This Week in Sports Talk: October 6, 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 October 6, 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: October 6, 2019

We begin with some short takes in sports news heading into the week of October 6, 2019.

College football recap

In the top games this weekend, #19 Michigan defeated #14 Iowa, 10-3. Although it was a plodding game with poor plays on both sides, it was a much-needed victory for head coach Jim Harbaugh. Speculation is rampant that this will be his last season at Michigan; the team has under-performed and he may return to the NFL. He had a successful run there as head coach of the San Francisco 49’ers, getting the team to the Super Bowl with quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

In an upset, #7 Auburn lost to #10 Florida, 24-13. The Gators’ defense was key to the victory, and they’re now 6-0. Auburn’s freshman quarterback Bo Nix seemed a bit overwhelmed throughout. #5 Ohio State defeated #23 Michigan State, 34-10, in Columbus. Eight-ranked Wisconsin remains undefeated, shutting out unranked Kent State 48-0. And Tulane beat Army 42-33 , ending the Black Knights’ 15-game home winning streak.

National Hockey League season underway

The NHL regular season opened on Wednesday night. The reigning Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues hosted the 2018 champion Washington Capitals. The Capitals won 3-2 in overtime. This week was the first test for the NHL’s new helmet rule. Players must pick up their helmets if they fall off on the ice before they can make a play on the puck. Which seems likely to slow things down a bit.

WNBA Finals update

The WNBA finals are currently tied 1-1. The Connecticut Sun meet the Washington Mystics for Game 3 in the best-of-5 series this afternoon. Mystics star Elena Delle Donne is suffering from a herniated disk, allowing the Sun’s star Jonquel Jones to shine in Game 2.

Buzzer-beater at age 12

In what could surely be a prelude to a WNBA – or NBA? – career, CBS Sports reports on an incredible game-winning shot from a 12-year-old in Florida. In the final seconds of a middle school game, Myli Harpold tossed a 3-pointer with her back to the net from the half-court. And nailed it. Watch it all go down here.

Top Sports Headlines heading into the week of October 6, 2019

Now that we’re warmed up, here’s everything else you need to know about sports heading into the week of October 6, 2019:

1. MLB

Must Know:

National League Wild Card

In the National League Wild Card game, the Washington Nationals came back from a 2-run deficit to beat the Brewers. And a new goat – not the good kind – was born.

The Brewers led 3-1 with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but the Nationals had loaded the bases.  When Juan Soto lined a base hit to right field, Tristan Grisham, Milwaukee’s rookie right fielder, charged hard (too hard). The ball appeared to bounce, and went right past him. All three runners came around to score, turning a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 Washington lead. Grisham was the replacement for the team’s star, Christian Yelich, who broke his knee cap in the final days of the regular season. It’s gonna be hard to live with that one all winter long.

American League Wild Card

The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Oakland A’s in the AL Wild Card game. The Rays dominated throughout, hitting 4 home runs. Two of which were hit by Yandy Diaz. The four-homer feat  has only been achieved 2 other times in MLB history in a playoff elimination game. Meanwhile, the A’s are now 0-9 in elimination games in the Billy Beane era. 

National League Division Series

The LA Dodgers beat the Washington Nationals, 6-0, in Game 1 of the NLDS at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, thanks to a stellar start from Walker Buehler. But the Nats came back to tie the series 1-1 on Friday night with excellent relief pitching from Max Scherzer. Game 3 is tonight.

The Atlanta Braves lost to the Cincinnati Cardinals, 7-6, to open the other NLDS. While it may seem small, that one run difference was huge and has been talked about a lot since the game ended. That’s because in the seventh inning, Atlanta’s young star Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a ball to right field that he thought was a home run. Instead, it stayed in the ballpark and he was held to a single. Their series is also currently tied 1-1, with Game 3 scheduled for this afternoon.

American League Division Series

In the AL, the outcome to date is far more lopsided than the NL, with two teams currently 2-0 in their respective series as of this posting.

The New York Yankees are up 2 – 0 in their series with the Minnesota Twins. Didi Gregorius hit a third-inning grand slam in Game 2 at Yankee Stadium, sending fans into a frenzy.

As a reminder, this is a best-of-5 series. Could be a Yankees sweep! The Twins have now lost 15 straight post-season games, an MLB record. The last time the Twins won a game in the post season was in 2004. The Yanks have won the last 5 series against them; they travel to Minnesota hoping to win Game 3 on Monday night. 

The Twins may have to settle for the prize of the home record of 307 in a single season, versus the Yanks’ 306. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile, the Houston Astros are 2-0 against the Tampa Bay Rays in the other ALDS series. In Game 1, pitcher Justin Verlander threw seven one-hit innings in a 6-2 win. Last night in Game 2, Astros ace Gerrit Cole struck out 15, walked one and allowed no runs in the 3-1 win. Fifteen strike-outs is a franchise postseason record, and just two pitchers have struck out more batters in a playoff game. Game 3 is Monday afternoon in Tampa Bay.

Nice to Know:

As of this posting, the Vegas odds to win the World Series are as follows: the Astros 2-1; the Dodgers 9-4; and the Yankees 9-2. 

And in truly important news, the glamorous female partners of some of baseball’s best were out in force this week. Actress and model Kate Upton, wife of Astros’ pitcher Justin Verlander, is pregnant with baby number 2, and was in the stands to cheer him on. And Jennifer Lopez showed up in the booth for the Game 2 Fox Sports 1 broadcast to keep her fiancee, former Yankee Alex Rodriguez, company. 

Extra Credit:

The New York Mets fired Mickey Callaway on Thursday after two years as the team’s head coach, after they failed to make the playoffs. His contract was good through 2020, but General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen, who just completed his first season at the helm, apparently wants to bring in his own manager. Now the question is whether the Mets will bring Joe Girardi back to New York, or whether he’ll go back to Chicago as head coach of the Cubs.

2. NFL

Must Know:

We’re five weeks into the NFL season. Time flies!

Thursday Night Football

The game between the NFC West rivals Seattle Seahawks and LA Rams turned into a thriller in the last 2 minutes. Although the Seahawks’ defense was weak, Russell Wilson made a good case for why he should be the MVP, throwing four touchdowns in the 30-29 victory over a sloppy-playing LA.

The game featured what may turn out to be the catch of the year. Tyler Lockett, in the corner of the end zone, caught a perfect pass from Wilson. According to Next Gen Stats, Wilson and Lockett’s 13-yard pass was the most improbable completion over the last two seasons, at 6.3. percent.

The Rams had chances late to retake the lead, but Seattle’s defense held as LA kicker Greg Zuerlein missed a 44-yard field goal with just 15 seconds remaining. 

After the game, Wilson paid tribute to deceased former Seahawks owner Paul Allen, who was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor earlier that evening. Allen died at 65 years old last October from complications of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. In an emotional moment for many, Wilson said: “Paul was here tonight. Win or lose, but at the end of today, I know he cared about us. I know he cared about the world and making a difference. I’m just glad I got to know him.”

week 4 recap

Last Sunday turned into Redemption Day in the NFL.  Many underdogs and under-performers found ways to stay in the game.

The Cleveland Browns corrected their weak season start, at the expense of the Baltimore Ravens. The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Bengals. The New York Giants, led by their new quarterback Danny “Darling” Jones, handily beat the Washington Redskins. The Oakland Raiders beat the Indianapolis Colts. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the LA Rams.  The Chicago Bears beat the Minnesota Vikings. And the New Orleans Saints handed the Dallas Cowboys their first defeat of the season.

Current standings as Week 5 wraps up

With a quarter of the season is in the books, it’s a good moment to survey the landscape. Our Sports Desk deems this to be still “a wide-open season, with the separation of ‘real’ versus ‘wannabe’ teams now fully underway.”   

There’s consensus that the worst team in the league is the Miami Dolphins (who are currently 0-4; many think they could definitely go 0-16 for the season). Also at the bottom of the barrel? The Cincinnati Bengals (0-5); the Washington Redskins (0-5); the New York Jets (0-4); and the Denver Broncos (1-4). On Monday morning, the Redskins fired their head coach Jay Gruden after their loss to the New England Patriots the day before.

The next tier, teams that haven’t proven to be as good as expected as the season started, include the Baltimore Ravens (3-2); Minnesota Vikings (3-2); LA Rams (3-2); and the Luck-less Indianapolis Colts (3-2). 

Higher up, some franchises have proven to not quite as bad as some feared they’d be, given how they started the season. Those three teams are the Cleveland Browns (2-2), Pittsburgh Steelers (1-4), and Oakland Raiders (3-2). And some might actually turn out to be good, like the Detroit Lions (2-1-1); Chicago Bears; Seattle Seahawks; San Francisco 49’ers; Green Bay Packers; and Philadelphia Eagles.

Right now, there’s little argument that the best teams in the league are the New England Patriots (5-0); Kansas City Chiefs (4-1); and New Orleans Saints (4-1).

But just remember: on any given Sunday (or Thursday, or Monday) anyone can win. There’s still a lot of football left to play.

Nice to Know: 

New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold practiced for a couple of days this week, but he isn’t taking the field against the Eagles tonight. He said he feels good, but that team doctors are still monitoring his spleen, and “I don’t want to die out there.” We feel you, dude. Meanwhile, the New York Giants’ running back Saquon Barkley is sitting today’s game out, as well, nursing an ankle injury.

Extra credit:

The Oakland Raiders LB Vontaze Burfict has been suspended for the rest of season for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Colts tight end Jack Doyle. Burfict has had multiple fines and suspensions throughout his NFL career.  

Bonus round:

The Minnesota Vikings’ Stefon Diggs and the Jacksonville Jaguars’ Jalen Ramsey are both still trying to figure out how to get traded, but their teams are still resisting. Ramsey missed all of this week’s practice with a back injury that has been ailing him since a Week 3 win over the Tennessee Titans. So he won’t be playing today.

This Week in Sports News October 6, 2019

That’s it. You’re good to go with the top headlines and coming attractions heading into the week of October 6, 2019. Have a good one, and see you next week.

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