FOOTBALL

The NFL kicks off the new season with the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers facing off on Thursday night. This season will feature an expanded 17-game regular season which means there will be football every Sunday until February 20th, 2022.

BASKETBALL

The NBA’s season begins on October 19th and will be known as “NBA 75” commemorating the 75th Anniversary of NBA basketball.

BASEBALL

The delayed induction ceremony for the National Baseball Hall of Fame will take place on Wednesday at 1:30 pm. New York Yankees Derek Jeter, Colorado Rockies Larry Walker, St. Louis Cardinals Ted Simmons, and the late former labor leader Marvin Miller will join the Class of 2020. There were no inductees to the Hall of Fame in 2021.

VACCINES

A number of sports clubs are dealing with COVID vaccine mandates and Team policies. According to reports, the Washington Nationals Vice President, Bob Boone, decided to resign rather than adhere to team vaccine requirements.

And, in the NBA, fully vaccinated players and team personnel will have more privileges than those not vaccinated. For example, the fully vaccinated will not have regular COVID testing during the season, they won’t have to quarantine if they come in contact with someone who tests positive and, if the team is fully vaccinated, they will be able to leave the hotel and go to bars/restaurants/lounges when they travel.

In addition, according to local government rules, the Nets, Knicks, and Warriors will need to be vaccinated to play in home games.

As for the fans, in a recent Morning Consult Survey poll, over 25% of unvaccinated U.S. adults would get the vaccine if that means they can attend a sporting event or concert.

SOCCER

With his 110th goal (then shortly after his 111th) Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo broke the world record for goals scored in men’s international soccer.

FOOTBALL

There is even more to the crazy story about how ESPN got duped into televising the lopsided IMG/Bishop Sycamore high school football game.  Not only is the legitimacy of Bishop Sycamore in question (no website currently exists), but also the school is accused of bouncing checks worth $3,596 to the hotel where the team spent the night prior to the game. For more on this bizarre story, click here.

FOOTBALL

NFL teams cut their rosters to 53 players on Tuesday. The biggest move came from the New England Patriots who released quarterback Cam Newton. Rumors are flying that Patriots coach Bill Belichick considered Cam’s vaccination status (which Cam won’t confirm, as he says it’s personal) in his decision. Belichick denies the rumors and announced rookie Mac Jones will be the starter.  

BASKETBALL

Ben Simmons met with the Philadelphia 76ers and expressed he wants to leave the team and won’t be reporting to training camp.

BASEBALL

Congratulations to Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera who joins only 27 other players in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 home runs over their professional baseball career.

FOOTBALL

The NFL pre-season is underway which gives teams a chance to test out their rookies. On Sunday night, the San Francisco 49er’s #3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Trey Lance, had a solid performance. Lance threw for 102 yards and two touchdowns in a 15-10 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. He did throw an interception, but all in all, it was an encouraging outing.

BASKETBALL

The Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid is set to sign a 4-yr $196 million supermax contract extension. Embiid qualified for the supermax extension after receiving second-team All-NBA status and second in MVP voting. Embiid was drafted with the 3rd overall pick in 2014 by the Sixers.

Congratulations to WNBA star and gold medalist Breanna Stewart and her wife Marta Xargay on the birth of their first child, Ruby, who was born the day after Stewart won her gold medal with Team USA.

FOOTBALL

To no one’s surprise, Alabama ranked #1 in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll. It’s the fourth time in the past six seasons the Crimson Tide has been at the top. Oklahoma came in at #2 with Clemson, Ohio State, and Georgia rounding out the top 5.

In the NFL, the Atlanta Falcons are the first team to have all their players fully vaccinated. Looking forward to seeing 100% of all teams soon!

BASEBALL

The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds are scheduled to play in next year’s Field of Dreams game.  And, stay tuned for a Field of Dreams scripted drama series from the creator of “The Good Place”, Michael Schur.

BASEBALL

The “Field of Dreams” game did not disappoint. Kevin Costner, the star of the beloved 1989 movie, added to the drama of the evening when he slowly walked through the maze of corn and onto the field. A few minutes later the Chicago White Sox and NY Yankees players emerged from the corn maze as well (evoking the iconic line of the movie, “If you build it he will come.”). The White Sox beat the Yankees 9-8 in a walk-off homer, a fitting end to the game, as it was the 15th walk-off homer ever hit by the White Sox against the Yankees. Shoeless Joe Jackson, one of the stars of the movie, hit the first.

BASKETBALL

Kawhi Leonard signed a four-year $176.3 million deal to stay with the LA Clippers. Unfortunately for the team, however, Leonard had surgery for a partially torn ACL in July and is expected to miss part of the season.

FOOTBALL

The New Orleans Saints will be the first NFL franchise to require fans to provide proof of vaccination or a 72 hour in advance negative COVID-19 PCR test to attend games.

BASEBALL

Major League Baseball built a new ballpark in Dyersville, Iowa (population of 4,543) modeled after the field in the iconic and beautiful movie Field of Dreams. Tonight, the White Sox and Yankees will play at the stadium in front of 8,000 fans. Players will enter the field by walking through a fence hidden by corn (like in the movie). Kevin Costner and Dwier Brown who starred in the movie will be on-site tonight for the game.

BASKETBALL

Former NBA player and 18th pick in the 2004 draft, J.R. Smith has petitioned the NCAA to be eligible to play golf at North Carolina A&T College. Smith never enrolled in college opting to enter the draft instead. He was selected by the New Orleans Hornets then won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers (2015-2016) and another with the Los Angeles Lakers (2019-2020).

OLYMPICS WRAP UP

Thanks to the women, Team USA finished the Olympics with the most medals (113) and the most number of gold medals (39) barely edging out China (88 overall and 38 gold). A few highlights: Allyson Felix became the most decorated US track and field athlete in Olympic history (11 medals over 5 Olympics surpassing Carl Lewis), women’s basketball grabbed its 7th gold medal in a row, and men’s basketball won their 4th consecutive gold with Kevin Durant taking home his third gold medal.

The overall cost of the Olympics came in at $15.4 billion, making it the most expensive games in history.

FOOTBALL

Eight members of the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame class were inducted on Sunday. Quarterback Peyton Manning, enshrined in his first year of eligibility, gave a riveting speech about his father, the beauty of football, and joked about his rival turned friend Tom Brady (who was sitting in Manning’s personal section).

BASKETBALL

The Dallas Mavericks star Luka Dončić signed a five-year $207 million supermax rookie extension.

BASKETBALL

After signing Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso to their roster, the Bulls again signaled they are gearing up for a big season by agreeing to sign DeMar DeRozan (from the San Antonio Spurs) to a 3-yr $85 million.

FOOTBALL

The former quarterback for the San Diego Chargers (16 years) and Indianapolis Colts (1 year) Philip Rivers (who is now a head coach at St. Michael Catholic High School in Alabama) is considering a comeback. At 39 years old, Rivers said, “I’m not quite there. I’m getting back there. I wouldn’t have made weight if I had to report last week, that’s for sure. But I am getting back into the lifting and running, and shoot, I occasionally throw a ball around out here in this heat. It’s not too hard to get a good lather going.”

In other NFL news, the first pre-season game is tonight featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Dallas Cowboys.

OLYMPICS

The U.S. men’s basketball team defeated the Australians to gain a berth in the finals and a shot at the gold (facing either France or Slovenia).

U.S. Women’s soccer overcame a disappointing loss to Canada in the semifinal and beat Australia to claim a bronze medal.

NBA free agency is underway and some big deals have been announced. Kyle Lowry signed with the Miami Heat for three years ($90 million), Lonzo Ball signed a four year ($85 million) with the Chicago Bulls, while Evan Fournier signed a four year ($78 million) deal with the Knicks. Rounding out the night, a few stars signed big contract extensions to stay with their teams: Chris Paul (4 yrs $120M Phoenix), Jarrett Allen (5 yrs $100M Cleveland), Mike Conley (3 yrs $73M Utah), Stephen Curry (4 yrs $215M Golden State), Jimmy Butler (4 yrs $182M Miami), and Trae Young (5 yrs $207M Atlanta)

FOOTBALL

Seventy-year-old Coach Nick Saban will stay in Alabama through 2028 after signing a massive contract extension worth an average of $10.6 million per year.