Tyreek Hill detained before week one matchup
NFL star wide receiver Tyreek Hill was briefly detained last Sunday during a traffic stop on his way to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. Hill, 30, was brought to the ground by multiple police officers after being pulled over for speeding. The official citation says Hill was arrested for going “a visual estimation” of 60 MPH in a 45 MPH zone, as well for not wearing a seatbelt.
Hill still arrived on time to the stadium to play for the Miami Dolphins, who beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 20-17. Hill wound up having himself a monster game, catching seven passes for 130 yards and one touchdown.
Following the game, Hill and other members of the Dolphins reacted to the detainment, with head coach Mike McDaniel saying “I think the thing that [messes] me up, honestly, to be quite frank, is knowing that I don’t know exactly … know what that feels like.” Hill responded by saying “I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy… What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?”
The officer who detained Hill, Danny Torres, is currently on administrative duty pending the Miami-Dade Police County’s internal investigation. Torres is on record for having been suspended multiple times between 2014 and 2019. Hill is on record saying Torres should be fired.
Panthers bench Bryce Young
The Carolina Panthers announced Monday afternoon that they will be benching 2023 first overall pick Bryce Young. Young, drafted out of Alabama, has notably struggled through the first 18 games of his career, including a 2-16 record as a starter.
In the same message, the Panthers announced they will be starting veteran quarterback Andy Dalton, who threw for 361 yards in his lone start for the team last year. The season has been brutal for the Panthers so far, as the team has given up a combined 73 points through their first two games while only scoring 13 of their own.
New head coach Dave Canales has repeatedly told the media that the team will stick with Young as their quarterback; however it appears Young’s leash has run out. It remains unclear what the Panthers’ plan will be for Young: whether they will stick with Dalton for the remainder of the season, or go back to Young at some undetermined point. Dalton’s first start with the Panthers will come on Sunday afternoon when the team travels to face the Las Vegas Raiders.
MLB playoff race closer than ever
With only two weeks to go before the MLB playoffs begin, the bracket for the Fall Classic is far from settled. No division-leader in the American League has a five-plus game advantage on their spot, and the wild card race could come down to any three of six teams.
The New York Yankees, Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros each lead their respective divisions, while the Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins hold the three remaining wild card spots. However, the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox are all jockeying for a position in the playoffs, with no team more than four-and-a-half games back.
Over on the National League side, the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers have essentially locked up their divisions, but every other spot is still up for grabs. The Los Angeles Dodgers lead their division by three-and-a-half games, while the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves are battling for the final wild card spot.
New York Liberty closing in on home-court advantage
The WNBA’s New York Liberty are within one game of clinching the one seed in the WNBA playoffs. The Liberty are looking to avenge their Finals loss to the Las Vegas Aces in 2023, and clinching the best record in the league gets them one step closer.
The Liberty were the two seed in the 2023 playoffs, and eventually fell to the Aces in 4 games in the WNBA Finals. With home-court advantage nearly locked up, the Liberty will look to lean on the backs of Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu and Jonquel Jones once again when the WNBA playoffs begin on Sep 22.
wjackso2@ramapo.edu
Feature photo courtesy of @miamidolphins, Instagram
