This Week in Sports Talk: August 18, 2019

This Week in Sports Talk (TWIST) is our weekly roundup of top headlines and sports news, plus a preview of what’s up next. Heading into the week of August 18, 2019, here’s the top sports news, with a twist. Skim it, and you’ll be good to go all week.

This Week in Sports Talk: August 18, 2019

We begin with some short takes in sports news heading into the week of August 18, 2019.

MLB Rookies make good

The New York Mets’ Pete Alonzo has tied the National League rookie home run record at 39. And Aristides Aquino of the Cincinnati Reds is now the first rookie player since at least 1900 with 11 home runs in his first 17 career games, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Women’s soccer

Mediation efforts broke down this week in the lawsuit filed by the US Women’s women’s soccer team against the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay for female players. U.S. women’s soccer captain Megan Rapinoe remains defiant. The suit will go to a jury trial unless the talks restart in the coming weeks.

US Open Warm-Up

Roger Federer got swept in a stunning upset in the first round of the Western & Southern Open this week in Cincinnati. The tournament is considered a “warm up” for the US Open, which begins at the end of August. Serena Williams withdrew from the competition during the first match due to a back injury.  Yesterday, Daniil Medvedev battled back from the brink to upset top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal decided to sit this one out.

On the women’ side, Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Ashleigh Barty to advance to the finals today, where she’ll face Madison Keys.

USA Gymnastics competition

Simone Biles continues to dominate the world of gymnastics. She won a record sixth all-around title at the U. S. Gymnastics Championships last weekend. In addition to becoming the first woman to land a triple-double on the floor, the 22-year-old Biles became the first gymnast ever to attempt a double-twisting, double somersault dismount from the balance beam.

Top Sports Headlines heading into the week of August 18, 2019

Now that we’re warmed up, here’s everything else you need to know about sports heading into the week of August 18, 2019:

1. MLB

Must Know:

Heading into the week of August 18, 2019, the sports news in the MLB is all about the New York Yankees. In a continuation of their epic run, the Yanks played a series against the Baltimore Orioles this week, and it ended with several new and tied records. The Yanks won 17 of the 19 games against the Orioles this year, including the last 16 straight. They hit 62 home runs against the Orioles.

Both Gary Sanchez and Gleyber Torres hit 10 home runs against the Orioles. The last time that happened was in 1927 with Ruth and Gehrig.  Our Sports Desk notes that if Torres was hitting home runs against other teams at the same pace as he has hit them against Oriole pitchers, he’d be ending the season at 117 home runs. Which is a LOT. 

The Orioles are currently 41.5 games back from the Yankees in the AL East, and they have been officially eliminated from the post-season. While there are no more games between the two teams this season (which is surely good news for Baltimore fans), the opening series for the Orioles next year at home is – wait for it – the Yankees.

Nice to Know:

As of this posting, the Yankees are tied with the LA Dodgers for the best record in baseball right now, with an 82 – 42 record. And that’s after getting blown out by the Cleveland Indians Thursday night in their worst loss of the year. The pinstripes continue to perform at this level despite all of their injured players. Their two star sluggers, Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge, have only a combined 13 home runs this season, and Severino hasn’t pitched an inning.  Yet they’re tied for the best record in MLB.

Extra Credit:

In the NL East, the Atlanta Braves are 4.5 ahead of the Washington Nationals and 7 ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. For the wild card slot, the fight is between those two teams, plus the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Bryce Harper is doing his part to advance the Phillies. On Thursday night, the Chicago Cubs had a 5-0 lead in the eighth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Harper came up to bat with the score 5-3. The bases were loaded and there was one out. He hit a homer that emptied the bases and ended the game with a 7-5 victory.

The recently resurgent Mets have lost some momentum. Heading into a weekend series against the Kansas City Royals, expectations were that they might sweep the series. But they lost the first game 4-1 at Kauffman Stadium, which was their fourth defeat in five games. By the end of the weekend, it’ll be more clear what their chances are for the post-season.

bonus round:

In the NL Central, the St. Louis Cardinals are just half a game ahead of the Chicago Cubs, and 2 ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers. The LA Dodgers are 19.5 games ahead of the second-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West. The Yanks are 11 ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays, and 17.5 in front of the Boston Red Sox. In the AL Central, the Minnesota Twins are just 2 games ahead of the Cleveland Indians. In the AL West, the Houston Astros are 6.5 ahead of the Oakland A’s. 

2. NFL

Must Know:

We’re less than a month before the start of the regular NFL season. The most-watched aspect of the preseason continues to be the drama surrounding Oakland Raiders’ wide receiver Antonio Brown (AB) and head coach Jon Gruden. Early in the week, AB threatened to leave the sport of football if he wasn’t allowed to wear his old helmet instead of the new regulation-NFL helmet. Gruden came out in support of his player, but an arbitrator ruled against Brown. On Tuesday, Brown was back on the field, practicing with the team. 

None of this is helped by the omnipresent lens of of the HBO series Hard Knocks. Each year, one team is the focus of the show for the entire preseason, and this year it’s the Raiders. Could all the drama be in part because of the cameras? Hard to say.

This week, the HBO series featured AB showing off his injured feet (if you’re eating breakfast right now, you might want to skip to the end of this paragraph). Brown experienced severe burns on the soles of his feet after a cryotherapy treatment gone wrong. For  3 or 4 days after the incident, team doctors had to drain the liquid from the blisters on a daily basis. AB described this procedure as feeling as if his feet were being “circumcised.” TMI, or just enough? Your call. We’re pretty sure this is the first time that circumcision has been a topic of conversation on Hard Knocks.

Nice to Know:

The second round of preseason games is taking place over several days, with five games just yesterday. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers did not play (again) in the second preseason game this week due to a back injury.

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has not played in either of the two preseason games. The Pats looked good in their first preseason game, and have risen back to the top of the rankings in terms of preseason polls.  

In contrast, before the game, the head coach said that quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City starters would play the first half of their second preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the end, Mahomes played only the first half of the first quarter, and seemed shaky. The Chiefs went on to lose, 17-7.

The New York Jets continue to look good in the preseason, as does quarterback Sam Darnold. They beat the Falcons 22-10 on Thursday night. Meanwhile, although the New York Giants beat the Chicago Bears on Friday 32-13, they continue to have injuries and issues.

In contrast to last week’s game, this past Thursday night top draft pick Kyler Murray of the Arizona Cardinals disappointed. He led four drives and made fifteen total plays for just twelve yards. Murray completed just 3 of 8 passes and was sacked twice. The Cards lost to the Oakland Raiders, 26-33.

Indianapolis Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck has an injury that has kept him off the field so far in training camp. But what exactly the injury is remains a mystery. General Manager Chris Ballard first described it as a “calf strain,” then later as a “high-ankle issue.”  Then owner Jim Irsay said the quarterback is battling a “small little bone injury.” Hmmmm. The team says Luck will be ready for the opener against the LA Chargers on September 8th.

The number 2 draft pick Nick Bosa is also suffering from ankle injury. He was seen without his orthopedic boot on Wednesday doing some light conditioning. So fans are cautiously optimistic. Interestingly, the Bosa family is “injury prone.” Nick’s big brother Joey, a Los Angeles Chargers defensive end, was out 9 games last season. And Nick finished his last season at Ohio State on the Injured List due to a core muscle injury.

Extra Credit:

The drama in Dallas has grown even more complex in the past week. Quarterback Dak Prescott reportedly turned down $30 million per year offer from the Cowboys this week and is seeking to become the highest paid signal-caller in the NFL. The word on the street is that he’s looking for $40 million per year.

As Ezekiel “Zeke” Elliott continues his holdout in search of a new contract, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is playing hardball. He spoke publicly about fourth-round draft pick Tony Pollard‘s preseason debut and expressed his confidence in the rookie being able to fill in for Elliott if necessary.

Finally, Kyle Long had quite a week at Chicago Bears training camp. He got into two fights with teammates, the latter of which ended with Long throwing up on the sidelines. Nice.

3. NBA

Must Know:

The news in basketball heading into the week of August 18, 2019 begins with the LA Lakers. DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins tore his ACL this week during a workout in Las Vegas. Cousins was a member of the Lakers hoped-for star trio, along with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and now he is likely to be out for the season. The timing is particularly bad for the Lakers, because all of the best free agents already have already been signed, and the Lakers’ trade options are slim.

Nice to Know: 

Joe Tsai, one of the founders of Alibaba, bought the 50% of the Brooklyn Nets that he didn’t already own. He also bought the Barclay’s Center. Our Sports Desk speculates that he wants to capitalize on having Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in place to build an NBA dynasty. The deal values the Nets at $2.35 billion, the highest price ever paid for an NBA team.

Extra Credit:

The NBA released its regular-season schedule on Monday, with plenty of revenge games to circle on the calendar. And there’s good news for East Coast fans who want to watch LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Steph Curry, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and other stars in the Western Conference. The league has reduced the number of 10:30 p.m. ET start times from 57 to 33.

bonus round:

The NCAA has reversed course on what had been labeled as the “Rich Paul rule.” It would have required agents representing college players to have a bachelor’s degree. On Monday, the organization eliminated that prerequisite. The change was announced just hours after it was criticized by Rich Paul in a piece for The Athletic.

This Week in Sports News – August 18, 2019

That’s it. You’re good to go with the top headlines and coming attractions heading into the week of August 18, 2019. College football season starts in a week! See you then.

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