Sports
Golf Glance: Jake Knapp defends maiden PGA Tour title in Mexico
February 2, 2025; Pebble Beach, California, USA; Jake Knapp hits his bunker shot on the second hole during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Images Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.
PGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: The Genesis Invitational (Ludvig Aberg)
THIS WEEK: Mexico Open at VidantaWorld, Vallarta, Mexico
Course: Vidanta Vallarta Golf Course (Par 71, 7,436 Yards)
Purse: $7M (Winner: $1.26M)
Defending Champion: Jake Knapp
FedEx Cup leader: Ludvig Aberg
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV: Thursday-Friday: 4-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC); Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday: 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.
X: @MexicoOpenGolf
NOTES: The first seven weeks of the 2025 PGA Tour season have produced winners from seven different countries. … This is the first event in which players can earn FedEx Cup points toward the Aon Swing 5 for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The top five players following this week and the Cognizant Classic who are not otherwise exempt will earn spots into the fourth signature event of the year. This week’s winner will also earn spots in the five remaining signature events of 2025. … Vidanta Vallarta was designed by former LIV Golf CEO and current board member Greg Norman. Tony Finau holds the tournament scoring record of 260 set in 2023, while Jon Rahm set the 18-hole record of 61 in the third round the same year. … Blades Brown, 17, will make his second start of the season. … Knapp beat Sami Valimaki by two strokes first his first PGA Tour victory last year. No one has successfully defended a title at the event. … San Diego State senior Justin Hastings, a native of the Cayman Islands, will make his second career PGA Tour start. He previously missed the cut at the 2024 Puerto Rico Open. … There are five players from Mexico in the field: Alvaro Ortiz, Santiago de la Fuente, Jose Cristobal Islas, Gerardo Gomez, Jose Antonio Safa.
BEST BETS: Akshay Bhatia (+1400 at DraftKings) is coming off a T9 at the Genesis and has not missed a cut in four events this year. … Rasmus Hojgaard (+1800) is coming off his first missed cut since October following four consecutive finishes of T22 or better worldwide. … Kurt Kitayama (+2000) is a four-time winner who has fared well recently against softer fields, including a fifth at the Zozo and a T9 at the Shriners over the fall. … Patrick Rodgers (+2200), who held the 54-hole lead at the Genesis, is the only player to finish in the top 10 in each of the first three editions of the Mexico Open. … Knapp (+4000) is already making his seventh start of the season and is playing for the sixth consecutive week. He finished T17 at the Genesis. … Patrick Fishburn (+5500) appeared primed for a breakthrough PGA Tour win but enters this week having missed three consecutive cuts. Still, he has shown the talent over the past six months that could make him a dark horse threat in this field.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Cognizant Classic, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Feb. 27-March 2
LPGA TOUR
LAST TOURNAMENT: Founders Cup (Yealimi Noh)
THIS WEEK: Honda LPGA Thailand, Pattaya, Chonburi, Feb. 20-23
Course: Siam Country Club, Old Course (Par 72, 6,632 Yards)
Purse: $1.7M (Winner: $225,000)
Defending Champion: Patty Tavatanakit
Race to the CME Globe leaders: Noh, A Lim Kim
HOW TO FOLLOW
TV/Streaming: Wednesday-Thursday: 10 p.m.-3 a.m. ET; Friday: 10:30 p.m.-3:30 a.m.; Saturday: 10 p.m.-3 a.m. (Golf Channel, NBCSports.com)
X: @HondaLPGAThailand
NOTES: This is the 18th playing of the tournament, which features no cut for the 72-player field. … Tavatanakit, who is one of 12 players from Thailand in the field, won last year following a victory the week before at the LET’s PIF Saudi Ladies International. World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul won in Saudi Arabia last week. … Brittany Altomare returns from maternity leave to make her first start since the 2023 Ascendant LPGA.
NEXT TOURNAMENT: HSBC Women’s World Championship, Singapore, Feb. 27-March 2
LIV GOLF LEAGUE
LAST TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf Adelaide (Individual: Joaquin Niemann; Team: Fireballs GC)
THIS WEEK: OFF
Leaders: Individual: Adrian Meronk; Team: Legion XIII
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Hong Kong, March 7-9
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
LAST TOURNAMENT: Chubb Classic (Justin Leonard)
THIS WEEK: OFF.
Charles Schwab Cup leader: Ernie Els
NEXT TOURNAMENT: Cologuard Classic, Tucson, Ariz., March 7-9
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope joining 76ers after Grizzlies buyout
Feb 11, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Memphis Grizzlies guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is set to reunite with former teammate LeBron James after agreeing to a buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies and planning to sign a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, ESPN reported on Saturday.
Caldwell-Pope, 33, who played with James on the 2020 NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, must clear waivers before signing with Philadelphia.
Per the report, the Grizzlies and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul — Caldwell-Pope’s agent — finalized the buyout on Saturday, a day after Sixers agreed to sign James to a two-year, $8 million deal.
Caldwell-Pope, who also won an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets in 2023, missed the last 31 games of the 2025-26 season after surgery to fix a misalignment on his right pinkie finger. He finished with averages of 8.4 points, 2.7 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 21.3 minutes in 51 games.
A 13-year veteran selected eighth overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2013 NBA Draft, Caldwell-Pope has averaged 11.0 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 29.2 minutes with the Pistons, Lakers, Washington Wizards, Nuggets, Orlando Magic and Grizzlies in 963 games (784 starts).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Trey McBride says Cardinals fans not so bad after all
Arizona Cardinals tight end Trey McBride speaks to the press during training camp at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on July 25, 2026. Arizona tight end Trey McBride made some waves with criticism of the Cardinals’ fan base earlier this offseason. On Saturday, he attempted to walk back some of his earlier remarks following training camp practice.
In a June appearance on Will Compton and Taylor Lewan’s podcast “Bussin’ with the Boys,” McBride noted that a significant portion of Arizona’s population is transplants, and he criticized the Cardinals’ fan base for being too focused on other teams.
“Living in Arizona, no one’s from Arizona,” McBride had said. “Everyone has kinda moved in from another state, so they’re all fans of their own teams, so now you have the Arizona that sits there and there’s no Arizona fans in Arizona.
“So, it’s a tough deal. Hopefully, we start winning some games and we can bring some of those fans back.”
Saturday, possibly because of some backlash, McBride was singing a different tune.
“Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have said that,” McBride said. “It came out wrong, and obviously the fanbase is great. We have a tremendous fanbase. Arizona’s been here, loyal fans to all the sports teams here, and we’re very lucky to have a lot of these guys, and we’re going to have a great season.
“I love it here in Arizona, and I hope they love me too, but it’s a special place. The fans are great, and I’m excited for this year to give them something to be proud of.”
In 2025, McBride signed what was the richest deal for a tight end in NFL history, re-signing with the Cardinals for four years and $76 million.
He backed that figure up last fall, posting career highs with 126 receptions for 1,239 yards and 11 touchdowns, leading the Cardinals in each category while earning his second straight Pro Bowl berth and being named first-team All-Pro.
A second-round draft pick in 2022, the 26-year-old has exceeded 1,000 yards receiving in each of the last two seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Ty France drives in 3 as Padres sustain Marlins losing streak
Jul 25, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; San Diego Padres first baseman Ty France (25) hits a two-run single against the Miami Marlins during the third inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Ty France drove in three runs to help the visiting San Diego Padres hand the Miami Marlins their franchise-record tying 11th straight loss, 7-2, in the middle game of their three-game series on Saturday.
The Marlins have dropped 11 in a row three other times in team history, most recently in June of 2011.
Jackson Merrill had two doubles, a single and scored two runs, and Jake Cronenworth had a single, two walks, an RBI and two runs scored for the Padres, who improved to 4-5 coming out of the All-Star break.
Randy Vasquez was used as an opener for San Diego and went 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run and one hit with no strikeouts and two walks.
JP Sears (3-3), who was originally scheduled to start, followed with 3 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.
Esteury Ruiz had two hits and scored twice for Miami.
Marlins right-hander Eury Perez (5-8) went seven innings, allowing three runs and seven hits. He struck out two and walked one on a season-high 104 pitches.
Perez walked Cronenworth with two outs in the third. Manny Machado followed with a check-swing double just inside the right-field line, putting runners on second and third. France then lined a two-run single to left, scoring both runners for a 2-0 lead.
Ruiz was hit by a pitch to start the bottom half of the third and he took third on a single by Jakob Marsee. Otto Lopez followed with a sacrifice fly to right to cut it to 2-1.
Merrill went the other way for a double to start the seventh, moved to third on a flyout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Gavin Sheets to extend the lead to 3-1.
Cronenworth walked again to start the eighth and immediately stole second off left-hander Dax Fulton. France stepped to the plate with one out and grounded an RBI single up the middle to make it 4-1.
The Padres loaded the bases later in the inning off Fulton and pinch-hitter Jase Bowen lined the first pitch he saw into right field for a two-run single, extending the lead to 6-1.
Kyle Stowers delivered an RBI single in the eighth to cut it to 6-2, but Lopez was thrown out going from first to third for the second out.
San Diego got the run back in the ninth on an RBI single by Cronenworth to make it 7-2.
–Field Level Media
