Baseball: This week’s games.
Football – NCAAF: 4 losses in the Top 25.
Football – NFL: Week 1! 10 close games.
Tennis: US Open decided. Not a new winner on either side.
Quick Headlines: Basketball HoF. WNBA.
Baseball – MLB:
- This week’s games:
- Juan Soto tied his career high of 6 RBIs in their game against the Tigers on Monday. His grand slam would also lend to their 10-8 win. They would also crush them the next night too, Mets 12-5. Shoehei Ohtani hit his 100th HR but that wouldn’t be enough for the Dodgers to beat the Pirates, 9-7 on Tuesday. The Rangers had won 6 games going into Tues’s matchup with the DBacks. But AZ would get a 3-run HR in the 7th to break the Texas team to win by 1.
- The Blue Jays got 5 HRs, which ties their season high, in their 13-9 win on Wed over the Reds. The Guardians put up 6 runs in the 2nd inning to beat the Red Sox 8-1 and save the series.
- The Rays won 7 games in a row including an unlikley sweep of the Mariners at the beginning of the week and a W over the Guardians. That would come to a swift halt in the final 3 games of the Cleveland series going 1-3.
- Pirates P Skenes would hold the Dodgers to 6 scoreless innings on Thurs to give them the 5-3 win and series sweep. Yankees P Rodon is now tied for the league lead of 16 wins after their 8-4 win over Houston. The White Sox rallied late to win 11-8 over the Twins on to complete the sweep. They would add a 7-5 win over the Tigers the next night to make their 6-game winning streak before dropping the next one 6-0.
- The longest game of the week was Friday between the Astros and Rangers going into the 12th It was tied through 2 but the Rangers doubled the score in the 3rd to take the 3-1 lead. They looked to have it put away until the 8th when the Astros put up 2 to tie it up. Neither team would get another until the 12th until the Astros would put one on the board and take the W. The next night was not nearly as competitive. The Astros shutout the Rangers 11-0. The Royals would shock the Twins with an 11-2 win but none more shocking than the A’s. The A’s bats showed up this week with 3 games over 10 runs. The first was Monday 11-3 over the Cardinals then they destroyed the Angels 10-4 and 17-4 in back to back games.
- The Mariners went off on Sunday putting up 18 to the Braves 2 and that was only with 5 HRs – one of course from Cal. 18 is the most runs scored by the Mariners since 2018.
Football – NCAAF:
- There were 4 losses in the top 25 this week:
- #12 Arizona St was trailing 17-0 at one point but the Sun Devils came back in the 2H to tie it up with 13 minutes left. They would add a FG onto that but in the final 30 seconds, Miss St gets a 58 yard TD pass to beat the Big 12 champs. ASU QB only had 88 yards passing with 2 INTs. Miss St upsets 24-20.
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- #13 Florida did not have a good game. They played sloppy – bad tackling, 11 penalties for over 100 yards including one where a FL player spit on a USF player. There were no TDs scored until USF’s 2 min left in the 3rd and that was a 66-yard TD pass. FL would score a safety and a TD to take the lead 16-15. USF missed a FG so it looked like that was it but FL went 3&out and USF would get a game winning FG as time expired. USF now has two ranked wins in back-to-back weeks. First loss to a school from Florida (other than FSU and Miami) since 1938. USF has Miami next!
- The Gameday game of the week #15 Michigan vs #18 Oklahoma was a defensive showdown as expected. Oklahoma’s defense played lights out. It was 14-0 going into the locker room. Despite penalties and 2 turnovers, OU kept the Wolverines to 1 TD (which was a 75 yard run) and 2 FGs. That run was the first play of the 2H and followed by a 3&out by OU so you kinda felt like ok here comes Michigan. But then the Sooners D came up with a stop and the offense scored a TD on the next drive. But the dagger for Michigan was the 8 minute drive for a FG in the 4Q. Oklahoma wins a clash of the titans 24-13.
- #17 SMU had their hands full with Baylor and it was an offensive game – hope you took the over. SMU was leading 38-24 in the final 5 minutes. Felt like SMU had it but Baylor drove down the field to tie it up in the final 38 seconds. SMU missed the game-winning FG so we go to OT. Both teams score TDs so 2OT, SMU again misses a FG and Baylor does not. That was Baylor’s 14th straight win over SMU.
- Other headlines from around the football universe:
- #6 Oregon took offense to Mike Gundy’s words this week. Oregon handed OSU their worst loss of his tenure 69-3.
- #20 Ole Miss still struggled with Kentucky (who handed them their loss last season to keep the Rebels out of the CFP). Ole Miss only managed to win by 7 but a win is a win.
- #11 Illinois turned it on late on Duke who was keeping it close at half. But Duke would have 5 turnovers and the Illini would score 33 in the 2H to win easily.
- #16 Iowa St finally wins the Cy-Hawk trophy beating Iowa. It was tied 13-13 in the final 2 minutes but the Cyclones nail a FG to win.
- Syracuse HC Fran Brown made his team runs sprints after the game went to OT with UConn. They would come back from the dead to win that game in OT.
- Mizzou/Kansas in the Border War was great. 31-28 Kansas with 6 to go. 2 fourth downs on the next drive but Mizzou gets it to go up by 4. Break away run for Mizzou to add a score at the end. Largest comeback win since 2016.
- K St has fallen big time. They lost this weekend to Army (who last week lost to Tarleton St). They get a muffed kickoff and a INT to end it and beat the Wildcats.
- Shutouts: #1 Ohio St destroyed Grambling 70-0. #2 Penn St won 34-0. #21 Alabama exercised some demons putting up 73-0 on UL Monroe. #24 Texas Tech scored 48 in the 1H again!
- Some closer than they should’ve been: #3 LSU only beat LA Tech 23-7. #4 UGA beat Austin Peay 28-6. #8 Clemson was trailing 0-16 but then scored the final 27 points to avoid the upset. Troy kept it close 27-16.
- In the AP Poll this week, 11 SEC teams are ranked which is a record by any conference! Gameeday will be Georgia at Tennessee.
Football – NFL:
- NFL Season is back. Here are some changes in rules for this season:
- Both teams get OT possession – no longer just first TD wins it
- Expanded replay review
- Chains replaced with technology
- Only three players are allowed in the set up zone for a kickoff. Ball will be placed at the 35 yard line instead of the 30 on a touchback.
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- The Thursday Night game was hated rivals: Eagles vs Cowboys. All by 3 points were scored in the 1H. The Cowboys only needed 6 plays to score the first TD of the NFL season. Eagles answered with a TD on the next drive. Then two more successful TD dirves would put us all tied up at 14 a piece. Dallas would have to settle for a FG on the next possession and the Eagles would make it into the endzone again to lead 21-20 at half. The Eagles would start with the ball and get a FG and then no one would score again for the rest of the game so Phili wins by 4.
- The Friday night game was played in Sao Paulo. The Chargers would have the lead going into the locker room after a TD and 2 FGs compared to KC’s 2 FGs. In fact, LA would never give the lead to the Chiefs who wouldn’t get into the endzone until the 3Q. They were always playing catch up and would fall 6 points shy. Chargers hand the Chiefs their first loss of the season on Week 1!
- Despite only having 260 yards of offense (100 less than ATL) and 10 min less of possession, the Bucs beat the Falcons 23-20. ATL thought they had it after they scored on a 91-yard 8:46 minute drive to score in the final 2:17 but the Bucs only needed 5 plays to go 63 to win by 3. The Browns won every stat (offense: 141 vs 327) except the turnover battle (loss of 2) and that showed in the score. The Bengals won by 1 point. The Raiders came back scoring 13 in the 2H to beat the Pats by 7. The Cardinals and Saints had a FG each in the 2H but AZ was leading into the locker room and took it home. The Steelers/Jets game was oddly high scoring. It was 17-19 at half with NY leading but Pitt would put up 17 points in the 4Q to win by 2. The Texans never managed to get into the endzone, only scoring 3 FGs. The Rams would have 2 TDs and thus the W.
- SNF: the Bills and the Ravens was a great game. 7 punts all game of the 23 possessions! The Ravens scored on every single one in the 1H. They were leading at half 20-13. We continued to go back and forth until a fumble in the final 3:10 of the game by the ravens was the difference maker. The Bills would capitalize and put up 22 points in the 4Q alone to win by 1 with a walk-off FG as time expired!There were 10 close games this week: for the first time ever, half of the leagues’ teams have a black starting QB.
- The only game that was really out of hand was the Colts running away with 33 points and Miami only managing 8 in the 4Q. That snaps an 11 game opening day losing streak for Indy.
Tennis:
- The US Open is complete! No more American men after Wed.
- On the men’s side: #25 CAN Auger-Aliassime beat #15 RUS Rublev then #8 NZ De Minaur (although that match was grueling with 3 sets going into tie breakers) before falling to #1 ITA Sinner in the Semifinals. The final USA in was #4 Taylor Fritz to fell to #7 Djokovic in 4 in the Quarterfinals. #2 ESP Alcaraz beat #7 Djokovic in straight sets to advance to the championship to play the #1 ranked player, Sinner. Despite losing the 2nd set 3-6, the other 2 were easy wins for Carlos Alcaraz to claim his 2nd US Open title.
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- On the women’s side: #23 Naomia Osaka met up with #3 Coco Gauff and it was disappointing. Coco did not play well and Osaka beat her 6-3, 6-2. But a plus for the Americans was when #8 Anisimova beat #2 POL Swaitek in straight sets! Anisoma would then advance all the way to the final beating Osaka along the way. CZE Vondrousova beat #9 UZB Rybakina and then had to play #1 Sabalenka. However for the first time since 1988 at the US Open Quarerfinals, Sabalenka got a walkover (meaning the player withdraws before playing) to win and ease her way into the Semis where she met USA #4 Pegula. Pegula got there winning her last 2 matches in straight sets but she would fall to Sabalenka 6-4, 3-6, 4-6. So the final was Anisomova and Sabalenka and Sabalenka would take the final in straight sets although the final set went to tie breakers. She successfully defends her US Open title.
Quick Highlights:
- Basketball: Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard, Sue Bird and Maya Moore have been added to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
- WNBA: Caitlin Clark is out for the rest of the season.
What to watch this week
Baseball – MLB:
- Mon 9/8
- Dbacks at Giants @ 8:45pm on FS1
- Tues 9/9
- Tigers at Yankees @ 6:05pm on TBS
- Wed 9/10
- Tigers at Yankees @ 6:05pm on Prime
- Thurs 9/11
- Royals at Guardians – or – Mets at Phillies @ 6:15pm on FOX
- Fri 9/12
- Yankees at Red Sox @ 6:10pm on Apple TV+
- Angels at Mariners @ 9:10pm on Apple TV+
- Sat 9/13
- Cardinals at Brewers @ 7:15pm on FOX
- Sun 9/14
- Yankees at Red Sox @ 6pm on ESPN
Basketball:
- Sun 9/14
- WNBA: Teams TBD @ 2pm on ABC
Football – NCAAF:
| Top 25 | |||||
| Week 3 | |||||
| Top 25 Games | |||||
| Visitor | Home | Day | Time (CT) | TV | Line |
| 12. Clemson | Georgia Tech | Sat 9/13 | 11:00 AM | ESPN | Clem -3.5 |
| 6. Georgia | 15. Tennessee | Sat 9/13 | 2:30 PM | ABC | UGA -7 |
| 18. South Florida | 5. Miami | Sat 9/13 | 3:30 PM | CW | Mia -16.5 |
| Florida | 3. LSU | Sat 9/13 | 6:30 PM | ABC | LSU -6.5 |
| 16. Texas A&M | 8. Notre Dame | Sat 9/13 | 6:30 PM | NBC | ND -6.5 |
| *GameDay indicated in bold* | |||||
Football – NFL:
- Mon 9/8
- Vikings at Bears @ 7:15pm on ABC and ESPN
- Thurs 9/11
- Commanders at Packers @ 7:15pm on Prime
- Sun 9/14
- 9 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
- CBS:
- Jags at Bengals
- Rams at Titans
- Pats at dolphins
- Bills at Jets
- Browns at Ravens
- FOX:
- Giants at Cowboys
- Bears at Lions
- 49ers at Saints
- Seahawks at Steelers
- CBS:
- Broncos at Colts – or – Panthers at Cardinals @ 3:05pm on CBS
- Eagles at Chiefs @ 3:25pm on FOX
- Falcons at Vikings @ 7:20pm on NBC
- 9 games @ 12pm on CBS/FOX
- Mon 9/15
- Bucs at Texans @ 6pm on ABC & ESPN
- Chargers at Raiders @ 9pm on ESPN
Golf:
- Thurs 9/11
- PGA: Procore Championship – Round 1 @ 5pm on Golf Channel
- Fri 9/12
- PGA: Procore Championship – Round 2 @ 12pm on Golf Channel
- Sat 9/13
- PGA: Procore Championship – Round 3 @ 5pm on Golf Channel
- Sun 9/14
- PGA: Procore Championship – Final Round @ 5pm on Golf Channel
Motor Sports:
- Sat 9/13
- MotoGP: San Marino – Sprint Race @ 7:55am on FS1
- Sun 9/14
- MotoGP: San Marino – Race @ 6:30am on FS1
- Replay @ 5pm on FS1
- MotoGP: San Marino – Race @ 6:30am on FS1
Olympic Sports:
- Wed 9/10
- Volleyball: NCAAW – Texas A&M vs TCU @ 6:30pm on FS1
- Fri 9/12
- Volleyball: NCAAW – Utah vs Nebraska @ 6pm on FS1
- Volleyball: NCAAW – Louisville at Creighton @ 8pm on FS1
- Sat 9/13
- T&F: World Championships – Day 1 Evening @ 4am on CNBC
- T&F: World Championships – Day 1 Recap @ 2pm on NBC
- T&F: World Championships – W Marathon @ 6pm on CNBC
- Sun 9/14
- T&F: World Championships – Day 2 Evening @ 4:30am on CNBC
- T&F: World Championships – Day 2 Recap @ 2pm on NBC
- T&F: World Championships – M Marathon @ 6pm on CNBC
Soccer:
- Mon 9/8
- UEFA Qualifying: ISR vs ITA @ 6:30pm on FS1
- Tues 9/9
- UEFA Qualifying: FRA vs ICE @ 7pm on FS1
- UEFA Qualifying: NOR vs MOL @ 9pm on FS1
- Sat 9/13
- Premier League: Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest @ 6:30am on USA
- Premier League: Fulham vs LeedsU @ 9am on USA
- NWSL: NC Courage vs Angel City @ 11:30am on CBS
- Premier League: Brentford vs Chelsea @ 2pm on USA
- Sun 9/14
- Premier League: Burnley vs Liverpool @ 8am on USA
