TWIST: This Week in Sports Talk August 19, 2018

Meanwhile, for Those Who Do Not Follow Professional Sports, here’s 3 for the week of August 19, 2018:

1. MLB Update. Must know: The Boston Red Sox continue to be red hot, and while the New York Yankees have the second best record in the majors, they’re still 10 games behind the Sox in the AL East. Nice to know: As we head toward the post-season, the AL East race seems to be all but over, with the Sox firmly in control and the Yanks likely facing a 1-game wildcard playoff. In the AL Central, the Cleveland Indians are close to a lock. It’s a lot more interesting in the AL West, with a tight race between defending world champions the Houston Astros and both the Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners. Our Minneapolis Sports Bureau would like for all of us to note that they presciently called the Oakland A’s as a potential sleeper hit in their MLB pre-season rundown. Nice job, guys! In the National League, there are tight races across the board: in the East its the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals; the Central division is a battle between the Chicago Cubs, the Milwaukee Brewers and the Cincinnati Cardinals. The NL West is a close race between the Arizona Diamondbacks, Denver Rockies, LA Dodgers and San Francisco Giants. Extra Credit: In the annals of poor sportsmanship, we may have a new nominee for Worst Behavior Ever. Ronald Acuna, Jr. of the Atlanta Braves had homered in three straight lead-off positions in three straight games. But when he came up to bat in the first inning of a game this week versus Miami, with his first throw, the Marlins’ pitcher Jose Urena hit him. In other words, Acuna was hit in the elbow with an 98-mile-per-hour fastball. And the consensus – at least on our Sports Desk – is that it was intentional. Perhaps unsurprisingly, at the game the benches cleared and a bit of a tiff followed. The League later announced that Urena has been suspended for six games and fined an unspecified amount. Bonus Round: Jacob DeGrom continues to be the best pitcher in baseball despite only a 7-7 record for the underachieving New York Mets; the ace has a 1.81 Earned Run Average (ERA).  If he continues through the end of the season with an ERA under 2.0, our Sports Desk feels he should win the Cy Young Award, no matter how badly his team performs.

2. NFL News. Must know: It’s the second week of the preseason, and the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots played last Thursday night in a replay of this year’s Super Bowl. The Pats thumped them, 37-20, and quarterback Tom Brady was back in MVP form. Sadly, 37-20 Pats was not the final score in their last match-up. We know this for sure, because some Eagles fans heavily trolled Pats fans with both a billboard and a plane flying over the stadium trailing a message with the final score in Super Bowl LII. Yeah, we know. You won. You don’t have to rub it in. Nice to know: The defensive back for the AFC Jacksonville Jaguars, Jalen Ramsey, this week gave a frank assessment of all the league’s quarterbacks. He referred to several as “trash,” some “good,” “alright,”or “okay.” Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers were branded as “doesn’t suck.” Eli Manning is “nothing without OBJ.” (That would be Odell Beckham Jr.) Ben Roethlisberger is “decent at best.” Did we mention that there’s a race underway for the prize for worst sportsmanship ever? Surely this deserves at least an Honorable (or is it Dishonorable?) Mention. Extra Credit: In other preseason match-ups on Thursday, the Green Bay Packers hammered the Pittsburgh Steelers, 51-34. During the New York Jets’ loss to the Washington Redskins, young quarterback and Hope of the Future Sam Darnold had a good game and is working his way into the starting QB role. The Jets’ Teddy Bridgewater also played well, and our Sports Desk reports that he’ll probably be traded by the trade deadline in October, when another team in contention is in need of a quality starting QB.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. New England Patriots preseason 2018

3. And in other sporting news. Must know: Tennis superstar Serena Williams says she’s not done yet. She suffered her worst career loss ever a week ago, and said that the reason was that just minutes before the match started, she learned that the man who killed her sister Yetunde – who was a mother of three – had been released from prison on parole, making it nearly impossible to focus on the game. Stay strong, Serena! Nice to know: College football season will begin soon, and there are lingering questions about the tragic case of 19-year old Maryland football player Jordan McNair, who struggled during a team drill in late May, and died of heat stroke 15 days later. Head coach DJ Durkin and three other team members were placed on administrative leave shortly after, and one of them – strength and conditioning coach Rick Court – has since resigned. The University of Maryland joined the Big Ten college football conference four years ago, and now its Board of Regents has voted to take over the review of protocols around player safety and team culture. There’s concern that the pressure to keep up with its new Big Ten rivals has caused the team’s athletic staff to take on undue risks. Extra credit: Golfer Tiger Woods’ second-place finish to Brooks Koepka at last week’s PGA Championship was almost as good for him and for pro golf as if he had finished first. Woods is ratings gold, and he played well in a number of tough situations. People love to watch him play, and there are high hopes for him (and for the sport’s popularity) next year.

Tiger Woods on the 17th hole during the final round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Bellerive Country Club, Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Finally, we end with a story from the NBA. Former New York Knicks’ player  and 10-time All Star Carmelo Anthony has signed a contract with the Houston Rockets after being traded from  the Oklahoma Thunder to the Atlanta Hawks, only to be released. He’s still being paid $27 million for the year, but it may get hot down in Texas. Back in 2012, Anthony got coach Mike D’Antoni ejected from his job with the Knicks  because he didn’t want to play the “run and gun” style of basketball that D’Antoni advocates. Now, as the Rockets head coach, D’Antoni has all the leverage, and at best Anthony is expected to play a supporting role for current MVP James Harden and future Hall of Fame player Chris Paul. The Rockets made it to the Western Conference finals last season, and fell in seven games to the Golden State Warriors. The team is rumored to be looking at additional trades to build on last year’s successes.

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