Browsing: Guy

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

I frequently putt with a big, fat stogie in my mouth. Could this be considered a putting aid? If I’m being honest, it helps me not move my head when I think about it, but I don’t purposely use it for that reason. —David Fatula, via email

David, Rules Guy sees this as an offshoot of the ever-popular “cigar smoke for wind direction” query.

Why are you putting with that big, fat cigar in your mouth? (Paging Swing Doctor Freud….)

If it is to smoke the cigar, not a problem. If you were doing it specifically to keep your head still, then we venture into Rule 4.3 territory. But is it a breach in and of itself? No, of course not. Unless it’s a Cuban cigar, in which case…kidding!

For more putting guidance from our guru, read on …

Rules Guy: Is it legal to tap down grass around the hole before putting?

By:

Rules Guy

When putting, after I finish my backswing can I let the clubhead rest on the ground for a split-second before making the forward stroke? Can I eliminate the backswing altogether and begin my forward stroke after placing the clubhead behind the ball either on the ground or hovering in the air? My buddies say they’ve never seen anyone do it, so it must be illegal. — Ed Chapman, via email

Ed, we got yippy just reading your question. Rules Guy is of the belief that if you’ve never seen anyone do something on Tour, there’s a reason for it, namely, IT. DOES. NOT. WORK.

Of course, that is a separate issue from legality. The rules require that you do not push, scrape or scoop the ball. Strokes such as the ones you describe, without a traditional backswing, are not automatically doing one of these illegal acts but do increase the chances. The key is that you must fairly strike the ball with the head of the club such that there’s only momentary contact between the club and the ball.

If that’s what you’re doing, you’re in the clear. If not, you’d get the general penalty of two strokes in stroke play and loss of hole in match play for breaching Rule 10.1a (and the stroke itself counts, whatever the outcome).

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Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.

Few individuals can be credited for changing the pro wrestling industry as much as Sabu, the former ECW star who introduced fans to a fast-paced, high-flying style that would eventually become the norm. On a recent episode of “My World,” wrestler Jeff Jarrett spent some time breaking down his Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame ballot for 2025, and Jarrett made the case that Sabu will certainly be included, if not this year then soon.

“He really had a brand in and of itself that translated to all the promotions that he worked in,” Jarrett said. “Is he the first breakout independent wrestling star? … If he’s not the first, he’s right up there.”

Along with Sabu ushering in a new style of offense in the ring, Jarrett believes the ECW standout changed the industry by staying true to himself in every promotion he traveled through. In doing so, he cleared a path for future stars like Samoa Joe and CM Punk, who built up reputations that they’d later take with them to WWE and elsewhere.

“Hell yeah, he’s a hall of famer,” Jarrett continued. “How do you argue about Sabu translated into multiple promotions. … Did he draw main event money? But was he main or semi-main his whole career? Yes.”

Sabu died on May 11, 2025, weeks after wrestling his retirement match. While his impact on pro wrestling was immeasurable, Sabu has yet to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, though he did receive the honor of being added to the Independent Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2024.

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  Sean AllenOct 2, 2025, 09:00 AM ET

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  Sean Allen is a contributing writer for fantasy hockey and betting at ESPN. He was the 2008 and 2009 FSWA Hockey Writer of the Year.

Your decision to draft Leon Draisaitl over Auston Matthews isn’t going to win you your league.

Neither will choosing Zach Werenski over Rasmus Dahlin. Or Sergei Bobrovsky over Igor Shesterkin.

It’s your league. Run it how you want.

Choose your league size, customize the scoring and set the rules you want to create the fantasy hockey league you want to play in.

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Fantasy hockey leagues are won in the margins. Everyone gets quality players early. The difference between finishing middle of the pack and taking home the trophy is how you use those late-round picks (and then how you manage waivers and trades along the way, don’t worry, we’ll be here for that, too).

ESPN Fantasy Hockey tracks average draft position (ADP) out to a 10-team league, which means 230 players. That means about 230 is the max you’ll see on ADP in your draft window or when looking at the player data in your league. If a player has an ADP lower than 200, they are being selected in the majority of drafts. If they are in the 200 to 210 range, it’s a coin flip that they’ll be drafted. In the 210 to 220 range, we are talking closer to one in four. And if they are past 220 ADP, odds are they aren’t being picked at all.

So who deserves a shot in that 200-plus range? Who should you actually use those last handful of picks on when you’re filling out your bench in rounds 19 through 23?

This is where context beats star power. Upside is hidden in the details — a second-unit power-play assignment, a depth chart shuffle, being next in line if a star gets hurt, or landing on a team that’s simply better this season. Beyond raw talent, the late rounds are about who has a real pathway to meaningful minutes and production.

These are the players who can turn the margins into your edge. You’ll have your own, for your own reasons. Here are 12 names outside pick 200 that I’m targeting, and the hooks that make them worth the gamble.

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Late forwards

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Quinton Byfield, C, Los Angeles Kings (214.7 ADP): Anze Kopitar’s retirement tour looms over this season, and Byfield is the heir apparent. He’s shown enough that the takeover could begin in earnest this season. Don’t be surprised if he ends up chasing for the Kings lead in fantasy points among forwards.

Matty Beniers, C, Seattle Kraken (228.3 ADP): While we’ve had four seasons of Beniers for evaluation and the end result is more “meh” than “wow,” he is still only 22 years old. But it’s definitely go time. He should be angling to be deployed as a true, No. 1 center with 20 minutes per game, surrounded by snipers on the wings. This is the season where Beniers will break through or show us he’s destined as a No. 2.

Cole Perfetti, LW, Winnipeg Jets (224.6 ADP): With Nikolaj Ehlers gone, someone has to soak up those top-six minutes and power-play touches. Perfetti got plenty of it last season, but will move one more rung up the depth chart ladder now. Consistent power-play time should mean a 60-point floor.

Jeff Skinner, LW, San Jose Sharks (229.9 ADP): Skinner’s not the same as he was in his prime, but he doesn’t need to be. The Sharks are climbing out of their rebuild doldrums, and Skinner’s signing signals they want some veteran offense now. He should play bigger minutes here than he did in Edmonton and he’s never been shy about putting pucks on net.

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Valeri Nichushkin, RW, Colorado Avalanche (208.8 ADP): In the post-Mikko Rantanen era, the Avs will need Nichushkin more than ever to flank Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. When everything clicks, he’s a fantasy standout you can get after pick 200.

Jimmy Snuggerud, RW, St. Louis Blues (229.6 ADP): The Blues just give me good vibes this season. There’s always that team that just feels like they have all the ducks in a row to break out of the mushy middle with a surprise campaign. For me, that’s this St. Louis team that ran the table with coach Jim Montgomery at the end of last season. Snuggerud got a handful of games in, looked NHL ready and will surely be in the mix for a top-six role.

Want to test out different approaches? Try out the ESPN Mock Draft Lobby.

Late defense

Editor’s Picks

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Jamie Drysdale, D, Philadelphia Flyers (229.3 ADP): There’s a clear path for Drysdale to quarterback the Flyers’ top power-play unit, which is half the battle for fantasy relevance. Health is always a question, but the talent and opportunity line up perfectly here.

Cam Fowler, D, St. Louis Blues (228.6 ADP): Another defender with a straight shot at PP1 duties and part of a Blues squad that feels primed for a big season. If he fully takes over quarterback duties from Justin Faulk, Fowler could flirt with a career-high 40 assists.

Alexander Romanov, D, New York Islanders (219.3 ADP): Romanov won’t wow with scoring, but he’s a multi-category plug-in who racks up hits and blocks while staying durable. Despite only 20 points, his 2.1 fantasy points per game ranked 17th among defensemen last season, tied with Adam Fox, Josh Morrissey, Seth Jones, and Evan Bouchard — proof that counting stats matter.

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Late goalies

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John Gibson, G, Detroit Red Wings (220.5 ADP): Finally out of Anaheim, Gibson has a chance to stabilize behind a team with playoff aspirations. Even league-average goaltending from him in Detroit makes him a sleeper bench goalie with upside.

Karel Vejmelka, G, Utah Mammoth (221.4 ADP): The Mammoth are on the upswing, and there’s no other ‘tender in line to challenge Vejmelka for the crease. Volume is half the game in fantasy netminding, and he’s poised to get it.

Jeremy Swayman, G, Boston Bruins (203.8 ADP): Swayman handled the full-time starter role last season, and while the Bruins struggled, he showed he can carry a heavy workload. Admittedly, the Bruins stabilizing is a tall “if,” but he has all the puzzle pieces to outperform his late-round ADP and give you solid, starter-level numbers.

Late-round picks don’t always hit. That’s the nature of taking swings after pick 200. But what matters is targeting players who actually have a reason to pop, whether it’s power-play time, a new team or just being next in line for more opportunity. These aren’t lottery tickets you stash and forget; they’re calculated bets with clear upside.

Download the ESPN Fantasy Sports app and have every player right at your fingertips. Available on the App Store and Google Play.

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The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

Our club is a 50-plus community and many players struggle to retrieve their ball from the cup. We installed that ball-lifting contraption attached to the pin. Improper usage can raise the surrounding ground, creating a volcano cup that repels slower putts. I repair this damage by tamping down around the cup with my putter, making sure not to create a funnel hole. Yet some say this is illegal or that I must declare that I see damage before tamping. —Fred Reininger, Tucson, Ariz.

The “volcano hole” question generally makes Rules Guy erupt.

In our not-so-humble opinion, too many who ask are trying to procure permission to tamp impermissibly. Your inquiry seems legitimate, however, and per Rule 13.1c(2), if the hole is clearly damaged and that damage was created by a person or outside influence (such as by someone using the ball-retrieval device) then the damage may be repaired.

If, instead, the player goes beyond reasonable actions to restore the green to its original conditions, then Rule 8.1 applies.

For more repair guidance from our guru, read on …

Rules Guy: Can a caddie help you repair marks on the green?

By:

Rules Guy

During a tournament match, my partner slammed his driver in frustration after a big slice, shattering the shaft just above the hosel adapter. Luckily, the manufacturer of his driver was onsite doing a demo day, and we were about to make the turn; my partner was able to switch in a new shaft on the spot. I know he can repair a club damaged during a round, but does getting a new shaft to plug into the original clubhead constitute a repair or a replacement? —Robert Black, Johns Creek, Ga.

Your angry partner’s lucky streak has snapped, too.

In the latest Rules update, you can keep using, or repair without unreasonable delay, a damaged club under Rule 4.1a(2)—no matter how the damage occurred. So far, so good … except “repairing” a club is limited to its original components, so switching in a new shaft would go beyond what’s allowed in repairing the club.

The new Model Local Rule G-9 excludes replacing a club damaged by an act of anger or abuse. In these circumstances, any stroke made with a replaced club would result in disqualification (although there’s no penalty for carrying the incorrectly repaired club and then not using it for the rest of the round). Rules Guy shudders to think how angry that DQ would make him.

Want to find the right gear for your bag in 2025?Find a club-fitting location near you at True Spec Golf.

Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.

BOSTON — It has been nearly five months since Boston Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum ruptured his right Achilles tendon in the second round of the NBA playoffs, but Tuesday will mark one of the most difficult days of his recovery, as his teammates take the practice court for the first time of the 2025-26 campaign.

“Now it’s a tough spot to be in, because the team is practicing tomorrow, and I won’t be able to be out there,” Tatum said from Monday’s media-day festivities. “I’m certain when the season starts and I’m not out there, that’ll be mentally challenging, but you just try to look for bright days when you can get it.”

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One of those days came over the weekend, when for the first time since the injury Tatum took to the practice court, getting in a light non-contact workout and sharing video with his fans on social media.

Houston Rockets superstar Kevin Durant — the premier example of how to come back healthy from an Achilles injury — was as surprised as everyone else at the speed with which Tatum returned to the court:

“Heâ€s doing everything he can to get back, and we donâ€t know when thatâ€s going to be, but hopefully itâ€s this season,” said Sam Hauser, who is among a large contingent of Celtics who have been working out all summer in Boston, where Tatum has been rehabbing every day. ” He’s the first one in and last one out.”

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This is a common refrain among Celtics, as questions have shifted from, Will Tatum return this season? to, When will Tatum return this season? A home game. That was all Tatum was willing to share with us.

“I don’t care who we play,” said Tatum, “but it’s going to be a home game.”

In the meantime, the Celtics will lean on Tatum’s co-star, Jaylen Brown. The four-time All-Star is not trying to be Tatum, but he does understand that his role will be expanded, notably as a playmaker.

[Get more Celtics news: Boston team feed]

“I feel like I’ve shown that at different points of my career, and that’s the narrative that everybody wants to go with, but I’m going to approach it the same way I’ve always approached it,” said Brown. “Obviously, I’m gonna have more responsibility with Jayson not being here, but also there’s a chance for other guys to step up. So, [it’s about] empowering other guys, trusting your teammates more, trying to accelerate guys’ learning curve and playing some good basketball. I think that’s what people want to see.”

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Likewise, Brown is expanding his leadership off the court, or, as he concedes, embracing the community and putting his authentic self out there a little more. He invited every member of the Celtics to join him as a guest of the New England Patriots on Sunday, and on Monday he was joined at media day by Bill Nye the Science Guy, who performed experiments alongside Brown and his teammates at the practice facility.

“He’s naturally pretty good at rallying the troops,” Hauser said of Brown. “On Sunday, he had a bunch of guys go with him to the Patriots game. Whoever was available went with him, so stuff like that is cool. A lot of guys who went were new faces, and it’s a good chance for them to get to know Jaylen and him to get know them and create those bonds early, and then hopefully just skyrocket from there.”

Hauser is among the returning rotation players who will also see an expanded role in Tatum’s absence, along with Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta. That group, with Brown, is the early favorite for the starting five, leaving newcomers Anfernee Simons, Luka Garza, Chris Boucher and Josh Minott to come off the bench. From the outside, it is not as inspiring a group as Boston’s teams from the past decade, but internally there is hope that everyone can collectively hold the fort in Tatum’s absence.

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“It’s a different team,” said Queta. “We lost a lot of the main voices in the locker room, a lot of our veteran leadership. It’s part of our growth. As younger guys, we also gotta find our voice, be more vocal. It’s going to be like a committee thing. We’ve all got to improve a little bit more and just contribute a little more with our voices. Everybody put in their little bit more, their 5%, and go from there.”

In that sense, then, even though just about everything has changed, things are the same around Boston. “Kaizen” — the growth mindset — is still emblazoned above their weight room, a calling card for the Celtics. Through hard work comes improvement, and if everyone buys in, maybe, just maybe, they can bridge the gap to Tatum’s return.

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“Every year,” the goal should be to win a championship, said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “It should be.

“It’s to do everything to go after the process of winning a championship, because I think there’s a ton that’s out of your control. But at the end of the day the process of winning is the ultimate goal, and that will forever be the goal as long as you coach. And if you don’t have that, you shouldn’t do it. I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I do know we’ll treat it as such that we will have the process of winning every single day.”

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AEW

AEW President Tony Khan has faced criticism for many things since founding AEW, but it is almost unanimous — except for a person or two — that he is a great boss, as Toni Storm recently reiterated.Â

Storm, who has flourished under Khan in AEW, recently spoke with former ECW star Sandman on his podcast, highlighting Khan’s importance to her and to the pro wrestling business, and stating that he is a great person.

“Well, I’m not really sure on how he’s actually perceived. I assume everyone adores him. He’s like the nicest fu**ing guy ever, with like the best of intentions, and he just loves wrestling so much. And, yeah, I just love the guy,” said Storm. “He’s the best, and he works so hard. He’s obsessed with this sh*t. He’s like so into it.”

The former AEW Women’s World Champion believes that the futures of a lot of pro wrestling talent hinge on Khan, further expressing how much he loves pro wrestling.

“It’s literally just, if we didn’t have him [what would we do?]. If he just wakes up tomorrow and is like, ‘I don’t like wrestling anymore.’ It’s like, all right, the end. No one loves it like he does.”

Storm said that Khan is a great guy and the coolest, adding that she loves working under him. She joked, however, that Khan — the heir to a billion-dollar empire — is in it for the money when a panelist on the podcast claimed he wasn’t. Storm recently praised Khan for the way he leads the AEW team behind the scenes, revealing that all ideas must receive his approval, even though she has tried to sneak a few in. Storm has been one of AEW’s most important female stars over the past few years, and her over-the-top character has been widely loved in the promotion.

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There are many legendary figures within the history of professional wrestling, but none perhaps bigger or more influential in WWE than The Undertaker. “The Phenom,” with the WrestleMania record of 25-2, remained fiercely loyal to the WWF-turned-WWE throughout the “Monday Night Wars” and the rest of his 30 years in the company. Undertaker, whose real name is Mark Calaway, was also very loyal to former WWE CEO and chairman Vince McMahon. Fellow Hall of Famer John Bradshaw Layfield commented on Undertaker’s relationship with McMahon on the “Something to Wrestle” podcast and said that ‘Taker was “100%” the godfather of WWE.

“Vince called him when he needed things. He was the ultimate ‘break glass’ guy,” JBL explained. “Nobody wants to carry the title when business is down. When business is up, everybody wants the title. But you get blamed for stuff when business is down. He called Undertaker under all circumstances. Triple H was much in the same role. Undertaker was there a little it longer, but Undertaker was the guy he called him when you needed something, you need a fail safe. When you didn’t know if guys were going to show up, Undertaker was at a lot of pay-per-views that he did not headline in case something happened. He always the fail safe guy.”

JBL joked that when it comes to loving his kids, McMahon would put Undertaker right up there with his son, Shane. The former WWE Hardcore Champion said that ‘Taker wasn’t just one of McMahon’s favorite guys, but “one of wrestling’s favorite guys.” He called him a locker room leader not just because of his position in the company, but because of who he is.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit “Something to Wrestle” and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s…

Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images Rob Van Dam has lauded the intelligence…