Sak Sports Blog

Courtesy of USA Today The sports world's most polarizing father is continuing to make headlines, and the media is continuing to his every move. LaVar Ball made national headlines this weekend, stirring up drama with President Trump. And now, an outlet bigger than ESPN is hosting him and his side of the story: CNN. The latest chapter of the Ball family saga started when LiAngelo Ball and two other UCLA Basketball players were arrested on a team trip to China for shoplifting.  The country's strict judicial system had the visitors set for five to ten years in jail for their crimes. President Trump, who happened to be touring Asia at the time and found himself in China, specifically requested a special resolution on the matter from Chinese President Xi Jingping. Apparently, the request was heard and well-received as the players were allowed to return to the United States, where they would be suspended indefinitely by UCLA.  At this point, President Trump tweeted &qu

Courtesy of NBC Sports The NFL schedules games in London every year to draw more international appeal, and Mexico City is another location teams have traveled to in these efforts. For the second straight season, the Oakland Raiders will host an AFC opponent in Estadio Azteca. The reigning Super Bowl champion, 7-2 New England Patriots will play visitor to the 4-5 Raiders on Sunday. When the Raiders played the Houston Texans last season, it was the NFL's first game in Mexico since the Arizona Cardinals and San Francisco 49ers met in 2005: the league's first internationally held regular season game. Fans were treated to a good game last November, as the Raiders scored 14 straight points to win 27-20 in the fourth quarter. Now, the Raiders return to Mexico should garner a little more continued interest in their team, just as the Jacksonville Jaguars frequently visit London and the Buffalo Bills used to play games in Canada. Additionally, bringing in the Patriots

Courtesy of MLB.com Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve won the World Series two weeks ago and is now crowned the Most Valuable Player in the American League. On paper, the matchup could've been close, but Altuve ran away with the vote, garnering 27 of 30 first-place votes, to Aaron Judge's two. The win caps off a career-best season for the Venezuelan infielder. Altuve had great statistics with a .346 batting average (career-high), 24 home runs (ties career-high) and 81 RBI, along with 112 runs scored (another career-high) and 32 stolen bases on 38 attempts. Of course, rookie Aaron Judge also had an astronomical rookie season. Judge hit .284 with 52 home runs and 114 RBI for the New York Yankees, leading them to a postseason berth in what started out as a "rebuilding year." Despite his lower average and higher strikeout rate, Judge led Altuve in in on-base percentage (.422 to .410) and obviously slugging percentage (.627 to .547) Aaron Jud

LeBron James started a debate that's blown up into an all-out feud with New York Knicks center Enes Kanter. The drama led to an exciting game in Madison Square Garden, where the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 23 point deficit to beat the Knicks 104-101, adding more fuel to the fire. The quarrel started when James suggested the Knicks made a big mistake by drafting point guard Frank Ntilikina, rather than current Dallas Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. "He should be a Knick. That's going to make some headlines, but he should be a Knick. Dallas is definitely, I know they're excited that he didn't go there," LeBron said, referring to Smith Jr. after a game against the Mavericks. The Knicks didn't take kindly to these comments, defending their 19-year-old rookie. He said: "I don't care who, I just cannot let anyone disrespect my family like that, because when I play for an organization, I see my teammates and that organization as like

The NFL's 10th week will conclude tonight with a Monday Night Football matchup between the Miami Dolphins and Carolina Panthers. While there could be another strong quarterback performance there, we're gonna run down the five best passing days so far this week.  Jared Goff tore up the opposing defense for the second straight week. Kirk Cousins and Case Keenum both had solid days through the air in a 38-30 shootout in Washington. Even as his Giants fell to 1-8, Eli Manning didn't have a bad day in San Fransisco. But which five quarterbacks had the most impressive performances? 5. Matthew Stafford 17-26, 249 Yards 3 TD, 1 INT 65.4% completion, 118.9 rating Things didn't look great early against the Cleveland Browns, as Stafford and the Detroit Lions quickly fell in a 10-0 hole to the winless team. The Lions would outscore the Browns 38-14 after that point, largely behind the throwing arm of Matthew Stafford. Stafford had the 4th highest

Eli Manning has only played for the New York Giants in his career, leading them to two Super Bowls. While rumors have swirled around his future in New York with the Giants struggling, Manning does have a no-trade clause. Still under contract along with Odell Beckham Jr, Manning will likely be back with Big Blue next year. But if the two sides decide it's time to part ways? At 1-7, the Giants could draft a quarterback in next year's draft and hit the reset button. If Manning complied, he could finish his career with another team, perhaps with a shot at one last title. Again, I think there's an overwhelming chance Manning is still the starting quarterback for the Giants in 2018. But if he were to move on, where could he go? What teams would take the veteran quarterback for his last NFL years? Jacksonville Jaguars I actually already wrote about the hypothetical idea of the Jaguars trading for Manning earlier this season.  The obvious connection is his fo

Eric Bledsoe and the Phoenix Suns have finally parted ways, as the Suns sent the star point guard to the Milwaukee Bucks for Greg Monroe and a 1st-round draft pick. BREAKING: #Suns PG Eric Bledsoe will be sent to the Milwaukee #Bucks in a trade. — Sak Sports Blog (@SakSports) November 7, 2017 Will pairing Bledsoe with MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo push the Bucks over the hump and near the top of the Eastern Conference? Antetokounmpo has been nothing short of incredible this season, averaging 31.0 points, 9.9 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.4 blocks per game this season. His rebounds are a career high, nearly averaging a double-double, as his field goal percentage, which is up to 58% after rising in each of his first five seasons. However, despite Antetokounmpo's jaw-dropping performances, the Bucks are only 4-5 and sit 10th in the Eastern Conference through nine games. Enter Eric Bledsoe. The Bucks current starting guards, sophomore PG Malcolm Brogdon and SG

The New York Jets will host the Buffalo Bills in the teams second and final meeting this season. The matchup kicks off Week 9 of the NFL season, taking place Thursday night at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.  The teams will both don their color rush uniforms, as they did in a similar Thursday night at MetLife setting a couple years back. GAME DETAILS Buffalo Bills (5-2) at New York Jets (3-5) Line: Bills (-3.5) Time: 8:25 PM ET Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ At a surprising 5-2, the Bills have a chance to force a tie with the New England Patriots, who are on a bye this week, for first place in the AFC East. Buffalo already leads the AFC Wildcard pack, so their 6th win of the season would bode very well for their playoff chances moving forward. The Jets also started the season as a pleasant surprise at 3-2. But since then, they've dropped three straight games where they've held a lead and blew it in the second half. A lo