Bobby Bonilla Day

In November 1998, the New York Mets traded Mel Rojas to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bobby Bonilla. Bonilla was under contract for the 1999 and 2000 seasons for $5.9M a year. Bonilla struggled mightily in 1999 with the Mets batting just .160 (19/119) in 60 games so the Mets released him in January of 2000 despite still owing him $5.9M for the 2000 season. HOWEVER, instead of paying him the money then, they opted to defer payments until 2011. Bonilla's agent secured an 8% interest rate during the negotiations so now every year on July 1st starting in 2011 and running through 2035, the New York Mets cut Bobby Bo a check for $1.19M. Hence, Bobby Bonilla Day.

While it's somewhat comical that Bonilla - now 56 - is getting more money from the Mets this year than their slugging rookie first baseman Pete Alonso, it's easy to forget that once upon a time Bobby Bonilla was REALLY good. Bonilla was an All Star Six Times, won three Silver Sluggers, won a World Series title with the Marlins in 1997, led the NL in doubles in 1991 with 44, and finished second for the NL MVP race in 1990.

Here's to you Bobby Bonilla. Best Contract Ever.

Gold Cup Goal Scorers by League - Quarterfinal Edition

The semifinal match-ups are set in the Gold Cup as Haiti will take on tournament favorites Mexico, and Jamaica will take on the United States. Here's a look at your goal scorers from the quarterfinals.

HAITI 3 CANADA 2

Haiti - Duckens Nazon (2) - Sint-Truiden (Belgium)
Haiti - Hervé Bazile (1) - Le Havre (France)
Haiti - Wilde-Donald Guerrier (1) - Qarabağ FK (Azerbaijan)
Canada - Jonathan David (6) - Gent (Belgium)
Canada - Lucas Cavallini (5) - Puebla (Mexico)

MEXICO 1 COSTA RICA 1

Mexico - Raúl Jiménez (4) - Wolverhampton Wanderers (England)
Costa Rica - Bryan Ruiz (1) - Santos (Brazil)

JAMAICA 1 PANAMA 0

Jamaica - Darren Mattocks (1) - FC Cincinnati (MLS)

USA 1 CURACAO 0

USA - Weston McKennie (1) - Schalke 04 (Germany)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AZERBAIJAN (1)

Wilde-Donald Guerrier (Haiti) - Qarabağ FK - 1

BELGIUM (10)

Jonathan David (Canada) - Gent - 6
Duckens Nazon (Haiti) - Sint-Truiden - 2
Frantzdy Pierrot (Haiti) - Royal Excel Mouscron - 2

BRAZIL (1)

Bryan Ruiz (Costa Rica) - Santos - 1

BERMUDA (1)

Lejuan Simmons (Bermuda) - Robin Hood F.C. - 1

CHILE (1)

Gabriel Torres (Panama) - Universidad de Chile - 1

COSTA RICA (2)

Rubilio Castillo (Honduras) - Deportivo Saprissa - 2

DENMARK (1)

Mayron George (Costa Rica) - FC Midtjylland - 1

ENGLAND/WALES (14)

Leandro Bacuna (Curacao) - Cardiff City - 1
Neil Danns (Guyana) - Bury - 3
Junior Hoilett (Canada) - Cardiff City - 2
Raúl Jiménez (Mexico) - Wolverhampton Wanderers - 4
Bryan Oviedo (Costa Rica) - Sunderland - 1
Christian Pulisic (USA) - Chelsea - 1
Nahki Wells (Bermuda) - Burnley - 2

FRANCE (3)

Hervé Bazile (Haiti) - Le Havre - 1Kévin Fortuné (Martinique) - Troyes AC - 1
Joris Marveaux (Martinique) - Gazélec Ajaccio - 1

GERMANY (1)

Weston McKennie (USA) - Schalke 04 - 1

HAITI (2)

Djimy Alexis (Haiti) - AS Capoise - 1
Steeven Saba (Haiti) - Violette AC - 1

HONDURAS (1)

Jorge Daniel Álvarez (Honduras) - Club Deportivo Olimpia - 1

IRELAND (1)

Dante Leverock (Bermuda) - Sligo Rovers - 1

ISRAEL (1)

Armando Cooper (Panama) - Maccabi Petah Tikva - 1

MARTINIQUE (2)

Stéphane Abaul (Martinique) - Club Franciscain - 1
Kévin Parsemain (Martinique) - Golden Lion - 1

MEXICO (9)

Roberto Alvarado (Mexico) - Cruz Azul - 1
Édgar Yoel Bárcenas (Panama) - Cafetaleros de Tapachula - 1
Lucas Cavallini (Canada) - Puebla - 5
Fernando Navarro (Mexico) - Leon - 1
Alexis Vega (Mexico) - Guadalajara - 1

NETHERLANDS (1)

Juriën Gaari (Curacao) - RKC Waalwijk - 1

NORWAY (1)

Damian Lowe (Jamaica) - Start - 1

PANAMA (1)

Abdiel Arroyo (Panama) - Árabe Unido - 1

SCOTLAND (2)

Scott Arfield (Canada) - Rangers - 1
Emilio Izaguirre (Honduras) - Celtic - 1

SLOVAKIA (1)

Erick Davis (Panama) - FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda - 1

SLOVENIA (1)

Shamar Nicholson (Jamaica) - Domžale - 1

SOUTH KOREA (2)

Elías Fernando Aguilar (Costa Rica) - Jeju United - 2

SPAIN (4)

Andrés Guardado (Mexico) - Real Betis - 2
Anthony Lozano (Honduras) - Girona - 1
Diego Reyes (Mexico) - CD Leganés - 1 

THAILAND (1)

Nelson Bonilla (El Salvador) - Bangkok United - 1

TURKEY (5)

Celso Borges (Costa Rica) - Göztepe - 1
Tyler Boyd (USA) - Ankaragücü - 2
Dever Orgill (Jamaica) - Ankaragücü - 2

USA/CANADA (17)

Bryan Acosta (Honduras) - FC Dallas - 1
Jozy Altidore (USA) - Toronto FC - 1
Uriel Antuna (Mexico) - LA Galaxy - 4
Paul Arriola (USA) - DC United - 2
Allan Cruz (Costa Rica) - FC Cincinnati - 1
Jordy Delem (Martinique) - Seattle Sounders - 1
Aaron Long (USA) - New York Red Bulls - 2
Darren Mattocks (Jamaica) - FC Cincinnati - 1
Kevin Molino (Trinidad and Tobago) - Minnesota United - 1
Gyasi Zardes (USA) - Columbus Crew - 3

Red Sox - Yankees Tidbits

Here are some crazy tidbits from the Yankees-Redsox two-game series across the pond:

*Yankees starting pitchers combined to throw just 1 2/3 innings allowing 10 runs on 8 hits, good for an ERA of 54.00.

Each team used 7 relievers in Game 1 of the series and then 6 more in Game 2. Boston's bullpen logged 12 1/3 innings and gave up 23 hits and 21 runs while walking 10. New York's bullpen wasn't much better as they logged 16 1/3 innings while allowing 11 runs on 25 hits.

*In Boston's Mike Shawaryn's first seven appearances, he only allowed four runs. He gave up eight runs in 1 1/3 innings in the opener.

*There were five different innings in which a team scored at least six runs in the series and two additional innings when a team scored at least four.

*DJ LeMahieu tallied seven hits in the two-game series raising his league leading average from .336 to .345.

*Edwin Encarnacion struck out five times in a row in the first game of the series after doubling in the first inning. He finished the series 1 for 10.

*Each team saw every starter except one get a hit in each game:

Game 1 New York - Gary Sanchez 0/4
Game 1 Boston - Andrew Benintendi 0/3
Game 2 New York - Edwin Encarnacion 0/4
Game 2 Boston - Michael Chavis 0/5

*The Final Score for the two-game series was Yankees 29 Red Sox 21

*Adam Ottavino (1 2/3 IP), Zack Britton (1 IP) and Aroldis Chapman (2 IP) each logged a pair of scoreless appearances for the Yankees. Colten Brewer (1 2/3 IP) was the only pitcher to log a pair of scoreless outings for Boston.

*Stephen Tarpley's start in Game 2 was the first start of his Major League career. His first 20 appearances had all come out of the bullpen. Tarpley surrendered three homers in his one inning of work.

*Boston is now 1-6 against the Yankees this year and sits 11 games out of first place in the AL East.

*The loss was Boston's 40th of the season. Boston didn't lose their 40th game last year until August 24th.

Copa America Quarterfinal Wrap-Up

Three of the four quarterfinal matches at the 2019 Copa America ended 0-0 and went to a shootout. Brazil-Paraguay, Chile-Colombia and Peru-Uruguay all went goal-less and needed penalty kicks. Only Argentina's 2-0 win over Venezuela broke the trend. This sets up semifinal matches between Brazil and Argentina, and Peru and Chile. Here's a quick look at the matches:

BRAZIL (FIFA #3) vs ARGENTINA (FIFA #11)

Brazil hasn't won the Copa America since 2007, but they did defeat Argentina in the 2018 Superclásico de las Américas 1-0 on a late goal from João Miranda. Brazil hasn't yet conceded a goal in this tournament outscoring their opponents 8-0, and they're on a run of six consecutive shutouts across all competitions/friendlies.

Argentina hasn't won a Copa America since 1993, but they've been runners up in four of the last five tournaments. Led by Lionel Messi, Argentina stumbled out of the gates in this year's tournament losing to Colombia 2-0 and drawing 1-1 with Paraguay before defeating Qatar and sneaking into the knockout round. 

CHILE (FIFA #16) vs PERU (FIFA #21)

Chile won the 2016 Copa America when they went on an impressive run through the knockout round by dispatching Mexico 7-0, Colombia 2-0 and playing Argentina to a scoreless draw and then knocking them out on penalties 4-2. Chile suffered a 1-0 loss in group play to Uruguay, but only conceded one goal in their other three matches. Chile lost 3-0 to Peru in a friendly last October. 

Peru's appearance in the 2018 World Cup was their first since 1982, and their last Copa America win came in 1975. In the 2016 edition of Copa America, Peru lost to Colombia in a shootout in the quarterfinals, but their luck turned this year when they edged out Uruguay 5-4 on penalties to advance. Peru is vulnerable at the back having lost 5-0 to Brazil during the group stage. 

Breaking Down the Women's World Cup Semifinals

ENGLAND vs UNITED STATES (JULY 2)

England has outscored its World Cup opponents 11-1 including 6-0 in the knockout round. The English are making their second consecutive appearance in the semifinals and are looking to improve upon their third place finish in 2015. England and the U.S. have met in all four SheBelieves Cups with the U.S. winning 1-0 in 2016, England winning 1-0 in 2017, the U.S. winning 1-0 in 2018 and the teams drawing 2-2 in March of this year. Ellen White leads England with five goals.

The United States has never finished worse than third in the Women's World Cup and has reached four of seven World Cup Finals. After rolling through the Group Stage with 18 goals for and 0 goals against, the U.S. has managed a pair of 2-1 wins in the knockout round. Megan Rapinoe has scored all four of the U.S.'s goals in the knockout round, and is tied with Alex Morgan with a team-best five goals so far in the tournament.


NETHERLANDS vs SWEDEN (JULY 3)

The Netherlands have quietly won all five of their matches in this World Cup outscoring their opponents 10-3, and are making their first ever appearance in the World Cup semifinals. It's no fluke though as the Netherlands ended Germany's streak of 6-straight UEFA Women's Championships by winning the the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 Tournament and had wins over both Sweden (in the quarterfinals) and England (in the semifinals) on their way to the title. The Dutch have been led in this World Cup by 22 year old Vivianne Miedema's three goals.

Of the four teams remaining, Sweden is the only one that didn't win their group as they had the misfortune of needing to take on the U.S. in group play. Sweden has otherwise been perfect winning their four remaining matches by a score of 10-2. In dispatching Germany in the semifinals, Sweden was able to exact revenge on the team that eliminated them from the 2015 World Cup, and now they get a shot at the team that knocked them out of the 2017 UEFA Women's Championship. Eight different players have scored for Sweden so far in the World Cup.

The 5-Goal Gals

After England's Ellen White scored in yesterday's quarterfinal match against Norway, she became the third player to score five goals in this World Cup. Here's a closer look at each of the three women currently atop the goal leaderboard:

Sam Kerr - Australia - Kerr has won back-to-back NWSL Golden Boots after netting 17 goals for Sky Blue FC in 2017 and then 16 goals for the Chicago Red Stars in 2018. She also currently sits atop the leaderboard in 2019 with six more goals for the Red Stars. Despite only being 25 years old, she already has 80 CAPS for Australia and now has 36 career international goals. In the 2019 World Cup Kerr scored once against Italy, and four times against Jamaica during the Group Stage.

Ellen White - England - White plays professionally in England with her career taking her from Chelsea to Leeds Carnegie to Arsenal to Notts County to Birmingham City and most recently Manchester City. She's been CAP'd 85 times by England (and four more times for Great Britain during the 2012 Olympics) and now has 32 international goals. Now 30 years old, White has scored in every one of England's matches during this Wold Cup with the exception of their 1-0 win over Argentina, and she scored twice against Japan. 

Alex Morgan - USA - Unquestionably soccer royalty in America, the 29 year old Morgan eclipsed the 100 goal plateau this year, and following her five-goal outburst against Thailand in the U.S.'s World Cup Opener, Morgan now sits at 106 goals in her career spanning 166 appearances. Morgan has been the CONCACAF player of the year four times (including each of the last three years) and plays professionally in the NWSL for the Orlando Pride.

Copa America Goal Scorers By League

It's a great time to be a soccer fan right now. You've got the Women's World Cup, the Gold Cup, AND down in South America, the Copa America tournament. If you haven't been following, here's a rundown of how the tourney's shaped up thus far.

GROUP A

Brazil 3 Bolivia 0
Venezuela 0 Peru 0
Peru 3 Bolivia 1
Venezuela 0 Brazil 0
Brazil 5 Peru 0
Venezuela 3 Bolivia 1

GROUP B

Colombia 2 Argentina 0
Paraguay 2 Qatar 2
Colombia 1 Qatar 0
Argentina 1 Paraguay 1
Argentina 2 Qatar 0
Colombia 1 Paraguay 0

GROUP C

Uruguay 4 Ecuador 0
Chile 4 Japan 0
Uruguay 2 Japan 2
Chile 2 Ecuador 1
Uruguay 1 Chile 0
Japan 1 Ecuador 1

And similar to what we just put together for the Gold Cup goal scorers, here's where your Copa America goal scorers play their club ball through the conclusion of the Group Stage:

BOLIVIA (1)

Leonel Justiniano (Bolivia) - Bolivar - 1

BRAZIL (4)

Gustavo Cuéllar (Colombia) - Flamengo - 1
Everton (Brazil) - Grêmio - 2
Paolo Guerrero (Peru) - Internacional - 1

CHILE (1)

José Pedro Fuenzalida (Chile) - Universidad Católica - 1

CHINA (1)

Marcelo Martins (Bolivia) - Shijiazhuang Ever Bright - 1

ENGLAND (5)

Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - Manchester City - 1
Roberto Firmino (Brazil) - Liverpool - 1
Alexis Sánchez (Chile) - Manchester United - 2
Willian (Brazil) - Chelsea - 1

FRANCE (3)

Dani Alves (Brazil) - Paris Saint-Germain - 1
Edinson Cavani (Uruguay) - Paris Saint-Germain - 2

ITALY (4)

Lautaro Martínez (Argentina) - Internazionale - 1
Erick Pulgar (Chile) - Bologna - 1
Duván Zapata (Colombia) - Atalanta - 2

JAPAN (2)

Koji Miyoshi (Japan) - Yokohama F. Marinos - 2

MEXICO (6)

Edison Flores (Peru) - Morelia - 1
Roger Martínez (Colombia) - Club América - 1
Ángel Mena (Ecuador) - León - 1
Enner Valencia (Ecuador) - Tigres UANL - 1
Eduardo Vargas (Chile) - Tigres UANL - 2

PARAGUAY (2)

Óscar Cardozo (Paraguay) - Club Libertad - 1
Richard Sánchez (Paraguay) - Club Olimpia - 1

QATAR (2)

Almoez Ali (Qatar) - Al-Duhail - 1
Shoya Nakajima (Japan) - Al-Duhail - 1

RUSSIA (1)

Jefferson Farfán (Peru) - Lokomotiv Moscow - 1

SPAIN (9)

Casemiro (Brazil) - Real Madrid - 1
Philippe Coutinho (Brazil) - Barcelona - 2
José Giménez (Uruguay) - Atlético Madrid - 1
Darwin Machís (Venezuela) - Cádiz CF - 2
Lionel Messi (Argentina) - Barcelona - 1
Luis Suárez (Uruguay) - Barcelona - 2

UKRAINE (1)

Derlis González (Paraguay) - Dynamo Kyiv - 1

USA/CANADA (2)

Nicolás Lodeiro (Uruguay) - Seattle Sounders - 1
Josef Martínez (Venezuela) - Atlanta United - 1

Gold Cup Goal Scorers by League

So we've already listed out all the Gold Cup goal scorers through group play, but here's how it actually breaks down by where they play their club ball:

BELGIUM (8)

Jonathan David (Canada) - Gent - 5
Duckens Nazon (Haiti) - Sint-Truiden - 1
Frantzdy Pierrot (Haiti) - Royal Excel Mouscron - 2

BERMUDA (1)

Lejuan Simmons (Bermuda) - Robin Hood F.C. - 1

CHILE (1)

Gabriel Torres (Panama) - Universidad de Chile - 1

COSTA RICA (3)

Rubilio Castillo (Honduras) - Deportivo Saprissa - 2
Álvaro Saborío (Costa Rica) - San Carlos - 1

DENMARK (1)

Mayron George (Costa Rica) - FC Midtjylland - 1

ENGLAND/WALES (13)

Leandro Bacuna (Curacao) - Cardiff City - 1
Neil Danns (Guyana) - Bury - 3
Junior Hoilett (Canada) - Cardiff City - 2
Raúl Jiménez (Mexico) - Wolverhampton Wanderers - 3
Bryan Oviedo (Costa Rica) - Sunderland - 1
Christian Pulisic (USA) - Chelsea - 1
Nahki Wells (Bermuda) - Burnley - 2

FRANCE (2)

Kévin Fortuné (Martinique) - Troyes AC - 1
Joris Marveaux (Martinique) - Gazélec Ajaccio - 1

HAITI (2)

Djimy Alexis (Haiti) - AS Capoise - 1
Steeven Saba (Haiti) - Violette AC - 1

HONDURAS (1)

Jorge Daniel Álvarez (Honduras) - Club Deportivo Olimpia - 1

IRELAND (1)

Dante Leverock (Bermuda) - Sligo Rovers - 1

ISRAEL (1)

Armando Cooper (Panama) - Maccabi Petah Tikva - 1

MARTINIQUE (2)

Stéphane Abaul (Martinique) - Club Franciscain - 1
Kévin Parsemain (Martinique) - Golden Lion - 1

MEXICO (8)

Roberto Alvarado (Mexico) - Cruz Azul - 1
Édgar Yoel Bárcenas (Panama) - Cafetaleros de Tapachula - 1
Lucas Cavallini (Canada) - Puebla - 4
Fernando Navarro (Mexico) - Leon - 1
Alexis Vega (Mexico) - Guadalajara - 1

NETHERLANDS (1)

Juriën Gaari (Curacao) - RKC Waalwijk - 1

NORWAY (1)

Damian Lowe (Jamaica) - Start - 1

PANAMA (1)

Abdiel Arroyo (Panama) - Árabe Unido - 1

SCOTLAND (2)

Scott Arfield (Canada) - Rangers - 1
Emilio Izaguirre (Honduras) - Celtic - 1

SLOVAKIA (1)

Erick Davis (Panama) - FC DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda - 1

SLOVENIA (1)

Shamar Nicholson (Jamaica) - Domžale - 1

SOUTH KOREA (2)

Elías Fernando Aguilar (Costa Rica) - Jeju United - 2

SPAIN (4)

Andrés Guardado (Mexico) - Real Betis - 2
Anthony Lozano (Honduras) - Girona - 1
Diego Reyes (Mexico) - CD Leganés - 1 

THAILAND (1)

Nelson Bonilla (El Salvador) - Bangkok United - 1

TURKEY (5)

Celso Borges (Costa Rica) - Göztepe - 1
Tyler Boyd (USA) - Ankaragücü - 2
Dever Orgill (Jamaica) - Ankaragücü - 2

USA/CANADA (16)

Bryan Acosta (Honduras) - FC Dallas - 1
Jozy Altidore (USA) - Toronto FC - 1
Uriel Antuna (Mexico) - LA Galaxy - 4
Paul Arriola (USA) - DC United - 2
Allan Cruz (Costa Rica) - FC Cincinnati - 1
Jordy Delem (Martinique) - Seattle Sounders - 1
Aaron Long (USA) - New York Red Bulls - 2
Kevin Molino (Trinidad and Tobago) - Minnesota United - 1
Gyasi Zardes (USA) - Columbus Crew - 3

Gold Cup Goal Scorers - Group Stage, Round 3

Canada got hat tricks from Jonathan David and Lucas Cavallini and five more MLSers scored as group play at the Gold Cup concluded last night. MLSers now have 16 goals in the tournament while Mexico leads all nations with 13 goals through its first three matches. In a surprise, Canada is second with 12 goals while the U.S. is third with 11.

In case you missed the goal scorers from the two rounds, you can find them here for round one and here for round two.

The Quarterfinals kick off on Saturday. Here's your four quarterfinal match-ups:

6/29 - Haiti vs Canada
6/29 - Mexico vs Costa Rica
6/30 - Jamaica vs Panama
6/30 - USA vs Curacao

Too Soon?

Yordan Alvarez has been an absolute monster for the Astros in his brief tenure with the big league club tallying 7 homers and 17 RBIs through his first 13 games. Add in his AAA numbers with Round Rock and Alvarez has 30 homers and 88 runs batted in and he's only appeared in 69 games in 2019!

Now obviously it's too soon to start touting Alvarez as a Hall of Famer. We've seen this before after all. Remember Kevin Maas? Shane Spencer? If you're not a Yankees diehard, then the answer is probably no. 

Maas hit 10 homers in his first 72 at bats and finished his rookie campaign with 21 homers in 254 at bats, good enough to finish second in the AL Rookie of the Year balloting in 1990. In his first full season in 1991, Maas managed just 23 homers and hit only .220, and in parts of three more seasons he managed only an additional 21 homers to finish his Major League career with 65. Maas never appeared in the big leagues after 1995.

Spencer burst onto the scene in late 1998 and hit .373 with 10 homers in just 67 at bats and even earned the nickname "Roy Hobbs." However, despite winning 3 World Series with the Yankees, Spencer's power never returned to the level of his rookie campaign and he finished with just 59 homers and his MLB career was wrapped up by 2004. 

So back to Alvarez. As an Astros fan, I want to believe that this guy is the second coming of Jeff Bagwell in that he's an incredible talent who Houston was able to snag in a back page deal for a relief pitcher. In July of 2016, a 19 year old Alvarez was acquired from the Dodgers in exchange for right handed reliever Josh Fields. While Fields went 8-2 with a 2.61 ERA in parts of three seasons with the Dodgers, he was released by the club in March and is currently pitching in AAA for the Nashville Sounds (Texas Rangers). Adding more insult to injury, Fields faced off against the Astros in the 2017 World Series, and failed to record an out in his only appearance yielding homers to Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa, and then a double to Yuli Gurriel. The Astros won the Series in seven games.

In August 1990, the Astros famously acquired Jeff Bagwell from the Red Sox for relief pitcher Larry Andersen and we all know how that turned out. While Andersen had a productive career that spanned 17 Major League seasons, logged 699 appearances and helped the Phillies reach the World Series in 1983 and 1993, he's arguably most famous for the Bagwell trade. Could Josh Fields be the next Larry Andersen? Only time will tell.

Europe Lands 7 Teams in World Cup Quarterfinals

Following today's wins by Italy over China, and the Netherlands over Japan, Europe will enter the quarterfinals of the 2019 Women's World Cup with seven of the remaining eight teams. Only the U.S. represents the rest of the world after Australia, Cameroon, Brazil, China, Japan, Nigeria and Canada all fell in the Round of 16. While Europe led all confederations with nine entries (out of 24), the fact that seven of its nine sides are still playing is pretty darned impressive. Only Scotland failed to reach the knockout round, and only Spain (who fell 2-1 to the U.S.) has since been eliminated.

Here's a rundown of the quarterfinal match-ups:

Norway vs England
France vs USA
Italy vs Netherlands
Germany vs Sweden

And a little background:

Norway - Winners of the 2019 Algarve Cup, Norway was eliminated by England in the Round of 16 of the 2015 World Cup.

England - Winners of the 2019 SheBelieves Cup, England finished third at the World Cup in 2015 (their best finish ever) and was knocked out of Euro 2017 in the semifinals.

France - France lost to the U.S. in the semifinals of the 2011 World Cup before finishing 4th, their best World Cup finish ever. France defeated the U.S. in a friendly this January in Le Havre 3-1.

United States - As noted earlier today, the U.S. has never missed a World Cup Semifinal.

Italy - Italy is in their first World Cup since 1999, and only missed the 2015 World Cup after losing out to the Netherlands in a playoff for the final spot 3-2 on aggregate.

Netherlands - Despite winning the Euro 2017, the Netherlands did not win their World Cup qualifying group, finishing behind Norway despite a +20 goal differential and conceding only two goals in group play. However, they were able to defeat Denmark and Switzerland to qualify.

Germany - Germany and Sweden played to a 0-0 tie in the Group Stage of Euro 2017, however Germany got the best of Sweden in the knockout round of the 2015 World Cup, dispatching them 4-1 in the Round of 16. Germany also defeated Sweden 2-1 in a friendly this April.

Sweden - Sweden has a pair of third place finishes at the World Cup (1991, 2011), but will need to solve their nemesis Germany to advance to the semifinals.

Quick History Lesson - Women's World Cup Edition

It was pointed out in yesterday's Spain-USA broadcast that the U.S. Women's National Team has never missed a World Cup Semifinal since the tournament's inception in 1991. Here's a list of their finishes, and on the rare occasions that they didn't win the tourney, a summary of who knocked them out.

1991 - 1st
1995 - 3rd (Lost 1-0 to Norway in the Semifinals)
1999 - 1st
2003 - 3rd (Lost 3-0 to Germany in the Semifinals)
2007 - 3rd (Lost 4-0 to Brazil in the Semifinals)
2011 - 2nd (Lost on Penalties to Japan in the Finals)
2015 - 1st
2019 - ???

On only one occasion did the team that eliminated the U.S. not go on to win the World Cup. That was in 2007 when Germany defeated Brazil 2-0 to win their second title.

The U.S., having dispatched Spain, will now take on host France on Friday in Paris. Of the six teams that have advanced to the quarterfinals thus far, the U.S. is the only non-European nation to do so, the other five being Norway, England, Germany, Sweden and the aforementioned France. Later today China will take on Italy and Japan will face the Netherlands with the final two spots in the quarterfinals on the line.

Gold Cup Roster Breakdown - Top Scorers By Country

Here's a look at the top scorer for each of the 16 countries entered in this year's Gold Cup. Goals are updated through yesterday's matches. Players who have scored in this year's tournament are highlighted in red:

GROUP A

Mexico - Andrés Guardado (Real Betis, Spain) - 28
Canada - Lucas Cavallini (Puebla, Mexico), Jonathan David (Gent, Belgium) - 9
Martinique - Kévin Parsemain (Golden Lion, Martinique) - 35
Cuba - Yordan Santa Cruz (n/a) - 8

GROUP B

Costa Rica - Álvaro Saborío (San Carlos, Costa Rica) - 35
Haiti - Duckens Nazon (Sint-Truiden, Belgium) - 16
Nicaragua - Juan Barrera (Municipal, Guatemala) - 18
Bermuda - Reggie Lamb (Cambridge United, England), Zeiko Lewis (Charleston Battery, USA) - 9

GROUP C

Honduras - Anthony Lozano (Girona, Spain) - 9
Jamaica - Darren Mattocks (FC Cincinnati, MLS) - 17
El Salvador - Nelson Bonilla (Bangkok United, Thailand) - 15
Curacao - Leandro Bacuna (Cardiff City, England/Wales) - 10

GROUP D

USA - Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC, MLS) - 41
Panama - Gabriel Torres (Universidad de Chile, Chile) - 16
Trinidad and Tobago - Kevin Molino (Minnesota United, MLS) - 19
Guyana - Neil Danns (Bury, England) - 8

300 Strikeouts in Cole's Future?

Houston right-hander Gerrit Cole is currently on pace to strike out 303 hitters this season, a first for him. With pitch counts and openers, 300 strikeouts has become a much more difficult milestone to reach for the modern pitcher which got me wondering: how many 300 strikeout pitchers have their been in my lifetime (1981 to now)? Fortunately, thanks to the wonders of the internet, we can look this stuff up. Here's the list chronologically:

1986 - Mike Scott - Houston Astros - 306
1989 - Nolan Ryan - Texas Rangers - 301
1993 - Randy Johnson - Seattle Mariners - 308
1997 - Curt Schilling - Philadelphia Phillies - 319
1997 - Pedro Martinez - Montreal Expos - 305
1998 - Randy Johnson - Seattle Mariners/Houston Astros - 329
1998 - Curt Schilling - Philadelphia Phillies - 300
1999 - Randy Johnson - Arizona Diamondbacks - 364
1999 - Pedro Martinez - Boston Red Sox - 313
2000 - Randy Johnson - Arizona Diamondbacks - 347
2001 - Randy Johnson - Arizona Diamondbacks - 372
2002 - Randy Johnson - Arizona Diamondbacks - 334
2002 - Curt Schilling - Philadelphia Phillies - 316
2015 - Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers - 301
2017 - Chris Sale - Boston Red Sox - 308
2018 - Max Scherzer - Washington Nationals - 300

A couple interesting observations:

1) Of the eight pitchers on the list, half of them have ties to the Astros (Mike Scott, Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling).

2) Nolan Ryan, for all his strikeout accolades, is only on this list once, and actually only eclipsed 300 strikeouts six times in his 27 seasons. He was at his most dominant in a six year stretch from 1972-1977 when he struck out at least 327 hitters five times with a high of 383 in 1973.

3) Another former Astro, Roger Clemens, isn't on this list at all. Clemens fanned 291 in 1988 and 292 in 1997, but that was as close as he'd get to this exclusive club.

4) Sticking with our Astros theme, Justin Verlander, second among active players in strikeouts (behind only CC Sabathia), had 290 last year, a career high for him. He is on pace for 291 this season.

Gold Cup Goal Scorers - Group Stage, Round 2

Goals were down in the second round of Gold Cup group stage games with 25 goals scored over eight matches including the tournament's first two own goals. Only three of the sixteen teams have yet to score at least once in their opening two matches: Cuba, Nicaragua and Trinidad and Tobago. MLSers accounted for five more goals, all from the U.S.'s 6-0 rout of T&T bringing their total for the tournament to 11 led by Gyasi Zardes and Mexico's Uriel Antuna with three apiece.

In case you missed the goal scorers from the first round, you can find them here.

The Last 5 NBA #1 Draft Picks at a Glance

On Thursday, the New Orleans Pelicans made Zion Williamson the #1 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. And that got me thinking: who were the last five number ones and how have they fared in the NBA thus far. Here's a quick look:

2018 - Deandre Ayton (Arizona) - Phoenix Suns - Ayton was named to the NBA's First Team All-Rookie squad after averaging 16.3 points and a team high 10.3 rebounds in his rookie campaign. Alas, the Suns finished 19-63, 14 games worse than anyone else in the Western Conference.

2017 - Markelle Fultz (Washington) - Philadelphia 76ers - Fultz has only appeared in 33 games in his first two NBA seasons due to issues with his shoulder. In his limited time with the 76ers, Fultz averaged 7.7 points and 3.4 assists and was traded to Orlando in February. Fultz has yet to play for the Magic.

2016 - Ben Simmons (LSU) - Philadelphia 76ers - Simmons missed the entire 2016-17 season following an ankle injury, but rewarded Philadelphia's patience with a spot on the All-Rookie First Team and a Rookie of the Year Award in 2018, and his first All-Star selection in 2019. In two seasons, Simmons has averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists.

2015 - Karl-Anthony Towns (Kentucky) - Minnesota Timberwolves - Towns just wrapped up his fourth season in Minnesota, and third in a row where he averaged at least 21 points and 12 rebounds. Towns won the Rookie of the Year Award in 2016, and has followed that up with a pair of All-Star selections and a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in 2018. For his career he's averaging 22.3 points and 11.9 rebounds.

2014 - Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) - Wiggins, like Towns, has also spent his entire career with Minnesota, and like Towns, also won the Rookie of the Year Award (2015). Wiggins has averaged over 19 points a game in his five year career peaking at 23.6 points per game in 2016-17.

Thailand's Road to the 2019 Women's World Cup

After Thailand's demoralizing 13-0 loss to the United States last week, it got me thinking: How did a team of that quality actually qualify for the World Cup? They had to be better than somebody right?

So qualification for the World Cup for Asian nations began with qualifying for the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup. Thailand was initially drawn into a group with Chinese Taipei, Lebanon, Palestine and Guam. However, both Lebanon and Guam withdrew from the tournament leaving just three teams in the group. Thailand beaten Palestine (ranked 111th in the world) 6-0 and Chinese Taipei (ranked 40th) 1-0 to win the group and qualify for the final tournament held in April 2018.

The top 5 teams from the 2018 Asian Cup would all qualify for this summer's World Cup so a top-two finish in either four-team group would result in automatic qualification. Thailand was drawn into a group with China (ranked 16th), the Philippines (74th) and Jordan (54th). After opening the tournament with a 4-0 loss to China, Thailand bounced back to defeat Jordan 6-1 and the Philippines 3-1 to clinch a World Cup berth as well as a spot in the knockout round.

In the knockout round, Thailand would fall to Australia in a shootout after playing to a 2-2 draw, and then lost the consolation game 3-1 to China to finish fourth in the tournament. In the end the AFC would be represented by tournament winners Japan, Australia, China, Thailand and South Korea.

You can read more about the 2018 Asian Cup here and the current Women's FIFA Rankings here.

Gold Cup Goal Scorers - Group Stage, Round 1

With one round of games complete in the group stage of the 2019 Gold Cup, I figured now's as good a time as any to see who's scoring goals and where those goal scorers play. In total 30 goals were scored in the opening eight matches by 23 players. Mexico's Uriel Antuna netted a hat trick, while five other players tallied braces. Four different players from MLS scored led by Antuna, while players representing clubs from Israel, Thailand, South Korea and Norway also got on the board. Only one club, Turkey's Ankaragücü, had multiple goal scorers as Jamaica's Dever Orgill and USA's Tyler Boyd each tallied a pair of goals. Here's the complete list of all of your goal scorers from Round 1.

The 5: Random Lists from Around the Sports World

NHL Scoring Leaders (Points)

1. Nikita Kucherov (Russia), RW, Tampa Bay Lightning - 71 (21 goals, 50 assists)
2. Mikko Rantanen (Finland), RW, Colorado Avalanche - 68 (20 goals, 48 assists)
3t. Johnny Gaudreau (USA), LW, Calgary Flames - 66 (26 goals, 40 assists)
3t. Nathan MacKinnon (Canada), C, Colorado Avalanche - 66 (26 goals, 40 assists)
5. Connor McDavid (Canada), C, Edmonton Oilers - 63 (24 goals, 39 assists)
6. Patrick Kane (USA), RW, Chicago Blackhawks - 58 (24 goals, 34 assists)
7. Brayden Point (Canada), C, Tampa Bay Lightning - 57 (26 goals, 31 assists)
8. Mitchell Marner (Canada), C, Toronto Maple Leafs - 55 (15 goals, 40 assists)
9. Blake Wheeler (USA), RW, Winnipeg Jets - 55 (7 goals, 48 assists)
10. Sean Monahan (Canada), C, Calgary Flames - 54 (23 goals, 31 assists)

NBA Top Scoring Offenses (Point Per Game)

1. Milwaukee Bucks (29-11) - 117.5
2. New Orleans Pelicans (20-22) - 117.2
3. Golden State Warriors (27-14) - 116.7
4. Los Angeles Clippers (24-16) - 116.0
5. Sacramento Kings (20-21) - 115.0
6. Philadelphia 76ers (27-15) - 114.6
7. Toronto Raptors (31-12) - 113.2
8. Washington Wizards (17-25) - 113.0
9. Charlotte Hornets (19-21) - 112.9
10. Boston Celtics (25-15) - 112.5

My 2019 NBA All-Star Votes

Admittedly, I haven't watched a whole lot of basketball this season, but here are my starting 5s for the 2019 NBA All Star Game. #IVoted

Western Conference

Anthony Davis - New Orleans Pelicans
Kevin Durant - Golden State Warriors
LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers

James Harden - Houston Rockets
Steph Curry - Golden State Warriors

Eastern Conference

Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers
Giannis Antetokounmpo - Milwaukee Bucks
Kawhi Leonard - Toronto Raptors

Kyrie Irving - Boston Celtics
Kemba Walker - Charlotte Hornets

Bowl Results By Conference

With just one game to go, here are the bowl results broken down by conference.

ACC (5-5)

Boston College - Cancelled vs Boise State - ServPro First Responder Bowl
Clemson - W 30-3 vs Notre Dame - Goodyear Cotton Bowl (CFP Semifinal)
Clemson - vs Alabama - CFP National Championship
Duke - W 56-27 vs Temple - Walk-On's Independence Bowl
Georgia Tech - L 34-10 vs Minnesota - Quick Lane Bowl
Miami - L 35-3 vs Wisconsin - New Era Pinstripe Bowl
North Carolina State - L 52-13 vs Texas A&M - Taxslayer Gator Bowl
Pittsburgh - L 14-13 vs Stanford - Hyundai Sun Bowl
Syracuse - W 34-18 vs West Virginia - Camping World Bowl
Virginia - W 28-0 vs South Carolina - Belk Bowl
Virginia Tech - L 35-31 vs Cincinnati - Military Bowl by Northrop Grumman
Wake Forest - W 37-34 vs Memphis - Jared Birmingham Bowl

American (2-5)

Central Florida - L 40-32 vs LSU - Playstation Fiesta Bowl
Cincinnati - W 35-31 vs Virginia Tech - Military Bowl by Northrop Grumman
Houston - L 70-14 vs Army - Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
Memphis - L 37-34 vs Wake Forest - Jared Birmingham Bowl
South Florida - L 38-20 vs Marshall - Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl
Temple - L 56-27 vs Duke - Walk On's Independence Bowl
Tulane - W 41-24 vs Louisiana-Lafayette - Autonation Cure Bowl

Leading Scorer For Each EPL Team Heading Into Play Today

LIVERPOOL - Mohamed Salah (Egypt) - 13
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR - Harry Kane (England) - 14
MANCHESTER CITY - Raheem Sterling (England)/Sergio Agüero (Argentina) - 9
CHELSEA - Eden Hazard (Belgium) - 10
ARSENAL - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) - 14
MANCHESTER UNITED - Romelu Lukaku (Belgium)/Anthony Martial (France) - 8
LEICESTER CITY - Jamie Vardy (England) - 7
WATFORD - Roberto Pereyra (Argentina) - 6
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS - Raúl Jiménez (Mexico) - 6
WEST HAM UNITED - Felipe Anderson (Brazil) - 8
EVERTON - Richarlison (Brazil) - 9
AFC BOURNEMOUTH - Callum Wilson (England) - 9
BRIGHTON & HOVE ALBION - Glenn Murray (England) - 8
CRYSTAL PALACE - Luka Milivojević (Serbia) - 6
NEWCASTLE UNITED - Salomón Rondón (Venezuela) - 5
BURNLEY - Ashley Barnes (Austria) - 4
CARDIFF CITY - Callum Paterson (Scotland) - 4
SOUTHAMPTON - Danny Ings (England) - 7
FULHAM - Aleksandar Mitrović (Serbia) - 8
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN - Mathias Jørgensen (Denmark) - 3

Manchester No Mour(inho)

In three games since the firing of Jose Mourinho, Manchester United has outscored their opponents 12-3 and picked up nine points out of a possible nine, jumping up into 6th place in the EPL Table. But is Ole Gunnar Solskjær a miracle worker? Or are the Red Devils just getting lucky? Here's a look at their three wins:

At Cardiff City (currently 16th place out of 20) - W 5-1
vs Huddersfield Town (currently 20th place out of 20) - W 3-1
vs AFC Bournemouth (currently 12th place out of 20) - W 4-1

Two things immediately jump out at me. First, none of their wins are against teams in the top half of the table. Similarly, today's match against 15th place Newcastle United also fits that mold. It's hard to say that Man U is BACK until they actually beat someone of significance. Second, Man U conceded in all three of these matches. In fact, they haven't pitched a clean sheet since November when they had a 0-0 draw at home against 14th place Crystal Palace. Maybe conceding doesn't matter if you're going to score four goals a game, but better teams are going to punish what still appears to be a leaky back line.

How Long Has It Been Since UCF Last Lost a Game?

UCF, last year's self-proclaimed College Football National Champions, are at it again this year as they head into a New Year's Day Bowl Game against SEC powerhouse LSU. The Knights are once again undefeated at 12-0 which got me thinking: Who's the last team that actually beat them?

It's less exciting than you'd think. UCF's 25 game winning streak started on the heels of an Automation Cure Bowl Loss to Arkansas... State... That's right, the Arkansas State Red Wolves of the Sun Belt Conference took it to the Knights back in 2016 by a score of 31-13. Bet you didn't know that Arkansas State's mascot was the Red Wolf, did you? UCF finished the 2016 campaign with a record of just 6-7, a far cry from the back-to-back double digit win seasons they've run off these past two years.

Fun fact, nobody from Arkansas State was drafted into the NFL in 2017 or 2018.

5 Lists to Start the New Year

NBA Leading Scorers (points per game)

1. James Harden - Houston Rockets - 33.3
2. Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors - 28.7
3t. Anthony Davis - New Orleans Pelicans - 28.5
3t. Kevin Durant - Golden State Warriors - 28.5
5. LeBron James - Los Angeles Lakers - 27.3
6. Damian Lillard - Portland Trail Blazers - 26.8
7. Kawhi Leonard - Toronto Raptors - 26.7
8. Giannis Antetokounmpo - Milwaukee Bucks - 26.6
9. Joel Embiid - Philadelphia 76ers - 26.5
10. Paul George - Oklahoma City Thunder - 26.4


James Harden's Last 10 Games

1. 12/13 vs Los Angeles Lakers (W 126-111), 50 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists
2. 12/15 at Memphis Grizzlies (W 105-97), 32 points, 12 rebounds, 10 assists
3. 12/17 vs Utah Jazz (W 102-97), 47 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
4. 12/19 vs Washington Wizards (W 136-118), 35 points, 3 rebounds, 9 assists
5. 12/20 at Miami Heat (L 101-99), 35 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists
6. 12/22 vs San Antonio Spurs (W 108-101), 39 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists
7. 12/25 vs Oklahoma City Thunder (W113-109), 41 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists
8. 12/27 vs Boston Celtics (W 127-113), 45 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists
9. 12/29 at New Orleans Pelicans (W 108-104), 41 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists
10. 12/31 vs Memphis Grizzlies (W 113-101), 43 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists