Event of the Day: Philadelphia Eagles versus Atlanta Falcons
Our event of the day is the NFL opener between two teams who faced each other last postseason. The reigning NFL champions Philadelphia Eagles are kicking off the new season with a great matchup versus the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field. Atlanta surely want to begin the term making a statement by defeating the current champions of the league. With Matt Ryan trying to emulate the season he had a couple of years ago, the Falcons will try to send an early message to the rest of the league: they’re not done and they are ready to take it all. With one of the best pairs of running backs in the league (Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman) and one of the best wide receivers (Julio Jones) in the game, Atlanta are keen to get back to the Super Bowl and win the Vince Lombardi and what better way to start the journey than beating the reigning champions. Especially when you see they are facing one of the most challenging seasons possible in their division this year, with the Saints and the Panthers getting better season after season.
On the other side, we have the Eagles, entering this campaign with doubts about the starting quarterback. Nick Foles has been selected to play in Week 1, but Carson Wentz is there, trying to get back his role in the team when he fully recovers from an ACL injury. Although they had to lose some players in order to not surpass the salary cap during the offseason, Philly are definitely a contender to repeat for the championship. It won’t be an easy job, as they will have weekly opponents particularly eager to steal the spotlight and inscribe their name on the candidate list. Doug Pederson has renewed his contract with Philly and will continue to want to achieve big things with the franchise. Veteran players like Darren Sproles and Jason Peters are coming back to the league in order to help the head coach in his goal. These two teams clashed in last year's playoffs in the Divisional Round and that time it was the Eagles who took the W in a tight 15-10 clash. They proceeded to make the Super Bowl in one of the most exciting playoff runs in recent years. Tonight is going to be a great matchup that you don't want to miss.
Honourable mentions around the world go to the first day of the BMW Championship at the Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania, the third tournament of the FedExCup Playoffs. 70 players will try to dethrone defending champion Marc Leishman and gain over $1 million in the process. Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth are on the verge of advancing to the Tour Championship amongst the top 30 players, held in East Lake, Atlanta, in 2 weeks time. At the US Open it is the Women’s semi-finals, with four players including Serena Williams trying to reach the big final at the weekend. In football, it is the opening match of the UEFA Nations League with the 2014 World Cup Winners Germany taking on the 2018 World Cup Winners France at the Allianz Arena in Munich. In the MLB there is the start of an entertaining 4 game series, as the Chicago Cubs visit the Washington Nationals. The Tour of Britain continues with stage 5; teams will start in Cockermouth and finish in Whinlatter Pass. The Vuelta a España, on the other hand, has stage 12 between Mondoñedo and the Punta de Estaca de Bares, located in A Coruña province. Plus, the County Championship will have action in its two divisions, with exciting clashes between Essex and Surrey, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire and Sussex and Leicestershire, amongst the action.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by NFL