📰🏟️ What’s up with Skenes?
Plus: Random CFB fan to run Akron's offense…
1) Pirates star SP Paul Skenes mired in slump
After posting sub-2 ERAs in each of his first two seasons, Skenes is entering tonight’s start against the Brewers with an ERA approaching 4.
- The most obvious change for Skenes, the reigning unanimous NL Cy Young winner, is a distinct lack of velocity compared to previous years.
- After throwing 1,552 pitches at 98+ MPH his first two seasons (~28/start), he's thrown just 95 such pitches this year (~4/start).
- And while hitters still aren’t tagging Skenes’ fastball, the velocity dip has resulted in batters crushing his offspeed pitches (.286 AVG and .397 SLG, up from .189/.250 last year).
2) LIV Golf claims it found an investor to stay alive
LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil announced this morning that a lead investor has signed a term sheet, approved by the league’s board, to fund the start-up golf tour after the current season.
- O’Neil didn’t reveal details about the investor, or how much funding the league received. But he said the deal would allow LIV to have a season in 2027 and beyond.
- O’Neil also didn’t reveal whether the LIV Golf Team Championship will take place as planned at the end of August, amid reports it will close due to lack of funds, or whether stars like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm would remain on the tour.
LIV receives a last-minute lifeline
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3) Akron CFB fan to serve as OC in new promotion
Akron announced a unique fan promotion this morning where one random season-ticket holder is selected as the "offensive coordinator of the game" and scripts the opening drive of the Zips’ home opener against Robert Morris on Sept. 12.
- All current season-ticket holders are automatically entered into a random drawing for the promotion, with referrals for new season-ticket holders earning fans extra entries.
- Akron head coach Joe Moorhead says he plans to work directly with the contest winner to help design the plays and run them in-game.
The fan opportunity of a lifetime
4) PGA rookie is first golfer to win SEC Male Athlete of the Year
PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun was named the SEC Male Athlete of the Year this week, becoming the first golfer to win the award in its 51-year history, and the first Auburn athlete to win it since Bo Jackson in 1986.
- In three seasons at Auburn, Koivun compiled 11 career wins and a school-record 68.20 scoring average for the 2025-26 season, the best mark in NCAA history.
- He’s also the only golfer in NCAA history to win the Fred Haskins, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Phil Mickelson awards in the same season—a feat he accomplished both his freshman and junior years.
Jackson Koivun just made history…again
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