Category / Daily Noontime

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Welcome to Thursday, everyone!

As usual, I hope this blog post finds everyone doing well, staying safe, and thinking optimistically.

Before we get to some news and links, I just wanted to pass along a friendly reminder that Election Day is five days away so please make an effort to vote. No matter who you support, your voice matters, and you can visit Vote.org to learn more about how and where to vote.

Alright, let’s get to some news and links, beginning with Major League Baseball (MLB) which is currently investigating – well, more trying to understand exactly why Justin Turner of the Los Angeles Dodgers ‘refused to comply‘ with league officials during his team’s championship celebration on Tuesday evening.

As for Turner’s teammates (and coaches), they returned safely to the City of Angles yesterday after testing negative for the coronavirus. And hopefully Turner (and his wife) will return to California soon – safely, of course! – but for now, he and his teammates, along with the organization remain “under fire” for their World Series celebration.

The Dodgers are currently the favorites heading into the 2021 season, according to a ‘way too early‘ power rankings from ESPN, while our hometown Boston Red Sox were picked 19th (ouch!). Yes, the Red Sox were not great this summer and fall, but hopefully things change for the better next season (fingers crossed!).

Let’s switch gears to basketball – the college basketball world, to be exact – where this year’s women’s basketball teams may look the same, both this season and next season, due to NCAA allowing student-athletes an extra year of eligibility. Yet, for student-athletes to receive this additional year, they must compete during the current academic school year.

The 2020-21 college basketball season begins next month and promises to be perhaps one of the strangest seasons.

We’ll be back for more later, but don’t forget to listen (and subscribe) to our Noontime Sports Podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify!

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Welcome to Wednesday, everyone!

As usual, hope everyone is doing well, staying safe, and having a great week thus far.

Let’s begin today’s ‘Daily Noontime’ with a tip of the cap – no pun intended, of course! – to the Los Angeles Dodgers, who captured their first World Series crown in 22 seasons last night with a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Prior to the Dodgers celebrating their city’s second championship this month – the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Miami Heat in the 2020 National Basketball Association (NBA) Finals a few weeks earlier – Justin Turner tested positive for the coronavirus. Had the Rays beaten the Dodgers last night, then the seventh game of the Fall Classic, which was scheduled for this evening, may have been postponed to Thursday or Friday. Maybe Saturday?

And just for those keeping track at home, Mookie Betts, who helped the Boston Red Sox win the 2018 World Series, capped the best-of-seven game series by smacking a home run last night. Can someone please call Bob Lobel and ask him the following: why can’t we get players like Mookie Betts?

According to Scott Soshnick of Sportico, the final-out ball from last night’s sixth game of the World Series is worth $250.000. Anyone interested in purchasing it?

While the Dodgers will certainly receive a great deal of attention, both today and over the next few days for ending one of the craziest seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) history, one storyline that may not disappear for quite some time will be Kevin Cash‘s decision to yank Blake Snell off the mound in the sixth inning. Was it the right decision?

Perhaps this move will haunt the Rays for weeks and months – maybe years? – but I guess the only way the Tampa Bay fans can forgive Kevin Cash is by having the team capture the World Series next October. Maybe Tom Brady could help the Rays win some games?

One last baseball story – sorry, I know this is a very heavy-duty World Series post! – but one more tip of the cap to the home of the Texas Rangers, which I will always consider the finish line for the weirdest and strangest baseball season in my lifetime.

Alright, that will do it for today’s ‘Daily Noontime’ – remember, you can stay connected with us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube by searching “Noontime Sports” and follow us on Instagram at @NoontimeNation!

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Hello Tuesday – how are you?

From a quick look outside our window, Tuesday look rather gloomy and cloudy – that is in the Boston area, to be exact!

Let’s get to some news (and links), beginning with Major League Baseball (MLB) where the 30-team league “amassed an unprecedented $8.3 billion of debt from their various lender” this summer and fall. The league will also lose between $2.8-3 billion in operational losses, according to Rob Manfred, who conveyed the not-so-great news to Sportico yesterday.

A big reason for the debt was due to no fans in the stands, which is because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. And if Manfred and the league does not have fans in the stands next season, which is certainly a possibility, especially in California and New York, then MLB could be face some additional challenges.

The 2020 MLB season could conclude either this evening or tomorrow in Texas – as of now, the Los Angeles Dodgers are one game away from winning their first Fall Classic since 1988. The Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 4-2, on Sunday in the fifth game of the World Series.

I am thinking the Dodgers will clinch the World Series this evening – just a gut feeling – but I could also see the Rays winning tonight to force a game seven tomorrow evening.

Let’s switch gears to college basketball where we learned yesterday that some early season contests and events that were initially scheduled to occur in Orlando, Florida next month, as well as in the beginning of December, will not happen. The main reason ESPN, which was scheduled to host these tournaments, pulled the plug was so everyone could stay safe and healthy.

ESPN’s public relations team released a statement on Twitter about the tournaments they were planning to host with the following message to their college basketball fans: “ESPN Events set out to create a protected environment for teams to participate in early-season events in Orlando. Based on certain challenges surrounding testing protocols, we opted to resume these tournaments during the 2021-22 season.”

Alright, that will conclude a short and to-the-point version of the ‘Daily Noontime,’ but we will be back with another blog post (or two) later today!

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Monday, Oct. 26, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Happy Monday, everyone! And welcome to the final few days of October – crazy, right?

We’re eight days away from the election – have you voted? If not, there is still plenty of time. And you can visit vote.org to find out how you can vote.

Noontime Sports (and NoontimeSports.com) is encouraging all of our fans and friends to vote because your voice matters, so please make sure to cast a vote by mail or in-person. And if you do in-person voting, please make sure to wear a mask, social distance, and bring your own pen!

Alright, let’s begin today’s ‘Daily Noontime’ for Monday, October 26, 2020 – have a great day, everyone!

By now, you probably know our beloved New England Patriots suffered a very bad loss yesterday, falling to Jimmy Garoppolo and the San Francisco 49ers.

Yes, Jimmy G. looked good – we all enjoyed seeing our former backup quarterback compete against the unhappy Bill Belichick – but what really caught my attention from yesterday’s contest was the following:

  • Jeff Wilson Jr. had no issue running against the Patriots defense – before departing the game with an injury, he rushed for 112 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns.
  • Cam Newton and yes, Jarrett Stidham, both struggled to move the ball down the field – they also combined for four interceptions while the San Francisco defense sacked each signal-caller once.

New England will visit the Buffalo Bills next week for a VERY important divisional matchup.

Buffalo somehow outlasted the New York Jets yesterday, thanks to six field goals by rookie Tyler Bass.

Here are some other news and notes from another bizarre yet interesting day of professional football:

Alright, here is some other news and links from the world wide web:

by Matt Noonan

Daily Noontime (Friday, October 23, 2020)

By Matt Noonan

Ah, it’s Friday – we made it!

I hope everyone is ready for another great weekend – crazy to think we have only one more Sunday in October, but I guess that means we’re another day closer to 2021 and 2022, right?

We took a day off yesterday, but are excited to be back to produce a brand new ‘Daily Noontime,’ beginning with welcoming back Big 10 Football!

Yep, Big 10 Football is back – the first week of the 2020 season for the conference begins this evening with the University of Illinois visiting the University of Wisconsin. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.

What Big 10 game will I be keeping my eyes on? Well, I would say a few, but I think I will have to tune into tomorrow evening’s clash between the University of Michigan and University of Minnesota. Both teas are nationally ranked and the game will be played on ABC with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Did you miss a recent Noontime Sports Podcast? If so, make sure to listen to our show on Apple Podcast and Spotify!

Let’s switch gears to baseball where the third game of the 2020 World Series is set to be played this evening with first pitch scheduled for 8:08 p.m.

Both teams – the Los Angeles Dodgers and Tampa Bay Rays – have won one game of the best-of-seven series, but many believe whoever wins the third game will most likely go onto win the series. I am still rooting for the Rays, but know these Dodgers are really good!

Here are a few interesting stories (and links) from the series (from the past day or so):

So, I mentioned ESPN – well, ESPN.com, to be exact – in one of our World Series links (above!) – and one thing we learned late yesterday was that the company is moving some of its feature content and analysis behind its ESPN + paywall. Will you be paying to read their commentary and analysis?

It is an interesting move given the world wide leaders’ competitors are either behind a paywall – some sites, not every site requires a credit card! – while others are heading in that direction.

Let’s conclude today’s ‘Daily Noontime’ with a few more links and news from the world wide web:

  • Sunday’s game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Tom Brady/Tampa Bay Buccaneers has been moved from an evening affair to a late afternoon contest due to “abundance of caution.”
  • New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton admitted yesterday to WEEI.com that he needs to improve his play – he certainly has high aspirations for himself, which is a good thing, I promise!
  • And finally, here are a slew of links from Blogging the Boys on the Dallas Cowboys – man, something is not right in ‘Big D’ these days!