We Are The Champions

30 years after their only previous title in franchise history, 12 months after falling at the final hurdle… the Kansas City Royals are World Series Champions again.

They overcame the New York Mets in five, a series much tighter than it seems at a distance with two games going deep into extra innings. An Eric Hosmer sacrifice fly drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 14th in game one, before a 4 run fifth and a Johnny Cueto complete game gave the Royals game two as well. New York rallied behind Noah Syndergaard and homers from David Wright and Curtis Granderson to take game three but they couldn’t close out a late one-run lead at home in the fourth game, David Murphy with an error in the field as Tyler Clippard blew his second save of the series and the Royals moved within a win of the title. Wade Davis closed that one out across two innings.

And then in what proved to be the final game, Matt Harvey came out and pitched eight great frames, taking a 2-0 lead into the ninth… but Harvey convinced his manager to leave him in, giving up a run and leaving the tying score on base. Jeurys Familia couldn’t hold him. It would prove another marathon game but in the top of the 12th, pinch hitter Christian Colon smacked one in with a single and Lorenzo Cain doubled for three more to put the Royals on the verge of glory. Wade Davis made sure of it with three more outs. Kansas City take the title, Salvador Perez named player of the series.

The Shootout in New Orleans

Sometimes you look at the box scores, you read the updates and you see the odd highlight and you understand the whole game. Other times what you see, read and hear is so far beyond comprehension that you can only understand it once you’ve gone back over it a hundred times or more. One such example was this ridiculous game between the New Orleans Saints and New York Giants. Abysmal defence and glorious quarterbacking saw 13 combined passing touchdowns between Drew Brees and Eli Manning, Brees edging it with 7 in a 52-49 victory – sadly decided not by a Hail Mary pass but a field goal.

It sure takes something to make a 52 yard game-winning field goal feel anticlimactic.

"Brees had seven touchdowns. We told him the game ball is going to the kicker" – Sean Payton.

Between the teams, there were 1030 yards of offence. Shockingly, that’s not even close to a record, but the 13 passing touchdowns was. That number eclipsed a record that had stood since 1969 when Billy Kilmer and Charley Jonhson combined for 12 in a game between the New Orleans Saints and St Louis Cardinals. Brees’ 7 of them put him level with Peyton Manning, Joe Kapp, Y.A. Tittle, George Blanda, Adrian Burk, Sid Luckman and, remember this one?, Nick Foles as the others to have achieved that many in one game. Only two games (R**skins vs Giants in 1966 & Bengals vs Browns in 2004) have seen more combined points than this one.

Shout out to Eli Manning as well, who moved into tenth all-time with his 277th career TD toss.

The Hayne Refrain VIII

It sure was a busy week for the Hayne Plane considering he didn't even play. A week in which he got waived before re-signing onto the practice squad. Waived, not cut, there’s a slight difference between the two, despite what you may read elsewhere.

Still, it all went downhill pretty quickly for old Jarryd. Not in a career-ending way, this is far less harmful to his NFL prospects than a long term injury would be, for example, but having been a game day contributor only two weeks ago he was made inactive the next week and waived the following.

And this also shouldn’t suggest that the 49ers were ready to give up on him. It’s just that they have far bigger problems to worry about and they saw their best chance of getting a result against the St Louis Rams as having Kendall Gaskins there in place of Jarryd Hayne. So, Gaskins comes in off the practice squad, Hayne is waived to make room for him.

The reason this became a priority was Carlos Hyde’s foot injury, which has been diagnosed as a metatarsal fracture. He played through it while he could but was not going to be able to cope with the pain this week and so sat it out. That pushed Reggie Bush into the starter’s role and rookie Mike Davis into his backup. It was Coach Tomsula’s call then to have Gaskins play ahead of Hayne, primarily due to his greater size against what is arguably the best defensive line in football in the Rams.

“We wanted to get a heavier back. Jarryd Hayne has done everything we’ve asked him to do. We only have 53 spots and I made that decision.” – Jim Tomsula

Unfortunately, bad luck struck this embattled franchise once more as Reggie Bush ran back a first quarter punt and, as he took it out of bounds, he ran a bit too far and slipped on the concrete ring that runs around the St Louis stadium It’s suspected that he tore his ACL. Terrible news, that will mean his season is over.

Gaskins and Davis then had to carry the load. Davis set a new career high with 10 carries but he was only able to gain 4 yards on them before breaking a bone in his left hand and leaving. Gaskins had 5 carries for 6 yards. The team’s 38 total rushing yards (led by QB Colin Kaepernick’s 28) are the their fewest in a game since week one of 2009. On the other side, Todd Gurley had 133 yards on 20 carries, with the Rams making 197 in total. St Louis ran out to a very comfortable 27-6 victory. The Niners fall to 2-6, without a win on the road this season.

But that was only the start of the story for Jarryd Hayne. The waiver process meant that until he cleared, any other team could lay a claim on him and place him on their active roster. The claims are ordered in priority by the team’s current record, so the fewer wins in 2015, the more likely they are to win his contract. Which means if the 1-7 Detroit Lions had reached out, they’d have gotten him automatically with the worst record in the NFL right now.

Several teams looked to be able to fit him in. The Seattle Seahawks had mentioned Hayne in the past (though where exactly he fits into a team that already has a number of good RBs and KRs is questionable) while those Lions had shown interest in the initial stages of Hayne’s journey. It’s rumoured that the Dallas Cowboys organisation at least discussed it, though the likelihood was always that he ended up untouched and back with the Niners, who said from the moment he was waived that they wanted him back for their practice roster.

As Hayne’s agent said, the timing of the move was in the Niners’ favour. Right before the weekend, other teams don’t really have the time to look into the matter with their rosters busy being set for the upcoming round of games. It’s a bit of a front office trick to try and sneak the player through the waiver process unnoticed. And that’s exactly how it happened.

However clearing waivers didn’t mean he was automatically back on the 49ers team. It meant he became a free agent, welcome to negotiate with any team. Often times a player will go unclaimed on waivers for that reason – to get him to free agency where they can offer him a cheaper contract. That’s not such a factor in the NFL where there are rules that protect more experienced players (it happens in baseball a lot), plus Hayne was surely on a very cheap deal already (which gets cheaper on the practice roster).

Also, more relevant than it may seem is the fact that within a couple hours of Hayne clearing waivers, the team traded veteran tight end Vernon Davis to the Denver Broncos for late-round future picks. Letting the team’s most experienced player go, even after diminished returns in a struggling offence, is a pretty clear sign that they aren’t expecting this season to last any longer than week 17, which is not a bad assumption. It’s not so much that they’re planning to tank, more that they’ll be looking to develop the underbelly of this team that was exposed with the off-season player exodus. That isn’t likely to include Jarryd Hayne. Not this season. It’s become clear over the last two weeks that he isn’t where they need him to be yet, and maybe he wasn’t expected to be, but he’ll learn quicker on the practice roster where developing skills takes priority over the week to week grind. If he wasn’t placed back on the active roster now with only two fit running backs (one of whom, Shaun Draughn, was only signed on the day Hayne became a free agent), then don’t expect to see him again this season. The Niners are also working out former Texan Ben Tate. They gave Pierre Thomas a trial last month.

It’s a slight shame for Hayne that this is where he’s ended up, taking a step backwards, and the abrupt nature of that tweet probably hints at a bit of disappointment from a dude as competitive as they come. But this wasn’t supposed to be easy.

The 49ers do wear a bit of blame here. Jim Tomsula is under pressure to keep his job the way they’re going and there are major concerns about the play of QB Kaepernick, who it was announced will be benched next week for former Jaguar Blaine Gabbert. Having their injury-prone starting RB returning punts was a very strange decision and it backfired disastrously, as has playing Carlos Hyde while injured himself. The idea behind picking Gaskins was kind of understandable and Mike Davis was never in danger being a draft pick of theirs (which means all sorts of scouting, the explicit decision to take him over others and plenty of franchise pride has gone into him). Releasing Hayne, though… it was frustrating at this stage after all the progress we've seen, the hype and the initial faith - maybe they just got sick of dealing with the Aussie media scrums? It’s just a shame he hasn’t really had the chances (at running back anyway) that he could have had. They never quite released the shackles, but he'll be back eventually.

Chur Steve

But enough of that, Steven Adams and the Thunder are back in action. Russell Westbrook looks like a monster, Kevin Durant is back and everyone is healthy. Hey, and Stevie’s starting centre. Things look good.

They played four times this week, earning a record of 3-1 to start their campaign. Adams has found himself playing good minutes in Billy Donovan’s rotations, tending to get most of the first quarters as well as a run in the second, then starting the third and often closing the fourth, though that has depended on the game situation. For example, with the Thunder down late against the Magic, Enes Kanter and his superior scoring game got almost all of the fourth. There have also been a few short stints of Kanter and Adams together, as well as Adams being the guy they prefer when they go small with Durant at the 4, though Serge Ibaka has played a little 5 himself these games. The most interesting role in the rotation is actually at shooting guard, where Dion Waiters usually finds himself closing… and hold your breath here but he’s done a solid job of it too! He’s hit 3 of 8 from 3pt so far, averaging 7.5 points, 4 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and displaying a rarely seen discipline with the ball in his hands. Not enough to get him an extension though, that’ll have to wait until the end of the season or maybe not at all.

Steven Adams Box Scores:

• vs San Antonio: 30 MIN / 6 PTS (3/4) / 7 REB / 1 AST / 1 BLK / 0 STL / 4 PF / 2 TO
• at Orlando: 36 MIN / 9 PTS (3/5) / 8 REB / 2 AST / 2 BLK / 2 STL / 5 PF / 2 TO
• vs Denver: 22 MIN / 2 PTS (1/3) / 3 REB / 1 AST / 2 BLK / 0 STL / 4 PF / 2 TO
• at Houston: 19 MIN / 5 PTS (2/3) / 3 REB / 0 AST / 0 BLK / 1 STL / 1 PF / 0 TO

The win over the Spurs was a big boost to start the season but it was the second game against the Magic that was the best one, for Steven and for the neutrals – probably the best game of the nascent season. The young Magic, led by Victor Oladipo who’d log the first triple double of 2015-16, got out to a big lead in the third quarter but then Russell Westbrook came in and led the Thunder back as they outscored the Magic 42-24 in the fourth. Oladipo seemed to have won it for Orlando with a late triple but then Russ banked in a deep three in return, on the run as time expired from about two steps inside the half. It ended up going to double overtime, and only a couple late blocks from KD kept it from a third. Steven Adams got long minutes in OT after Enes Kanter fouled out, culminating in his best stat line of the year so far. He drained two clutch free throws late in the second period of overs. His high pick game for Russ was absolute money in overtime too. He does a lot of stuff for this team that doesn’t translate into numbers on the board but is crucial to how they go.

Opening Week NBA Thoughts:

• Old Man Kobe is as much fun as we’d hoped. When he’s not shooting.
• Ricky Rubio might have a jump shot now. Breakout season?
• Mavs vs Clippers is a legit rivalry.
• Steph Curry is not easing off at all. 24 points in the first quarter of the season.
• The Nets are in for a long season.
• All those injuries really are brutalising the Pelicans.
• The Pacers look super sharp and much more fun… but they need Monta Ellis to be shooting a lot better.
• Manny Mudiay is a turnover machine without a great jumper but he’s got game. Rookie of the Year frontrunner?
• Trust Stan Van Gundy.
• The Blazers look like they’ll need Dame Lillard and C.J. McCollum to score 60 a night… and they might do just that.
• RIP Flip.

NFL Week 8 Power Rankings:

1. New England Patriots (Last Week = 1)
2. Denver Broncos (5)
3. Cincinnati Bengals (3)
4. Green Bay Packers (2)
5. Carolina Panthers (4)
6. Arizona Cardinals (6)
7. St Louis Rams (10)
8. Minnesota Vikings (NA)
9. Atlanta Falcons (8)
10. Oakland Raiders! (NA)

Spot On Presser

LBJ 25K

Racin’ Babies

Saint Dirk Rises

Quote of the Week:

Some people stick with friendly rivalries. DeMarcus Cousins does not. He straight up hates the Clippers. 

Runner Up Quote of the Week

The beef lives on. Seems the Clippers are not the most popular team going around. Hey, but Cuban wasn’t all jabs and barbs…

Good Week:

Steph Curry (Golden State Warriors) – You wanna bet against him? He has three 20 point quarters already this season – Russell Westbrook is the only other player with one. And Russ certainly isn’t shooting 48.8% from three. Oh, and also this happened:

Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) – Just when you think he may be over the hill he goes and ties the record for the most passing TDs in a game. We’ll never doubt you again, buddy.

Blake Griffin (Los Angeles Clippers) – It’s hard for any player to start as hit as Curry has, but Griffin is something close. He’s helped the Clippers to 4-0 for only the fourth time in franchise history and the first time in 30 years in his typically powerful yet finessed way. 29.5 points and 9.3 boards per game so far, he scored 37 at home to the Kings on Sunday. He’s shooting at 62.2% as well and don’t go thinking those are all dunks.

Bad Week:

New Orleans Pelicans – For a team with outsider championship potential, starting 0-3 is not the best way to start. Injuries are the real problem, with having to play the Warriors twice not helping. There’s only so much that Anthony Davis can do. At least things will get better.

Terry Collins (New York Mets) – Whoops.

Player of the Week:

Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals) – World Series MVP, that’s as good as it gets. The 25 year old is as tough as they come, arguably now the best catcher in all of baseball, and he had a great time of it hitting .364/.391/.455 over the five games, scoring three runs and plating two. Some of those were absolute clutch hits too, and all of them were after taking foul ball after foul ball after pitch in the dirt. So many bruises, now so much recognition. Cheers to you, Sal.