This Week in Sports Talk: November 17, 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 November 17, 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: November 17, 2019

We begin with some short takes in sports news heading into the week of November 17, 2019.

no more undefeated teams in the NFL

Quarterback Jimmy Garrapolo and the San Francisco 49’ers (8-1) lost in Monday Night Football to the Seattle Seahawks (8-2), 24-27, thanks to another impressive outing by quarterback Russell Wilson.

The loss marked the fall of the last undefeated team this season. Allowing the surviving members of the 1972 Miami Dolphins to crow for at least one more year about retaining their crown. The ’72 Fins are the only NFL team ever in history to win the Super Bowl with a perfect season.

but there’s still one undefeated player in the NFL

Wide receiver Josh Gordon, whose nickname is “Flash,” was released by the New England Patriots and picked up by the Seattle Seahawks just a week ago. And now he is the only player in the NFL who is undefeated.  He was cut by the Patriots while they were still 8-0. And he joined the Seahawks before their win over the 49’ers.  No other player in the NFL has won every single game they have taken the field for. Who says being Flashy is a bad thing?

colin kaepernick does an NFL workout in atlanta

The biggest drama of the past 24 hours in the NFL, though, was the on-off-on-again scheduled workout for former San Francisco 49’ers and free-agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick. As LeBron James and many others Tweeted their support, the original location and some of the parameters for the workout were changed last-minute. From the Atlanta Falcons practice facility to a local high school; from a closed session to one where all media and all teams were invited to be present. And from one where an NFL coach would run the drills to freelancing. 

It all got underway about 3 hours later than originally scheduled. Kaepernick took the field in a Kunta Kinte tee. Seven teams ultimately sent representatives to the workout: the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions. Kaepernick thanked them all for coming, and after the 40-minute workout, he was seen speaking with scouts from the Redskins, Jets and Chiefs. The early word in the sports press is that his throwing arm is really strong.

What happens next? Watch this space for further updates.

tennis’s Nitto atp finals in london are today

Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the Nitto ATP Finals yesterday after a stunning victory over six-time champion Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 at The O2 in London. The 21-year old has reached the title match in his debut appearance at the annual season-ending tournament.

Today he meets 26-year-old Austrian Dominic Thiem, who has made it to the finals for the first time after a 7-5, 6-3 win against defending champion Alexander Zverev.

Only one of the big three – Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – even made it to the semi-final in this tournament. Zverev eliminated Nadal on Friday. And Djokovic lost to Federer on Thursday.

Despite his loss, Nadal was presented with a trophy on-court for having secured the 2019 year-end No. 1 ranking in the world.

college football news

Yesterday, Alabama’s star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who was still dealing with an ankle injury and surgery in October, suffered a dislocated hip toward the end of the 2nd quarter in a game where the Crimson Tide was already up 35 – 7 vs Mississippi State. The player was airlifted to a hospital in Birmingham, and is reportedly expected to make a full recovery. Alabama win the game 38-7.

Tagovailoa was widely expected to be the #1 NFL draft pick – several teams (the Dolphins and Bengals among them) have been accused of “Tanking for Tua” (basically trying to be the worst team in the league so that they get the first draft pick). 

The second-guessing has already started, as most analysts thought Tagovailoa would sit this one out unless team really needed him. ‘Bama was a huge favorite going in, and head coach Nick Saban will definitely be questioned about the wisdom of playing an injured quarterback against such a weak opponent. It also highlights the ongoing issue of whether the interests of college athletes are adequately represented in situations like this one, since they are prohibited from having their own agents. The loss of the starting quarterback makes it even less likely that Alabama will make the final 4 in the college football playoffs this year.

The No. 7 Minnesota Golden Gophers saw an end to their undefeated season yesterday, with a 23-19 loss to No. 23 Iowa. No. 5 Georgia clinched the SEC East title with a 21-14 win over No. 13 Auburn. And in a rivalry game, No. 14 Michigan defeated Michigan State 44-10. 

the current new york state of mind is . . . grumpy

At the moment, Greater New York is kind of in a bad place when it comes to sports.

NY NFL

The New York Jets are one of the worst teams in the NFL at 2-7. But this week they confirmed they’re sticking with their head coach, Adam Gase, through the end of next season. The New York Giants are also one of the worst teams in the NFL, also at 2 – 7. As of this posting, there’s no word on the likely fate of their head coach.

NY NBA

The New York Knicks are probably the worst team in the NBA at the moment. This week coach David Fizdale was fired after one year with the team. One local sports journalist is begging Mike Bloomberg to forego the Presidential race and instead buy (and revive) the once-mighty Knicks franchise. The Brooklyn Nets have made a decent start, but the world is waiting for Kevin Durant to return next season. For the moment, they’re at the middle of the pack.

NY MLB

The New York Mets finished the season in not great fashion, even with a Rookie of the Year on the roster. And now their new manager, Carlos Beltran, is implicated in a sign-stealing scandal that occurred during his time with the Houston Astros. The New York Yankees delivered a heroic performance all season in the face of more injuries than anyone could have imagined. But in the end, they can’t seem to make it to the big show (aka the World Series).

The one possible bright spot? The NHL. While the New York Rangers are currently 8-8, the New York Islanders are currently in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 14-3 record and a three-game winning streak. 

Bundle up. It’s gonna be a long winter in Gotham.

Top Sports Headlines heading into the week of November 17, 2019

Now that we’re warmed up, here’s everything else you need to know about sports heading into the week of November 17, 2019:

1. NFL

Must Know:

On Thursday Night Football in week 11 of the NFL season, the Cleveland Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns, the underdog, won pretty decisively, 21-7, snapping  the Steelers’ 4-game winning streak.

But the big news is what happened in the 4th quarter. With 8 seconds left, the Steelers’ quarterback Mason Rudolph threw a pass and was tackled by the Browns’ Myles Garrett. Right after, for reasons that are still unclear, as both tried to stand up, Garrett ripped Rudolph’s helmet off and swung it – hard – at his head. Two of the Steelers linemen then dragged Garrett down in the end zone and started punching and kicking him. 

A melee ensued that resulted in three players — Garrett, Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey and Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi — being ejected from the game. 

The NFL moved rapidly and within 24 hours of the incident they announced sanctions for several players. Unsurprisingly, Garrett received the harshest penalty: an indefinite suspension that includes the 2019 postseason. Pouncey — who was seen throwing a punch — and Ogunjobi have also been suspended. Rudolph will be fined an undisclosed amount for his role in the brawl. After the announcement, Garrett released a statement apologizing for his actions.

Fans are left in a heated debate about whether or not we should all be outraged. Some say it’s the worst incident ever on the field, and Garrett should be permanently banned from the game and even criminally prosecuted for assault. Others say that players are trained and rewarded to show aggression and muscle, and no one should be shocked that incidents like this occur sometimes – hey, it’s football.

Discuss among yourselves.

Nice to Know:

Last week’s outcome proved – at least to some – that there is at least a semblance of parity across the teams in the NFL. Of the final eight teams from last year in the playoffs, 6 lost this last weekend (and 2 were on “bye,” meaning that they didn’t play). The LA Rams (5-4), Kansas City Chiefs (6-4), New Orleans Saints (7-2), LA Chargers (4-6), Dallas Cowboys (5-4) and Indianapolis Colts (5-4) all lost. The New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles were on bye weeks. So of the top 8 teams from last year, not one won last week. Like the Old School often says: any given Sunday, anyone can win.

One of the ripple effects of these unexpected losses was in “knock-out betting pools.” Each week the bet is on which one team will win and “survive.” Last weekend, 40% of the bets were on the Saints to beat the (previously) hapless Falcons. And 30% were on the Colts to beat the (previously) hapless Dolphins. When they both lost, it knocked out 70% of the remaining pool members.

Extra Credit:

The much-derided “Toilet Bowl”between the New York Jets and the New York Giants during week 10 of the NFL actually turned out to be a pretty good game. The Jets won, with quarterback Sam Darnold out-playing Giants quarterback Daniel “Danny Dimes” Jones. In one of the low-lights of the game for the Giants, the Jets’ Jamal Adams snatched the ball right out of Jones’ hands and ran it in for a touchdown.  

bonus round:

Oakland Raiders linebacker Vontaze Burfict, suspended for the season after Week 4 for what the NFL deemed an accumulation of dirty play, this week called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “a b—ch” when discussing how the unsuccessful meeting to appeal his suspension went. The interview came in the aftermath of the Myles Garrett incident, with Burfict saying that his behavior was in no way comparable to that.

2. NBA

Must Know:

The NBA super teams continue to be super. The LA Lakers and Houston Rockets are in first and second place in the West, respectively. Anthony “Unibrow” Davis and teammate LeBron James are looking really good. And Russell Westbrook and James Harding are gelling as partners in Houston. 

Meanwhile, the Zion-less New Orleans Pelicans (3-9) are in second-to-last place in the West. And in last place in the West are – wait for it – the Golden State Warriors (2-11)! Ugh!!! In the East, the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors are in first and second place, respectively. And the New York Knicks are in last place.

Nice to Know: 

The Houston Rockets topped the LA Clippers, 102-93, on Wednesday night. During the game, an episode occurred that is likely to be viewed differently depending on whether you take the perspective of a parent or a child. Late in the fourth quarter, Clippers coach Doc Rivers started complaining to the refs. The Rockets’ Austin Rivers, his son, started motioning for a technical to be called. Doc wound up not just getting called for a technical, but ejected from the game, too. We say cancel that kid’s allowance.

Former New York Knick Carmelo Anthony, who last played an NBA game in November 2018, has agreed to a non-guaranteed deal with the Portland Trail Blazers. Anthony last played for the Houston Rockets for 10 games before parting ways with the team.

Extra credit:

Former New York Knick Kristaps Porzingas returned to New York for the first time as the Dallas Mavericks played the Knicks at Madison Square Garden this week. In the wake of his shocking trade request last season, which sent him to the Mavericks, Porzingas was booed by the local fans, loudly and often. The Knicks won, as fans train their hopes on RJ Barrett as their new franchise star.

3. MLB

Must Know:

Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros was named the 2019 American League Cy Young Award winner for pitching, edging out teammate Gerrit Cole. Verlander previously won the award in 2011 with the Detroit Tigers.

For the second straight year, Jacob deGrom won the National League Cy Young Award. He is the 12th pitcher ever to win two or more consecutive Cy Young Awards and the 20th to win multiple Cy Youngs.

The awards put a fine point on the ever-increasing importance of a deep bench of pitching talent. Our Sports Desk notes that if you want to win in the post-season, you need to have a couple of dominant pitchers. They can make all the difference in winning 3 of 5 or 4 of 7 games, which may heat up the market for pitching talent this off-season (looking at you, New York Yankees).

Nice to know:

It’s an all-Cali sweep in the MVP awards this year.

In the National League, MVP went to LA Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger. Making him the first Dodgers hitter to win MVP since Kirk Gibson in 1988.

The LA Angels Mike Trout is MVP in the American League for the third time in his career.

The 2019 Rookie of the Year awards went to sluggers Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros and Pete Alonzo of the New York Mets. The Astros were thisclose to a “triple play” win of the big awards this season, but it was not to be.

Extra Credit:

In a bombshell report published on Tuesday, a former Houston Astros pitcher claimed that in 2017 the team used an illegal camera in center field to help steal signs. It’s possible that the team repeated the same offense in 2019. The allegations involve Carlos Beltran, the new manager just hired by the New York Mets.  Our Sports Desk notes that at least this means that Texans may stop calling the New York Patriots “the Deflatriots.” Nothing makes one scandal go away faster than . . . a new scandal.

This Week in Sports News November 17, 2019

That’s it. You’re good to go with the top headlines and coming attractions heading into the week of November 17, 2019. Have a good one, and see you next week.

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