With one week away from the NBA postseason, a quarter into the way of the shortened MLB season, and the return of one of the world's most competitive sports tournaments i.e. Champions League, there was a very busy week in sports. While the AFTR PRTY staff may have made some questionable bets (sorry about the Rockets/Blazers BTB), there is no denying that we were geeked to have some of our favorite sporting events finally come back into action.
(Image via USA Today)
Pelicans, Kings, and Wizards Eliminated
After a string of losses in the past week the race for the 8th seed in the west has tightened up and the Pelicans and Kings have been mathematically eliminated from contention. Many people (including myself🧐) were questioning why head coach Alvin Gentry refused to play Zion in crunchtime minutes, but regardless this team showed flashes of being a problem next season with Brandon Ingram shining, Jrue Holiday staying very dominant on both sides of the court, and JJ Reddick further proving that he will always be able to drain a three in your face. As for the Kings, Bogdan Bogdanovic and De'Aaron Fox have proven they are a backcourt duo to watch out for after both players scored career-highs during the bubble season. Whoever invited the Wizards to the bubble is truly a menace 😂 They enjoyed six weeks of cardio and currently sit 1.5 games back from the Hornets in the 10th spot in the East, a team that was not even invited in the first place LOL. The race for 8th remains a very close one in the West and fans are eager to see how the rest of the season plays out this week.
Champions League Returns
After almost five long months Champions League has finally come back and did not disappoint fans across the world. Juventus failed to win on aggregate goal count against sleeper team Lyon, and as a result, fired manager Maurizio Sarri and instead replaced him with longtime Juve legend Andrea Pirlo. Man City successfully neutralized Real Madrid's efforts to remain in the mix, and Bayern had no mercy after a 4-1 victory over Chelsea, sending the team home and establishing the final eight teams of the quarterfinal stage. The first game is set for Wednesday between Atalanta and a Mbappe-less PSG. Check out AFTR PRTY's Champion League Power Rankings to get a better idea of the remaining teams
Collin Morikawa wins the 2020 PGA Championship
Over the weekend 23-year old Collin Morikawa won the PGA Championship and also got his first major win as a result. This feat is not to be overlooked in the slightest as the only golfers to win the PGA before 24 include: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Rory McIlroy. The LA native ranked first in proximity to pin, putting, and driving accuracy showing that he is a world-class talent to look out for in the coming years. His fluidity and accuracy when driving off the tee made him stand out against the competition and his +3000 pre-tournament odds could not have been further off. Seeing as this man was born the same year as me and I don't even know how to hit a golf ball off a tee, I have become a huge fan and will definitely be looking out for him in future tournaments.
BIG Ten Reportedly Cancels College Football Season
After college stars like Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields to name a few, went to Twitter to express their desire to play after tweeting #WeWantToPlay the BIG Ten shocked the college sports world reporting their intended plans to cancel this upcoming season. While nothing is set in stone yet, there was a reported 12-2 vote between Big Ten conference presidents at each school and this follows a few days after the Mid-American Conference became the first conference in the FBS to announce that they were canceling this season due to current pandemic concerns. If I know one thing it's that Big Ten schools LIVE FOR FOOTBALL so I am sure this will receive a decent amount of backlash before an official statement is released. I just want all my favorite sports to come back 👉👈🥺
In addition to the major sports news, we have received some gems to take away from the restart of American professional sports leagues. T.J. Warren has been off a bean the entire bubble and will finally enact his revenge on constant league villain Jimmy Butler tonight. Honestly, I have no idea how much this man is going to go off for but given his recent stats, I don't think a 50-piece is out of the discussion.
Next, to further emphasize how fucked the MLB season is likely to be, there was another brawl but nobody actually was wary of social distancing and instead went fucking after it. Everyone wants to take the Astros heads off after their cheating scandal came into light last year, so after Oakland Athletics outfielder Ramon Laureano was hit by a pitch for the second time of the game, baseball fans got their first proper "charging the mound" brawl of this shortened season. Seeing as the Cardinals team is currently in quarantine after a coronavirus outbreak and players are actively being sent home for violating team rules surrounding the pandemic, I'm just hype we got at least one solid brawl in 😂
This week is geared up to be exciting as the NBA regular season comes to a close, and hopefully, more news comes out about the likelihood of college sports. Look out for PRTY Favors for the biggest sports events this coming week🎰😎.
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