Ball Girl #075: Think you’re broke after your summer shenanigans?

Ben Simmons technically played for the Philadelphia 76ers last year. I say ‘technically’ because he didn’t actually play in pre-season, nor the actual season. Then when he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for playoffs, he still didn’t play! Why all the self-imposed bench time? Simmons claimed he was not mentally fit to take the court… to which the 76ers responded, no play, no pay. Holy HARSH… but perhaps fair given the team is a business? IDK, you pick a side, but Simmons missed out on approximately 20 MILLION (gulp). He settled the issue with the 76ers in court this past week but it’s unclear how much of that check he was able to recover. 

Can I have your number?

$43.4mm: Amount made by Max Scherzer (Pitcher, New York Mets), the highest paid player in the MLB this year. And that’s just the first year salary out of a three-year, $130mm contract.

TLDRs

⛳️The BMW Championship kicks off this weekend at Wilmington Country Club. Eyes are on Tony Finau and Sungjae Im. Read on for more.

🏀 With no real games in sight, NBA fans have three things to talk about right now: 1) where will Kevin Durant (Brooklyn Nets) end up playing next year 2) Will the Lakers trade Russel Westbrook for Kyrie Irving (Brooklyn Nets) and 3) Will LeBron James have the chance to play WITH his son Bronny (LeBron Jr.), who could get drafted in 2 years?

🎓🏈 The AP Poll came out this past Monday, and surprise, surprise: Alabama came out on top. Why’s that, you ask? They have depth on their bench with top players returning, and they have blood lust having lost the championship game last year to Georgia. Imagine Daenerys Stormborn in season 4 of Game of Thrones and that’s Bama heading in the 22/23 season.

🏁 Daniel Ricciardo is definitely going to leave McLaren, but two massive questions remain…will he leave this year (AKA, will McLaren buy him out of his contract), and will he get another contract in F1, specifically? Ralf Schumacher, former F1 driver himself, expressed his doubts in a recent statement, believing that this could be Daniel’s final year in F1 cue tiny violin here.

⚽️ Powerhouse team Liverpool was served a surprising blow Monday evening when they tied the inferior club Crystal Palace, 1 all. Whaaa!? Just goes to show….Mondays can suck for everyone, even one of the best teams in the PL.

⚾️ The MLB has announced the dates for the 2022 World Series and looks like we’ll have some November baseball this year. Meanwhile, some top teams are experiencing growing pains. Read on for more.

🏈 The preseason grind continues and Jimmy G (49ers QB) might be in a bit of a pickle. Read on for more.

MLB

The MLB released the playoff schedule just in time for teams to fall apart

This is the most competitive time in baseball — we’re this close to playoffs, so it’s crunch time for all teams. The MLB just announced dates for the World Series (November 5th!), and teams announced what’s holding them back.

• The LA Dodgers are one of these teams, with some of their best pitchers in trouble. Clayton Kershaw is on the 10 day injured list (read: he’s sitting out for a bit while they figure out what’s wrong) and young star Walker Buehler, who’s been out for a couple months now, is getting season-ending elbow surgery. I would feel bad for them except they still have the best odds to win the World Series.

• The NY Mets are another dominant team with a couple major injuries — Luis Guillorme, one of their best infielders, will be out for 6 weeks, and pitcher Carlos Carrasco will be out for a month. The Mets have been on a tear but this does not bode well for their pre-playoffs stretch of games.

• The last team that has truly and actually fallen apart is the NY Yankees (NY sports fans, are you even surprised at this point?). They secured some insurance by kicking ass early on in the season, but they’ve lost 10 of their last 12 games, most recently dropping to the Orioles and the Rays. Their lead in the AL East is vanishing faster than guys on a first date when I start talking about astrology.

NFL

• Only notable news today is that Jimmy G’s fate is still very much in the air. If you’re not familiar, Jimmy is the dashing young QB who carried the SF 49ers to the Super Bowl last season (see pic evidence above). Although, ‘carried’ is a strong word, considering the 49ers isn’t known for their passing game (passing game means the QB throwing the ball. The 49ers have a good rushing game which is when the QB hands it off to a guy to run the ball. AKA, Jimmy G’s job requires little skill).

• Now he and the 49ers are going through a messy, elongated breakup. And the 49ers aren’t playing nice — they just released some major tea about him. Apparently, he went completely AWOL on the 49ers every offseason… Including after he signed a $137 mil contract. This feels like the 49ers were just asking for a little attention and Jimmy G was like “omg you’re so needy”. Soon he’ll be calling them his crazy ex.

Golf

The PGA Tour heads to Delaware for the first time ever for 2022 BMW Championship

• The second of three playoff events features those players who made the top 70 after last weekend’s tournament. Most betting odds see Tony Finau and Sungjae Im at the top of the leaderboard but as we all know, the playoffs (especially in golf) hit a little bit different and anything can happen.

Time Out for the Tea

Aaron Rodgers meets…LIV Golf?

• Long-time Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, is thinking about life after football (as any 38 year-old football player should). Apparently for him, that involves LIV Golf (the highly contentious Saudi-backed golf tour, in constant competition with the PGA Tour). In Rodgers’ recent appearance on Pardon My Take podcast, Rodgers let everyone know just how much it would cost for him to join. “Probably around Tigers number, 800 million. So there is a chance. Everybody’s got a price. Yeah. We’ve all got a price.” Now, apparently Rodgers has a 4.6 handicap which is nothing to snuff at. But equating himself to Tiger Woods??? We’re not so sure…

Deshaun Watson apologizes to victims

• In an interview with Cleveland News 5 this past Friday, Deshaun Watson issued an apology to the women who accused Watson of sexual misconduct during massage sessions. "I want to say that I'm truly sorry to all the women I've impacted in this situation. The decisions that I made in my life that put me in this position, I would definitely like to have back, but I want to continue to move forward and grow and learn and show that I am a true person of character and I want to keep pushing forward." Some question whether the apology was genuine, or a means to his preferred end: convincing the NFL to rest the case.