par-4 ninth hole to quash the hopes of his closest playing competitors.

Northern Ireland’s favorite player, Rory McIlroy, had the backing of tens of thousands of supporters as the enthusiastically encouraged him on every shot Sunday.

A double bogey on the par-4 tenth hole ended Rory’s thoughts of a miraculous comeback.  He finished with a 69 and tied for 7th place.

Bryson DeChambeau’s Wild Ride

LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau will forever wonder “What could have been?” after his opening round of 7-over par 78 at Royal Portrush last Thursday.

The two-time US Open champion found himself mired near the bottom of 156 golfers after Round 1.  Bryson DeChambeau was widely expected to be heading home early on Friday evening, because the second round cut would reduce the large field in half.

DeChambeau rebounded on Friday and climbed more than 90 places up the leaderboard after posting a gritty 6-under par 65.  He made the weekend cut “on the number” at 1-over par after two rounds.

His 68-64 weekend finish advanced Bryson all the way up to a 10th place finish with a 9-under par total.

DeChambeau’s final 54-hole scoring total at this year’s Open Championship (197) was the second lowest in the tournament’s long history (only one shot behind Henrik Stenson’s 196 in 2016).

Just an even par 71 during Thursday’s blustery opening round by Bryson DeChambeau would have given Sunday’s television viewers a lot more suspense and drama.

Scottie Scheffler is on the verge of becoming the next Grand Slam winner

The 29-year old Scheffler’s trademark “fairways and greens” skills led to a final round 68 as he captured the famed Claret Jug for his first Open Championship.

Golf viewers on NBC were able to safely take a Sunday midday siesta without missing a thing.  The final 18 holes were played in relatively benign weather conditions in Northern Ireland and featured almost zero drama.

Scottie Scheffler’s precision drives and iron shots coupled with his ever-present on-course trance made for, well, rather boring television viewing this weekend.

Scheffler rarely smiles when rolling in birdie putts.  He hardly ever acknowledges cheers from crowds which genuinely appreciate his exceptional golf talent.

Scottie Scheffler’s precision golf game reminds me more of Jack Nicklaus than Tiger Woods when both were in their prime.  Both of those two golf legends showed far more charisma on the golf course than the wooden Scheffler has – at least through this point in his career.

Scottie Scheffler approaches the golf course much like a neurosurgeon prepares for brain surgery.  He seems to be laser focused in executing each and every shot.

Sheffler appears onscreen to be rather robotic and quite bland, but this approach definitely works for him.

Scottie Scheffler adds the Claret Jug to his two Masters’ green jackets and this year’s PGA Championship.

He will have a chance to complete golf’s career Grand Slam next June at the US Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island, New York.

A win would add Scottie Scheffler’s name to golf greats like Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy in that very exclusive club.

Don’t bet against him.

The WNBA players vs. the Owners – Family Feud Round 1

This weekend’s Women’s NBA All-Star Game festivities featured the top basketball stars wearing solidarity T-shirts during warm-ups saying, “Pay us what you owe us!”

The women’s professional basketball league held its All-Star game at Indianapolis as the league and its players union inch closer a labor impasse at season’s end.

The WNBA’s current collective bargaining agreement will end at that time.  Failure to reach a new agreement might put the 2026 basketball season in jeopardy.

The players are seeking more money and a bigger piece of the action.

The owners point to the fact that the women’s basketball league hasn’t turned a profit in decades – including an estimated $40+ million loss in 2024 despite a surge in attendance and league interest on television.

Be careful what you ask for!  Check with Major League Baseball before going on strike

Well-known women’s basketball players like former LSU star Angel Reese are leading the charge for more money.

“Let’s be real,”  she said on social media last week.  “Women’s hoops is booming because of players like me.  This isn’t a bluff.  We’ll sit out, and the league will feel it.”

The talented but brash Reese is correct to note that attendance and television ratings for women’s pro basketball have been rising.

That doesn’t mean the league has become profitable just yet.  It may take several more years to turn the books around.

Check out the comparable stats for the NBA vs. the WNBA in my recent post.

The disparity in media revenues and player pay between the two basketball leagues is shocking but is a function of the comparative revenues.

The WNBA players are fired-up about their cause.  Many WNBA fans agree with the players.  Others don’t.

Would the average sports fan miss the WNBA next summer if the players went on strike?

A valuable history lesson is in order.

Major League Baseball experienced several brief player strikes and management lockouts during the 1970’s, 80’s, and 90’s. 

Fans learned that they could, indeed, survive rather well without the bickering baseball players and team owners.

Those dust-ups ended rather quickly after both sides saw waning support coming from the general public.

The NFL’s popularity rose as sports fans tired of baseball’s frequent player/management negotiations involving two parties which seemed to be doing quite well financially.

WNBA players and team owners would be wise to study the history of baseball’s labor issues and the long-term impact of waning public support that would come from a work stoppage in 2026.

A new short-term (1-3 years) labor agreement seems to be in order for the WNBA players and owners.

That would allow the league a chance to confirm whether the recent positive short-term trends are sustainable over a longer period.

Speaking of basketball…

TNT Sports lost its long-time NBA television package to NBC beginning this October.

Basketball fans needed cable television or a premium streaming service to watch games on Turner Network Television.

This spring’s announcement that TNT failed to match NBC’s significantly higher bid had many basketball fans wondering how the traditional over-the-air network would be able to afford it.

We now have the answer.

Don’t expect to see most of NBC’s allotment of weeknight games on its free over-the-air network of local television stations beginning this October.

NBC’s online streaming service called Peacock will handle a significant number of the network’s weeknight NBA games.  All Monday night NBA games will be televised exclusively on Peacock starting this fall.

Did you know that Peacock will raise its prices by $3 per month later this week?

How convenient?!!!

Peacock’s minimum price is going up this Wednesday (July 23) from $7.99 per month to $10.99.  That price includes the full complement of ads which NBC Sports can sell.  Enjoy!

Peacock’s “Premium plus” service (with fewer ads) will also climb by $3 from $13.99 per month to $16.99 this week.

What a shocker!

Did you know that Peacock already had about 40 million paying subscribers as of early 2025?  

The online network had only 10% of that total just four years ago in 2021.

Peacock cut a deal to televise WWE wrestling events (including their big pay-per-view shows) a couple of years ago.

That appears to have been a great move for both parties.

The NFL permitted NBC to migrate one regular season football game per year (including a playoff game last season) to Peacock to help boost subscription levels.  

Diehard NFL fans have complained about paying Peacock’s monthly fee just to see one game.

Regardless, millions of football fans signed-up and paid the price to see their favorite teams.  

This online streaming network cleverly knows that many sports fans (mostly men) simply won’t remember to cancel Peacock’s online service after just one month.

Kudos to NBC and Peacock for having an exceptional grasp on its primary target market. 

They deserve a classroom “A” for understanding the economic concept of the elasticity of demand.

The majority of Peacock subscribers may not even notice the substantial 37 ½ % price increase which is coming to their credit card bill within the next month.

But Peacock still won’t be getting any of my money!

The post Scheffler wins another Snoozer + WNBA and Peacock news! appeared first on SwampSwamiSports.com.