Anchor Drop, July 1, 2023: 56 Days to Kickoff

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

We are now 56 days — eight weeks — away from Vanderbilt football’s season opener against Hawaii. 56 for the Commodores is linebacker Alex Brown. The 6’2”, 257-pound senior from San Antonio is in his sixth year in the Vanderbilt football program; during the first five years, he appeared in five games. How many Vanderbilt degrees will he end up with? Will he stay long enough to break Josh Henderson’s record?

In men’s basketball news, former Commodore James Strong, who’s been on the staff for four years, was officially promoted to assistant coach yesterday. This move had been rumored for a while and it’s now official. Strong was previously an assistant coach at Belmont and Furman.

Baseball will play three games at Minute Maid Park — the best ballpark in Major League Baseball (FIGHT ME PATRICK) — next March. The Commodores will play Louisiana, Houston, and Texas.

Parker Noland is going to South Carolina thanks to the new unwritten rule that all of our transfers must stay in the SEC.

Sports on TV

All times Central.

• 12:00 PM: PGA Tour: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Third Round (Golf Channel)
• 1;15 PM: MLB: Yankees at Cardinals (FS1)
• 2:00 PM: PGA Tour: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Third Round (CBS)
• 6:15 PM: MLB: Guardians at Cubs or Dodgers at Royals or Rays at Mariners (FOX)
• 6:30 PM: CONCACAF Gold Cup: Cuba v. Guadeloupe (FS1)
• 8:30 PM: CONCACAF Gold Cup: Guatemala v. Canada (FS1)
• 9:00 PM: MLB: Diamondbacks at Angels or Tigers at Rockies (MLB Network)

Scoreboard

MLB: Cubs 10, Guardians 1 ... Reds 7, Padres 5 ... Nationals 2, Phillies 1 ... Twins 8, Orioles 1 ... Pirates 8, Brewers 7 ... Red Sox 5, Blue Jays 0 ... Giants 5, Mets 4 ... Braves 16, Marlins 4 ... Astros 5, Rangers 3 ... Dodgers 9, Royals 3 ... Rockies 8, Tigers 5 ... Diamondbacks 6, Angels 2 ... A’s 7, White Sox 4 ... Rays 15, Mariners 4.

CONCACAF Gold Cup: Martinique 1-2 Panama ... El Salvador 0-0 Costa Rica.