The Wide World of Sports* (09/11/18)

*Well, only the ones I care about.

Two headed monster!

MLB

This is how the pennant races are shaping up as things wind down with less than 20 games left.

NL East: Braves lead the Phillies by 4.5 games somehow
NL Central: Cubs lead the Brewers by 2 games
NL West: Rockies lead the Dodgers by 1/2 game, with Arizona 2.5 games back
NL Wildcard "Leaders": Cards, Brewers, Rockies, Dodgers, Phillies

AL East: Boston leads the universe by a bazillion games
AL Central: Cleveland leads the Twins by a touchdown
AL West: Astros lead the A's by 2.5 games
AL Wildcard "Leaders": basically just the Yankees and the A's

********************************************************************************

NFL + Fantasy

Season finally started. My Fantasy Team is The Vortex of Suck because of how I finished last year. Here's my roster:

QB's: I started Roethlisberger (26) over Ryan (14). Good call I guess. Plus 12.
RB's: I started Elliot (14) and McCaffrey (10); benched Yeldon (13) so minus 3 there.
WR's: I started Green (15), Thomas (12), and Fitzgerald (7)(flex); benched Ginn (14) and Ridley (0). Minus 7 I guess.
TE's: I started Hooper (2); benched Howard (5) and Engram (1). Same  number of receptions (2) but OJ had more yards. Minus 3
Defense: Jacksonville (21)
Kicker: Boswell (3)

Total 110, left 13 points on the bench. Lost my matchup by 11. Grrrr.

...and the Falcons still can't find the endzone. Should have beaten Philly.

********************************************************************************

NCAA Football

Week 2 - This is what the Top 25 looked like before Saturday:

1 Alabama 1-0 (SEC1)

2 Clemson 1-0 (ACC1)

3 Georgia 1-0 (SEC2)

4 Ohio State 1-0 (BIG10-1)
5 Wisconsin 1-0 (BIG10-2)

6 Oklahoma 1-0 (BIG12-1)

7 Auburn 1-0 (SEC3)
8 Notre Dame 1-0 (IND1)
9 Washington 0-1 (PAC12-1)

10 Stanford 1-0 (PAC12-2)

11 LSU 1-0 (SEC4)
12 Virginia Tech 1-0 (ACC2)
13 Penn State 1-0 (BIG10-3)
14 West Virginia 1-0 (BIG12-2)
15 Michigan State 1-0 (BIG10-4)
16 TCU 1-0 (BIG12-3)
17 USC 1-0 (PAC12-3)
18 Mississippi State 1-0 (SEC5)
19 UCF 1-0 (AAC1)
20 Boise State 1-0 (MWC1)
21 Michigan 0-1 (BIG10-5)
22 Miami 0-1 (ACC2)

23 Oregon 1-0 (PAC12-4)

24 South Carolina 1-0 (SEC6)
25 Florida 1-0 (SEC7)

This week: Bama 57, Arky State 7
Next Up: @ Ole Miss Bama's past opponents:
Louisville (1-1) 31, Indiana State 7

Games of Note:
#6 Oklahoma 49, UCLA 21 - PAC12 takes more OOC lumps

#3 Georgia 41 #24 South Carolina 17 - I thought it would be closer
#2 Clemson 28, Texas A&M 26 - Helluva game here. Should get the Aggies ranked even with the loss.
USF 49, Ga Tech 38 - Could they challenge UCF in the AAC? Is either of these teams the best in the state of Florida?

FSU 36, Samford 26 - Y'all this game was 26-21 Samford with about 4 minutes to go. This should not happen.
Kentucky 27, #25 Florida 16 - Ummm, about that UCF/USF thang...

#10 Penn St 51, Pitt 6 - Well it was close at halftime

#10 Stanford 17, #17 USC 3 - Meh

Arizona St 16, #15 Michigan State 13 - Big10 loses to an unranked PAC12 team? Ouch.

Interesting games this week:

#18 UCF @ North Carolina - They will probably thump their chests over beating an 0-2 team and declare themselves 2018 ACC champions
Vandy @ #8 Notre Dame - This game will probably not be as easy as they think
#12 LSU @ #7 Auburn - The first piece to fall in the SEC West will be the team that looks the least disfunctional
#17 Boise St @ #24 Oklahoma St - The lone MWC team can pad their resume a bit here with a win over a Power 5 ranked team
#4 Ohio St @ #15 TCU - Home game for TCU but I don't think they have enough. Definitely the best team OSU has played so far though.

********************************************************************************