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🔥WNBA Hot Starts
Two teams on a crash course for a Finals rematch
Stomping Ground Sports
June 11, 2025
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Good Morning, Stumpers!
Well, hello there, everyone. It’s Wednesday, and thank god for that. We had a little bit of a lull in the world of sports yesterday, but we’re all the way back. We’ll touch on the WNBA, some NFL news, and even the gluest of glue guys coming at us from Oakmont, the host of this weeks US Open. Enough talk, more Stump!
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The Rundown
🧑🌾 Glue Guys of the 2025 US Open…
🏀 WNBA hot starts leading to potential Finals rematch?
💸 NFL Contract talk leading to some minicamp holdouts
🎵 A new album by one of our favorites = SOTD for everyone!
On This Day
⛳️ It’s U.S. Open Week!
Tournament starts tomorrow but this one has the makings of a great one! Extremely difficult course (Oakmont Country Club in PA). All the big guns will be there and word on the street is that winning score could even be ABOVE PAR! Gritty golf this weekend! The 125th U.S. Open.
On this day in 1950, it was the 50th edition of the tournament. It took place at Merion Golf Club and it was Ben Hogan, who after a bad auto incident 16 months prior, was able to beat Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio in an 18-hole playoff! They called it the “Miracle at Merion”
Today’s Trivia
The last time the U.S. Open took place at Oakmont was 2016. Dustin Johnson came out victorious. How many players finished that tournament with a score under par?Just to show you how tough this course really is! |
Yesterday’s Trivia Answer: C. Sue Bird! Despite being an all-timer, she is not in this small small class! Who could be the next to join?
Glue Guy of the Day
🤝 Oakmont’s Grounds Crew
Glue Guy OTD: The Grounds Crew at Oakmont Country Club
While the golfing world looks to the players at the US Open this week at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, I’m turning my eyes to the grounds crew.
There’s been lots of talk about how hard this course is going to be, and there’s a reason behind this. Henry C Fownes, the founder and designer of the course, built it to be an absolute beast. The grounds crew that the course employs today, is surely doing him justice. We’re not only talking a tough design, we’re talking about the whole shebang.
Lightning fast greens, sloping firm fairways, and roughs that golfers have nightmares about. This year, the rough is taken to the next level. Errant tee shots are sure to balloon even the best in the worlds scores. There’s a whole science behind how they construct the five inch length rough to become the most terrifying section of greenery in the world of golf.
If you want to learn more about the process of the grass, this is a great article: Link Here
The guys and girls who spend hours trying to perfect this golf course to make it as entertaining and challenging as they can, now that’s real dedication. Ensuring the rough is perfect is a year round challenge, especially in a state like Pennsylvania where the snow and weather changes cause grass upkeep to be a real challenge. I hope the golf world, especially on the live broadcasts, take a minute to talk about these people who are working their ass off to try and make this weekend as fun as possible.
Oakmont Country Club Grounds Crew? GLUE!
Yesterday’s Moments
🏀 Liberty Continue Perfect Start
The Stump Short Story: After yesterday win over the Chicago Sky, the New York Liberty continued their hot start to the WNBA season. The Liberty joined the Minnesota Lynx with a perfect 9-0 record. Both starts have been equally impressive, using defense as their key cog to fuel their success. The Liberty and Lynx are ranked first and second, respectively, in opponent points per game. They both are winning by more than 10 points per game, on average. Also tops in the W. They aren’t just winning, they’re winning big.
Why it Matters: These two teams met in the WNBA Finals last season, with the New York Liberty winning the series 3-2 to secure a championship for the big apple. Early on this year, it seems as if the two are on an absolute crash course for a rematch on a big stage once again this year. 9-0 is nothing to raise a banner for, but it shows that these teams aren’t messing around once again this season.
Read More: WNBA Standings
⛺️ Some Back at Camp, Some Still Away
The Stump Short Story: Holdout season is something we hear about these last two months, but right about now is when the little blips start to pop up more and more. Despite not having the contract he wants, James Cook was said to have reported for mandatory minicamps yesterday. A big step after signs were pointing to a possible breakup between him and the Buffalo Bills. On the other hand, Terry McLaurin will not be in attendance for the Commanders and T.J. Watt, similarly, for Pittsburgh as they are both looking for new deals. These are just two of the latest, but we’ll be hearing about this a lot these next few weeks. Just something to talk about I guess.
Why it Matters: At the end of the day, what we don’t see first hand as fans is that it’s all a business. This time of year is what really shows us that.
🔗 Quick Links
Today’s Top Three
🏀 GAME THREE! We’ve got the NBA Finals on today, and for those of you interested, the hardwood will be looking a little bit different!
Thunder @ Pacers (8:30 PM ET on ABC - Series tied 1-1)
⚾️ Notable games on the diamond: Braves @ Brewers (2:10 PM ET), Dodgers @ Padres (4:10 PM ET), Rays @ Red Sox (7:10 PM ET), Nationals @ Mets (7:10 PM ET), Yankees @ Royals (7:40 PM ET)
🏀 We’ve got a three game slate in the W!
Lynx @ Storm (10:00 PM ET), Sparks @ Aces (10:00 PM ET), Wings @ Mercury (10:00 PM ET)
Inject These in Your Veins
Song of the Day Fairview Feeling Caamp 11 new ones means 11 new Song of the Days! We’ll go with this one today! | Quote of the Day “No one in this room needs to hear me say this is one of the biggest changes ever in college sports.” Charlie Baker, President of NCAA Talking about NIL, damn college sports are going to be DIFFERENT. |
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