Good Morning, Stumpers!

Keeping this Stump pretty light today, but that’s because how cool the Stump Story is! Maybe you already saw it on social media this week, but this is single handedly why we love sports. Not because of the superstars, but because of the average joe, the common man who just enjoys being part of a team! Enjoy!

The Rundown

🧅 Baseball Story of the Year

🟣 Vikings will look brand new after just two weeks

🏀 WNBA ROY Announcement! WHO ELSE?!

🎼 Nothing like some Dire Straits on a Wednesday!

On This Day

⚾️ Double-Dipping in Mickey Mantle Blips!

A little Mickey Mantle for you today! Yesterday, Mariners Catcher Cal Raleigh surpassed Mickey Mantle for most Home Runs by a switch hitter in a single season! He did this with his 55th of the year.

Right on cue, it was On This Day in 1964 when the Yankee legend got his 1,999th, 2,000th, and 2,001st hit of his MLB career, including his 450th ever Home Run. This all happened in a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels

Today’s Trivia

Glue Guy of the Day

⚾️ Rec League Softball Vet Goes Viral!

Just a few days ago we had a story blow up on social media, and I mean this is why we play the game. I put this story in contention for STORY OF THE YEAR.

Professional sports are great. We get to watch the greatest athletes in the world compete against each other while having our own personal favorite teams that we ride the ups and downs with. There’s truly nothing like it. In our own lives, recreational sports can be more impactful than you think as well!

Nelson Bradbury, or NB, as we knew him from just a text screenshot for 48 hours texted his men’s league baseball group chat at 2:30 in the morning because he couldn’t sleep. Nelson is 81 years old and still participates in a men’s league with guys much younger than himself.

In case the picture is too small, here is what he said:

“Well guys, just up to do my middle of the night pee. I have been laying in bed for the past half hour thinking about tonight’s game and thinking about the great bunch of guys I am allowed to play with. I really appreciate the way you guys treat me as an equal and not just an old fart. You know there are a couple songs I often think of, one is Don’t Let the Old Man In, the other, When Did I Get Old. The first I like. the second I do not. It’s you guys that keep me living by the first one. Except for you guys, I would not be playing ball, no daily walks, no light weights. There would be no reason to get out of bed in the morning. All of you should take pride in knowing that there is one old fart you help keep going every day. I don’t know if I will get another year in the league or not, Shit, I don’t buy GREEN bananas any more. But I do know, this will be the year of ball play I will remember. All because of 14 great people.“

Man.

How can you not be romantic about baseball?

This is everything right here, this is the reason I want to cover sports, because of people and stories like Nelson’s. He didn’t even want this to become a thing. It was the wife of one of his teammates who screenshotted this and posted it on TikTok. Within just a week it has blown up and reached millions. Tens of thousands of comments are sharing their love for Nelson, and his teammates all responded by saying that it was him who inspires them!

Just wanted to put this on all of your desks on this Feel Good Wednesday! We will try and see if we can dig up any more on this story, but how cool is it that sports is what gets this 81 year old out of bed every morning. And not just sports, but the camaraderie he has with his teammates! You can see all the posts and comments on TikTok by searching “NB Baseball”!

The BIG Moments

🟠 🟣 New Look Vikings…Just Like That!

The Stump Short Story: After their Sunday Night loss, against the Falcons, a game in which they were favored, the Vikings will look vastly different in their Week 3 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. JJ McCarthy will be out with an ankle injury, meaning that as of now the starting QB for the squad would be Carson Wentz! If he starts on Sunday, he will make NFL history by becoming the first QB ever to start for 6 different teams in 6 straight seasons! Also in Vikings news, Aaron Jones was placeed on the IR, and will be out at least four weeks. This means a bigger workload upcoming for first-year Viking Jordan Mason.

On the other side, Chase Browning will be trying to lead the Bengals to a 3-0 start to the season, despite losing their franchise QB for the next 3 months. This early cushion of wins could leave open the back door playoff opportunity for the Bengals if Joe Burrow was to return in December!

Read More: Carson Wentz Could Make History (New York Post)

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🔗 Quick Links

🏀 UCONN makes history after WNBA ROY announcement!

⚾️ Showtime with his 50th after pitching 5 no-hit innings!

🏈 We’ve got 10 undefeated teams after 2 weeks!

What To Watch

🏈 Thursday Night Football tomorrow…

• We’ve got the 2-0 Buffalo Bills hosting the 0-2 Miami Dolphins! This is the largest spread of the week, but weird things can happen on Thursday nights (hopefully not 🤞)!

⚾️ EVERYBODY! IN! ACTION! 30 teams, 15 games, MADNESS!

• Cubs @ Pirates (12:35 PM ET), Giants @ Diamondbacks (3:40 PM ET), Braves @ Nationals (4:05 PM ET), Guardians @ Tigers (6:40 PM ET), Padres @ Mets (7:10 PM ET), Yankees @ Twins (7:20 PM ET), Phillies @ Dodgers (10:10 PM ET)

🏀 FIrst Round of WNBA playoffs keeps moving…

• Mercury @ Liberty (8:00 PM ET - Liberty lead 1-0)

• Lynx @ Valkyries (10:00 PM ET - Lynx lead 1-0)

Of! The! Day’s!

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