[Posted early Sunday p.m.]
Brief Add-on up top by noon, Tuesday.
College Football Quiz: Who followed these legendary coaches at their respective schools? Alabama – Bear Bryant (1958-82); Georgia – Vince Dooley (1964-88); Miami – Howard Schellenberger (1979-83); Michigan – Bo Schembechler (1969-89); Ohio State – Woody Hayes (1951-78); Oklahoma – Barry Switzer (1972-88); Texas – Darrell Royal (1957-76). Answers below.
MLB
–The Mets put some distance between themselves and the Reds for the final wild card slot, sweeping the Phillies at Citi Field early in the week, but then they had a horrendous loss Thursday to the Marlins at home , 7-4, with only two of the Miami runs earned as the Mets committed three really bad errors.
But Friday, with starter Jonah Tong making his major league debut for New York, the Mets scored a franchise record 12 runs in the first two innings on the way to a 19-9 win. The 19 runs were also the most the Mets have ever scored at home, which I found rather startling.
Tong was good…5 innings, one earned, 6 strikeouts, as the 22-year-old, who was leading all of the minor leagues in strikeouts this season, gave us fans a glimpse of the future.
Going back to Wednesday, the Mets’ other stud rookie hurler, Nolan McLean, threw eight scoreless in a 6-0 win over Philadelphia, McLean the first Met to win his first three starts, his ERA 0.89.
Meanwhile, the Reds were losing at home Friday night to the Cardinals, 7-4, their fourth straight loss, 7 of 8, to fall 5 games back of the Metropolitans.
The Mets were in turn 5 back of the first-place Phillies, who beat the Braves 2-1.
New York had received bad news Wednesday when catcher Francisco Alvarez, playing in a rehab game with his sprained right thumb, broke his left pinkie when he was hit by a pitch.
It had been shocking to see Alvarez already back on the field when it’s been decided he’ll need postseason surgery. But then this. [However, he’s back on the field at AAA, at least as DH.]
Thursday, Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber became the third player this year to hit 4 home runs in a game, (21st in MLB history) in a 19-4 win over Atlanta, bringing his season total to 49, one behind Seattle’s Cal Raleigh.
I was surprised Schwarber’s 9 RBIs were a franchise record. He took the MLB RBI lead with 119. He’s my selection for NL MVP.
–The Red Sox showed off their own top pitching prospect Friday night at Fenway, Payton Tolle, and he threw 5 1/3, 2 earned, 8 Ks. But the Red Sox lost 4-2 to the Pirates and Paul Skenes.
Skenes (6 innings, one earned) is now 9-9, 2.05. That .500 mark is important in terms of his Cy Young prospects. It would help if he could finish 2 or 3 over.
Boston thus fell behind the Yankees for second place in the AL East behind Toronto, New York beating up on the lowly Nationals and White Sox this week.
[The Red Sox released pitcher Walker Buehler Friday, after they signed him to a one-year, $21.5 million contract, only to have Buehler pitch to a 5.45 ERA in 22 starts.]
The Yanks beat Chicago 10-2 Friday, as Trent Grisham, in his walk year, continued his stellar hitting with a grand slam, No. 28 on the season, 7 homers in his last 10 games.
Carlos Rodon went 6 innings, one run to move to 15-7, 3.18.
New York tied an MLB record with 33 home runs in 10 games and has scored in double digits four of its last five.
On to Saturday’s play….
And once again the Mets disappointed, as has been their wont this season. They play great for a stretch, like in sweeping the Phillies, and then they lose 2 out of 3 to Miami, including this day, 11-8.
New York’s David Petersen was dreadful, 8 runs in just two innings, and the Mets were down 8-2.
But they battled back behind two Juan Soto home runs to tie it 8-8 after six.
After the Marlins went ahead 9-8 in the top of the seventh, Jeff McNeil led off the bottom of the inning with a triple and was stranded, and the Mets would go on to lose 11-8. They’ve been amazing the last few weeks with runners in scoring position but failed in the clutch in the late innings in this one.
But Cincinnati lost again, now five in a row, 8 of 9, 4-2 to the Cards again, so the Mets remained five ahead for the wild card.
Chris Sale made his return for the Braves after being out ten weeks, and he was good, 6 innings, one run, 9 strikeouts, but Atlanta lost to the Phillies 3-2 in 10.
–The Yankees are suddenly just two back of Toronto in the AL East, after defeating the White Sox 5-3 in 11, while Toronto lost again to the Brewers, 4-1. New York’s winning streak is seven, after almost getting swept in a 4-game series against the Red Sox last weekend.
Boston, meanwhile, fell to the Pirates again, 10-3.
Key standings after Saturday’s play….
AL East
Toronto 78-58
New York 76-60…2
Boston 75-62…3.5
AL Wild Card
New York 76-60…+4
Boston 75-62…+2.5
Seattle 72-64…—
Kansas City 70-66…2
Texas 70-67…2.5
Cleveland 68-66…3
NL West
Los Angeles 77-59
San Diego 76-60…1
NL Wild Card
Chicago 78-58…+5
San Diego 76-60…+3
New York 73-63…—
Cincinnati 68-68…5
—Sunday….
–The Mets lost again to the Marlins, 5-1, as starter Kodai Senga continued to struggle…yielding all five runs in 4 2/3. In nine starts since he returned from a hamstring injury, his ERA is 5.90! Drat!
And the Reds beat the Cards 7-4, so Cincy is now 4 back of the Mets in the wild card race.
The Mets now embark on a brutal 10-game road trip…Detroit for 3, Cincinnati for 3, and Philadelphia for 4. The only good thing is they don’t face Detroit’s Tarik Skubal. It’s the season. The starting pitching, namely Senga and Manaea, have to step up! Get it done!
–The Yankees’ winning streak was snapped this afternoon, 3-2, while the Red Sox finally beat the Pirates, 5-2, Lucas Giolito with six strong, moving to 10-2, 3.38.
The Blue Jays defeated the Brewers 8-4, so the Yanks are 3 back of Toronto, who are a ½-game ahead of Boston.
–Lastly, A’s star rookie Nick Kurtz appears to have avoided a serious oblique injury and is slated to be out just a few more days after leaving Friday night’s game. I hope he can play the final three weeks or so as he is otherwise the overwhelming favorite for AL Rookie of the Year.
Kurtz had a similar situation that cost him two weeks at the end of May, early June.
Entering Friday’s game, Kurtz not only led all Major League rookies in home runs (27), RBIs (70), extra-base hits (52) runs (69) and walks (52), but he also led all Major League hitters in OPS (1.259), batting average (.394), on-base percentage (.503), slugging (.756) and runs scored (36) since the All-Star break.
Over his last 43 games heading into Friday’s contest (where Kurtz was 0-for-1 with a walk and a run scored before exiting), Kurtz was slashing .390/.500/.792 since the start of play on July 5. Over the last 10 seasons, the only other players with a .500 OBP for that long of a span were Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Freddie Freeman, Joey Votto and Josh Donaldson. [MLB.com]
When it comes to on-base percentage, Wake Forest fans know this about Kurtz. In his three seasons in Winston-Salem, he had OBPs of .471, .527, and .531! This is who the guy is. He gets a ton of walks. His junior year, he had 78 in 54 games and still hit 22 home runs.
But he also gets these nagging injuries. If he could play 150 games a season, no telling what kinds of numbers he can put up in his prime.
College Football
Another season is underway (actually starting last weekend), and I’ll say up front I’m not in any way attempting to cover every Top 25 game, at least early in the season. Plus, it’s still very much about baseball in the New York area, with both teams seemingly playoff bound.
As an example, Friday night I was constantly flipping back and forth between the Mets game, anxious to see Jonah Tong, and Wake Forest-Kennesaw State…the latter the beginning of the Jake Dickert era in Winston-Salem.
The Deacs did not look good, but they eked out a win, 10-9. There are so many new faces (the situation on virtually every team in these tumultuous times for the sport), and for Wake we have a new QB, Robby Ashford, who played at Auburn and South Carolina. As he showed last night, he’s an athlete, but unclear if he can be a good quarterback.
And the Deacs could have a major problem already. Preseason potential All-American running back Demond Claiborne carried the ball only three times for 19 yards, exiting early with an apparent rib injury.
But what I was most disappointed in was our revamped offensive line, which is supposed to be good and was far from it. In the end, I am not losing any sleep over this season. I’m ready for Wake basketball…where I think we’re going to shock the world.
—Georgia Tech had a nice win Friday night, 27-20 against Colorado, as their quality QB, veteran Haynes King, rushed for 156 yards and three touchdowns.
–Going back to Thursday, Rutgers eked out a 34-31 win over Ohio University. The Scarlet Knights have Oregon, Ohio State and Penn State on the schedule this season, as well as 12 Illinois, 52-3 winners over Western Illinois Friday.
And 25 Boise State probably saw its CFP hopes crushed in Week One, falling 34-7 to South Florida.
–But Saturday, it was all about two big openers, 1 Texas at 3 Ohio State, and 9 LSU at 4 Clemson.
And it was about Lee Corso’s retirement from ESPN’s College GameDay program. They had some good tributes to the lad. He was truly very entertaining, nearly 30 years on the program. [Corso also had some great final picks.]
–As for No. 1 Texas at 3 Ohio State, and the start of the Arch Manning era in Austin, Manning hardly looked like a future Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall draft pick next spring. His passes were off, his receivers were subpar, the offensive line (nearly all new) was ineffective, and in the end Arch was just 17 of 30, 170 yards (much of this in the final few minutes), a touchdown and an interception, as the Buckeyes won it 14-7, despite picking up only 203 yards of offense.
The game was a total yawner.
It did get a little exciting in the final four minutes but Manning and Co. came up short in their comeback bid.
But as Urban Meyer brought up at halftime, it made zero sense that Texas coach Steve Sarkisian kept going for it on fourth down in the first half against a terrific Ohio State defense, instead of playing the field position game, because the Longhorns ‘D’ is stout as well; Texas 1 of 5 on fourth down for the game, including being stopped twice in the red zone.
It’s only the opener, and I’m sure Arch will get his act together, but he’s going to need lots of help.
—Florida State had a huge upset in Tallahassee over 8 Alabama 31-17, as new Seminole QB Tommy Castellanos (a transfer from Boston College), who had taken a shot at Bama in June, noting that the program no longer has Nick Saban around to “save them” and that he doesn’t “see them stopping me,” had 152 yards passing and 78 rushing, including a TD.
The Crimson Tide got a solid effort from new quarterback Ty Simpson, 23/43, 254, 2-0, but Bama had just 74 yards rushing.
The Alabama faithful are not happy. Second-year coach Kalen DeBoer, who succeeded Saban, was a highly disappointing 9-4 last season and he’s now 6-4 against unranked teams in Tuscaloosa, while Saban was 124-4 in such games. Bama is also now 5-5 in its last ten games.
But good for FSU coach Mike Norvell, who after going 13-1 in 2023, was 2-10 last season.
And Go ACC!
–Well, the ACC then laid an egg, a big one, as 4 Clemson fell at home to 9 LSU, 17-10. LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, one of the preseason Heisman favorites, led a second half comeback for the Baton Rouge Tigers, going 28/38, 230, 1-0.
But for Clemson, which was held to just 31 yards rushing on 20 carries, their Heisman hopeful, Cade Klubnick, was mediocre at best, 19/38, 230, 0-1, and he didn’t look good down the stretch.
Brian Kelly outcoached Dabo Swinney, and it’s a bad loss, particularly to do it at home before a jacked-up crowd. [Whereas Ohio State and Florida State took advantage of their rabid home-field faithful.]
—2 Penn State and Drew Allar (yet another preseason Heisman selection) whipped Nevada, 46-11, Allar 22/26, 217, 1-0.
—5 Georgia crushed Marshall 45-7, Gunner Stockton with two touchdowns rushing and two passing.
—7 Oregon destroyed Montana State 59-13.
—22 Iowa State, which had defeated 17 Kansas State in Dublin last weekend, had its way with South Dakota, 55-7, quarterback Rocco Becht a rather cool 19/20, 278, 3-0.
—Boston College beat visiting Fordham 66-10, which I only mention because my neighbor, Michael C., the Fordham alum, said the Rams were paid $700,000 for their efforts. That’s big money for the athletic department.
–Today, Sunday, 13 South Carolina was ahead of Virginia Tech 10-8 at the half, while 6 Notre Dame and 10 Miami square off tonight.
NFL
—The Micah Parsons-Cowboys drama is over. In a shocking move, Dallas traded him to the Packers for two first-round picks (2026 and 2027) and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
Parsons then agreed to a four-year, $188 million contract with Green Bay, which includes $136 million in guaranteed money; the largest contract for a non-quarterback in NFL history.
Right as the news broke, Parsons took to social media to post a statement, saying it was his “destiny” to play for the Cowboys, a team he cheered for while growing up in Pennsylvania, and he was disappointed to see his time in Dallas come to an end.
“I never wanted this chapter to end, but not everything was in my control,” Parsons wrote. “My heart has always been here, and it still is. Through it all, I never made any demands. I never asked for anything more than fairness. I only asked that the person I trust to negotiate my contract be part of the process.”
So Green Bay became an instant Super Bowl favorite in picking up a generational talent for what most see as a paltry return.
Parsons has double-digit sacks in each of his first four seasons, as well as being a two-time AP All-Pro.
Actually, there are only two players in the history of the league to have 12+ sacks in each of their first four seasons…Parsons and Reggie White. He’s finished top-three in Defensive Player of the Year voting in each of his three fully healthy seasons.
But Jerry Jones is stubborn. He’s also rather old, but he runs the show.
Reaction around the league has been unanimous. It’s being called one of the worst trades ever.
—Shedeur Sanders survived cutdown day, making the Browns roster as the third QB behind Joe Flacco and fellow rookie Dillon Gabriel.
Flacco is the starter, while a fourth quarterback, Kenny Pickett, was traded to the Raiders to be their backup QB.
–The Giants released quarterback Tommy DeVito, aka Tommy Cutlets; DeVito losing out to veteran Jameis Winston, who is in the quarterback room with Russell Wilson and future star (all Giants fans hope) Jaxson Dart.
DeVito started eight games for the Giants, tossing eight touchdowns against three interceptions. For good reason he was a very popular player in his short time here, being a local kid, great personality, the Sopranos theme also part of it.
He was then picked up by New England, who will face the Giants in Foxborough for “Monday Night Football” in Week 13.
–Kansas City receiver Rashee Rice accepted a six-game suspension from the NFL to begin the season, according to multiple reports.
The suspension stems from violating the league’s personal conduct policy in a multi-vehicle crash in March 2024, in which he received a 30-day jail sentence and pled guilty to two third-degree felony charges.
Golf / Ryder Cup
–Last Wednesday, Keegan Bradley named his six captain’s picks for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and no real surprises…
Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns.
They join the six automatics…Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English and Bryson DeChambeau.
But Bradley did not select himself to play, even though he’s had a career year.
Was this the right decision? Only time will tell. I think it was the right one, but it’s only a smart choice if Team USA wins.
Among those snubbed were Brian Harman, Maverick McNealy and Chris Gotterup, though none of them can bitch much.
What’s interesting is that 10 of the 12 members of the team are now playing in the Procore Championship, Sept. 11-14, the first event of the FedEx Cup Fall season, as a team building opportunity, and to shake off any rust from the post-Tour Championship break.
The two absentees are DeChambeau, who is banned from the PGA Tour, and Xander Schauffele, who is opting for a longer rest.
But what a field now for the Procore. To say the least, the tournament sponsors are thrilled.
—Euro captain Luke Donald announces his captain’s picks Monday.
The six locked in are Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Rasmus Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton.
Donald now must select among the likes of Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Matt Wallace and Thomas Detry.
The first six will be the picks.
This Ryder Cup is going to be more intense than ever. Unfortunately, a big issue is going to be crowd control and that, sadly, might end up being the big story.
U.S. Open
–The Open has become more of a ‘show’ than a Grand Slam event. It’s all about celebrity, social media influencers, wealth, almost like a reality show…with the requisite bunch of assholes, both on the court and in the crowd.
That said, Friday, 6-seed Ben Shelton was forced to pull out due to an injury.
Saturday, 3-seed Alexander Zverev was ousted by Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who moves on to the fourth round.
But heading into Sunday’s play, 1 Jannik Sinner, 2 Carlos Alcaraz, 4 Taylor Fritz, and 7 Novak Djokovic were still around, as the Tennis World awaits another Sinner-Alcaraz championship matchup.
–On the women’s side, 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 2 Iga Swiatek, 3 Coco Gauff, and 4 Jessica Pegula were still around, as well as American Taylor Townsend, who has gotten some publicity this tournament.
Monday’s big match is 23 Naomi Osaka against 3 Gauff.
But today, Pegula advanced to the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-2 over American Ann Li.
Carlos Alcaraz moved on as well.
–Lastly, the jerk who snatched a hat autographed by Kamil Majchrzak from a boy’s grasp was identified by internet sleuths as Polish millionaire CEO Piotr Szczerek.
Majchrzak later found the boy and on Saturday posted video to Instagram showing them meeting after his warmup. Great ending.
Premier League
—Saturday, Chelsea defeated Fulham 2-0, Manchester United edged Burnley 3-2, and Tottenham suffered a tough loss at home to Bournemouth, 1-0, after looking so good in their first two contests of the season.
Sunday, a big early-season matchup, Liverpool hosting Arsenal. I watched the first half, but tried to time my pizza pickup so that I would catch the ending.
It wasn’t a great game…but when I returned at the 84:00 mark, I saw it was 1-0 Liverpool and that I had just missed the goal. It was only then I learned that it was a stunner from Szoboszlai on a free kick. YouTube it, as I did once it was posted…the Reds with the win.
Brighton handed Man City its second loss in a row, 2-1.
Top 3 songs for the week 9/6/75: #1 “Rhinestone Cowboy” (Glen Campbell) #2 “Fallin’ In Love” (Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds) #3 “Get Down Tonight” (K.C. & The Sunshine Band)…and…#4 “At Seventeen” (Janis Ian) #5 “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)” (James Taylor) #6 “Jive Talkin’” (Bee Gees) #7 “Fame” (David Bowie) #8 “Fight The Power” (The Isley Brothers) #9 “Could It Be Magic” (Barry Manilow) #10 “One Of These Nights” (Eagles…A- week…some outstanding tunes, ruined by #6…)
College Football Quiz Answers: Alabama – Bear Bryant was followed by Ray Perkins (1983-86); Georgia – Vince Dooley was followed by Ray Goff (1989-95); Miami – Howard Schellenberger was followed by Jimmy Johnson (1984-88); Michigan – Bo Schembechler was followed by Gary Moeller (1990-94); Ohio State – Woody Hayes was followed by Earle Bruce (1979-87); Oklahoma – Barry Switzer was followed by Gary Gibbs (1989-94); Texas – Darrell Royal was followed by Fred Akers (1977-86).
Brief Add-on posted by noon, Tuesday.
