Braves new worry
We all know that Kelsey Jansen has caused more heartache than the Varsity this summer.
Now, the Braves are faced with a bigger issue.
The middle of the Braves order is mired in a devastatingly awful slump.
Austin Riley, who was on the short list of NL MVP candidates, is 25-for-117 with 28 Ks in the last 31 games.
Matt Olson is 4-for-49 in his last 14 games.
Ouch-standing.
It’s a dang good thing that Michael Harris II has been a dude and Dansby Swanson is having a career year.
Think of the ink the Olson slide — he’s hitting .240 this year — would be getting if the Braves were not just a game back in the NL East?
Because ol’ you know who has moved into the NL MVP conversation for a Dodgers club that just clinched the NL West for the ninth time in the last 10 years.
Freddie Freeman leads the NL in hitting at .329 and is second in OPS at .929 and second in on-base percentage at .402.
Olson is slashing .240/.327/.470. And we’re just getting going in the ‘er’ months.
Suns owner in hot water
So, have you followed along with the Robert Sarver story?
Quick review: Sarver owns the Phoenix Suns and Mercury of the NBA and WNBA respectively. The NBA completed a 10-month investigation into Sarver over claims of some egregious and offensive workplace behavior. The league fined him $10 million and suspended him a year, the maximum penalty after the details were learned that he frequently used the N-word and was offensive and insulting to multiple women employees.
Yes, Sarver owns the team, and that matters, but the findings would be fireable offenses for just about anyone else drawing breath.
And for the 100 millionth time — white people, it’s never OK to use the N-word. This is a rule folks. Period. It’s not that difficult.
It also brings about the question of why Sarver gets to keep the Suns and the NBA a few years ago forced Donald Sterling to sell the Clippers? Or why did the players’ boycott of former Atlanta Dream owner Kelly Loeffler force her out?
I’m not advocating forcing an owner out per se, but Sterling got out for a lot of the same things that Sarver has been found guilty of doing.
And yes, $10 million is a lot of money. For 99.9% of the planet. For billionaires — like Sarver — who own a professional sports team, it’s not that big of a check.
To that end, the most recent NBA team to be sold was the Brooklyn Nets, which sold for $3.3 billion in 2019. The Suns averaged 16,527 fans per game for its 41 regular-season home games last season. Sarver will make back that $10 million before Thanksgiving.
It also makes you wonder if Sterling has cause to sue the league considering he was forced out and Sarver got a somewhat indifferent slap on the wrist.
Hangover lingers
So if you are a Texas A&M fan, how sure are you Jimbo Fisher is the guy?
Because other than getting under Saban’s skin — how many giggles do you think Lord Saban had about the App State win in College Station? — and keeping Jameis Winston out of trouble, what has Fisher truly ever accomplished?
I’ll wait.
Yes, Texas A&M landed the best recruiting class money could buy in the 2022 cycle, and that’s not meant as a slight.
It’s part of the process now, and using your resources to the best of your ability is the mark of a fine business leader.
But is Jimbo an elite coach? Yes, he has a natty, but that was with a stacked FSU team — including Winston — in a different time.
Because since Winston, has Jimbo — and offensive-minded guy mind you — made any QB on any of his rosters better?
Again, I’ll wait.
This is asking in the big picture, not just in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s shocker to ASU. In fact, how many programs in the SEC are 100% sure they have the guy to lead them into the next generation?
For sure three with Bama, Georgia and Kentucky. And I think Johnny Vols Fans everywhere are quite content with Josh Heupel.
But everywhere else in the league, are any of the other 10 sure their coach is the guy for the gig?
Discuss.
This and that
— You know the rules. Here’s Paschall on a UT defense that gave up some points but made plenty of big plays in Saturday’s win at Pitt.
— Speaking of the Braves, how about that Kyle Wright, huh? Dude was off early but retired the last 10 Giants he faced and now has a MLB-best 18 wins.
— So former Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship — the dude with the black-rimmed glasses — missed a potential game-winning field goal in overtime Sunday for the Colts. He was released Tuesday. Wow.
— Speaking of Texas A&M, a University of Texas professor at the school is filing suit that the university discriminates against white and Asian males. So there’s that.
— Yeah, this whole Brett Favre thing is seedy, no?
Today’s questions
Which way Wednesday starts this way:
Which pitcher on this Braves staff gets the ball if they are all rested in Game 1 of the World Series?
Which word best describes Matt Olson’s first season with the Braves?
Which Braves in a rehab stint are you most excited to see return, Ozzie Albies or Mike Soroka?
Discuss.
As for today, Sept. 14, let’s review.
Australian swimmer Judy Playfair was born on this day in 1953, and here’s betting she never cheated.
“F-Troop” debuted on this day in 1965. Yeah, that’s not getting made in today’s society either.
Francis Scott Key penned the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” on this day in 1814. That poem eventually became "The Star-Spangled Banner."
Rushmore of Francis, and lighten up and be creative.