Archive for September, 2019
Eagles Hold Off Packers On TNF, JLO And Shakira Co-Headline Super Bowl
FOOTBALL
The Philadelphia Eagles held off the Green Bay Packers in an exciting Thursday night game. Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers had 422 yards passing and was close to tying the game, but without his star receiver Davonte Adams (who suffered a toe injury late in the game) Rodgers had his pass picked off in the end zone with seconds left giving the Eagles a 34-27 win. The Eagles are now 2-2 on the season and the Packers 3-1.
The NFL announced Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will co-headline the Super Bowl halftime show on February 2nd in Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. The NFL and Jaz-Z’s company Roc Nation signed a deal this season giving them the lead over music and entertainment and “advice on the selection of acts for the NFL’s most-watched halftime showâ€.
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Nationals Clinch Wild Card, Dozier’s Celebration
BASEBALL
The Washington Nationals clinched a National League Wild Card slot on Tuesday when they swept the Philadelphia Phillies. At one point in the season, the team was 19-31 so the turnaround is a big accomplishment. If the Nationals can advance past the first round, it will be the first time in four attempts under GM Mike Rizzo. For now, the team is ecstatic. Watch second baseman Brian Dozier twerking in the locker room after the win.
For an update on the MLB playoff picture, click here.
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Bears D And Trubisky Crush Redskins, Redskins Stir Gatorade With Cups & Spell Inductee Name Wrong
FOOTBALL
Thanks to a dominant Chicago Bears defense and an inspired performance by Khalil Mack’s two sacks and two forced fumbles in just the first half (and a solid performance by quarterback Mitchell Trubisky), the Bears crushed the Washington Redskins 31-15 on Monday Night Football. To add insult to injury, the MNF broadcast team showed a Redskins’ employee stirring a cooler of Gatorade with a plastic bag of styrofoam cups (instead of a big spoon). And, then to make matters worse, at halftime, the Redskins messed up the spelling of retired linebacker London Fletcher during his Ring of Honor Induction ceremony. (They spelled his name Flecther.)
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Gardner Minshew II Gets First Win For Jags, Ramsey’s Last Game?, Rosen Is Chosen, Yankees Clinch AL East
FOOTBALL
Quarterback Gardner Minshew II (6th round pick in the 2019 draft) got his first win for the Jacksonville Jaguars against the Tennessee Titans. He went  20 for 30 with 204 yards and 2 TD’s in only his second career start. There were many questions after the game about Jags cornerback Jalen Ramsey who demanded a trade after a tense meeting with team management.  He told the Uninterrupted “17 weeks†podcast, “Some disrespectful things were said on their end that made me definitely walk out and call my agent as soon as I walked out. I said, ‘It’s time. My time is up here in Jacksonville.’ I said I want to ask for a trade. I was truly at peace, like I wasn’t in a mindset of making a decision while I was angry. I was completely calm. I still stand by that decision, asked for a trade.”  Jaguars 20, Titans 7
The Miami Dolphins decided to make a change at quarterback benching Ryan Fitzpatrick and starting Josh Rosen on Sunday vs the Dallas Cowboys.
BASEBALL
Congrats to the New York Yankees for the clinching the AL East Division for the first time since 2012!
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Curry Will Play For Team USA, Daniel Jones Replaces Eli Manning
BASKETBALL
In an interview with ESPN, Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry said he’ll play for Team USA at the Olympic Games next summer in Tokyo. Curry has played on two gold medal-winning World Cup Championship teams but never played in the Olympics. Team USA has won three straight Olympic golds and will be looking to bring home their fourth.
FOOTBALL
The New York Giants’ sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft, Daniel Jones, will take over as the starting quarterback leaving two-time Super Bowl winner Eli Manning on the bench. Giants’ coach Pat Shurmer explained “Ultimately, this is a move that I felt was best for this team at this time. I am very fond of Eli. His work ethic, his preparation, his football intelligence. All those attributes are as good as I have ever seen in a player. And Eli worked as hard as you could ask of anybody to get ready for this season. This move is more about Daniel moving forward than about Eli.â€
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Jets On Third QB In Loss To Browns, Roethlisberger Out For Season, Brees Likely Out 6 Wks, Virginia Coach Declines Raise
FOOTBALL
The New York Jets were already down a quarterback with their starter Sam Darnold out due to mononucleosis. Then on Monday night’s loss to the Cleveland Browns, their backup Trevor Siemian suffered an ankle injury in the second quarter. Third-stringer Luke Falk had to step in, but it wasn’t pretty and the Jets lost 23-3 to the Cleveland Browns. Luke will probably have to start next week against the mighty New England Patriots. Could be ugly.
In other disappointing quarterback news, Pittsburgh Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger will out for the entire season. The 37-year old future Hall of Famer will have elbow surgery this week. He’ll be replaced by 2018 third round pick Mason Rudolph.
The other injured future Hall of Famer, New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees got slightly better news. He’ll have surgery on his thumb, but will likely miss six weeks (not the whole season). Teddy Bridgewater will take over. The absence is unchartered territory for the Saints, as Brees hasn’t missed a game because of injury since 2015.
BASKETBALL
In some unusual and refreshing news, men’s college basketball coach Tony Bennett signed a one-year contract extension with Virginia but declined an increase in pay. Instead of a raise, he asked for additional compensation for his staff and the program. Bennett earned $6 million last season and decided to also donate $500,o00 towards a career-development program for the players. In a press release Bennett said, “I have more than enough. If there are ways that this can help out the athletic department, the other programs and coaches, by not tying up so much (in men’s basketball), that’s my desire.”
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Roethlisberger And Brees Suffer Injuries, Brown Plays And Pats Destroy, Grandmasters Are Elite Athletes
FOOTBALL
A few big stories in week two of the NFL:
One of the biggest stories in week two of the NFL was unfortunately seeing Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffer an elbow injury in a loss to the Seattle Seahawks, and the New Orleans Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees leaving the game against the LA Rams with a thumb injury. No word on when the two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks will be back in action.
Antonio Brown was in the news this weekend for actually playing football and took the field for the first time with his new team, the New England Patriots. He finished with a touchdown and four catches for 56 yards. The Patriots were unstoppable and embarrassed the Dolphins in a 43-0 victory.
For more NFL news, click here.
CHESS
In case anyone wonders whether playing professional chess is a sport, ESPN writer Aishwarya Kumar wrote about Grandmasters losing weight while playing in competitions. She cited Robert Sapolsky, who studies stress in primates at Stanford University. He proved a chess player can burn up to 6,000 calories a day based on breathing rates, blood pressure and muscle contractions. He noted that “grandmaster’s stress response to chess are on par with what elite athletes experience.†He went on to say, “Grandmasters sustain elevated blood pressure for hours in the range found in competitive marathon runners,”
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Cam’s Longest Losing Streak, Tennessee Offers Bullied Boy Scholarship
FOOTBALL
Quarterback Cam Newton struggled against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night losing 14-20. The loss puts the Carolina Panthers at 0-2 to start the season extending Cam’s losing streak to 8 games (the longest in his career as a starter). After the game, Cam told reporters, “It’s time for me to look myself in the mirror & do some real soul searching”.
MISC
In a feel-good story for the day, a fourth-grade Florida boy who designed a University of Tennessee shirt for “College Colors Day” then was bullied for his design, not only got a package of Vols gear sent to him by the University, but also had the school use his design in a t-shirt they are selling to “STOMP OUT” bullying. But that’s not all. The University of Tennessee also announced it is offering the boy admission and a four-year scholarship to the school for the class of 2032 if he meets admission requirements and decides to attend.
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Pete Alonso Remembers 9/11 With Themed Cleats, Justify Failed Drug Test, LeBron Failed “Taco Tuesday” Trademark
BASEBALL
To honor the anniversary of 9/11, Mets’ rookie Pete Alonso supplied all the players with special commemorative 9/11-themed cleats. In the running for National League rookie of the year, Alonso recorded the players’ shoe sizes and ordered and paid for the cleats. In the 9-0 win (9 runs and 11 hits) at home over the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Mets also honored the first responders and had them on the field for the National Anthem.
HORSE RACING
According to a report from the New York Times, 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug weeks before the Kentucky Derby (the first leg of the Triple Crown). Apparently, the California Horse Racing Board took months to confirm the results of a test (taken after the Santa Anita Derby which qualified Justify for the Kentuck Derby) and made some decisions in secret for horses testing positive to the substance scopolamine.
BASKETBALL
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office denied LeBron James’ attempt to trademark “Taco Tuesday”. The USPTO explained, “The applied-for mark is a commonplace term, message, or expression widely used by a variety of sources that merely conveys an ordinary, familiar, well-recognized concept or sentiment message.” According to LeBron, the application accomplished what he intended, which is to ensure HE won’t be sued for using the phrase.
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