Day 829

• Another win for the bigots...  FINA has ended Lia Thomas' career.  Short of the creation of a third division, transgenders who transitioned past 12 years old will be banned from elite swimming events by the international sanctioning body.  There IS, however, some discussion of the creation of an actual third "open" division.
• A problem, on top of the obvious bigotry:  You don't think that, eventually (definitely by Paris), there's not going to be a marked drop-off in women's performance in some of these events in which the international sanctioning bodies are moving to remove transgender and DSD athletes?  Remember:  ALL THREE 800m running medalists in Rio were DSD.  If you SERIOUSLY want to be that bigoted, you're going to find out something, IMODO, and it's going to be similar to the state that Canadian expert in the Ben Johnson hearings said.
• One way or the other, high-testosterone female (however they got there) athletes are what drives women's sports, as far as actual competition goes.  As two other examples, why do you think the Russian bigot called the Williams sisters both male?   
• Can't believe I haven't mentioned this yet: Former NASCAR star Clint Bowyer was involved in a fatal highway crash last week.  He struck a 47 year-old woman walking on a freeway ramp in Missouri.  He was sober, she was on drugs.
• If you want the impacts of the LIV Saudi blood money:  The four who made the cut out of 15 LIV golfers at the US Open:

1. Dustin Johnson:  141 through 2, 71-72 for 284 (+4).
2. Richard Bland:  142 through 2, 72-74 for 288 (+8).
3. Patrick Reed:  141 through 2, 75-74 for 290 (+10).
4. Bryson DeChambeau:  142 through 2, 76-75 for 293 (+13) and only five golfers who made the cut did worse.

• I do, openly, have to wonder when some of the LIV golfers may just not even bother going forward -- figuring if they aren't getting paid just to show up...
• Of course, you could be Stewart Hagestad.  An amateur, qualified as the runner-up of the US Amateur last year.  I hope someone got a shot of the leaderboard 12 holes through his first round.  In what had to be at least some form of surreal, Hagestad was -3 through his first 12, and, for about 10 minutes, the outright leader of the 2022 US Open.
• Then it went completely south.  +6 on his final 6, par 70 to make the cut on the number on Friday.  79-77 for 299 (+19) and the highest score of anyone to make the cut.
• Four amateurs made the cut, Travis Vick wins Low Amateur at 288.  139 at the cut, 76-73 for 288 (+8).
• Matt Fitzpatrick of England has won the US Open at 274 (-6).  It is his first American win after 7 on the European Tour.
• It appears that at least one pitch which has hit Justin Upton in the head is at least rumored to be the result of ungrippable baseballs MLB has put into effect in the last few days, according to the pitcher who threw the pitch.
• There has also been a report already in the last few days that at least one team has protested that none of the balls have been successfully treated to be playable with the clay used to rough them up.
• Just 2-3 days after the death of one of the Hebner twins, former WWE referee Tim White has passed away.  He was 68.  At least, contrary to rumor and/or previous storyline, this does appear to be natural course.