Machine Makes History

This has been a history making week in Major League Baseball. Hitting a home run, at any level, is tough to do. Hitting it in the Majors is special. Doing it as many times as Albert Pujols has, that's hitting rare air. Pujols, Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds. That's it. Those are the only four guys in the history of the game to hit more than 700 home runs.

Oh and there's more to it as well. In the 11-0 win by the Cards over the Dodgers last night, it was a two dinger night, which were numbers 699 and m700. The only man to hit the final two on the same night. And he's hall of fame resume is growing even more. Those five RBI for Albert last night put him at 2,208 for his career, which ranks second all time behind Aaron's 2,297. He also crossed 1,400 extra-base hits, benchmarks reached by only Aaron and Bonds. Oh and Albert and Aaron are the only members of the700 club to collect more than 3,000 hits. Its also worth noting that Albert joined Ted Williams as the only men in history to have 20 home runs seasons in their first and final seasons in the game.

There's no doubt in anybody mind that Albert will be in Cooperstown by the time he's eligible. He's one of if not the greatest hitter of this generation. For 22 seasons and over 3,000 games, Albert has been nothing short of amazing. His consistency has never been in question. Yes the batting average has dipped as he's gotten older, but the power and RBI numbers have generally been the same.

The numbers speak for themselves. Over 3,999 hits and over 2,000 RBI. Rookie of the year, three time MVP, eleven time all star, two gold gloves, a batting title and six silver sluggers. Albert also seemed to have a knack for hitting milestone home runs in a dramatic fashion. He hit 699 and 700 on the same night. Did the same thing with 499 and 500. Oh and 600 was a grand slam.

Congratulations to one of the greatest hitters of all time and the best hitter of this generation.

Best & Worst NFL Week Two

Been a little while since we've done one of these. Missed out on week one but won't be doing that again this season. We will have the best and worst returning for the 2022 NFL season. Week two saw plenty to talk about. Upsets and impressive comebacks all over the field. Guys getting hurt and others standing up for their teammates. So lets just dive right into it. Here's some of the best and worst from the week that was in the NFL

Best: Tua Tagovailoa, Quarterback Miami Dolphins
In one of the early front runners for game of the year, the Dolphins made a fantastic comeback, to the tune of a 42-38 win over the Ravens. Yes he was picked off twice and sacked once. But Tua also went 36 of 50 for an eye popping 469 yards and six touchdowns. yes he threw for SIX touchdowns. To make this even more impressive, just look at what Tua did in the 4th quarter. Miami was down 35-14 going into the 4th, Tagovailoa completed 13 of 17 passes for 199 yards and four touchdowns. And all that coming over the final 15 minutes of play. Impressive, most impressive.

Best: New York Jets
Down 30-17 and under two minutes left, it didn't look good for Gang Green. But then a miracle happened. The Jets scored twice in the final two minutes, New York pulled off a 31-30 victory. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes late to pull off the comeback. Garrett Wilson had a massive day for the Jets, with the rookie hauling in eight catches for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the game winner. The fact that the Jets managed to pull this game out, says a lot about the determination. It was a big win for Gang Green.

Best: Stefon Diggs, Wide Receiver Buffalo Bills
There seems to be no stopping the Buffalo Bills this season. They're off to a 2-0 start following a 41-7 whipping of the Titans on Monday night. Stefon Diggs has been a primary weapon in Buffalo for a while now and he showed that off again on Monday night. Diggs hauled in 12 catches for 148 yards and three touchdowns. Diggs has become Josh Allen favorite target and its performances like this that we can see why. Diggs has taken his game to an even higher level while playing in Buffalo, and is going to be a huge reason why the Bills could go very far in the playoffs

Best: Mike Evans Tampa Bay Bucaneers
It's not so much his performance numbers that got him on this list, its what he did for his team that was a big help. Tampa walked away with a 20-10 win over the Saints. Evans had three catches for 61 yards, leading the Bucs in receiving yards. but he did something bigger then that. he stood up for his teammates. Marshawn Lattimore had been all over the place for the Saints, getting under the Bucs skin. Evans had enough of it and got into it with Lattimore. Both men got ejected, and Evans got a one game suspension for his actions (which he's appealing as of writing). The fact that Evans stood up to Lattimore again, which has happened twice in the past with the two men, shows that Evans is tired of seeing his teammates get pushed around. Good on Evans for taking the stand he did against Lattimore.

Worst: Nathaniel Hackett, Head Coach Denver Broncos
Its been a rough first couple weeks on the job for Hackett in Denver. First he decides to go for the field goal on 4th and 5 instead of giving the ball to Russel and have him try to win it. Then it happened again this Sunday. Lucky for the Broncos they came away with a 16-9 win over an even worse team in Houston. He's had big problems with clock and timeout management during the 2nd half. It got so bad that Broncos fans were booing and loudly. He had burned all his timeouts before we had gone under 8 minutes in regulation. This isn't good. Lucky for him the Broncos are a 1-1 team after two weeks. If this keeps up though, Hackett won't last long in the mile high city.

Worst: Joe Burrow, Quarterback Cincinnati Bengals
At this point, after starting 0-2, I'm really starting to feel bad for Joe Burrow. It was a bad day for Burrow, as not only the Cowboys beat the Bengals 20-17, it was made even worse with his performance. He is coming off getting sacked seven times against the Steelers in week one. Now in week two, he threw three interceptions and lost a fumble. Oh and he was sacked another six times by a pretty good Dallas defense. Turning the ball over, that does fall on Burrow in the poor performance departement. But it also has to fall on his offensive line as well, for failing to protect the star QB for the 2nd week in a row.

Worst: Matt Ryan Quarterback Indianapolis Colts
Sunday was a rough go of it for not only the Colts, but Matt Ryan as well. Indy lost 24-0 to Jacksonville. That now marks eight straight losses for the Colts to the Jags. Eight. Straight. That's eye popping to think about for the Colts. Oh and it gets worse when you look at the play of Matt Ryan on Sunday. Ryan went 16 of 30 for 195 yards and three picks. The picks have come at horrible times in this game. Oh and to make matters worse, when you realize that the last three times that the Colts have been shut out have all come at the hands of the Jags.

Worst: Gunner Olszewski, Wide Receiver Pittsburgh Steelers
There had been some level of hope for Olszewski. He was a highly touted punt returner for the Patriots. And when New England finds a player, its usually a good thing. The Pats have the ability to un earth talented guys like that. Well when Olszewski left New England, he went to Pittsburgh. He faced his old team on Sunday, a game in which the Patriots won 17-14. He had one of the plays of the day on Sunday, as during Olszewski’s only punt return of the game, he was smacked right in the face by the ball, which then bounced right into the hands of Patriots player Brenden Schooler. Which in turn became a touchdown for the Patriots. Yikes

Rare Air

Hitting 50 home runs in a season is hitting rare air. Hitting 60 or more in a season is even more rare. Nine times total in a season it has happened. The 9th coming last night in the Bronx. Aaron Judge joined the club, hitting his 60th against the Pirates. And he's got two weeks left in the regular season to add to that total.

He's joining some rare company. Judge in 2022 (60 and counting), Babe Ruth in 1927 (60), Roger Marris in 1961 (61), Sammy Sosa in 1998 (66), 1999 (63) and 2001 (64), Mark McGuire in 1998 (70) and 1999 (65) and Barry Bonds in 2001 (73). Judge is only the 3rd American League hitter to club sixty or more dingers in a season.

What's even more amazing about this is how Judge handled it in the post game press conference. He mentioned the milestone home run just once. He talked about the comeback team win at least ten times. That's saying something. It speaks to Judge character and him being a team first guy. And it makes it even more amazing considering this is a contract year. Judge is set to hit the free agent market this winter. We will cross that bridge when we come to it. That's for later on. Now its about Judge having a magical season and the Yankees making a push for a 28th World Title.

Judge, after last night, is now leading the AL in all three triple crown categories. At the time of this writing his hitting .316 (one point above Xander Bogarts of Boston), 60 Home Runs (23 more then Yordan Alverez of Houston) and 128 RBI (13 more then Jose Ramriez of Cleveland). Its really an eye popping number and something that hasn't been done in baseball since Miguel Cabrera did it in Detroit in 2013.

All of this is powering a Yankees team to, at the time of this writing, 89 wins and a five and a half game lead in the AL East. The only American League team that has more wins is the 98 win Astros. The Bombers had looked like they were going to run away with the best record in baseball, but they came back down to earth during August. Now they getting back on the right track with two weeks left in the season. A lot of that has to do with the outstanding hitting of Aaron Judge!

2022 NFL Season Preview

The time has finally arrived. The National Football League season has finally arrived. Thirty Two teams are starting this journey, which will end on February 12th in Arizona with somebody hoisting the Lombardi trophy over their heads.

A lot of changes have gone down between the end of last season and now. We got some new faces in new places.

Marcus Mariota (Atlanta), Mitchell Trubisky (Pittsburgh), Russel Wilson (Denver), Carson Wentz (Washington), Russell Gage (Tampa Bay), Julio Jones (Tampa Bay), Zay Jones (Jacksonville), Jarvis Landry (New Orleans), Allen Robinson (Rams), JuJu Smith-Schuster (Kansas City), Sammy Watkins (Green Bay), Amari Cooper (Cleveland), Davante Adams (Las Vegas), Tyreek Hill (Miami),Evan Engram (Jacxksonville), Austin Hooper(Tennessee), and C. J. Uzomah (Jets) were all on the move on the offensive side of the ball.

On the defensive side of the ball, Dante Fowler (Dallas), Myles Jack (Pittsburgh), Bobby Wagner (Rams), Tyrann Mathieu (Saints), Stephon Gilmore (Colts), Marcus Maye (Saints), and Logan Ryan (Bucs) all got moved on that side of the ball.

Now here's how we see each division going down for the 2022 season.

NFC West:
1. Los Angeles Rams (11-6)*
2. San Francisco 49ers (10-7)(WC)*
3. Arizona Cardinals (9-8)
4. Seattle Seahawks (4-13)

There's nothing to say that, at least on paper, the Rams can repeat as division champs in the West. The core of this team, on both sides of the football is back from a year ago and they are going to be very hard to stop. They have the best defensive player in the game in Aaron Darnold and one of the top wide outs in the sport in Cooper Kupp. San Francisco is going to be a solid team. Jimmy G is locked up through the year and if, for whatever reason he can't go, Trey Lance looks ready to take charge with the team. Sure, there's high risk with this team, but they have the potential. Same potential can come true for Arizona, but that would be shooting for the moon. What's really going to be the test for the Cardinals is how well they can hold up for the first half of the season with not having DeAndre Hopkins. Sure Marquis Brown will be able to fill the void, while Hopkins is out. But at the same time there is too much against Arizona for them to overcome it as a playoff team. Meanwhile, Seattle is in full blow rebuild. Drew Lock is now under center, with Wilson now in Denver. Noah Fant came in to play with DK and Lockett in the pass game, but how much fait do you have in the guy getting them the football?

NFC North
1. Green Bay Packers (12-5*
2. Minnesota Vikings (10-7)(WC)*
3. Detroit Lions (6-11)
4. Chicago Bears (5-12)

Quite a few changes have been made in Green Bay, but one thing is for sure. As long as Aaron Rogers is the teams starting quarterback, they have a good chance to be able to win football games. Davante Adams isn't there anymore, he now in Vegas. Neither is Valdes-Scantling, he's in Kansas City. So enter Sammy Watkins, with Cobb and Lazard. They can still catch. Its going to be the run game of Aaron Jones that's going to carry the offense. Oh and the defense in Green Bay is going to be good, like really good. Minnesota is going to be better, or at least really push the Pack to the limit. A lot of it relies on Kirk Cousins having another stellar year. They got good weapons with Jefferson and Thelian in the pass game. Oh and they have Dalvin Cook in the running game, and he's kind of good. In Detroit, Jared Geoff doesn't have much of a passing attack to work with. Swift is going to be solid in the running game and the pass game with Clark and Williams. That offensive line is one of the best in football and is going to make the run attack better. It just leaves one to wonder how much of a jump forward are they going to make. Then there's Chicago. They've cleaned house with new coach and new management team to try and help bolster the talent around Justin Fields. Chicago lost Mack, Dalton and Robinson, so its going to be an uphill climb. They still have Montgomery and Mooney but lets be real here it's not looking good.

NFC South
1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (12-5)*
2. New Orleans Saints (9-8)
3. Carolina Panthers (8-7)
4. Atlanta Falcons (4-13)

It pretty much looks like a lock that this is Tampa Bay's division again. With Tom Brady back and this loaded roster, this team is going to be scary good. Brady comes back with unfinished business. He's without Gronk, who's just retired. Cameron Brate is now expected to take over at the position and try to fill those shoes. Throw him in with the weapons already here, like Evans, Godwin and adding in Russel Gage, this is going to be really good. Oh and they have one of the top defenses in the entire league, which hasn't really been messed with. There's quite a bit to be optimistic about in New Orleans. Its a little different not having Sean Payton on the sideline, as Dennis Allen now takes over. Kamara is back and adding to a loaded offense. He and Ingram are back as the one two punch. They also have Landry and Thomas catching passes. And they have a defense that could be one of the top five in the entire league. The biggest question is under center. If Winston isn't the turnover machine he's known to be, this could be a playoff team, but you never know which one your going to get. It's not going to be a prefect season in Carolina. Instead of worrying what you going to get out of Sam Darnold, you get a healthy and newly motivated Baker Mayfield. They getting back a healthy Christian McCaffrey and with DJ Moore and Robbie Anderson, there's something here. It's not quite there for a playoff team, but they could be going up. Finally, there's Atlanta, who is going to be a feasting ground for this division. Yes, they got Mariotta under center and drafted Drake Landon. Kyle Pitts is still one of the best threats in the sport from tight end. Other then that, there's nothing much to really talk about coming out of the ATL.

NFC East:
1. Philadelphia Eagles (10-7)*
2. Dallas Cowboys (10-7)(WC)*
3. New York Giants (6-11)
4. Washington Commanders (6-11)

Yes I know its a little bold to pick Philadelphia to win the NFC Eat this year, but it seems like it could possibly be the Eagles time this year. Jalen Hurts can stay healthy, it looks like there's going to be plenty to get excited about in Philly. He's got a new weapon to work with in AJ Brown, to go along with a better adjusted DeVante Smith on the outside. They have a pretty balanced offensive attack that can hang and the defense could be good enough to steal a game or two. Then there's the Cowboys. They have one of the more potent offenses in football, but what could possibly hold up a division title is how consistent they are. Dak went cold during a stretch last season after that great 5-1 start. Who's to say that it might not happen to them again this season. A lot of it depends on his play. The Giants, while still trying to build up to being a threat in the NFC again, took steps in the right direction. They improved their play on their offensive line to try and keep starter Daniel Jones upright. They have targets with Barkely, Golliday and Sheppard. They bolsterd both the offensive and defensive lines. The pieces for Big Blue could start coming together and falling in place, but its going to be a little ways away before they find their groove again. Then in Washington, the have Wentz still under center and Terry McClain as his top target, but outside of that, there isn't much there to work with. Wentz has a bit better of a line to work with then he did last year in Indy but that's not saying much. Going to be a long year in DC.

AFC West:
1. Kansas City Chiefs (13-4)*
2. Los Angeles Chargers (12-5)(WC)*
3. las Vegas Raiders (9-8)
4. Denver Broncos (9-8)

This is the toughest division in football, and its going to be for a long time. Kansas City is still the top of the class in the division and they will be again this year. Sure Hill is gone but they brought in JuJu and Valdes-Scantling to go along wioth tight end Kelce. And Patrick Mahomes is still Patrick Mahomes. He's gonna be good no matter what (unless he's hurt). They have a solid run attack with Jones and Edwards-Helaire. They have a pretty good defense in Kansas City that's going to cause a lot of problems for opposing teams. The biggest threat to KC this year in this division is going to be the Chargers. Defensively, adding Khalil Mack was a huge move to make that side of the ball even better. They are scary good and are going to be again for a long time. Los Angeles too is going to be really good, with Justin Herbert getting better and better every year. He's got Allen  and Williams catching passes, while Eckler will be taking the handoffs. Its a balanced offensive attack for the Chargers. The only thing is the defense is a little behind what they got going in KC, which is why the a wild card team. Now you have a team in the Raiders that are starting to take steps in the right direction. Adams and Cole were brought in as big threats in the passing game. Them with Waller and Renfro are plenty for Carr to work with and it could be good. But how good is their blocking game and the other side of the football? Finally, there's Denver, who already took a huge step in the right direction by trading and signing Russel Wilson to a new deal. He got Judy and Suttfierld to work with in the air attack. They not quite there yet, but they already taken a huge step in the right direction.

AFC North:
1. Cincinnati Bengals (11-6)*
2. Baltimore Ravens (10-7)(WC)*
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-9)
4. Cleveland Browns (7-10)

This is going to be a tight race at the top of this division all year long. Cincinnati still has the edge. Sure they got a few breaks last year, but they have a great offensive line that will be able to take care of Joe Burrow. He got a good one behind him in Mixon to hand the ball too. Through the air, he has Boyd, Chase, and Higgins to work with, so there a good chance to see the ball spread around quite a bit. Baltimore might take a step back just a bit this year, losing Hollywood Brown and Sammy Watkins. Lamar can still make plenty of plays and spread the ball around. On the other side of the ball, the Ravens looked horrible last year, but the addressed issues in the offseason and improved. Good for a Wild Card spot but will still be behind the Bengals. As for the Steelers, the Kenny Pickett era has arrived, they hope. He and Mitch are now in town and were working under center during camp so we going to see how that's going to play out. They have a great young back in the form of Harris, but the passing game taken a step back this year. Could be close to being the first ever losing season under Mike Tomlin. The only team that could be in worse shape this year could be Cleveland. They for some reason got rid of Baker after adding Deshaun Watson, which made no sense. And Watson is out the first eleven games of the season due to suspension. They did bring in Cooper to add a threat along with Nick Chubb, but there a lot of problems still with the Browns which is keeping them back a little while longer.

AFC South:
1. Indianapolis Colts (10-7)*
2. Tennessee Titans (8-9)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (6-11)
4. Houston Texans (5-12)

The only division in this conference that's going to have one team finish over .50e0 and its the division winning Colts. Biggest plus for Indy was adding Matt Ryan. Its a pretty good one two punch in the running attack. He's got good receivers with Pierce and Pittman. And the Colts have the 12th best line in all of football. And they got better for adding to the pass rush adding Yannick Ngakoue and getting better in the secondary with Stephon Gilmore. Just a year ago Tennessee was a division winning playoff team. They lost AJ Brown and Julio Jones from a year ago. But now they get a healthy Derreck Henry back in the lineup and they still have Robert Woods in the mix as well. They got Tanahill under center again and with Woods and Hooper catching his passes, it makes Ryan's life a little bit easier. It's not the same as having Brown here, but Woods is still solid never the less. Tennessee is going to take a bit of a step back this year. Jacksonville is going to get better with Trevor Lawrence under center this season. They brought in Kirk, Engram and Zay Jones to play with Marvin Jones and give Lawrence more to work with in his passing attack. The run game is balanced and this team, as a whole, is deeper then its been in a while. And they actually have a competent coach in Doug Petterson instead of an unprepared Urban Meyer. Then in Houston, they're trying to recover from the offseason trainwreck that was the Watson saga. Lovie Smith takes over for a four win team last year that won't be much better this year. Davis Mills takes over under center, while still having Bradin Cooks and newly added Marlon Mack to hand off too. Other then that, there's nothing really going of for the Texans and its gonna be another bad week.

AFC East:
1. Buffalo Bills (14-3)*
2. Miami Dolphins (10-7)(WC)*
3. New England Patriots (9-8)
4. New York Jets (5-12)

This could finally be the year that Buffalo gets over the hump in the conference. Josh Allen is going to have a massive year this season. He can easily hand off to Singeltary and let him do his thing. He also has Diggs still to throw too, as well as Crowder just added. They have a very balanced attack on that side of the ball and a very punishing defense on the other side of it. This is goin to be a very very hard thing to deal with for any team to go up against this year. Right behind them is a retooled and solid looking club down in Miami. Tua has a new toy to play with in the passing game in the form of Tyreek Hill. Him and Waddel make for a deadly pass attack to defend against. Then there's the loaded backfield with Chase Edmonds, Raheem Mostert and Sony Michel. They are well balanced and they are going to be good enough to get back into the playoffs. With New England, they always find a way to be a pest and hang around in the race. DeVante Parker was brough on board to give more threats through the air for Mac Jones to work with. Him and Hunter Henry could make for a good combo. But this is going to be a step back year for the Patriots, there isn't much top really be able to build off of. Finally there's the Jets. Zach Wilson is coming off injuries and wont even start the year, Joe Flacco is getting the nod week one. The weapons aren't where they need to be. Sure they got some good pieces with Hall at backfield. Moore Berrios and Davis are solid weapons to work with through the air. But all around there isn't much hope to rely on for the Jets.

End Of An Era

Doesn't matter what sport you play, you will always find one or two players that are far and away greater than anybody else to ever do it. When it comes to Tennis, Serena Williams is usually one of the first names to appear at the top of the lists. She's had one of the greatest careers in sports and it was coming close to an end. She had said going into the US Open this weekend that this was going to be her final run. That run came to an end with her third round loss.

But what a career it has been.

She started her career in 1995 as just a teenager and has dominated the sport, finishing her career at the age of 40. Her career totals are staggering. She won 858 singles matches, 92 doubles, and 27 mix doubles. Williams has hit it all winning the career grand slams. Williams won seven Australian Opens, seven Wimbeldon titles, three French opens and six US Open titles. All in all, Williams' 23-major mark remains the most by a player, man or woman, in the Open Era.

But her legacy is more than just the titles. She and her sister Venus changed the game. Two black women became a dominating force in the tennis world and paved the way for some of the stars of today of color. Stars like Naomi Osaka, Taylor Townsend and Frances Tiafoe have gone on record to credit the Williams sisters as the biggest reason they picked up a racket and started playing the sport.

The face of women's tennis changed the game forever and helped usher in a whole new era in the game of tennis. She had done so much for the sport from helping new players come in to her endorsements, and of course all those title wins.

There isn't much more high praise you can put on Serena then has already been said to this point in her career and her life.

So thanks for the memories and everything in between Serena!