Weekly Update – Week of November 2, 2020 (COVID Week 34)

Baseball: Dodgers are World Series Champions! Turner in trouble for COVID. La Russa to manage the White Sox. MLB contract shuffle. Lester buys beers.

Football-NCAAF: 5 losses in Top 25 4 of those being to unranked teams. Trevor Lawrence out with COVID. Pac 12 is back! LeCounte hit by car. OU gets another WR recruit.

Football-NFL: Steelers still undefeated. COVID breakout. Wims ejected. Williamson traded.

Golf: Gay wins 5th title. DeChambeau partners with DraftKings

Olympic Sports: Coleman will miss Tokyo! USA takes sailing World Tour. Bird & Rapinoe engaged. RUS Biathlon Ustyugov loses another gold. ITA Swim team quarantined. GER Bobsledder dies at 37. Tour Down Under canceled.

Baseball:

• The Dodgers won 1^st world series in 30 yrs in Game 6 on Tuesday night. It looked like game 6 would go to the rays after a HR to open the game. It took until the 6^th inning, but the Dodgers weren’t going down without a fight. The Rays decided to pull their Ace Blake Snell and it immediately had repercussions. Barnes scored on a wild pitch and Mookie Betts moved to third. He then scored on an RBI from Seager to take the lead 2-1. Then in the 8^th, Betts had a HR to score again to 3-1. Urias finished off the Rays with 2 strike outs looking in the final inning.
  • Justin Turner was taken out of the game after his at-bat in the 6^th (where he flied out). Apparently it was due to his COVID test coming back positive. He was immediately put in quarantine. However after the win, Turner could be seen out on the field celebrating with his team and even took his mask off for pictures.
    • This was extremely controversial in the news and I don’t usually give my opinion on politically charged matters but in honor of the election tomorrow, I will give my opinion here. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As the Dodgers have proven, it is very very hard to win a World Series. Despite winning the National League in 2017 and 2018, they only managed to bring home the WS in 2020. He had already been on the field playing with the guys 2 innings earlier, the damage was done. Let him have his moment that he spent his entire life working for.
• In other baseball news, the White Sox have hired 76 year old, Tony La Russa. He became the oldest manager in the league by 5 years! The oldest in history was 87 years old in Connie Mack. Although his age may be daunting, his resume is impressive. He’s in the baseball HoF, 3x World Series Champion, 4x Manager of the Year and has won 3,728 games, however he hasn’t coached since his 20111 World Series Championship.
• Now begins the contract renewal season for the MLB and 6 players have already been given qualifying offers including Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, Kevin Gausman, DJ LeMahieu, George Springer and JT Realmuto. If these players reject their offers then they become free agents. DJ LeMahieu, George Springer and JT Realmuto have been offered $18.9MM one-year contracts.
  • Players who are available to get a qualifying offer but didn’t: Michael Brantley, Marcus Semien, Laim Henderiks and Andrelton Simmons.

• Jon Lester, who may have just thrown his last pitch for Chi town this season, went out in style. He bought beers for random people at 4 bars over the weekend of Halloween and gave a 34% tip on all the tabs (his number for the Cubs). Total he spent $47094.90 over 3 days.

Football – NCAAF:

• The Pac 12 returns to action this week! Finally guys welcome to the season that is 2020. Most will only play 7 games and there really isn’t any wiggle room if there are COVID breakouts. CFP rankings come out this month as the last Power 5 conference gets going and then decision day is later in December.
• There were 5 losses in the Top 25 this past weekend including a huge upset of #6 Oklahoma St. All of the losses (with the exception of Penn St) were to unranked teams. Alabama gave Mike Leech his first shutout after winning 41-0. K St never got rolling and their freshman QB looked like a freshman for the first time all season in their upset loss against WV 10-37. The Wisconsin/Nebraska game was cancelled due to COVID. GameDay this next week will be at #1 Clemson vs #4 Notre Dame.
  • #6 OSU had 4 turnovers and a 100 yrd kickoff return for a TD and still managed to hang onto the lead until 12 minutes left in the game. Going into OT, it still looked like the Cowboys might take it until a huge PI penalty gave the Longhorns another chance to get in the endzone after an unsuccessful 3^rd & 8.
  • Clemson should’ve been able to put the Eagles away easily, but Boston College was leading by 15 at half. However, they couldn’t ultimately hold on. Freshman QB DJ Uiagalelei rallied in the 2^nd half to pull out the W and is expected to start against #4 Notre Dame this weekend. Lawrence did not pass the cardiac exams required to return to play for next week’s game, which is GameDay and their toughest opponent of the season.
  • #13 Michigan suffered their first loss of the season to little brother Michigan St. The Spartans drew first blood getting a TD 5 minutes into the game and never looked back. Although the score was tied after a Michigan TD with 8 minutes to go in the 3^rd, the Spartans responded with a FG less than 5 minutes later. Michigan St QB Rocky Lombardi threw 3 TDs and 323 yrds. No relation to Vince Lombardi.
  • #15 UNC also got upset by 1-4 UVA. Although the Cavaliers tried to give it back to UNC in the 4^th UVA led by 10 until 2 minutes to go in the game. No onside kick was attempted and time expired giving Mac Brown his 2^nd loss of the season.
  • After the final play of the 1^st half, a huge actual fight broke out between Mizzou and Florida. So far 3 players have been suspended for the fight. It was believed to start as Mizzou player #18 got in a late hit on the Florida QB. Florida HC Dan Mullen even got fired up and pissed.

• Trevor Lawrence tested positive for COVID on Wednesday last week and missed their game against Boston College. Lawrence also made the news because of his comments hinting he might stay at Clemson another year although even NFL experts think that’s unlikely and honestly its just not smart. I’m all for enjoying college but he has a great NFL career ahead of him, don’t risk it by getting injured. *Steps off soapbox*
• Georgia S Richard LeCounte is used to being tackled but not by a car. LeCounte was hospitalized after being struck by a car making a left turn while riding his bike. His bike then went into oncoming traffic and hit another car. He’s expected to make a full recovery and is in stable condition. This was after returning home from the Bulldogs’ win over Kentucky 14-3.
• #77 prospect of the ESPN 300, WR Billy Bowman has committed to Oklahoma. This thrills the Sooners after Bowman de-committed from his home state of Texas in October. This adds to OU’s growing offense which has killed it in the recruiting game lately.
• Even after 8 laterals, this TD got overturned…

Football – NFL:

• The Steelers remain undefeated after a very close game against the Ravens 28-24. They trailed 17-7 at halftime. After losing for the first-time last week, the Titans drop a game to the Bengals, who were 1-5 until Sunday. The Chargers blew a 20-3 lead to lose 31-30 to the Broncos. The Saints/Bears game went into OT in a thrilling game but the Saints came out victorious. The Eagles beta their conference rival, the Cowboys, 23-9. Ben DiNucci started for the Cowboys who have been on a downward spiral since Dak went out.
• The NFL is having a little bit of a COVID break out. Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey is positive after playing the entire game against the Steelers. He is the first Raven to get it. Packers rookie RB AJ Dillon has it and will not play against the 49ers on Thursday. This one isn’t a huge surprise as Green Bay has the highest 17-day average of any NFL city. The Browns have had a player with symptoms, so all their meetings are virtual until further notice. They have a bye week this week. The Cardinals have had 2 players test positive but their names were not released. The Cardinals were on a bye week last week but have the Dolphins this Sunday.
• Bears WR Javon Wims was ejected for punching Saints S CJ Gardner-Johnson 4 minutes into the second half. Wims got a punch and slap in before other players jumped in to break up the fight. Gardner-Johnson got in another Bears WR face earlier in the game so things were already chippie before the fight started.
• The winless Jets have traded their LB Avery Williamson to the undefeated Steelers in exchange for a 5^th round draft pick in the 2022 draft. I don think Williamson will complain as he just went from the worst team to the best in the league. The Steelers needed an all-star LB after they lost Devin Bush for the season 2 weeks ago.

Golf:

• Brian Gay won his 5^th PGA Tour title at age 48 at the Bermuda Championship this weekend. He was down 3 shots going into the back nine before he hit 9 birdies in his last 11 holes including one to win in a playoff against Wyndham Clark. Now instead of going to the Champions Tour in a year, he is exempt to play on the PGA Tour through 2023.
• Bryson DeChambeau will be the first golfer to wear a betting logo when he debuts his new partnership with DraftKings at the Masters next weekend. Golf is #4 on most popular for daily fantasy contests on DraftKings. Bryson will become the face of DraftKings and will be featured in media content and collaborations. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also the favorite to win the Masters as of today.

Olympic Sports:

• Golf wasn’t the only competition in Bermuda this weekend. The Americans in Team Stars+Stripes have taken the 2020 Open match Racing World Championship after their win in the 70th Bermuda Gold Cup. The winning team members are Skipper Taylor Canfield, Mike Buckley, Victor Diaz de Leon, Mike Menninger and Eric Shampain. Team GAC Pindar (GBR) got 2^nd and Team One Ningbo took 3^rd.

• Christian Coleman will miss the Tokyo Olympics! This is a huge blow to Team USA in the sprints. He is being banned for 2 years after breaking whereabout rules for the 3^rd time in a year.
  • Here’s a scary thought, of the 50 fastest times ever run in the 100m, only 15 times were run by men who have not been banned for drugs, missed tests or accused of doping. All 15 are Usain Bolt.

• Seattle Storm Sue Bird and USWNT star Megan Rapinoe are engaged. Their relationship started at the 2016 Olympic games and there is a 5-year age difference. Although arguably both are stars of their own sports!
• RUS Biathlon gold medalist Evgeny Ustyugov is now stripped of his 2^nd gold medal after being found guilty of doping. This medal and the 3^rd place relay medal he earned in 2010 Vancouver games follows his gold from Sochi, which is currently in appeals court.
• The Italian swim team that’s in a training camp in the Alps have the coronavirus and have been quarantined in their rooms. And these rooms are so small that all the exercise they can get are basic floor exercises. Olympic champion Federica Pellegrini isn’t even at that training camp, but she also had the virus and has since recovered and tested negative.
• German Olympic silver medalist in the bobsled, Richard Adjei, has died at age 37 with no cause of death given. Adjei also played in the NFL Europe league as a linebacker.
• AUS Tour Down Under is cancelled for next year due to COVID. It was originally scheduled for Jan 2021 as the first cycling World Tour event of the year.

What to watch this week

Football-NCAAF:

Top 25
Week 10
Top 25 Games
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV
9. BYU	21. Boise St	Fri 11/6	8:45 PM	FS1
23. Michigan	13. Indiana	Sat 11/7	11:00 AM	FS1
West Virginia	22. Texas	Sat 11/7	11:00 AM	ABC
8. Florida	5. Georgia	Sat 11/7	2:30 PM	CBS
1. Clemson	4. Notre Dame	Sat 11/7	6:30 PM	NBC
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football – NFL:

• Mon 11/2
  • Bucs at Giants @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• Thurs 11/5
  • Packers at 49ers @ 7:20pm on FOX/NFL
• Sun 11/8
  • 8 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX depending on your geographical location
    • Broncos at Falcons
    • Seahawks at Bills
    • Bears ay Titans
    • Ravens at Colts
    • Panthers at Chiefs
    • Lions at Vikings
    • Giants at Washington
    • Texans at Jaguars
  • Raiders at Chargers @ 3:05pm on FOX
  • Steelers at Cowboys – or – Dolphins at Cardinals @ 3:25 on CBS
  • Cowboys at Eagles @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 11/9
  • Patriots at Jets @ 7:15pm on ESPN

Golf:

• Thurs 11/5
  • Houston Open – Round 1 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 11/6
  • Houston Open – Round 2 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 11/7
  • Houston Open – Round 3 @ 1pm on Golf Channel
• Sun 11/8
  • Houston Open – Round 4 @ 1pm on Golf Channel

Motorsports:

• Sun 11/8
  • NASCAR: Season Finale 500 @ 2pm on NBC
  • MotoGP: Valencia @ 8:30pm on NBCSN

Olympic Sports:

• Sat 11/7
  • Cycling: Vuelta a Espana Stage 17 @ 11:30pm on NBCSN
• Sun 11/8
  • Figure Skating: Cup of China @ 11am on NBC
  • Gymnastics @ 4pm on NBCSN

Soccer:

• Mon 11/2
  • Premier League: Fulham vs West Brom @ 11:25am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Leeds United vs Leicester City @ 1:55pm on NBCSN
• Fri 11/6
  • NCAAW: Tennessee vs South Carolina @ 5pm on SEC
  • NCAAW: 4 SEC Games @ 6pm on SEC
    • Auburn vs Alabama
    • Georgia vs Mizzou
    • Kentucky vs Florida
    • Mississippi St vs Arkansas
  • NCAAW: Texas A&M vs LSU @ 7pm on SEC
• Sat 11/7
  • Premier League: Everton vs ManU @ 6 :25am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Crystal Palace vs Leeds United @ 8 :55am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Teams TBA @ 11:30am on NBC
  • NCAAW: Ole Miss vs Vanderbilt @ 6pm on SEC
  • Mexico Primera: Teams TBA @ 9:30pm on NBCSN
• Sun 11/8
  • Italian Serie A: Lazio vs Juventus @ 5:30am on ESPN2
  • Premier League: West Brom vs Tottenham Hotspur @ 6am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Leicester City vs Wolverhampton Wanderers @ 7:55am on NBCSN
  • NCAAW: Mizzou vs Florida @ 5pm on SEC