A lot has happened in the world over the past week. Let’s catch up on the major sports headlines:
Anthony Volpe Grand Slam
Anthony Volpe, shortstop for the New York Yankees, hit a grand slam in Game 4 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a 4-11 blowout against the Dodgers, the Yankees were able to stave off a sweep and force a Game 5.
In the bottom of the third inning, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts replaced his starting pitcher with reliever Daniel Hudson. The inning started with Aaron Judge getting drilled with a 95 mph fastball from the veteran reliever. Third baseman Jazz Chisholm followed with a single, and soon after Giancarlo Stanton left the batter’s box with a walk on six pitches. With the bases loaded, the kid from New Jersey stepped up to the plate.
Volpe has struggled to deliver in the batter’s box during his career with the Yankees. His infield defense is nothing short of successful, having won a Gold Glove his Rookie Year. However, according to the Athletic, Volpe had gone 1-for-12 in the first three games of the series and had not hit a home run since Sept. 21. Despite the odds stacked against him, his clutch hit made all the difference in this memorable World Series game.
On the first pitch of his at-bat, Volpe smoked the ball all the way to the left-field porch for a go-ahead grand slam. “I think I pretty much blacked out as I saw it go over the fence,” Volpe told reporters. He also became the first player to ever record four RBIs and two stolen bases in a World Series game.
The 23-year-old admitted to reporters it was the coolest moment of his life when the packed Yankee Stadium began to chant his name. He also told reporters, “It is pretty crazy to think about. It’s my dream, but it was all my friends’ dreams, all my cousins’ dreams, probably my sister’s dream, too. But winning the World Series was first and foremost, by far. Nothing else compares, so we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
Anthony Richardson Backlash
The Indianapolis Colts benched quarterback Anthony Richardson and named Joe Flacco the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season. Richardson has faced backlash after pulling out of his game against the Houston Texans because he was too tired.
Late in the third quarter of last Sunday’s game, Richardson took himself out of the game due to personal fatigue and not injury. When asked about his removal in his post-game press conference, Richardson truthfully told reporters, “Tired, I ain’t gonna lie. That was a lot of running right there that I did, and I didn’t think I was gonna be able to go that next play. So, I just told [Shane Steichen] I needed a break right there.”
Head Coach Shane Seichen initially defended Richardson, but benched the young quarterback in the days following. Former Colts player Pat McAfee reviewed the moment when Richardson pulled himself out of the game on The Pat McAfee Show and reacted,“I’ve never seen that before in my life out of quarterback, legitimately. And I know I echo the sentiments of everybody that has tweeted or talked about it or done anything about it.”
Flacco is expected to replace Richardson on Sunday, Nov. 3 in their upcoming game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Angel Reese Shaq podcast
In a recent podcast taping for Angel Reese’s Unapologetically Angel, Reese invited her mentor Shaquille O’Neal onto the show. The former NBA star made inappropriate comments to the 22-year old who considered Shaq a “father figure.”
Many fans have said the comments made by Shaq are “creepy” towards the young WNBA player. Shaq told Angel, “Bro, imagine you in the same little ass shorts you had on at the Wild ‘N Out show dunking. You know how many T-shirts you gonna sell? You trippin.”
Shaq, who is 30 years older than Reese, doubled down on his comments after hesitation from the host. After many attempts from Reese to redirect the conversation into a different and more comfortable direction, Shaq proceeds to make more forward advances towards her. He tells Reese, “You’re not beautiful or good-looking — you are gorgeous,” and later says, “There’s a lot of gorgeous women in the WNBA.”
Many fans have taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to defend Reese against the comments made by O’Neal. Some feel that Shaq betrayed the girl he was supposed to mentor, while others have told Reese that she has fallen victim to a repeated pattern in men.
bkeatin1@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @colts, Instagram
