Baseball – MLB: Altobelli among Kobe helicopter crash victims. Braun could retire. Dodgers fans to boo Astros at Angels game.
Basketball – NBA: #MambaOut LeBron takes #3. Zion’s debut.
Football – NFL: Super Bowl LIV. Pro Bowl results.
Golf: Aussie Leishman wins on Aussie Day.
Olympic Sports: Chen wins again. Liu defends. Shiffrin wins the speed events. China cancels cycling event.
Tennis: Australian Open updates. Margaret Court honored but not allowed to speak.
Baseball – MLB:
- John Altobelli, baseball coach at Orange County College, was among the others who died in the helicopter crash with Kobe Bryant. His wife and daughter were also on the flight to a youth basketball event. Altobelli coached with the OCC for 27 years.
- Brewers OF Ryan Braun has indicated that this might be his final season. He is at the end of his $105MM 5 year contract and has had a 13 year career. He is on retirement watch for now though at age 37.
- RHP Brandon Kintzler and the Marlins have reached a $3MM 1 year deal with a $4MM option for the next year as well. Kintzler is currently with the Cubs and previously played for the Twins and was drafted by the Yankees. This will be his 5th team.
- Dodgers fans (in the group that calls themselves Pantone 294) are snatching up LA Angels tickets just to boo the Houston Astros when they come to town. The Dodgers do not play the Astros this year and the fans want to vent some of their frustration.
Basketball – NBA:
- Aside from the obvious headliner yesterday, Zion Williamson had a much-anticipated debut and it was worth the wait. He scored 22 points including 17 in the last quarter to get fans on their feet. Zion won his first game with the Pelicans on Sunday vs the Celtics winning 123-108, scoring 21 points.
- LeBron passed Kobe Bryant as the 3rd place on the all-time scoring list in the NBA. LeBron accomplished this feat at the 7:23 mark in the 3rd quarter game vs the 76ers in Saturday to culminate in 33,644 points. This brought Kobe to the forefront of the basketball world minds just 16 hours before his death.
- NBA current standings:
- Eastern: Bucks
- Western: Lakers
Football – NFL:
- Super Bowl LIV (aka 54) is this Sunday at 5:30pm on Fox between the San Francisco 49ers at Kansas City Chiefs. As of Monday at 9am, Chiefs are favored by 1.5 with the O/U at 53.5. This is the first time these teams have played each other in the Super Bowl. The 49ers have a 5-1 record in the Super Bowl while the Chiefs are 1-1. Look for my Super Bowl post later in the week!
- The Pro Bowl was this past weekend and the AFC took the W 38-33. Lamar Jackson was named Offensive MVP.
- The current collective bargaining agreement (“CBA”) expires after the 2020 season and the main sticking point is expected to be the adding of 17th The players cite injuries as being their main reason for their resistance to the addition and that it would take serious concessions by the owners to get the players to agree. Expect to hear a lot more about this as the CBA expiration gets closer and closer.
Golf:
- Farmers Insurance Open’s champion is Marc Leishman after shooting a 65 on the final day. Jon Rahm started off terribly making 2 bogeys and a double on the first 5 holes, however he rallied later making an eagle and 3 birdies over another 5 holes. When he birdied 18, he thought he was in a playoff, but Leishman had birdied his 18th minutes earlier. The crowd didn’t roar so Rahm didn’t know. Leishman, an Australian, and his wife have been a huge proponent of raising money for the Australian wildfires and he won this tournament on Australia day, which means so much to him.
Olympic Sports:
- Nathan Chen won his 4th straight US national figure skating championship this Sunday. Chen won by 37 points, hitting 4 quads in his routine. Chen has placed 1st in every competition since the 2018 Olympics where his short program dashed his medal hopes.
- Alysa Liu won her 2nd US Figure skating championship with 2 triple axels with 6 other triples in her routine. She did attempt a quad but it was under-rotated. At 14, Liu is too young for senior worlds so the 2nd and 3rd place finishers, Bell and Tennell, will compete for the US in March. Gracie Gold made her first appearance since publicly coming forward saying she’s been battling mental illness. She got 12th.
- Mikaela Shiffrin does it again but this time in the speed events. For the first time in her career, Shiffrin took both the downhill and Super-G events in the same weekend. This followed 3 weeks without a win for the American as well.
- International Cycling Union canceled the Tour of Hainan which was scheduled for Feb 23-March 1 due to the Coronavirus. The virus has killed 80 people already and there are 5 confirmed cases in the US. TBD if the next race in China (scheduled for May 7-9) will take place.
Tennis:
- Australian Open Jan 20th – Feb 2nd
- Serena was upset by Chinese player Qiang Wang. Coco upsets reigning champ Naomi Osaka in just 2 sets before losing to fellow American Sofia Kenin in round of 16. #1 ranked Ashleigh Barty is still in.
- Homegrown favorite, Nick Kyrgios gave Nadal a run for his money in a 3hr 39 min match where 2 sets went into tie breakers. Kyrgios also warmed up in a Kobe Bryant jersey to pay tribute to the basketball legend and was met with raucous applause. Nadal, Federer and Djokovic are still in.
- Defending Champs: Naomi Osaka (women’s singles) and Novak Djokovic (men’s singles).
- This Australian Open also marks the 50th anniversary of Margaret Court’s calendar year Grand Slam in 1970. There was a ceremony where Court was honored but did not speak. Odd? I thought so too until I saw that Court has been openly critical of homosexuality being very vocal with anti-gay comments. Court has won 24 Grand Slam titles – currently the record. Serena sits at 24 but hasn’t added one since 2017.
What to watch this week
Basketball – NBA:
- Tues 1/28
- Celtics at Heat @ 6:30pm on TNT
- Clippers at Lakers @ 9pm on TNT
- Wed 1/29
- Pistons at Nets @ 6:30pm on ESPN
- Rockets at Trail Blazers @ 9pm on ESPN
- Thurs 1/30
- Warriors at Celtics @ 7pm on TNT
- Jazz at Nuggets @ 9:30pm on TNT
- Fri 1/31
- Mavericks at Rockets @ 7pm on ESPN
- Trail Blazers at Lakers @ 9:30pm on ESPN
- Sat 2/1 – 76ers at Celtics @ 7:30pm on ABC
- Sun 2/2 – Pelicans at Rockets @ 1pm on ABC
Basketball – NCAA:
- Mon 1/27
- Wisconsin at 19. Iowa @ 7:30pm on BTN
- Kansas at Oklahoma St @ 8pm on ESPN2
- Tues 1/28
- Villanova at St. John’s @ 5:30pm on FS1
- Florida St at UVA @ 6pm on ESPN
- Purdue at 24. Rutgers @ 7pm on BTN
- Pitt at 8. Dke @ 8pm on ESPN
- Butler at Georgetown @ 8pm on CBSSN
- Auburn at Ole Miss @ 8pm on ESPNU
- Wed 1/29
- DePaul at 10. Seton Hall @ 5:30pm on FS1
- Northwestern at 11. Michigan ST @ 5:30pm on BTN
- Vanderbilt at 15. Kentucky @ 5:30pm on SEC
- Dayton at Duquesne @ 6pm on CBSSN
- Memphis at UCF @ 6pm on ESPNU
- West Virginia at 18. Texas Tech @ 7pm
- Baylor at Iowa St @ 8pm on ESPNU
- SD St at New Mexico @ 8pm on CBSSN
- Louisville at Boston College @ 8pm on ACC
- Thurs 1/30
- Minnesota at 21. Illinois @ 6:30pm on FS1
- Iowa at 17. Maryland @ 7:30pm on BTN
- Oregon at Cal @ 8pm on PAC12
- Arizona at Washington @ 8pm on ESPN2
- Gonzaga at Santa Clara @ 9:30pm on CBSSN
- Colorado at UCLA @ 10pm on ESPN2
- Sat 2/1
- Xavier at 10. Seton Hall @ 10am on FOX
- Creighton at 9. Villanova @ 11am on FS1
- Michigan St at Wisconsin @ 12pm on Fox
- UConn at 20. Memphis @ 12pm on CBS
- Louisville at NC St @ 1pm on ESPN
- Providence at 13. Butler @ 1pm on FS1
- TCU at 1. Baylor @ 3pm on ESPN2
- Texas Tech at 3. Kansas @ 3pm on ESPN
- Fordham at 7. Dayton @ 3:30pm on NBCSN
- Rutgers at Michigan @ 3:30pm on BTN
- Oregon at Stanford @ 5pm on PAC12
- Kentucky at 16. Auburn @ 5pm on ESPN
- Houston at Cincinnati @ 5pm on ESPN2
- Duke at Syracuse @ 7pm on ESPN
- Arizona at Washington St @ 7pm on PAC12
- Colorado at USC @ 9:30pm on FS1
- Sun 2/2 – 21. Illinois at 19. Iowa @ 12pm on FS1
Golf:
- Thurs 1/30
- Waste Management – Round 1
- 2pm on Golf Channel
- Waste Management – Round 1
- Fri 1/31
- Waste Management – Round 2
- 2pm on Golf Channel
- Waste Management – Round 2
- Sat 2/1
- Waste Management – Round 3
- 12pm on Golf Channel
- 2pm on CBS
- Waste Management – Round 3
- Sun 2/2
- Waste Management – Round 4
- 12pm on Golf Channel
- 2pm on CBS
- Waste Management – Round 4
Hockey:
- Mon 1/27 – Lightening at Stars @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Tues 1/28 – Blues at Flames @ 8pm on RSN
- Wed 1/29
- Maple Leafs at Stars @ 6:30pm on RSN
- Predators at Capitals @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- Lightening at Kings @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Thurs 1/30 – Predators at Devils @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- Fri 1/31
- Flyers at Penguins @ 6pm on RSN
- Lightening at Ducks @ 9pm on RSN
- Sat 2/1
- Blue Jackets at Sabres @ 12pm on RSN
- Oilers at Flames @ 9pm on RSN
- Sun 2/2 – Penguins at Capitals @ 11:30am on NBC
Olympic Sports:
- Mon 1/27
- FIS Skiing: World Cup Men’s Downhill & Super G @ 12pm on NBCSN
- FIS Skiing: World Cup Men’s Slalom @ 2:30pm on NBCSN
- Fri 1/31
- FIS Snowboarding: World Cup Slopestyle @ 11:30am on NBCSN
- FIS Skiing: World Cup Halfpipe @ 3:30pm on NBCSN
- Curling Night in America Women’s: USA vs ITA @ 10pm on NBCSN
- Sat 2/1 – FIS Snowboarding & Skiing: World Cup Halfipe @ 10:30pm on NBCSN
- Sun 2/2
- FIS Skiing: World Cup Men’s Downhill @ 11:30am on NBCSN
- Bobsledding: IBSF Women’s Bobsled @ 12:30am on NBCSN
- FIS Skiing: World Cup Men’s Giant Slalom @ 3pm on NBCSN
- Luge: World Cup Women’s Singles @ 4pm on NBCSN
Soccer:
- Wed 1/29 – Premier League: West Ham United vs Liverpool @ 2:40pm on NBCSN
- Sat 2/1
- Premier League: Leicester City vs Chelsea @ 7:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Liverpool vs Southampton @ 9:55am on NBCSN
- International Friendly: USA vs Costa Rica @ 2:55pm on ESPNNEWS
- Sun 2/2
- Premier League: Burnley vs Arsenal @ 8:55am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester City @ 11:25am on NBCSN
- Italian Serie A: Udinese vs Internazionale @ 1:45pm on ESPNNEWS
Tennis:
- Mon 1/27
- Women’s singles – USA Kenin vs TUN Jabeur @ 6pm
- Women’s singles – AUS Barty vs CZE Kvitova @ 7:30pm
- Men’s singles – USA Sandgren vs SUI Federer @ 9:30pm
- Tues 1/28 – Quarterfinals
- Men’s singles – CAN Raonic vs SLO Djokovic @ 2am
- Men’s singles – SUI Wawrinka vs GER Zverev @ 6pm
- Men’s singles – ESP Nadal vs AUT Thiem @ 6pm
- Women’s singles – EST Kontaveit vs ROM Halep @ 6pm
- Women’s singles – ESP Muguruza vs RUS Pavlyuchenkova @ 6pm
- Wed 1/29 – Semifinals – TBA
- Fri 1/31 – Women’s Singles Final @ 6pm
- Sat 2/1 – Men’s Singles Final @ 6pm
