TWIST: This Week in Sports Talk March 4, 2018

You don’t love professional sports, but your livelihood and/or personal happiness depends upon your being able to converse intelligently about it. You need to learn a new language. You need to learn how to talk sports. The TWIST is our weekly Dandelion Chandelier guide to what’s happened on the field, on the court and on the ice. Every weekend 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. We promise you’ll be talking sports like a champion in no time.

This week’s edition of TWIST: This Week in Sports Talk begins with a rousing chorus of All Hail to the King. LeBron James hit a historic milestone this week: he’s the first basketball player ever to hit 30,000 points, 8,000 assists and 8,000 rebounds over the course of a career. Cleveland fans are breathing easier this week, as the “new look” Cavaliers are doing pretty well (you’ll recall from a previous TWIST that at the trade deadline, over half the roster changed to better position the Cavs for the playoffs). Hitting the re-set button seems to have paid off. And we’re going to look right past the bizarre incident this week when the team’s shooting guard J.R. Smith was suspended for one game for throwing a bowl of soup at an assistant coach. Yep. This really happened. The dude clearly needs some chill time.

Meanwhile, 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 March 4, 2018:

1. The Winter Olympics wrap-up. Must know: In case you missed it, the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea wrapped up this week. Norway was the winner of the most medals with 39, followed by Germany and Canada. The US was fourth, with 23 medals (9 Gold). Nice to know: Team USA won a gold medal in curling for the first time ever, upsetting Sweden. And the US women’s hockey team won a gold medal for the first time in 20 years, defeating Canada. Meanwhile, two athletes from Russia tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (one of them was seen prominently wearing an “I don’t do doping” tee in a promotional video before the Games started). The US women’s ski team disappointed, with Lindsey Vonn and Michaela Shiffrin winning only one bronze and one gold, respectively. Ditto the US figure skaters, although Mirai Nagasu became the first American ever to successfully land a triple axel at the Olympics. On a brighter note, 17-year old cool-girl Chloe Kim won a gold medal in the half-pipe, defeating the dreaded Sports Illustrated curse (she was on the cover before the Games began, usually a harbinger of defeat and disappointment). Extra credit: The Summer 2020 Games will be held in Tokyo (the children of Japan just voted for the winning mascots for the Games, which was greeted with a great deal of international hoo-ha). The Winter 2022 Games are slated for Beijing. That makes three Asian venues in a row for the Olympics, which is unprecedented.

2. Spring training in Major League Baseball. Must know: The regular season for the MLB is starting earlier than ever in its history this year. Opening Day is March 29^th, and spring training is well underway in Florida and Arizona. Nice to know: The classic rivalry in the AL East is shaping up to be ferocious this year. The Yankees have the murder’s row of slugger Aaron Judge, reining NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez; over 10,000 fans showed up for their first day of spring training. Miguel Andujar, the rookie 3rd baseman, made the most of his spring debut, with 4 home runs in 14 at-bats. The team fell just one game short of a World Series berth last season – can the stratospheric expectations for this year be met? New manager Aaron Boone is carrying a lot of dreams on his shoulders. Meanwhile, further north, the Boston Red Sox are looking good in pre-season play. Watch this space for further updates. Extra credit: Here are couple of MLB rookie names to know and follow this season: the Houston Astros’ Kyle Tucker (already nicknamed Ted by his teammates, after superstar Ted Williams), and the LA Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (a 23-year old Japanese phenom who is both a star pitcher and hitter). Both start the season with extremely high hopes. Extra extra credit: As we previously reported, the MLB free agency period remains surprisingly stagnant: as of this posting, several prominent free agents remain unsigned, including former Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta; third-baseman Mike Moustakas (who set the set the Kansas City Royals’ single-season record for home runs last season); and former Tampa Bay Rays’ pitcher Alex Cobb. Teams are apparently waiting the players out, waiting for their asking prices to drop as Opening Day looms.

3. The Quarterback Carousel in the NFL. Must know: Even though the Super Bowl was only a month ago, the NFL is already looking ahead to next season. Because quarterback is the pivotal position in the game, there’s always a lot of focus on who the starting QB will be for each team. The trades and chatter have already commenced. Nice to know: This week the NFL “Scouting Combine” is underway – held in Indianapolis, this is when all the potential draft picks get tested and observed in advance of the draft (which happens April 26-28). The super-star of the Combine has been running back Saquon Barkley of Penn State, who is both heavy and fast and has an incredible record of on-field production. The buzz is that he might be the first running back since 1995 to become the the No. 1 draft pick. Extra credit: In addition to the draft names, the QBs you need to follow (especially if “your” team is involved) are: Alex Smith, who is moving from the Kansas City Chiefs to the Washington Redskins; free agent Kirk Cousins, who could go to the Minnesota Vikings, the Denver Broncos or even the NY Jets; and Teddy Bridgewater, who could become a free agent and leave the Vikings. And most importantly, Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles – will he stay with the Philadelphia Eagles once Carson Wentz returns? There’s lots of drama around that one.

That’s it. You’re good to go. See you next week.

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