The Rush: NFL season wobbles as Titans, Patriots fail to contain outbreaks
Two more Tennessee Titans tested positive for COVID-19 as the NFL looks to punish the team for violating safety protocols, Patriots CB Stephen Gilbert also tested positive just two days after embracing Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes on the field after Monday Night Football, and Division Series play continued across MLB as the Dodgers and Braves won Game 2 of their series while the Rays and Athletics took Game 3. PLUS: Cam Newton tweets without writing in hieroglyphics, the Astros level up their cheating schemes, and everything is fine for Governor Ron DeSantis!
Video Transcript
[CRACK OF THE BAT]
- This is gone to deep center field. Ballinger twisting around, still going. He's at the wall. And he made the catch.
JARED QUAY: The Dodgers and Padres weren't the only teams in action yesterday, but they were the last.
[SNORING]
Later, we'll get you updated on all the MLB postseason action and blow the lid on a brand new Astros cheating conspiracy. Uh, kind of, but not really, but you should just stick around anyways 'cause we've got to talk about the NFL first.
Yesterday was not a great day in Tennessee. First, two more positive COVID tests put the Titans week five game in doubt. Then we found out the league might punish them for violating safety protocols.
- Emergency containment field activated.
JARED QUAY: See, last week, a day after the outbreak started, a group of players got together and worked out at a Nashville high school. Well, I sure do hope it was a good workout 'cause it might cost them some draft picks, or even worse, a game. And Titans need every game they can get.
Meanwhile, up north, the Patriots are having trouble controlling their own outbreak. They thought they had it on lock, but yesterday defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore tested positive. And here he is giving Pat Mahomes a big old rotor squeeze just two days ago. My guys should have listened to Cam Newton. He tweeted out some safety precautions yesterday, and he did it with all this weird font.
- It's an ancient Egyptian dialect.
JARED QUAY: One person who definitely ain't taking Cam's advice is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Yesterday, he signed off on allowing full capacity at NFL stadiums in Florida. Meaning, if you've been dying to see Brady Bucs in person, he ain't going to stop you.
But that's enough the bad news. Let's get back to a little baseball. In the National League, the Dodgers to the commanding 2-0 lead in their series against the Padres.
- Full ball, and he wont get out of it. Ricochets off that angled sidewall. Pollock in to score. Barnes headed for the plate. The throw goes in the second, and the Dodgers take a 2-1 lead.
JARED QUAY: And the Braves were so happy to go two games up on the Marlins, they took a picture to remember it.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
Good times. In the junior circuit, Tampa Bay jumped all over a disorganized Yankees pitching staff to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
- Gardner is on the run. That ball's going to fly out of here.
JARED QUAY: And Oakland scored three in the seventh, two the eighth to stave off elimination against the Astros.
- [NON-ENGLISH SPEECH]
JARED QUAY: Speaking of, the most important home run for Houston wasn't hit by them, but it was hit in their park. This is Travis d'Arnaud, and he went yard for the Braves in Houston yesterday.
- That ball doesn't--
JARED QUAY: Listen.
- --have a chance to stick around.
[BANG]
Another--
JARED QUAY: Sound familiar? It should.
[BANG]
[CRACK OF THE BAT]
- This ball is crushed to left field. Springer has just hit his 31st home run.
JARED QUAY: Yep, the Astros can't cheat, so their stadium's going to do for them. See now, there's a bang right after a home run instead of before like last year. See, they must have built a time machine like Christopher Nolan's movie "Tenet," and they're cheating from the future.
I don't trust the Astros. They always got something up their sleeve. They probably figured out the time-space conundrum. And they bending space to go backwards four days so they could find out what the pitcher's going to throw, and they hitting home runs.