Weekend winners
Whomever had the idea to scatter Dwight Clark’s ashes next to the goalpost in the end zone of his iconic catch. The goalpost was saved and is on Eddie DeBartolo’s ranch in Montana. Well done.
The folks working day and night trying to save those soccer kids trapped in the Thailand cave.
Jacob Huesman got hitched this weekend. Kudos to a guy who has been excellent to those of us in the media his entire time in town. I met Jacon at Moccasin Bend Golf Course the summer before he started his junior year at Baylor School. All these many years later – and a slew of records set on football fields next to the river, at Finley Stadium and around the FCS – that dude had a ton of success everywhere he went. Congrats to all the Huesmans. (Or would that be to all the Huesmen.)
Nick Markakis. Dude is 34. He has more than 2,100 career hits. He is having a career year in what is a better-than-you-think MLB career. But Sunday had to special as he made his first MLB All-Star team.
Phil Mickelson tees off on the tenth hole during the third day of the Presidents Cup at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, N.J., Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) Weekend losers
Everyone on the Chicago Raw Athletics basketball program who allowed a brawl to escalate between the team and the refs. In an 17-and-under AAU semifinal Sunday in nearby Lakepoint complex in Emerson, Ga., things got nasty and the Chicago coach even blamed the ref. Perfect.
Phil Mickelson must have that $10 million match with El Tigre on the brain. Another tournament, another rule violation for Lefty. Hmmmmm, his detailed knowledge of this obscure rule – something the announcers missed – make that hockey move at Shinnecock seem even more like dude just snapped and went Daly on it.
This betting dude, who had hit a slew of legs of a monster parlay and needed on player to score a kickball goal Saturday to cash 1 pound bet that would have delivered 140,505 pounds. Yes, he’s only out a pound, but if Ivan Perisic had delivered, wow.
Seriously, Joker? Novak Djokovic needed an waaaaahhhh-mbulance after getting booed at Wimbledon over the weekend. Ahhhhh, Sugar, need a hug?
Atlanta’s Nick Markakis follows through on a grand slam during the fifth inning of the Braves’ 11-4 win over the Cardinals on Saturday night in St. Louis.All-star news
We mentioned Markakis.
We wish that Shohei Ohtani had made the team, but understand why he is not.
We are happy for the Braves to have as many all-stars – Markakis, Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies and Mike Foltynewicz – as they do.
We are just as outraged as anyone that Rays pitcher Blake Snell was left off the team despite leading the AL in ERA.
The stacked positions – starting pitcher and shortstop in the AL for example – make picking the team at times unfair. Take SS in the AL, where Andrelton Simmons, Jean Segura and Carlos Correa were left off the team and those three dudes rank seventh, 15th and 17th in WAR among all AL position players.
While we all know a lot about Markakis’ career year, but also voted in as a starter by the fans was former Braves player Matt Kemp, who is hitting .317 with 15 homers and 57 RBIs. Yes the same Matt Kemp who was pretty much dealt to L.A. in a salary dump and who likely would have been cut in spring training if it had not been for spring injuries.
And we also believe that if you are in the AL and you see the Astros, Indians and Red Sox each with five all-stars and the Yankees with four, you know it is a very top-heavy AL right now. (How top heavy? The Warriors are wondering if those dynasties are bad for the game. Kidding. Mostly.)
This and that
– A lot of us have been watching the TV numbers for this kickball tournament in Russia. From this report of metered markets Croatia’s quarterfinal win drew a 5.0 rating, the best of the World Cup so far. It was the highest rating for any event on Fox or Fox Sports since the Daytona 500 drew a 5.1. Is that a back-handed compliment in some ways, considering how maligned NASCAR’s TV numbers have been?
– Johnny Football is in the CFL. You know this. Johnny Football is not playing in the CFL, though. According to this former Oregon star Jeremiah Masoli is lighting it up and leaving the former Heisman winner as better described as Johnny Clipboard. Masoli threw for more than 300 yards over the weekend – his record-tying ninth consecutive game with 300-or-more passing yards – and leads the CFL in passing yards.
– Joey Votto is one of the game’s best ballplayers. He however is not one of the game’s best-known ballplayers. Here’s Votto needing a fan to vouch for him to get into Wrigley Field on Friday. Cool stuff.
– From the Las Vegas Sports Book, here are the college football under/under win totals for all the FBS schools for 2018. Some of the ones we like best: Under Auburn 9.5; Kentucky over 5; Purdue over 6. Of the big three around these parts, Alabama is 11.5, Georgia is 10.5 and Tennessee is 5.5.
– Some interesting potential insight from Maisie Williams about the final run of Game of Thrones. First, we are stoked. Second, we will no longer click on stuff related to the GoT final season. That is all.
– Rookie of the Year and Henry Rowengartner hit theaters 25 years ago.
Today’s questions
Feel free to offer weekend winners and losers.
Today is national sugar cookie day. Sugar cookies, friend or foe?
It was on July 9, 1877 that the first Wimbledon began. And no, Weeds was not there covering it for the TFP.
O.J. is 71 today. Tom Hanks is 61.
Rushmore of Tom Hanks movies. Go. (And man, Bachelor Party is wicked overlooked.)