Thursday, May 20, 2021

Sports this 'n' that

After retiring from baseball last year following four years in the Mets' farm system, Tim Tebow is back in football.

Otherwise a studio analyst for the SEC Network (ESPN), Tebow is finally heeding the advice, albeit nearly a decade later than it'd been first suggested, of other analysts, and signed a deal with Jacksonville Wednesday to try out at tight end. Now, when Tebow signed with New England in 2013, coach Bill Belichick had tried him out at tight end, since there was no way on this planet he'd ever see the field as a revolving door understudy to Tom Brady (now with Tampa Bay), and Tebow was one of the last cuts prior to the start of the season. Same thing in Philadelphia.

So what changed his mind? His former college coach, Urban Meyer, is now the coach of the Jaguars, who drafted Clemson's Trevor Lawrence #1 last month.

However, signing Tebow is just a band-aid on a bigger problem. The Jaguars fell back to the AFC South basement the last couple of years, and the novelty of Lawrence throwing passes to Tebow, or the reverse if Tebow is used as a wildcat quarterback, will wear off quickly if Jacksonville doesn't get off to a fast start.

Just sayin'.
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The Citi Field injury curse didn't leave when the Mets were sold to Steve Cohen in the off-season, as it's reared its ugly head again the last couple of weeks. Slugger Pete Alonso may be the next victim, as he sat out Wednesday's loss to Atlanta with a sore wrist that has been nagging him for a few days after he was hit by a pitch vs. St. Louis two weeks ago. Alonso has tried to play through the pain, but manager Luis Rojas sat him last night when the Mets needed his power bat off the bench late.
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At this rate, Major League Baseball will obliterate a single season record for no-hitters.

There have been two in the last two days, bringing the official total to six, as MLB stubbornly refuses to amend its 1991 ruling that denies Madison Bumgarner his share of history. The Arizona ace no-hit Atlanta in a 7 inning game, part of a double-header, but because of a ruling by then-commissioner Fay Vincent, it has to be nine innings to constitute a no-hitter. We've gone over that before.

On Tuesday, Detroit's Spencer Turnbull pitched a no-no at the Seattle Mariners, the second time this month the Mariners had been no-hit, both times at home. Baltimore's John "Ways &" Means turned the trick a couple of weeks back.

Then, last night, in Arlington, the Yankees' Corey Kluber needed just 101 pitches.....


And, yup, this was the second time the Rangers had fallen victim to a no-no. Last month, ex-Tri City Valleycat Joe Musgrove delivered San Diego's 1st no-hitter vs. Texas. Keeping with the pattern, Cleveland is the other team to get the double whammy, having been no-hit by Cincinnati and the Chicago White Sox.

Prior to Means' start vs. the Mets, there was the predictable talk surrounding the only pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters, Johnny VanderMeer. Unfortunately for Means, New York's Jeff McNeil spoiled the party immediately. Now, the VanderMeer discussion will start anew, heading into Kluber's next start.

Back to the Yankees. It was the first regular season no-hitter since David Cone, now a Yankee broadcaster, pitched a perfect game vs. Montreal in 1999. It was the first no-no on the road in nearly 70 years, and the 12th overall in team history, including Don Larsen's perfecto to end the 1957 World Series.

And I don't think we're done with no-hitters.
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To those that think, because of the nature of their craft, wrestlers don't get seriously injured, think again.

AEW's Chris Jericho won't be competing for another month after dislocating his elbow two weeks ago in a televised match, although he might get a waiver for a gimmick match at AEW's Double or Nothing event on May 30.

WWE's Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, as durable as anyone since he first set foot in a WWE ring in 2004 (Smackdown's $1,000,000 Tough Enough), suffered a torn ACL on Sunday at Wrestlemania Backlash. The severity of the tear is unclear, but if it's a full tear, Mizanin will be out of the ring, his talk show segments aside, until after the 2022 Royal Rumble. At least he'll get to spend more time with wife Maryse and their daughters while they plan season 3 of Miz & Mrs. for USA.

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