The Cheat SheetBy Kevin McGuire on

Never fear, The Cheat Sheet is always live.

Hello, and wlecome to a brand spankin’ new week here at The Comeback. My name is Kevin and I am here to serve up some of the top sports headlines from the weekend as well as a few things you may have missed. So get your week started on the right foot with this rundown, starting with a retirement from the baseball world and a heavy dose of the Olympics coverage you probably complained about being aired on tape delay on NBC.

Alex Rodriguez announces retirement

rodriguez

We will surely have plenty of conversations about this one in the days to come, but Alex Rodriguez has announced he is retiring. His last game will be played this Friday night. The news comes just days after Mark Teixeira announced his retirement, which will come at the end of the season. Rodriguez will still on board as a member of the Yankees organization, because I guess he still is owed some money and that’s one way to keep the checks coming. But honestly this was likely to be happening this year anyway. There will be no farewell tour for A-Rod, which is pretty appropriate given A-Rod isn’t exactly well-received the way a guy like David Ortiz is.

And yes, the Yankees are totally rebuilding now, in case you actually thought otherwise.

Katie Ledecky celebrated a world record while her competitors were still swimming

Katie Ledecky WR swim
American Katie Ledecky set a new world record in the women’s 400-meter event Sunday night, earning the gold medal in the event. She finished her race, turned back to look at the time and began celebrating while the rest of the field was still finishing up their race.

Things may not have gotten off to a golden start in the pool for the Americans, but Sunday night showed this country can still dominate. No athlete dominated a swimming event quite like Katie Ledecky though. Ledecky won the first gold of the Olympics for the American swim team by smashing her own world record for the 400-meter freestyle, previously set two years ago.

https://twitter.com/Boston_CP/status/762500726929043456

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Michael Phelps wins 19th gold as Americans take 4×100 relay

Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps and his pepperoni pizza-looking skin (more on that in a bit) won a remarkable 19th gold medal Sunday night as a key member of the men’s 4×100 relay team. Phelps’ pivotal role proved to be a critical difference-maker in the race.

Later in the evening, it was time for Michael Phelps (who totally made Christine Brennan mad) to get in on the fun as part of the men’s 4×100 relay team. The Americans have a strong history in the event, and Phelps has been a part of that in the last few Olympics. Sunday night was no exception, as Phelps played a crucial role in leading the men’s team — also starring Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held and Nathan Adrian — to a gold medal, holding off France in the final stretch. Phelps took the second in leg of the relay race, and his turn after one length of the pool gave the Americans a much-needed boost and a lead. They would not lose the lead the rest of the way. Just look how much longer Phelps stayed under water after his turn…

Phelps has a shot to add some more hardware to his already impressive collection, but his medal count is now up to 23 all-time, including 19 gold medals. That’s, like, a lot of gold medals.

Oh, but what is up with the spots on Phelps’ and some other swimmers’ bodies this year? They are not bruises or hickeys. It is apparently a new form of muscle therapy technique growing in popularity designed to increase the blood flow. In short, hot suction cups pull your skin from the body to loosen up the muscles. Aside from looking like a giant walking and talking pepperoni pizza, it apparently has some benefits like winning gold medals. Start looking for more purple dots on swimmers’ skin in the days to come as the swimming events continue.

American gymnasts do their thing too

Aly Raisman

Aside from the swimming events on Sunday, the real headliner was the start of the women’s gymnastics qualifiers. The Americans, led by Simone Biles and featuring 2012 all-around champion Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman, were on top of their game and easily moved on to the next round of competition. While the team was competing to advance, the individual competitions were going on as well. Only two gymnasts from each country can qualify to the individual all-around competition though, so somebody had to be left out. Biles and Raisman earned the top two scores from the American team, meaning Douglas was left out of the competition she won gold in four years ago in London. The issue here is Douglas actually finished with the third highest score overall, trailing only her American teammates Biles and Raisman. So like an NIT champion being left out of a 68-team basketball field in college basketball, Douglas will have to move on despite being better than a large majority of those gymnasts going on to compete in the all-around competition.

The two gymnasts per country rule makes sense if the idea is to keep interest around the world on a sport. That has to be the only reason the rule exists. It’s sort of like the MLB all-Star game having at least one player from every team included. That’s a silly rule too, but at least it’s a game that totally counts really just a fun exhibition. The Olympics is about recognizing the best athletes around the world. The two-gymnasts-per-country rule stinks out loud.

If there was a gold medal to be won Sunday though, it should go to Aly Raisman’s parents (as pictured above) for their gold-medal performance in the stands.

NFL cancels Hall of Fame Game

NFL Hall of Fame Game

Did you know the NFL preseason was supposed to kick off in Canton, Ohio Sunday night? It was, but the exhibition game between the Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts was cancelled due to bad turf conditions.That goes down as a slight bummer for those with a craving for football, but is there anyone really crying over the loss of the Hall of Fame Game? Well, yes, there is actually. And I’m not talking about the degenerate gamblers placing wagers on a preseason game. It’s the Pro Football Hall of Fame that will be out $4 million.

The good news is the NFL is reportedly going to chip in with the cost to cover the ticket refunds to the Hall of Fame, as it totally should. It’s not like the NFL is short for cash or anything.

Quick Hits

Ichiro
DENVER, CO – AUGUST 7: Ichiro Suzuki #51 of the Miami Marlins tips his hat to the crowd after hitting a seventh inning triple against the Colorado Rockies for the 3,000th hit of his major league career during a game at Coors Field on August 7, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)

– The San Diego Chargers have Joey Bosa’s mother wishing they had pulled an Eli Manning on the franchise. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

– Congrats to Ichiro Suzuki on notching his 3,000th career MLB hit. It’s just a shame he could not have done it in Seattle.

– Speaking of baseball, how about these web gems turned in by Mike Trout (robbing a grand slam) and the Philadelphia Phillies (around-the-horn triple play)?

– Also, still not sure this ball launched by Giancarlo Stanton has reentered Earth’s orbit yet.

– Hunter Pence is one tough dude.

– This Monday, hopefully your Dunkin Donuts is open for you.

– Jim Furyk was on fire!

– Boston College QB is dedicating his 2016 season to, who else, Harambe.

– Blake Griffin is producing a Fresh Prince/Beverly Hillbillies mashup. OK then.

One last gratuitous Breath of Procrastination

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.

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