In The Cold Light of Day You Can Always Figure Out The Truth …
Well, the Major League Baseball season came to an abrupt end and the Boston Red Sox claimed the best record in the league on their way to a one-hundred win season. The Red Sox were joined by the New York Yankees and Houston Astros as the only other ball-clubs to have achieved the feat during this long and arduous season. Among the players who excelled during the year , we have Blake Snell among the pitchers , who led all starters in the number of wins as well as having one of the lowest ERA’s among the starters. With regard to offense it was another very good season with several players living up to expectation , among them two-time AL MVP and Los Angeles Angels’ outfielder Mike Trout . It was another disappointing season for the Angels as they failed to make the postseason for 2018. It is widely known, that team manager Mike Sciocsia will not be returning to the ball-club in 2019 . Another big league manager also in the same position is John Gibbons of the Toronto Blue Jays , as the front office made it official, that his contract will not be extended.
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The Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals were among the major disappointments within the National League , with Miami having among the worst record of all the teams in the NL (National League) and their barely being competitive within the NL East , where they finished bottom of the division. The surprising winners there , were the Atlanta Braves who finished with a 90-72 record . The wildcard entrant within the NL will be the Los Angeles Dodgers tie-breaker with the Colorado Rockies and the losers of the tie-breaker between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers . That game is due to take place on Monday, 1st October , with the Cubs playing host to the Brewers at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois. . It makes for a fascinating start to the MLB postseason in 2018 , with two tie-breaking series set to unfold . I’d dare say the Los Angeles Dodgers are in a very precarious situation , having to face divisional rival the Colorado Rockies.
Heavily favored, but yet somehow, a team largely made of PGA superstars and they failed miserably as the US Ryder Cup Team lost to their European counterparts in one of the most lopsided results in recent Ryder Cup history. The final score of 17 ½ to 10 ½ didn’t do the Europeans justice as Francesco Molinari led a tremendous team, with the Italian posting a 5-0 winning record , matching a feat only achieved by four other players in the format’s history. This biannual event is the biggest team competition in golf , bigger than the President’s Cup and the World Cup of Golf. In 2020 , when Europe seeks to defend their title , the Ryder Cup will be played on American soil at the Whistling Straits Golf Course , in Milwaukee , Wisconsin. It will be very interesting to see who will be the captain of the US Team will be and whether or not there will be a great deal of camaraderie among the players. Based on the results seen in France, there seems to be a great deal of animosity and among the Americans , with their also being a great deal of finger pointing and backbiting among those teammates.
Five games into the College Football season and it looks like Alabama intends to separate themselves from the rest of the programs at the top of D1 Football. With a 5-0 record there isn’t a great deal that the team has left to prove , other than for Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban to win another national title. Saban has cemented himself as among the greatest college coach in College Football history. On Saturday afternoon Alabama entertained or should I say played and toyed with Louisiana Lafayette on their way to a 56-14 lopsided victory. To say that Louisiana put up any type of resistance would be laughable , as the game was never really close at any time during its duration.
Alabama will like remain atop of the College Rankings , while also heavily positioning themselves to win out within the SEC (Southeastern Conference) once again. . In week six Nick Saban will take his players on the road as they face Arkansas (Razorbacks) on the road for a game to be played on the 6th October , 2018 at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas,. I doubt that this will be the game where Alabama will be upended .
The nearest team to Alabama by way of their play and athleticism based on record , being that there are still several unbeaten teams . might well be Clemson , whose championship winning run and their defeat of Alabama was a joy to behold. . In week six Clemson’s coaching staff headed by Dabo Swinney will prepare the team to face rival Wake Forest on the road . The Georgia Bulldogs might well be ranked as the number two team in the nation and they are very good , but I still believe the Clemson Tigers to be the better team ! Georgia for their part will have a very interesting upcoming game when they take on Vanderbilt .
Well , so much for that 3-0 start to their season by the Miami Dolphins and the claims that this might be the team to beat within the AFC East . That picture was quickly laid to rest as the Dolphins were manhandled and mauled by a New England Patriots’ team looking to make amends for a poor start to their season. Anyone who believed this Patriots’ roster had seen better days , well they were suddenly reawakened by the cacophony of a bang, as New England took it upon themselves to remind the rest of the NFL why this franchise is a five-time winning Superbowl champion. Tom Brady had his best outing of the season by far with both the defense and offense playing their part in this humiliating defeat of the Miami Dolphins. Adam Gase , a former protege’ of Patriots’ Head Coach Bill Belichick , now finds himself having been taught a real lesson by his Master. For Ryan Tannehill and all the talk of his being a leader or this Miami Dolphins’ team , it is becoming increasingly clear he still has a long way to go before he can be remotely considered to be an elite quarterback in the NFL .
Ryan Tannehill’s performance against the New England Patriots saw the player pass for a mere one hundred yards , while barely competing fifty percent of his pass attempts during the game. He would be replaced by backup quarterback Brock Osweiler , who fared no better than his teammate during the contest. With week five of the regular season just around the corner and the Dolphins not having their bye-week until week eleven where they’re joined by the Buffalo Bills , Cleveland Browns , New England Patriots , New York Jets and San Francisco 49ers as the teams with a bye for that week. Next up for Ryan Tannehill and the Miami Dolphins will be a game against the Cincinnati Bengals on the road in an AFC match-up . Meanwhile , Tom Brady and the Patriots will be preparing to take on the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium , in Foxboro’, Massachusetts,.
Ryan Fitzpatrick’s world and that of the Tampa Buccaneers’ came crashing down to a loss , that was totally unexpected. In many respects , the writing had been on the wall , as the Buccaneers had begun to show frailties long expected and at some point we all knew would be exposed. Chicago Bears’ rookie quarterback Mitch Trubisky passed for a franchise-game six passing touchdowns on the way to the team’s 48-10 victory over their conference rivals. The Buccaneers might well be 2-2 at present , but that record is very deceptive , because this is not a two and two one team . If anything, the Buccaneers are lucky to have that record and it begs the question what else can Dirk Koetter now do with a team which continually lets their fans down due to their complacency and inconsistency ?
If Ryan Fitzpatrick’s performance against the Chicago Bears was thought to be bad , then having Jameis Winston come on to replace Fitzpatrick, barely offered the Buccaneers any hope at all, as Winston simply showed us once again why his progress has been mediocre since becoming a first round draft pick for the franchise in 2015 . To suggest that there might be an upside to Winston’s game would be like trying to equate it with walking across the Grand Canyon without the use of a balancing pole to aid the walker on that journey. The hard part for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be to try and convince their doubters that they’re still a team capable of being viewed as a contender within the NFC and worthy of a postseason berth. Based on the four games played to date , I am far from convinced that the Buccaneers are even capable of having a winning season in 2018, let alone making it to the NFL postseason. It will be interesting to see how the Tampa Bay Buccaneers seek to rebound from this loss the Chicago Bears when they face the Atlanta Falcons on the road in week six .
Patrick Mahomes might not have been the first quarterback taken in the 2018 NFL Draft , but he’s certainly playing like the top prospect the front office of the Kansas City Chiefs believed him to be. Too early to say as of yet if he’ll measure up to the accomplishments of Carson Wentz, which was seen last season , before Wentz went down due to injury , unable to participate in the Philadelphia Eagles triumphant postseason foray , where their ultimate triumph was the defeat of the New England Patriots in the Superbowl. I am not saying that Mahomes will lead the Chiefs to that sort of postseason experience , but it would certainly be interesting to see what could happen over the remainder of the team’s schedule. The rookie quarterback kept his composure in leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a well-deserved win over divisional rivals the Denver Broncos and thereby keeping their unbeaten record in tact.
Next up for the Kansas City Chiefs will be a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City , Missouri .
The NBA preseason has begun in earnest and it will be interesting to see how the teams will fare , in the lead-up to the regular season schedule which tips off officially on the 16th October with two Opening Night Games. Current defending NBA champions , the Golden State Warriors will certainly be looking to improve upon last season’s record , albeit , that the team didn’t have the best regular season record. Yet , for Steve Kerr , his coaching staff and that of the front office led by Bob Myers . Their wish is to create another dynasty for the league to talk about. The Warriors’ roster led by Steph Curry and Kevin Durant , have to be seen as the prohibitive favorites to make a successful defense of their title. This team as it currently stands with the addition of DeMarucs Cousins might be even more formidable than last season’s championship roster .
The Golden State Warriors will begin the defense of their title with the customary preseason schedule before embarking upon their regular season beginning on the 16th October , when they face the Oklahoma City Thunder at home at the Oracle Arena in Oakland ,
Of the big off-season moves , no one was really surprised when LeBron James made the announcement that he would be moving West to the bright lights and big city of Los Angeles. Joining the Los Angeles Lakers signing a five-year max deal that pays him just over $150 million dollars was not a big expenditure when you take into account this remains the NBA’s most popular franchise and quite possibly it’s most valuable based on attendance levels and ratings.
Lakers’ head coach Luke Walton will be hard pressed to convince me this team has what it takes to take down the Golden State Warriors and the best that the Western Conference has to offer. LeBron James might well have won with less while with the Cleveland Cavalier, but he’s playing with the Big Boys of the West and not the daycare kindergarten kids of the East as was the case last season with the Cleveland Cavaliers . When the Lakers begin their preseason schedule of five games it will be interesting to see how the team will fare. The first of those contests will see them them tip off against the Denver Nuggets at home on Tuesday , 2nd October . . Their regular season schedule begins on the 18th October when they face conference rivals the Portland Trailblazers .
Eight straight NBA Finals’ appearances is an astonishing feat for any player , but even with all of the accomplishments of LeBron James. He will be hard pressed to make it to a ninth consecutive appearance with a team which is short by way of real experience .
OK, so the Los Angeles Lakers might well be the big story in the NBA and for much of this season, that is likely to be the case , but there will be other stories unfolding. The Brooklyn Nets for many years a franchise hemorrhaging more money than having success , is now in the midst of being sold by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov to to Canadian citizen Joseph Tsai , who is of Taiwanese ancestry. Tsai also happens to be the Vice Chairman of Chinese e-Commerce giant Ali-Baba . His net worth is believe to be just over $9 billion , making him certainly among Canada’s richest citizens as well as in China and Taiwan. Before the sale can be finalized , it must have the approval of the NBA’s Board of Governors , before the Joseph Tsai can assume control as the league’s newest NBA franchise owner .
It is not known how much Joseph Tsai paid in purchasing the Brooklyn Nets , but I don’t believe that Mikhail Prokhorov will completely recoup his original investment . The coaching staff of the franchise led by Kenny Atkinson will now have a short period of time to assess the possible wholesale changes likely to be made. Brooklyn’s roster is not overly impressive and not one that I believe will be capable of being very competitive this upcoming season. The first game of the Nets’ preseason will see them facing their in-state rivals the New York Knicks on Wednesday , 3rd October ,2018 . Their opening game of the regular season will see the Nets facing the Detroit Pistons on the road. Given the productivity seen from these two teams last season, it will be very interesting to see how this contest will end .
Another disgruntled star in the NBA and the regular season has yet to begin. The Minnesota Timberwolves now have Jimmy Butler pleading his case by making a request to be traded. No doubt there would be a plethora of teams interested in acquiring one of the league’s best guards. Butler has proven himself to be productive and a leader ; this was clearly the case when he played for the Chicago Bulls . Timberwolves’ Head Coach Tom Thibodeau who also happens to hold a high-ranking position within the organization , is reluctant to let the player go , but he might be willing to do so if he were able to make a trade he deemed fair.
Jimmy Butler and the Minnesota Timberwolves might not reach an agreement where he is likely to leave the franchise before the season starts. In all likelihood , I don’t believe Tom Thibodeau will be pressured into making an unwanted deal . The Timberwolves’ preseason opener will see the team face the Los Angeles Clippers
on the road before embarking on their regular season opener where they will tip-off against the San Antonio Spurs on the road .
The number of players in the NBA who will be earning over $25 million this season is now at an all-time high. It certainly is above the figure of last season. The figure has almost doubled from fourteen to now twenty five and it is clear that the NBA hierarchy led by Commissioner Adam Silver is not at all overly concerned. Not while the league’s revenues to go higher and the value of the teams steadily increase . This season in the NBA could be a very interesting one with just about everyone taking note of what the Los Angeles Lakers are liable to do .
Picture gallery along with accompanying narrative.
What if anything , do you now feel has been the biggest sports’ story to date or over the past week , month or at least the last six months ?
Tophatal ……….. 10/02/2018
NCAA Football and week five results
NFL news and week four results
NFL standings division and conference standings
NBA schedule preseason 2nd October
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Highest paid NBA players (2018)
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Thursday Night was the weekend opener for week eight within the NFL with the divisional standings now seemingly taking on a rhythm of it’s own . Last night’s contest featured the Miami Dolphins (4-4) taking on the Houston Texans (5-3) at NRG Stadium in Houston , Texas . Suffice to say the Texans came away with a well-deserved home victory over their AFC rivals . This contest provided another putrid display from the Miami Dolphins in a game where all facets of their game was simply awful. For the Miami Dolphins it was another putrid display from starting quarterback Brock Osweiler and with usual starter Ryan Tannehill due to his continued inconsistency , it is becoming hard to envisage where the Dolphins now go from here. The team’s Head Coach Adam Gase cannot be at all happy with what he’s witnessed so far this season , just four victories after a promising start.
Next up for the Miami Dolphins will be a game in week nine against the New York Jets , a divisional rival within the AFC East.
NFL news
NFL schedule week eight
NFL standings (division)
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Game three of the World Series will take place tonight at Dodgers Stadium with the Los Angeles Dodgers (0-2) looking to crawl out from under a 2-0 deficit against the Boston Red Sox , who won the first two games at home with a great deal of ease.
MLB news ..
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No big fights being staged on Saturday night within the world of boxing .
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The Los Angeles Dodgers came back to life winning game three of the World Series defeating the Boston Red Sox 3-2 in a low scoring contest . The series now stands at 2-1 in Boston’s favor.
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The Boston Red Sox closed out the World Series in emphatic , style crushing the Los Angeles Dodgers on their way to a 4-1 series’ victory . Game five was won with utmost ease and the World Series MVP was Red Sox player Steve Pearce who contributed greatly to the team’s success in the series’ victory over the Dodgers.
For the Los Angeles Dodgers this was another disastrous postseason foray where they were completely outplayed by the Boston Red Sox in just about every facet of the game. Where this now leaves the Los Angeles Dodgers as they look ahead is anyone’s question. Manager Dave Roberts’ position might well be in jeopardy as could be several members of his managerial staff . There are several impending free agents and players under arbitration who will be looking to be well-paid in 2019 . Yet , I think that the ownership group as well as GM Farhan Zaidi and Head of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman will be looking at ways in how best to improve the roster without having to greatly increase the current payroll for 2019.
MLB news
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The big story within the NBA over the weekend was the firing of Tyronn Lue as the Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers after the team’s poor start to the season . Cavaliers’ forward Kevin Love has not been able to provide the team with any real leadership and it became abundantly clear that Tyronn Lue had lost the confidence of the players , while there had been little if any contributions coming from a member of his coaching staff .
At 0-6 the Cleveland Cavaliers have the worst record in the league , though defensively they are far from being the worst team in the NBA. Next up for the Cavaliers will be a game against the Atlanta Hawks at home , a conference rival .
Larry Drew has been named the Interim Head Coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and it will be interesting to see how and what steps are taken by GM Kobe Altman and team owner Dan Gilbert , as they seek a permanent successor to Tyronn Lue. Drew is not out of the argument as the long-term replacement with his having previous coaching experience in the league.
Elsewhere around the league , the only unbeaten teams in the NBA are the Milwaukee Bucks and the Toronto Raptors who both share 6-0 record as of the 28th October , 2018.
Reigning NBA champions the Golden State Warriors (5-1) are off to a solid start and the roster seems to be clicking on all cylinders , led by the their Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , Steph Curry , Klay Thompson , Draymond Green and Kevin Durant . Coming off their last game against the Brooklyn Nets , it is becoming abundantly clear the Warriors remain the team to beat within the NBA . In their next contest the Golden State Warriors will be in a match-up against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center, in Chicago , Illinois.
NBA news …
NBA schedule 29th October
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Week eight of the NFL season has almost come to a close with only game left to close that particular part of the schedule . The Monday Night Game will feature the New England Patriots (5-2) facing the Buffalo Bills (2-5) on the road.
Of the games played on Sunday afternoon , we once again saw the inconsistency of Jameis Winston as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers threw away another game to their already horrendous season. Winston had to be replaced in the game by back up quarterback, Ryan Fizpatrick as he tried to pull off last minute heroics in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals . The fact that the Buccaneers came up short , losing 37-34 , might well have brought some inspiration to the coaching staff of Dirk Koetter , but I doubt that it was awe inspiring for the Buccaneers’ front office . With each passing game of this season , Jameis Winston continues to prove that he’s not much better than any of his predecessors .
It remains to be seen whether or not Dirk Koetter will choose to start Jameis Winston in week nine when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are due to face the Carolina Panthers in week nine of the regular season.
NFL news ……..
Tampa Bay Buccaneers news
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So the Cleveland Browns have decided to part ways with Hu Jackson , now the former head coach and one of his coordinators Todd Haley . Promoted to the position is Gregg Williams , himself a former assistant with the New Orleans Saints . With the Browns once again in the midst of another bad season , the leaders within the front office , felt this was the appropriate time to dismiss both coaches from the staff.
Over their last five games the Cleveland Browns have posted a 1-4 record . In Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers by the score of 33-18 . It’s pretty much safe to say the Browns are squandering whatever opportunities they felt Baker Mayfield might have to offer having taken the player as the number one overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft .
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Having lost the World Series in emphatic fashion it would appear that at least two , quite possibly three players on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ roster are unlikely to return to the ball-club in 2019. Rumblings are that Clayton Kershaw , a three-time winner of the NL Cy Young Award is likely to opt out of the final two years of his current contract . Kershaw clearly upset by the series’ loss as well as lack of success in the postseason by the Dodgers might well feel it’s time to move on . Former teammate Zack Greinke did the same thing a few years ago , leaving the Los Angeles Dodgers to join the Arizona Diamondbacks , while
still remaining among the highest paid starting pitchers in all of baseball.
Courtesy of MLB.com
If Clayton Kershaw were to leave the Los Angeles Dodgers then there would be a bevy of clubs willing to sign the player , but I fear the asking price would be far too high for many of them. Dodgers’ GM Farhan Zaidi and the rest of the front office clearly have a great deal of thinking to do concerning the position this ball-club is meant to be heading in.
Los Angeles Dodgers news
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This just in all three NFL franchises with close association to the city of New York actually suck . Now I know that two of the teams can lay claim to the fact that they’re based in New Jersey , but in reality the association with the Big Apple still rings true. Last night the Buffalo Bills (2-6) continued their miserable season with a loss the New England Patriots while being on the road. The last time the Bills took down the Patriots with Tom Brady on the field for the opposition came in week sixteen of the 2014 NFL season . Bills’ Head Coach Sean McDermott might just be out of his league and it has become abundantly clear that this team can do nothing right at all.
At 2-6 , there is clearly no chance of the Buffalo Bills making the postseason , much less still being able to compete within the AFC East . Next up for the Buffalo Bills in week nine will be game against the Chicago Bears in a non-conference match-up .
Buffalo Bills news
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Still yet to hit their rhythm but teams are getting ready to hit their stride. Last night’s games brought no real surprising results . The Toronto Raptors lost their first game of the season , leaving only the Milwaukee Bucks as the only unbeaten team left in the NBA . At this point last season all of the league’s team’s had suffered at least one loss. Derrick Rose might well have found ateam where he can put his productivity to
good use as the Minnesota Timberwolves look to place themselves in contention within their division as well as the Western Conference . In their most recent contest Rose and the Timberwolves tipped off against the Los Angeles Lakers winning that game by a four-point margin ,
124-120 .
Tom Thibodeau might now be in a position to persuade Jimmy Butler to remain with the Minnesota Timberwolves rather than still seeking a trade. It is clear that the Timberwolves are a far better team with Butler in the lineup than they are without him. Next up for the Minnesota Timberwolves will be a game against the Utah Jazz at the Target Center in Minneapolis , Minnesota.
NBA news
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We all witnessed several great games within College Football this past week . The Alabama Crimson Tide still remains unbeaten as they head into their next game when they face Louisiana State this upcoming Saturday .
Florida State in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference) are having a terrible season under-performing in various aspects of the game. At 4-4 heading into week ten this team is likely to miss out on a Bowl Game for the College Football Postseason . Florida State will face North Carolina State in an all ACC match-up .
Upcoming College Football schedule week ten .
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