Weekly Update – Week of September 16th, 2019

Baseball – MLB: Trout, Rizzo, Culberson all injured and out. Organist Pressy is done too. 2 teams are headed to the playoffs.

Basketball: Team USA losses to France. Raptors make a gesture to their Muslim women fans.

Football – College: 3 losses in the Top 25. 3 Top 25 matchups this week. Pac 12 refs in an awkward spot. Franks is OOF. Georgia fans shows that they’re classy fnas.

Football – NFL: Brees injured. Roethlisberger injured. Lots of Eagles injured. Another blown Rams/Saints call. Vinatieri’s struggles. Quessenberry’s catch.

Golf: Solheim Cup stays in Europe. Niemann becomes 1st Chilean to win on the PGA Tour.

Olympic Sports: Youngster Roglic wins the Vuelta.

Baseball – MLB:

• Mike Trout is having surgery on his foot and will be out for the rest of the season. He has a condition called Morton’s neuroma which is where the tissue around the nerves in the ball of his foot thickens. Trout is one of the heroes of the Angels squad but it’s unlikely that they will make the playoffs anyway, sitting at 4^th in the American League West.
• Cubs’ 1B Anthony Rizzo turned his ankle so badly after fielding a sacrificial bunt that he had to be helped off the field. So far its thought to be just a sprain but he is having an MRI today.
• Braves’ pinch hitter Charlie Culberson was hit in the cheekbone by a 91 mph fastball and now has multiple facial fractures. Nationals’ pitcher Fernando Rodney was the pitcher that hit him. The Braves won the game though 10-1 to clinch their playoff spot.
• The organist at Wrigley Field, Gary Pressy, has been there for 2,679 consecutive games but that will end when he retires at the end of this season. He began his career with the Cubs in 1987. The field has had a full time organist since 1967.
• Here are the standings of each region in the league:
  • American League
    • East: Yankees
    • Central: Twins
    • West: Astros
  • National League
    • East: Braves – clinched playoff berth
    • Central: Cardinals (Cubs are 2 behind and Brewers are 3 behind)
    • West: Dodgers – secured their division and playoff berth

Basketball:

• Team USA lost to France in the FIBA World Cup in a big upset. They then went on to lose to Serbia in the 5^th place game 94-89. USA takes 6^th This is considered a big letdown for the USA.
• The Raptors unveiled their new team branded hijabs to include more fans of all cultures. Maple Leaf Sports partnered with Nike to make the hijabs with the team logo.

Football – College:

• 3 teams lost in the Top 25 this week but only #18 and below. This next week sees some really good match ups including 3 Top 25 match ups, one of which is a top 10 match up.
  • Gameday is in Athens, GA for the #7 Notre Dame vs #3 Georgia face off.
• A young FSU fan, Grayton Grant age 4, and his father are selling lemonade under the sign “Free Willy” to buy out FSU HC Willie Taggart. They will have to sell a lot of lemonade (even at $20/cup) as Taggart’s contract is $17MM.
• Pac 12 refs are in an awkward spot this morning after having to admit that they erred on the side of an Arizona State win (*cough* Pac 12 school). There was a missed call for leaping over the kicking teams’ line on Michigan State’s FG attempt as time expired. It was not called and the Spartans have fallen out of the Top 25 rankings being replaced by Arizona St…. Awkward.
• Florida QB Felipe Franks is most likely going to miss the rest of the season after his dislocation and probable break in his knee in the Kentucky game on Saturday. He was carted off the field in tears. The good news? Even though Franks went out trying to make a Florida comeback, QB Trask got it done scoring the 11 points needed to win the game. Florida is ranked #9.
• Arkansas St’s coach Blake Anderson was almost moved to tears in enemy territory when #3 Georgia ‘pinked out’ the stadium in honor of Anderson’s late wife who died 2 months ago from breast cancer. Georgia beat Arkansas St 55-0 but that’s not what this game will be remembered for.
• Fenway Park will host a matchup between ACC and AAC starting in 2020.

Top 25
Week 4
Top Games of the Week
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV
10. Utah	USC	Fri 9/20	8:00 PM	FS1
23. Cal	Ole Miss	Sat 9/21	11:00 AM	ESPNU
11. Michigan	13. Wisconsin	Sat 9/21	11:00 AM	FOX
8. Auburn	17. Texas A&M	Sat 9/21	2:30 PM	CBS
Oklahoma St	12. Texas	Sat 9/21	6:30 PM	ABC
7. Notre Dame	3. Georgia	Sat 9/21	7:00 PM	CBS
Colorado	24. Arizona St	Sat 9/21	9:00 PM	PAC12
*GameDay indicated in bold*

Football – NFL:

• Not a good day to be an NFL QB. Ben Roethlisberger is having surgery on his right elbow and is expected to miss the rest of the season. The injury happened during the Steelers/Seahawks game on Sunday. Also Drew Brees went out in the first quarter after a thumb injury. He has ligament damage and will undergo surgery. He is expected to miss 6 weeks. Brees hit Rams’ DE Aaron Donald’s hand at the end of a pass. Good thing the Saints have the highest paid backup QB in the league, Teddy Bridgewater with a $7.25MM 1 year deal. Time to earn your money Teddy!
• As if the Saints’ fans weren’t pissed enough, ANOTHER officiating error cost the Saints a TD in Sunday’s game against the Rams. Déjà vu anyone? DE Cameron Jordan returned what he thought was a fumble for a 87 yrd TD before the half, however the play was ruled an incomplete pass and whistled dead. After a challenge by the Saints, the replay officials ruled it was a fumble giving the Saints the ball back on their own 13 yrd line. Maybe in 2020 well get the Saints/Rams match up with no mistakes. A girl can dream!
• This wasn’t the only call officials made that made people mad. Usually calm, Derek Carr of the Raiders, threw an interception in the 3^rd quarter when a flag was thrown. He was expecting PI on the Chiefs as his WR was knocked off his route by a safety. Nope. The officials called Offensive PI which of course the Chiefs declined. The Chiefs won 28-10.
• Thought we were done with injury reports? Nope. The Eagles had 4 players leave the game on Sunday against the Falcons due to injury. WR DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery, TE Dallas Goedert, DT Tim Jernigan and RB Corey Clement all went out and did not return to the game. 3 other players including QB Carson Wentz went out of the game and returned. Either way, a scary day for Eagles’ fans.
• One of the best kickers in the league and the league’s all-time leading scorer Adam Vinatieri  missed 2 extra points in the game on Sunday vs the Titans. The Colts won 19-17. Vinatieri has been in the league for 24 years.
• The Titans had a good moment in that game when OL (yes a lineman) David Quessenberry caught a pass in the endzone for a TD. Why is this a big deal? Not only is he a lineman but he also is a cancer survivor, being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2014. He completed his treatment in April 2017 and recently rejoined the league in May.
• The Bears beat the Broncos 16-14 with the help of kicker Eddy Pineiro who nailed a 53 yrd FG as time expired. This was his 2^nd FG over 50 yrds in this game, also kicking a 52 yarder in 2Q.

Golf:

• The Solheim Cup, the female version of the Ryder Cup, was competed this weekend. The USA and Europe teams were tied going into Sunday. However European Suzann Pettersons’ birdie on the 18^th hole clinched the victory for the Euro team.

• Joaquin Niemann is the 1^st Chilean player to win on the PGA Tour and the first PGA Tour winner of the year at the Greenbrier Classic. He was leading by 2 going into the final round and birdied the last 3 holes to secure his victory. He is also the 1^st 3^rd round leader to actually win the event since it began in 2010.
• From one of the youngest winners to a familiar face, Sergio Garcia won the KLM Open on the European Tour on Sunday. After a couple of questionable behavioral issues, this is Serio’s first win since the 2018 Andalucia Masters.

Olympic Sports:

• Primoz Roglic won the Spanish Vuelta in his first Grand Tour title on Sunday. Roglic is one of the more promising rising young stars of the sport but before being a cyclist he was a former ski jumper.

What to watch this week:

Baseball – MLB:

• Tues 9/17
  • Reds vs Cubs @ 7pm on ESPN
    • Gray vs Darvish
• Wed 9/18
  • Phillies at Braves @ 6:20pm on ESPN
    • Efin vs Teheran
• Thurs 9/19
  • Tigers at Indians @ 6:10pm on Fox
    • Zimmermann vs Clevinger
  • Cardinals at Cubs @ 6:15pm on Fox
    • Flaherty vs Hendericks
• Fri 9/20
  • Rockies at Dodgers @ 9pm on ESPN
    • Lambert vs Kershaw
• Sat 9/21
  • Phillies at Indians @ 6:10pm on Fox
    • Vargas vs Bieber
• Sun 9/22
  • Phillies at Indians @ 5:30pm on Fox
    • Velasquez vs Plutko

Football – NCAA:

Top 25
Week 4
Top Games of the Week
Visitor	Home	Day	Time (CT)	TV
10. Utah	USC	Fri 9/20	8:00 PM	FS1
23. Cal	Ole Miss	Sat 9/21	11:00 AM	ESPNU
11. Michigan	13. Wisconsin	Sat 9/21	11:00 AM	FOX
8. Auburn	17. Texas A&M	Sat 9/21	2:30 PM	CBS
Oklahoma St	12. Texas	Sat 9/21	6:30 PM	ABC
7. Notre Dame	3. Georgia	Sat 9/21	7:00 PM	CBS
Colorado	24. Arizona St	Sat 9/21	9:00 PM	PAC12
*GameDay indicated in bold*

• College GameDay will then be in Athens, GA for the #7 Notre Dame vs #3 Georgia matchup

Football – NFL:

• Mon 9/16 – Browns at Jets @ 7:15pm on ESPN
• Thurs 9/19 – Titans at Jaguars @ 7:20pm on NFL
• Sun 9/22
  • 8 games at 12pm on CBS and Fox
    • Bengals at Bills
    • Dolphins at Cowboys
    • Broncos at Packers
    • Falcons at Colts
    • Ravens at Chiefs
    • Raiders at Vikings
    • Jets at Patriots
    • Lions at Eagles
  • Panthers at Cardinals – or – Giants at Buccaneers @ 3:05pm on Fox
  • 3 Games @ 3:25pm on CBS
    • Texans at Chargers
    • Steelers at 49ers
    • Saints at Seahawks
  • Browns at Rams @ 7:20pm on NBC
• Mon 9/23
  • Bears at Redskins @ 7:15pm on ESPN

Golf:

• Thurs 9/19 – Sanderson Farms – Round 1
  • 1-5pm on Golf Channel
• Fri 9/20 – Sanderson Farms – Round 2
  • 1-5pm on Golf Channel
• Sat 9/21 – Sanderson Farms – Round 3
  • 2-5pm on Golf Channel
• Sun 9/22 – Sanderson Farms – Round 4
  • 2-5pm on Golf Channel

Olympic Sports:

• Mon 9/16 – Wrestling World Championships: Day 4 @ 7pm on NBCSN
• Tues 9/17 – Wrestling World Championships: Day 5 @ 7pm on NBCSN
• Wed 9/18 – Wrestling World Championships: Day 6 @ 7pm on NBCSN
• Thurs 9/19
  • Cycling: La Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta @ 2am on NBCSN
  • Rugby World Cup: JPN vs RUS @ 6:30am on NBCSN
• Fri 9/20
  • Rugby World Cup: AUS vs FIJ @ 12:30am on NBCSN
  • Wrestling World Championships: Day 8 @ 7pm on NBCSN
• Sat 9/21
  • Rugby World Cup: ENG vs Tonga @ 6am on NBCSN
  • Wrestling World Championships: Day 9 @ 7:30pm on NBCSN
• Sun 9/22 – Beach Volleyball: AVP Tour: Hawaii @ 7pm on NBCSN

Soccer:

• Tues 9/17
  • US NWSL: Courage at Dash @ 6:30pm on ESPNNEWS
  • NCAAM: 13. Clemson at Fordham @ 6pm on ACC
• Wed 9/18
  • NCAAW: 21. Tennessee at UC Davis @ 6pm on SEC
  • Leagues Cup: UANL vs Cruz Azul @ 9:30pm on ESPN2
• Thurs 9/19
  • Premier League: Southampton vs Bournemouth @ 3pm on NBCSN
  • NCAAW: Mississippi St at 12. Texas A&M @ 7pm on SEC
• Fri 9/20
  • Premier League: Leicester City vs Tottenham Hotspur @ 7:25am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Manchester City vs Watford @ 9:55am on NBCSN
  • NCAAW: 7. South Carolina vs Georgia @ 6pm on SEC
• Sat 9/21
  • Premier League: West Ham vs ManU @ 8:55am on NBCSN
  • Premier League: Chelsea vs Liverpool @ 11:25am on NBCSN
• Sun 9/22
  • Italian Serie A: Atalanta vs Fiorentina @ 11am on ESPNNEWS
  • MLS: Timbers at Minnesota United @ 2:55pm on ESPN
  • NCAAW: 9. Vanderbilt vs 21. Tennessee @ 4pm on ESPNU
  • NCAAW: 12. Texas A&M vs UT Rio Grande Valley @ 6pm on SEC