This Month in Sports
A month of stars rising to win championships, underdogs taking the gold, and the start up of two huge seasons highlighted the world of sports during the sports world.
College football’s 2017-2018 kicked off with Alabama once again taking the preseason number one ranked team. The top 4 rounded out with Ohio State, Florida State, and USC respectively. Yet, after wild games, dramatic finishes, and crazy upsets that rocked the college football world, the top 4 shifted dramatically, with 3 of the preseason top 4 teams no longer holding onto a top 4 ranking, and only one of those teams, Ohio State, is still in the top 10. Heisman Favorites Sam Darnold of USC, and Saquon Barkley of Penn States have lead their teams into the top 15 rankings, proving why critics around the country are favoring them to hold the trophy for best college football player at the end of the season.
The NFL’s regular season games also started up, and the opening weekend was nothing short of completely unexpected events. The Super Bowl favorite New England Patriots, who many thought could go the entire season undefeated, opened up their 2017-2018 season with 15 point loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs’ rookie running back, Kareem Hunt, displayed electric all-around skills and has jumped to the frontrunner to reason offensive rookie of the year at the end of the season. Another young running back, Ezekiel Elliott, of the Dallas Cowboys, had his 6 game suspension lifted right before the start of the season, when he had previously been convicted of domestic violence, which now allows him to play every game this season while the case goes into the 5th circuit court. Two teams: the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins had their opening game against each other canceled because of the Hurricane, to the surprise and confusion of many fans around the country.
The final grand slam tennis tournament of the year, the US Open, gave the world two champions with completely different stories. Rafael Nadal, arguably one of the greatest male tennis players ever, ended his season on a very high note, winning his first US Open since 2013, and ending the year with two grand slam titles to his name. On the women’s side of the bracket, ultra underdog Sloane Stephens became the lowest ranked female to ever win the competition, as well as being the only other American female besides the great Williams sisters to win the event since Jennifer Capriati in 2002.
The MLB regular season came to a closure with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Cleveland Indians as the respected top seeds on each side of the playoff bracket. The defending champion Cubs come into the playoffs red hot, ending the year with their best calendar month, as well as having the second best record since the all star break, trailing only the record breaking Indians after they broke the american league win streak record. The tennis season ended, but both the college and NFL seasons, as well as the MLB playoffs have just began, setting up the potential for a great October in sports.
