Cleveland Rocks
As someone who considers himself a die-hard supporter of his teams, it always pains me to root for somebody else, especially when we’re in the regular season and my teams are still in it. But come on, how could you not be cheering on the Cleveland Indians over the past several weeks? Before their incredible streak ended on Friday night to the Kansas City Royals, the Tribe had won 22 games in a row, a modern record (the New York Giants went 27 games without a loss in 1916, but the streak included a tie). In the process, they took control of an AL Central that had been deadlocked as recently as late August and established themselves as heavy favorites to win the World Series. Cleveland hit 41 homers over the streak and only gave up 36 runs total. Corey Kluber continued his godlike second-half run, bringing his ERA and WHIP down below 2.50 and .90 respectively and seizing control of the Cy Young race that Chris Sale earlier seemed to have in the bag. Francisco Lindor salvaged his slow start to the year by becoming arguably the best player in baseball. Carlos Carrasco struck out 34 against one walk. Backup catcher Roberto Perez hit .382/.447/.765. They’ve done this whole thing without established stars Andrew Miller, Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley. I have no words!
Baker, I Salute You
And I want you to take back that apology! Planting the Oklahoma flag in the middle of Ohio State’s field after last week’s 31-16 victory wasn’t disrespectful, it was freaking badass! Okay, maybe it was a little disrespectful, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have done it. I’m not saying that I don’t care about people being respectful in real life, but sports are a break from reality that I really think people should learn to take less seriously. Sure, get mad at Mayfield if you’re an OSU fan, that’s to be expected. But that’s a good thing, getting mad at your opponents is part of what makes sports fun! At the end of the day, he’s a college kid who got really excited after a huge victory that he earned for himself; it’s not like he killed a guy. Besides, if you don’t want to be disrespected in the future, try a little harder and win the game.
And You, Giorgio, My Italian Bro
Let’s give this this guy some serious props, he’s like a real-life Rudy. You know, if Rudy was actually a badass who ended up having a tangible impact on his team winning the game. Giorgio Tavecchio has been trying to make an NFL roster since 2012 but didn’t get signed to an active roster until the day before this season’s opener, when longtime Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski was placed on the injured reserve with a back injury. He then proceeded to go 4/4 on field goals, including two from 52 yards out, all of which perfectly split the uprights. Let’s not overreact, but he might be the greatest kicker of all time.
