The World Cup saw one of the biggest upsets ever. Saudi Arabia, ranked 51st in the world rankings, stunned one of the tourney’s favorites, Argentina, 2-1.
It was a great week in college basketball. Kansas beat Duke, Michigan State beat Kentucky and Villanova. Texas took care of Gonzaga. Indiana edged Xavier. Virginia beat Illinois and Baylor in Las Vegas.
College football saw several contenders challenged. TCU, Michigan, Ohio State and USC survived. Tennessee was blown out at South Carolina.
The Lions were impressive in beating the Giants. The Eagles rallied to beat the Colts. The Cowboys buried the Vikings.
Congratulations to Novak Djokovic on winning the ATP final. He beat Casper Ruud in Italy.
Tuesday night in Indianapolis was so special. I had been thinking about that night since the day Dr. Rick Brown says I was cancer free and Dr. Steven Zeitels aid my vocal cord surgeries were successful. I was finally cleared to return to the sidelines, calling basketball games for ESPN..
I was thrilled to join my buddy Dan Shulman and Holly Rowe to call the Michigan State-Kentucky game at the Champions Classic in Indianapolis. It was a thrill to see Tom Izzo and John Calipari face-off in a great early-season test. They are two of the best in the business!
Of course the game went double overtime, with Michigan State getting a big win. Quite a performance coming off the Gonzaga loss.
The game changed when Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe fouled out after posting his 17th straight double-double. Michigan State is tough and tenacious and gets good guard play. Then add H squared, Malik Hall and Joey Hauser. Izzo celebrated with some pasta after the W!
College football saw Tennessee set a school-record for offense. TCU remained unbeaten by taking down Texas. There were several home teams that lost, including Illinois, Wake Forest, Oregon, NC State, Mississippi, Kentucky and UCLA. The Wildcats lost to Vandy, which snapped a 26-game SEC losing streak.
College hoops saw several surprises. Cal-Irvine over Oregon, Colorado over Tennessee, Temple over Villanova, Alcorn State over Wichita State, Bellarmine and Wright State over Louisville , Stetson over Florida State, Sam Houston State over Oklahoma, Southern Illinois over Oklahoma State, Grambling over Colorado, Quinnipiac and Texas State over Rhode Island, Wagner over Temple, SE Missouri State over South Florida, Florida Gulf Coast over USC and UC-Davis over California.
The Vikings won a wild game at Buffalo. The Packers rallied the beat the Cowboys in overtime. The Dolphins were impressive over the Browns.
Congratulations to the World Series champion Houston Astros. They beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games. Dusty Baker got his first title.
Lots of college football excitement. LSU beat Alabama in OT. Georgia took care of Tennessee. Notre Dame handed Clemson its first loss. Texas knocked off Kansas State.
Holger Rune had an incredible week, beating Novak Djokovic, Felix Auger-Alissime, Carlos Alcaraz and Andrei Rublev to win an ATP event in Paris.
The NFL had news as the Jets stunned the Bills. Joe Mixon scored five touchdowns in a rout of Carolina. Justin Fields set a regular season QB rushing game record in a loss to Miami.
Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies on making its first World Series since 2009. Bryce Harper hit a clutch HR late in the deciding game. The Phillies will meet the Astros in the World Series as Houston swept the Yankees in the ALCS.
The NFC East continues to surprise. The Giants moved to 6-1 by beating the Jaguars. Dallas and Washington also won.
Tough times for Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. The Bucs lost to the lowly Panthers. The Packers lost to the Commodores.
Brian Kelly has LSU on a roll. The Tigers gave Mississippi its first loss.
What a weekend in sports.
College football had so many great games. Tennessee beat Alabama in overtime. The Tide gave up the most points in a game since 1907. TCU edged Oklahoma State in two OT. Utah got a late two-point conversion to edge USC. Michigan ran wild against Penn State.
Baseball saw the defending champions send home as the Braves lost to the Phillies. The Dodgers, winners of 111 games in the regular season, were eliminated by the Phillies. The Astros got a home run in the 18th inning to beat the Mariners.
In the NFL, the Giants moved to 5-1, rallying to beat the Ravens. The Vikings went to 5-1, winning at Miami. The Bucs were stunned at Pittsburgh, while Green Bay lost at home to the Jets.
The MLB playoffs provided excitement with the new format. The Padres, Phillies, Guardians and Mariners advanced.
The Bills were impressive in blowing out the Steelers. The Giants, Cowboys and Eagles all won in the surprising NFC East.
I was impressed with Tennessee winning big at LSU. A salute to Notre Dame for winning over BYU.
Aaron Judge tied Roger Maris for the AL home run record with his 61st home run. The Mariners made the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
The Kansas City Chiefs beat TOM BRADY and the Bucs. The Eagles are the only unbeaten team left in the NFL, beating Jacksonville. The Steelers were upset by the Jets.
College football saw more coaching changes as Karl Dorrell was fired by Colorado and Wisconsin axed Paul Chryst. Five schools have made changes in the last month.
Led by Breanna Stewart, Aja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and Jewel Lloyd, the USA blew out China to win the Women’s World Cup basketball tournament in Australia.
It was a great week in sports.
Albert Pujols hit his 700th HR, joining Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth in that select 700+ group.
We saw Roger Federer finish his illustrious career. He teamed with Rafael Nadal but lost in an emotional Laver Cup match.
Kansa football moved to 4-0 for the first time since 2009with a win over Duke. Tennessee knocked off Florida. OHIO STATE blew out Wisconsin. USC edged Oregon State 17-14. There were shockers as Oklahoma was stunned at home by Kansas State and Miami-Florida lost to Middle Tennessee State.
The Dolphins moved to 3-0 with a win over the Bills. The Packers edged the Bucs and the Colts upset the Chiefs.
Many of the favorites rolled in college football. Alabama, Georgia and OHIO STATE rolled convincingly. There were a few surprises as Northwestern lost to Southern Illinois and Arizona State fell to Eastern Michigan.
The Dodgers rolled to 100 wins in game 144. Dave Roberts’ team continues to impress.
In the NFL, Tua Tagovailoa threw six touchdowns as the Dolphins rallied from a 35-14 deficit to win at Baltimore. The Jets scored two TDs in the final two minutes to stun the Browns. The Chiefs edged the Chargers. Trey Lance suffered an injury for the Niners.
What a weekend in sports.
College football saw several major upsets. Appalachian State stunned Texas A&M. Marshall beat Notre Dame. Washington State won at Wisconsin. Georgia Southern shocked Nebraska, a loss which led to Scott Frost’s firing.
The US Open crowned its champions. Iga Swiatek beat Ons Jabeur to win the women’s singles. Carlos Alcaraz had a great run, beating Maran Cilic, Jannek Sinner, Frances Tiafoe and Caspar Ruud to win the men’s crown.
The NFL got under way. The Bills blew out the defending Super Bowl champion Rams. Patrick Mahomes threw for 360 yards and five TDs in a win over Arizona. The Giants rallied from a 13-0 deficit to shock the Titans.
Serena Williams is the GOAT in women’s tennis. Her career in singles likely ended with a third round loss at the US Open. The turnout was incredible for Serena.
A tip the hat to the Buckeyes of Ohio State for taking over in the fourth quarter to deny Notre Dame from pulling a big upset. Too much CJ Stroud and company.
A big NBA deal as the Cavs get Donovan Mitchell from Utah. They may have given up too much. Collin sexton, lauri markannen. Ochai Agbayi, three first and two pick swaps head to the Jazz.
The college football season got under way. Nebraska continues to struggle, losing as a big favorite to Northwestern in Ireland.
Vanderbilt, which was 2-10 last season, got off to a great start. The Commodores won at Hawaii, 63-10. Vandy’s high point total last season was 30, they doubled that in week one!
Congratulations to Rory McElroy, who rallied to win The Players Championship. Plus a salute to Hawaii on winning the Little League World Series.
I had a great time at the Bal Harbour St. Regis resort. It was awesome, baby!
Albert Pujols is on fire and he could catch Alex Rodriguez on the HR list. The Cardinals won seven in a row.
Serena Williams lost in the first round of a tourney in Cincinnati. She fell to Emma Raducanu.
Congratulations to Will Zalatoris, who earned his first career PGA title. He won the first FedEx playoff, winning on the third hole of sudden death at the St. Jude tourney.
Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen had a special outing, taking a perfect game into the ninth inning vs. Baltimore before the O’s broke it up with a double.
Simona Halep impressed winning a tourney in Canada. Can she make noise at the US Open?
It was a busy week in baseball. The trade deadline saw plenty of moves, led by man Soto to San Diego.
The sport also lost a legend when Vin Scully passed away.
Nick Kyrgios had an impressive week at the Citi Open in Washington DC, earning his seventh career championship.
So sorry to learn of the passing of the ULTIMATE TEAM PLAYER, BILL RUSSELL, who was the greatest Winner to ever play in the NBA. He had 11 championships! May Bill RIP!
Wow, AARON JUDGE with 42 HR’s before August 1st. His agent is a lucky guy! Judge will break the bank on his new contract, baby.
Great recruiting news for Michigan State hoops and Tom Izzo as the Spartans get a YES from XAVIER BOOKER. He was wanted by many! Oh, Izzo is going enjoy the Rigatoni and meatballs baby.
We are past the all-star break and several teams are hot. The Dodgers have extended a win streak to eight. Toronto has won six in a row, including a dominant sweep of Boston. Houston has won five in a row, beating the Yankees and Mariners after the break.
The Baseball Hall of Fame added seven new members after a short time without enshrinement ceremonies. David Ortiz led the new class.
The 2022 ESPYs were so special for me and my family.
I received the Jimmy V Perseverance Award and it was an incredible honor. Seeing so many great athletes and hearing passionate stories all night long was truly touching.
If you didn’t get emotional after stories on Vitali Klitschko and his struggles in Ukraine, you were missing out. If you didn’t understand how special Billie Jean King was speaking about Title Ix turning 50 years old…wow!
Receiving this award made me think of the very first ESPYs. Jimmy V gave the speech of a lifetime, don’t give up, don’t ever give up. That started the V Foundation and we have raised over 150 million dollars for cancer research.
We need even more dollars to beat this dreaded disease. We have made great strides, but there is a lot more work ahead. If you can donate, please give to the V Foundation.
I want to thank the ESPYs, my second family at ESPN, President Jimmy Pitaro, former President George Bodenheimer, Chris German, and everyone involved in a special evening that I will never forget.