Ball Girl #092: Wednesdays are for the girls

Girl crush of this week (and, let's be honest, every week) is none other than Rihanna, A.K.A, Princess Rih, Ms. Fenty, and now....the 2023 Halftime Show Performer. That's right! Rihanna officially announced Sunday that she will be performing the halftime show at this year’s NFL (National Fenty League, as many are calling it now) Super Bowl LVII. She posted the below photo on her Instagram to celebrate the exciting news in girl boss fashion. Those nails are on FLEEK! As if this wasn't exciting enough, many fans speculate that Rihanna will be releasing a new album between now and February 12. We shall see…

Can I have your number?

100: Percent of countries covered by the Olympic ring colors. Yellow, green, red, black, and blue were selected because at least one of those five colors appears in every flag in the world.

TLDRs

🏁 The FIA is basically now the new Kris Jenner because they are constantly calculating ways to make more money via F1. Their latest scheme? To increase the number of sprint races from 3 to 6 in the 2022-2023 season. In case you forgot, sprint races are mini-races (with POINTS!) before the main event that determines the grid positioning. But what it also does is generate more interest in the sport from fans and more interest = more eyeballs = more money. Well played FIA. Well played.

🎓🏈 Cue up Freddy Mercury cause “another one bites the dust.” We are approaching only Week 5 of the CFB season and have already seen THREE head coaches be let go. The latest victim? Georgia Tech’s Geoff Collins. Collins joined four seasons ago in an attempt to turn the Yellow Jackets into a respectable franchise. Well, he amounted to a 26% winning percentage in that time. The lowest in the school’s history. R.I.P. 💀

⚾ Baseball records are being broken left, right and center this year… And Aaron Judge is on deck to break another. Read on for more.

⛳The Sanderson Farms Championship (the second event of the PGA Tour’s 2022-2023 calendar) kicks off tomorrow at Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi. None of the big shots are playing in the event, so better to keep your attention on football this weekend.

🏈 MNF featured two NFC East teams: the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys. Both teams had high hopes for the season but Dallas’ starting QB Dak Prescott was injured in game 1 and the Giants… well, the Giants never seem to catch a break. This game featured a stunning show from Cowboys’ wide receiver Cee-Dee Lamb who made a 1-handed touchdown catch to propel the Cowboys' victory and my jaw to the floor.

MLB

Judgement Day Approaches

• Last night the Yankees defeated the Blue Jays to clinch the AL East & secure a playoff spot. But everyone’s eyes are on Aaron Judge, waiting with bated breath to see if he’ll break a decades-old home run record while on the way to a triple crown, too.

• First up — the home run record.In 1927, Babe Ruth hit a record 60 home runs in a single season in the American League. That record stood for over THIRTY YEARS until in 1961, Roger Maris hit 61 home runs with 15 games remaining in the season. Another thirty years later, in 1998, Mark McGwire hit 70 homers in the National League, setting a new record for the entire MLB. Baseball is OLD, people.That American League record of 61 HRs still stands, and Aaron Judge keeps inching closer (some think he can take on McGwire’s MLB wide record, too). On Sept 20th, Judge hit his 60th home run of the season, tying the Yankees record set by Ruth and getting so close to breaking Maris’ SIX DECADES-OLD American League record.But since hitting 60 homers, Judge can’t seem to get even close to a hit, much less that 61st home run. Why? Apparently his cleats were made for walkin’… pitchers are scared of him and keep walking him! He’s been walked 12 times since the 60th homer — 38.7% of his plate appearances. Lame!

• Second — the triple crown.A triple crown means you’re leading a league in batting average, home runs, and runs batted in (RBI) in the course of one single season. Essentially, it means you’re like the Beyonce of baseball: you can do it all — sing, act, dance.Since 1920, only 10 players have won a Triple Crown, and only one triple crown has been awarded since 1969 (Miguel Cabrera, Tigers, 2012). Judge currently ranks 1st in all three categories… But there is still plenty of time left in the season.

• Why does this matter? Well, here’s the kicker: Just before the regular season, the Yankees offered Judge a seven year, $213.5 million contract. The consensus at the time was that Judge was worth a leeeetle bit more than that… but it was a hell of a deal, and a chance to stay in NY, too. But Judge turned it down. He really went and bet on himself and that bet is about to pay off big time. The cojones you have to have to turn down $200m in the first place… Respect.

Must Watch This Week

Wednesday

• ⚾ 6:00pm ET, Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays

• ⚾ 7:00pm ET, Toronto Blue Jays vs. New York Yankees

Thursday

• ⚾ 6:00pm ET, Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays

• 🏈 8:15pm ET, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Miami Dolphins

Time Out for the Tea

Phil drops PGA lawsuit

• Once Phil Mickelson left the PGA Tour to join LIV, the PGA Tour suspended him (and all other LIV players) from competing in any PGA tournaments. Mickelson and 10 other LIV players subsequently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour challenging said suspension. Recent news tells us that Mickelson has officially dropped out of the lawsuit, and quickly followed by Talor Gooch, Ian Poulter and Hudson Swafford. The lawsuit will continue, nonetheless. Mickelson stated, “I am pleased that the players on Tour are finally being heard, respected, and valued and are benefiting from the changes recently implemented. With LIV’s involvement in these issues, the players’ rights will be protected, and I no longer feel it is necessary for me to be part of the proceedings.”

TB throws tantrum; ruins things for everyone

• After Tom Brady lost his cool on Sunday, “hucking tablets” as some have called it, all 32 NFL teams have received a warning “threatening punishment for breaking tablets and/or other league-issued equipment.” Tsk tsk.