It's the Fourth of July, and around the country, athletes and teams are paying tribute.
After assessing all the contenders, we have to declare John Daly the patriotic winner for this flashy ensemble he sported during his Thursday round at the Greenbrier Classic:
(Steve Helber/AP)
Kudos to you, John . . . even if crazy pants aren't exactly new territory for you. Unfortunately, he's near the bottom of the leaderboard after a 5-over 75 in the first round.
What else caught our eye on this day?
Joey Chestnut makes us all proud nauseous
Yes, the Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest was Thursday, and once again it was our national hero Joey Chestnut taking top honors, breaking his own record by downing 69 dogs in 10 minutes. This is what it looks like to eat hot dogs that fast:
(Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Sonja Thomas — nicknamed "Black Widow", for some reason — won the women's competition with a very respectable 37 devoured dogs.
Military hero gets first-pitch honors in Pittsburgh
On a much more serious note, Sergeant Jeff Cole — who was injured and nearly died in Iraq in 2004 — threw out the ceremonial ball in a heartwarming scene before the Pirates' game against the Philadelphia Phillies:
Brandon Weeden a close second to John Daly
Nice effort, Mr. Weeden:
It'd only be right to post this on this great American holiday!! Happy 4th of July to everyone!! pic.twitter.com/aYsorQB2Iq
— Brandon Weeden (@bweeden3) July 4, 2013
The Nationals had a giant America-shaped American flag
Excellent:
(Mark Tenally/AP)
They also may have had the best uniforms of the day. All teams had special caps, but the Nats took it a step further and changed the lettering on their shirts to have a patriotic theme:
(Evan Habeeb/USA Today Sports Images)
Touché, Toronto
With all the American baseball teams sporting special hats with the American flag design worked into their lettering and celebrating all facets of the holiday, how would the Blue Jays respond? Here is your answer:
(Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
A seamless reflection of the Canadian flag. Respect, Canada.
