Today’s tune is Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift. If you’re wondering why, well let’s check the Taylor Swift Eras Tour Calendar that my mudder gifted me for this past Christmas…
Fellas, this tune came out on her Reputation album in ‘17. She has not yet made her version of Reputation so it’s okay for now to listen to that punkass Scooter Braun’s copy. Although this song peaked at #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on both the Irish/UK charts, Look What You Made Me Do did not make the Week to Week Notes Taylor Top 25 Power Rankings so it is still unranked.
People originally thought the song was a clapback at Kanye & Kim K, until today…
Oh my goodness. Why does Taylor hate me?!? It’s not my fault the paparazzi caught her mesmerized by the Week to Week Notes logo on the red carpet last fall.
Woah, woah, woah, I can explain, if anything it was just by pure chance and luck that Week to Week Notes stumbled into music with sports. People forget, so I gotta remind them, that way back when I would look at stats in Week 7, ‘22, a Top 12 Power Rankings of my favorite Taylor Swift songs nearly doubled my 1-week readership. Anyway, the slogan Sports content for the casual fan always was to include both men and women.
*Deep reflective sigh of embarrassment*
So I was going to keep this a secret but the red underlines under Week to Week Notes were made by Taylor….
Look what she made me do,
Look what she made me do,
Look what she made me do.
Shit…She’s going to be haunting me in my nightmares now.
Jeez… The Reputation Era sure was spooky.
…Okay, well, whatever TF that was it got you to read up to this point…
…Might as well move on to ball…
Around the Association
- The OKC Thunder swept the Pelicans as SGA was the leading scorer in all 4 games with 27.3 ppg. They haven’t played since Monday night and may have to wait a bit until we the winner of…
- The Dallas Mavs and LA Clips. Game 5 turned into a blowout as the Mavs went into LA to take on the Kawhi-less again Clippers. Luka Doncic (33 points) and Kyrie Irving (31) went 21 of 44 from the field. The biggest story of this series is that once again Kawhi Leonoard is out. After playing in both of LA’s Game 2 and 3 losses, Leonard has been ruled out again on Friday night. The Mavs will look to take care of business at home. If this series gets extended later into the weekend then OKC won’t haven’t played a game in over a week.
- Tomorrow will have a breakdown of the Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves 2nd Round matchup. The NBA is still waiting to announce the start time for Game 1 depending on what happens with Dallas vs LA.
- Boston beat the Heat, who were without Jimmy Butler. They will take on the winner of…
- The Cleveland Cavs and Orlando Magic are set for a Friday night Game 6. After going up 2-0 in the series, Cleveland was blown out in Games 3 & 4 down in Disney World. The Cavs won by 1 point in Game 5 on an electric closing block shot by Evan Mobley. Thus far this series, Magic’s young stud, Paolo Banchero has been the best player on the court. Banchero’s 39 points in Game 5 ranks 9th all-time by a player 21 years old or younger in a playoff game. Something to keep in mind for Game 6 down in Disney, the Magic were a much better team as home this year, going 29-12 - good for the 6th best home record in all of the Association.
The Indiana Pacers upset the Milwaukee Bucks in 6 games while the Knicks survived a classic series against the Sixers. During the regular season, the Pacers beat the Knicks 2-1 in their 3 game series. The Knicks and Pacers have a TON of 90s playoff history. Beginning in 1993, these two Eastern Conference teams would 6 times in 8 years. The most famous playoff series between them was in 1994 when in the Eastern Conference Finals, Reggie Miller and Spike Lee would go at. As Spike Lee was jawing at the sharpshooter all game, Miller would score 8 points in 8.9 seconds as the Knicks choked away Game 5. New York would end up winning the 1994 Eastern Conference Finals in 7 games but everybody remembers the Reggie & Spike moment. The Pacers would get revenge on the Knicks in ‘95 and ‘98, before the Knicks again beat Indiana to make the Finals in 1999…only for the Pacers to then beat the Knicks in ‘00 to make the Finals. The main point is, these two teams were a great rival of the 90s. They also more recently played in ‘13, when Melo’s Knicks lost to a young Paul George and Paul Hibbert squad.
Coached by Rick Carlisle, the Indiana Pacers play at the 2nd fastest pace in the NBA. Their 123.3 points per game were the most in the NBA. Defensively, they allowed 120.2, 27th in the NBA. In their series against the Bucks, C Myles Turner led the team in 3-points with 18 makes shooting 47.4%. New York’s bigs were able to do a decent job with Embiid from beyond the arc, Turner does not have the same interior post play as Embiid, but will stretch Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson away from the paint. The Pacers are excellent at creating shots as PG Tyrese Haliburton led the NBA in assists and his combo guard sidekick Andrew Nembahrd can also dish it. Off the bench, the Pacers also have former 1st Round Knick Obi Toppin who provides them energy. Toppin averaged a career-high 10.3 points per game while shooting a career-best 40.3% from beyond the arc. The most dangerous part about this Pacers team is they are young and didn’t really come into the season with too much expectations.
Coached by Tom Thibodeau, New York is back in the 2nd Round for a 2nd straight season for the 1st time since the 90s. The Knicks play at the NBA’s slowest pace, averaging 112.8 points per game - 19th in the NBA. They make up for it with their elite defense as their 108.2 points allowed was good for 2nd in the NBA. Against Philly, Jalen Brunson played like an MVP averaging an incredible 41.8 points per game in Games 3-6. Philly was able to make Brunson’s life very difficult defensively, something that I’m not sure Indiana will do on defense. What the Pacers will counter with is constant putting the pressure on offense. A key matchup in this series will be OG Anunoby against Pascal Siakim. The 2 were former Toronto Raptor teammates so they both know each other’s games quite well. Both players are very lanky defenders, Siakim has more of a traditional post game while Anunoby is a better perimeter defender that can guard the post. With the Greek Freak being out last series, the Pacers may have caught a break and so may have the Knicks. Giannis likely would’ve eaten up the Knicks small lineup and while Indiana is a good team, they’re fairly similar size wise. The contrasting styles of play will dictate who wins this series and in the playoffs, usually defense gets it done.
Prediction: Knicks in 6
Around the League
- The Dallas Stars after going down 2-0 in their series with Vegas have stormed back to take a 3-2 lead in the series. They will face the Golden Knights tonight in Vegas for Game 6. The Knights already played their pulling their goalie hand in Game 5, going with Adin Hill over Logan Thompson, which didn’t work. No official word has been said on who will start in goal in Game 6 for Vegas. For Dallas, 20-year-old Wyatt Johnston has been largely responsible for their comeback within this series. In Game 3, Johnston had 2 goals. In Game 4, he scored 1 and in Game 5 he assisted on 2.
- Dallas and Vegas will be fighting on Friday for a chance to play the Colorado Avalanche in the 2nd Round. The Avalanche took care of business against the Winnipeg Jets, winning 4 straight after losing Game 1. The Jets gave up the least amount of goals this regular season and yet the Avalanche’s offense was too much for the Winnepeg, scoring at least 5 goals in every game of the series. RW Valeri Nichushkin scored 7 goals in the 5 games. The all-time record for goals in a playoff series is 12, which was set by Jari Kurri of the Edmonton Oilers when he played alongside Wayne Gretzky.
- Out West, tonight has another Game 6 between the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators. The Canucks hold a 3-2 series lead over Nashville, however, the Predators just won Game 5 to extend this series another game. After going down 1-0 in the 3rd Period of Game 5, the Predators responded with a Roman Josi wrister to tie it and a Alexandre Carrier would be winning slap shot with 7 minutes left in the 3rd Period.
- The winner of Vancouver vs Nashville will take on the Edmonton Oilers who just handled the LA Kings in 5. Connor McDavid of the Oilers assisted on 11 goals in their opening round, the 6th most in a playoff series in NHL history.
- The Florida Panthers held off the Tampa Bay Lightning in 5 games to start their playoff run. C Carter Verhagehe’s 5 goals were a career high for goals in a playoff series. The Panthers haven’t played since April 29th so will have a few days of rest before taking on the winner of…
- Game 7 featuring the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Mapleleafs. After being down 3-1 in the series, Toronto has won a thriller in OT for Game 5 when Matthew Knies walked it off. The 21-years-old Knies never scored his most clutch goal of his young career. In Game 6, RW William Nylander scored 2 goals in Toronto’s 2-1 victory over Boston. Game 6 ended with tensions high as the boys were ready to brawl as the clock struck zero. The Bruins had a 3-1 series lead last year when they blew it to the Florida Panthers, while the Mapleleafs have lost 4 straight Game 7s in the playoffs, including 3 at the hands of Boston. Game 7 will be played in Boston on Saturday at 8 PM ET, should be a good one.
2nd Round
There is no official word yet on the time, but a Hurricane will be heading to New York to take on the Rangers at the Garden for Game 1 this Sunday. During the regular season, these 2 Metropolitan teams matched up 3 times with New York coming up on top twice. The Rangers and Hurricanes have a bit of recent playoff experience. During the COVID games of ‘20 (which I’m not sure should really count), Carolina beat New York in the Qualifying Round. In ‘22, the Rangers would win this same round of conference semi-finals in a 7 game series. Both teams won every game at home until Game 7 when the Rangers won the decider 6-2.
Carolina handled the Boys Out East in 5 games with C Seth Jarvis leading the damage. In Game 5, Jarvis had a goal and 2 assists, which accounted for 3 of his 7 series points against the Islanders. I’m sure a certain segment of New Yorkers is still going through it with their loss to Carolina so we’ll focus on the Rangers…
Many things went well for New York in their opening round against the Caps. Matt Rempe, who only scored 1 goal all regular season, found the net first in Game 1. They started Games 2 & 3 down a goal early and quickly responded with 2 of their own by the end of each 1st Period. In years past, C Mika Zibanejad was the team’s leading scorer, but in the opening round he finished with a team-high 6 assists. In their 4 games, the Rangers put 109 pucks on net while in the Hurricanes 5, they put 169. That’s about a 5 puck on net per playoff game difference, a bit concerning, but the Rangers have Igor between the posts. Carolina’s Frederik Andersen is a good goalie as well. Andersen missed most of the regular season with a blood-clotting issue but when he was able to return in March he continued his strong season in net. In 17 games this regular, Andersen allowed just 1.84 goals per game. While that is a small sample size, the NHL leader in Net this season allowed just 2.33 goals allowed per game (Pyotr Kocketkov). Luckily for New York’s sake, Igor seems to step up in the playoffs. During the past 3 season, Shesterkin has made 31 starts with 17 wins, a 2.32 goals allowed per game, and has a save percentage over 93%. LGR.
John Byron Nelson was an American golfer known for having the “Greatest Year in Golf.” That would be his 1945 season where he finished with 18 victories, 11 of which came in a row (a record that still stands), and established another record for the lowest scoring average (68.33). To start his 1945 season, Nelson shot 50 consecutive rounds under par. Nelson was exempted from serving in WWII due to his bouts with hemophilia, but in golf, you play the course, and his record for lowest scoring average wouldn’t be broken until Tiger Woods in ‘00 (68.17). Nelson won 5 Major Championships - the 1939 U.S. Open, the 1937 and 1942 Masters, and the 1940 and 1945 PGA Championships.
Golf for “Lord Byron” began at 12 years old while caddying at Glen Garden Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. One of the other caddies at Glen Garden was Ben Hogan, just another golfer considered one of the greatest players in the game's history. In 1927, Nelson beat Hogan for the club caddy record at Glen Garden. Nelson is credited for popularizing the modern golf swing, inventing the double-size umbrella, and was one of the first golfers to change from hickory-shaft wooden clubs to steel. After winning 6 consecutive events in 1946, Nelson shocked the world by retiring from professional golf at 34 years old to live out on his Fairway Ranch. Despite all his success, he lost his fire as touring wore him down, and he developed stomach trouble, which he assumed was from stress.
For more than 50 years, The Byron Nelson Classic has proudly supported the mental health of children and families through its beneficiary, Momentous Institute. 100% of the proceeds from Byron Nelson go directly to providing mental health services, education, and professional training through Momentous Institute. Since 1968, over $185 million has been donated directly to mental health.
“So many people ask me what it’s like having a tournament with my name on it, that I sometimes feel kind of funny about the whole thing. The best way to explain it is just to say that it’s one of the best things that has ever happened to me in all my time in golf… better than winning the Masters or the U.S. Open or even eleven in a row. Because it helps people.” - Byron Nelson (February 4, 1912 – September 26, 2006)
Matt Wallace
Matt Wallace is the leader of the clubhouse after his Thursday round of 8 birds. The 34 year old English golfer won his first career PGA Tour Event at the ‘23 Corales Puntacana Championship. In ‘24, Wallace has missed missed the cut on 5 of the 10 tournaments he has entered. The 63 that Wallace shot on Thursday is a new low round of his PGA career. Just for the craic, the TPC Craig Ranch course record is 11-under 60, which Seung-yul Noh broke last year.
Brad Hopfinger
Brad Hopfinger shot 6 under on Thursday, ending with an eagle on 18. Hopfinger had to battle and carry his own clubs onto his PGA Tour debut. The 35-year-old father to be has a wife who’s due in 7 weeks. When asked about how it feels to realize his PGA dream and about his wife, Sarah, he said “She means the world to me. Oh God, she’s 7 weeks from having our first kid, so we got a lot going on.” To get his first PGA start, Hopfinger had to win a 3-for-2 playoff on Monday’s Qualifier against Quade Cummins and Thomas Rosenmueller where he physically had to carry his own clubs. “My caddie had a flight to Calgary, and I was like, ‘You know, Todd, don’t switch it. Those flights are pretty expensive, don’t worry about it.’ He was gonna help me the front nine and I was just going to huff it the rest. Then we got delayed, so he helped me for like four holes, and I carried the rest. I grew up caddying so it brought back some memories.” This is what sports is all about, awesome underdog story that Week to Week Notes will be rooting for.
Hopfinger is this week’s One of Us of the Week.
Jason Day
Jason Day had a nice day on the links Thursday. The ‘23 Byron Nelson winner is hoping to win the tournament for a 3rd time. Only Tom Watson with 4 and Sam Snead with 3 have more Byron Nelson wins, so Day has a bit of history on the line this weekend. Day has not won a golf tournament since last year at TPC Craig Ranch, but has stayed steady as a Top 25 Rank Golfer with 2 Top 10 finishes in the past year.
Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth and Jason Day are two of the biggest names at the Byron Nelson Classic. Spieth is looking to fine tune his game a bit since missing the cut at The Masters. His only blemish on his scorecard on Thursday was a bogey on the Par 5 on the 5th hole.
Kris Kim
We’ll finish off with another cool sports story for the weekend, Kris Kim is another golfer making his PGA Tour Debut. The 16-year-old was not born when Brad Hopfinger graduated high school. It’s pretty cool that these two get to share their debuts with different backgrounds. Kim’s mother, Ji-Hyun Suh, played on the LPGA Tour in the late 90s so golf runs in the family. The teenager is from Surrey, England, and he went undefeated at the Junior Ryder Cup which help earn him a spot thanks to the CJ Group sponsor exemption. He ended his opening round of professional golf making things look easy, by chipping in an eagle.