It’s time for my one and only “Miguel’s Friday Thoughts”. I will touch on the Yankees and their playoff hunt.

The Yankees have been playing really good baseball in this second half of the season. The key to their turn around has been trading players and getting younger. However, one of their biggest reasons why they have been winning is because of the phenom Gary Sanchez. He’s hit nine home runs so far and pitchers are starting to walk him on four pitches.

The pinstripes have won 5 of their last 6 games during the west coast trip. Now their task gets difficult as they will return home and face the Baltimore Orioles. This is a very important series for the Yanks as they are trying to catch the O’s to slide in the second place of the wild card. They win this series as the month of August is coming to an end.

Could they be the team that gets hot in the month of September? Would the Yanks rather fight for the playoffs instead of waiting for next year? I’ll take a guess and say that they want to win NOW. That’s always been the New York mentality. That’s the Yankees mentality. In order to do that, they need their pitching to come up huge for them. It hasn’t been the same since Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman got traded.

It’s Friday once again! It’s time for my very own Miguel’s Friday Thoughts. I will break down some news about former NFL player Darren Sharper and his latest scandal. Also, talk about what’s been happening recently at the Rio Olympics.

Darren Sharper has been sentenced to 18 years in prison in a case in which he was accused of drugging and raping as many as 16 women in four states.

U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced Sharper on Thursday, telling him she couldn’t understand how he did what he did, as he was college educated and obviously had grown up “in one of the most loving households.”

Sharper, jailed since February 2014, had pleaded guilty in federal court in New Orleans to drugging three women so he could rape them. He also has pleaded guilty or no contest in state courts in Louisiana, Arizona, California and Nevada to charges arising from allegations of drugging and raping women.

Sharper will be sentenced on Aug. 25 in Louisiana state court. He said he believes Sharper will be sentenced next month in Las Vegas and couldn’t recall the Los Angeles sentencing date.

A woman who woke up next to Sharper after being drugged also spoke before Milazzo handed down the sentence. The woman’s voice was shaky and she frequently brought a handkerchief to her eyes. She told Sharper that because of arrogance and “clear stupidity,” he kept drugging and raping women even after he knew she was talking to state and federal investigators.

This is an absolutely disturbing news about Darren Sharper. No woman deserves to be treated that way. This just keeps looking worse and worse for Sharper. His reputation is a catastrophe. There’s no doubt that there will be serious consequences to pay for what he has done to these woman.

Sharper was named All-Pro six times and chosen for the Pro Bowl five times. He spent his career with the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints. He played in two Super Bowls, one with the Packers as a rookie and one with the Saints when they won in 2010.

He ended a 14-year career in 2011. He was working as an NFL network analyst when women began telling police in several cities similar stories of blacking out while drinking with him and waking up groggy to find they had been sexually abused.

Now we go to the Rio Olympics. American swimmers Ryan Lochte and Jimmy Feigen could still face serious charges. This all started when Lochte and his teammates were robbed at gunpoint at a gas station in a Rio suburb after returning from a night of partying. This happened around 2am. When the gunman told them to get down, Lochte was the only one who refused to get down because he knew that him and his teammates didn’t do anything wrong.

There has been a twist lately that Brazilian police have said that the four American swimmers were not robbed at gunpoint. Hmm.

Feigen was being interviewed at an undisclosed location late Thursday afternoon. Earlier, Olympics teammates Jack Conger and Gunnar Bentz were interviewed by Brazilian police.

Lochte and Feigen had been indicted, citing the Federal Police of Brazil. If any charges are to be recommended, they would come at the end of the investigation.

Veloso said the four swimmers vandalized the bathroom on the side of the gas station, damaging mirrors and other property. He said surveillance video shows employees of the gas station tried to control the situation but that the swimmers went to their taxi and tried to get away.

New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin was lying on the track, dazed after a heavy fall and with her hopes of an Olympic medal seemingly over. Suddenly, there was a hand on her shoulder and a voice in her ear: “Get up. We have to finish this.” It was American runner Abbey D’Agostino, who stopped her race to help her out.

This is what the Olympics are all about. This shows that there are still a lot of good people in this world. I was amazed when I saw this on live TV. I just wish more people were this way. Setting a great example and inspiring others.

It started when D’Agostino clipped Hamblin from behind and they both went sprawling with about 2,000 meters to go.

Hamblin fell heavily on her right shoulder. D’Agostino got up, but Hamblin was just lying there. She appeared to be crying. Instead of running in pursuit of the others, D’Agostino crouched down and put her hand on the New Zealander’s shoulder, then under her arms to help her up, and softly urged her not to quit.

Wow! This is why we love sports. This is nothing but class and respect.

It’s Friday! It’s another edition of my very own…Miguel’s Friday Thoughts. I will talk about the US Olympics at Rio and A-Rod’s farewell tonight.

Let’s started it off with Michael Phelps. Is this man human? It sure doesn’t feel like it. Michael Phelps beats his longtime rival American Ryan Lochte in the 200-meter individual medley final. Phelps raised his hand with four fingers to remind people that this is his fourth straight Olympic gold medal win. Nothing else surprises us about Phelps anymore. His greatness is unparallel. We are witnessing the greatest swimmer that ever lived and one of the greatest American Olympians of all time.

At the age of 31, Phelps is still dominating the sport of swimming. He has won his 22 gold medal and he will try to add his 23rd gold medal today when he swims in the 100-meter butterfly. He’s also trying to win his fourth straight Olympics for the 100-meter. Michael Phelps is a warrior and a hero because of the things he had to overcome in his life. He went from being arrested due to driving under the influence to be a family man now. He’s more at peace and feels complete and after listening to the national anthem, he was still overwhelmed with emotions. Phelps is the favorite to win for today’s 100-meter event.

More history has been made during the Rio Olympics. Simone Manual became the first African-American to win a gold medal in swimming for winning in the 100-meter freestyle. It was her first gold medal win and she was in tears of joy and excitement.

Team USA’s women gymnasts Simone Biles and Aly Rainsman made were outstanding once again, but Biles’ performance stood out the most. Biles won gold and Rainman finished with Silver as the US goes 1-2. Biles became the fourth straight American women to capture the all-around and fifth overall. There is no doubt in my mind that Biles is the greatest women’s gymnastic of her generation. Her fearlessness and her effort on the beam is unbelievable. Biles and Rainsman joins Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson in 2008 as the only U.S. gymnasts to win gold and silver in the same Olympic final. Wow! That’s an amazing accomplishment to set by these wonderful talented ladies and we have not seen the last of them.

Alex Rodriguez will have his last dance tonight at Yankee Stadium. This is a moment that I can’t wait to watch because I’m going to be in the stadium myself to witness this. Whether he goes 0 for 4 or 4 for 4, it will be a night that I’m never going to forget. For some of us, it’s going to feel surreal that we will see A-Rod in a Yankee uniform for the last time. His career is very controversial, but I try to think about the good things he has brought to the franchise such as the 2009 world championship and his unbelievable 2007 MVP season. It’s going to be interesting to watch if manager Joe Girardi will put him on third base in the 9th inning IF they have the lead. Girardi said that he’s not going to utilize him on defense but we’ll never know if he changes his mind. There will be mixed reactions for tonight indeed. We will hear some standing ovations, some polite applauds and some boos at the same time. Regardless, it’s going to be a night to remember.