Baseball: MLB injuries. Lou Brock died. Baez not happy about video. Standings going into final month.
Basketball: NBA Quarterfinals. 10 guests allowed in bubble for conference finals. Greek Freak questionable for Game 5.
Football-NCAAF: 6 of the Top 25 teams playing this week! OSU/Tulsa postponed a week. #2 NFL Draft prospect sits out season (that his conference opted out of anyway). Social change plans tweeted by Trevor Lawrence.
Football-NFL: NFL Season starts on Thursday! Watson signed 2nd highest deal. Hopkins sets non-QB record. Plenty of other money talking. Mariota out for undisclosed injury. OBJ having a s***ty day.
Golf: DJ wins FedEx Cup – stays #1 in World.
Horse Racing: No triple crown this year. Authentic leads whole race despite late push by Tiz the Law
Olympic Sports: Tour de France update. Tokyo 2020 is a go. WRs broken in one hour run (M & W) and W half marathon. Table Tennis comes back in Nov for China. Kerri Walsh against masks.
Soccer: Ronaldo hits 100 goals. Messi staying at Barcelona.
Tennis: US Open drama! Djokovic hits judge in throat and gets DQ’d! Men’s side has no previous GS winner left. Women have Osaka and Williams still in. Finals this weekend.
Baseball:
- There were quite a number of injuries over the past week in the MLB.
- Padres’ 1B Eric Hosmer broke his pointer finger while bunting in the 1st inning against the Rockies last night. Time out is expected to be 2-6 weeks.
- Braves’ LHP Max Fried is on the 10-day IL for back spasms. Fried’s record is currently 6-0 with 47 KOs in 50 innings pitched so this could be a significant blow to the Braves rotation if he’s out for longer. RHP Kyle Wright and Jacob Webb have been recalled and reinstated.
- Jays’ OF Teoscar Hernandez is on the 10-day IL due to an oblique strain while swinging at a pitch during Saturday’s game against the Red Sox. RHP Wilmer Font was also added to that list for a shin contusion.
- The Cardinals pulled C Yadier Molina out of last nights’ game against the Cubs for a bruised elbow. No word yet if he will also join the IL.
- Lou Brock, a HoF and notable Cardinals base-stealer, died at the age of 81 over the holiday weekend. He led the Cardinals to 3 pennants and 2 World Series titles in the 60s. He stole 938 bases over his 19 year career. His death came just under a week after Tom Seaver’s death, the pitcher he played against most with 157 appearances. Brock was also the batter Seaver pitched against the most. The Lou Brock award is still given out to this day for the most base steals in the National League.
- Cubs SS Javy Baez has made it known that he is not happy about the league’s decision to limit in-game video (in reaction to the Astros sign stealing scandal). He uses the footage to make adjustments in real time. Its shows as Baez has struggled in the short season, hitting .205. Players now have to wait until after the game to view their at-bats. During COVID, there is not enough staff to make sure that the film is being used properly.
- Here are the standing so far as we enter the final month of regular season play:
- American League:
- East: Rays
- Central: 3 way tie at 26 wins (Indians, White Sox and Twins)
- West: A’s
- National League:
- East: Braves
- Central: Cubs
- West: Dodgers (most wins in MLB right now at 30)
- American League:
Basketball:
- Teams still in: Heat, Bucks, Celtics, Raptors, Rockets, Clippers, Nuggets and Lakers
- Heat have a 72% chance of making the finals against the Bucks; makes sense since the Bucks lost the first 3 games and took the 4th game in OT.
- The Celtics only have a 53% chance of beating the Raptors. After taking the first 2 games, the Celtics dropped the next 2. Last night they took the series lead back in commanding fashion (for playoffs) winning by 22 points.
- Both LA teams are favored in the West to advance to the conference finals next week.
- The Lakers are favored 64% over the Rockets although the series is tied up at the moment.
- The Clippers have a better chance at 74%. The series sits at 2-1 until tomorrow. But do you want to bet against this block?
- Both LA teams are favored in the West to advance to the conference finals next week.
- The NBA will now allow team staff to have guests inside the bubble starting when the conference finals begin (next week). Each team can only bring on 10 guests and they will have a 7 day quarantine once brought onto the Disney site. They must arrive by single plane and will be tested daily. A bubble environment has been discussed for the start of the 2020/2021 season.
- The Bucks are in dire need of their star, the Greek Freak Giannis Antetokounmpo, as they trail the Heat 3-1 in the series. Giannis went out in game 4 after re-injuring his sprained ankle and is questionable for Game 5. However, he has not been ruled out, most likely because if they don’t win, its game over.
Football – NCAAF:
- This week there are 6 of the Top 25 teams are playing including #1, #5 and #10!
- The OSU/Tulsa season opener has been postponed a week. It will now kickoff on 9/19 at OSU. According to the Tulsa AD, this is due to COVID protocols have only allowed their team to practice 7xs since 8/7. Both teams agreed on the postponement.
- Oregon OT Penei Sewell has opted out of the 2020/2021 season. Why is this a big deal? Because he is ranked #2 overall draft prospect only behind Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence. Why is this not a big deal? Because the Pac 12 and therefore Oregon has no fall football season so hes really just opting out IF they have a spring season.
- Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence recently tweeted out the plan for social change that he and his teammate Darien Rencher have been working towards. It lists that all athletes will have Nov 3rd (election day) off so they can go vote, players can wear shirts and make statements on jerseys and helmets for racial justice, etc. The NCAA will allow players to wear jerseys with other people’s names on the back. That won’t be confusing when watching…
Football – NFL:
- The NFL season is here! That means that your man will be doing his fantasy football draft this week (if he hasn’t already). The season opens on Thursday with the Texans against the SB Champs the KC Chiefs @ 7:20pm on NBC.
- DeShaun Watson signed a 4-year contract to stay with the Texans for $160MM, which makes him the 2nd highest paid player behind KC QB Patrick Mahomes.
- DeAndre Hopkins is getting a 2-year contract extension from the Cardinals for $54.5MM. this makes him the highest paid football player (non QB) in league history.
- Other money talks:
- Dak Prescott will play for the Cowboys on a franchise tag for $31.4MM. All of this QB money being thrown around for Watson and Mahomes put a lot of pressure on Dallas if they want to keep Dak.
- ADP signed a one-year deal with the Lions and says he doesn’t mind ‘helping them get better.’ ADP has battled several injuries in his 14 seasons in the NFL.
- Tampa Bay make another snag with former LSU RB Leonard Fournette who was surprisingly let go last week from the Jags.
- Giants waived CB DeAndre Baker but no surprises there as he faces 4 counts of robbery with a firearm in FL in May. He could be in prison for 10 years if found guilty. His court date is 1/21/2021.
- Other money talks:
- Former Oregon (and Titans) QB Marcus Mariota is on the IR list for an injury that is not being disclosed to the public. Time to trade if you had him as your backup QB for fantasy. Another IR lister? The Pats put RB Damien Harris after he received a hand injury during practice. He can be back as fast as the 4th game of the season. Arizona RB JJ Taylor, who was surprisingly undrafted this year, has been promoted to take Harris’ spot.
- Odell Beckham Jr is literally having a s***ty day…
Golf:
- Dustin Johnson won his first FedEx Cup Championship. This is his 23rd win on the PGA Tour and solidifies his #1 World ranking. In this year’s playoffs, Johnson won, lost in a playoff and won the 3 tournaments. He also has won every year that he has been on the PGA Tour (since 2008) and has won 3xs on the PGA Tour every year 4 of the last 5 years.
Horse Racing:
- The Kentucky Derby was run this weekend and there will be no triple crown winner this year – seems on par for 2020. The favorite Tiz the Law had a good run and took Authentic all the way to the finish line but fell short. Authentic won the race and that makes trainer Bob Baffert tied for the winningest (yes grammar wise that is a word) Derby trainer of all time. Authentic lead the entire race and ran a time of 2:00.61, the 7th fastest time ever in the Derby.
- ICYMI: here’s the race.
Olympic Sports:
- The Tour de France is still underway and going smoothly now. The remaining 166 riders have all been cleared after doing a COVID test before the start of Stage 10. Ironically, the race director tested positive and true to protocol has left the bubble. As of right now, Primoz Roglic of SLO is wearing the yellow jersey, ahead of defending champ Egan Bernal by 21 seconds. The race resumes Tuesday.
- Need a reminder of the rules or what the jerseys mean? Check out my TdF post
- KEN Peres Jepchirchir won and set the WR in the half marathon over the weekend. She ran it in 1:05.34, which broke the old record of 1:06.11 by ETH Netsanet Gudeta from 2018.
- Another WR set this weekend? Mo Farah and Sifan Hassan broke the one-hour race run at the Diamond League meet. This rarely run race means that in one hour of running, how far did the runner get? Mo Farah broke the previous record by .028 miles, running 13.254 miles in an hour. While Sifan Hassan of NED ran 11.763 miles, .257 over the previous record.
- In the women’s 1000m, Faith Kipyegon fell 1 second short of breaking the WR of 2:28.98 set in 1996. She was on pace but faded over the last 150m.
- The Tokyo 2020 Olympics CEO has come out to say that the Olympics will go on with or without a vaccine next year.
- Table Tennis fans get excited! The ITTF announced that the World Cup events will start back up in China in November. The world rankings have been frozen since April!
- Kerri Walsh Jennings has officially come out to say that she will not wear a mask on Instagram. The 3x Olympic gold medalist says she’s exercising her right without being reckless and putting anyone else at danger. More to come on this I’m sure.
Soccer:
- Christiano Ronaldo is the 2nd male player in history to score 100 international goals in today’s game of POR vs SWE. The only other player to do so is Iran’s Ali Daei who scored 109 during his career from 1993-2007. Ronaldo debuted at POR in 2003.
- After all the hubbub surrounding Messi and Barcelona’s future, the soccer star has decided to stay. Well more like he couldn’t leave because he missed the deadline originally to tell the team he wanted out and has now admitted defeat. For now, this saga is over.
- Tired of wearing your mask? Ronaldo agrees
Tennis:
- The US Open ends this weekend and there will be a new men’s champion.
- Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have won 13 straight grand slam titles and 80% of the grand slam titles since 2004 and now none of them (or any other grand slam title winner) are in the US Open as we go into the Semifinals. So there will be a new men’s winner!
- Djokovic got DQ’d after he hit a line judge in the jugular with a ball after he dropped a game in the 4th He dropped his serve to trail 6-5 to ESP Pablo Carreno Busta in the first set. It was an accident, but it cost him big time. How big? $267,500 big. $7,500 was for missing the post game press conference and $250k was his prize money for just making it to the 4th round. But to put all of that in perspective, Djokovic has earned $140MM in prize money over the years.
- The women’s side is not without its star power however as both Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka are in the Quarterfinals. And for the first time ever, 3 moms are also in the quarterfinals (Williams, Azarenka, Pironkova). 4 of the 8 women have never made a US Open quarterfinal before so we could still have a new winner on the women’s side as well as the men’s.
- Defending champions: Rafael Nadal and Bianca Andreescu
- Women’s bracket
- Men’s bracket
What to watch this week
Baseball:
- Wed 9/9
- White Sox at Pirates @ 6:05pm on FS1
- Dunning vs Brubaker
- White Sox at Pirates @ 6:05pm on FS1
- Fri 9/11
- Braves at Nationals @ 5:05pm on FS1
- Tomlin vs Fedde
- Braves at Nationals @ 5:05pm on FS1
- Sat 9/12
- Tigers at White Sox @ 6:10pm on FS1
- Fulmer vs Keuchel
- Depending on your geographical location @ 7:05pm on FOX
- A’s at Rangers
- Astros at Dodgers
- Valdez vs Gonsolin
- Indians at Twins
- Plesac vs Maeda
- Tigers at White Sox @ 6:10pm on FS1
- Sun 9/13
- Cubs at Brewers @ 1:10pm on TBS
- Mills vs Houser
- Astros at Dodgers @ 7pm on ESPN
- Javier vs Urias
- Cubs at Brewers @ 1:10pm on TBS
Basketball:
- Tues 9/8 – Semifinals
- East – Game 5: Heat at Bucks @ 5:30pm on TNT
- MIA leads 3-1
- West – Game 3: Lakers at Rockets @ 8pm on TNT
- Series tied
- East – Game 5: Heat at Bucks @ 5:30pm on TNT
- Wed 9/9 – Semifinals
- East Game 6: Raptors at Celtics @ 5:40pm on ESPN
- BOS leads 3-2
- West Game 4: Clippers at Nuggets @ 8pm on ESPN
- LAC leads 2-1
- East Game 6: Raptors at Celtics @ 5:40pm on ESPN
- Thurs 9/10 – Semifinals
- East Game 6: Bucks at Heat @ TBD on ESPN
- If necessary
- West Game 4: Lakers at Rockets @ TBD on TNT
- East Game 6: Bucks at Heat @ TBD on ESPN
- Fri 9/11 – Semifinals
- East Game 7: Celtics at Raptors @ TBD on TNT
- If necessary
- West Game 5: Nuggets at Clippers @ TBD on TNT
- East Game 7: Celtics at Raptors @ TBD on TNT
- Sat 9/12 – Semifinals
- East Game 7: Heat at Bucks @ TBD on TNT
- If necessary
- West Game 5: Rockets at Lakers @ 8pm on ESPN
- East Game 7: Heat at Bucks @ TBD on TNT
- Sun 9/13 – Semifinals – if necessary
- Clippers at Nuggets @ TBD on ESPN
Football-NCAAF:
|
Top 25 |
|||||
|
Week 1 |
|||||
|
Top 25 Games |
|||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV |
Line |
| Syracuse | 18. UNC | Sat 9/12 | 11:00 AM | ACC | +22 |
| Louisiana | 23. Iowa St | Sat 9/12 | 11:00 AM | ESPN | +11.5 |
| Duke | 10. Notre Dame | Sat 9/12 | 1:30 PM | NBC | +20 |
| Missouri St | 5. Oklahoma | Sat 9/12 | 6:00 PM | PPV | – |
| 1. Clemson | Wake Forest | Sat 9/12 | 6:30 PM | ABC | -33 |
| UTEP | 14. Texas | Sat 9/12 | 7:00 PM | LHN | +43 |
| *GameDay indicated in bold* | |||||
|
Other Games This Week |
||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) |
TV |
| UAB | Miami | Thurs 9/10 | 7:00 PM | ACC |
| Eastern Kentucky | West Virginia | Sat 9/12 | 11:00 AM | FS1 |
| LA Tech | Baylor | Sat 9/12 | 11:00 AM | FOX |
| Georgia Tech | Florida St | Sat 9/12 | 2:30 PM | ABC |
| Arkansas St | Kansas St | Sat 9/12 | 2:30 PM | FS1 |
| Houston Baptist | Texas Tech | Sat 9/12 | 7:00 PM | ESPN+ |
Football – NFL:
- Thurs 9/10 – Texans at Chiefs @ 7:20pm on NBC
- Sun 9/13
- 9 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX depending on your geographical location
- Seahawks at Falcons
- Jets at Bills
- Bears at Lions
- Packers at Vikings
- Dolphins at Patriots
- Eagles at Washington (no Redskins anymore remember?)
- Raiders at Panthers
- Colts at Jaguars
- Browns at Ravens
- Chargers at Bengals @ 3:05pm on CBS
- Buccaneers at Saints – or – Cardinals at 49ers @ 3:25 on Fox
- Cowboys at Rams @ 7:20pm on NBC
- 9 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX depending on your geographical location
- Mon 9/14
- Steelers at Giants @ 6:15pm on ESPN
- Titans at Broncos @ 9:10pm on ESPN
Golf:
- Thurs 9/10 – Safeway Open – Round 1 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 9/11 – Safeway Open – Round 2 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 9/12 – Safeway Open – Round 3 @ 5pm on Golf Channel
- Sun 9/13 – Safeway Open – Round 4 @ 5pm on Golf Channel
Hockey:
- Tues 9/8 – West Final
- Stars at Golden Knights @ 7pm on NBCSN
- DAL leads 1-0
- Stars at Golden Knights @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Wed 9/9 – East Final
- Islanders at Lightening @ 7pm on NBCSN
- TB leads 1-0
- Islanders at Lightening @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Thurs 9/10
- Golden Knights at Stars @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Fri 9/11
- Lightening at Islanders @ 7pm on USA
- Sat 9/12
- Golden Knights at Stars @ 7pm on NBC
- Sun 9/13
- Lightening at Islanders @ 2pm on NBC
Motorsports:
- Sat 9/12
- NASCAR: Federated Auto Parts 400 @ 6:30pm on NBCSN
- Sun 9/13
- Formula 1: Mugello @ 8:10am on ESPN
- IndyCar Race @ 11am on NBC
- MotoGP: San Marino Race @ 3:30pm on NBCSN
Olympic Sports:
- Wed 9/9
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 11 @ 6:30am on NBCSN
- Replay on @ 2pm and 11pm on NBCSN
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 11 @ 6:30am on NBCSN
- Thurs 9/10
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 12 @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- Replay on @ 2pm, 4pm and 11pm on NBCSN
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 12 @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- Fri 9/11
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 13 @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- Replay on @ 3pm and 9:30pm on NBCSN
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 13 @ 5:30am on NBCSN
- Sat 9/12
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 14 @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Sun 9/13
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 15 @ 7pm on NBCSN
- Replay on @ 11pm on NBCSN
- Cycling – Tour de France: Stage 15 @ 7pm on NBCSN
Soccer:
- Tues 9/8
- UEFA Nations League: DEN vs ENG @ 1 :45pm on ESPN2
- Sat 9/12
- Premier League: Fulham vs Arsenal @ 6:25am on NBCSN
- Premier League: West Ham vs Newcastle @ 8:55am on NBCSN
- Premier League: Teams TBA @ 10 :30am on NBC
- NWSL: Portland Thorns vs OL Reign @ 2:30pm on CBS
- Sun 9/13
- Premier League: West Brom vs Leicster City @ 7:55am on NBCSN
- WSL: Teams TBA @ 1:30pm on NBCSN
Tennis:
- Tues 9/8 – Quarterfinals
- Men’s: Coric vs Zverev @ 1pm on ESPN
- Women’s: Osaka vs Rogers @ 6pm on ESPN
- Men’s: Carreno Busta vs Shapovalov @ 8pm on ESPN
- Wed 9/9 – Quarterfinals
- Women’s: Pironkova vs Williams @ 11am on ESPN
- Men’s: Rublev vs Medvedev @ 1pm on ESPN
- Women’s: Azarenka vs Mertens @ 6pm on ESPN/ESPN2
- Men’s: De Minaur vs Thiem @ 8pm on ESPN2
- Thurs 9/10 – Women’s Semifinals
- Men’s Doubles Final @ 2pm on ESPN2
- Brady vs (Osaka or Rogers) @ 6pm on ESPN/ESPN2
- Winners of 2 matches from Wed @ 8pm on ESPN/ESPN2
- Fri 9/11 – Men’s Semifinals
- Women’s Doubles Final @ 11am on ESPN2
- TBD vs TBD @ 3pm on ESPN
- TBD vs TBD @ 5:30pm on ESPN
- Sat 9/12 – Women’s Final
- Women’s Final @ 3pm on ESPN
- Sun 9/13 – Men’s Final
- Men’s Final @ 3pm on ESPN
