Nunnie on the Sideline
By Sylvester “Nunnie” Robinson, Westside Gazette Sports Editor
Major League Baseball finally gets to showcase its highly skilled players and its skyrocketing popularity in Atlanta as the season’s prolific home run hitters display their ability to hit massive, meteoric blasts in a timed and relatively controlled environment. In addition, by the time you’re reading this, the annual All-Star game shall have concluded.
In the home run derby 6 players on Monday night competed for a million dollar financial prize, a classic jersey and a chain, all to the victor. As it unfolded Seattle catcher and mid- season home run leader with 38, Cal Raleigh, aka the Big Dumper, won the highly entertaining contest. Finishing in a close second was Junior Cominero of the Tampa Bay Rays. Of course Cal Raleigh’s celebration was a family affair as his dad was the perfect thrower of the baseball and his 15 year old younger brother was the catcher.
Tonight’s All-Star game features two of the biggest stars in the game today, duel threat pitcher/hitter Shohei Ohtani of the L. A. Dodgers and the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, a home run hitting machine. Others stars worth watching: the Pittsburgh Pirates’ O’Neil Cruz and the Cincinnati Reds’ Elly Dela Cruz. From the AL look for outstanding performances from Toronto favorite Vlad Guerrero and Glaybor Torres of the Detroit Tigers.
Two phenomenal pitchers will start – Tarik Skubal and Paul Skenes of the Tigers and Pirates respectively.
The suspension of Teddy Bridgewater, the self-reporting Northwestern Bulls football coach, is stunningly perplexing. When you consider the agreement between the NCAA and college athletes being fairly compensated financially, an element that has even filtered down to certain high school athletes, why should a coach be prohibited from assisting players in financial distress. I’ll withhold further judgment until all the facts are revealed.
There have also been rumors about Deion Sanders’ future as the head football coach at Colorado because of health issues and the loss of Shedeur and Travis. I believe that these are just that: highly combustible rumors fueled either by a strong dislike for Deion personally or because of his undeniable success at any and all levels. Stay tuned and don’t believe everything you see, hear or read.
Finally, the WNBA is a phenomenal professional basketball league with several superstar players and coaches. Their All-Star game is rapidly approaching so if you find a moment of free time, you will be surprised at the skill level, competitive nature and abundance of excellent teams that have emerged since the league’s humble beginnings. MLB and the WNBA are the only major professional team sports actively engaged in regular season competition. I think you just might be captivated and hooked enough to give it a second look.
