-You know the sports season is rough when I can truly say that watching players I’ve never heard of at Wimbledon is somewhat entertaining. I’m going with Marin Cilic to upset and win the Men’s Singles and Caroline Wozniacki on the Women’s side.
-Then again, what the hell do I know about tennis…?
-Anything Wimbledon > next Monday’s Home Run Derby. I have always cared little about it and sold my tickets when the competition was here in 2011.
-I used to get excited for the MLB All-Star Game but now that means nothing since it doesn’t determine home field advantage. And speaking of, for those who thought the AL winning last season hurt the Cubs, please note how Kyle Schwarber got to DH four times instead of three. Who led off the 10th inning of Game 7 with a hit? Exactly.
-Speaking of the most-talented and underachieving 42-43 team of at least the last decade, team president Theo Epstein’s solution is “Our biggest fixes are inside the clubhouse.” Maybe so from a hitting standpoint but the pitching STINKS! Make some damn trades, please! Sincerely, Cubs fans everywhere.
-And speaking of the underachieving this season, this article sums it up perfectly…give it a quick read Cubs fans. If you don’t want to click the link, here’s the title for you: “The Cubs Have One of the Worst Championship Hangovers Ever.”
-One bonus Cubs item: how the hell do NO players who won the World Series last year make the National League All-Star team? Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo are definitely deserving. I’m not going to be watching this meaningless game…that’s a freakin’ guarantee!
-Wow Fernando Rodney, last night’s 9th inning was as spectacular a meltdown as I’ve ever seen. If the D-Backs don’t make Archie Bradley the closer immediately, someone isn’t thinking straight. Oh yeah, I also had a 3-teamer riding on AZ. Sickening.
-Then again, I also blame Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo. It was clear as night that after the first two batters, Rodney wasn’t getting out of the inning. WARM SOMEONE UP SOONER! PULL HIM!
-So Gordon Hayward finally made up his mind to sign with the Celtics for “less money” than had he re-signed in Utah. Those same Jazz fans who are super pissed about this decision also have to realize that Hayward or no Hayward, your team wasn’t going to contend for anything substantial in the Western Conference with him either.
-Honestly, I’ll take Boston over Cleveland in the East next season. Yes the Cavs and LeBron James are more talented but will King James be thinking about bolting for LA before late-June. That’s my early prediction…and I’m sticking to it.
-I can’t wait to see the letter Dan Gilbert writes to the fans next Summer when LeBron leaves. His last one was fairly memorable…and once you re-read it, you wonder why LBJ ever wanted to play for this guy again.
-Which happens first, #TheTimeline is a success for the Suns…or I find a girl who actually would want to marry me? When I say a success, that means the team is at least a final four team in the Western Conference. At the current rate things are going, both look bleak at the moment and in the near term.
-CollegeFootballNews.com, which is a very smart website covering the sport, predicts both UofA and ASU to make bowl games this season. What do they see that I don’t? Both teams probably have a ceiling of 7 wins and a floor of 4. Let’s say both get to 6-6, do Rich Rodriguez and Todd Graham make it to 2018?
-I started to do some college football preparation this week and after looking at both teams schedule, I might also be wrong about my Alabama-Florida State winner not making the CFB playoffs prediction. Both schedules look pretty darn favorable to me.
-Looking for a dark horse CFB team to contend for a national championship and one of it’s players for the Heisman Trophy? Penn State and its running back, Saquon Barkley.
-In a future column, I’ll explore my best bets for college and pro football teams in terms of their over / under win totals in Vegas, but I just noticed that the Patriots are at 12.5. How is the over/under so low for a potential incredible team? I would bet my life savings on the over (if I had any left at this rate). In looking at New England’s schedule, I only found three potential losses (@Bucs, @Broncos, @Steelers) but as you know, I’m picking a 16-0 regular season for them.
-Being at the horse races in Del Mar (two weeks away) can’t come soon enough at this rate! This is apparently how I’ll make my money this Summer…
-Or I can wager on NFL preseason games next month!? Probably not a wise idea…don’t encourage me.
Cohen's Corner 