Currently there is an all Texas baseball series, easily the biggest in the brief history of possible such events in the regular season, between the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros.
Texas in their 55th season, 44th since becoming the Texas Rangers after being the expansion Washington Senators, has moved within a half game of the Astros in the AL West.
Neither the Astros in their 54th season and third in the American League, nor Rangers have ever won a World Series, with two of the World Series appearances belonging to Texas.
Coincidentally the other team firmly in the qualification race, (in their case the only realistic possibility is for the bogus wild card), are the Minnesota Twins, the franchise that also was the Washington Senators, the original ones, which became the Twins upon moving to Minnesota for the 1961 season.
In the end, Novak Djokovic and Flavia Pennetta prevailed at the US Open Tennis Tournament. For Pennetta, it was her first major title while the incredible Djokovic won his tenth.
Perhaps the biggest baseball game of the weekend manifested in a Houston Astros’ comeback win at Los Angeles, vs the Angels yesterday. The “Stros” trailed (3-0) going to the top of the 9th but avoided a 3 game sweep with a 5 run rally to win and are one and a half games ahead of the Texas Rangers in the AL West.
Houston is also in a possible battle with Texas, the Angels and Minnesota Twins for a playoff berth.
As far as the monolith that is the NFL, two things resonate with me after the first week of play.
The lesser one is that my record is (0-5-1) on three predictions each in week one of both college and pro football.
More important, the failure in my predictions means/meant little if anything. I purposely stayed away from the television(s) and saw only Denver hold off Baltimore, five minutes watched, if that.
If I, who once watched every possible minute, can walk away so can you!
Flavia Pennetta Wins The US Open and Retires, Kudos on Both
Some say all Hannah Storm (nee Hannah Storen as in the daughter of once ABA commissioner Mike Storen, as Gatsby knew “connections”) can do is read from a teleprompter.
On Friday after Roberta Vinci upset Serena Williams, she failed in that and not knowing caused an egregious Storm error.
In citing other big sports upsets, Storm said the upset win by the United States hockey team in the Winter Olympics semi-finals vs the Soviet Union was in 1988.
Of course even most casual sports fans know the game cited was played in 1980.
Once Storm welcomed us back to the wrong arena in the 1993 NBA Finals and far worse clamored for her school (Notre Dame), which still plays on her then network (NBC) to be voted national champions after Florida State’s win vs Nebraska after the 1993 season.
Hannah Storm: Why her and others like her?!!
It always pains me to go along with the crowd which is in itself being sheeplike, by not ever wanting to be as a sheep/follower, but I do agree with the masses that the Indianapolis Colts and their, to this point over rated quarterback, Andrew Luck will win the AFC South.
The Houston Texans will improve and finish second.
Jacksonville (Jaguars) will be next.
The Tennessee Titans will finish last.
Did you ever notice that so often in giving their season record predictions some forecasters do not add correctly and give figures that can not possibly occur.
Having given some team record predictions and not willing to make them all add up, I will not give projected records here. Lazy yes, but at least accurate and honest.
It will be an all-Italian women’s final at the US Open, that manifestation after two big upsets on Friday.
In yesterday’s first women’s semi-final match, two and a half to one underdog, Flavia Pannetta upset second seed Simona Halep.
Next came a shocker, but not quite the seismic upset the media is proclaiming it out to be.
Roberta Vinci, a nine to one underdog, spoiled top seed, Serena Williams’ bid to win the Grand Slam by prevailing in 3 sets.
Three is the operative number as that was the length in minutes of Williams’ post match press conference. She gets the ads and soaks up the glory, but alas the test in life is when you fail and Williams at least yesterday did the “bail.”
Finally on the subject of odds, the abrasive, but face it correct on much of the evil that is sports, Howard Cosell warned of the emergence of a glorified tout named Mike Francesa. The horror is that he and so many others bereft of class and true skill, permeate the airwaves.
Add to that, Francesa said Vinci was a 300 to one underdog, showing he could not even get it right concerning the insidious subculture of gambling from which he emerged.
Roberta Vinci ‘s Look and How I Feel
It was almost exactly 30 years ago today that the Toronto Blue jays and New York Yankees met in a very meaningful 4 game series at Yankee Stadium.
What would have been a repeat 30 years later is spoiled by you guessed it, the presence of the wild card team in baseball.
In 1985 the winner of the AL East (’twas the Blue Jays, who won 3 of 4 at Yankee Stadium that weekend 30 years ago and eventually the division title) moved on, while the non winner went home.
That likely is not the case this year, as both teams have the “safety net” of an almost certain playoffs qualification, even if they do not win the division.
The Kansas City Royals, the likely American League top seed this season, beat the Blue Jays in seven games in the 1985 ALCS en route to winning their lone World Series.
Another NFL season begins tonight with the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots facing the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers with 6, have the most Super Bowl crowns. Of course the Patriots with enormous success have four but last year was their first since 2004. The Steelers won titles in both 2005 and 2008.
First week predictions:
New England 24 Pittsburgh 14
The Jacksonville Jaguars will upset the Carolina Panthers.
The Packers, a touchdown favorite will win by 4 points at Chicago vs the Bears.
It was a Thursday then and a Wednesday now but how can it be that 50 years have gone by since Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game vs the Chicago Cubs on September 9, 1965?!!
This was one of the greatest pitched games by both hurlers, Sandy and the Cubs’ Bob Hendley.
The lone run of the game was scored by the Dodgers without a hit. Hendley allowed but one hit in the game, that to Lou Johnson.
So many years later, I recall hearing the news of the game on Friday morning September 10th from Dick Reeves on WCBS radio.
Koufax capped his most incredible season 5 Thursdays later by winning (2-0) in game seven of the World Series at Minnesota vs the Twins.
Sure there are some mysteries left in the baseball regular season but I say most of it is settled.
It is very likely that the Los Angeles Dodgers, once the Brooklyn Dodgers will face the New York Mets in what amounts to a quarterfinal series, in what has become the baseball tournament.
As of now it is a series likely to open in Los Angeles on Friday night (you know the network, I think TBS will want New York and LA at night) October 11th.
Last year in a Friday night opener in the same round, but a week earlier on Friday October 3rd, the Cardinals overcame a big Dodgers’ lead and beat Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers in game one.
“St. Loo” again beat Kershaw and L.A. in game 4 to clinch the series. They lost the NLCS to the eventual World champion San Francisco Giants as was the case in 2012.
The Dodgers won the NLCS vs the Mets in seven games in 1988 en route to their last world title. The current 27 year World Series title drought is the second longest in Dodgers history.
Only the World Series title drought before the lone Brooklyn title in 1955 was a longer World Series title drought for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers have never gone longer than the current drought length of 27 years without a World Series appearance.
Last season after losing their opening game at home vs Virginia Tech, Ohio State was supposedly out of the national title picture. However, unlike many previous Ohio State teams, the 2014 vintage took advantage of its opportunity and claimed the school’s second title in 46 seasons.
Tonight a preseason top ranked Ohio State team is a two touchdown favorite at Virginia Tech in a Disney Monday night game as a prelude to its Monday night NFL package.
Last year Ohio State did not deserve to be in the four team playoff.
However, what were they supposed to do, lose?
They scored a great comeback win vs Alabama and then beat Oregon also on a Monday night for the title.
Andy B Sports 