Baseball: Divisional rounds are over and Championship Series have begun!
Football – NCAAF: 8 Losses the Top 25 this week! Penn St fires HC Franklin.
Football – NFL: Only 5 close games. Odd week in the NFL.
Golf: Baycurrent JPN Schauffle champ.
Quick Headlines: WNBA title goes to Aces. T&F news.
Baseball – MLB:
- First round:
- The Dodgers took the 2-0 lead over the Phillies on Monday after winning by 1. The Phillies werent going to go away that easily. They would win game 3 8-2 with 2 HRs by Schwarber. However Game 4 would go to extra innings. After both teams would get 1 run in the 7th But in the 11th inning, the phillies Kerkering had a costly error that lead to the game winning run and Dodgers advance!
- The Brewers continued to beat the Cubs (badly) with a 7-3 victory (after their 9-3 win last week). The Cubs would fight back in Game 3 though. They put up 4-runs in the 1st inning on Wed and that was enough to win that game barely (by 1). CHI would tie up the series the next night with a 6-0 shutout! That would send this series to a decisive game 5. Brewers scored 1st in the 1st with 1. But the Cubs answered in the 2nd. The Brewers would get another run in the 4th and tack on another in the 7th and the Cubs would have no answer. They would get 2 errors which didn’t help. Brewers win this hard fought series.
- The Mariners would start the week with 8 hits that turned into 8 runs to win game 8-4. The Mariners would also lead Game 4 3-0 before the Tigers got on a roll in the 5th They would score 3 runs in the 5th, 4 runs in the 6th and 1 in the next two as well to win 9-3 and tie up the series. Friday’s game 5 was a doozy. We were all tied up 2-2 after regulation so we headed to extra innings. The win probability chart would change teams 12xs. It would take all the way to the 15th before the Mariners would get a rally going and hit the game winning single and advance!
- The final series was the Blue Jays and Yankees. NY would rally on Tuesday to win 9-6 to avoid the sweep. Judge would hit a HR to tie the game and then drove in 4 runs. However that heroism would not help the next day. The Blue Jays would get 11 hits to get 5 runs on the board in Game 4. That was enough to beat the Yankees by 3 and send them home.
- AL Championship Series – Game 1: The Blue Jays would draw first blood with a HR by Springer in the 1st but it was all Mariners after that. Seattle would score 2 in the 6th with a Raleigh HR and a rally. Polanco, the hero from the last series would get 2 single RBIs to win. Their pitching was on point retiring 23 of last 24 batters and putting away Toronto on just 100 pitches.
Football – NCAAF:
- There were 8 losses in the top 25 this week:
- Gameday game of the week: #7 Indiana and #3 Oregon game was back and forth. We were tied 3 different times including after a pick 6 in the 4Q by Ore. But then Indiana answered with a TD and a FG in the final 7 minutes to upset the Ducks by 10. IU was 0-46 against top 5 opponents. Not anymore! The highest the Hoosiers have ever been ranked is 4th (in the 1960s and in 1945). Lets see if we have a new PR here.
- It was OU Tx – the best week of the year. #6 Oklahoma even got Mateer back but it didn’t matter. The OU offense couldn’t move the ball. Texas learned that in the 2H and got a TD and then a punt return to put the nail in the coffin. Mateer also threw 3 INTs. Texas wins this Red River Rivalry 23-6.
- #8 Alabama and #14 Mizzou was a great game! It was back and forth. Just when you thought Bama would pull away, Mizzou would answer. Down to the final minute. Mizzou scored at 1:40 to trail by 3. Then they didn’t get the onside kick but forced a quick 3&out to get the ball back with 1:17 to go. But on their final drive, they threw an INT to seal it and they lose by 3.
- USC only punted the ball 2xs this whole game. Granted 2 others were turnovers but #15 michigan had 2 as well. Michigan would only get into the endzone twice and the final TD was 69 yard pass so they just didn’t exactly move the ball well. USC gets the upset 31-13
- #17 Illinois had 3 tunrovers that turned into 3 TDs for #1 Ohio State. It wasn’t pretty but the Buckeye’s doubled the score from Illinois who played well but youre not going to win with 3 turnovers against #1.
- #21 Arizona St was without their starting QB and it showed! Utah put the smackdown on the Sun Devils 42-10.
- Colorado upset #22 Iowa St for their first Big 12 win of the season. After Dieon had surgery on Tues, he was still on the sidelines on Sat. the Cyclones were leading at half but Colorado’s defense would show up in a big way esp in the 4Q with a INT and a 4th down stop. Iowa St was 2/12 on 3rd down for the game – ugh. Colorado wins by a TD.
- Pitt came back scoring 13 points in the 4Q to win 34-31 hand #25 Florida ST their 3rd loss. FSU was down 10 in the final 2 minutes of the game, would get a TD and then fail toget the onside kicks. they are now winless in conference play.
- Other headlines from around the football universe:
- #4 Ole Miss played with its food against Wazzu and only beat a 3-3 team by 3.
- #10 Georgia also messed around and almost got caught. They only beat Auburn by 10 but they were trailing after 2H. It also shouldve been 17-0 as Auburn got screwed by another bad call as the Tigers got a TD that was ruled a fumble. UGA wins 20-10. As did #11 LSU over South Carolina.
- #12 Tennessee had to score 24 unanswered points to keep Arkansas close. The Vols would only win by 3 over the Razorbacks.
- #18 BYU had to go to 2OT to take care of Arizona. BYU may still be undefeated but they have had a couple close calls now.
- Penn State lost again! That is 3 in a row now. This was was to Northwestern. Now granted, their QB went down with a season ending injury but not until the 4Q. But looks like the Nittany Lions’ season is over.
- #24 South Florida nearly doubled UNT’s score after the 2H. Guess we know who is leading the race for the Group of 5 team to make the CFP.
- UNLV is now 6-0 for the first time since 1974.
- Penn State fired their HC James Franklin with a buy out of $50MM.
- Indiana is ranked #3 in the nation, their best ranking ever in school history.
Football – NFL:
- MNF: The Jags came back in the 2h to beat the Chiefs 31-28 and hand them their 3rd loss of the season and yes Patrick Mahomes did play!
- TNF: RB Cam Skattebo ran for 3 TDs in the Giants upset of the Eagles. The Eagles didn’t score in the entire 2H and lost 34-17.
- There were 5 close games this week:
- The London match up of the Broncos vs Jets had an exciting 1Q but after that it was kinda boring. The Jets never managed a TD and you’re just not going to win like that. Granted the Broncos only got one but that was enough. DEN wins by 2.
- The Dolphins tried to mount a comeback but they would fall 2 points short in the 4Q to lose to the Chargers.
- The Colts managed a TD when the Cardinals only got a FG in the 2Q. That was all it took to beat Arizona 31-27.
- The 1H of the Pats/Saints game was a lot of scoring with the Pats leading 22 to 16. Both teams would only manage a FG each so the Pats win again.
- The Cowboys were leading at half 17-13 over the Panthers. Each team would score a TD in the 3Q. The Panthers would add another in the 4Q while the Cowboys only managed a FG. We were tied at 3 different times in this game including after the FG by the Cowboys with 10 min to go. But the Panthers would put together a 6 minute drive to end in a game winning FG as time expired. Carolina wins.
- Other highlights: The Packers scored 17 points in the 4Q to comeback to win 27-18 over the Bengals. The Bucs beat the 49ers by 11. The Titans couldn’t score at all in the 1H and that would be the difference maker. They would lose to the Raiders by 10. The Browns only managed FGs but at least there were 3 of them. They would still lose to the Steelers 23-9. The Ravens played without Lamar Jackson and it showed. They only managed a FG in the 1Q all game. The Rams crushed them 17-3.
- The Chiefs got a huge win over the Lions last night 30-17 in SNF.
Golf:
- Xander Schauffle felt the love this week in Japan at the Baycurrent Classic. His mom grew up in JPN, still has family there and his mother-in-law is from there so this win meant more to Xander than most. His grandmother who is 81 was even in attendance. His overall score was -19 to win by 1. He has a good record in the country as well with an Olympic gold medal to his name at the Tokyo Olympics.
Quick Highlights:
- WNBA: The Vegas Aces swept the PHX Mercury to win their 3rd WNBA title in 4 years. This season was a little tougher as they were still just at .500 in August but they fought back to win the title. They are not favorites for next year though. The MN Lynx open up in Vegas as the favs.
- MBB: Sister Jean who went viral during March Madness for her fandom for Loyola Chicago has passed away.
- TF: The Chicago marathon ran yesterday. On the men’s side UGA Kiplimo took the title while ETH Feysa won on the women’s. But the newsworthy note (at least for Team USA) was Conner Mantz who came home in 4th but set a new American record in the process. He ran a 2:04:43.
- TF: Femke Bol, 2x world champ in the 400h, has announced that she is switching to the 800m.
What to watch this week
Baseball – MLB:
- Mon 10/13
- ALCS – Game 2: Mariners at Blue Jays @ 5:08pm on FS1
- NLCS – Game 1: Dodgers at Brewers @ 7:08pm on TBS
- Tues 10/14
- NLCS – Game 2: Dodgers at Brewers @ 7:08pm on TBS
- Wed 10/15
- ALCS – Game 3: Blue Jays at Mariners @ 7:08pm on FS1
- Thurs 10/16
- NLCS – Game 3: Brewers at Dodgers @ 5:08pm on TBS
- ALCS – Game 4: Blue Jays at Mariners @ 7:33pm on FS1
- Fri 10/17
- ALCS – Game 5: Blue Jays at Mariners @ 5:08pm on FS1
- NLCS – Game 4: Brewers at Dodgers @ 7:38pm on TBS
- Sat 10/18
- NLCS – Game 5: Brewers at Dodgers @ 7:08pm on TBS
- Sun 10/19
- ALCS – Game 6: Mariners at Blue Jays @ 7:03pm on FS1
Basketball:
- Tues 10/16
- NBA Preseason: Thunder at Bucks @ 7pm on Peacock
- Wed 10/15
- NBA Preseason: Mavericks at Lakers @ 9:30pm on ESPN
- Thurs 10/16
- NBA Preseason: Rockets at Hawks @ 6:30pm on ESPN2
Football – NCAAF:
| Top 25 | |||||
| Week 8 | |||||
| Top 25 Games | |||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Line |
| 10. LSU | 17. Vanderbilt | Sat 10/18 | 11:00 AM | ABC | VAN -2.5 |
| 5. Ole Miss | 9. Georgia | Sat 10/18 | 2:30 PM | ABC | UGA -7.5 |
| 11. Tennessee | 6. Alabama | Sat 10/18 | 6:30 PM | ABC | Bama -9.5 |
| 20. USC | 13. Notre Dame | Sat 10/18 | 6:30 PM | NBC | ND -8.5 |
| 23. Utah | 15. BYU | Sat 10/18 | 7:00 PM | FOX | UT -3.5 |
| *GameDay indicated in bold* | |||||
Football – NFL:
- Mon 10/13
- Bills at Falcons @ 6:15pm on ESPN
- Bears at Commanders @ 7:15pm on ESPN
- Thurs 10/16
- Steelers at Bengals @ 7:15pm on Prime
- Sun 10/19
- Rams at Jags @ 8:30am on NFL in London
- 6 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
- CBS:
- Dolphins at Browns
- Patriots at Titans
- Raiders at Chiefs
- FOX:
- Saints at Bears
- Eagles at Vikings
- Panthers at Jets
- CBS:
- Giants at Broncos – or – Colts at Chargers @ 3:05pm on CBS
- Commanders at Cowboys – or – Packers at Cardinals @ 3:25pm on FOX
- Falcons at 49ers @ 7:20pm on NBC
- Mon 10/20
- Bucs at Lions @ 6pm on ABC and ESPN
- Texans at Seahawks @ 9pm on ESPN
Golf:
- none
Hockey:
- Tues 10/14
- Lightning at Capitals @ 6pm on ESPN
- Wild at Stars @ 8:30pm on ESPN
- Wed 10/15
- Panthers at Red Wings @ 6pm on TNT
- Blackhawks at Blues @ 8:30pm on TNT
- Thurs 10/16
- Oilers at Islanders @ 6:30pm on hulu
- Fri 10/17
- Sharks at Mammoth @ 8pm on hulu
Motor Sports:
- Sun 10/19
- COTA GP @ 2pm on ESPN
Olympic Sports:
- none
Soccer:
- Sat 10/18
- Premier League: Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea @ 6:30am on USA
- Premier League: Brighton & Hove vs Newcastle @ 9am on USA
- Sun 10/19
- Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur vs Aston Villa @ 8am on USA
- Premier League: Liverpool vs ManU @ 10:30am on USA
