Weekend winners
Your Atlanta Braves hitters. Yes, we all wanted more from Dallas Kuechel on Friday, but winning two of three when you easily could have been swept is a mark of a team that is potentially special. And yes, Josh Donaldson is crushing it right now.
The entire scene in St. Louis this weekend. Albert Pujols returned to the place where he crafted the amazing first 11 years of his Hall of Fame career and the crowd embraced him with an overflow of applause and standing ovations. It was pretty doggone cool.
The winners from the National Sports Media Association awards. Doc Emrick, Bob Ley, Peter King and Tony Kornheiser were elected into the NSMA Hall of Fame. Doris Burke became the first female to win National Broadcaster of the Year and Adrian Wojnarowski was voted sports writer of the year.
Chez Reavie. Yes, it got a little uncomfortable. Yes, the Reavie clan was likely sweating bullets after a six-shot, final-round lead was reduced to one. A three-stroke swing Reavie's way on 17 was more than enough to lock down his first win in 11 years.
The Dodgers. Wow, that lineup is staggering, no?
Weekend losers
Your Atlanta Braves pitchers. Luke Jackson is the exact opposite of a shutdown closer. Mike Foltynewicz has gone from 2018 all-star to the highest-profile pitcher in Triple-A. Mike Soroka left Sunday's game after being hit by a pitch. The Braves are rolling because of their bats. Their "er" month future - September, October, November - depends on their arms.
Bullpens across baseball. Whether it was the awfulness of the Nationals on Saturday or the historic badness of San Diego on Sunday, closing the door has become more and more difficult. The Braves scored four in the seventh and five in the ninth to rally Saturday. Sunday, the Pirates beat the Padres and became the first team in 85 years to rally and win after trailing by three runs twice after the eighth. San Diego led 7-4 in the ninth and 10-7 in the 11th before losing 11-10.
The entire scene with the Mets. Yeah, it's the reporter's fault that a much-ballyhooed team in preseason is closer to the Marlins than the Braves in the standings.
It's never a bad thing to be a lottery winner, but this weekend in North Carolina the four-number drawing was 0-0-0-0 and it set a record for most winners. That means the payout was at all-time high for the lottery company and, because it's split according to the number of winners, the payout was unusually low.
All of us. When our society continually has people who become parents like this woman in Texas who thought playing chicken behind the wheel of her SUV with her 3-year-old was a good idea. After she ran over the child - she told authorities she thought it was a speed bump - she has been charged with homicide.
Wow, the memories
"The Lion King" was released 25 years ago today. Wow.
Yes, 25 years ago. And I will say it again - Wow.
We normally would do a Rushmore here. But we have done a slew of Rushmores that surround and include "The Lion King."
> Rushmore of animated movies. Check
> Rushmore of best original songs from a movie. Check.
> Rushmore of movies that will bring a tear to a glass eye. Check.
> Rushmore of comedy sidekick duos. Check.
> Rushmore of best Broadway plays based on a movie. Check.
> Rushmore of well you get the idea.
We could go on in its place in the Rushmore realms of all angles of movie and entertainment.
We could go on and on about the messages here. Duty. Being true to yourself and family. That it's never too late to do the right thing. Stand up for beliefs. Help your friends - you think Timon and Pumba wanted to go fight hyenas? - when they need it.
But try this on: It's the most important film for the most important entertainment company in the world. Buckle up.
"The Lion King" was the biggest jewel in the crown of the movie-making run that became known as the Disney Renaissance in the late 1980s into the mid-1990s.
Before Disney returned to making successful animated films - the run included "The Little Mermaid," "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast" before "The Lion King" - the company was in trouble and almost was victim of a hostile takeover.
"The Lion King" capped the run and allows Disney to expand its interest, its TV animation, its them parks and its portfolio.
With that ball rolling - thanks in large part to "The Lion King" -Disney is now King King and owns everything from "Star Wars" to ESPN.
Why? Because Simba came home and kicked Scar's butt.
God Bless America.
This and that
- Wow, we mentioned this earlier this month, but it appears the NBA is going to do away with the term "owner." The NBA will go with governors and alternate governors. Seriously.
- Speaking of the Cardinals, former Sequatchie County star Dakota Hudson has found his stride in St. Louis. With Friday's seven-inning, one-earned-allowed performance, Hudson has lowered his ERA to 3.36 and is 6-3. But his recent run is much better than those impressive numbers: His ERA was north of 6 earlier this season and the Cardinals have won the last seven of Hudson's starts. In those seven starts, Hudson has pitched 44.1 innings and allowed 11 earned runs and fanned 29.
- There's no way we'd call Brooks Koepka a weekend loser. Dude is simply a monster at majors. And he looks downright bored at non-majors. Kopek's finishes in the last six majors go 2-1-T2-1-T39-1; Kopek's finishes in his last six non-majors: T57-T50-4-T56-T56-Missed cut. So there's that.
- Yes, it's a slow time. And yes, when NBA free agency actually starts next week, it could make for compelling storylines. Until then, well, let's just say we're going to get a slew of these: "Reports say Kawhi will opt out."
Today's questions
Weekend winners and losers. Nominations welcomed.
If we had a mini-Rushmore of current PGA players with the most country-club names, Chez Reavie is right there with Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau, right?
Minka Kelly has a birthday today. Friend. And a reminder of the great life Derek Jeter has lived.
Today is national UFO day.
Rushmore of all-time movie space ships. Go.