Weekly Update – Week of February 24, 2020 – my birthday week!

Baseball – MLB: Bumgarner uses alias for rodeo. Phille Phanatic’s makeover. Betts warm welcome.

Basketball – NBA: Bucks are in the playoffs. Cuban and Mavs in trouble. Kobe’s memorial service on 2/24. Sabrina Ionescu – needs 9!

Football: NFL Combine starts. Make-A-Wish Bucs fan dies. HOU vs DAL in XFL

Golf: Reed wins WGC-Mexico. Hovland 1st PGA Tour win.

Olympic Sports: Shiffrin overtaken. New TJ WR. Bad meet for Zane Grothe. USA Gym victims payout. Elite athletes are underpaid.

Baseball – MLB:

• Madison Bumgarner, AZ Diamondback LHP, has been using a fake name to compete in rodeo events. Under the name Mason Saunders, Bumgarner has been entering team-roping competitions where hes won by to $26k. The name comes from shortening his first name and taking his wife’s maiden name. TBD on what the team will think of this going forward now that word is out!
• The Phillie Phanatic got a makeover, losing some weight but not any of his spirit. This change was prompted by the copyright agreement expiring after 35 years on June 15^th. The creators of Phanatic, Erickson and Wayde Harrison, also created Miss Piggy.
• Mookie Betts received a very warm welcome from Dodger fans as he batted lead off in the preseason game.
• Preseason continues this week with the first televised game on 3/2!

Basketball – NBA:

• The Bucks have already clinched their playoff spot. This is the earliest clinched in 15 years – with playoffs being 55 days away. If they win their projected 70 games, they will be only the 3^rd team to do so (95/96 Bulls and 15/16 Warriors).
• Mark Cuban and the Mavericks are in some hot water with the NBA. After a incorrect goal-tending call (overturned by video review) and a ruled ‘inadvertent whistle’ led to the Hawks leading by 4 (instead of by 2 – in Cuban’s argument). Because the officials counted the basket that was made after the goal-tending call. Cubans point is that it should have been replayed from when the whistle was ‘inadvertently’ blown. The NBA commissioner has 5 days from when evidence is filed to accept the protest. Adam Silver, the NBA Commissioner, is also considering punishment of Cuban for stepping onto the court 2xs during the game and for his social media eruption.
• The Lakers beat the Celtics in a close one to win with just 30.4 seconds left when LeBron shot a turnaround jump ball to take the lead. Final score was 114-112. The crowd was also star studded with Magic Johnson AC Green, Kevin Garnett and Bill Russell were all in attendance.
• There will be a memorial service for 20k fans for Kobe Bryant today at 12:30pm. It will be live on TV.

• NCAAW News – If #3 Oregon’s guard Sabrina Ionescu gets 9 rebounds in tonight’s game, she will hit the allusive 2,000 points, 1,000 assists and 1,000 rebounds milestone that no one in D1 has ever reached – man or woman. She has already added to her NCAA (both men and women) triple-double record, which is now up to 25. #3 Oregon plays #4 Stanford tonight. The Ducks have won 13 games straight. Check out tonight’s game @ 8pm on ESPN2 to potentially watch history!
• Current Standings:
  • Eastern:
    • Atlantic: Raptors
    • Central: Bucks (clinched)
    • SE: Heat
  • Western:
    • NW: Nuggets
    • Pacific: Lakers
    • SW: Rockets

Football:

• The NFL Combine starts this week! Here is how it breaks out.
  • 2/27 TE, QB & WR
  • 2/28 PK, ST, OL & RB
  • 2/29 DL & LB
  • 3/1 DL
  • For the list of competitors, see here 
• The Make-A-Wish Buccaneers fan, Kacey Reynolds, whose wish was to announce the 2019 1^st round draft pick for his favorite team, has died due to his battle with Hodgkin lymphoma. He battled for 3 years before succumbing to the disease over the weekend. He also got to play pool with WR Mike Evans, who expressed his sorrow on twitter.
• A 17 game season is in discussions with the NFL owners and player reps but there has been no official progress yet – stay tuned on this decision.
• Houston is the only undefeated team left in the XFL and they play the once national championship favorite Dallas this Sunday! Get ready for this TX showdown!

Golf:

• Patrick Reed won the WGC-Mexico Championship after being 2 shots behind with 4 to play; he rattled off 3 straight birdies and Bryson DeChambeau fell apart (3 putting on 17). Reed broke a WGC record for the most 1-putts; in 72 holes, Reed only putted 98 times. This win again shows that Reed doesn’t mind the ‘Me vs the World’ attitude that the golf world likes to throw at him. Earlier in the week, Brooks Koepka, along with many others before this week, said that yes Patrick Reed cheated at the Hero. And in a different interview, Peter Kostis also called out Patrick Reed for cheating. Didn’t seem to bother him this week!
• While the WGC was being decided in Mexico, the PGA Tour players also competed in Puerto Rico. Here Viktor Hovland claimed his first victory on the PGA Tour. This is Hovland’s first year on the tour after leaving Oklahoma St where he was a standout player. Get used to seeing this kid’s name.

Olympic Sports:

• After this weekend’s win of the Alpine combined, SUI Federica Brignone now leads the World Cup standings. This is as Mikaela Shiffrin, who has won the last 3 years, is still not competing due to mourning the loss of her father. Right now, Brignone has a 73 point lead over the defending champ.
• Venezuelan jumper, Yulimar Rojas, broke the indoor triple jump record with a jump of 15.23m, which is 7 cm further than any previous jump (former WR was posted in 2004 from RUS Tatyana Lebedeva.
• Bobby Finke, a Florida swimmer, broke the American 1650 yrd freestyle record by 6 seconds wo win at SEC Championships with a time of 14:12.08. The record had stood from 2017 and was set by Zane Grothe. It was not a good meet for him, as he also had his 500 yard freestyle record broken by a different Florida swimmer in the same meet.
• USA Gymnastics has proposed a tiered structure to the $215MM settlement of sexual assault victims by Larry Nassar. Each woman could get anywhere from $82.5k – $1.25MM. 66 women were abused by Nassar at the Olympics or other major competitions alone. Keep in mind that if these amounts seem low, USA Gymnastics has also declared chapter 11 bankruptcy. If the women take the money, they are releasing the USOPC and USA Gymnastics CEO and the Karolyi’s from further suits. The amounts received by the women is broken down into how many times and where they were abused.
• Global Athlete released a study announcing that 58% of elite athletes across 48 countries are not financially stable and that the IOC should pay athletes to come and compete in their events. This has led to a relaxation of Rule 40 which basically says athletes can have their own sponsors who aren’t official Olympic sponsors in an effort to increase revenues. This effects Olympic athletes more than other sports as niche sports only have its peak once every 4 years. To read the full article
• Due to the Coronavirus, Chinese athletes are barred from international competition and many have been confined to their own training facilities. This makes for some major changes just 5 months before the Olympics.

What to watch this week

Basketball – NBA:

• Mon 2/24 – Kobe Bryant Memorial @ 12pm on NBATV or CNN’s website
• Tues 2/25
  • Bucks at Raptors @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Pelicans at Lakers @ 9pm on TNT
• Wed 2/26
  • Grizzlies at Rockets @ 7pm on ESPN
  • Celtics at Jazz @ 9:30pm on ESPN
• Thurs 2/27
  • Trail Blazers at Pacers @ 7pm on TNT
  • Lakers at Warriors @ 9:30pm on TNT
• Fri 2/28
  • Thunder at Bucks @ 7pm on ESPN
  • Nuggets at Clippers @ 9:30pm on ESPN
• Sat 2/29 – Rockets at Celtics@ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 3/1
  • 76ers at Clippers @ 2:30pm on ABC
  • Lakers at Pelicans @ 7pm on ESPN

Basketball – NCAA:

• Mon 2/24
  • Louisville at 8. Florida St @ 6pm on ESPN
  • West Virginia at Texas @ 6pm on ESPNU
  • Oklahoma St at 3. Kansas @ 8pm on ESPN
• Tues 2/25
  • Duke at Wake Forest @ 6pm on ACC
  • Kentucky at Texas A&M @ 6pm on ESPN
  • Ole Miss at 13. Auburn @ 6pm on SEC
  • Iowa at Michigan St @ 6pm on ESPN2
  • Colorado St at 4. SD St @ 10pm on CBSSN
• Wed 2/26
  • Johns at 12. Villanova @ 5:30pm on FS1
  • Rutgers at 9. Penn St @ 6pm on BTN
  • Georgetown at 19. Marquette @ 7:30pm on FS21
  • Maryland at Minnesota @ 8pm on BTN
• Thurs 2/27
  • Colorado at Cal @ 8pm on PAC12
  • Ohio St at Nebraska @ 8pm on ESPN2
  • Oregon St at 14. Oregon @ 10pm on ESPN2
• Fri 2/28 – Davidson at 5. Dayton @ 6pm on ESPN2
• Sat 2/29
  • Penn St at 20. Iowa @ 11am on BTN
  • Providence at 12. Villanova @ 11am on FOX
  • Kansas at Kansas St @ 12:30pm on CBS
  • Seton Hall at 19. Marquette at 1:30pm on FOX
  • Auburn at 10. Kentucky @ 2:45pm on CBS
  • Oklahoma at 17. West Virginia @ 3pm on ESPN2
  • Duke at UVA @ 5pm on ESPN
  • BYU at Pepperdine @ 5pm on CBSSN
  • DePaul at 21. Butler @ 5:30pm on FS1
  • Michigan St at 7. Maryland @ 7pm on ESPN
• Sun 3/1
  • Creighton at St. Johns @ 11am on FS1
  • Cincinnati at 22. Houston @ 12pm on ESPN
  • Vtech at 11. Louisville at 5pm on ACC
  • Colorado at Stanford @ 5pm on ESPNU

Football – NFL:

• Thurs 2/27 – NFL Combine: TE,QB and WR workouts @ 3pm on NFL
• Fri 2/28 – NFL Combine: PK, ST, OL & RB workouts @ 3pm on NFL
• Sat 2/29 – NFL Combine: DL & LB workouts @ 3pm on NFL
• Sun 3/1 – NFL Combine: DB workouts @ 1pm on NFL

Football – XFL:

• Sat 2/29
  • LA Wildcats at NY Guardians @ 1pm on ABC
  • Seattle Dragons at St. Louis Battlehawks @ 4pm on Fox
• Sun 3/1
  • Houston Roughnecks at Dallas Renegades @ 3pm on FS1
  • DC Defenders at Tampa Bay Vipers @ 6pm on ESPN2

Golf:

• Thurs 2/27
  • Honda Classic – Round 1
    • 1-5pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 2/28
  • Honda Classic – Round 2
    • 1-5pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 2/29
  • Honda Classic – Round 3
    • 12pm-2pm on Golf Channel
    • 2pm – 5pm on NBC
• Sun 3/1
  • Honda Classic – Round 4
    • 12pm-2pm on Golf Channel
    • 2pm – 5pm on NBC

Hockey:

• Tues 2/25 – Blackhawks at Blues @ 7pm on NBCSN
• Wed 2/26
  • Sabres at Avalanche @ 7pm on NBCSN
  • Penguins at Kings @ 9:30pm on NBCSN
• Thurs 2/27
  • Stars at Bruins @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
  • Islanders at Blues @ 7pm on RSNE
• Fri 2/28
  • Rangers at Flyers @ 6pm on BSN
  • Penguins at Ducks @ 9pm on RSN
• Sat 2/29
  • Bruins at Islanders @ 12pm on RSN
  • Canadiens at Oilers @ 9pm on RSN
• Sun 3/1
  • Flyers at Rangers @ 11am on NBCS
  • Canucks at Blue Jackets @ 6pm on RSN
  • Capitals at Wild @ 7pm on NBCSN
  • Kings at Golden Knights @ 9:30pm on NBCSN

Olympic Sports:

• Fri 2/28
  • World Rugby Sevens – Day 1 @ 7pm on NBCSN
  • Curling Night in America: USA vs SCO – Mixed @ 10pm on NBCSN
• Sun 3/1
  • FIS Skiing World Cup: Women’s Super G @ 12am on NBCSN
  • Cross Country Skiing World Cup: Women’s 10KM @ 1am on NBCSN
  • World Rugby Sevens – Day 2 @ 10:30am on NBCSN

Soccer:

• Fri 2/28 – Premier League: Norwich City vs Leicester City @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
• Sat 2/22
  • Premier League: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace @ 6:25am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Teams TBA @ 8:55am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Watford vs Liverpool @ 11:25am on NBCSN
• Sun 3/1
  • Italian Serie A: AC Milan vs Genoa @ 5:30am on ESPN2
  • Premier League: Everton vs ManU @ 7:55am on NBCSN
  • MLS: Sounders vs CHI Fire @ 2pm on ESPN
  • MLS: LAFC vs Inter Miami CF @ 4:30pm on ESPN