SI:AM | A Petty Bryson DeChambeau Snipes Back at Rory McIlroy

Good morning, I’m Kristen Wong, filling in for Dan Gartland. Great to see WNBA Twitter being totally chill about Paige Bueckers’s foul on Caitlin Clark last night.

In today’s SI:AM:

🦅 Breer visits Eagles camp

🔥 College football’s coaching hot seat

⚾ The D-Backs’ Ketel Marte mystery

The Bryson-Rory rivalry will never get old

Like Rose floating on the wooden door at the end of Titanic, Bryson DeChambeau isn’t giving up on LIV Golf.

The league is currently mired in a financial dilemma after losing its Saudi-backed funding and had to shorten its fifth season as a result.

In the final event of LIV Golf’s 2026 campaign in Indianapolis, DeChambeau appeared to respond to Rory McIlroy’s gut punch about LIV players not providing “value.”

“We definitely have a lot against us,” DeChambeau said Thursday. “But I think behind the scenes, we’ve got a lot of people that are working hard to make this possible for not only all the players that are out here, but all the fans that have come out to these events and the economic impact that we’ve made in all these places, whether it’s South Africa, here in Indy, or Australia and numerous places across the world.

“... I hope people can see that we actually bring value to the game of golf. My wish is that people give us one more shot and be open-minded.”

"My wish is that people give us one more shot" pic.twitter.com/GpG7ecCI5D
— LIV'r & Onions! (@LIVRandONIONS) August 20, 2026

That quote was the most exciting part of DeChambeau’s opening round in the LIV tournament, where he shot a five-under-par 65, good for 12th place heading into Friday.

For those not acquainted with DeChambeau and McIlroy’s history, their not-so-friendly rivalry dates back to at least the 2025 Masters. The Northern Irishman gave DeChambeau the silent treatment during their final round when they were playing partners, with McIlroy later claiming he wasn’t trying to be his adversary’s “best mate.”

If LIV players somehow end up making it home, Odyssey-style, to the PGA Tour, there’ll be no love lost between DeChambeau and McIlroy, two starkly different but equally famous pro golfers.

Caitlin Clark loses ground in MVP race

Anyone campaigning for Caitlin Clark’s MVP case this year had better slow their roll. First off, that award is (probably) A’ja Wilson’s. Clark and Lynx rookie Olivia Miles being included in the conversation just happens to make for more interesting talking points. Second, Clark and the Fever just got unceremoniously doused with cold water in their 91-85 loss against Dallas last night.

When it came down to it, Indiana’s top-scoring offense (96.4 points per game heading into last night) simply did not deliver. Clark struggled against the Wings’ length and power in the paint, cooling off with 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting and nine assists. Sophie Cunningham dropped a big ol’ goose egg. Even an automatic Kelsey Mitchell, who broke Wilson’s record for the most consecutive 20-point games, couldn’t rescue the Fever with her 37 points.

A day after the Wings announced Azzi Fudd would be out for the rest of the season, Paige Bueckers and Co. secured a morale-boosting win on home court thanks to big games from Arike Ogunbowale and Jessica Shepard, who combined for a whopping 58 points. Awak Kuier set a new franchise record with seven blocks. Bueckers made a few tough middies but didn’t enjoy her usual efficient night—and neither did Clark. The former No. 1 picks traded missed shots all game long as the reigning one watched.

Bueckers also comically told Clark to “calm down” after fouling the Fever guard, leading to a healthy dose of feistiness between the two. No one overreact, please.

"Calm Down."

Paige Bueckers after the foul call on Caitlin Clark 😅 pic.twitter.com/lVx9qQ1chk
— Just Women’s Sports (@justwsports) August 21, 2026

Without Fudd, one of the Wings’ best three-point shooters, floor spacers and all-around defenders, Dallas continued to tinker with its rotations and responded in a huge way. (They remain the No. 8 seed, one game behind the Liberty.) The WNBA playoffs are going to be absolute cinema.

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Karl Rasmussen, Ryan Phillips: The Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte Mystery
Ryan Phillips: Kade Anderson Is Coming to Seattle As the Mariners Finally Make the Right Call
Ryan Phillips: MLB’s Top 50 Prospects: 2026 Midseason Update
Karl Rasmussen: Predicting the 2026 All-MLB Teams
Blake Silverman: As Azzi Fudd’s Rookie Season Is Cut Short, Did Dallas Make the Right Choice at No. 1?

The top five …

… numbers that made me do a double take:

5. $9.25 million… the amount in damages that former Bama hoops player Kai Spears won in a defamation lawsuit against the New York Times.

4. One… online class for Penn State QB Rocco Becht this fall semester after transferring from Iowa State. (The 22-year-old already graduated with a degree in communication studies.)

3. 9-for-9… from the field for Angel Reese, including 2-for-2 on three-pointers, in the Dream’s blowout win over the Sparks. What a bounce-back performance.

2. 80 yards… the length of the pick-six thrown by the Raiders’ QB of the future in his second preseason game. Fernando Mendoza probably said “Holy Shuck!” after that one.

1. A bajillion… times you’ll see ESPN’s golden goose Pat McAfee on your TV screen this NFL season. A McAfee Monday Night Football alt-cast is reportedly in the works. Whoop-de-doo.

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