Baseball: Postseason! 3 Dodgers deaths. 2 more deaths and a retirement.
Basketball: Lakers lead series 2-1. Hawks honor MLK with jersey. Rivers to the 76ers. NBA not break for the Olympics. WNBA Finals
Football-NCAAF: 8 Losses in Top 25 (2 in Top 10). VTech wins without 21 players. SMU student section ousted. Pac 12 schedule begins Nov 7. Monday Motivation: Don’t’ celebrate early.
Football-NFL: Newton has COVID. 2 MNF games tonight! Titans test positive. Punches thrown at Chargers/Giants game. HC Rivera coaches through chemo.
Golf: Sergio Garcia wins Sanderson.
Olympic Sports: Armstrong leads ‘Bike for Beirut’ tour. Jakobsen jaw surgery. Congress has power to dissolve USOPC BoD. London Marathon winners.
Tennis: Williams withdraws. Nadal and Djokovic still in.
Baseball:
- The postseason has begun and we are now onto best of 5 series!
- It was a rough week for the MLB with deaths everywhere.
- Charles Haegar, who played in the league 2006-2010, was found dead by a self-inflicted gunshot after he was sought after for the murder and assault of his ex-gf. His ex-gf’s roommate witnessed Haegar coming out of her bedroom with a handgun after he heard a gunshot. Haegar was 37.
- Cardinals HOF Pitcher Bob Gibson died from pancreatic cancer on Friday at the age of 84. He played for the Cardinals for 16 seasons and won the Cy Young Award 2xs. He also won the World Series twice.
- Another 2x World Series Champion, Ron Perranoski died at the age of 84 from complications from an illness (not COVID). Perranoski was a Dodgers’ LHP from 1961-1973.
- He is the 3rd Dodger to die in a week with OFs Jay Johnstone and Lou Johnson. They were both teammates of Perranoski.
- C Francisco Cervelli has announced his retirement on Saturday. He played 13 seasons in the MLB with the Yankees, Pirates, Braves and Marlins. He on the World Series in 2009.
Basketball:
- The Heat (and mainly Jimmy Butler) pulled off the upset last night to win 115-104 to take Game 3, making the series 2-1 favoring the Lakers. The Lakers have dominated the first 2 games but last night was Butler’s night. He triple-doubled with 40 points, one of only 3 athletes to ever do so and one was on the other team… LeBron James (Jerry West is the other). This feat was also more impressive as Butler had 0 3-pointers to get those 40 points. This hasn’t been done since 2002 by Shaq. Oh and in true LeBron fashion (since I am not his biggest fan), LeBron walked off the court while there was still 10 seconds on the clock…classy. The series is starting to get interesting but the Lakers are ready to rebound.
- Games continue this week! Game 7 if needed would be played on Tuesday 10/13.
- The Hawks have a new alternate jersey for next season honoring MLK. All proceeds from the sale of the jersey will go toward the Atlanta community. A fitting tribute. See the jersey above!
- HC Doc Rivers only left the Clippers 3 days ago but that hasn’t slowed down his contract negotiations. The 76ers have offered him a 5 yr deal with no amount released yet. This would put Rivers back in the Atlantic division, which would pit him against the Celtics, with whom he won the 2008 NBA title as a coach.
- NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said that the NBA is ‘unlikely’ to break for the Olympics next summer. This would put a huge damper on the Olympic Basketball Tournament, which the US usually dominates since 2004 when they won bronze. This doesn’t just effect the USA team either; there are NBA athletes on Japan (1), Nigeria (3 and a coach), France (4), Spain (3) and Australia’s (4) teams. Its not a done deal yet but its likely they have made up their minds. The NBA season is rumored to start in January when preseason is usually going on now.
- The WNBA Finals are also going on right now. The Seattle Storm are leading the series 2-0 against the Las Vegas Aces. But the women’s series is best of 5 so Seattle could put it away with a win tomorrow. Sue Bird and Breanna Stewart are leading the team to a strong showing.
- “How do you feel on Mondays?” Tyler Herro:
Football – NCAAF:
- There were 8 losses in the Top 25 this past weekend including 2 in the Top 10. #7 Auburn got dominated by the Dawgs in GA and #9 Texas got beat for the 2nd year in a row by Gary Paterson and TCU. Tom Herman has the most losses to unranked teams when his team is ranked with 6.
- #18 Oklahoma lost to Iowa St in Ames for the first time since Eisenhower was president and lost back-to-back weeks for the first time since 1999. Oklahoma is now unranked (something that hasn’t happened since Sept 2016) going into the Red River Rivalry this weekend. The last time Oklahoma was unranked for the rivalry…2005.
- Perhaps the biggest shocker of the weekend was Tulsa took out #11 UCF’s CFP hopes winning 34-26 AT UCF. This doesn’t look good if the teams outside the Power 5 was going to be a contender for the CFP spot… #25 Memphis also lost. This leaves the Group of 5 hopes riding on #15 Cincinnati.
- #17 Mississippi St lost to Arkansas after they beat LSU last week. This is a big deal for the Razorbacks who snaps their 20 SEC losses!
- VTech pulled off another win despite being down 21 players against Duke. This and their performance last week (a W missing 23 players) has earned them a spot in this week’s Top 25.
- SMU had their student section cleared out for not following COVID protocols. The school only lets in 1000 students and masks are required when not 6 ft apart. Students only got to see the 1st half of what turned out to be a very exciting game.
- The Pac 12 released its football schedule with play to resume on November 7. All teams will play 7 games in 7 weeks to hopefully be ready for the CFP but no word on that yet. Oregon is the favorite so far, currently the only ranked team in the Pac 12 at #12.
- Monday motivation: Don’t celebrate too early brought to you by Kentucky’s RB Rose. Be sure to watch the whole thing…
Football – NFL:
- There are now 2 games on tonight for MNF! The normally scheduled Packers/Falcons game and the Patriots/Chiefs game got rescheduled to tonight after Pats QB Cam Newton tested positive for COVID.
- Over the weekend Tom Brady rallied to lead his team in a comeback victory 38-31 over the Chargers after the Bucs were down 28-14 at half.
- The Texans have fired their HC/GM Bill O’Brien after they started the season 0-4. As this news came out ~ 1 hour before the blog post launched, I have no further details yet!
- The Titans have had 20 positive tests at their facilities. No one has been found guilty of violating covid protocol yet but the NFL and NFLPA have had people investigating in TN since Friday. Needless to say their game against the Steelers has been postponed to week 7.
- The Chargers/Giants game got heated. After the Rams beat the Giants 17-9, Rams CB Jalen Ramsey and Giants WR Golden Tate threw punches at the 50 yrd line and had to be split up by teammates and coaches. Good luck seeing who threw the first punch. It is rumored that Ramsey and Tate have some beef off the field as Ramsey has 2 daughters with Tate’s younger sister.
- Washingtons’ HC Ron Rivera will have only 3 more weeks of cancer treatment and he still plans on being on the sidelines coaching through it all! His prognosis is good as they caught the Sqamous cell cancer early when he was diagnosed in August. So if you think your job is hard…
- Jets DT Quinnen Williams has been cleared of the 2 felony gun charges that got him arrested in March at LGA airport. He had a Glock 19 handgun in his carry-on bag and his gun license was only in Alabama not NY.
Golf:
- Sergio Garcia won Sanderson Farms with a birdie on 18 to win his 11th PGA Tour title and his 31st win worldwide. This was after a year since his last victory, failing to make the FedEx Cup playoffs and falling out of the Top 50 for the first time since 2011. He has had 2 uncles die from coronavirus and he choked up when dedicating this win to his dad.
Olympic Sports:
- Lance Armstrong, yes that one, led a bike tour ‘Bike for Beirut’ to raise money for those effected by the blast on August 4. Ammonium nitrate was stored there for 6 months before it blew up killing 193, wounding 6,500 and costing billions of dollars in damages.
- NED Fabio Jakobsen, who had that horrible crash at the Tour of Poland 2 months ago, will undergo reconstructive surgery on his jaw. After he was thrown into the barricade and an official, he did have surgery just 5 hours after the accident but this one is more invasive. It will involved taking bone from his pelvis to put it in his jaw, where he lost a lot of bone. He will then have another surgery to replace his teeth.
- The House of Reps unanimously passed a bill that gives Congress the power to dissolve the USOPC board of directors and gives the US Center for SafeSport 2xs the federal funding its getting now. It will now go to President Trump for his stamp of approval. This is in response to the Larry Nassar abuse scandal.
- ETH Shura Kitata won the London Marathon on Sunday after sprinting past KEN Vincent Kipchumba to win by 1 second. Kipchoge, the WR holder, was also in the race and faced his first defeat since 2013. And this was after ETH Kenenisa Bekele (2nd fastest man in history at the marathon) withdrew from the race due to a calf injury. The end of the race looked more like the final kick in a mile race and that’s because the pace previously was basically a jog for these guys (5minute mile pace). KEN WR holder Brigid Kosgei did take home the London title on the women’s side with a time of 2:18.58. USA Sara Hall took second. The non-elite runners that usually run the marathon as well were all virtual (they ran somewhere else and then submitted their times). Congrats to all who finished!
- The Athens Marathon will be canceled. It was originally set to take place on November 8th on the route that Pheidippides ran to announce victory over the Persians after the Battle of Marathon. Refunds will be issued and it will be run in 2021.
Tennis:
- Drama is starting to develop in Roland Garros. 2 American women are vying for the final quarterfinal matchup. Who’s in the Quarterfinals? Women: POL Swiatek, ITA Trevisan, UKR Svitolina, ARG Podoroska, CZE Kvitova and GER Siegemund with 2 spots left. Men: RUS Rublev, GRE Tsitsipas, ARG Schwartzman, SUI Thiem, ITA Sinner and ESP Nadal.
- Serena Williams has withdrawn from the French Open with an Achilles injury and she says her 2020 season is likely over. She guessed of needing 2 weeks of rest and then 4-6 weeks of recovery. She claims she suffered the injury in her loss to Victoria Azarenka at the US Open. Williams has given confirmation that she will play at the 2021 Australian Open (Federer also confirmed this week).
- Djokovic is in the 4th round of the French Open for a record-tying 11th consecutive time (tied with Federer and Nadal…duh). So far Djokovic has only dropped 5 games in his first 3 matches.
- Top seeded ROM Simona Halep fell in straight sets to POL Iga Swiatek, who ironically was sent home at this stage last year by Halep in straight sets. This will be Swiatek’s first Grand Slam quarterfinal and she’s only 19.
- Men’s bracket
- Women’s bracket
- Defending Champions: Rafael Nadal & Ashleigh Barty
What to watch this week
Baseball:
- Mon 10/5
- Game 1: Astros at A’s @ 3:07pm on TBS
- McCullers vs Bassitt
- Game 1: Yankees at Rays @ 7:07pm on TBS
- Cole vs Snell
- Game 1: Astros at A’s @ 3:07pm on TBS
- Tues 10/6
- Game 1: Marlins at Atlanta @ 1:08pm on FS1
- Game 2: Astros at A’s @ 3:37pm on TBS
- Game 2: Yankees at Rays @ 7:10pm on TBS
- Game 1: Padres at Dodgers @ 8:38pm on FS1
- Wed 10/7
- Game 2: Marlins at Atlanta @ 1:08pm on MLBN
- Game 3: A’s at Astros @ 2:35pm on TBS
- Game 3: Rays at Yankees @ 6:10pm on TBS
- Game 2: Padres at Dodgers @ 8:38pm on FS1
- Thurs 10/8
- Game 3: Braves at Marlins @ 1:08pm on FS1
- Game 4: A’s at Astros @ 2:35pm on TBS
- If necessary
- Game 4: Rays at Yankees @ 6:10pm on TBS
- If necessary
- Game 3: Dodgers at Padres @ 8:08pm on MLBN
- Fri 10/9 – if necessary
- Game 4: Braves at Marlins @ 1:08pm on FS1
- Game 5: Astros at A’s @ 2:35pm on TBS
- Game 5: Yankees at Rays @ 6:10pm on TBS
- Game 4: Dodgers at Padres @ 8:08pm on FS1
- Sat 10/10 – if necessary
- Game 5: Marlins at Braves@ 3:08pm on FS1
- Game 5: Padres at Dodgers @ 7:08pm on FS1
- Sun 10/11
- ALCS Game 1 TBD @ TBD on TBS
Basketball:
- Tues 10/6 – NBA Finals Game 4
- Lakers at Heat @ 8pm on ABC
- LAL leads 2-1
- Lakers at Heat @ 8pm on ABC
- Fri 10/9 – NBA Finals Game 5
- Heat at Lakers @ 8pm on ABC
- Sun 10/11 – NBA Finals Game 6 – if necessary
- Lakers at Heat @ 6:30pm on ABC
- Tues 10/13 – NAB Finals Game 7 if needed
Football-NCAAF:
|
Top 25 |
||||
|
Week 6 |
||||
|
Top 25 Games |
||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) |
TV |
| 4. Florida | 21. Texas A&M | Sat 10/10 | 11:00 AM | ESPN |
| 19. VTech | 8. UNC | Sat 10/10 | 11:00 AM | ABC |
| 22. Texas | Oklahoma | Sat 10/10 | 11:00 AM | FOX |
| 14. Tennessee | 3. Georgia | Sat 10/10 | 2:30 PM | CBS |
| 7. Miami | 1. Clemson | Sat 10/10 | 6:30 PM | ABC |
| *GameDay indicated in bold* | ||||
Football – NFL:
- Mon 10/5
- Patriots at Chiefs @ 6:05pm on CBS
- Falcons at Packers @ 7:15pm on ESPN
- Thurs 10/8
- Buccaneers at Bears @ 7:20pm on FOX
- Sun 10/11
- 8 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX depending on your geographical location
- Panthers at Falcons
- Bills at Titans
- Raiders at Chiefs
- Cardinals at Jets
- Eagles at Steelers
- Rams at Washington
- Bengals at Ravens
- Jaguars at Texans
- Dolphins at 49ers @ 3:05pm on Fox
- Colts at Browns – or – Giants at Cowboys @ 3:25 on CBS
- Vikings at Seahawks @ 7:20pm on NBC
- 8 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX depending on your geographical location
- Mon 10/12
- Chargers at Saints @ 7:15pm on ESPN
Golf:
- Thurs 10/8
- PGA: Shriners Open – Round 1 @ 4pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 10/9
- PGA: Shriners Open – Round 2 @ 4pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 10/10
- LPGA: KPMG PGA Championship @ 11am on NBC
- PGA: Shriners Open – Round 3 @ 4pm on Golf Channel
- Sun 10/11
- PGA: Shriners Open – Round 4 @ 4pm on Golf Channel
Hockey:
- Tues 10/6 – NHL Draft @ 6pm on NBCSN
Motorsports:
- Sat 10/10
- Motocross Pala National @ 5pm on NBCSN
- IMSA Sportscar Championship: Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Sun 10/11
- NASCAR: BoA Roval 400 @ 1:30pm on NBC
- MotoGP: France Race @ 5:30pm on NBCSN
Olympic Sports:
- Sun 10/11
- Cycling – Paris Tours 2020 @ 10:30am on NBCSN
Soccer:
- Tues 10/6
- NCAA Men’s: Syracuse at Pitt @ 6pm on ACC
- Wed 10/7
- International Friendly: NED vs MEX @ 1:45pm on ESPN2
- Thurs 10/8
- International Friendly: NOR at SER @ 1:45pm on ESPN2
- Fri 10/9
- NCAA Men’s: UNC at Clemson @ 5pm on ESPNU
- NCAA Men’s: NC St at Duke @ 7pm on ACC
- NCAA Women’s: Texas at Kansas St @ 5pm on LHGN
- NCAA Women’s: Tennessee at Mizzou @ 6pm on SEC
- Sat 10/10
- Super League: Tottenham Hotspur vs ManU @ 6:30am on NBCSN
- Sun 10/11
- Super League: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Arsenal @ 6:30am on NBCSN
- Super League: Chelsea vs Manchester City @ 8:30am on NBCSN
- NCAA Women’s: Kentucky @ Georgia @ 11am on SEC
- NCAA Women’s: Vanderbilt at South Carolina @ 12pm on ESPNU
- NCAA Women’s: Texas A&M vs Florida @ 1pm on SEC
- UEFA Nations League: FRA vs POR @ 1:45pm on ESPN
- NCAA Women’s: Alabama vs Arkansas @ 2pm on ESPNU
- NCAA Women’s: Auburn at Ole Miss @ 2pm on SEC
- NCAA Women’s: Miss St vs LSU @ 3pm on SEC
- MLS: LAFC vs STL Sounders @ 6:30pm on ESPN
Tennis:
- Mon 10/5
- 11:15am 2 women’s games and 2 men’s
- Tues 10/6 – Women’s Quarterfinals
- @ 5am on Tennis Channel
- Wed 10/7 – Men’s Quarterfinals
- @ 5am on Tennis Channel
- Thurs 10/8 – Women’s Semifinals @ 10am on NBCSN
- Fri 10/9 – Men’s Semifinals @ 10am on NBCSN & NBC
- Sat 10/10 – Women’s Final @ 8am on NBC
- Sun 10/11 – Men’s Final @ 8am on NBC
