Brooks Koepka

I wish we could have had more NBA Finals this past weekend, but Sunday still delivered some quality action between the U.S. Open, the fourth cycle of the MLB season and some big NBA offseason news. Let’s dive in to Monday’s Cheat Sheet.

Brooks Koepka wins U.S. Open with record performance

Brooks Koepka

Koekpa thought golf was boring when he first started as a 10-year-old, but things got exciting on Sunday when he won his first major title while tying a U.S. Open record. He finished at 16-under, something only Rory McIlroy had done in the tournament’s history.

Things got awkward, though, when Joe Buck misidentified Koepka’s girlfriend, Jena Sims, as his ex-girlfriend Becky Edwards.

Whoops.

Nolan Arenado hits walk-off homer for the cycle

Nolan Arenado

What a weekend for Arenado. The Rockies third baseman dominated a four-game sweep of the Giants and ended things in dramatic fashion on Sunday. He stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth needing a home run for the cycle and with Colorado down 5-4. He delivered with a three-run bomb.

Mission accomplished.

Top top it off, Arenado’s cycle was the 17th at Coors Field, tying Fenway Park for the record. Even though Fenway has an 83-year head start. This is already the third of the season at Coors Field with Arenado joining the Nationals’ Trea Turner and the Padres’ Wil Myers.

Arenado finished the series going 10-for-20 with one home run, five doubles, a triple and nine RBI. That’s worth getting bloodied-up. At 46-26 and riding a five-game winning streak, it’s looking like the Rockies are in shape to end their six-year streak of losing seasons and possibly win their first-ever division title.

Could Paul George end up with the Cavs?

Paul George
MIAMI, FL – DECEMBER 14: Paul George #13 of the Indiana Pacers looks on during a game against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena on December 14, 2016 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

We got another Woj bomb on Sunday when Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed what many of us assumed: Paul George wants out of Indiana once his contract is up next summer. But there’s more. According to the report, George has also expressed a preference for the Lakers in free agency.

The Pacers know they don’t have the roster to challenge for even a top three spot in the Eastern Conference, so they’re now looking to deal George as a rental, almost like an NBA grad transfer. If the Pacers successfully trade him, he’ll play the final year of his contract wherever he lands and then presumably sign with the Lakers for the 2018-19 season.

Here’s where things get fun. According to Woj, Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard has already engaged several teams in trade talks, and one of those teams is the Cavs. That would be a monster countermove by Cleveland as we look ahead to an inevitable round four of the Cavs-Warriors NBA finals series next spring.

We’ll see what the Pacers will settle for. They turned down a trade deadline offer from the Hawks that included four first-round picks.

It’s still early in trade discussions, but this will be one of the major summer storylines. Between this news and the Sixers-Celtics pick swap, the first weekend of the NBA offseason was quite eventful.

Quick hits

Tim Tebow scoreboard graphic

—Tim Tebow’s opponents in the minors used scoreboard graphics to make fun of him. Not the best weekend for Tebow, as he also threw his bat into the stands.

—Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi dropped 14 points in the first half on Sunday to become the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, passing Tina Thompson’s record of 7,488 points.

—An 18-year-old racer lost two legs in a crash, but he’s already planning on racing again in November.

—With the NHL expansion draft coming up on Wednesday, here are four players that teams surprisingly protected from getting selected by the Vegas Golden Knights.

—After entering critical condition following a knockout on Friday, former UFC fighter Tim Hague passed away on Sunday.

—NBC’s Olympic Channel will launch on July 15.

—Good God, Andrew Benintendi. What a throw.

—A guy forced a Walgreens evacuation by setting his underwear ablaze in the bathroom.

—Elsewhere, a construction shop got destroyed by a fire while the owner was out grabbing coffee with the fire chief.

One last moment of procrastination

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About Jesse Kramer

Jesse is a writer and editor for The Comeback. He has also worked for SI.com and runs The Catch and Shoot, a college basketball website based in Chicago. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow Jesse on Twitter @Jesse_Kramer.