One thing you can say about Mike Evans is that he never makes the same mistake twice. That was evident in the third quarter of Monday’s 30-10 win over the New York Giants when the Buccaneers star receiver became the all-time leading touchdown scorer in franchise history with his 5-yard reception from Tom Brady. To Evans’ credit, he had the wherewithal to know that he had just made the record-setting catch and actually hung onto the historic football this time around.
That wasn’t the case back in Week 7 when Evans was on the receiving end of Tom Brady’s 600th touchdown pass, a mark that had never been achieved by a quarterback in NFL history. After Evans hauled in that momentous touchdown, he gave the football to a fan in the stands at Raymond James Stadium, forgetting the historic significance that the ball held. Once he got back to the sideline, he exclaimed, “Oooooh, I gave the ball away!” That then led to a negotiation between the fan, Brady, and the Buccaneers to retrieve the milestone ball that resulted in the fan receiving a number of items, including a Bitcoin from Brady.
Fortunately for Evans and the Bucs, there was no need to go back to the negotiating table with another fan as he hung onto the ball to keep as he ascended into Tampa Bay’s record books.
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Evans passed Mike Alstott’s long-standing record with his 72nd-career touchdown as he helped Tampa Bay snap a two-game losing skid. While all of Evans’ 72 touchdowns have come as a receiver, 58 of Alstott’s 71 scores came on the ground and 13 through the air.
Historically, the New York Yankees, the St. Louis Cardinals, and the Boston Red Sox have had long periods of dominance in MLB.
In fact, those are the teams with the most World Series victories.
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The Yanks have 27 (the last one coming in 2009), the Cardinals are second with 11 (the most recent one being in 2011), and the Red Sox are tied with the Oakland Athletics (previously Philadelphia and Kansas City Athletics) with nine.
Since 1993 and up until 2022, a span covering 30 seasons, at least one of those teams was in the playoffs, often all three and sometimes two of them.
However, all good things (and bad, too) come to an end.
2023 will be the first season in 30 years in which none of those three historically relevant franchises will be in the postseason, according to ESPN.
For the first time in 30 years, the MLB postseason will not include the Yankees, Red Sox or Cardinals pic.twitter.com/yXEKYCFHV5
The Yankees are the only team of the bunch with a positive record, but things went south almost from the beginning.
Aaron Judge had two long stints on the injured list, Giancarlo Stanton regressed, and Carlos Rodon was either injured or inconsistent, not to mention a myriad of injuries to starters, relievers, and lineup regulars.
The Red Sox made huge strides with their farm system, but even though they stayed relevant and competitive for most of the year, couldn’t get key wins and all their AL East foes are just better.
The Cardinals’ pitching was never good enough for the team to contend.
With demanding fanbases and a sense of urgency, all three teams will likely find a way to contend soon enough.
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For now, though, they will have to watch the postseason on TV.
With Cabrera retiring, Zack Greinke will be the leader of the list if he decides to keep pitching.
He is 39 and will hit free agency after 2023 so there is a chance he retires, too.
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Next up is Rich Hill, and he has stated that he intends to keep pitching in 2024.
He is also a free agent and will be 44, so he might have a hard time finding a team, much like Greinke.
After Hill, we have Justin Verlander, who made his MLB debut (with the Tigers) in July of 2005.
Verlander, unlike all the names mentioned to this point, is under contract with the Houston Astros and will be returning for another year, at the very least.
It’s fascinating to see all these veterans completing amazing careers.
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In the specific case of Cabrera, it became evident that he could no longer hang with the young guys.
Retirement is the wisest choice, and Tigers fans get to celebrate a colorful, successful, and brilliant career that includes a World Series triumph in 2003 and lots of individual accolades.
Not many players can say they can retire with 3,000+ hits, 500+ home runs, and 600+ doubles.
The Miami Dolphins have been the most entertaining and shocking team in the league so far this season.
While it’s not a surprise to see that they’re scoring points and putting up yards in bunches, no one saw a 70-point performance coming.
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Still, at the end of the day, winning by one or winning by 50 points is pretty much the same; all that matters is your record.
That’s why former NFL player Willie Colon believes the upcoming matchup between them and the Buffalo Bills will determine who’ll eventually win the AFC East.
Colon and Craig Carton debated that on “The Carton Show,” talking about how these two teams match up against each other.
"Whoever wins this game will probably win the division."
Carton believes the Bills will beat the Dolphins, but we cannot ignore the fact that the Dolphins made it a close game in the playoffs despite not having Tua Tagovailoa on the field.
The Dolphins have the fastest and most explosive set of playmakers in the league, with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and now even rookie RB De’Von Achane.
The Bills looked much better in their win over the Washington Commanders, with Josh Allen making a statement against a usually-solid defense.
Then again, all concerns about his struggles to take care of the football or do too much haven’t gone away, and that could cost them against a better team like the Dolphins.
Whatever the case, one thing’s for sure: That game will be a shootout between two quarterbacks who can put up points on the scoreboard in no time at all.
