Winning the NL East once again, the Braves will open up postseason play on in game one of the NLDS Thursday. The Braves entered the weekend not knowing who would they would face, but St. Louis won the NL Central with a clutch win against the Cubs. The Brewers will play the Nats in the WC game in Washington, with the winner moving on to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the other NLDS matchup.
Games 1 and 2 will be at SunTrust Park on Thursday and Friday. The series will then move to St. Louis on Sunday for Game 3 and Game 4 that Monday if needed. Game 5 would be back in the A on Wednesday, October 9 if necessary.
The Bravos won the season series against the Cardinals 4-2 taking two of three in Atlanta and St. Louis back earlier in May. The Cards were struggling at 26-26 when they finished their last series against the Braves and are a much different and dangerous team now. St. Louis went on a hot streak, winning 47-27 after the all-star break to clinch the division and punch their ticket to the playoffs.
NLDS Series schedule Braves vs Cardinals
Game 1 – Thursday, October 3
Game 2 – Friday, October 4
Game 3 – Sunday, October 6
Game 4 – Monday, October 7 (If Necessary)
Game 5 – Wednesday, October 9 (If Necessary)
Saints QB Drew Brees has no idea how serious of a thumb injury he had that knocked him out of Sunday’s loss to LA in the first quarter. Brees, concerned about the injury, had this to say,
“Yeah, I am concerned. I’m hoping it’s not too significant” he said. Right now it is set up for him to see the distinguished Dr. Shin in Los Angeles. “I’m hoping it’s not too significant.”
The franchise quarterback was asked if any diagnosis or x-rays had come back positive and he said: “It’s all up in the air right now.”
“I really don’t know at this point. There’s only so much you can do here other than have a doctor look at it on the sideline,” the QB said. So what exactly happened? Drew’s right hand hit All-Pro DT Aaron Donald‘s hand at the end of an incompletion late in the 1st and Teddy Bridgewater came in
Bridgewater played the rest of the game, throwing 17 completions on 30 attempts for 165 yards in a loss. It was the third time the Saints haven’t managed to score a touchdown since Payton had been there.
Brees got his right thumb and lower hand/wrist taped by a trainer on the bench and remained on the sideline engaged in the game trying to help Bridgewater the rest of the game.
Sean Payton said that they had absolutely no intention to put Brees back in the game, who was in so much pain apparently they could only run when he tried to stay in.
“It’s very difficult not to be playing,” said the 2009 SB MVP Brees, who can confidently say he’s only missed one start because of injury since high school in his entire career — Week 3 of 2015 at Carolina with a shoulder problem. He also sustained an acute shoulder injury in the closing game of the 2005 year vs the Chargers, but he returned by week one for New Orleans in 2006.
Brees was 3-5 before leaving on Sunday, one of those incompletions being an interception that got knocked out of Jared Cook‘s hands in the opening drive.
Good thing for the saints, Bridgewater is definitely one of the better backups in the NFL, being the highest-paid backup QB at $7.25 million this season. Obviously they want him to take over after Drew because they traded a 3rd round pick to the Jets in 2018 and resigned him in March.
Sean Payton showed confidence in his backup after the game, calling him a “pro” that was ready to go after Brees was hurt, as he blamed most of Bridgewater’s struggles on the Saints’ O-line getting “whipped” up front and drive-killing, boneheaded penalties.
“I felt comfortable with Teddy and do feel comfortable with Teddy,” Payton said.
What You Need To Know About the New 2k Patch To Win Online
It is here, the first 2k patch of the year. Is 2k actually dedicated to making the game better? Comment your opinion and the best comment gets a shoutout. This is the moment of truth and the first patch is almost always a massive deal or indicator of how the Gameplay will be. This is what you need to know to about MyCAREER, MyTEAM, and NBA 2K20 experience after this first patch:
1. Addressed multiple issues in MyCAREER to vastly improve user experience.
2. Fixed the problem I was having as well where some MyPLAYER names would be visible. You might need to create a new build real quick to correct existing saves.
3. Apparently much needed Gameplay improvements & fixes including: support for standing step-back escapes and finishing alley-oops with Pro Stick, out of bounds awareness improvements, more reliable interior shot defense contact detection, logic fixes for certain badges, and much more.
4. Fixed a problem that allowed users to play players out of position in MyTEAM.
5. Fixed a huge issue that was causing 2k to hang at intermittent times (e.g. when accessing the VIP Stats menu, when completing games in Domination, when playing Play Now Online games, and more).
5. Fixed an issue where some users were reporting they were not receiving the correct reward cards from Domination games in MyTEAM.
6. Fixed an issue where some users were not receiving their awards when achieving new Collector Levels in MyTEAM.
Bob Myers: “Shaun Livingston’s story is one of the most inspirational in the history of professional sports”
Established veteran Shaun Livingston announced his retirement from the NBA on social media Friday morning after 15 seasons:
“After 15 years in the NBA, I’m excited, sad, fortunate and grateful all in one breath,” Livingston put in a post on Instagram. “Hard to put into a caption all of the emotions it takes to try and accomplish your dreams. I wasn’t supposed to be here. Anybody that has beat the odds understands the mental and emotional strain it takes to inspire yourself on an uphill war, let alone inspire others.”
Livingston suffered a possible career-ending knee injury in 2007, tearing his ACL, PCL and lateral meniscus, also spraining his MCL and dislocating his patella. For a while, people did not know if he was going to be able to come back from such a gruesome injury, but he did and won three championships and the entire respect of the league 11 seasons later.
“‘The injury’ gave me a chance to find and prove to myself (and the world) that I wouldn’t be defined by my circumstances,” he wrote. “With my time in the League what I will be most proud of is the fact that my character, values and faith were tested, and I persevered.”
Livingston signed with the Warriors in 2014 and played a pivotal, under-appreciated role off the bench providing solid minutes for the Warriors Dynasty, which was ended by Kawhi. According to sources, Livingston has stayed close to the organization and talked to them about potential having a front office role. “I’m just kind of planting seeds and letting people know that when it’s all over, that’s what I’d like to do,”
After the veteran announced his retirement, Myers subsequently issued a statement on Livingston’s professionalism:
“Shaun Livingston’s story is one of the most inspirational in the history of professional sports,” Myers stated. “What he accomplished after suffering so many trials and tribulations early in his career is a true testament to who he is as a person, which has always been characterized by tremendous class, grace and professionalism. He represents everything that you’d want in a professional athlete and, most importantly, in a human being.”
Livingston showed appreciation to his family, many teammates, coaches, trainers and fans that supported him along his journey in his instagram post:
“To all of my teammates, coaches, TRAINERS, staff, my journey is a collection of experiences, and those of you that helped me along the way, THANK YOU!” he wrote. “To all the fans and anybody else that inspired me, supported me, cheered for me, or even said good words about me, THANK YOU. ‘The greatest gift we can give is service to others.’
Yesterday morning, my Twitter feed was overloaded with updates on the USA vs. France FIBA game. I had confidence that the players, and especially coach Pop, would secure a victory in the 4th. However, clearly the French team was hungrier and more determined to get the win.
Despite taking place in China, or anywhere outside the US, everyone automatically assumed the US to dominate these types of tournaments like usual. After all, basketball is an American-made sport, taught and played to millions of Americans over the past several decades. Unlike the NFL, the NBA has done an excellent job at expanding the sport internationally. While the increase in competition is great, this is clearly making it harder for team USA to dominate, especially without our top players. In fact, this FIBA team has only two NBA All-stars. There’s no doubt everyone on the roster has at least “above average” skillsets.
Unlike the NBA playoffs, the world cup is structured as a single elimination system. I gathered from highlights and from watching the fourth quarter of this game, I saw that the French players gave it everything they had and then some to beat the USA. Plus, single elimination puts more importance on each possession more than the NBA regular season games or playoffs.
My biggest question is why the legendary Gregg Popovich, arguably the greatest of all time, and in my opinion the best defensively-minded coach ever, chose the lineup he did. Harrison Barnes against Rudy Gobert? That’s a five inch and thirty-five pound difference between the two. Barnes is not a center last time I checked. Granted, Popovich was quite limited with the roster he had, but regardless, this seemed to be a disaster in the making.
Other factors contributing to this huge upset include the aggressive, “leave it all on the court” plays from the NY Knicks’ Frank Ntilikina and Orlando Magic’s Evan Fournier. Of course, these two teams have little motivation to compete against the elite teams of the NBA, especially in the east. However, this means they were more motivated than ever to play their best game for the pride of their country. For example, Ntilikina was an absolute pest to Kemba Walker. Despite his impressive ball-handling skills, Walker struggled to bring the ball up the court and run the point because of the relentless pursuit by Ntilikina. He truly covered Walker all ninety-four feet of the court, giving him no breathing room even for a second. That really goes to show how passionate these French players were. Fournier was France’s top scorer, and Rudy Gobert, the back-to-back defensive player of the year, made it difficult for USA to gain points in the paint. Plus, as I previously mentioned, we simply didn’t have the size and length to go up against France, particularly Rudy Gobert. He had twenty-three points, sixteen rebounds, and three blocks. Ultimately, he exceeded expectations in successfully fulfilling his role on both sides of the court.
It is often regarded that the pick and roll play is the most difficult to defend in the game, dating all the way back to the 1950s. Gobert thrived in these screen plays. He articulated his emotions after the game from the heart, saying “[This is] something I’ve dreamed about since I was a child” and that it “will be a moment we all talk about for the rest of our lives.” Disappointed as we are in America falling far short of usual expectations, it is at least rewarding to respect opponents’ happiness, sportsmanship, and competitiveness.
This dangerous trifecta for France dominated the first quarter and while it was a close game in the second and third quarters, France was able to close. There were several impressive plays by team USA, demonstrating the superior athleticism. Most notably, Jaylen Brown’s bounce pass assist to Donovan Mitchell, who proceeded to spring effortlessly off the court and into the air for a motivational dunk. So where did team USA go so wrong in the fourth quarter? Surely Pop could close in such a game as he has many times before. I suspect that this is because the general atmosphere around NBA players competing for their country has began to decline, a pattern has shown.
LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 17: Paul George #13 of the USA Basketball Men’s National Team poses for a portrait on July 17, 2016 at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2016 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
In a postgame interview, Coach Popovich emulated great sportsmanship as always. When he got in the locker-room, I don’t even want to how terrible the chewing out was. The greatest leaders know how to lead by example, even in defeat (which is quite rare for him). This is what he had to say: “I think it’s a disrespectful notion to even bring something like [the superstars who opted out] up. That’s disrespectful to France and whoever else is in this tournament. France beat us. It doesn’t matter who was on the team.”
Joe Harris also commented “It’s tough for us. Everyone is hurting right now for sure. We wanted to come out here and compete for a gold medal, but we don’t have anything to necessarily hang our heads about. We still played our asses off.” As much as that’s the case, sometimes giving it your all still isn’t enough, especially when an opponent works just as hard as you, if not more so. His words do offer a silver lining in all this. The truth is, and everyone knows this, failures and defeats are the most instructive and constructive parts of life. I feel confident about the Olympic team, where it’s clear to the players that this tournament is the ultimate showcase. Now, we the fans, the players, and coaches alike have something to prove, similar to when the 2004 Olympic team fell well short, but the 2008 team, AKA the “Redeem Team” played clearly with more passion, focus, and general ferocity.
USA’s top scorer Donovan Mitchell had twenty-nine points but none in the fourth quarter, had this to say regarding high profile players choosing not to participate: “If [best players] didn’t want to come here, that’s on them. They didn’t want to play? They didn’t want to play,” I know how I feel, I know how those guys feel, that’s where my head’s at. We have 12 guys who came here to compete for America, just like every other country. It sucks that some of our country people don’t feel that way about it, but we don’t care. We wanted to compete and we did.” I’ve always been fascinated by the strong yet humble mentality of some athletes, especially the best and those with high work ethic. They have an innate ability to do the best they can do regardless of a score, doubt, or any other reason to check out or cruise to the finish. Cliché, but it’s nonetheless true that success often comes from not only playing three competitive quarters, but also finding an “extra gear” to help close out the 4th down the stretch. Mitchell is one of the NBA’s favorite rising stars among all fan bases. His comments and “keep it real” attitude add to the young star’s likability and respect.
So, credit’s due where credit’s due. You could argue this was team USA’s game to lose, but to me it seems more like France’s game to win. Consider this, France won the FIFA World Cup last year. French nationalism is a growing movement, so there’s no doubt France was more motivated, as opposed to the USA players who were young and finding it harder to see why this tournament is worth playing- especially after Paul George’s gruesome injury with the team in 2014. Logically, this has deterred many, especially the country’s best talents, from participating. I understand that, as much as it’s disappointing for USA basketball fans, it’s more important to consider what these athletes who have so much to gain and or lose. Put yourself in their place- a severely broken leg hurts like hell, and like ACL tears, Achilles ruptures, and other musculoskeletal injuries require tedious, frustrating, and perhaps hardest of all, a fierce and unshakable mentality to do everything they can to get as close as they can to their former selves. And even then, there’s no guarantee. Who would want to have to endure all of this and know in the back of their minds they may never achieve the potential they once had?
It’s not as though the team completely lacked sufficient talent and coaching. Unfortunately, it comes down to the players questioning the risk versus reward in playing in the FIBA World Cup. Hopefully, the results in the Olympics next year will be better. Unlike the FIFA world cup, which holds more importance than soccer in the Olympics, it’s the reverse for basketball. Getting the gold is all that matters, and I hope to see a deeper, more talented roster that will settle for nothing less than the top podium. It’s not simply wishful, optimistic thinking team USA will win gold next year. It’s an expectation, as always, and more probable than not. The way I see it, this relatively short-handed team had everything to lose but not so much to gain, considering USA often dominates international games. But now, going forward, I foresee a revitalized spirit and drive for American players to gain back what they’ve lost in this game. Not just the game- it’s more than that, and I think players like Mitchell have a strong understanding of this reality. Sports in general have huge impact on improving communities nationwide and supply a unique motivation for people involved. Whether you’re a die-hard enthusiast or just a casual fan, we’re all behind the team as a whole, and athletes at an individual level.
-Crawford Edwards, Team Out of Sight Sports Vice President. Edited by: Josh Davis
Kevin Durant is a man who hates to dwell in the past, possibly because he can’t stand all the bad memories that are there. A lot of his time at OKC still haunts him. With that being said, his departure from the Warriors to the Nets was much smoother than his last one, despite his terrible injury in the Game 5 of The Finals that could possibly be career altering.
While being interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, who published a piece about this discussion, KD discusses the road he had to take to reach this entire new reality– the decision to join the Brooklyn Nets along side Kyrie Irving, inking the largest contract in the history of the franchise. (4 yrs, $164m)
The Back-to-back champ and Finals MVP has not been back to the Oaktown since he suffered a gruesome ruptured Achilles tendon during Game 5 of the NBA Finals in Toronto. He told The Wall Street Journal that he even hired his team to do the entire moving out process.
He knew his run with Golden State was coming to an end.
“It didn’t feel as great as it could have been,” Durant told the Wall Street Journal.
KD’s reasoning behind that feeling was fan anxiety, media speculation and the “business” of the NBA, which he considers the ugly and grotesque side of the association.
“Some days I hate the circus of the NBA,” Durant told the famous Journal. “Some days I hate that the players let the NBA business, the fame that comes with the business, alter their minds about the game. Sometimes I don’t like being around the executives and politics that come with it. I hate that.”
KD added this as well: “We talk about mental health a lot. … We only talk about it when it comes to players. We need to talk about it when it comes to executives, media, fans.”
Those same implications still cause Durant to look back on his time with the Thunder as a resentful time, where he spent eight seasons after the franchise moved to OKC from Seattle after his rookie season in 07-08. He said the positive and affirmative relationships he had established with the Thunder organization over those 8 years totally disappeared once he chose to sign with Golden State as a free agent after the 2016 season; Where Draymond Green famously called KD in the parking lot after blowing the first 3-1 finals lead in NBA history to Cleveland telling KD they needed him.
“People coming to my house and spray-painting on the for sale signs around my neighborhood,” Durant recalled after he made his decision, “People making videos in front of my house and burning my jerseys and calling me all types of crazy names.”
Durant remains irate because he feels like that “venomous” emotion toward him from those angry fans still discomforts him
“Such a venomous toxic feeling when I walked into that arena [after joining the Warriors],” Durant said to the Wall Street Journal. “And just the organization, the trainers and equipment managers, those dudes is pissed off at me? Ain’t talking to me? I’m like, ‘Yo, this is where we going with this? Because I left a team and went to play with another team?’
“I’ll never be attached to that city again because of that. I eventually wanted to come back to that city and be part of that community and organization, but I don’t trust nobody there. That s— must have been fake, what they was doing. The organization, the GM, I ain’t talked to none of those people, even had a nice exchange with those people, since I left.”
Even though he said, “some days I hate the NBA,” Durant still expressed love his clear love for the league.
“Without basketball, I wouldn’t have done much on earth,” Durant said in the interview. “I wouldn’t have seen stuff that I’ve seen, compared to my friends I grew up with.”
“Jalen Hurts was the Most Impressive Quarterback from Week One”
By: jrd@ii
One of the main influences in the decision for Jalen Hurts when it came to choosing a new school was his desire to put himself in the position to increase his draft stock and help develop into a better 2020 NFL Draft prospect. His choice was a first-class one for the veteran national champ (1-2 in 3 appearances) based on what we saw in week one. But, he has quite some high expectations following in the footsteps of Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, who obviously both won the Heisman back to back the last 2 years and went on to be the first picks in the draft. Clearly, Lincoln Riley has a talent when it comes maximizing his quarterbacks potential and putting them in a situation to win the Heisman. Jalen Hurts ultimately was able to win the job and put himself in the prime position to do so. If he does, Oklahoma would break Ohio State and Archie Griffin’s record that the school is currently tied with for most consecutive Heisman trophy winners. (2)
Hurts’ ability to throw the football downfield has significantly improved since he won the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year as a freshman in 2016. If the No. 4 Sooners’ season-opening victory against Houston showed us anything, it was that the Sooners are not planning to leave him in the pocket. QB run plays were not only a part of the blueprint heading into the season opener, but were very satisfactory as Hurts had a career day from the field. He was 20-23 with 332 yards in the air and three touchdown passes and rushed for an additional 176 yards, 16 carries and another 3 touchdowns as he eclipsed a career-high of 508 total offensive yards. If another Sooner QB wins another consecutive Heisman, they might have to rename it, “The Lincoln Riley Trophy.”
Everybody in the country thought that Auburn was going to get blown out after a horrific start. At a point, every unit played about as terrible as possible. Bo Nix threw two interceptions in the first half making some think that he may not be the man for the job, and the Tiger’s defense allowed a whopping 176 yards and 14 points in only the first quarter. Their special teams also allowed several huge returns while Anders Carlson missed a field goal that could very well have changed the result of the game.
When it’s all said and done, none of that mattered. The Tigers survived, scoring 21 unanswered points walking out of Arlington with a 27-21 victory over #11 Oregon. Auburn clearly made several adjustments to slow down the Ducks offense, which looked pretty solid at many times. When the 2nd half started, the Tigers flipped a switch and seized all momentum. We witnessed Bo Nix, who has dreamed of being Auburn’s QB all of his life, win his first career start leading the Tigers back to victory. His clutch touchdown pass to Seth Williams with only nine seconds to play gave Auburn its one and only lead of the night, as Auburn fans celebrated another incredible, last-minute finish.
Down 21-20, Auburn crucially stopped the Ducks on fourth down and then went on to force a punt on two straight drives in the fourth. With everything on the line, the Tigers faced a forth down and Bo Nix got a first down by the nose of the football on a gutsy run. A sideline pass to Seth Williams put Auburn in field goal range at the 26-yard line stopping the clock with under 30 seconds, but Coach Malzahn tried for the end zone one more time. Nix and the Tigers came through and delivered in the clutch. One-on-one coverage on Williams turned into a mismatch fast for Oregon, and Williams heroically caught the ball falling across the goal line to win the game in dramatic fashion. That could end up being one of the biggest moments of the Tigers season if they can stick around with the rest of the SEC West. After an excessive celebration penalty, the Duck’s went for it all and threw it out through the back of the endzone as time expired.
It was a tale of two halves for the Auburn QB, who went a mediocre 6-18 for 91 yards and threw 2 ugly picks before the half. Auburn’s line was not giving him enough protection. He was obviously shaken up, but he slowed things down in the second half. His numbers weren’t absurd (7-14 for 86 yards and 2 TD’s) but he helped lead the Tigers to three scoring drives and the they slowly, but effectively, started to wear down a physical Oregon defense. This resulted in the Tigers walking out of AT&T stadium 1-0 after a CLOSE call, defeating the Ducks 27-21 in Arlington to kickoff the season.
OutOfSightSports 