All the Sports Stories You Need to Know This AM
MLB Wild Card recaps, NBA previews, sports scandals + more
ACES WILD
We were thisclose to biting off all our fingernails on Tuesday night when the ninth inning of the AL Wild Card game between the Blue Jays and the Orioles ended in a 2–2 tie, and the fans at Toronto’s Rogers Centre were feeling it too — one actually threw a beer at Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim in the seventh inning (who still managed to catch the baseball coming his way at the same time); not a good look.
Orioles general manager Buck Showalter then made some seriously questionable decisions in the 11th inning — he chose not to play Cy Young candidate Zach Britton to close out the game, and also decided to pitch to notoriously strong hitter Edwin Encarnacion instead of intentionally walking him — and the Blue Jays capitalized, going on to win 5–2 after a huge Encarnacion three-run homer.
So the Orioles are done for the year, and the Blue Jays move on to the AL Divisional Series against the Texas Rangers (which starts this afternoon). And yes, you’re remembering right — Jose Bautista’s infamous bat flip (above) came against the Rangers in last year’s playoffs, and when the teams played in May, Rougned Odor punched Bautista in the face. They’ll have at least three games against each other coming up — we’ll just have to wait and see if any of them come to blows.
The Mets and the Giants held each other scoreless for most of the National League Wild Card game last night, thanks to great catches from the outfielders and even better pitching by starters Noah Syndergaard and Madison Bumgarner respectively. So of course, once Syndergaard was taken out, Conor Gillaspie broke the game open with (isn’t this fitting) a three-run homer at the top of the ninth inning to give the Giants the lead and eventual 3–0 win, sending the Mets home in the process. It’s an even year, so this fits San Francisco’s postseason pattern, but with the Cubs up next, the Giants will have to make sure that luck is strong enough to overpower a Chicago team that may just be ready to finally eradicate their 108-year championship drought.
WARRIORS 2.0
The NBA regular season is on its way, and we couldn’t be happier. The team that might be even more thrilled to leave last year behind? The Golden State Warriors. We’ve all been wondering how Kevin Durant would fit into that already high-powered offense, and the group did struggle a bit in their first preseason game against the Raptors last Saturday, but after Tuesday night’s 120–75 smackdown of the L.A. Clippers (in which KD starred), we’re thinking chemistry shouldn’t be too much of a problem.
ODELL BECKHAM JR.’S BAD BEHAVIOR IS OUR FAULT
Giants WR Beckham blames the media for his career-low performance as of late, because they (well, we) are spending too much time talking about his bad attitude and not enough time talking about… wait, his poor performance? We were letting Fantasy owners who drafted him do that. OBJ says all the fuss is causing him to “…not have fun anymore.” Shoot, sorry OBJ. At least Dez Bryant has your back.
This Might Be the Only Good Thing to Come of Derrick Rose’s Case
As we’ve seen, sports organizations have not had the best track record in terms of how they deal with domestic violence. ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy wants to change that. During a broadcast of a preseason Knicks-Rockets matchup (the two teams he once coached, funnily enough), Van Gundy proposed that for any “felony committed against a woman,” the first offense should warrant a season-long suspension (as compared to Darren Collison’s meager eight games), and if it happens again, lifetime ban. In Van Gundy’s own words: “It’s not a mistake, it’s a choice. It’s a choice to commit a violent act.” Props to you, JVG, and we’ll be keeping your words in mind as the gang rape trial against Derrick Rose continues.
DID YOU GET MY EMAIL?
Maria Sharapova shares a valuable lesson regarding email etiquette as she claims the reason she didn’t know about issues with a banned substance she was taking was because she forgot to open the emails informing her of the new drug update. Don’t you hate when that happens? Good news for Maria — she’s back in the game almost a year earlier than her original 2-year suspension. Here’s to a strong open rate in the future.
‘BYE, BARRY
Apparently being a home run king (non-convicted doping scandal aside) doesn’t translate to being an offensive coach. The Miami Marlins parted ways with former SF Giants All-Star MVP, Barry Bonds after just one year as hitting coach with the team. According to reports, tension between Marlins manager Don Mattingly was at an all-time high and he may have stepped down if Bonds was brought back for another season.
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