Notable happenings in the sports world this past week from my perspective:
MLB: Postseason Awards.....A.L. MVP - 3B Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers (second consecutive year); N.L. MVP - OF Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates; A.L. Cy Young - RHP Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers; N.L. Cy Young - LHP Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers; A.L. Rookie - OF Wil Myers, Tampa Bay Rays; N.L. Rookie - RHP Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins; A.L. Manager - Terry Francona, Cleveland Indians; N.L. Manager - Clint Hurdle, Pittsburgh Pirates; Executive of the Year - Ben Cherington, General Manager, Boston Red Sox.....Notable Free-Agent Signing: OF Marlon Byrd, Philadelphia Phillies. (2-years, $16M)
NFL: Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally won their first game of the 2013 season over the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins, respectively....The Denver Broncos (8-1) edged out a victory over the San Diego Chargers 28-20. QB Peyton Manning had yet another big game throwing the ball, but suffered a sprained right ankle injury late in the contest, and is listed so far as 'probable' for the Broncos big conference matchup against the undefeated 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday 11/17....The Seattle Seahawks upped their record to an impressive 9-1 with a 33-10 shellacking of the injury-plagued Atlanta Falcons.....Veteran safety and future Hall-of-Famer Ed Reed was picked up by the New York Jets after being released by the Houston Texans.....Also in Texans news, All-Pro RB Arian Foster will miss the rest of the season after undergoing back surgery. Foster finished with 542 yards rushing in a disappointing 2013 campaign for Houston pro football.
NBA: As of Friday 11/15, the Indiana Pacers are still undefeated at 9-0 - the first team since the 2002-03 Dallas Mavericks to start the regular season at 9-0. The defending Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs are off to a strong beginning as well with a 9-1 mark....The Utah Jazz won their first game of the new season 111-105 over the New Orleans Pelicans....Dallas Mavericks perennial All-Star Dirk Nowitzki passed Hall-of-Famer Jerry West for 16th place on the all-time scoring list.
College Football: Associated Press Top 10 - 1. Alabama 2. Florida State 3. Ohio State 4. Baylor 5. Stanford 6. Oregon 7. Auburn 8. Clemson 9. Missouri 10. Texas A&M.....In what could be his final home game as a Texas A&M Aggies quarterback, reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel threw for 446 yards and five TDs in a 51-41 victory over Mississippi State. Manziel looks to be the favorite to capture the prestigious Heisman award for the second consecutive year.
Notable happenings in the sports world this past week:
NBA: Players of the Week....Eastern Conference - G Michael Carter-Williams, Philadelphia 76ers; Western Conference - F Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves....Miami Heat forward LeBron James continues to make history by becoming the fifth player in league history to score 10 or points in 500 consecutive games....As of Friday 11/8, the red-hot Indiana Pacers are the lone unbeaten team at 6-0, while the Utah Jazz (0-6) are still searching for their first victory of the new campaign....Basketball Hall-of-Famer Watt Bellamy passed away at the age of 74. During his 14-year playing career, Belllamy averaged a 'double-double' (20.1 points; 13.7 rebounds), was a four-time All-Star and won the Rookie of the Year award back in 1962....New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler - their top defensive specialist - will miss up to six weeks after injuring his leg in a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats at Madison Square Garden.
NFL: As of Monday 11/4, the Kansas City Chiefs continue to roll with the best record in the league at an undefeated 9-0, while both the 0-8 Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars are searching for that elusive first victory of 2K13....Green bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers suffered a fractured left collarbone in a 27-20 loss to the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field, and will be out indefinitely. Veteran backup Seneca Wallace will take over behind center.....Denver Broncos head coach John Fox will miss time with the team, as he recovers from open heart surgery. Jack Del Rio will hold the fort down on the sidelines until Fox is physically able to return for duty....52-year-old Houston Texans head coach Gary Kubiak suffered from what amounted to a 'mini-stroke' at halftime during his team's loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Wade Phillips will take over on an interim basis until Kubiak is able to come back to work healthy.
Auto Racing (NASCAR): Jimmie Johnson took the checkered flag at the AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway in Forth Worth to take a seven-point lead in the Sprint Cup Series chase over Matt Kenseth with two big races to go. Johnson is vying for his sixth career Sprint Cup championship.
College Football: Associated Press Top 10 - 1. Alabama 2. Oregon 3. Florida State 4. Ohio State 5. Baylor 6. Stanford 7. Auburn 8. Clemson 9. Missouri 10. L.S.U.
MLB: New managerial hires: Brad Ausmus, Detroit Tigers; Lloyd McClendon, Seattle Mariners; Rick Renteria, Chicago Cubs.
Men's Pro Tennis: No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic won his sixth singles title of 2K13 with a straight sets victory over David Ferrer of Spain at the Paris Masters.
Notable happenings in the sports world this past week:
MLB: The Boston Red Sox outclassed the St. Louis Cardinals in six games to clinch their third World Series title of the New Millenium, and their first World Series clinching victory on their home field since 1918. 37-year-old DH/1B David Ortiz was an absolute offensive beast for the BoSox during the Fall Classic - hitting .688 (11-16) with two home runs and six runs batted in, easily earning the Series MVP.....2K13 Gold Glove Winners: A.L. - C Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals; 1B Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals; 2B Dustin Pedroia, Boston Red Sox; SS J.J. Hardy, Baltimore Orioles; 3B Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles; LF Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals; CF Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles; RF Shane Victorino, Boston Red Sox; Pitcher R.A. Dickey, Toronto Blue Jays....N.L. - C Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals; 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks; 2B Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds; SS Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Braves; 3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies; LF Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies; CF Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers; RF Gerardo Parra, Arizona Diamondbacks; Pitcher Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals....The New York Yankees extended team captain Derek Jeter's contract to a one-year, $12M deal....After pitching the first no-hitter in team history last June, the New York Mets released lefty Johan Santana.
NFL: The Kansas City Chiefs remain the lone unbeaten team at 8-0 with their 23-17 victory over the Cleveland Browns....The San Francisco 49ers crushed the still-winless Jacksonville Jaguars (0-8) 42-10 at Wembley Stadium in London, England....Detroit Lions All-Pro wide receiver Calvin 'Megatron' Johnson caught 14 balls for 329 yards and one TD in a 31-30 come-from-behind victory over the Dallas Cowboys at home. The 329 yards are the second-most in league history. Flipper Anderson of the then-Los Angeles Rams holds the record with 336 yards in 1989....Minnesota Vikings Coradarrelle Patterson returned a kickoff for a new record 109 yards for a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers.
Auto Racing: 20-year-old Darrell Wallace Jr. made history at Martinsville (VA) Speedway by becoming the second African-American ever to win on NASCAR's national level, and the first since pioneer Wendell Scott did it back in 1963 - taking the Kroger 200 Camping World Truck Series race over runner-up Jeb Burton....Jeff Gordon won his first Sprint Cup Series race of the season, capturing the the Goody's 500 at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. Gordon is currently in third place in the series standings with three races remaining. Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson at tied for first place for the Sprint Cup Championship.
NBA: The regular season got underway for all 30 teams.....As of late Friday 11/1, the defending two-time champion Miami Heat are off to a 1-2 start with an opening night win over the Chicago Bulls and back-to-back losses to the surprising 2-0 Philadelphia 76ers and the much-improved Brooklyn Nets.
Pro Boxing: 48-year-old Bernard Hopkins defended his IBF Light Heavyweight title with a unamimous decision over Kero Murat at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Brooklynite and on-the-rise superstar Peter Quillin successfully retained his WBO Middleweight championship with a 10th-round TKO of Gabe Rosado in the co-feature bout in Atlantic City.
Pro Tennis (Womens): 32-year-old No.1-ranked Serena Williams won yet another singles title here in 2K13, defeating Li Na of China to capture the TEB BNP WTA Championship in Instanbul, Turkey.
College Football: Associated Press Top Ten - 1. Alabama 2. Oregon 3. Florida State 4. Ohio State 5. Baylor 6. Stanford 7. Miami (FL) 8. Auburn 9. Clemson 10. Missouri
College Basketball (Womens Division I): USA TODAY Preseason Poll Top 10 - 1. U.Conn 2. Duke 3. Stanford 4. Tennessee 5. Louisville 6. Maryland 7. Notre Dame 8. Kentucky 9. California 10. Baylor
