It’s only a matter of a few weeks before the NFL and NBA get underway as Europe’s La Liga and English Premier League have already started. We still have some pre-season domestic news though along with some UFC and MLB action and the Ashes between England and Australia witnessed a thrilling second test of cricket.
Tiger Woods’ season has come to a disappointing end. After 18 holes, Woods shot even-par 72, which was seven-under overall, and unfortunately, he doesn’t qualify for the next round.
UFC-241: Stipe Miocic
After just a little over four minutes into round four, Stipe Miocic won back his heavyweight title against Daniel Cormier. Although Cormier had 73 more strikes than his counterpart, all it took was just one knockout for Miocic to win his beloved prize. This is the fourth time a champion ended up losing in Anaheim.
NFL:
Injury news
Los Angles Chargers have lost Derwin James for three to four months due to foot surgery. New Jersey Jets LB Avery Williams tore his ACL in a practice game against the Atlanta Falcons and will probably miss the whole season. The Arizona Cardinals starting cornerback, Robert Alford, broke his tibia bone and will have to sit out for half of the season. The Baltimore Ravens will have to do without Taven Young, who will miss the season due to a neck injury.
Josh McCown
The former Jets quarterback has done a U-turn on his decision to retire and has signed a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles. He has signed just a one-year deal with the Eagles.
LA Rams vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys had the edge against the Los Angeles Rams Saturday night in Hawaii, winning 14-10. Devin Smith and Tony Pollard both reached the endzone for Dallas while only JoJo Natson Jr. was able to convert for the Rams.
MLB:
Gleyber Torres
Gleyber Torres makes his name with the New York Yankees by becoming the second-highest Home Run scorer in a season with the Yankees. He scored his 29th Home Run right before turning 23 years of age.
Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols brought light to his name by becoming the player born outside of the United States with the most hits. The Dominican-born player went to 3,168 hits on Saturday night for the Los Angeles Angels against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Soccer:
Barcelona
Barcelona was welcomed to a shocking start in La Liga by losing 1-0 to Atletic Bilbao. The hero was Aritz Adruiz who scored in the 89th minute.
Cricket:
The Ashes
Despite Steve Smith scoring 92(161), Australia ended up trailing England by 8 runs at the end of the first innings, being bowled out for 250. To Australia’s dismay, Smith was retired out first due to a concussion after being hit in the neck by a Jofra Archer bouncer. When he returned to bat, Chris Woakes caught him LBW after Smith mistakably left the ball. The second innings didn’t start well for England, especially when skipper Joe Root was caught behind the first ball but England found a hero at Lord’s once again in Ben Stokes, who scored his seventh test match century.
Australia needed 267 runs to win in just a few hours, so a draw was the most likely outcome, but for a good amount of time, the England bowlers excellently created doubt in the Australian batting ability. David Warner and Usman Khawaja were both dismissed caught off of Archer’s bowling, but substitute Marcus Labuschagne bravely got to 59 before being controversially being caught out by Joe Root at square leg. In the final hour, England needed four wickets to win and Australia wasn’t in reach of victory, but the likes of Archer, Joe Denly and Jack Leach were unable to find the wickets and the match was declared a draw.
Australia currently leads the five-match series 0-1 after two tests.
If you thought the NFL was teasing us about their return, you were wrong! We are less than a month away from the Thursday night kickoff between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers on September 5th.
But we’ll have to take it a week at a time before we can see the big games. This past Thursday was the official start of Week 1 of the NFL preseason and we got to see some of the rookies show us what they got. We’ll take a deeper look into some of the games.
And this week’s article will be a little different as we are trying something new. That new thing is for none of you to miss a thing from the weekend. We typically focus on the more important news like NFL, NBA, Soccer and any major tournaments from the other sports like Golf, NASCAR, or Tennis. But we will give you the news you need to know.
Let’s start with the NFL preseason and then work our way around to all the news. This week we have MLB, Golf, Tennis, NASCAR, UFC, and Soccer.
NFL:
NFL Week 1 Preseason Highlights:
The rookies put on a show during week one. We saw a lot of rookies getting comfortable earlier on in their first preseason game. Kansas City Chiefs rookie Mecole Hardman made two catches from 31 yards and a touchdown in his debut.
The No. 6 overall pick, QB Daniel Jones, was drafted by the New York Giants and head coach Pat Shurmur was pleased in Jones touchdown drive in debut.
The No. 1 overall pick, QB Kyler Murray had a sharp debut with the Arizona Cardinals as he went 6 for 7 with 44 yards in his one drive, let’s pay attention to how this will play out with Murray and all the young receivers that they drafted to pair with him.
How about WRs Jakobi Meyers and N’Keal Harry impressing us all with their debuts as part of the New England Patriots. They along with QB Jarrett Stidham are proving to be the bright spots in the Patriots future plans.
NFL Injuries:
Along with the highlights of some of the rookies, there is also some injuries that we should know of.
Players like Chicago Bears WR Anthony Miller and Houston Texans Keekee Coutee. But the biggest one of the weekend is Philadelphia Eagles backup QB Sudfeld. This comes as no surprise for Eagles QB, but they are hoping that Carson Wentz can stay healthy this year too.
Other NFL News:
Antonio Brown set to retire over a Helmet issue: let him keep his helmet that he’s worn for every season.
Colin Kapernick says he’s ready to play again: President Trump said he should if he’s good enough.
The Cleveland Browns trade RB Duke Johnson Jr. to the Houston Texans for ’20 pick: Johnson will work alongside Lamar Miller.
MLB:
Toronto’s rookie found himself in an epic battle:
In a 1-0 game against the New York Yankees, the Toronto Blue Jays rookie Vladimir Guerrero Jr came up to bat with a runner on base looking to take the lead. He quickly found himself in an epic 13-pitch battle in his first meeting with Yankees closer, Aroldis Chapman. Guerrero was called upon to close the game with a win and he fouled off seven of the 13, got a full count while swinging and missing twice. Guerrero’s last swing was a ground ball that led to a double-play and another save foe Chapman.
Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Yarbrough had a career day:
He was one out shy of a complete game as he pitched a career-high 8 2/3 innings getting 26 outs of 99 pitches in a shutout win against the Seattle Mariners. Had Yarbrough had the chance to get the complete game, he would’ve been the Rays’ first since Matt Andriese did it in 2016. The Rays won the 1-0 and got a series sweep.
In a divisional battle, the Indians survived to tie it up:
This wasn’t just a normal series, but the chance to take control of the AL Central was in the line. The Cleveland Indians had everything in their favor until they blew a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings at 3 a piece.
The Indians came right back out in the 10th and loaded the bases in the top of the 10th without having an out yet. That’s when Carlos Santana came up and delivered a go-ahead grand slam that propelled the Indians to a 7-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Tennis:
Rogers Cup:
Although it is not one of the major tournaments in the World of Tennis, the Rogers Cup had some big names in it. One of the biggest names was Spain’s Rafael Nadal who advances to the Finals with a walkover as his semifinal opponent Gael Monfils. Monfils was injured late in quarterfinals early Saturday and was not ready for the Semifinals hours late which lead to Nadal’s automatically going to the finals. In the finals, Nadal faced Daniil Medvedev and won in straight sets (6-3, 6-0).
Golf:
The Northern Trust:
In the Liberty National Golf Club, we saw Tiger Woods withdraw (+4) in the 1st round due to injury and he’s likely sitting out of the next tournament too. But in his absences, we still got to see some great golfers compete. Patrick Reed came out on top as he finished with a -16 par. Abraham Ancer (-15), Harold Varner III (-14), John Rahm (-14), and Adam Scott (-13) all had their chances late, but Reed held them off.
NASCAR:
Consumers Energy 400:
In the Michigan International Speedway, we saw Kevin Harvick win another race. Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Kr., and Daniel Suarez rounded out the top five. In the 183rd lap, Harvick passed Joey Logano and never looked back. He finished just 1.595-seconds ahead, and recorded his second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and the 47th of his career.
UFC:
Women’s Flyweight Title Fight:
Valentina Shevchenko tries to revenge first loss of career (September 2010) against Liz Carmouche. Shevchenko also puts the title on the line 61 days off last defending it which tied for 3rd-fewest in UFC history. After a long-hard fight, Shevchenko won on decisions and it was rightful so. She recorded the matches only takedown as Carmouche failed on three attempts. With the win Shevchenko became the 5th woman to win at least 3 UFC titles. It was also the 8th time that Carmouche has gone to decision (4-4).
Soccer:
Liverpool beat Norwich in the first half:
In the first match of the Premier League on Friday, runners’ up Liverpool scored four in the first half against promoted side Norwich City. Grant Hanley’s seventh-minute own goal was the first goal of the season before Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Divock Origi scored. Teemu Pukki did pull one back in the 64th minute for Norwich, but Liverpool started off with a comfortable win.
West Ham no match for Manchester City:
Manchester City’s success seems to continue over into their third season. Although West Ham was playing at home, they couldn’t hold their ground and City won 0-5. The first half ended 0-1 thanks to Gabriel Jesús’s goal, but the star was Raheem Sterling who scored a hat-trick in the second half. Sergio Aguero, of course, made an impact as a substitute, scoring a penalty, which was City’s fourth goal.
Chelsea faces a devastating start:
Chelsea without Eden Hazard proved ineffective at Old Trafford as Manchester United beat Chelsea 4-0. Marcus Rashford scored in the 18th minute with a penalty before getting a second goal in the 67th minute. Anthony Martial scored just two minutes prior to Rashford’s second and Daniel James closed the scoring account in the 81st minute off of a deflection from a Chelsea defender.
It’s that time of the week already? Man the world moves fast! And the world of sports never sleeps. I hope you found time to get yours while you go on vacations with your family as the kids will be back to school shortly.
But before the vacation time ends, let’s make sure we are all caught up on what we missed this weekend.
There aren’t much matchups or games going on with that much importance, but we do have a lot of news to cover about some of the bigger sports. We also have a pair of UFC and Boxing bouts to tell you about.
And don’t forget about the British Open for all you Golf fans. We will also recap some of the biggest MLS games of the weekend with a few FIFA games as well.
This week was quiet for the NBA and NFL for the most part. In the NFL, the biggest news was the decision on Kansas City Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill’s suspension or not. Joel talked about it here.
In the NBA, there hasn’t been much happening besides shooting guard Kyle Korver reuniting with former head coach Mike Budenholzer as he agrees to sign with the Milwaukee Bucks. James Harden and Anthony Davis both not playing for USA basketball and Kawhi Leonard filing a lawsuit against Nike over the “Klaw” image.
In MLB, all the teams are looking for a great second half and finding trades that could help them make the push for the playoffs. Let’s keep an eye on the trade deadline and see if players like San Francisco Giants’ pitcher Madison Bumgarner get moved.
We also might have missed Atlanta Braves’ outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. become the second player in MLB history to get 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in a season before the age of 22 (Angels’ Mike Trout was the first).
And there were six players inducted into the 2019 MLB Hall of Fame on Sunday afternoon. Players like Harold Baines, Lee Smith, Mike Mussina, Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martinez, and Roy Halladay.
Rivera became the first player to ever receive a vote on 100 percent of the ballots. Rivera finished his 19-year career with a record 652 saves and a 205 ERA+. As great as Rivera was, Edgar Martinez had his number. During Martinez career against Rivera, he went 11 for 19 with two homers, six runs batted in, and a .579/.652/1.053 line.
Mussina spent his 18-year major-league career in the American League pitching for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees. Mussina won 270 games with an average ERA of 3.71 and appeared in the playoffs nine times. But Mussina will not have a logo on his plague.
Let’s not forget about the late Roy Halladay. Halladay died in a plane crash in 2017, but he served as one of the best pitchers in the Majors. He played eight seasons with two Cy Young Awards. Halladay became the sixth player to be voted in by the BBWAA after his death.
Boxing:
Manny Pacquiao defeats Keith Thurman
Pacquiao hands Thurman his 1st career loss
Manny Pacquiao, the all-time boxing legend, aimed to prove he could still take care of business against an elite opponent at age 40.
He did just that, adding yet another enormous victory to his storied, 24-year career by defeating Keith Thurman, a man 10 years his junior, by split decision to take his undefeated record and welterweight world title before 14,356 on Saturday night at the raucous MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Pacquiao, who knocked down Thurman in the first round, won 115-112 on the scorecards from judges Dave Moretti and Tim Cheatham, while judge Glenn Feldman had it 114-113 for Thurman. ESPN also had it for Pacquiao, 117-110.
“It was fun. My opponent is a good fighter and boxer. He was strong,” Pacquiao said. “Even though Thurman lost, he did his best. He’s not an easy opponent. He’s a good boxer, and he’s strong. I was just blessed tonight.”
Pacquiao first arrived from the Philippines to fight in the United States as a relative unknown former flyweight titleholder and, in this same arena, knocked out Lehlo Ledwaba in the sixth round in a big upset to win a junior featherweight world title as a late replacement on an Oscar De La Hoya undercard in 2001. Eighteen years later and 25 pounds heavier, Pacquiao continued to thrill fans in an arena that has become something of a second home to him, as he took down Thurman in an action-packed fight.
Thurman (29-1, 22 KOs), 30, of Clearwater, Florida, who was making his sixth defense against the secondary titleholder Pacquiao, had promised to send Pacquiao into retirement. Thurman, who predicted he would knock Pacquiao out inside of six rounds, said he would make PacMan “disappear.”
Final Punch Stats
FIGHTERTOTALJABSPOWERPacquiao195 of 686 (28%)82 of 346(24%)113 of 340 (33%)Thurman210 of 571 (37%)18 of 128 (14%)192 of 443 (43%)– Courtesy of CompuBox
Thurman mocked Pacquiao’s smaller size by saying he had “little T-rex arms” and claimed that his in-and-out style made him look like a bunny. Thurman said he would do to Pacquiao what Pacquiao had done a decade ago to the aging De La Hoya: give him a savage beating and send him into retirement.
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs), 40, the iconic senator from the Philippines and the only fighter in boxing history to win world titles in eight weight classes, claimed the trash talk motivated him to work even harder than usual in training camp. True or not, Pacquiao looked sharp. His speed and reflexes were there, as were his stinging power and ability to move in and out and side to side as he hurt “One Time” Thurman several times.
“I’m not that kind of boxer who talks a lot. We were just promoting the fight,” Pacquiao said. “I think he did his best, and I did my best. I think we made the fans happy tonight because it was a good fight.”
According to CompuBox punch statistics, Pacquiao landed 195 of 686 punches (28%) and Thurman connected with 210 of 571 (37%). Thurman’s 192 power shots (anything other than a jab) were the most-landed on Pacquiao in the 43 fights of his that CompuBox has tracked. But Pacquiao had a massive edge in jabs landed, 82-18.
“I knew it was too close,” Thurman said. “He got the knockdown, so he had momentum in Round 1. I wish I had a little bit more output to go toe-to-toe. I felt like he was getting a little bit tired, but he did have experience in the ring. My conditioning and my output was just behind Manny Pacquiao’s. I would love the rematch.”
They went right at each other with heavy punches from the outset. Each landed solid shots in the first round, but it was Pacquiao with a clean straight hand that connected flush and knocked Thurman down in the waning seconds of the round to elicit a massive cheer from the crowd.
Thurman quickly beat referee Kenny Bayless’ count, and the round ended.
Pacquiao rocked Thurman with another straight right hand in the second round, followed by a burst of punches from all angles. Thurman tried to fight back but didn’t land much and could not get away from Pacquiao, who chased him down.
When Thurman forced Pacquiao to the ropes in the third round with a flurry of punches, Pacquiao immediately responded to blunt his success as the crowd began to chant, “Manny! Manny!”
Thurman tried to get his jab going and land to Pacquiao’s body in the fifth round. He has some success, but Pacquiao eventually forced him back and fired combinations. By the end of the round, Thurman looked a bit shaky and was bleeding from his nose.
Thurman bounced back in the sixth round as the pace slowed. He got in a few solid shots and appeared to shade the round.
Thurman continued to come on strong in the seventh round, whacking Pacquiao with right hands and leaving him with swelling by his right temple.
Pacquiao rocked Thurman with a left hand in the eighth round, and Thurman’s nose began to spout blood again.
There was a fierce, toe-to-toe exchange in the ninth round when Thurman forced Pacquiao to the ropes and unloaded, but Pacquiao quickly turned the tables.
Pacquiao had a big 10th round, when he visibly hurt Thurman with a left hand to the body. Thurman winced and was on the run trying to get away as Pacquiao swarmed him and belted him with shots.
Thurman, who missed 22 months because of elbow and hand injuries before returning for a January win, connected with a left-right combination in the 11th round as Pacquiao’s temple area continued to swell, but it appeared like he would need something dramatic in the final round.
Pacquiao did not look to cruise in the final round, however. He cracked Thurman with heavy punches and stood toe-to-toe with him to close out the exciting fight.
Pacquiao drank in the cheers while standing on one of the ring posts with the black belt slung over his shoulder. He bowed the fans and blew them kisses.
Teddy Atlas breaks down how Manny Pacquiao claimed a split-decision victory over Keith Thurman.
“I really love the fans. Thank you so much for coming here and witnessing the fight,” Pacquiao said. “I’m sure they were happy tonight because they saw a good fight.”
Pacquiao said he likely will return to the ring next year. He will return to the Philippines to be in the Senate when it goes back into session and will make his decision in the coming months. But the obvious fight for him would be a title unification match against the winner of the Errol Spence Jr.-Shawn Porter bout, which was announced at a news conference on Saturday hours before the card began.
“I hope to be at that fight on Sept. 28,” Pacquiao said.
The winner surely will want to fight Pacquiao because of the pay-per-view riches he can still bring to the table. Thurman embraced facing Pacquiao. He had never backed down from a top opponent. He has taken on and defeated Danny Garcia and Porter and made this his mantra: “I have an ‘O’ and I’m not afraid to let it go. If you can beat me, beat me.”
When Pacquiao did exactly that, Thurman did not complain about the decision, showing the all-time great the utmost respect.
“You get blessings and lessons. Tonight was a blessing and a lesson,” Thurman said. “Thank you everybody, and thank you Manny Pacquiao.”
Maxim Dadashev had surgery after loss:
Before this loss, Dadashev was undefeated, but this fight was something else for him. After lossing in the 11th-round to Subriel Matias on Friday night, he underwent surgery because of brain swelling. The way Dadashev lost was by his trainer throwing in the towel of International Boxing Federation 140-pound eliminator. Dadashev was having a difficult time leaving the ring and threw up before reaching the dressing room.
But he was tough and grinded out the rounds as they became harder and harder for him. He did take a lot of body shots throughout the fight as Matias had 112 of his 319 punches were body, but this brain swelling had to be from something else. We wish Dadashev a speedy recovery and hopefully we’ll see him in the ring again.
UFC:
Edwards outclasses dos Anjos, calls out Masvidal
UFC welterweight Leon Edwards has had a tough time getting the top fighters in his division to fight him. They might not have a choice in the matter after this weekend.
Edwards (18-3) extended his win streak to eight Saturday night, as he defeated former lightweight champion Rafael dos Anjos (29-12) by unanimous decision. The 170-pound bout headlined UFC Fight Night at San Antonio’s AT&T Center.
It was an impressive showing by the English welterweight, who has not lost a fight since December 2015 — to current UFC champion Kamaru Usman. All three judges scored it a blowout victory for Edwards, awarding official scores of 50-45, 49-46 and 49-46.
Immediately after the win, Edwards called for a fight against ranked contender Jorge Masvidal, with whom he got into a brief, backstage altercation at a UFC event in March in London.
“I’m on an eight-fight win streak, in one of the hardest divisions in the sport,” Edwards said. “There’s a little weasel called Jorge Masvidal. Accept the fight. Let’s do it. You’re not on my level. Let’s make the fight happen.”
Edwards, who was born in Jamaica and fights out of Birmingham, England, has certainly done enough to start making demands. His win streak is the second-longest active run in the division, trailing only Usman’s 10 in a row. His eight wins since the start of 2016 is tied for the most in that time frame with Usman and Vicente Luque.
He proved better than dos Anjos in every area of the fight Saturday night. He outstruck the former champion 106 to 88 overall, according to ESPN’s FightCenter data, and stuffed all five of his takedown attempts. He opened a deep cut over dos Anjos’ left eye with an elbow in the second round, which threatened to stop the fight.
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Edwards satisfied with win vs. dos Anjos, calls out Masvidal
Leon Edwards summarizes his execution vs. Rafael dos Anjos as perfect, while calling out Jorge Masvidal for a future fight.
Dos Anjos tried everything he could to turn the tide, but there was simply no doing so. He had some success early on with leg kicks, but Edwards’ range and ability to mix things up dictated the standup. Dos Anjos tried hard in the third round to take the fight to the ground, but Edwards used his size and defensive grappling to calmly remain on his feet.
Masvidal hit Edwards at UFC Fight Night in March, after Edwards said something to him as Masvidal was being interviewed backstage. Masvidal’s management has said he does not want to fight anyone other than Usman or Conor McGregor at the moment.
Dos Anjos has now lost three of his past four bouts. His only win during that time came in May, when he defeated Kevin Leefourth-round submission.
Greg Hardy:
Greg Hardy KO’s Juan Adams in 45 seconds
UFC heavyweight Juan Adams spent more than a year calling out Greg Hardy — and it took Hardy less than one minute to silence him.
Hardy (5-1) made quick work of Adams (5-2) at UFC Fight Night on Saturday inside AT&T Center in San Antonio. A former Division I collegiate wrestler, Adams tried to take Hardy down in the opening minute, but Hardy defended the initial shot and landed a string of hammerfists to the side of Adams’ head.
The heavyweight bout was waved off just 45 seconds in, when it became apparent Adams was not responding to the shots. Hardy, 30, improved to 2-1 in the UFC. His only loss came via disqualification for an illegal blow against Allen Crowder in January.
“I want to thank Juan Adams, no matter what he said about me,” Hardy said. “He was a great opponent, but it’s always ‘The Prince of War,’ baby.
“Everybody wants to get me on the ground. I want everybody to know that calling out my name comes with consequences. And taking me down comes with consequences.”
Adams, 27, had repeatedly said he did not think Hardy was UFC-caliber. He also claimed to “hate” the former NFL defensive lineman, and started a hashtag online titled “#F—GregHardy.”
Hardy has been a controversial figure for the UFC, ever since the promotion signed him to a developmental deal last year. Off-field issues including convictions for domestic violence (later expunged from his record) and drug possession contributed to the end of his NFL career.
The former Pro Bowler began training mixed martial arts full-time in 2016, and the results have been good so far. All five of his professional wins have come via first-round knockout. He trains out of American Top Team in South Florida, one of the top MMA camps in the world.
Adams fell to 1-2 in the UFC.
Soccer:
MLS:
International Champions Cup:
In a friendly, Tottenham Spurs’ Harry Kane outlasted Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus in an International friendly with a goal from halfway. The goal came injury-time as Kane lead the Spurs to a 3-2 win. Kane was a second-half substitute who lifted the Spurs and this was the second time in three months that the Spurs had beaten Juventus, previously Champions League semifinal.
Firstly, I’d like to say Happy Father’s Day to all dads out there. This is your weekend to get spoiled and pampered by all the kids and grand kids.
But what did you do? I hope it was something that involved watching some of the big sporting events that took place this weekend. If you did happen to miss something, don’t worry Aman and I are here to catch you up on everything!
This week is a lot like last week as we are in the middle of several different soccer tournaments that are going on. We have the Women’s World Cup, Copa America, and Men’s U-20 World Cup all taking place this weekend. We will be adding the Gold Cup as well.
We also have Cricket and Golf action this weekend. And then of course, there is the wrapping up of the NBA and NHL Finals that saw two new champions.
Soccer:
Women’s World Cup
Italy moves on after beating Jamaica:
Two teams, two goalscorers, Italy wins 5-0. Cristiana Girelli scored a hat-trick, scoring the first goal from a penalty and the second from a corner. The other two goals came from substitute Aurora Galli, who came on for Valentina Bergamaschi in the second half. Galli’s first goal came from a powerful strike from outside the box and the second came courtesy of a tap-in.
England moves past Correa and co.:
In England’s second Women’s FIFA World Cup game, England managed a 1-0 victory against a strong and fearless Argentina side. Jodie Taylor scored in the 61st minute, but England would have regretted previous scoring opportunities.
Argentina goalkeeper Vanina Correa was the star of the show as she saved, diving to her left, in the 27th minute. And although Argentina’s first shot on target didn’t come until the 75th minute, they tactically did well to restrict England’s flow on the wings, allowing just the one goal of England.
Canada re-routes New Zealand:
Jessie Fleming and Nichelle Prince both scored their first goals of the World Cup in Canada’s 2-0 win over New Zealand.
The first goal took place right after half time, in which Prince set up Fleming for a goal by squaring her up with the ball. The second goal occured the 79th minute after captain Christine Sinclair hit the post. Sinclair herself could’ve gotten a hat-trick as two of her other shots also hit the post. With this win, Canada advances to the knockout stages.
USA in Round of 16 with win over Chile:
Carli Lloyd scored twice as the US beat Chile 3-0 and qualified for the knockout rounds. Despite missing a penalty, Lloyd’s two goal allowed her to set two records: the first to score in six consecutive World Cup matches and the oldest player to score two goals in a World Cup match at age 36. Julie Ertz was the other goal scorer as both the US and Sweden qualified for the next round.
Copa America
Brazil wins at home vs Bolivia:
In the opening fixture of the Copa America, Brazil faced Bolivia in Sao Paulo and the home side won 3-0. The first half ended scoreless, but in the second half, Barcelona player Phillip Coutinho stepped up as Brazil were without Neymar and scored twice, one from a penalty and the other a header after receiving a cross from former Liverpool team-mate Roberto Firmino. Everton made things worse for Bolivia as Brazil’s third goal came from his shot from outside the box.
Colombia better than Argentina:
The match of the weekend and the shock of the weekend: Colombia beating Argentina 2-0. Despite Argentina having more possession, it was clear that Colombia were dominating throughout, being more dynamic, resulting in a massive win for the Colombians in their first game of this year’s Copa America.
Goals didn’t come until the second half until Roger Martinez shot past Franco Armani from the edge of the box in the 71st minute. Ten minutes later, after seeing a pass from the edge of the box, Duvan Zapata made it 2-0, laying the final nail in the coffin. However, Argentina could’ve at least tied this game as both Lionel Messi and Nicolas Otamendi missed chances from within the box.
Paraguay, Qatar draw 2-2 in first match:
Although it was difficult, Qatar did well in their Copa America debut. Along with more possession and passes, they matched Paraguay in other areas of the field as well. Things originally went off to a bad start as Paraguay were awarded a penalty in the fourth minute, which Cardozo put in the back of the net.
The rest of the half was filled with missed opportunities as Cardozo was denied a goal by VAR and Qatar missed two chances. In the second half, Paraguayan substitute Gonzalez scored from 25 yards out, nearly leaving Qatar out of the competition. However, Qatar’s starman Almoez Ali had tricks of his own as he too scored from outside the box. Qatar found some luck towards the end as Rojas steered a header into his own net, drawing the game for both sides.
Gold Cup:
Mexico beats Cuba 7-0 in Gold Cup:
Well the Gold Cup is off to a brilliant start as favorites Mexico humiliated Cuba in Pasadena. Of Mexico’s 30 shots, seven went into the net and Uriel Antuna scored a hat-trick for El Tri. By half time, the scoreline read 4-0 and not one of Cuba’s three shots were allowed on target. Wolverhampton man Raúl Jimenez scored twice and Diego Reyes and Alexis Vega each scored one.
Golf:
U.S. Open:
Welcome to Pebble Beach, California where we see some of the best Golfers in the world putt it off the tee for their chance to win other Major Title, U.S. Open. This year’s winner was Gary Woodland as he edged Brooks Koepka (-13 to -10). Woodland made the transition from basketball player to Golf player in college and it has finally paid off as he won his first major title.
MMA:
Bellator 222:
Rory MacDonald defends his Welterweight title against previously unbeaten Neiman Gracie and picked up the unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) as he looks to advance to the finals of the Welterweight World Grand Prix.
As part of the Bellator card, we also got to see Lyoto Machida defeat Chael Sonnen with second-round TKO punches. Machida relied on a jumping knee to the face that floored Sonnen following up with hammer strikes to force the stoppage.
This defeat lead to 42-year-old Sonnen laying his gloves down in the center of the cage to signify his retirement after a 22-year career.
Boxing:
Heavyweight bout:
In a Heavyweight bout between Tyson Fury and Tom Schwarz, Fury made quick work with a second round TKO.
Fury set a quick pace right that the start of the match, firing combinations of jabs that also landed a couple of body shots on Schwarz. Schwarz was uncomfortable right as the match bell rung. Fury now improved to 28-0-1 (20 KOs).
NHL:
Stanley Cup:
It was a long road for the St. Louis Blues who have had a lot of success getting into the playoffs and making it as far as the conference finals, but never had they made it to the Stanley Cup finals. They also have never won a title until NOW.
After going down 2-1 in the series after an embarrassing 7-2 loss, the Blues found a way to turn it around and won three of the last four games to win the title. They had a scary moment in game 6 when they lost to the Boston Bruins 5-1 and it looked like the momentum was back in Boston’s favor. The Blues managed to hang on and win game 7 with a convincing 4-1 victory and their first ever Stanley Cup title.
NBA:
Anthony Davis finally traded:
All season long we’ve been talking about Davis and who will trade for him. The Los Angeles Lakers were always the front runners and Saturday night the two sides finally got a deal done.
It’s a steep price for Davis as the Lakers traded Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Josh Hart along with three first rounder (2019 No. 4, protected 2021,unprotected 2024). This gives the Lakers the other superstar they needed, but it cost them huge.
Read what other moves they might need to consider on Joel’s piece. Also, stick around for an update mock draft as we head into the draft week.
NBA Finals:
The NBA Finals resulted in another first time winner and the possible end of a dynasty. On Thursday night, we all witnessed the last NBA game ever in Oracle Arena as the Golden State Warriors lost the straight Final games their to close it out.
The Warriors have won three of the last four NBA Champions prior to this year. They were looking to become the first three peat champions since the 00′-02′ Los Angeles Lakers. Fortunately for the NBA world, the Toronto Raptors and Kawhi Leonard won’t having it as they took a quick 3-1 series led and lost game 5 by one point.
But game 6 in Oracle, the Raptors knew they had to close it out and went the help of the continuously great bench play of Serge Ibaka and Fred Van Vleet, they did just that. Of course, Klay Thompson left the game with an ACL injury and the Warriors fought all the way down to the timeout that wasn’t.
I say timeout that wasn’t because during the final seconds of the game with the Warriors down one, Draymond Green called for a timeout that the team did not have and it resulted in a technical free throw and possession for the Raptors as they closed out the game to win 104-100 and pick up their first NBA championship in their first ever appearance.
Cricket:
West Indies can’t stand up to England:
Despite West Indies playing in fine form in the World Cup, beating Pakistan and nearly beating Australia, this big matchup between the West Indies and England went well in England’s favor.
West Indies were unable to get going, batting first at a big ground in Southampton. West Indies could only score 212–would’ve been less if it wasn’t for Nicholas Pooran’s 63(78)–as Jofra Archer and Mark Wood took three wickets a piece.
However, England’s best was yet to come. Despite losing both opener Jason Roy and captain Eoin Morgan due to injuries, England adapted and won by eight wickets. Joe Root scored yet another century and Chris Woakes helped with his 40(54) at number three.
Finch too much for Sri Lanka:
Australia continued their fine form after their victory against Pakistan by wiping out Sri Lanka at Taunton in Wales. Australia scored 334, 153 of those runs being captain Aaron Finch’s. In the second innings, Sri Lanka was unable to get going despite a resistant 97 from captain Dimuth Karunuratne. Mitchell Starc’s form only got better as he picked up four wickets and Kane Richardson added his three.
Amla, de Kock wins match for South Africa:
Despite a good start, Afghanistan were bowled out for just 125. Rashid Khan was Afghanistan’s highest scorer with his 35(25) and the openers managed a 39-run partnership. But Imran Tahir found success in the form of four wickets on a spinning pitch at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. In the following innings, South Africa saw Hashim Amla return to form as he scored 41 and Quinton de Kock continue to bat well, scoring 68.
Pakistan all over the place against India:
Despite winning the toss and fielding first, India, lead by Rohit Sharma, scored 336 in the first innings. Along with Sharma’s 140, Virat Kohli chipped in with 77 before he walked off, thinking he edged the ball to the wicket keeper when in fact, he didn’t. Mohammad Amir’s three wickets for Pakistan kept India under 350 as Hardik Pandya departed for 25 and MS Dhoni for one.
Pakistan looked like they were going to have a good start to their batting innings, but after Bhuvneshwar Kumar was injured, Vijay Shankar’s first ball swinged in onto the pads of Imam Ul-Haq and he was dismissed for seven, out LBW. Fakhar Zaman played a careful, yet brute knock of 62 as he and Babar Azam managed a century partnership. But after those two were dismissed, it was all over for Pakistan. Zaman miscued a sweep shot and was caught out and Azam was left astonished as Kuldeep Yadav bowled a wonderful delivery, spinning in from outside off-stump, crashing into the stumps.
Mohammad Hafeez hit Pandya for a six on his second ball but then fell victim to him later, being caught in the deep by Shankar. The following ball, Pakistan’s most experienced player, Shoaib Malik, was bowled on his first ball. After a rain delay, Pakistan needed an impractical 130 runs from just five overs, and India went on to win by 89 runs.
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Also don’t forget to vote for the MLB All-Stars as voting ends at the end of the month. Make sure your favorite player gets the votes so they can make it into this year’s All-Star game.
This week’s buy or sell has a new twist to it. Due to a busy schedule, Aman was unable to do this week’s buy or sell, but don’t worry; he’ll be back soon with an interesting take on Soccer, Cricket and the NHL.
In his place for the next two weeks is baseball specialist Dan Piersma. This is a surprise week in sports, as we all saw one of the greatest athletes of all-time has a successful run at a major title.
That one person is the one you see in the image above. Tiger Woods won his first major title in 11 years, and has completed his comeback from personal and professional issues. We talk about whether or not he can pass the great Jack Nicklaus for the most major titles in golf history (18).
We will aso be talking about whether or not we think the Arizona Cardinals should trade the No. 1 pick in the draft. And of course, we have a little bit of baseball, as we buy or sell the Yankees winning their division and making it to the World Series despite several players on the IL.
Rahim: Tiger Woods can catch Jack Nicklaus for the most major titles
Dan: I will BUY this. Tiger showed that even at 43, he can still be one of the best golfers in the world by winning the Masters last weekend. He’s now three behind Jack Nicklaus, and honestly, if he stays healthy, Tiger could once again become one of the bigger threats in golf.
Let’s be honest here for a second. Tiger plays golf. Now I’m not knocking golf or anyone who plays it, because I do also enjoy golfing, but to say Tiger won’t win four more majors after seeing how he performed on Sunday is outrageous. Golf isn’t like baseball, basketball, and football. You can play well into your senior years, as that’s when a lot of people start playing the sport.
Tiger has been doing this since before I was born, and last weekend he looked just as good as ever. As long as he doesn’t get plagued with injuries, there is no doubt in my mind that Tiger will win 19 major championships at some point.
Joel: I will buy this. I think it’s obvious Tiger has learned from his struggles, and it has helped him get back on top. He’s at the top of his game once again, and I think his most recent win will help him stay on top for years to come. However, a lot of that does depend on his health. If he stays healthy, he can for sure do it. I think at this point in his career he can push through anything, so again, I’ll buy.
Joel: The Arizona Cardinals will trade the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Dan: I’m selling this idea. I don’t see it happening. Arizona needs this draft pick. If anything, trade Josh Rosen and draft Kyler Murray, but certainly don’t trade the No. 1 pick away. Yes, a lot of teams would give up a lot to get the No.1 pick, especially teams like the Bears or the Chiefs, who are just one piece away from winning a Super Bowl. I don’t see this happening after all the rumors going around that they will take Murray at No. 1.
Rahim: I will also sell this idea. Going into the NFL draft next week, I think it’s a clear cut decision that the Cardinals will take Kyler Murray, but like Dan said, maybe trade QB Josh Rosen to a team who could use him. Honestly, I like the idea of keeping Rosen and Murray on the roster under new head coach Kliff Kingsbury.
Maybe it would be a better idea to trade the pick and try to get more picks in this draft and future drafts to help develop the team, but Murray is a one of kind player. Let’s not forget that he was drafted in the MLB draft as well, but he chose to declare for the NFL draft, and the Cardinals and Kingsbury are the best fit for him to excel in his career.
Dan: With 11 players on the IL this early in the season, it will cost the New York Yankees their division, and potentially the World Series.
Joel: I’m buying their injuries costing them their division. Anytime a team has that many players on the IL, it’s going to be tough to overcome. It certainly hasn’t helped them so far this season, and I can only see it hurting them as the season goes on.
If they continue to get behind in the standings because of these injuries, it’s going to be tough to come back when the season matters most. By the time they get their players back, it may already be too late to overcome their missed time.
The good news is, most of the teams in their division are struggling right now too. That’ll keep them in the mix in their division. However, if the Rays keep up this pace, it could be too late for anyone in the AL East to catch them and take the division crown.
Rahim: I am going to have to buy this one! The Yankees are the richest team in baseball and can do whatever to get players on their team. We have seen this several times over the past two decades, and that’s honestly a major part to why they have the most championships in any sport ever (27).
But when it comes to injuries, that’s the one thing you can’t control. It doesn’t help if you have to rely on guys who are not as experienced or talented as what you had before the injuries.
The Yankees were able to get C.C. Sabathia back this past week, and he pitched a great game. The problem now is, that the rotation is playing well and they are slowly falling further and further back. Like Joel said, the entire American League East division is struggling right now, aside from the Tampa Bay Rays.
If the Yankees can manage to keep it a close division race until their key players return, they may be able to sneak into a wild card. But don’t count out the American League West either. At this point of the season however, things are still too early to call. As a non Yankees fan, I don’t mind them missing the playoffs, but I’d rather it be due to lack of effort instead of injuries to players.
This is the first weekend of the NBA playoffs, and we are set for an exciting one. It’s also the Season 8 premiere of Games of Thrones, and if you spent time binge-watching all the episodes, you missed before the premiere. So when you’re done watching that game, let’s look at what other news we have. There is some news about some potential NBA players as the best players in college basketball declares for the draft.
The NHL playoffs are also underway, and we might see a big upset in the first round and even a bit about the Masters.
And then, of course, we have the MLB news that has us all wanting more.
What I forgot to mention in last week’s article was the 12 strikeout game that Cleveland Indians’ pitcher Carlos Carrasco had in five innings against the Toronto Blue Rays last week.
I also forgot to mention that Minnesota Twins’ Jorge Polanco hit the first cycle of the 2019 MLB season. He went 5 for five on the night as his Twins lost to the U Philadelphia Phillies 10-4. He was the 11th Twins player to hit for the cycle.
But let’s get started with this week.
Golf:
Woods takes home the Masters:
Did you think that we would be talking about Tiger Woods winning the Masters at the age of 43? I know it’s a special moment for all the Tiger fans and supporters. This is Woods fifth Masters win in his career, and 15th major tournament victory. It’s been 11-years since Woods has won a major tournament, 14 years since last Masters win. It was the ultimate comeback for Woods on both a personal and professional level, and it is well deserved! Woods becomes the second-oldest winner of the Masters; Jack Nicklaus did it at 46. With Woods finally back on top, can you continue to pursue more major titles?
NBA:
Nets stole Game 1 against 76ers:
Behind a strong performance from D’Angelo Russell, Carl Lavert, Spencer Dinwiddie, and offensive rebounding monster Ed Davis. Russell led the Nets with 26 points, Lavert and Dinwiddie combined for 41 points off the bench, and Davis had 16 rebounds in the crucial time of the game.
A magical moment in Toronto:
Veteran point guard D.J. Augustin led Orlando as the Magic stole game one against Toronto. D.J. Augustin had game-high 25 points including the game-winning three-pointer. Augustin’s opposing PG Kyle Lowry had ZERO points. Lowry is a five-time NBA All-Star, but he showed up for nothing in his first playoff game without DeMar DeRozan.
DeRozan spurred by Denver:
Speaking of DeRozan, he led the San Antonio Spurs to a game one upset against the No. 2 Denver Nuggets. This isn’t as surprising as it may seem. The Spurs currently have the longest active playoff streak with 22 straight years, so we know they know how to win especially with an experienced Coach like Popovich. How far can DeRozan take the Spurs?
KD, Beverly ejected in Game 1:
Late in the 4th quarter of Game 1 of the Warriors-Clippers, things started getting chippy between Warriors’ Kevin Durant and Clippers’ Patrick Beverly and both players were ejected. This isn’t going to be the last of it. These two teams are division rivals, and things are going to be physical all series long. Will the referees let them play through it though?
Irving and Morris led the Celtics past Pacers
The Celtics started slowly as the Pacers jumped ahead fast, but Morris and Irving led the team back with 20 points each as the Celtics take game one without Marcus Smart. Can they continue to dominate the fastbreak?
Blazers tripled their way to a win over OKC
It was three after three after three for Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, and the Blazers. The Blazers made seven three in the first quarter and jumped put tp a huge 19 point early halftime lead. Russell Westbrook and Paul George tried to bring the Thunder back late, but Lillard made another shot from long range that put the nail in the coffin for game 1. Can the Thunder figure out a way to get out the first round this year?
Pistons, Jazz took tough game one loss:
The Pistons are helpless without forward Blake Griffin, and it showed in their 121-86 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. Griffin will likely miss the entire first round.
But the Jazz’ don’t have an excuse for why they played so poorly in game 1. The Rockets had their way all night and cruised to a 122-90 win. Can Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert get things back on track for the series?
Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings fired head coach:
After Magic Johnson “stepped down” as President of Basketball Operations of the Los Angeles Lakers, their next move was firing head coach Luke Walton. I’ll have more on how I feel about this as a Lakers fan a bit later in the week. But Walton didn’t stay jobless long.
After a 38 win season, Vlade Divac and the Sacramento Kings decided to fire coach David Joerger. Divac made it automatic that he wanted Walton as the new coach and the two sides agreed to terms, so let’s see how successful Walton can be with the young Kings team.
Steph Curry is the all-time leader in 3-points made in the playoffs:
Aside from the warriors dominating the Clippers in game 1, Steph Curry continues to dominate from behind the arc. In 98 playoff games, Curry has made an NBA record 386 three’s passing Ray Allen (385). Curry also added a new playoff career high with 15 rebounds. Can he continue to set amazing records and prove that he’s the greatest shooter of all-time?
NHL:
NHL Playoffs
Islanders take a 3-0 series lead over Penguins, will look to close out the series on Tuesday Night
Capitals are holding onto a 2-0 as the series heads to Carolina.
Nashville and Dallas are tied at a game apiece
Boston and Toronto are also tied at a game apiece
Colorado fought hard in OT in tie series with Calgary.
The No. 1 overall team in the NHL, Tampa Bay Lightning, are down 3-0 in their series against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Winnipeg avoids 3-0 with a big win over St. Louis in game 3 to cut the series to a 2-1 led.
Vegas looks to continue to run through San Jose as they won two straight games to take a 2-1 series lead.
MLB:
Astros hit two grand slams in a 10-6 win over Mariners
The Astros started their season off a little slow, and the Mariners were playing hot until these teams meet for the first time this season. The Astros have won the AL West division in each of the last four seasons while winning one World Series title, and they aren’t ready to give up the division crown just yet.
Astros’ swept the three-game series against the Mariners and Astros’ Jose Altuve, and Yuli Gurriel had a nice series. They both hit grand slams Friday night in their 10-6 win. Altuve hit another homer on Saturday night as the Astros won again. The Astros are now winners of nine in a row. And they don’t look like they’re going to slow down.
Marquez throws 1-hitter, Rockies top SF 4-0, end 8-game skid
The Colorado Rockies were one of the favorites to compete with the Dodgers in the NL West. Unfortunately, they have been bitten by the injury bug, and it’s caused the team in losing eight straight games until Sunday night.
Rockies pitcher German Marquez throws a near perfect game only giving up one hit to San Francisco’s Evan Longoria, and that helped the Rockies stopped an eight-game skid. Marquez struck out nine and walked none while throwing 105 pitches in the first complete game in the majors this season. It was the first-ever complete game for Marquez and the first complete game one-hitter in Rockies’ history.
Royals snap ten games losing streak:
The Kansas City Royals will most likely be one of the worst teams in the league this season, so a 10-game losing streak was expected.
But Alex Gordon got tired of the losing and took matters into his own hands. In a game against the Cleveland Indians on Friday night, Gordon homered, doubled twice and singled as the Royals beat the Indians 8-1.
Earlier today, Fourth Quarter Sports hit 1,000 followers on WordPress, and I wanted to say thank you to all those who have helped us get to where we are today. We couldn’t have done it without you guys. I also wanted to give a little background on how we got to where we are.
During my last semester at BYU-Idaho, I was required to do a Senior Project in order to graduate. As a Communication major with an emphasis in advertising, I was required to do something related to my field of study. I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but my adviser told me to do something I loved. That made it easy. I had always loved sports, and something I’d always wanted to do was be a sports writer. On May 1st of 2017, Fourth Quarter Sports was born.
The very first post I ever wrote on the site was “Winners and Losers of the 2017 NFL Draft.” Looking back on it now, I can’t believe that was 290 posts ago. Things didn’t go as well as I had hoped right from the start. After all this was my first ever blog and I had to work out the kinks. At this point I wasn’t even sure if I would keep my blog going after the semester. Well now it’s been over a year and we’ve had about 8,400 visitors and 22,000 views on our content.
For the first six months, I was the only writer on the site, but then I decided to accept additional writers. Several writers have come and gone. Some have written only a few posts while others have been with us for several months, but no matter how big or small the contributions, your help is greatly appreciated. Seriously guys, thank you for your hard work.
I also want to thank those who haven’t written on the site, but have contributed in other ways. Some of those ways include following us, frequent comments and likes, reblogging or linking to our posts, and giving us advice on what we can do better. We’re always looking to improve and your advice is appreciated.
While we have grown a lot over the last year, we’re still looking to grow. This blog doesn’t stop with 1,000 followers. Our goal is grow a little bit more every day. We’re not the perfect bloggers, but I can assure you that we have a love of the sports we blog about. That will never change.
Again, we couldn’t have done this without you guys. You guys are awesome! Thanks for all you’ve done and all you’ll do. We look forward to our future. We’re excited to see how far we can take this blog.
One final piece of advice. For any bloggers out there who may be discouraged about their blog because it’s not going as planned, don’t give up. If you really love writing about sports or whatever your passion is, please don’t give up. Keep working until you reach your goal, and then set new goals to achieve. Thanks everyone for your support!
1. It was about 2:36 a.m. and I had just got into bed after watching the Belgium vs Panama game and I didn’t even look to see what the final score was, but Belgium I’m assuming blew them out of the gate in that game. I rarely watch soccer, but boy oh boy did that look like an absolute mismatch. Just checked the score… ended up being 3-0. The story about Mexico shaking the city during a goal is shell shocking, not as good as plate tectonics coming together, but the fact that Mexico City recorded a mini earthquake from a goal shows how much more the people in that country love soccer than we do. Most likely the reason we’re not in the World Cup. Was that satire? Maybe, but the U.S. not being in the World Cup hasn’t ruined it for me this year. Let’s be real, we weren’t going to make it out of our group anyway.
2. Now the big golf story about Phil Michelson, which I had some of my former golf buddies talk about on the podcast today. Some might have heard by now, but Phil did what any 10 year old would do playing mini golf and hit the ball as it was rolling away from the cup. Instead of your father saying you can’t do that son, the entire golf world absolutely lost their minds. I heard commentary during the putt and people calling him a disgrace to the game. They make it seem like he unleashed the curse of John Daly upon us.
Phil Michelson with a 10 on the 13th hole at the #USOpen. 2 stroke penalty for hitting the ball while it’s still moving. pic.twitter.com/Wmw9vVAM0U
3. Watched some baseball today and Mike Trout no doubt in my mind will be the greatest baseball player of all time. The man is on pace to break the home run record set by Hank Aaron or Barry Bonds, whether you believe in this thing called steroids. Me just recently becoming a baseball fan, I have totally enjoyed watching a guy like Trout. The man is a 5 tool player, as those big baseball saber metric or analyst kind of guys would call him. If you have a friend that isn’t into baseball, show him an at bat of Mike Trout and it’ll open his eyes.
4. Lastly, this whole Kawhi ordeal is great. The Spurs tweeted his draft day video a day ago, I guess to make him feel at home, but everyone knows he’s leaving. The big question is where he’ll end up. It seems to me Kawhi is actually taking some of the offseason pressure from LeBron James and even some of the spotlight. This may be a very very very hot take, but I think this offseason is now about Kawhi Leonard instead of LeBron James because it seems that LeBron will follow Kawhi. Kawhi has beaten LeBron James again, but this time in the NBA offseason instead of in the NBA Finals.
