Wednesday Afterschool Special: Losing in a Winning Week

All the Wins

This week is filled with some of the most competitive, intense sports action you will see all year long. First, the San Jose Sharks take on the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Then, the NBA Finals start on Thursday. And just because you know the storyline well doesn’t mean it will be any less thrilling to watch LeBron James and Steph Curry face off in a rematch. Meanwhile, Serena Williams beat Elina Svitolina (and some bad weather) to advance to the quarterfinals of the French Open:

​So with so much winning happening this week, SI Kids wanted to share a few small losses. It’s a good reminder that not everyone can play in the Finals, but that can be entertaining, too.

The Wrong Pitch

Brazilian soccer star Neymar went to his first professional sporting event in the US on Tuesday night: A New York Mets game. Neymar spent some time with the team and even participated in batting practice. The thing is, that when you spend most of your life becoming a world famous soccer player, you probably don’t spend a lot of time playing baseball. That means that Neymar is not very good at baseball…


He returned to the field with a soccer ball and reminded everyone what his true talent is.

White Sox ace Chris Sale has a top ten ERA (2.29) this season and is tied for most wins (9) so far. He didn’t pitch against the Mets on Tuesday night, but he did compete in some serious rock, paper, scissors against a Mets fan. Sale lost (unfortunately for him, so did the White Sox), but he did play fair.

And there was a small win that resulted – the fan won an autograph.

Hazardous Hazard

This man made an effort to hit a tricky golf shot at a course in Placentia, California. He managed to hit his ball though it was treacherously close to water, but then he lost…his footing. The best part is the laughter that erupts from his group of friends.



Bat FTW

Tripping happens in life and in sports, just ask Francisco Lindor. The Cleveland Indians shortstop had a hit in a game against the Rangers on Tuesday, but didn’t make it to first base.

Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images