twist: this week in sports talk november 5, 2017

You don’t love professional sports, but your livelihood and/or personal happiness depends upon your being able to converse intelligently about it. It’s a common dilemma with a simple solution: you need to learn a new language. You need to learn how to talk sports. And we’re here to help! The TWIST is our weekly Dandelion Chandelier guide to what’s happened on the field, on the court and on the ice. Every Sunday you’ll find the three (and only three) things you need to know this coming week to speak cogently about professional sports with the boss, the gang at the office, your barber, your barista, your secret crush, or your in-laws. Do the TWIST every week and we promise you’ll know how to talk about sports like a champion.

This week’s edition of TWIST: This Week in Sports Talk begins with a shout-out to the over 50,000 runners in this weekend’s New York City Marathon. We don’t know how you’re doing it, and we are totally in awe of you.

For Those Who Do Not Follow Professional Sports, here’s what you need to know this week (and not a single thing more).

3 for the week of November 5, 2017:

1. Houston Astros win the World Series. Must know: The Astros defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 7 and claimed the MLB Championship. Nice to know: Games 2 and 5 will both be remembered and discussed as classics. Both went into extra innings, and both set new records for World Series play. Extra credit: Game 7 was not nearly as epic as either of these two. Extra extra credit: Astros ace pitcher Justin Verlander skipped the victory parade in Houston because of his wedding this weekend to supermodel Kate Upton in Italy. This news set off a heated debate on the Sports Desk, with most arguing that a wedding can wait and that a World Series victory lap takes precedence over romance. To them we said – “you’re crazy.” But hey, that’s just us.

2. The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a bumpy start. Must know: The fabled Cavs, led by the legendary LeBron James, are off to a slow start: they’re currently 4-5 for the season. They ended a 4-game losing streak last night with a win over the Washington Wizards. Nice to know: The Cavs join the once-invincible Golden State Warriors in a disappointing initial set of matchups. The Warriors are currently 6-3 for the season, and in third place in the West. Extra credit: Meanwhile, former Cavs player Kyrie Irving lead the Boston Celtics’ 18-point second-half comeback as they claimed their seventh win in a row, beating the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. The Celts lead the Eastern Division and are 7-2 for the season.

3. NFL injuries continue to pile up. Must know: The Houston Texans’ adorable star rookie quarterback DeShaun Watson is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL from a non-contact drill during a team practice. Ugh! Nice to know: Watson joins two other key Texans’ defensive players who are also out for season: J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus. Extra credit: It has been confirmed that Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck is out for the rest of season, dashing hopes that he would be active at some point this season. Extra extra credit: Due to injuries and trades, several NFL teams clearly need a quarterback right now. And still, former 49’ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick remains unsigned.

For those looking for advanced street cred: There was a flurry of active trading in the NFL this past week, just before the trade deadline. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was traded from the New England Patriots to the San Francisco 49’ers for not much money (causing our Sports Desk to question whether head coach Bill Belichick – aka “the Hoodie” – might have outsmarted himself.) Running back Jay Ajayi was traded from the Miami Dolphins to the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Carolina Panthers traded top receiver Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills. What does all this mean? The Pats seem to be assuming that star quarterback Tom Brady will play for three more years (he’ll be 43 at that point). The Eagles are making an all-in play to try to reach the Super Bowl. And the Bills are going all-in for a spot in the playoffs (it would be the first time since 1999 if they made it).

For the remainder of the college football and NFL seasons, we’ll highlight the key weekend games you need to know about, and if we go to press before they’re over, it will be up to you to find out the final scores before hitting the office on Monday morning. Remember: you always need to know how “your” team did. Here are the key match-ups that the sports-minded will want to discuss this week:

College Football Games: teams are fighting for position in the College Football Playoff rankings and conference championships, so this will become a livelier topic than ever this month:

• #19 LSU at #2 Alabama – this is a classic SEC rivalry, and an upset would be huge news; the experts say that the Tigers’ defense is good enough to pull it off
• #13 Virginia Tech at #10 Miami – The Coastal Division title and a potential matchup with Clemson in the ACC championship game is on the line in this one; both teams are in the thick of the playoff hunt and need a victory – the Hurricanes are unbeaten so far
• Oklahoma at Oklahoma State – these two are archrivals, and both teams have a credible shot at the playoffs if they can get past this game victorious – the Cowboys are favored and the Sooners are hoping for an upset, and the attention will be on the two quarterbacks, both of whom are considered to be among the best in the country.

NFL Games:

• The Buffalo Bills were derailed by the New York Jets on Thursday night, calling into question their hopes for a playoff berth, discussed above
• Denver Broncos at Philadelphia Eagles – if the Eagles can win this home game, they will move to 8-1 for the fifth time in franchise history, setting them up for a potential Super Bowl run – the previous four times they started with that record, they either reached the Super Bowl or the NFL’s championship game (in the years prior to the Super Bowl).
• Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers – The Packers haven’t won a game since quarterback Aaron Rodgers broke his right collarbone three weeks ago; Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford is just 4-12 in prime-time games since 2009, so this may be Green Bay’s best comeback opportunity
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints – The Saints – led by quarterback Drew Brees – opened the season with two losses, but they’ve been impressive since then; if they beat the Bucs this weekend, they would become just the third team in the Super Bowl era to win at least six straight games after an 0-2 start. The other two teams who have done that went on to win the Super Bowl.

Don’t forget to check out our roundup of perfect holiday gifts for sports fans.

Go, Lions! That’s it. You’re good to go. See you next week.

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