The Sport Superlatives- Issue No. 41

October 11, 2024

🏆 The Superlatives 🏆

The Player That’s All the Way Up: Odell Beckham Jr.

Miami Dolphins’ wide receiver, Odell Beckham Jr., has been activated and will make his season debut in Sunday’s game against the NE Patriots. Kordell’s older brother (IYKYK), has been on the PUP list (physically unable to perform) all season due to a knee injury. Lets see if having OBJ back on the field makes a difference for the Dolphins who currently hold a 2-3 record. With their starting QB Tua still out indefinitely, it’s not looking good. Although…they are playing the Patriots next, so anything is possible when two not great teams face off, right? Battle of mediocrity!

The Player That’s Down Bad: Jalen Tolbert

With 20 seconds left in the Cowboys game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Jalen Tolbert scored the winning touchdown. It wasn’t until a post game interview with defensive lineman teammate, Tyler Smith, that fans learned that he scored despite an injury.  On the previous play, JT seemingly sprained his… groin. Guess he took one for the team, and rallied to stay in the game. Way to be a team player, JT! Hopefully he didn’t do any… permanent damage.

🏈 We’re Going to be Here for a While: Last Sunday was the longest recorded day of NFL games since 1970. The day started with the Vikings versus the Jets over in London town, airing at 9:30 am ET and ended with the Sunday Night Football game, Cowboys versus Steelers which started at 9:45 pm and ended right at 1 am ET after the Cowboys scored that winning TD. That brings us to a total of 15 hours and 27 minutes of football & whew chilé what a day.  Here are a few highlights:

Minnesota Vikings v New York Jets

This game had us wiping the crust out of our eyes in the first quarter with all the turnovers and interceptions. Both teams' offenses seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed (or should we say pond?). Should we blame the jet lag for the poor performance? The Vikings’ defense and special teams helped them squeak out a win (23-17), pushing them to a 5-0 record for the season. 

This loss triggered quite a bit of DRAMA for the NY Jets. NY Jets Head Coach, Robert Selah, was fired earlier this week. According to a tweet (is it still called that since it’s now X??) from sports reporter Jay Glazer, Selah was completely blindsided. Although according to the statement from the Jets owner Woody Johnson, Selah was not meeting expectations. Without a winning record during his tenure as HC it’s hard to argue that point. Anywho, now the Jets coaching staff is playing musical chairs ahead of their bye week. 

Sidenote: How cute was the Viking’s touchdown celly? Vikings players, Cameron Bynum and Joshua Metellus celebrated Bynum’s TD with the Disney classic ‘Parent Trap’s handshake as a nod to being in London. Childhood nostalgia unlocked. We’re not ashamed to admit we immediately tried our own hand at remembering the famous handshake… Let’s just say it was cuter when they did it. 

Baltimore Ravens v Cincinnati Bengals

To hit you with the headline: the Ravens came back from a 10-point deficit in the 4th quarter to win in OT. Lamar Jackson definitely gave us MVP QB energy this game, despite fumbling a snap in overtime (that could have been a disaster). With a final score of 41-38, the Ravens beat their AFC rivals, the Bengals. 

This defeat knocked the Bengals down to a 1-4 record for the season. You know that feeling when you wake up late and it causes your whole schedule to get thrown off and no matter what you do, you’re just playing catch-up all day? That’s where the Bengals are right now. There is plenty of time left in the season, but we’re not sure how the team comes back from this bad start.

Houston Texans v Buffalo Bills

Houston Texans (23) beat the Buffalo Bills (20); Houston took the lead in the first quarter and held it until the 4th quarter when Buffalo tied the game. Houston won the game on a field goal (shout out to the NFL kickers, y’all the real MVPs -except that one from KC). However, the real controversy was the Bills putting Josh Allen back in the game after he appeared to have hit his head pretty hard. 

Week 6 Preview

Get your binge sweats out (are they gray?) because this upcoming Sunday is going to be another long one! Catch those blokes the Jacksonville Jaguars face off against the Chicago Bears as they play in London, airing at 9:30am ET… or if you just can’t be arsed with it, feel free to sleep in sis. With these two teams, it’s unlikely you’ll miss much. 

On the other hand we are excited to watch:

• Baltimore Ravens v Washington Commanders: How will Commanders rookie QB Jayden Daniels hold up against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens on Sunday 10/13 at 1pm ET. 

• Detroit Lions v Dallas Cowboys: The Lions are a solid team, but, dare we say, it seems like the ‘Boys are finally catching their stride? Guess we’ll find out Sunday night at 4:25pm ET.

🏒 You Must be New Here: The NHL season has officially started, and the new kids on the block are showing off a bit. The Utah hockey team that is named.. wait for it… the Utah Hockey Club (super creative…) has made their debut. So far the team is 2-0 in the regular season after winning against the Chicago Blackhawks and the New York Islanders. With 80 more games left in the regular season, we will hold off on our assessment of the team’s future but they are certainly off to a good start!

🏀 It’s FINALly that Time: The WNBA Finals have begun! After dismissing their semi finals opponents like the sticky stuff on the bottom of their shoes, the Minnesota Lynx and the NY Liberty have started on their quests to win the WNBA Finals. The first game was quite the battle. The NY Liberty have…well, had... home court advantage and came out swinging. Eventually, the Lynx showed up and showed out and were up by 1 point in the final second of the game. With the win in her grasp, Breanna Stewart took to the free throw line and made 1 of 2 free throws. She tied the game…but could’ve won it. This sent the game into overtime. (YAY! for extra basketball) In overtime, the game came down to a missed Breanna Stewart  layup (yes, her again) that would’ve tied the game. Instead, the Lynx won the game 95-93. Not to worry, it’s gonna be a long 7 game series and if it plays out anything like this first game, it’ll certainly be one for the books. Hopefully, Stewie isn’t feeling too bad about having two game making (or breaking) plays on her shoulders…and fumbling both. Heavy is the head. Tune in to watch Game 2 Sunday, 10/13 at 3pm on ESPN.

⚾️ Stop, Woah, Back it Up, Now Let Me See Your Bats SWING: Two teams have punched their tickets to the division finals, can you guess which ones? If you said the NY Yankees and the NY Mets, you’re either a lucky guesser or from New York. Either way, you’d be right. The two New York teams both defeated their lowly opponents 3 games to 1, and now await the two remaining series to see who stands in their way of making it to the World Series.

Detroit Tigers v Cleveland Guardians: This series is tied 2-2, and heads back to Cleveland for a series clinching Game 5. The Tigers will once again start their AL CY Young favorite, Tyrik Skubal…and honestly, we don’t think the Guardians want that smoke. Fortunately for all parties involved, playoff baseball is so unpredictable that it could be anyone’s game. Guess the big question is….who wants it more? We’ll only find out by watching this Saturday, 10/12 at 8pm on TBS.

LA Dodgers v San Diego Padres: Ain’t no chill in this SoCal series. The series is tied 2-2 and will head into a winner-takes-all Game 5. Let’s talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly. What’s good? The front of the Dodgers’ batting lineup: Ohtani, Betts, Freeman, Hernández…just to name a few. The bad? The starting pitchers. The pitching for the Dodgers has been…eh…bad, but good enough to not stand in the offense’s way entirely. They will start Yamumoto who has a lot to prove if he’s gonna earn his paycheck. Meanwhile, the Padres will be starting the vet, Yu Darvish who will be hoping to repeat his Game 2 performance, and praying his postseason elimination game woes don’t pop up and haunt him (I mean, it is October after all). The ugly? Those poop brown uniforms the Padres wear…yuck. Regardless, watch and see what happens Tonight, 10/11 at 8pm on FOX

🎾 It’s Time to Say Adiós: Tennis legend, Rafael Nadal, has decided to call it quits on the whole tennis thing. After 23 years and 22 grand slams, the clay court King is retiring. He released a video on social media detailing his reasons for retiring and gratitude for the sport . He will play in the Davis Cup in late November one last time before making it all official. Given the injuries that have plagued the last few years of his career, we can’t say this was unexpected. It does, however, mark a momentous and sad day in tennis history. He will surely be missed, but we certainly agreed with Rafa when he said “But in this life, everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it's an appropriate time to put an end to a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.” Enjoy your retirement!

🎾 I Said What I Said: Speaking of Tennis, Coco Gauff just won the China Open. Gauff had just told her [ex] coach that “it’s not me, it’s you” and sent him on his way, only to find her way back on top. The China Open is a 1000 level tournament, the highest ATP level under a Grand Slam. The other ATP level tournaments are 250 and 500. This makes the second 1000 level tourney for our girl. However, social media can be unkind, and the keyboard warriors had a running joke about how Coco only wins “250 level” tournaments.  Keeping this in mind, Coco posted a picture of her toting her new trophy on social media with the caption “sHe OnLy wInS 250s... well.... WOMP WOMP." Well, clearly the twitter warriors didn’t get the memo that Coco had time that day, because someone decided that her post was that of a “5 year old”. Coco’s response? "Honestly kids have the best outlook on life. They are so positive and creative. so I’ll take it.”..We love it. Y’all need to remind your old aunties and grandmas that Coco is only 20; let her have her fun. 

Your sports term of the week is: Intentional Walk

IRL Example: It’s like when you don’t want to deal with someone’s wrath, so you let them win an argument…and who knows? Maybe losing this battle will set you up to win the war.

Now, you all know we love a good menswear moment -and apparently we aren’t the only ones! For the first time ever, menswear will take centerstage for the 2025 Met gala. Inspired by historian Monica L. Miller’s book, “Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity,” the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced its spring 2025 exhibition, “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style”. Miller will also be the Costume Institute’s first Black curator.

What’s this got to do with sports? Well our fav athlete fashionista, British F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton was announced as one of the co-chairs for the 2025 Met gala. He will be serving alongside rapper A$AP Rocky, producer/LV Menswear creative director, Pharrell Williams, and honorary co-chair, LeBron James. I mean… could they have chosen a more perfect lineup for this theme?? Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, and Pharrell’s style is the embodiment of dandyism. Needless to say, we’re excited & counting down the days! It’s 206 days… just in case you were wondering. 

As we wait, let’s admire some dandy lewks that Lewis Hamilton has served us, shall we?

It’s looking like it’s going to be a menswear spring and we are here for it!

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