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Tony Bennett announces shocking retirement from Virginia men’s basketball

2024-10-17T16:49:56-04:00

Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett is calling it a career.

Tony Bennett is one of the most successful men’s college basketball coaches of his generation. Now he’s calling it a career and retiring from the Virginia Cavaliers just weeks before the 2024-25 season begins.

Bennett is announcing his retirement on Friday, according to the program.

BREAKING: Tony Bennett to announce his immediate retirement in a press conference on Friday at 11 a.m. pic.twitter.com/jw9HYtyYaq
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) October 17, 2024

The son of former college basketball coach Dick Bennett, Tony took over for his dad at Washington State in 2006, and immediately helped the program make two NCAA tournament runs while recruiting Klay Thompson. He took the Virginia job in 2009, and immediately turned the Cavaliers in one of sport’s most frustrating teams to play against.

Bennett’s teams were consistently great defensively thanks to his packline scheme, and he quickly turned into one of the most successful coaches in the country. Under Bennett’s leadership, Virginia earned a No. 1 or No. 2 seed to the NCAA tournament five times over the course of six years between 2013-2019. Virginia made it to a Sweet 16 in 2014, and an Elite Eight in 2016, but for a while his tenure was mostly remembered for a loss.

In 2018, Virginia became the first No. 1 seed in men’s NCAA tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed when UMBC pulled one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport. The loss could have tainted Bennett’s career forever, but it would have a storybook ending. The next season, Virginia went on a national championship run for the ages.

Read my story on how Virginia won the 2019 national championship. Check out another story on how a preseason rafting trip brought them together following a historic loss.

Bennett is only 55 years old. The reason for his retirement is still unknown. He is the latest legendary coach to hang it up in the face of the NIL and transfer portal era, following the retirements of Jay Wright, Roy Williams, Mike Krzyzewski, and Jim Boeheim.

The timing of this announcement is bizarre. Bennett was just at ACC media day answering questions about his team. He was specifically asked if he’d retire early like Wright did at Villanova. Here was his answer:

I asked Tony Bennett literally last week why so many people thought he could be the next Jay Wright and suddenly retire out of nowhere.

His response, verbatim: "I gotta call Jay Wright and see what he says, right? I always have said, when you're doing this, you're in this…
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) October 17, 2024

College basketball is losing one of its best coaches, and Virginia is losing the man who made the program relevant again. The new college basketball landscape is here, and nothing is the same.

PGA Tour assesses Joel Dahmen harsh penalty for dumbfounding reason

2024-10-17T16:48:28-04:00

Joel Dahmen at the 2024 Black Desert Championship in Utah. | Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Joel Dahmen received a steep penalty during the first round of the Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.

Joel Dahmen already faces an uphill climb to receive PGA Tour status in 2025.

But that road just got a whole lot tougher.

During Thursday’s opening round of the Shriners Children’s Open, the PGA Tour assessed Dahmen a four-shot penalty. He had 15 clubs in his bag—one more than the maximum of 14. His 4-iron was the guilty party.

So, instead of Dahmen carding a pair of pars on his opening two holes, the PGA Tour added two strokes on each, meaning he began with two doubles. That turned a benign start into an aggravating one.

But according to the United States Golf Association (USGA), Rule 4.1.b within the Rules of Golf reads:

You must not start a round with more than 14 clubs or have more than 14 clubs during the round.

When you become aware that you are in breach of this Rule by having more than 14 clubs, you must immediately take the excess club or clubs out of play.

For stroke play events, such as this week’s Shriners Children’s Open, the penalty for breaching this rule is as follows:

Two Penalty Strokes, Maximum of Four Strokes: You get the general penalty (two penalty strokes) for each hole where a breach happened, with a maximum of four penalty strokes in the round (adding two penalty strokes at each of the first two holes where a breach happened).

NBC Sports’ Smylie Kaufman reported that Dahmen noticed he had an extra club on the 4th tee. But as Kaufman pointed out, Dahmen could only receive a four-stroke penalty.

It’s still harsh, especially when Damhen is fighting for his livelihood. He arrived at TPC Summerlin ranked 124th in the FedEx Cup Fall rankings. Only the top 125 receive PGA Tour status for 2025, meaning he has plenty of work to do over the next few weeks. Four events on the FedEx Cup Fall calendar remain after this week’s Shriners Children’s Open.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

PGA Tour: Taylor Pendrith goes nuclear, matches career low at Shriners Children’s Open

2024-10-17T16:29:46-04:00

Taylor Pendrith smiles during the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. | Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

Canadian Taylor Pendrith has grabbed the early lead at the Shriners Children’s Open thanks to a phenomenal opening round.

In his first event since the Presidents Cup, where he earned a pair of points for the Internationals, Taylor Pendrith went nuclear on Thursday at the Shriners Children’s Open.

The Canadian carded a 10-under 61, a round that featured 10 birdies and zero bogies, as it matched the lowest score of his career. His other 61 came during the second round of the 2021 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.

“I didn’t really expect a 10-under, I would say,” Pendrith admitted.

“I thought I would be a little bit more rusty than that. You know, obviously thrilled, and yeah, I just got to keep getting back into the rhythm of things over the next few days. But I feel good.”

Having started on the back nine, Pendrith birdied five of his first seven holes. A pair of pars on the 17th and 18th holes followed. Then, he rattled off three more par-breakers on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th. His birdie on the 4th hole came inches away from dropping in for an eagle-two.

Suddenly, when Pendrith arrived on the 5th tee, standing at 8-under with five holes to play, a sub-60 round seemed possible. After two-putting the par-3 5th, he added two more birdies on the 6th and 7th holes and walked to the challenging 8th hole at 10-under for the day. A 2-under finish over the final two holes, a long par-3 and a gettable par-5, would put him in rarefied air.

Taylor Pendrith is feelin' lucky in Vegas today

Another birdie for the solo leader sitting -8 @ShrinersOpen pic.twitter.com/KNXZ58ssSc
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 17, 2024

The Canadian two-putted from 55 feet away on the 8th and turned his attention towards the 9th, which measured 558 yards on Thursday. After piping his drive 356 yards down the middle of the fairway, Pendrith only had 203 remaining. But his second shot came up just a bit short.

“Tried to be aggressive and hit a good shot but just didn’t catch all of it. I came up short right in the bunker,” Pendrith said.

“My caddie and I didn’t really talk about [the idea of shooting 59], but we both knew I was going to try and hole the bunker shot. Obviously, it was a super solid round. Yeah, I feel good.”

Indeed, Pendrith should feel excellent about where his game stands, despite the three-week layoff since the Presidents Cup. He hit all but one green on Thursday and led the field in strokes gained putting. No wonder why he threatened a 59.

But his strong opening round should surprise nobody. Pendrith has had a career year, winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and finishing among the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings for the first time. He also posted six top-10s and even tied for 16th at the U.S. Open.

“The confidence level is up for sure, I think. I was able to win last year and this year and have some really solid finishes at some big events, which gives you a lot of confidence,” Pendrith said when asked what is different this year.

“I would say my putting has improved the most. It’s the biggest improvement in my game from the last couple of seasons. I’ve been able to roll in some nice putts. Just seeing them go in gives you more confidence.”

The putter remained hot in Las Vegas on Thursday, and Pendrith now owns a three-shot lead over six players with 54 holes remaining.

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Could Scottie Scheffler receive PGA Tour POY Award on GameDay again?

2024-10-17T15:35:32-04:00

Scottie Scheffler lifts the FedEx Cup trophy after winning the 2024 Tour Championship. | Photo by Ben Jared/PGA Tour via Getty Images

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will once again appear on College GameDay ahead of the Texas-Georgia game.

On Thursday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN College Football analyst Kirk Herbstreit teased who will be the celebrity guest picker for Saturday’s episode of College GameDay.

The show travels to a different college campus each week based on who is hosting a big-time game. It creates a massive buzz in and around the school as students line up early in the morning to help create a raucous environment. The final segment each week is based on predictions for that day’s slate of games, and a celebrity—often an alum or someone associated with the university—slides in to help pick every one.

This week, the show heads to Austin, Texas, where, later on Saturday evening, the top-ranked Texas Longhorns will welcome the fourth-ranked Georgia Bulldogs into Darrel K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. It’s a massive game, as Saturday will mark the first time these two juggernauts will face off in conference play. Texas and Oklahoma officially joined the SEC this past summer.

“Who do we have this week? A golfer, right?” Herbstreit said on The Pat McAfee Show.

“[Sir Nick] Faldo is coming back!?” added producer Ty Schmit.

“It’s NOT Faldo,” cried McAfee.

“[Jordan] Spieth!?” asked another voice.

“I think it’s Scottie Scheffler,” Herbstreit finally revealed.

“REALLY!?” McAfee and his co-producers said in unison.

“Wow! That’s great!”

✅ 2x Masters champion
✅ Olympic gold medalist
✅ 2024 @PGATOUR FedExCup champion
✅ College GameDay guest picker

See you Saturday, Scottie Scheffler pic.twitter.com/NxaBxtnQu4
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) October 17, 2024

Two years ago, when Texas hosted top-ranked Alabama in a non-conference showdown, ESPN invited Scheffler, a Texas alum, to join the set on GameDay. To his surprise, his college coach from Texas, John Fields, delivered Scheffler with the Jack Nicklaus Award, given to the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year, while on set.

“That’s pretty cool,” Scheffler said while becoming emotional in September 2022.

“I don’t have much to say. I definitely was not expecting that. But it means a lot to me.”

Given the precedence already set, could we see a similar episode play out on Saturday?

After all, Scheffler won the 2022 Jack Nicklaus Award after winning the Masters and four tournaments overall. He took home the honors last year, too.

This year, Scheffler went on an otherworldly tear, drawing comparisons to Tiger Woods. He won on tour seven times, not including his gold medal triumph at the Olympics. He captured another Green Jacket, too. The former Texas Longhorn will no doubt win the Jack Nicklaus Award for a third straight season, even though Xander Schauffele claimed a pair of major titles.

So now, the question is, will Scheffler receive the award again on set? Or will his coronation as Player of the Year occur on another date?

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.

Lando Norris has already delivered an F1 season he can be ‘proud’ of

2024-10-17T15:34:17-04:00

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Ahead of the United States Grand Prix Lando Norris talked about the revised expectations for McLaren this season

AUSTIN — Coming into this weekend’s United States Grand Prix, one of the major storylines is whether Lando Norris can catch Max Verstappen for the 2024 Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, and whether Norris and McLaren can hold on for the Constructors’ Championship.

Regardless of how those two title fights play out, however, Norris already views the 2024 season as a “year to be proud of.”

Speaking with the media during the FIA Press Conference Thursday, Norris downplayed the notion that finishing second in either championship would mean the season was not a success for himself, or McLaren.

“So, we started a very long way behind in the beginning of the year. I think everyone thought Max is gonna have an easy win in the championship. Red Wall is going to have another easy win in the championship,” began Norris on Thursday. “For that not to be the case after the gap that they had after round one, and then not even to come from, Ferrari as the main contender, but from us, a team that was probably fourth, at the start of the year, I think it’s still a year to be proud of.”

However, Norris did concede that McLaren’s success has forced him to “re-evaluate” his expectations for the campaign.

“But, as the season goes on, you always re-evaluate where do we stand now, and what’s on your expectations,” added Norris. “And our expectations now, and we see for a while, have been we’re a top team, and we’re fighting for wins and we’re fighting for a Constructors’ Championship, and we’re fighting for a Drivers’ championship.

“And we’re fighting against the best of the best and it’s been a fun year. But I think no matter what, still a successful season.”

Norris and McLaren will get their next crack at meeting their revised expectations Friday, when the Circuit of the Americas roars to life with practice, followed by qualifying for Saturday’s F1 Sprint Race.

Kawhi Leonard out ‘indefinitely’ with knee injury before Clippers season even begins

2024-10-17T15:13:10-04:00

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The season hasn’t even started, and Kawhi Leonard is already out indefinitely with a knee injury.

When the Los Angeles Clippers open the 2024-2025 regular season on Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns, they won’t have their best player on the floor. At the moment, no one knows when Kawhi Leonard will return.

Leonard is sidelined ‘indefinitely’ with inflammation in his right knee, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Leonard played only two games in the playoffs last season with the same injury as the Clippers were eliminated in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks. He was supposed to be on USA Basketball’s roster for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but was sent home during training camp because the program didn’t think he was healthy.

Leonard has been hampered by injuries throughout his career dating back to his time with the San Antonio Spurs. Leonard’s injury problems, starting with a sprained ankle and then right thigh tendinopathy, eventually cleared the way for him to be traded to the Toronto Raptors. In his one season with the team, Leonard led the Raptors to the NBA championship and was named NBA Finals MVP.

Leonard signed with the Clippers in free agency the following season, and has consistently been in and out of the lineup with injuries. He tore his ACL in his right knee during the 2021 playoffs, and missed all of the following season recovering. His 2023 playoff run was interrupted by a torn meniscus in his right knee.

The Clippers lost Paul George over the offseason as he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in free agency. James Harden is the Clippers’ team leader, and he has his work cut out for him.

The Clippers can’t even tank, because they owe the Oklahoma City Thunder their unprotected 2025 first-round pick in the original George trade. The Thunder are loaded, and now suddenly could find themselves in the Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. There are a lot of other good players in the 2025 draft class, too.

Read our first 2025 NBA mock draft here. Check out our feature on Flagg here.

Franco Colapinto is living the F1 dream

2024-10-17T14:10:22-04:00

Photo by Song Haiyuan/MB Media/Getty Images

F1’s newest star is taking his sudden stardom in stride.

AUSTIN — In the middle of Formula 1’s newest star’s media appearance at the United States Grand Prix, Franco Colapinto paused mid-answer and looked down at the table in front of him.

One of the media member’s phones was not recording the interview, and F1’s newest driver wanted to make sure that media member got what they needed. He stopped to make sure the phone was recording before continuing, pressing the record button himself.

But it is that attitude that has made Colapinto such an immediate star, and that attention to detail that has seen him enjoy such success just three races after being thrown into motorsport’s deep end. When Williams decided to promote Colapinto mid-season, replacing Logan Sargeant, it came with Colapinto sitting seventh in the F2 Drivers’ Championship standings. All the young Argentinian has done over three race weekends is validate that move, including an emphatic ninth-place finish at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, his first time driving the Baku City Circuit.

Thursday in Austin, Colapinto addressed being hit with a “bucket of cold water,” as he put it.

“Everything came very quick and it’s I said before, it was like a bucket of cold water,” said Colapinto to the media, including SB Nation, on Thursday. “I tried to do, you know, the best I could. And to do all the basics, right, and to drive as as quick as I could.”

Colapinto has certainly done that, and more, in just three F1 race weekends. But the United States Grand Prix poses a new set of challenges, as it will be his first F1 Sprint race weekend. That means just one practice session before the lap times count for real.

“Of course, coming into a Sprint weekend is gonna be difficult,” said Colapinto. “It’s not going to be easy to only have one practice in still a car that I have knowledge [of], but not so much. So I still have a lot of things to learn.”

That includes navigating what Colapinto described as the first “high-speed” track in his F1 career.

“I think we can say that it is the first high-speed track I’ve had since I started racing Formula One. So there are many challenges, and there are many new things again.”

Colapinto did his best to set expectations heading into the weekend.

“So expectations are zero, and we are step by step, and see where we end up, same as the other races,” added Colapinto, before outlining how the three-week break had helped him reset. “It was very important that these three weeks were good and were very useful before, getting to the team better, to work on the things I had to work on.”

Colapinto also talked about how racing in America was something he was waiting for, having spent the bulk of his young career racing in Europe.

“I was really waiting for this,” started Colapinto. “And it is very special.

“Of course, I have all my life raced in Europe and maybe a week in Australia, something like that. But I never raced in America, and that’s closer to home. And so I’ve been really waiting for these three rounds.

“It is very special, of course.

“So my dream would be to race in Argentina and to race in Buenos Aires. But that’s not happening. And this the closest three races that we have.

And I know many fans are gonna be here, and I know many fans are gonna be in Mexico, and more in Brazil.”

Colapinto also talked about how his sudden stardom is playing out back home in Argentina, noting how his success has captivated the minds of fans back home, young and old.

“I don’t see any Formula One driver that has as much support as I from their fans, and you know it shows that it’s also very important, and it does push you forward a little bit,” described Colapinto. “And to get all these messages of support, to get all the fans coming to the races to support you, it is very nice and it does, you know, make you push a little bit harder for you to what you want.

“It’s something very special and I am very happy to be the next Argentinian in Formula One and to have all these kids that they are overwhelmed,” continued Colapinto. “They’re very happy to see a Formula One driver for the first time from their country and to all these kids that are getting into motorsport because they are like, ‘[w]ow, I love Formula One now,’ and they are getting into a sport.

“And, you know, motorsport in Argentina is going a lot different due to this. So it’s really good what is happening there in the country.”

The young driver outlined how he feels that the upcoming three races — Austin, Mexico City, and São Paulo, are almost home races for him.

“So it’s it’s gonna feel almost like home, I think at least Brazil, and I am very excited about it,” continued Colapinto. “I have a lot of support from the fans from Argentina to race close to where my home is, and it’s something I’ve been waiting for and something I’ve been dreaming of.

“And it’s happening now. Very exciting times.”

That dream continues this week in Austin for Colapinto.

NFL Expert Picks for Week 7 2024

2024-10-17T14:00:00-04:00

Here are our picks for Week 7.

We are now firmly in the second third of the 2024 NFL season, and with it a world where there are more questions than answers.

It’s been a fascinating season that not only has widened a gulf between the league’s haves and have-nots, but also created a scenario where anyone can win in any given week (unless you’re a fan of the Browns, Jaguars or Panthers). Similarly, it’s really difficult to have complete faith in any of the league’s best teams, with Detroit currently looking like the strongest, most well-rounded team in football.

When the Lions are the strongest, most well-rounded team in football you know things are pretty wild. They’re oddly enough underdogs in their matchup with the undefeated Vikings, which will be a fascinating battle of an elite Detroit offensive line matching up with a creative Brian Flores defense that is adept as finding holes and making plays.

Here are our picks for Week 7.