johnnyrocket - MyTwoCents

Daily sports briefs | English Premiers League recap, Jofra Archer's mishap and the strongest ever PGA Tour field.

WHAT WE LEARNED FROM LAST NIGHT'S EPL ACTION

Liverpool will not break Manchester City's EPL points record - This one sucks as records are there to be broken and Liverpool were on track to have arguably one of the greatest seasons in EPL history ... until the lockdown that is. Liverpool can only achieve a max of 99 points now and will fall short of Manchester City's 100 points set in the 2017/2018 season. With nothing really to play for apart from records, the Reds have really taken their foot off the gas - three wins, two draws and two losses since lockdown is uninspiring - with key players like Virgil van Dijk and Alisson making uncharacteristic errors along the way. Also ... has anybody seen Roberto Firmino?

Manchester City removed their foot off the pedal too - This one is also understandable, with nothing to play for in the league and an FA Cup semi-final v Arsenal just around the corner as well as the Champions League after that, Pep Guardiola and his team can be forgiven for saving energy for those games ahead. Bournemouth gave them a real run at the death last night but sadly for Cherries fans, they probably need a miracle to stay up now. Too little, too late.

Mike Dean and VAR continue to baffle viewers - Yet another bizarre penalty award, this time by Mike Dean (lose the beard dude!) that asleep-at-the-wheel VAR should have, but didn't overturn, costing Wolves their last hope of a Champions League place (it would have been a stretch anyway) in their 1-1 draw at Burnley. That penalty award cost plenty of www.thelongball.net players crucial away points in this season's race for glory.

JOFRA SHOCKER SEES ENGLAND SHORTHANDED FOR 2ND TEST V WINDIES

Having opted to "rest" (should that read drop?) James Anderson and Mark Wood for the crucial second Test, England had a late spanner thrown into the works when Jofra Archer was excluded from the side for a "breach of the team's biosecurity protocols" ... yes that is a THING these days. No doubt details on this breach will emerge at a later stage but England have announced that no player will be added as a replacement, leaving recalled Stuart Broad with a lot on his plate.

MYTWOCENTS VERDICT: Remember the days when Ian Botham and Viv Richards would smoke weed and party all night before Test matches without punishment ... these days a biosecurity breach gets you kicked out. Understandable though in the current climate.

STRONGEST FIELD IN PGA TOUR HISTORY TEES OFF AT MEMORIAL ON THURSDAY

Yep, the Memorial this weekend has the strongest field for a regular event in PGA Tour history according to stats/rankings ... stronger than the last eight Masters events. Helping the cause is five-time Memorial winner Tiger Woods who will be playing in his first competitive event since February.

MYTWOCENTS VERDICT: This will probably be Tiger Woods' first ever competitive round without a gallery so deep you think you are at a rock concert. At least we won't be subjected to the tiresome "get in the hooooole" shout after every shot.