Baseball – MLB: Giants retire Clark’s #22. Twins and Indians tied in AL Central. Mets 8 game win streak is over. Orioles upset the Astros. Little League World Series Aug 15th – August 24th.
Basketball: Rich Paul Rule for NBA agents.
Football – College: Bama, Duke, Oklahoma players injured. Florida Gator gain a player and lose a player. 12 days until college football season!
Football – NFL: Riddell VSR prohibited. Brady selling his house. New PI reviews in the 1st week of preseason. Steeler’s Drake passes.
Golf: Reed takes the 1st FedEx Cup playoff. Woods pulls out. Merritt ties a record. McIlroy not penalized. PGA is considering penalizing slow players. 2 more tournaments until the season ends.
Olympic Sports: Biles is the GOAT. Mikulak wins 6th US title. US Men’s volleyball to Tokyo. PanAm bowler DQ’d.
Baseball – MLB:
- The Giants will retire Will Clark’s #22 next year. He will be the 2nd number to be retired by the Giants without being in the HoF, Barry Bonds is the other number. Clark was a Gold Glove winner, 5x All-Star and 2nd in NL MVP. He is now an assistant for the team.
- Jake Arrieta will have a discussion with the Phillies about the spur in his elbow in the coming days. He has not made it to the 6th inning in a game since June and has a 5.02 ERA in his last 10 starts.
- The Twins and Indians are now tied for the lead in the AL Central after Carlos Santana hit a grand slam in the 10th inning of Sunday’s game to win 7-3.
- Nationals beat the Mets 7-4 on Sunday to snap the Mets’ 8 game win streak. This was some major redemption after Nationals closer Sean Doolittle blew a 3 run lead in Friday’s game and came back to win on Sunday.
- The Orioles beat the Astros 8-7 on Sunday. Odds of that? The Orioles were +420 underdogs, meaning this upset was one of the biggest in 15 years according to the sportsbooks. The odds fluctuated between -550 favorites to the Astros to -460. They are still the favorites to win the World Series.
- Jessica Mendoza was MIA for Sunday Night Baseball’s broadcast due to a car accident but don’t worry she is alright.
- Because there are no other sports on, here are the winners of each region in the league:
- American League
- East: Yankees
- Central: Twins and Indians tied with 71 wins a piece
- West: Astros
- National League
- East: Braves
- Central: Cubs (Cardinals 3 behind and Brewers 2 behind)
- West: Dodgers
- American League
- The 2019 Little League World Series starts on 8/15. I will not be providing updates until the winner. The international and US titles will be played on Aug 24th. The tournament is double elimination until the international/US championships then it is single elimination. There will be TV times listed in What to Watch.
Basketball:
- The NCAA has instituted new rules for NBA agents called by the general public as the “Rich Paul Rule.” This new rule would make sure agent dealing with NBA players have a bachelor’s degree, NBPA certification for 3 years, professional liability insurance and have to pass an exam at the NCAA offices. Rich Paul is the founder of Klutch Sports and does not have a bachelor’s degree but represents LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Draymond Green and John Wall to name a few.
Football – College:
- Bama RB Trey Sanders is out indefinitely after suffering a foot injury during Thursday’s practice. The true freshman will have surgery coming up.
- Former Georgia OL Brenton Cox caused quite the stir when he left Georgia to go to their arch rival, Florida. He was a 5 star recruit for the bulldogs and will now have to sit out a season unless the NCAA gives him a waiver for immediately eligibility.
- In other Florida news, Florida dismissed DB John Huggins after missing camp for a ‘family issue’. No other details were given. Huggins was accused of choking a fellow student during a tutoring session in October but was punished at the time of the incident, missing 5 games. Coach Mullin says his release has nothing to do with the incident. So we will have to wait and see what happened this time!
- Oklahoma DB Tre Norwood is out for the season after suffering a knee injury in practice on Monday. This is a serious blow for the Sooners who already have problems in their secondary.
- Duke also lost a starting player for the season, WR Jake Bobo fractured his clavicle during practice and has already had surgery. Not a good look for the Blue Devils who start their season against Alabama on Aug 31st!
- For those of you counting down (like me) 12 days until the 1st college football games of the season!!
- 4 teams play on August 24th
- Miami vs Florida @ 6pm on ESPN
- Arizona at Hawaii @ 9:30pm on CBSSN
- For everyone else, season starts Labor Day weekend! Which brings some games on Sunday and Monday!
- 4 teams play on August 24th
Football – NFL:
- The Riddell VSR-4 helmet was prohibited by the NFL this year and some players aren’t happy about it. Antonio Brown (now with the Raiders) said he wont play if he cant wear his old helmet and even Tom Brady has said he doesn’t love any of the new choices. The helmet has been banned to improve player’s safety.
- Tom Brady news continues. He also turned 42 over the weekend. He is also selling his house but he warns that no one should read into that. This follows the renewal of his contract through 2021 with the Patriots.
- In this first week of preseason games, the NFL has reviewed 17 Pass Interference calls and only reversed 2. Remember this review is new this year after last years’ call in response to the Saints in the championship game. As if we could forget that!
- Steelers’ WR coach Darryl Drake suddenly passed away at the age of 62 on Sunday. Training camp has been canceled for Sunday and Monday.
- Preseason games continue and will end on August 29th taking us to the start of college football (yes I know there are 2 games that technically start before August 29th).
Golf:
- Patrick Reed won the first of the FedEx Cup playoff events this weekend at the Northern Trust (NY). This is Patrick Reed’s first win since the Masters in 2018 and moves him into 2nd place for the FedEx Cup (from 50th).
- Tiger Woods pulled out of the first FedEx Cup event after finishing the first round with a 75 (4 over par).
- Troy Merritt tied the coupe record with a 62 during round 1.
- Rory McIlroy moved what he thought was a stone from his bunker shot on the 14th hole but it turned out to be a clump of sand. He was then penalized 2 strokes for the ‘infraction’ which was then reversed. It was ultimately decided by the USGA rules officials that the lie was not improved therefor there should be no penalty.
- This wasn’t the only golf headline over the weekend. Slow play has again been an issue of interest over the weekend as several golfers (Brooks Koepka, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy) have openly criticized golfers who take an excessive amount of time to hit a shot. Bryson DeChambeau came out defending slow play as he is one of the best golfers who plays slowly. This was necessary in many people’s eyes as he took over 2 minutes to hit a putt on the 8th green in the 2nd The PGA has since come out with a statement saying that they’re considering penalizing players for slow play. TBD on how this will work exactly but many players (and fans) think this is a step in the right direction for a sport many casual fans deem is boring.
- Note that there are already penalties in place if you play slow enough and your group gets ‘put on the clock’ meaning that the group will now have 40 seconds to hit each shot once they address the ball.
- The next 2 tournaments are worth 2,000 points each as well as a nice purse of $9.25MM. This will all culminate in the Tour Championship on Aug 22-25, which as everyone remembers Tiger Woods won last year.
Olympic Sports:
- Simone Biles won her 6th All-Around title last night at the US Gymnastic Championships. She landed a triple-double (3 twists and 2 flips) in her floor routine and her dismount (double-double) in her beam routine had never been landed in competition either. Biles won the All-Around by almost 5 full points, something almost unheard-of in the sport of gymnastics where things are usually decided by .25 points. This is Biles’ 20th consecutive title, remaining undefeated since Rio 2016. She also won the vault, balance beam and floor exercise. You have to watch these routines (night 1) and (night 2)! Night 1 she debuted the balance beam dismount. Night 2 is the floor.
- Sticking with gymnastic news, Sam Mikulak won his 6th US title winning the All-Around in the men’s side of the competition. Sam is a two time Olympian but has yet to win a medal. Looks like this is a good start as he won the All-Around by 5 points.
- Gymnastic World Championships will begin on October 4th with selection taking place next month
- The men’s US volleyball team has secured their spot in the Tokyo Olympics after beating the Netherlands in a qualification tournament on Sunday. Currently the US men’s team is ranked #2 in the world and won the Bronze in Rio. This puts the US in both the men and women’s competitions.
- The Puerto Rican men’s doubles gold medalist bowler (yes as in bowling) tested positive for doping, giving the USA the top spot. Jean Perez Faure tested positive for chlorthalidone which is a masking agent. In a statement on Friday, Lima Games organizers said only 1 positive doping test in 1,200 tests completed, however a swimmer, bowler and one other athlete have all been banned from the competition for doping.
What to Watch This Week:
Baseball – MLB:
- Mon 8/12
- Red Sox at Indians @ 6pm on ESPN
- Rodriguez vs Plesac
- Red Sox at Indians @ 6pm on ESPN
- Wed 8/14
- Cubs vs Phillies @ 6pm on ESPN
- Hamels vs Nola
- Cubs vs Phillies @ 6pm on ESPN
- Thurs 8/15 – Little League World Series
- Caribbean vs Australia @ 12pm on ESPN
- NE vs SE @ 2pm on ESPN
- Asia-Pacific vs LatAm @ 4pm on ESPN
- MidWest vs Great Lakes @ 6pm on ESPN
- Fri 8/16 – Little League World Series
- Europe/Africa vs JPN @ 1pm on ESPN
- West vs SW @ 3pm on ESPN
- MEX vs CAN @ 5pm on ESPN
- NW vs Mid-Atlantic @ 7pm on ESPN
- Sat 8/17
- Little League WS @ 12pm on ESPN
- Astros at A’s @ 3:05pm on FS1
- Greinke vs Bassitt
- Little League WS @ 5pm on ESPN
- Brewers at Nationals @ 6:05pm on FS1
- Lyles vs Sanchez
- Sun 8/18
- Little League WS @ 8am on ESPN
- Little League WS @ 10am on ESPN
- Little League WS @ 12pm on ESPN
- Dodgers at Braves @ 12:20pm on TBS
- Kershaw vs Fried
- Cubs at Pirates @ 6pm on ESPN
- Quintana vs Keller
Football – NFL Preseason:
- Thurs 8/15 – Raiders at Cardinals @ 7pm on ESPN
- Fri 8/16 – Bears at Giants @ 6:30pm on NFL
- Sat 8/17
- Browns at Colts @ 3pm on NFL
- Chiefs at Steelers @ 6:30pm on NFL
- Cowboys at Rams @ 9pm on NFL
- Sun 8/18
- Saints at Chargers @ 3pm on CBS
- Seahawks at Vikings @ 7pm on Fox
Golf:
- Thurs 8/15 – BMW Championship – Round 1
- 2-6pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 8/16 – BMW Championship – Round 2
- 2-6pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 8/17 – BMW Championship – Round 3
- 11am – 2pm on Golf Channel
- 2-5pm on NBC
- Sun 8/18 – BMW Championship – Round 4
- 11am – 1pm on Golf Channel
- 1-5pm on NBC
Olympic Sports:
- Sat 8/17 – Beach Volleyball: AVP Tour @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Sun 8/18 – Track & Field: IAAF Diamond League @ 7pm on NCBSN
Soccer:
- Wed 8/14 – Atlanta United vs Club America @ 6:50pm on ESPN2
- Fri 8/16
- Premier League: Arsenal vs Burnley @ 7:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Teams TBA @ 9:55am on NBCSN
- MLS: LA Galaxy vs Seattle Sounders @ 9pm on ESPN2
- Sat 8/17
- Premier League: Sheffield United vs Crystal Palace @ 8:55am on NCBSN
- Premier League: Chelsea vs Leicester City @ 11:25am on NBCSN
- Sun 8/18
- US NWSL: Sky Blue vs Reign @ 12pm on ESPNNEWS
- Premier League: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs ManU @ 2:55pm on NBCSN
- Women’s International Champions Cup Final @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
Tennis:
- Thurs 8/15 – US Open Series Western & Southern Open
- Round of 16 @ 12pm on ESPN2
- Round of 16 @ 8pm on ESPN2
- Round of 16 @ 10pm on ESPN2
- Fri 8/16 – US Open Series Western & Southern Open
- Quarterfinals @ 10am on ESPN2
- Quarterfinals @ 6pm on ESPN2
- Sat 8/17 – US Open Series Western & Southern Open
- Semifinals @ 10am on ESPN2
- Men’s Semifinals @ 5pm on ESPN2
- Sun 8/18 – US Open Series Western & Southern Open
- Women’s Final @ 1pm on ESPN2
- Men’s Final @ 3pm on ESPN2
