Friday is the start of the World Cup Quarterfinals so I’ll do a quick write-up on each of the 8 nations left then. If you missed my totally unhinged and buzzed on alcohol instant reaction take on the USA vs Netherlands game, click here.
Irish-American in NY
101st Anniversary of the Anglo-Irish Treaty
On December 6, 1921, this treaty established an Irish Free State as an independent member of the British Commonwealth.
Sorry for the quick Irish history open, just want to inform all the American @YouTheReaders of Irish descent that December 6th was kind of a big deal for your heritage. Also, December 7th is a day that lives in infamy, but I’m sure #TikTokAlreadyTaught @YouTheReader these historical facts so I’ll kick it to sports…
MLB’s Scorching Furnace
Jacob deGrom to the Texas Rangers
Jacob deGrom signed a 5-year $185 million contract with the Texas Rangers that includes a conditional 6th-year option that could take the total deal to $222 million. (Source: Passan) The Rangers spent big last offseason on Corey Seager and Marcus Semien as they tried to start a new era in their brand-new ballpark. They ended up 68-94 in ‘22. Look, it’s a business and these guys have every right to get paid as much as possible, but I feel for Mets fans here. deGrom was the last member of the team that went to the World Series in ‘15. In those days, there was a ton of hype around Matt Harvey, Noah Syndergaard, and Steven Matz, which allowed the former college shortstop turned ace to go incognito mode with a moppy head of hair. The only shot I’ll take at deGrom is that despite his brilliance the guy barely pitched under his previous contract with the Mets (156 innings in ‘21 and ‘22) so this could be a blessing in disguise.
Steve Cohen and the Mets countered by signing…
Justin Verlander to NYM
**Kate Upton has entered the NY Group Chat** and already has prior beef with Phillies fans so should fit right in. Upton’s husband replaces Jacob deGrom’s top spot in the rotation and now links back up with his former Detroit Tiger teammate, Max Scherzer. Verlander signed a 2-year deal at $86 million with an additional 3rd year vesting option. (Source: Heyman) Love him or hate him, this would have been the sort of move that George Steinbrenner would’ve made. I can’t hate on the Mets here, they won 101 games in ‘22 and deGrom only won 5 of them.
So how did the Yankees try and steal headlines from their cross-town rivals…
@NewReaders: I am pairing two rivals in their respective industries against one another for donations to charities. I understand many will think it is a waste of time and overly ambitious to think the corporations would ever check out the @You_The_Reader account’s stories but if I hound the rivals every day in their DMs you never know. It only takes me a few clicks, maybe 15 mins a day to do this, I don’t mention a monetary figure amount (whatever the corporation deems necessary which I’m sure they would just claim to be a tax write-off), and I want nothing to do with how money is exchanged.
This Week’s #BoobyTrapChallenge is: Orbit vs Trident
@YouTheReaders do you have any charities of choice that may appreciate some corporate cash for good use? Last week’s Sprite vs 7 Up and these two gum company rivals are up for grabs, so if you have a charity or organization in mind, send them my way via text, DM @You_The_Reader, or email at WeekToWeekNotes@gmail.com.
Reddit Exchanges
SubReddit: r/Sports Moderators Ban
Okay so if you’re not exactly sure what Reddit is, it is basically a website/app where people can post their comments and opinions on a topic. The “sub” in SubReddit is essentially a category of the topic. For instance, when the whole Wall Street Bets GameStop/AMC saga went down where people on Robinhood/TD Ameritrade were buying up stocks that massive Hedge Funds/Investment Banks were shorting; r/WallStreetsBets was the subreddit where people would pick a company (a la GameStop) and then all agree to buy up shares. I won’t bore you any further and honestly, the majority of @YouTheReaders could do a better job at summing up that situation and the morality of the whole thing involved but I’m just here to give context for people who may not have Reddit.
Last Friday night after posting Week 13, ‘22 to Instagram and Facebook, I decided to spam copy and paste my link on as many Sports Reddit pages as possible, one being r/sports. The next day I received a message saying the link to the r/sports was deleted and I was banned from posting under the Sports category which has about a following of 20 million people. Forgive me @RedditModerators for not going through each and every one of the 10+ subreddits group’s policy rules I posted the link on.
Here’s how I’ll address the rules broken:
(2) The title of the link was Week to Week Notes, which I made up in the UAlbany library as a junior in the fall semester. Very little effort was probably thought into it at the time (50/50 shot I was hungover and should have been studying some econ graph). @RedditModerator - you don’t like how the name of the publication isn’t more descriptive? Weird, I think I lucked into the name because of how vague it is, allows me to write about pretty much any topic.
(3) No blogs, spam… let me guess you think it’s self-promotion, spam, and an irrelevant link too. @YouTheReader and I have already heard this story before… Noted.
Swings & Misses
@PatMayoMedia Email
Oh no! Another sports media member is big-timing the no-name writer!
His or Her Words, Not Mine
@YouTheReader’s Weekly Debate: Is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
Tune into this Sunday’s Weekly Debate poll on @You_The_Reader with a question involving Candy Canes…
Are they a Festive Treat (Underrated) or a Liability (Overrated)?
Trends Change, Rumors Fly
TD Bank was Eliminated in the Wild Card Round
I know you don’t care about my fantasy team or league, but I just got to give the guys a proper send-off…
This Week’s “Thematic Concept Song”
Just Like Christmas by Low
For the small faction of @YouTheReaders who might be into a sneak peek at the song for Friday (I know most of you don’t care, but thanks for scrolling to the bottom anyway)…
Working on the World Cup, NFL Week 14, MLB, CFB, & More. See ya Friday.