The Sportsletter - 2-Way & 2-Time MVPs

BY JEFF YODER

NOV. 19, 2021  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  BROWSER VIEW

Happy Friday,

You’ve made it to the weekend. In today’s edition, we’ve got baseball’s MVP winners and a team riding high into Week 11. There’s plenty for every sports fan on the docket this weekend. Don’t miss today’s must-watch list.

Letter Rip!

GIVEAWAY

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To kick off the holiday season, the Sportsletter team is giving away an Xbox Series S bundle that includes:

- A New Xbox Series S

- 3-Month Game Pass Subscription

- $350 Towards New Games

All you have to do is refer three friends to the Sportsletter using your unique referral link (found here) and you'll be enrolled. 

The winner will be announced in the 11/22 edition of the Sportsletter.

Good luck Sportsletter Readers!

MLB

Ohtani & Harper Named MVPs

Photo: Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

Shohei Ohtani (Angels) & Bryce Harper (Phillies) Win 2021 MLB MVP Awards

A two-way player and a two-time winner are taking home the final piece of hardware to cap off MLB awards week. Shohei Ohtani (Angels) was a unanimous selection for AL MVP while Bryce Harper (Phillies) won the NL MVP by a landslide with a 17 first-place votes. It was Harper’s second MVP award, and it’s likely not the last for the 27-year-old Ohtani. Harper led the league in slugging (.615) and OPS (1.044) while Ohtani made multiple pieces of history with his two-way play on the mound and the plate. Here’s a look at the MVP stats and how the voting shook out.

2021 MVP Season Stats

B. Harper (PHI): .309 BA | 35 HRs | 84 RBIs

S. Ohtani (LAA): .256 BA | 46 HRs | 100 RBIs

Ohtani (Pitching: 9-2 | 3.18 ERA | 130.1 IP | 156 Ks

2021 MVP Voting

AL: 1) S. Ohtani, 2) V. Guerrero Jr., 3) M. Semien

NL: 1) B. Harper, 2) J. Soto, 3) F. Tatis Jr.

That’s a wrap on MLB awards week! Stay tuned for winter meetings and an upcoming battle for the new collective bargaining agreement. Fun times ahead for baseball…

Additional Storylines

MLB: Full MLB MVP Award Vote Totals

B/R: Bryce Harper’s Hall of Fame Case Just Got Stronger With 2021 MVP

USA Today: Ohtani Becomes First Two-Way Player to Win MVP Award

NFL

Pats Picking Up Steam

Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images

Patriots Shut Out Falcons (25-0) on Thursday Night Football for 5th Straight

As Week 11 kicked off in the NFL, a familiar postseason contender is reeling back into form. The Patriots shellacked the Falcons on Thursday night (25-0) to claim their fifth straight win and jump to 7-4 heading into Thanksgiving. New England has put up 24-plus in each of the last five contests while holding opponents to just 10.0 points per game, including just 13 points and one touchdown in the last three weeks. Meanwhile, rookie QB Mac Jones continued his rise as a reliable game manager with pinpoint accuracy. He completed 84.6 percent of his passes on Thursday while the run game and defense carried New England to an easy win.

QB Mac Jones (Last 2 Games)

41/49 (83.7% comp.), 405 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT

Fun Fact: The Patriots haven’t allowed a point in the last 19 drives dating to back to Week 10.

The Patriots iced the game with a two interceptions in the final two minutes, including a pick-six from LB Kyle Van Noy.

Watch: Patriots Shut Out Falcons (25-0) for 5th Straight Win

AFC East Standings

Bills (6-3), Patriots (7-4), Dolphins (3-7), Jets (2-7)

Additional Storylines

CBS Sports: New England Beats Up Matt Ryan, Blanks Atlanta for 5th Straight

NFL: What We Learned From Patriots’ Win Over Falcons on Thursday Night Football

🎥 THE HIGHLIGHTS

🏀 NBA: Steph Drops 40 in Another Warriors’ Win

Steph Curry continued his hot start to the NBA season with a 40-piece on 9-for-16 from deep to beat the Cavs (104-89). Curry has scored 40, 40 and 50 in the last 10 days, including nine 3s in each outing. The Dubs are now a league-best 13-2.

🏒 NHL: Rielly Leads Leafs to 5th Straight

A pair of Morgan Rielly goals made the difference in the Maple Leafs’ 2-1 win over the Rangers on Thursday. The Leafs (12-5-1) have now won a league-best five in a row.

THE STORYLINES

🏈  Every NFL Team’s Dumbest Decision of 2021

Inevitably, every NFL franchise will experience a moment when a decision didn't work out. Too many moving parts exist for everything to go smoothly. The question is how each organization mitigates those inevitable missteps. (Bleacher Report)

🎾  The Missing Chinese Tennis Player

Fears are growing about the safety and whereabouts of a Chinese tennis star, Peng Shuai, who has remained unheard from since she accused a former Chinese official of sexual assault. (ABC News)

📰 THE HEADLINES

Brandon Belt Accepts Giants’ $18.4 Million Offer to Stay in San Francisco on 1-Year Deal

(CBS Sports)

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament to Expand to 68 Teams Beginning Next March

(Bleacher Report)

NBA GMs Form Association to Support Executives Amid Blazers Investigation

(ESPN)

Iowa Girl Makes History in High School Football State Championship Game

(USA Today)

NFL Investigating Bucs WR Antonio Brown for Fake COVID-19 Vaccination Card

(Yahoo! Sports)

New Jersey High School QB Scores 8 TDs One Night After Mother’s Death

(CBS Sports)

🗓️ WEEKEND SCHEDULE

The Must-Watch List

NFL Week 11 (Sunday)

Colts at Bills (1:00 pm)

Packers at Vikings (1:00 pm)

Bengals at Raiders (4:05 pm)

Cowboys at Chiefs (4:25 pm)

Steelers at Chargers (8:20 pm)

Full NFL Week 11 Schedule

College Football (Saturday)

#7 Michigan State at #4 Ohio State (Noon)

#21 Arkansas at #2 Alabama (3:30 pm)

#6 Michigan at Maryland (3:30 pm)

SMU at #5 Cincinnati (3:30 pm)

#3 Oregon at #23 Utah (7:30 pm)

Full College Football Schedule

NBA

Lakers at Celtics (Fri. 7:00 pm)

Knicks at Bulls (Sun. 8:00 pm)

Full NBA Schedule

NHL

Bruins at Flyers (Sat. 7:00 pm)

Full NHL Schedule

College Basketball

M: #5 Villanova vs. #17 Tennessee (Sat. 1:00 pm)

M: #18 N. Carolina vs. #6 Purdue (Sat. 4:00 pm)

W: #6 Baylor at #3 Maryland (Sun. 1:00 pm)

W: #12 Texas at #16 Tennessee (Sun. 1:00 pm)

MLS Cup Playoffs

Philadelphia at New York Red Bulls (Sat. 2:30 pm)

Kansas City at Vancouver (Sat. 5:00 pm)

Montreal at Toronto (Sun. 1:00 pm)

New York City FC at Atlanta (Sun. 3:00 pm)

Portland at Minnesota (Sun. 5:30 pm)

NWSL Championship

Washington Spirit vs. Chicago Red Stars (Sat. 12:00 pm)

Boxing (WBO Welterweight Title)

Terence Crawford vs. Shawn Porter (7:00 pm)

*All Times Eastern

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