1st Down: Major League Baseball’s top contenders in the American League are there for a reason, and it’s not because they are sitting around idly waiting. Both the New York Yankees and Houston Astros continued to show their World Series aspirations on Monday by making trades ahead of the deadline. The Yankees brought in starter Frankie Montas and reliever Lou Trivino from the Oakland A’s while the Astros landed Trey Mancini from the Orioles and Christian Vasquez from Boston to give them further help in their already loaded lineup. In addition to that, it appears that Houston are also close to deal for Atlanta’s Will Smith, sending starter Jake Odorizzi to the Braves in exchange for the reliever.
2nd Down: The gavel has come down, and the verdict is that Deshaun Watson will miss the first six games of the Cleveland Browns’ season. After reports of sexual misconduct with a multitude of women, the NFL has moved to suspend the quarterback without pay for six games while choosing not to fine him any additional money in the process. As it stands, Watson would be eligible to make his debut for the Browns on October 23rd when they travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens. Watson was acquired by the Browns in March as they made a deal with the Texans for three first-round draft picks.
3rd Down: LIV Golf made a big play for Tiger Woods, so big that Greg Norman stated on Monday that the upstart league offered the world’s most famous golfer a deal in the $700-800M range just to join the fledgling organization. Norman, the CEO and front man for the group, confirmed that they attempted to reel in the 46 year old due to his notoriety as a ‘needle mover.’ Woods has spoken out against the new group, so it doesn’t look like he has any plans for coming over anytime soon.
4th Down: The New York Knicks, apparently, are the latest team under investigation for tampering per sources familiar with the team and league. This time it’s over the signing of Jalen Brunson, whom joined the Knicks as a free agent following the end of his deal with the Dallas Mavericks after a breakout 2021-22 season. Brunson signed a four year deal worth over $100 million, and the Knicks now join the Sixers as teams being looked into for potential tampering.
