Baseball: Final week of regular season. Playoffs begin.
Football – NCAAF: 6 losses in the Top 25 but a lot of great games.
Football – NFL: 10 close games
Golf: EU owns Ryder Cup.
Olympic Sports: Paralympics partial suspension.
Baseball – MLB:
- This week’s games:
- There were only 3 games on Monday. The Braves crushed the Nationals 11-5. The Cardinals snatched one away from the Giants 6-5. The Brewers got upset by the Padres 5-4 in 11 innings.
- On Tues, the Twins eliminated the Rangers from playoffs after handing them their 8th straight loss. They would win the next day though to end that skid. The Mariners clinched their playoff berth with a win over the Rockies 4-3. The Padres shutout the Brewers who have already made it to playoffs. A’s upset the Astros who have not played well lately and fell out of a playoff spot.
- The Nationals snapped the Braves 10-game win streak with a 4-3 win on Wed. The Pirates upset the Reds 4-3 in 11 innings. The Phillies crushed the Marlins 11-1 and secured their bye in the first round. Aaron Judge got his 50th HR of the season in the Yankees 7 run win over the White Sox. That is Judge’s 4th season with 50+ HRs. Speaking of HRs, Cal Raleigh hit his 59th and 60th in the Mariners 9-2 to secure the AL west.
- Thursday had some 9th-inning saves. The Reds held on to their 2-1 lead after a robbed HR in the final inning. On the flip side, the Orioles got a HR in the 9th to steal the win over the Rays. We also had a couple of shutouts. The Twins went 4-0 over the Rangers, the Dodgers went 8-0 over the DBacks and the Phillies beat the Marlins 1-0.
- The Cubs crushed the Cardinals 12-1 on Friday. The White Sox squeaked by the Nationals 10-9 with less hits. The Rangers needed 12 hits to get 7 runs but that was enough to beat the Guardians by 4.
- The Mets and Twins both won their games on Sat 5-0. There were a lot of 1-run wins: the Nationals, Giants, Tigers and Guardians. The Padres and DBacks had the same number of hits at 11 but the Padres managed to get 12 batters around the bases compared to the DBacks with 4. The most runs scored on Sunday went to the BlueJays with 13 over the Rays 4. The Guardians/Rangers went into extra innings before Cleveland would get the win by 1. The final game of the season was the Cubs who shutout the Cardinals 2-0. The Mariners went 17 of the last 18 games before losing the final 3.
- Final tally: AL: Mariners win the AL West, Guardians win the AL Central and Blue Jays won the AL East, even though the Yankees had the same number of wins at 94. NL: Brewers won NL Central, Phillies won the NL East and Dodgers clinched the NL West. The Phillies and Mariners were the only ones to get out of their division – all others in the AL West and NL East were eliminated.
- Eliminated: AL: Astros, Royals, Rangers, Rays, A’s, Orioles, Angels, Twins and White Sox. NL: DBacks, Giants, Cardinals, Marlins, Braves, Pirates, Nationals and Rockies.
Football – NCAAF:
- There were 6 losses in the top 25 this week and two were on Friday so were actually going to start with those.
- #8 Florida St and UVA were locked in a battle Friday night. Both teams would have 3 turnovers and we were tied at half 21 apiece. UVA would have the lead late in the 4Q before FSU would get the tying TD with 36 seconds left. UVA was driving to win it when they threw an INT so we go to OT. Both got FGs in 1OT so onto the 2OT. UVA would score in 4 plays and then on the 4th play by the Seminoles, they threw an INT to seal the game and the crowd stormed the field nearly trampling the FSU WR, Squirrel White – cue the roadkill jokes. The first of the top 10 teams went down.
- #24 TCU scored the first 17 points and Arizona St answered with the next 17. The two teams would exchange TDs and be tied again with 1:50 to go. ASU would have a missed FG before getting another one to upset the Horned Frogs.
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- The Gameday game of the week #6 Oregon in a whiteout against #3 Penn St. No TDs were scored until the end the 3Q when the Ducks finally broke into the endzone. They would go up 17-3 before Penn St would manage to get a TD. They would tie up with 30 seconds left and we would go to OT. Penn St struggled to get their TD in 1OT but the Ducks needed just 1 play. In the 2OT, they also needed just one play and the Nittany Lions threw an INT to seal it. Ducks win 30-24!
- #4 LSU and #13 Ole Miss was an odd game. There were 9 punts in this game as both offenses struggled but LSU more than Ole Miss. The Tigers only had 57 yards rushing and 197 receiving, almost half of Ole Miss’. It was still a close game but the Rebels win 24-19.
- #17 Alabama has won 9 of the last 10 matchups against #5 Georgia. The 2Q score kinda took off with 28 points being scored but Bama never trailed and would hold on to this one. The Tide wins 24-21 ending Georgia’s 33 home win streak!
- #21 USC had to come back from behind, scoring 15 points in the 4Q to take the 1-point lead with 1:55 to go in the game. But #23 Illinois would get a FG as time expired to snatch the win back. Lincoln Riley is now 0-12 against the spread when playing outside the state of California.
- Other headlines from around the football universe:
- #1 Ohio St managed to keep Washington out of the endzone all game despite the look ahead spot.
- #9 Texas A&M outlasted a comeback from Auburn who hasn’t beaten a top 10 team in 11 years.
- #11 Indiana got the final TD in the last 1:28 of the game to win 20-15.
- #15 Tennessee needed OT to take down Mississippi St but the Vols get it done.
- #16 Georgia Tech also needed OT to take care of Wake Forest. They trailed 17-3 at halftime before coming all the way back for the T-2nd largest comeback in school history.
- In other football news, the SEC released who are the permanent matchups across the conference every year.
Football – NFL:
- MNF: the Lions vs the Ravens was an offensive battle and still managed to hit the over (52.5). Both teams would score a TD in every Q until the final one. Then the Lions put up 17 to the Ravens’ 9 to take the W.
- TNF: The Seahawks gave up their 14 point lead late in the 4Q and missed a FG so it looked bleak. The Cardinals tied it up in the final 28 seconds. But Seattle would nail a 52 yard FG to win by 3!
- There were 9 close games this week:
- In Dublin, the Vikings wouldn’t get into the endzone until the 4Q when they put up 15 points but that was just 3 points shy of what the Steelers got.
- Falcons QB Michael Penix had the best day of his career throwing for 313 yards. But the Commanders would just keep hanging around enough to stay competitive. The Falcons would score first and never give up the lead, winning 34-27.
- The Eagles remain undefeated after putting up 24 points in the 1H but the Bucs came back a bit but would fall 6 points short.
- The Jags scored all their points in the middle 2 Qs, 26 points and it was enough to beat the 49ers by 5.
- The Rams would win the stat battle in every category but was still in a tight game with the Colts. We would be tied at 3 different times in the game but 3 turnovers finally gave LA the win by a TD.
- The Raiders battled back and forth with the Bears but 4 turnovers would give CHI the game by 1 point.
- Ugh hate this – it just seems unamerican but the Packers/Cowboys game ended in a tie. It was the return of Micah Parsons to Dallas which made for a great storyline and it was a good game but alas with no result. The game was good though. We had 8 lead changes including 4 in the 4Q. Packers nailed a 53 yard FG to tie and send us to OT. Both teams got a possession in OT that ended in FGs and thus we end in a tie.
- We also had a couple of blowouts:
- The Texans got their first win of the season and it was in blowout fashion, 26-0 manhandling the Titans who remain undefeated. The Browns only scored 1 TD in the 1Q but the Lions would put up 34 points. The Pats had themselves an offensive day, scoring 42 points to whomp the Panthers.
- Surprisingly, the Chiefs put away the Ravens pretty easily, shutting down the offense who only managed 2 TDs all game.
- The undefeated teams left are the Bills and Eagles. The winless teams left are the Titans, Saints, Dolphins and Jets – although one of those last two will change after MNF as they play each other!
Golf:
- There is no sugar coating it, it looked bleak for the Americans early. Europe won both sessions on Friday and continued to the beat down on Saturday. After Saturday, Team USA trailed by 7 points and Europe only needed 2.5 points to retain the cup! But Sunday Singles matchups is where the americans came out swinging. Only Aberg won his singles match for Team Europe. The rest lost or tied including DeChambeau/Fitzpatrick. Fitz had been leading by 5 at one point before Bryson would tie it up. But the 5 ties were enough to stop the comeback for the Americans. Europe takes the Ryder Cup on American soil 15-13. The next Ryder Cup is in 2027 in Ireland.
- Some of the other storylines that came out of this not-so-exciting Ryder Cup:
- The envelope rule is being talked about and how it should change. If a player has to withdraw before a singles match (like Viktor Hovland did for Team EU) then that match ends in a tie which awards both teams half a point. That ended up being critical against the comeback for the Americans.
- The crowd. It went viral all weekend when the European players were seen retaliation against the crowds that were blatantly shouting ‘F Rory’ and Rory was seen flipping off the crowd and saying it back. The Ryder Cup is always rowdy. It was the first place where it is really acceptable. However it was talked about by multiple players that this time in NY was a little excessive. The first hole announcer quit after she helped start the F Rory chant.
- Some of the other storylines that came out of this not-so-exciting Ryder Cup:
Olympic Sports:
- The Paralympic committee has lifted the partial suspension on Russia and Belarus. They will still be allowed to compete in Milan-Cortina but under the AIN (neutral athletes in French).
What to watch this week
Baseball – MLB:
- Tues 9/30
- ALWC – Game 1: Tigers at Guardians @ 12pm on ESPN
- NLWC – Game 1: Padres at Cubs @ 2pm on ABC
- ALWC – Game 1: Red Sox at Yankees @ 5pm on ESPN
- NLWC – Game 1: Reds at Dodgers @ 8pm on ESPN
- Wed 10/1
- ALWC – Game 2: Tigers at Guardians @ 12pm on ESPN
- NLWC – Game 2: Padres at Cubs @ 2pm on ABC
- ALWC – Game 2: Red Sox at Yankees @ 5pm on ESPN
- NLWC – Game 2: Reds at Dodgers @ 8pm on ESPN
- Thurs 10/2
- ALWC – Game 3: Tigers at Guardians @ 12pm on ESPN
- NLWC – Game 3: Padres at Cubs @ 2pm on ABC
- ALWC – Game 3: Red Sox at Yankees @ 5pm on ESPN
- NLWC – Game 3: Reds at Dodgers @ 8pm on ESPN
- Sat 10/4
- ALDS – Game 1: TBD at Blue Jays @ TBD on TBD
- ALDS – Game 1: TBD at Mariners @ TBD on TBS
- NLDS – Game 1: TBD at Brewers @ TBD on TBS
- NLDS – Game 1: TBD at Phillies @ TBD on TBS
- Sun 10/5
- ALDS – Game 2: TBD at Blue Jays @ TBD on TBD
- ALDS – Game 2: TBD at Mariners @ TBD on TBS
Basketball:
- Tues 9/30 – Game 5s
- WNBA: IN at Vegas @ 8:30pm on ESPN2
- Fri 10/3
- WNBA: Final Series: Game 1 @ 7pm on ESPN
- Sun 10/5
- WNBA: Final Series: Game 2 @ 2pm on ABC
- NBA: Lakers vs Warriors @ 7:30pm on ESPN
Football – NCAAF:
| Top 25 | |||||
| Week 6 | |||||
| Top 25 Games | |||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Line |
| 14. Iowa St | Cinci | Sat 10/4 | 11:00 AM | ESPN2 | Cinci -1.5 |
| 16. Vanderbilt | 10. Alabama | Sat 10/4 | 2:30 PM | ABC | Bama -10.5 |
| 9. Texas | Florida | Sat 10/4 | 2:30 PM | CBS | TX -7.5 |
| 3. Miami | 18. Florida St | Sat 10/4 | 6:30 PM | ABC | Mia -4.5 |
| Mississippi St | 6. Texas A&M | Sat 10/4 | 6:30 PM | SEC | Tamu -14.5 |
| *GameDay indicated in bold* | |||||
Football – NFL:
- Mon 9/29
- Jets at Dolphins @ 6:15pm on ESPN
- Bengals at Broncos @ 7:15pm on ABC
- Thurs 10/2
- 49ers at Rams @ 7:15pm on Prime
- Sun 10/5
- Vikings at Browns @ 8:30am on NFL in London
- 6 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
- CBS:
- Giants at Saints
- Broncos at Eagles
- Texans at Ravens
- FOX:
- Raiders at Colts
- Cowboys at Jets
- Dolphins at Panthers
- CBS:
- Titans at Cardinals – or – Bucs at Seahawks @ 3:05pm on CBS
- Lions at Bengals – or – Commanders at Chargers @ 3:25pm on FOX
- Patriots at Bills @ 7:20pm on NBC
- Mon 10/6
- Chiefs at Jags @ 7:15pm on ABC and ESPN
- Bye: Falcons, Bears, Packers and Steelers
Golf:
- Thurs 10/2
- Sanderson Farms – Round 1 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 10/3
- Sanderson Farms – Round 2 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 10/4
- Sanderson Farms – Round 3 @ 3pm on Golf Channel
- Sun 10/5
- Sanderson Farms – Final Round @ 3pm on Golf Channel
Motor Sports:
- Sun 10/5
- F1: Singapore GP @ 7am on ESPN
Olympic Sports:
- Thurs 10/2
- NCAAW: Creighton vs Marquette @ 6pm on FS1
- NCAAW: Utah vs Arizona @ 8pm on FS1
Soccer:
- Sat 10/4
- Premier League: LeedsU vs Tottenham Hotspur @ 6:30am on USA
- Premier League: ManU vs Sunderland @ 9am on USA
- Sun 10/5
- Premier League: NewcastleU vs Nottingham Forest @ 8am on USA
- Premier League: Brentford vs Manchester City @ 10:30am on USA
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