It’s the last week of October and you what that means…basketball is just around the corner! Get into the spirit by celebrating the start of the NBA this week:
QUIPS FOR THIS WEEK
NFL
As always, Sunday Funday was full of action in the NFL. The New England Patriots are still undefeated after beating the New York Jets 30-27, the Washington Redskins scored a win over the Tampa Bay Bucs 31-30 after a last minute touchdown and a fumble that went their way, and the Atlanta Falcons defeated the Tennessee Titans 10-7. In the afternoon games, the New York Giants beat the Dallas Cowboys 27-20.
Oh, and as for that big Sunday Night Football game — the Philadelphia Eagles lost 16-27 to the Carolina Panthers. The Carolina Panthers remain unbeaten this season.
Monday Night Football features the Arizona Cardinals and the Baltimore Ravens at 8:30pm EST on ESPN.
College Football
Week 8 has come and gone and the results are in. Ohio State looked like the number 1 team in the country after a strong win over Rutgers 49-7, and #2 Baylor had a pretty good day with a win over Iowa State 45-27. But, #3 Utah (now #13) was not so lucky after losing 42-24 to USC.
What was the game of the weekend, you ask? That title belongs to #23 Duke (now #22)… and it’s not even because we are known Duke fans. They beat Virginia Tech 45-43 after FOUR OVERTIMES.
And with that, the new top five rankings are as follows: Ohio State, Baylor, Clemson, LSU and TCU.
Games to watch this week include:
- #3 Clemson vs. NC State – Saturday at 3:30pm EST on ABC
- #9 Notre Dame vs. #21 Temple – Saturday at 8:00pm on ABC
MLB
And just like that, it’s time for the World Series!
How did we get here? The New York Mets swept the Chicago Cubs to win the National League while the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays in 6 games to win the American League.
To recap: the New York Mets will face the Kansas City Royals in the World Series for the right be this season’s champs. Game 1 takes place in Kansas City on Tuesday night (you can watch it at 8:07pm EST on FOX). Ready or not, it’s go time!
NBA
Get excited because, like we said in our intro, NBA hoops are back this week! Wednesday, October 28th marks the beginning of the 2016 season.
Coach Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors will not return for the beginning of the season. Coach Kerr is recovering from back surgery and hopes to return to last year’s champion team shortly. Luke Walton will serve as interim head coach for the time being.
In other injury news, LeBron James is still recovering from a back injury and hopes to return to the Cleveland Cavaliers soon while Derrick Rose of Chicago Bulls is expected to play this week after recovering from a orbital bone break.
Soccer
Arsenal beat Everton 2-1 to cap off an amazing week for the club. Not only did they defeat Bayern Munich to reignite their Champions League campaign, but the win against Everton also propelled them to the top spot in the Premier League table. The highly anticipated Manchester derby ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw. Liverpool tied 1-1 versus Southampton while Chelsea continued this season’s struggle, losing 1-2 to West Ham United.
In La Liga, Barcelona beat Eibar 3-1, thanks to a Luis Suarez hat trick. Real Madrid also defeated Celta Vigo by the same score line.
Sunday was deemed “Decision Day” in MLS, as many teams fought it out to claim/solidify their post season births/seeding. After all the action, the playoffs brackets have been set, view them here.
NHL
It’s all about Canada! Well, at least the Montreal Canadiens, who maintained their perfect 9-0 start to the 2015/16 season with a 5-3 win over division (and country) rivals Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. With one more win, they’ll tie an NHL record.
Oh and in a rematch to last season’s Stanley Cup Finals, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
Other
USA Basketball announced that Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs will be the next head coach of the men’s national team from 2017-2020. Duke’s Coach K will leave the heading coaching job after the 2016 Summer Olympics and will move to a senior advisory role within the program.
JUST FOR FUN
Hello Basketball
The Oklahoma City Thunder had quite the Halloween party.
STORIES FOR INSIGHTS, COOL FACTOR + DEBATE
Hoops
Talking predictions for the upcoming season
Grantland’s Zach Lowe gives us 35 of his best educated guesses for what will happen this season in the NBA
Power
Countdown to the World Series
Learning more about the rise of of New York Mets star Daniel Murphy
RIP
Remembering Coach Saunders
Flip Saunders passed away from cancer at age 60 over the weekend
The SportsQuip 