(“The TEN” is not a top ten but ten items worth being included in “The TEN”)
1. The Rams beat the Dallas Cowboys 20-17 Sunday night to kick off the 2020 NFL season in the first game at SoFi Stadium.
2. The Chargers held on to beat the Cincinnati Bengals 16-13 on the road Sunday in the season opener.
3. The Lakers beat the Houston Rockets 119-96 Saturday to wrap up the second round playoff series in five games and advance to the Western Conference Finals.
4. The Denver Nuggets erased a 15-pont halftime deficit to beat the Clippers 111-98 Sunday to force a Game 7 Tuesday night in the second round Western Conference playoff series.
5. Tom Brady threw two interceptions including a pick six in his Tampa Bay debut as the Buccaneers fell to the New Orleans Saints 34-23 Sunday.
6. Eastern Conference Finals: Boston Celtics vs. Miami Heat, Game 1 Tuesday night.
7. Chicago Cubs right-hander Alec Mills threw a no-hitter Sunday in a 12-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
8. The Angels Albert Pujols hit his 660th career home run Sunday tying him for fifth on the all-time list with Willie Mays.
9. The Big Ten met Sunday but still has not voted on whether to start the fall football season after hearing updated medical information. A formal vote is expected in the next few days.
10. Houston Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni informed the franchise’s ownership that he won’t return to the team next season.
@ My Two Cents: In my opinion, the Cowboys will make the playoffs this season. I believe that the Rams’ pass rush and defensive secondary had something to do with Prescott’s difficulties, especially in the fourth quarter. He didn’t play badly at all, and he certainly would’ve benefited from better blocking.
The Rams’ defense appears to be back, and it was possibly the main reason why L.A. was able to come away with a hard-fought victory on opening night against a good Dallas team.
Mike D’Antoni will be remembered as a very good coach when he had the right pieces to make things hum. His book entitled ‘7 seconds or less’ should be required reading for anyone who wants to coach the sport. He’s getting out at just the right time, as the entity formerly known as the NBA is now the Social Justice League, boldly striving to blaze a brighter path for multi-millionaire athletes.
1) I am a Cowboys fan. Unless it turns around quickly this season, here is a startling stat the the Cowboys should let Dak Prescott walk after this season, 1-6 in one possession games last season and 0-1 to start this season. No QB that can’t put his team in FG range with over two minutes left should be paid 40mil a year. BTW, only one deep ball thrown the entire game with Michael Gallup and Cee Dee Lamb?
4) I don’t want to jinx it so I won’t say who I think will win tomorrow night.
Well, we’ve made it to the big three-game showdown between the Dodgers and the Padres in San Diego. L.A. (33-14) leads San Diego (31-17) by just two and-a-half games in the National League West.
The Dodgers have 13 games left in the regular season, and the Padres have only 12 games remaining.
Los Angeles, which has a team earned-run average of 2.97, still possesses the best pitching in major league baseball. However, the Padres’ pitching has gradually improved, and their team ERA of 3.93 is currently the eighth-best (out of 30 teams) in MLB.
Unfortunately for the Dodgers, recent injuries to starting pitchers Walker Buehler and Dustin May have effectively reduced them to a three-man rotation made up of Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urias, and Tony Gonsolin.
But, they beat the Houston Astros, 8-1, on Sunday, complementing their renowned offensive firepower with effective pitching by an eight-man “committee” of relievers.
The Dodgers might be able to make this work, given their overall pitching talent and this year’s 30-man major-league rosters. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if they add lefthander Alex Wood as a fourth starter; it could depend on whether he has developed the stamina to pitch multiple innings.
The Padres’ powerful offense is led by 21-year-old shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. (15 homers & 40 runs batted in), third baseman Manny Machado (13 HR’s & 39 RBI’s), and right fielder Wil Myers (12 HR’s & 34 RBI’s).
San Diego first baseman Eric Hosmer (8 HR’s & 32 RBI’s) is on the injured list, but the fact that the Dodgers’ Justin Turner is out with a hamstring injury sort of balances things there.
The Padres’ best starting pitchers are Zach Davies (7-2, 2.48 ERA) and Dinelson Lamet (2-1, 2.24 ERA). The rest of their starting rotation has been shaky, but their relievers have been pretty solid.
These two teams have a good chance of meeting in the playoffs, and the one that prevails could go all the way.