⚾️ Friday Fifteen! Ohtani, Judge, win MVP!

Judge, Ohtani, win MVP // via MLB

We’ve still got our Friday Fifteen today! A LOT to discuss…let’s roll:

1. ⚾ This season’s AL and NL MVPs were announced last night. It was a tale of two races, with one being a runaway, and the other up for discussion. Shohei Ohtani won the NL MVP, winning his 4th in the last 5 years. Domination! In the AL, Aaron Judge had the metrics, but Cal Raleigh had the fireworks, hitting the most HR in a single season by a catcher ever (60). It was Judge who ended up taking home his second-straight and third overall MVP!

   
   

2. 🏈 Thursday Night Football: After two absolute STINKERS these last two Thursday nights, who would have thought the Jets would be part of an interesting game? They were a part of it, but they weren’t the headline. The Patriots beat the Jets last night behind a HAT TRICK of TDs for TreVeyon Henderson. After a slow start to the season, Henderson is COOKING. The Patriots are now 9-2 and the 1-seed in the AFC. WOW. Pats win 27-14!

   
   

3. 🏀 Mavs GM Nico Harrison has been fired. Man, this one may have been coming, but it's just a tough thing to think about. Talk about an absolute hit-and-run. Trade away your best player, a top 3 player in the league, and then LUCK OUT in getting the number 1 pick and Cooper Flagg, and then still get fired because the team isn’t doing well enough. Ugly all around. Sorry Dallas. Silver lining is that Coop is looking good!

   
   

4. 🃏 55 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists. That’s Nikola Jokic’s stat line from their win against the Clippers on Wednesday. Sheesh. Only 6 assists, what the hell was he doing sleeping out there??

   
   

5. 🔴 After being out for 6 games, Brock Purdy will return for the 49ers against the Cardinals this week. Depending on how he looks on Sunday, people may start having Mac Jones discussions 🤷‍♂ 

   
   

6. ⚽ In a 2-0 loss to Ireland, Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off with a red card for a frustration elbow!

   
   

7. ⚾ The MVPs were not the only awards handed out. The Cy Young winners were announced as well, and it was Tarik Skubal (DET) and Paul Skenes (PIT) who ended up taking home the hardware.

   
   

8. 🟣 After missing practice on Wednesday with a knee issue, Lamar was back on Thursday. Not something you want to hear as a Ravens fan as they continue this push to the postseason. The Ravens will be in Cleveland this Sunday.

   
   

9. ⛈ The OKC Thunder are not just beating teams, but they are beating the breaks off of good teams. After their first and only loss of the season to the Trail Blazers, they have one their next 4 by an average of 24 points. And this includes wins against the Lakers, Warriors, and Kings. These guys are so good! J Dub still has not played a game this year!

   
   

10. 🦊 What would be an impressive number of steals for somebody to have in a single basketball game? 3? 4? 5? Probably in that range. Now, what would be an absurd number? 9? 10? 11? That would be absurd for sure. HOW ABOUT 16 STEALS IN A SINGLE GAME from Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo? This is an NCAA record. She tacked on a quiet 44 points as well, which was a Notre Dame record. The Junior has 44 points, 16 steals, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists in 28 minutes in their win over Akron! Unbelievable!

    
    

11. 🦅 Trouble in paradise? What do you call it when you’re winning but still not happy? I’m not quite sure. Maybe being dumb? The Eagles are 7-2, and every week, there are new frustrations coming out of their camp. A.J. Brown seems to always be in the center of it. You guys are 7-2! Focus on the big game against the Lions this week. Jeez.

    
    

12. 🏀 Not to double-dip on Mavs news, but with a lingering calf injury, the Mavs have said that AD will not return until their owner, Patrick Dumont, gives him the ok. I don’t blame them; calf injuries can lead to scary things. Hopefully, he gets to 100%

    
    

13. 🏈 CFB Saturday Preview: Air Force @ UConn (12:00 PM ET), (9) Notre Dame @ (22) Pitt (12:00 PM ET), (21) Iowa @ (17) USC (3:30 PM ET), (11) Oklahoma @ (4) Alabama (3:30 PM ET), (10) Texas @ (5) Georgia (7:30 PM ET)

    
    

14. 🏈 NFL Sunday Preview: Bucs @ Bills (1:00 PM ET), Chargers @ Jaguars (1:00 PM ET), Bengals @ Steelers (1:00 PM ET), Seahawks @ Rams (4:05 PM ET), Chiefs @ Broncos (4:25 PM ET), Lions @ Eagles (8:20 PM ET)

    
    

15. 🌳 Hope you enjoyed the 15. If you got this low, you’re a sicko, and we appreciate it a lot! Two ads today, if you could take 5 seconds and click the two blue links, that’d be epic. Takes 5 seconds and no work. It keeps the lights on over here at STUMP HQ! Thanks squad!