This Week in Sports Talk: November 24, 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 24, 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 24, 2019

We begin with some short takes in sports news heading into the week of November 24, 2019.

College Football News

Heading into the weekend, the top five teams in the College Football Playoff rankings were LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, Georgia and Alabama.  The big game of the weekend was Penn State at Ohio State, and the Buckeyes pulled off a win, 28-17.

It was the closest game for Ohio State this season, and may prove to be an early proof point of their mettle and resilience when the competition gets tougher later this season. Time will tell. For now, they’ve clinched the Big 10 East. Next up? The classic rivalry game between Ohio State and Michigan. And then the Big 10 Championship game.

Also yesterday, No. 6 Oregon lost to unranked Arizona State, 28-31, ending their hopes for a spot in the playoffs for the National Championship. The Minnesota Golden Gophers are at the top of the Big 10 West after defeating Northwestern, 38-22.

Meanwhile, after last week’s devastating injury to quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, No. 5 Alabama will more than likely also be out of contention for the championship. Tagovailoa was in the stands with his family for Alabama’s home game against Western Carolina yesterday. His little brother Taulia, who is also a quarterback, threw his first career touchdown pass.

The Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban has chosen what our Sports Desk describes as a very weak “cupcake” non-conference schedule this season. He’s chosen not to play higher quality opponents. For example, No. 6 Oregon played SEC No. 15 Auburn in the first game of season and lost 27-21. While ‘Bama played No. 87 Duke and won 42-3. Coaches like Saban have almost total control over their schedules, so the win-loss record is only part of the story when the teams are ranked each week.

the Davis Cup Finals

Canada and Spain will meet in the Davis Cup finals in tennis today after wins in the semifinals on Saturday at Caja Mágica in Madrid. This marks the first time Canada has made the Davis Cup final since first entering the tournament in 1913.

Spain has won five times, with its last victory occurring in 2011. Rafael Nadal took the lead for Team Spain in its semi-final win over Great Britain, beating Daniel Evans in straight sets before joining Feliciano Lopez for a 2-0 doubles win.

Gronk parties on

Former New England Patriots tight end Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski has had a busy week. In full Lakers gear, he danced alongside Late Late Show host James Corden, Venus Williams and the Lakers Girls at a home game in LA. Observers felt that he crushed it. You can decide for yourself by watching his performance here.

If you ask us, James Corden is the dude who actually has the moves. And Venus is smokin’ hot. But hey, that’s just us. 

In more Gronk news, after teasing “a  big announcement” on Tuesday, which members of Patriots Nation hoped would be a return to the team, it turned out that Gronk is hosting a Super Bowl LIV party on a ship in Miami. Billed as the “championship of partying,” the pre-sail festivities will include a new music festival in Miami Beach dubbed “Gronk Beach.” You can catch the full promo here.  (And we gotta say, the dude has some pretty good moves in this one).

The “will he or won’t he” drama makes for headlines, but most serious fans are convinced that Gronk has no intention of ever returning to the NFL. We’d have to agree – it seems to be pretty good to be Gronk right now.

Protests delay The Harvard-Yale Game

The Harvard Crimson reports that “several hundred Harvard and Yale students stormed the field in support of divestment movements at their respective schools during the 136th edition of the Harvard-Yale Game Saturday.” Protesters delayed the start of the second half by 30 minutes as they advocated for climate justice and endowment divestitures from fossil fuel stocks. The Bulldogs ultimately prevailed in double overtime, 50-43. Dang it. Just wait ’till next year . . . 

NHL News

The New York Islanders are on fire, with a 5-game winning streak and a 16-3-1 record.  Currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division, they have recorded points in the last 16 games, a franchise record.  They won two recent games by coming back from a 2-goal deficit with less than 7 minutes left in the game.

Top Sports Headlines heading into the week of November 24, 2019

Now that we’re warmed up, here’s everything else you need to know about sports heading into the week of November 24, 2019:

1. NFL

Must Know:

Heading into Week 12 in the NFL, the top teams in the AFC are the New England Patriots (9-1), Baltimore Ravens (8-2), Kansas City Chiefs (7-4) and Houston Texans (7-4). 

At the top of the NFC are the Green Bay Packers (8-2), Dallas Cowboys (6-4), San Francisco 49’ers (9-1) and New Orleans Saints (8-2).

In Thursday Night Football, the Texans topped the Indianapolis Colts, 20-17. That earned them first place in the AFC South. Both teams have pretty easy remaining schedules with one hard game remaining for each – the Texans still have to play the Patriots, and the Colts have an upcoming game with the Saints. 

Meanwhile, there are a number of consequential games in Week 12: the Cowboys at the Patriots; the Packers at the 49’ers; the Ravens at the LA Rams; and the Seattle Seahawks at the Philadelphia Eagles. 

Nice to Know:

Headlines from Week 11 in the NFL include the Kansas City Chiefs’ messy win over the LA Chargers on Monday Night Football. The 24-17 win kept Kansas City atop the AFC West, though.

Most of the favored teams won in Week 11, but there were some surprises and comeback victories. For example, the Minnesota Vikings came back from being down 20 – 0 at the half to beat the Broncos 27 – 23.  It was an historic collapse for the Broncos – teams leading by 20 points at halftime are 400 – 13 historically. And in the last 97 straight games, the team leading by 20 points has won. 

Also last Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys held on for a 35 – 27 win over the Detroit Lions (ugh!) The mood at our Thanksgiving table is somewhat dependent on the Lions pulling it together and winning that day. Hope spring eternal.

Extra Credit:

The saga of Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett continued this week.  All of the penalized players had their appeals meetings with the NFL. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ Maurkice Pouncey was able to win a reduced suspension, from 3 games down to 2.

Garrett’s “indefinite” suspension was upheld, meaning that he’ll have to sit out the rest of the 2019 season, including any playoff games. Reports are that Garrett said that Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph had used a racial slur against him, which is what provoked him to remove Rudolph’s helmet and hit him in the head with it.  The NFL reportedly responded that they had no evidence of this. 

Bonus Round:

He’s baackkk . . . NFL free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown (AB) has posted an apology to the owner of the New England Patriots, Robert Kraft. Regular readers of the TWIST will recall that AB has been with three different teams in 2019, playing only one game this season. He was released by his last two teams – the Oakland Raiders and the Patriots – over bizarre behavior with respect to the helmet AB would consent to wear, and then over an assault accusation against him.

Many observers think this is a step towards the Pats re-signing the troubled player, as their offense seems lacking (despite their 9-1 record, they are “struggling”). Heading into the post-season, the Pats would love to be at full-strength as they make a run for their seventh Super Bowl ring. Meanwhile, AB has filed a counter-suit against his accuser for defamation. And many believe that even if the Pats signed him, the league might not allow him to play. Watch this space for further updates.

2. NBA

Must Know:

The NBA is seeing some amazing individual performances this season – and many of them are from Europeans.  For example, young rookie Luka Doncic, a 20-year old phenom, is lighting up the Dallas Mavericks. He recorded the fastest triple double ever: 35-10-11 in 21 minutes. He’s the second-youngest player in NBA history to record a 40-point triple-double.

In a game this week, the Mavs demolished the Golden State Warriors. In the first quarter, Doncic outperformed Golden State’s entire team. The star had more points (22), more rebounds (5) and more assists (5) than the Warriors did as a team in first quarter. Incredible.

Then there’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, “aka Greek Freak,”of the Milwaukee Bucks, who continues to put up historic numbers this season. So far, he has 30.1 points, 14.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game.  If he can maintain these numbers for the remainder of the season, he would be the first player ever to put up 30-14-6 in a season.  

For the record, we are in the throes of an epic crush on this darling gentleman. Anybody else in the same place? The fan club meeting starts at 2:00P today. Bring popcorn.

Nice to Know: 

The Bucks (13-3), Boston Celtics (11-4), Toronto Raptors (11-4) and Miami Heat (11-4) are in the top tier in the Eastern Conference. In the West, it’s the LA Lakers (14-2), Denver Nuggets (11-3) and the Houston Rockets, LA Clippers and Utah Jazz, all at 11-5.

Extra credit:

As of this posting, the LA Lakers are the best team in the NBA at 14-2, which also marks the best start ever for a LeBron James team. At 34, James is playing like the best player in the league after a challenging 2018-19 season. He’s moved from playing forward to playing point guard, and has now recorded a triple-double against all 30 NBA teams (he has also defeated every team in the NBA). The only question is whether he can maintain this level of play after 17 seasons. Our Sports Desk predicts that at the end of the season, LA will be the last team standing. But it’ll be the LA Clippers, not the Lakers. Yep, we’re looking at you, Kawhi Leonard.

In other news, James said he thinks the idea of resting players and “load management” is BS: if he isn’t hurt, he is playing, he says. James Harden made a similar comment. To which many women just nod and shake our heads and remember the last time the men in our lives got a simple head cold and had to rest for several days on the couch under a blanket with the TV remote with a free pass from household chores because they just couldn’t carry on. Wonder what these tough rugged dudes are like if they catch a cold? 

3. MLB

Must Know:

The sign-stealing scandal at the Houston Astros shows no sign of abating. This week, new claims surfaced about how the Astros allegedly cheated during baseball games starting as far back as 2017. In a move that sounds straight out of the movies, Houston batters reportedly were wearing buzzing band-aids to relay what type of pitch was on the way. The 2017 season was when the Astros beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS, and then defeated the LA Dodgers in the World Series. If the accusations are true, the penalties will be significant.

Nice to know:

The New York Yankees released outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury. They have also designated  first baseman Greg Bird for assignment. It appears that for both, their Yankee careers are over. But not without a fight in the case of Ellsbury. 

Apparently, the Yankees are trying to avoid paying the $21 or $26 million (depending on the source) that Ellsbury would have earned in the 2020 season. The front office is apparently claiming that the player received “unauthorized medical treatments” during the last 2 years. The Players Union will undoubtedly strongly defend Ellsbury. Watch this space for further updates.

Extra Credit:

The Chicago White Sox — who have not had a winning season since 2012 — have signed free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal to a four-year deal worth $73 million. The team also gave first baseman Jose Abreu a three-year, $50 million deal, committing $123 million to a plan aimed at ending a seven-year run of losing. It was an aggressive early quick strike in the free agent market and indications are the White Sox aren’t done yet.

And finally, this week the National Baseball Hall of Fame released the official 2020 Hall of Fame ballot. The 32-player ballot includes 14 holdovers from last year and 18 newcomers. Of everyone up for induction, newcomer Derek Jeter is the only lock to go in on his first ballot. The former New York Yankees captain may follow Mariano Rivera as the second unanimous inductee when results are revealed in January 2020.

This Week in Sports Talk: November 24, 2019

That’s it. You’re good to go with the top headlines and coming attractions heading into the week of November 24, 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.

Forward This Article