Big Bear Nolan's Blog

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  • College football games I am looking forward to in Week 1 of the 2026 season.

    While week 0 has officially passed, the season officially gets underway for most of the FBS teams this weekend. So I want to talk about the games I am most interested in for this first week of the new season.

    1. Clemson at No. 11 LSU (Sept. 5. 6:30 pm abc)

    The Lane Kiffin era at LSU gets underway as his new team takes on Clemson in the back half of a home-and-home series between the two schools which are named the Tigers and have their stadiums nicknamed “Death Valley”. The trajectories of each team’s seasons could be determined after this one. Last season, Clemson, who was ranked No. 4 in the preseason poll lost this game and finished the year unranked. While LSU didn’t have a great end either which led to former Head Coach Brian Kelley being fired and Kiffin taking over, both Kiffin and Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney need a win to start this season.

    2. Wisconsin at No. 4 Notre Dame (Sept. 6. 6:30 pm NBC)

    A matchup that was delayed six years due to COVID-19 will finally take place. Wisconsin will hold its second ever game at Lambeau Field against the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame, after ending last year abruptly by declining a bowl bid after being declined a spot in the Playoff head into the 2026 season ranked No. 4. It’s a big game for coach Marcus Freeman as he can officially erase the sting from last year and begin this year on the right track. The team on the other side in Wisconsin and coach Luke Fickell, this is a big prove it year for him. After back to back seasons of missing a bowl game in years with tough schedules and QB issues; Fickell not only found a good QB in the Portal in Colton Joseph, he has an easier schedule to have to navigate in 2026. This start is also a good opportunity for the former Cincinnati coach, Fickell’s Bearcats upset Notre Dame in 2021 which led them to be the first group of 5 team to reach the Playoff. I’m not saying Wisconsin is definitely a CFP sleeper, but a close game or a win would be a great start to the season and last time Wisconsin played at Lambeau was 10 years ago when they upset No. 5 LSU to start that year en-route to a 10-2 Cotton Bowl season.

    3. No. 24 Louisville at No. 9 Ole Miss (Sept. 6. 6:30 pm abc)

    After falling a game short of the National Championship in an unexpected feel good run in the Playoff. Pete Golding’s Ole Miss Rebels have a great opportunity to start this season off on the right track. The No. 9 Rebels go to Nissan Stadium in Nashville Tennessee to take on the No. 24 Louisville Cardinals. The Rebels do have key players like QB Trinidad Chambliss and RB Kewan Lacy coming back to help power the offense. Louisville has a chance to get a huge early season signature win, especially being in an ACC conference that is wide open. This one is a good opportunity for these two teams.

    4. North Texas at No. 6 Indiana (Sept. 5. 11:00 am FOX)

    The world will get their first look at what the post-Fernando Mendoza Indiana Hoosiers will look like. They will also have to get used to the title, “defending champion” before Indiana’s name this year. While I think Indiana will win this game, and know from the head and heart that you should never doubt Head Coach Curt Cignetti, this one could be closer then people might think. In the opener last year vs Old Dominion, Indiana won 27-14 but struggled early in the game as for most of the first quarter until a late TD with 3+ minutes to go it was only a 10-7 Indiana lead. While they lost a lot of the key pieces including their head coach. The Mean Green last season just missed out on a playoff spot by losing to Tulane in the American Championship last season. So it will be interesting to see what Indiana looks like if they’re off and firing early, or having some growing pains.

  • A grieve I have with certain types of fans.

    Being a Packers and Twins fan, in 2024 as a Packers fan and this season as a Minnesota Twins fan. One common theme I have noticed with both is that both teams are both young and skilled. However, it is the youth that is one of their biggest downfalls. In 2024, all but one of the Packers losses were to the Philadelphia Eagles on week 1, and a sweep to the hands of both the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings who both at the time held the top 2 records throughout the whole regular season. The coping point for the Packers week 1 loss to Philly was that it was a game in Brazil and Green Bay didn’t capitalize on early opportunities. Then in the first loss at Lambeau to the Vikings, despite Green Bay falling down 28-0 early, the talking point was that it was Jordan Love’s first game back from injury and that the kicker missed two field goal attempts which would’ve been the difference in a score where Green Bay lost 31-29. Then in a 24-13 loss at Lambeau to the Lions, in a game that happened in a monsoon, again Love came back from an injury and that hampered him but Green Bay had chances and couldn’t capitalize falling down 24-6. When Green Bay started the road games against the two starting at Detroit, Green Bay had missed reffing calls go against them. But, that also doesn’t affect how the Packers couldn’t take advantage of Dan Campbell getting awarded for being reckless in situations. Then at U.S. Bank Stadium, Green Bay lost the game 27-25 to the Vikings. There was a bad call where Edgerrin Cooper was wrongly called offsides, negating a Will Reichard missed field goal that score wise would’ve been the difference. What that doesn’t show is how again, Minnesota built a commanding lead because of Green Bay mistakes from turnovers or too aggressive or conservative play calling. The Wildcard game at Philadelphia started off with Keisean Nixon fumbling a ball off a helmet to helmet hit from former Packer Oren Burks. While that might have been a missed call, again, Green Bay had opportunities. Philly only led 10-0 at halftime, but Green Bay had two interceptions and a missed field goal in the 2nd quarter. So while you can say that who knows what would’ve happened had Nixon’s hit been called or even called a recovery as it looked like he might have recovered it. That was only at the start of the game, and with how it went it wasn’t a guaranteed.

    With all the what if’s that season brought, one of the annoying things that made it hard was fellow Packer fans on twitter had a delusionality that they really were the best team and bad luck and refs kept them from the Super Bowl. Yea no, Green Bay albeit was talented and deserved that spot just didn’t have the experience. Sure one or two losses like that are bad luck, but when all of your losses especially to the elite teams are like that. What is confirmed by that is you’re just not fundamentally sound enough to win a championship.

    Being a Twins fan I am noticing the same thing this year, although different circumstances ownership wise which has caused some fan apathy. This Twins team is alive for the playoffs because of the help of a really really bad American League. The biggest thing that shows however is against the National League’s elite teams that the Twins have played in Milwaukee, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Chicago. the Twins are a combined 3-13 against those teams. Minnesota in a lot of those games have competed, but in the Brewers series, all four of Milwaukee’s came off the Twins not capitalizing on opportunities and the Brewers do. The two losses at Wrigley, one was a 10-1 blowout, but the other was a 6-2 game where Minnesota had a chance in the ninth loading the bases. The hit that loaded the bases, Minnesota ran themselves into a double play immediately ending that threat. Then the Dodgers had everything they could handle at Target Field, but elite defense in key situations by LA and the Twins not being able to capitalize again on opportunities haunted them. The first two games against the Phillies were blowouts, but the Twins shot themselves in the foot in the finale. Minnesota had a 5-0 lead thanks to a grand slam from Brooks lee and a homer from Kody Clemens. a 4 run sixth inning by Philly got the Phils right back in the game and in the eighth. They completed the comeback by scoring 3 runs on two singles from Alec Bohm and Bryan De La Cruz. Minnesota had a chance in the 9th off old friend Jhoan Duran by getting two on which was aided by an impressive at bat by Kaelen Culpepper. But Ryan Jeffers and all star Byron Buxton both struck out to end the game. Like that my friend told me to stop complaining because we were “unlucky”, at what point again does it go from unlucky to that’s who they are.

    I used to be that type of fan, in middle school my friends hated how I believed the Packers should win every game and only lost every game cause of the refs. But growing up, especially being a better fan and wanting to be a sports journalist. I realize that is the furthest thing from the truth.

  • College Gameday predictions for 2026

    I want to take a try at where I think ESPN’s flagship college football pregame show will go every week in 2026. And explain my reasoning

    Week 1: Clemson at LSU

    Not only do I think this because it is abc’s “Saturday Night Game” but it is the first time the CFB world will see Lane Kiffin’s LSU squad play and the first time in front of LSU’s “Death Valley”.

    Honorable Mention: Wisconsin vs Notre Dame at Lambeau Field

    Week 2: Ohio State at Texas

    Again since this one is abc’s primetime game makes it obvious but come on, it is Ohio State at Texas, the third meeting in a row between two of CFB’s biggest brands. The Buckeyes/Longhorns duel in the 2024-25 CFP was obviously not a regular season game like the Week 1 game last year was but its the third straight meeting regardless and possibly another treat for football fans.

    Week 3: LSU at Ole Miss

    It will be LSU’s second College Gameday appearance but this one is a lock. If you thought New York City was bad when the Knicks won the Finals. Oxford Mississippi could be crazier as this will be Kiffin’s first trip back to Oxford since unexpectedly leaving Ole Miss last season before the teams CFP run began.

    Week 4: Oregon at USC

    My head says Oklahoma at Georgia with how many SEC games Gameday does now. But my heart says Oregon at USC, because this could be one of the biggest games at the LA Coliseum between the two teams in a while. These are two Playoff contenders in the Big Ten going head to head for not only Big Ten implications but also CFP implications early in the year.

    Week 5: Miami at Clemson

    Not too many good games to pick, but this one has big ACC implications on the line. Going to Death Valley in Clemson is never easy and it will be an early test for a Miami team coming off of a National Championship appearance last season.

    Week 6: Georgia at Alabama or Texas vs Oklahoma

    The Red River showdown is also this day and it’s an easy bet to think that both games will be on abc. But since this one will be in primetime with the Red River game probably getting a 2:30 start, I slightly think Georgia at Alabama will also get gameday. But really it’s wherever ESPN sends Fowler and Herbstreit this week. So for that I will give this one a tie.

    Week 7: Ohio State at Indiana

    I Don’t know how you can let any SEC bias get in the way of going to this one. This will be one of not the biggest game in Indiana’s Memorial Stadium in quite some time. It will probably be a FOX Big Noon Saturday game too but ESPN hasn’t let that stop them in the past and also this one should be between two top 5 teams and maybe top 3 teams.

    Week 8: Texas A&M at Alabama

    I think this one will get Gameday’s nod. It might not be a primetime game but it is between two playoff teams from last year and also could have SEC championship implications on the line.

    Week 9: Ohio State at USC

    A big one in the Big Ten between two of its biggest brands will happen in Los Angeles. How better can it get. As an Ohio State fan hopefully it goes better then the two team’s last meeting in the Coliseum when USC won 35-3.

    Week 10: Miami at Notre Dame

    This is one of those super Saturday’s in College football that is filled with a lot of choices but barring a collapse by one or two of these teams I think it will be the “Catholics vs Convics” 2026 edition. Miami’s big win over the Irish in week 1 was probably what sent the Canes to the Playoff and kept the Irish out of it so that revenge will be on the line. And I don’t think either will slow down this year.

    Honorable mentions: Georgia at Ole Miss, Oregon at Ohio State, Alabama at LSU

    Week 11: Michigan at Oregon

    Kyle Wittingham’s Michigan Wolverines travel to Autzen to take on Dan Lanning and the Ducks in a big showdown. This would be the first matchup for Michigan and a great way for gameday to head back to Oregon and have Pat McAfee entertain the Oregon fans.

    Week 12: Texas A&M at Oklahoma

    Interesting SEC matchup here. A Wildcard for a playoff spot could be on the line in this one or potentially if both teams perform very well a bid to the SEC title game.

    Week 13: Michigan at Ohio State

    Since Texas at Texas A&M is on Black Friday again, I think Gameday heads to the shoe for the first time this year. It will be Wittingham’s first time being a part of THE GAME and like usual there will probably a win and your in the Big Ten Championship for one or both of these teams.

  • I was at the Dean Kremer revenge game in the Twins vs Orioles tonight. It showed why meaningful late season games are the best ones to go to

    My buddy and I went to Target Field tonight for the Twins vs Orioles series opener. As big Twins fans, not only did we know this series was big with where us and Baltimore is in the AL Postseason rankings. We also saw former Baltimore pitcher in Dean Kremer make his Target Field debut vs his former team. And I got to say, it was one of the most fun nights I have had at Target Field in 2026.

    With the season only having a month and a half left, every game is more meaningful and tonight Target field felt like it. For a series that the two team desperately needed, it wasn’t a sold out no room game. But in a season where the Twins have had a lot of empty seats and flat crowds, this one had just over 20,000 in attendance. While that number wasn’t great, it looked to be more packed and also the crowd felt engaged and decently loud which for a big series was great to see. It was also great as a Twins fan to see them bounce back in a big way after a 3-6 road trip in which 5 losses were by 1 run with three being walk-off losses. Plus Kremer in his first big start at Target field after signing with us in a. spot where I was wondering about the move dazzled against his former team. Going 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R and 7 K’s. Minnesota also won 9-5 behind a big game from Austin Martin and a big 3 run home run from Josh Bell.

    The atmosphere for a game like this is why August/September baseball is so fun when your team has at least a fighting chance for a Playoff spot. It is when the more engaged and smart Baseball fans attend instead of the casual fan that doesn’t know what simple baseball terms mean. I saw it in 2023 as a Twins fan when I went to games in August against Arizona, Detroit and Texas. The AZ win was a 12-1 game when Joe Mauer was getting inducted into the Twins hall of fame, the Detroit win was a packed house in a game vs a divisional rival we needed to beat and although unfortunately the Texas series wasn’t that packed, it was one of the most engaged and loud crowds I have heard Target Field have. Then in 2024 I went to a big doubleheader vs Cleveland when both of us were competing for the division in August and both games felt like massive games with how loud and fun the crowds were.

    I have also experienced this in other stadiums, 2024 a group I’m with went to a Brewers game vs the New York Mets in the final week of the regular season. Milwaukee won 6-0 in a game that literally was a Postseason preview matchup and the crowd felt like a postseason crowd. Then I went to a game vs Cincinnati last year on the same weekend when Milwaukee was fighting for the No. 1 seed and Cincy was fighting for the last playoff spot. That crowd that was also packed, was super loud and boisterous although Milwaukee fell 7-4.

    I can’t afford to go to Playoff games or if I can afford them at least not now. Twins games, unless they’re a weekend I can’t go since i’m in college for not too much longer and Brewers I guess I could but only if i’m offered tickets. So attending these high stakes late season games are some of the funnest ones to go to for diehard baseball fans like me and I encourage others reading this to do the same. Nights like this are why I love baseball.

  • Unusual story: to people that follow me

    Hello,

    As you guys know, I am a 22 year old autistic that is in College and running this blog and I just want to write this to say one thing. Thank you for following me, I haven’t been posting a lot because I have been having a lot of anxiety about things in my life and that has been contributing to a writers block so I just want to say thanks for sticking with me. My stories aren’t perfect but as I try to practice for my hopeful journalistic career, I know that these might not be perfect compared to my stories with my college at UW-Oshkosh and the Advance-Titan because I don’t have a crew looking over them. But I am just doing this to cover the sports I love and write my thoughts when they come in. Hopefully I will be able to do more soon. Thank you and I love you guys.

    Nolan.

  • My five series I’m looking forward to the weekend of August 7-9 in MLB

    1. Cleveland Guardians (57-59) at Chicago White Sox (59-55)

    The battle for the AL Central will only get messier after this series is done. Chicago took a 3 game lead over the Guardians after Cleveland was swept at home to the lowly Mets. The White Sox also got swept again to the Boston Red Sox, so if someone wants to end the year at the top of the division with the Twins playing the No. 1 team in baseball this weekend. A win for either one of the Guardians or White Sox would be a start.

    2. Atlanta Braves (70-45) at New York Yankees (64-51)

    It is now or never Yankees. After a series loss to the Cardinals that followed an abysmal trade deadline for the Pinstripes, New York not only saw the Rays climb higher in the standings but the team below them in the Red Sox continue to creep up. Now the Yanks get a Braves team that has begun to find its stride and officially passed the Dodgers for the second best record in the league right now. Big series between two juggernauts will take place at the Bronx this weekend.

    3. Minnesota Twins (57-59) at Milwaukee Brewers (72-43)

    An abysmal week outside of adding three pitchers at the trade deadline didn’t do much to hamper Minnesota as their 4-3 win to salvage the finale at Kansas City last night has the Twins sitting just 0.5 back of the Wildcard and 3 out in the Division (owning the tiebreaker to Cleveland 6-4). Now the Twins get to travel to their rivals to the east in Milwaukee who has been rolling with the best record in baseball. Despite the daunting challenge that is ahead of the Twins, Minnesota did make Milwaukee sweat in the first round of the Border Battle back in May when the Brewers took the series with a pair of one-run wins. The Twins are also getting their No. 2 prospect called up in SS Kaelen Culpepper. Brewers however between the duo of 21-year old rookies in Cooper Pratt and Luis Lara have continued to impress. This series could be more interesting then one might think.

    4. Los Angeles Dodgers (69-46) at Arizona Diamondbacks (61-55)

    What do you do when you get Tarik Skubal and make the whole baseball world think it’s ending? You follow that up with 6 straight losses. No, teams should not do that but that is what is happening to the Dodgers. The Mighty Dodgers after back to back sweeps now sit with the third best record in the NL and is beginning to see a commanding lead in their division shrink. Now LA gets to go to Arizona who just swept the Dodgers in their last series at Dodger Stadium. Will this all most likely be just like last year again where LA gets healthy at the right time and makes a run in the Postseason? probably, but they got to wake up now because you also don’t want to lose ground.

    5. Houston Astros (59-57) at San Diego Padres (60-56)

    If you told me at the beginning of the season would this matchup be between Playoff contenders everyone would probably say yes. But I don’t know if everyone could have predicted this would be where they are. Houston holds just a 1.5 game lead in the wild AL West and San Diego is a game below in the NL Wildcard race. Both have been playing better recently and it is at the right time.

    (You can find the complete standings for yourself here at MLB.com)

  • Reaction to the Tarik Skubal trade

    If your a big baseball fan like me, by now (9:52 am CT on Sunday, August 2nd as I am typing this) you probably heard the news that Detroit Tigers ace in Tarik Skubal was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now while to most that is unsurprising, what is surprising is the package that Detroit took.

    The Dodgers sent OF Zyhir Hope (LAD’s No. 5 prospect), RHP River Ryan (LAD’s No. 7 prospect), and RHP Brady Smith (LAD’s No. 17 prospect) to Detroit for Skubal. I think it is important to note that while Hope and Ryan have a lot of promise, Hope is still in double A, Smith is only in high A, and Ryan is a 30 year old pitching prospect. So yea a big thing everyone is asking is “that’s all it took?”, yes… yes it is.

    I am a Dodgers fan so maybe I’m not the best person to talk about this. But you can’t blame the Dodgers for doing this, they didn’t even need to open their checkbook for him. It was simply just trading prospects for the hottest pitcher on the trade market. If someone is to blame, blame all the other big market teams and other contending teams for this.

    One of the teams I have seen catch a lot of flak for this is the Milwaukee Brewers. Since they are arguably the Dodgers biggest competitor in not only in the Skubal sweepstakes, but most importantly are the biggest competitor in the NL race there was some pressure on them to do something they rarely do. And that was to have the guts to give up prospects in the top farm system in baseball for the hottest trade asset. Like in the past, the Brewers couldn’t give up their prospects and let their biggest competitor grab Skubal.

    Look, I have seen things about how expensive the Tigers ask from Milwaukee was. And while Detroit could have asked for more from Los Angeles. You know, Brewers, sometimes you just got to take the risk and give up your prospects. Skubal could bust and the prospects could work out, that is definitely a possibility, but also the other way around can happen. It’s not just the Brewers too, the Dodgers expose the other big market teams in how they’re ran. The Mets for example have a top 5 payroll in the sport but are well out of the postseason picture, part of that is the players they get.

    Look, Los Angeles definitely has a lot that they can work with that other teams don’t. But these other teams have the ability to punch back and they chose not to or chose a way that is unsuccessful. Unfortunately this move puts baseball closer to the impending doomsday that is the 2027 lockout but the whole sport, not just the Dodgers is at fault for this.

  • My top 5 MLB series the week of July 20-24

    The second half to the 2026 season is underway now and I want to look at the five series I’m most intrigued on this week.

    1. Los Angeles Dodgers (63-37) at Philadelphia Phillies (55-45)

    Easily the best series this week. In a rematch of the NLDS last season, there are massive postseason implications on the line here. Dodgers are in a very tight race for the MLB No. 1 seed, just a half a game up on the Brewers. While the Phillies are 3 below Atlanta in the NL West. Not only is huge seeding on the line here. But this has a high chance of being a Postseason preview.

    2. Minnesota Twins (49-51) at Cleveland Guardians (52-48)

    Just like their earlier matchup a couple weeks before. This one still has a lot of implications in the AL Postseason race. After a rough series at Chicago, the Twins are 2 behind in the AL Wildcard race while the Guardians are one above. in the Central, Cleveland is just 1 back where the Twins are 4 back. Both want this one. And especially with trade talks surrounding the Twins, this series could be the difference between a playoff push and another fire sale.

    3. Pittsburgh Pirates (52-48) at New York Yankees (55-44)

    Despite a rough start to the second half with losing another series to the Dodgers. The Yankees who were helped by the red hot Boston Red Sox sweeping the Rays in four sit just 1.5 behind in the AL East. However it doesn’t get much easier as they get a Pirates team that has won 5 of their last six games and are in a three-way tie for the last spot in the NL Wildcard race.

    4. Chicago White Sox (52-46) at Texas Rangers (50-49)

    I don’t know what’s more surprising, the White Sox vs Rangers being a matchup between 1st place teams? Or a 52-46 team against a 50-49 team being a 1st place matchup. Either way the Central and West leaders in the AL square off in Arlington Texas this week.

    5. New York Mets (42-58) at Milwaukee Brewers (62-37)

    The Brewers are just 0.5 behind the Dodgers for the MLB No. 1 seed. And now they get the struggling Mets for three at home. The Brewers could completely bury the Mets and old friends in Freddy Peralta and GM David Stearns for good. While the Mets could spoil the Brewers fun, similar to how they did in 2024.

    ((You can find the complete standings for yourself here at MLB.com)

  • Carson Hocevar

    The man that is named in this title has been once again featured on the headlines in the NASCAR world again. And this time it is because he had his first taste on what happens when you don’t care that you’re making enemies.

    After another run in, this time where he got it back to him by the 38 of Zane Smith at Chicagoland. Both Smith and Hocevar were talking about each other before Sunday’s race at Atlanta. Smith had strong words where Hocevar was just talking like hmph whatever. The No. 77 of Hocevar has had too many run ins before this but as I said he once again had his first taste on how others treat him back.

    First at the race at Naval Base Coronado, Hocevar was racing at the front with the 67 of Corey Heim. The 67 ended up giving the 77 a taste of his own medicine by bumping and spinning him. Then on Sunday, the same day where he said he doesn’t care how people think. He was involved in a three wide battle for the win between him, Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace. The two cars behind in Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell pushed both Bubba and Blaney and left Hocevar out to dry coming to the finish. Bell, who pushed Blaney to the win was wrecked from the front row by the 77 in the race at Atlanta in February.

    Hocevar’s persona with how he races and how he is on social media has won him a lot of fans. I mean I can’t lie his celebration at Talladega when he won his first race was cool. But it’s where he gets the comparison to Dale Sr. that I draw the line. He gets the comparisons because Dale himself was also aggressive and not afraid to rub fenders on the track. But as many in the sport say, the difference between the two is that Dale not only has the accolades, he doesn’t do this for social media. I remember Jeff Burton during the delay on Sunday’s race said that and how after incidents Dale would apologize the next week and act like your buddies. Carson on the other hand, I remember after a race at Iowa Speedway last year he posted on his socials a pic of one of those machines where you take a number. And it’s that right there of why the field doesn’t look at him the same as the fans.

    It’s great when you have a huge following, but “your not racing the fans” as Denny Hamlin said on podcast Actions Detrimental. He is not the only driver that was crazy in his youth. Kyle Busch, Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski went through the same. Especially Logano’s incidents with Matt Kenseth at Kansas and Martinsville in 2015. One difference I think though between those three and drivers like Hocevar now is those three had competitors that wouldn’t give a damn of how they thought. Again like 2015, when Logano wrecked Kenseth at Kansas and costed Kenseth’s championship chances. Since Kenseth didn’t like Logano’s lack of an apology when he had nothing to lose at M’ville, Kenseth took out Logano and ended Joey’s championship chances too. The guys today they talk all this mess of how someone like Carson will get it back and then all of a sudden nothing happens. And honestly, the way Hocevar won his first win at Talladega, I know it’s a drafting track but I am shocked that he was pushed to the win. I thought for sure if he was ever at the front of these races, what happened at Atlanta would happen more.

    I do want to tell 77 fans that I am sure will have 0 clue that this article exists. Do not try to act confused when things like Coronado or Atlanta happen. As a Chase Elliott fan who was unfortunately grouped with the toxic parts of the Elliott fanbase. Not all of you are bad, but when you are blind to why something like what Heim did. It might be a couple years later, but racers don’t forget they just wait for when the right time is. Go support your boy but when something bad happens, you gotta stick with him. It is fine if you don’t really want to exile him, like when Elliott got suspended after intentionally wrecking Hamlin in the 2023 Coke 600, I hated to see it cause It was tough to see your favorite do something stupid while knowing that you won’t be able to see him the next week. When your guy messes up, just admitting that he made an aggressive move is enough but that doesn’t mean can’t defend him.

    Until my favorite drivers in Elliott and William Byron get Hocevar’d, I will continue to not mind him and like it when he does unique things like his win celebration. But I hope he can grow up and become good and respected by his peers someday.

  • The five teams sitting pretty and not IMO at the All-Star break.

    Now that the 2026 MLB season has entered the All-Star week, I want to take a look at what teams I think are currently sitting pretty and who’s not. Because this season especially, there’s a lot of parody even with the teams that are at the top of the standings.

    Who is sitting pretty

    1. Los Angeles Dodgers (61-36, first in NL West, NL and MLB)

    Obviously everything mentioned from their name and the position they’re in is why I put LA first. Yes they got swept against Arizona at home to end the first half, but that doesn’t change the fact that the back to back world series champs still hold a sizable lead in the division along with the best record in MLB.

    2. Tampa Bay Rays (56-38, first in AL East and AL)

    After hitting a little lull, Tampa has looked to get back on track recently. With the help of the Yankees having an abysmal end to June along with the beginning of July, the Rays reclaimed the top spot in the wide open AL and right now hold a 3 game lead over the Yankees for that spot. Tampa also currently holds the tiebreaker with one more series to go. Could the Rays at the end of this thing be hosting playoff games at the Trop in its first year back since 2024?

    3. Chicago White Sox (50-45, first in AL Central)

    The Sox for most of this recent month and 1/2 stretch have been in a dead heat with the Guardians for the top of the AL Central. They are now feeling a bit of heat with the overperforming Twins and the favorites in the Tigers now too. But right now they hold the tiebreakers over the Guardians and Twins. Unless they fall in the upcoming series against both, that could be huge when this drag race ends.

    4. Minnesota Twins (48-49, 3rd AL Central)

    As a Twins fan I will give my unbiased take. At the start of this year, they weren’t even predicted to be 48-49 this time of the year. Now they are well in contention due to the AL being so weak but that doesn’t make what they are doing any less impressive. Since the June series vs St. Louis Cardinals, the Twins are 8-1 in series records with the only blemish coming in a sweep vs the Dodgers. This has allowed the Twins to be tied for the last Wildcard spot while only being 3 back in a highly winnable AL Central. Now they were in a similar spot last year and a rough start out of the break caused the firesafe, but unlike last years team that was underperforming, this one is overperforming. So we will just have to see how they do. And I will say, the 2023 Twins were also below .500 at the All-Star Break.

    5. Chicago Cubs (54-42, 2nd NL Central)

    Outside of a blemish vs the St. Louis Cardinals, the Cubbies have looked like who everyone has thought they would be. And now they not only sit just 5 back of the Brewers. In the June 26-28 series at Milwaukee, the Cubs played much better than when they got swept at Wrigley to take the series. Also with some things happening in the Milwaukee camp, depending on how long the Brewers internal fractures take to heal this could be the perfect time for Craig Counsell’s crew to catch the Brewers.

    The five teams i’m not hot about

    1. Milwaukee Brewers (59-37, first NL Central)

    While i’m sure this is just another rough stretch that the Brewers will get out of, there is some concerning things that I think they need to address. Milwaukee lost Brandon Woodruff to the 60-day IL and Kyle Harrison to the 15-day IL, All-Star Ace in Jacob Misiorowski missed his start vs Pittsburgh with fatigue and that was after his two previous starts vs Cincinnati and St. Louis ,despite a despite high strike out number, he looked like he was human. This Brewers bullpen outside of Megill and Uribe isn’t totally lock down like a usual Brewers pen is either plus Milwaukee has had trouble with leaving runners in scoring position. While Miz and Harrison should be back soon, I don’t know what exactly they’d look like. Milwaukee does have a fairly easy schedule coming out of the break but Miami is really hot right now, and some of the easier opponents like San Francisco and Colorado gave the Brewers hard times in their first series. The good thing about this break is they get to rest and reload and hopefully get back to normal but we will see, cause they are still very much in World Series contention.

    2. New York Yankees (54-42, 2nd AL East)

    The Yankees are on a four game winning streak now after losing 11 of its previous 13 games. But that little four game shouldn’t undermine the 2-11 skid. While the streak does help them not lose too much ground, now the Yankees get a homestand vs the Dodgers and Pirates. With a road trip at Philly and both Chicago teams. New York needs to make sure that stretch is who they truly are cause it could real ugly again coming out of this break.

    3. Cleveland Guardians (51-46, tied for first in AL Central)

    Despite still being well in a very winnable AL Central and the AL race. I’m not too hot on what I have seen from Cleveland recently. Compiled with one of the worst offenses in the league, Cleveland’s D which is supposed to be a strength has looked anything but compitent especially in the series loss to the Twins. The Guards can’t get past the Sox, while they continue to feel the pressure from the Twins behind them. Now they did just sweep the Marlins at Miami but that doesn’t excuse how rough their offense is.

    4. Atlanta Braves (55-40, first NL East)

    At the beginning of 2026, I and I think a lot of others were thinking that we were watching a repeat of 2023 where the Braves are the best team in the regular season. Since the calendar turned to June, the Braves have not only fell to third in the NL Standings. But they now got pressure from the Phillies who are just 2 back. The Marlins aren’t that far back either with just 4 behind. All of a sudden, it is anything but smooth sailing for the Braves

    5. the rest of the NL West.

    The D-Backs did sweep the Dodgers to go into the break. But that doesn’t change that they’re still in 2nd and 11.5 back in the division. Arizona and San Diego are still in the Wildcard hunt, but they are 2.5 and 3.5 back of the cutline. While the Giants have been a disappointing 41-55 and the Rockies are 39-59 and last in the NL. They’re not the roughest division in the league, but San Diego quite frankly has felt like a disappointment and the Giants I thought would be closer to where the D-Backs and Padres are. Despite being in last, Colorado has looked better offensively but pitching and defense are still very much an issue. Arizona is about where I expected them to be.

    (You can find the complete standings for yourself here at MLB.com)