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USA Today
08-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Three-time PGA Tour winner's secret to success: 'Be obsessed'
PEKIN, Ill. — D.A. Points stood on the Pekin Country Club golf course Monday, not far from the home in which he grew up, remembering a squeaking screen door, practice swings in the dark and a passion that fueled his journey in golf. The 48-year-old Pekin native and PGA veteran returned to host the 2025 Renewal by Anderson D.A. Points Junior Open, an American Junior Golf Association tour event created with his backing to help young players make important progress in their dreams. "The greatest gift I had as a kid was living on this golf course," Points said. "Our house was on the No. 17 hole. I'd go out there every night after dinner and practice chips and putts right on into the dark. "We had this screen door that was so squeaky, I could hear my father open it from three holes away, and he'd yell at me to get going inside." He went on to win the IHSA Class AA state golf individual championship in 1993-94, and led Pekin High School to a team state championship. Then it was playing at the University of Illinois, and on to the PGA Tour and three event wins. Little things like that screen door and devoted parents in Steve and Mary Jo Points built core memories and a love of the game that D.A. Points remembers now, and his passion for passing along those experiences to those just starting out is as great as his passion to play. "To be great at this sport, to be great at anything, really, you kind of have to be obsessed with it," Points said. "The days of just being a naturally gifted athlete that can just walk up on the first tee and go out and shoot 65, those aren't really happening anymore. "Now there's great athletes and they are obsessed with it. To really be great at something, whether it's golf or journalism or TV, whatever it is, you've got to really want it. That's what I'm going to try to explain to these kids." He did that Monday, addressing the players ahead of a Junior/AM fundraising tournament event and followed by an evening dinner and reception. In between, he planned to join his old high school friends for some golf at Lick Creek Golf Course. "Our 30th high school reunion is coming up, but I won't be able to attend it," Points said. "So I'm going to golf with my buddies and this will be my reunion." D.A. Points on TV and radio Points has played in four Korn Ferry Tour events in 2025, while continuing a transition into a PGA broadcast analyst career. He is part of ESPN+ PGA Tour Live coverage, and was working the John Deere Classic last week. Points will work eight different PGA events this season. And he's scheduled for a SiriusXM stint this week — 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday through Sunday — to discuss the Scottish Open. Golfing in Peoria area laid foundation for D.A. Points When Points was a kid, his mother, Mary Jo, kept a golf scorecard of Pekin Country Club on the family's refrigerator. "The goal was to keep improving on each hole, so she would check my card each time to see if I had set a new best score on one of the holes," Points said. "I had pars on some, then some birdies, and eventually I think I got the composite card down to a 54." When Points was 11 years old, his family connected him with teaching pro Rick Sellers in Bloomington-Normal, on the recommendation of D.A. Weibring. The first time they met, Sellers took out a notepad and began sketching figures. He had advised the Points family that because they weren't members at the club he worked, he could only meet with them one time. "He sketched a fade, a draw, a hook," and explained what they were," Points said, grinning. "He asked me if I wanted to try to shoot one. I asked, 'Which one? I can shoot all three of those.' "Sellers told my parents, 'OK, I can work regularly with him, I'll come to Peoria." And years later, the teaching pro stood up in D.A. Points' wedding. The birth of D.A. Points' tournament The AJGA reached out to Points eight years ago, seeking to increase its presence in Illinois. Points remembered having to travel to Flint, Michigan, to find an AJGA event as a teenager. He was quickly all in on bringing such an opportunity to central Illinois. "Energy, attitude, preparation, those are all things you can control," Points said as he prepared to address the players. "You can't control if you drive it down the middle of the fairway and it goes in a divot. But you can control how you react to it when you get there. "I said 'absolutely' when they asked if I wanted to do a tournament here. All these players from around the country, around the world, coming to Pekin. And a chance to talk to them, help them." The 60 boys in the 2025 field include players from 16 states, Japan, China, Thailand and Canada. There are boys as young as Evan Hofferkamp, a Class of 2029 player from The Woodlands, Texas, and Tiger YuanJun Liu, a Class of 2029 Chinese citizen based in Canada. The girls side of the field includes 36 players from eight states and Thailand, Canada, China, India and Hong Kong. The youngest in the field include Class of 2029 players Tiara Dhir, a citizen of India playing out of Frisco, Texas; Maya Fujisawa Keuling from Carmel, Indiana; Hailey Li from Los Gatos, California; Amy Tang from Auckland, New Zealand, and Arwen Wang of China. Hometown players Three Peoria area boys and one area girl are in the field: ● Notre Dame High School's Jack Coulter, Class of 2027, finished 21st at state last fall. ● Dunlap High School's Nolan Eccles, Class of 2027, finished seventh at state last fall. ● Pekin High School's Colin Kemp, Class of 2028. ● Dunlap High School's Sydney Hunt, Class of 2027, won medalist honors at the Mid-Illini Conference girls tournament, added a regional individual title and was named Journal Star girls golfing player of the year. Tournament headquarters is in the Pinehurst room of the Clubhouse at Pekin Country Club (310 Country Club Dr, Pekin). The tournament leaderboard and tee times can be found online daily. On Tuesday, Eccles tees at 8:20 a.m., Kemp at 10 a.m., Coulter tees at 10:10 a.m. and Hunt at 12:10 p.m. Pekin Country Club is a par 72, 6,549-yard challenge for the boys, and a par 72, 6,102-yard challenge for the girls. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is Tuesday through Thursday and includes a cut after 36 holes. It's open to boys and girls aged 12 to 19. Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@ Follow him on @icetimecleve.
Boston Globe
25-06-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Four things to know about new Celtics forward Georges Niang
Here are four things to know about Niang: He is productive off the bench When healthy, Porzingis made the Celtics a matchup nightmare in just about every facet of the game due to his length (7-foot-2), post game, rim protection, and ability to sink 3-point shots. Advertisement Niang won't be able to impact a game in the sheer variety of ways that Porzingis could do when he was locked in. But, the veteran could be a dependable piece for Joe Mazzulla off the bench in 2025-26. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Related : Now set to enter his 10th season in the NBA, Niang spent the 2024-25 campaign with the Cavaliers before getting traded to the Hawks as part of the De'Andre Hunter trade. Over 79 games (three starts) between the two teams last season, Niang averaged 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists With Advertisement Niang's style should fit in well Much like Simons, it should come as little surprise why a team like the Celtics would welcome a player like Niang to their roster. The 6-foot-7 forward has built a reputation as an effective 3-point shooter over the course of his career, posting a career 39.9 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. This past season, Niang converted on 40.6 percent of his shots from 3-point range. With Tatum on the mend, a Celtics team starved for offense without its best player on the court could look to make up at least some of the production in the aggregate by adding a pair of sharpshooters to Mazzulla's squad in Niang and Simons. Niang hails from Massachusetts Niang already has plenty of ties to Boston, considering that he was born in Lawrence and grew up in Methuen as a Celtics fan. Before making the jump to the college game at Iowa State, Niang was a force across the New England circuit, staring at the Tilton School while also playing for Boston AAU powerhouse BABC. Related : As part of a Tilton School basketball program that has featured other NBA players like Nerlens Noel and Terance Mann, Niang stands as the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,372 points. During his senior year at Tilton, Niang averaged 25.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game, earning 2012 NEPSAC Class AA Player of the Year honors. He had an interesting encounter with Jaylen Brown during the 2023 playoffs Niang drew the ire of now-Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown while the two faced off during the 2023 Eastern Conference semifinals between Boston and Philadelphia. During Boston's Game 7 win over Philly, Brown was tripped up after Niang – sitting on the Sixers' bench — reached out from his seat and appeared to grab Brown's leg to slow him down at the start of a fast-break sequence. Advertisement Brown turned and yelled at the Sixers' bench after the play, with both Brown and Niang eventually assessed technicals after the sequence was reviewed. 'I think he just thought, like, 'Maybe let me just try to grab him to slow him down a little bit,'' Brown said. 'I don't think Niang's a bad guy or anything. I work out with him in the offseason. I just think he just got caught up in the intensity of the game and made a play and I responded to it. 'I don't know which way I should have responded to it. But if I didn't do anything it probably would have played on. … I don't think Niang was thinking when he did it. I don't think he's a bad guy, just caught up in the emotion of the game.' Niang grabbing Jaylen Brown's leg — Pull up shoot (@NElGHT_) Conor Ryan can be reached at
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Golf roundup: Minnewaska girls in 2nd, NLS boys in 5th at state
Jun. 10—JORDAN — The Minnewaska girls golf team is in second place and the New London-Spicer boys are in 5th after the first round of the state Class AA tournament Tuesday at the Ridges at Sand Creek. Minnewaska shot a 328, putting the Lakers eight strokes behind first-place Detroit Lakes, which has a 320. Advertisement Sophomore Annika DeBoer shot a 76, to put her in fourth place behind Genevieve Birkeland of Pequot Lakes, who recorded a 73. Senior Arivia DeBoer is in seventh place with a 78. On the boys' side, NLS shot a 307. Detroit Lakes shot a 288. Southwest Christian and Blake each shot 299 to tie for second. Detroit Lakes has Brock Burhans in the lead with a 69. Detroit Lakes teammate Tyson Eckhoff shot a 70, as did Charlie Hanson of Morris/Chokio-Alberta and Bennett Scissons of Duluth Marshall. Palmer Dalton had NLS' best round with a 76. Max Truscinski, Reid Kath and Eli Engebretson all shot 77s. Advertisement The girls' final round is scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Ridges of Sand Creek. The final round for the boys begins at noon Wednesday. Willmar's Aden Jacobson is tied for 52nd place with a 78 and the Cardinals' Kennedy Mara is tied for 23rd with an 81 after the first round of the Class AAA tournament at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids. Cretin-Derham Hall's boys are in first place with a 291. Chanhassen is second with a 292. Alexandria and Rosemount are tied for third with 303s. Cretin-Derham Hall's Sam Udovich shot a 66 to take the first-round lead. Minnetonka leads the girls' division with a 305. Alexandria is fourth with a 331. Bella Leonhart of Forest Lake carded a 71 to be the first-round leader. Advertisement The Dawson-Boyd girls have a 10-stroke lead after the first round of the Class A tournament Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker. The Blackjacks shot a 338. Park Christian is second with a 348. Dawson-Boyd senior Lindsey Lund, the defending state champion, is in first place by one stroke after shooting a 78. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City junior Brooke Brekke shot a 79 to move into second place. Lund's round included 12 holes at par and six holes of bogey golf. Brekke had birdies on the third, fifth, sixth and 16th holes. She played six holes at par and six holes at bogey. She got a double-bogey on the eighth hole and a triple-bogey on the ninth. Advertisement Hope Reid, a junior at Community Christian School, is in fourth place with an 83. Dawson-Boyd's Claire Stratmoen, a ninth-grader, is tied for fifth with an 84. In the boys' division, Lac qui Parle Valley is in fifth place with a 334, one stroke behind fourth-place Park Christian. Walker-Hackensack-Akeley leads with a 315, followed closely by Legacy Christian Academy, which shot a 319. The boys' leader is Traeton Nelson of Ashby/Brandon-Evansville, who shot a 72. LQPV's Carson Besonen is tied for fourth place with a 74. The girls tee off at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday in the tournament's final round. The boys start at noon. Dawson-Boyd is defending state Class A girls' champion.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
21 local teams moving on to Section III softball tournament
SYRACUSE, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — Section III softball reached the end of its season on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, the section convened its seeding meeting to see who would continue on the road to a banner. In all, 21 local teams over all six classes will be continuing their seasons for at least one more game. Three local teams also received top seeds in their respective classes after the section's seeding meeting on Wednesday, May 21. The top two classes — Class AAA and AA — each had one local entrant, with 11-2 Whitesboro picking up the top seed in Class AA. Despite six cancelled games across the season, Whitesboro finished winning five of their last six, their only loss coming against fellow top seed New Hartford. Led by junior pitcher Addison Cook and sophomore infielder Emma Zyskowski, Whitesboro racked up four shutouts — all of them double-digit victories. Whitesboro earned a bye into the Class AA semifinals, where they will await the winner of the first round game on Saturday between Central Square and Oswego. In Class AAA, despite a 6-4 record to begin the month of May — which included losses to New Hartford and Fayetteville-Manlius, the Rome Free Academy Black Knights came roaring back into the playoff picture, winning five of their last six games by a combined score of 59-16. Their only loss came to Class AA top seed Whitesboro on Tuesday, May 20 by just one run. RFA is led by junior Haylee Bostwick, who is tied with fellow junior Madison Safin and senior Alexa Thompson in extra-base hits — all of them have seven. The Black Knights will play those same Hornets from Fayetteville-Manlius on Saturday, May 24 at Onondaga Community College. First pitch is set for 1:30 pm. The New Hartford Spartans picked up the top seed in Class A, despite being two and a half games behind 13-3 Camden in the standings. The Spartans did not start too well, however, splitting a Class AA series with Proctor and RFA and finishing 1-2 on a road trip to Myrtle Beach. Nobody has been able to stop New Hartford in the last week of the season, though: the Spartans went 3-0 over their last three games, outscoring Proctor, VVS, and Whitesboro by a combined 41-2. Despite their 5-3 finish to the month of May, the Spartans' 11-6 record was good enough to earn them the top seed in the Class A Tournament. They will face the winner of Central Valley Academy and Homer, which will start at 5 pm on Friday in Ilion. New Hartford's game against the winner is scheduled for 1 pm at Accelerate Sports in Whitesboro. In Class B, the top local seed was Utica-Notre Dame, who are looking to avenge their last-inning loss to Marcellus in the final last season. Led by the Trinkaus sisters — Erin, Ella and Maggie — once again, the Jugglers started out the season with four straight wins, but hit a snag when the calendar turned over to May. Notre Dame went 3-4 at one point of the season before ending with a bang. The Jugglers won three of their last four games, including a 23-6 destruction of the last Class B school to make it in — 16th seeded Holland Patent. The Jugglers only played two games against Class B competition, but weren't playing lightweights either: all the rest of their 15-game season were against Class A opponents and above, and even splitting two games with Class AAA Rome Free Academy and Proctor. The Jugglers' performance this season was good enough to earn them the fourth seed and a possible redemption game against top-seeded Marcellus in the semifinals. First, they will have to play the 13th-seeded Adirondack Wildcats on Friday, May 23. The last time these two teams met will have been three years to the day, with the Jugglers coming out on top, 5-1. In Class C, despite an 11-2 season, the Cooperstown Hawkeyes picked up the highest local seed at number seven. The Hawkeyes tore through the Class C competition this season, even though they only having four games under their belt by May 1. When they hit the field, however, the Hawkeyes hit it hard, not scoring less than three runs in any game this season. Junior Katie Crippen led the way for Cooperstown with a scorching .824 batting average. Crippen also led the team in runs (14) and was second on the team in RBIs (11). She also led the team with 15 stolen bases. No other Cooperstown player had more than five. The Hawkeyes will begin their road to Carrier Park on Friday, May 23 when they host 10th seeded Cincinnatus. First pitch is scheduled for 5 PM at Cooperstown High School. In Class D, the Hamilton Emerald Knights earned the top seed in the class with an impressive 13-2 record. Despite two losses in the middle of the season to Class C's Cooperstown and Sauquoit Valley — both of whom made their respective playoffs, the Knights have bookended those with win streaks of six and seven. Both streaks include a 20-run game (against Waterville and New York Mills, respectively) and at least one shutout of 12 runs or more. The Knights are led by sophomore ace Ellie Freeth, who holds a 2.69 ERA and 150 strikeouts this season while only allowing 47 hits and 32 runs. At the plate, senior Adriana Catania leads the team in both batting average (.444), RBIs (19) and home runs (two). Hamilton's performance has earned them a bye, where they will await the winner of Friday's game between eighth-seeded Oriskany and ninth-seeded LaFargeville. First pitch on Saturday in Hamilton is scheduled for 1 pm. The full schedule for this year's Section III Football Tournaments are listed below (local teams in bold italics, times and dates are subject to change): Class AAA Thursday, May 22#5 Baldwinsville @ #4 Liverpool, 5 pm– Winner will play #1 Cicero-North Syracuse, Saturday, May 24 @ 11 am @ Onondaga CC Saturday, May 24 Finals: Saturday, May 31 @ 2 pm @ Carrier Park — East Field Class AA Saturday, May 24#5 Oswego @ #4 Central Square, 1 pm @ Brewerton Elementary#7 Auburn @ #2 Fulton, 1 pm#6 East Syracuse Minoa @ #3 West Genesee, 1 pm Semifinals: Wednesday, May 28 @ 7 pm @ Carrier Park — East FieldFinals: Saturday, May 31 @ 1:30 pm @ Carrier Park — East Field Class A Friday, May 23#10 Indian River @ #7 Westhill, 5 pm Saturday, May 24#6 South Jefferson @ #3 Jamesville-DeWitt, 1 pm#5 Syracuse CBA @ #4 Chittenango, 1 pm Semifinals: Tuesday, May 27, 4:30 pm @ Carrier Park — East FieldFinals: Friday, May 30, 5 pm @ Carrier Park — East Field Class B Friday, May 23#12 Phoenix @ #5 Lowville, 5 pm#14 Canastota @ #3 General Brown, 5 pm @ Brownville-Glen Park Elementary School Semifinals: Tuesday, May 27 @ 4:30 and 7 pm @ Onondaga Community CollegeFinals: Friday, May 30 @ 5:30 pm @ Carrier Park — East Field Class C Thursday, May 22#17 Bishop Grimes @ #16 Tully, 5 pm– Winner will play @ #1 Sandy Creek, Friday, May 23, 5 pm– Winner will play @ #2 Port Byron, Friday, May 23, 5 pm#19 Bishop Ludden @ #14 Weedsport, 5 pm– Winner will play @ #3 Thousand Islands, Friday, May 23, 5 pmFriday, May 23Bishop Grimes/Tully @ #1 Sandy Creek, 5 pm#13 Fabius-Pompey @ #4 Beaver River, 5 pm#10 Cincinnatus @ #7 Cooperstown, 5 pmBishop Ludden/Weedsport @ #3 Thousand Islands, 5 pm#11 South Lewis @ #6 Cato-Meridian, 5 pm Semifinals: Tuesday, May 27 @ 7 pm @ Carrier Park — East FieldFinals: Saturday, May 31 @ 11:30 am @ Carrier Park — East Field Class D Friday, May 23#10 Belleville-Henderson @ #7 Copenhagen, 5 pm– Winner will play @ #2 McGraw, Saturday, May 24 @ 1 pm Saturday, May 24#5 Alexandria @ #4 Sackets Harbor, 1 pmBelleville-Henderson/Copenhagen @ #2 McGraw, 1 pm Semifinals: Wednesday, May 28 @ 4:30 pm @ Carrier Park — East FieldFinals: Saturday, May 31 @ 11 am @ Carrier Park — East Field Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
3-Class Shootout features double-OT thriller
SALEM, S.D. (KELO) — The 37th Annual 3-Class Shootout high school basketball all-star games were held Saturday at McCook Central/Montrose High School. The boys games were a couple of high-scoring affairs as Class A defeated Class AA 131-128 in double overtime. Dakota Valley's Logan Collette scored 26 points. Fellow Panther Luke Bruns tallied a triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. Tommy Hoffman from Washington led Class AA with 28 points and 12 boards. In the second game, the Class A all-stars topped Class B 122-101. Collette tallied 32 points. Benson Keiffer, of Rapid City Christian, posted 25. Castlewood's Brian Laue had 21 points and 12 boards for Class B. On the girls side, Class AA beat Class A 83-79 to begin the day's action. Washington's Grace Peterson posted 15 points and nine rebounds. Sloane Keszler, from St. Thomas More, led Class A with 13 points and six assists. Class AA then went on to edge Class B 80-79 in the second game. Mya Kochuten, of Spearfish, had 19 points. Colman-Egan's Kaylee Voelker posted 23 points for Class B. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
