Weekly Update – Week of February 8, 2021

Baseball: Biden pressures MLB to delay… Dodgers get Bauer. Astros keep Correa. Angels get Ohtani. Reporter Gomez dies.

Basketball-NBA: All-Star controversy. Pistons/Knicks trade. Injuries.

Basketball-NCAAM: Kansas unranked! Postponements. Rio HC dies.

Football-NFL: The Bucs are Super Bowl Champs! HoF inductees. Commercials!

Golf: DJ wins Saudi again. Brooks Koepka wins Waste Management again.

Olympic Sports: Dunham dies. USA takes gold in bobsled. Bball bubble.

Tennis: Australian Open begins!

Baseball:

• Biden pressuring the MLB to delay the start of season. Because that’s what sports needs, more politics…
• The Dodgers have signed an agreement with Cy Young winner P Trevor Bauer for $120MM for 3 years. The deal has opt outs after year 1 and 2 for which he is scheduled to get paid $40MM and $45MM respectively. Bauer was drafted by the Diamondbacks and played for the Indians and Reds previously. Pack your bags for LA, Trevor.
• The Astros have agreed to a deal with SS Carlos Correa for $11.7MM deal for one-year. This deal avoided arbitration between the 2 sides and keeps Correa in HTown!
• The Angels have agreed to a 2-year deal for $8.5MM with DH Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani was Rookie of the Year in 2018, then battled Tommy John surgery and struggled in 2020.

• Baseball journalist and ESPN reporter since 2003, Pedro Gomez died on Sunday at the age of 58. He covered 25 World Series in his 35-year career. His son, Rio, currently plays in the Boston Red Sox organization.

Basketball-NBA:

• Guess what LeBron is pissy about something again. This time it’s the All-Star game…. He doesn’t ‘have zero energy and zero excitement about an All-Star Game.’ Although the Greek Freak agrees. CP3, the head of the NBAPA, is trying to balance all of the league’s opinion not just a few who want a break. Remember the NBA had their shortest break between seasons after COVID delayed their 2020 season and the 2021 season started before year end.
• The Pistons have traded G Derrick Rose to the Knicks in exchange for G Dennis Smith Jr and a 2^nd round draft pick. This deal reunites Rose with his coach Tom Thibodeau.
• KD is set to come back to the court for the Nets on Friday after his positive COVID test.
• Some injuries to report:
  • Hawks F De’Andre Hunter is out for 2 more weeks to go through surgery in his knee.
  • Lakers Anthony Davis will miss the game tonight with tendinosis in his Achilles.
  • Bulls F Lauri Markkanen will be out for 2-4 weeks with a sprained shoulder. This adds to C Wendell Carter Jr and Otto Porter Jr who are already out with injuries.

Basketball – NCAAM:

• Kansas is not ranked in the Top25 for the first time in 12 years. The streak of 231 consecutive weeks ranked is now over. To put that in perspective, G Bryce Thompson was 6 last time the Jayhawks weren’t ranked. They will play #23 Oklahoma St tonight as their first unranked game in 434 games.
• Postponements…
  • The SEC has postponed 2 games on Wed. The Aggies/Bulldogs and Gator/Volunteers games are both postponed due to positive tests.
  • Michigan extended their pause of basketball events. They postponed their game against Illinois but plan to return to play on Valentines day.
• HC Lew Hill of the Texas Rio Grande Valley bball team died 1 day after their game against Texas Southern. The cause is unknown so far. Hill has been HC there since 2017 when he went to the Final Four with Oklahoma under Lon Kruger.
• Louisville will be without their HC Chris Mack after he tested positive for COVID today. He will miss their game against VTech on Saturday. 2 of the teams’ previous games were postponed for COVID reasons.

Football – NFL:

• Tom Brady has added another Super Bowl ring to his collection (making it #7) but this time its under the Bucs. In true GOAT fashion, Brady led the Bucs to win 31-9 against the Chiefs who didn’t even manage to score a TD. To all the haters that said he was tarnishing his legacy with his start in Tampa Bay…. Whatcha saying now? Oh and for the 5^th time, Brady was voted MVP of the game.
  • The Bucs made history for a different reason last night. 2 of their assistant coaches were women. They also had black assistant coaches, proving that you can have a diverse staff and be the best in the world. There was also a first time woman ref, Sarah Thomas, in the Super Bowl.
• Patrick Mahomes had his worst game. Ever. Including college. This was the first time Mahomes’ team didn’t score a TD in a game he started. Ever. He was pressured a Super Bowl record number of times, 29 and threw 2 interceptions.
• The Chiefs coach had a bit of a distraction heading into the big game on Sunday. Andy Reid’s son and Chiefs’ LB coach was involved in a car accident that left a 5-year-old girl in critical condition. The HC didn’t comment on the incident until after the game and his son did not travel with the team to the game.
• The NFL HoF inducted their new class. Peyton Manning led the class along with Raiders & Packers DB Charles Woodson and Lions WR Calvin Johnson.
• Here are some of what I thought were the best commercials: Cadillac, Uber Eats, Doritos, GM, M&Ms, Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade, and Pringles,

Golf:

• Dustin Johnson hit a Saudi volunteer during his round on Friday. But all’s well that ends well as Dustin won the entire tournament for the 2^nd time by 2 strokes. In a loaded field that had European tour and PGA Tour members, DJ held off Tony Finau and Justin Rose for the W. DJ has 5 victories since golf’s COVID break in only 15 starts for the golfer.

• Brooks Koepka won the Waste Management for the 2^nd time in his career. The WM tournament was his first ever PGA Tour win in 2015 and he repeats this weekend. There were so many players within a shot of the lead at some point on Sunday it was truly anyone’s win. Brooks put it away with an almost 100ft Eagle on the 17th. Jordan Spieth made a great comeback to be in contention for the first time in 2 years; ROY Scottie Scheffler was in the top 5; Steve Stricker (American Ryder Cup captain) would’ve been the oldest man to win on the PGA Tour if he could’ve pulled it off. He made up 5 shots in the final round which ties the most ever in a PGA Tour tournament. Brooks had battled injury and changing golf instructors lately. I think he’s back….

Olympic Sports:

• The USA team of Kaillie Humphries and Lolo Jones won the world bobsled title for the Red, White and Blue. This is Humphries 4^th time to win at worlds. Humphries drove the sled that once was owned by Steven Holcomb (who died ~4 years ago).

• Dianne Durham was the first Black national gymnastic champion passes away from an illness. She was 52 years-old. Durham was the last gymnast to beat Mary Lou Retton in the all-around competition before the 1984 Olympics. She also helped the Karolyi’s onto the national stage.
• The USA basketball team will be in a pre-Olympics bubble in Las Vegas to play an exhibition games against Team Spain and Australia.

Tennis:

• The Australian open has started! Serena Williams and Djokovic have already won their first matches. The 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd rounds are this week and weekend. The finals are set to take place on 2/20.
  • Men’s Bracket 
  • Women’s Bracket 

What to watch this week

Basketball-NBA:

• Tues 2/9
  • Rockets at Pelicans @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • Celtics at Jazz @ 9pm on TNT
• Wed 2/10
  • Falcons at Mavericks @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Bucks at Suns @ 9pm on ESPN
• Thurs 2/11
  • Heat at Rockets @ 6:30pm on TNT
  • 76ers at Trail Blazers @ 9pm on TNT
• Fri 2/12
  • Pelicans at Mavericks @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Grizzlies at Lakers @ 9pm on ESPN
• Sat 2/13
  • Nets at Warriors @ 7:30pm on ABC
• Sun 2/14
  • Trail Blazers at Mavericks @ 6:30pm on ESPN
  • Lakers at Nuggets @ 9pm on ESPN
• All other games are on NBATV

Basketball – NCAA:

• Mon 2/8
  • Ohio St at Maryland @ 8pm on FS1
  • Oklahoma St at Kansas @ 8pm on ESPN
  • Gonzaga at BYU @ 10pm on ESPN
• Tues 2/9
  • Alabama at South Carolina @ 5:30pm on SEC
  • Texas at Kansas St @ 7pm on ESPN+
  • West Virginia at 7. Texas Tech @ 8pm on ESPN
  • Creighton at Georgetown @ 8pm on CBSSN
• Wed 2/10
  • Houston at South Florida @ 6pm on ESPNU
  • UVA at Georgia Tech @ 6pm ACCX
  • Rutgers at 15. Iowa @ 6pm
  • Marquette at 5. Villanova @ 8pm
  • Mizzou at Ole Miss @ 8pm on SEC
• Thurs 2/11
  • Wisconsin at Nebraska @ 4pm on ESPN2
  • USC at Washington @ 9pm on Pac12
• Sat 2/13
  • Northwestern at 25. Rutgers @ TBD
  • Indiana at 4. Ohio St @ 11am on ESPN
  • Wake Forest at 17. Florida St @ 11am on ACCX
  • Louisville at 18. VTech @ 11am on ACC
  • Loyola Chicago at Drake @ 11am on eSPN2
  • Kansas St at 23. Oklahoma St @ 11am on ESPNU
  • Oklahoma at 14. West Virginia @ 12pm on ESPN+
  • TCU at 13. Texas @ 1pm on LGHN
  • Tennessee at LSU @ 1pm on ESPN2
  • Iowa at Michigan St @ 1:30pm on FOX
  • Georgia at 11. Alabama @ 2:30pm on SEC
  • Arkansas at 10. Mizzou @ 3pm
  • Villanova at 19. Creighton @ 4pm on Fox
  • Gonzaga at San Francisco @ 5pm
  • UNC at 9. UVA @ 5pm on ESPN
  • USC at Washington St @ 7pm on ESPNU
• Sun 2/14
  • Michigan at 21. Wisconsin @ 12pm
  • Memphis at 8. Houston @ 12pm on ESPN
  • Loyola Chicago at Drake @ 2pm on ESPNU

Golf:

• Wed 2/10 – AT&T Pebble Beach: Pro-Am @ 5pm on Golf Channel
• Thurs 2/11 – AT&T Pebble Beach: Round 1 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 2/12 – AT&T Pebble Beach: Round 2 @ 2pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 2/13 – AT&T Pebble Beach: Round 3
  • 12pm on Golf Channel
  • 2pm on CBS
• Sun 2/14 – AT&T Pebble Beach: Round 4
  • 12pm on Golf Channel
  • 2pm on CBS

Hockey:

• Tues 2/9
  • Flyers at Capitals @ 5pm on NBCSN
  • Lightning at Predators @ 7:30pm on NBCSN
• Wed 2/10
  • Bruins at Rangers @ 6pm on NBCSN
• Sun 2/14
  • Capitals at Penguins @ 2pm on NBC
  • Avalanche at Golden Knights @ 6pm on NBCSN

Motorsports:

• Tues 2/9 – Supercross Indy @ 2pm on NBCSN
• Sat 2/13 – Supercross Orlando @ 6:30pm on NBCSN

Olympic Sports:

• Tues 2/9
  • Skiing: Women’s Super G @ 6am on NBCSN
    • Replay @ 10:30pm on NBCSN
• Wed 2/10
  • Skiing: Men’s Combined: Super G and Slalom @ 5am on NBCSN
  • Biathlon: 4×7.5k Mixed Relay @ 10:30pm on NBCSN
• Thurs 2/11
  • Skiing: Men’s Super G @ 4pm on NBCSN
  • Speed Skating: World Championships Day 1 @ 5:30pm on NBCSN
  • Figure Skating: 100^th Anniversary Special @ 7pm on NBCSN
  • Figure Skating: US Championships Best of @ 10:30pm on NBCSN
• Fri 2/12
  • Biathlon: Men’s 10k Sprint @ 10am on NBCSN
  • Speed Skating: World Championships Day 2 @ 5pm on NBCSN
  • Sailing: Prada Cup @ 9pm on NBCSN
• Sat 2/13
  • Skiing: Women’s Downhill @ 3:30pm on NBCSN
  • Speed Skating: World Championships Day 3 @ 5pm on NBCSN
  • Sailing: Prada Challenger Series Finals @ 9:30pm on NBCSN
  • Biathlon: Women’s 7.5km Sprint @ 11:30pm on NBCSN

Soccer:

• Fri 2/12
  • Women’s Super League: Manchester City at ManU @ 1pm on NBCSN
• Sat 2/13
  • Premier League: Leicester City vs Liverpool @ 6:25am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Teams TBA @ 8:55am on NBCSN
• Sun 2/14
  • Italian Serie A: Cagliari vs Atalanta @ 8am on ESPN2
  • Premier League: West Brom vs ManU @ 8am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Arsenal at Leeds United @ 10:25am on NBCSN

Tennis:

• Mon 2/8 – Australian Open: Round 1 @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Tues 2/9 – Australian Open: Round 2 @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Wed 2/10
  • Australian Open: Round 2 @ 8pm on ESPNNEWS
  • Australian Open: Round 2 @ 9pm on ESPN2
• Thurs 2/11 – Australian Open: Round 3 @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Fri 2/12 – Australian Open: Round 3 @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Sat 2/13 – Australian Open: Round of 16 @ 10am & again @ 8pm on ESPN2
• Sun 2/14 – Australian Open: Round of 16 @ 10am & again @ 8pm on ESPN2