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.
The college basketball season got underway and there were several great matchups. #1 Gonzaga, behind 37 points from Drew Timme, easily took care of Texas. UCLA rallied from a 10-poimt deficit to beat Villanova in overtime. Duke got past Kentucky and Kansas took care of Michigan State at the Champions Classic.
The college football season saw another previously-unbeaten team lose as Oklahoma fell. At Baylor. There were big wins for Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon.
The NFL saw a couple of big free agent signings. Odell Beckham Jr. signed with the Rams, while Cam Newton returned to Carolina.
The league also saw several surprises. Arizona came in 8-1 but lost badly to Carolina. The Steelers tied the winless Lions.
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.
The World Series will return to Houston for game six. Atlanta led 4-0 after one inning, but Houston rallied to win game five 9-5.
Only six teams remain unbeaten in college football. Georgia, which blew out Florida; Michigan State, which won its battle with Michigan State; Cincinnati, which struggled for a half before pulling bay from Tulane; Oklahoma, which handled Texas Tech; Wake Forest, which handled Duke easily; and surprising UTSA.
Cooper Rush filled in for Zak Prescott and the Cowboys won at Minnesota. The Jets surprised the Bengals as Mike White went over 400 yards passing.
There were a number of surprising NBA results. Cleveland won at Denver, Oklahoma City beat the Lakers, the Timberwolves won at Milwaukee.
A great weekend in sports.
The Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros advanced to the World Series. Eddie Rosario was special for Atlanta. Pitching and Yordan Alvarez keyed Houston’s run.
College football saw a record nine-overtime game, as Illinois upset Penn State. Oklahoma and Cincinnati struggled but continued to win. Ohio State was impressive in beating Indiana.
Tom Brady became the first quarterback to throw 600 TD passes. The Titans blew out the Chiefs. The Cardinals remained unbeaten.
College football has upsets every week. Iowa was the latest victim, falling to Purdue. Georgia continued to roll, beating a good Kentucky squad. Cincinnati had another impressive victory, knocking off UCF. Can the Bearcats stay in the playoff picture?
The Jacksonville Jaguars snapped a 20-game losing streak, upsetting the Miami Dolphins in England. The Baltimore Ravens had an impressive win over the Los Angeles chargers.
Congratulations to Candace Parker and the Chicago Sky on winning the WNBA title.
The baseball playoffs continued but there was one surprising note in the sport. The Cardinals fired manager mike Shildt despite posting a 17-game win streak and making the playoffs.
Some great action in college football. #1 Alabama was stunned by Texas A&M, snapping the Tide win streak at 19. It was Alabama’s first loss vs. an unranked team after 100 straight wins in that scenario. Jimbo Fisher became the first former-Nick Saban assistant to beat the Tide coach. A winning field goal by Seth Small was the difference.
Iowa’s defense did a great job against Penn State. The Hawkeyes were aided by a great home crowd as the 12th man led to a number of Penn State penalties. Georgia looked great in a win over Auburn. Oklahoma rallied from a 38-20 halftime deficit to beat Texas in the Red River Shootout. Mississippi won a shootout over Arkansas.
There were several wild NFL games. The Packers-Bengals battle saw five missed field goal in the fourth quarter and overtime before Mason Crosby kicked the winner. The Patriots rallied to beat the Texans. The Jaguars and Lions remained winless.
Tyson Fury retained his share of the heavyweight title by KO over Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas. It was a wild fight with lots of action and knockdowns.
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.
The USA dominated in golf’s Ryder Cup, winning 19-9. There was great spirit shown as the American won three-of-four matches over the first three sessions to build a commanding lead. Dustin Johnson went 5-0 over the three days. Congrats to captain Steve Stricker on the victory.
The San Francisco Giants were the first MLB team to reach 100 victories this season. The St. Louis Cardinals extended its win streak to 16 games. The Yankees swept the Red Sox at Fenway to take the AL wild card lead with a week left.
Brian Kelly passed Knute Rockne on the Notre Dame coaching win list. The Irish made Kelly number one with a win over Wisconsin. Florida State fell to 0-4 for the first time since 1974.
The Rams beat the Bucs. The Broncos moved to 3-0 with a shutout over the Jets. The Patriots lost at home to the Saints. The Steelers lost at home to the Bengals.
Oleksandr Usyk upset Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight title fight. Usyk remained unbeaten.
Alabama was truly challenged by Florida. The Tide escaped with a 31-29 win. The best game may have been Fresno State edging UCLA. Jake Haener threw for 455 yards in the upset.
The NFL has had several great games early this season. The Ravens edged the Chiefs as Lamar Jackson made several big plays. The Raiders got past the Steelers to go to 2-0. The Niners defense was impressive I a win at Philadelphia.
The St. Louis Cardinals moved a step closer to the NL wild card, sweeping the Padres.
Emma Raducanu became the most amazing Cinderella story. She became the first player to make a Grand Slam final as a qualifier. She entered the US Open ranked 150th in the world. She did not lose a set in winning the singles title, beating Leylah Fernandez of Canada in an All-Cinderella final.
Daniil Medvedev upset Novak Djokovic in straight sets to end the Djoker’s Grand Slam bid.
College football saw a few more surprises. Florida State was shocked at home by Jacksonville State, which scored on the game’s final play to win. Oregon won at Ohio State.
The NFL saw a few surprises. The Saints blew out the Packers in Jacksonville. The Falcons lost badly at home to the Eagles. The Steelers won at Buffalo.
Major League Baseball enjoyed a record ninth no-hitter. Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes and Josh Hader combined to no-hit the Indians.
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.
It was an amazing week for baseball. Arizona’s Tyler Gilbert no-hit the Padres in his first major league start. The last pitcher to throw a no-no in his first major league start was Bobo Holloman in 1953. It was the eight no-hitter in MLB this season, tying the record for one campaign.
Baseball also enjoyed drama in the Field of Dreams game in Iowa. The Yankees scored four runs in the ninth to take the lead. Tim Anderson hit a two-run homer that Hollywood scriptwriters couldn’t do better.
NFL preseason action picked up. I’m not a big fan of exhibitions.
There was big news in tennis as Roger Federer will miss the US Open and many more months due to additional knee surgery.
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.
Congratulations to the Milwaukee Bucks, winning the NBA championship for the first time in 50 years. They rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Suns in six games. GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO was incredible in the final game, scoring 50 points and hitting most of his free throws. His shot-blocking prowess was a big factor as well.
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.