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This Weekend in Sports

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Mullins makes a historic debut, Rooney flashes greatness and Tiger roars back into relevance.

Orioles

On Friday the Orioles were officially eliminated from playoff contention. The season has been a complete disaster, but at least now that the race is “officially” over, there is a small silver lining. We get silver linings and moral victories.

It’s the Orioles way.

Silver lining number one- Brian Roberts donned the green jacket and was officially placed in the Baltimore Orioles HOF.

For those of us who have chosen to block out those dark-days of the franchise’s history, Roberts manned second base for 13 seasons in Baltimore from 01-13. He held a .278 BA with 1,452 hits. He is ranked #1 in Orioles history in all major offensive categories for a 2B, was a two-time All-Star (05/07), and brought pride to the organization during some of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history.

Silver lining number two- The Orioles selected the contract for OF Cedric Mullins, and the debut went as good as could be expected. Mullins took over the CF position from Adam Jones who manned the position since 2008 and earned 4 Gold Glove Awards.

“This is one of the greatest center fielders in Orioles history. When you look at where he ranks, not only with the Orioles but the game itself,” manager Buck Showalter said of Jones, who has exclusively played center field since 2008, winning four American League Gold Glove Awards at the position. “I’m so happy [Mullins] has got someone like Adam to be there for him. It had to be the right guy. We think Cedric may be the right guy.”

Mullins debut not only didn’t disappoint, but it was historically good. He is the first player in franchise history to record three hits in his Major League debut. His first AB was an RBI-double and followed that up with a single, a walk and another double. In all, he was 3-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. And if you’re looking for a little bit more silver in that lining, he becomes the second Oriole to make his debut on August 10th.

The other player? a little-known kid from Aberdeen named Cal Ripken Jr.

D.C. United

D.C. United is still at the bottom of the standings looking up, but with the addition of Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney, the future may be looking up for United fans as well.

Perhaps Steven Goff of the Washington Post said it best.

Wayne Rooney came to Washington to score goals and to inject superstardom into a soccer market longing for an international hero to perform wonders in a new stadium.

But to chug some 40 yards, deep into stoppage time, on a humid night and chase down an opponent eyeing a winning strike into an unoccupied net, hop back onto his feet and drive a long cross with pinpoint accuracy to a teammate for the winning goal in an MLS match that had already exceeded all rational expectations?

Come on.

It was the most American-friendly soccer play I’ve ever seen. Back against the wall with an empty net, Rooney hustled all the way down the field to catch Orlando’s, Will Johnson as he prepared to score from about 50-yards away.

The tackle was physical and took Johnson to the ground, but Rooney wasn’t finished. Instead of waiting for reinforcements, Rooney got up, his steady gaze assessing the field, and waited for the perfect moment to launch the pin-point cross to Luciano Acosta who headed it in for his third goal of the game.

PGA Championship

For the second Major Championship weekend in a row, the fans were the winners and everyone else, including the actual winners.

Francesco Molinari (The Open Champion) and Brooks Koepka (U.S. Open and PGA Champion) will obviously never forget their historic runs, but the rest of us will remember the 2018 season as the year Tigers resurgence officially started.

Tiger didn’t hit a fairway on Sunday until the 10th hole. He was all over the place, but his short game and putting were a force all their own as fans showered Woods with cheers reminiscent of the days of old.

Tiger finished the tournament in second place after shooting a 64, which qualifies as his best Sunday ever in a Major.

Now we wait to see if Tiger is selected as a member of the Ryder Cup team. He is currently ranked 11th. The Odd’s for next year’s Masters are out and see him tied for second. His performance this year has jumped him from 1,199th in the world rankings just over a year ago to 26th.

Tiger didn’t know if he would be competing again after multiple attempts to come back led to more and more injuries and rehab, but after he sank this birdie putt on the final hole of the PGA Championship, one that put him -14 but no in the lead, you can see that even Tiger can feel the magic starting to come back.

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