the mad sports man

 This tournament was in Russia from June 14 to July 15. At $14.2 billion, this was most expensive tournament, passing Brazil in 2014. Iceland 🇮🇸 and Panama 🇵🇦 made their debut here.  20 of 32 teams were in Brazil in 2014. Harry Kane of England led with 6 goals, Luka Modric of Croatia was pest player and Thibault Courtois of Belgium was top goalie. Luzhniki stadium in Moscow hosted the final. The fairplay tiebreaker came into use between Japan and Senegal. Group A: Uruguay, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Group B: Spain, Portugal, Iran and Morocco. Group C: France, Denmark, Peru and Australia. Group D: Croatia, Argentina, Nigeria and Iceland. Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia and Costa Rica. Group F: Sweden, Mexico, South Korea and Germany. Group G: Belgium, England, Tunisia and Panama. Group F: Colombia, Japan, Senegal and Poland.  Japan and Senegal had identical records (1-1-1), goals differential (0) and goals (4).  Fair play tiebreaker had Japan at -4 and Senegal at -6. Japan

 This tournament was in Brazil for the second time and was held from June 12 to July 13.  James Rodriguez of Colombia led the tournament with 6 goals.  Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇦 debuted here.  Goal line technology was used for the first time in this tournament.  All 8 previous or current champions qualified (Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay). Germany was first European team to win tournament in the Americas and third tournament in a row to win tournament (Italy 2006, Spain 2010, Germany 2014). The Adidas Brazora was tournament ball.  Cooling breaks were allowed if temperatures were 32c and above and were 3 minutes long. Over 1 billion people watched the final. Group A: Brazil, Mexico, Croatia and Cameroon. Group B: Netherlands, Chile, Spain and Australia. Group C: Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan. Group D: Costa Rica, Uruguay, Italy and England. Group E: France, Switzerland,  Ecuador and Honduras. Group F: Argentina, Nigeria, Bosnia and Her

 This tournament was in South Africa from June 11 to July 11.  There was a four way tie for most goals with 5. (Diego Forkan, Thomas Miller  David Villa and Wesley Sneijder). Final was at Soccer City in Johannesburg. Spain wins title, and is 8th to win for first time and first European team to win a world cup outside Europe. Host South Africa champion France and 2006 finalist Italy failed to get out of group stage. France is 2nd champion in 3 tournaments to not get out of group stage. World got introduced to the long horned noisemaker - the Vuvuzela. The Adidas Jabulani was game ball. For the final, a gold paneled ball was used named the Jo'bulani. Slovakia and Serbia debuted here.  Group A: Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa and France. Group B: Argentina, South Korea, Greece and Nigeria. Group C: United States, England, Slovenia and Algeria. Group D: Germany, Ghana, Australia and Serbia. Group E: Netherlands, Japan, Denmark and Cameroon.  Group F: Paraguay, Slovakia,  New Zealand and

 This season had (you know by now) 6 teams and 70 games. Highlights includes: 1. Red Kelly refused to report to New York after being traded (it was common). Toronto GM Punch Imlach picks him up. Eventually pays dividends in a couple of seasons. 2. Bobby Hull beats Bronco Horvath for the scoring race by 1 point. (Bronco Horvath is one of those players one has never heard of). 3. November 1 1959, Jacques Plante takes a shot in the nose and has to get stitches. Tells coach Toe Blake he won't play unless he wears mask. Blake gives in and Montreal goes on a roll. Plante is first player since Clint Benedict to wear a mask. 4. January 28, 1960 Plante is first player to win 30 games in six straight seasons. 5. January 27 Glenn Hall plays 329th consecutive game. 6. First season which all active players has played with an original 6 team in the original 6 Era. Playoffs had: semi finals; Montreal 4 Chicago 0 and Toronto 4 Detroit 2.  Stanley Cup: Montreal 4 Toronto 0. Montreal wins 5th consec

 Germany was host of this tournament held from June 9 to July 9. First tournament in which the defending champs (Brazil in this case) had to qualify for the tournament, meaning no automatic qualifying for champions. 2nd time Germany hosted.  Angola 🇦🇴 Ghana 🇬🇭 Ivory Coast, Trinidad and Tobago and Togo 🇹🇬 debuted here. Serbia and Montenegro made only appearance here. Montenegro had a referendum to become independent nations, which passed.  Serbia accepted results in early June. With that much time constraints, Serbia and Montenegro had to play together. Czech Republic played in their first tournament since split with Slovakia. Ukraine also made first appearance after the Soviet Union breakup.  One of the must watched tournaments with 715.1 million people estimated to watch the final.  345 yellow and 28 red cards handed out. Both records. First tournament which the host was in group A. Preceding tournaments had the champion in that group. Results: group A; Germany, Ecuador, Poland

 Japan and South Korea cohosted this tournament from May 31 to June 30. First time the tournament was in Asia as well as jointly hosted. South Korea and Turkey make pretty good runs, part of some upsets. Another had France get 1 point and not score. They were the first of 4 of 5 champions that won the previous tournament and not get out of group stage the next tournament. China, Ecuador, Senegal and Slovenia debut here. Turkey scored three fastest goal, 10.8 seconds into the game in a 3-2 win over South Korea in the 3rd place game. Last tournament to use Golden Goal. Group A: Denmark, Senegal, Uruguay and France. Group B: Spain, Paraguay, South Africa, and Slovenia. Group C: Brazil, Turkey, Costa Rica and China. Group D: South Korea, United States, Portugal and Poland. Group E: Germany, Ireland, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia. Group F: Sweden, England, Argentina and Nigeria. Group G: Mexico, Italy, Croatia and Ecuador. Group F: Japan, Belgium, Russia and Tunisia. Spain and Brazil maxed out

 France was the host of this tournament and was held from June 10 to July 12. France hosted for the second time (1938) and at 32 days, the longest tournament so far. Was also the 9th time it was in Europe.  First tournament to have 32 teams. France won for the first time - the 7th to do so and 6th to win at home (Uruguay, Italy, England, West Germany, and Argentina). Croatia 🇭🇷, Jamaica 🇯🇲 Japan 🇯🇵 and South Africa 🇿🇦 debuted here. First to use hand held electronic signs (for substitutions and how many minutes of stoppage time).  First to use "golden goal" and up to 3 substitutions per game. Mascot was Footix - a soccer playing rooster. Ball was the Adidas Tricolore. Top two in each group advanced. Group A: Brazil, Norway, Morocco and Scotland. Group B: Italy, Chile, Austria and Cameroon. Group C: France, Denmark, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. Group D: Nigeria, Paraguay, Spain and Bulgaria. Group E: Netherlands, Mexico, Belgium and South Korea. Group F: Germany, Yugo

 Last night in a Vegas 4-2 win in San Jose, Phil "the thrill" Kessel passed Keith Yandle for most consecutive games played.  Kessel now sits a 990 games in a row. I read he is one of 5 players to have reached 900 consecutive games.  Nice.

 This tournament was hosted by the United States and held from June 17 to July 17. Most financially successful tournament as well as most attended tournament,  with 3,587,578 people attending the games. That's  not average of 68,991 per game. Last tournament to have 24 teams. Tournament expanded to 32 in 1998. Greece, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia makes debut,  as well as Russia (after break up of Soviet Union) and a unified Germany. The final was at ghe Rose Bowl  and was the first final to be decided by penalties. In a 6-1 Russia win over Cameroon,  Oleg Salenko of Russia became first player to score 5 goals in a game. In the same game Roger Milla of Cameroon became the oldest player st score a goal. The first ever world cup game played indoors was the opening game between United States and Switzerland that was played to a 1-1 tie.  First time 3 points for a win was in this tournament. Only time bronzes were handed out ho both teams. Group A: Romania*, Switzerland*, United States* an

 This tournament was in Italy from June 8 to July 8. Italy was second nation to host a second time.  West Germany and Argentina played in the final, a rematch from the 1986 final.   West Germany, East Germany, Czechoslovakia and Soviet Union make last appearance. Costa Rica, Ireland, and United Arab Emirates make first appearance. The U. A. E. as of 2022,has made that only appearance. There were 2.2 goals per game - the lowest ever. 16 red cards handed out, including a first one in the final. 4 penalty shootouts (2006, 2014 and 2018 tied). 8 knockout games into extra time (2014). Argentina: 1. Scored 5 goals the whole tournament.  2. Advanced twice on penalties. 3. Had a player sent off in final and 4. Played defensive the whole tournament. Thus introduced the back pass rule after the tournament and awarded 3 points for a win. Cameroon first African nation to reach quarterfinals (Senegal 2002 and Ghana 2010 duplicate). Roger Milla showed off his goal celebrations.  All champion final 4

 The Houston Astros are world series bound after finishing a four game sweep of the New York Yankees, winning game 4 6-5. They will face the Philadelphia Phillies for the title starting Friday in Houston 

 This tournament was in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. Colombia was supposed to host, but fue to "economic reasons" they pulled out in 1982.  In May 1983 Mexico was chosen.  Diego Maradona scored two memorable goals of the 5 he scored.  Both against England in the quarterfinals.  First goal was the "Hand of God" goal,  second was the "Goal of the century." Pair of matches in final group stage games started at the same time.  Format reverted back to round of 16 to start knockout round.  Top two teams plus 4 best third place teams moved on. Group A had Argentina*, Italy*, Bulgaria* and South Korea. Group B had Mexico*, Paraguay*, Belgium* and Iraq. Group C had Soviet Union*, France*, Hungary and Canada. Group D had Brazil*, Spain*, Northern Ireland and Algeria.  Group E had Denmark*, West Germany*, Uruguay* and Scotland.  Group F had Morocco*, England*, Poland* and Portugal.  Round of 16: Argentina 1 Uruguay 0, England 3 Paraguay 0, Spain 5 Denmark 1, Belgiu

 The Philadelphia Phillies are in the World Series after beating San Diego Padres 4-3 I  game 5 and the series 4-1. It's their first trip to the World Series since 2009 when they lost to the Yankees. They will start in either New York or Houston. 

 This tournament was in Spain from June 13 to July 11. First tournament with 24 teams. Algeria 🇩🇿 Cameroon 🇨🇲 Honduras 🇭🇳 Kuwait 🇰🇼 and New Zealand make their debuts here. Last to have two rounds of group play. First penalty kick at this tournament. 3rd time that the final four were from Europe. 6 groups of 4, top two in each go to second round. Second round has 4 groups of 3. Winners of each group make semi finals. Upset in group 2 having Algeria beat West Germany 2-1. West Germany, Austria znd Algeria (Algeria had played third game day before) are in a spot to advance. A West Germany win by 1 or 2 goals, they and Austria advance. A West Germany win by more than two goals, them and Algeria advance. A tie or an Austria win, Austria and Algeria move on. First 10 minutes between West Germany and Austria played with intensity resulting in a West Germany goal to open the scoring. Afterwards both teams aimlessly kicked the ball around. The game was dubbed "disgrace in Gijon.&qu

 This tournament was held in and won by Argentina from June 1-25. Argentina is 5th host to win and 6th overall. Last tournament to have 16 teams. It expands to 24 for 1982.  Match ball was Adidas Tango. This tournament was same as 1974.  Rob Resenbrink scored 1000th world cup goal vs Scotland. Willie Johnston of Scotland was expelled from world cup when he was found to have a banned stimulant vs Peru. Austria surprised Brazil 1-0 and finished zhead due to more goals scored (points and goal differential was same). Group 1 had Italy, Argentina, France and Hungary.  Group 2 had Poland, West Germany, Tunisia and Mexico. Group 3 had Austria, Brazil, Spain and Sweden.  Group 4 had Peru, Netherlands, Scotland and Iran. Second round. Group A had Netherlands, Italy, West Germany and Austria. Group B had Argentina, Brazil,  Poland and Peru. 3rd place had Brazil 2 Italy 1. Championship game had Argentina 3 Netherlands 1 (et). Final was at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires. Tomorrow is 1982. Here

 This tournament was in West Germany and West Berlin from June 13 to July 7. First of three world cups to have two rounds of group stages. Carlos Caszely of Chile was first player to be sent off by red card. Gunter Netzer came on as a substitute for West Germany. He is first player on winning team to play for a club outside home nation. He was playing for Real Madrid. Australia, Zaire, East Germany and Haiti competed in first world cup. Second time host nation had world cup and Summer Olympics back to back. West Germany had 1972 Summer Olympics and 1974 world cup. First round of group stage had four groups of four with top two going to second group stage round. Group one had East Germany first, West Germany second, Chile 3rd and Australia last. Group 2 had Yugoslavia, Brazil,  Scotland and Zaire. Group 3 had Netherlands, Sweden, Bulgaria and Uruguay. Group 4 had Poland, Argentina, Italy and Haiti. Second round if group stage time. Winners of both groups played in final and second place

 This tournament was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 21. First tournament in North America as well as outside Europe and South America. First time Olympics and World Cup went back to back in same country.  (Mexico had 1968 Olympics). El Salvador, Morocco 🇲🇦 and Israel 🇮🇱 debuted here.  In winning this tournament, Brazil beat defending champion in group stage in England, beat a two time champion in semis (Uruguay) and another two time champion in final (Italy). Only time a defending champion, a South American champion, and a European champion got beaten in same tournament. Brazil got to keep original Jules Rimet trophy, as a new one would be introduced in 1974. Advancements in satellite technology reached a bigger audience. One advancement was games in color instead of black and white. Juanito was introduced as mascot. Opening game had host Mexico vs Soviet Union in a 0-0 tie. This doesn't happen again until 2006, and has since continued. Until 2006. World Cup holders opened.

 The New York Yankees are going to the ALCS after beating Cleveland 5-1 in game 5 to win the series 3-2. They will head to Houston to take on the Astros in the ALCS starting tomorrow. 

 This tournament was held in England from July 16-30. First tournament in an English speaking country.  First tournament to have select games broadcast via satellite to other countries. The final was broadcast locally by the BBC and the last to be aired in black and white. North Korea debuts, scores stunning upset over Italy and finishes ahead of them. They were first team outside Europe or the Americas to reach knockout stage. Final was at Wembley stadium in London and 98000 people attended. England scored 11 goals in 6 games - the lowest goals average until 1982. They conceded 3 goals - the least allowed by a championship team up to this tournament. England won group 1, followed by Uruguay,  Mexico and France. Group 2 had West Germany, Argentina, Spain and Switzerland. Group 3 had Portugal,  Hungary, Brazil and Bulgaria.  Group 4 had Soviet Union, North Korea, Italy and Chile. Quarterfinals had: England 1 Argentina 0, Portugal 5 North Korea 3 (after North Korea went up 3-0), West Ger

 This tournament was hosted by Chile from May 30 to June 17. 16 teams competed. First tournament to use goal average. First tournament to have a goals per game average below 3 (2.78). Thus has been repeated since.  Chile had suffered a major 9.5 magnitude earthquake.  Stadiums and infrastructure were rebuilt in time for tournament. Carlos Bittborn, who was organizing committee president, had passed away before the tournament znd had a stadium in Arila named after him.  Group 1 had Soviet Union followed by Yugoslavia, Uruguay and Colombia. Group 2 had West Germany,  Chile Italy and Switzerland. Group 3 had Brazil, Czechoslovakia, Mexico and Spain. Group 4 had Hungary, England, Argentina and Bulgaria. England gets second with better goals average. Quarterfinals had: Chile 2 Soviet Union 1, Brazil 3 England 1, Yugoslavia 1 West Germany 0 and Czechoslovakia 1 Hungary 0. Semi finals: Brazil 4 Chile 2 and Czechoslovakia 1 Yugoslavia 0. 3rd: Chile 1 Yugoslavia 0. Final at Estadio Nacional in

 This tournament was held in Sweden from June 8-29. First tournament held in a Nordic country.  Brazil's Pele makes his first appearance at 17. His first game was against the Soviet Union. He later scores to make him the youngest player to debut and score. Brazil and England played the first scoreless draw. Three tiebreakers were held. In a semi final game, France was forced to play with 10 players when  Robert Jonquet suffered a broken leg in a collision with Vava. Substitutions weren't allowed. Group 1 had West Germany,  Northern Ireland,  Czechoslovakia and Argentina,  with Northern Ireland winning 2-1 over Czechoslovakia. Group 2 had France, Yugoslavia, Paraguay and Scotland. Group 3 had Sweden, Wales, Hungary and Mexico with Wales beating Hungary 2-1 Ina playoff. Group 4 had Brazil, Soviet Union England and Austria with Soviet Union beating England 1-0 in playoff.   Quarterfinals had: Brazil 1 Wales 0, France 4 Northern Ireland 0, Sweden 2 Soviet Union 0 and West Germany 1

 The San Diego Padres are into the NLCS for the first time since 1998 after beating the Dodgers 3 games to 1, winning game 4 5-3. The will face the Philadelphia Phillies,  making their first NLCS appearance since 2010. Series starts Tuesday.

 Game 3 took 18 innings. 18. Houston scores the only run in the top half,  beating Seattle 1-0 to sweep Seattle 3 straight games.  Houston will start the ALCS at home starting on Wednesday. 

 This tournament was held in Squaw Valley California from February 19-28, 1960. 9 teams competed.  Australia competed for the only time at this tournament.  They finished 9th. United States won all 7 games en route to their first hockey gold.  Canada,  represented by the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, took the silver and the Soviet Union took bronze. Canada won its 9th ice hockey medal in a row, matched by the Soviet Union in 1988. A 2010 documentary named "The Forgotten Miracle" looked at the USA win.  Herb Brooks was last cut by USA coach Jack Riley.  Brooks is coach for the Miracle on Ice team that won 1980 gold. So that is that for that.  Coming soon - 1964 in Innsbruck Austria. 

 This tournament was in Switzerland from June 16 to July 4.  16 teams competed.  Unique group stage setup where the 4 groups had two seeded and two unseeded teams. And the seeded teams played the unseeded teams.  Extra time was used in group play.  If tied after extra time, then it was a draw. There was two playoffs to decide second place. Group 1 had Brazil with 3 points, Yugoslavia with 3, France with 2 and Mexico with 0. Group 2 had Hungary with 4, West Germany with 2, Turkey with 2 and South Korea with 0. West Germany beat Turkey 7-2 in playoff. Group 3 had Uruguay with 4, Austria with 4, Czechoslovakia with 0 and Scotland with 0. Group 4 had England with 3, Switzerland with 2, Italy with 2 and Belgium with 1. Switzerland beat Italy 4-1 in playoff.  Quarterfinals: West Germany 2 Yugoslavia 0, Austria 7 Switzerland 5, Hungary 4 Brazil 2 and Uruguay 4 England 2.  Semis: West Germany 6 Austria 1, Hungary 4 Uruguay 2. 3rd: Austria 3 Uruguay 1. Final had West Germany 3 Hungary 2 to win

 The defending world series champs are out as Philadelphia Phillies have eliminated Atlanta 3 games to 1 with a 8-3 win in game 4. They either get San Diego or Los Angeles. Stay tuned. 

 This tournament was held in Brazil and Brazil was a favorite to win. 13 teams competed here. It went from June 24 to July 16. Only tournament not to have a single game final.  Jules Rimet cup was used for first time, to honor Rimet as fifa president for 25 years. Four groups with the top team going to the final round.  Group 1 finished with Brazil, Yugoslavia, Switzerland and Mexico.  Group b had Spain, England, Chile  and United States. Group 3 had Sweden,  Italy and Paraguay.  India was drawn into this group but withdrew. Group 4 had Uruguay first and Bolivia second.  France was drawn into this group but withdrew.  Final round had Uruguay win, Brazil second,  Sweden 3rd and Spain 4th. On July 16, Uruguay beat Brazil to win. Game was at Maracana Stadium in Rio De Janeiro.  Below is a poster from this tournament. 

 Started watching the Red Green  show again the last couple of days with the first two episodes. Plus been munching on some M&Ms as well. Harkens back to when the show first aired and I seemed to always have a bag of M&Ms handy. Show went from 1991 to 2006 and 300 episodes. Great times. 

 The 1938 World Cup was in France from June 4-19. 16 teams scheduled to participate. Italy is first team to repeat and first mens team to win multiple times with same coach - this being Vittorio Pozzo. Knockout stage used here again with no group stage. 5 of 7 first round matches needed extra time.  There were 3 (I counted 3) replays. One of which eliminated Germany in the first round. This doesn't again until 2018. (Astonishing. I hated 2018. OK I'm part German).  Round of 16: Italy 2 Norway 1 (et), France 3 Belgium 1, Brazil 6 Poland 5 (et), Czechoslovakia 3 Netherlands 0 (et), Hungary 6 Dutch East Indies 0, Switzerland 1(4) Germany 1(2) (repeat), Austria withdrew so Sweden won in walkover, Cuba 3(2) Romania 3(1) (repeat).  Qf: Italy 3 France 1, Brazil 1(2) Czechoslovakia 1(1), Hungary 2 Switzerland 0, Sweden 8 Cuba 0. Sf: Italy 2 Brazil 1 (first of a few big meetings), Hungary 5 Sweden 1. 3rd place: Brazil 4 Sweden 2. Championship game: Italy 4 Hungary 2. With WWII canceling

 The second tournament was held in Italy 🇮🇹 from May 27 to June 10. 16 nations participated. Tournament was marred by bribery and scandals, much from Benito Mussolini, who was leading Italy. 10 teams appeared for first time.  They are: Italy 🇮🇹 Germany 🇩🇪 Spain 🇪🇸 Netherlands 🇳🇱 Czechoslovakia 🇨🇿 Hungary 🇭🇺 Sweden 🇸🇪 Austria 🇦🇹 Switzerland 🇨🇭 and Egypt 🇪🇬.  Egypt would not appear again until 1990 when Italy also hosted. The Feograle 192 ball was used here. Tournament was a knockout stage, with group stage not held. Final 8 was all European nations. Only time it's happened. First replay happened. Italy and Spain played to a 1-1 tie after extra time.  It also had aggressive play with players getting injured.  The replay also had aggressive play. Italy won 1-0. Games had: round of 16; Italy 7 USA 1, Spain 3 Brazil 1, Austria 3 France 2 (aet), Hungary 4 Egypt 2, Czechoslovakia 2 Romania 1, Switzerland 3 Netherlands 2, Germany 5 Belgium 2 and Sweden 3 Argentina 2.

 Ireland has joined Switzerland in going to the world cup after beating Scotland 1-0 and having second best second place record amongst the 3 playoff path winners.  Portugal will be playing in the inter conference tournament to be one of the last 3 teams to  qualify.  That takes place in February. 

 The first ever World Cup was held in Uruguay 🇺🇾 from July 17-30, 1930. Montevideo hosted all the games. Highlights had Lucien Laurent of France 🇫🇷 score the first ever world cup goal in a 4-1 win over Mexico, while on the same day Jimmy Douglas of the USA 🇺🇸 produce the furs clean sheet (shutout) in a 3-0 win over Belgium 🇧🇪. Francisco Varallo of Argentina 🇦🇷 was the last surviving player,  when he passed away on August 30, 2010 at 100 years old.  4 groups and 13 teams participated. Group winners went to semi finals. Group 1 had Argentina 🇦🇷 1st followed by Chile 🇨🇱, France 🇫🇷 and Mexico 🇲🇽. Group 2 had Yugoslavia first  followed by Brazil 🇧🇷 and Bolivia 🇧🇴. Group 3 had Uruguay 🇺🇾,  followed by Romania 🇷🇴 and Peru 🇵🇪. Group 4 had USA 🇺🇸 followed by Paraguay 🇵🇾 and Belgium 🇧🇪.  Semi finals had Uruguay beat Yugoslavia 6-1 and Argentina beat USA 6-1. Uruguay then beat Argentina 4-2 to become first champions, while on home soil. Here is the poster of this

 Switzerland 🇨🇭 is going to next year's womens world cup winning their playoff path and having the best of the three playoff path records (from group play and playoff). Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 and Ireland 🇮🇪 are playing now with either the winner of this game or Portugal 🇵🇹 moving to the womens world cup as second best record. 

 With a 6-0 win in New York, the San Diego Padres are going to the NLDS against Los Angeles with a 2-1 series win over the Mets. Series with the Dodgers starts Tuesday. 

 The Philadelphia Phillies are into the NLDS after beating St. Louis 2-0 in game two and in the series. They will get Atlanta starting Tuesday. 

 What an absolute comeback by Seattle.  Came back from 8-1 down to beat Toronto 10-9 and sweep the series two straight.  Seattle bow plays Houston in the ALDS starting Tuesday. 

 It took 15 innings today, but Cleveland has eliminated Tampa Bay in a two game sweep to move on to the ALDS vs New York Yankees. Series starts Tuesday. 

 The 1958-59 NHL season had (you guessed it) 6 teams and 70 games.  Highlights includes: 1. Montreal is the only team to score more goals than they give up. This may be the only time this has happened. 2.  Punch Imlach becomes Toronto GM. He also ends up coach.  3. June 8 1958, Toronto signs Johnny Bower.  4. New York  wins 3 of last 20. With 5 games left they had a 7 point lead on Toronto.  New York lost all of them and Toronto got hot and passed them for last playoff spot. 4. Jean Beliveau sets a record for centre's with 91 points. Teammate Dickie Moore sets an NHL record with 96 points.  5. Ken Mosdell retires. He is last player that played with the Brooklyn Americans and the last player until 1967 to play for a non original 6 team. (NHL went to 12 teams in 1967).  The postseason had: sf; Montreal 4 Chicago 2, Toronto 4 Boston 3.  Stanley Cup: Montreal 4 Toronto 1. Montreal wins Cup #11 and wins 4th in a row. They're the first to win four in a row.  And they're not done.

 With San Diego beating San Francisco and Philadelphia losing to Houston,  the NL match ups have San Diego playing New York Mets and St. Louis playing Philadelphia. Postseason begins Friday. 

 Aaron Judge has broken the AL record for most home runs in a season. He now has 62,  surpassing Roger Maris' 61.  It took Maris 162 games together to 61. It took Judge 161 to get to 62. (See the fun in numbers).

 Atlanta has taken the NL East after beating Miami 2-1. They get the 2nd seed, whe the New York Mets get the 4th.  Got the American League matchups.  Tampa Bay will face Cleveland and Toronto faces Seattle. Both series best of 3. Winners get the Yankees and Houston. 

 The Philadelphia Phillies are postseason bound after beating Houston 3-0. It's their first postseason appearance since 2011. All 12 spots are full. Now it's time to decide the matchups

 Even though they lost to the ChicagoWhite Sox, the San Diego Padres are postseason bound, thanks to Miami beating Milwaukee. Three days left in the regular season.  Who gets last NL wild card and who gets  NL East?  Stay tuned.