EL BARRIO, EL FALLS – The end of the week makes it tough to figure out topics. Most are already written and so you have to scrap a bit for a topic. I could talk about the Knicks drafting RJ Barrett but really we all saw that coming and it should be no surprise. So I will stick to what I know. Today’s topics will be: MLB Sovereignty & Soccer Cups.
MLB Sovereignty: Baseball now has the stage to itself. No other Big 4 sport is on TV, its only competition is Soccer and though it has made strides, 
the behavior of the MTM Staff is proof it has even further to go. So, the main headlines are that the Yankees have won 7 in a row and are just about to get Aaron Judge back. It pains me to say but the Yankee farm is better than people like me realize. With their buy-everyone- else’s-best-players mantra, there is little chance to see these guys unless there is an injury crisis. All the young players that are making a name for themselves will now be trade bait for the next big name.
Meanwhile, short ride on the 4 to the 7 train, the Mets continue to confound. They have a guy like Pete Alonso knocking dingers and proving there is some talent in the Mets farm system but not enough and combine with the inconsistent performances in the rest of the line-up and on the mound, they will be a .500 team and it is in doubt if that will be enough to make the playoffs, but they don’t suck like last year so that’s progress. In the rest of the league, you have the Phillies moving Bryce Harper to leadoff which has been a horrible and unproductive experiment. Dallas Keuchel finally signed and it was with the Braves. He looks very rusty but should be in good form and fresh for Atlanta’s playoff push. Finally Albert Pujols returned to St. Louis to a massive stand ovation, which is class for a baseball city like “The Lou.”
Soccer Cups: Although all soccer leagues except the USA’s Major League Soccer take a break during the summer, there is always the international cups. 
This summer so we have the North and Central American And Caribbean Championship, known as the CONCACAF Gold Cup. We have the South American Championship known as Copa America. There is also the African Championship known as the Cup of Nations. And finally we have the Women’s World Cup going on. The Gold Cup just started earlier this week and there little interest as it is still in the stage of the smallest and most insignificant countries playing each other or worse yet against one of the big dogs. In South America a couple of the big names are struggling but in a 12 team tournament where 8 make the quarterfinals. There is no need to panic. On the Women’s World Cup front, the US women are crushing it. I will likely watch their knockout round game with my daughter. Maybe she will catch the soccer bug. The ratings are also up for the WWC which is a huge positive. We will see what happens as the US progress and if they get knocked out.
Share your thoughts and come back tomorrow for the aforementioned Short Matt. You can also find us on Twitter: @JunoirBlaber, @MeetTheMatts & @Matt_McCarthy00, Instagram– @MeetTheMatts – and Facebook – Meet The Matts
