10.31.16: Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween y’all! Today we begin with highlights from Game 5 of the World Series, ’cause you know, it’s still October…

QUIPS FOR THIS WEEK

MLB

Speaking of the the World Series, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Cleveland Indians at Wrigley Field to force a Game 6. The Indians are now up 3-2 with a powerful Game 6 on the line.

Don’t miss Game 6 on Tuesday, November 1st in Cleveland. See all the action at 8:08pm EST on FOX.

NFL

As always, there was a lot of action in the league over the course of the weekend. In week 8 we saw the New England Patriots get a strong 41-25 win over the Buffalo Bills, the Carolina Panthers get a must needed win over the Arizona Cardinals, the Atlanta Falcons top the Green Bay Packers 33-32, and the Washington Redskins v. Cincinnati Bengals game end in a 27-27 OT tie.

In Sunday night’s game, the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles in OT with a 29-23 win with the help of QB Dak Prescott’s 5 yard pass to Jason Witten for the TD.

Monday Night Football features the Minnesota Vikings versus the Chicago Bears on ESPN at 8:30pm.

College Football

There were a few notable games in college football land this past weekend — #2 Michigan beat in-state rival  Michigan State 32-23, #3 Clemson had a narrow 37-34 win over #12 Florida State, #4 Washington got a close 31-24 win over #17 Utah and #5 Louisville defeated UVA 32-25.

This means that in the last AP poll that comes out before the first of the CFP rankings, Alabama remains number 1 followed by Michigan, Clemson, Washington and Louisville.

NBA

In the NBA, Russell Westbrook continues to show his magic for the Oklahoma City Thunder this season — starting with a 51 point triple double last week — the most since Kareem. And then on Sunday… he had another triple double. Okay, Russ!

 

JUST FOR FUN

From rink to ring
How the Washington Capitals’ rink became the 2016 Washington International Horse Show ring

STORIES FOR INSIGHTS, COOL FACTOR + DEBATE

Snoop Dogg the coach
The Snoop Youth Football League
Since its inception in 2005, the SYFL has grown to over 50 teams of young inner-city children, and is now looking to grow past the California state borders into other states

Know your rights
Colin Kaepernick has developed a camp for underprivileged communities
The goal is to teach individuals about resources available to help them advance and tackle the issues they are facing on a day-to-day basis

One and done
In this year’s NBA draft, 14 out of the first 41 players selected had just finished freshman year
In order to get the best players, college coaches have to recruit athletes that plan on leaving after a year — and these students know they’re just biding their time. Is the system flawed?

10.24.16: World Series

Good Morning! Today we begin with an ode to the upcoming World Series featuring the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians — starting with a look at how the Cubs got here, seeing as it’s the first time since 1945!

QUIPS FOR THIS WEEK

MLB

As we mentioned in our intro, playoff baseball has been quite a treat thus far, and just like that it’s the World Series! So, how did we get here? What’s on deck?

Well, the Cleveland Indians had a strong American League Championship Series victory over the Toronto Blue Jays — closing out the series in 5 games on October 19th. The Chicago Cubs won the National League Series Championship against the LA Dodgers in 6 games — with a 5-0 victory on October 22nd in Chicago.

The World Series  kicks off Tuesday night in Cleveland at 8:08pm EST on Fox. Then, you basically have a game every night to look forward to until a champion is crowned. Enjoy!

NFL

Let’s talk professional football — this weekend, the New York Football Giants (with the help of 4 interceptions) got a big 17-10 win across the pond against the LA Rams, the Philadelphia Eagles took out the no longer undefeated Minnesota Vikings 21-10, and the New England Patriots got a big win over the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-16.

Oh, and in a game that came down to overtime, the San Diego Chargers topped the Atlanta Falcons 33-30.

Monday Night Football features the Denver Broncos against the Houston Texans at 8:30pm EST on ESPN.

College Football

After 8 weeks, the playoff picture is beginning to emerge in college football and every week becomes more important than the last. This past week, we saw #1 Alabama get a big 33-14 victory over #6 Texas A&M, #2 Ohio State suffer a rough 24-21 loss to unranked Penn State, and #3 Michigan look extra good in a 41-8 win over Illinois.

Needless to say, there was some movement in the rankings, leading to a new Top 5: Alabama, Michigan, Clemson, Washington, Louisville… and at #6, Ohio State.

NBA

After much anticipation, NBA regular season hoops finally kicks off on Tuesday night! Get excited (can you tell we are?!?!) To prepare for the season, check out a few great reads we’ve seen in the recent weeks:

Other

After yesterday’s Decision Day games, the final MLS Cup playoff spots are all set. In the Western Conference, last year’s winners — the Portland Timbers — were knocked out by the Vancouver Whitecaps. Here are your 12 competitors (6 from each conference):

  • Eastern Conference: New York Red Bulls, New York City FC, Toronto FC, Philadelphia Union, D.C. United, Montreal Impact
  • Western Conference: FC Dallas, Colorado Rapids, LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Seattle Sounders, Sporting KC

In the Eastern Conference, #1 New York Red Bulls and #2 New York City FC earn a bye to the Conference Semifinals, and in the Western Conference, #1 FC Dallas and #2 Colorado Rapids will proceed directly to the Conference Semifinals as well. Knockout round matches for the other teams start Wednesday — check out the full schedule here.

JUST FOR FUN

Chef Curry!
Good food is a crucial part of the game
Check out all the step(hs) to a successful chicken curry from Ayesha Curry’s recipe book “The Seasoned Life”

 

STORIES FOR INSIGHTS, COOL FACTOR + DEBATE

“This is for Pat”
Candace Parker of the LA Sparks dedicated her first WNBA title to Pat Summitt
She had played for the legendary coach, who passed away in June

Tackling boundaries
Embracing the art of the fluid position in football
As college football programs successfully utilize nontraditional offenses, these ideas – and versatile athletes – infiltrate the NFL

He’s staying
Until 2021, at least
Neymar signed a 5-year contract with Barcelona, but sources say he’ll be paid less than teammate Lionel Messi. Should he stay, or should he get out of Messi’s shadow?

10.17.16: Countdown to hoops

Good Morning! As we continue to wait for basketball season to officially begin, let’s start today with some hoops — specifically, a no-look 3 pointer from Kevin Durant:

QUIPS FOR THIS WEEK

NFL

Kicking off today with a breakdown of week 6 in the NFL. The New York Football Giants  and Odell Beckham stopped their losing streak and got a big win over the Baltimore Ravens 27-23, the New England Patriots continued their dominance in their second week of having Tom Brady back with a 35-17 win over the Denver Broncos, the Washington Redskins defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 27-20, the Dallas Cowboys got their 5th straight win with a 30-16 victory over the Green Bay Packers, and the Seattle Seahawks pulled out a close game to top the Atlanta Falcons 26-24.

Following their game against the Buffalo Bills, Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers spoke to media about the anthem.

Monday Night Football features the New York Jets versus the Arizona Cardinals — tune in at 8:30pm EST on ESPN.

College Football

A few notable games to discuss coming out of week 7 — #1 Alabama put on a strong show with a 49-10 win against #9 Tennessee, #2 Ohio State defeated #8 Wisconsin 30-23 in OT, and #3 Clemson escaped with a 24-17 win over NC State.

And with that, we’ve got a new order in the Top 5 AP rankingsAlabama, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson and Washington.

MLB

Let’s talk playoff baseball with a breakdown of where we are today. In the American League Championship Series, the Cleveland Indians lead the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0. Game 3 picks up tonight in Toronto.

In the National League Championship series, the LA Dodgers tied the Chicago Cubs 1-1 after a big Sunday night win.

The World Series begins on October 25th and will be televised on Fox.

Basketball

The WNBA finals continue – In Sunday night’s Game 4, the Minnesota Lynx tied the LA Sparks 2-2 with a 85-79 win.

JR Smith is officially back  with the Cleveland Cavaliers — with a brand new 4 year $57M deal.  Congrats JRSwish!

JUST FOR FUN

After the win, what comes next?
Odell Beckham Jr. took the plunge yesterday, and after breaking the Giants’ 3-game losing streak, he proposed to the kicking net

STORIES FOR INSIGHTS, COOL FACTOR + DEBATE

What’s new in football?
FIFA is committed to developing women’s football and women in football
The governing body has appointed Sarai Bareman to take charge of the Women’s Football Division

Almost there
The MLS playoffs are coming
We know all but one team that’ll be playing for the East, but the West still has 3 spots up for grabs!

On the decline
Let’s talk more about where the NFL’s viewership is going
Should we start attributing the drop to the content itself?

10.10.16: Monday Blue…Jays!

Happy Monday! To start off our week, let’s take at the Toronto Blue Jays’ impressive series-winning victory over the Texas Rangers on Sunday night:

QUIPS FOR THIS WEEK

NFL

Week 5 in the National Football League was full of all sorts of things to discuss — after 4 games away, Tom Brady finally returned to the New England Patriots and led them to a 33-13 victory over the Cleveland Browns with 3 TDs and 406 passing yards, the Minnesota Vikings got another win, this time over the Houston Texans 31-13 to stay undefeated at 5-0, the Detroit Lions got a last minute win over the Philadelphia Eagles with the help of a field goal 24-23, and the Green Bay Packers beat the New York Giants 23-16 in Sunday night’s game.

Oh, and rookie Dak Prescott set the NFL rookie record for most passes without an interception with 135 straight passes as part of the Dallas Cowboys’ 28-14 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Monday Night Football features the Tampa Bay Bucs versus the Carolina Panthers — tune in at 8:30pm EST on ESPN. Of note Cam Newton will be out this week, recovering from a concussion from last week’s game.

College Football

Let’s talk college football and the shake-ups from week 6. The biggest surprise of the weekend was #6 Houston’s 46-40 loss to Navy on Saturday, diminishing the team’s playoff chances. Other team’s suffering from the blues include: #9 Tennessee who lost to #8 Texas A&M 54-38 in double overtime, #10 Miami who lost to #23 Florida State 20-19 and #15 Stanford who lost to Washington State 42-16.

Okay, so you must be wondering, who did win in week 6? Well, #1 Alabama looked strong in a 49-30 victory over #16 Arkansas, #2 Ohio State was solid in a 38-17 win over Indiana and #4 Michiganyeah they won 78-0 over Rutgers. To top off the 70 and up club, #5 Washington defeated Oregon 70-21.

All of this is to say that it’s going to be a wild ride to the playoffs and every game counts. Until next week!

MLB

Playoff baseball is one of the best times of the year and thus far this post-season has lived up to the hype.

To recap and get you up to speed – let’s review what’s happened so far:

American League:

  • The Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Baltimore Orioles to win the AL Wild Card. The Blue Jays then moved on to face the Texas Rangers in the AL Division Series.
  • As you know from our intro — the Blue Jays then won the ALDS 3-0 after Sunday’s win over the Rangers — they’re now on to the AL Championship series.
  • On the other side of the AL Division Series, the Cleveland Indians lead the Boston Red Sox 2-0 and will meet for game 3 at Fenway on Monday night.

National League:

  • The San Francisco Giants defeated the New York Mets to win the NL Wild Card. They’re currently playing the Chicago Cubs in the NL Division Series.
  • So far the Chicago Cubs lead the series 2-0 and teams will face off for game 3 in San Francisco on Monday night.
  • AND finally, on the other side of the NL Division Series — the Washington Nationals tied their series with LA Dodgers at 1-1 with Sunday’s win.

What’s next? The AL Championship Series begins on October 14th and the NL Championship Series begins on October 15th — moving from a best of 5 to a best of 7. Stayed tuned!

Basketball

It’s the WNBA finals! To cap off the posteason – the LA Sparks meet the Minnesota Lynx (aiming for their 4th title) for a best of 7 series. In game 1, the LA Sparks got the win 78-76 with the help of Alana Beard’s game winner.

With the NBA season set to begin in less than 20 days (!!!) – Commissioner Adam Silver  said in a statement on Sunday that he thinks thata CBA deal to avoid work stoppage will be agreed upon soon between the league and the NBA Players Association.

JUST FOR FUN

Happy 20-year anniversary
ESPN CollegeGameDay analyst Lee Corso has been on live TV since 1996, and was honored this Saturday with an ESPN segment in his honor

STORIES FOR INSIGHTS, COOL FACTOR + DEBATE

Taking the lead
WADA’s power is growing
The International Olympics Committee has tasked the World Anti-Doping Agency with renewing and revamping their efforts to fight against cheating. WADA is expected to put forth a proposal requesting additional resources necessary to expand their responsibilities by the end of the year

Nobody likes to see an 11% decrease
In the 4th week of the NFL season, viewership is down
Part of the decline can be attributed to the timing of U.S. election-based content

For the first time…
A North American League franchise acquires eSports teams
The 76ers now have controlling stake in Team Dignitas and Team Apex — acknowledging that the business of sports is moving beyond traditional sports as entertainment

10.3.16: October Baseball

Welcome to October – it’s about to be a fun month! To give a proper welcome, in all it’s sports glory, let’s kick things off with views of the Golden State Warriors very own new star player, Kevin Durant, getting his very first bucket with the new team.

QUIPS FOR THIS WEEK

NFL

The National Football League was back in action over the weekend — the Dallas Cowboys overcame another week of injuries  (they’re still without QB Tony Romo) and beat the San Francisco 49ers 24-17 with the help of rookies Ezekiel Elliot (138 yards and a TD) and Dan Prescott, Washington got their second victory in a row — this time with a 31-20 victory at home over the Cleveland Browns, and the New England Patriots are no longer undefeated after losing to the Buffalo Bills 16-0. Good news for the Pats — they’ll have QB Tom Brady back in the lineup next week. Oh, and it was quite the day for Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan, who had 503 yards and 4 TDs in a 48-33 victory over the Carolina Panthers (Julio Jones also added 12 receptions with a record 300 yards). We’re also sending get well wishes to QB Cam Newton who suffered a concussion  during the game.

Sunday nights game saw the Pittsburgh Steelers overcome last week’s tough loss with a strong victory over the Kansas City Chiefs 43-14.

Monday Night Football features the New York Giants against the Minnesota Vikings. Tune into the action at 8:30pm on ESPN.

College Football

There was all kinds of fun in college football this past weekend and plenty to discuss. Let’s start with the best game of the weekend – #3 Louisville versus #5 Clemson which saw QB Deshaun Watson help Clemson get the 42-36 win  after throwing 5 touchdowns. Other notable games include: #4 Michigan getting the victory over #8 Wisconsin 14-7 to stay undefeated after an impressive interception  from Jourdan Lewis helped the Wolverines close out the game, and North Carolina upset #12 Florida State 37-22, getting a win and breaking  FSU’s 22 home game winning streak.

In terms of the new top 5, it breaks down like this: #1 Alabama, #2 OSU, #3 Clemson, #4 Michigan, and #5 Washington.

Speaking of rankings, it’s not every year that the ACC is known for their football skills across the league but this season, things seem to be different as there are six ACC teams ranked in the AP poll — #3 Clemson, #7 Louisville, #10 Miami,  #17 North Carolina, #23 Florida State and #25 Virginia Tech.

NBA

LeBron James is officially with her – In an op-ed in Business Insider, published on Sunday evening, LeBron explains why he endorsing Hillary Clinton for President of the United States in the 2016 election.

In other on the court news, rookie Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers (aka the first pick in the NBA draft) is set to have foot surgery after suffering a broken bone and is expected to be out for at least 3 months.

MLB

It’s officially October — which means playoff baseball is here! BUT before we get there, let’s talk about the last few days  of the regular season. Over the weekend, we saw the Toronto Blue Jays get the 2-1 win over the Boston Red Sox – giving them the home field advantage in the wild-card match-up  for the American League. On the other side, the National League is good to go as well — as the San Francisco Giants took out the LA Dodgers 7-1 to do what they do best and clinch the wild-card match-up.  It is an even year after all.

So what does all of this actually mean for the playoffs? Well, it looks like this:

American League

  • East: Boston Red Sox
  • Central: Cleveland Indians
  • West: Texas Rangers
  • Wild Cards: Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays
    • Tune in Tuesday night at 8pm on TBS

National League

  • East: Washington Nationals
  • Central: Chicago Cubs
  • West: Los Angeles Dodgers
  • Wild Cards: New York Mets and San Francisco Giants

    • Tune in Wednesday at 8pm on ESPN

It’s also hard to believe, but it’s the end of the road for Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz. The Sox sent Big Papi off with an emotional day of gifts, teammates and memories to mark the end of an era.

Other

Remember that time the United States won golf’s very own Ryder Cup? Oh wait that was Sunday. After 8 years, they defeated Europe. Congrats team USA!

Clint Dempsey of the Seattle Sounders will miss the rest of the regular MLS season and the playoffs due to an irregular heartbeat.

In World Cup Hockey, team Canada came from behind to win 2-1 over team Europe. Canada is the reigning champion in Olympic hockey, World Championships, and the World Cup of Hockey. Sidney Crosby (captain of the Pittsburgh Penguinswon MVP with 10 points in six games. The only two other players to ever win the Hart Trophy (MVP of the NHL), Conn Smythe Trophy (the “MVP for his team” trophy for the NHL playoffs), and MVP at the Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey are Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky.

 

JUST FOR FUN

SB51
Are you ready for Gaga?

STORIES FOR INSIGHTS, COOL FACTOR + DEBATE

Piece of the puzzle
Will they get J.R.?
Negotiations are a two way street, and right now J.R. Smith and the Cleveland Cavaliers are still in contract negotiations even though training camp has started. Will LeBron lose one of his “big guns,” or will his comments help move the deal forward?

Vin Scully
Recalling 67 years
Take a look at the oral history of one of Baseball’s legendary voices

Come, Mr. DJ
How do colleges get students in the stands?
You can thank the DJ for drawing in younger fans and keeping the crowd’s spirit up, even if the games aren’t always nail-biters

Out of home
A new way to guarantee an audience
ESPN has found a new way to sell their television audience to ad agencies — monetizing “out of home” game viewership

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