Month: September 2021

Cardinals Clinch NL Wild Card

The St Louis Cardinals continue to steamroll through the National League by extending their winning streak to 17 games and securing second place in the National League Wild Card with a victory of the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday. Cardinals clinch their third consecutive playoff berth.

Third basemen Nolan Arenado makes his third playoff appearance (2017 and 2018 with the Colorado Rockies). In this first season with the Cardinals, Arenado hoped and expected great outcomes when he joined the Red Birds.

“I’m just thankful to be part of this team,” Arenado said. “This team is unbelievable. We carried each other, and I’m happy to be part of it; this is why I’m here; this is a chance to make the playoffs and to be able to do it on the first year is a great feeling.”

The Cardinals investing in outfielder Tyler O’Neill is paying off. In the last 17 games, O’Neill batted .324, seven home runs, 21 RBIs, and 1,041 OPS. The 26-year old brought extra life to the Cardinals’ offense.

“This is the first year that I’ve had a full season under my belt,” O’Neill said. “Figure some stuff out, go through ups and downs, and be able to make those adjustments that you need to make that are necessary to makeover a consistent .500 at-bat. Figuring out how my abilities work in this league, how to counteract what different pitchers do, and stuff. I feel good up there.”

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt is making his fifth postseason appearance. Goldschmidt believes that some midseason moves helped the Cardinals to turn things around and be more consistent.

“I think right around the trade deadline having guys like Jon Lester, J.A. Happ come in, and we saw MacFarlane and Garcia tonight kinda stabilize the entire team, starting rotation, the bullpen,” Goldschmidt said. “We were able to be consistent these last two months, and you can’t be able to predict this 17 in a row, but we were definitely playing well before that.”

Everything is clicking for the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright has 10 wins since the All-Star Break (the most in MLB), and Dylan Carlson has 60 RBIs for the season (the most by a Cardinals rookie switch hitter).

The Cardinals are probably the most dangerous team entering the postseason. Cardinals will play either the San Francisco Giants or Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Wild Card Game on October 6th.

Connecticut Sun Swept WNBA Awards

The Connecticut Sun swept the WNBA awards announcements on Tuesday ahead of their first game of the 2021 postseason. WNBA announced Jonquel Jones as Most Valuable Player, Curt Miller as Coach of the Year, and Brionna Jones as Most Improved Player.

According to Yahoo Sports, the Sun center Jonquel Jones received 48 of 49 first-place votes to win the 2021 MVP. From the Bahamas to Connecticut, Jones’ journey to the league is inspiring.

On Tuesday, the No. 1 seed Connecticut Sun will host Game 1 of the semifinals at Mohegan Sun Arena. They’ll play the No. 6 Chicago Sky. It’s going to be a fun battle between Jonquel Jones and Candace Parker at the frontcourt.

WWE Extreme Rules: Reaction/Recap

WWE Extreme Rules was a night about matches that resulted in the champions retaining their belts. In last’s night event. There were five of those title matches.

The New Day defeated Bobby Lashley, AJ Styles, and Omos. Lashley attempted a blind tag to enter the match only to have Big E sending Lashley to spear AJ Styles before hitting his finisher on Lashley for the win. It was a solid match. It could’ve been better.

The Usos defeated The Street Profits to retain the Smackdown Tag Team titles. Montez Ford had his ribs taped up after receiving chair shots from Roman Reigns after the Smackdown match. The tag team match was also solid.

Charlotte Flair defeated Alexa Bliss to retain the Raw Women’s Championship. There are only two things I liked about the match: athleticism and counter moves. Overall, the match didn’t blow me away. The conclusion of the match wasn’t solid or satisfying enough for the viewers. After the match, Flair ripped the Lilly doll into pieces.

Becky Lynch retained her title against Bianca Belair after interference from Sasha Banks. I thought this match was better than Flair and Bliss – it had more drama and a better storyline.

And then there’s the main event of the night. Roman Reigns defeated Finn Baylor to retain the Universal title. The match was going so well until the ending, which made me scratch my head. This match had the potential to be great from start to finish.

Sunday Sports Shorts

Its Sunday Sports Shorts! Giancarlo Stanton saves the Yankees, Oleksandr Usyk defeats Anthony Joshua, NC State takes down Clemson in two overtimes, and last night’s hockey exhibition games.

Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton hit a huge grand slam home run to give the Yankees a 5-2 lead in the 8th inning. Yankees won the game – now tied with the Boston Red Sox for the first place in the AL Wild Card.

Oleksandr Usyk defeats Anthony Joshua, ending his second reign as world heavyweight champion on Saturday. Usyk became the third fighter to win world titles at cruiserweight then heavyweight and claimed the WBA, WBO, and IBF titles.

The game of the week: Clemson vs. NC State. Amazing finish. It took two overtimes for NC State to put down Clemson, 27-21. Fans rushed to the field when the game ended.

There were two hockey exhibition games in action on Saturday. Toronto Maple Leafs defeated another Canada team, Montreal Canadiens, 4-1. St Louis Blues defeated Minnesota Wild, 6-2.

Big Red Birds: 14 Wins

The St Louis Cardinals are not stopping at all. Cardinals is one of the hottest teams in the month of September. Cardinals matched a team record with their 14th straight win Friday night after sweeping a doubleheader with their NL Central division rival, Chicago Cubs.

Cardinals is a team that no one in the National League wants to deal with right now down the stretch. Dodgers or Giants should not take this team so lightly. They have experience and know how to win.

Giants First Team to Reach 100 Wins

The San Francisco Giants have been an amazing story this season. No one expected them to be this good except the Giants themselves. Giants are now the first team to reach 100 wins this season.

154 games is the fastest the Giants have reached 100 wins in the live-ball era (since 1920). It’s the first time they’ve been the first team in MLB with 100 wins since moving to San Francisco in 1958.

Giants won the World Series in 2010, 2012, 2014. If they win it all this year, this will be their fourth championship in 11 years – all in the Buster Posey era.

Miguels Friday Thoughts

It’s TGIF! Miguel’s Friday Thoughts! Yankees and Red Sox start a 3-game series, Whoopi Goldberg will stay at ‘The View’ for four more years, New York Film Festival returns to Lincoln Center.

New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will face off for a 3-game series at Fenway Park beginning tonight. Yankees are currently in the second place of the wild card slot, trailing the Red Sox by two games. This is a crucial series for the Yankees. They would need to sweep the Red Sox to move into 1st place in the wild card. Gerrit Cole will take the mound for the Yankees tonight.

Actress Whoopi Goldberg is staying with ‘The View’ for four more years. Goldberg is entering her 15th season on the show. Goldberg and Joy Behar have been there for several years now. It seems that Goldberg is enjoying her time at ’The View.’ It’s a clever move for all parties involve because Goldberg does have a cool personality for TV.

The big apple in cinema is back. New York Film Festival returns to Lincoln Center. There are 32 films of diversity included in this year’s lineup. The most anticipated film of the lineup is ”The Tragedy of Macbeth” starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand – two of my favorites actors of all time. New York Film Festival is one of my favorite festivals. I’ve attended every year from 2016 to 2019. It’s a phenomenal experience. This year, I decided to stay home, but I’ll definitely be back next year.

Sports Throwback Thursday: 20th Anniversary of Mike Piazza’s Post 9/11 Home Run

Welcome to Sports Throwback Thursday! Today’s Sports Throwback Thursday is about the 20th Anniversary of Mike Piazza’s post 9/11 home run against the Atlanta Braves.

The 9/11 events changed the world forever. America was never the same. Two days ago, it was the 20th anniversary of Mike Piazza’s clutch two-run homer against the Atlanta Braves in the 8th inning to give the Mets a 3-2 lead. Piazza’s home run gave everyone that night someone to cheer about. It was a sorrowful time in America, especially in New York.

I was ten years old when I saw this game. I had no idea how impactful that home run was going to be, and it’s incredible to see this still being talked about every time the month of September comes around.

Timberwolves Fired President of Basketball Operations

The Minnesota Timberwolves have fired president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas.

The 43-year old brought an analytics-based approach to his brief tenure in Minnesota. I don’t like and don’t believe in analytics. Sports is about talent.

The move didn’t look like it sat too well with their star Karl Anthony Towns. He tweeted saying, ”wtf…” This is the story of the Timberwolves organization. They’re constantly letting people go. There’s no stability.

The 95th Annual Feast of San Gennaro 2021

The 95th Annual Feast of San Gennaro is currently taking place in Little Italy from Sep 16-26.

I had the opportunity to go to the feast for the fourth consecutive time. I love going to Little Italy and experience their culture. Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat or drink anything at the feast due to my recovery of Gastritis. I’m on a clean diet.

My goal in the future is to experience Italy. I have Venice and Rome on my bucket list. This might be a good idea for 2023 for my 32nd birthday. Anyway, here are some images of yesterday’s activities, and of course I needed to buy something for myself.