Happy Monday sports fans, it’s Chris Bengel back once again to guide you through another week. We had a great weekend of sports action — despite some nasty weather in the northeast — with everything from MLB to NFL preseason to soccer getting into full swing.
Speaking of soccer, I never fancied myself as a big soccer fan growing up. I’d watch the World Cup and root for the United States out of pride for my country. I also tried getting into the MLS on several occasions, but it never really held my attention.
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However, over the last year, I’ve watched the Premier League, Champions League, Ligue 1 and Serie A and have enjoyed it so much. Several of these international leagues are extremely entertaining and that’s not hard to do with some of the best players in the world taking part.
I’ve also became a Paris Saint-Germain supporter in recent years (hey, I rooted for PSG before Lionel Messi signed). One of the biggest reasons is the accessibility that fans have to the sport. You can watch various leagues on Paramount +, among other networks, and have instant highlights available at your fingertips. If you’ve never been a huge soccer fan before, give it another chance.
Anyway, let’s get to the sports news (we have some soccer mixed in there!)
📰 What you need to know
1. Hurricane Henri wreaks havoc on final round of Northern Trust Open ⛳
The East Coast of the United States was hit with heavy rain and storms as a result of Hurricane Henri over the weekend. Due to a tropical storm warning being in effect in most of the northeast, the final round of The Northern Trust Open, which is being played in Jersey City, New Jersey, was pushed from Sunday to Monday.
The latest update is that play is scheduled to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The rainy and windy conditions likely would’ve been a large obstacle for golfers if Round 4 was played on Sunday. Instead, the action was pushed to Monday — but there’s still rain in the forecast, as CBS Sports’ golf scribe Kyle Porter pointed out. This is the opening round of the 2021 FedEx Cup Playoffs, so it isn’t exactly ideal. But it’s not the end of the world.
The second round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs is set to be played in Maryland, which is not terribly far from New Jersey. If the final round is postponed another day, it’s not like travel plans will be heavily impacted.
Enough about the weather, though:
To me, golf on a Monday is always fun. Tournaments usually begin on Thursday, so it’s not like we don’t see golf during the work week. However, golf on a Monday is extra exciting because it is not that common. Golf on a Tuesday, potentially? Sign me up for that as well.
2. Miguel Cabrera joins 500 home run club ⚾
Entering Sunday, there were 27 players in MLB history that hit 500 home runs over the course of their professional careers. With one swing of the bat in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera joined that illustrious club as he connected on the 500th home run of his career.
Cabrera is currently not the dangerous power hitter that he once was earlier in his career. The Tigers star had accumulated 446 home runs through the 2016 season and looked to be on the verge of joining the 500 home run club years ago. However, Cabrera combined to hit just 29 home runs over the next three seasons.
But even if Cabrera did slow down, he still is one of the most talented hitters to ever step into a batter’s box.
CBS Sports baseball scribe Matt Snyder took a look at which players could reach 500 home runs in the coming years. There’s quite a few stars across Major League Baseball that could reach this plateau.
- Nelson Cruz — Age: 41, home runs: 443
- Mike Trout — Age: 30, home runs: 310
- Freddie Freeman — Age: 31 season, home runs: 267
- Bryce Harper — Age: 28, home runs: 255
Let’s go back to Miggy for a minute. It seems like just yesterday that Cabrera burst onto the scene during the Florida Marlins’ World Series run back in 2003. He debuted at just 20 years old. Despite being a Philadelphia Phillies fan, I loved watching Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis play for that Marlins team.
When Cabrera hangs up his cleats, it’ll be a sad day for the game. Until then, let’s continue to enjoy watching him play.
3. The return of Serie A featured some serious Cristiano Ronaldo drama ⚽
The Serie A season is now underway and it’s safe to say that there was quite a bit of drama during opening weekend. One game was decided by just one goal and another ended in a draw. Let’s start off by touching on the action in the game that was easily the most talked about in the soccer world on Sunday.
Juventus and Udinese played to a 2-2 draw, but the closing moments were absolute chaos.
- Juventus ended up jumping out a 2-0 lead before Udinese came roaring back as they tied the game in the 83rd minute on a blunder of a pass by Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny
- With the action being tied 2-2 late in the match, Cristiano Ronaldo looked like he was about to play hero. He headed the ball into the back of the net in the 93rd minute to give Juventus the lead, but VAR intervened and disallowed the goal
- The match ended in a draw
This is the type of theater that sports fans live for. The complete swing of emotions with Juventus owning a two-goal lead to blowing that advantage to thinking that they had the match won all in a 95-minute stretch is what can make the sport of soccer so magical.
And here’s some more Serie A notes for you to read:
4. Recapping NFL preseason action 🏈
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The NFL preseason is in full swing and we had a great deal of action over the weekend. Of course, we don’t see some of the league’s biggest stars play in extended stretches much throughout the preseason, but there’s still plenty on the line for players across the NFL.
There were just two preseason games on Sunday’s slate, but they were both fairly competitive. In the afternoon portion, the Cleveland Browns defeated the New York Giants, 17-13, for their second win in the preseason.
- Some of the Browns’ bigger offensive stars, like Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb, and Odell Beckham, didn’t suit up for Sunday’s contest, but that didn’t stop Cleveland’s offense from churning along
- The Browns rushed for 163 yards (6.5 yards-per-carry) and were paced by John Kelly, who ran for 58 yards and a touchdown
CBS Sports NFL scribe Bryan DeArdo broke down all of the action and dissected what some of the deciding factors were, noting that, besides dominating with the run, the Browns’ defense also held New York to just 3-of-9 on third down during the game’s first three quarters.
The night ended with the San Francisco 49ers edging the Los Angeles Chargers, 15-10, for their first preseason victory.
- The 49ers were led by rookie quarterback Trey Lance, who threw for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns
- Lance wasn’t flawless as he did toss an interception, but he definitely showcased the raw talent that the 49ers saw when they drafted him at No. 3 in the 2021 NFL Draft
📝 Odds & Ends
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📺 What to watch tonight
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⚾ White Sox at Blue Jays, 7:07 p.m. | TOR +101 | TV: MLB.TV
⚾ Yankees at Braves, 7:20 p.m. | ATL -111 | TV: MLB.TV
⚾ Mariners at Athletics, 9:40 p.m. | OAK -125 | TV: MLB.TV
Best thing I saw on the internet 🏅
Sibling rivalries definitely make for some wholesome content when it comes to sports. We saw Aaron and Austin Nola do battle when the San Diego Padres hosted the Philadelphia Phillies over the weekend. Aaron and Austin’s father, A.J. Nola, was in attendance for Saturday’s game and showed his support for both of his children. A.J. Nola had a Phillies jersey on top for Aaron and a Padres jersey underneath for Austin.
During Saturday’s game, Aaron Nola became the first player in Phillies history to face a position-playing brother and managed to strike out Austin Nola on three pitches in the second inning. A.J. Nola simply couldn’t help but smile in what had to be an awesome moment for the Nola family.
