MLB
Thursday’s Hot Clicks: Willians Astudillo Scores From First to Prove ‘Chubby People Can Also Run’
Run, big man, run
Willians Astudillo is one of the most interesting players in baseball. After spending nine seasons in the minor leagues, he finally made his MLB debut this season. He’s a 5'9", 225-pound catcher, mostly, with the ability to play several other positions. In his big league debut on June 30, he played centerfield. So he’s reasonably athletic, at least for a short, stocky catcher.
In the seventh inning of Wednesday night’s game against the Yankees, Astudillo scored a key run by hustling all the way from first. He had pretty good downhill speed, though he didn’t actually turn the corners as well as you’d like. The 270-foot sprint left him absolutely winded.
But he wasn’t just running to score. He was running to prove something about husky people everywhere.
Humboldt Broncos hit the ice again
Five months after 16 people were killed and 13 more injured in a bus crash, the Humboldt Broncos played their season opener in front of a sold-out crowd and national television audiences in Canada and the U.S. The place went absolutely nuts when the Broncos scored the first goal of the game.
After the game, the team revealed 16 banners honoring the victims that will go up in the rafters of the rink.
They really packed the house in Queens last night
Mike Stobe/Getty Images
By the time the five-and-a-half-hour rain delay was over, fans barely outnumbered players at Citi Field last night. The Mets and Marlins were supposed to play a doubleheader, though the rain forced them to reschedule the second game as part of a doubleheader this afternoon.
Scrolling through the Citi Field tag on Instagram, you find a lot of pictures of empty seats and a lot of fans who took advantage of the empty seats to take some foul balls home.
Anyway, the official attendance was 20,423. Sounds about right.
Can you blame the Raiders for fleeing Oakland?
Add a new problem to the list of things wrong with the Oakland Coliseum. Even though it’s been about two years since the last sewage backup, the stadium is still dealing with overpowering stenches.
I guess it’s only fitting after the Raiders stunk it up in Week 1 against the Rams.
Bits & Pieces
Georgia State’s football coach tore his bicep celebrating last week, just like the basketball coach tore his Achilles celebrating an NCAA tournament bid. ... A woman working the deli counter at an Ohio grocery store faces theft charges for eating a few slices of ham every day for eight years. ... Here’s a look at every goalie mask in the NHL’s Western Conference this year. ... Dez Bryant and Jerry Jones went to a Beyoncé concert together. ... It sounds like David Wright might see his first MLB action since May 2016.
Facing the storm with the fearlessness of Tom Brady
Never leave us, Dirk
Jon Gruden is one game into a 10-year contract and already publicly trashing his QB
Yea or nay on these new M&M flavors?
Power move to keep a straight face when meeting LeBron and Channing Tatum
A different kind of triple play
The dog has skills
Preach, Cube
Usain Bolt is unbeatable in any conditions
Of course Steph is money from 60 feet
New Coen Brothers movie coming to Netflix
A good song
Stay safe if you’re in the Carolinas.
Email dan.gartland@simail.com with any feedback or ping me on Twitter. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
