WHITE PLAINS, NY – It’s Tuesday, time for your weekly dose of B-Dubs... And since that’s my self-declared nickname, you should know I really dug the Olympics this year. The inclusion of Rugby 7s had me tuning in right away. And before I knew it, I was streaming archery on my phone at 2 in the morning. It was embarrassing. My wife caught me and I had to pretend I was watching porn. With the Olympics, the Yankees calibrating for their next dynasty, and football kicking into gear – it’s good time for NY sports.
Olympic Inspiration: Ryan Lochte and Hope Solo did their best Donald Trumpeting of the ugly American stereotype.
These stories got way too much press and it’s our own fault for gobbling it up. Like the paparazzi – if we want to see them no more, we must ignore. I get it, those click-bait links are hard to resist. I want to know how Jessica Simpson lost the baby weight and how she looked in her new bikini in St. Barts as much as the next guy.
Aly Raisman NAKED – ESPN Magazine Body Issue… by enteritament
But if you scoured through the mud, there was plenty of Olympic inspiration to be found. Here are two quotes I liked:
1. US gymnast Laurie Hernandez to teammate Ali Raisman before the floor exercise: “If you get silver again, you’re the best, because Simone doesn’t count.” She was of course referring to Simone Biles, the US gymnast making her case for the G-GOAT (greatest gymnast of all time). Can you imagine being so good at something that people say you don’t count? My Mom and my hockey coach have both told me I don’t count. It did not seem like a compliment either time, but now I’ll rest easy knowing it was the ultimate praise.
2. Helen Maroulis won the first ever gold medal in US women’s wresting. Her accomplishment missed out on some media coverage due to a conflict with the Lochte fiasco. When asked about it, she said: “I didn’t come here to win a gold for the media attention. I didn’t come here to win a gold medal in order to find something within myself or some peace with myself. I found that self worth before I stepped on the mat. I think that’s why I won the gold medal.” Dang, a lesson for us all right there. Strong and wise, there are so few of us.
Baby Bombers Boner… With Gary Sanchez hitting bombs on a near daily basis, and Aaron Judge and the other Baby Bomber hitters looking strong, we turn our attention to pitching. Do the Yankees have any young pitchers in the pipeline ready to join the revolution. Or to say it another way, do the Yankees have any baby pitchers to extend my BBB? Well, we got a little of the tip this week from Chad Green and Luis Cessa… Chad Green gave up only one run in two eye opening starts, and Cessa didn’t give up a run in his start. If the Yankees are going to erect (too much?) a miracle run down the stretch, these two kids will need to rise up and do their part.
You may recall that both of these kids were acquired from the Tigers in the Justin Wilson trade. What seemed a curious move at the time, giving up a valuable lefty bullpen arm, now seems shrewd on the part of our man Cashman. While Wilson has been solid in Motown, these two young starters have far more long term value. It’s been a pretty stellar year for the Yankees GM, restocking the Yankee farm system and jettisoning some excess baggage. He’s still got a long way to go in my mind to make up for signing A-Rod to that ridiculous deal after he had opted out, but there is no doubt that Cash has been killing it of late. The future looks bright in the Bronx.
Giant Offensive Woes: What was going on with the Giant “offense” against the Bills? When new head coach Ben McAdoo was asked if he saw any positives, he couldn’t name a damn thing. Come on Ben, the uniforms fit pretty well. They were dressed pretty well getting off the plane.
The G-men were 8 for 25 passing. They had more penalties than first downs. There were some bright spots on D, but the Offense was U.G.L.Y. I know it’s only preseason, but their failure to address the OL is something that seems likely to come back to haunt them. We’ll see if they can’t straighten it out against the Jets.
Feel free to fire away below and come back tomorrow for my pal Angry Ward, who has returned from Florida? And please follow us on Twitter – @BenWhit8 & @MeetTheMatts and like our Facebook page, Meet The Matts. Thank you.
