Keegan Bradley opts not to select himself for the Ryder Cup team favoring captain’s picks Ben Griffin and Sam Burns above himself. Massive blow. Keegan is better than both. He’s playing better than Collin Morikawa. The team is worse off (and worse than Europe) without him in the lineup.

What is so demanding of the captain that he’s unable to play. Keegan has 5 vice captains. Any one of them could’ve been promoted to his spot should he choose to only focus on playing. Like all things PGA Tour, Keegan made this way more complicated than it had to be. Get the man a paid ChatGPT account to pick pairings. Money well spent. Do you know any fantasy commissioners that don’t also participate in the league? Is it a precedent thing? Is the honor of captain so protected that he can’t participate even if it clearly makes the team worse? This is un-American. Do more work. Take on more than you can handle. Do the job your subordinates can’t. Classic CEO move here. Unwilling to get in the weeds! But if the US loses, no golden parachute for Keegs. Unless he goes to LIV.

All the pessimism (uncharacteristic) of the above is washed away with a quick peek at our sporting calendar. A beautiful time of year. Weather still perfect enough to hit the beach. Evenings still long enough to enjoy Primetime Sport with the sun just setting. Apex grill season. If you thought your options were limited to baseball, wrongo my friend, feast your eyes on this platter:

US Open Tennis

Bang! Didn’t see that one comin, did ya? Well, it’s our national open and the last grand slam of the year. HARD COURT. We’re entering the mid-rounds and it’s easy to see another Alcaraz-Sinner final. That said, Djokovic should have an opportunity to take on American Taylor Fritz. Fellow American Ben Shelton should play his way into an Alcaraz faceoff. On the women’s side of the bracket, can Coco Gauff or Jessica Pegula capture a domestic crown?

EuroBasket

EuroBasket is my alt-sport. You can keep the UFC. 28 NBA players suiting up across the Mediterranean. European summer is undefeated. Luka, Giannis, Jokic. That good enough? All eyes on skinny Luka, or Le Petite as they now call him.

Premier League

No tariffs in KMARKland. Let’s get international again. The Premier League enters its second weekend. More PL content coming this direction. I know enough Peacock fans are frothing for SOCCER. Do I have a take right now? No. Liverpool takes on Arsenal Sunday morning.

Texas vs Ohio State

There are Big Games and then there’s this game. Titanic. Arch Manning in the Horseshoe. Ring Night for the Buckeyes. Cancel many, many Saturday plans and make sure not to miss this one.

College Football Week 1

Oh, those other games. It’s an insane collection of matchups. College Football channeled their inner Roger Goodell to produce a full slate of matchups running Thursday to Monday. Warm up with the 25th ranked Boise State Broncos for TNF. Catch the 12th ranked Illini (what? when did that happen) on Friday. Stay on the couch after Texas vs OSU, because you can’t miss Bama vs Florida State and LSU vs Clemson. Need more, NP breh - Notre Dame vs Miami on Sunday night. No school Monday? Amazing, TCU vs UNC in the Billy Belichick Bowl.

It’s time to purchase incremental televisions for yourself. Where is your spare room? That belongs to the TVs now. Just when you were catching up with baseball, this slate hits you. Now raise a glass. Twas a great Summer, but will be even an richer Fall!