It’s a holiday weekend, and we’re here with a wrap up of what happened in sports this week with Sunday State of Mind.
The biggest story far and wide, the rivalry continues to grow Brooks Koepka went viral with disdain for Bryson DeChambeau Most golf fans would agree with Brooks, Bryson’s a bit of a tool No surprise Tom Brady came in, and continued his Twitter Rule
Another weird moment this week, in the story of Julio Jones When speaking with Shannon Sharpe, “didn’t know” he was on the phone Either way it seems to be the end of Julio in the A His relationship with the Falcons continues to decay
The NBA playoffs just keep chugging along The Sixers, Hawks, and Nets are all looking strong The Cinderella Knicks might be ending their run soon Only seemed a few weeks ago they were going to the moon
Shocking, though not terribly surprising news dropped on Thursday. The Los Angeles Angels announced that they would be releasing Albert Pujols. Pujols had been with the team since 2012, signing an at the time 10 year, $240 million mega deal.
Pujols, a missed nomination for the funniest names in sports, continued a completely understandable late career downtrend this season. Through 24 games in 2021, he is hitting .198 with a .622 OPS. For reference, his first year in LA he hit .285 and .859, respectively.
However, we are not here to kick Pujols while he’s down. Father Time is undefeated (unless you’re Tom Brady), so the declining numbers we’ve seen from Pujols is nothing short of expected.
We’re here to celebrate what may be the end of one of the most spectacular baseball players in the modern era. Hand up; I’m a Cubs fan. I think enough time has passed that myself and fellow North Siders can appreciate Pujols for what he was, an absolute tank who refused to not rip your heart out at any given moment.
Let’s just break this down. In his 11 years in St. Louis, Pujols hit 445 home runs, knocked in 1,329 RBI, maintained an 1.037 OPS, and was an unearthly 86.6 WAR. I’m not a math guy, but we’re looking at averages of about 40 HRs, 121 RBI, and 7.9 WAR. That’s an average year. Just bananas numbers.
Now, the numbers did dip once he left The Cardinals for the West Coast. Even so, the numbers are still pretty impressive for a guy entering the back half of his career. During his 10 seasons with The Halos, Pujols racked up 222 HRs, 783 RBI, a .758 OPS, and a 12.8 WAR. I won’t bore you with averages here, but you can see the production was still there.
A sure fire Hall of Famer, and seemingly a pretty good guy off the field. Albert Pujols deserves the appreciation from any baseball fan lucky enough to watch him in the past 21 years. If this is it, here’s to an incredible career.
Happy Valentines Day! A holiday associated with poetry is a perfect time to drop this week’s SSM.
The Tampa Bay Bucs had their Super Bowl parade Appeared the entire team was drinking vodka lemonade The visuals from the entire day were just so great Who says no to next year Brady getting number eight?
The Houston Texans have released JJ Watt An organization in flux, change happening a lot A formerly great offense, and that defense was mean Next year looks like it’s trending towards 0-16
The Cubs and Jake Arrieta are running it back The Cy Young winner, rejoining the pack In a rotation that’s lacking, Jake could be a guide And stabilize a weakness next year on the North Side
We got old school Melo this week, absolutely silly Sixteen fourth quarter points in a win against Philly Carmelo had 24 points as the Blazers sixth man Portland fifth in the West, things going to plan
Super Bowl Sunday, what a rollercoaster. The excitement of the biggest game of the year and just like that…the season’s over. We take it quarter by quarter in this week’s SSM.
Bit of a slow first quarter, 7-3 Big play was the first Brady to Gronk TD Would the early deficit have the Chiefs feeling blue? Let’s move our recap on, to quarter number two
Second quarter, guess who? Brady to Gronk, TD number two! Bucs looked good and were rolling at half Brady beating Mahomes, the old bull vs. the young calf
Third quarter, more Bucs, Tampa kept adding on Bucs looking like kings, Chiefs looking like pawns Fournette got in on the touchdown party Bucs showed up on time, Chiefs showed up tardy
We all saw it coming from the jump Tom Brady and the Bucs get over the hump Another incredible chapter in the Tom Brady story For the seventh time, TB12 hoists the Lombardi Trophy
NFL Championship Sunday is done, and the Super Bowl is set. We recap and look forward to Super Bowl LV in this week’s SSM.
Tampa and Green, the battle of the Bays Tom Brady just wins in so many ways Bucs are heading to their second Super Bowl One more win and they’ll accomplish their goal
The Kansas City Chiefs, what more can you say Andy Reid heading to another Super Bowl Sunday In today’s NFL, so hard to repeat Hard to imagine right now, the Chiefs getting beat
So the big game is set, Tampa Bay and Kansas City This match up, my God, the opposite of a pity TB12 and Mahomes, makes a fan feel alive Only two weeks away from Super Bowl 55
NFL Divisional Playoff weekend has come and gone. We’re here to wax poetic about it in this week’s SSM.
First game of the weekend, hosted by Green Bay The Packers really took it to the Rams of LA Aaron Rodgers continued his MVP run The Rams are headed home, back to the California sun
The Bills and Ravens in upstate New York Buffalo’s in the AFC Championship, pop the cork The Ravens fall again in the second round Someday soon Lamar will be Super Bowl bound
The Cleveland Browns had a nice playoff run But they met the Chiefs, and now they’re done Patrick Mahomes continues to roll If he beats the Bills, he’s off to another Super Bowl
Bucs and Saints, Tom Brady again Went down to New Orleans, came out with a win Brady vs. Rodgers next week, up in Lambeau All time QB matchup, who says no?
Another weekend come and gone…let’s reflect on the week that was in this weeks SSM.
The Miami Marlins, shattering the ceiling The team has hired the first female GM, an absolute awesome feeling Kim Ng has been hired to run the show for the Marlins Here’s hoping it all goes well, and she leads the team to many wins
The 2020 Masters was as always a treat Dustin Johnson, simply could not be beat Yes DJ took home his first green jacket He’s the #1 golfer in the world, in his own bracket
The Bills and Cardinals, holy shit Kyler to DeAndre, Cards didn’t quit On the last extra point, the Cards took a knee An incredible cover, for those who had Buffalo +3
The Tompa Bay Bucs got back on track TB12 with four touchdowns, put the team on his back Ronald Jones went yard with a 98-yard score The Buccaneers are gelling more and more
Football. Is. Back. Enjoy this week’s SSM dedicated solely to the NFL’s return.
Texans and Chiefs, Thursday night Football is back, no need to fright Patrick Mahomes picked up right where he left off So happy to see the NFL kickoff
Bears and Lions, Matt and Mitch Football’s back, our scratch is itched Three fourth quarter Trubisky touchdowns Bears fans quickly changed to smiles from frowns
Seahawks and Falcons, offensive show Both teams came out and let us know Both teams are fine wines, and popped their corks Russell Wilson won it, and is still a dork
Jets and Bills, breaking news Jets fans better start chugging their booze Brand new season, but same results Unfortunate roster, full of football dolts
Packers and Vikings, guess who’s back Aaron Rodgers came on in a full blown attack Dalvin Cook, first game after signing a new deal Low scrimmage yards but two scores, guy’s the real deal
Dolphins and Patriots, no more TB12 But Cam Newton’s talents, did New England delve Fins didn’t look great, have to knock off some grime Sooner rather than later, it will be Tua time
Eagles and Washington, the football team Philly started out hot, it seemed like a dream But Washington came back and got the win Eagles not made of metal, seem more like tin
Raiders and Panthers, down in Charlotte High scoring game, offenses moving a bit Raiders got a tough win on the road Three tuddys for Josh Jacobs, guy was ready to explode
Colts and Jags, AFC South Jacksonville came out and hit the Colts in the mouth Only one incompletion for Gardner Minshew Tough L for Phil Rivers, his first game in Colts blue
Browns and Ravens, the MVP Lamar Looks like he’ll take Baltimore, again pretty far Baltimore said let’s go out and wreck ‘em The end of a shitty week for Odell Beckham
Chargers and Bengals, Joe Burrow time First over all pick, he looked just fine Chargers won though, lead by Tyrod Taylor Plenty of future Burrow wins, guy’s not a failure
Cardinals and 49ers, battle in the Bay DeAndre Hopkins came to play Fourteen catches, 150+ yards Great week one road win for the Arizona Cards
Buccaneers and Saints, Brady and Brees Two future Hall of Famers, yes please The Saints won at home this time around Tom and Drew, round two, week eight, how’s that sound?
Cowboys and Rams on Sunday night The end of a great Sunday, it just felt right New stadium for LA and they started with a win No more Sundays without football, it felt like a sin
Steelers and Giants, Titans and Broncos Two games on Monday night, anything goes These games haven’t happened yet, so here’s a preview There’s nothing better, than a NFL season anew
We hope everyone had a wonderful, safe, socially-distanced holiday weekend. With all of the loud fireworks, long days at the pool and on the boat, and late nights around the bonfire, it’s time to take the foot off of the gas, slow it down, and find your center with this week’s SSM…
The NBA is getting close, to a return to play Positive tests for players and staff, causing some dismay Adam Silver, the commish, says it’s no guarantee That if the virus continues to spread, the season will finish completely
More COVID news effecting sports, this time the NFL Teams are allowing fans to change their season tickets, opt out or sell Bears, Bills, Jets, Texans, Giants and Patriots have so far allowed this plan Who wants to see any of these teams live anyways, not even die hard fans
Speaking of the NFL, Tom Brady at it again Flirting on Instagram, with his boy Julian Edelman Cam Newton is now in town, the new king of Foxborough With Belichick and Cam, Pats might go 16-0
Deron Williams is finally off the books, for The Brooklyn Nets Bobby Bonilla continues to fleece The New York Mets A big week for hilarious contracts, we have to say Good for Deron Williams, and Happy Bobby Bonilla Day!
The birth of #TompaBay got us thinking; what are the wildest player/team combinations we’ve seen in sports?
These kind of late-career transactions have happened for numerous reasons; a player got fed up with a coach/team *cough Tom Brady cough*, the team got sick of the player, or maybe the player was ring chasing or looking for one more payday with a big contract, and was willing to go wherever needed to get that money. Nothing wrong with that.
For whatever reason, the below combos make me feel quite uncomfortable:
As a Cubs fan, this one cut deep. While I don’t hate the Yankees, Kerry Wood was who you thought of when you brought up The Chicago Cubs during his time in the majors. Kid K spent his best years (1998-2008) on the North Side. After singing a two-year deal with Cleveland, Wood was traded to the Yankees on July 31, 2010. He primarily worked as Mariano Rivera’s setup man.
Luckily for us Cubs fans, Woody came home after his half year in New York. He signed a one year deal to come back to the Cubs and end his career in the blue pinstripes instead of the black ones. The way it was meant to be.
Patrick Ewing is arguably the best player in New York Knicks history. I’m not old enough to realize how great Walt “Clyde” Frazier or Willis Reed were, but seems only appropriate to throw them in the discussion with more current Knicks like Carmelo Anthony & Allan Houston. For such a “storied” franchise, this is actually a pretty brutal top five list.
On September 20th, 2000, one of the largest trades in NBA history ended Ewing’s 15-year run in New York. The trade included The Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers, and of course the Seattle Supersonics. Tough break for Patrick in my opinion; nothing against Seattle but I think the Emerald City would come in third place of places I would prefer to move if I had the choice between there, LA, or Phoenix.
When Emmitt Smith was released from the The Cowboys in 2003 after 12 years in Dallas, he was the all-time leading rusher in NFL history. He had racked up 17,162 yards, scored 153 touchdowns, and won three Superbowls. He was a part of the “triplets” in Dallas with Troy Aikman & Michael Irvin. The guy was the Dallas Cowboys.
When Bill Parcells took over the Cowboys, he decided it was time for a change, and released Smith on February 26, 2003. I think we all would have been happy to see Emmitt call it a career at that point. However, he decided he still had some left in the tank, and signed a two-year deal with The Arizona Cardinals. What resulted were two forgetful seasons highlighted by his return to Dallas to play the Cowboys on October 5, 2003, where he rushed six times for negative one yard.
The Big Shamrock! One of the cornerstone’s of the Lakers early aughts dynasty ended his career with the rival Celtics, tragic.
I think it’s fair to say once The Big Aristotle’s runs with The Lakers and Heat were over, it was pure ring chasing time for the big fella. Shaq’s tenures in Phoenix, Cleveland, and of course Boston were a bit hard to watch as his body began to break down.
The silver lining we can take from all of these stops are the nicknames that we were given along the way: Superman, The Big Diesel, Big Daddy, MDE (Most Dominant Ever), Wilt Chamberneazy, and my personal favorite from the Phoenix days…Shaqtus.
Randy “Imma Play When I Wanna Play” Moss. One of the most supremely athletic wide receivers we’ll ever see. If you haven’t, I would suggest taking some time out and watching any highlight tape of Moss’ career, like this one. He was so good that his name became a verb. If you ever get “Moss’d,” you might as well hang up your cleats.
After setting records with Tom Brady in New England, things started to unravel for Moss. His second tenure with The Vikings lasted less than a month, he made six catches with The Titans in eight games, retired for a year, and played his final season with The San Francisco 49ers in 2012.
More often than not, these late-career moves do not worked out well. While it’s nearly impossible in today’s business of professional sports for a player to spend an entire career with one team, loyalty is still something that can be appreciated. However, when the business side makes itself prevalent, we as fans can be given the gift of some hilarious and awkward visuals with players in new uniforms.
