This week in sports—November 17
As the middle of November approaches, the news has only become more significant. In the NFL, the Chicago Bears have lost their third consecutive game, raising questions about who they really are as a team. The NBA officially has a start date, and the draft is around the corner. The MLB has also announced its award winners for the season. Kim Ng made history by becoming the first ever female GM in MLB history. In the NHL, there have been talks about the possibility of an all-Canadian division for the 2021 season, and teams have been individually releasing snippets of their “reverse retro” jerseys that will go on full display this upcoming season. I will be covering each of these topics individually as we dive into this edition of “This Week in Sports.”
NFL
What Is Going on In Chicago?
With Week 10 rapidly approaching, the Bears have lost their third straight game. The offense has struggled the entire season, the play calling has been atrocious, and the Bears continue taking penalties. Nick Foles has struggled since week four when he was named the starter, and the offensive line has been statistically non-existent.
Jimmy Graham has not been the same since his hot streak in the beginning of the season, and Anthony Miller is starting to come around but mostly has been inconsistent. Ted Ginn Jr. was released after underperforming on special teams. Rookie Cole Kmet has been underused by Matt Nagy, only seeing a handful of pass attempts in his direction.
As if things couldn’t get any worse, the Bears have suffered some key injuries. Roy Robertson-Harris is done for the season with a shoulder injury. Mitch Trubisky has been sidelined with a shoulder injury as well, and Tarik Cohen is out for the year with a torn ACL.
Fans have been calling for Matt Nagy to fully relinquish the offensive play-calling duties to the offensive coordinator, Bill Lazor, after steadily declining in production since becoming head coach in 2018. Since going 5-1, the Bears are ranked 29th in total offense, scoring around 20 points a game. Barkevious Mingo, an outside linebacker, had the longest run for the Bears against the Titans on a fake punt that turned into an 11-yard run for Mingo.
Aside from the lack of offense, the Bears have continued to take costly penalties that have prevented them from scoring opportunities. The Bears lead the league with 63 penalties after week nine, two of which came on consecutive false starts when the Bears were 4th and one in week nine; this forced the Bears to punt.
While the offense has been mediocre, ranking in the bottom of the league, the defense has been a bright spot of the season. With Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks staying healthy, the Bears have been able to keep the team in just about every game. Roquan Smith is having a breakout year. He has started every game this year, leads the team with 62 solo tackles, and is averaging a sack a game.
The Bears’ special teams are quietly becoming a key reason why the Bears are being kept in the game. Kicker Cairo Santos is perfect on extra point attempts, going 17 for 17, and is 15-17 in field goals on the season. Cordarrelle Patterson has been on pace to top his previous season average of just under 30 yards per return. Rookie Darnell Mooney has caught the eyes of Bears fans by surprise, consistently leading the team in completed catches.
Currently, the Bears do not hold a playoff spot and are second place in the NFC North. Another loss could cause significant damage to the Bears’ playoff chances and put Matt Nagy further onto the hot seat.
NBA
NBA announces start date for 2020-2021 season
A month after the conclusion of the NBA bubble playoffs, commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA announced that the 2020-2021 season will commence on Dec. 22. The decision came on Nov. 10, and included a description of the process leading up to the first game of the regular season. The season will be shortened by ten games, going from the traditional 82 to 72.
The NBA draft will stay put and occur on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Free agency has been moved back to Nov. 20, after a careful decision-making process. There is no discussion on whether or not fans will be allowed to attend games.
NHL
NHL considering all-Canadian division
While there is no confirmed start date for the 2020-21 NHL season, the league has discussed creating a temporary division which would include all seven Canadian NHL teams. This division would include the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets, Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, and Montreal Canadiens.
The all-Canadian division would be created to limit international travel between the U.S. and Canada for the entirety of the 2020-21 NHL season in an attempt to minimize the spread of COVID-19. If the Canadian division works, there would be a strong possibility of it becoming permanent in the future. Many players have thought it was an interesting concept and were for the idea.
The Canadian division would be home to a handful of NHL’s biggest rivalries and could add more exciting matchups, even creating new ones between teams that rarely play each other. The Canadian division would create more matchups featuring Maple Leafs versus Canadiens, Oilers versus Flames, and Canucks versus Flames.
It is not confirmed that the NHL will go ahead with the all Canadian division, given the league would have to restructure the divisions located in the U.S. The last time a Canadian division took place was back in the 1930s.
NHL reverse retro jerseys previewed
Over the last couple days, several NHL teams have teased previews of their new reverse retro jerseys for the upcoming season. Adidas, the official maker of NHL jerseys, came up with the reverse retro jerseys concept. These jerseys are similar to the NFL’s color rush concept, but are based off a version of the team’s jersey that was used in the past.
The Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, New York Islanders, Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks are some of the many teams that have previewed their jerseys so far with more on the way. The Coyotes went with a purple base dedicated to their jerseys from the ‘90s, while the Ducks went with their original purple and teal color scheme featuring Disney’s “Mighty Duck” character on the shoulders. The NHL reverse retro jerseys will be worn during games and are expected to be unveiled by each team in the near future.
MLB
Chicago represented well in this year’s MLB awards
The MLB has announced its award winners for the 2020 season, and Chicago is well represented. Between the Cubs and Sox, six players won awards. Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, Jose Abreu and Luis Robert won awards for the White Sox; Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez won awards for the Cubs.
Tim Anderson, Eloy Jimenez, and Jose Abreu of the White Sox won silver slugger awards. Luis Robert was accompanied by Cubs stars Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez in winning Gold Glove Awards at their respective positions for their outstanding defense. For Javier Baez and Luis Robert, these are their first Gold Glove Awards.
The most important award went to Jose Abreu, who won American League MVP. Abreu had nothing short of a historic season, finishing with a batting average of .317. Abreu also had a 22-game hit streak, four consecutive games with a home run, and 60 RBIs in 60 games. Abreu is only the fourth player in franchise history to win AL MVP next to Nellie Fox, Frank Thomas (who won it twice), and Dick Allen. In addition to the achievement of winning MVP, back in 2014 Abreu became the twenty-eighth player in MLB history to win rookie of the year.
Kim Ng makes major sports history
On Nov. 13, Kim Ng was hired as the general manager of the Miami Marlins, becoming the first woman and the first Asian GM in MLB history. Ng has worked for the Los Angeles Dodgers and, most notably, for the New York Yankees, where she won World Series titles as an assistant GM.
Ng is also the first ever female GM in North American sports. She began her journey through sports with the White Sox, and was vice president of baseball operations for nearly a decade prior to being hired as the Marlins GM.
Ng was hired by former Yankee legend and owner of the Miami Marlins, Derek Jeter. She will be replacing former GM Michael Hill, who was released after the Marlins were eliminated by the Atlanta Braves in the National League division series of the 2020 playoffs.
This move is a huge step forward for women in the sports industry, and will likely be followed by more women being assigned management roles on sports teams in the future. Ng becoming GM of the Marlins is a big step forward for women, as was Alyssa Nakken becoming first base coach for the San Francisco Giants back in July.
Ng stated in an article for ESPN, “this challenge is one I don't take lightly. When I got into this business, it seemed unlikely a woman would lead a Major League team, but I am dogged in the pursuit of my goals. My goal is now to bring Championship baseball to Miami. I am both humbled and eager to continue building the winning culture our fans expect and deserve."