This Week in Sports Talk: November 10, 2019

Week 9 roundup

The Baltimore Ravens beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots on Sunday night. In what appears to be an annual ritual, following the Patriots’ loss, there was a lot of chatter about how they’re overrated, not very good, and so on. It seems to happen every season, even in the ones where they end up winning the Super Bowl. Haters gonna hate . . .

In other headlines from last week, the momentum of the Green Bay Packers was somewhat derailed by the LA Chargers, who beat them 26-11 on Sunday. The New York Giants started out well on Monday Night Football, but then the Dallas Cowboys steamrollered them, 37-18.  

current standings

Only the Cincinnati Bengals remain winless, as the Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets last week.

The spread between the top tier teams and everyone else continues to widen. The 49’ers, Patriots, and New Orleans Saints remain the three teams at the top, with one loss or less.  Just behind them, the Buffalo Bills, Ravens, and Green Bay Packers have only 2 losses each.

At the other end of the spectrum, the Bengals, Jets, Miami Dolphins, and Washington Redskins have only one win (or less).  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Giants and Cleveland Browns have only 2 wins each. OBJ, dude, what happened?

Nice to Know:

In Thursday Night Football this week in an all-Cali match-up, the Oakland Raiders scored a last minute victory over the LA Chargers in a back and forth game. As a result, the Raiders are viewed as still alive in the playoff race, while the Chargers are probably out of it.

The Oakland Raiders versus the San Diego Chargers

By one way of thinking, the “big game” today is the one between the New York Jets (1-7) and New York Giants (2-7), with the Giants slightly favored. The two New York teams have struggled all season, and head coaches Gase and Shurmur are clearly on the hot seat.

Many are calling this match-up the “Toilet Bowl.” On Friday, as a result of a Go Fund Me page to raise funds, a plane flew over and around New York City and the Hudson River with a banner saying “Fire Adam Gase Now.”  Yikes! And you thought you had a rough week at work.

Extra Credit:

Halfway through the season, the new rule to allow challenges on pass interference is largely viewed as ineffective.  Virtually every challenge has been denied, even when the call seems pretty clear. It appears that the NFL Commissioner’s office has communicated that the referees should only overrule in the most egregious errors – arguably, like the infamous Saints-Rams play last year.  Many coaches just keep challenging the calls, though, as if to make a point.

2. NBA

Must Know:

Giannis Antetokounmpo, aka “The Greek Freak,” of the Milwaukee Bucks is having a freaking unreal start to the NBA season. He was on fire during the preseason, and now he’s the first player in NBA history to have – in the first 8 games – 200 points, 100 rebounds and 50 assists. Just epic. 

Giannis Antetokounmpo, aka “The Greek Freak,” of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Nice to Know: 

The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard  scored 60 points in a game against the LA Clippers, and they still lost. It’s a personal best for Lillard , but the rest of the team is suffering from injuries.

In the East, the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks are on top, while the New York Knicks (1-7) are at the bottom of the heap.  

In the West, the LA Lakers are number one, and unfortunately for fans, the Zion-less Pelicans (1-6) are at the bottom. The Lakers are on a 6-game winning streak, and as a result, LeBron James is feeling pretty good.

Extra credit:

Things are not so rosy further north in California. Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors is out until at least February with a broken hand, and the rumor is that he may be out for the rest of the season. The Bleacher Report broke that story, setting off a frenzy of speculation about whether the injury is worse than originally thought, or whether he will sit out because there’s no way for the Warriors to be competitive this year.

In an interesting turn of events, it appears that many NBA teams are relishing beating the Warriors.  The feeling is that the Warriors were “showboats” when they were on top, and now that they’re down, there’s a lot of crowing and spiking of the ball.

Bonus round:

A lively debate has started in the NBA over the issue of resting players. The league is trying to accommodate players concerned about injuries via “load management” of the games. For example, Kawhi Leonard sat out 2 games last week due to load management. While that might sound like a sensible idea, the problem is that fans really want to see the stars play. So ticket sales could suffer if they rest the big names too often.

3. NHL

While it’s still early in the season, the New York Islanders are off to a good start. They had a 10-game winning streak going, which unfortunately snapped with a loss to the Penguins.  The last time the Islanders won that many games in a row was in 1982 when they won a total of 15 games in a row. 

The New York Islanders. Photo Credit: Getty Images.