No Crying in Baseball
Unless you’re a Dodgers fan, in which case, you still have tears in your eyes. But, the show must go on and in this case, the shows are the American League and National League Championship series.
In the National League, the St. Louis Cardinals will face the Washington Nationals, who have advanced to the Championship series for the first time since moving to our nation’s capital from Montreal. The series begins tonight in St. Louis at 5:08 pm PT.
Over in the American League, it will be the New York Yankees, who swept the Minnesota Twins, facing the 2017 World Series Champion Houston Astros. First pitch is Saturday at 5:08 pm PT.
The Undefeated Brady Bunch
It was a Thursday Night Football matchup for the ages – well, not exactly. It was more like David vs. Goliath when the now 2-4 New York Giants traveled to Gillette Stadium to meet Tom Brady and the 6-0 New England Patriots.
The Giants held their own for a while, but shockingly (said no one), the Patriots were too much, routing Danny Dimes and the G-men, 35-14. Tom Brady didn’t have his most efficient evening, but it didn’t matter. He still had two touchdown runs, while New England also forced four turnovers and returned a blocked punt for a touchdown.
Brady also passed Peyton Manning for second place on the NFL’s all-time passing yards list. This team is like a well-oiled machine, a machine that works even when a part has to leave the game or isn’t performing like it should.
All is Not Quiet on the Western Front
We’ve got a couple of big NFC division matchups to look forward in Week 6 Fangirl Nation and the first one is out west.
On Sunday, the 4-0 San Francisco 49ers travel to Los Angeles to take on the division rival, and struggling, Rams. The defending NFC champs are coming off back-to-back losses to the Tampa Buccaneers and the Seattle Seahawks.
The 49ers will have to face Aaron Donald without both of their starting tackles and without FB Kyle Juszczyk, whose blocks have been integral to the run game.
Sunday’s game will also be a defining one for both starting quarterbacks. Can Jared Goff bounce back and stop the Rams’ skid? Can Jimmy Garoppolo dominate in the air without the run? Check back with us Monday.
Northern Lights on Monday Night
The 2-1-1 Detroit Lions have surprised the NFL with their play thus far. It’s been far from perfect, but they still look better than most thought they would, with their one loss coming on a close one to the Kansas City Chiefs. However, they will be spending Monday night in Green Bay playing Aaron Rodgers and his 4-1 Packers, so…
The Lions have given up 499 rushing yards, over 1100 passing yards, and 10 touchdowns in their four games so far. The Packers are averaging 93 rush yards and 244 passing yards a game. Look for Green Bay running back Aaron Jones (so many Aarons) to be a big part of the Packers’ offense.
Defensively, Green Bay has recorded 15 sacks, so look out Matthew Stafford. Our bet is on the home team for this one, but on any given Monday, or something like that.
Baker, Sherman, and the Handshake
Cleveland Browns’ quarterback Baker Mayfield had a terrible game against the San Francisco 49ers Monday night, like awful. On top of that, 49ers’ DE Nick Bosa trolled him with the now infamous flag planting move. And on top of that, cornerback Richard Sherman criticized Mayfield for not shaking his hand before the coin toss.
But ESPN said not so fast on that one. They have video of the two shaking hands midfield. So Sherman said “Mea Culpa” and Mayfield said thanks, basically. He also joked, “[t]hat’s the one time the camera and something recording me has gone in my favor.”
And that my friends is all she wrote, figuratively and literally, because this is the last slide.