Anchor Drop, August 30, 2021: 5 Days to Kickoff

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

We are 5 days away from Vanderbilt football’s season opener against East Tennessee State. 5 for the Commodores is quarterback Mike Wright. The 6’4”, 190-pound sophomore from Fayetteville, Georgia, appeared in six games as Ken Seals’ backup last season, completing 6-of-10 passes for 51 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Vanderbilt soccer lost its second match in a row, though this one was a bit more expected than the last one; the Commodores lost 2-0 to No. 5 Duke on Sunday. Duke scored its first goal on a penalty kick. Vanderbilt will play again on Thursday against Southern Illinois. The Hustler has more.

Men’s tennis released its fall schedule, which will open with the Auburn Invitational from September 17-19.

Robbie Weinstein at 247 Sports predicted Vanderbilt’s schedule game-by-game and, like Aria Gerson at the Tennessean, predicts a 3-9 record — though Robbie doesn’t think we will beat Tennessee. Bowman Talbot at the Hustler looks at the first three games of the season.

And finally, here’s a story about ESPN getting duped into televising IMG Academy demolishing a random online charter school from Ohio. It is, uh, very weird that ESPN didn’t verify any of the information the school gave them.

Sports on TV

All times Central.

• 10:50 AM: FIBA AfroBasket: Guinea v. Rwanda (ESPN+)
• 11:00 AM: Tennis: U.S. Open, First Round (ESPN)
• 1:10 PM: MLB: Twins at Tigers (MLB.tv free game/MLB Network)
• 6:05 PM: MLB: Phillies at Nationals (ESPN+)
• 6:10 PM: MLB: Red Sox at Rays (ESPN)
• 9:10 PM: MLB: Braves at Dodgers (ESPN)

Scoreboard

NFL Preseason: Jaguars 34, Cowboys 14 ... Dolphins 29, Bengals 26 ... 49ers 34, Raiders 10 ... Patriots 22, Giants 20 ... Browns 19, Falcons 10.

MLB: Phillies 7, Diamondbacks 4 ... Pirates 4, Cardinals 3 ... Rays 12, Orioles 8 ... Cleveland 7, Red Sox 5 ... Marlins 2, Reds 1 ... Blue Jays 2, Tigers 1 ... Mets 9, Nationals 4 ... Braves 9, Giants 0 ... White Sox 13, Cubs 1 ... Brewers 6, Twins 2 ... Rangers 13, Astros 2 ... Rockies 5, Dodgers 0 ... Mariners 4, Royals 3 ... A’s 3, Yankees 1.