This Week in Sports Talk (TWIST) is our weekly roundup of top headlines and sports news, plus a preview of what’s up next in the coming week. Heading into the week of August 4, 2019, here’s the top sports news of the week, with a twist.
sports news with a twist
This Week in Sports Talk (TWIST) is everything you need to know about the week in sports. Channeled through the eyes of an occasional fan who needs to be able to keep up with the sports talk in the world around her.
Each week, our Dandelion Chandelier Sports Desk shares what we need to know, based on their extensive knowledge and avid engagement. Then we try to make sense of it all. Including decoding the vocabulary words. So that you don’t have to. And yes, dear reader, sometimes we toss gossip, fashion, cute kids or pop culture into the mix. Just to keep it spicy.
This Week in Sports Talk: August 4, 2019
We begin with some short takes.
On deck in August
Our monthly luxury calendar includes a section on the world of sports. Big events to watch out for this month include the U.S. Open and the cycling competition Vuelta a España. And the kickoff of the college football season.
The Premier League, England’s primary football competition, starts its season with Manchester City looking to defend last year’s title. The FIBA World Cup returns after 5 years on August 31 in China. While most of the NBA’s stars are taking a pass, Team USA is still expected to perform well, given the deep bench of American basketball talent.
And while the 100th season of the NFL officially starts next month, there are four preseason games this month. (Our Sports Desk says we can feel free to ignore these).
The Men’s Singles Final at the 2017 US Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens.
the British women’s open
The 2019 AIG Women’s British Open at Woburn Golf Club has seen a surprising performance by Ashleigh Buhai. The 30-year-old South African has never won on the L.P.G.A. tour. Her best finish in the British Open until now is a tie for 30th in 2017. Hinako Shibuno, a 20-year-old rookie, held second place going into yesterday’s round. She’s now at the top of the leaderboard. Defending champion Georgia Hall of England is far behind as of this posting. The tournament concludes today, and it looks to be a “Cinderella story” in the making.
Ashleigh Buhai at the 2019 British Women’s Open. Photo Credit: Ross Kinnaird, Getty Images
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Mad Skills in the NFL
This week, several news outlets reported on an NFL hopeful with mad skills off the field. New York Jets offensive lineman Calvin Anderson is primarily focused on winning a spot on the team’s roster. But after practice, he made some news by solving a Rubik’s Cube. Behind his back. Dude! Very impressive.
New York Jets rookie Calvin Anderson and his Rubik’s Cube.
Top Sports Headlines heading into the week of August 4, 2019
Now that we’re warmed up, here’s everything else you need to know about sports heading into the week of August 4, 2019:
1. MLB
Must Know:
Perhaps not surprisingly, Major League Baseball is at the top of our list of sports news heading into the week of August 4, 2019. The Major League Baseball trading deadline passed on Wednesday afternoon, and the big news is that Houston made a huge last-minute deal. The Astros acquired Cy Young-winning pitcher Zach Greinke from the Arizona Diamondbacks. With that move, Houston now has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to pitching staff. Their aces include Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Greinke. That’s arguably the best starting rotation in MLB, just in time for the playoffs.
Zack Greinke. Photo Credit: USA Today Sports.
In a surprising move, the New York Yankees failed to make a trade for a starting pitcher. Their relatively week pitching staff seems to be a chink in their armor, especially as the post-season approaches.
Meanwhile, across town, everyone expected the New York Mets to be sellers. Instead, they became buyers and acquired someone everyone assumed would be one of the Yankees pitching targets, Marcus Stroman. The Mets are currently in the hunt for a wildcard slot. And they have their eyes on the Division Title next year.
The Mets have acquired pitcher Marcus Stroman. Photo Credit: USA Today Sports.
With this move, they have a killer starting 5 of their own: Jacob deGrom; Noah “Thor” Syndergaard; Steven Matz; Zack Wheeler; and Stroman. Yo, we love the sunglasses (and the New York attitude to match).
Nice to Know:
AL East East arch-rivals the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox are playing a 4-game series in the Bronx this weekend. On Friday night, the Sox lost to the Yanks, 4-2, for their fifth straight loss (their longest losing streak since 2015). Then they lost both games in yesterday’s double header. Ugh! The teams meet again this afternoon.
Prior to this series, the Sox had been in a race with Tampa Bay for the last AL Wildcard slot. Now some are saying it may not be worth the effort to try for that (those people are mostly Yankees fans). As of this posting, the Sox are currently 5.5 games back from the Rays.
Yankee slugger Aaron Judge has been in a real slump since the All-Star break. He’s been willing to discuss it with the press, and seems sanguine about it, at least for now. “You’re going to have months where the ball looks like a watermelon. You’ve just got to keep grinding.”
Meanwhile, on the West Coast, Clayton Kershaw now has more strikeouts for the LA Dodgers than Sandy Koufax. This week, Kershaw delivered the 2,397th strikeout of his career. Koufax retired in 1966 after 2,324. Only Don Sutton and Don Drysdale now sit ahead of Kershaw.
Clayton Kershaw of the LA Dodgers.
In the Midwest, this week saw an MLB benches-clearing brawl between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds. Reds pitcher ran all the way from the mound to the Pirates dugout and took them all on. But then everybody got into it. The league has suspended six players and both managers for their roles. Pirates pitcher Keone Kela got the longest ban at 10 games for “intentionally” throwing a pitch near the head of the Reds’ Derek Dietrich and later instigating the brawl.
Extra Credit:
As of this posting, the Yankees sit at the top of the AL East, 13.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox, and 8 ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Elsewhere in the American League, the Minnesota Twins are 3 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians in the AL Central. The Houston Astros have widened their lead atop the AL West; they’re now 8.5 games ahead of the Oakland A’s.
In the National League, the LA Dodgers continue to dominate in the West; they’re now 16 games ahead of the San Francisco Giants. The Chicago Cubs are just half a game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Central. Finally, the Atlanta Braves are 7 ahead of the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East.
2. NFL
Must Know:
In the NFL, the top sports news heading into the week of August 4, 2019 begins with training camp, and the first preseason game. The Denver Broncos beat the Atlanta Falcons with a last-second tip drill touchdown in this week’s Hall of Fame Game. Our Sports Desk points out that the most avid NFL fans don’t really follow these preseason games – they’re preoccupied with reports about injuries. And contract disputes. There’s always some spinning of the results of the prior season right about now. And there’s an annual popularity contest.
On the topic of injuries, this week A J Green, superstar receiver for the Bengals, was hurt. Initial reports were pretty bad, but now reports are that he’ll be able to play on opening day in September.
Nice to Know:
Contracts are the other big pre-season topic in the NFL. Deals are signed, sometimes after players hold out and won’t report to training camp until they ink a new deal.
This week, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas signed a 5-year $100 million extension with $61 million guaranteed. That makes him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL for now. The Atlanta Falcons have already said they want to make Julio Jones the highest paid wide receiver in the league. Our Sports Desk points out that this could lead to serious drama in Cleveland, as Odell Beckham Jr (OBJ) might have some thoughts on who the highest-paid receiver should be.
The remaining training camp holdouts include Zeke Elliot of the Dallas Cowboys. And Jadeveon Clowney of the Houston Texans. This week, Melvin Gordon of the Chargers asked to be traded, and the team refused.
Meanwhile, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, for the first time ever, has no contract extension with only a year to go on his contract. At this point in the past he has always had his deal extended. When asked, Brady told reporters that this was a topic for “talk show debate”.
Extra Credit:
In Monday-morning quarterbacking, this week head coach Sean McVay admitted that the LA Rams “didn’t prepare very well” for the Super Bowl, which they lost to the New England Patriots. MvVay was signed to a 5-year contract last month, so presumably he’s got to time to redeem himself.
Also in sports news heading into the week of August 4, 2019, the NFL Channel has been disclosing their “Top 100” players, as chosen by the other players in the NFL. Not surprisingly, this annual preseason ritual always gives rise to a lot of controversy. This year Tom Brady came in at number 6, with quarterbacks Drew Brees and Patrick Mahomes ahead of him. The LA Rams’ defensive tackle Aaron Donald finished first; he played in the Super Bowl this year. Also in the top ten? Todd Gurely of the Rams; Khalil Mack of the Chicago Bears; and the always-interesting Antonio Brown, now of the Oakland Raiders.
Yesterday, eight players were enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Tony Gonzalez, Champ Bailey, Ty Law, Ed Reed, Kevin Mawae, Pat Bowlen, Gil Brandt, and Johnny Robinson.
Finally, on a sad note, legendary NFL linebacker, Hall of Famer and Miami Dolphins Super Bowl team member Nick Buoniconti passed away this week at 78. In 2017, he shared the news that he was suffering from dementia. Buoniconti had a successful 14-year career in the NFL. But his most high-impact contribution to the sport may be establishing the Miami Project and Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis. He founded the organization after his son Marc was paralyzed from the neck down while playing football at The Citadel at age 19.
This Week in Sports Talk
That’s it! You’re good to go with the sports news, top headlines and coming attractions heading into the week of August 4, 2019. Have a good one, and see you next week.
Join our Community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter here. And see luxury in a new light.
Join our community
For access to insider ideas and information on the world of luxury, sign up for our Dandelion Chandelier newsletter. And see luxury in a new light.