Weekly Update – September 12, 2022

Baseball-MLB: Pujols gets #696 and #697 to become #4 all-time. Judge hits #55. Trout hits 7th HR in a row. Dodgers clinch – oh wait nvm.

Football-NCAAF: Big upsets by the Sun Belt. 3 Top 10 teams go down 7 in the Top 25 lose. Georgia takes over #1. Nebraska fires Frost.

Football-NFL: Week 1! Super Bowl champs upset day 1. TB looks as good as ever. Lots of games decided by kicks (FGs, PAT, etc). Week 1 injuries.

Golf: Scheffler is POY. Lowry wins at Wentworth

Olympic Sports: Diamond League Final.

Tennis: US Open attendance breaks records. Swaitek gets 3rd GS. Alcaraz wins men’s and takes #1 ranking.

Baseball:

• Albert Pujols hit #696 to tie ARod on Wednesday and hit #697 to pass him as #4 on the all-time HR career list. #697 was special for another reason, it helped rally the Cardinals past the Pirates, who were trailing 1-2 in the 9^th before his 2-run homer. Pujols is 42 and has 21 games left in what he has said will be his final season. #696 was also against the Pirates and the Cardinals won that game 7-5.

• Sticking with HR news, Yankees Aaron Judge hit #55 on Wednesday against the Twins helping to the 5-4 victory that went to 12 innings.
• Angels Mike Trout got a HR in his 7^th straight game today. He is now one away from the MLB record. The Angels play the Guardians on Tuesday.

• We have some teams who have been eliminated from playoffs: Pirates, Nationals, Tigers and A’s.
  • That also means we have at least one team to clinch playoff berths right? Well the Dodgers thought so when they gave a toast with sparkling wine in the locker room. The MLB cites had it wrong because they claimed they failed to account for one scenario. That scenario would be if the Padres somehow overtake the Dodgers for the NL West title, then the Dodgers would enter into a 3 way tie with the Brewers and Cardinals. That would be bad for the LA team as the Brewers would take the NL Central in that scenario leaving the Dodgers tied with the Cardinals, who beat them head-to-head so they would get the wild card bid. All that to say IF the Dodgers win tonight against the Diamondbacks, then they clinch playoffs.
  • The Astros is the only other team over 90 wins but the American is a much tighter race at the top with the Yankees only 6 wins behind.

Football-NCAA:

Losses in the Top 25
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV	Line	Score
App St	6. Texas A&M	Sat 9/10	2:30 PM	ESPN2	+18	17-14
Marshall	8. Notre Dame	Sat 9/10	1:30 PM	Peacock	+20	26-21
9. Baylor	21. BYU	Sat 9/10	9:15 PM	ESPN	+3.5	20-26 2OT
20. Kentucky	12. Florida	Sat 9/10	6:00 PM	ESPN	+4.5	26-16
24 .Tennessee	17. Pitt	Sat 9/10	2:30 PM	ABC	-6.5	34-27
Washington St	19. Wisconsin	Sat 9/10	2:30 PM	FOX	+17	17-14
25. Houston	Texas Tech	Sat 9/10	3:00 PM	FS1	+3	30-33 2OT

• So last week there weren’t any really big upsets with the exception of Florida… this week that is not the case.
  • #1 Alabama barely squeaked past Texas winning 20-19. Most penalties in Saban era at 15 for 100 yards.
  • If you aren’t impressed by #2 Georgia’s 33-0 win over Samford, that’s because Samford’s HC gave Kirby Smart his first coaching job so he was not going to run up the score. It was 30-0 at half.

• • App St got it done this weekend (after a close call last week to UNC). They beat an offensively stymied #6 Texas A&M. Also App State’s charter plane to take them back home needed maintenance so they were stuck in College Station for the night. Scary to be stuck in enemy territory after a huge upset.
  • The Sun Belt continued to have a scary good day to the detriment to the Top 25. Marshall took the lead with 2 minutes to go in the first half on #8 Notre Dame and never gave it back, winning 26-21. Last time Marshall beat a top 10 team was in 2003 Kansas St.
  • #9 Baylor played a tough game in Provo against #21 BYU. It took until 2OT to get a result but BYU took the game 26-20.

• • #20 Kentucky put a damper on #12 Florida’s hot start beating the Gators at home 26-16 in a battle for the SEC East. This win ties Mark Stoops as the winningest coach in school history.
  • There were 2 ACC/SEC match ups this weekend and the score is 1-1. Although normally known for their offense, #24 Tennessee had a brilliant defensive stand on 4^th down in OT to win over #17 Pitt. #23 Wake Forest got their QB back with Sam Hartman and it showed beating Vanderbilt 45-25.
  • WashU got a much-needed Pac12 victory over the Big 10 #19 Wisconsin at home 17-14. Every year Wisconsin disappoints me.

• • #25 Houston fans need 9 lives because the Cougs lost another game in 2OT. This time to Texas Tech whose fans stormed the field after the win.
  • Iowa State finally beat their in state rivals, Iowa in a sarcastically riveting game 10-7. Iowa had taken the last 6 match ups so this is big! Kansas is 2-0 and technically leading the Big 12 after beating West Virginia in OT. Can this be a new KU team??

• New rankings are out. Alabama loses the top spot after their close call with Texas. Notre Dame is out of the Top 25 for the first time since 9/17/17 which snaps a 80 week streak. Also no coach in the history of Notre Dame football (a long time) has gone 0-3… Texas which lost this weekend jumps into the Top 25. This is not the first time that’s happened either. Mizzou did it back in 1997. Poor Houston is out of the Top 25 after losing another game in OT for the 2^nd week in a row.

• GameDay will be in Boone, NC for the first time ever.

• Nebraska fired their alum and HC Scott Frost. This isn’t too big of a surprise given their recent history but the nail in the coffin was losing to Georgia Southern this weekend (and they were paid $1.4MM to do so). The Cornhuskers were a 3 TD favorite at home during that game. It is a bitter ending for what was a great story as Frost played for Nebraska from 1995-1997, winning a national championship with them in 97. That was the school’s most recent natty. Nebraska went 5-22 in one score games including 7 last year alone. Frost went 16-31. The school was so desperate to get rid of Frost they didn’t even wait until the buyout dropped by half in October; they will pay the full $15MM. Assistant HC Mickey Joseph will act as HC for the rest of the season.

Football – NFL:

• Week 1! The first game was already a surprise with the Bills putting the hammer down on the Super Bowl champs, Rams 31-10. 8 games were decided by a TD or less and so many came down to kicks. Colts and Texans went into OT and ended in a tie after the Colts scored 17 points in the 4Q. Saints also scored 17 points in the 4Q against the Falcons but that included the game winning FG (not a tie). Baker Mayfield faced his former team as his first game as a Panther and it looked like he was going to get revenge. Until the 4Q when the Browns kicked a last second 58 yard FG to take the win for the Browns 26-24. This is the Browns first opening week win in over 14 years. They also scored 17 in the 4^th. The Steelers/Bengals game had so many missed kicks including the Bengals missing their final PAT in regulation to take the game to OT and 2 FGs in OT. Fittingly, it ended with a successful FG by the Steelers. The Eagles scored 24 points in the 2Q and held off the Lions late charge to win 38-35. The Giants win their first game 21-20 under HC Daboll thanks to the Titans missing the game winning FG.

• Brady is back and he looked good winning 19-3 against Dallas. He became the oldest QB to ever start in the NFL. It also helps that Dallas looked terrrrrrible, failing to score a TD. Also looking good, Patrick Mahomes who threw 5 TDs in their route of the Cardinals 44-21.

• Week 1 brought on some injuries:
  • Dallas QB Dak Prescott cannot catch a break on injuries lately. He will be out for 6-8 weeks due to surgery on his hand. He hurt it in the 4^th quarter in last night’s loss to the Bucs 19-3 while throwing a pass and then he hit it on his LB. Originally it was thought to just be a jammed finger before Xrays showed a fracture.
  • Steelers lost Defensive PoY TJ Watt and RB Najee Harris in the same game. Watt went out with a torn pectoral. Harris went out with a foot injury in the 4^th.
  • Eagles DE Derek Barnett and Ravens CB Kyle Fuller are both out for the season with torn ACLs suffered during their first games.
  • Commanders DT Phidarian Mathis tore his left meniscus and is also out for the season.

Golf:

• Scottie Scheffler wins this year’s Jack Nicklaus award aka the Player of the Year trophy. He is the first to win the POY, Rookie of the Year and Korn Ferry Player of the Year award. Off to a killer start of a career.

• The BMW PGA Championship was this weekend at Wentworth on the DP World Tour where LIV Tour players were in attendance with PGA Tour golfers which made for some awkward moments. My personal favorite was Rory McIlroy’s comment that LIV players will get tired since they’re playing a full 72 holes. Play was then shortened to 54 holes after play was suspended for the death of the Queen, the same as a LIV Tour event. Shane Lowry took the title after 38 months without a win; his first win since 2019 Open.

• Team USA has been named early last week for the President’s Cup which starts on the 20^th. Team USA is Scottie Scheffler, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffle, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns, Tony Finau, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Billy Horschel, Cameron Young, Max Homa and Kevin Kisner. If you’re thinking there are some big names missing, then remember LIV players cannot participate.

Olympic Sports:

• The Diamond League concluded this weekend in Zurich at the Finals. If you win, you get $30k and auto bid for Worlds unless your country has the reigning world champ so it’s big.
  • USA Winners: USA Valerie Allman wins the discuss after a disappointing worlds. Joe Kovacs beat WR holder Ryan Crouser with the 3^rd longest shot put of all time. Trayvon Bromell won the 100m running under 10 seconds.
  • IND Neeraj Chopra won India’s first Diamond League Champion trophy in the Jav, winning easily. This redeems himself after Worlds. Also fun fact he has the biggest social media following of any athlete at Worlds or the Diamond League final.
  • Reigning World Champs keep winning:
    • USA: Grant Holloway wins the 110h. Noah Lyles wins the 200m, beating Usain Bolt’s Meet Record with a 19.52.
    • Other countries: BRA dos Santos went undefeated this season in the 400h with the Diamond League final being no exception. SWE Duplantis broke the Meet Record with a clearance of 6.07m in the PV. JAM Shelly Ann Fraser Pryce won her 100m easily recording one of the best 100m seasons in history. JAM Shericka Jackson also took the 200m by over half a second. NGR Amusan cleared the field and set a new Meet Record to go along with her WR in the 100h. VEN Rojas in the TJ beat the UKR for the DL.
  • ITA Steeplechaser Ahmed Abdelwahed has been suspended for an endurance boosting heart medication called meldonium; the same one that Maria Sharapova served a 15 month ban for in 2016. He tested positive after he won silver at the European Championships. Abdelwahed took 14^th in Tokyo.

Tennis:

• This was the most attended US Open with 776k for the 2 weeks. That beats the previous record by 39k.

• • POL and #1 seed Iga Swiatek beat TUN #5 Jabeur in straight sets, although the final set went to 7-6 (5). This is her 3^rd GS overall, 2^nd this year but 1^st US Open. She’s only 21 and is the first woman to capture 2 GSs in the same season since 2016 Angelique Kerber. Jabeur might sound familiar as she was runner-up in Wimbledon as well.

• • Frances Tiafoe was the first black man to make it to the Semis since Arthur Ashe (recognize that name – aka the name of the stadium). He was also the first American to make the Semis in 16 years. However he fell in a marathon match that lasted 5 hours to take the match until 2am to ESP Alcaraz. That’s the latest match ever in US Open history. Tiafoe was the last American standing in both men’s and women’s brackets.

• • In his first GS final, 19 year old ESP Carlos Alcaraz won the whole thing and rose to #1 in the World. He defeated NOR Casper Ruud in 4 sets on Sunday, only dropping the 2^nd set and taking the 3^rd to a tie-breaker. He is the youngest GS winner since Nadal’s French Open in 2005 and the youngest US Open winner since Pete Sampras in 1990. He is also the youngest to ever reach World #1 (rankings were introduced in 1973). Alcaraz did not have an easy route to the championship after going to all 5 sets in 3 rounds (and to 2am end time). Ruud is runner-up again; he was 2^nd to Nadal at the French Open this year as well.
• Also making her Top 10 debut, Coco Gauff at the age of 18; she is the first American teenager to do so since well, you know… Serena in 1999.

What to watch this week

Baseball-MLB:

• Tues 9/13
  • Yankees at Red Sox @ 6:10pm on TBS
    • Cole vs Pivetta
• Wed 9/14
  • Brewers at Cardinals @ 6:45pm on FS1
    • Burnes vs Wainwright
• Thurs 9/15
  • A’s at Astros – or – Pirates at Mets @ 6:20pm on FOX
• Sun 9/18
  • Dodgers at Giants @ 6pm on ESPN
    • Anderson vs Cobb

Football-NCAAF:

Top 25
Week 3
Top 25 Games
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV	Line
6. Oklahoma	Nebraska	Sat 9/17	11:00 AM	FOX
12. BYU	25. Oregon	Sat 9/17	2:30 PM	FOX
22. Penn St	Auburn	Sat 9/17	2:30 PM	CBS
Troy	App St	Sat 9/17	2:30 PM	ESPN+
13. Miami	24. Texas A&M	Sat 9/17	8:00 PM	ESPN
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football – NFL:

• Mon 9/12
  • Broncos at Seahawks @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• Thurs 9/15
  • Chargers at Chiefs @ 7:15pm on Prime
• Sun 9/18
  • 7 games at 12pm on FOX/CBS
    • FOX:
      • Commanders at Lions
      • Buccaneers at Saints
      • Panthers at Giants
    • CBS:
      • Jets at Browns
      • Patriots at Steelers
      • Colts at Jaguars
      • Dolphins at Ravens
  • Falcons at Rams – or – Seahawks at 49ers @ 3:05pm on FOX
  • 3 games @ 3:25pm on CBS
    • Bengals at Cowboys
    • Texans at Broncos
    • Cardinals at Raiders
  • Bears at Packers @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 9/19
  • Titans at Bills @ 6:15pm on ESPN
  • Vikings at Eagles @ 7:30pm on ABC

Golf:

• Thurs 9/15
  • Fortinet Championship – Round 1 @ 5pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 9/16
  • LIV Golf Chicago – Round 1 @ 1pm (ish) on Liv.com or YouTube
  • Fortinet Championship – Round 2 @ 5pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 9/17
  • LIV Golf Chicago – Round 2 @ 1pm (ish) on Liv.com or YouTube
  • Fortinet Championship – Round 3 @ 5pm on Golf Channel
• Sun 9/18
  • LIV Golf Chicago – Final Round @ 1pm (ish) on Liv.com or YouTube
  • Fortinet Championship – Final Round @ 5pm on Golf Channel

Olympic Sports:

• Tues 9/13
  • Beach Volleyball: AVP Pro Chicago Open @ 9pm on FS1

Soccer:

• Tues 9/13
  • NCAAM: NC St vs James Madison @ 7pm on ACC
• Wed 9/14
  • Campeones Cup: NYFC vs Atlas @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
• Thurs 9/15
  • NCAAW: NC St vs High Point @ 5pm on ACC
  • NCAAW: Alabama vs South Carolina @ 6pm on SEC
  • NCAAW: Texas at Texas Southern @ 6pm on LGHN
  • NCAAW: Clemson vs Notre Dame @ 7pm on ACC
• Fri 9/16
  • Premier League: Aston Villa vs Southampton @ 2pm on USA
  • NCAAM: Clemson vs Syracuse @ 6pm on ACC
• Sat 9/17
  • Premier League: Wolves vs Manchester City @ 6:30am on USA
  • German Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke 04 @ 8:30am on ESPN2
  • Premier League: Newcastle United vs Bournemouth @ 9am on USA
• Sun 9/18
  • Premier League: Brentford vs Arsenal @ 8am on USA
  • MLS: Columbus Crew vs Portland Timbers @ 12pm on ESPN
  • NCAAW: Vanderbilt vs LSU @ 12pm on ESPNU
  • NCAAW: Texas vs UCF @ 1pm on LGHN
  • USL Championship: Sacramento Republic FC vs Orange County SC @ 4pm on ESPN2
  • NCAAW: NC St vs Wake Forest @ 6pm on ACC