Greetings sports fans, and welcome to The Epoch Times Sports Brief for Friday, October 4, 2024. I’m Bill Thomas, we’ve got some very exciting stories to share with you right now, and here’s what’s happening in the world of sports.
The puck drops in Europe for the start of the professional hockey season, the NFL kicks off early this weekend with a critical overseas grudge match, and a pair of military branches clash on the gridiron competing for their chance to meet the president of the U.S.A.
Also, the baseball playoffs begin tomorrow with four bitter rivalries, and we pay our respects to one of the very best major league teams ever—best at being awful.
Pro Hockey Is Back
The Buffalo Sabres and the New Jersey Devils faced off on center ice in Prague earlier this afternoon as part of the league’s Global Series, and these same teams will meet again tomorrow in the second game of two back-to-back ice battles.By the way, there are a number of Czech players currently lacing up their skates in the NHL, and these games are gonna be played before a packed house of nearly 18,000 fans in the city’s O2 Arena.
You should also know that the Sabres haven’t made the playoffs in the last 11 seasons, which is the longest drought in the league, while the Devils are expected to be one of this year’s better NHL squads.
In North America, the regular season begins next Tuesday, with a three-game program which includes the defending champion Florida Panthers hoisting their very first Stanley Cup banner before facing the always brutal Boston Bruins.
You may recall the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers and their superstar Connor McDavid in a thrilling seven-game series earlier this year to take home the cherished trophy.
This season, both of last year’s finalists are expected to compete for the highly coveted title once again, along with the Dallas Stars, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Colorado Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights, and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Now, this is kind of interesting; star player Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals needs only 42 goals to pass the Great One, Wayne Gretzy, and become the all-time leading goal scorer in NHL history. That’s something we’ll all be sure to keep an eye on as the season rocks on.
Jets Fly to London to Battle Vikings
The New York Jets are soaring into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to take on the undefeated Minnesota Vikings, and it’s a pivotal contest for the disappointing Jets, whose season is on the verge of imploding—faster than my 1973 AMC Gremlin.The low-flying Jets and their highly opinionated 40-year-old quarterback Aaron Rodgers have stumbled their way to a mediocre 2-2 record, and dissension in the ranks is bubbling toward the surface following last Sunday’s flag-filled upset loss to the Denver Broncos.
You should know that earlier this week, Rodgers and his head coach Robert Saleh battled publicly regarding the quarterback’s cadence at the line of scrimmage, and that Saleh is now officially perched firmly on the hotseat.
On the other sideline, Vikings QB Sam Darnold has completely resurrected his career in Minnesota, and at the quarter pole of the season, he’s at the very top of the shortlist for league MVP. Darnold has been spectacular at handling the blitz, and the former first-round bust is undoubtedly foaming at the mouth to beat the tar out of the team that cut him loose.
We should point out that Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and his baffling schemes have been leaving Minnesota’s opponents completely befuddled. Flores has cobbled together a back seven full of free agents and castoffs, and his dominating crew leads the league in sacks.
The game’s gonna be played before a sold-out crowd of over 60,000 screaming rambunctious fans, and it starts on Sunday morning beginning at 9:30 Eastern—the perfect time to grab a hot cup of English breakfast tea, some shepherd’s pie, and perhaps a crumpet or two.
Air Force Hosts Navy for Huge Rivalry Game
The U.S. Naval Academy sails into Colorado Springs to take on the Air Force Academy, and the winner is in prime position to take home the coveted Commander-in-Chief’s trophy.So you know, the trophy is named for the president of the United States, and it’s awarded each year to the winner of the series of games between the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The team with the best record in the competition wins a visit to the White House—but only if they can beat their two biggest rivals.
You should also know that the Air Force has won the most Commander-in-Chief trophies since the series began in 1972. However, this season, the flightless Falcons are off to a very slow start, and their low-scoring triple-option offense has been completely grounded.
On the other hand, Navy’s junior quarterback Blake Horvath leads the American Athletic Conference in both rushing and total touchdowns, and his unbeaten Navy squad has the fifth-ranked offense in the entire nation.
The Midshipmen have not left Colorado with a victory in more than a decade, but this year, the cagey cadets seem poised to accomplish that miraculous feat.
Now this is really interesting: the Army team from West Point is also undefeated this season, and the Black Knights are tied with Navy at the very top of the All American Conference standings. So, the stakes are sure to be sky high when these two legendary adversaries meet later this year.
Division Foes Meet in MLB Playoffs
The upstart Kansas City Royals head to the Bronx to face the heavily favored Yankees, who just finished with the best record in the American League.Hall of Fame legend George Brett says that these two organizations really “despised” each other when they played back in the 1970s, and he’s looking forward to tomorrow’s contest to reignite that bitter rivalry.
HOST COMMENTARY: Gee—I hope nobody gets beaned in the 4th inning which would lead to the benches clearing, a massive brawl, players tossed and pure mayhem—just thinking out loud.
Last year’s AL Cy Young Award winner Gerrit Cole takes the mound for the Bronx Bombers, while 33-year-old righty Michael Wacha will toss the first pitch for the hopeful visitors.
You should know that shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. is having a monster year for the Royals. The young superstar led the American League in batting average, and he knocked in the winning run for KC in each of this week’s hard-earned wildcard victories.
Over in the Yankee dugout, the jury’s still out on how superstar outfielder Juan Soto will handle his first postseason in the Big Apple, but everyone knows who the judge will be—and that’s gigantic slugger Aaron Judge, who led the AL in both home runs and RBIs.
CHECK THIS OUT: the Royals lost 106 games last year, and no team has ever made it all the way to the World Series after dropping a hundred games the year before.
In Southern California, the San Diego Padres will take their hot bats on a short trip up the 5 Freeway to line up against the L.A. Dodgers and their 50/50 man, Shohei Ohtani.
Just a couple of years ago, the Padres knocked the 111-win Dodgers right out of the playoffs, and this year, they’d love nothing more than to pull off another huge upset against their bitter division enemies.
The Guardians host the Tigers, and the miracle Mets head to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Phillies, in the other pair of divisional matchups.
The Worst Baseball Team Ever?
The Chicago White Sox are now officially the worst modern-day baseball team of all time, after dropping a whopping 121 games this season.The sorry Sox broke the previous record of 120 losses, which was held for over 60 years by the equally hapless New York Mets. You should know that the Mets set their unfortunate mark in 1962, the very first year of their existence.
Earlier this week, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf called the season “embarrassing” and a failure, and he promised the team’s heartbroken fans that their favorite big league franchise would get a whole lot better very soon.
It’s pretty clear that the frustrated fanatics on Chicago’s South Side have an even better reason to hold out hope, simply by comparing the White Sox to some of the worst sports teams that ever played pro ball.
For example, in the NFL, the 2017 Cleveland Browns, the 2008 Detroit Lions, and the 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers all went winless for an entire season, and the 1980 New Orleans Saints were so bad that fans began the tradition of wearing paper bags over their heads.
Continuing, the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers only won nine games in 1973, and the 1975 Washington Capitals barely won eight games during their entire first season in the NHL.
However, things eventually changed drastically for all of these franchises. The Sixers won the NBA title a decade later, the Caps brought home the Stanley Cup in 2019, and the Saints and the Bucs each scored Super Bowl trophies.
The Mets have snagged a pair of World Series titles, and even the Lions have now turned it around.
As for the Browns, well, hope springs eternal.
So, if your very favorite team is letting you down, don’t lose hope. As they say in sports, there’s always next year—even for the very worst teams of all time.
Before we go, in honor of the baseball playoffs, let’s take a fond look back at a legendary event that took place on this very weekend in 1945.
The hometown Chicago Cubs were playing in the World Series at Wrigley Field, and diehard fan William Sianis bought a ticket to the game for his beloved pet goat, Murphy, hoping to bring good luck to his favorite team.
However, the gate attendants refused to allow Murphy to enter the ballpark, and the infuriated goat owner put a curse on the team that lasted more than 70 years. Fortunately, the Cubbies finally won the World Series in 2016, ending the dreaded “Billy Goat Curse” once and for all.
Looks like we’re out of time, so we’re going to call it a wrap for this edition of the Epoch Times Sports Brief. Thanks for checking in and we’ll see you next time for another insightful and up-to-date look at the exciting world of sports.
If you have any thoughts about the Sports Brief program, we’d love to hear from you, and you can find us at [email protected].
For all of us here at The Epoch Times Sports Brief, I’m Bill Thomas.
The Epoch Times Sports Brief program is written by David Ross.
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Enjoy another great weekend of sports, stay safe, and please join us again next time for another edition of The Epoch Times Sports Brief.
Till then, let’s all continue to watch out for one another, have a superb day today, and remember to keep your eyes on the game. Bye for now.
