Tag: Minnesota Twins

What to Watch: The Rebels Have a Grudge, the Rest of Us Have a Remote

Kiffin Goes Home, and It’s Ugly on Purpose

The whole sport is pointed at Oxford this weekend, and for good reason.

No. 8 LSU at No. 9 Ole Miss, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC). Lane Kiffin’s first trip back to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium since he left the Rebels for LSU last December, walking into a building that will not be glad to see him. Both teams are undefeated. First top-10 meeting between these two since 1962. College GameDay’s on-site. This is as close to appointment television as college football gets in September.

No. 22 Houston at No. 13 Texas Tech, Friday, 8 p.m. ET (FOX). Big 12 statement game before the marquee Saturday even starts.

No. 16 SMU at No. 23 Louisville, Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2). Two ranked teams that both have real ACC ambitions, and neither can afford an early loss.

Final Word: Every other Saturday storyline this fall gets measured against what happens in Oxford. Clear the evening.

The NFL Remembers It Has a Season Too

Vikings at Bears, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX).

Saints at Ravens, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS).

Steelers at Patriots, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS).

Jaguars at Broncos, Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS).

Week 2, and already four games worth circling on a schedule that’s usually still finding its footing this early.

Bristol Under the Lights

NASCAR — Bass Pro Shops Night Race, Bristol Motor Speedway, Saturday (USA). Third race of the Chase, at the track built specifically to turn contenders into wreckage. Under the lights at Bristol is still one of the meanest, loudest nights on the calendar.

A Genuinely Deep Soccer Weekend

Bournemouth vs. Liverpool, Sunday, 9 a.m. ET (Sky Sports). Andoni Iraola’s first game back against his former club.

Brighton vs. Arsenal, Saturday. A title contender on the road against a team that makes nobody’s weekend easy.

Atlético Madrid vs. Real Madrid, Sunday, 10:15 a.m. ET. The Madrid derby, and it lands squarely in this window. Mourinho’s Los Blancos arrive with a flawless record on the line.

Sevilla vs. Barcelona, Saturday. Defending champs on the road at a ground that’s historically given them trouble.

The USMNT Vs. USMNT Weekend

Three separate matches this weekend put American players on opposite sides of the same pitch — a genuine rarity, and worth tracking all three.

Leeds United vs. Crystal Palace, Sunday, 9 a.m. ET (Sky Sports). Brenden Aaronson for Leeds against Chris Richards for Palace.

Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. Mainz, Saturday. Joe Scally against Lennard Maloney, two young Americans both trying to nail down starting jobs in the Bundesliga.

Lyon vs. Rennes, Saturday. Tanner Tessmann against Bryan Reynolds — Ligue 1’s version of the same story.

Baseball’s Real Stakes

Guardians at Twins, Friday–Sunday, Target Field. The final meeting between the two clubs this season, with Cleveland trying to hang onto the last AL Wild Card spot and Minnesota fighting to stay alive. Every game here is magnified.

Under the Radar: Copenhagen Gets a World Championship

World Athletics Road Running Championships, Copenhagen, Saturday and Sunday, streaming free on World Athletics’ YouTube channel. We’ll be doing football marathons all weekend — six games back to back, remote in hand. These people are doing actual competitive marathons, for a world title, and somehow that’s the event getting zero coverage. Marathon, half-marathon, and mixed relay, all elite fields, all completely off the radar in the U.S.

Final Word: Oxford gets the marquee, but between Bristol, the Bernabéu, and a start line in Denmark, this is a weekend that rewards flipping around.

Predicting the 2021 MLB Season

World Series Champions	Toronto Blue Jays
AL Pennant	Toronto Blue Jays
NL Pennant	Los Angeles Dodgers
AL East	New York Yankees
AL Central	Chicago White Sox
AL West	Oakland Athletics
AL Wild Card	Toronto Blue Jays
AL Wild Card	Minnesota Twins
NL East	Atlanta Braves
NL Central	Milwaukee Brewers
NL West	Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Wild Card	San Diego Padres
NL Wild Card	New York Mets
AL MVP	Matt Chapman
AL Cy Young	Lucas Giolito
AL ROY	Bobby Dalbec
NL MVP	Fernando Tatis Jr.
NL Cy Young	Jacob deGrom
NL ROY	Ke’Bryan Hayes

MLB 2015 AL Central Preview

After earning a Wild Card spot last year and going on a wild run into the World Series, the Kansas City Royals have lost James Shields, Billy Butler, and Nori Aoki, but don’t seem to have taken much of a step back at all. Their pitching staff will be lead by young phenom Yordano Ventura and they still have the best bullpen in baseball. Alex Rios looks good this spring, and could be a real offensive weapon if his thumb is healthy (I have my doubts), while Kendrys Morales looks to bounce back. The Cleveland Indians only big off-season addition was Brandon Moss, but their relatively young team will likely only get better. Last year Corey Kluber was a surprise Cy Young candidate, and they may have another this year in Carlos Carrasco. The Chicago White Sox made moves bringing in Jeff Samardzija and signed Melky Cabrera. Avisail Garcia has looked good in the spring, as have rookies Micah Johnson and Carlos Rodon. Rodon will start in Triple-A, but will be in the rotation this season and has the potential to be dominant while Johnson will likely be the opening day second baseman and number nine hitter. Both will improve the club that already had an underrated pitching staff and has a very good mix of power and speed. The long time favorites, the Detroit Tigers, are only getting older. Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera are coming off surgery this off-season and Justin Verlander will start the year on the DL. They brought in Yoenis Cespedes, Anthony Gose, and Shaen Greene, but the bullpen that was their downfall last year is virtually unchanged. The Minnesota Twins have brought back fan favorite Torii Hunter, but are a clear bottom of the barrel in the division. Ervin Santana will miss 80 games due to a PED suspension, and the team really lacks a true star. This may be the year uber prospects Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, and multiple highly touted pitching prospects make their big league debuts, so at least Twins fans have that to look forward to.

Projected Winner: This may be the toughest division to pick a winner, but the Indians are the favorite for me. They might have the best rotation in the division outside of Chicago, and they could also end up as the best offensive team in the division.

Is there a Wild Card, perhaps? I think it is almost a certainty one of the Wild Card spots comes from the Central, but which team is tough. Based on pure talent, the Tigers should be the team, but I think they finish fourth in the division. That leaves the White Sox and Royals. I would not be shocked if both teams earn a Wild Card bid, and the rest of the league should be scared if it is the White Sox as their potential playoff rotation could be the best in baseball. In the end, I think the Royals get the only Wild Card bid from the Central, but it will be close.