A busy week in sports. College hoops saw a number of upsets. Seton Hall beat Michigan, George Mason stunned Maryland, Xavier beat Ohio State.
Terence Crawford scored a 10th-round TKO over Shawn Porter to retain his welterweight title.
QB Bryce Young set an Alabama record with 559 passing yards. Ohio State’s CJ Stroud dominated Michigan State.
Jonathan Taylor totaled five TDs as the Colts beat the Bills. The Texans scored the upset of the week, beating the Titans.
Tennis crowned its year end tourney champs. Garbine Muguruza wo the WTA final, while Alexander Zverev won the ATP crown.
I’m excited that the college basketball season starts Tuesday. I’m sorry I won’t be able to call the Champions Classic.
It was a wild weekend in the NFL. Several teams that started in playoff position lost. Division leaders were shocked as Jacksonville stunned Buffalo and Denver blew out Dallas.The Raiders lost to the Giants. The Saints lost at home to the Falcons.
College football saw two unbeaten fall. Wake Forest blew a huge lead and lost to North Carolina. Michigan Stat was upset at Purdue. Arizona and UNLV, previously winless, finally picked up victories. Georgia continued to roll as the number one team. Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State and Cincinnati were challenged.
Novak Djokovic clinched the year-end number one rank in men’s tennis. He also won the event in Paris, beating Danil Medvedev in the final.
Plenty of college football news this week. Alabama and Georgia continued to roll in the SEC. Michigan got a big win at Wisconsin. Cincinnati ended Notre Dame’s 26-game home win streak. Stanford rallied to stun Oregon.
The MLB regular season went down to the wire. The Red Sox and Yankees earned the AL wild cards, edging Toronto and Seattle. The Giants won the NL West.
The NFL had several upsets. The Giants and Jets winning in the same weekend was surprising. The Colts knocked off the Dolphins. Two teams really impressed: Buffalo beat Houston, 40-0. The Cardinals beat the Rams.
Oh yes, Tom Brady returned to New England. The Bucs edged the Pats, 19-17 as Brady threw for 269 yards. Brady also set the record for career passing yards.
It was cutdown week in the NFL. Big news came out of New England as QB Cam Newton was released.
College football saw Alabama, Georgia, Penn State and UCLA score big wins. There were stunning results as Montana won at Washington, UTSA stunned Illinois, Northern Illinois won at Georgia Tech, and Charlotte knocked off Duke.
There were plenty of surprises in week one of the US Open. Top-seeded woman Ash Barty led 5-2 in the final set before Shelby Rogers rallied for a shocking win. Stefano Tsitsipas, the third-seeded man, lost to 18-year old Carlos Alcarez of Spain. Second-seeded woman Naomi Osaka was stunned by another 18-year old, Leylah Fernandez of Canada. Fifth-seed Andrei Rublev lost to American Frances Tiafoe.
Patrick Cantlay earned a $15 million payday by winning The Tour Championship. He beat Jon Rahm by one shot.
It was a busy week in MLB. The Dodgers beat the Padres in a 16-inning game that ended at 1 am PT. The Orioles snapped a 19-game losing streak, beating the Angels. The Yankees saw a 13-game win streak snapped in Oakland.
Patrick Cantlay beat Bryson DeChambeau on the sixth playoff hole to win the BMW Championship. It was a dramatic playoff with each guy having a chance to win before Cantlay hit a 17-foot putt on the sixth playoff hole. That gave Cantlay the top-seed at The TOUR Championship in Georgia next week.
College football started and Nebraska rallied but fell short against Illinois. Coach Scott Frost had to be disappointed with the result.
The US Open was beginning. Injuries have been a key story as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, defending champion Domenic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Sofia Kenin are out.
Congratulations to Miguel Cabrera, who joined the 500 HR club by hitting a Steven Matz pitch for a HR.
Baseball saw several long streaks extended. The Yankees and Brave won nine in a row. The sad Orioles dropped 18 straight.
The tennis tournament in Cincinnati saw a few surprises. Jill Teichmann stunned Naomi Osaka before losing in the final to Ash Barty. Alexander Zverev got past Alexander Rublev in the men’s final. Larry Doby, Alexander Zverev rumbled to a great win in the final.
The Olympics concluded and the USA team led in gold medals (edging China) and total medals. The USA team won gold in men’s and women’s basketball and women’s volleyball to win the race for most golds.
NBA free agency started and there were several sin-and trade moves, led by Lonzo Ball and Kyle Lowery. The Lakers signed several free agents.
The San Francisco Giants were the first team to reach 70 wins.
It was a great week in the sports world.
The NBA Draft gave 60 players an opportunity to reach their dream. Cade Cunningham went #1 to the Pistons. There were several deals, led by the Lakers getting Russell Westbrook.
Major League Baseball saw its wildest trade deadline. Big names were dealt as the Cubs and Nationals unloaded several veterans. Names like Max Scherzer, Kris Bryant, Jay Baez, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Jose Berrios, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo switched uniforms. We also saw White Sox newcomer Seby Zavala become the first player to hit three home runs in his first game.
Then there was the Olympics. Katie Ledecky, Caleb Dressel and Robert Finke were big names winning gold. Next week we will see if USA basketball can get the gold.
The Olympics got under way. Nothing like the beauty of the opening ceremonies. There were a number of interesting developments. A swimmer from Tunisia won a gold medal. Ash Barty, the top-seeded women, lost in round one. For the first time since 2004, the U.S. men’s basketball team has lost in the Olympics, falling to France 83-76.
This week is the NBA draft. I think this is a deep crop and you can make noise if you have several picks.
Jon Rahm shot a 67 in the final round of the US Open, finishing at a winning -6. He joined Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros as Spaniards to win majors. Rahm made two great putts on the 17th and 18th holes.
Devin Booker had a triple-double, scoring 40 points as the Suns beat the Clippers in game one of the Western Conference finals.
The Hawks stunned the Sixers, winning game seven at Philadelphia.
Kevin Durant scored 48 points but it was not enough as the injury-plagued Nets lost to the Bucks.