(BEFORE WE GET STARTED): There is the NBA and then there is basketball and it is being played by women.
We took in our second Indiana Fever game when we were in Indianapolis recently, chance to watch Sophie and Caitlin play—Sophie is kind of considered Caitlin’s enforcer—and again were greatly impressed by the intensity of the women’s game and the fact that people of normal height but extraordinary skill worked the ball, set up plays, had tremendous assists, fierce blocks, and ran up 90 points in four ten-minute quarters.
And the pregame! Tiger fans, get a load of this (anytime you see someone wearing number 10, it’s former Tiger Sophie Cunningham)
Now, on to regular business
(BASEBALL)—Neither of our major league baseball teams was much to talk about this week. The Cardinals muddled along and the Royals sank deeper into mediocrity. In fact, the Royals dropped to a season-worst 15 games under .500 with their sweep by the Rangers, making Kansas City losers of 16 of their last 19 including two straight sweeps and four overall. Manager Matt Quartaro was at least honest when he said, manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday. “I mean, we didn’t play well enough to win a game.”
The Royals were 10-18 in May. Four of their pitchers are out with injuries and the the offense isn’t showing much spark heading into June. They began the new week with the second-worst record in the American League (Detroit is a half-game behind them.)
The Cardinals took the rubber game of the series with the Cubs Sunday night to hold onto second place in a division in which every team is playing better than break-even ball. They’re five games over .500 but trail the Brewers by four and a half at the start of a new week.
They opened a series last night against the Texas Rangers who are managed by Cardinals fan favorite Skip Schumaker, who played in St. Louis 2005=2012.
(DOWN ON THE FARM)—-A rarity, maybe it’s history—for minor league baseball happened in Springfield Saturday afternoon when Jurrangelo Cinintje, obtained in a winter trade and now the number for player in the Cardinals pipeline, started for the Springfield Cardinals.
He struck out Wichita Wind Surge outfielder Garrett Spain twice.
He did it once throwing right-handed and once throwing left-handed. He wasn’t too spectacular otherwise—three runs, three hits and a walk.
He’s 23, has made ten starts this year and is 3-2 with a 5.21 ERA
(BATTLEHAWKS)—-The St. Battlehawks go into the first round of the UFL playoffs at 6-4 after Friday night’s upset by the Dallas. 20-16. They had clinched a home field first round playoff spot a week earlier.
Dallas had lost six in a row before finishing the regular season with the victory. St. Louis helped he Renegades get the win by turning the ball over four times in eleven possessions (1 fumble, two interceptions and a 3-and-out).
The Orlando Storm go into the playoffs 8-2 with the Battlehawks at 6-4. The Louisville Kings are 5-4, and the DC Defenders are the four-seed with a 5-5 record.
The first round playoffs next weekend will match Orlando and DC and St. Louis against Louisville in the Battledome, as it’s now called. The ‘Hawks beat the Kings 16-3 earlier.
The Kings started the season 0-3
On the track—
(INDYCAR)—The streets of Detroit hosted IndyCar one week after the spectacular Indianapolis 500 and this this time, the driver who started P1 finished in the same position
—a familiar face: Alex Palou. If he pulls off a win next weekend at World Wide Technology Speedway, he will have won half of the last 26 IndyCar events. He’s four out of eight this year. He’s well on the way to his fourth straight series title, up by 62 points over Kyle Kirkwood, the runner up, three seconds behind.
He led 71 of the 100 laps and took the lead for the final time on lap 69 when Kirkwood pitted.
(NASCAR)—Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe were three-wide at the start of the last lap at Nashville but, as one long-ago broadcaster put it, “it was a wreck that didn’t happen….and Hamlin had the momentum coming off of the last turn.
Hamlin began the race on the pole but jumped the start and was sent to the back of the 38-car field. He fought his way back for the 62nd victory of his career. He is now only one win behind Kyle Busch, who ranks ninth on the all-time Cup list.
(picture credits: Palou at Indianapolis—Bob Priddy; Battlehawks—Instagram; Pitcher—Springfield Daily Citizen)