Weekly Update – November 7, 2022

Baseball-MLB: World Series Astros in 6.

Basketball-NBA: Nets fire Nash. Irving back in trouble.

Football-NCAAF: 8 losses in the Top 25 including 2 undefeated teams.

Football-NFL: 8 losses by a TD or less. Brady’s new record. Colts fire HC.

Golf: Henley wins WWT. The Match is set.

Motorsports: New MotoGP World Champion.

Olympic Sports: World Gym meet.

Soccer: MLS Champs.

New segment – Coming up this month:

Ending of the WS (Game 7 was on Sunday), NCAAM season starts today! FIFA world cup (Nov 21-12/8).

Baseball:

• The World Series:
  • Game 3 was postponed originally and we went to Phili. And that game went to the Phillies. They shutout the Astros 7-0 and tied the WS record of 5 HRs in a single game. Consider the momentum shifted. Phillies up in the series 2-1.

• • Game 4 felt like a must win for the Astros. It was scoreless til the 5^th when the Houston team had a WS record 5 runs in a single inning. The Astros won 5-0 and managed only the 2^nd no-hitter in a WS game ever (last was 1956 by one pitcher). This was a combined team pitching effort aka combined no-hitter. Series even 2-2. And we know were heading back to Houston.
  • Game 5 was on Thursday with the Eagles playing the Texans on the same night. This was the final game at home with the Phillies. It was a close one. Astros struck early scoring a run in the first inning on the night that was supposed to be a pitching battle with Syndergaard and Verlander on the mound. The Phillies Kyle Schwarber only needed 1 pitch before slamming a HR to tie the game. Pena answered with a HR for the Astros in the 4^th to go up 2-1. Then Altuve scored in the 8^th inning to give the Astros the 3-1 lead. Thank god they did too because the Phillies were setting up a rally in the 8^th, scoring a run on P Montero. And Chas McCormick’s amazing catch in the 9^th saved the Astros from a tied game. Astros lead the series 3-2 going home to Houston.

• • Game 6 was back in Houston and the Astros could settle this all at home. We were scoreless until the 6^th Starting P Valdez was still pitching for Houston when Kyle Schwarber HR’d to put the visiting team up 1-0. But the Houston team immediately answered. In the same inning that started with a pitching hitting the batter, Altuve and Pena got on base with 1 out. Before Alvarez came up the plate and put it all away. His HR went 450 feet and brought the score to 3-1. The Astros tacked one more on there for good measure but it didn’t matter. The Phillies never came back and the Astros are your World Series champions. This is the first home team to win since 2013 and Pena is the first position player rookie to win WS MVP.

Basketball:

• Nets fired HC Steve Nash after starting the year 2-5. Nash was only there for 2.5 years. Surprisingly the leading name to succeed Nash is the Celtics suspended coach, Ime Udoka. This firing is totally not in way way related to the next story… Not.
• The Nets finally suspended Kyrie Irving on Thursday for ‘at least’ 5 games due to posting his anti-Semitic video but pretty much because he did not apologizing for it.

Football-NCAA:

• Week 10
  • It was the weekend of the big showdown between #1 CFP Tennessee and (#1 AP) #3 Georgia. Tennessee was going to lean on its offense and it’s Heisman candidate QB while Georgia was going to lean on it’s defense. Ga had allowed only 4 TDs this season. Tn averaged 50 points a game. It took until the 4Q before the Vols scored their first TD. Georgia won this match up and the game 27-13. They were leading 24-6 at half.
  • #2 Ohio St had trouble with the wind in Evanston and tied with NW at half 7-7. The Buckeyes pulled it out in the end 21-7.

• • #4 Clemson had no ranked opponents left on the schedule basically one last test to stay undefeated going to Notre Dame who has struggled this year. And man the fighting Irish crushed Dabo’s team. Clemson didn’t score until 10m left in the game after being down 28-0. Clemson lost 14-35.
  • #5 Michigan played with its food against Rutgers, trailing 17-14 at half. But the Wolverines scored 28 points in the 3^rd and won handily.

• • #6 Alabama played at #10 LSU in a battle for the sec west and the tigers came out to play. No crazy turnovers no crazy amount of penalties, lsu simply played well and beat the Tide. There were 8 lead changes and it did go to OT and LSU went for the W and 2 point conversion rather than an extra point and the call paid off! LSU upsets the Tide by 1 and Saban’s CFP hopes end in Death Valley.
  • #7 TCU had yet another comeback win this time against the Texas Tech.
  • #24 Texas came out swinging scoring 31 points in the 1H. But we’ve seen them blow a lead before. #13 Kansas State tried to make a comeback with their starting QB back but feel a TD shy. Texas wins.
  • Despite 8 players being suspended, the Spartans had a great comeback week beating #16 Illinois 23-15. Pretty bad loss for the Illini being a 16 point favorite.
  • The wheels are coming off for #18 Oklahoma State. After getting shut out last week, you wondered if they could bounce back or they would come out defeated. Well they lost again this week 16-37 to the Jayhawks whose starting QB is still out.

• • #20 Syracuse was without their starter star QB and it made all the difference. They got 2 interceptions and still lost to Pitt by 10.
  • #21 wake forest played #22 NC St and even though 3 turnovers is better than last week’s 8, wake loses again due to turnovers. NC St wins 30-21.
  • #23 Oregon St was newly ranked but lost to unranked Washington after the Huskies scored 10 points in the final Q. Now the Huskies might be ranked.

• • SMU/Houston game set the record for most points in a FBS regular season game with 140 points final score of 77-63. 16 TD passes also the highest in NCAA history. It was 56-35 at half!
• Gonzaga is looking at potentially joining the Big 12. But not all the coaches are convinced that Gonzaga will maintain its success in the basketball power conference. And for those ACC loyalists, the last 2 national champions are from the Big 12 so sue me.

Football – NFL:

• Week 9:
  • 8 games were within a score, which is a lot considering 6 teams were on a bye. The Eagles had an easy test with the Texans on TNF winning 29-17. The Chargers kicked a game winning FG to beat the Falcons after a crazy play that seemed to have 2 fumbles but it was called down. The Dolphins scored 14 points in 2Q & 3Q to go up over the Bears to win by 3.

• • Joe Mixon had a DAY against the 2-7 Panthers. The Bengals put up 28 points in the 2Q and Mixon personally had 5 TDs. The Packers must be evaluating their life choices after losing 15-9 against the Lions this weekend. They go to Dallas next.

• • The Patriots sacked Colts QB Sam Ehlinger 9xs to get their win 26-3. The Jets/Bills game went back and forth before the Jets held off a 4^th & 21 hail mary. The Vikings scored 13 points in the final Q to keep their 7-1 record in tact, beating the Commanders by 3. The Seahawks have bounced back from the beginning of the season, beating the Cardinals this weekend by 10. The Chiefs beat the Titans in OT after scoring 8 points to tie the game. Tom Brady adds a W and another record to his name. This time it’s 100,000 yards in his career. He also scored the game winning TD in the final minute of the game.

• The Colts have fired their HC Frank Reich in his 5^th year with the team. The Colts are 3-5 so far this season. Overall his record with the team was 40-33-1. Really it was the final loss of the year last year that probably hurt him the most. They lost to the 3-14 Jags by double digits and made the team miss playoffs. Jeff Saturday has been named interim even though he is just an analyst right now. He played Center for 13 seasons for the Indy team.

• Standings after week 9 since were a little over half way through the season. The Eagles lead the league being the only undefeated team left 8-0. The Vikings, also in the NFC, are the next highest with a 7-1 record. Then we have 6 teams at 6 wins split between the AFC and NFC. The Texans remain the only team with a single win.

Golf:

• Russell Henley was 6 shots ahead of anyone else heading into the final round on Sunday at Mayakoba and he held onto 4 of those, only making 2 bogeys all tournament. This was Henley’s 4^th PGA Tour win but his first in 5 years. His -23 score ties the tournament record, which makes sense as he didn’t make a bogey until the final round.

• The 7^th edition of the Match will be played on Dec 10^th with teams of Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy vs besties Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. The Match tees off at 6pm for the 12-hole competition and will raise money for Hurricane Ian relief.

Hockey:

• Alex Ovechkin scored his 787^th goal with the same team, a new NHL record. He tied the HoF Gordie Howe’s record on Thursday against the Red Wings before surpassing it against the Coyotes on Saturday.

Motorsports:

• The MotoGP season has ended in Valencia over the weekend. And after a tight comeback season, Ducati won the world championship with #63 Pecco Bagnaia. This is the first for Ducati in 15 years; that’s 5,534 days between victories for the manufacturer since Casey Stoner. Also in a storybook ending, the final race was won by Alex Rins who rides a Suzuki and this was the final MotoGP race that Suzuki will ever race as they are exiting the league.

Olympic Sports:

• World Gymnastics meet is over and it was a great competition.
  • On the women’s side: Team USA won the 6^th consecutive World title, which has never been done before. BRA Rebecca Andrade became the first woman from South America to win the All Around World title. She beat USA Shilese Jones by 1.5 points. Host GBR got a gold in the floor with Jessica Gadirova who beat her twin and the Americans Chiles and Carey (silver and bronze). Jones won silver in the All Around and Uneven Bars. It was a battle of the Americans on the vault with Carey edging out Chiles for gold. The USA only didn’t have a woman on the podium for the Balance Beam (JPN, CAN, JPN).

• • On the men’s side: USA Brody Malone took home Team USA’s first high bar medal at worlds since 1979 after beating JPN Daiki Hashimoto, the world and Olympic all-around champ. Malone’s score of 14.8 was enough to edge out Hashimoto by .1. That was the only event that the American men finished on the podium.

Soccer:

• After the entire MLS season, the Championship between LAFC and Philadelphia United comes down to penalty kicks. End of regulation (plus an additional 8 minutes) ended with the score 2-2. Then after Extra Time (30 minutes) no change in score but with the additional 11 minutes, Phili scored with 7m left so you think that’s it. Nope. LA scored 4m later to even it back up at the end of ET. And now we move onto penalty kicks. And LAFC dominated those scoring 3 to Phili’s 0. Credit to LAFC’s goalie who saved 2 in PKs. This is LAFC’s first MLS title.

What to watch this week

Basketball – NBA:

• Wed 11/9
  • Knicks at Nets @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Lakers at Clippers @ 9pm on ESPN
• Fri 11/4
  • Timberwolves at Grizzlies @ 8:30pm on ESPN

Basketball – NCAA:

• Mon 11/7
  • Howard at 4. Kentucky @ 5:30pm on SEC
  • Purdue Fort Wayne at 22. Michigan @ 5:30pm on BTN
  • Jacksonville vs 7. Duke @ 6pm on ACC
  • Tennessee Tech at 11. Tennessee @ 6pm on SEC
  • ND St at 10. Arkansas @ 7pm on SEC
  • George Mason at 15. Auburn @ 7pm on SEC
  • Longwood at 20. Alabama @ 7:30pm on SEC
  • UNC Wilmington at 1. UNC @ 8pm on ACC
  • UTEP at 12. Texas @ 8pmon LGHN
  • NC Central at 18. UVA @ 8pm on ACC
  • Eastern Illinois at 23. Illinois @ 8pm on ESPNU
• Thurs 11/10
  • Bethune-Cookman at 13. Indiana @ 7:30pm on BTN
  • Houston Christian at 12. Texas @ 8pm on LGHN
• Fri 11/11
  • Houston at Saint Joseph’s @ 5pm on CBSSN
  • Michigan St at 2. Gonzaga @ 5:30pm on ESPN
  • South Carolina Upstate at 7. Duke @ 5:30pm on ACC
  • Charleston at 1. UNC @ 6pm on ACC
  • Duquesne at 4. Kentucky @ 6pm on SEC
  • Fordham at 10. Arkansas @ 7pm on SEC
  • South Florida at 15. Auburn @ 7pm on SEC
  • Liberty at 20. Alabama @ 7pm on SEC
  • Monmouth at 18. UVA @ 8pm on ACC
  • Eastern Michigan at 22. Michigan @ 8pm on ESPNU
  • Kansas City at 23. Illinois @ 8pm on BTN
• Sun 11/13
  • Colorado at 11. Tennessee @ 1pm on ESPN

Football-NCAAF:

Top 25
Week 11
Top 25 Games
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV
10. Alabama	11. Ole Miss	Sat 11/12	2:30 PM	CBS
22. UCF	16. Tulane	Sat 11/12	2:30 PM	ESPN2
24. Washington	6. Oregon	Sat 11/12	6:00 PM	FOX
4. TCU	18. Texas	Sat 11/12	6:30 PM	ABC
15. UNC	Wake Forest	Sat 11/12	6:30 PM	ESPN2
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football – NFL:

• Mon 11/7
  • Ravens at Saints @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• Thurs 11/10
  • Falcons at Panthers @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sun 11/13
  • Seahawks at Buccaneers @ 8:30am on NFL (in Munich)
  • 7 games at 12pm on FOX/CBS
    • FOX:
      • Vikings at Bills
      • Lions at Bears
      • Saints at Steelers
    • CBS:
      • Broncos at Titans
      • Jaguars at Chiefs
      • Browns at Dolphins
      • Texans at Giants
  • Colts at Raiders @ 3:05pm on CBS
  • Cowboys at Packers – or – Cardinals at Rams @ 3:25pm on FOX
  • Chargers at 49ers @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 11/14
  • Commanders at Eagles @ 7:15pm on ESPN

Golf:

• Thurs 11/10
  • Cadence Bank Houston Open – Round 1 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 11/11
  • Cadence Bank Houston Open – Round 2 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 11/12
  • Cadence Bank Houston Open – Round 3 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
• Sun 11/13
  • Cadence Bank Houston Open – Final Round @ 12pm on Golf Channel

Hockey:

• Tues 11/8
  • Oilers at Lightning @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Predators at Kraken @ 9pm on ESPN
  • Wild at Kings @ 9:30pm on hulu
• Wed 11/9
  • Penguins at Capitals @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Wild at Ducks @ 9pm on TNT
• Thurs 11/10
  • Golden Knights at Sabres @ 6pm on hulu
  • Blackhawks at Kings @ 9:30pm on hulu
• Fri 11/11
  • Wild at Kraken @ 9pm on hulu
• Sun 11/13
  • Capitals at Lightning @ 6pm on ESPN

Motorsports:

• Sun 11/13
  • F1: Brazilian GP @ 12pm on ESPN

Soccer:

• Tues 11/8
  • German Bundesliga: Bayern Munich vs Werder Bremen @ 1:30pm on ESPN2
• Wed 11/9
  • English Carabao Cup: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs LeedsU @ 1:45pm on ESPN2
  • NCAAM: Syracuse vs UVA @ 4pm on ACC
  • NCAAM: Wake Forest vs Clemson @ 6pm on ACC
• Thurs 11/10
  • Women’s International Friendly: USA vs GER @ 6pm on FS1
• Fri 11/11
  • Women’s International Friendly: USA vs GER @ 4pm on ESPN
  • USL Championship: San Antonio FC Vs Louisville City FC @ 7:30pm on ESPN2
• Sat 11/12
  • Premier League: Liverpool vs Southampton @ 9am on USA
  • Premier League: Wolves vs Arsenal @ 1:45pm on USA
• Sun 11/13
  • Premier League: Brighton vs Aston Villa @ 8am on USA
  • Premier League: Fulham vs ManU @ 10:30am on USA