* Cy Young Award notwithstanding, don’t look for Blake Snell to be the face of the Rays. Not when you come across as arrogantly clueless when it comes to talking about baseball during a pandemic. “I gotta get my money,” said Snell on his snellzilla.com website, when he wasn’t pitching overpriced hoodies. “I’m not playing unless I get mine, okay?” For the record, his pro-rated money–in a truncated season without packed ballparks–would be about $3.5 million or half what a non-COVID season would have yielded. At a time when America–especially its 30 million unemployed, its grocery workers and its underpaid first responders–grapple with a global threat, Snell is all about the Benjamins. He’s spoiled; he’s selfish; he’s no Kevin Kiermaier.
* This just in: According to Caesars Sportsbook, the Saints are favored by 6 1/2 points over the Bucs in the season opener in New Orleans. That has to be unfamiliar territory for Tom Brady.
* Brittany Lincicome, a Seminole High grad and a two-time major winner on the LPGA Tour, made the news cycle recently while her sport was shut down. Her caddie, Missy Pederson, tested positive for COVID-19.
* Rock-climbing is now an Olympic sport. Yes, it’s trendy, but it’s also athletic. But here’s hoping we don’t soon see Cornhole in the Games.