⚾️ Weston Wilson Hits for the Cycle, Falcons Make Another Splash, and Our ACC Preview

Happy Friday Blitzers!

Hey, look at us, we did it. We made it to the weekend. Hopefully this upcoming weekend is filled with sunshine and good times. Maybe you’re hitting the beach, the golf course, or the stadium, to make the most of these last few weeks of summer. Remember once we hit September, weekends (at least for me) will consist of a lot of indoor time watching college football and NFL games, so now is the time to live. Anyway, let’s get into the sports stuff.

WTF Stat: New member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Cal, will travel 20,720 miles for their fall football schedule. To put that in perspective, the entire circumference of the Earth is around 25,000 miles. But hey, nothing says “Atlantic Coast”, like California.

⚾️ Weston Wilson became first rookie in Philadelphia Phillies history to hit for the cycle during a 13-3 victory over the Washington Nationals. This achievement marked the 10th cycle in Phillies history (Chuck Klein did it twice) and the first at Citizens Bank Park since 2004. Wilson, who has spent much of his career in the minors, has recently earned more playing time due to his .414 batting average over the last eight starts.

🏈 The Atlanta Falcons have made another move on defense, signing two-time Pro Bowler, S Justin Simmons, to a one-year, $8 million contract. Simmons, who previously played for the Denver Broncos and leads the NFL with 30 interceptions since 2016, will pair with fellow Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III, forming one of the league's top safety duos. This coming after they completed a trade with the Patriots to acquire Pro Bowler pass rusher Matthew Judon. Atlanta has got something cooking…

🏊️ Notre Dame has suspended its men's swimming program for at least one year following an external review that revealed team members violated NCAA rules by gambling on the outcomes of their own competitions and engaging in inappropriate behavior. The review found that more than 60% of the team participated in an internal betting system on their performance.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREVIEW - ACC Preview

Many thought this next conference would no longer be in existence, with their top teams Florida State, Clemson, and other rumored to be looking for greener pastures. But unlike the PAC-12, the ACC has managed to stay together (or maybe they just have better lawyers)… for now. Let’s jump into the ACC.

ACC Preview

Some new faces in the ACC, but it’s the same old powerhouses that will look to maintain their rule over the conference. Clemson, Florida State, and Miami are the early darlings to win the conference, but chaos is likely to ensue after a lot of additions and subtractions in the transfer portal up and down the ACC.

Projected Finish

1. Miami

2. NC State

3. Florida State

4. Louisville

5. Clemson

6. Georgia Tech

7. Virginia Tech

8. UNC

9. SMU

10. Syracuse

11. Duke

12. Virginia

13. Pitt

14. Cal

15. Boston College

16. Wake Forest

17. Stanford

Most Underrated Team - Georgia Tech: QB Haynes King is the best signal-caller you’ve never heard of and with a bunch of returning starters on offense, the Yellow Jackets are poised to surprise teams in 2024.

Honorable Mention - Virginia

Most Overrated Team - Clemson: Now, I’m not just writing this because it would ruffle my editor’s feathers (that’s just a bonus). This is the year where head coach Dabo Swinney’s refusal to utilize the transfer portal gets exposed. They won’t be horrible, but they won’t be in the run for the championship.

(Editor/Clemson Alumni note:)

Dishonorable Mention: Florida State

Get Your Popcorn Ready to Watch These Dudes:

QB Cam Ward - Miami

QB Thomas Castellanos - Boston College

QB Grayson McCall - NC State

RB Omarion Hampton - UNC

RB Jadyn Ott - Cal

RB Phil Mafah - Clemson

WR Xavier Restrepo - Miami

Top Transfers

QB Cam Ward - Miami (Washington State)

QB Grayson McCall - NC State (Coastal Carolina)

QB DJ Uiagalelei - Florida State (Oregon State)

RB Damien Martinez - Miami (Oregon State

WR Caullin Lacy - Louisville (South Alabama)

Must Watch Games

8/24 - Georgia Tech vs. Florida State (Dublin, Ireland)

8/31 - Clemson @ Georgia

9/21 - NC State @ Clemson

10/5 - Clemson @ Florida State

10/19 - Miami @ Louisville

10/26 - Florida State @ Miami

Games

• Minnesota Twins 3, Texas Rangers 2: Carlos Santana's sacrifice fly in the 9th inning off Rangers closer Kirby Yates secured the win for the Twins. Willi Castro homered for Minnesota, while Kyle Farmer tripled and scored on an error. Adolis García continues to stay hot, leading Texas with three hits and an RBI. Bailey Ober pitched six solid innings for the Twins, and Jhoan Duran earned his 17th save. The victory moved Minnesota within four games of Cleveland in the AL Central and strengthened their wild card position.

Key Highlight: Kyle Farmer’s inside the park HR (okay, it was a triple with an error):

Oakland Athletics 7, New York Mets 6: JJ Bleday hit his first career grand slam to spark a comeback from a 5-0 deficit. Shea Langeliers went 3-for-4 with a walk and HBP, reaching base 11 times in 15 plate appearances during the series. Mark Vientos homered twice for the Mets. The game lasted 3 hours and 45 minutes, setting a new record for the longest 9-inning game in the pitch clock era. Can you imagine watching the A’s play for that long?

Key Highlight: Mark Viento’s second opposite field HR. The sound of that bat crack is beautiful.

San Francisco Giants 6, Atlanta Braves 0: Logan Webb dominated with 7 2/3 shutout innings, striking out 7 and allowing only 4 hits. Rookie Grant McCray had a memorable day, recording his first MLB hit (an RBI bunt single) and first home run. Casey Schmitt also homered for the Giants. Max Fried has looked a bit shaky since coming back from the IL, he took the loss for Atlanta, allowing 3 runs over 5+ innings.

Key Highlight: Who would have thought bunting with the bases loaded would be a good strategy?

See the full MLB scoreboard here and the current standings here.

Pre-Season - NFL

Philadelphia Eagles 14, New England Patriots 13: Rookie QB Drake Maye (6-11, 47 yards) led the Patriots on two scoring drives, including a rushing touchdown, during his time on the field. QB Joe Milton III (2-7, 20 yards), didn’t look as strong in his limited time. On the Eagles’ side undrafted rookie RB Kendall Milton scored a short run touchdown, and second year WR Joseph Ngata put up 5 catches for 88 yards.

The rest week 2 pre-season games will be played tomorrow and Sunday. See the full schedule here.

On this day in 1954, American brand management company Authentic Brands Group first published sports magazine, "Sports Illustrated". What is your favorite Sports Illustrated cover? The Dream Team one has to be up there, along with Lebron James’ “The Chosen One” Cover.

Trivia Time Answer

A. DT Aaron Donald - the Pittsburgh alum was only rated a 3-star coming out of high schoo,l but absolutely dominated the collegiate level, racking up 66 tackles for loss and 29.5 sacks. He would go on to be drafted 13th overall but was heavily overshadowed by another defensive lineman, 1st overall pick, Jadeveon Clowney, whom many considered one of the most talented defensive prospects of all time. Donald, who retired this year, racked up 111 sacks, 3x defensive player of the year awards, and helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI.