I spent some time on Saturday night in a downtown Baltimore casino mingling with Buffalo Bills fans at various low budget blackjack tables (CHANGING $60!!!) and I have two observations:
(1) As far as invading forces go, they might be the friendliest. In fact, I think they started to grow a little weary of me complimenting them but they were too nice to tell me to just please go away so they sat there and smiled while I droned on and on about how I'd be rooting for the Bills if they make it to the Super Bowl because of all the heartbreak their fans have endured over the years. So much heartbreak. So so much heartbreak. My god I can't believe they didn't try to break a roulette table with me.
(2) Anywhere must be better than Buffalo because there were so many damn Josh Allen jerseys running around that you would've thought that Pierce Brosnan was wearing one while trying to rob the Visionary Arts Museum. We don't usually see that many out of towners around Baltimore unless they're here to renovate a CVS. (Oh come on!)
Anyway, the Ravens predictably blew another big lead at home due to a combination of suspect coaching decisions and their inability to make just one fucking clutch play when they need to. The upside from a fantasy golf writing standpoint was that I couldn't digest one more minute of football after 4:00 p.m. so I was able to enjoy a dramatic PGA Tour finish while periodically glancing at my anthill sized stack of $5 chips and grinning with satisfaction.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
There is no golf related context for this tweet. It just makes me burst out laughing every damn time I watch it.
GOLF ANALYSIS
Among my ten recommendations last week was the guy who actually won the tournament so maybe this dalliance with golf in the fall has a future. There was actually a money making lineup in my top ten if you squinted and looked hard enough.
We've got a respectable field headed to Vegas including fan favorites Max Homa and Tom Kim along with at least three guys named Taylor and that's just if you include first names. Had to be tough going through high school sharing your first name with a female pop star but nothing compared to sharing it with a hamburger peddling clown so I can only partially empathize.
We're going straight chalk with this week's pick because Patrick Cantlay has owned this event the four times he's played it. Sources tell me his scoring average here is under 67 and that's pretty good.
We decided to go with Tom Hoge over Tom Kim in one of those moves that feels smart on Wednesday and very stupid on Sunday. We're also jumping-off the Denny McCarthy bandwagon for a week which has historically meant good things for the player in the Denny McCarthy role.
And finally, I believe that we're going to have at least one minor Rickie Fowler feel good moment this year so he will be a regular until (a) it happens, (b) I grow weary of waiting for it to happen, or (c) I forget to pick him and then it happens. Either way, I hope it happens.
One and Done Pick: Patrick Cantlay
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You can never tell whether he's intently studying the line or he just remembered that he left the oven on.
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Other Guy I'd Pick: Tom Hoge
Sleeper Pick: Rory Sabbatini
DraftKings Top Ten Values
Patrick
Cantlay
|
$11,100
|
Tom
Hoge
|
$9,000
|
Si
Woo Kim
|
$8,600
|
J.T.
Poston
|
$8,300
|
Rickie
Fowler
|
$7,800
|
Adam
Hadwin
|
$7,700
|
Seamus
Power
|
$7,600
|
J.J.
Spaun
|
$7,300
|
Chesson
Hadley
|
$6,900
|
Rory
Sabbatini
|
$6,700
|
We went ahead and did a chart this week because frankly, there were several conference calls on Monday and Tuesday that found me desperately in need of a somewhat mindless distraction. More mindless than the calls themselves which is really saying something.
THE RON DESANTIS' GO-GO BOOTS
HISTORICAL PERFORMANCE CHART
If you haven't seen the picture, then I'm a bit jealous as I'd really like to un-see it. All partisanship aside, can someone please start a consulting company that does nothing but dress our politicians to visit the sites of national disasters? Please.
|
DK Price
|
2022
|
2021
|
2020
|
2019
|
2018
|
Patrick
Cantlay
|
$11,100
|
DNP
|
T8
|
2nd
|
2nd
|
1st
|
Max
Homa
|
$10,600
|
DNP
|
MC
|
MC
|
MC
|
DNP
|
Sungjae
Im
|
$10,400
|
1st
|
T13
|
DNP
|
T15
|
DNP
|
Tom
Kim
|
$9,700
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Taylor
Montgomery
|
$9,500
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Emiliano
Grillo
|
$9,300
|
T47
|
T34
|
MC
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Cameron
Davis
|
$9,200
|
T27
|
T52
|
DNP
|
T28
|
DNP
|
Alex
Noren
|
$9,100
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Tom
Hoge
|
$9,000
|
T14
|
T24
|
DNP
|
MC
|
T7
|
Aaron
Wise
|
$8,900
|
T8
|
MC
|
MC
|
T15
|
T32
|
Brian
Harman
|
$8,900
|
MC
|
T13
|
T18
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Davis
Riley (Out)
|
$8,800
|
T56
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Taylor
Pendrith
|
$8,700
|
T47
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Si
Woo Kim
|
$8,600
|
MC
|
T8
|
T55
|
T15
|
DNP
|
Dean
Burmeister
|
$8,500
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Denny
McCarthy
|
$8,400
|
MC
|
57th
|
T9
|
T15
|
MC
|
J.T.
Poston
|
$8,300
|
MC
|
T27
|
MC
|
MC
|
T4
|
C.
Bezuidenhout
|
$8,200
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Maverick
McNealy
|
$8,100
|
MC
|
MC
|
T37
|
DNP
|
MC
|
Keith
Mitchell
|
$8,000
|
MC
|
MC
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
MC
|
Thomas
Detry
|
$7,900
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Mito
Pereira
|
$7,800
|
T40
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Rickie
Fowler
|
$7,800
|
MC
|
MC
|
DNP
|
T4
|
DNP
|
Adam
Hadwin
|
$7,700
|
T6
|
T34
|
T4
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
K.H.
Lee
|
$7,700
|
T14
|
MC
|
MC
|
MC
|
DNP
|
Matt
Kuchar
|
$7,600
|
T35
|
T34
|
DNP
|
T57
|
DNP
|
Seamus
Power
|
$7,600
|
T21
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
MC
|
T41
|
Taylor
Moore
|
$7,600
|
T24
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
MC
|
Lucas
Herbert
|
$7,500
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Matthew
NeSmith
|
$7,500
|
T14
|
T8
|
T18
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Nick
Hardy
|
$7,500
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
MC
|
DNP
|
Gary
Woodland
|
$7,400
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
T55
|
T10
|
T18
|
Mark
Hubbard
|
$7,400
|
T44
|
MC
|
T42
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Ryan
Palmer
|
$7,400
|
MC
|
T34
|
T37
|
T7
|
DNP
|
Wyndham
Clark
|
$7,400
|
T56
|
T13
|
MC
|
T57
|
DNP
|
Chris
Kirk
|
$7,300
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
T41
|
MC
|
J.J.
Spaun
|
$7,300
|
T35
|
DNP
|
MC
|
T15
|
T10
|
Kevin
Streelman
|
$7,300
|
T47
|
MC
|
MC
|
T51
|
67th
|
Nick
Taylor
|
$7,300
|
T47
|
MC
|
T29
|
T36
|
T32
|
Troy
Merritt
|
$7,300
|
MC
|
T43
|
T63
|
T57
|
T51
|
Aaron
Rai
|
$7,200
|
MC
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Byeong
Hun An
|
$7,200
|
DNP
|
MC
|
MC
|
DNP
|
T32
|
Jason
Day
|
$7,200
|
DNP
|
MC
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Martin
Laird
|
$7,200
|
T11
|
1st
|
T48
|
T28
|
MC
|
Harris
English
|
$7,100
|
MC
|
MC
|
DNP
|
T36
|
MC
|
Hayden
Buckley
|
$7,100
|
T8
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Joel
Dahmen
|
$7,100
|
T24
|
T58
|
T9
|
T69
|
MC
|
Russell
Knox
|
$7,100
|
MC
|
MC
|
T48
|
DNP
|
T72
|
Cameron
Champ
|
$7,000
|
DNP
|
MC
|
MC
|
T28
|
DNP
|
Brendon
Todd
|
$6,900
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
MC
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Chesson
Hadley
|
$6,900
|
T27
|
MC
|
T18
|
T7
|
T4
|
Chez
Reavie
|
$6,800
|
MC
|
63rd
|
MC
|
DNP
|
DNP
|
Patrick
Rodgers
|
$6,800
|
DNP
|
MC
|
MC
|
T41
|
MC
|
Charley
Hoffman
|
$6,700
|
T44
|
MC
|
T74
|
DNP
|
T18
|
Rory
Sabbatini
|
$6,700
|
T3
|
T52
|
MC
|
MC
|
MC
|
Scott
Piercy
|
$6,700
|
MC
|
T19
|
MC
|
T10
|
T32
|