"The Stack" 8-28-17
The Stack is back on this Monday and wasn’t it nice to have some college football on this weekend? Well the games weren’t very good, but this weekend is going to be have some extremely good games over Labor Day Weekend with it being the official start of the college football season. College football is of course the furthest thing from the minds of those in Texas, especially Houston. We’ll have some thoughts on that as well so let’s get right to it and see what’s in “the stack” for today, Monday, August 28th:
Mayweather takes down McGregor in 10th round
It was a better fight than anticipated by some (at least for me) and through the first four rounds it appeared that Conor McGregor may indeed pull off the upset and practically bankrupt Las Vegas. He was looking very good apparently. Floyd Mayweather though came back and started to attack McGregor and wear him down. Mayweather would win by TKO in the tenth round to improve his overall record to 50-0. McGregor should be commended for the fight he put up, but in the end it was Mayweather winning and afterward he said that this would be his last fight. He even tried to put a bet on himself. Glad this is now behind us.
Major injuries during week 3 NFL preseason
I was at a fantasy football draft on Friday with my cousin-in-law (really I should just call him cousin) and news came out that New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman went down with a non-contact injury. The Patriots were fearing the worst. Anytime a non-contact injury occurs you should expect the worst and those fears proved to be right, because Edelman suffered a complete tear of the ACL and will miss the entire season. It’s a blow to the Patriots, because Edelman is the Tom Brady’s safe target, but it isn’t a devastating death blow to the team, not by any stretch. They still have a slew of weapons and now Brandon Cooks will be looked at more and more to get things going. It hurts the Patriots, but they will still be good. The team also released defensive end Kony Ealy over the weekend. Ealy was subsequently picked up by the New York Jets.
Edelman wasn’t the only one to get injured though Friday night. Spencer Ware, the running back for the Kansas City Chiefs went down with a PCL injury which will knock him out two to eight weeks and possibly the entire season. Rookie Kareem Hunt will see plenty more action now in Ware’s absence.
Sunday the Chicago Bears were looking good against the Tennessee Titans with their first team, but the good news wouldn’t last as wide receiver Cameron Meredith went down with a knee injury and was confirmed to have torn his ACL. He will miss the season. The Bears were thin at weapons on offense. Kevin White is largely unproven. Victor Cruz when health is good, but he hasn’t been that healthy for a while. This is a big blow to the Bears.
Let this be a lesson to those of you out there….wait for your fantasy football drafts if possible until after the third preseason games are all done.
Giancarlo Stanton hits home run number 50
Miami Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton is on a tear right now. He kept it up this weekend against the San Diego Padres and by Sunday’s end he hit number 50. It proved to be the game-winner for the Marlins on Sunday. The Marlins have now won 13 of 16 and right in the thick of it in the NL Wild Card hunt. What Stanton is doing right now is unbelievable. Every at bat is must see practically. Pitchers don’t have any good way to throw to him because he can take balls opposite field. It’s incredible to watch him and I hope he gets to at least 63 by season’s end.
And congratulations is in order to the little league team from Japan who won the Little League World Series with a 12-2 win over the team from Texas. The Little League World Series is always such a fun event. Great sportsmanship. Congrats to all of the teams involved and especially to the teams from Texas and Japan.
U.S. Open gets going
The final grand slam event of the tennis season gets going in New York today and there will be plenty of crowds looking forward to seeing some good tennis. It will be nice to see Maria Sharapova make her return. Will Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer win this one on the men’s side? Heck, will Rafael Nadal make a big run at it? The women’s side is completely up for grabs, but maybe an American like Madison Keyes can come through with a win. Should be a fund couple of weeks in Flushing and New York City.
Hurricane Harvey hits Texas
Much of the nation’s attention this weekend has been on Texas and the devastation that is occurring thanks to Hurricane Harvey. While Saturday saw places like Corpus Christi and Victoria get hit hard when the hurricane came ashore and even places like Rockport and Portland get nailed, all eyes now are on Houston where catastrophic flooding is happening amid torrential rains and rescues are happening around the clock. People are leaving their homes if they can to get to dry land. Houston has received almost two feet of rain so far and potentially up to two more feet may be come. It is absolutely heartbreaking seeing the pictures. If you are able to donate, send some money to the Red Cross. Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt is setting up a donation. The Houston Texans are schedule to play the Dallas Cowboys Thursday night in the preseason finale for both teams in Houston, but that almost certainly won’t be happening…at least not in Houston. The Houston Astros are slated to play the Texas Rangers for a three game series, but I can’t imagine that is going to be played in Houston either. Even next week’s college football game between LSU and BYU is very much in doubt. Just say a prayer for all of those affected, because this is something that no one should ever have to go through. The pictures are heartbreaking, but also amazing in a way of the destruction that Mother Nature can cause. Certainly eye opening to say the least. And they say global warming isn’t real. Houston, hello. Hang in there. We’re with you and thinking of you. May the next couple of days be better than what they are predicting and may you rebuild from the devastation that is left behind quickly and make the area better than it was before.
Coming up later this week: College football season preview
