Month: October 2021

Sunday Sports Shorts

Last Day of October! Happy Halloween, everyone! Make sure to stay safe and wear your best costumes. Trick or Treat! In other news, it’s Sunday Sports Shorts! Braves take a commanding 3-1 lead in the World Series, a dramatic ending to the Nuggets-Timberwolves game, Notre Dame rises against North Carolina, and Nashville Predators come back against the Islanders.

The Atlanta Braves stoled Game 4 from the Houston Astros as they take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The defensive play of the night was when Eddie Rosario robbed what could’ve been a double for Jose Altuve. When Altuve hit the ball, it looked like it would be a home run to tie the game. Rosario made one heck of a play. Braves are one win away from winning their first championship since 1995.

Denver Nuggets took on the Minnesota Timberwolves. The game ended dramatically. With less than 10 seconds left to go, Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns stole the ball from Nikola Jokic. As the Timberwolves transitioned, Malike Beasley was about to score, but Will Barton blocked his 2-foot layup. Guard Anthony Edwards picked up the offensive rebound but missed the 3-foot two-point shot. Edwards had an effortless look. Will Barton got the defensive rebound to end the game as the buzzer sounded.

Notre Dame took care of business and beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, 44-34. However, the pivotal moment happened in the 4th quarter when Notre Dame’s running Kyren Williams ran for an impressive 91-yard touchdown. It was probably the best moment of the game.

The Nashville Predators showed a lot of resilience and heart in yesterday’s game against the New York Islanders. Predators trailed twice in the game but managed to answer back. Predators won in the shootout to capture the victory, 3-2.

Longhorns Blew Another Lead

The Texas Longhorns blew a big second-half lead for the third game in a row on Saturday in a 31-24 loss to No. 16 Baylor in Waco, Texas. The loss means Texas’ Big 12 title hopes are effectively over and Baylor is still in the thick of the mix for a spot in the conference title game.

The Longhorns are now 2-3 in the Big 12 with a trip to Iowa State looming next week.

Baylor should not be ignored in the race for the Big 12 title. The Bears’ only loss of the season came to Oklahoma State in early October and Baylor hosts Oklahoma on Nov. 13. A 3-1 finish to the season could be enough for Baylor to make it to the Big 12 title game.

Miguel’s Friday Thoughts

It’s TGIF! Miguel’s Friday Thoughts! It’s time to hear what the almighty Miguel has to say about a few of last night’s sporting events. Knicks handed the Bulls their first loss of the season and the unbelievable finish between the Packers and Cardinals.

The New York Knicks hung on to defeat the Chicago Bulls, 104-103. Knicks improve to 3-1. The bulls have their first loss of the season. Knicks forward Julius Randle needs to be better down the stretch. He missed two big free throws, which could’ve cost the Knicks the game if the Bulls scored on the final possession.

Green Bay Packers took on the undefeated Arizona Cardinals in Game of the Week for Thursday night. The competition lived up to the hype. The intensity of the game was unparalleled. We hope to see these teams again in the postseason.

Late in the 4th quarter, trailing 24-21, the Cardinals had excellent field position. Under the 10-yard line, Kyler Murray threw a game-ending interception, picked off by Rasul Douglas. AJ Green never turned around to catch the ball. If Murray and Green were on the same page, we would’ve had a different story to talk about today. The Cardinals lost this game when they should’ve won it. We don’t know what AJ Green was thinking, but this was a heartbreaking loss for the Cardinals.

Sports Throwback Thursday: Atlanta Sports Classic Moments

Hello! Welcome to Sports Throwback Thursday! There are many classic Atlanta sports moments, but in today’s edition, it’s about Dominique Wilkins career-high 57 points and the Braves winning the pennant in 1999.

Dominique scored a career-high 57 points against the New Jersey Nets. As the 1985-86 season wore down, Dominique Wilkins was in a heated three-way battle with Utah’s Adrian Dantley and Denver’s Alex English. Wilkins’ teammates were going to do whatever it took to help him win the scoring title. Wilkins tied a Hawks franchise record (shared by Bob Pettit and Lou Hudson) by scoring 57 points, putting him into the scoring lead at 30.2 points per game going into the season’s final game. Wilkins is the greatest Atlanta Hawk of all time and one of the all-time greatest dunkers. We all wish he had a championship on his resume.

The 1999 Atlanta Braves knew they had all the talent and chemistry to win it all. However, the Braves knew they had to go through their rival, New York Mets, to make it to the World Series. Braves and Mets faced off in the 1999 NLCS. After the Braves took the first three games of the series, they lost Games 4 and 5 at Shea Stadium. In Game 6, the Mets and Braves were going at it from an offensive standpoint. When the Braves had a 7-5 lead in the Top of the 7th inning, John Smoltz gave up a 2-run home run to Mike Piazza. Kenny Rogers took the mound for the Mets in the bottom of the 10th, with the game tied at 9-9. With bases loaded with one out, Rogers gave up a bases-loaded walk to Andruw Jones. Braves won the game and the series to move on to the World Series.

Mixed Emotions For The Braves

The Atlanta Braves took Game 1 of the World Series against the Houston Astros winning 6-2. However, One of their best pitchers Charlie Morton, broke his right leg in last night’s game.

Morton nearly fell to the mound after striking out Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve with a curveball for the first out of the third inning.

Morton finished his night with three strikeouts and two walks in 2 1/3 innings. Braves batters tallied two home runs en route to the 5-0 lead before Morton was forced to exit the game.

The Braves are three wins away from winning their first championship since 1995. Braves will need to continue to produce offensively.

The Lou Carnesecca Statue

Former St Johns head coach and Hall of Famer Lou Carnesecca will have a statue in the lobby at Carnesecca Arena.

Carnesecca won 526 games in 24 years as the coach at St John’s, the most in the program’s history. Lou led the school to 18 NCAA tournaments, including a trip to the 1985 Final Four.

Carnesecca is known for his charismatic personality and colorful sweater. It’s incredible that at the age of 96, he can still bring a smile to the crowd and still be comical.

The statue was made by the sculptor Brian Hanlon. In the quote, it says, “To all the players that made my life a wonderful dream, I thank you.”

Miguel’s Friday Thoughts

Happy Friday! It’s Miguel’s Friday Thoughts! The Atlanta Braves are one win away from going to the World Series for the first time since 1999.

The Atlanta Braves will have another chance to clinch the pennant on Saturday night at home against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers won Game 5 to push the series to six games. The same scenario happened last year when the Dodgers came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the NLCS. The Braves can’t seem to find a way to progress in the postseason. It’s been the A.B.C. (Another Braves Choke), and that happened in Game 3 when they gave up a 3-run lead in the 8th inning to the Dodgers. The series should’ve been over by now. The Braves should’ve swept the Dodgers.

Braves have been choking in the postseason since 1991. The main reason they won in 1995 is that the Braves went up against another team known for choking in October, Cleveland Indians.

We hope to see the Braves in the World Series, but they will have to beat Max Scherzer in Game 6 and score some runs.

MLB to Improve Housing for Minor Leaguers 

Major League Baseball will start requiring all teams to provide housing for its minor league players next season.

The move came after months of widespread criticism and pressure from players, advocacy groups and more about the working conditions, low salaries and housing issues across the minor leagues.

It was a matter of time that Major League Baseball would make this monumental decision.

Cincinnati Bearcats Are the No. 2 Team

The Cincinnati Bearcats are the No. 2 team in the country.

Cincinnati moved up to No. 2 behind Georgia after a big win against UCF on Saturday. Cincinnati is 6-0 and a spot ahead of undefeated Oklahoma. The Sooners and new QB Caleb Williams easily beat TCU on Saturday.

AP Top 25

1. Georgia (7-0)

2. Cincinnati (6-0)

3. Oklahoma (7-0)

4. Alabama (6-1)

5. Ohio State (5-1)

6. Michigan (6-0)

7. Penn State (5-1)

8. Oklahoma State (6-0)

9. Michigan State (7-0)

10. Oregon (5-1)

11. Iowa (6-1)

12. Ole Miss (5-1)

13. Notre Dame (5-1)

14. Coastal Carolina (6-0)

15. Kentucky (6-1)

16. Wake Forest (6-0)

17. Texas A&M (5-2)

18. North Carolina State (5-1)

19. Auburn (5-2)

20. Baylor (6-1)

21. SMU (6-0)

22. San Diego State (6-0)

23. Pitt (5-1)

24. UTSA (7-0)

25. Purdue (4-2)

Mikal Bridges Signs Extension with Suns

The Phoenix Suns reached a massive four-year, $90 million fully guaranteed contract extension with Mikal Bridges.

Bridges was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the No. 10 overall pick in 2018, but was traded to the Suns. Bridges averaged career highs of 13.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season, and was a big part of the Suns’ run to the NBA Finals.