R.G.'s Weekly Sports Recap (Tues 10/20 - Sun 10/25/2K15)

My notable happenings in the sports world this past week:

 

MLB: The Kansas City Royals repeated as American League champs after taking out the offensively potent Toronto Blue Jays in six games of the ALCS. KC looks to win their first World Series title in exactly three decades when they face sizzling-hot slugging second baseman Daniel Murphy and the New York Mets, who swept a young, talented, on-the-rise Chicago Cubs squad to win their first National League pennant since 2000. The Amazin's seek to win their first world championship since their historic, magical run back in 1986. My prediction - KC will suffer disappointment in the Fall Classic for a second-straight season, falling to the Mets' young, talented arms in six games max....After five seasons, 446 wins and postseason disappointment, Don Mattingly decided to wrap up his tenure as manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers...Great news for the Boston Red Sox organization and their loyal fan base going into the 2K16 campaign: Manager John Farrell looks like he'll return to the dugout as his non-Hodgkins lymphoma is currently in remission from the treatment he's received since he took medical leave back in August....The underachieving Seattle Mariners hired 48-year-old Scott Servais as their new manager for 2K16.

NFL: The New England Patriots remain without a loss at 6-0 after edging out the New York Jets 30-23 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Also remaining impressively unbeaten are the 6-0 Carolina Panthers after their latest win over the Philadelphia Eagles at home 27-16.

Men's College Basketball: The infamous sex scandal involving the Louisville Cardinals basketball program - in particular by way of former staff member Andre McGee paying escorts to engage in very intimate and explicit activity with players and recruits in a dorm on campus is getting serious burn. Hall-of-Fame head coach Rick Pitino alleges that he had absolutely 'zero' knowledge of what supposedly took place between 2K10 and 2K14. Former escort Katrina Powell is the source that has initially ignite the firestorm by writing a book on what allegedly took place. A messy situation for sure, and I hope that Pitino is being truthful about the matter coming into a season where they're not expected to be amongst the top 25 teams in the nation.

NHL: As of Sunday, October 25, the Montreal Canadiens are still the league's lone unbeaten at a perfect 9-0 thus far. (18 points).....Notable head coach firing - Todd Richards, Columbus Blue Jackets

NBA: In very sad news, Minnesota Timberwolves head coach/President of Basketball Ops/part-owner Flip Saunders passed away from cancer (Hodgkin lymphoma) at just 60-years-young. Saunders coached 17 seasons with the T-Wolves, Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards, winning 654 career games...After holding out the entire preseason, the Cleveland Cavaliers inked rebounding power forward Tristan Thompson to a five-year, $82 million extension.

College Football: Associated Press Top 10 - 1. Ohio State. 2. Baylor. 3. Clemson. 4. LSU. 5. Texas Christian. 6. Michigan State. 7. Alabama. 8. Stanford. 9. Notre Dame. 10. Iowa....No. 1 Ohio State behind new starting QB J.T. Barrett breezed through the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 49-7 to remain unbeaten at 8-0 on the season thus far. Barrett was efficient in completing 14 of 18 passes for 223 yards, ran for an additional 101 yards and was responsible for five touchdowns scored for the Buckeyes... After getting totally embarrassed 58-0 on their home field by the then sixth-ranked Clemson Tigers, the Miami (FL) Hurricanes fired head coach Al Golden.

R.G.'s Weekly Sports Recap (Tues 10/13 - Sun 10/18/2K15)

My notable happenings in the sports world this past week:

WNBA: For the third time in the past five years, head coach Cheryl Reeve and her Minnesota Lynx team were crowned league champions after defeating a tough, determined and gritty Indiana Fever squad in five games. Lynx veteran center Sylvia Fowles was voted the Finals' Most Valuable Player. All-Star forward/guard Maya Moore in her first five years has won three titles, Rookie of the Year and MVP. Simply incredible!

MLB: The American League Championship Series got underway, and as of Sunday, October 18, the Kansas City Royals hold a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven over the Toronto Blue Jays and are just two more 'W's away from making a return trip to the Fall Classic. In the matchup for the 2K15 National League pennant, the New York Mets are up two-nil over the wild-card Chicago Cubs - who eliminated the 100-win St. Louis Cardinals in the division round.

NFL: As of Sunday, October 18, the teams that have yet to lose a game thus far through six contests are the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots (5-0), Green Bay Packers (6-0), Denver Broncos (6-0), Cincinnati Bengals (6-0) and Carolina Panthers (5-0). The Detroit Lions finally broke through victoriously with a 37-34 overtime win over the Chicago Bears at home...My top individual performance for Week 6 goes to San Diego Chargers All-Pro QB Philip Rivers, who in a 27-20 loss to the unbeaten Packers at Lambeau Field completed 43 passes on 65 attempts for 503 yards and two TDs.

College Football: A.P. Top 10 (Week 8) - 1. Ohio State. 2. Baylor. 3. Utah. 4. Texas Christian. 5. LSU. 6. Clemson. 7. Michigan State. 8. Alabama. 9. Florida State. 10. Stanford.....Notable head coach firing - Steve Sarkisian, USC Trojans.....Steve Spurrier, 70, decided to retire immediately after 23 total seasons directing on the sidelines for the Florida Gators and for the last 11 seasons at the University of South Carolina.

Men's College Basketball: USA TODAY Preseason Top 10 Poll - 1. North Carolina. 1. Kentucky. 3. Maryland. 4. Duke. 5. Kansas. 6. Virginia. 7. Iowa State. 8. Oklahoma. 9. Villanova. 10. Arizona

NHL: As of Sunday, October 18, the red-hot Montreal Canadiens (6-0; 12 points) are the lone undefeated team in the league early on thus far.

R.G.'s Weekly Sports Recap (Tues 10/6 - Sun 10/11/2K15)

My notable happenings in the sports world this past week:

 

MLB: The playoffs got underway, and as of Sunday 10/11 in the National League, the favorite St. Louis Cardinals and the wild-card Chicago Cubs are knotted-up at one apiece in their division series, as well as the matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets. Dodgers second baseman Chase Utley - pending an appeal - will be suspended for Games 3 and 4 at Citi Field for illegally sliding directly into Mets shortstop Ruben Tejada which resulted in him breaking his right leg in Game 2, which L.A. ending up winning 5-2. In the American League, the wild-card Houston Astros are up 2-1 in their series against the defending league champion Kansas City Royals, while in the other matchup in the A.L. bracket, the Texas Rangers hold a 2-1 series advantage over the offensively powerful Toronto Blue Jays....35-year-old New York Yankees lefty starter CC Sabathia will enter rehab for a month to battle his addiction to the booze. Get well soon, brother CC.....Notable managerial firings - Matt Williams, Washington Nationals (2K14 N.L. Manager of the Year); Lloyd McClendon, Seattle Mariners

NFL: The Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals are all without an 'L' through five games thus far. The New England Patriots (4-0) are also perfect early on after crushing the Dallas Cowboys 30-6 on the road coming off a bye-week....The surprisingly hapless Detroit Lions are the lone squad without a victory five contests in, but on a historic note, All-Pro wideout Calvin Johnson became the franchise's all-time leader in passes caught, surpassing the great Herman Moore on the list.....Top individual performance - QB Eli Manning, New York Giants (personal and franchise-best 41 completions on 54 attempts for 441 yards and three TDs in a huge, come-from-behind 30-27 home victory over the struggling San Francisco 49ers).....Notable player injury - RB Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs (Torn ACL in right knee; out for the season)....Notable head coach firing - Joe Philbin, Miami Dolphins

NHL: The 2K15-16 regular season got underway for all 30 clubs, and as of Sunday 10/11, the New York Rangers are a perfect 3-0 early on. The defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks are 2-1 to start their run at yet another title....As a result of a brutal illegal check he administered to the head of Anaheim Ducks right winger Jakob Silfverberg during a preseason matchup, San Jose Sharks goon forward Raffi Torres was handed a record-41-game suspension by the league.

NBA: Despite the  off-court distraction of second-year head coach Derek Fisher's love life involving his current squeeze Gloria Govan and her ex-husband/baby daddy - current Memphis Grizzlies forward Matt Barnes, the new-look New York Knicks with a healthy Carmelo Anthony are focused and playing well thus far through two preseason wins so far.

Men's College Basketball: Rookie St. John's head coach Chris Mullin hired former Golden State Warriors teammate and NBA All-Star Mitch Richmond to be part of his staff as a special assistant coach.

WNBA: As of Sunday 10/11 in the league Finals, the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever are tied 2-2 in their epic best-of-five series. A do-or-die,championship-deciding Game 5 will take place Wednesday night 10/14 at Target Center in Minneapolis.

Men's Pro Golf: For the sixth consecutive year, the Americans hoisted the Presidents Cup after narrowly edging out the international squadron 15.5 to 14.5 in South Korea.