This past week has been big for sports. So here is a rundown of the stories that are most interesting, astounding and/or flat-out weird.
First, and most importantly, baseball wrapped up its 2017 season with the Houston Astros winning their franchise’s first World Series. A huge deal for any baseball team, but more so for one whose home city was ravaged by a hurricane just a few short months ago. People’s lives were destroyed, everything taken from them in a moment’s notice, but that didn’t stop them from supporting their team. All along the way fans went to games if only to take their mind off all the world for just a bit. Congratulations Houston, you deserve this.
Next, we have the latest scandal to come out of the “kneeling for the national anthem” debate, but it’s not what you’d expect. The pizza company Papa John’s, which has become the official pizza sponsor of the NFL, announced this week that the anthem protests were hurting its sales. According to Business Insider, John Schnatter, the founder and CEO of Papa John’s pizza, said, “We are totally disappointed that the NFL and its leadership did not resolve the ongoing situation to the satisfaction of all parties long ago.” He went on to finish, “this should have been nipped in the bud a year and a half ago.” As if coming out against peaceful protest against police violence wasn’t bad enough press, the so-called alt-right have now claimed Papa John’s as their official pie The news outlet the Daily Stormer posted a picture of a pizza with a swastika made out of pepperoni. The good news for us is we now have an excuse (as if we needed one) to not eat Papa John’s pizza.
It was a good weekend for Boston sports, as both the Celtics and at the Bruins took home wins. The Celtics were on the road against the Oklahoma City Thunder. At one point, the Thunder had a 18-point lead over the Celtics, only to give it up. Oklahoma City eventually fell 101-94. The Boston Bruins played at TD Garden against the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights, despite being an expansion franchise, have done rather well this season and are currently ranked second in the Pacific Division. However, they weren’t enough to beat the Bruins, losing 2-1.
There you have it in a weird week in the sports world. It’ll be interesting to see what comes up next.