Weekly Update – Week of August 17, 2020 (COVID Week 23)

Baseball: 2 CLE Indian Ps cause rift. Reds postpone games. LeMahieu IL. Cardinals Ramirez worst debut.

Basketball: Playoffs start this week!

Football: Pac 12 and Big 10 postpone football. NFL Washington hires new prez. Dez Bryant practicing with Ravens. Hurd is hurt.

Golf: Playoffs start this week! Herman wins Wyndham.

Olympic Sports: WWE attempted kidnapped. New Men’s 5k WR! AUS Olympic team = no protests. RUS pays fine. Cyclist crashes. Paris marathon and World Cycling Championships cancelled.

Baseball:

• 2 Indian pitchers, Mike Clevinger and Zach Plesac, knowingly and purposely left the team hotel to go out in Chicago. This has severely divided the team as one player has already said he would opt out the rest of the season if they were allowed back on the active roster. It doesn’t help that the team pitching rotation has the league’s best ERA. Their fellow players on the team think it is the breach of trust that’s the worst and how they handled coming back (one got caught and the other lied and got on the team plane). That included putting fellow pitcher, Carrasco, in danger as he was treated for leukemia last year. Of the culprits, Clevinger might have the most to complain about however because (due to very complicated rules that I wont bore you with) the team could potentially delay his free agency by a year if he is kept off the active roster for the full 20 days he is supposed to.
• The league is having trouble with containing COVID after the Reds were the 3^rd team to postpone their games. This was after the Marlins and the Cardinals which had 1 test spread to a lot of the team.
• The Yankees added DJ LeMahieu to the IL to join Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton as big hitters missing games. LeMahieu went out for a thumb sprain. But much to the Red Sox chagrin, the Yankees still swept them anyway.
• Someone else who had a bad weekend? Cardinals P Roel Ramirez who gave up 4 consecutive HRs in his MLB debut… This is a MLB record now.

Basketball:

• Its playoff week! And for once, there doesn’t seem to be a clear favorite. The Lakers’ struggle was real in the bubble which opened up the field.
• The Phili 76ers and the NJ Devils (NHL) are pledging $20MM over the next 5 yrs to fighting inequality in the cities where their teams live and work (most notably Phili, Camden and Newark).

Football:

• Pac 12 and Big 10 have postponed all fall sports including their football seasons! Oh ya and the MAC.
  • The Pac 12 unanimously voted to postpone their season. Oh and that’s all sports through the end of the year, which includes another bball season. While the Big 10 was not so united.
  • Ohio St QB Justin Fields is starting a petition to get that changed (it already has 223k signatures as of 10am this morning). Parents of student athletes in those conferences are also weighing in with their outrage. Timing does seem odd as students aren’t even back on campus yet. And the Big 10 announced their schedule 6 days before canceling the season.
  • Are the other conferences following suit? No! The SEC and ACC came out immediately saying they will push forward (as long as it still makes sense safety wise) and then everyone looked to the Big 12 for the swing vote. The Big 12 announced their schedule on Wednesday. Good job guys 😊

• Washington (formerly Redskins) have hired Jason Wright as their new team president. He is the first Black team president in league history. He is a former player, applying 7 years in the league (retiring in 2010) and getting drafted out of Northwestern. Wright will solely focus on the business side of the team while HC Ron Rivera will handle all football aspects.

• Dez Bryant, who is a free agent, is expected to work out with the Ravens this week!
• 49ers RB Jalen Hurd has a MRI scheduled today on what looks like a possible ACL tear.

Golf:

• Golf playoffs also begin this week! It starts with the Northern Trust then the BMW and the Tour Championships. Gte ready for some great golf!
• Jim Herman won his 3rd victory on the PGA Tour this weekend at the Wyndham Championship. His final score was 21 under after a 7 under final round to win by 1 stroke over Billy Horschel. Ironically all 3 wins have been after he played golf with President Trump – guess the President is his good luck charm.

Olympic Sports:

• WWE star Sonya Deville experienced a harrowing event on Sunday after a man was arrested for alleged armed kidnapping, burglary and aggravated stalking. The man, Phillip Thomas, had never met the WWE star, just stalked her on social media for years. He broke into her home using a sliding glass door with a knife, plastic zip ties, duct tape, mace and ‘other personal items.’ The freak has been arrested and no one was harmed.
• UGA runner, Joshua Cheptegi, broke the 16 year old men’s 5k record on Friday with a time of 12:35.36, 1.99 seconds inside the WR from 2004. His 5k time was a 22 second PR.
• AUS Olympic team is showing some spunk and unity with over 80% of Olympians saying there should be NO protests at the Olympic Games. Don’t agree? Keep in mind that the other man in the photo with the black Americans during the 1968 medal podium was Australian and he was not treated well for what happened. The AOC athletes have said that they believe it detracts from athletic performances when there are protests.
• RUS has finally paid their $6.3MM fine to World Athletics to keep from getting expelled. This was for the RusAF covering up and giving athletes an alibi for missing drug tests.
• Cyclist favorite to win the Giro di Lombardia, Remco Evenepoel, crashed into a ravine during the race but was alive and conscious. Get better soon! Fellow cyclist Fabio Jakobsen has since been moved back home to NED after his harrowing crash in the Tour of Poland.
• World Cycling Championships have been cancelled. They were supposed to take place in SUI in Sept. The Paris Marathon has also been cancelled due to rescheduling issues and travel restrictions.
• ICYMI: the #GotMilk challenge brought to you by Katie Ledecky

What to Watch this Week

Baseball:

• Mon 8/17
  • Padres at Rangers @ 8:05pm on FS1
    • Davies vs Lyles
• Tues 8/18
  • Giants at Angels @ 3pm on ESPN
    • Cahill vs Bundy
  • Rays at Yankees @ 6pm on ESPN
    • Snell at Tanaka
  • Cardinals at Cubs @ 7:15pm on FS1
    • De Leon vs Darvish
• Wed 8/19
  • Nationals at Braves @ 6pm on ESPN
    • Fedde vs Wright
  • Angels at Giants @ 8:45pm on ESPN
    • Sandoval vs Cueto
• Thurs 8/20
  • Tigers at White Sox @ 1pm on ESPN2
    • Turnbull vs Giolito
  • Brewers at Twins @ 6:10pm on FS1
    • Woodruff vs Berrios
• Fri 8/21
  • Yankees at Mets @ 6pm on ESPN
    • Happ vs Porcello
  • Diamondback at Giants @ 8:45pm on FS1
    • Ray vs Webb
• Sat 8/22
  • Brewers at Pirates @ 3:05pm on FS1
    • Lindblom vs Holland
  • Twins at Royals @ 6:05pm on FS1
    • Dobnak vs Singer
• Sun 8/23

• • Yankees at Mets @ 12:10pm on TBS
    • Tanaka vs Peterson
  • Astros at Padres @ 3pm on ESON
    • Greinke vs Paddack
  • Phillies at Braves @ 6pm on ESPN
    • Efrin vs Toussaint

Basketball:

• Mon 8/17 – Game 1
  • West Round 1: Jazz at Nuggets @ 12:30pm on ESPN
  • East Round 1: Nets at Raptors @ 3pm on ESPN
  • East Round 1: 76ers at Celtics @ 5:30pm on ESPN
  • West Round 1: Mavericks at Clippers @ 8pm on ESPN
• Tues 8/18 – Game 1
  • East Round 1: Magic at Bucks @ 12:30pm on TNT
  • East Round 1: Heat at Pacers @ 3pm on TNT
  • West Round 1: Thunder at Rockets @ 5:30pm on TNT
  • West Round 1: Trail Blazers at Lakers @ 8pm on TNT
• Wed 8/19 – Game 2
  • East Round 1: Nets at Raptors @ 12:30pm on NBATV
  • West Round 1: Jazz at Nuggets @ 3pm on TNT
  • East Round 1: 76ers at Celtics @ 5:30pm on TNT
  • West Round 1: Mavericks at Clippers @ 8pm on TNT
• Thurs 8/20 – Game 2
  • East Round 1: Heat at Pacers @ 12pm on ESPN
  • West Round 1: Thunder at Rockets @ 2:30pm on ESPN
  • East Round 1: Magic at Bucks @ 5pm on ESPN
  • West Round 1: Trail Blazers at Lakers @ 8pm on ESPN
• Fri 8/21 – Game 3
  • East Round 1: Raptor at Nets @ 12:30pm
  • West Round 1: Nuggets at Jazz @ 3pm on TNT
  • East Round 1: Celtics at 76ers @ 5:30pm on TNT
  • West Round 1: Clippers at Mavericks @ 8pm on TNT
• Sat 8/22 – Game 3
  • East Round 1: Bucks at Magic @ 12pm on TNT
  • East Round 1: Pacers at Heat @ 2:30pm on TNT
  • West Round 1: Rockets at Thunder @ 5pm on ESPN
  • West Round 1: Lakers at Trail Blazers @ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 8/23 – Game 4
  • East Round 1: Celtic at 76ers @ 12pm on ABC
  • West Round 1: Clippers at Mavericks @ 2:30pm on ABC
  • East Round 1: Raptors at Nets @ 5:30pm on TNT
  • West Round 1: Nuggets at Jazz @ 8pm on TNT

Golf:

• Thurs 8/20 – Northern Trust – Round 1 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 8/21 – Northern Trust – Round 2 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 8/22 – Northern Trust – Round 3
  • 12pm on Golf Channel
  • 2pm on CBS
• Sun 8/23 – Northern Trust – Round 4
  • 11:30am on ESPN
  • 1:30pm on CBS

Hockey:

• Mon 8/17 – Game 4
  • Lightening at Blue jackets @ 2pm on NBCSN
    • TB leads 2-1
  • Avalanche at Coyotes @ 4:30pm on NBCSN
    • COL leads 2-1
  • Bruins at Hurricanes @ 7pm on NBCSN
    • BOS leads 2-1
  • Blues at Canucks @ 9:30pm on NBCSN
    • VAN leads 2-1
• Tues 8/18
  • Game 4: Flyers at Canadiens @ 2pm on NBCSN
    • PHI leads 2-1
  • Game 5: Flames at Stars @ 4:30pm on NBCSN
    • Tied 2-2
  • Game 4: Capitals at Islanders @ 7pm on NBCSN
    • NYI leads 3-0
  • Game 5: Blackhawks at Golden Knights @ 9:30pm on NBCSN
    • VGS leads 3-1
• Wed 8/19
  • Game 5s
    • Blue Jackets at Lightening @ 1pm on NBCSN
    • Hurricanes at Bruins @ 3pm on NBCSN
    • Coyotes at Avalanche @ 4:30pm on NBCSN
    • Canadiens at Flyers @ 7pm on NBCSN
    • Canucks at Blues @ 9:30pm on NBCSN
    • Islanders at Capitals @ TBD
  • Game 6s
    • Golden Knights at Black Hawks @ TBD
    • Bruins at Hurricanes @ TBD
    • Stars at Flames @ TBD
• Fri 8/21 – Game 6s if necessary
  • Lightening at Blue Jackets @ TBD
  • Flyers at Canadiens @ TBD
  • Blues at Canucks @ TBD
  • Avalanche at Coyotes @ TBD
• Sat 8/22 – if necessary
  • Game 7: Blue Jackets at Lightening @ TBD
  • Game 6: Capitals at Islanders @ TBD
  • Game 7: Blackhawks at Golden Knights @ TBD
  • Game 7: Flames at Stars @ TBD
• Sun 8/23 – Game 7s if necessary
  • Canadiens at Flyers @ TBD
  • Islanders at Capitals @ TBD
  • Hurricanes at Bruins @ TBD
  • Coyotes at Avalanche @ TBD
  • Canucks at Blues @ TBD

Motorsports:

• Thurs 8/20
  • Motocross: Loretta Lynn’s Ranch @ 5pm on NBCSN
• Sat 8/22
  • NASCAR: Drydene 311 @ 3pm on NBCSN
• Sun 8/23
  • MotoGP: Styria Race @ 7:30am on NBCSN
  • NASCAR: Drydene 311 @ 3pm on NBCSN