THE BEST AND THE WORST
Ken Hoffman bets on the Astros and crushes the worst show on TV
Sep 23, 2019, 4:10 pm
THE BEST AND THE WORST
This article originally appeared on CultureMap.
Why is everybody so concerned about the Astros finishing with the best record in baseball and getting home field advantage throughout the playoffs? The goal is to win the World Series, right?
So, maybe the Astros would be better off finishing behind the Yankees in the American League, and behind the Dodgers if it comes down to a Houston-Los Angeles World Series.
First (actually second) things first, a League Championship Series against the Yankees: If the Astros finish behind the Yankees, the first two games will be played in The Bronx. We throw Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole at the Yanks. Good luck with that, New York. I'd take Verlander and Cole if the Astros were playing the 1927 Yankees. Nobody can match that 1-2 punch, don't care if it's on the road, at home, or on Mars.
The Astros are going to play at least two games on the road in the LCS and World Series. Their chances of winning on the road are better with Verlander and Cole.
Then it's back to Houston with a 2-0 lead. I like Zack Greinke and Wade Miley at home in Minute Maid Park. Repeat against the Dodgers. Schedule the parade.
Last week I wrote about Jeremy Wolf, the slugging outfielder from Trinity University's 2016 national D3 baseball champions, who's now playing for Israel's national team in Olympic qualifying tournaments. It's an improbable team for sure. When you think of sports in Israel, baseball isn't on top of the list. In fact, it's not on the list. There is only baseball diamond in the whole country, the team doesn't play regularly and rarely even practices together.
Last week, the team headed to Italy for the Europe/Africa final Olympic qualifier. They were a longshot against powerhouse, well financed teams from The Netherlands and Spain. Both countries have professional baseball leagues and the government pays their players. The Netherlands won the European title last year.
Of course, Israel won the whole thing, beating Spain and The Netherlands on back-to-back days, then topping Italy and South Africa. Now they'll be one of only six countries going for the gold medal in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. It's the first time Israel has qualified for an Olympic team event since 1976.
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Emanuel Sharpe scored 26 points, LJ Cryer had 20 and second-ranked Houston stifled No. 17 BYU in a 74-54 victory Friday night that moved the Cougars into the Big 12 Tournament championship game for the second consecutive season.
Milos Uzan added 14 points and Mylik Wilson pulled down 13 rebounds, helping the tournament's top seed jump to a big early lead and roll into Saturday night's matchup with Arizona on a 12-game win streak.
Houston (29-4) played without J'Wan Roberts, its leading rebounder, after he sprained his ankle early in the second half of the Cougars' quarterfinal win over Colorado. Roberts watched from the bench with his right foot in a walking boot.
He got to watch quite a defensive show by one of the nation's best.
Houston forced BYU to miss its first nine shots, including seven from beyond the arc, where coach Kevin Young's team had set a Big 12 Tournament record with 18 made 3s on its way to 96 points in a quarterfinal win over Iowa State. That nearly seven-minute lull allowed Houston to roar to a 15-0 lead that it spent the rest of the game protecting.
BYU trimmed its 40-21 halftime deficit to 13 midway through the second half but never threatened to come all the way back.
Keba Keita had 14 points and 12 rebounds for BYU. Dawson Baker scored 11 points and Richie Saunders had 10.
BYU still has not won a conference tournament title since 2001 in the Mountain West.
Houston lived up to its billing as the nation's No. 1 team in defensive efficiency.
Sharpe converted a four-point play with 13:40 left in the first half to give Houston its 15-0 lead.
Houston has beaten BYU by an average of 25.5 points in their two games this season.
Houston will play the Wildcats for the Big 12 title.