Archive for June, 2019

Cookie Monster Delights Cubbies, MLB All-Star Starters, Free Agency Begins, LeBron Gives Up #23, Women’s World Cup Today

BASEBALL

Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster delighted the crowd during the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field. He started by shouting out, “Today C is for Cubbies” then led the stadium in a rendition of “Take me out to the Ball Game”. The Chicago Cubs went on to beat the Atlanta Braves 9-7. You can’t help smile listening to him!

Major League Baseball announced the 2019 All-Star Game starters. The Angels’ Mike Trout led the group with the most votes. Click here for a list of all the starters. The All-Star Game will be played on July 9th at Progressive Field in Cleveland.

BASKETBALL

On Sunday at 6:00 pm ET, free agency begins, and teams can officially start meeting with players. There are rumors about where some notable free-agents will land. Among the big names are Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Kawhi Leonard.

LeBron James is showing his excitement for new teammate Anthony Davis by agreeing to give him his #23 jersey. Davis wore #23 for 7 years while he was a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. LeBron will switch to No.6 which he wore when he was a member of the Miami Heat and Team USA.

SOCCER

Tune in at 3:00 pm ET today to watch the 2019 Women’s World Cup where the U.S. Women’s team will square off against France in the quarterfinals.

 

 

 

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Vanderbilt Beats Michigan In 2019 CWS, Red Sox Travel In Style To London, Durant Declined Warriors Player Option

BASEBALL

Vanderbilt beat Michigan to win the 2019 College World Series. Vanderbilt has become a powerhouse in baseball with 13 self-described Vandy Boys taken in the Major League Baseball draft (tieing an SEC record).

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees are playing in London over the weekend, and the Red Sox are traveling in style. They will make the six-hour trip on the Crystal Skye Boeing 777 which costs $500,000. Check out the video.

BASKETBALL

Kevin Durant declined the Golden State Warriors $31.5 million player option for next season and will officially become a free agent. Durant could still play with the Warriors, but they will have to pay him a much bigger salary. Making his future a bit more uncertain, Durant is coming off an Achilles heel injury which could prevent him from playing all of next season.

 

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Yankees 28 Straight Games With HR’s, Bengals’ First Round Pick To Miss Season, Interest In Butler

BASEBALL

With New York Yankees D.J. LeMahieu’s home run against Toronto, giving the team 28 straight games with a homer, the Yankees broke the major league record for consecutive games with a home run. The last record was set by the 2002 Texas Rangers.

FOOTBALL

The Cincinnati Bengals’ first round pick in the NFL draft, Alabama’s Jonah Williams, will likely miss the season due to surgery on his left shoulder. Williams, a left tackle, was the 11th overall pick in the 2019 draft.

BASKETBALL

Many in the NBA expect the Philadelphia 76ers to offer Jimmy Butler a five-year contract worth $189.7 million on Sunday when free agency begins. The Houston Rockets are also interested in Butler, and according to ESPN, “Once free agency starts on Sunday, the Rockets are planning to recruit Jimmy Butler to push the Philadelphia 76ers for a sign-and-trade deal that would allow the All-Star forward to join James Harden and Chris Paul in Houston.The Rockets don’t have the salary-cap space to sign Butler, so they’d need the threat of the Sixers losing him for nothing to a team with the available room to motivate Philadelphia into a trade. The Rockets also would potentially need to make this a multiteam deal to satisfy the rules of base year compensation that would cover Butler’s outgoing salary.”

 

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Antetokounmpo Wins MVP, Gobert Defensive Player, Doncic Rookie Of Year, US Women Beat Spain

BASKETBALL

The NBA Awards were handed out Monday night and Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the Most Valuable Player. The top rookie award went to Luka Doncic,  Lou Williams won his third Sixth Man award, and for the second year in a row, Rudy Gobert took home the Defensive Player of the Year. For a list of the rest of the awards, click here.

SOCCER

With determination and grit, the Women’s U.S. National team managed to beat Spain 2-1 in the round of 16 and will now play France in the quarterfinals on Friday.

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Dodgers Rookies Make History, Cody Bellinger Has Eventful Game, USWNT To Play Spain

BASEBALL

With their third game in a row where a rookie has hit a walk-off home run, the Los Angeles Dodgers made history. There has never been a team with rookie teammates hitting walk-off home runs in consecutive games before the Dodgers recent sweep of the Colorado Rockies.

In more Dodgers news,  first baseman Cody Bellinger had an eventful game. First he hit a foul ball which hit a woman in the head, then he had to deal with an enthusiastic female fan who ran onto the field to try and give him a hug. He told the fan, “You know you’re going to jail.” The fan replied, “It was worth it.”

SOCCER

The US Women’s National Team will play Spain in the quarterfinals of the World Cup today at at noon ET. The Womens’ team had no trouble blowing past their opponents in the group stage, and if they beat Spain today will take on the host team France on June 28th.

 

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Zion, Ja Morant, RJ Barrett Round Out Top 3 Picks In NBA Draft, Wrong Team Hats, US Women’s National Soccer Beat Sweden

BASKETBALL

To no one’s surprise, Duke’s Zion Williamson, Murray State’s Ja Morant, and Duke’s RJ Barrett rounded out the top three picks in the NBA draft on Thursday night. They will be heading to the New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and New York Knicks respectively. The Atlanta Hawks chose Virginia’s De’Andre Hunter with the 4th pick and the Cleveland Cavaliers grabbed Vanderbilt’s Darius Garland with pick #5.

In an odd set of circumstances, some players were handed the wrong team hats when their names were announced. The NBA rules state that a trade can’t go through until the official start of the basketball season, so a player such as De’Andre Hunter, had to awkwardly get his picture taken in an LA Lakers hat instead of a Hawks hat.

SOCCER

The Women’s U.S. national team beat their rival Sweden on Thursday and wrapped up their third group match with three wins in three games. It was the first time the U.S. has completed a group phase without giving up a goal. The U.S. will now face Spain on Monday in the round-of-16.

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NBA Draft Tonight, Grizzlies Trade Conley, Kraft Receives Israel’s Genesis Prize, Ortiz Not Target

BASKETBALL

The much-anticipated NBA draft kicks off at 7:00 pm ET tonight. It is widely agreed the New Orleans Pelicans will choose Duke’s Zion Williamson with the #1 pick, and Murray State’s Ja Morant will go to the Memphis Grizzlies at #2. The New York Knicks are expected to pick Duke’s RJ Barrett at #3.

The Memphis Grizzlies made a big trade this week by sending point guard Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz for Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, and Jae Crowder plus the 23rd pick in the draft.

FOOTBALL

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is in Israel to receive the Genesis Prize, called the “Jewish Noble Prize”. Kraft takes past and present pro football players to Israel to celebrate his love and passion for the country. The trips are affectionately known as “Touchdown in Israel”. The Genesis Prize comes with a $1 million dollar award which Kraft said he’ll be donating to organizations fighting anti-semitism.

BASEBALL

David Ortiz, former Red Sox superstar known as Big Papi, is recovering from getting shot in his back while hanging out at an outdoor cafe in the Dominican Republic. According to authorities, Oritz was not the intended target of the attempted murder. The Dominican Republic’s attorney general reported that Victor Hugo Gomez, an associate of the Mexican Gulf Cartel, ordered the murder of his cousin, whom he suspected of turning him into drug investigators in 2011. The gunman mistook Ortiz for the intended target because the lighting in the cafe made it appear that both were wearing white pants.

 

 

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Shots Fired At Raptors Parade, LaMelo Ball To Play In Australian NBL

BASKETBALL

Three people were arrested at the Toronto Raptors celebration on Monday. Four people were shot and wounded at the rally, but no motive was announced, and the investigation is ongoing. The shooting took place at City Hall square where a crowd of thousands gathered to celebrate the Raptors NBA title.

17-year old LaMelo Ball will play in the Australian National Basketball League for a season in hopes of using his “one-and-done season” between high school and the NBA to get drafted high in the NBA next year. The NBL’s Next Stars program and the G League have become training grounds for high school players who choose not to play in College. Ball told ESPN, “They have a really strong league, with excellent coaches and great players, including former and future NBA players, and great strength and conditioning programs. My goal is to be the top pick in next year’s draft, and I feel they can help me reach that goal. Also, the timing of the season works well with the timing of next year’s draft.”

 

 

 

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Lakers Get Anthony Davis In Deal With Pelicans, Gary Woodland Wins U.S. Open Pebble Beach

BASKETBALL

The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a trade for superstar Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans. In exchange, the Pelicans will get Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart and three first-round draft picks. LeBron James will now have another star on the team to help him compete in the Western Conference. James didn’t waste time showing his excitement and posted on Instagram, “AD on da way!! Let’s get it bro! Just the beginning….”New Orleans has the first pick in the NBA draft on Thursday and is expected to choose Duke’s Zion Williamson.

GOLF

Gary Woodland, a 35-year old American, won his first major championship at the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach over the weekend.

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Raptors Win First Ever NBA Final, Kawhi Earns MVP, Klay Tears ACL

BASKETBALL

The Toronto Raptors won their first championship in their 24-year history by beating Golden State 114-110 in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. To no one’s surprise, Kawhi Leonard earned the Finals MVP, making history by becoming only the third player to win the award with a team from each conference (Spurs, Raptors). He is joined by Kareem Abdul-Jabber (Bucks, Lakers) and LeBron James (Heat, Cavaliers). As exciting as this win is for the Raptors franchise, it was a sad Finals stretch for the Warriors. Not only were they without Kevin Durant, but during Game 6 their other superstar Klay Thompson went down with a torn ACL.

Raptors guard Danny Green summed up the big win by saying, “There’s no words, really. Brought one home, not just for us, but for the 36 million people watching. A whole country. Special, special to be a part of.”

 

 

 

 

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