Some may call me superstitious, but I have always believed that bad things come in threes. This week in sports didn't hesitate to prove my theory right. Before we get into it, let me start by saying there was definitely some good that came out of this week, per usual. But let's just go ahead and break down the bad before we get to the silver lining.
1. As we all know, Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton left last Thursday night's game against the Milwaukee Brewers in an ambulance. But things are looking up for the All-Star, as he took to Instagram on Tuesday to show fans just how far he's come since being struck by the Mike Fiers' fastball. The brutal hit left Stanton with facial fractures and dental damage but not a poor spirit. His Instagram caption read,
"The Aftermath ... Making huge progress!! Want to thank everyone who has played a part in my recover process. Your kind messages, thoughts & prayers have meant the world to me. Pushing forward"
Fans, teammates and the Marlins community used the hashtag #GetWellGiancarlo to help reach out to Stanton and show their support. Let's keep that going!
We're behind you 100%! Stay strong and get well soon! #GetWellGiancarlo #MarlinsFamily @marlins @Giancarlo818 pic.twitter.com/oOSNUlMrdv
— FOX Sports FL Girls (@FSFloridaGirls) September 12, 2014
2. This may be the worst thing to come out of the NFL in years, but nevertheless, no physical act of violence on any playing field has mattered as much as what has been happening off the field. TMZ has become the NFL's newest (and most popular) host, while photos of Ray Rice, Ray McDonald, Greg Hardy and Adrian Peterson swarm the headlines. With the attention on the domestic violence cases, some football fans are even trying to bench the NFL with the newest twitter hashtag trend #BoycottNFL in tow.
3. And last but not least, I knew I had come across the final bad thing to happen this week when I tuned in to watch the Miami Dolphins play at Buffalo on Sunday. What's done is done, but let's just say that I could feel the knot in my stomach tighten when wide receiver Jarvis Landry had a muffed catch with his facemask in the fourth quarter.
But there is good news for Miami. The Dolphins will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 3 and then travel to London to play the Oakland Raiders in Week 4. Both teams are 0-2, so things should be looking up before their bye.
The good news doesn't stop there, as both Miami Hurricanes and Florida Gators fans had something to cheer about this weekend. And who saw the Arkansas State player play dead during a fake punt?! I sure missed that at first. Thanks to the video going viral, I now know what a "Fainting Goat" play is.
If you haven't seen it just yet, here it is:
The Red Wolves' play obviously did not work. But it was hilarious.
Let's hope there's no more fainting this weekend, as the Florida State Seminoles get ready to host the Clemson Tigers. With both teams fresh off bye week, and Florida State embroiled in the latest Jameis Winston controversy, this should easily be the most exciting game of the weekend.
VIDEO OF THE WEEK
Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is known to have one of the most powerful shots in the NHL. But just how powerful, you ask? This video proves Stamkos' skills right as he fires a puck through a goalpost from 91 yards away. (That's 73 feet longer than the length of a rink, might I add).
FLORIDA FOX JOCK SPOTLIGHT
Born and raised in sunny Jupiter, Florida, Cody Parkey began his football-kicking career at just 11 years old. On Monday night, the NFL rookie kicked a 36-yard winning field goal for the Philadelphia Eagles, making it a 30-27 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the team that traded him.
His Florida roots earned him a Lou Groza High School Place-Kicker Award from Jupiter High School early on, which led him to play for the Auburn Tigers. Parkey was signed by the Indianapolis Colts after the 2014 NFL draft, but he was traded by the Colts to the Eagles in August, and he beat out Alex Henery to be the Eagles kicker for the 2014 season.
Philadelphia head coach Chip Kelly said in a press conference after Monday's win that he and the team felt "fortunate" to get Parkey.
Eagles kicker Cody Parkey (1) kicks the game winning field goal against the Colts.
HANA: As an NFL rookie, how do you feel after the winning kick over the Colts?
PARKEY: It's huge. But I mean, it wasn't my best game. I missed a kick earlier, so I used the last one to kind of redeem myself. They called a timeout on me at first to try to ice me, and I had made the first kick only to find out it didn't count, so I had to kick it twice. It was a lot of fun last night, especially since the Colts traded me, it was even better winning against them like that.
HANA: You started playing football at a young age in South Florida, so is there anything your hometown taught you that you're still using today?
PARKEY: At that point in my life, it was definitely just a lot of fun. But still to this point, you want to have fun when you're playing, and when you start taking things too seriously, that's when things start to go downhill. So just learning how to have fun out there, even when you're losing or even when you're winning, or whatever's happening, and that's something I definitely learned playing in Jupiter.
HANA: Coming from Auburn and playing in the 2013 BCS National Championship game, what were some of the things you learned?
PARKEY: There were some little things like how to play in big games and how to face adversity, but I mainly just learned how things work. Every game something happens that doesn't go your way, and you just have to focus on getting back and helping the team win. But it was awesome to be in a big time game like that, and it really doesn't get any better.
HANA: Entering the NFL with all these negative headlines on domestic violence right now isn't easy. What's your opinion on it all?
PARKEY: It's tough to say, really. Given the situation, I don't know what they've gone through or what's going through their minds, so it's tough for me to say without being there and witnessing it. I think it's definitely something to harp on, but most importantly, just to learn from.
