Baseball-MLB: HI = LLWS Champs. Harper is back! Cruz hits hardest ball ever. Mantle card breaks records. Mays #24 retired at Mets. MLBPA unionizing minor leaguers. Astros top AL.
Basketball-NBA: Bryant wins lawsuit.
Football-NCAAF: Week 0 results. Starting QBs. Heisman Odds. Saban’s extension. Hooters signs OL. Week 1 is here!
Football-NFL: Preseason is over. Robinson shot in robbery.
Golf: Rory wins 3rd FedEx Cup. TGL – the new LIV? PGA Tour improvements. LIV defectors.
Olympic Sports: KEN cyclist dies in Vermont. Duke volleyball player faces racial slurs during game. Usain Bolt’s pose TM. Chopra wins Diamond League meet.
Tennis: US Open begins today! Serena’s last GS. Nadal goes for 23. Djokovic out.
Baseball:
- If you watched any of the LLWS, you aren’t surprised to learn that Hawaii won the whole thing. It is Hawaii’s 4th LLWS championship title. They beat Curacao in a run rule 13-3 on Sunday; the game started with back-to-back HRs in the first inning and only lasted 4 innings. Hawaii was supposed to be one of the best teams maybe ever to compete in the LLWS. Their closest win margin was 4 runs and they outscored opponents 60-5.
- Phillies Harper is back! He came back on Friday for the series against the Pirates. He had 3 hits (one in each game) in that series with 10 at-bats and 1 run. The Phillies won the first two games 13-4 but lost the 3rd 0-5.
- Pirates rookie, Oneil Cruz, hit 122.4 mph single in their game against the Braves on Wednesday. That is the hardest hit ball ever in the years that this stat has been recorded (7 years), surpassing the previous record by 0.2. While it’s a cool stat, it wasn’t enough to win; the Braves beat the Pirates 14-2.
- 1952 Micky Mantle baseball card went for $12.6MM. This is the record for any piece of sports paraphernalia. The owner bought the card back in 1991 for $50k, that’s 252xs more than he paid.
- The Mets retired Willie Mays #24 despite Mays only playing 2 seasons with the NY team. Those were his final 2 seasons and the Mets made it to the world series with Mays’ help. It’s a long time kept promise: in 1973 when Mays retired, Mets charter owner Joan Payson promised Mays that he would be the last player to wear #24 however Payson died soon after that. 50 years later, the team made good on her promise!
- The MLBPA have made the first step to unionizing minor league players. Compensation for these players are not collectively bargained and usually are in the range of $5,000-$14,000/year. Authorization cards were sent out last night; if 30% of the 5,000 players sign then there would be an election to see if the MLBPA will rep those players in collective bargaining.
- The Astros have taken over the top spot in the American, leading the Yankees by 4 wins now. No change in the National (Dodgers lead Mets).
Basketball:
- Kobe’s widow won her lawsuit and $16MM after the firefighters and LA County deputies shared gruesome photos of Kobe Bryant, their 13 year old daughter and the others in the 2020 plane crash. The jury agreed that the sharing of photos invaded privacy and definitely led to more distress. Vanessa agreed to donate the $16MM to the Mamba & Mambacita Foundation.
- It’s the offseason so how are there injuries? Well some players play abroad, special events, practice, etc.
- Celtics F Danilo Gallinari tore his meniscus while playing for Italy in the FIBA World Cup.
- He’s not the only one; Magic G Garry Harris also tore his meniscus.
- On the more long term end, Thunder F Chet Howard is out for the upcoming season due to a Lisfranc injury to his foot. This was supposed to be his rookie season and now he wont be able to play.
Football-NCAA:
- Week 0: There weren’t a ton of upsets or too exciting games to report. Illinois put away Wyoming 38-6; FSU manhandled Duquesne 47-7. UNC let Florida A&M stick around before closing the door 56-24. Vanderbilt scored 35 points…in the 3Q alone to win 63-10.
- Nebraska vs Northwestern game was in Ireland for the Aer Lingus Classic. It looked to be set up for a great day with all the N’s on cars and free beer thanks for the internet being down. It was a great game with mistakes made and onside kicks. Northwestern got the W in Dublin with a score of 31-28 after Nebraska gave up an 11 point lead.
- If you were confused why the whole town were Nebraska fans… N’s are on novice driver’s cars and it looks exactly like the Nebraska N! Also the rumor coming out of the game was that the stadium lost internet so it was free beer…in Ireland.
- Plenty of starting QBs have been released. I wont cover all of those or it would be this entire blog. However my favorite is Michigan’s announcement.
- Heisman opening odds: Ohio St QB CJ Stroud +200, Alabama QB Bryce Young +430 and USC QB Caleb Williams +700 lead the way.
- Bad news for those of us, non-Alabama fans. Nick Saban got another extension meaning he will be coaching for Bama through 2030 getting paid an average of $11.7MM/yr. Personally I think he will retire before then but still doesn’t bode well for the rest of the country.
- Hooters has signed 51 OL to NIL deals with them. They didn’t do it with individual athletes but with OL groups which included Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma, Miami, Georgia Tech, Mizzou, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, FAU and USF. The players’ obligations are to show up to Hooters locations, social media posts and promote Hooters as game-watching and tailgate spot.
- To get ready for the season and week 1, check out the College Football Preview!
Football – NFL:
- NFL preseason is over. Season starts next week on Thursday with the Bill at Rams at 7:20pm on NBC.
- Commanders RB Brian Robinson was shot several times in his lower extremities in robbery or carjacking attempt. His injuries were not life threatening and he was taken to the hospital immediately. The shooting took place at 6pm Sunday and no word on his return.
- Bills released their rookie Punter due to an alleged rape charge…
Golf:
- Even though Scottie has led the FedEx Cup for the majority of the year, started the tournament 2 shots ahead of the 2nd place and was leading by 6 going into the final round, Rory McIlroy wins for the 3rd time which is a first in PGA Tour history (remember the FedEx Cup has only been in existence for 16 years). The 3rd round had a weather delay and no one benefited more from that than Scottie who was struggling in the 3rd round but came back and shot -4 through the final 6 holes he had to finish. That built him the 6 shot lead but it wasn’t enough. In the final round Rory shot 66 and Scottie shot 73. Rory started the week off with a triple bogey but ends with the FedEx Cup and a paycheck of $18MM, bringing him to the highest amount of prize money ever earned in one season with $26.7MM.
- Move over LIV, TGL is set to debut in early 2024 and it’s backed by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. This will feature 6 3-man teams in 15 regular season matches however it will be half virtual! The format will be 2 hour 18 hole matches on virtual golf simulator before putting on a green (with bunkers of course) in stadium like environment. No word on what stadiums are set but these will take place on Monday nights between Jan – April with each of the teams competing 5xs.
- In addition to the announcement of the TGL, the PGA Tour has vowed to change some things as well to make themselves more competitive with the LIV Tour. 12 tournaments will now offer purses from $15-$20MM. This was an increase from the original 8 announced a couple of months ago and which 4 tournaments have not been specified. Top players are being asked to commit to these 12 elevated events as well as the Players, FedEx Cup playoffs and the majors then 3 regular season tournaments of their choice.
- Another week, more LIV defectors. This time we add Open Champ, Cam Smith, Marc Leishman, Harold Varner III, Joaquin Niemann, Anirban Lahiri and Cameron Tringale (confirmed). These are ‘confirmed by ESPN’ but have not been officially added to the LIV Golf website roster. Tringale confirmed via his social media and he is the highest earning player on the PGA Tour without an outright win. Smith and Niemann were given 2 of the 6 automatic qualifying spots for the International team for the President’s Cup. If they do play in this week or another event, they will not be allowed to participate in the US vs International event at the end of September.
Olympic Sports:
- KEN cyclist Sule Kangangi has died after his crash at a Vermont gravel road race. All the details are he was traveling at high speed before the crash.
- Duke volleyball player, Rachel Richardson, says she was subject to racial slurs during a game against BYU and that the school did not react quickly. The fan was banned from all BYU athletic venues the day after the game. A police officer was placed by the Duke bench after the fan threatened her ‘to watch her back when she goes to the team bus.’ Disgusting!
- Usain Bolt is taking steps to trademark his signature pose with the USPTO. He plans to use the pose on clothing, shoes, restaurants and bars.
- Olympic Champ Neeraj Chopra is the first Indian to ever win a Diamond League event and he did it on his first throw. His javelin went 89.08m on his first throw which was enough to win and get him into the Diamond League Final in Zurich, which was the ultimate goal. If you win the Diamond League (usually by winning the Final), you can solidify your spot at Worlds unless your country has the reigning World champion. India does not in the Javelin.
- Also World Cup teams are dropping their uniforms for the World Cup today!
Tennis:
- The US Open starts today! It’s going to be an awesome week. We already have big headlines with this being Serena’s last GS, ridiculous opening round ticket price hikes, Nadal going for his 23rd and Djokovic not being allowed to play bc he is unvaccinated. Some others missing is Angelique Kerber (pregnancy) and #2 in the world Zverev (ankle injury). Serena and Venus Williams were given the doubles wild card. Reigning champs, Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev are hoping to defend. Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff are also back in action at this tournament.
- Men’s bracket
- Women’s bracket
- Serena will play MON Danka Kovinic in singles and the Williams sisters will play the CZE pair
What to watch this week
Baseball-MLB:
- Sat 9/3
- Twins at White Sox – or – Mariners at Guardians @ 6:15pm on FOX
- Sun 9/4
- Blue Jays at Pirates @ 11:05am on Peacock
- Berrios vs Brubaker
- Padres at Dodgers @ 6pm on ESPN
- Clevinger vs Heaney
- Blue Jays at Pirates @ 11:05am on Peacock
Football-NCAAF:
| Top 25 | |||||
| Week 1 | |||||
| Top 25 Games | |||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Line |
| West Virginia | 17. Pitt | Thurs 9/1 | 6:00 PM | ESPN | +7.5 |
| 11. Oregon | 3. Georgia | Sat 9/3 | 2:30 PM | ABC | +17 |
| 23. Cincinnati | 19. Arkansas | Sat 9/3 | 2:30 PM | ESPN | +6 |
| 7. Utah | Florida | Sat 9/3 | 6:00 PM | ESPN | -3 |
| 5. Notre Dame | 2. Ohio St | Sat 9/3 | 6:30 PM | ABC | +17.5 |
| *GameDay indicated in bold* | |||||
Golf:
- Thurs 9/1
- KF TOUR Championship – Round 1 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 9/2
- LIV TOUR – Round 1 @ 1pm on YouTube and Livgolf.com
- KF TOUR Championship – Round 2 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 9/3
- LIV TOUR – Round 2 @ 1pm on YouTube and Livgolf.com
- KF TOUR Championship – Round 3 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Sun 9/4
- LIV TOUR – Final Round @ 1pm on YouTube and Livgolf.com
- KF TOUR Championship – Final Round @ 3am on Golf Channel
Soccer:
- Tues 8/30
- Premier League: Leicester City vs Manchester City @ 2pm on USA
- Wed 8/31
- MLS: Phili vs Atlanta @ 6pm on FS1
- Sat 9/3
- Premier League: Brentford vs Leeds U @ 9am on USA
- Sun 9/4
- Premier League: Brighton vs Leicester City @ 8am on USA
- Premier League: ManU vs Arsenal @ 10:30am on USA
- NCAAW: UNC vs UCLA @ 11am on ACC
- NCAAW: Mizzou vs Kansas @ 1pm on SEC
- International Friendly: USA vs NIG @ 10pm on FS1
Tennis:
- Mon 8/29
- US Open – Opening Round
- @ 11am on ESPN
- @ 6pm on ESPN
- Serena Williams @ 6pm
- US Open – Opening Round
- Tues 8/30
- US Open – Opening Round
- @ 11am on ESPN
- @ 6pm on ESPN & ESPN2
- US Open – Opening Round
- Wed 8/31
- US Open – 2nd Round
- @ 11am on ESPN
- @ 6pm on ESPN
- US Open – 2nd Round
- Thurs 9/1
- US Open – 2nd Round
- @ 11am on ESPN
- @ 5pm on ESPN2
- @ 6pm on ESPN
- US Open – 2nd Round
- Fri 9/2
- US Open – 3rd Round
- @ 11am on ESPN
- @ 5pm on ESPN2
- @ 6pm on ESPN2
- US Open – 3rd Round
- Sat 9/3
- US Open – 3rd Round
- @ 10am on ESPN2
- @ 6pm on ESPN2
- US Open – 3rd Round
- Sun 9/4
- US Open – Round of 16
- @ 10am on ESPN
- @ 6pm on ESPN2
- US Open – Round of 16
- Mon 9/5
- US Open – Round of 16
- @ 10am on ESPN
- @ 6pm on ESPN2
- US Open – Round of 16
