Sports
Talor Gooch grabs lead in Korea with second-round 63
May 8, 2026; Sterling, Virginia, USA; Talor Gooch putts during the second round of LIV Golf Virginia golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: John (Jack) Power-Imagn Images Talor Gooch surged into the lead at LIV Golf Korea with a 7-under 63 in the second round Friday at Asiad Country Club in Busan, South Korea.
Gooch carded eight birdies — six on the front nine — and a lone bogey at the par-4 fifth hole to move to 8-under, one stroke ahead of Bryson DeChambeau. It is the eighth time the OKGC captain has shot 63 or better in LIV Golf and the seventh time he has held the 36-hole lead.
A four-time winner on the tour, Gooch chipped in for a birdie on his second hole, the par-4 ninth, and birdied six of his last eight holes.
“The game still doesn’t feel great, but we’re working hard, and we’re working in the right direction,” said Gooch, who entered the week ranked 29th in points but could climb to fifth with a win. “… Hopefully we can just kind of keep it going and get this train rolling.”
First-round co-leader DeChambeau is alone at 7-under after shooting 68 on Friday, finishing with three birdies and a bogey. The Crushers GC captain hit only eight of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens in regulation.
“My putting saved me today,” DeChambeau said. “I felt like I was hitting it really well yesterday, driving it well, and today just kind of went sideways.”
DeChambeau is looking for his third win of the LIV Golf season after missing the cut at the PGA Championship earlier this month. He is one of the few big hitters having a strong start at what Gooch called a “shot-maker’s course.”
“It’s a testament to how great of a golfer Bryson is to be able to play bomber’s paradises and then this course is a little bit more of a shot-maker’s course,” Gooch said. “It’s a fun course, and it’s just another example that a course doesn’t have to be 8,000 yards to be a good test.”
Five golfers are tied for third at 5-under, including Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith of Australia (68 on Friday) and Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann (69) of Chile. Belgium’s Thomas Pieters (69), Zimbabwe’s Scott Vincent (70) and Charles Howell III (70) also are in that group.
Korean GC’s Doyeob Mun (68) is tied for eighth place at 4-under with Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia (69) of Spain.
Gooch’s OKGC leads the team standings at 14-under, one shot ahead of DeChambeau’s Crushers and three clear of Ripper GC.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Vikings Need to Move On From J.J. McCarthy Before It Gets Worse
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) reacts during a game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, Dec 21, 2025, East Rutherford, NJ, USA The Minnesota Vikings need to rip the band-aid off and give up on J.J. McCarthy.
It’s uncomfortable, especially because the team invested the No. 10 overall pick into McCarthy during the 2024 NFL Draft. But since then, the Vikings fired general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and brought in free agent quarterback Kyler Murray in free agency.
The Vikings are signaling to McCarthy that they’re giving up on him, but now it’s time to formalize that by trading the 23-year-old quarterback.
After OTAs on Wednesday, Murray praised McCarthy to reporters, explaining that he wants to be a veteran leader for the team.
“I know he’s a younger guy, so any way I can help him… give him any knowledge that he needs,” Murray said. “We’re both competitors and want what’s best for the team.”
Murray said that McCarthy has been very receptive to advice, but the former Michigan quarterback didn’t exactly view the relationship that same way.
“It’s just like two guys in a classroom, he sits on one side, I sit on the other side, and it’s the coach’s responsibility to teach us and coach us,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy was asked if there’s any awkwardness with Murray. And he didn’t exactly shut it down.
“Awkwardness? You know, it’s just like the same feeling when you’re in high school and there’s another person on the other side of the room, I wouldn’t say there’s any awkwardness.”
McCarthy referencing that it’s up to Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell to “teach us and coach us” almost makes it seem like he’s not very receptive to the advice that Murray is trying to give him.
Quarterback competitions never work
The Vikings need to nip this in the butt now before it becomes a bigger issue.
When was the last time a quarterback competition worked? When Russell Wilson beat out Matt Flynn with the Seattle Seahawks? That was almost two decades ago. Quarterback competitions rarely bear fruit. Instead, they take valuable preseason reps away from the team’s starter.
McCarthy told reporters that Minnesota’s brass told him this is an honest competition. But let’s be real about that for a second. There’s no world they convinced Murray to sign with the Vikings without some sort of guarantee that he’d be the starting quarterback.
Murray could’ve gone to the Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers or the New York Jets – all three teams that needed a starting quarterback. But he picked the Vikings, probably because they give him the best chance to start and succeed, similar to how Sam Darnold performed under McCarthy before securing a three-year, $100 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.
That’s why the Vikings need to just admit that this experiment with McCarthy is over. It was screwed up from the moment he injured himself, allowing Darnold to flourish. McCarthy wildly underperformed last year, throwing 12 interceptions compared to 11 touchdown passes.
It’s clear the organization is iffy about him. Now, he sounds iffy about the organization.
Cut bait. Somebody might be willing to give up a Day 2 draft pick to try and save McCarthy’s career. It’s not happening in Minnesota and it’s already time to turn the page.
Sports
Kirby Smart, SEC Continue Complaining About College Football’s Future
As the calendar flips to the next day, things continue to change; however, one consistency will always come to the forefront, and it’s that the SEC will be the biggest crybabies on the planet.
Similar to its geographic counterparts, Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart went to the media to discuss the SEC’s potential to secede from the NCAA. There are currently two issues causing strife for the SEC.
The major power conferences and Notre Dame want to expand the playoffs to 24 teams, while the SEC only wants to expand to 16 teams. I personally don’t think any expansion should occur, as the regular season should still matter in college football. That said, I’m shocked the SEC doesn’t want the larger expansion.
A larger playoffs means more money, more potential home games, and smaller schools feeling that they can genuinely compete for national titles. The SEC complains every year when their 9-3 teams miss the playoffs, so I’m shocked they wouldn’t want half their conference playing in the postseason.
Kirby has his complaints about playoff expansion, but uncontrolled NIL expansion is his bigger concern. I think most people with common sense believe there needs to be more guardrails around NIL. I’m just not sure that head coaches are the right messengers for these complaints.
NIL isn’t going anywhere, either.
College football head coaches tend to be the highest-paid public worker in most states. They can also leave their job whenever they want and hold their universities over the fire for more money. When you hear Kirby Smart complaining about these kids, many of whom coming from limited money, it feels super disingenuous. These high level coaches keep complaining about the current state of NIL, but aren’t coming up with better solutions. Our current “wild west” of NIL is significantly better than these college athletes playing for free in years past.
NIL isn’t the death of college sports, but the SEC leaving the NCAA would be. Smart argues that the SEC can stand on its own, and doesn’t need to play by rules they don’t like.
Things like this is why everyone hates the SEC. If they don’t get everything they like, they take their ball and go home. If the SEC ever left the SEC, maybe the NCAA could survive, but it would always be a shell of its former power.
Also, I feel this is mostly just a bad bluff by Kirby Smart. Yes, SEC fans love their teams, but having an entire season of only SEC football feels like a disaster waiting to happen. Fortunately, the SEC is locked into contracts through the next 5 years, so they’ll have to wait a little before getting too off the rails.
Sports
Report: Serena Williams wants to make comeback at Queen's Club
Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian of Los Angeles Golf Club watch their team against Jupiter Links GC during the TGL finals at SoFi Center on March 23, 2026, in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Serena Williams reportedly is planning a return to professional tennis.
The Telegraph reported Thursday that Williams, 44, plans to request a wild card to play doubles with Victoria Mboko, 19, of Canada in the Queen’s Club Championships next month in London. The tournament, which begins on June 8, serves as a grass-court tune-up for Wimbledon.
Williams had great success on the courts at Wimbledon, where she won seven singles titles. She also teamed with her sister, Venus Williams, for six doubles championships in London.
Serena Williams last played on the WTA Tour in a loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the 2022 U.S. Open.
In her time away from tennis, Williams gave birth to her second daughter in August 2023.
She reportedly re-entered the registered testing pool for the International Tennis Integrity Agency in December. She has completed the mandatory six-month period in that pool.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion initially dismissed comeback rumors in December before slightly changing her tune during an appearance on the “Today” show in late January.
“I’m just having fun and enjoying my life right now,” Williams said, when asked on the show about a potential comeback. “That’s not a yes or no. I don’t know. I’m just gonna see what happens.”
–Field Level Media
Vikings Need to Move On From J.J. McCarthy Before It Gets Worse
Kirby Smart, SEC Continue Complaining About College Football’s Future
