Week 10 Fantasy Outliers

QB: Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals, 30.9 fantasy points 

As we approach Week 10, we begin to talk about season accolades and, obviously the most important one, the MVP award. Kyler Murray, or “Murray Magic,” threw a game-winning Hail Mary pass late Sunday afternoon with the clock reading triple zeros. Murray led the Cardinals to a key win over the Buffalo Bills to move to 6-3 and tie for first place in the NFC West with the Seahawks and Rams. Murray’s legs have caught eyes from all around the league. He has proven to many that he is a double-threat quarterback that can run not only under pressure but from a set play. He once again showed us Sunday as he rushed for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Beyond his run, Kyler threw for 245 yards against a solid Bills secondary and one touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins to send the Bills back to Buffalo.

RB: Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas Raiders, 29.6 fantasy points

Josh Jacobs probably had his second-best game of the 2020 season this week, following Week 1 where he had three touchdowns. Yesterday, he had two and rushed for his second-highest yardage this season with 112 yards. Jacobs had 21 attempts on the ground and did not disappoint because he averaged 5.3 yards per carry. The Raider big back made an impact through the air as well as he caught all four of his targets for 24 yards. He looks to continue this next week as he faces a tough matchup against Kansas City in a primetime Sunday Night Football game.

WR: DeAndre Hopkins, Arizona Cardinals, 25.7 fantasy points

Whenever a receiver catches a Hail Mary game-winner, I have to write about them and give them the credit they deserve. This was not your lucky Hail Mary catch though — this took skill. DeAndre “D-Hop” Hopkins brought in a 43-yard pass over three defenders, who all had a good position on the ball and who are Buffalo’s best defenders. The grab immediately went down as a “Moss” play, referencing the all-time great catcher Randy Moss, and possibly one of the best catches of all time. So that went for a touchdown to win and his seventh reception of the game. D-Hop had 127 total yards, which is no surprise, but he needed a bounce-back game from Week 9 where he only caught three receptions for 30 yards. He won this game for Arizona, point-blank.

D/ST: Indianapolis Colts, 12 fantasy points

Indianapolis faced off against the Tennessee Titans who have stars all around their offense. But the Indianapolis defense has proven they can’t take tough offensives; after all, they were ranked the number one defense coming into Week 10 and still came out of it on top. To begin, the Colts have not let up 30 or more points to an opposing offense all year. They also have five total defensive touchdowns. They held star wideout, AJ Brown, to just one reception and running back Derrick Henry to zero touchdowns and just over 103 yards. The Colts also blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown. They have a huge matchup against Green Bay next week. Can their defense show out again and shut down Rodgers and the Packers?

In order to qualify for the World Cup, FIFA created sub-divisions of their organization for each continent, and each division has its own qualification process that depends on the size of the continent, the number of national teams and overall quality of the teams. In the opinion of many, South America has, by far, the toughest qualifying route to the World Cup. The South American division of FIFA, called CONMEBOL, only has 10 members: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. Because of this, FIFA only allocates 4.5 spots in the World Cup for South America, meaning that the top four teams, as per a league table, are guaranteed qualification to the World Cup Finals, whereas the fifth place has to play a further qualification tie, usually against the top team from Oceania. 

In terms of talent for the average team, South America is the best in the world, as even the weakest teams in this division would be among the strongest in every other continent other than possibly Europe. Therefore, every qualification cycle, there are always several really good South American teams that fail to make it to the World Cup, which results in an extremely hard-fought and cut-throat campaign from every nation where every single game is important. When you add in the long history of the sport in South America, heated rivalries between countries, the exciting, expansive type of football that South American teams usually play, the crazy dedicated fans, unpredictable weather conditions of the region and notorious referee decisions, you get the most interesting and fun to watch qualification process in my opinion.

This international break over the past two weeks saw two match days play out in al Sur del Mundo, with 10 games in total being played. In typical CONMEBOL fashion, these two match days brought drama, red cards, crazy goal celebrations, passionate victories, crushing losses, insane goals and fun football to watch in general.

Match Day 3

Match Day 3 started out with a highlight match between two of the best teams in the continent, Colombia and Uruguay. Up until this point, both teams were in decent — but not perfect — form, and being that this match was held in Barranquilla, Colombia was seen as slight favorites. Those predictions would end up being completely wrong as Uruguay utterly tore Colombia to pieces 3-0. The famous Uruguayan strike partnership, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez both got on the score sheet in the first half, before Darwin Nunez sealed the win with a well-placed longshot.

The next game was a surprisingly open match which saw Bolivia host Ecuador; both teams came close to claiming victory. On paper, Bolivia is the weakest team in South America and has been for some time. However, in all home matches, the Bolivians play in their home stadium, the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz, which is just shy of 12,000 feet above sea level, since parts of Bolivia is covered by the Andes Mountains. When playing here, Bolivia are an entirely different team. Despite Ecuador being in good form, Bolivia took the lead and was on the verge of ensuring a draw if not for Ecuador being awarded an extremely controversial penalty in minute 88 to which Carlos Gruezo scored, giving Ecuador a 3-2 win. Even though Ecuador only snuck a win through a dubious penalty, a win away in La Paz is a crucial three points.

From there on, the audience was treated to another high-profile match as Chile welcomed their hated-rival, Peru to Santiago. Despite a cagey second half, Chile did all the work in the first, with Arturo Vidal bagging a brace to gift Chile a 2-0 win, and all three points.

The fourth match of the day saw Argentina face off against Paraguay in Buenos Aires. In a truly exciting end to end match, Argentina was the slightly better team overall, but the video assistant referee denied them a win as the ref disallowed Lionel Messi a goal in the second half, which would have decided the match. Instead, both teams had to settle for a point each after a 1-1 draw.

In the fifth and final match of Match Day 3, Venezuela traveled to Sao Paulo to play Brazil, the current champions of South America after their 2019 Copa America victory. In spite of the gap in quality between the two teams, Venezuela put up a good fight against el Selecao and only lost after Bobby Firmino was able to bungle the ball over the line in the second half, granting Brazil a tight 1-0 victory.

Match Day 4

The Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado in Quito saw Match Day 4 kick-off between Ecuador and Colombia, in what would turn out to be arguably the most shocking result of this international break. If Colombia’s loss to Uruguay the week prior was embarrassing, this was historic — complete and utter humiliation as the Colombians slumped to a 6-1 smashing at the hands of Ecuador. The match started off terribly for Colombia as they found themselves already 4-0 down by minute 39. Ecuador were world-class that day, running circles around their opponents and scoring several beautiful goals.

While not as shocking, the next match provided another big upset as Venezuela was able to turn around their recent run of poor results and overcome Chile 2-1 in Caracas. Venezuela admirably outplayed Chile throughout the match, and while Arturo Vidal was able to slide home a quick equalizer after Venezuela’s opener, all their hard work paid off when Salomon Rondon rolled back the years and scored a memorable winner.

In the third game of this match day, Peru hosted Argentina in Lima with both teams looking to improve on the previous week’s results. Unfortunately for Peru, only one team in this match saw improvement as Argentina simply outclassed Peru 2-0 in a scoreline that could have been even higher. Argentina was able to build upon their good second-half performance against Paraguay and turn it into a dominating match-winning feat of strength against the Peruvians.

In the following match, Bolivia headed to Asuncion where they played Paraguay in what would turn out to be another end to end contest. Paraguay opened the score with a penalty from Angel “Kaku” Romero — his fourth goal in this qualification cycle — before Bolivia found an equalizer, then eventually pulled ahead with goals either side of halftime. Paraguay fought hard for their own equalizer, which they would end up getting after Kaku scored, clinching a 2-2 draw for his team.

In the last match of this international break in South America, Uruguay invited Brazil to Montevideo in what was the headline game of these two match days. Despite, doing just enough to win their last two matches, Brazil flipped the switch and really took the game to Uruguay, winning 2-0 with a deflected longshot from Arthur Melo before a well-coordinated header from Richarlison. Uruguay was by no means bad, but Brazil was a whole class above them, perfectly illustrating why they are the undisputed best team in South America and arguably the best in the world.

Biggest Winners and Losers

Overall, these two match days in CONMEBOL qualifying, several teams and players had particularly noteworthy performances and on the flip side, some had very forgettable moments as well.

As was mentioned before, Brazil continues to dominate South America and their two wins here are proof of that. And as a result, they currently sit at the top of the table. In second place is Argentina who also had a good showing over the past two weeks. The previous three years have been chaotic from an Argentine perspective, and while the squad is nowhere near as talented as past editions in terms of player quality, the current manager, Lionel Scaloni, seemingly has found a system that works and keeps Argentina winning.

Outside of the big two in South America, Ecuador easily had the best performances over these few matches, earning a vital win away from home in Bolivia then demolishing Colombia. A team that is filled with young players, Ecuador has the potential to a serious side in the near future.

As for individual players, Arturo Vidal was very good as of late, scoring in both of Chile’s games, making him joint-top scorer with four goals. Nicolas Gonzalez of Argentina also impressed many, scoring important goals in both matches for his team and solidifying his place as a critical member of the squad. Despite, not winning any matches over this break, Bolivia’s hero, Marcelo Martins Moreno, had a wonderful international window, scoring twice and playing a part in all of Bolivia’s goals.

On a sadder note, nobody had a worse international break in South America than Colombia. Despite having a squad filled with world-renowned players like James Rodriguez, Juan Cuadrado, Duvan Zapata, Luis Muriel and many others, they lost both their matches, getting absolutely embarrassed in both. Big questions will be inevitably asked about their manager, Carlos Queiroz. 

One other team had a particular international window to forget, and that was Peru. This Peruvian team has greatly overachieved in recent years, getting third place in two Copa Americas, before becoming runners-up in the most recent one, while also qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. However, it looks like fatigue has finally caught up with the players and staff, as they fell to a pair of 2-0 losses, albeit to strong opposition in Chile and Argentina. We are still very early on in the cycle, but it looks like Peru’s route to the 2022 World Cup may already be slipping away.

Best Goals

Over these two match days, there were a plethora of world-class goals scored across the 10 matches. In my opinion, the best had to be Gonzalo Plata’s strike against Colombia. The Ecuadorian winger waded through Colombia’s left flank and with a quick step over he passed the ball to Angel Mena, who returned the ball with a cheeky backheel. On the far edge of the box, Plata then unleashed his left foot with a curling effort which flashed across Colombian keeper David Ospina before smacking the far post and rolling into the net.

While Plata’s goal was the best of the bunch, I must also mention Arturo Vidal’s screamer of a knuckleball from far out, which looped into the upper 90 of the Peruvian net, leaving keeper Pedro Gallese no chance. Also, Marcelo Moreno’s one-touch curler from the edge of the box against Paraguay, which curved perfectly into the lower corner was exceptional as well.

So far this season, the Eagles haven’t looked very good or bad, just mediocre. The Birds are currently wrapping up their bye week as the NFL is finishing up Week 9. At 3-4-1 the Eagles are currently in first place of the NFC East, which is considered the worst division in the entire league. While the season is only halfway finished, there are three takeaways from the season that has occurred so far:

When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted quarterback Carson Wentz with the second overall pick back in the 2016 NFL draft, it was with the intention that he would become the franchise quarterback for years to come. Initially, Wentz did look the part. In just his second season Wentz threw  33 touchdown passes and seven interceptions.

Wentz was considered an MVP candidate until he tore his ACL in a Week 14 game against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec. 10, 2017.  The Eagles went on to win the Superbowl with quarterback Nick Foles.

Many fans debated whether the Eagles should stick with Wentz or Foles as the starter for the future. The Eagles made their decision as they gave Wentz a large contract extension in the summer of 2019. In the 2019-20 season, the contract looked like a good one as Wentz led the Eagles to the playoffs and threw 27 touchdown passes and only seven interceptions.

Fast forward to the 2020-2021 season and Wentz does not look the part of a franchise quarterback. Through the first eight games of the season, Wentz has had 12 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions, in addition to losing four fumbles. Wentz has not looked as confident this year as in years past. He has been missing open receivers and yet refuses to throw the ball away when pressured. On top of everything else, Wentz has been sacked a league-leading 32 times.

Wentz’s play has even drawn criticism from Donovan McNabb, who was the Eagles starting quarterback for 11 seasons. McNabb blamed Wentz for the Eagles’ poor play this season. “I am concerned,” McNabb said.

“I’m concerned because to me, it seems he’s trying to do too much and he’s trying to put really too much pressure on his shoulders because of the situation around him. And if you watch the games, a couple of times holding the football entirely too long, if you’re going to run and scramble and pick up yards, go. Don’t sit and fade and try to wait for people to get open. No, you don’t have the ultimate weapons on the outside to be able to create that much time,” McNabb said.

Despite Wentz’s sloppy play, as crazy as it sounds, the Eagles could still make the playoffs.

The Eagles currently have a 1.5 game lead for first place in the pitiful NFC East. They have three games remaining against teams in the NFC East. The rest of the schedule is against teams with winning records. If the Eagles win their remaining games against the NFC East, which is unlikely given they have already lost to Washington and needed last-minute heroics to beat the Giants, then they will finish the season with a putrid record of 6-9-1 that will likely be enough to stay in first place.

Considering how poorly Washington, Dallas and New York have fared this season, that would be a minimal accomplishment, but still enough to make the playoffs and earn a first-round home game. However, given how Wentz has played so far, it would not be a surprise if the Eagles don’t reach six wins on the season.

The game referred to as America’s pastime may end up being just that – in the past. Baseball is in dire need of revitalizing. The old guard of fans is in stark opposition with the younger fans, which leaves the MLB with a decision.

A couple of years after Derek Jeter retired, the MLB was without the face of the league. The league’s best player, Mike Trout, has only been to the playoffs once where his Angels were swept. However, MLB now has some exciting young stars, like Aaron Judge, Francisco Lindor, Mookie Betts and Fernando Tatis.

Tatis is the most exciting name on this list, as he consistently pits the old generation of baseball fans against the younger generation. The old guard wants the game to be played as it always has been – guided by both written and unwritten rules. The younger generation of fans wants to see exciting plays – home runs, bat flips and stolen bases, just to name a few. This year, Tatis hit a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch with his team up seven. This sparked outrage, with both the opposing manager and Tatis’ own manager calling him out for breaking the unwritten rules.

How does baseball expect to stay relevant when it criticizes a budding superstar for playing the game?

Relevant is the keyword in that question. For years now, the MLB and its commissioner, Rob Manfred, have found ways to keep baseball out of the headlines. Most recently, they held their award show on Nov. 3 — otherwise known as Election night. 

Despite releasing a “Let the Kids Play” statement a few years ago, the league has done just the opposite. Players have been ridiculed by older fans, managers and other players for merely enjoying the game.

Younger fans want to see more action. They do not want to sit in a ballpark for three hours to watch a slow-moving game. While the MLB has tried to increase the pace of play by installing new features, such as pitch clocks, the game still flows like molasses.

The MLB has changed some rules around for their shortened 2020 season, and some things might just stick. They tested out seven-inning games that were, to most, more exciting than nine-inning games and provided some great entertainment. A shortened season was also viewed favorably among fans.

Baseball is in a critical moment in its life. The MLB needs to figure out how to incorporate the game’s tradition while allowing kids to play. The league does not necessarily have to decide between supporting the older or younger generation, but it will take compromise from each side.

Is baseball dying? Yes – but slowly, and there is still time to save it. Some might argue the business is doing well. While that may be true in terms of revenue, attendance is in a continuous 12-year slide that shows no signs of stopping. 

The Astros cheating scandal was well-documented. But what most fans may not know is that their assistant general manager was flaunting their new players, Jose Osuna, to a group of female reporters. Osuna had just served a 75-game suspension for domestic violence. The league said nothing until reporters refused to take the subject off the table at the World Series.

Speaking of the World Series, it drew a record low number of viewers this postseason.

Then there is the issue of race. April 15 is Jackie Robinson Day, which celebrates when Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier. But this year, less than eight percent of players were African American. Ice Cube even blamed the Dodgers’ postseason failures on the team’s lack of African American players.

America’s pastime is in a delicate position and may well stop being a major sport in America without major change.

This August, highest-ranking tennis player Novak Djokovic announced the formation of the Professional Tennis Players Association. According to an email sent out to players, the association wants “to promote, protect and represent the interests of its players … and protect the future of tennis.” One of the main issues plaguing tennis right now is the lack of financial stability for lower-ranked players. The PTPA has made it clear that this is one of the main concerns they will be addressing. 

There have been rumors circulating for the past few years that a group of players wanted to create a union-type of association. With the current structure of tennis, having an official union is impossible; players are independent contractors and are not employed by the Association of Tennis Professionals, which is the governing body responsible for running the tour. Djokovic and fellow founding member Vasek Pospisil worked with a law firm to make sure their association was legal and that players’ membership statuses with the ATP would not be in question. 

The PTPA plans to support men ranked in the top 500 in singles and top 200 in doubles. They will be governed by a board of trustees that are elected annually, with up to nine members. Trustees will nominate two co-presidents for two-year terms. The first presidents are Djokovic and Pospisil. Both were members of the ATP Players Council and resigned when they announced the start of the PTPA. Americans John Isner and Sam Querrey also left the Council to join the breakaway group.

To understand the significance of this move, we need some context.

The tennis world was in flux. In 1968, Grand Slams had finally let professionals and amateurs play together, bridging one of the biggest divides in tennis. This was the start of the Open Era. While who was allowed to play tennis professionally was finally decided, when and where they would be playing was still up in the air. There were multiple tours running, each with strict rules controlling which tournaments players would be allowed to compete in.

Unlike the current system, players were under contract with their respective tours. Tour promoters often ran into issues with the International Tennis Federation-run Grand Slams (the only consistent tournaments) when players often boycotted.

Finally, in the 1980s, there was more stability. The Grand Prix circuit emerged victoriously and took over as the primary tour, in addition to the four Grand Slams. The circuit ran under the Men’s Tennis Council — the governing body of that time. The MTC consisted of three representatives from the ITF (which is responsible for keeping the rules of tennis consistent, as well as managing all the national tennis federations), three tournament directors and three player representatives from the ATP. At this time the ATP solely functioned as an association to represent the players.

Fast forward to 1988, 20 years after the start of the open era. The players felt like they didn’t have enough say. They were dissatisfied with the schedule, how the sport was being marketed and management. At the US Open that year, the ATP announced their plans to break away from the MTC and start their own tour at the start of the 1990 season.

The ATC had booked an interview room, but they were banned from using it. This led to the infamous Parking Lot Revolution, where then-ATP Chief Executive Hamilton Jordan held a press conference surrounded by Mats Wildander, Yanick Noah, Brad Gilbert and others in the parking lot right outside the US Open grounds. The ITF released a statement in opposition days later, but the following year, the MTC was disbanded.

At that time, the ATP didn’t have the resources to start a new tour by themselves, instead choosing to partner with tournament directors. This led to the birth of the ATP Tour as we know it today. While the name ATP stayed, it was no longer solely the Association of Tennis Professionals — the players had only 50 percent of the power, with the rest going to the tournaments. 

While this new version of the ATP did give the players more power, it also led to the cannibalizing of the players association. The ATP Board of Directors now consisted of three tournament representatives, three player representatives (who were nominated by the 12 person Players Council) and a Chairman, who served as the tiebreaker in votes. Since 1990, there have been two attempts at a players-only association: once in 2003 and again in 2011. Neither were successful.

The first attempt was headlined by South African tennis player Wayne Ferreira. This came in the form of the International Men’s Tennis Association. He advocated for players to have more say on the business side of tour. This came after a $1.2 billion deal that the ATP signed with sports marketing agency ISL, which fell through. Ferreira called for more transparency. Then highest-ranking player Lleyton Hewitt backed the cause but for his own reasons: after a penalty that resulted in a six-figure fine the previous year, Hewitt wasn’t on the best terms with the ATP. However, nothing came of the IMTA after Ferriera’s retirement in 2005.

The idea of an independent player’s association was dormant for a number of years until the 2011 US Open. Following scheduling issues, American Andy Roddick called for the tennis stars to align.

“Without a union, it’s tough for us to complain about anything. If we don’t unite, we have no one to blame but ourselves,” Roddick said.

Both Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray voiced their support for a union and the need for more power to be in the hands of the players. Nothing came of these talks either.

While many say the Open Era shed the elitist trappings of tennis, is that really true? Tennis still has a problem — and it’s deeper than it’s image. The rich keep getting richer, and the opportunities for lower-ranked players keep slipping away. Just this year, after Djokovic urged players to donate to a COVID Relief Fund for lower-ranked players, Dominic Thiem, ranked fourth in the world, made a statement.

“No tennis player is fighting to survive, even those who are much lower-ranked. None of them are going to starve,” Thiem said. While Thiem has every right to spend his money how he wants, his words come off as tone-deaf. In contrast to top-ten players, who have lucrative sponsorship deals in addition to their tournament winnings, a majority of players don’t share the wealth that Thiem has and are struggling to pay their bills due to the hiatus. Higher ranked players may be the face of tennis, but lower-ranked players are the bedrock of the sport. Yet, they have been given very little institutional support. 

The ATP only have themselves to thank for the situation they find themselves in. The reason players are struggling during a four-month break is because of systematic issues that the ATP have failed to address. 

While Djokovic isn’t perfect, it would be shortsighted to not appreciate the value of an external voice at the table brings. After working as the President of the ATP Players Council for four years and attempting to bring about change internally, he took a leap of faith and advocated for changes to the pay gap by branching out on his own. Some may call the PTPA a power grab by Djokovic, but, with no backing from a majority of top-20 players, it’s hard to make that argument. While Nadal and Federer may tweet out sweet nothings about “stand[ing] united” and “working…together,” the lack of action to confront these problems is what speaks volumes. Both players quit the council in 2012 and 2014 respectively and only rejoined in 2019, after a falling out that caused three other players to resign mid-term. 

So, 20 years after the Parking Lot Revolution, tennis finds itself back where it started: unable to satisfy the demands of its players. While the PTPA could easily fade into the background, much like Ferreria’s MITC or Roddick’s calls for change, they have a chance to do something good. In their initial letter, the PTPA said their goal was, “not to replace the ATP but to provide players with a self-governance structure that is independent of the ATP and is directly responsive to player-members’ needs and concerns.”

Tennis is known to be a sport of tradition, but to stick by that tradition blindly with no regard for how players are faring is only a detriment to its long-term survival. Change is good, and we can hope that’s what the PTPA is bringing.

On July 13, 2014, the bright Estadio do Maracana in Rio hosted the World Cup Final, which saw Germany achieve a slim 1-0 victory over Argentina and solidified Germany’s fourth World Cup win — their first win as a unified nation. Despite the Messi-led Argentina giving Germany an honorable run for their money in the final, few could disagree that Germany was by far the best team throughout the tournament and certainly deserved to be the champions of the 2014 World Cup.

When Mario Goetze poked the Brazuca ball past Argentine keeper Sergio Romero in the 113th minute, gifting his team the crucial lead, many thought that this victory would usher in a German era of dominance in World Football. Goetze himself was only 22 years old and one of the best young players in the world, yet he was just one of many, making it seem like a German dynasty was inevitable. 

Unfortunately for German fans, 2014 was a peak this team was unable to ever reach again. While they won the 2017 Confederations Cup with a reserve squad, they succumbed to a semifinal defeat at Euro 2016, before getting embarrassingly eliminated in the group stages of the 2018 World Cup during Germany’s worst result in World Cup history.

The 2018/19 Nations League did not see an improvement in form, as Germany finished bottom of their group and were saved from relegation only by a change in the rules. So far in 2020, the German National Team has played five matches and only won once. With all this in mind, is it correct to refer to the 2014 German Team as a failed dynasty?

There is definitely credence to this team being considered a failed dynasty, as their performances in the years following the 2014 World Cup have massively declined. There are several reasons for this massive dip in form.

For example, one could point to manager Joachim Loew, who has been Germany’s head coach since 2006 and was an assistant coach for two years before that. Some say that Loew’s style has gone stale and his tactics are predictable, yet he remains in his position. On the other side, he has had many great achievements during his long tenure, so it may not be justified to fire him so carelessly.

One could also argue that the team has become complacent or even arrogant, to the point that they lost their winning ambition. Winning the World Cup is mentally one of the hardest things to accomplish in football, so finding the motivation to do it again is nearly impossible. Germany is not alone either, as the four of the previous five champions have been eliminated in the group stage of the next tournament.

Furthermore, Germany sent a reserve team made up mostly of young and/or fringe players to the 2017 Confederations Cup, which they still won. This victory may have instilled an arrogant mindset throughout the main squad; if the JV team can beat everybody else, why does the varsity team even have to try?

However, while those factors played a large part in Germany’s decline, the biggest reason was probably the overall decline of player quality throughout the ranks. Out of the 23-man squad Germany sent to World Cup in Brazil, not a single player is better now than they were six years ago. Some are even shadows of the players they used to be. On the flip side, while Germany still produces many new talented players, only a select few of newcomers are able to fill the shoes of their predecessors. 

First off, many important players in the squad who were already older simply retired or moved on in their careers. Team captain Philipp Lahm, as well as Miroslav Klose and Per Mertesacker, retired from international duty following the 2014 World Cup. Lahm retired from football in 2017, Klose in 2016 and Mertesacker in 2018. Several other players visibly saw age catch up to them as well. Benedikt Howedes retired from football this year and has not played a match for Germany since 2017 and Roman Weidenfeller last played for Germany in 2015 before retiring for good in 2018. Lukas Podolski retired from international duty in 2017 and has since been winding down his career with clubs in Japan and Turkey. While it definitely hurt the national team to lose players of this quality, it was inevitable and expected given their age. 

However, what was not expected was the sharp decline in form by many of the German players who were in their prime. For example, Bastian Schweinsteiger’s transfer to Manchester United never panned out, which caused him to eventually leave to the MLS before retiring, and Mesut Oezil saw a rapid deterioration of form at Arsenal, with a fall from his position as one of the most talented playmakers in the world to a frequently-benched and fan-hated player. Oezil’s career with Germany ended up even worse as he had a falling out with the German Football Association after the 2018 World Cup collapse and then quit the team.

Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng are far from the reliable defenders they were in 2014. Though Boateng won the treble with Bayern last season, he was often the weak link in defense. Shkodran Mustafi went from a promising young player to an error-prone defender who is now the butt of internet jokes, while Julian Draxler has since wasted his once fruitful career, becoming a bench player at PSG who barely plays.

For mostly reasons out of his control, Mario Goetze, who scored the winning goal in the 2014 final, saw his career take a turn for the worse when he was diagnosed with a metabolic disorder which greatly affected his game and restricted him from ever reaching the peaks of his early career again. While Manuel Neuer, Thomas Mueller and Toni Kroos are still among the best players in the world, they all went through a period of extremely poor performances in recent years before retaining their form last season. 

The most extreme cases of decline have to be those of Kevin Grosskreutz and Andre Schuerrle. Grosskreutz’s fall from grace started when injuries saw him leave Borussia Dortmund for Galatasaray, where he failed to play a single match due to a contract dispute; he left for Stuttgart shortly after. A myriad of personal and legal issues meant his tenure in Stuttgart ended quickly as well, and Grosskreutz found himself playing for clubs in the third division of Germany until this season, where he currently does not have a club.

Schuerrle, on the other hand, who assisted Goetze’s winning goal in 2014, was doing well until injuries derailed his career. He swapped Chelsea for Wolfsburg then Borussia Dortmund, but fans would only see glimpses of his talent before he was loaned out to other clubs with little success. Following the end of his final loan spell at Spartak Moscow last summer, Schuerrle retired from football at only 29 years of age, stating that he does not enjoy football anymore. 

With all this in mind — the decline of the player quality in the squad, and the old and predictable tactics leading to subpar results — one could say that this team has reached its end, never reaching the potential level of a dynasty. However, there is still a chance. While the German team from 2014 to the present has seen a decline, there is one point often overlooked: this team did not begin in 2014. In fact, the core of the German team that won the World Cup was a combination of two generations, roughly starting in 2006 and 2010 respectively. Players like Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesacker became key members of the team during the 2006 World Cup. By contrast, players like Manuel Neuer, Sami Khedira, Mesut Oezil, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos and Jerome Boateng came to prominence during the 2010 edition. The fusion of these two groups of players created a team that was one of the best teams (and arguably the most consistent) of the past two decades.

While the peak of this German squad was in 2014, this German squad had been at the top of world football since 2006. At the 2006 World Cup, which Germany hosted, the team finished in third place. This seems like a bad result at face value, considering Germany could not win the cup on home soil. In reality, a bronze medal was a huge success, considering the German team was going through a rough patch after being eliminated in the group stages at both Euro 2000 and 2004, meaning that expectations were far from great. But, when it was all said and done, the team ended up in third place, defeating several strong teams along the way and only losing to eventual-champion team Italy in the semifinals. 

At Euro 2008, Germany would massively improve on their previous performances in this tournament, finishing runners-up after narrowly losing 1-0 to Spain in the final. Two years later, at the 2010 World Cup, Germany would play even better than in 2006 and finished in third place again after losing 1-0 to eventual-champion team Spain and beating a very strong Uruguay side in the third place play-off. 

Euro 2012 would see another great performance from Germany as they made it to the semifinals, only missing out on the final after a 2-1 loss to Italy. While Italy outplayed Germany on the day, Germany had arguably the better team throughout the tournament and was unfortunately not able to reach the final.

Following their 2014 World Cup victory, Germany headed into Euro 2016 as favorites to win. Much like Euro 2012, Germany was eliminated in the semifinals, this time by France, following a spirited second-half performance by the French. While France was the better team in the second half, Germany was the overall better team throughout the tournament, and could even be seen as the best team at Euro 2016 in terms of play. Despite losing to France, it was far from a poor showing.

Later that summer, Germany also won silver in Men’s Football at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but that was admittedly with a youth squad, as per Olympic Football rules. Similarly, Loew decided to bring a squad filled with young and fringe players to Confederations Cup 2017 rather than his starting lineup. In the face of inexperience, Germany still found a way to win the entire tournament. 

Forging a dynasty involves a team having consistent success over a long period of time. While Germany’s success started to fade after 2014, the team still had nine great performances at major tournaments (10, if you include their third place finish at the 2005 Confederations Cup). The only thing that stopped them from actually winning these tournaments was another team building their own dynasty: Spain, who won everything in sight in the late 2000s and early 2010s in what would turn out to be one of the greatest teams of all time. Spain even directly beat Germany in both Euro 2008 and World Cup 2010. Is it any coincidence that the year when Germany finally wins a trophy was the same year Spain’s dominance officially came to an end following their group stage capitulation at the 2014 World Cup?

But in order to officially have created a dynasty, most people would agree you have to win multiple trophies over a period of time. By this standard, you could not consider Germany for the criteria of a dynasty. But take nothing away from their success from 2006 to 2018; Germany was one of the best teams on the planet and arguably the most consistent. If not for Spain, they may have picked up a few more medals.

On Oct. 28, ESPN columnist Adrian Wojnarowski announced that Daryl Morey would be signing a five-year deal to be the Philadelphia 76ers’ next President of Basketball Operations. Just two weeks after stepping down from his role as General Manager of the Houston Rockets, Morey had found another home.

While Morey’s time with the Rockets is often tied to analytics and the rise of three-point shooting, he was involved with numerous iterations of their team, many of which didn’t consist solely of a small-ball lineup. To think that Morey’s first move in Philly would be deconstructing the Sixers’ young core and turning them into the Rockets 2.0 would be selling him short.

“The goal is not to shoot three-pointers, the goal is to win. You can score on offense in a bunch of different ways,” Morey said in his introductory press conference.

Sixer Joel Embiid came up multiple times as an efficient scorer with a high ceiling and “the kind of player you win championships with.” While many fans are clamoring for a Ben Simmons trade to bring James Harden to Philly, it’s unlikely.

The Sixers organization had been due for a thorough front office purge. In 2013, following a coup by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, then-Sixers GM Sam Hinkie resigned. Hinkie wrote an infamous 13-page resignation letter where he communicated the importance of “the longest view in the room.” He emphasized high draft picks and investing in young stars: the gist of The Process.

Bryan Colangelo, Hinkie’s successor, did not share this vision. During Colangelo’s two-year tenure in Philadelphia, he orchestrated a misguided trade for Markelle Fultz, made poor draft day choices (Anzejs Pasecniks, anyone?), and mishandled both Nerlens Noel and Jahlil Okafor’s contracts. Not a single player that Colangelo acquired through trade is on the Sixers roster anymore. While those poor decisions speak for themselves, it was only after news broke that his wife was running multiple Twitter burner accounts used to slander players on the team that was he finally ousted.

After “burner-gate,” there were no efforts to rid the team of the administrative pieces Colangelo had brought in. The fact that he left wasn’t enough; his toxic legacy needed to be removed as well. Instead of doing that, investor Joshua Harris and the rest of the ownership team decided to let Brett Brown, Sixers Head Coach since 2013, serve as interim GM. Brown handled the 2018 draft in that capacity, which led to us drafting Zhaire Smith in the first round, who has barely played in the NBA. To add to the circus in Philly, Elton Brand was promoted from GM of the Delaware Blue Coats, the Sixers G-League affiliate team, to GM of the Sixers at the start of the 2018-19 season.

Brand’s tenure with the Sixers is a complicated one. He made a blockbuster trade to acquire Jimmy Butler in 2018, only to let Butler go to Miami on a sign and trade when the season was over. Butler said on The JJ Reddick Podcast that “[o]n any given day, me as a person, as a player, I didn’t know who the f— was in charge.” This only further pointed to the mess in the front office. The Sixers were too prideful to even offer Butler a contract, instead content watching him lead the Miami Heat to the NBA Finals just the following season.

Brand went after Tobias Harris, signing him to a five-year, $180 million contract. He also added a 33-year-old Al Horford to a four-year deal. The concept of “star-hunting” that Brown had introduced seemed to mean grabbing anyone who had shown up on House of Highlights with no regard for how they would mesh with the team.

After a bevy of unchecked decisions over the last two seasons, it’s hard to watch Brand be let off the hook with no consequences. He was put in a difficult spot with little-to-no experience but seemed to serve a puppet role for ownership instead of a GM. With Morey’s introduction to the team, Brand will be keeping his role but potentially act as more of a figurehead: this time for Morey instead of Joshua Harris and the ownership group. Brand can continue interfacing for the team while learning the ropes from Morey and (hopefully) without touching anything. It is unlikely that Morey would come to Philadelphia to play second fiddle to a man as incompetent as Brand.

While the Sixers may not need a complete gutting of the roster, they do need a change. Over the past few years, the Sixers have embraced an outdated team model, focusing on size instead of spacing. But the solution isn’t necessarily getting rid of Simmons or Embiid; it’s surrounding them with the right pieces. New head coach Glenn Rivers wants to set the record straight: “They haven’t won yet. It’s not that they can’t win.”

At a pivotal point in the Sixers’ journey to a championship, it can feel like they are back where they started. Sure, they have Embiid and Simmons, but they’re lugging around the dead weight of Harris and a washed-up Horford. Morey himself said that “[the Sixers] championship team probably isn’t going to have the same exact players that [they] have right now.” For now, it’s enough that the Sixers have come full circle: hiring the mentor of the man they kicked out. If Hinkie died for our sins, then Morey’s signing is the second coming. Sixers fans can look forward to a future with a competent front office and coaching staff.

At his end-of-season press conference, Brand made it a point to say that he wanted to balance the Sixers “strengths with analytics and strategy, with more basketball minds.” With the addition of Glenn Rivers as head coach and Morey as head of basketball operations, he’s already taking the first steps towards fulfilling that promise.

On Sunday, Nov. 1, Manchester City won consecutive Women’s FA Cup’s in a 3-1 victory over Everton. The morning game was held at Wembley, and the final concluded the 2019-20 season, which was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Everton’s defense was tremendous in the first 30 minutes of the match, before Sam Mewis scored a header of a City corner kick to give Manchester the lead. Mewis is only the third American player to score in a FA Cup final behind Carli Lloyd and Christian Pulisic.

The Mewis goal gave Manchester the lead going into halftime, but City had the chance to double the score. In the 55th minute, Chloe Kelly would have an opportunity, but Sandy Maclver made an outstanding save to keep Everton in the match.

Maclver, the 22-year-old England international, was named the Player of the Match and made some outrageous saves. Maclver played in the U.S., where she graduated from Clemson University. She returned to England to play with Everton and has received call-ups to England’s senior team. Maclver is definitely going to be a goalkeeper to watch for England in the coming years.

Everton’s equalizer would also come off a set piece. Izzy Christiansen’s corner found the head of Valerie Gauvin as she knocked it into the near post. Everton now had the confidence they needed in order to compete for the trophy.

Caroline Weir had two chances to win it all for City in the finishing stages, one that hit the woodwork, but neither of them would find the back of the net.

In extra time, the substitute Georgia Stanway was the spark City needed. Stanway’s goal came in the 121st minute, as she snuck behind the back line and slid the ball between Maclver’s legs. As an exclamation point, Janine Beckie scored off a Stanway assist in the last seconds of the match to give City the victory.

Gareth Taylor, who was appointed Manchester City manager in May, was certainly proud of his team. Taylor told BBC Sports, “I challenge the girls to make history and win the cup twice in one season. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in because of the game and how it evened, but I’m really proud at the minute.”

Manchester City is in fifth place in the Women’s Super League, but Taylor believes this huge win will give the team the momentum they need in order to win another FA Cup.

Everton put up a good fight until the last second of the match, but ultimately the star power of City’s front line overpowered the defense Everton presented. 

Manchester City, the winners of the 50th Women’s FA Cup, found ways through their depth and experience to ultimately lift the trophy.

What is the role of sports in society? Some might say to provide entertainment; others might argue that it helps increase revenue for a city. A large group of people might describe professional sports as simply an escape: an escape from the messed-up world we currently find ourselves in, an escape from complex political issues, an escape from our ever-evolving personal lives and, more generally, an escape from reality.

The Trump presidency will be long-heralded as something we have never seen before. A businessman turned political leader has divided the country to an extent we have never seen before. Perhaps Trump is the president that the American people have heard from the most – given his unique and never-seen-before use of social media platforms. No matter what side of the aisle you sit on, you must agree that Trump seems to have an opinion on most issues – whether that is for better or worse is for you to decide.

What is beyond apparent, however, is that sports are no longer an escape from society. Professional sports have become a microcosm of American society. Professional athletes have used their platform at an unprecedented level. This all began, primarily, in 2016, when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat and later knelt during the national anthem. Opinions poured in from everywhere, whether that be from then-candidate Donald Trump or from global sports superstars like LeBron James. 

As social unrest and issues like police brutality developed, athletes’ voices became amplified more and more. Trump’s America changed the scope of professional sports forever. No longer are athletes “just athletes.” Athletes now recognize they have a platform and know how to use that platform to advocate for issues they see in society. In fact, on the opening day of the 2020 Major League Baseball season, the Tampa Bay Rays put out a Tweet calling for the arrest of the BreonnaTaylor’s killer.

Much of this came to a boiling point when Fox News host Laura Ingraham called out NBA icon LeBron James, telling him to “shut up and dribble.”

 Since then, athletes have protested President Trump in countless ways, whether it be kneeling during the national anthem – something the President disproves of – or calling the President out via his most accessible place: social media. Another common thread was athletes advocating for people to vote.

The entire world has been turned into “America” this week. With battles raging in states like Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Pennsylvania, the world of sports was not tuned out to this.

The sports world took over social media and the news, pushing people to vote. For example, on Election Day, numerous members of the Philadelphia Eagles rode around the city, urging people to vote and entertaining those waiting in line to vote.

Nearly every professional sports team and all professional sports leagues put out messages encouraging their followers to vote. While athletes took more partisan stances themselves, the teams and leagues were focused on pushing people to vote no matter what candidate the voters backed.

 The leagues encouraged voting in a way that did not divide or put partisan lines between their fans. While most athletes backed Joe Biden, teams and leagues did not – they simply encouraged the participation in our political process.

 Athletes, as previously mentioned, did make specific endorsements. LeBron James got into a back-and-forth with the President and advocated for Joe Biden. Countless athletes, including some NBA players who were located in the bubble, protested against the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake.

New Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers campaigned for Joe Biden at Philadelphia events in the weeks and days leading up to the election.

Colin Kaepernick was not the first athlete to make a political stance. But since his move in 2016, the role of athletes has changed in American society. Athletes no longer just “shut up and dribble.” They are no longer focused solely on their craft. 

Athletes have always had a platform in society, and now, whether you like it or not, all athletes are using their platform to advocate for change. Even Dr. Martin Luther King knew the role athletes could play in changing society. Many don’t know that King developed a strong relationship with Cassius Clay, better known as Muhammad Ali. 

No matter who sits in the Oval Office, athletes will continue using their voices to advocate for change.