THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER
Three predictions left, eleven points at stake, till the end of the 2022 Quiz season. Surely think the 29 quizzers within ten points of the lead “I’m still in with a chance,”like those football fans you meet in May who think their team is in with a chance at the play-offs if the top team lost all their games 30-0.Realistically the Magnificent Top Seven should be on tenterhooks and the final prizes will certainly need the tie breaker to sort out. It will probably be solved by England’s first scorer in the World Cup.John Edwards’ charge stalled, Nick Bunclark comes back into contention and out of nowhere or more accurately from Vietnam comes Paul Wearmouth. For those like me(161st)the 2023 Quiz will be with you soon enough.
Revenge is a dish best served cold.
41)The Women’s World Cup Final would be, we thought, the ideal start to a weekend of British sporting triumph in two World Cups, even if the world in these cases looked like the British Empire circa 1900. England’s Red Roses had been professionals for four seasons and had shown it by winning thirty games in a row. Their progress through the tournament had been effective if at times ugly, built round a pack of powerful forwards.24 of their last 38 tries had been scored from lineouts. The game plan would probably have worked this time but in the 18th minute came a crucial red card and England would play the last hour a woman short. Somehow this seems in rugby to be more crucial than playing with ten at soccer.
Despite this, England were still in the game as the clock ticked into the red. The Red Roses had a lineout close to the Kiwi line, their favoured route to a score. This time it did not produce the goods and after a pulsating game of eleven tries and multiple changes of the lead, NEW ZEALAND were the champions. By the time of the next World Cup in 2025 to be played at Twickenham, more countries will have taken their cue from this epic game, played in front of a record forty thousand spectators and made their top players professionals like Saturday’s finalists.
39)The World Series of course has an even more limited view of the World than cricket and Rugby Union with Toronto the only team who do not fly the Stars and Stripes. The 2022 World Champions were crowned only yards(ish) from our North American correspondent’s front door. As you can tell our wee Scots lad Neil Dewhurst has thoroughly bought into the American way of life.
“The 2022 season will be remembered for several milestones; the Yankees’ Aaron Judge hitting 62 HR’s in the regular season to set a new American League record. Albert Pujols of the Cardinals passed 700 HR’s through his career, becoming only the fourth to reach that figure.
For one organization the milestone wasn’t quantifiable or something that would be written in the record books. After the sign stealing scandal of 2019, the Houston Astros sought redemption, & an end to the cheating & trash can banging jibes that have followed them through the last three seasons.
The 2022 World Series almost brought the two ends of the regular season records together; the Astros off the back of 106 wins (second only to the LA Dodgers 111 wins) & the Philadelphia Phillies who managed 87 wins, who only sealed their place in the post-season in the final regular season series in early October (against the Astros in Houston).
The Phillies fought through a 2-0 Wild Card series win against the St Louis Cardinals, a 3-1 divisional series win over the reigning champions, the Atlanta Braves, & then a 4-1 championship series win over the San Diego Padres. In the other dugout, the Houston Astros had slaughtered the Seattle Mariners 3-0 to win the divisional series, including an 18 inning 6+ hour game 3 win. Then the Astros cut through the New York Yankees 4-0 in the championship series, rightly entering the World Series as heavy favourites. After an early series scare the Commissioner’s Trophy headed home to Houston, WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI, as they won out 4-2 across a six game back & forth series which ran into early November.
With the Astros having home field advantage the World Series started under the Minute Maid Park roof in downtown Houston. The Astros got off to a flier, taking an early 5-0 lead after 3 innings. The Astro momentum unravelled as the Phillies drove in a game tying 5 runs across the next 2 innings before 4 shut-out innings for the bullpens, meaning Game 1 went to extra innings. The Phillies completed their comeback with a AI which the Astros couldn’t match so the Phillies took the early series lead.
The next night, the Astros came out the gate swinging with 3 consecutive doubles in the 1st inning to move ahead 3-0, & backed up by a great pitching performance added a 2 run HR in the 5th inning to take the game 5-2 & square the series as it moved to Philadelphia for games 3, 4 & 5.
After being back pushed 24 hours due to inclement weather, the Phillies came out with hot bats hitting 3 HR’s in the first 2 innings in front of a raucous crowd before adding 2 more HR’s in the fifth to ultimately take the game 7-0 & set a new unwanted record for Astros’ pitcher Lance McCullers Jr, as the first pitcher in World Series history to give up 5 HR’s in a game.
After the Phillies slug fest of Game 3 the tables were turned in Game 4 with the Astros pitchers combining for a no-hitter, only the second in World Series history, which along with a 5 run 5th inning lead them to a series tying 5-0 win & a quiet Citizens Bank Park.
With the Phillies opting for a bullpen game in Game 5, the Astros put a run on the board early.However a solo HR in the 1st inning drew the Phillies level. A go-ahead HR put the Astros back in front, & then later the teams traded single runs in a tight final stretch with a sensational running catch at the fence in the 9th inning needed to preserve the Astros lead & ensure they headed home needing just one victory to win their first World Series since 2017.
Back at Minute Maid Park a cagey start exploded into life in the 6th inning with a Phillies solo HR being answered emphatically by a 3 run monster HR right over the relieving pitchers head into centre field (a beautiful sight to behold), followed by a further insurance run to make it 4-1 which is how it ended making Astros World Champions & the first to clinch the Fall Classic at home since the Red Sox in 2013.
As well as the joy of the Astros win, Houstonians who participated in Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale’s furniture store promotion (if the Astros won, the cost of your recent purchase was fully refunded) were also celebrating having both their rooms & wallets filled. Not that it mattered too much to Mack’s bottom line given he put down $10 millions in bets on the Astro’s, netting himself a tasty $75 million in winnings!! The same promotion is already airing for the 2023 season; perhaps it’s time for some new furniture so I can write next years’ report at a free kitchen table?”
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